Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 10, 1894
THE MESSAGE FOR THIS TIME.
LAST week we attempted to show, with how much success our readers will judge, that the confusion and division existing in the professed Christian church throughout its various denominations and sects demanded another reformation. It certainly is not in harmony with the Lord's revealed will that this division and confusion should continue to exist. His plan demands union, such union as exists between Father and Son,—Christ in his church as the Father is in Christ.
God has given to this generation a great threefold message, to meet the need, to effect the reformation, to prepare a people to stand before God "without spot or blemish or any such thing." That message is found in Rev. 14: 6-12, as follows:—
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
There are only two points which space will allow of consideration in this article: (1) The chronology of the message, or the time when it has its application; and (2) whether we are living in that period of this world's history when the message shall be given.
1. The time of its application.—This is clearly shown not only by the message itself and its context, but by many other scriptures, where the same truths are set forth. We will here consider but the former. There are four facts in the message and its context which clearly show that it is God's closing message, the last message of mercy to a dying world, the rejection of which leaves even High Heaven no other means of reaching lost souls.
a. The proximity of the judgment.—The message of the first angel is the same gospel message which God has ever given to the world, proclaiming not only the great facts of "the common salvation" through Jesus Christ, but the special truths of the gospel which are appropriate to the last days of probation. To illustrate: Noah preached the gospel message of righteousness by faith, but he preached as an essential part of his message truths which were applicable to that generation alone, namely, that the world would be destroyed by a deluge; that it had rejected God's mercy, and only his justice was left them.690The apostles preached the same blessed gospel of peace and righteousness as Noah preached, as Abraham and Moses and the prophets preached, but with it the essential truth that the Christ had come, had died, and was risen.
Connected with the preaching of the gospel message through all the past has been the solemn announcement that God would judge the world. The apostle Paul declared that God has "appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness." Again we read that he reasoned before Felix of "righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come." He expressly declared that the day of the Lord, in the which God judges the world, would not come in his day, nor till after the great apostasy had been manifested and "the man of sin" revealed. But when the message of the first angel is due, as recorded above, the judgment of God is not a future event, but "the hour of his judgment is come."
There are two points worthy of notice in connection with this. The first is that any work of probation or trial must necessarily end with a judgment. In all school work, in all service which closes with rewards of merit, the examination of work, the rewards or punishments, come last. The world has passed through six thousand years of man's trial, during which the gospel has been preached in order to save man. When Infinite Love has done all that could be done, has saved the last one that will be saved, the work ends, the judgment comes.
The second point is that the first work in the judgment is the examination of the cases of those who are amenable to the judgment. This is not only true in the very nature of the case, but it is so declared in the Scriptures. For instance, Jesus speaks of those who are "accounted worthy" to obtain that better world and the resurrection (literally) out from among the dead, the first resurrection. Their being accounted worthy shows that an examination of their cases has taken place. The apostle Paul incidentally bears testimony to the same fact. He says that the righteous dead "shall be raised incorruptible;" that is, the dead are not raised, then judged, and then made immortal, but they are raised immortal from the dead, showing that judgment has been passed upon their cases previous to their resurrection, which takes place at Christ's second coming. The time during which these cases come in examination before the great tribunal, when from the records kept by angelic scribes all shall be judged according to their works, may be called the investigative stage of the judgment. In other scriptures this is more fully set forth.
The judgment, therefore, of Rev. 14:6, 7 is the investigative judgment, beginning, doubtless, with the righteous dead of the first generation, and proceeding till the judgment ends upon the living. This is the closing work of the gospel, and this message, therefore, is a message for the last days, when the investigative judgment is going on, when the messengers of God can say, "The hour of his judgment is come."
b. The wrath of God without mercy.—The third angel declares that upon those who reject this threefold message the wine of God's wrath shall be poured out "without mixture." Such has not been the case throughout the past centuries. This is well symbolized by the following illustration:—
"For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same; but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them."
God's wrath, or justice, through all the past has been mixed with his mercy, but when that time comes when all mercy has been rejected there is nothing left for the wicked but "the dregs thereof," the wine of wrath "without mixture," that which the wicked have themselves chosen. This is the close of God's work, when mercy, in which God "delighteth," shall be offered no longer. This is referred to by the prophet in the following words:—
"For the Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act. Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong; for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth."
