Signs of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 1. (1/6/1888)

Signs of the Times

Jan 6, 1888

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 6, 1888

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

THE WISDOM OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

"Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-Peor; for all the men that followed Baal-Peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day."

THE claim has been made that the commandments of God are a yoke of bondage, that it is impossible for man to keep them, and that ancient Israel found them unendurable, and failed to fulfill their righteous obligations; but such a claim is proven to be false by the words we have presented. The commandments were not grievous while the people were firm in their allegiance to God; but when they separated from him and gave their powers to the service of the prince of evil, they became aware of their inability to execute the holy enactments of Heaven. The law that had once been their delight, became an unendurable weight, because they had deprived themselves of the love and power of God, and had taken a willful course to resist the authority of the Most High.

The ancient Israelites had not too much will,—it needs will to be a servant of God,—but when they fixed it on the side of self-indulgence, and in opposition to the direct commands of God, it only wrought for their destruction. They placed their will on the side of the first great rebel, and followed his example in complaining of the precepts of Heaven. All murmuring against the law of God is instigated by the lawless one who first created dissatisfaction in the courts of Jehovah, and incited rebellion among the ranks of the angels.

Satan is ever on the alert for the first word of complaint against God and his service. He takes advantage of a spirit of murmuring, and fills the mind with his dark doubts and suggestions. He is constantly seeking to sow the seeds of dissatisfaction in the heart, concerning the requirements of God, presenting them as unjust in their restraints, and unreasonable in their demands. It is the work of Satan to belittle the law that condemns him, and all who love sin show the characteristics of their commander. Many of the people of God had fallen under his temptations and left their allegiance to God, but here was a living testimony, presented by the faithful servant of the Most High, setting forth the blessedness of obedience. It was transgression that had brought disaster, and laid the nation under the curse of God. Those who had left their loyal service and turned to idolatry, were smitten with disease and death. In contrast to the fate of the transgressor, Moses points out the prosperity of those who had kept the commandments of the Lord; no harm had befallen them; they were alive every one of them that day.

All who have determined to serve God will seek to know and to do his will, at whatever cost to themselves. The true servants of God will be made manifest by their willing obedience to all the commandments of their Master. They will not be murmuring and finding fault with the law, but will declare by word and action, "This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." In obeying the law, they are doing that which is well-pleasing in the sight of Heaven, and all the promises of the word of God are pledged to the support of the faithful and obedient. They may hope in his mercy, build on his immutable counsels, obtain the desires of their hearts, because their wills are placed on the side of God's will. It is their meat to do the will of God and to finish his work. The gates of the eternal city shall open for the nation that has kept the truth. The servants of God shall eat of the tree of life, and enjoy the unsearchable riches of eternity.

What astonishing benevolence on the part of God to make conditions for the re-instatement of rebel man to his divine favor! Oh that the mercy of God might not be lightly esteemed! Oh that we might appreciate the forbearance of the great God of the universe, comply with his requirements, and receive the great reward that he has promised to those who love him! Should we not from humble and grateful hearts present our services to him who "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"? We may become the sons of God, the heirs of an eternal inheritance, partakers of the divine nature, kings and priests unto God. The most exalted privileges are offered to the obedient. Shall we turn away in rebellion and unbelief, and propose to go back to Egypt? Never! Our march should be onward, toward the heavenly Canaan. Every step should be from faith to a greater faith, from obedience to a more perfect obedience, from light to a brighter light; for "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

We are the Israel that God is leading out of the errors of the world in these last days to live by every word that proceedeth out of his mouth. The truth for this time will not fail to sanctify the soul that receives the love of it and obeys it from the heart. It will enable us to overcome every besetting sin, and to surmount every difficulty in our onward march. We can run and not be weary, walk and not faint.

"Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land

whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people."

