Signs of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 9. (1/2/1893)

Signs of the Times

Jan 2, 1893

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 2, 1893

THE AGE OF CONFEDERACIES.

THIS generation has been called the age of organization. Organization is everywhere. It is organized labor against organized capital. It is organized infidelity against an organized church. It is organized law against organized crime. It is club against club, society against society, league against league. If any great work is to be done, a new society must be organized. If a new reform arises, it demands a new organization. And even in those organizations which are working along the same lines, a spirit of rivalry issues oftentimes in great bitterness.

But it is more than an age of organizations; it is an age of confederacies. Organizations are forming from organizations. The smaller are combined in some larger confederation or "union," till, through prominent persons, all these organizations are becoming, in one way or another, connected. This is preëminently true in the religious world. For instance, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union includes in its membership women from most of the churches of the land. This is also true of the Y. M. C. A., and the Y. P. S. C. E., and the American Sabbath Union.

From a worldly point of view all these organizations are legitimate and proper. Men have the right to tie themselves up in as many organizations as they wish so far as their fellow-men are concerned. And in some of these things union is strength. But from a Bible view this multiplication of organizations and confederations is weakening to moral force and is wrong. It is weakening because it is wrong.

In the first place, so many organizations render the machinery of the church and its societies—inferior and, sometimes, superior—ponderous and unwieldy. It takes all the power of the church to run the machinery. It takes all of its available talent in its low spiritual state to run the societies. The average old-fashioned member gets lost in the maze of initial letters, and settles down to do nothing.

These societies weaken the church by developing unbalanced church members. God wants to develop four-square Christians, all-around men and women, who can visit the sick if need be, albeit they are not on the "visiting committee," who can sew or buy garments for the poor if they are not in the Dorcas Society, who can observe and work for the Sabbath if they do not belong to a Sabbath union, who can be temperate and labor to promote temperance, lift up the drunkard, raise the fallen, even though they do not belong to some temperance organization, who

can be benevolent without belonging to some benevolent society, who can joyfully labor for others without joining a missionary society. In short, God wants full-grown Christians, shining with full-orbed light, ready for every good word and work. But these organizations make specialists, wonderfully brilliant in some particular line, but very striking failures many times in work that every Christian ought to know how to do. The ultimate success of such specialists may well be questioned. They develop a class as one-sided as themselves, and thereby weaken the church. The human is put in place of the divine.

All that is godly legitimate for those societies to do the church can do. These organizations do not furnish one single talent which is not already in the church. They do not add to the power of the church. Many of them count as members those who are wholly of the world, and who bring the spirit of the world into the church. Friendship with the world is still enmity against God.

Another thing which shows the wickedness of this organizing craze is that the great majority of them take all the glory to themselves, or their human leaders, and do not ascribe it, except in an indifferent way, to the great Giver of all good, from whom all power and help must come. The organization not only shuts out Christ, but, as before remarked, it unites with it oftentimes worldly elements which are directly opposed to the Spirit and work of Christ. Many of the organizations are formed for the very purpose of securing the coöperation of the world, and the result is that the world secures the coöperation of the members of the church in opposing the work of Christ.

The reason for this much organization is ostensibly to secure union. The organizations and associations before named were for the purpose of securing unity in Christian work. But this no organization will ever do. No association of men and women as such forms true Christian union. The W. C. T. U. is an organization, not a Christian union. The American Sabbath Union is a confederacy of churches, not a union even in respect to the Sabbath of the Lord. And the formation of all these organizations hinders true union instead of helping it. There are order and organization in God's work, which grow out of true Christian union, but true Christian union never grows out of human organizations. The formation of these organizations is designed to do good, and those who start them are sincere. They see great dangers ahead, mighty forces of evil to meet, perils impending over humanity and nations, and the only hope to them is to "organize" against these great evils. Because of the terrible fear of coming, impending dangers these extra church combinations, associations, and confederacies exist. They are formed to meet the fear. And because they are growing in number, interlocking and interlacing, and so obtaining political power, they are expected to meet successfully these evils. The American Sabbath Union is a confederation to meet by human means Sabbath desecration. These very organizations will be found at last—are found already—fighting against God and persecuting his people.

