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Signs of the Times, Vol. 5, No. 14.

General Articles

Signs of the Times

Apr 3, 1879

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Apr 3, 1879

General Articles.

By D. M. Canright

The Scripture Doctrine of a Future Life.--No. 12.

ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.
CERTAIN wicked men had murdered them, and by thus doing closed their weary pilgrimage on earth and sent them right into the glories of Heaven. It would seem that these happy souls really ought to have been thankful for such a deliverance by the hands of their slayers. At least it does not look quite right that they should feel so vindicative that they should pray to God to hasten their enemies into hell. Put this with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as interpreted by our opponents and see what you have. Hell is so near to Heaven that the righteous can look right down into it, and see those who are there and talk with them as Abraham talked with the rich man. They can hear their moans and cries, and see the fire burning. Then these martyrs in Heaven must have known very well that in a few years, according to nature itself, their persecutors must die and come into that very hell which was before their eyes. But they are so anxious to see those souls roasting in fire before their eyes that they cannot wait. They pray God to hasten the day when these enemies should be put into hell. Who can believe that the saints in glory would indulge such a spirit? Upon this text Adam Clarke makes this sensible comment: "A symbolical vision was exhibited in which he saw an altar. . . . The altar is upon the earth, not in Heaven. They cried, that is, their blood, like that of Abel, cried for vengeance; for we are not to suppose that there was anything like a vindicative spirit in those happy and holy souls."-- Note on Rev. 6:9, 10.
We agree with Dr. Clarke. These souls are not in Heaven. The scene was not there. They did not cry literally. The whole thing is symbolical as an examination of the chapter will show. Looking back through the chapter we find a whole line of symbols. First a white horse is seen going forth; next a red horse, and following these a black horse. Then comes a pale horse and "his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell [hades, the grave] followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
This is a most terrific symbol to represent the persecuting power of the Romish church against the disciples of Jesus. A pale horse with death sitting thereon, and the grave followed after. All agree that this represents the Papal persecutions. Immediately following this is our text. John says he saw under the altar the souls of those that had been slain by this persecuting power. The altar is symbolical just as the horse and everything in the chapter. They had been slain for the Lord's sake, hence they are represented as being offered upon the altar. But this altar was upon the earth. Next they are seen under that altar in the grave just where John says they went. But it says they cried; yes, and it says that the blood of Abel cried unto God from the ground, but does that prove that the blood of Abel is conscious? By no means.
The blood of these martyrs cried to God for vengeance the same as James says, "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." James 5:4. So the blood of these martyrs appeals to God for vengeance upon them that dwell upon the earth. The Lord says to them, "Rest yet a little while until your brethren have been slain." This shows that these souls were in a state of rest and quietude.
Thirteenth Objection--The angel that John worshiped. Rev. 22:9. "Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."
This is the last passage which is claimed as proving the conscious state of the dead. It is asserted that this angel was one of the old prophets who thus appeared to John. Well, grant that it was, and then it does not prove the conscious state of the dead, because some of these prophets had already been taken to Heaven. Enoch was a prophet and he never died. Elijah was a prophet, and he had been translated. Moses was a prophet and he had been resurrected as we have shown. It might have been him. Again, at the resurrection of Christ many of the saints which slept were raised up; and in Eph. 4, Paul intimates that they ascended with Christ. It might have been one of these. So that granting that it was a prophet, it does not prove the conscious state of the dead.
But the truth is, this was an angel and not a man nor the soul of a man. John says, When I heard I fell down to worship before the angel that showed me these things. A man is not an angel; but this was an angel. Does it not say that he was one of the prophets? No, a careless reading might give that idea, but a close examination shows that this is not what is declared. It is simply declared that this angel was a fellow servant of John and a fellow servant of his brethren the prophets. That is, this angel was not to be worshiped because he was simply a servant of God, and had only been sent to serve the prophets, John's brethren. Read it carefully. "I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren the prophets." Let us read a few other translations which will give the idea better. The American Bible Union translation reads: "I am a fellow servant of thee, and of thy brethren the prophets." The Emphatic Diaglott says, "I am the fellow servant with thee and with thy brethren the prophets." Tragelcs translates it; "I am the fellow servant of thee and of thy brethren the prophets." This gives the idea better and more correctly. He was only a fellow servant of these prophets, not one of the prophets themselves. Furthermore, this interpretation of our opponents contradicts the Bible by teaching that the dead come back to this earth and converse with men: while the Scriptures plainly declare that the dead know not anything that is going on under the sun. Thus Job says speaking of a man's death: "His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, and he perceiveth it not of them." Job 14:21. Then after a man dies he knows nothing of what is transpiring on the earth. Again it is said "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything. . . . also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9:5, 6. How can this be harmonized with the idea that the departed spirits of the dead do come back to earth and minister to their brethren? And then in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, of which our opponents are very fond, the very point made there is, that the dead cannot come back to earth and communicate with the living. Will they now contradict all this to make out a case from this passage? This reminds us that our orthodox brethren have joined hands with the spiritualists on this point. If their theory of this passage is correct, then the spirits of the dead do return to earth and do communicate with men as the spiritualists say. The latter only carry it a little further and thus establish their blasphemous doctrine of spirit communications.
Thus we have gone through the Bible and taken up all the prominent passages which are relied upon to prove the question at issue. We now leave it to the readers whether we have not fairly answered these objections, and shown that these very passages teach the sleep of the dead, rather than what our opponents claim for them.

