p. 419 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 27. (7/15/1889)

Signs of the Times

Jul 15, 1889

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Jul 15, 1889

The Danger of Continuing in Sin

THE danger of continuing in sin or constant backsliding is not that God's mercy will fail, but that the sinner will so harden his heart and weaken his moral perceptions that no genuine repentance is possible. Continuance in sin against light benumbs the conscience and unables it to distinguish between right and wrong. A few selfish, sentimental tears are looked upon as an evidence of true repentance, and the sinner is satisfied. The work goes no deeper; sin is not exceeding sinful in his sight. He thinks God will excuse these little things, not realizing that a love of "little sins," as man may call them, is just as much an indication of the love of sin as are great sins. "He that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much." By and by God in his mercy administers strong reproof to the sin-blinded man, and his hardened heart rises in open rebellion against it. All means are exhausted which would bring him to repentance. He has resisted the pleadings of God's Spirit; the warnings and admonitions of the word are unheeded; and now strong reproof is given from some servant of God, and he willfully rejects the best means by which God can restore him, and God forever rejects him. "He, that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Prov. 29:1. Better, far better, to say with the psalmist: "Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; and let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon my head; let not my head refuse it." Ps. 141:5 (R. V.).

CHRIST'S YOKE IS EASY.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

(Concluded.)

THERE are many who seem to be afraid that if they come to Jesus the Lord will get some of their means. They manage someway to bury it all in the world. If the Lord has given you the talent of means, it is that it may be given out to the exchangers, that at his coming he may receive his own with usury. The ability God gives us, is not to be used for self, to gratify selfish ambition and pride. We are to employ our talents that we may be co-workers with Christ in winning souls for eternal life. We are not to despise small opportunities, but to improve them as they come to us.

In England a minister went to his church to preach one rainy morning, and found that he only had one man for audience. But he would not disappoint his hearer, and he preached to him with earnestness and interest. As a result the man was converted, and became a missionary, and through his efforts thousands heard the good news of salvation. One discourse did the work for him, and he gathered abundantly for the Master.

While in Vallance, France, I spoke at one time to a congregation of six with as much interest as I speak to this congregation to-day. That discourse resulted in much good. An intelligent man who had given up the truth, again took his stand on the Lord's side, and he has devoted his talents to doing the Lord's work. We must sow beside all waters, not knowing which shall prosper, this or that. We must put out our talents to the exchangers whenever there is opportunity.

I am glad that we have a Saviour who understands all our woes. It is true we manufacture half our trouble, and suffer grief that is imaginary and unnecessary. There is much trouble in our families that might be avoided by manifesting courtesy and love. Jesus wants us to have religion in the home. He wants us to reveal his Spirit to those around us. We need to cultivate love. There are some who think that it is an evidence of weakness to show affection, to speak words of kindness. There are persons hungry for affection who seldom receive anything but bitter, unkind words. But if you manifest a harsh, unsympathetic spirit, you will see the same spirit reflected in those around you. All need tenderness and compassion. You should not make it harder for those who have difficulties and sorrows by speaking unkindly and harshly.

Why should we not constantly cultivate a Christlike, kind and compassionate and loving spirit? Why should we allow Satan to make us his agents in the family circle, to cast a shadow when we may reflect light? You cannot afford to speak these harsh words; they will meet you again in the day of Judgment. We must put on the whole armor of God, and get a right hold from above.

Christ invites all the weary and heavy laden to come to him. He wants you to make him your friend and confidant. You have sought for human friendship and have revealed to others matters that belong only to husband and wife. You have brought in a third party to make mischief by betraying your secrets to those who should know nothing of them; but if you make Christ your familiar friend, he will never betray your confidence. Jesus will take no advantage of your confidence. He will listen patiently. He will know just what counsel to give, just what you should do, and he will adjust every difficulty for your own good. He will be a safe counselor, and will understand the motives which have prompted you to action.

When you come to Jesus, leave your burden with him. Do not carry away your load to torture some other soul with it. Leave it with him who alone can understand it all. The religion of Jesus elevates, ennobles, and refines the character. If we are learners in his school, he will put his mould upon us, and enable us to stand with moral power against the temptations of the evil one.