Never in all the past has the Lord wrought for sinful man without an exercise of mercy; but now that man has rejected all mercy, has refused to know the Holy One, but determinedly given God that character which was "strange" to the God of love, he gives man his final choice, and pours out upon him unmixed justice. But as this is the end of God's work for sinful and rebellious man, this message which gives solemn warning against its penalties must be the final message to the world.
c. The beast and his image.—The powers against which the message warns us are those which stand in the forefront of the last great apostasy, and are destroyed at the second coming of Christ. This also shows that the message under consideration is the gospel of Jesus Christ to the last generation of men.
d. The second coming of Christ.—Immediately after recording the messages of these angels, the prophet presents the class of people developed by it,—the completed work of the message. The characteristics of this people are patient endurance under persecution, and the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The next event is the coming of Christ to reap the harvest of the earth and usher in the end of the age.
All these evidences—and more might be given—demonstrate that this threefold message of Revelation 14 is God's last message of mercy to a dying world.
2. Are we living in that period of this world's history when this message shall have its fulfillment?—Space will not permit the examination of a tithe of the proofs which might be presented showing that we are living in the last days. But we need not enter into such an examination. The proofs are too obvious to him who truly desires to know. We note two general proofs:—
a. The Prophecies.—God has given his prophetic word, "whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day-star arise in your hearts." There are recorded in his word not less than twelve lines of prophecy, symbolic and literal, the concurrent agreement and fulfillment of which demonstrate, with more or less detail, that we are in the closing years of this dispensation, and that the next great event is the second coming of Christ. These prophecies are found in the book of Daniel, chapters 2, 7, 8 and 9, and 11; the Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, 5 and 6, 8 and 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17; and in Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; and 2 Thess. 2. All these prophetic histories, like the converging rays of a body of light, show to us unmistakably that we are nearing the bursting forth of the ineffable glory of the coming Son of God.
b. Special signs of the last days.—We not only have the long scrolls of prophetic history, the constant unrolling of which in everyday events demonstrate that we are nearing the end, but we have another class of evidences in the literal signs which the Lord has declared he would hang out in the heavens, the physical, political, social, and religious world, that his people might not be deceived. Jesus declares concerning his coming:—
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."
These signs are many. Among the principal ones note the cry of coming peace (1 Thess. 5:3); the preparation for war (Joel 3:9-12); the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars (Matt. 24:29; Joel 2:31); the increase of knowledge (Dan. 12:4, 10); the increase of wickedness among the professed disciples of Christ (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Matt. 24:12, 13); last-day scoffers (2 Peter 3:3); the spread of Spiritualism, or doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1, 2; Rev. 16:13); the social troubles between poor and rich (James 5:1-8). All these, and more might be given, have already been fulfilled or are in process of fulfillment. They show to everyone who will see, that we have reached the last generation, that the coming of Christ draweth nigh. Therefore, says our Lord, while referring to these very signs, "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it [his coming] is near, even at the doors." We see them all fulfilled in the recent past, or fulfilling before our eyes. May we not—more, is it not our duty—to know that Christ's coming is near? Then the great threefold message of Rev. 14:6-12 is a message for our691time, for our generation, sent in mercy by a loving heavenly Father.
The design and scope of the message will be considered in our next.
The Mission of the Church
CHRIST is the light of the world. He invites all who are in darkness to come to him. Christ is the righteousness of God. He invites all who are in sin to ask and obtain. Christ is life. He invites all who are subject to death to come and live. He is the Fountain of all we need, an open Fountain, flowing full and free.
The Mission of the Church.
The Rev. James Brand, D.D., says in the Hartford Seminary Record, June–August, that the church must always have a twofold mission, namely, to save souls, and to act upon the environment of souls, or to improve the condition of society. All of which and more is evidently written to justify present conditions. The one and sole mission of the church of Christ is to reveal Christ to the world. It is thus stated by the apostle Peter: "But ye [the church] are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises [margin, "virtues"] of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9. We reveal Christ when he is revealed in us. Gal. 1 : 15, 16. We are then epistles of Christ. We are to lift him up before the world in all his beauty, and he will "draw" the people, he will save the souls, he will affect society. John 12 : 32. The saving, the moulding, is the effect of the revelation, or lifting up of Christ, in word, in conduct, in renewed characters, through which the light of Christ shines. The sole mission of the church is to reveal Christ even as he revealed the Father. He will care for the rest.
The Bible Stands.
