Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 6, 1893
Editorial.
By Editor
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable."—2 Tim. 3:16.
A MISSIONARY is one who has a mission. Christ had a mission, and that mission was to redeem and save man. Those who are missionaries for Christ have the mission of Christ to save men. And all those who have Christ's Spirit are missionaries; for the Spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit.
A BILL has been introduced in the Minnesota Legislature to repeal three sections of the Sunday law, one of which prohibits barbers from shaving people on Sunday. A retaliatory measure has been introduced in the Legislature, which fixes the penalty of Sunday breaking at $100 fine or ninety days in jail, or both. And about every State Legislature is suffering from the "moral" spasms of some people manifested in this way. It is not "moral," albeit it is many times called so; all religious legislation is immoral, and gendereth to bondage. It oppresses those who do not believe in it; and it binds those who do, who afterward may believe differently. The tendency of such laws is evil, and only evil; but uninstructed in the word of God, resting secure in the dead name of Liberty, the people suffer themselves to be bound in a greater tyranny than King George III. ever exercised.
The Spirit of Christ.—The Spirit of Christ is a spirit of humility; for, although "in the form of God, he counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross." Phil. 2:6-8, Revised Version. The Spirit of Christ is a meek or teachable spirit. He says of himself, "I am meek and lowly in heart." Matt. 11:29. The Spirit of Christ is a spirit of justice. Christ gave to God all the glory. John 14:10; Isa. 11:1-4. The Spirit of Christ is a spirit of faith and submission. Hear his prayer to the Father: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me; nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt." Mark 14:36. But why multiply proofs of what is found in so many places in the word of God. The Spirit of Christ is a spirit of prayer, a spirit of self-denial, of self-sacrifice, of self-abnegation. He denied himself for our sake. He became poor that we might be made rich. He died that we might live. The Spirit of Christ is a missionary spirit. This includes all. Those who have the Spirit of Christ will have all these characteristics. Have we the Spirit of Christ? Then we will be humble, just, true, meek, teachable, faithful, submissive, self-sacrificing, self-denying,—true missionaries for God.
CHRIST THE LIFE.
JESUS is not only the way and the truth, but he declares himself to be the life. Man in the beginning was found in the image of God and given life. The continuance, the perpetuity, of that life was made dependent on his faithfulness to God. Given access to the tree of life, living in the sunlight of his Maker's approval, he would have existed forever. Faithful obedience to the Lord's commandments would have perpetuated the life within him. "The commandment," says Paul, "was ordained to life." Rom. 7:10. Again say the Scriptures: "In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." Prov. 12:28.
But man stepped "out of the way" (Rom. 3:12), and death came in consequence of sin. Life is only found in the way of righteousness; in fact, righteousness is life. They are as inseparable as fire and heat. "The wages of sin is death," declares one apostle. "Sin, when it is finished [or "full grown"], bringeth forth death," says another. Righteousness and life are the opposites of sin and death. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die," declaims the prophet in Eze. 18:4. The beginnings of sin are the seeds of death. The sin may exist only in the thought, in the cherished lust, but as soon as entertained in the heart, it is the beginning of death, just as surely as leprosy in the blood is the seed of physical death, incurable, ineradicable, by any power of man, sure to end, sooner or later, in what it really is, namely, death. This is man's condition. Adam sinned, and all the race from him have inherited a sinful nature. Rom. 5:12. He was debarred from the tree of life, that a life of sin and misery might not be forever perpetuated. Gen. 3:22-24.
We have learned, however, how the righteousness which man once possessed, the image of God in him at his creation, may be restored; and that is through Christ, the Way and Truth. By faith in Christ and submission to his will, "the righteousness of God" is placed upon him, and the sinner is accounted as though he had never sinned. "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted [imputed] to him for righteousness." Gal. 3:6. And the apostle continues: "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." And "they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." Gal. 3:7, 9. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Verse 26.
But all this change in the sinner comes about by the life-giving word. Heb. 4:12; John 15:3. Says Jesus, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63. God promises his Holy Spirit; by faith the sinner grasps the promise and the Spirit is his. See Rom. 5:5; Luke 11:9-13. That Spirit in the word creates a new heart and a new Spirit (Eze. 36:26, 27), makes him a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), creates him in Christ Jesus unto good works (Eph. 2:10), a new man created in righteousness and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:24) by the Spirit and the word of Him who is the truth (Eph. 5:9; John 14:6).
