Earlier text: THE LESSON OF DANIEL ONEQUESTIONS FOR SUNDAY-KEEPING CHRISTIANS.
By Alexander Ritchie
Please turn to the scriptures referred to as you read. 1. When you study the Bible with the Sabbath question in mind, do you look for justification for your Sunday-keeping? or do you look for the truth? Eze. 14:4, 7. 2. Please tell me where you can find one text of Scripture that says plainly that God changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. 3. Where is there just one verse that says Sunday is a holy day, or in any way different from Monday? 4. Point out one passage of Scripture that says that Jesus or any of His apostles kept Sunday holy, and give the chapter and verse. 1 John 2:6. 5. Find just one verse where God commands you to keep it holy, and give chapter and verse. 6. Please show me one text that condemns me for keeping holy the seventh-day Sabbath. 7. When you go to church, on Sunday, to worship, what command are you obeying? Isa. 1:12. 8. When you stay at home on Sunday and work as usual, what command are you breaking? 9. What is sin?—“Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. 10. How do men know that they sin?—“By the law is the knowledge of sin.” Rom. 3:20. 11. Can there possibly be sin without a law?—“Where no law is, ‘there is no transgression.’” Rom. 4:15. “I had not known sin, but ‘by the law.’” Rom. 7:7. 12. Is there any difference between crime and sin?—Yes! Daniel’s refusal to worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar set up, was crime; but it was not sin; nay, more, it was the proof of Daniel’s righteousness. 13. Why did Daniel refuse to obey the law of the land?—Because it would have been sin to do so. 14. Why was image-worship a sin in Daniel’s eyes?—Because he had no faith in the lifeless image. 15. Why had Daniel no faith in the image?—Because it was not in accordance with God’s Word. “Faith cometh by hearing, and ‘hearing by the Word of God.’” Rom. 10:17. 16. We see that Daniel could not worship the image because image-worship is not based upon God’s Word. Anything that is not in accordance with God’s Word can not be a subject of faith. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Rom. 14:23. If Daniel had bowed to the image, he would have obeyed the law of man; but he would have broken the law of God, and that would have been sin. By refusing to bow to the image, he broke the command of Nebuchadnezzar, which was not sin, but he honored the law of the Most High. 17. What law is Sunday a part of? Neander, who is admitted by all to be one of the greatest and most reliable church historians, says:— The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intention of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect, far from them and from the early apostolic church to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday.—Rose’s Neander, page 186. 18. Can it be sin to break a law which “was always only a human ‘ordinance’?” If it is not sin to break it, it must be because we were never commanded to keep it. If we were never commanded to keep it, it can not be a part of God’s Word. If it is not in God’s Word, we can not have faith in it. If we can not have faith in it, it must be sin because “Whatsoever is not of FAITH is SIN.” And “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:23. And He it was who said, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one little of the law to fail.” Dear reader, when heaven and earth have passed, firmly imbedded in the bosom of God’s changeless law there will shine forth the eternal command: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . . ‘The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.’” Extent of the Belief
By W. A. Colcord
Christianity affords a life, a power, and a presence,—a life to be lived, a power to be possessed, and a presence to be enjoyed. That life is the life of God, that power is the power of God, and that presence is the presence of God. Spiritism can supply two of these, a power and a presence, but it can not give life. To make up for this desideratum, it denies that there is any such thing as death, and affirms that the dead live on. But, as we have already seen, this is false. Death is a reality. It is cessation of life, a suspension of the faculties of mind and body. Nearly all false systems of religion, as well as many false doctrines, are based upon this fundamental error, that the dead are still alive. The great majority of heathen deities are simply deified dead men. Such doctrines as those of purgatory, prayers for the dead, and invocation of saints, are dependent upon this belief. In harmony with necromancy, ancient sorcery, and heathen mythology, Spiritism goes one step further than the mere assertion that the dead are alive, and teaches that they can return and communicate with their friends on earth; that intercommunication between the living and the dead is an established fact. Thus the purported “spirit” of Robert Dale Owen, as reported in the Spirit of Truth, of March, 1894, says, “We shall not even argue with any one that we are spirits or angels, once dwellers with you in bodily form on earth, ‘or that spirits can and do return and communicate; for we regard that ‘as much a settled question as that the world does move.’” But all this intercourse with familiar spirits, and seeking for wisdom and light from the dead, the Bible plainly condemns. To the latter part of Isa. 8:19, the text which says, “When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and ‘that mutter,’” Dr. Adam Clarke gives this rendering, “‘Should not a nation seek unto its God? Why should you seek unto the dead concerning the living?’”