Again and again has the book of Genesis been declared a fable; the narratives of its history and events are said to be allegories, traditions, myths. The account of the flood is not considered reliable, and the Bible account of the confusion of tongues is placed in the same category. Theological professors and ministers, supposedly of the gospel, have "apologized" for the Bible, and between its open enemies and professed friends many have thought it would go down. But a few staunch, intelligent, faithful souls held firm confidence in the old Book. The later years are confirming their faith. The buried cities, the clay histories, the hieroglyphic records, are yielding up their treasures and speaking in known tongues. And what is their testimony?—Why, they confirm the Book.
An Instance in Babylon.
The meaning of the original name of Babylon—Bab-ilu—is the gate of the god Ilu, or the gate of heaven. Such the wicked worshipers of self thought it would be. But God in mercy confounded their work, and "they left off to build," and were scattered throughout all the world. The Lord therefore called their work babal, confusion. And confusion is what man's work has ever proved when working contrary to God's plan. Babel and Babylon have signified ever since just what they literally meant, confusion. Its builders named it what they hoped it would be; God called it what it actually was. Borsippa, a town near Babylon, means, in the idiom of the Assyrian tongue, "the tower of tongues." Babylon is often designated by a symbolical name, ideographically written, meaning "the town of the root of languages." Borsippa is known by another name, meaning "the town of the dispersion of the tribes." These are taken from Lenormant's "Manual of the East," vol. 1, p. 24 (Asher & Co., London). Lenormant remarks, "These names seem almost like medals struck to commemorate the ancient tradition of the plains of Shinar." But the Book does not need them; they may help an honest though skeptical mind. The doubter at heart, though convinced against his will by these, will seek other supposed imperfections and doubt still. The basis of true faith is a heart to do God's will.
PARENTS AND CHILDREN TO BE AGENTS FOR GOD.
By Mrs. E. G. White
THE father is priest in his own household. Whatever may be the character of his business, it is not of so great importance that he be excused in neglecting the work of educating and training his children to keep the way of the Lord. In the morning his first duty should be to conduct family prayer, offering up supplication and thanksgiving to God. Parents should make the seasons of prayer as interesting as possible, selecting scriptures that can be understood by the children and youth. They should pray with fervency, but not to such a length as to make the seasons of prayer tedious. Educate your children by your own practice to pray in a clear, distinct voice, lifting up their faces, and offering up their simple petitions, or repeating the Lord's prayer.
The religious service of the home should not be governed by circumstances. Prayer should not be offered occasionally, and, when a large day's work is to be done, neglected, as though it was of no especial consequence. Prayer means very much, and we should come to God offering up thanksgiving before him. "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. . . . O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness."
The Lord has committed to parents a special and important work, of which they have a very faint realization. At the birth of every child they are to hear the voice of God saying to them, "Take this child and train it for me." This work of training is to be continued through babyhood, childhood, and youth. Those who are parents need to awake from their deathlike slumber, that they may have a realization of what are their God-given responsibilities. Let them make straight paths for their feet upward and onward toward heaven, and lead their children in safe paths. To a great extent the simplicity of pure godliness is a matter of the past.
To train children to walk in the narrow path of purity and holiness is thought an altogether odd and old-fashioned idea. This is prevalent even among parents who profess to worship God, but their works testify that they are worshippers of mammon. They are ambitious to compete with their neighbors, and to compare favorably, in the dress of themselves and their children, with the members of the church to which they belong.
Children derive life and being from their parents, and yet it is through the creative power of God that your children have life, for God is the Life-giver. Let it be remembered that children are not to be treated as though they were our own personal property. Children are the heritage of the Lord, and the plan of redemption includes their salvation as well as ours. They have been intrusted to parents in order that they might be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that they might be qualified to do their work in time and eternity. If parents are negligent in doing the solemn work committed to them, they will have to meet their account at the judgment seat of Christ.
Parents, you cannot serve God and serve Baal at the same time. The standard of the world is not to be your standard. The world is under the leadership of the prince of the powers of darkness, and you cannot afford to follow its fashions and customs. Your duty is to practice God's word, and do the work that he has given you to do according to his will. God will coöperate with parents who love, fear, and honor him, respecting and obeying his commandments. Is it any marvel that society is forgetful of God, and desires not to know the way of God, when professed Christians to a large extent follow the imagination of their own heart? They are filled with vanity, and educate their children for the world. Influenced themselves by Satanic agencies, what can be expected of their children? They inspire them with their own spirit, with their own desire to be in favor with the world. They partake with the world in love for pleasure, in desire for the gratification of pride, and the desire for display. In place of being partakers of the divine nature, they imbibe Satan's deceptions and illusions. Thus their influence in the home is to mould the character of their4children after the standard of the world. Though they have a form of godliness, yet their influence is wielded for the ruin of their family.
