p. 484 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 31. (8/14/1884)

The Christian Use of Wealth

WEALTH is given to Christians, not to be expended in costly raiment, extravagant equipage, and luxurious living, but to be employed freely in the service of the Master. "Freely ye have received, freely give."

Truth Against Majorities.

By Horatius Bonar, D. D.

FELLOWSHIP between faith and unbelief must, sooner or later, be fatal to the former. "I would thou wert either cold or hot," has a deep significance for us. Truth is truth, and error is error. There the case begins and ends. The blending of light and darkness can at the best only produce twilight, not noon. We may tamper with doubt, we may trifle with certainty, and we may succumb to public opinion, but what will the end be? Has the one great oracle spoken? Has it spoken accurately and intelligibly? If it has, our only honest position is acceptance of its utterances. Every revealed truth has a distinct personal claim to be believed, however offensive to the taste or spirit of the age. Truth never demands a vote. It refuses to go to the poll, or to acknowledge majorities. It presents its evidence, and claims submission. To attempt to gather truth out of a multitude of errors by setting them to neutralize each other, is to revive the vain alchemy of the Middle Ages to turn iron into gold, or to imitate the folly of an old student of prophecy, who gathered some scores of conflicting prophetic dates together, and struck the mean among them in order to reach the true year! We are apt to forget that error is sin; that truth does not reverse itself; that inspiration and non-inspiration are two opposite poles, admitting of no medium; that infidelity ought not to cloak itself under the name of candid inquiry; and that candid inquiry should beware of being landed in unbelief, perhaps before it is aware.

There are some who are cowardly enough to trifle with or nibble at truth, but not bold enough to fling it away. It would be well for us to remember that not merely accepted error, but undervalued truth, has often made havoc of a church and shipwreck of a soul. Much of the teaching of the present day is not in the direction of certainty, and men feel that to be tossed to and fro with curious speculations will make but a poor life for them. Meanwhile Revelation remains to us, and, when human thinkers have spent themselves, it will reassert its authority and power. The cross still stands and with it Jehovah's eternal purpose of grace—grace finding its way to the sinner through the righteous channel opened by the death of the divine substitute.—Horatius Bonar, D. D.

Dangers of Idleness.

By John Plowman

A man who wastes his time and his strength in sloth offers himself to be a target for the devil, who is a wonderfully good rifleman, and will riddle the idler with his shots: in other words, idle men tempt the devil to tempt them. He who plays when he should work has an evil spirit to be his playmate; and he who neither works nor plays is a work-shop for Satan. If the devil catch a man idle, he will set him to work, find him tools, and before long pay him wages. Is not this where the drunkenness comes from which fills our towns and villages with misery? Idleness is the key of beggary, and the root of all evil. Fellows have two stomachs for eating and drinking when they have no stomach for work. We have God's word for it that "the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;" and to show the connection between them, it is said in the same verse, "and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." I know it as well as I know that moss grows on old thatch, that drunken, loose habits grow out of lazy hours. I like leisure when I can get it, but that is quite another thing; that's cheese and the other is chalk. Idle folks never know what leisure means; they are always in a hurry and a mess, and by neglecting to work in the proper time, they always have a lot to do. Lolling about hour after hour, with nothing to do, is just making holes in the hedge to let the pigs through, and they will come through and no mistake, and the rooting they will do nobody knows but those who have to look after the garden. The Lord Jesus tells us himself that when men slept, the enemy sowed the tares; and that hits the nail on the head, for it is by the door of sluggishness that evil enters the heart more often, it seems to me, than by any other. Our old minister used to say, "A sluggard is fine raw material for the devil; he can make anything he likes out of him, from a thief up to a murderer."

I'm not the only one that condemns the idle, for once, when I was going to give our minister a pretty long list of the sins of one of our people that he was asking after, I began with "He's dreadfully lazy." "That's enough," said the old gentleman; "all sorts of sins are in that one; that's the sign by which to know a full-fledged sinner."—John Plowman.

The Gospel Without the Law.

THERE is what is properly enough called preaching the gospel. There is a great deal of it in all Protestant countries. Yet for many years it seems to have been comparatively powerless to the conversion of sinners. The question is even asked, How long ere our churches will be extinct, unless the proportion of additions to losses turn in their favor, and that soon? And why, it is with reason asked, is there so general an indifference to religion, not to say contempt of it? Why so little of that real seriousness, which is at least part of the essence of a religious temper, which certainly marked the character of our forefathers, and which must always accompany the fear of God, and a just sense of eternal things?