—the very thing Spiritism teaches men to do. And it is surprising to what extent this “seeking unto the dead concerning the living” is being practised by those who would doubtless deny that they are Spiritists. The Living Church, of Nov. 14, 1899, says, “Dr. George Adam Smith, in his ‘Life of Henry Drummond,’ mentions as a fact within his knowledge that certain persons habitually address prayers to Henry Drummond. Dr. Joseph Parker, of the City Temple, London, has openly declared that he ‘prayed to his departed wife every day. He said that he never came ‘to the City Temple to preach without asking her to come with him.’”5He further says, “I encourage my friend to pray to his wife, and to ‘pray God to ask her to come to his help. She will be more to him ‘than twelve legions of unknown angels.’ And what is this but Spiritism pure and simple?” And General Booth, of the Salvation Army, has fallen into the same error. In the War Cry, of Nov. 27, 1897, under “Communion with the Departed,” he writes the following:— Through all my history, my personal intercourse with the spirit-world has been but limited. I have not been favored with many visions, and it is but seldom that I dream dreams that impart either pleasure or profit; and yet I have a spiritual communion with the departed saints that is not without both satisfaction and service. And especially of late the memories of those with whom my heart has had the choicest communion in the past, if not the very beings themselves, have come in upon me as I have sat at my desk or lain wakeful on my bed in the night season. Amongst these, one form, true to her mission, comes more frequently than all besides, assuring me of her continued partnership in my struggle for the temporal and eternal salvation of the multitudes—and that is my blessed, my beautiful wife! What is this short of Spiritism? We cite these instances, not for the purpose of casting reflections upon the persons named, but to show how wide-spread the essential doctrines and practises of Spiritism are becoming; how that many, even among professed Christians, are more or less deceived by it, not understanding its true character; and how easily people may be led into the errors and delusions of Spiritism unless they understand the Bible, and faithfully adhere to all its teachings. But some one may ask, “What would you do if a spirit or materialized form came to you, claiming to be your departed mother or ‘deceased wife?’” Answer: I would do as Christ did when tempted. I would say, “Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, ‘The living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything; neither ‘have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under ‘the sun.’” Then that spirit would leave, for it is written again, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I repeat, Modern Spiritism is only ancient sorcery, witchcraft, and idolatry revived. Its doctrines and manifestations are the doctrines and manifestations of devils. Once when Israel went into whoredom and idolatry, the record says that the daughters of Moab “called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods.” Num. 25:1, 2. Their gods were the reputed deified dead. David, in referring to this incident, says they “ate the sacrifices of the dead.” Ps. 106:28. And Paul adds, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God; and I would not that ye should have ‘fellowship with devils.’” 1 Cor. 10:20. Those who do not desire to have such fellowship, therefore, should let Spiritism alone. Moreover, through Spiritism great wonders, miracles, and deceptions are yet to be performed; for according to 2 Thess. 2:8, 9, Christ’s second coming is not to take place until after “the working of Satan ‘with all power and signs and lying wonders.’” So great is to be the deceptive nature of these manifestations, that Christ said they would deceive “if it were possible” the very elect. A clear understanding of, and faithful adherence to, the Word of God, will be the only safeguard against these deceptions. Let all, therefore, study the Word. MORNING PRAISES TO THE LORD.
By Charles Elmer Jenney
[Charles Elmer Jenney, in the Ram’s Horn.] When the glory of the Morning sends its heralds on their way,
And the dark-lashed lids of Hesper open, trembling, on the Day;
When the world wakes to the truth of the clear call, “All is well,”
That the faithful watchman night-long never once has ceased to tell;
Nor has ceased, these twenty centuries, since that dawn so dull and gray,
When, fulfilling words prophetic, timed he Peter’s thrice-said “Nay:”
When the leaves are all a-rustle at the stirring of the breeze,
Comes a clear-toned matin from the high-arched chancel of the trees,
As the bird-choir’s cheery carols, in a flute-like roundelay,
Upward on the incensed zephyrs praises to the Lord convey.
Listen to the happy voices of His children of the air!
Shall my heart, less grateful, render not its tribute to His care?
Up! Awake, my Soul, rejoicing as the new tides forward sweep.
Thy diurnal resurrection from the sepulcher of Sleep
Is an emblem always with thee, of a greater natal day,
And the joy of Life Eternal echoed by the bird’s blithe lay. “THE FAITH OF JESUS.”
