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Review and Herald, Vol. 81, No. 1.

The Epistle of Jude

Review and Herald

Jan 7, 1904

Review and Herald Publishing Assn. · Washington, D. C. · Jan 7, 1904

The Epistle of Jude

By Jude

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: Mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied.
Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in privily, even they who were of old written of beforehand unto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Now I desire to put you in remembrance, though ye know all things once for all, that the Lord, having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not; And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities. But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these rail at whatsoever things they know not; and what they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed. Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah. These are they who are hidden rocks in your love-feasts when they feast with you, shepherds that without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved forever. And to these also Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against them. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their lusts (and their mouth speaketh great swelling words), showing respect of persons for the sake of advantage.
But ye, beloved, remember ye the words which have been spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; that they said to you, In the last time there shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts. These are they who make separations, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have mercy, who are in doubt; and some save, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and forevermore. Amen.—American Standard Revised Version.

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Conducted by the Department of Circulation of the Review and Herald Publishing Company

First Quarter Sabbath-School Lessons for 1904

THE Sabbath-school lessons for the first quarter, January, February, and March, 1904, are a series of thirteen lessons upon the prophecies of Daniel, treated under the following divisions:—
The Prophecy Illustrated by Nebuchadnezzar's Dream; The History of Nations Foretold; The Papacy and Its Work; The Vision of Daniel 8; The 2300 Days; The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing—in Type; The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing—in Antitype; The Judgment; The Eastern Question; The Standing up of Michael; The Battle of Armageddon.
The Quarterlies are now ready. Regular retail price, 5 cents a copy.

Lesson Helps

IN the study of the prophecies of Daniel, outlined in the Sabbath-school lessons for January, February, and March, the following list of books will be suggestive to those who desire to make a thorough study of the subjects treated in the lessons:—
“Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation,” “Empires of the Bible,” “Great Empires of Prophecy,” “Ecclesiastical Empire,” “Looking unto Jesus,” “Great Controversy,” “Patriarchs and Prophets,” and “The Eastern Question.”

Daniel and the Revelation

THIS old, standard work is a verse-by-verse commentary upon the prophecies recorded in the books of Daniel and Revelation, and its teachings have been tested and found sound and reliable.
As the prophecies are fulfilled, the more important it is that they are studied and understood; and “Daniel and the Revelation” is the standard in prophetic studies.
It is published in the English, German, Swedish, Danish, and Holland languages, and is bound in—
Paper covers (English), without illustrations, two volumes, each, $2.25.
Plain cloth binding, thin edition, without illustrations, $1.
Cloth, marbled edges, regular edition, illustrated, $2.25.
Cloth, gilt edges, regular edition, $2.75.
Library, regular edition, $3.
Morocco, regular edition, $4.50.

Empires of the Bible

A CONCISE and reliable history of the empires of the Bible, from the time of the flood to the Babylonian captivity.
In recent years there have been discovered many valuable historical records made by the people living in the time of these empires. These are connected with the Bible history of these empires, and together with the twenty-one special maps revealing their course, render this book invaluable to every student of prophecy.
Bound in plain cloth, $1.50.

The Great Empires of Prophecy

“THE Great Empires of Prophecy” embraces the history that was foretold in the prophecy of the great empires in the book of Daniel—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, and the ten divisions of the Roman empire.
More than eighty standard historians and authorities on the history of the respective empires of the prophecy speak in the book in their own language, so that it is fairly a cyclopedia of history in the fulfilments of the prophecies of the book of Daniel.
It contains 712 large pages, 22 full-page maps made especially for the book by the author. Bound in plain cloth; price, $2.

Ecclesiastical Empire

A VOLUME containing an account of all the principal events that have affected the civil government, and tended to the establishment of ecclesiastical authority, from the time of the fall of Rome to the publishing of this book in 1901. It contains a good history of the Reformation; a compendium of the principles of true Christianity; the reason of our national apostasy; and a full treatise upon the union of church and state.
It is a large work, containing 874 pages, bound in plain cloth; price, $2.50.

Looking Unto Jesus

BY URIAH SMITH
THIS book was acknowledged by the author himself to be his best work, and the one into which, he often said, he put the best part of his life.
It is an entirely new, original, and exhaustive concordance of the sanctuary question, showing the present work of Christ and its meaning to those who are now living—Christ in type and antitype, as revealed in prophecy from the beginning.
Neatly and substantially bound in cloth. It contains 300 pages, nicely illustrated. Price, $1, postpaid.