The only true union is union with God through Jesus Christ our Lord by means of the truth of God. A true union is a union of truth. It knows no compromise. It is primarily union with God. The bond of that union is Christ Jesus. All souls who are in Christ are thus bound together by Christ; as Jesus prayed for his disciples of every age: "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be one in us" (and the effect of this union on the world is thus shown): "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Read John 17. This is Christian union; there is no other. Those who are thus united with Christ may with triumph say to those confederated against them:—

"Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us." Isa. 8:9, 10.

And the reason why they can thus speak is that they have followed the counsel of God given in the same connection—a solemn warning against all such confederacies:—

"For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me, that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread."

He who is truly united with God has all of God's power to meet all evils in God's way. All organization which grows out of such union will give all the glory to God.

Editorial.

By Editor

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable."—2 Tim. 3:16.

TRUTH is righteousness in words; righteousness is truth in deeds.

THE great question is not between the "higher" and "lower" criticisms, but between infidelity and faith. This may not seem to be the case now, but the future will reveal it.

THERE are two things which will always bring God's blessing, namely, a sense of our need and faith in Him who will supply all our need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. As long as man feels sufficient in himself, he will not seek help.

THE true child of God knows no compromise with the world. He loves souls; he will sacrifice ease, comfort, wealth, even life that he may win them to God, but he cannot sacrifice principle. Not one soul was ever won to Christ by the compromise of truth or righteousness.

ONE of the foolishest and wickedest papers which it has been our lot to see for some time is one called Non-dependence. Its first article, headed "There Is No Need of Dying," starts out in this way:—

Death is the result of superstition; remove the superstitions in the human mind, and mankind may live forever. Every human being has it within his own power to lead a life of perfect happiness without dying.

All this sounds very good in words, and we presume there will be found many who will believe it till they die. The Bible says that death comes from sin, or is sin "full grown." See Eze. 18:4; James 1:15. The only power which can abolish death is the almighty power of God; and he abolishes death by abolishing sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the gospel of Christ, the mystery of God; the other is only another form of the gospel of self, the mystery of iniquity. The poor paper is a sort of Self-Science affair, differing from "Christian Science" only in name. The great thing in both is the ego.

THE Christian is not of this world. He is "born from above." He may not, therefore, adopt worldly policy, worldly methods, or pursue worldly aims. His way may seem at times to be that of the world; their roads may seem the same, or parallel, but they are radically different in every way unless the Christian has left his high calling and lost faith in God. The one is upheld from above; the other has but his earthly support beneath. To the latter the race, the work, the object, are transient, but to the former they are eternal.

Behold, I Come Quickly

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

THE ONLY REFORMING POWER.

By Editor

REV. ROBERT COYLE, D.D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, Cal., preached December 11 on the evils which threaten our country, giving his sermon the rather sensational title of "Fiddling While Rome Burns." Among the dangers which threaten us, he places foreign immigration, the liquor traffic, mammonism, or dangers of wealth, and the influence of great cities. And they are indeed mighty evils. In discussing what is to be done to meet these evils, Dr. Coyle says, as reported by the Times:—

Now we believe that the gospel is the only power that can grapple successfully with these evils. If these fires are to be put out, it must be done chiefly by the water of life.

1. The foreigner must be evangelized. He must be brought under the civilizing and uplifting influence of the gospel. He must be touched by the magic of Calvary.

2. The liquor traffic must be overthrown. Men must be saved from its curse, not by the Keeley cure, or the license cure, or any other cure of man's devising, but by the cross cure.

With this we find no fault. To be consistent this is the way Dr. Coyle would cure the "evil" of which he speaks in the following words:—

Many of these foreigners bring with them continental ideas of the sabbath, which is the main bulwark of our institutions. The result of all this is sadly manifest in our great cities.

By "sabbath" Dr. Coyle means Sunday. But most Presbyterians declare themselves in favor of a Sunday law. Shall we take Dr. Coyle's words as above given to indicate that he is not? The power of the gospel of Christ is the only means which will intrinsically and effectually reform men. It is given for that purpose. We often wonder if the very reason why our Sunday friends depart from the gospel and seek civil law to promote and maintain Sunday observance, is not because Sunday has no more connection with the gospel than Friday or Monday? But perhaps Dr. Coyle is an exception, and does not believe in religious legislation. We hope so.

OUR QUESTION CORNER.

By Editor

[From time to time we will reply under this head, if deemed advisable, to such candid inquiries on scriptural topics or moral questions as may be sent us. Questions which minister strife to no profit to our readers will not be answered here. Correspondents wishing a reply to their questions must give their full name and address, not for publication unless they wish, but as an evidence of good faith on their part, and to give us opportunity to reply by letter if deemed best. It is always well to inclose stamp. The questions will be numbered continuously.]

