Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 12, 1894
The Truth Not with the Majority
By Editor
THE smaller the man in authority, the greater his liability to domineer over those in his sphere. A domineering spirit is inconsistent with greatness.—S. S. Times.
THE war cry, the spiritual war cry, which every Protestant ought to raise in these days, is, "The Word, the Word, the Gospel, the Gospel, Christ, Christ," as against the voices of the Papacy and science falsely so called, which are shouting, "The Church, the Church, Tradition, Tradition," "Science, Philosophy, Evolution." The power of the first must come from God alone. The power of the last will be found in the subtle arts of deception, in appeal to civil arm. But if we have the Word, the Gospel, Christ, we have Immanuel—God with us. What can we ask more?
THE word of man has in it all the power of the man uttering it. Permissively it may amount to something, and it may not. The man may utter the word, but he does not know whether or not it will be effectual. But not so with God. He is infinite; his word is infinite also. Behind God's word and in that word inheres the power of the Godhead. It made clean the leper; it gave health to the palsied; it restored hearing to the deaf, sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, and life to the dead. The same voice speaks to the penitent sinner to-day, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." Why not believe God? So shall his words be spirit and life in Christ Jesus.
THE Bible is the great and only standard of Christianity. In that is revealed the whole will of God. It is not possible for moral question to arise in the life of any soul but what he may find sure guidance in the Bible. But he will not find this in his own wisdom; it will not issue to his own glory or self-aggrandizement; he must find it, if at all, by the wisdom of the Spirit of God, and the guidance will issue to the glory of God. But (blessed fact) the glory of God is always for our highest good; and with heart of humility, with submission to God, with simple faith in his word, we may be led "from faith to faith," "from glory to glory," till the likeness of the Author of the Book of God is seen in us.
The Truth Not with the Majority.
The Sunday School Times well says that "progressive movements are not led by majorities." And to show that this is as true in the learned world as elsewhere, it quoted the School Journal as follows: "No body of men is so skeptical of progress as teachers. They . . . argued against normal schools, condemned object teaching, laughed at kindergartens, derided manual training, and predicted a short life to every one of them." And the Times thus concludes: "When one finds himself fairly settled in company with a majority, it is time to begin to look for a higher ideal." True, and preëminently true in religious matters. The real progressive reformers are in the minority. The word of God declares of idolatrous and captive Israel: "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies; because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men." Hos. 10:13. "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." Ex. 23:2. It is well to bear this in mind in these days of deciding even religion and morality by majorities.
THE PAPACY AND THE SCRIPTURES.
By Editor
November 18, 1893, Pope Leo XIII. issued an encyclical letter to all the prelates of the "Catholic world in communion with the Holy See, on the Study of Sacred Scripture." In this letter are many expressions worthy of note, to some of which we call the attention of our readers. The excerpts quoted below are from the translation given by the Catholic Mirror of January 6. He says many good things of the entire inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures, of the way in which Christ and his apostles used the Scriptures, and of the duty of studying them. But this study the pope confines to the schools, to the priests, and to the leaders in the "church" under the "guidance of the church." He says:—
It is certainly a great thing to have proved, explained, and elevated Catholic doctrine by a legitimate and learned interpretation of the Holy Bible, but another task remains, a task which is as laborious as it is important, that the whole authority of the Scripture may be established in as solid a manner as possible. This object cannot be entirely reached except by the proper and enduring guidance of the church.
Just how the Roman Church has established "the authority of the Scriptures" may be learned from her past history. For the Scriptures mean to Rome just what her traditions and interpretations make them. She does not and will not yield up the "infallible" errors of her doctrines and traditions for the infallible and unchangeable truth of God's word. However high she may hold the Scriptures in word, she holds tradition and the church of higher authority; for tradition, or the voice of the church, becomes the only true and authoritative interpreter of the Scriptures.
Rome thus puts herself in the place of the Holy Spirit, the only authorized interpreter of God's word, not through great dogmatical utterances or church councils, but to the individual heart which is open to receive the truth. "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit," says the apostle Paul; "for the Spirit searcheth all things; yea, the deep things of God." "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them [it matters not though taught by council or papal bull], because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth [discerneth] all things." 1 Cor. 2: 10, 14, 15. But the Spirit comes by simple faith, which is under control of no one, not even apostles. Gal. 3: 14; 2 Cor. 1: 24.
