Earlier text: THE LESSON OF EGYPT'S EXPERIENCEIN THE FUTURE.
By W. S. Bissonnette
Ye shall lift a rapture from a locked despair,
Link the world's black cataract to a wreath of prayer,
When the great day whitens thundering with the Word,
And His feet shall touch the mountains into melting for their Lord. Ye shall tread in softness wrought from flints of scorn,
Stand on kneeling glories fashioned out of thorn,
When the mighty whisper, when the proudest creep,
Then before the throne of grace ye shall dance and leap. When an awful splendor turns to sudden night,
All unlighted faces, ye shall gather light;
When the hallowed brightness searches like a sword,
Then the graves shall burn within them till they burst unto the Lord. Slaves shall lead their masters bound in chains of love,
Dungeons utter wisdom unto thrones thereof;
Cæsar shall go humbly, emperors shall creep,
When before the throne of grace ye shall dance and leap! When all living death shall vanish at God's breath,
Yet your dying life shall cast a bridge o'er death,
When the Christ within you gives a golden cord
To bear the armies of the flesh that cross to meet the Lord. Ye shall stand on kingdoms without lack or scathe,
Captured from the crumbling in the breach of faith;
Yea, the stars shall stumble, time shall fall and sleep
When within the Fount of Life ye are drinking deep. When the slain and conquered to the trump arise,
Stephen of the sun-gaze, Paul with wounded eyes;
Then a dove shall lift you where the saints have soared
To the evermore-expanding and the always-nearing Lord. Colorado Springs, Colo. W. S. BISSONNETTE. “ZACCHÆUS, COME DOWN.”
By H. A. St. John
“ZACCHÆUS, make haste and come down, for to-day I must abide at thy house.” Luke 19:5. It is not always best to come down, when invited or even commanded to do so. After the captivity and return of Israel to Jerusalem, and the work of restoration had begun, the builders on the wall were asked to come down, and counsel, and arrange with some enemies in disguise. The Lord dictated the reply, which was to the effect, “We are doing a great work, and can not come down unto you.” The Lord had called them to that work. And when the Lord calls us to a work, it is a high, holy, and exalted work, however it may appear to others, or even to ourselves. And we ought to regard our service to God, whatever it may be, as a great work, and never hearken to any voice calling us down, excepting the same voice that called us to the work. And the Lord will not call us down, unless we have finished the work or He has another work for us. Satan tried in vain to call Jesus down from the great work He came into the world to do, but Jesus’ ever ready reply was, “Get thee behind Me, Satan; for it is written.” But when the Lord calls a man to come down, it is well for him to make haste and obey. After the transgression of Adam and Eve, they were called down and out,—down from their high and holy first estate; and out from their beautiful Eden home into the world under the curse of sin and death. It was a fearful coming down, but there was no other way up again. Nebuchadnezzar, the proud monarch of a universal kingdom, stood on the top of his grand, kingly palace one day, and surveyed with swelling, selfish pride the beautiful and brilliant capital city of his mighty empire. While uttering words of self-praise for the might of his power, in building great Babylon for the house of his kingdom, and the glory of his majesty, the same voice that spoke to Zacchæus, rang in his ears, Nebuchadnezzar, come down from that magnificent palace. Come out from that city of which you boast. Come down on all fours like an ox, to the mind of an ox, to the diet of an ox. Go to grass for seven years, and learn a lesson of true humility. The Lord does not teach all people filled with vanity the same lesson the same way. If He did, the traveler in the country in these days would see many a form divine quietly grazing with the kine. Nebuchadnezzar instantly obeyed the summons, and learned the lesson well. And, as a result, the Lord called him to come up to his throne again, and he became one of the brightest and best of kings. Everybody must first come down, before they can safely come up. “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” He that exalteth himself, and will not come down in obedience to the call of the Lord, will surely fall from the dizzy height sometime, and great will be the fall. “He that exalteth himself shall be abased.” Zacchæus hastily obeyed the Lord, and came down from the tree, and took the Lord into his house, and into his heart. That was a happy day when salvation came to the penitent and obedient Zacchæus and his