THE END OF THE WICKED.

In harmony with what we have already learned touching the nature of man, we find the holy Scriptures very plainly teaching the utter extinction of the wicked by the second death. Why should not this be so? Why should God preserve alive millions of human beings in eternal woe? Certainly it can do them no good as they are lost forever. Will the angels or the saints take pleasure in such an awful spectacle? Would it not be a foul blot on God's fair universe? Would it not be an eternal horror to all holy beings?
We are happy to know that the inspired volume teaches no such God dishonoring doctrine. To make this matter plain, we will state five propositions as follows:--
I. That there will be a great day of judgment at the end of the world.
II. That the wicked do not receive their punishment till the day of judgment.
III. That the wicked shall receive their punishment on this earth.
IV. That the wicked shall be entirely burned up by the fire which purifies the earth.
V. That after the wicked are burned up, the earth will be purified and restored to the righteous.
If these simple propositions are maintained it will explode the popular idea of hell and end the controversy as to the fate of the wicked.
I. That there will be a great day of judgment at the end of the world. Paul says, God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world. Acts 17:31. Of men's words Jesus says, "They shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment." Matt. 12:36. That this judgment comes in the last days is plainly taught. Thus the Saviour said, "The word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day." John 12:48. Peter locates it at the end of the world thus: "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:7.
The revelator also places the day of judgment under the sounding of the seventh trumpet. See Rev. 11:15-18. Farther on he says, "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead, &c." Rev. 20:11-13.
Thus unequivocally is it stated that there will be a day of judgment which will transpire at the end of the world.
II. That the wicked do not receive their punishment till the day of judgment. Peter declares this when he says, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9. This is plain and to the point. It leaves no place for a quibble. The wicked are reserved to the day of judgment to be punished. Then they are not receiving their punishment in hell now. Again, he states the same fact in Chap. 3:7. After saying that the old world perished by a flood, he says: "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Here we learn again that at "the day of judgment" will be "the perdition of ungodly men." Job bears a similar testimony. He says: "Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, that the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction?"
Peter and Job both agree that the wicked are "reserved," to the day of judgment or destruction. But where are they kept in reserve? The Catholic would answer, "In purgatory," a sort of ante-chamber to hell. The Protestant, ridiculing the idea of purgatory, is compelled to contradict the Scriptures just as far, and say that the wicked are not reserved at all, but go directly into hell when they die. But we see that they are reserved; and now the question is, Where are they kept? Job continues: "They shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. . . . Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as they are innumerable before him." Job 21:30-33.
Thus we see that the wicked are reserved in the tomb, to be brought forth at the day of judgment. This agrees with the testimony of Jesus: "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." John 5:28, 29. In Rev. 20:12, we have a description of the judgment; and verse 13 says: "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it: and death and hell [grave, margin] delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works." Thus the fact is taught throughout that the dead are in their graves till the day of judgment. So Dan. 12:2: "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."
Every reference to the punishment of the wicked always places it at the judgment, never before. Jesus says, Many will say in that day, "Lord, Lord," &c, confidently expecting to go right into Heaven; but he will shut them out. Matt. 7:21-23. They find out at the judgment for the first time that they are lost. Have they been in hell for ages and never discovered that they were damned? Again, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for those who reject the gospel. Matt. 10:14, 15. Here, as everywhere, their punishment, is located at the judgment, never before. So we read in Rev. 11:18: "Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." Here the time of reward is placed at the judgment.
Thus I think that we have proved conclusively that "the unjust are reserved unto the day of judgment to be punished." 2 Peter 2:9. Where is it said to the contrary? Where is the text that says sinners are punished before the judgment? Where is it said that the wicked go to hell at death? If it is true, it ought to be plainly stated. But not an intimation of that kind is anywhere given. Indeed, it would be unreasonable to punish men thousands of years before they were judged. Hence this part of the fence is firmly built. But if any should deem it not strong enough yet, it can be strengthened to any required degree, from Matt. 13; 2 Thess. 1 and 2; Mal. 4; &c., &c.