What an account will such professed Christian parents have to render in that great day when every case shall be decided! These world-loving parents profess Christ, and have their names registered in the church books, but in works they deny him. Shall not parents who truly desire to love God be partakers of the divine nature? Shall they not exert in the home an influence altogether different from that of these hypocritical professors? Shall not the love of Christ be in them as a well of water springing up unto eternal life? Shall it not be made manifest that Christ abides in the soul temple by the spirit, word, and action of the parents who realize their responsibility before God? Shall they not pour into the minds of their children that which the Lord Jesus has abundantly given them of his Holy Spirit? Shall not his love, his purity, his patience, his meekness and lowliness of heart, his perseverance, integrity, and zeal be made manifest in the character of godly parents?
THE WORD OF GOD.
Let parents seek to mould and fashion the intellect and affections of their children in accordance with the word of God. Let them train them in such a way that their children shall be fashioned after the similitude of Jesus Christ. Here is your work, parents, to develop the characters of your children in harmony with the precepts of the word of God. This work should come first, for eternal interests are here involved. The character building of your children is of more importance than the cultivation of your farms, more essential than the building of houses to live in, or of prosecuting any manner of business or trade. Parents should carefully study their children, in order that they may correct wrong tendencies and encourage from their earliest years right principles and proper habits. The doing of this will not require any violence or harshness in your management, but you may manifest an abundance of love. Selfishness and self-indulgence must be cultivated out of the character of your children, by revealing to them Bible requirements in the most interesting way. Unite them with yourselves in works of kindness and tender regard for the suffering and destitute. From their earliest years let them be your helpers in benevolent enterprises, and educate them in habits of self-denial and self-sacrifice for the good of others. Thus you will guard them from habits of extravagance in recklessly spending money for selfish gratification.
The work that rests upon parents cannot be evaded or ignored without peril to themselves and their children. Parents should bring principles of truth into their own life, and perfect a Christian character in order that they may present before their children such an example as will command their respect and admiration. Let parents so live that their children will have confidence in their judgment, piety, and devotion. In this way they may train their children to be missionaries from their earliest years. They may be taught to have firm reliance upon God, and may be trained by precept and example to fear to offend their Creator, to love to keep his commandments. Children should be trained to trust in God as their very best friend.
Let parents seek to impress upon children and youth the blessedness of serving God. The Psalmist says: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity; they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments."
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK.
The word of God abounds in precious jewels of truth, and parents should bring them forth from their casket and present them before their children in their true luster. Parents, you think you have no time to do all this work; but if you do not train your family, Satan will supply your deficiency and educate them after his own Satanic order. Better to neglect anything of a temporal nature, to be satisfied to live economically, to bind about your wants, than to neglect the work of training yourselves and your children in the way that God would have you. In the word of God you have a treasure house from which you may draw precious stores, and as Christians you should furnish yourself for every good work. Look upon the family circle as a training school, where you are preparing your children for the performance of their duties at home, in society, and in the church. Seek to cultivate every power of mind and body in order that the whole family may be soldiers for Christ. Teach your children to love truth because it is truth, and because they are to be sanctified through the truth, and fitted to stand in the grand review that shall erelong determine whether they are qualified to enter into higher work, and become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King.
Fathers and mothers, awake to your God-given responsibilities. Let your lamp be trimmed and burning, sending forth clear, distinct rays into the home circle, and your light will reach beyond yourselves to your neighbors. The father represents the divine Lawgiver in his family. He is a laborer together with God, carrying out the gracious designs of God, and establishing in his children upright principles, enabling them to form pure and virtuous characters, because he has preoccupied the soul with that which will enable his children to render obedience not only to their earthly parent, but also to their heavenly Father. Like Abraham, he will command his children and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. To do the words of God means to work earnestly in the home. But parents who are doers of the commands of Christ will find that the beams of the Sun of Righteousness will brighten the darkness, and the love of Christ make smooth the rough paths.
Our world is becoming as it was in the days of Noah. Parents have neglected to purify and make precious the material that God has given them in their children, and, instead of adding them to the army of the Lord, they have given them to the world. In neglecting to train them for Christ, children have developed characters after the order of Satan. The Lord will cleanse the earth the second time of its moral pollution by the fires of the last day. Parents, will you not cherish the faith that works by love and purifies the soul? If you do this, everything is gained. Your children will be imbued with the spirit you cherish, and a light will shine forth extending from the home like a genial atmosphere. Your influence will be like a heavenly radiance that shines from the throne of God in clear, strong rays, to light the moral darkness that pervades the world.