But to the proof that tradition is to the Roman Church equal to the Scriptures. In the fourth session of the Council of Trent, 1546, it was declared that the church "doth receive and reverence, with equal piety and veneration, all the books [including the Apocrypha], as well of the Old as of the New Testament, the same God being the author of both—and also the aforesaid traditions ["unwritten traditions"], pertaining both to faith and manners."
It further says of its canon of Scripture:—
Whoever shall not receive, as sacred and canonical, all those books and every part of them, as they are commonly read in the Catholic Church, and are contained in the old Vulgate Latin edition, or shall knowingly and deliberately despise the aforesaid traditions, LET HIM BE ACCURRED.
The same council placed the Latin Vulgate above the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures. An authorized edition of the Vulgate was published in 1590, and declared authentic by Pope Sixtus V., the pope himself correcting the proofs. But this infallible standard of Scripture was found to be so faulty that it was called in, and another issued by Clement VIII. in 1592, accompanied by a similar infallible bull. However, all the copies could290not be called in; there is one copy in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, England, and one in the royal library at Cambridge. Dr. James compared the two authorized infallible and unalterable standards and found 2,000 variations, some of whole verses, and many others clearly and decidedly contradictory to each other.
The council thus speaks of the exercise of private judgment in the study of the Scriptures:—
In order to restrain petulant minds, the council further decrees that, in matters of faith and morals, and whatever relates to the maintenance of Christian doctrine, no one, confiding in his own judgment, shall dare to wrest the Sacred Scriptures to his own sense of them, contrary to that which has been held and still is held by holy mother church, whose right it is to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of Sacred Writ; or contrary to the unanimous [!!] consent of the Fathers, even though such interpretation should never be published. If any disobey, let him be denounced by the ordinances, and punished according to law.
Says an apostle of Jesus Christ, "Not that we have dominion [lordship] over your faith, but are helpers of your joy; for by faith ye stand," a personal faith—there is no other—in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the congregation of the index of prohibited books enacted by the Council of Trent, rule 4 is specific as to the use of the Bible. It reads:—
Inasmuch as it is manifest from experience that if the Holy Bible, translated into the vulgar [common] tongue, be indiscriminately allowed to everyone, the temerity of men will cause more evil than good to arise from it, it is, on this point, referred to the bishops, or inquisitors, who may, by the advice of the priest or confessor, permit the reading of the Bible translated into the vulgar tongue by Catholic authors, to those persons whose faith and piety they apprehend will be augmented and not injured by it; and this permission they must have in writing. But if anyone shall have the presumption to read or possess it without such written permission, he shall not receive absolution until he have first delivered up such Bible to the ordinary.
Booksellers who disposed of such Bibles without written permission should forfeit the price of the books to the church and be subject to "such other penalties as the bishop shall judge proper."
Pope Pius VII. in 1816 condemned Bible societies and the free circulation of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue. Leo XII. in 1824, Pius VIII. in 1829, and Gregory XVI. in 1832 and 1844 did the same. The bull of Pius VII., dated June 26, 1816, addressed to the Primate of Poland, relative to Bible societies, said:—
We have been truly shocked at this most crafty device [Bible societies], by which the very foundations of [the Roman Catholic] religion are undermined. . . . It is evident from experience that the Holy Scriptures, when circulated in the vulgar tongue, have through the temerity of men produced more harm than good.
Gregory XVI., May 8, 1844, in answering those who thought the Bible should be read, calls their claim an "audacious assertion," which was twice withered by sovereign pontiffs in the eighteenth century. Gregory concludes:—
Moreover, we confirm and renew the decrees recited above, delivered in former times by apostolic authority, against the publication, distribution, reading, and possession of books of the Holy Scriptures translated into the vulgar tongue.
Leo XIII. does not in anywise disagree with the above.
Thus it is that Rome has sought to deprive the flock of God of what the Great Shepherd designed to be their daily food. She would put it into the hands of the false shepherds, that they might "foul it with their feet," mix it with the poison of paganism, and give the wretched compound to the starving millions, and tell them it is the bread of life. And under Leo XIII. it will be no better. The rules of the Council of Trent are infallible with him; and while he talks in honeyed phrase of the beauties, benefits, and blessings which are found in God's word, he means that the common people shall taste its milk only after it has been strained through the coal sack of that tradition which has made void the commandments of God. Such may we expect when Rome rules here. May God help those who love his word to improve this time by hiding it in their hearts, that they may not in that time sin against him.
The Reason of It.