When Jesus bowed on the banks of Jordan at his baptism, Heaven was opened to his prayer in behalf of humanity. The Spirit, in the form of a dove of burnished gold encircled his head, and a voice from Heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." What does this say to us? It says to every poor tempted soul, Heaven is opened to the prayers of humanity. Christ has encircled the fallen race with his human arm, and with his divine arm he has grasped the throne of the Infinite. Through the merit of Christ, Heaven is opened to man. "These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth: I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." The gates are open, and the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ shines to man. The light of Heaven may shine upon you, as it shone upon him.

Mothers, the invitation is for you, in your annoyances and perplexities, to come and find rest at the feet of Jesus. You must obtain his grace in dealing with your children. I never allowed my children to see mother out of patience. I did not try to correct them until I knew that I had perfect control over all my feelings of impatience. When I approached them with voice and spirit subdued, I gained their confidence. We are to learn meekness of spirit from the divine Master.

The children should be regarded as younger members of Christ's family. We should never utter a word that we would not be willing to hear repeated by our children. We are to learn of Christ while we are teaching them. When parents are patient and forbearing, and children kind and obedient, Heaven looks down with joy upon your households. Do you remember what Christ said to Peter? He not only said, "Feed my sheep," but also, "Feed my lambs." The lambs must be fed. Ministers should give more attention to the lambs of the flock. These young, tempted souls who have to contend with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil, need your sympathy and patience, and love. You should speak words of encouragement to them. They are members of Christ's family. They should be bound to your hearts by the silken cord of love. They must be instructed to come to Christ, and find rest in all their temptations and burdens. They should be brought to him who is meek and lowly in heart, that they may learn of him, and bear his yoke, and they will find that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

The Signs of the Times.

By Editor

PUBLISHED WEEKLY, FOR THE International Tract and Missionary Society.

(For terms, etc., see last page.)

Entered at the Post-Office in Oakland.

Catholics in San Quentin Prison

ON a recent Sunday, Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco, conducted religious services in the State Prison at San Quentin, and found that out of 1,300 convicts in the institution, 600 were Catholics. Comment is unnecessary.

Sunday Keeping and Divine Judgments

By Editor

REV. J. M. FOSTER, an ardent National Reformer, thinks that the Johnstown disaster was a judgment from Heaven because of the failure of this nation to observe Sunday properly. We would like to have him explain the recent terrible accident to the Methodist excursion train in Ireland, by which one hundred of its passengers, one-half of whom were children, were killed. Had they, too, been remiss in Sunday keeping?

Faith Precedes Love

In the Christian life, faith precedes love. We cannot love in the truest sense him in whom we have no confidence. First in the Christian experience is belief in God and his word. That is followed by conviction of sin which comes by the study or hearing of that word, impressed upon the heart by the Holy Spirit. Faith follows true conviction of sin, and justification or forgiveness of sin follows faith. And to crown the Christian life, the blessings brought by faith, through the presence of the Spirit of God creates within us love. Love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit is given in answer to the prayer of faith. Matt 7:11; Heb. 11:6. Confidence is a necessary element in the foundation of true and wise love. We cannot love where we cannot confide; and confidence is truest faith.

The Christian Is Not of the World

THE child of God, although in the world, is not of the world. The aims and objects and pursuits and pleasures of the world are not his. He uses the things of the world, but it is for his Master. While he will obey all righteous, earthly laws, he will not seek power or position. His highest allegiance belongs to a higher power than human. His King is absent. When here, that King declared, "My kingdom is not of this world." "As he is, so are we [his followers] in this world." He paid tribute, but he did not seek for position. He did not mingle in politics, did not attach himself to any party. His followers should be like him. The corruptions of politics, the chicanery of elections, the questionable methods of all parties, make the politics of the world no place for a follower of Christ. In fact, the Christian is a stranger, an alien (Heb. 11:13; 1 Pet. 2:11); their "conversation," literally, "citizenship," or place where citizenship is exercised, "is in Heaven," from whence cometh their King. Phil. 3:21.