But the same time that the Spirit and word of Christ impute and impart righteousness to the sinner he is also given life. The apostle in contrasting what came on man by Adam with what came through Christ, says: "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." Rom. 5:18. "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." Rom. 8:10.
This Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and of God, and is, therefore, the very life of God. This life the individual holds by faith (Gal. 2:21), but it is not the less actual life. The leper was cleansed by faith but it was an actual cleansing. The impotent man was healed by faith in the name at the Beautiful gate of the temple, but it was actual healing. So also is the life which God imparts through his words of life to the believing soul, actual life, eternal life, because it is the life of God. This is the life which Christ came to give. Says he: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10. An apostle writes to the brethren in Christ, that "he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the274record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life. . . . These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE." 1 John 5:10-13. We do not know how language could make the fact more positive that believers in Christ have eternal life. See John 6:47, 54.
This life is elsewhere called "the first fruits of the Spirit" (Rom. 8:23), "the earnest of our inheritance" (Eph. 1:14), "the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Cor. 5:5). Earnest money is a pledge of the principal to follow; it is a very part of the price paid, paid in advance of the greater part as a pledge of more to follow. So God gives of his Spirit as an earnest, a pledge, of the glorious fullness of the life to come. And this portion of God's Spirit which we receive here from time to time is just as actually the Spirit of God and the life of God as though we received it without measure, as did Christ. The Spirit of God to us in this pilgrimage is actual, though not absolute. We may separate from Christ; our faith may utterly fail, and with the separation will depart the life which is in Christ. But in the child of God ever abides the life of God if he is ever faithful to God.
On the other hand, "he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:12. Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews, "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." John 5:40. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36. And this is the invariable testimony of Scripture. Christ is the only being who ever walked this earth of whom it could be said that he had life in himself, because he had righteousness. Man apart from God, whatever his claim, dies soul and body. He is "alienated from the life of God." Eph. 4:18. To claim an immortal soul, or a never dying spirit, does not make it so; he only has life who has righteousness, and he only has righteousness who has Christ. "Let God be true, and every man a liar."
Oh, for faith to grasp the promise of eternal life, the promise of the Spirit of God, the power of his word! Having his life, his Spirit, we will do his works; "for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth." Eph. 5:9; Gal. 5:22, 23. By this life is crucified every uprising of self, and every deed is wrought from life to a larger life. We do not work for life, for it is a gift, and comes by faith. Rom. 6:23. But we work from life, because of our relationship with God, and because we count it joy to labor for Christ.
Christ is the Way, the new and living Way, all the way. He is the Truth all the way. He is the Life all the way. "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him." Col. 2:9, 10.
Reader, this same Jesus invites you to accept of him, the Way, the Truth, the Life. All these will he be to you all the way to the kingdom of God.
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
By Editor
OUR company of sixteen adults and six children left Oakland Thursday evening, February 2, for Battle Creek, Mich., in a new tourist car, specially provided for us by the genial and accommodating agent of the Santa Fe road, Mr. Warner. The car was used for the first time by our party, and was as clean and fresh as a New Amsterdam burgher's kitchen in the days of Peter Stuyvesant. A large coal stove, with ovens ample for cooking purposes, occupied each end of the car. The company was not so small as to leave any spare room, nor sufficiently large to crowd the car. All told, it was an excellent company, representing every age in life nearly, from the prattling child of four years to the gray-haired veteran of threescore and ten. Some of our company were delegates to the General Conference, some were members of various associations connected with the General Conference, some were on their way to visit friends in the East, and all were, we trust, seeking worthy objects with worthy motives.
Many of our Oakland friends accompanied us to the train to bid us hearty Godspeed and to see us settled for the journey. Then came the painfully pleasurable and sad good-byes between relatives, some of whom many months and perhaps death may separate ere they meet again. But railways have no sympathy for the holier sentiments of life, and the time for starting tore apart husband and wife, mother and child, and the train sped on in the swiftly deepening night.
Morning found our untiring iron steed climbing the western slope of the Sierras between Bakersfield and the summit of Tehach-epi. A good view of the "loop" was had by most of the company. On and on we went through the dreary sand stretches of Southern California and Arizona and New Mexico, passing the most interesting scenery at the Needles, just as we cross the Colorado River and Glorietta Mountains, in New Mexico, in the night. The carcasses of dead bovines which were seen along the way interested the boys, and the appearance of the Mojave, the Navajo, and the Pueblo Indians, in their peculiar dress, at various stations were of interest to all. The latter have quite a village at Laguna, and many of them have received quite a good education in the government schools at Carlyle, Pa., and Albuquerque, N. M. They are said to be industrious, honorable, and virtuous. The Indian boys and girls often return to the native village clad in the dress of civilization, but it is soon discarded, owing to the ridicule of the majority of the tribe. Grotesque as it often looks, the dress of the Indian belle, allowing as it does perfect freedom of body and limb, is to be preferred to the health-killing corsets and other health-destroying fashions in which our young ladies of society torture themselves. But the native American, the red man, is rapidly passing away. The stamp of "Christian" governments has well-nigh blotted him from the earth.