Great Controversy

THIS wonderful book presents the most interesting history that has ever been written of the great conflict between Christianity and the powers of darkness, as illustrated in the lives of Christian martyrs and reformers on the one hand, and wicked men and persecuting powers on the other. Beginning with our Lord's great prophecy while viewing Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, this book outlines the whole history of this dispensation, down to the time when sin and sinners are no more.
It contains 700 pages, beautifully and substantially bound in the popular styles, ranging in price from $2.25 to $4.50.
Published in English, German, Danish, Swedish, and French.

Patriarchs and Prophets

AN excellent, important commentary on the principal Bible subjects from Adam to the death of David, tracing the great conflict between good and evil, from its inception down through the centuries, and revealing God's wonderful love for mankind through his dealings with the holy men of old. It is one of the most practical books published, and is almost indispensable in connection with the study of the prophecies. It contains 760 large pages, and is bound in the popular styles, ranging from $2.25 to $4.50 a copy.
Published in the English, German, Danish, Swedish, and Holland.

The Eastern Question

WHAT is the Eastern question? When will the so-called “sick man” come to his end? What nations are vitally concerned? What is sure to be the outcome of this struggle?
This book answers these and countless other questions bearing upon the Eastern question, with an accuracy and foresight born only of a careful study of history and the prophetic books of the Bible which deal directly with the great issue.
This book contains 276 pages, bound in buckram cloth; price, $1.

“At the Door”

THE new art booklet on prophecy fulfilled. A brief, artistic, forcible, five-minute outline history of the world, foretold by Christ, illustrated by fifty engravings selected and arranged with historical marginal notes and comments by F. E. Belden, showing the fulfilment of every prophecy in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, except the final act.
Christ's own words are in large type above and below the engravings. He foretells; the pictures answer, Fulfilled, from his time to ours; from Vesuvius and Pompeii, A. D. 79, to Mt. Pelee and Saint Pierre of to-day; from the destruction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70, to the latest political, social, and religious disturbances.
The new “Diagram of the Dark Ages, and the Dark Day” is the best summary of the subject ever presented. The booklet is printed in colors, and sells at sight.
The busiest man stops to look. It smiles, leads, teaches, convicts. It “casts up the highway,” and truth rides into the soul. “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” Beauty secures attention; brevity encourages it; arrangement controls it; directness adds power to the truth.
The letter of Oct. 8, 1903, to the author, from the celebrated astronomer, Prof. A. C. Young, of Princeton, N. J., will interest you on the subject of meteoric showers. New truth here.
The opinions of General Nelson A. Miles, Bishop Newman, Dr. Lyman Abbott, the New York Christian Advocate, Archdeacon Farrar, Dr. Eyton, Cardinal Gibbons, etc., may surprise you.
The great Bible expositor, Uriah Smith, and other good judges, have declared this to be the briefest, most artistic, and forcible treatise ever published on this subject. It introduces the great themes of truth for to-day.
Price, 15 cents; 25 cents in heavy covers, enameled paper, silk cord. In lots of ten, 40 per cent discount, or 9 and 15 cents, respectively. A valuable present. Better still, sell it. Poor plan to give away. Attractive truth sells. Try it quick. Order of the State Tract Societies.
Order of State Tract Societies; Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich.; Review and Herald, Washington, D. C.; Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.; Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Assn., Nashville, Tenn.

How to Open the Way

By Editor

Editorial

How to Open the Way

THERE were some statements in Sister White’s article two weeks ago which ought to be repeated and emphasized. They suggest the solution of the problem which we are constantly facing, and make that solution a very practical one. Note the plain instruction: “God calls upon his people to awake to their responsibilities. A flood of light is shining from his Word, and there must be a meeting of neglected obligations. When these are met, by giving to the Lord his own in tithes and offerings, the way will be opened for the world to hear the message that the Lord designs it to hear. If our people had the love of God in their heart, if every church-member were imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice, there would be no lack of funds for home and foreign missions; our resources would be multiplied; a thousand doors of usefulness would be opened; and we should be invited to enter.” What will open the way for the world to hear the message?—Giving to the Lord his own in tithes and offerings. What will multiply our resources and supply the funds needed for the mission work?—The spirit of self-sacrifice in the heart of every church-member. Covetousness is idolatry. A covetous man is an idolater. An idolater is not a worshiper of the true God, and he can not be an ambassador for the true God. Idolaters in the church weaken the hands and hinder the work of the consecrated servants of the Lord. That spirit of covetousness which withholds from the Lord his own portion—the tithes and the offerings—is an offense unto God, and he who is ruled by it is thereby debarred from being the channel to the world of that gospel whose very essence is the unspeakable gift. Do we really desire the world to hear the message? Do we really desire to be invited to enter a thousand doors of usefulness? Let our answer be not in word only, but in the action which will bring the things desired.