Probably one great reason of all this is that the law of God and the truths that circle round it, are not fully and forcibly enough preached. We who are ministers do not present the law in all its demands. We do not, enough, make it seen and felt that God's law claims every one's entire and unqualified obedience and submission, even to the thoughts and intents of the heart. We do not carry back the demand to the first dawn of the hearer's reason and conscience, and lay that holy law along-side of all the dark past of his life, from the beginning till now. We do not strip sinners of the thousand and one refuges of lies to which they flee to justify or to excuse themselves for not having kept the law, or even to make it out that they have kept it sufficiently well. We do not, as we should, open the gates of the bottomless pit before their eyes, and make them read for themselves the inscription written in letters of flame, "This is the place of torment."

Again, we are apprehensive that we do not realize and set before men, as fully as we ought, the utter alienation of their hearts by nature from all that God requires. We believe the doctrine; that is, it is in our creed; and so, according to the rules of the world, the credit of believing the doctrine belongs to us. And sometimes perhaps we do deliver it, but its full force and significance we do not habitually feel and deliver.

Are not these the true reasons why our churches, instead of filling up with humble converts, are diminishing? Does not this account, in part at least, for the exceeding distance of men's minds and thoughts from God and eternity? Does not this, in a measure, account for the merely decent religious exterior of some, the open irreligion of others, the absorbing worldliness of the many, and the fraud and violence perpetually breaking out over all the land, like the eruptions of a volcano?

It is worse than of no avail to sing the song of redeeming love, unless the trumpet has first rung effectually the thunders of Sinai! Of what use to assure forgiveness to one who feels no particular need of forgiveness? What is a feast to a full man? What is wine to him that has "well drunk?" What is the best physician to the hale and hearty, to whom sickness and death are not only distant, but unrealized? What is civil pardon to the good citizen, who is at large and about his business as usual, and knows he has violated no law?

Not only the gospel, but even the office of preaching it is made contemptible, by sinking the moral law out of sight. Restore the law to its place; make its terms the actual terror of men's hearts, and pentecostal seasons will return; converts will be multiplied; public conscience will become a reality; fashionable religion, along with fashionable vice, will hide its diminished head; public men will shun commercial and political fraud, as they would shun the fires of perdition; the work of preaching the gospel with all its self-denials, will be in honor, and the best talent as well as the purest piety will offer itself for the service.—Oberlin Evangelist, 1854.

A Forgiving Spirit Essential to a Christian Life.

"If ye do not from your hearts forgive every one their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses." An unforgiving spirit gives evidence that sins are uncanceled. My readers, you must forgive every one their trespasses, or there is no forgiveness of sin for you. Do I hear some of you reply, "I can forgive but not forget?" When God, who is our pattern, forgives, he says: "I will remember thy sins no more forever," and does he require any less forgetfulness of you toward your offending fellow-creature? Have you any right to claim to do in harmony with God while you are violating a known law by which he is governed? Nay, verily, as God's word is true, you are deceiving yourselves. Because some of your fellow-creatures have wronged you or your friends, you seek every occasion to manifest your resentment and spite. This is done, either by the neglect of that civility which is due to all, or by aggressive acts of petty malice, either secretly or openly manifested. Too many illustrations of this kind abound in the Christian world.

During the early days of my ministry, an individual, professing pre-eminent sanctity and bold in proclaiming the power of Jesus to personally save, was not on speaking terms with his sister, and when asked to go and try to effect a reconciliation, positively and spitefully refused. Reader, if you have any such spirit of unforgiveness lurking within, indulge not the thought that you are a saved soul. Go to your closet, and on your knees before God forgive every one their trespasses, then by faith claim Jesus as your Saviour. To claim him as a personal Saviour from sin without doing this, is to either deceive yourself, or to show to the world the hypocrisy of your heart.—Wesleyan Methodist.

Chromo Christianity.