I'LL FOLLOW THEE.
By Mrs. R. P. Stewart
BY MRS R. P. STEWART.
Jesus, my gracious Lord,
My Saviour and my King,
In humble, happy trust
My all to thee I bring.
My ev'ry wish and hope
I lay at thy blest feet;
Thy love drawn out to me
Makes every offering meet.
Though dark and rough the way,
And sharp the thorns may be,
Where'er thy footsteps lead,
Dear Lord, I'll follow thee,
For well I know thy hand,
So tender and so kind,
Around my fainting heart
All needed strength will bind.
In trust I lay my head
Upon thy proffered breast,
In thy great heart of love
Find sweet and timely rest.
Beside my sleepless couch
Thy presence is like balm;
I know, if thou art near,
The storm becomes a calm.
So trusting every hour,
So glad thy child to be,
Where'er thou callest me,
Dear Lord, I'll follow thee.
For well I know some day
The cloud will rift and fall
Which now around my way
Enshrouds me like a pall.
And I shall feel thy hand
Move o'er my troubled brain,
With healing in thy touch,
And make me well again.
Till then I watch and wait
Thy gracious power to see,
And in this waiting time,
Dear Lord, I'll follow thee.
College Place, Wash.
Christ Will Fill Us
Our need, yea, all our need, is met in Jesus Christ. And why not? All the fullness of God is found in him. And the fullness of God was in him while in the flesh, according to his needs, that it might be manifest in us according to our needs. He "emptied himself" and God filled him. If we empty ourselves, Christ will fill us.
Is It Because of, or in Spite of?
By Editor
The Occident, our Presbyterian neighbor across the bay, has the following in a recent number:—
“We are surprised that a Christian paper, even if advocating the ideas of the Seventh-day Adventists, should sneer about Sunday observance. Much or little can be said about a tree, depending to a great extent upon the fruit that it bears. A faithful observance of Sunday, even approaching the Puritanical form, has developed the strongest character and the best code of morals to be found in the world. Toronto, Canada, as a city is a fair example. Without many natural advantages, it has grown to be a city of over two hundred thousand population. It is one of the cleanest and healthiest, and the best moral city in the world. No street cars are allowed to run on Sunday; no excursions are allowed to enter or leave the city; no saloons open, in fact they are closed at six o’clock every Saturday evening, and not even a back door open until seven o’clock Monday morning. There are twenty-five Presbyterian Churches, all brick buildings, and every one crowded at both services on Sunday. The workingman lives in a nice brick or grout house, frame buildings not being allowed in the city limits. Wages are small, but they are not wasted in Sunday saloons, Sunday fairs, or Sunday excursions. The result is a model city in every respect.”
Now the mistake which our contemporary makes is to ascribe the strength of character and the morality to Sunday observance. If Monday had been as faithfully kept, would the result not have been the same? The strength of character and all the true morality lie back of all Sunday keeping or all true Sabbath keeping. The Sabbath keeping is the result, not the cause. And it is not hard to conceive how a good conscience may lead a man to be conscientious in error, because he believes it to be truth. But this does not affect the standing of Sunday; it is a usurper still. Abraham was one of the best of men, one of the strongest of moral characters, but he was a polygamist. This, however, did not make polygamy right, nor was polygamy the cause of Abraham’s uprightness. He was counted upright notwithstanding it, because ignorant of its sin and right at heart. So God accepts men who observe from the heart Sunday, not because they observe Sunday, but in spite of it, because they have submitted to him and are sinning ignorantly.
In the thriving little town of Alfred, New York, the people nearly all observe the seventh day, and there is no saloon whatever, and no Sabbath law rules save that of Jehovah. A Sunday law or Sunday observance never saved anyone. God has respect to the spirit, the heart, the motive, the principle behind it, but the institution itself is like the calves of Jeroboam. It is a usurper. God has blessed those who honor it not because of it but in spite of it.
EVOLUTION AND WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE.
By Elder E. W. Whitney
BY ELDER E. W. WHITNEY.