household. Reader, do you wish you had been in Zacchæus’ place in the sycamore tree? Do you say you would have gladly and quickly obeyed His command to come down, and accepted of His invitation to abide in your house? If you feel so, the command, the invitation, the solicitation, is to you now. If Jesus is not with you, make haste and come down to Him, open the door of your heart, and invite Him to come in, and He will gladly accept, for He stands6 (182)waiting and knocking for admission. Let Him in, and He will sup with you, and you with Him—and He will abide with you to-day, and to-morrow, and the third day, and forever. O, divine and heavenly Guest, abide with us evermore! How They Became Convinced
[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the Signs of the Times has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.] HOW DID the Sabbath come to me? And what induced me to observe the seventh day? What questions to present to one whose parents, grandparents and great grandparents were Seventh-day Baptists, and thus observers of the true Sabbath! Someone will then say, “The Sabbath never really came to you; you were brought up in it.” Be not too hasty, friend, in your conclusion. Do you consider that the carnal heart of a Sabbath-keeper’s child is no more in harmony with a spiritual law than the unregenerate heart of a Sabbath-breaker’s child? If so, imagine a boy, full of life and activity, residing in a large village, surrounded by every allurement imaginable; while every sport so enjoyable to boyhood was practised, and he often shut away from it by the apparent “whim” of his parents. I imagine his being compelled to run the gauntlet of the jeers of his daily companions because of his “Jewish” peculiarities. Think you those things increase one’s love for spiritual things? Let me tell you, Nay. More than once I longed for the day to come when I might forever cast aside this, to me, “yoke of bondage,” and go with the world. But a change of heart brought a change of desire. What should I do now? I could not blindly follow my parents; I must settle for myself my own personal relation to my Maker. Then began an earnest searching of the law of God, as given in the Ten Commandments. The commandment was plain, and “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God” rang in my ears, till I was nearly sick. “But,” I asked, “has not the law been changed?” This was answered by the fact that the law was a transcript of God’s character; a statement of His will; a pen-picture of His way. As His character, His will, and His mode of action never change, there could be no change in the expression of those principles. The reason assigned in the Sabbath command for our observance of it is “because” He had just observed that day Himself; He had set the example. That command was, then, a picture of His own course of action. That He would do precisely the same thing to-day, were He to reside in this world, was shown by the fact that in the person of Jesus Christ He did spend an entire life among men as the perfect Example for man, and, during that life, never once observed any other day as the Sabbath, but always and everywhere observed His own divine law. Thus I found that twice, once amid the beauties of Paradise, and once in the shadow of Calvary, we have God’s own example for the observance of the seventh day. Thus, with no other example presented to us, and no other command given for obedience, what was an honest, sincere heart to do? Before me, like the lightning’s flash, came the plain declaration: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” And in Him the Sabbath first came to me. Hence I took up the cross, lightened by the love of reverent obedience, and have followed the heavenly pathway nearly twenty years. C. H. EDWARDS. I AM one of the “home-born” ones, my parents having been Sabbath-keepers many years before I was born. My youth was spent on the farm under the Christian influences of my parents. Owing to these influences there was early begotten in me an intense desire to know the Lord. While my father was a man of undoubted piety, I felt that I could not go to him when I longed for his advice and confidence. One Sabbath evening in Jackson, Mich., after having spent the afternoon with some companions in playing ball at the back of the fairground occupied by the camp-meeting, I sought, in company with a very dear friend, the tent of Pastor O. A. Olsen, and told him all about it. There I gave my heart to God. While my subsequent life has been marked by many mistakes, I do praise God that— “He gathers in His bosom
Witless, worthless lambs like me,
And He carries them Himself,
To His own country.”