Christ Perfected Through Suffering

It is said of Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, that he was made "perfect through suffering." This certainly does not refer to moral character; for there was no spot or blemish in him. To what then does the perfection refer?—To his priesthood. Jesus could not be a perfect high priest till he knew by his own experience in mortal, sinful flesh, the infirmities of man and the temptations to which he was subject. So he was born of a woman, under the law, suffered in meeting temptations, and conquered through divine strength. "Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." Heb. 2:17, 18. And this principle obtained also in the Levitical dispensation. Men were made priests who could have compassion on the erring. Heb. 5:12. How great is the favor and compassion of God! The sufferings of the Son of God were all for us.

ONLY THY WAY, O GOD.

By Charlotte Fiske Bates

HAVE thou thy way with me, O God! Although I beg my own; Heed not the body's noisy cry, But the soul's undertone.

Have thou thy way with me, O God! This is my spirit's choice, Though stubborn greed of present good Drowns all with deafening voice.

Have thou thy way with me, O God! And, O my soul, take care, To have thy daily attitude In keeping with my prayer. —Charlotte Fiske Bates.

DOING LITTLE THINGS FOR CHRIST.

By Congregationalist

IN an important sense there are no little things. Nothing is plainer to the thoughtful mind than that an occurrence which apparently is trivial may prove to have the most enduring and vitally important results. Events are so interblended in themselves and their relations that anything may be of consequence, and all things often seem to be. Yet we naturally, and not improperly, term those matters little, which, because of regular or frequent occurrence or of seeming unimportance, do not take strong hold of our attention, but are attended to as they occur in an almost mechanical manner, or with only the temporary heed which they necessarily require. One of the earliest and gravest temptations which the Christian has to encounter grows out of these facts. It is that of regarding the little things of life as beneath the divine notice. We become careless in regard to them while we eagerly watch for opportunities of distinguishing ourselves by striking instances of Christian service.

These little things, however, make up life, and shape and determine personal character. This truth is too familiar to need more than the merest statement. They must be consecrated, because God has so ordered our lives that we cannot show our loyalty to Him convincingly except through them. We do not trust his piety much who does not show its genuineness in the familiar relations of daily life. Let it be remembered, also, that this sort of proof can be given by any and everybody. Here we all stand on the same footing exactly.

Many of us cannot do for Christ the grand things which we see others do. But we all can bear the little burdens, do the small duties, fulfill the trifling demands, which every day brings to everyone of us, in the true spirit of Christian love and service which Jesus himself exhibited. Thus endeavoring no one will fail of his reward.

"THE SPIRITS IN PRISON."

By Bishop William Taylor

1 PETER 3:19-22.

THE Church of Christ was passing through a severe storm of persecution, when Peter assures the believers that "the Spirit of Christ" was their only source of power and of comfort, and draws a simple illustrative parallel between their days and "the days of Noah." The points in the parallel are:

(1) The condition of the antediluvians in the latter days of Noah, as compared with the condition of the Jewish nation in the latter days of Peter.

The old world had been adjudged at the bar of God's providential government, and the sentence of death had been passed upon it. An armistice of one hundred and twenty years was granted them, "while the ark was a preparing." During that long period between the sentence and its execution they were condemned prisoners. . . .

The idea of prison walls, chains, and bolted doors, by which the scene is metaphorically transferred to the prison-house of the dead, is entirely misleading. The dogma of purgatory is based on this sandy foundation. The speculative theory of "a second probation" claims support from it, and many learned Biblical expositors point to it as a jungle of mystery so profound that it is better to take the path round it, and not attempt to go through it; as though the plain fisherman of Galilee had of set purpose propounded a problem of mysteries to confound the wisdom of the learned of the centuries to come; when in fact, though his themes are in depth unfathomable, in height immeasurable, and in sublimity transcending human thought, his inspired statements and illustrations were as well adapted to the perceptions of the unlearned Jew and Gentile believers, composing largely the churches to which he was writing, "scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia," as is the twelfth chapter of Paul's letter to the Church at Rome. The primary meaning of the Greek word, here rendered prison, is "a watch"—a quaternion of soldiers set to guard prisoners. If God's "watch," charged with the responsibility of holding in custody "the condemned spirits" of those old sinners, was unable to hold them securely till their execution day, then the secondary sense of the word, implying prison-walls, chains, and doors, would apply in this case; but God had no need of anything of that sort. They could escape impending judgment only by hearkening to the messenger of mercy whom he sent, filled with the Spirit of Christ, to call them to repentance.