By Editor
In another column will be found a short article taken from the Advance of February 22, to which we have given the heading, “A Catholic on the Catholic Church.” It presents a true picture. But why is this so? It is an important question. It is not that the Papal Church has not earnest, devoted, zealous workers, for she numbers them by the thousands in all ages, but the secret of it all lies in the wrong principle lying at the very base of her superstructure. Her religion is the religion of the human nature. Read again the article in the SIGNS of February 19, entitled, “Romanism the Religion of Human Nature.” A religion based on human merit, human works, human exaltation, works of supererogation, where human penance or money can atone for sin, must necessarily be a corrupt religion. Humanity, to be lifted above itself, must be lifted from above. Men must be emptied of self, that Christ may fill them, in order that they may do the works and manifest the virtues of Christ. The human nature in Roman Catholicism is just like human nature everywhere else, but when it is set up as the saviour of the world, it becomes deified, the man of sin, the antichrist. But that religion will continue to make converts; it presents an easy way for the carnal heart to ease conscience. It permits continuation in sin at easy prices, which the sensualist is willing to pay. It promises great rewards and high positions to its devotees. It is the politic religion of the world. And, therefore, because it panders to human nature, it will ever manifest the most innate depravity and corruption, while at the same time it will make most marvelous progress; for it is making progress now, and that rapidly, in this country.
Cornell Sophomores’ Deadly Prank
A MOST cowardly and fiendish act is that reported of the Cornell sophomores. While the freshmen were holding their annual banquet, the sophomores generated chlorine gas in
The Cornell Banquet Gas Attack
the room underneath, and connected the generator with the banquet room by means of rubber tubes. Several of the freshmen were carried out insensible, and the colored cook has died. Truly, as “a madman who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am I not in sport?” “It is as sport to a fool to do mischief.” The thing is murder.
“LOVERS OF PLEASURES.”
By Editor
ONE of the Bible predictions and signs of the last days is that professors of religion, those “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof,” will be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” As a fulfillment of this take the following (which we print verbatim et literatim), clipped from the Gouverneur (N. Y.) Northern Tribune of February 14:—
POVERTY PARTY.
As announced last week, the Y. P. S. C. E. are planning for a social entertainment, and they give us authority to issue the following
INVITASHUN.
To hom it may concern : You air axed to a Poverty Parthy what us yung folks uv the Y. P. S. C. E. air a going to have in the Congregashunal parsunag, Thusday nite, Feburary the 22, 1800 and 94, the same bein Birthingtons wash day.
ROOLS & REGULASHUNS.
Sexshun 1.—Every woman must ware a caliker dress and aprun.
Sexshun 2.—Men must ware ther ole close and phlannel shirts. Biled shurts and stan up dickys air prowhibitted unles they air rinkled.
Sexshun 3.—A kompetent core of ades will bee in atendance. The hull sassiety will enderdoose straingers and look after bashful fellers.
Sexshun 4.—Thare is goin to be speakin and singin by members uv the sossiety.
Sexshun 5.—Phun will kommence at ate p. m. Admisshun only nine senta. Kum and have sum phun.
BY ORDER CUMITY
THE CLAUDE DRAMATIC CLUB
By Editor
The Claude (Texas) News of February 9 has the following announcement:—
THE CLAUDE DRAMATIC CLUB
Will give an entertainment at the
Presbyterian Church in Claude,
—ON—
Saturday Evening, Feb. 10, '94,
At 8 o'clock, on which occasion will be presented the
charming drama, in three acts, entitled
In The Enemy's Camp.
After this is given a synopsis of the “acts,” “the cast of characters,” price of admission, etc., etc.
Keep the Church Sacred
By Editor
God is our witness that we do not present these evidences from time to time to hold up before the world the failings of others, but to warn all of the fearful doom portrayed in these very things, to show that they are evidences of the culmination of the history of this age, and to call back the Christian to the true standard of the word of God. The church, dedicated to the service of God, is no place for parties, theatrical performances, or political gatherings. It is for the worship and service of God, a place to bring souls to hear the word of life, and not mingle the holy and profane till all sense of distinction between good and evil is destroyed. Return to the word of God and the example of Christ.
THE PERFECT MODEL.
By Elder T. H. Starbuck
BY ELDER T. H. STARBUCK.
“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.” Heb. 12:1-2. “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3:14. The Christian life is a profession. Among the many professions known to men some are regarded as more honorable than others; but what is highly prized among men may be lightly esteemed of God. The heart filled with the love of the world may place a fictitious value upon that which is of little merit, and lightly estimate things of infinite worth. The highest calling in this universe is to be a Christian. No other calling so ennobles the character, and it is the only one that can fit men for the joys of the bright eternal. Yet there are comparatively few who choose this noblest of professions. There are few who estimate it at its real value, either for time or for eternity.
