Signs of the Times, Vol. 21, No. 40. (10/10/1895)

Signs of the Times

Oct 10, 1895

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 10, 1895

Common Things: Recognizing God in Daily Gifts

“Common Things.”—How many go on day after day and year after year receiving the light of the sun, breathing the air of heaven, and never think of recognizing God in them. These things are regarded as only “natural;” the sun shines because it is natural for it to do so; the air is here as a regular thing; the grain and the fruits grow because that is their nature; and these all are but common things.

Common to Heaven.—“Common things!” If it were possible for one who goes on day after day receiving these things from God without recognizing them continually and praising God for them,—if it were possible for such an one to get to heaven, he would think it a common thing to see the glory of God day by day, and would regard the water of life as a common thing. If a man sees the glory of God in his works here, and takes it as a common thing, he would regard the glory seen in the works of God in heaven just the same; for it is the same glory and the same power, only there it will be revealed in fuller measure than the eye of mortal man can endure.

Common Paganism.—A man may profess to be a Christian, may belong to the church, and may use the name of God in his prayers every day,—taking his name in vain,—but if he does not recognize God as a present, living Saviour, who in the gifts of food and drink, and air and sunshine, and everything, is simply giving us his own life and salvation, that man is simply in paganism. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, “for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Rom. 1: 16, 17. And the power of God is seen in the things that he has made, in the sunlight, air, food, and drink, and all things. The righteousness of God is revealed in them. It was the failure to recognize the power and righteousness of God in the things that are created, that made men base heathen. See Rom. 1: 18–28.

Breathing in the Gospel.—“The just shall live by faith.” But men live by breathing, whether just or unjust. When God made man, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. The ungodly man has all his life been using that breath—not recognizing God in it—to speak his own words, and even to blaspheme. He has been making the Lord to serve with his sins (Isa. 43: 24), by perverting the breath of the life of God. But when that unjust man takes the breath by which he lives as being indeed the very breath of the life of God, and lives in the recognition of it, then he is living by faith. And faith justifies. “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Such a recognition of the life of God implies a constant yielding to God to direct the life to his own glory. God has multiplied the means of grace, so that in all the things that he has made men may see him, and believe on him unto salvation. E. J. W.

The War Spirit.—Even a careless reader must be struck by the attention and space given to articles on war, war preparations, war vessels of various kinds, various kinds of shooting machines, from the mere pistol to the heaviest ordnance, armor plate, coast defenses, naval stations, standing armies, and the training of the youth, and even the boys of the land, in militia companies, in public and private schools, by various societies, and even by church organizations. Brain and time and money are expended liberally in the invention and improving of implements of war by nations that for many years have known only peace. Some of these very nations have thrown away what was once considered the perfection of rifles, and have wholly equipped large armies with later and more perfect death-dealing instruments. No invention is worth more than one which will do effective service in slaughtering men, bombarding cities, sinking ships, unless it be some discovery which will withstand all these destructive engines.

“Prepare War.”—Reader, did you ever stop to think that all this talk and preparation for war, this war spirit, was a matter of prophecy in God’s holy word? Well, it is, and it is pointed out by the prophets as one of the characteristic signs of these last days. If you will turn to the prophet Joel, you will find the prediction plainly set forth. In the second chapter is God’s warning to the inhabitants of the world that the day of the Lord is coming. Verses 28 to 32 refer to the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days and some of the special signs which would precede the coming of the day of the Lord. The third chapter continues the theme, speaks of that time when the voice of God shall shake the heaven and the earth (verses 14–16), and declares that this is “the harvest” (verse 13), which is “the end of the world” (Matt. 13: 39). But just before the harvest is reaped by the coming of Christ (Rev. 14: 14, 15), the prophet declares what the condition of the earth will be:—

“Proclaim ye this among the gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” Verses 9–12.