Descending the eastern slope of the Rockies, we were ushered into another climate. Leaving in the genial clime of Central California green lawns, blossoming roses, geraniums, and calla lilies (out-of-doors, reader), Kansas greeted275us with the mercury at five degrees below zero. The next two nights on board train our two great coal heaters barely sufficed to keep some of us from intense suffering. Blizzards raged the last night of our journey both north and south of us, blocking railways and impeding travel, but we were not delayed.
On Sabbath we held our regular Sabbath school, having two classes in the senior division, one in the first primary, and one in the second. A lady and her little girl in another car attended, and were much interested. In the afternoon Elder Durland preached from the text, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32.
Two friends joined us in Colorado, one leaving at Kansas City, where three others stopped to visit relatives, the other continuing with us to Battle Creek. We reached Chicago in good health and spirits Tuesday morning, February 7, some going right on to Battle Creek, some stopping at Chicago. At Chicago we met Elder W. C. Gage, of Battle Creek, who greatly assisted us in many ways. Before leaving this phase of our subject, we wish to say that the Santa Fe and Chicago and Grand Trunk Railway companies have ever shown themselves honorable, accommodating, and courteous. The officials were uniformly so. The porter of our Pullman car, Mr. Geo. Broadway, was helpful, attentive, and obliging. We render thanks to them all.
Some impressions come to us as we review this journey which we wish had come to us before, and would perhaps to some of our company had they not been so weary and driven before starting: (1) Why should not some religious service, like Bible study, Bible reading, or short sermons, be had every day? A portion of the car, three or four sections in length, would seat easily from twenty-four to thirty-two adults. What a blessed opportunity it would give for spiritual growth! (2) Let some be deputed to go through other cars, by permission of the conductor, and invite others in to worship and hear. (3) Let there be a good supply of stirring, interesting publications on the living issues of the day, the gospel of Christ. In this way God would make such a journey twice blessed.
On arriving at Battle Creek, some of us went direct to the Sanitarium, so well heated and ventilated that, though it was ten degrees below zero outside, we found a summer atmosphere within. Of the institution itself we shall have more to say later. The institute is in full blast. Of this we suppose that many of our readers have heard through the Review and Herald Extra. Four lessons in Bible study are held each day, besides various meetings for council from time to time. The principal instructors have been Prof. W. W. Prescott, Elders A. T. Jones, J. N. Loughborough, O. A. Olsen, S. N. Haskell, R. A. Underwood, and R. C. Porter. The strain upon Elder Porter has been too great, and he has sunk under his burdens, but only temporarily, we pray.
The Bible study has included among others the following subjects: "The Study of the Bible," "The Christian Ministry," "Recognition of Christ's Ownership," "Missions and Missionary Work," "Promise of the Holy Spirit," and that all-embracing subject, "The Third Angel's Message." These lessons thus far seem to have been greatly appreciated.
There is a spirit of freedom and union which we never saw manifested in any General Conference before that we ever attended. While there is a sense of the solemnity of the time in which we are living, the great work before us, our insufficiency for that work, there is also a voice of faith, a note of victory, which enters into the meetings more largely than ever before. God is coming near to his people, differences are vanishing, and light from God's word is bringing union among those who walk in the light. There is a shout of victory in the camp, for the Lord is leading. Of other interesting things will we speak in our next.
Worship in Spirit and Truth
"God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
THE SIGN, SEAL, OR MARK OF GOD.
By George E. Fifield
BY ELDER GEO. E. FIFIELD.
(Concluded.)
In the preceding article we have sought to show that the voluntary observance of the Sabbath was designed by the Lord as a mark of the worship of the Creator, a sign between him and his children. In contrast with this, we found that an enforced Sunday is the mark of the papal beast. Someone will perhaps say, "Will just keeping the Sabbath, mark, or seal a person as the Lord's?" We answer, No. Paul says, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4:30. Here the Holy Spirit is spoken of, not as the seal but as the power that applies the seal.