When one contemplates the choice of a profession, an ideal is essential to success. Worldly wisdom leads men to imitate the great masters in the varied professions of life. One who is about to choose a literary profession studies carefully the lives and productions of those authors whom he most admires, that he may acquire their skill and modes of thought. Many a schoolboy has had the character of George Washington held up before him as a perfect model. There is no doubt but men are made better in some respects by the choice of an ideal to which they desire to attain. God, who fully understands the needs and tendencies of our fallen human nature, has placed before the world a perfect model in the life and character of Jesus Christ. The contemplation of no other model so transforms the character. He has not only placed this consummate ideal before the world, but he has also made it a law of nature that to place the affections upon any object is to become assimilated to it in character. “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” We become like that which we love.
Transformations acquired by this law often take place in men unconsciously. To choose evil companions, who love the saloon, is to be transformed into a drunkard. To choose refined and cultured society is to become refined and cultured. To love the perfect and sinless life of Jesus is to be transformed into his image. Our hope of heaven will change to glad fruition if we become like Christ, the Ruler of heaven. Without this transformation the pearly gates will never open to us. God is love; and his wonderful love was never so displayed as when he gave his only-begotten Son to become the Captain of our salvation. With such a perfect character before us, there is no limit to the lessons to be learned by looking unto Jesus. Looking unto him draws the affections from every worldly object to that which is most worthy of imitation. To know Jesus and his love is of itself an inspiration. He, the Creator of all things, and upholding all things by the word of his power, became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. His dominion is a great dominion, for there is not a world in existence over which he is not supreme Ruler; but for our sakes he exchanged his throne for a manger, and, instead of its glory, he took upon himself the ignominy and shame that properly belong to us, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The object in looking to him should always be to learn the lessons which God intended for us to learn when he set that perfect life before the world. We may not be able to grasp every reason why Jesus did so much to save a lost world; but his principal object was the infinite joy of saving souls. Heaven is a place of eternal joy, and life is very precious; but their real value is best understood by considering what Jesus did to purchase them for us. Life and heaven never look so precious as when viewed in the light of the cross of Calvary. Were it not that he has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, it is doubtful whether this life would be worth living; but his mission to earth adds new dignity and glory to existence, and reveals its real worth as nothing else can do. Sin has so darkened man's understanding that he is not able to correctly estimate eternal things; but Jesus knows their true value, and we can trust his estimate of their worth. To know that the Majesty of heaven gave his life to secure life to us, is to arouse our interest and assist us to lay hold on eternal life.
By looking unto Jesus we can learn how to become like him. By beholding we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” By viewing the sinless perfection of his character, we gradually approach the same standard. As the sun attracts the worlds that circle around it, so the loveliness of Christ becomes the magnet of the soul, and the desire to be like him takes full possession of the heart, and becomes the inspiration of the life.
By a study of his teachings we can learn to lead others to him. The shining of the stars reveals the fact that there is a great light in heaven imparting to them their glory; and so may the Christian's life reveal the light of him who is the light of the world, and the light of the stars also. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” To know Jesus is to have the heart filled with the same love, and to have an unutterable longing to lead others to the Light of the world. To be sent as an ambassador to represent one's native land at some foreign court is among the highest of earthly honors; but Jesus confers a much more exalted dignity upon his followers. He makes them ambassadors to reveal the glory and dignity of his government to those who are lost in sin, but yet capable of being enlightened and elevated to become citizens of the commonwealth of Israel.
To look unto Jesus is to be made a sharer in his joy. There is joy for the ransomed, and that joy begins here. No joy is like that of being translated out of the kingdom of darkness, where all things are against us and contrary to us, into the kingdom of light, where all things work together for our good, because we love God. It is a condition where even the trials and sorrows of this life are turned into stepping-stones to a brighter existence—additions to the glory that shall be revealed in us hereafter.
To look unto Jesus is to become like him in glory with the Father. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” No earthly profession presents an attainment so sublime and felicitous as to occupy the throne with the King of the universe. The most perfect of all models is the sinless life of the Crucified One. The highest of all professions in the universe is to be an ambassador for him, to assist others to become clothed with his light. Some men reach positions in society where they shine very brightly in this life; but when the events of time have tested all men, the brightest lights among the children of Adam will be those who were light bearers for Christ.
FOLLOW ME.