By Editor

DEALERS in tea, coffee and crockery, coax customers with chromos. Newspapers have done the same, but the whole thing is getting into disfavor. An editorial in the Baptist Weekly says also that "Chromo Christianity is not a success. The work and worship of a church should constitute its most potent attractions." Entertainments, oyster suppers, fairs, shooting galleries, and theatricals, are no more signs of real life in a society than are the ghastly contortions of a corpse when galvanized into motion. There is significance in the sneer of the novelist, Howells, who tells of the town Equity, where religion had ceased as a spiritual experience, and the salvation of the soul came to be regarded as "too depressing a theme" for young folks to consider. As a result they tried to draw them in by other attractions than those of religion. But as chromo subscribers do not stick, so our contemporary says the results of these religious devices are disappointing. Men are not to be coddled and cajoled. Religion is worth all it costs. Eternal life and eternal death are tremendous realities. Sin is not to be cast out by sweetmeats, nor are revivals the result of tea-parties. The social element of a church is best developed in the line of its legitimate work. Warm prayer-meetings, earnest Sunday-school and mission work, hearty congregational rehearsals or song-services, and other church fellowships, will infuse a permanent and cohesive life that no temporary schemes can create. Sensible men will not be slow to detect the difference between the reality and the counterfeit, between the healthful activity of genuine life and the temporary devices of a faltering, failing cause.

The Blood of Christ Cleanseth from All Sin

THE blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.

Something to Do.

By Baptist Weekly

THEY that eat must work. They are to be "doers of the word and not hearers only." Every truth taken into the life wants to be wrought out in loving service. Just now there is need of Christian fiber of the hard and sinewy type. Stalwarts are in demand in the churches—men, women, and children, who can "take a square meal" and do a day's work of ten hours, through heat or cold.

Whatever may be the ailments of the older members of the flock, the lambs should not be nursed into spiritual dyspepsia. Every pastor will need to study the "whats" and the "hows," as related to the activities of young converts. They are to be taught to creep, to walk, to run, to bear burdens, to endure toil and hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. There is great danger of failure just here. If you inquire into the causes of inactivity of older members of the church, you will find them lying far back in their religious experience. They were quietly slipped into the church and given an easy seat. They have filled it ever since. Out of mistaken tenderness, we pastors sometimes want to make it easy for those coming into the church, and we put them in bed. They are still tucked under the covers, and we cannot start them now out of their warm nests. Let us never commit the error again. The discipline of work is scarcely less helpful than the discipline of grace. We learn to do by doing. Young converts should be kept moving on.

The Sabbath-School.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—SEPT. 6.

For what purpose will Christ come the second time? John 14:3.
What is implied by the last clause of this verse?
When does Paul say that the saints will be with Christ? Col. 3:4.
As Paul was about to die, what did he say was laid up for him? 2 Tim. 4:8.
When will this crown be given? Id.
What is the testimony of Peter on this point? 1 Peter 5:4.
What, then, is the Christian's hope? Titus 2:11-13.
What is his incentive to patience under trials? James 5:8.
When will salvation be brought to God's people? 1 Pet. 1:5, 13.
How does Paul describe the coming of the Lord and its attendant circumstances? 1 Thess. 4:15-17.
What authority does he give for these statements?
What is meant by the words, "we shall not prevent them which are asleep"?
What was the necessity for such an assurance?
Do people nowadays generally think that the living receive their reward before those that have died?
What is the first thing that takes place when the Lord comes? Verse 16.
What is the next occurrence? Verse 17.
Whom do the living saints and those raised from the dead meet in the air?
How long do they remain with him?
Then when and how are all the saints taken to be with Christ?
Show that God did not design that the patriarchs, prophets, and martyrs should receive their reward before we do. Heb. 11:39, 40.

"AND if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. The thoughtful reader cannot fail to notice that the same text which contains the promise of Christ's coming, gives also the reason for that coming. For what purpose is he coming? "That where I am, there ye may be also." Now we will make a statement which must be self-evident: Christ will not do that for which there is no reason; we cannot conceive of his doing such a thing. Then if he has promised to come to earth for a certain purpose, the necessity for his coming must still exist, else he will not come. But he will come, because his promise stands on record; therefore the reason which he gave for his coming does exist still. So we ask again, For what purpose did he say he would come? Anybody may read the answer in Christ's own words, that it was to receive his disciples to himself. Then it must follow that they are not with him now; for if they were, there would be no reason for him to return for them. It would be the height of absurdity for Christ to return to earth for his disciples, if they were already in Heaven. We hope no one is bold enough to accuse Christ of such foolishness as that.