In ancient times the art of seal cutting was carried almost to perfection. On some little piece of agate or other stone the artist would carve some beautiful design. From the ruins of ancient Nineveh are discovered seals so finely cut as to prove the existence and use of the microscope back there; for no human eye unaided would be capable of such work. Into the melted wax the seal was pressed, leaving on it all the beauty of its ideal design; and the article sealed was thus proven to bear the authority and be under the protection of the owner of the seal.
The law of God is his seal. "All his commandments are righteousness." They bear the ideal beauty of his divine character. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, through the new, the everlasting covenant, to first melt the heart by such a revelation of God's love as shall make it like the yielding wax, and then to impress that law upon it till all the ideal beauty of his divine character shall be manifest in our lives. See Eph. 4:30; Heb. 8:10; 13:20-21. This seals us as his and places us under his protection.
To such an one no evil can come, but all things shall work together for good. Because he has made the Lord his refuge, even the Most High his habitation, there shall no evil befall him, neither shall any plague come nigh his dwelling. The whole law impressed upon the character by the divine Spirit is the seal; how, then, is the Sabbath said to be the seal or mark? Ans.—Because it is the seal of the law, i. e., the seal of the seal, and because it is the outward act that will mark a man before the world, and, also, because, in the times that are soon coming, with their enforced Sunday and persecution, the man that will be true on this point will be true on all others. There is even a deeper significance than all this, a reason why the Sabbath stands out above all other religious duties, and above the requirements of the other nine precepts, as the mark, or sign, of the true worship of the Creator.
All other ordinary divisions of time rest upon natural causes; the year, upon the revolution of the earth around the sun; the month, upon the revolution of the moon around the earth; and the day, upon the revolution of the earth on its axis. Not so the week. It rests solely upon the Almighty's fiat. He gave to man the first week, marking its close by a day of rest. So, also, when we look at the law of God. All other principles rest not simply upon the word of the Lawgiver, but upon natural principles easily discernible by the human mind. They are not so simply because God said so, but rather he said so because it was so. It is not thinkable that they could be any different. The having of different gods and the worshiping of them through graven images, and the taking lightly of their names in vain, would, as a natural, unavoidable result, in any world peopled by free, intelligent beings, bring division, war, bloodshed, a prostituting of the ideal of God, and therefore a lowering of the conception of the supreme good. In short, it would bring unavoidable misery and baseness. We can easily see, then, why these commands are given and why they could not be otherwise than they are. They rest in the inherent tendency of certain things to pleasure and happiness, and of other certain things to pain and misery.
The same is true of the last six precepts. On the very face of them it is seen that their obedience will bring happiness, and their disobedience, misery. It is as inconceivable that there could be a world in the universe where it could be otherwise, as it is that there could be a world where two and two would be five instead of four.
With the fourth commandment, however, it is different. We can very readily see the necessity of a Sabbath. We can see how, if people had always kept it, they would have thus, commemorating weekly the fact that the only true God was the Creator, continued in his worship, prevented idolatry, and so preserved the human race in one family, with one Father, thus making easy and natural the observance of all the other precepts. All this is easy and plain.
There may be, and doubtless is, some principle underlying the precise proportion of time and the precise day of the week, had we the penetration and power of mind to grasp it; for we do not believe that in anything God is really arbitrary. We cannot see, however, why, if he had seen fit to say the first day, or the fifth day, it would not have done as well. We cannot see why, if he had commanded the observance of every sixth day, or every eighth day, it would not have done as well. Unlike all other principles in the Decalogue, the precise day of the week and the precise proportion276of time, so far as we are able to discern, rest solely upon the fiat of the Almighty.
We know well that this is the very reason why so many separate this precept, or at least this part of it, from the rest of the law, and make it a thing of small importance, or subject to human changes. We believe, however, that this very point, just because it rests solely on the fiat of the Almighty, contains a principle of moral government, the recognition of which is absolutely essential to the happiness and well-being of all God's children, in short, that right in this very thing lies the reason why the Sabbath is a sign of the true service of the true God. Not that God wishes to rule us arbitrarily. He is our Father, and a loving Father too, combining both the father and the mother love. He says the mother may forget the child, but I will not forget you. Thus is his love more than the father's and the mother's, for he is love.