III. That the wicked shall receive their punishment on this earth.

Those who hold the doctrine of an eternal hell are never able to give its location. The idea of it is, however, that it is a vast, bottomless lake of fire, somewhere on the outskirts of all creation, where the damned writhe in torment and misery to all eternity, gnashing their teeth, cursing God, and sending up groans and wailings, amid the shouts and horrid yells of devils and demons. But does the Bible leave us in all this uncertainty on so important a point as this? We think not. Thus we read in Prov. 11:31: "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner."
Universalists grasp at this text, and say to the orthodox, "If the wicked receive their punishment on the earth, they will certainly be on an equal footing with the righteous when they leave this earth." With the theory that the wicked receive no punishment on the earth, except what they receive in this life, I know not how this conclusion can be avoided; for there is no evidence that they ever receive any punishment anywhere else.

SEEN AND UNSEEN.

They gathered round the mountain's slope, The vast embattled host, In all the martial blazonry That Syria's king could boast! Warriors in bravery of mail, With sword and spear and shield, With chariot wheel and prancing steed, Careering o'er the field.
Oh, grandly on the bannered host Looked forth the rising sun! Oh, brightly through the crystal air Helmet and corselet shone! And all their spangled panoply Flung back the sunlight's gleam, As if the horses were of fire— The chariots of flame!
In all their pageantry and pride, In serried ranks they stood, Around the modest home where dwelt The humble man of God. What single heart will dare confront— What might of single hand Will hope to brave this bold array, Their bristling ranks withstand?
The servant of the man of God, When bursts upon his gaze The vision of the circling bands, Stands in bewildered maze; His blinded eye of sense can see Naught but the earthly host; "Alas!" in blank dismay he cries, "My Master! we are lost!"
No terror shook the Prophet's soul; Uplifted in that hour His spirit on its Helper leaned, And felt an unseen Power. Warriors of Heaven—a shining host Around his dwelling hem; "Fear not," he cries, "for those with us Are more than those with them."
And answering the Prophet's prayer, Upon his servant's eyes The vision of the angelic host Flashes with glad surprise! Ten thousand times ten thousand strong, Around, above, they stand, In serried rank a solid front, Band rising beyond band!
What wonder that the Prophet's soul The hosts of earth defied, When thronging spirits fill the skies, And Heaven stands by his side! What wonder that the Syrian bands Give way without a blow, Stunned by a stroke they knew not whence, Blinded they knew not how!
Oh, ye who stand for Truth and God, Trust not your mortal sight! Fear not the thronging multitudes, Fear not their marshalled might! One soul in panoply of Heaven Is stronger than their host! The cause which God befriends cannot Outnumbered be, or lost!
Celestial hosts muster their ranks, Waving on high their swords; Voices of God—voices of Heaven Speak through their burning words! Brighter than flaming chariot, Stronger than fiery horse, All Heaven is marshalled on your side— God and the Universe!—Advance.