The wisdom and understanding of ancient Israel before all the nations, was their obedience to God's law. This doing of God's commandments worked an elevation of character and life that even the heathen world recognized and commended. Those who have rendered obedience to God in all ages, have been transformed in character, and in these last days, when iniquity abounds on every hand, our wisdom and understanding before all people will consist in our obedience to the standard of righteousness. The servants of God will not be foolish, ignorant, uncourteous, and coarse; but as they conform their lives to the holy laws of Heaven, they become like Jesus Christ, who was a living example of perfect obedience to the statutes of Jehovah. They will become refined, ennobled, elevated, and will manifest that courtesy that forgets the interests of self, that others may be blessed and benefited.

The follower of Jesus will place his will on the side of his Master's will. He will have a consciousness of the nearness of God's presence. Doubts will vanish before the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, as the shadows fly before the morning. The true Christian identifies his interest with the interest of Christ, wears the yoke of his Master, lifts his burden, bears his reproach; but no murmur escapes his lips. No, he rejoices that he is counted worthy to suffer for His sake who suffered for him. You may expect complaint, but you will hear only the language of thanksgiving from Christ's burden-bearers. They do not bear the load alone; for He whom their soul loveth, walks with them, and the heaviest weight is borne by his loving and mighty heart. Those who come to Christ, weary and heavy-laden, find rest unto their souls. Those who learn of him and take his yoke upon them, find that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever," promises, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Yes, this God is our God forever and ever. Then why should we chafe and fret under the commandments of our God? He who leadeth us and teacheth us to profit, declares, "I have kept my Father's commandments;" and those who follow Christ will do as he has done. Their steps will fall in his foot-prints all along the path of obedience that he has trodden before them as their example. The law of our God "is holy, and just, and good," and it is to our highest interest that we come into perfect harmony with its precepts. It is ordained unto life. The world knows that it is wisdom to serve the God of Heaven. However reluctant men may be to acknowledge it, they look upon the obedient children of God as favored of Heaven.

Moses asks: "For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons."

Here is the solemn charge that was given to ancient Israel, and it comes echoing down the ages to us, with accumulated force; for we are under greater obligation and increased responsibility, because we have the record of their experiences to teach us to avoid their errors and profit by their mistakes. Their departures from God, their backslidings, their murmuring, their sins "are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." The judgment of God in the destruction of the guilty is marked before us, that we may take heed to the warnings, and escape from the paths of transgression. The rich rewards and blessings bestowed upon the obedient are recorded as encouragements to those who will follow the way of the Lord and delight in his testimonies.

In the commendation of God to the faithful among ancient Israel, is unmistakable evidence that he highly appreciates those who are peculiar in character, because they render perfect obedience to his holy laws. The spiritual excellency of these people is manifested in their words and works. They are branches of the living vine, and partakers of the divine nature.

Like seeks like. Like appreciates like. Christ recognizes his own Spirit and image in his followers. As they become more like him, they seek a closer association with him. His character shines with new attractions. They see matchless charms in their Redeemer, and he becomes "the chiefest among ten thousand," and the one "altogether lovely." His ways are precious to them, and it is their delight to do his will.

The words of Jesus test the profession we make. He declares: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. . . . If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings; and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever: even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

The conditions and promises are the same in the Old Testament as they are in the New. The favor of God is promised only to those who obey him. "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love," says the Master. If we would claim the rich promises, if we would have the pardon of our sins, and eternal life at last, we must yield a royal service to the God of Heaven. In our faithful performance of his requirements consists our prosperity as a church and as individuals. Not in great talents, not in great possessions, not in grand appearances, but in humble service to our Maker is our strength, wisdom, and understanding.

We must not take a feeble, vacillating course; but with unchangeable purpose, place our wills on the side of God's will, become rich in faith, rich in the knowledge of his word, and rich in the power of his Spirit. If we do those things that are pleasing in the sight of our God, we may hold the keys of the invisible world. We may unlock Heaven's storehouses, and draw upon their inestimable treasures.

Then let none of us entertain the thought that it is of little moment whether we heed the commandments of God, or pass them by with indifference. When the great books of Judgment are opened, and the motives of every heart are laid bare, there will be no excuse for those who trifle with God's plain words. "The wages of sin is death." This is the awful and inevitable sentence pronounced upon the transgressor. But the righteous shall enter into life. Says the Son of God, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

Christ’s Coming and Reward

"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.