By C. Castberg
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1. To many this scripture conveys the idea that it is the faith of the individual that justifies the sinner; but this is a great mistake; for the faith which is the subject of the apostle’s argument is neither your faith nor mine, but the “faith of Jesus Christ unto all ‘and upon all them that believe.” Rom. 3:22. The same truth is brought to view in verse 26, where we read that God is “the justifier ‘of him that is of faith of Jesus.” Marginal reading, R.V. “The faith of Jesus” is the only saving faith; without it we are “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the ‘covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the ‘world.” Eph. 2:12. The apostle Paul says: “By grace are ye ‘saved through faith,’ and in order to leave no opening for the idea that this work is accomplished through some merit of our own, he adds: “And that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Eph. 2:8. True, this gift is for every one that believeth; but our individual faith is only the arm that lays hold upon the superior, saving faith of Jesus. “The Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith ‘of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” Gal. 3:22. “The faith of Jesus” is the faith which Jesus has, and had when here upon the earth. His whole life was a life of trust in God. Of His own self, He declared, He could do nothing (John 5:30); but by faith He took hold of the mighty arm of God, and lived a life without “spot or wrinkle.” We read of Him, that He came “in ‘the likeness of sinful flesh’” (Rom. 8:3); that in all things He was “made like unto His brethren” (Heb. 2:17); that He “increased ‘in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man’” (Luke 2:52); that He “was in all points tempted like as we are” (Heb. 4:15), and that “tho He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by ‘the things which He suffered.’” He was to such an extent dependent upon His Father that “in the days of His flesh” He “offered up ‘prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, unto Him ‘that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He ‘feared;’” and so, “being made perfect [through faith], He became ‘the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.’” Heb. 5:7–9. Altho He was tempted in all points, He did not yield to “the ‘lust of the flesh,’” but was submissive to the will of the Father, and through the temptations, sufferings, and privations which He patiently endured He developed a character, a righteousness which the Scripture designates “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus ‘Christ.’” Rom. 3:22. Of all men Jesus only has fulfilled the requirement of the law: a holy life; and as all others “have sinned,” that is, transgressed the law of God (1 John 3:4), He is become “the end [the object, intent] ‘of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Rom. 10:4. This life of God, “the righteousness of God which is by faith of ‘Jesus Christ,’” is freely imputed to us when we yield up our life to Him. And then, and not before, this wonderful experience will be ours: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but ‘Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by ‘the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.’” Gal. 2:20. To “live by the faith of the Son of God” is to have Christ dwelling in the heart, working in us “both to will and to do of ‘His good pleasure.’” Phil. 2:13. His life, then, becomes our life, justifying our whole being, and filling our soul with peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. This is the faith of “the remnant” church of God, the faith of those “which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord.” Rev. 12:17; 1 Thess. 4:15–17. God points to them, and says, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the ‘commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’” Rev. 14:12. This faith, working with power in the lives of His true followers, will reveal “the righteousness of God.” And this is God “manifested in the flesh.” 1 Tim. 3:16. Let us reach out the hand of faith and accept this precious, glorious gift—“the faith of Jesus”! “JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS.”