So the Jewish nation had filled its cup of apostasy and corruption, and had become "a vessel of wrath fitted for destruction," and, like the apostate world in the days of Noah, had been adjudged at the bar of God's providential government, and the sentence of death had been passed upon it; so that, during the

lapse of time between the sentence and its execution upon the nation as such, and upon its incorrigible offenders, they were "spirits in prison."

2. As God sent Noah, "a preacher of righteousness," filled with the "Spirit of Christ," as an ambassador of peace to the old world, so he sent his son, the Prince of Peace, with his whole train of witnesses and apostles, to proclaim deliverance to the captives of the condemned nation.

3. As the relentless carnal enmity of the old world against God led them to reject the message of his servant and treat him with contempt, so the same spirit pervaded the Jewish nation in the days of Peter, and manifested itself as it did in the days of Noah.

4. As Noah, inspired by the Holy Spirit, endured all the "contradictions" of the prisoners of his day, with Christ-like meekness and patience, so the servants of God, in Peter's day, and in all the ages following, filled with the same Holy Spirit, should emulate the example of Noah.

5. As Noah, without a convert to encourage him in his ministry of one hundred and twenty years, went on with the patience, love, sympathy, and quenchless zeal, derivable alone from the Spirit of Christ, till the "door was shut," so the ambassadors for Christ of Peter's day, and through all the coming centuries, should not dishonor Christ by anything less or lower than the Spirit exhibited by Noah.

6. As the judgment was executed to the utmost of its design against the condemned rebels in the days of Noah, so shall the pending judgment of God be executed on the Jewish nation and its incorrigible rebels. . . .

7. As Noah and his family, maintaining their baptismal fidelity to God, floated in safety, serene while the infidel world sank beneath the waters that deluged the face of the earth, so all who, like Noah, maintain their right relation to God by abiding in Christ and manifesting his spirit, shall have "the answer of a good conscience toward God," and shall float in perfect safety above the fires that shall melt the elements with fervent heat and consume the world.—Bishop Wm. Taylor, in African News.

THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS.

THE best general statistical work is Daniel's Lehrbuch der Geographie. Of this the sixty-fourth edition has recently appeared, which contains some interesting statements and figures. According to these the number of inhabitants on the globe is about 1,435,000,000. There are 3,064 distinct languages and dialects known. There are about 1,100 different religions. There does not exist a single people which is without a religion of some kind. Even the lowest on the social scale have some religious idea, however crude. Christianity has 432,000,000 adherents. The Roman Catholic Church numbers 208,000,000; the Greek or Oriental Orthodox Church, 83,000,000; the Protestant Church, 123,000,000. Besides these there are about 100 sects or smaller divisions claiming to be Christians, with 8,000,000 adherents. Of the non-Christians, 8,000,000 are Jews, 120,000,000 are Mohammedans. These adherents of Islam are divided into three sects, the Sunites, Shiites, and Wappabites, while there are about seventy smaller Mohammedan sects. All other human beings are non-monotheistic, or heathen, and embrace 875,000,000 souls. Among the heathen religions Brahminism is the most widely spread, and embraces about 138,000,000 adherents, and its younger offshoot, Buddhism, embraces 503,000,000. Other heathen religions have 135,000,000 adherents. There are thus yet over 1,000,000,000 of souls who are not Christians.—Christian Commonwealth.

THE LAND OF THE CZARS. NO. 8.

By J. W. Scoles

WHILE it might be interesting to take up the past religious history of Russia, it is entirely out of the question within the limits of an article like this. The present condition of religious affairs is all that can be described, and this not so fully as desirable.