The culmination of all this will be the great battle of the day of the Lord, foretold in Jer. 25: 15–33; Rev. 16: 13, 14. Then will be seen the ingathering of the fruits of the carnal heart which have refused the reconciliation purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Cry of the False Prophet.—And yet, in the face of all the war preparations, in the face of the testimony of Holy Writ, there are many people telling us that unity and peace are just before us, that war will soon be no more, that the glad jubilee of earth will soon be celebrated. Glad would we be were this true. It is all in the Gospel of peace and good will, but men will not have it so, and the preparations for war demonstrate the truth of God’s prophecy before quoted. Furthermore, God has in his word expressly twice told us that this false cry of peace and safety would go forth to the world while the great battle of Armageddon was impending. Instead of using the glory of the Gospel of Christ, which by its own intrinsic merit it has won among the religions of earth, to exalt him and save souls, men use it to exalt themselves and build up their own schemes of human ambition and tradition. Of the

glory of the religion of Christ, the prophet says:—

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” Isa. 2: 2.

Because of its effect on the nations, a greater part of which is superficial (not, however, on account of the Gospel), many, taking the wish for a fact, contrary to Scripture, are led to believe in the conversion of the world. Thus the prophet predicts their work:—

“And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Verses 3–5.

Note that it is not the Lord which predicts this period of peace. The Lord says that “many people” shall say all this, and call to the world to enjoy the jubilant time predicted, thereby deceiving them. Because of this false cry by the professed people of God, the prophet declares:—

“Therefore Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east [“more than the east,” margin], and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.” Verse 6.

See following verses and also Micah 4. What then shall we conclude?—That the preparations for war which we see on every side are just what God declared would come; that we may look for no better state of things in this present age; that the peace and safety cry is a false cry, that tends only to deceive the uninstructed, and that the only peace to be found in this world of unrest is in Jesus Christ. When he shall come, and the earth shall be cleansed from sin, the eternal reign of peace will begin, but not before. May you, reader, “be not deceived;” may you have the peace of Christ now, and a home in his eternal kingdom of peace hereafter.

RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LIFE.

Man’s normal, or healthful, life is that of righteousness. God created man to do his will, and so glorify his name; for he created all things for his own pleasure (Rev. 4:11), and it is not God’s pleasure that man should sin and die (Eze. 33:11). If man from the beginning had obeyed God, he would have lived forever; for it was only in disobedience that death came. Gen. 2:17.

The perfect rule of man’s life was God’s holy law. “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.” Eccl. 12:13. The healthful, normal life, therefore, was that which was manifest in the observance of God’s commandments. This is also expressed in Rom. 10:5, and other scriptures, “That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.”

This law, which expressed the whole of man’s duty, is the reflect of God’s character or the expression of his righteousness. Two or three passages will make this plain. Says the psalmist: “All thy [God’s] commandments are righteousness.” Ps. 119:172. The Lord, through the prophet Isaiah (51:6), says, “My salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished;” and what this righteousness is he reveals in the next verse: “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.”

On the other hand, it is declared that “all unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17), and “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), the Decalogue, the law which says, “Thou shalt not covet” (Rom. 7:7). As, therefore, all unrighteousness is sin, and sin is the transgression of the law, it follows that the law comprehends all righteousness and prohibits and condemns all sin. And this the apostle declares when he says: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Rom. 3:20. As the law condemns all flesh (see also Rom. 3:9, 10, 19, 23), it therefore follows (1) that it prohibits all the sins that all have committed; and (2)

that none are living in harmony with the normal, or healthful, law of their being. And as in the way of righteousness alone is life (Prov. 10:16, 17; 12:28), so in the ways of sin, or unrighteousness, must be the opposite of life, or death. If man could start in life a perfect physical being, live according to a perfect law, with perfect surroundings, he would live on indefinitely; but the moment he transgressed the law of his physical being, he would become diseased, and the legitimate end of disease is death.