By W. F. Hook
ADMIT the fact that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world ‘unto Himself,’” and then we can at once understand why when His ministry commenced, the heavens were opened and the powers of hell disturbed. Admit that, when the Lord Jesus was going about doing good upon earth the fulness of the Godhead was dwelling in Him bodily, and we can at once appreciate His assumption of all the moral and potential attributes of the Deity. Admit that the Lord Jesus was Immanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh, and instead of being surprised that, when He humbled Himself to death, even the death of the cross, the sun should be darkened, and the rocks be rent, and the earth shaken; we shall rather marvel that all nature did not crumble into nothingness. But yet further, if God were indeed incarnate when the Lord Jesus was born, we can understand why all nature was moved; but still we have only partially investigated the subject. How improbable is it that God should become incarnate only to do what mere man might accomplish; only to act as a Teacher, as a Preacher of the resurrection of the dead. No; He came to counteract and remedy the injury inflicted by the malignant powers of darkness; He came to bruise the serpent’s head; He came as a Deliverer. As such He was foreshadowed in the sacrificial rites, as such foretold by the prophets. Here, then, was an object worthy of His coming, worthy of the coming of Him who is the Second Person of the blessed Godhead, whose most glorious attribute is love. He came with the intent that now, not merely to this world and its inhabitants, but unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God; He came that by His death we might be reconciled to God and have redemption through His blood; He came to shed His blood for the remission of sins.—W. F. Hook. BETWEEN Faith and Works have been waged interminable war. One party has said, “Only ‘believe,’ and truly it is all that is necessary. Another party has said, “If ye will enter into life, ‘keep the commandments.’” And this also is a true saying of Jesus. Yet oftentimes when men are told that it is necessary to obey God, straightway the preacher of obedience is told that “doing is deadly; it makes ‘faith of none effect.’” It is also noticeable that this cry is raised when the obedience involves the doing of some unpopular thing—the bearing of a real cross. In God’s plan of salvation there is no antagonism between the right kind of faith and works. It is true, it has always been true, that no man could save himself by his works. The law requires infinite perfection. “All have sinned, and come short of the ‘glory of God.’” Even if unaided mortal man could do in the present what is required of him—all of his heart, mind, soul, and strength—he could not pay the debt of the past; he could not undo the sins committed. He stands hopeless as regards his past sins; he is equally hopeless in the present, bound by the cords of his sins. “Therefore by the deeds of the ‘law shall no flesh be justified.” But one power can save man,—Christ Jesus; and Christ saves through faith. “Only believe,” He said to the ruler. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘and thou shalt be saved,’ was the message to the Philippian jailer. The Lord requires only that which every soul of understanding and accountability can render. “But,” says one, “that will foster sin. Sin and ‘repent and believe; sinning, repenting, and believing will be the motto and experience of such.’ Not so. Such belief is not Bible belief. This is true belief: “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” All other belief is spurious. The belief that stops short of righteousness stops just so much short of the life and power to enable him to retain his righteousness, to live above sin. The belief that stops short of righteousness is based upon a repentance that does not give up all sin; upon a sorrow that mourns the consequences of sin and not its character. The belief unto righteousness yields absolutely all of self and sin, and accepts all of Christ and righteousness. The believer yields his own life of sin and accepts the life of Jesus Christ, not as a theory, but as a fact, and that life, born from above, will bear the same fruit of obedience which it bore in the life of Jesus. The believer can then say: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet ‘not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.’” Gal. 2: 20. True faith, then, is living, operative, fruit-bearing; it is a “faith which worketh by love.” Gal. 5: 6. It is a love which keeps the commandments of God, and finds them “not grievous.” 1 John 5: 3. It asks not, “Lord, what may I get rid of doing and ‘be saved?’” but, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to ‘do?’” It counts it joy to obey all God’s commandments, and walk in the footsteps of Jesus. A faith short of this will prove spurious. A faith like this bears “the obedience of faith,” and through the Spirit of God, all its blessed fruits. Reader, do you believe? THE BOOK OF GENESIS.
By G.
The Hebrew title of the book of Genesis is Bereshith, which means “in the beginning.” The name is pertinent, for in this book we have not merely the only authentic account of the beginning of earth’s history, but we have the beginning of three dominions that were set up with the glorious prospect before them of being permanent in the earth’s population. The only reliable history of the earth until the death of Joseph in Egypt is the book of Genesis. The importance of this fact is but faintly appreciated even among those who profess to believe the Scriptures. It is because we have no other history covering this great period that the enemy of all righteousness is making such strenuous endeavors to have men discredit it. If men would remember the purpose of all Scripture, they would not be so easily misled by those who would attribute to Genesis a design foreign to the object of the divine Author. Paul tells us that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. In all this divinely-revealed purpose of “all Scripture,” there is no intimation that it is designed to gratify curiosity, or to give minute or detailed narrative or description, other than the history of God’s dealings with men with a view to furthering the work of salvation. The written Word is a proclamation and history of the