Fulfilling Prophecy

THERE is something inspiring in the very thought that we are working in harmony with the purpose of God for this time, and that we have a part in the fulfilment of the prophecies written centuries ago. In the nature of the case it must be true that the last generation is a time of intense interest to all the heavenly beings who have a part to act in this great controversy, and it is indeed an exalted privilege to be associated with them in the final proclamation of the everlasting gospel. The words of the prophets which describe so fully the condition of the world in the last days, and which point out so clearly the work to be done in order to meet the mind of God for this time, should be earnestly studied. Of every feature of this advent movement it can be said, “As it is written in the prophets,” and the inspiration for every plan and policy for the giving of this message may be found in the thought, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets.” Truly we are “the children of the prophets.” What an incentive to loyalty and faithfulness to the God of the prophets!

The Truth in Jesus

AFTER referring to the daily walk of the Gentiles, whom he describes as “being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them,” the apostle Paul writes thus of all true believers: “But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.” He then defines the experience of being taught and knowing the truth as it is in Jesus: “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” In Jesus the truth found expression in the flesh. He was not a teacher of the philosophy of abstract truth, but he wrought the truth for us in his experience in sinful flesh in order that through our faith in him we might know the truth in Jesus in the experience of a changed life, the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new. He who has a mere head knowledge of the truth, who gives an intellectual assent to the statement of the truth, does not know the truth as it is in Jesus. A knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus involves a revelation of the truth in our flesh, the experience of having the truth as our life. This is the Christian life. It was to this experience that the psalmist David referred when, after failing to reveal in his life the truth which he acknowledged with his intellect, he said in his prayer of repentance, “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” The law of truth was in the heart of Jesus, and was by him translated into human conduct. Acting as our High Priest, and ministering to us his own life, he puts this same law into our hearts as the life of our life in the flesh, and thus we realize the experience of being taught the truth as it is in Jesus. This is the saving knowledge of the truth which transforms commandment-breakers into commandment-keepers. Blessed Jesus! Blessed truth in Jesus!

A Firm Foundation

THE blight of a deep-seated skepticism is being revealed on all sides. After more than half a century of sowing, the reaping time for this generation has come. Since this advent message began to call men to a practical faith in the Word of God, a faith which is revealed by obedience to the commandments of God, there has been an effort to escape this obligation, especially the plain requirement to observe the seventh-day Sabbath, and this has led to such a system of interpreting the Scripture as has prepared the way for a perfect flood of doubt and infidelity. Men’s opinions and men’s theories have been substituted for the plain teaching of the Word, unt’lthe sense of the sacredness of that Word has been largely lost. Added to this has been the acceptance of those claims of science falsely so called which have openly contradicted the testimony of the Bible, and this has fostered a feeling of uncertainty concerning all divine revelation. The natural and inevitable result of all this playing fast and loose with eternal truth is now appearing. In such a time as this a simple faith in God’s Word is to be highly prized and carefully cherished. Such a faith gives one solid ground upon which to stand, and a firm foundation upon which to build. The storm which is now rising, and which will soon break upon the world, will sweep away every house which is built upon the shifting sands of human theories and human interpretation, and will test the character of the rock foundation. Happy are those who build for eternity on the firm foundation. Happy are those whose minds are not confused by the lordly assumptions of a boastful but shallow infidelity. Happy are those who maintain a steadfast faith in the old-fashioned truths which have been the stay of many a soul in times of trouble. Such are they who will “build the old waste places,” and “raise up the foundations of many generations.”
“How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word! What more can he say than to you he hath said, Who unto the Saviour for refuge hath fled?”