It was just so with Adam. He transgressed or perverted the higher law of his being, that which included in it all lower laws. He sinned against God. The perfect rule of his life was broken, and spiritual disease took its place, the inevitable and logical result of which is death. And so the Scripture declares: “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18:4. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:15. This is the inevitable law, or tendency, of sin. Its beginnings may seem to the uninstructed and careless like righteousness, but they are simply death in embryo. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

But this sinful, diseased condition is the inheritance of all men. What Isaiah says of Israel may be said of all: “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.” Isa. 1:5, 6. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23. All, therefore, in sin have death; all, in their natural state, are tending to death.

How can man be saved from this inevitable death? How may he become a living creature instead of a dying creature? He can not accomplish this of himself, for he is a sinner, sick, and doomed to death. All that he could do were he to render perfect obedience to the law, would be present duty. His whole past remains uncanceled; and, further, the normal law of his being has been transgressed; he is below his primal level, and his perverted faculties and powers can not fulfill the law, any more than his conscience, benumbed by sin, can appreciate its holiness. He has but one hope, and that is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Repentance toward God, or, in other words, renunciation of all sin, complete submission to God’s will, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, reconciles us to God and gives us peace. Acts 20:21; Rom. 5:1. God no longer counts us as enemies, but as friends. He not only takes away the sins of the past, but he takes away also that from which the sins sprang, which caused the enmity, the carnal mind, and the unregenerate heart. Eze. 36:26; Rom. 8:4–9. We are no longer at enmity with the law of God; we love it. We are no longer condemned, but justified. But how is this done?—That we do not know; it is one of the mysteries of the power of God. We do know, however, by what means. Faith in the promise of God clothes us with the righteousness of Christ, without works on our part; for of ourselves we could do no works acceptable to God. Springing from a sinful heart, the works would be sinful. The infinite fullness of Christ supplements man’s infinite need. “But now the righteousness of God without [the deeds of] the law is manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God [and all believing], being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 3:21–24.

The believer is no longer a sinner in God’s sight; the eye of Infinite Perception sees upon him only his own perfect righteousness. He looks not upon a heart which hates his holy law, but a heart which loves it, even as did his Lord, in whose heart was God’s law. Ps. 40:7, 8. For notice that the righteousness with which God invests the believing sinner is the righteousness which the law approves or witnesses to. It is the righteousness of God, found abstractly in his holy law, and concretely in our Lord Jesus Christ. The law is the rule, and Christ is the example, of God’s infinite righteousness. And the law of life in Christ Jesus makes the sinner free from the law of sin and death. See Rom. 8:1–3. Will he then keep God’s law?—He can not do otherwise. The transgression of any precept of that law would cause him intense pain and sorrow of heart. The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom. 8:4.

But what does this righteousness bring him?—Life; for “by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Rom. 5:18. This is the purpose and power of God’s free grace, “that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Verse 21. Having righteousness, therefore, man has life. That righteousness is wrought in him through the power of the word and the Spirit of God. 1 Peter 1:23; John 3:5; Rom. 8:11. And that “Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Rom. 8:10. It was for the reason that Christ was righteous that death could not hold him in bondage. Acts 2:24.

God’s infinite righteousness is a manifestation of his infinite power. This infinite power, manifest through his Spirit, works in us the same righteousness through faith. This righteousness being ours, eternal life is ours. “The Spirit is life [in us] because of righteousness.” “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:12. See John 3:36, and many other texts. This life is the life of the indwelling Spirit of God. Man may die, but his Lord has passed the portals before him. As death could not hold the all-righteous One, so it can not hold him on whom Christ’s all-righteousness rests. His righteous character before the throne of God is a check for eternal life at the resurrection, signed and sealed with the blood of the everlasting covenant.

For what should we seek—the righteousness or the life?—The righteousness. Having this, we have all. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.”

TEACHING CHILDREN RELIGION.

In these days, when the matter of religious teaching in schools is the cause of so much controversy, it is worth while to consider what religious teaching really is, and how it is to be carried on. As with everything else that pertains to religion, the Bible is our only sure guide, and in Deut. 6: 4-9 we find the subject made very plain, in these words:—

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”

The reader’s attention is directed to a few of the important truths set forth in the above scripture.