THERE is another thought on this verse that is worthy of notice. It is this: Since Christ promised to return for his disciples, it must be that he did not contemplate such a thing as that they would go to him before he should return. He could see what was in the future, and if the disciples were going to be with him at any time before his second coming, he knew it. But if such had been the case, he would not have said that the object of his coming was to take them to himself. The fact, therefore, that he did make the receiving of them to himself the object of his coming, shows that he did not know that they could be with him without his coming, and that is equivalent to saying that they could not be with him unless he should come.

PAUL adds the weight of his inspired testimony to that of our Saviour. Said he: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. 3:4. Notice the adverb of time. When Christ shall appear, then shall ye appear with him. No comment on this text could make it any clearer than it is as it stands. Read it, and accept it in its most obvious sense, and you have the main facts concerning the second coming of Christ.

AGAIN the apostle says: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. He had reached the end of his course, and he had confidence of his acceptance with God. Did he therefore say, I shall therefore receive my reward immediately? No; "henceforth," i. e., from this time onward, "there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." Well, how long is it to remain "laid up"? The answer is implied in the closing part of the verse: "And not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing." We would gather from this that the crowns are given at the appearing of Christ. But we are not left to conjecture and inference in so important a matter. Peter exhorts the elders of the church of Christ to do their duty faithfully, and says by way of encouragement: "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Peter 5:4. That is when the crowns will be given. If they are given when Christ appears, they cannot be given before.

IT is with this in view that the apostle James exhorts the brethren to patience. "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." Jas. 5:8. The full force of his exhortation cannot be appreciated unless we read the previous verses. He begins the chapter with an arraignment of certain ones for oppressing the poor. He says to them: "Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." Verse 6. And then turning immediately to the brethren—the oppressed ones—he says: "Be patient therefore brethren, unto the coming of the Lord." As much as to say, Endure these things patiently, however unjust they may be, for the Lord is coming soon, and then you will receive your reward. And with all this Peter heartily agrees when he says: "Be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:15.

IN 1 Thess. 4:15-17 Paul gives a most graphic description of the coming of the Lord. He prefaces his account with the statement that it is "by the word of the Lord;" he did not give it on his own authority. We that remain unto the coming of the Lord, he says, shall not go before them that are asleep. The Thessalonian brethren did not comprehend the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and supposed that their departed friends were lost forever; that only those who should be living at the time of the Lord's coming could share in its glory. The apostle comforts them with the assurance that the living shall not have any precedence over the dead. Take particular notice, however, of what Paul did not say. He did not say, as many a modern comforter would do, "We shall not go before them which are asleep; on the contrary, they have gone before us, and are now safe in the arms of Jesus." This is what Paul did not say. Had he said so, some of his brethren might have inquired if all who go before to the arms of Jesus, spend their time in sleeping. If the doctrine that the saints receive their reward at death had been believed in by Paul, here would have been a grand opportunity to present it. But he did not do so. Let us see why.

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. This is what Paul did say. The "dead in Christ" shall rise. What did they care about that? Why, he was telling them about their dead friends. Yes, but when he introduced the subject, he was speaking of "them which are asleep," them "which sleep in Jesus." Exactly; and now he uses this other term in reference to the same class; and so we learn that those "which sleep in Jesus," are "the dead in Christ." They are to "rise" when the Lord comes; and further, they will "rise first;" that is, before the living are taken. As soon as the dead have been raised, then "we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." So neither class has the precedence; the living do not go to be with the Lord before those that have died; the dead are not now enjoying the bliss of Heaven while the living are toiling in this world; but at the coming of the Lord both shall together be taken to be with him.

"AND so shall we ever be with the Lord." Explicit enough, is it not? How shall we be with the Lord? By the resurrection of the righteous dead and the translation of the living, which will take place at his coming. And notice that this takes in the whole multitude of the disciples of Christ; for it comprises all that are dead, and all who are alive when the Lord comes, and there can be no other class. There is, then, no other means revealed in the Bible, whereby men may be with the Lord, except these two of resurrection and translation. A few favored ones, as Enoch and Elijah, and those who came from their graves at the resurrection of Christ, were not obliged to wait until the coming of the Lord; but they were taken only by one of the two ways mentioned—resurrection from the dead and translation without seeing death.