The same indifference to individual rights which prevails in governmental affairs is manifested in religious matters also, as indeed might be expected, since, next to the name of God, the name of the emperor is the most sacred in their vocabulary, and the two names are almost synonymous in the estimation of many of the people. The administrative power is supreme with the Czar, who appoints the entire hierarchy, which, in turn, is consecrated by the holy synod. This is a board composed of the highest dignitaries of the church, and supposed to possess supreme ecclesiastical power. So far as oppression is concerned, there is but little difference between the possibilities of the Eastern and the Romish churches, although, practically, the Russian church is more tolerant in some respects than its Western rival, against which, however, unbounded suspicion, and even hatred is freely shown.

The Greek Church, as we term it, is not recognized by that title in Russia, being known there as the Orthodox Catholic Faith, or, as it is generally called, the Faith. Most other religions found in the Old World have adherents in Russia, and some of them have a considerable following, as, for instance, Lutheranism among the Germans, and Romanism among the Poles. They possess no important privileges, however, as does the Orthodox faith, and are merely tolerated, as it were, because they are there. The great body of the people yield implicit obedience to the religion of the State, as indeed, they cannot well do otherwise, since, under no circumstances, is a member allowed to sever his connection with its communion.

The difference between the doctrines of the Roman Catholic and the Russian churches is so slight as to be scarcely worth noticing. In the early ages of Christianity the two formed but a single church, and the differences between them have therefore come in since their division. The Eastern church refuses to recognize purgatory, and baptizes by trine immersion. Confession is obligatory, while transubstantiation, extreme unction, mass, and a host of other abominations exist the same as in the church of Rome.

In church government, however, greater differences are noticed. The priests, who go by the name of popes, are allowed to marry once; this privilege, however, is refused to monks, bishops, and nuns. A priest desiring to abandon his vocation and return to worldly life can obtain such privilege by permission of the synod. A clergyman of any other denomination, who is condemned to any infamous punishment, or is sentenced to be branded or to be sent to the mines, even though he may afterward be pardoned, can never resume his clerical position.

The Russians, while not canonizing so many saints as the Roman Catholics, have more feast and fast days by far than the latter, so many, indeed, that the greater part of the year is taken up by them. The Easter festival and its accompanying holy-days alone occupy one-sixth of each year. The worship of holy pictures, so called, and relics, especially pieces of bones said to be those of saints, is very common among them. No instrumental music is admitted into their church services, only choral singing being allowed. Statues and images in stone are condemned, but in their place are numerous ikons, or painted portraits, of the Virgin and various saints, which are worshipped with even more veneration than that shown by the devotees of the Roman Catholic church to their statues. In fact, his picture images are dearer to a Russian than anything else, and idolatry of this description is far more prevalent than is generally supposed. Some of these ikons are supposed to have miraculous virtue in healing diseases, and it is a common

thing to see kerchiefs, scarfs, and other articles of apparel placed before them in many Russian churches. Pages might be written on this subject, but the foregoing must suffice.

It may be well, however, while considering the subject of religion, to refer to the penalties imposed for any violation of religious sentiment in Russia. Probably no other civilized country to-day provides as severe punishment for such offences. I do not know of any country where the true workings of "National Reform" are more apparent than in Russia, and in order that the real similarity may be more fully seen, references to the Russian Penal Code are given herewith.

The code consists of 1,877 sections, which are grouped into chapters, and these chapters are in turn summed up into what are called titles or divisions, each of these titles dealing with the main features of the special class of crimes which it recognizes. These divisions seem to have been classified in the estimated order of their importance. The first place, therefore, after reference to general crimes and degrees of guilt, is given to offenses against the Church, under the heading, "Title II. Crimes against the Faith." This division contains too many sections to be given entire, but a few passages are hereby subjoined, as giving a fair sample of the spirit which actuates the whole:—

"SECTION 176. Whoever dares with premeditation, and publicly in a church, to blaspheme [literally, 'to lay blame upon'] the glorious Triune God, or our Most Pure Ruler and Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, or the illustrious Cross of the Lord God Our Saviour Jesus Christ, or the Incorporeal Heavenly Powers, or the Holy Saints of God and their images, such person shall be deprived of all civil rights and exiled for life, with not less that twelve nor more than fifteen years of penal servitude. If such crime shall be committed not in a church but in a public place, or in the presence of a number of assembled people, be that number large or small, the offender shall be deprived of all civil rights and exiled for life, with not less than six nor more than eight years of penal servitude."