LET US GIVE THANKS.

By Robert M. Offord

Let us give thanks! To praise the Lord is meet; His streams of love and mercy ceaseless flow. Unto his courts O come, with willing feet, Your fervent hearts with gratitude aglow.

Let us give thanks! There have been clouded days, And days of gloom, that hid him from our eyes; But grief, at times, doth call for loudest praise, And sorrows oft are blessings in disguise.

Let us give thanks! for winter's storms no less Than summer's glow, or autumn's fruitful tide. From one dear hand they come, and come to bless; Though seasons change, love's purposes abide.

Let us give thanks! Nor forward look nor back Need serve to stay a single strain of praise. Our Shepherd God, no good thing can we lack, We shall have cause to bless him all our days. —Robert M. Offord.

PAPAL CONTROL OF THE PRESS.

FROM the invention of printing, about 1444, the Pope and the Church of Rome have sought to control the press. Sixtus IV., in 1472, commenced the crusade. Alexander VI., in 1501, ordained, under the severest penalties, that no books of any description should be published without the sanction of the Romish bishop of the diocese. Leo X. renewed the prohibition. The fifth Council of Lateran, at which Leo presided, 1515, decreed "that no book, whatever, should be printed without examination and license by the bishop, his deputy, or an inquisitor." The penalty for violating this decree was of the most terrible description. A committee was appointed by the Council of Trent, whose duty it was to prepare a list of prohibited books. It was published on the 24th of March, 1564, and called Index Prohibitorius.

The committee was made permanent, and was called "the congregation of the index." The writings prohibited by this body include many of the standard works of literature, to which others are added constantly, as the labors of the committee are continued to this day. Among the books condemned are Milton's "Paradise Lost," Young's "Night Thoughts," "The Dairyman's Daughter," and the writings of Addison, Lord Bacon, Jeremy Taylor, Mosheim, Locke, Calvin, Luther, Wickliffe, Zwinglius, Melanchthon, Robertson, George Buchanan, Cave, Grotius, and a host of others. In Popish countries the index is posted up from time to time on the church doors. Besides this index there is another

called Index Expurgatorius, which includes books not entirely prohibited, but which have certain passages expurgated. Mendham's "Literary Policy of the Church of Rome" has a very full account of both catalogues.

Pope Pius IV., in the bull issued in 1564, published ten rules, descriptive of the books to be condemned.

All books condemning Popes or Councils.
All books upon religion, written by heretics, are totally condemned.
Translations of the Bible, except for the use of learned men, at the discretion of the bishop.
The Bible, translated even by Romish authors into the mother tongues, not allowed to be used except on permission in writing given by the bishop.
Lexicons and other compilations must have the sanction of the priests.
Books of controversy are subject to the same rules as the use of the Bible.
The classics are permitted only to the aged.
Books, in the main good, must be amended by the priests.
Books on science must be carefully examined.
Enjoins printers and booksellers and all other persons from having anything to do with the prohibited books, under severe pains and penalties executed at the will of the inquisitors. These rules conclude as follows: "Finally it is enjoined on all the faithful that no one presume to keep or read any books contrary to these rules, or prohibited by this index. But if anyone keep or read any books composed by heretics, or the writings of any author suspected of heresy or false doctrine, he shall instantly incur the sentence of excommunication; and those who read or keep works interdicted on another account besides the mortal sin committed, shall be severely punished at the will of the bishops."—Landmarks of Truth.

PERFECT FAITH.

By E. J. Rogers

We must make our faith perfect by works. If we see it to be our duty to keep the Sabbath, we must begin to keep the Sabbath. If we see it to be our duty to be baptized, we must go forward in that ordinance. If we see it to be our duty to partake of the Lord’s Supper, we must eat of the bread and drink of the wine, consecrated for this service. If we believe it to be our duty to follow Christ in the ordinance of humility, we must wash one another’s feet. If we believe we should have a family altar, we must establish and maintain it.