THE GREAT CONTROVERSY

By Ellen G. White

BETWEEN CHRIST AND HIS ANGELS AND SATAN AND HIS ANGELS

CHAPTER TEN—CONTINUED.

ABRAHAM.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

ALL day he cherished the hope of meeting an angel coming to bless and comfort him, or perhaps to revoke the command of God, but no messenger of mercy appeared. Satan suggested that he must be deceived, for God had said, "Thou shalt not kill," and it was not like God to require what he had once forbidden. The second long day comes to a close, another sleepless night is spent in humiliation and prayer, and the journey of the third day is commenced. Abraham lifts his eyes to the mountains, and upon one he beholds the promised sign, a bright cloud hovering over the top of Mount Moriah. Now he knows it is all a terrible certainty, and no delusion.
He was yet a great distance from the mountain, but he bade his servants remain behind while he placed the wood upon the shoulders of his son, and himself took the knife and fire. Abraham braced himself for the sad work which he must perform. He did not murmur against God. Isaac had been given to him unexpectedly; he had received him with gratitude and great joy, and though he was the son of his old age, the son of his love, he yet believed that the same power that gave him Isaac, could raise him again even from the ashes of the burnt sacrifice. He strengthens his soul by the evidences he has had of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Had not He, who had graciously given Isaac to him, perfect right to recall the gift?
Isaac had been a comfort, a sunbeam, a blessing to Abraham in his old age, and although this gift of God seemed so precious, so dear to him, he was now commanded to return it to the Giver. The words of God's command showed that he fully realized the pain which Abraham must feel in obeying his requirement, "Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest." Abraham wanted no witnesses. It was enough that God could look on and, not only see the full consecration of his darling son Isaac, but read the heart and fully understand how severely he felt the test. He wished no one but God to witness this parting scene between father and son.
Abraham knew not how Isaac would receive the command of God. As they drew near the mountain, "Isaac spake to Abraham, his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" These endearing words, "My father," pierced the affectionte heart of Abraham, and again he thought, Oh, that I, in my old age, might die instead of Isaac! Still reluctant to open before his son the true purpose of his errand, Abraham answered, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering."
Isaac assisted his father in building the altar. Together they placed on the wood, and the last work preparatory to the sacrifice is done. With quivering lips and trembling voice, Abraham reveals to his son the message that God had sent him. In obedience to the divine command, he had taken the journey. Everything was ready. Isaac was the victim, the lamb to be slain. Had Isaac chosen to resist his father's command, he could have done so, for he was grown to manhood; but he had been so thoroughly instructed in the knowledge of God that he had perfect faith in his promises and requirements.
The patriarch assured Isaac that his affection for him was not diminished, and that he would gladly give his own life to save that of his son. But God had chosen Isaac, and his requirement must be fulfilled to the letter. Abraham told his son that the Lord had miraculously given him to his parents, and now he had required him again. He assured him that the divine promise, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called," would be fulfilled; that doubtless God would raise him to life again from the dead.
Isaac at first heard the purpose of God with amazement amounting to terror. But he considered the matter fully. He was the child of a miracle. If God had accepted him as a worthy sacrifice, he would cheerfully submit. Life was dear, life was precious, but God had appointed him, Isaac, to be offered up as a sacrifice. He comforted his father, by assuring him that God had conferred honor upon him, in accepting him as an offering; that in this requirement he saw not the wrath and displeasure of God, but special tokens that the Lord loved him, in that he required him to be consecrated to himself in sacrifice.
He encouraged the almost nerveless hands of his father to bind the cords which confined him to the altar. The last words of endearing love were spoken by father and son, the last affectionate, parental, and filial tears were shed, the last embrace was given, and the father had pressed his beloved son to his aged breast for the last time. His hand is uplifted, grasping firmly the instrument of death, when suddenly his arm is stayed. "And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of Heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place, Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of Heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son; that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."
As evidence of God's approval of the faith of Abraham, he gave him the name of "Father of the faithful." The example of Abraham is recorded in sacred history for the benefit of his believing children. This great act of faith teaches the lesson of implicit confidence in God, perfect obedience to his requirements, and a complete surrender to the divine will. In the example of Abraham we are taught that nothing we possess is too precious to give to God.
How many now who profess to Christians would follow the example of Abraham in yielding up to God his beloved Isaac? Yet our dearest treasure belongs to God. A solemn duty rests upon Christian parents to so educate and mould the minds of their children that they will ever have a high respect and exalted reverence for God and for everything sacred and holy. Such will feel that God's claims must first be regarded, that nothing is too precious to sacrifice for him. Such will, like Abraham, exemplify their faith by their works.
How many now who profess to believe God, and pass for Christians, refuse to obey his voice when he calls upon them to deny self, and yield to him their darling treasures. They will hesitate, and cling to earthly things. Their affections are upon the world and the things of the world; yet some of these very ones will have the most to say about how much they have sacrificed to obey the truth. Isaac felt that it was a privilege to yield his life as an offering to God. If the Lord could accept him, he felt that he was honored.