A POPULAR lady lecturer upon the much agitated questions of "woman's suffrage," in a recent lecture remarked that "all along the investigation of the subject of 'Women's Rights' there were those who were calling, Halt! Halt! Halt!" Indeed, it seems eminently proper that someone should call a halt, when such sentiments as those expressed by the lady referred to, and other speakers at the same meeting, are received with wild applause by a large audience.
It is certainly time that there be in exercise wise discrimination between the true and the false, between the genuine and the counterfeit, in the consideration of questions involving such results as may not only be possible, but probable, in the present instance.
The basis of the arguments presented in favor of woman's suffrage on this occasion, was the doctrine of "evolution," boldly proclaimed by the first speaker, a college professor. Man was presented as simply a development from the brute; and, as the only distinguishing characteristic of woman from man, when thus considered, is that of sex, the conclusion was reached (and, admitting the premises, logically enough) that women should vote and rule, as well as men. Are Christian fathers and mothers ready to discard the word of God for the vain philosophy of men, and accept that which it designates as "science falsely so called," because presented with an air of reverence, even by college professors, instead of truth as revealed in the same word by the Spirit of God? I trust many will "halt" and consider.
As to the question of women's suffrage, the proposed limits of this article forbid a lengthy discussion. My only design is to call the attention of thinking men and women who regard the Bible as the word of God, to a few of its plain statements, and leave them to decide accordingly. First, then, in regard to the misleading premise assumed so boldly and persistently by women suffrage advocates—the theory of evolution. The Bible does not present man as having come by chance, or as a development from the brute, but as a noble being, created in the image of God, only a little lower than the angels, and placed, because of his superiority, over the brutes. For the record says, in the beginning God created man in his own image; and gave him dominion over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:27, 28. The writer of Hebrews says also, speaking of man, "Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor,693and didst set him over the works of thy hands." Heb. 2:7.
The Bible is not silent either in regard to the relation of woman to man. It is explicit both as to woman's superior qualifications in some respects, as well as to her weaknesses in others. The teaching of the Scriptures throughout, however, is uniform and plain upon this point, that in matters of rule and authority over men, in the family, in the church, and in the civil government, she has been excused. Please read Gen. 3:16; Eph. 5:22-24; 1 Tim. 2:11-13, and Isa. 3:12. Many other passages might be cited, but these are sufficient, both as to the fact and the reason therefor.
While the above is the plain teaching of the Bible, it at the same time just as plainly indicates where and how woman's influence should be exerted, and gives her credit for a power for good which is nowhere recognized as possessed by man. It is interesting to note, however, that this power, in reality, lies in the proper exercise of her rare qualities in the attitude of subordination alone; for Peter says, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation [conduct] of the wives; while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear." 1 Peter 3:1, 2. Notice particularly that the influence here commanded as that which women should exert over men, and which is said to be even more powerful with unbelieving men than the word itself, is the power of suasion and not the power of authority. No true man, whether husband, father, son, or brother, fails to recognize this power as the refining quality, the crowning glory, of our mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters, and let us consider well before we cast our influence or votes in favor of that which will surely sully the glory and blessedness of true womanhood—a glory which God himself has placed upon her—and reverse the design and order of God; for where men undertake to improve upon God's order, the effort invariably proves a signal failure, though men may not perceive it until it is too late to remedy the evil wrought.
After all, is not the winning power, which in a special degree has been conferred upon women, the highest, the noblest, the most Christlike, the most Godlike of all powers? It is the love of God which leads men to repentance, and not his authority. Christ said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me," and not I will drive them unto me.
Why is it that women desire the power of the ballot? Is it because they have lost, or are losing, the God-ordained power of influence, by departing from the principles plainly pointed out in the word of God as those which would give them this power in a marked degree? It is worth while to consider the question candidly at least.
I do not question the sincerity of the advocates of women's suffrage. Women, with their naturally quick intuition and sense of right, see enough which needs reforming; and no one wonders at their desire to engage in the work; but let them engage in it in God's appointed way if they would be truly successful. In aspiring to control in political matters, the church seems to be getting ahead of her Head, which is Christ; and, when the subject is carefully studied, it is evident that the same principle is violated where the woman aspires to lead and control in positions which
God has in his own word assigned to man—she is getting ahead of her Head. See 1 Cor. 11:3 and Eph. 5:23. In conclusion I quote a sentiment from Lamb which is in point:—“Still woman draws new power, new empire still, From every blessing and from every ill. Still she most hides the strength that most subdues, To gain each end its opposite pursues, Lures by neglect, advances by delay, And gains command by swearing to obey.”