70. TAKING ONE'S BROTHER'S WIFE. LEV. 18:16; 20:21.

By Editor

Does not the moral law referred to by St. Mark (Lev. 18:16; 20:21) apply to-day to all Christians just as it applied then to all Jews?

We do not know where Mark refers to the above passages in Leviticus. Mark, as also Matthew and Luke, make reference to Deut. 25:5, but not to this passage in Leviticus. The prohibitions in Leviticus seem to be against gross and unlawful indulgence of lust or illegal marriages while the husband was yet living. If it were unlawful to marry the wife of a deceased brother, why was such an injunction given as in Deut. 25:5? While the illustration which Paul uses in Rom. 7:2,3 is designed to teach a spiritual lesson, it must also have been a recognized fact in the marriage laws of the Jews. That being the case, a brother's widow is free from her deceased husband, so that she is free to "be married to another man." Compare the terms used in Lev. 18:16 with verse 7 of the same chapter. The other text, Lev. 20:21, evidently refers to adultery, the brother, the woman's husband, being yet alive. See 1 Cor. 7:39. We do not believe that marriage to the wife of a deceased brother is contrary to Scripture. The indulgence of unlawful lusts, forbidden in the texts to which our querist refers, are always wrong. Some have had an idea that John the Baptist reproved Herod for marrying his deceased brother's wife, but Herod took the wife of his brother while his brother was yet living—quite a different thing. Deut. 25:5, before referred to, made it a duty to take a deceased brother's wife, providing he died childless. If his brother did not die childless, it would naturally be the privilege of the widow and her former husband's brother to marry if they felt so disposed.

71. A PAPAL NUNCIO AT WASHINGTON.

By Editor

SIGNS OF THE TIMES—Gentlemen: What signifies the Rome dispatch November 16: "As soon as Mr. Cleveland's administration shall have been inaugurated in Washington, the Vatican will open negotiations for the establishment of a special United States legislation and the reception at Washington of a papal nuncio"?

We saw the dispatch and noted it at the time. It may possibly be a canard; it may have originated in someone whose wish was father to the thought. We hope that Mr. Cleveland will have too much good sense to entertain such a proposition for a moment. And yet we would not be surprised in the near future to see just that sort of thing. The Papacy is yet to be acknowledged by the governments of Europe (Revelation 17), and if so, would not this country place itself in such relations with it as such recognition would demand? And would not all of the governments of the world do the same? And thus would be fulfilled the prophecy: "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss [we stand just here], and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall be present." Rev. 17:8, Revised Version, margin. See Rev. 13:8.

72. "THE HIGHER POWERS."

By Editor

Please explain Rom. 13: 1. Some persons claim that it refers to all officers from President down to the superintendent of the Sunday school.

And in a general way the application of the passage is as broad as above stated. "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers," to every power in the sphere in which God has placed us. If we belong to a Sunday school, we should acquiesce in all required of us wherein those in charge have jurisdiction. But the Sunday school officer has no right to compel the observance of a civil law, for that is outside of his jurisdiction. He has no right to say that we must have family prayers, for that is outside of his jurisdiction. His authority lies exclusively within the field to which he is appointed. So in regard to magistrates and other civil officers. God has ordained government, because the worst government in the world is better than anarchy. All civil government falls, in a general sense, within the scope of this scripture. But all civil governments are ordained for things exclusively civil. They have no right to command or enforce religious ordinances, institutions, or observances, neither to prohibit religion, and if they do any of these things contrary to the conscience and belief of any soul within the territory they govern, that soul has a right to say, as did Peter and John, "We ought to obey God rather than man." For any civil power to attempt to control or regulate religion is to put itself in the place of God, and it thereby becomes a blasphemer. "The powers that be are ordained of God" to do the work for which they are ordained. God has not delegated to them his power or authority.

73. IS THE ARK PRESERVED?

By Editor

A correspondent sends a clipping from the St. Louis Republic, entitled "Ararat and the Ark," in which it speaks of a "bishop of Jerusalem" having seen the ark, and wishes to know if there is "any truth in the matter."

No; there is in all probability no truth in the matter. It is exceedingly questionable to our mind whether "Ararat" of the Bible is the mountain now known as such, and the superstition and imagination of an Eastern priest would easily transform an overhanging snow cap into a veritable ship. Such stories are worthy of no credit. As the inclosed clipping of our correspondent asserts, "it is no doubt the old 'fake' in a new dress."