I write these things that some loving father who is yearning over a wayward son may, without delay, go to him; let heart meet heart, and know that the yearning of his own heart is but the answering chord to the longing of his lonely boy. J. A. LELAND. 1. “CONSCIENCE” comes from “con,” together, and “science,” to know, to know together with oneself. 2. To how many is given conscience? “Commending ourselves to every man's conscience.” 2 Cor. 4:2. 3. What is the office of conscience? “Being convicted by their own conscience.” John 8:9. “Their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.” Rom. 2:15. 4. Conscience is not always good and true. “Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.” Heb. 10:22. 5. By what is conscience affected? “To the pure all things are pure; but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both7their mind and their conscience are defiled.” Titus 1:15. 6. If the evil conscience is cherished, what will result? “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” I Tim. 4:2. 7. By what should conscience be constantly adjusted? “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:20. 8. What is the object of the law? “Now the end [object] of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” I Tim. 1:5. 9. What alone can make a good conscience? “How much more shall the blood of Christ . . . purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Heb. 9:14. 10. How should we regard conscience? “Holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them, made shipwreck concerning the faith.” I Tim. 1:19. 11. How should we ever serve God? “Whom I serve . . . with pure conscience.” 2 Tim. 1:3. 12. How will the man of good conscience regard all proper human laws? “Ye must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.” Rom. 13:5. “Having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ.” 1 Peter 3:16. 13. What will a good conscience always witness? “My conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit.” Rom. 9:1. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments”. John 14:15. THE SPIRITUALLY SICK.
By Cornelia Snow
“All things work together for good to them that love God.” These words are often repeated for the encouragement of those in trying circumstances. With many who profess to love God, all things are not working for good; when this is the case, the individual is spiritually sick. When the body is well, all the activities and processes of life tend to build up the physical being; food is a delight; work strengthens; cold stimulates; heat does no harm. But in sickness, the condition is opposite; food generally makes the patient worse; work tears down; thought is a burden; cold depresses. The individual is out of harmony with nature. So it is in the spiritual world. All things work for good to those submitted to God’s laws, physical and moral. To one in accord with spiritual law (which is the law of love), the endurance of trial, the loss of friends, the misrepresentations of enemies, misunderstandings, imposition—all these things are stimulants, as cold is to the strong man. But when one is sick, lacking love, or the Spirit of Christ, which is the spirit of giving up self, all things work against him, and day by day he sinks lower into the “Slough of Despond,” just as the sick man loses physical strength, and gradually is overcome by the conditions in which a healthy person would thrive. The first step toward recovery for the invalid to make is to yield his will and implicit obedience to his physician, who, step by step, will lead him back to harmony with nature’s inexorable principles. So we, finding ourselves at war with our surroundings, being borne down to a spiritual death, unable longer to struggle against sickness of soul, must find our way to the great Physician, and yield obedience to His requirements, which are “Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” The sick man learns the rules of health and applies them to his life. The spiritually sick must learn the principles as taught and lived by Jesus Christ; and as one deviation from the known laws which govern the body may bring pain and death as the result, one deviation from the example of our Pattern may cause the loss of rest—the loss of that soul-health which we so long to possess. CORNELIA SNOW. THE STORM REVEALS THE FLOWER.
By Peloubet
It is said there is a flower in South America which is visible only when the wind blows. The shrub belongs to the cactus family, and the stem is covered with warty-looking lumps in calm weather. These lumps, however, need but a slight breeze to make them unfold large flowers of a creamy white, which close and appear as dead when the wind subsides. Fit emblem this of many Christians who, in ordinary times, exhibit but little of active grace and are supposed to be unsympathetic and indifferent, but when reverses or afflictions come to themselves or others, when there is a call for what they can do or give, open out into the loveliness of charity, and minister joy to all about them by their grace.—Peloubet. THE ONLY HOPE IN THIS WORLD.