We have not a perfect faith in these things unless we put them in practice. We must reduce to practice the whole of present truth, or we have not a perfect faith in it. If we have a knowledge of some of the truths intended for this time and reduce them to practice, we are in a fair way to get hold of other kindred truths of equal importance. If we receive these truths in the love of them, we shall rejoice in them. If they abide in us we shall rejoice without ceasing. If they be in us and abound, the blessing of the God of truth will roll in upon us like a flood. All who truly abound in faith are active in diminishing human woe. If we think we hold a perfect faith and do not put it in practice we deceive our own selves. It will surely slip from us, we shall backslide, and our light will become darkness. Faith is brightened, burnished, polished, and perfected by use; by disuse it is sure to rust and decay. All are dead in trespasses and sin who are not living by a perfect, active faith in the Son of God.

E. J. ROGERS.

WHAT IS CONSCIENCE?

By Luther Lee, D. D.

THERE are but few subjects upon which more widely different views have been expressed than the subject of conscience, and yet among all that has been written, it is rare to find a clear statement of what conscience is in the light of mental science. One principal source of complexity among orthodox writers has been a confounding of conscience with the judgment, which places conscience in the mental department of the intelligence, where it does not belong. This might be shown by quotations from many and some of our best writers, but brief quotations from two distinguished authors will be sufficient. Dr. Francis Wayland says: "Conscience is that faculty of the mind by which we distinguish between right and wrong in our actions, whether they have respect to our fellow-men or to God. And as we form the same judgment respecting the actions of other men as we do respecting our own, we say that conscience is the faculty by which we distinguish between right and wrong in our moral actions."

This not only confounds conscience with the judgment but makes judgment the conscience. It cannot be denied that the judgment decides all questions of right and wrong in moral actions; but Dr. Wayland says conscience is the faculty that does this work of judging in regard to right and wrong; therefore the judgment must be the conscience, and must belong to the intellectual department of the mind. His language makes this same conscience the judge of the right and the wrong of other men's actions, which makes conscience objective in its action. It not only places conscience in the department of the intelligence, but assigns to it the word of reason, which cannot be sound philosophy.

Dr. Alexander says: "The exercise of the moral faculty, or conscience, is not simply an intellectual act; it is complex, including a judgment and an emotion, or a feeling of a peculiar kind. All judgments of the mind, whatever be the subject of them, appertain to the understanding. This comprehensive faculty includes all intellectual acts. So far, therefore, as conscience is a judgment respecting any moral subject, so far it is an exercise of the understanding. But more is included under the name of conscience than a mere intellectual act or judgment, and as this judgment is attended with a peculiar feeling called moral, and easily distinguished from all other emotions, and as emotion or feeling can with no propriety be referred to reason, therefore conscience is, so far as this is concerned, different from the understanding."

This makes conscience complex indeed, as Dr. Alexander says it is. It makes conscience consist of two distinct mental phenomena, given by two very distinct mental departments, the intelligence and the sensibility. It makes conscience consist of two things, a judgment and an emotion, both of which Dr. Alexander assumes to express by the one name, conscience. The judgment and the emotion must each be a part of conscience, for neither is conscience without the other, and both together constitute conscience in Dr. Alexander's view. The smallest criticism that can be offered is to say that it is very mixed philosophy.

The phenomena given by distinct mental departments are as distinct as the departments by which they are given, and cannot blend so as to become one thing and be expressed by one name. The name "conscience" cannot express both a judgment and an emotion, which are distinct things. The judgment or the emotion cannot belong to conscience; conscience must be the one or the other, or neither. One is a judgment, and the other is a feeling. The judgment cannot feel, and the feeling cannot judge, nor can judgment and feeling blend into a third element to be called conscience. Can an explanation be given and conscience be defined? An attempt can be made.