How MUCH of comfort is expressed in those words of our Redeemer, "Follow me"! He does not ask us to go before him into untried paths, into unmet difficulties, into strange temptations; he does not ask us to turn aside from the oft rugged path into some untrod by-path. He only asks us to follow him in the path which he has trodden before us, into the difficulties which he has met, into the temptations which he has overcome. Here he will cheer us by his Spirit. The fragrance of his life hallows the whole path. Is the way steep and rugged? Jesus has been here before us. Do the briars and thorns wound and tear flesh and garment? Even so they did those of the Master. Do the clouds hang heavily, and does darkness shut us in? A deeper darkness than we may know enveloped4Jesus in this very path. Do we suffer weariness and pain? So did Jesus. Are we perplexed, tempted, tried? He was before we were. Do we meet scoffing and persecution? Jesus met more. His feet have taken every step of the journey which he calls upon us to take. In every trial, every difficulty, every temptation, every cruel assault, we can say with truth, Jesus was here. Jesus was here. And knowing this we can come with full confidence to One who can be "touched with the feeling of our infirmities," who is "a merciful and faithful High Priest," having been made "in all things" "like unto his brethren." To him we can come boldly and "obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." He will walk the path again with us by his Holy Spirit. He will make the roughest places smooth by his presence. The valley of weeping will become a wellspring of joy; the parched land, a fountain of life. And faith will not only say, "Jesus was here," but, "Jesus is here."
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.
By Eliza H. Morton
BY ELIZA H. MORTON.
In every age and clime have weary hands
Been lifted high to God. In darkness men
Have groped, and in the noonday light have not
Forgot to seek for something to adore.
Some say the Christian faith is but a myth,
An idle tale; a poet's dream, a vain,
Delusive fancy of the brain. Not so;
Its ideal is the grandest ever held
Before the mind of man. For, lo, 'tis God
In mercy reaching down to save the lost;
'Tis sacrifice in that which touches chords
Of love. 'Tis love transcendent in its power.
The heathen sacrifice to win to self
Attention from their gods. Those whom the Lord
Have called think not of self, but seek to shed
Abroad the light of truth, to comfort those
Who need a gentle word, to stay the tide
Of sin, to lift the fallen, and to help
All those who struggle to be free from lust,
From envy, and from woe. 'Tis God in man
Transforming day by day the human heart
Into the likeness of the one pure Life;
For "by beholding we are changed." What can
Be nobler than the giving up of self,
The consecration of the powers of the mind
And heart to the great work of lifting men
From depths of degradation to the heights
Of heaven. This is the life of Christ, and this
The life of everyone who truly takes his yoke.
Ye say all this can be performed
Without the Christian hope and faith. Not so.
The purposes of men are weak. He knows
Far better than he of himself can do.
He thinks great deeds are wrought in human
strength;
But, lo, the pride of life casts o'er his work
A blackening blot, and self comes in to mar
The beauty of the soul. Some power above
Must quicken man, and touch and tender hearts,
Before the highest good on earth can come.
O Father, give us of thy power, we pray!
WHOM ARE WE SERVING?
By Mrs. E. G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
(Continued from page 259, No. 17.)
"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" Professed Christians would do well to inquire what God they are serving. Are they serving the God that made heaven and earth, who gave the human race his law, in the bosom of which he placed the fourth commandment, requiring men to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy"? The seventh-day Sabbath is a memorial of the creative power of God, and is to be sacredly observed throughout all generations.
After Israel had been in bondage in Egypt, and through witnessing idolatry had almost forgotten God and the precepts which he had given, the Lord led them forth into the wilderness. He had them assemble about Mount Sinai, and there, amid awful grandeur, Jesus Christ, who was the founder of the whole Jewish economy, spoke the ten precepts of God to the people. Christ unites in himself both the law and the gospel; they are not divided. Those who are offering prayers to the God of heaven and earth will not refuse to be obedient to the plainest precept of the law. They will listen to the voice of Christ, and will "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," as the day on which the Creator of the heavens and the earth rested from all the work which he had done. They will not turn away from the holy commandment, and accept a spurious sabbath instead of the holy, sanctified day that God instituted in Eden as a memorial of his creative power. The Sabbath was given to man as a sign that was to show to whom the allegiance of the people was given.