74. RELIGIOUS USE OF THE TERM FATHER.

By Editor

I have read among the sayings of Jesus that we should call no man "Father." Of course I understand him to mean spiritual father. If this be the case, is it not wrong to address a Catholic priest as "Father" so and so.

It certainly is not scriptural. Of course that term, like "reverend," has come to mean a mere title to denote a profession rather than actual character or what is true. Men are called "reverend" who know naught of reverence. Men are called "father" who have themselves never been born of God, who have not yet become children. The term is generally used to denote a Catholic priest. We would not judge those who thus use it, but the term is not scriptural, and it may be safely affirmed that a Catholic priest is father of nothing good in a spiritual sense. "For one is your Father, which is in heaven." Matt. 23:9.

THE THREE MESSAGES OF REV. 14: 6-12.

By E. W. Whitney

By Elder E. W. Whitney.

No. 1. Nature, and How Understood.

"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 forever 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." Rev. 14: 6-12.

NONE who love the word of God, and desire to understand it, can read thoughtfully this scripture without becoming interested to know its meaning and application. Were the book in which it is found, as is so often inconsistently affirmed, "a sealed book," the case would be different. But when the angel who presents these things to John, says at the beginning, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein; for the time is at hand" (chapter 1: 3), and when he says again at the close, speaking as the representative of Christ, whose angel he was (see chapter 1, verse 1), "Behold, I come quickly; blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book," repeating, "for the time is at hand" (chapter 22: 7, 10), the searcher for light has the fullest warrant for studying, and the blessed assurance that he may understand and obey.

The portion under consideration in these articles embraces what is frequently called "The Three Angels' Messages," from the fact that, as John saw three angels flying "in the midst of heaven," of the last one he says, "And the third angel followed them," which implies that only two others preceded this one connected with this series, or with his then present vision.

The first is represented as preaching the gospel to dwellers upon the earth; but we know that the preaching of the gospel "to every creature" "in all the world" was committed by Christ himself to men. Mark 16:15. Angels, it is true, as direct messengers from God (Heb. 1:14), assist men, and by their influence over those who desire and yield to it, may be said to direct in the work; yet they operate through human agents in accomplishing it. So while actual angels may have charge of the work symbolized by these messages, yet the work itself must be one in which men are the active agents. The importance of the work is, however, more strikingly presented by the selection of angels as bearers of the message.

Three angels appear; each proclaims a distinct message; yet, carefully studied, these messages are found to be really but one, rather, a leading, principal message, followed or joined by two others contingent upon, and made necessary by, the rejection of the first.

THREE MESSAGES.

in its nature, embracing as it does, considering the terms employed, a complete system of truth, and a perfect worship, added to which, as an incentive to heed the message, the announcement that the "hour of God's judgment is come." The acceptance of the "everlasting gospel," and the true worship of "him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters," must embrace every moral and Christian duty, and secure every Christian privilege and blessing; in short, must fit the recipient perfectly for the judgment.

The second message is a statement of a single fact, with the reason for it: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." All that need be said in this connection concerning it is that the term "Babylon," used here symbolically, is the same as that found in chapter 18, from which it is evident that whatever it symbolizes, it is that in which at the time of its fall God's people are found; and further, that the fall is a moral one through sin, for "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird," therefore, "come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Rev. 18:2, 4, 5. It is because of her sins that God calls his people out of her, in order that they receive not of her plagues.

The third message is remarkable. It is spoken with a loud voice, as is the first. The first calls upon all to worship the Creator—the true God. This warns every man, in most striking language, against the worship of powers evidently opposed to God, but which demand worship due alone to him. This warning is emphasized by the most fearful threatening of punishment upon those who do not heed it, to be found in all the Bible, the "wrath of God" "without mixture." The only modifying element ever mixed with wrath is mercy. This, then, will be wrath without any mercy. In chapter 15, verse 7, we read of seven angels, having "seven golden vials full of the wrath of God." With the commonly accepted idea that, in Scripture, the number seven denotes completeness, we have in this an expression of God's unmixed wrath—evidently God's wrath after the period of mercy is forever past. From chapter 16, verse 19, we learn that this wrath comes upon Babylon, for "great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." It comes upon Babylon after God's people have left her; for the announcement is first made, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen" (chapter 14:8 and 18:2); and then the call is given, "Come out of her, my people," and lastly the statement and command concerning her: "God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works." By this it is seen that the punishment threatened in the third message comes upon Babylon, whose fall is announced by the second angel, thus connecting these two messages directly.