All philosophers agree that mental phenomena indicate three and only three general departments of mental faculties, which are the sources of our three classes of phenomena—the intelligence, the sensibility, and the will. The intelligence does all the thinking, knowing, reasoning, and judging; and the sensibility does all the feeling, including all emotions of all classes; and the will does all the willing. To one of these mental departments conscience must belong; it cannot belong to two or all of them. All agree that a feeling of remorse and a feeling of approbation are fundamental elements of conscience. Even Dr. Alexander affirms this, and therefore conscience must belong to the mental department of sensibility, which does all the feeling for the soul. The intelligence cannot

feel. Upon this statement of facts I rest my definition, as follows: Conscience is that moral susceptibility of the soul which causes us to feel the pain of remorse when we do what our judgment tells us is morally wrong, and which causes us to feel the pleasure of approbation when we do what our judgment tells us is morally right.

To give conscience a place in the intellectual department of the mind, because it acts in response to the decisions of the judgment, as Dr. Wayland and Dr. Alexander have done, is as absurd as to refer any other emotion to the intelligence, for every emotion and every passion is aroused by intellectual perceptions or conceptions.

The action of the judgment relative to the sensibility is objective; it acts not upon itself, but upon the sensibility. The action of the sensibility in response to judgment is subjective, acting in and upon itself as the ego of the soul; and there do we find the conscience.

I will close with a brief statement of two important facts: 1. Conscience is not, and cannot be, a rule of action. It is not a rule or law or command in any proper sense. It is only a feeling of pain or pleasure of a peculiar kind. It is not a judge, but only feels under the judgments pronounced by the intelligence. This is its nature and design, and all it has to do, or can do, is to feel. The conscience cannot anticipate the judgments of the intelligence, and go behind them to influence the action of the will, but can only respond to the judgments with a feeling of pain or pleasure as they come. The action of the conscience is a sequence of the judgment, and cannot be a rule of action. 2. Conscience is capable of being so trained under the action of the intelligence and will as to be made better or worse. It is well understood that the practice of wrong-doing hardens the heart, as the common expression is; the conscience becomes less sensitive, and the wrong-doer feels less compunction the longer he lives in the practice of sin, and the deeper he descends into the deeper depths of crime. Paul speaks of a class of abandoned sinners in his day whose conscience was "seared with a hot iron"—a figurative expression to denote extreme hardness or a loss of moral feeling. Hardened sinners are sometimes aroused under a powerful awakening influence; but there is great danger that they will not awake until it will be too late, and the danger increases every day they live in sin. It may be supposed that conscience is never destroyed, but only stupefied, by which its action is suppressed, and that every conscience will be roused in the end, under the terrors of actual perdition, if not before.

But conscience can be improved. Let the will resolve to do right, and let it hold the intelligence to honest, earnest search for a knowledge of truth, right, and duty; and let it enforce every judgment in regard to the requirements of moral right and duty, and conscience will be all right, and become very sensitive. Those who pursue this course will find themselves in possession of the conscience for which Mr. Charles Wesley prayed in the following lines:—

"Oh! that my tender soul might fly The first abhorred approach of ill, Quick as the apple of an eye, The slightest touch of sin to feel." —Luther Lee, D. D., in Christian Advocate.

"WHOSOEVER."

THERE were children by the door Conning Bible verses o'er. "Which word, all the Bible through, Do you love best?" queried Sue.

"I like 'faith' the best," said one. "'Jesus' is my word alone."

"I like 'hope.'" "And I like 'love.'" "I like 'Heaven,' our home above."

One, more small than all the rest, "I like 'whosoever' best.

"'Whosoever,' that means all; Even I, who am so small."

"Whosoever!" Ah! I see That's the word for you and me.

"Whosoever will" may come, Find a pardon and a home.

—Selected.

THE EVERLASTING ARMS.

By Christian at Work

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Surely no promise could have been more infinitely precious than this promise was, when its words fell upon the ears of the Israelites. It was so wonderfully adapted to the circumstances of a people who had been traveling, houseless and homeless, without any fixed habitation, for a long time. Now they knew that the Lord was to be their dwelling-place; the words had a home-like sound. The thought of stability and permanence must have been like music in the ears of this homesick people. Every blessing seemed to be contained in this promise, an abiding and unchanging dwelling-place where no evil could befall them, an everlasting arm to sustain and support them, strong enough to bear every burden, every care.