Human judgment may look upon the command given to Abraham as severe, too great for human strength to bear. Abraham's strength was from God. He looked not at the things which are seen with mortal vision, but at the things which are eternal. God required no more of Abraham than he had, in divine compassion and infinite love, given to man. He gave his only begotten Son to die, that that guilty man might live. Abraham's offering of Isaac was lively designed of God to prefigure the sacrifice of his Son.
Every step that Abraham advanced toward Mount Moriah, the Lord went with him. All the grief and agony that Abraham endured during the three days of his dark and fearful trial, were imposed upon him to give us a lesson in perfect faith and obedience, and that we might better comprehend how real was the self-denial and infinite sacrifice of the Father in giving his only Son to die a shameful death for the guilty race. No other trial, no other suffering or test, which could have been brought to bear upon Abraham, would have caused such mental anguish, such torture of soul, as that of obeying God in offering up his son.
Our Heavenly Father surrendered his beloved Son to the agonies of the crucifixion. Legions of angels witnessed the humiliation and soul-anguish of the Son of God, but were not permitted to interpose as in the case of Isaac. No voice was heard to stay the sacrifice. God's dear Son, the world's Redeemer, was insulted, mocked at, derided, and tortured, until he bowed his head in death. What greater proof can the Infinite One give us of his divine love and pity? "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
The meager conception that many have of the worth of the soul, and the sacrifice of God's dear Son for sinful, man, is shown by their works. Should God speak to them, as he did to Abraham, Sacrifice your possessions, the temporal benefits that I have lent you to advance my cause, they would look in astonishment, thinking God did not mean just what he said. Their riches are as dear to them as their children; their worldly treasure is their Isaac. To honor God with their substance, they think, is a requirement altogether too great, and they cannot believe that God means it. What have this class sacrificed for God?
Men will show all the faith they have. If God should speak to them and command them to offer one of their beloved children, they would think him a hard master. Yet he has done more than this for them. No such command will come to test and prove them. God knew to whom he spake, when he gave the command to faithful Abraham. The patriarch knew that it was God who had commanded, and that his promises were infallible. Had the Lord directed him to offer his gold, his silver, his flocks, or even his own life, he would have done so cheerfully. He would have felt that he was but yielding back to God that which belonged to him.
But there are many who know not what self-denial, or sacrifice, or devotion to God, is. They never can have extended and elevated views of the infinite sacrifice made by the Son of God to save a ruined world, until they surrender all to him. If he should speak to them in a command, as he did to Abraham, they would not be enough acquainted with his voice to understand that he did, really require something of them, to show their love, and the genuineness of their faith.
The claims of God upon our love, affection, and possessions, our talents, and ourselves, are correspondingly great as the infinite sacrifice made in giving his Son to die for sinful man. Those who really appreciate the work of the atonement, those who have a high sense of the sacrifice which Christ has made to exalt them to his throne, will count it a special honor to be partakers with him in his self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering, that they may be co-workers with him in saving souls.
There are many who profess the truth, who do not love God half so well as they love the world. God is testing and proving them. Their love of the world and of riches darkens their minds, perverts their judgment, and hardens their hearts. God has, to some of them at least, revealed his will, and called for a surrender of their Isaac to him. But they refuse to obey, and let golden opportunities pass. Precious time is bearing into eternity a record of duties unfulfilled, and of positive neglect.
Nothing we have is of true value until it is surrendered to God. The talent of means devoted to the cause and work of God, is of tenfold more value than if selfishly retained for the gratification of our own pleasure. The faith of the devoted martyrs was like that of Abraham, it was genuine. They valued the precious truth, and in their turn, although despised of men, hunted from place to place, persecuted, afflicted, and tormented, they were valued of God. There was no place for them upon the earth, but of them, says the apostle, the world was not worthy. Those who clung to the truth in face of prison, torture, and death, had faith that few living possess.
Many have chosen a life of ease. They have exalted their earthly interests above the spiritual and eternal. They neglect to learn the hard lesson of self-denial, and of surrendering all to God. They do not count anything interesting, save that which is learned without much effort, and without involving any sacrifice of temporal enjoyment; and it is forgotten as soon as learned, because it cost them nothing.
The deepest poverty, with God's blessing, is better than houses and lands, and any amount of earthly treasure, without it. God's blessing places value on everything we possess; but if we have the whole world without his blessing we are indeed as poor as the beggar, for we can take nothing with us into the next world.
Those who profess to be looking for the soon coming of our Saviour, should have Abrahamic faith; a faith that is valued because it has cost them something; a faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. The example of Abraham is left on record for us upon whom the ends of the world have come. We must believe that God is in earnest with us, and that he is not to be trifled with. He means what he says, and he requires of us implicit faith and willing obedience. Then will he let his light shine around about us, and we shall be all light in the Lord.