IT is interesting to note the harmony of the different portions of the Bible on this point. What we were forced to conclude from the promise of Christ, namely, that his disciples could not be with him until he comes, is stated in plain words by Paul. Besides what we have read above, we have his testimony in Heb. 11. In that chapter Paul speaks of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Gideon, David, Samuel, and many martyrs, "of whom the world was not worthy," and says: "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." Verses 39, 40. What stronger testimony is needed? One needs only to read the plain texts of Scripture to be convinced that to the people of God the coming of the Lord is everything. Without that, all their hopes are lost. It is the time of their reward.

"THEM which sleep in Jesus." On this clause Dr. Albert Barnes comments as follows:—

"A most beautiful expression. It is not merely that they have a calm repose—like a gentle slumber—in the hope of waking again, but that this is 'in Jesus'—or through (dia) him; that is, his death and resurrection are the cause of their quiet and calm repose. They do not 'sleep' in heathenism, or in infidelity, or in the gloom of atheism, but in the blessed hope which Jesus has imparted. They lie, as he did, in the tomb—free from pain and sorrow, and with the certainty of being raised up again."

On the expression in 2 Tim. 4:8: "Unto all them also that love his appearing," Dr. Barnes says:— "That is, all who desire his second coming. Faith in the second advent of the Lord Jesus as coming to judge the world, and a desire for his return, became a kind of criterion by which Christians were known. No others but true Christians were supposed to believe in his return to our world, and no others truly desired it. Compare Rev. 1:7; 22:20. It is so now. It is one of the characteristics of a true Christian that he believes that Christ will come again to judge the world; that he sincerely desires his return, and that he would welcome his appearing in the clouds of heaven." E. J. W.

NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.

By W. N. Glenn

AUGUST 31.—Ps. 19.

"THE heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work." Verse 1. The highest conception of a deity entertained by any idol-worshippers has only comprehended the heavenly bodies. The extent, then, of the natural mind is limited to the things that are seen, or otherwise brought within the scope of the natural senses. All knowledge beyond this must be received of the Spirit, and is spiritually discerned. But these heavenly bodies, notwithstanding their magnificence, are revealed to us by inspiration as merely the handiwork of the true God. The infidel scientist, so-called, will study and admire the planets and their wonderful movements, but he fails to see in them the evidence of that which they so loudly declare, namely, the glory of God.

REGARDING the majesty of the Creator, a more beautifully scientific utterance could hardly be imagined than the first six verses of this psalm. The planets and stars furnish evidence, speaking to the senses of man wherever their light is seen; and the evidence is continual—"day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." An expressive incident is told of a heathen monarch who haughtily said to a Jew, "Where is your God? show him to me." The Jew replied, "I cannot show you my God, but come and I will show you one of his messengers;" and pointing to the sun, added, "look at him." The monarch answered, "I cannot, it pains my eyes." "Then," said the Jew, "how could you look upon the sun's Creator, at whose rebuke the pillars of heaven tremble?"

NATURALLY, the seventh verse and onward contemplate the law of the Creator whose glory and power are so emphatically attested in the preceding verses. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Six thousand years of practical test have demonstrated the perfection of his law governing the movements of the planets, and we would naturally expect an equal degree of wisdom in framing a moral law. The expression, "converting the soul," shows that the moral law is referred to, as such an effect could hardly be expected of any other law—not even a "constitutional amendment." True, a law of the senate of pagan Rome did once declare the empire to be "Christian," but the sequel failed to show that there was any conversion of soul about the transaction. Nor have any subsequent bulls or edicts to a like end evinced any soul-converting influence upon the world. According to Paul's experience, it was the law that showed him his sin, and he identifies it by referring to the command, "Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7. And in verse 12, he adds his testimony to that of David, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."

"THE testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." Spurgeon remarks upon this:

"What a blessing that in a world of uncertainties we have something sure to rest upon. We hasten from the quicksands of human speculation to the terra firma of divine revelation."

The testimony of the Lord is given to us through his prophets, and he has said that he "will do nothing but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7. Most people, even Christian ministers, claim that the prophets are obscure and uncertain of interpretation. It is nowhere promised that they shall be understood without study and prayer. Daniel searched and prayed earnestly to understand the prophecy regarding the return of captive Israel to Jerusalem. Jesus enjoined the Jews to search the Scriptures for eternal life—not merely to read them casually; and furthermore, it was necessary for them to do his will in order to know of his doctrine. According to Peter's testimony, the word of prophecy is "more sure" than actual human sight, and is a "light that shineth in a dark place." But every attainment in the Christian life costs an effort, and it is only through earnest labor and faith that light and help may be secured in the narrow and difficult way of salvation. But "the testimony of the Lord is sure," his arm is strong, and he is willing to "save to the uttermost" all who come unto him through Christ.