1. The words to be taught are not empty sound, nor are they simply combinations of certain letters of the alphabet. They are such words as can be in the heart, and that means that they are life, even the life of God. The life of God, revealed in Christ, is the only law for mankind. The teaching of Bible religion, therefore, does not consist in the teaching of certain dogmas, or statements of doctrines, backed up by certain texts of Scripture, but in presenting Christ so that through the Holy Spirit he may be formed within, the hope of glory.

2. We learn that the duty of teaching religion to children rests with the parents. If they choose to allow others also to instruct their children in religion, that is doubtless their privilege; but no parent can lightly shift upon another his own responsibility. Although the elders or pastors of the church are to feed the lambs as well as the sheep, parents are not thereby released from their obligation to teach their own children. If they are negligent in this matter, the work will never be perfectly done, for—

3. Religious teaching is to be constant, and not confined to one or two hours of the day. Bible religion is not only life, but it is the whole of life. Everything in nature is to be used to impress the truth of God upon the mind of the child. In the margin of Deut. 6:7 we have as an equivalent of “teach them diligently,” “whet, or sharpen.” The idea is that of repetition. But the repetition is not to be the repetition of a form of words, but of vital truths.

Children can understand the Gospel as well as their elders. It is true that they can not understand theological terms, but neither can grown people. Nobody understands what is meant by theological terms and formulas, and that is the reason why there is so much discussion over them. They are arbitrary terms, and mean to each individual whatever he happens to think about them. But simple, practical Scripture truth is easy of comprehension by a child. Timothy knew the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and knew them to his salvation. 2 Tim. 3:15. Whoever enters the kingdom of God must do so as a child. There is no religious truth that can not be understood by a child as well as by anybody else.

4. Whoever teaches must first have the words of life in his own heart. Since true religion is not only a life, but the life, it follows that no one can sharpen a child or anybody else in it unless he himself has the life. The question will arise, “What if the parents are deficient in this respect? shall the children therefore be deprived of religious instruction?” Not necessarily. The true Christian is a missionary, and the church of Christ has no other business on earth but to seek out the lost, both old and young. If Christians do this work in the Spirit of Christ, there will be none who do not hear the sound of the Gospel.

It is very evident that this teaching is not such as can be done according to program. He who has the word of life in his heart, will not need that somebody else should tell him what he should teach, and how he should teach it. And he who can not teach religion except according to a syllabus, can not teach true religion at all.

The conclusion of the whole matter is this, that religious instruction must be wholly a voluntary affair, and must be a labor of love. It must aim at direct practical results, namely, the conversion of those who are taught. While the laborer must live, it is evident that true religious teachings can not be done by one who engages in the work as a profession. He who has the words of life in his heart, will need no urging to make them known, but will be unable to refrain from teaching in some way. The love of Christ constrains him, and he can not but speak the things that he has seen and heard. The main thing is to have the life in the soul. If the living word abides in the teacher, that word will regulate everything.

The Church Did It.

—Archbishop Riordan, of San Francisco, preached Sunday, September 22, on “The Need of Better Sunday Observance.” While he based all holy-day obligation upon the Biblical Sabbath law, he, according to the Examiner of the next day, thus spoke of the change:—

The observance of Sunday lies at the root of our religious life. The Sunday is not the Sabbath; the Sabbath is not the Sunday. The Sabbath was the festival day of the old law, and was the last day of the week. The Sunday is the religious day of the new law, and is the first day of the week. There is nothing in ecclesiastical history to warrant their confusion. By the special ordinance of the early church the first day of the week was set aside in memory of our Lord’s resurrection on that day and the descent of the Holy Ghost upon that day. The first day was specially consecrated as that upon which all Christians should worship their Lord. The Sabbath exists no longer for us.