In the counsels of the synagogue of Satan it was determined to obliterate the sign of allegiance to God in the world. Antichrist, the man of sin, exalted himself as supreme in the earth, and through him Satan has worked in a masterly way to create rebellion against the law of God and against the memorial of his created works. Is this not sin and iniquity? What greater contempt could be cast upon the Lord God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, than is cast upon him by ignoring the Sabbath, which he instituted, sanctified, and blessed, that it might ever be a memorial of his power as Creator? How dare men change and profane the day which God has sanctified? How dare the Christian world accept the spurious sabbath, the child of the Papacy? The Christian world has nourished and cherished the spurious sabbath, as though it had a divine origin, when the fact is that it originated with the father of lies, and was introduced to the world by his human agent, the man of sin. The false sabbath has been upheld through superhuman agency in order that God might be dishonored. It is a sign of Satan's supremacy in the earth, for men are worshiping the God of this world.
The Prince of Light and the prince of darkness are contending for the victory. When Jesus, the Prince of Life, came forth from Joseph's sepulcher, his triumph was assured. As he came forth from the grave, and proclaimed himself the resurrection and the life, the end of Satan's reign on the earth was made certain; but well may the hosts of heaven be astonished to see men exalting him who is the leader of the great rebellion against God. Those who are choosing to honor Satan by exalting the spurious sabbath are making a choice similar to that which the people made when they rejected Christ, that Barabbas, a robber and murderer, should be given unto them.
But because the great majority of the world have accepted the spurious sabbath, it does not give it importance and sanctity in the eyes of heaven. The dishonor to God is none the less because great numbers accept the false sabbath and ignore the Sabbath of the Lord their God. The confederacy of evil in the earth has always been to outward appearance the largest confederacy. At a time of rebellion in Israel men of renown, men famous in the congregation, joined with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in their work of rebellion. In spirit and principle the whole congregation of Israel were one with the workers of iniquity. After the earth had opened and swallowed up the most prominent of the rebels, and a fire from the Lord had burst forth and consumed two hundred and fifty of the princes of Israel, the people were still full of unbelief and rebellion. They came to Moses and Aaron the next day, saying, "Ye have killed the people of the Lord." They persisted in stubborn resistance of light, and would not be convinced, even when God worked in a miraculous way to convince them of the truth. But large numbers on the side of error do not strengthen the cause of iniquity. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish."
The Lord hath a controversy with his people, and, although in his great mercy he bears long with them, yet if they persist in living in transgression of his law, they will not stand in the day of his rebuke. He has seen the backsliding and iniquity of his professed people. He has noted the unbelief, the hypocrisy, the pride, the selfishness, the disobedience to his law, and he will punish for these things. God cannot be in harmony with the people who will not obey his commandments, who are wickedly departing from his precepts, and by their example of disobedience are leading their children and their neighbors in the way of transgression. The professed church of Christ is strengthening the hands of sinners in their evil work by making void, through their traditions, the commandments of Jehovah.
If parents had educated their children to reverence the law of God, as Christ enjoined that they should educate them, we should not see wickedness reaching so great proportions. Through disobedience the world is fast becoming as it was in the days before the flood and as it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. The church has taken the world into her fellowship, and has given her affections to the enemies of holiness. The church and the world are standing on the same ground in transgression of the law of God. The church prefers to assimilate to the world rather than separate from its customs and vanities.
But God will bless all those who do his commandments. He will give grace upon grace to all them that fear him, and walk in the light of truth as they find it by diligently and prayerfully searching the Scriptures. There will be a remnant who will do the will of God. "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
ANCHORED IN THE MUD.
By Ethan Lanphear
BY ETHAN LANPHEAR.
An Illustration.
Two MEN under the influence of liquor tried one night to row a boat across a bay. They rowed all night, and in the morning found they had made no progress whatever, for they had neglected to lift the anchor.293they are praying and rowing for reform, but they make no progress. Their anchor has hold of the snags of pagan sabbaths and ordinances of men.
Many professed Christians act as stupid as these two men. They talk and pray, Thy kingdom come, and this thing and that be done, as if they were making progress; but when God's word lights down upon them, they find themselves right where they started; and what is the matter?—Why; they are anchored in the mud of tradition. This is especially true in respect to the Sabbath. They are mourning over a "Sabbath desecration,"
Raise your anchor, brethren, and attach your cable to the word of God and his commandments. Take Christ at his word, that the Sabbath was made for man, and that the seventh day is the Sabbath. Take him for your example; for he kept the same. Do this and you will educate the consciences of men, and will not be bothered to petition our Legislature or Congress to make laws to compel men to be religious by keeping the commandments of men. Until you raise your anchor you may paddle your canoe, but will never reach the better shore. Why will you persist in your own ways? The true God says, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?"