operation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in whom is revealed “the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Cor. 1:24. In Him is “all wisdom” (Col. 3:16); therefore His Word is given for instruction, but it is for “instruction in righteousness.” Those who go to it for instruction in things which it does not reveal, will be disappointed. And those who go to it for corroboration of theories which they have conceived independently of it, will be disappointed. Then when we come to the study of the Word of God, we must study it to find out what it teaches in the lines wherein it is designed to give instruction. No one expects a text-book on chemistry to reveal the mysteries of the science of astronomy. Moreover we must study the Word with implicit faith in its Author, for it is given through the Holy Spirit, and is “spiritually discerned.” Those who come to it in their own wisdom will fail to receive even that which it is designed to teach. Therefore when we study the book of Genesis, we must study it as the revelation of God’s providence through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whatever of history and biography it contains is given as necessary to illustrate the workings of the great plan of salvation. In the beginning God created the earth, and creatures to live upon it. Adam, the first man, was given dominion over the earth and everything in it, subject only to the Creator. His was the first dominion, and had he not yielded to a spirit of rebellion, his dominion would have been perpetual. When he fell, the plan of salvation stepped into the breach, and the antediluvian age was a practical illustration of its principles. The effect of sin upon the race was demonstrated in the general wickedness that prevailed in Noah’s time; the certainty of judgment was shown in the flood of water, and the power of God to save through faith in His Word was manifested in the preservation of Noah and his family in the ark. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Heb. 11:7. Noah was a preacher of righteousness by faith, and showed his faith by his works. After the flood, Noah was given the dominion over the earth; but, notwithstanding his faith before and during the flood, he failed to continue as the recognized human head of the faithful. His descendants degenerated in the scale of morality and departed from God until He called out Abraham as a representative of true faith, in whom all families of the earth should be blessed. Gen. 12:1–5. This promise was to Abraham and his seed. But it was not to his natural seed as such. The Gospel was preached to Abraham, by the Lord (Gal. 3:8); he was there told of Christ. In making the promise “He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy Seed, which is Christ.” Verse 16. The promise was not fulfilled in Abraham’s day, but Abraham remained steadfast. Even when told to offer his son Isaac as a burnt-offering, he did not fail, though he had been told that in Isaac should his seed be called. “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.” Rom. 4:20, 21. The Gospel included the promise of a resurrection; so Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac then and there in order to fulfil His promise; and this was done “in a figure” (Heb. 11:19), for Abraham was accredited with having “offered up Isaac” (verse 17 and James 2:21). The obedience of faith was accounted to him for righteousness. So Abraham, the third one that had been taken and tried, not only endured unto the end, but has an enduring Seed, Jesus Christ. Therefore Abraham became the one who is designated as the “father of all that believe,” the “heir of the world.” Rom. 4:11, 13. And all who shall obtain any part in the inheritance must become inheritors by virtue of being of the seed of Abraham; not of the natural seed, but of the spiritual Seed, which is Christ. Gal. 3:7–9, 26–29. When Abraham passed away, the Gospel promise was repeated to Isaac, and reposed in him during his lifetime. Then his son Jacob bore the honor and responsibility until his death, when it passed to his children. Now where do we learn that man is a sinner?—In the book of Genesis. Where do we find how he became a sinner?—In the book of Genesis. Where do we find the initial proclamation of the Gospel?—In the book of Genesis. Where do we find the account of its practical demonstration?—In the book of Genesis. Where do we find the promises upon which we are to rely as the basis of our faith in the Gospel?—In the book of Genesis. Then the book of Genesis is the substructure of the Gospel story. Its genealogies are essential to a recognition of the personality of the Messiah. No wonder the enemy of souls would fain have us believe that it is unreliable, that its theory of creation is untenable; that its history is not authentic; that its characters are mythical;615that its story is allegorical; that its facts are nullified by science. Such reasonings are the very essence of infidelity, subversive of the whole plan of salvation. The book of Genesis gives us a synopsis of history, enough to show us the goodness of God to the children of men; enough to demonstrate that it was always true that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord;” enough to show the long-suffering patience of God with His erring creatures, and that in every age it has been true that Christ is not only willing but “able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.” The book of Genesis is fraught with evidence of God’s special care for His people, and His ability, in the face of any emergency, to subvert the enemy and defend His cause. Genesis is the voucher for the remainder of the story of redemption. G. THE great world is sick,—sick with a humanly incurable disease; sick with the malady of sin. Its manifestations, its symptoms, are multiform and manifold, but the disease is one. Every evil and grief and wo in this world is the manifestation of sin or its fruits; and the completed fruit is death; for “sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death.” Man of himself can not cure the dread malady. No human ethical chemistry will purge sin’s crimson stain. No human serum will make or destroy the bacteria of sin, or make innocuous its virus. It is a gangrene, a leprosy, in the very heart-blood of humanity. If a breaking out is healed over in one spot, it soon breaks out in another. Men have labored and