THE only hope for any permanent, lasting good to this world is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Rom. 1:16. But it is the hope of this world only as it is the hope of each individual; for belief—faith—is an individual, not a corporate or national matter. The hope, the salvation in Jesus Christ, is an individual, personal matter, because it is a matter of righteousness by faith. “For therein [in the Gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Verse 17. There are all sorts of political schemes, which promise prosperity and happiness to the inhabitants of this poor, old world, heavily weighted with its load of sin and misery. And there is no doubt but that men might help matters greatly to relieve the distress of poverty, and the conditions among the miserable poor in the charnel-house tenements of our overteeming cities. But all that man can do will not take away death, nor make men permanently happy. The working man, with his long hours of labor, imagines that if he had the leisure and money of the rich he would be happy; but he might be a debauche or a tyrant. There is many a wealthy man whose heart is a hell and whose grand palace is a marble tomb of all holy aspirations. There are more suicides proportionately among the ones of wealth and leisure than among the hard workers of earth. There is more happiness and content generally in the humble cottage than in the lordly mansion. But there is misery and dissatisfaction and want in both if Christ is not there. It did not take the governor's palace to inspire Paul and Silas with song. They could sing praises to God in a Roman prison, with sore and bleeding backs from the pitiless Roman scourge and feet fast in the stocks. Christ was with them, their Life, their Companion, their Friend. The troubled one at that time was the jailer, who had authority over all. But he found peace and joy when he found Christ Jesus. “Be not deceived,” no political conditions or changes in this world can bring peace to the soul where self reigns, to the heart that loves sin, or no permanent peace to any one. But the soul who knows Christ Jesus will have peace and joy even in poverty and privation. He has a freedom that no political party or change can give, freedom from the tyrant, sin. Man may sever the iron shackle which binds the limb of the slave, and bring a gladness to his heart and light to his eye for a little time, but Jesus Christ strikes from the mind, the heart, the soul, the fetters of sin and self, and makes the man a new creature. The slave set free from physical bondage often goes to a worse master, but the slave set free from sin goes forward to constant progression in Christ Jesus. Death may for a time interrupt the liberty, the joy, the gladness; but it is only an incident after all. Life, eternal life, is his who is Christ's, and from the hands of the Master it will be resumed, eternally, at His coming. O reader, seek the freedom which Christ Jesus gives freely to all who believe. There is happiness nowhere else. There is hope in naught else. Catholic Population of New York
The largest center of the Roman church in America is the archdiocese of New York, with an estimated Catholic population of 1,200,000. Its numbers surpass those of all the most crowded centers of Italy, including Rome, Naples or Milan, and only the principal archdioceses in Europe, such as Cologne, with 2,528,000 people, and Vienna, with 1,900,000, go beyond it. A REMARKABLE CONTRAST.
By G.
When Christ was on earth, the only material crown He ever wore was a crown of thorns. The Papacy assumes that the pope is the vicar of Christ on earth; that is, that he is the personal representative of Christ as the head of His church. Now note the contrast in the one item of a crown. At the pope’s jubilee, held in Rome February 20, one of the gifts was a gold tiara (triple crown) costing $25,000. When Christ’s admirers would have made Him a temporal King, He dispersed them, and took Himself away to a place of solitude for prayer. He was not seeking temporal honor. When the time comes for Him to be a King, the Father will give Him an eternal crown and kingdom. The coronet that the pope received on his jubilee day bears on the upper crown the inscription, “The King of Kings and Lord of Those Who Rule.” The second crown bears the words, “The Good Shepherd Will Feed His Flock.” On the lower crown is inscribed the sentence, “Thou Art Peter, and Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church.” Beneath the upper crown is a medallion of the Divine Redeemer, and between the second and lower crowns are medallions of St. Peter and Pope Pius IX. The whole is surmounted by a cross. A part of the ceremony was the bearing of the pope, wearing gorgeous robes and this triple crown, on the shoulders of eight men, who were clothed in red brocade. A report in a leading Catholic journal says:— He bestowed his benediction right and left, as he passed through the cheering concourse, whose enthusiasm was so great, and whose desire to touch the hem of the pope’s gown was so intense, that the presence of the guards seemed really necessary for his protection. In a procession surrounded by such a brilliant escort of prelates, aristocracy, and guards, Pope Leo always appears at his best. Christ never rode upon the people’s shoulders. He was Himself the burden-bearer for the people. His invitation is, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.” Ps. 55:22. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28. On the occasion of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He humbly rode on the colt of an ass, clad in His every-day attire. Leo was protected by a body-guard of soldiers, but when Christ was led to the cross, the soldiers were there to see that His execution was not hindered. Leo has housed himself in the Vatican during all of his twenty-five years of pontifical reign. Christ, whose personal representative the pope claims to be, “went about doing good.” Leo claims to be the successor of Peter, but Peter followed the example of His Master during his ministry. He, too, went about doing good. He did not make himself a voluntary prisoner, hiding from imaginary dangers; and when he was imprisoned by hostile authorities, the Lord sent His angel to release him, and told him to go ahead preaching the Gospel of life. Leo seeks honor and emolument from men; Christ and Peter sought the honor of God and the salvation of men. Leo seeks to control human governments, in order to glorify the Roman Catholic Church. Christ and Peter sought to bring men to a recognition of the law of God, that the kingdom of heaven might be established in their hearts, that they might humble themselves in this probationary life, to be honored and exalted at the coming of the Lord. See John 5:41, 44; 1 Peter 1:3-7. G. “CHILDREN ARE THEIR OPPRESSORS.”
In an article on “The Cause and Cure of Strikes,” a writer in The American Mother, Dr. Charles Fleetwood, refers to various strikes in colleges and schools as “of almost equal significance” to the recent great coal strike. They are more significant; they mean much more. They mean that the children are becoming lawless, having no respect for proper authority. This writer, a physician, well says: “These attempts [of the children] to get their desires by force are an expression of lawlessness, and bespeak a condition that bids fair to become dangerous to the life of the republic.” And while others are calling for boards of arbitration, he cries, “Look well to the training of your children.” But we do not believe in the weak sentimentality abroad at the present time, and which seems, to some extent, to have taken hold of this writer. He says:— The first and greatest lesson for the child to learn is to obey; but he owes obedience to the parent only as the representative of law. As an individual, the parent has no more right to demand obedience from the child than a child has from the parent. Each soul must live its own life, and allow others the freedom to follow their own God-given propensities. But every soul, to live its own life truly, must be in harmony with the universe—in other words, must obey the laws of the universe. The above paragraph is a strange mixture of sense and nonsense. The first duty that a child owes is to obey, is an important truth, and the first one to obey is the parent. That is one of the laws of the universe, “Honor [respect, reverence, obey] thy father and thy mother.” But nowhere are parents taught to honor, reverence, or obey the child. This fundamental law does not permit a parent to be a brute, nor justify him in cruel, tyrannical conduct. It is his duty to love his children, not to provoke them to wrath, to train them up in the way that they should go, and not to be bitter against them. In all these things he should seek the child’s good with great firmness and kindness. In most cases punishment will sometimes be found necessary. “The heart of the child is froward, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him,” is good Bible teaching still. And if in the parents’ government there has been a proper blending of love and sweetness and dignity and justice, no lasting resentment will be awakened in the child. There are many propensities in a child that are not God-given, and the true parent knows that they ought to be trained out of the character. He knows, too, that habit is often easily suppressed in a child, and as easily formed, even contrary to desire. Corporal punishment is in some cases necessary. From the very beginning the parent should, in all reason, demand obedience from the child and should insist on it. There are thousands of the best men, the most law-abiding men in the