The words came down to us as a priceless legacy from the God who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and we may each know for ourselves the comfort contained in them for every weary, heavy-laden soul. The eternal God is our refuge. What need we care then if dark clouds of sorrow lower, and the bitter waters of affliction overflow us? God will never leave or forsake us, and, pavilioned in his eternal love, we need fear no evil.

And God is not only a refuge, he is a dwelling-place. Too many of us are accustomed to go to God only in times of weakness, or to flee to him as a very present help only in time of trouble. When the clouds gather and the storm breaks, then we turn to God to protect us, but when the storm has passed, and all is bright and fair again, we forget him as if we were now self-sufficient. We make God our refuge only, instead of our dwelling-place; we go to him as a covert for a little season, till the danger is overpast; we do not make him our home. If we made God our dwelling-place as well as our refuge, I believe it would alter our lives completely, and increase our happiness an hundred-fold.

Think for a moment what a blessed thing it is to dwell in God; then there is not one thing in our lives that we have to do alone, not one trouble that comes to us that we have to bear alone, not one joy that we have to share alone, not one purpose to make alone, not one temptation to conquer alone and unaided.

The least event in our history quite as much as the greatest does not happen to us alone, but God shares our life with us, and every moment we are dwelling in him, with the everlasting arms beneath and about us.

What a revolution it would make in our lives if we realized this! How many things would be left undone that are now done! How many new duties would be begun! What a new sanctity and sweetness would fill our joys! What deeper responsibility would invest our thoughts and actions! What victories we would gain over temptations that have heretofore defeated us! We would attach a new sacredness and greatness to our common life if we once felt that God was our refuge and dwelling-place, not only in times of distress and in trouble alone.

Of course those times will come, but underneath us are the everlasting arms, strong enough to bear us up through any trouble. Should we ever be crushed by the burdens and cares of life as they gather about us, we feel also the tightening of those everlasting arms which have borne so many precious souls through deepest waters safely to the other side.

Only by casting ourselves upon the Lord will we feel beneath us the everlasting arms; if we stand in our own strength we cannot claim the promise of help, but surely no one will hesitate when the weak arm of flesh, so inadequate to help, is compared to the everlasting arms of the eternal God, our refuge.

THE WHOLE HEART.

KING SOLOMON, who was the wisest man that ever lived, once made a remarkable decision in a very difficult case. Two women came to him with an infant, which each claimed as her own. The one said, pointing at the other: "This woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom." But the other denied this and said, "The living is my son, and the dead is thy son." And on this evidence they expected Solomon to decide whose the child was. Seemingly, this would be impossible; but his knowledge of a mother's heart came to the rescue, and he called for a sword, and said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other." But the mother of the child cried out in anguish, "O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it." Thus Solomon knew by the expressions of the two women which was the mother. The real mother could not bear to see her child divided, while the false one was content to take half.

The Lord asks a question by the prophet Isaiah; says he, "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" There seems to be only one answer to that, yet he says, "They may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Here the Lord illustrates by comparison his love for the human soul, and shows it to be a love far passing the love of women. As a woman could not bear to see her child divided, but must have all or none, so the Lord cannot have the heart divided, but claims all. Says he, "My son, give me thine heart." He demands all the heart, all the mind, all the soul, and all the strength. This in itself shows that he is our Creator and Father. The devil,

like the false mother, is glad (although not satisfied) to get anything he can, but the Lord wants all. You must either do one thing or the other; if the Lord is your God, then follow him, but if Baal is god with you, then follow him. Says the true Witness, "I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth."

In spite of this requirement, how many there are in these last days who try to serve the Lord with a divided affection. The religious world is cursed with half-heartedness. Many, even at the time of their conversion, who give their hearts to God, reserve a small corner for themselves or for the world; some pet idol is often cherished. These find the Christian life a hard one; they will be fighting a constant battle, more or less in their own strength, and obtaining little or no satisfaction; they will spend money for that which is not bread, and labor for that which satisfieth not. They will experience a lack in their religious life, and will have a constant craving for something they cannot reach. There are thousands who themselves testify that they are in this condition. To such the invitation is, "Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." But to those who make an unconditional surrender to Jesus, who unresistingly give their whole hearts to him, the Christian life will be full of love, joy, and peace. They will have the mighty power of Jesus to back their own feeble efforts, and so will be able to work out his good pleasure. They will experience a satisfaction that no one else can have, and consequently will be the happiest and most cheerful people on the earth. They will be joyful even in tribulation and persecution, as were Paul and Silas when they in the night sang songs to God from their Philippian prison.