striven and fasted and prayed and tortured the flesh from the most ancient times to the present. They have many times changed sin’s form, but have never eradicated the disease. It still stalks abroad boldly in some circles, or enters the elegant parlors of the heart over the softest velvet carpets of self-complacency, under the guise of hypocritical self-righteousness. But it is the same dread disease—sin; and the end is sure to be death. All these humanly-devised remedies live but to disappoint and destroy. Yet there is a cure; there is a Balm in Gilead; there is a Physician there. The great Creator of the revolted world has come down to be a Saviour to the rebellious kingdom. That its subjects might know and appreciate His love and sympathy, He entered sin’s strongest citadel, invested Himself with man’s nature, became partaker of flesh and blood, thereby taking upon Himself sin’s medium of operation; and by living faith He demonstrated the right to be called the Son of God, by complete triumph and victory over sin and death. He cast out the fears and doubts of humanity by living faith. He cast out sin by the indwelling righteousness of faith. He cast out self-righteousness by self-emptiness. He cast out hypocrisy by giving glory to God. He cast out the death of sin by the indwelling Spirit of life and righteousness. He died that He might give life. And from His glorious triumph He shouts back to every sin-sick soul: “I am He that liveth, and was ‘dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; ‘and have the keys of death and of hell.” He gained not His victory to enjoy alone. Infinite love could not do this. He wishes every soul to share it. And, fellow-sinner, He invites every one of us to come and share it with Him. “And the Spirit ‘and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth ‘say, Come. And let him that is athirst come, and ‘whosoever will let him take the water of life freely.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt ‘be saved.” “Only believe.” THE Legislature of Wyoming has enacted two laws from which much good is expected. One is in reference to divorces, and the other has reference to gambling. The one declares that no person shall be entitled to a divorce in that State who has not resided within its jurisdiction for at least one year. The other repeals the previous statutes which made gambling a legal business, and it also provides serious penalties for future offenses in this direction. As a license to conduct a gambling-house is simply an indulgence to do evil, granted for a consideration, the State has done a salutary thing in refusing longer to grant such indulgences. Such a law is not an invasion of human rights; it is simply the State taking itself out of partnership with the criminal. And the same is true in regard to Montana’s new divorce law, which, to a certain extent, takes the State out of partnership with the crime of unlawful wedlock. Heretofore parties would come to that State, reside there for a short time, and secure a divorce from husband or wife, in order to be technically free to marry some object of their fancy without delay, or sooner than the most pliant laws of other States would permit. Thus have practical free love and the disruption of family ties been fostered by the very agent which was set by the people to “guard ‘the public morals.’” The passage of these laws was not due to an awakened legislative conscience. A vigorous campaign had been conducted by the people against the two named evils, and petitions had poured into the Legislature until the party in power there found that it must yield, or bring defeat upon itself. This was a vital consideration, and the new laws were enacted. Now will Montana have an opportunity to learn the lesson which Kansas has learned, and experience the disappointment which she has felt. We are living in an age of disregard for law, and the lawyer who can most skillfully manipulate law to the advantage of a client is the one whose services are most eagerly sought after, and command the highest remuneration. Christians rejoiced when the Kansas Legislature enacted the prohibitory law; but to compel officers of the law to enforce it has been a long and apparently losing struggle, either through the opposition of the officers themselves, or through the powerful financial influence of the liquor men. To withhold the indulgence from the saloon-keeper is as commendable as to withhold it from the gambler or adulterer; and in granting the indulgence (license) to the saloon-keeper, the State is just as much a partner in the evil as it would be in granting it to the gambler, or the one who would desecrate the home; but Mrs. Nation found many targets for her hatchet in the State of Kansas, and there were many she did not find, and they are there yet—mute evidence of the disregard for law which is a characteristic of these days. Good men may compel legislators to put a good law upon the statute books; but the power of money is to-day sufficient practically to nullify any law that can be made. We rejoice in the enactment of good laws, and in the repeal of those that are not good; but we are not living in a day when we can hope for any striking reformation in the land by any law that may be passed. The greed for gold is blinding the finer instincts of the race, till the conditions which Inspiration has said would characterize the last days are literally fulfilled before our eyes to-day. Here is what the Lord has told us we should expect in these days:— “They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up. The day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.” Micah 7:2-4. That “visitation” is the second coming of Christ; and that “perplexity” is the consternation of the wicked when they see Him whom they have rejected; and the conditions there brought to view are the conditions which exist now. Good laws may be passed; but lawlessness is increasing, and will continue to increase; for it is declared that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” This being true, the only hope of any worth is the Christian’s hope in Christ. Anything else is vanity, and, in the end, disappointment and death. We may not pin our hope to man, or laws that man may make; but in perfect submission to the will of Christ and faith in Him we have an anchor whose hold no stress or strain or storm can break. In that is hope; in that is life.