"SECTION 177. If the offense described in the foregoing section be committed not in a public place nor before a large assemblage of people, but nevertheless in the presence of witnesses, with an intention to shake the faith of the latter or lead them astray, the offender shall be deprived of all civil rights and exiled for life to the most remote part of Siberia."

"SECTION 178. Whoever, with premeditation, in a public place and in the presence of a large or small assemblage of people, dares to censure the Christian faith, or the Orthodox Church, or to revile the Sacred Scriptures or the Holy Sacraments, such person shall be deprived of all civil rights and exiled for life, with not less than six nor more than eight years of penal servitude. If such crime shall be committed not in a public place nor in the presence of an assemblage of people, but nevertheless before witnesses, and with an intention to shake the latter's faith and lead them astray, the offender shall be deprived of all civil rights and exiled for life to the most remote part of Siberia."

It will be seen from this last section that even talking the "present truth" with families, as is done in this country, could be so construed as to render the offender liable to be sent into exile.

Section 179 provides that any person, who is aware of the violation of the sections just mentioned, shall inform the authorities or be imprisoned from four to eight months.

Section 182 declares that "all persons who shall be found guilty of so-called scoffing—that is, of making sneering or sarcastic gibes that show manifest disrespect for the rules or ceremonies of the Orthodox Church, or for Christianity in general—shall be imprisoned for not less than four nor more than eight months."

These, however, are not all the offenses coming under the title of "Crimes against the Faith," by any means. A whole chapter is devoted to heresy and dissent from the orthodox faith of the country. Punishments of terrible severity are provided for those who dare to renounce the faith of the State church, or to publicly express heretical opinions. For instance, Section 184 provides that if a Jew or Mohammedan shall, by persuasion, deception, or other means, induce any one to give up the true church and join the Jewish or Mohammedan faith, he shall be deprived of all civil rights and exiled for life, with not less than eight years of penal servitude.

Section 187 is almost as severe. It declares that if any person tempt or persuade an adherent of the Russian church to leave that church and join some other Christian denomination, he shall be exiled to Siberia for life.

Section 196 provides that all persons who shall be guilty of aiding in the extension of existing sects, or who shall be instrumental in the creation of new sects hostile or injurious to the Orthodox Faith, shall be deprived of all civil rights, and exiled for life to Siberia or to the Trans-Caucasus.

And so we might go on, filling whole pages, but this is enough for us to see that difficulties to which we are strangers here, confront the cause of God at every step in that far-off land. Yet the command from our Master is to occupy till he comes, and if we do not carry the truth into this part of the earth, how can we occupy this field for God and his work?

As we close this series of articles upon this subject, it is with an earnest desire that the Lord of the harvest may send forth laborers into this part of the great harvest field. And may we who remain, so uphold their efforts by our continual prayers, and by the free bestowal of our means, that many honest souls may be led to see and accept the light of God's truth for to-day, and may at last with us and all the faithful ones, be gathered into the soon-coming kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. J. W. SCOLES.

REVELATIONS OF GOD.

By Fannie Bolton

BY FANNIE BOLTON.

I saw the heart of sunset beat its hues From west to east o'er all the tender skies. Rose, purple, gold, flushed through the dainty blues, As though emotion thrilled the radiant dies. A glorious joy leaped up in heart and soul, As though some angel's hand traced high above In words of light on heaven's illumined scroll, "The colors of the world are love,—God's love."

Beneath the sky, the hills took up the flame, Reflecting the radiance with a light More delicate, ineffable. There came From all the fields a pæon of delight.

The green trees clapped their leaves in all the glow, The rivers flashed, like diamond circlets riven, The ponds were amethysts. The fields below Flushed in the color of the changing heaven.

Then leaped the wind, soft rushing, like a river, Swelling crescendoes, thrilling, as it blent In sounds of tenderness, that set aquiver My heart, as strings of some fine instrument.