This witness speaks truly concerning the distinction between the Sabbath and Sunday. The Sabbath is enjoined by the law of God, which in God existed for all eternity, and of which our Lord says, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16: 17. It was the day kept by Christ; and he commands, “Follow thou me.” “He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.”

Sunday is based on the “new law,” the law of God as changed by that power whose history is given in advance in Dan. 7: 25. We may call it the early church; the Scripture shows it to be the apostasy, and Archbishop Riordan admits, more properly, perhaps, declares (admitted as well by many other learned prelates, Catholics, and Protestants), that the “early church” did this very work.

As to setting it apart in commemoration of the resurrection, we may well ask, in the language of Scripture, “Who hath required this at your hand?” We have no intimation of a change in God’s word.

Loyalty

Loyalty.—There is no grander quality in the Christian than unswerving loyalty. He may be imperfect in his development of character, his knowledge may not be extensive, his education may be defective, his experience may be limited; but he may be loyal to his God, his King, and his Redeemer. Others may fail and desert the ranks, he will only gird his armor the more closely and be unceasingly vigilant. Others will prove false when some great leader falls, but the loyal stands firmer to duty than ever. Others may follow the multitude; he remains loyal to the law of his Lord, though he stands alone. O, for more zealous, loyal soldiers of God in these days of lukewarmness and treachery!

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

“Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.” How many are there who are truly desirous of being blessed, who would not only hear but do the words of Christ? Those who will not rely upon themselves, but who will put their trust in a power out of and above themselves, will be enabled to become doers of the words of Christ. Those who have glimpses of the perfection of Christ’s character, will be filled with a longing to become like him. They will desire to be peacemakers and to receive the blessing he has promised to the peacemakers.

If the grace of Christ is abiding in the soul, we shall have the mind of Christ. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus.”

If the mind which was also in Christ Jesus be in you, you will practice the lessons of Christ, and because you appreciate his great mercy and love, you will be peacemakers. You will look to Jesus, and will draw nourishment from him, the living Vine, and as a branch you will bear the same kind of fruit as does the parent stock. The enemy of all righteousness will be ready to lead you into a course that will be the very opposite of that which the peacemaker should take. He who loves discord and strife, will tempt you to act a part in connection with himself to stir up strife. He will lead you to think that you see in some brother or sister something that is wrong, and Satan will urge you to go and tell it to others; but Christ has told you to go to your brother and “tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” Which leader are you going to obey? It is not in accordance with the natural heart to deal frankly and faithfully one with another. It appears easier to tell your brother’s fault to some one else than it does to tell it to him alone; but it is his ear alone that should hear your accusation. He who departs from the plain light which Christ has caused to shine upon his pathway, loses the privilege of becoming Christ’s missionary, and becomes the agent of the evil one. How many church trials might be saved, how much bitterness and wrath might be saved, if Christ’s professed followers would only obey his words! “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.” They who are blessed are those who work in harmony with God, who are laborers together with Christ. The grace which the Spirit of God imparts is a wellspring of life to the soul, and will refresh all who come in contact with the peacemaker.

How many souls have been lost because those who profess to be the followers of Christ have been busy in carrying out the plans of Satan, and have thereby stirred up strife, and have discouraged souls, and driven them on to Satan’s battle ground, when they might have helped them by words of kindness and consolation. Satan is the one who works up strife. He lost heaven because he was filled with envy, jealousy, and evil surmising, because he desired to be equal with God. It is important that we consider that the spirit we cherish now, the works that we now do, will testify to our fitness or unfitness for the future life. We are now upon trial, and it is to be seen whether or not we will fulfill the Lord’s prayer, and do the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven. Those who are carrying out Satan’s plans, and are hurting and bruising souls by their course of action, prove that they are not the children of Christ. Whoever has the word of God, the appointed instrument of salvation, abiding in him, will overcome the wicked one, and he will grow up into Christ in all things. But of how many may it be said, “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God”! How many when beset by temptation do wrong by not being peacemakers! Their weakness is found in the fact that they do not study the Scriptures for the purpose of practicing them in their daily life. The Psalmist says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee;” but how many are destroyed for lack of knowledge!