Old Things in New Forms

THAT which is called “The New Experience,” or “The New Theology,” or “The New Thought,” has largely taken the place of the old religious faith in the minds of the great majority of the preachers in the churches and the professors in the theological seminaries of to-day. One after another of the leading denominations has seemed first to oppose, then to compromise with, and finally to indorse this system of philosophy, until there is left only a small minority who stand upon the original platform of Christian truth, and contend for “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” We have no reason to expect that this denomination will be exempt from this widespread influence, or that no effort will be made to involve this advent movement in the general shipwreck of religious faith. To assume this, would be to prepare the way for the evil thing to come in unchallenged, and to give it the fullest opportunity to do its destructive work. Those who know and love the truth, and especially those who have accepted the responsibility of acting as shepherds of the flock, ought not therefore to be ignorant of the devices of the enemy, but should be ready to sound the alarm at the first approach of danger.
In view of the general situation, both within and without the denomination, it is most significant and almost startling to read the public statement of Mr. Henry Wood, “one of the veterans of the movement,” in his presentation of “the fundamental teachings of the New Thought,” that if one desires to discover the secret of the influence of this philosophy, “the greatest step in that direction is a better concept of God. It must be larger and truer than that which prevails.” In this statement we may find the explanation, if any explanation is needed, of the present discussion of the being and nature of God, a discussion which at best stimulates doubt concerning the personality of God, and whose whole tendency is to fill the mind with vague ideas concerning God as merely Infinite Power, or Infinite Mind, or the All Energy. While claiming to be a new revelation of the greatness and the nearness of God, it in reality belittles God in his true character, and puts him far away. That concept of God which makes him too large to sit upon his throne in heaven as a personal being, and diffuses him throughout the universe, really reduces him to nothingness, and puts him outside the universe. When this “greatest step” has been taken, the way is prepared to reverse the whole order of faith, and to exalt self to the place which belongs to God by substituting a so-called “spiritual consciousness” for the revelation of divine truth, and by looking to self-effort in the way of evolution rather than to faith in the direct working of another actual being in a new creation.
And it is characteristic of this new philosophy that it does not come out into the open ground, define itself clearly as antagonistic to genuine Christianity, and then by a fair measuring of forces stand or fall on its own platform. This veteran exponent of the new system thus expresses the general plan of the campaign:—
With rare exceptions, the new movement has not included the formation of churches; and in the few cases where it has done so, its spirit is entirely cordial. As it does not emphasize the machinery of external organization, it would not be inappropriate to call it The Church of the Human Soul. Its form of service is a soulful aspiration, its sanctuary the spiritual consciousness, its temple the unseen, its social companions ideals, and its communion living contact with the Universal Spirit.
Thus this new philosophy keeps well under cover, even refuses pointblank to separate itself from the church which it has set itself to transform, poses as a meek martyr in heresy trials, and hiding under many forms, eludes the most determined efforts to set it in the public pillory. Even when it pretends to define itself, it uses those newly invented phrases which seem like music to the ear, but convey no definite ideas to the mind. In the soft clothing of beautiful, smooth-flowing expressions it hides its satanic sophistries, its perversions of the truth, until by almost imperceptible degrees it has changed a comforting and saving faith in a personal Saviour who died for our sins into a confirmed skepticism and the bondage of despair. Realities become delusions, and delusions become realities. It is the snare of the last days.
But after all, “The New Experience” is the old experience, “The New Theology” is the old theology, and “The New Thought” is the old thought. These deceptions are at least as old as ancient Babylon, where they were to be found in their undisguised form. For many centuries they have prevailed in the far East, and now, refined and adapted to Western modes of thought, they have captured the vocabulary of Christianity, which in the decline of personal piety has become a mere vocabulary to many, and appear in nominally Christian churches as the latest interpretation of gospel truth. And “the greatest step” toward this complete transformation is to have a larger conception of God. We earnestly hope, however, that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses and Joshua, the God of David and Isaiah, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” will be the God of this people who have been called out to be the channel of a message to the world which ought to deliver both those who give it and those who hear it from all these ancient errors,—a message which says, “Worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” This is “the new experience” which the world needs to-day.

The Law of Life

By L. A. S.