And still more subtle than the shades of light The wind swept through me, as from worlds above; And voices whispered in a rapture, "Write, The sounds of all the world are love,—God's love."

All, all that's fair and fine is but his robes Trailing through all the curse of sin and woe. The tiniest flowers of earth, the mightiest globes, But tell the majesty we long to know.

I sing it as I see the sunshine bright, I sing it as the tender shadows rove, I know it in my soul with deep delight, The beauties of the earth and heaven are love.

But ah! 'tis but the garments of the Lord; 'Tis but the clouds that fold him from our sight. How is that majesty to be adored Whose outer darkness makes for us such light?

What will the radiance be, when we shall see The matchless splendor of that world above? Oh! what the joy be then to thee and me, When we behold the majesty of love?

Oh! here we long for love. We reach our hands. And yet, we could not look upon him now; But, some day, when the graves break in our lands, And immortality shall crown our brows, Then, with strong eyes that will not blur or dim, We'll worship nearer, see, and know above What is the glorious beauty hid in him, Who makes all beauty teach us he is love.

"TOGETHER."

By Michigan Christian Advocate

TOGETHER means in the same place, at the same time, in the same company. And so the seven "togethers" of the Scriptures, as someone has pointed out, show the wondrous indentification of the Lord Jesus Christ with believers, in all the experiences of the spiritual life and its rewards. They indicate the benevolent purpose of God in our redemption, and his plan in effecting that purpose. It is affirmed of us by the Spirit, in the word, that we are—(1) Crucified together with Christ (Gal. 2:20); (2) quickened together with Christ (Col. 2:13); (3) raised together with Christ (Eph. 2:6); (4) seated together with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6); (5) sufferers together with Christ (Rom. 8:17); (6) heirs together with Christ (Rom. 8:17); and that we are to be—(7) glorified together with Christ (Rom. 8:17).

—Michigan Christian Advocate.

"THEOLOGICAL PUZZLES."

By W. N. Glenn

At the yearly meeting of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, recently held in New York, one of their ministers, Samuel Ash, in course of a sermon, said: "It is the peculiar distinction of our society that we are permitted to ignore theological puzzles. We have no doctors of divinity among us to vex us with those problems upon which the human intellect has for ages expended itself to so little purpose."

The New York Observer essays to comment upon this sentiment of Mr. Ash, but in order to get a starting point for criticism, is compelled to put a forced construction upon his words. It says, "Friend Ash regards doctrines as puzzles, hard to understand, and therefore useless to Christian faith and practice;" and having set up this man of straw, proceeds to knock it down. It is true the Society of Friends does "ignore" some doctrines, but it is equally true that some so-called doctrines which the Observer (Presbyterian) holds, are mere "theological puzzles."

On some doctrines the position of the Friends is more consistent than that of their Presbyterian critic, for instance on the matter of baptism. When the Friends ignore water baptism, they do so in toto, relying wholly on the baptism of the Spirit; while the Presbyterians, in ignoring water baptism, which according to the Scriptures represents a burial and a resurrection, have substituted the "theological puzzle" of sprinkling. The doctrines of the Bible are not nearly so puzzling as the theological substitutes upon which many denominations and divines have for ages expended their energies.

But the Friends do not take full advantage of their privilege in being "permitted to ignore theological puzzles." They hold to the eternal torment theory, in common with the Presbyterians, and in this matter would of course be beyond criticism by the Observer. In Ps. 37:10 we read: "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." And in verse 20: "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume, into smoke shall they consume away." Then in Malachi 4:1 it is declared: "For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."

Then we learn from 2 Peter 1:19 that the sure word of prophecy is a light that shineth in a dark place, unto which we do well to take heed; and from Rom. 15:4, that "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning"; and from 2 Tim.

3:16, that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine." How, in the face of the above inspired prophecies and the apostolic assurances, any doctor of divinity, or any other person, can by any legitimate inference draw out the dogma of the eternal consciousness of the wicked, is indeed a "theological puzzle."

W. N. GLENN.

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