country to-day, who recall with gratitude the demand to obedience on the part of parent, and insistence in that demand, even at times to severe punishment. It restrained from evil; it caused the bundle of humanity to respect its parent; and so laid the foundation for respect for all proper authority. The child that is taught to obey his parent will much more readily be a law-abiding citizen; will much more readily yield to God. Those peoples, the strictest in school and home discipline, like the Scotch and Jews, figure much less frequently among “charity cases,” in divorce courts and in the criminal docks. There has been much, too much, of the cruel in punishment, but the sentiments of certain “reformers” are swinging to an extreme, even worse in its effects. The prophet wrote of these times when he declared: “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Isa. 3:12. One of the prominent sins of the “last days” among the people of God is said to be, disobedience to parents. 2 Tim. 3:2. It is time for parents to arouse and to learn to train their children for God and right, that children may be willing to stand alone with God in the right. “The Word of the Lord endureth forever,” therefore whatever it predicts will surely come to pass. That Word portrays the character and doom of the rich men of the last days in very striking terms:— “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.” James 5:1-5. But “the mercy of the Lord [also] endureth forever,” and He has given the wealthy class unerring counsel as to how they may avoid the coming storm. In giving instruction to Timothy concerning his evangelistic and pastoral work, Paul says:— “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches; but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” I Tim. 6:17-19. It is always wise to heed the counsel of the Lord. There are many precious promises in His Word, but they are all based on the obedience of faith. A fearful experience awaits those who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. 1:7, 8. And to those who desire to be rich, whether they succeed or not, there is also a solemn warning. “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Luke 12:15. “Having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” I Tim. 6:8, 9. How much better to heed the Word of the Lord and seek the true riches. It simply means letting go that which is sure to bring trouble, and laying hold of that which promises blessing forevermore. Riches properly and unselfishly used may be utilized as a friend (Luke 16:9). By realizing that the holder is only a steward of that which belongs to God, and that in a faithful stewardship there is eternal reward, the results of covetousness and selfishness may be avoided. “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon [margin, “riches”], who will commit to your trust the true riches?” Verse 11. God has plainly indicated whom He has chosen to inherit everlasting wealth. “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?” James 2:5. Now a man may be possessed of considerable means, and yet be poor in this world and rich in faith. Abraham was an example of this class. Having much wealth, it was all subject to the demand of the Lord's cause; and Abraham dwelt in tents, recognizing that he was but a sojourner in the land of promise. He looked far ahead for the inheritance of true riches. See Heb. 11:8-10. Nor does it follow that because a man is penniless he is therefore “rich in faith.” He may be poor out of sheer profligacy or lack of energy, and yet have no faith. His heart may be set on riches just as much as the heart of the millionaire, and his covetousness may be just as intense. The two thieves crucified with Christ were doubtless both poor men, but only one of them became rich in faith. He found a mine of true riches at the last moment of opportunity, and quickly seized upon it. So every day, amid all the energies and activities and ambitions of life, proves the last moment of opportunity for thousands of people of all ages and conditions. Not an individual on earth knows that he will have a to-morrow. To-day may be the reader's last opportunity to lay up treasure in heaven. Will the opportunity go by unimproved? G. 1337.—“Bring Us Not into Temptation.”
One of the petitions of the Lord’s prayer is, “Lead us not into temptation.” The A.R.V. translates, “Bring us not into temptation.” A ruler is often said to do that which he permits or allows to be done. “Bring us not into temptation” is equivalent to “Do not suffer us to be brought into temptation,” keep us from the power of the evil one. God “tempts no man,” but He does suffer trials to come to us. 1 Peter 1:6; Matt. 4:1. The prayer is, of course, in harmony with God’s will, to be kept from temptation. A good prayer to connect with this is Ps. 19:13. 1338.—Mortal or Immortal?