THE law of Christian life is, Give, not Get. God's life is a continual giving. Christ, the Christian's great example, “gave himself.” He came to this world to get nothing for himself; to give everything. He gave himself; the same law requires that we give ourselves. His giving, far more than anything that is possible to us, sets the seal of approval to this law.
Human nature, perverted by sin, has reversed this divine rule, and made men believe that the essential thing is to get, that it is getting that brings life, and maintains it, while giving is only loss. It has made men believe that the object of existence is to get all they can, and that it matters not materially if they give nothing; that giving is incidental, not a necessity, but a matter of one's convenience; that getting is the business of life, and giving only a side issue, to be governed by chance or inclination.And because of this perverted conception, selfishness fills the world, and there is suffering and want everywhere which would be relieved in a single day if the divine rule of life were carried into effect.
There can be no more mistaken idea than that giving is, as concerns the giver, a matter of minor consequence,— a matter of choice, and not of obligation. The destiny of no person is safe who does not realize that giving, continual giving, is a necessity, not to the recipient of the gift, but to the giver; that giving is the very law of life, and that he who does not give is cutting himself off from life itself. It may seem to an individual that he is gaining by making it the business of his life to get, but such an one is walking in the sparks of his own kindling, and in the end will find that all that seemed to him to be gain, turns out to be loss. And that loss will be eternal. He who spends his life in getting all that he can get here, is accumulating to himself an eternal deficit.
The law of life is seen in the things of nature, for there is spiritual law in the natural world. The swiftly flowing brook illustrates the law of giving. What it receives, it gives, and is fresh and pure and beautiful and a joy to everything. The stagnant, slimy pool of bitter, noxious water shows the result of getting without giving. It has an inlet, but no outlet. It is of no use, and the only thing to be done is to drain off its impure water and get rid of it. There are many persons who want all the blessings of heaven to flow into their lives, but have no care that they shall flow out to others. They do not realize that an outlet for the gifts of God is just as essential as an inlet. Their lives are not made sweet and pure, but the contrary, by their experience.
The work of God calls for gifts; not exclusively of money, though much money is needed. What view shall we then take of the calls that come to us so repeatedly? Shall we become weary of well doing, and feel that we shall be better off if in some way we can avoid further giving? If so, it will be because we fail to realize that our giving is a necessity, not to the cause, but to our own selves; for such is the truth, and the fact is not changed by our failure to realize it. We must give, and keep on giving, for our own souls’ sake as well as for the sake of the heathen. Give, and live. Give, and grow. Give, and receive of heaven. When we stop giving, we shut ourselves off from the blessings we most need to receive, and disconnect ourselves from the life of God. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” So long as we give, so long shall we freely receive of Heaven to give. Give, give, not get, is the law of life.
L. A. S.

From Just Over the Border

By William A. Spicer

There has not as yet been time to hear from the over-sea mission fields since the week of prayer. We know, however, that believers abroad have been praying for special blessings upon the churches in this land, and will rejoice to hear of the blessings experienced. We never before received correspondence that seemed so full of the joyousness of giving for missions as that which is coming in. We have a few messages from regions just beyond our own border, and feel sure that our readers will be interested in several extracts from these.
A sister writes from New Brunswick:—
I feel I must write a few lines to cheer your hearts by letting you know that, although I am only a lone Sabbath-keeper, and a poor woman, yet God has graciously visited me during this week of prayer. My heart has sometimes been so filled that I have had to leave my work and go away to Jesus alone. I see as never before a meaning in the text, “Having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Just at present I can not send an offering, but have laid several matters before God and my loving Saviour, and expect they will open up a way for me to send to the fund several dollars soon. When my husband, not yet a Christian, came home at the end of the week’s work, I told him what God had done for me. He immediately said, “When we sell the colt, you may have twenty dollars for the work.” I am asking Jesus to send a purchaser. He knows all about the work, and he knows how I wish it were hundreds, and he can add his multiplying grace to it, which will be best of all. Forgive me for taking your time, but I wanted you to know more was coming. My mother is also planning to send an offering soon.
It is a simple letter, such as many a soul might write, longing for ability to do more for the cause of God. But such a message does cheer the hearts of our workers in the mission fields. Not all the statistics of this denomination’s wealth, showing what might be possible in mission finance, could give the confidence and courage to our workers that comes with the knowledge that in all lands there are loving souls, who, out of limited resources, are planning and praying and seeking God for ways to help in sounding this message to the ends of the earth. The Spirit is laying the burden of prayer for a finished work upon hearts. It is the burden of the last harvest hour, and the time has come to plan for finishing the work of witnessing.
Before we had time to reply to this letter, there came another, bringing to the mission treasury a hundred-dollar gift from the mother, representing much sacrifice, five dollars from the sister who had written, and one from a business man who incidentally learned that a Christmas gift was being made to the cause of missions.
Bermuda lies about three days’ sail off our Atlantic coast. Writing the second day of the prayer season, Sister J. A. Morrow says:—
Last evening a sister sixty-seven years of age, who was baptized last month, came home with us from meeting. Before retiring she handed me an envelope, saying, “Here is my annual offering.” I asked her how much it contained, expecting, of course, it was only a few shillings. She answered, “Five pounds” [$25]. Noticing the surprised expression on my countenance, she said, “Sister Morrow, it is not mine; it is the Lord’s.” Twice during the month she had given small offerings, five and six shillings, to the mission. She is a poor woman, and makes a living by selling fruit. Each month she sells fifty copies of the Caribbean Watchman. We thank God for this soul, and believe she is one of the Lord’s jewels. We are planning to enter every home in this island with the message, and confidently expect to see the Lord raise up a good, strong company that will be ready to meet Jesus when he comes.
One other word, from Mexico, where the year has brought most cheering progress. New courage fills the hearts of workers there, and we see evidence of a stirring of a new life in that Catholic field. Elder G. M. Brown writes that he spent the first part of the week of prayer in Guadalajara, with the medical mission workers. He writes:—
We had a good time, I assure you. Wednesday eve, which was the last meeting I attended there, we had a consecration service, and every person present took part. We had a good meeting here in Mexico City also. Our offering was about sixty-eight dollars, Mexican, I think.
It is only a word from the threshold of the regions beyond. But it is a message of good cheer and courage, which we are sure to hear echoed from all the wide world round. It is a grand time in which to be alive, with heart and soul in God’s work. W. A. S.