"THE statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." What heart can it be that is rejoiced by God's statutes? It must be the converted heart, for the unconverted, or carnal, heart "is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8:7. Then what estimate can we place upon that "Christianity" that says, "We have nothing to do with the law," and persists in its violation.

"MORE to be desired are they [the statutes and judgments of God] than gold, yea than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." This does not sound as though they were very burdensome, as some religious teachers would have us believe. We are told by modern expounders that Peter refers to the moral law in Acts 15:10, "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear." We can hardly credit David with desiring a yoke that he could not bear, much less with calling it "sweeter than honey." Furthermore, Christ enjoined the keeping of the commandments (Matt. 19:17), yet declared that his yoke was easy (chap. 11:30).

"MOREOVER by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them is great reward." Verse 11. To this add Solomon's testimony: "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and the reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Also that of James: "Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." Not in his belief; not in his feeling; but "in his deed" [margin, "or doing"]. And with these Paul agrees: "By the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20.

Now how can we dispense with so important an element as this, or dare to change a perfect God-given guide. It serves as a warning, and brings great reward to the obedient. It is a light, and the reproofs of its instruction are the way of life. It is a "law of liberty," and not a yoke of bondage; and he who continueth therein shall be blessed in doing it. It is a glass, before which we may see all character blemishes. By it we have the knowledge of sin, and are driven to Christ as the only remedy. Rom. 7:24, 25; Acts 4:12.

"KEEP back thy servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me." Verse 13. What are presumptuous sins? They are sins against light and knowledge. "The soul that doeth aught presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him." Num. 15:30, 31.

Pharaoh, Korah, Saul, Jeroboam, and Ahab are notable examples of presumption, stubbornly persisting in opposing the known will of God. All will agree in condemning these; but what about the professed Christian who will persist in violating the plain law of God as it is published in every one of the millions of Bibles, in nearly every known language on the earth; and will uphold an acknowledged man-made change in the only commandment that points out the true God of the universe? Surely "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and "to obey is better than sacrifice."

Temperance.

Comfort for Drinkers.

IN New York recently, Maj. C. B. Cotton, vice-president of the Manhattan Temperance Association, made a revelation well calculated to startle liquor drinkers. After confessing that he had manufactured liquors for twenty-five years, he said:—

“We make champagne which you buy for the genuine article. It costs $4.00 a basket to manufacture it; we sell it for $10.00 to dealers. We make the stuff and put it in our own bottles, make a fac-simile label of the genuine, import Spanish corks for the bottles, and French straw and baskets to pack them in. We want to make a genuine imported wine. We buy one barrel of it. Our cooper takes the barrel as a pattern and makes ours by it. They are new and bright. We put them through a staining process, and they come out old and nasty and worn, just like the genuine importation. Thirty-two deadly poisons are used in the manufacture of wine. Not one gallon in fifty sold here ever saw France. We send thousands of gallons of whisky to France to have them come back to us something else. Of all poisonous liquors in the world Bourbon whisky is the deadliest. Strychnine is only one of the poisons in it. A certain oil is used in its manufacture eight drops of which will kill a cat in eight minutes, and a dog in nine minutes. The most temperate men in New York are the wholesale dealers. They dare not drink the stuff they sell.”—Sel.

Cigarette-Smoking.

IN regard to the results of cigarette-smoking, physicians say it affects seriously the functions of the stomach, especially in the young. It has a tendency to increase the action of the heart, causing palpitation. It is a fruitful source of indigestion. It has a decided tendency to produce catarrh in the head. This, it is said, arises from the fact that a cigarette, being much shorter than a cigar, more of the smoke finds its way into the mouth and nasal organs, a very much larger percentage of smoke being inhaled by the smoker from a cigarette than from a cigar. Cigarette-smoking, it is averred, has also a decided tendency to produce asthma, and renders the system more liable to the attacks of pneumonia and bronchitis. In its effects upon the nervous system, cigarette smoking is said to be in the highest degree pernicious, both directly and indirectly. It destroys healthy appetite for solid food, and by the constant expectoration it produces, leads to a morbid craving for drink. Injury or destruction of the nerves of the eyes, it is alleged, has been in hundreds of instances produced by cigarette-smoking.—Scientific American.

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