Dear Sir,—Can immortal create mortal? Did God, who is imperishable, create perishable beings or things? and as “in Him is no sin,” and “He is the Life and Light of men,” how can life create death? Were Adam and Eve created mortal? M. C. We do not know what God could do, but we do not believe, nor do we see how He could create mortals. By immortal we understand “deathlessness, incorruptibility;” by mortal we understand “subject to death, corruptibility.” We do not believe that mortal, perishable, corruptible beings were in God’s plan, because all these are the fruits of sin, and sin is no part of His plan: “in Him is no sin.” How then did God create Adam?—Not immortal; for there existed the possibility of sin, and it was not in God’s plan to have immortal sinners. Neither did God create Adam mortal, for it was not His plan that man should die. What then?—God created man neither mortal nor immortal, but a candidate for immortality. He was a perfect being possessed of eternal life, held by faith in God. If sin had not come in, faith, by the power of God’s life, would have developed an incorruptible character which God would have owned by bestowing upon it physical immortality. Such will be the gift when Christ comes. Everlasting life is given actually now that we may have power to conquer sin; but it will not be given absolutely till character is immortal, and then man’s temple of character will correspond with his character. Do you believe in soul? If so, what is Spirit? and where does it go when one is dead? Is the soul and spirit the same? MRS. E. D. K. We believe there is soul and spirit. But soul and spirit do not always mean the same thing. Sometimes soul means the whole person. See Gen. 2:7; 1 Peter 3:20. Sometimes soul means animal life, common to all. Sometimes it means thought, mind, faculty. Sometimes spirit and soul are used meaning the same thing. In Luke 8:55 spirit simply means life, the vitalizing energy. (Compare Gen. 35:18.) It came from God as the breath of life. Gen. 2:7. When man dies, it goes back to God, not as separate entity, but as life only. Eccl. 12:7. And “the dead know not anything,” nor will they till the Life-giver comes and restores life. The Scriptures speak of the religion, the Gospel, the life, the power of Jesus Christ, but not of Lent. The converted soul is begotten from above, within. It finds more joy in communion with God than in all outward show—all elaborate, ornate, vain display. In fact, it is well known that elaborate, outward display has always increased as spirituality has decreased. When the church departed from the power and simplicity of the early apostolic church, outward pomp and ceremony, elaboration and ornamentation increased till the costly architecture, the elaborate ritual, the ornate ceremonies bore silent witness to a decadent faith, a church dead in trespasses and sins. The tendency of the Protestant churches to-day to ape the ritualistic bodies is a sad confession of their fallen condition. But they are doing it. The Indianapolis News, of February 25, has the following true but striking editorial, headed “Lent”:— Never before, since the days prior to the Reformation, have so many Christian people, relative to the whole number of Christians, observed Lent as will observe it this year. Some of the most prominent representatives of the non-liturgical churches have sent out an address urging the holding of more frequent services, the keeping of church open, and special effort in the development of the religious life. In this city the Methodists have resolved to keep Lent. At the meeting of Methodist ministers held the other day, at which the decision was made, the Rev. Worth M. Tippy said that he wanted “to get in touch with historic Christianity,” while Dr. Stansfield said that the Roman Catholics and the Episcopalians had given to Lent such an atmosphere as to adapt it admirably to the work that it was proposed to do. One of the papers representing a church which has not hitherto made much of times and seasons commends all this unreservedly. It insists that all Christians need the church year, and that Lent is a part of it that has been too long neglected. It argues that in keeping Christmas and Easter all Christians have in principle recognized the Christian year, and that Lent is quite as much worthy of observance as Easter—which is, of course, true. But even more important than this is the encouragement that a combined observance of Christian feasts and fasts gives to church or Christian unity. This must be clear to all. Every common practise or common act participated in by Christians tends to bring them closer together and to give them a better understanding of one another. That Sunday has had this effect can not be doubted. We all read the same book, think the same thoughts, hold, in essence, much the same beliefs—in a word, we are all Christians. It is so with the great sacraments of the church. They, too, were intended to be, and are, unifiers. And now we come to this widespread observance of Lent, and it should have the same effect. But those who observe Lent should do so honestly and with a sincere purpose to profit by it. To mean anything to a man, he must keep in mind the great event which the season commemorates. If he really does that he can hardly trifle with so solemn an institution. Yet let all Biblical readers understand that all the sacredness that attaches to Lent is wholly imaginary. Concerning it the Lord, as of old, may truly ask, “Who hath required this at your hands?” All the good that a Christian can get out of Lent he can and should get at all other times as well. Getting “in touch with historic Christianity” is utterly to ignore the work of God in the Reformation and going back to Roman Catholicism.