It is best that every one of us should do right because it is right, and thus we may create about us an atmosphere of peace. We shall not then be found pressing to the side of Satan’s human agents, to catch their spirit and to repeat their words of accusation and reproach against those who are seeking to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord. We shall not link in with the adversary of souls, and aid him in stirring up suspicion and strife, and in causing souls who love God to be tempted to do evil. Through the grace of Christ, these souls would be raised up to sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus; but if the agents of Satan come to them as accusers of others, they may fall from their steadfastness, and be turned out of the path of holiness.

Those who are filled with envy, jealousy, and evil surmising, and who indulge in evil speaking, make it manifest that they are unfit for the kingdom of heaven because they are not peacemakers. Through trial and test, it is proved that they are weighed in the balances and found wanting.

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (not for their coarse, harsh spirit that leads them to stir up strife and dissension, but “for righteousness’ sake”). The righteous are those who desire peace, and will have peace at the cost of everything save the sacrifice of principle. Truth they can not sacrifice, though adherence to it costs them distress, reproach, suffering, and even death. “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, place the commandments of God first in their lives, and they allow no human policy, no promise of reward, no offer of honor, to come between them and their God. They can not be induced to deny Christ and to betray his cause. The rich promises of God have a place in their memory, and when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him. The Holy Spirit opens to the understanding the preciousness of the Scriptures.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” These words are full, and broad, and deep, and you are not to be downcast, not to be shaken in faith, not to be filled with murmuring or complaining. Time and courage and faith are all precious, too precious to sacrifice to dejection, to mourning. Christ tells you to rejoice, and to be exceeding glad. All heaven is watching, and is ready to help you. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

The church itself needs converting, so that its members may be made channels of light, may be blessed and made a blessing. A vague reliance upon God’s mercy will not obtain for us access to the throne of grace, or draw down the blessing from God the Father which he has provided for those who do his will. Faith must center in the word of God, which is spirit and life. Every page of the sacred word is illumined with the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The word of God is to be the support of the afflicted, the comfort of the persecuted. God himself speaks to the believing, trusting soul; for God’s Spirit is in his word, and a special blessing will be received by those who accept the words of God when illuminated to their mind by the Holy Spirit. It is thus that the believer eats of Christ, the Bread of Life. Truth is seen in a new light, and the soul rejoices as in the visible presence of Christ.

Christ chose twelve men from among the

multitude, whom he named his apostles. They were to catch the words from his lips, and receive them into their hearts, that they might be witnesses of him to the world. While those who listened to Christ in the multitude were deeply impressed with his teaching, though the crowd constantly pressed close upon Christ, yet the disciples understood that they were not to be crowded away from his presence. They pressed close to his person, in order that they might not lose a word of the instruction that was of so much importance. They were eager, attentive listeners. They understood that “the flesh profiteth nothing,” but that the words he spoke unto them were “spirit and life.” They came unto him because he had the words of eternal life.

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

By Dryden

Whence but from heav'n could men unskill'd in arts, In several ages born, in several parts, Weave such agreeing truths? or how or why Should all conspire to cheat us with a lie? Unask'd their pains, ungrateful their advice, Starving their gain, and martyrdom their price. Then for the style; majestic and divine, It speaks no less than God in ev'ry line: Commanding words, whose force is still the same As the first fiat that produced our frame. All faiths beside, or did by arms ascend, Or sense indulged has made mankind their friend: This only doctrine does our lusts oppose; Unfed by nature's soil on which it grows, Cross to our interests, curbing sense and sin, Oppress'd without, and undermined within, It thrives through pain, its own tormentors tires, And with a stubborn patience still aspires. To what can reason such effects assign, Transcending nature, but to laws divine, Which in that sacred volume are contain'd, Sufficient, clear, and for that use ordain'd? —Dryden.

Continue reading: DELIVERANCE