But every father, no matter how tender and kind, knows that the obedient child must recognize the right of the father to command even in those things where the child can see no reason; not that the father commands for the sake of the commandment, not that there is no underlying reason, not that the father is not willing to reveal the reason to the child as soon as he can understand it, but if the reason and understanding of the child were equal to that of the father, then he would not need the father's government, for he would be capable of governing himself. To the child, with his childish mind and feeble understanding, many of the most loving and tender commands of the father must ever seem arbitrary. They take from him some coveted toy or some fancied pleasure. The unripe fruit that the love of the parent forbids, tastes sweet to the child, and he knows not of a tendency to produce sickness, nor even of what sickness is when told of it. The good child, the obedient child, is one whose love of the parent is such that he considers his word as sufficient reason, and so renders immediate and loving obedience. Thus he is saved from a thousand dangers and from unknown sorrows. Nothing short of this is obedience in the child; it is rebellion and would be recognized as such by every parent.
Now we are children. God's thoughts are high as the heavens above our thoughts, and his ways above our ways. How can we hope to comprehend them? Why not rather say with the apostle, "How unsearchable is his wisdom, and his ways past finding out"? Were it not better in childlike trust to obey him in the dark as well as the light, knowing that if his ways are past finding out, his love, too, passeth knowledge, and underlieth all his ways? Nothing else is obedience. It is rebellion. The man who throws out the Sabbath, or claims the right to change the day simply because to his poor human comprehension it rests solely on the fiat of God, reasons like the rebellious child who refuses to obey only when he sees fit and understands the reason.
Since God is so far above man, and governs us but to lift us up to him, how necessary that man should be tested in his law on this very point. He who refuses to yield obedience on this point because his finite mind cannot comprehend the infinite reason, makes it impossible for God to lift him into a higher comprehension. He who renders implicit obedience here, trusting in the Father's love back of the command, though he may not see the reason, will render obedience everywhere else. This is why this,
THE SEVENTH-DAY SABBATH,
is the mark, or sign, of the truly obedient child. Christianity is following Christ. Said he: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
The whole secret of the Christian life is following the infinite Father in the darkness as soon as he tells us the way, although we cannot see the justice or the reason in it now, trusting to the future to make light what is dark here. It is a giving up of our way and taking his way, not because we can just now see the reason for it, but because it is his way and he is love. This was the life of Jesus. It was not at Gethsemane simply that Jesus said from a full soul that stood almost stunned by the darkness and apparent injustice of his lot, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt;" it was at every step of the way he said it—not my way, not my will, not my doctrine, not my works, but thy way, thy words, thy will, thy works in me. Even on the cross, though from the anguished soul, when temptations pressed the thickest, there was wrung the almost despairing cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me," yet it was almost immediately followed by those words of faith, expressing a willingness to go even through the dark valley if it is his will, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
This is obedience, this saying not my way, not my will, but thine. The mark of this obedience is the joyful observance of the Sabbath because God commands it, leaving the scorn, and the persecution, and all earthly results with him. It is essentially the mark, or sign, above all other acts of obedience to the law, because it is an open evidence to all that we recognize the right of our Father, who is infinitely above our highest ideal of him, to command us, even in points where we cannot see his reasons. Our answer is, not my will, not the will of the pope, not the will of the beast or his image, but thy will, and thine only be done in us. Amen.
South Lancaster, Mass.
The Gracious Provision of God's Mercy.
By F. M. Wilcox
The provisions of God's grace are most bountiful. Were other conditions than simple faith made the basis of acceptance, few indeed could avail themselves of the proffers of mercy through Christ. None could come through the merit of their moral worth; a few, perhaps, might be accepted if the possession of wealth was the condition of divine acceptance; a few more might be included if worldly education, or renown, or honor, were regarded of God. But were any of these the basis, the great mass of mankind must have forever perished. But faith, simple faith, is the only condition required. And the offer is to all—the high and low, the rich and poor, the free and bond—"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
And "whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." No conditions or surroundings can prevent this volition of the will. All may come to God by this condition; all must come on this condition to obtain acceptance. The mightiest potentate can make no different terms with God. He must come, if he comes at all, in the exercise of the same simple, childlike trust as the meanest and lowest of his subjects. Herein is manifested the impartiality, depth, and fullness of the love of God to man. F. M. Wilcox.
The Comforter
By F. M. W.