But the matter of not giving the Lord the whole heart is not only unsatisfactory to the donor, but is extremely sinful. We have the case of Ananias and Sapphira. They sold a possession and pretended to give all the money to the Lord, but in reality kept back a portion. In doing this we are told that they sinned against the Holy Ghost, and we know the terrible results, God smote them both and they died. Are not those who openly give the Lord their hearts, but in reality withhold a part, doing precisely the same thing? Are not they grieving the Holy Spirit? If so, it behooves all who come to God to make thorough work. The scriptures quoted above seem to indicate that they were better not converted at all than only half converted. It surely is a solemn thing to draw nigh unto God, and all of us ought to examine our hearts as with a lighted candle and see if we are wholly the Lord's. If we are not, "it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not."

THE NEW TESTAMENT SABBATH.

By Presbyterian Teacher

It is the fashion of the present day to assume that, under the Mosaic dispensation, the law of the Sabbath was altogether arbitrary, and in a very high degree oppressive, and that under the gospel it has been essentially modified. The position seems to be that there is a large abatement of the divine claim in regard to Sabbath observance. Under the Mosaic dispensation there were certain theocratic regulations and requirements, which, as belonging to the civil government, as administered by Moses and his successors, were not designed to be of permanent obligation. But it was a leading object of these precepts to impress upon the minds of the Jewish people a sense of the sacredness of the Sabbath, as a holy day. It was the purpose to give them an impressive lesson in regard to the spirituality of the law and the extent of its application. And the divine legislation, under the theocracy, was of such a character as to leave no one in doubt in regard to its import. The precepts of the law and the teachings of the prophets, during the subsequent history of the Jewish nation, taught the people how to keep the Sabbath. And so far as relates to the essential spirit of the command, there has been no change.

During the later history of the Jews, their religious teachers gave such an exposition of the law of the Sabbath as rendered it burdensome and oppressive, but for every precept in regard to it, which was inconsistent with the highest and best interests of the people, temporal not less than spiritual, their teachers, and they alone, were responsible. There was nothing in the commandment, in itself, nor in any precept of the Old Testament in regard to it, of which they had the smallest reason to complain. There was nothing that forbade any work of necessity or mercy. The conscientious Jew did not hesitate to care for his own necessities, nor for the necessities of those dependent upon him. He did not hesitate to supply the wants of his domestic animals, or to afford relief to such as were in distress, and what might be done for a beast might certainly be done for a fellow-man.

In his exposition of the law of the Sabbath, our Lord added nothing to the precepts of the Old Testament. He simply delivered his disciples from the bondage into which they had been brought by Jewish tradition. He made no abatement of his claim, and he put no new construction upon the fourth commandment. He simply corrected the misconstruction of the Jewish teachers. He taught his hearers how the commandment was to be obeyed.

It is somewhat remarkable that writers who claim for the New Testament law a great superiority over that of the Old Testament, should altogether lose sight of the unscriptural and dishonoring imputation involved. They assume that the cruel and oppressive ruler of the Hebrew people has become the gracious and beneficent Saviour of the new dispensation. But the Son of man is the same person who revealed himself to ancient Israel as "The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." And there has been no change in his character or work. The personal ministry of Christ was simply a fuller and clearer manifestation of the same character and the same general plan of saving lost men.

—Presbyterian Teacher.

Leaning Upon God

By Frank Hope

Frank Hope.

WHOSOEVER would be sustained by the hand of God, let him constantly lean upon it; whosoever would be defended by it, let him patiently repose himself under it.—Calvin.

Continue reading: THE SEARCH FOR GOD