The Cross is the Measure of Human Sin.

By Stephen Higginson Tyng, Jr.

St. Bernard says, "From the consideration of the remedy learn, oh, my soul, the greatness of thy danger. Thou wast in error, and behold the Son of the Most High God is ordered to be slain, that thy wounds may be healed by the precious balsam of his blood. See, oh, man, how grievous were thy wounds, for which, in the order of divine wisdom, it was necessary that the Lamb Christ should be wounded. If they had not been unto death, and unto eternal death, never would the Son of God have died for them. The cross of Christ is not only an altar of sacrifice, but a pulpit of instruction. From that pulpit, lifted up on high, Jesus Christ preaches a lesson to the whole world."
The burden of its testimony is the evil of sin. From the manger of Bethlehem to the mount of ascension, this was the whole tone of his teaching. Stand during the hours of night beneath the old olive trees of Gethsemane, and watch the agony of him who bows in prayer that the cup may pass from him. Tell me, what mean those great drops of blood that fall from his writhing form to the sod? What means that bitter wail of supplication, as he pleads with God and fears before death? Why is it that the sinless Man has become so despised a sufferer, save as the burden and responsibility of sin rested upon him? By all the cries, by every groan, by each pang that pierced his heart, measure, oh, believer, the turpitude of that which could in no other way be banished from God's earth. —Dr. S. H. Tyng, Jr.

Giving to the Poor

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack.
Continue reading: S A B B A T O N : AN EXPOSITION OF MATT. 28: 1, AND PARALLEL PASSAGES. (Continued.)