The Comforter.—The offices of the Holy Spirit, as brought to view in the Scriptures of truth, are many and varied. It is the agency of communication between God and man. It reproves, instructs, cleanses, sanctifies, encourages, and strengthens. But one of the most precious names by which it is known is that of the "Comforter." This is a meaningless word to the natural heart. The man of the world cannot fathom its depth; but the humble, trusting child of God, beset by sin and Satan on every side, knows that there is not power in language to convey the fullness of comfort and consolation, help and encouragement, which may be found in the Spirit's communion. It is comfort born of love, and joy, and peace. Such comfort gave to Peter that sound sleep on the night preceding his anticipated execution. Such comfort gave to Paul and Silas songs of rejoicing in the prison of Philippi. Such comfort and peace may every child of God possess in every circumstance of life. F. M. W.
Praying for God’s Kingdom
"THERE are people who pray, 'Thy kingdom come,' who do it on condition that it is to come in their way."
PSALM LXI.
By Edward A. Collier
REV. EDWARD A. COLLIER.
Hear thou, O God, my mournful plaint,
And to my humble prayer attend.
When overwhelmed my heart grows faint,
To thee I'll call from earth's far end—
Oh, lead me, as for help I flee,
Unto the rock too high for me!
Since thou my refuge oft hast been,
When fierce the storm against me rose,
My tower of strength and peace serene,
Secure against my wrathful foes,
I'll ever in thy house abide,
And 'neath thy sheltering wings will hide;
For thou hast heard my vows and prayer,
And in thy grace hast made my own
The heritage thou dost prepare
For those who fear thy name alone.
Days to the King thou wilt increase,
Nor shall his years through ages cease.
He shall forever more abide,
Enthroned, O God, at thy right hand.
Mercy and truth do thou provide,
And bid as guards around him stand.
So will I praise thy name for aye,
And thus my vows will daily pay.
—New York Observer.
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
By Francis McClellan Wilcox
BY ELDER F. M. WILCOX.
SEVERAL important points have already been considered with reference to the manner of Christ's return. We have found that his coming will be both literal and visible. This week we wish to consider the question of the time of his coming. And right here let us note the fact that we do not believe in specifying the exact time of the Lord's coming. In other words, we do not believe in "setting time." Too much of this has been done in the past for the good of the cause of truth. The silly and preposterous claims, based pretendedly upon the prophetic scriptures, have brought the subject of the second coming of Christ into disrepute, so that many otherwise candid minds now attach to this great question but little importance.
It is plainly stated by our Saviour in Matt. 24:36 that
NO MAN KNOWETH THE DAY NOR THE HOUR
when he shall return to the earth. This forever precludes the idea of "time setting," and stamps upon the brow of him who attempts it the character of an imposter. But while Christ declares that no man shall know the day nor hour of his return, he also tells us in verse 33, plainly and emphatically, that after we see certain signs come to pass, we may "know that it is near, even at the doors." With this knowledge the church of Christ must content itself. It may know by the fulfilling of sign and prophecy that the Day-star is rising, and that soon its effulgent rays will illumine the horizon; but at just what moment it will appear, God has not given to man the power to determine.
As the time draws near for Christ to return, his disciples will be anxiously looking, waiting, and longing for that event. But upon the scoffing, unbelieving world, who are too much engrossed in the pleasures of sin and folly to give sober thought and realization to the herald signs, will the second coming of Christ
COME "AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT."
Paul speaks of two classes who will exist in the last days. One class he designates as "they," and he says of them, "When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall not escape." But to the other class, whom he addresses as "brethren," he says: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thess. 5:1-5.
Then it is upon those who "sleep," the "children of the night" and "of darkness," those who cry "Peace and safety," those sunken in the sins of the world, and disregarding the portent of the signs given by our Lord, that that day is to come "as a thief in the night." On the contrary, the "brethren" regard the "times and seasons," and for this reason it was not necessary for Paul to write regarding them. By so doing they earn the title "children of the day," know when the Lord is "near, even at the doors," and thus escape the destruction which comes upon the ungodly world as a thief in the night.
But to the child of God is there constant impending danger. Surrounded as he is with sin and iniquity on every side, associating with those who know not God, but in works deny him, there is danger that his own heart will become hardened and careless unless by continued watchfulness and earnest prayer he renews from day to day his spiritual strength. "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." The ungodly are indeed dwellers, or citizens, here, but the people of God are but "strangers and pilgrims," looking for a "better country, that is an heavenly." They, if they watch and pray always, may escape the snare that shall come upon the earth to drown men in perdition.
The Spirit Changes Character
By Ram's Horn
The only power that can change the character of man is the Spirit of God coming into his heart.—Ram's Horn.
God’s Gifts to His Children
By John Wesley
God gives riches to the world, but stores of his treasures of wholesome affections to his children.—Wesley.