The Coming of the Seed

The Promises to David

It is only necessary to read the promises to David to see that they deal with the coming of the Messiah, the promised Seed. “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy throne to all generations.” “I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: . . . his seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.” “One thing have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David: his seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me.” Ps. 89:4, 5, 20, 29, 35, 36.
David’s purpose to build a house for the Lord opened the way for the making of these promises. After he had made known his desire to the prophet Nathan, the Lord sent the following messageto him: “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be prince over my people, over Israel; and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee; and I will make thee a great name, like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as at the first, and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I will cause thee to rest from all thine enemies. Moreover Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house. When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. . . . And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.” 2 Sam. 7:8-16.
David’s response to this message from the Lord is the clearest commentary upon its true meaning. “And now, O Jehovah God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, confirm thou it forever, and do as thou hast spoken. And let thy name be magnified forever, saying, Jehovah of hosts is God over Israel; and the house of thy servant David shall be established before thee. For thou, O Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now, O Lord Jehovah, thou art God, and thy words are truth, and thou hast promised this good thing unto thy servant: now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee; for thou, O Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever.” 2 Sam. 7:25-29.
It is perfectly clear that the blessing which was to come upon the house of David so that it should continue forever was the blessing of salvation from sin and death through the gift of the eternal Son, “who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.” This was the Seed which would endure forever, and through whom the house of David would continue forever. Only by the coming of this Seed could the promises to David be fulfilled, and to the coming of this Seed they definitely pointed. He was the King by whose reign of righteousness the throne of David would be established forever.
All this is emphasized repeatedly in what is said of Jesus of Nazareth, the promised Messiah, the Seed who according to the original promise would bruise the serpent’s head. Note what was said to Mary concerning the birth of Jesus: “Thou shalt . . . bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” So well were these promises to David understood by the people at the time of the first advent, that they commonly referred to Jesus as “the son of David.” Thus the blind men said, “Have mercy on us, thou son of David.” The Canaanitish woman cried, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David.” At the time of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem the multitude raised their voices in a great chorus, saying, “Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Even the Pharisees understood that this promised son of David was the Messiah, and so when “Jesus asked them a question saying, What think ye of the Christ [the anointed one, the Messiah]? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.” And when Jesus had given that gracious invitation to the multitude “on the last day, the great day of the feast,” such a conviction of his Messiahship rested upon his hearers that “some of the multitude therefore, when they heard these words, said, This is of a truth the prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, What, doth the Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said that the Christ cometh of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” The apostle Paul bore witness to the same truth when he declared to the people assembled in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia that in David the Lord found a man after his own heart, and that “of this man’s seed hath God according to promise brought unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.” And in holy vision that same Saviour said unto John, and through him unto us, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star.”
But only in the second coming of Jesus and the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of peace and righteousness in the earth will the fulness of the promises to David be realized. And the promises to David involve the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting just as surely as did the promises to Abraham. In the same way, we who are Christ’s are heirs to David’s throne, just as we are heirs to the new earth by virtue of the promises to Abraham. Thus we, with the faithful of all ages, must wait for the coming of the Seed to whom the promise was made that in him and through him we may enjoy all that was promised. When the Seed shall come as the Lord of glory, we shall be glorified with him.
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