The result of the third message is to develop a people of whom it is said, "Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12. These were ones in Babylon, but accepted the call to come out, and rejected the false worship of which the message warns. The fall of Babylon is not announced until after the proclamation of the world-wide gospel message of the first angel, from which it may be reasonably concluded that her fall, being a spiritual one, is consequent, in a measure, at least, upon the rejection of light and truth which that message brought to her. Had that light been received as it might have been, the two succeeding messages would not have been necessary. This will more fully appear from further presentation of the subject in future articles.

One more consideration may be noticed, showing the connected nature of the three messages. The first embraces, as already stated, the preaching of all Bible truth connected with the worship of the true God and the gospel of Christ. It is entirely free from warnings, threatenings, or condemnation expressed or implied. The others are essentially different in these respects. They neither present nor embrace any direct position of truth, except as involved in the statements of condemnation, warning, threatening, or approval. It is therefore plain that the company referred to above, as being developed by the third message, should more properly be regarded a development of the three messages combined. For it is said that they "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus," which is in reality the same thing as accepting the "everlasting gospel" and worshiping "him that made heaven and earth." These expressions are synonymous. "Keeping the commandments of God"—true worship—and "the faith of Jesus"—the gospel. In other words, those referred to under the third message are really doing what the first message calls upon all to do, having rejected the worship against which the third message warns. Thus, properly understood, the three constitute one message consisting of three parts, the first being the primary and important one, while the others are secondary, and important only in connection with the first and related to it.

From the foregoing we conclude that John, instead of seeing these angels give independent messages in consecutive order, sees the first giving the leading message, and while he continues, he is joined by the second, and while the two continue in unison, they are also joined by the third, the message of the first never ceasing to constitute the basis, or keynote (so to speak), of the two following. This leads to another conclusion, that they are given to the same generation. The generation living when the first begins to be given will hear the third; for it would not be just to punish one generation for the neglect and sin of some generation preceding it.

(To be continued.)

LOVE.

By C. Asa

BY C. ASA.

True love, a spirit of heavenly birth,

A being not born of the groveling earth;

Sweet hope she brings down to the heart of the pure;

Her promise is lasting, and ever is sure

As the throne of Jehovah himself.

Where'er among brethren this spirit may be,

They all dwell together in sweet unity;

Their trials are one, for love is their song,

And this is the power that bears them along

To the throne of Jehovah himself.

STUDY OF THE BIBLE—ITS IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS. NO. 1.

By M. Larsen

(Continued.)

"If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:31, 36.

The truth, the word of truth, is for that purpose, to make us free. Hence, Christ prayed, "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth." John 17:17.

Now since the word of God is designed to sanctify us, make us free, and bring us into harmony by thoroughly furnishing us unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17), being by it born again, it necessarily follows that in order for us to receive such benefit from it, we must acquaint ourselves with it by a careful and prayerful study of its contents. Therefore says an apostle:—

"Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." 1 Peter 2:1, 2.

Hence, the obligation to STUDY THE WORD OF GOD. It must be evident to anyone that no one can expect to receive very much benefit from that which they do not understand, nor can they expect to understand that which they do not investigate or study. Says the Psalmist:—

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." Ps. 1:1-2.

Hence Christ's command, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39. This is sufficient to establish the existence of the obligation to study his word.

But here we are brought face to face with another important question—the extent of that obligation. How extensive is the obligation? We are aware of the fact that we are living in an age when the idea is becoming more and more prevalent that the obligation to study or search the Scriptures is confined to the ministry; in fact, it is quite commonly believed that the Bible is composed of such dark sayings, is made up of such deep, incomprehensible mysteries, that none but the trained, educated mind of the sanctified minister is capable of comprehending, of understanding, and explaining its teachings, or of solving its mysteries, and that, therefore, they alone are under obligation to study it. But does it seem reasonable that a God of infinite wisdom and love would, after having devised the plan of salvation, a plan as universal as the race of mankind, a plan in which all have a reason to be interested, a plan upon which their eternal destinies are dependent,—does it seem reasonable that such a God would turn and trifle with them by so enshrouding the revelation of that plan in clouds of such impenetrable mysteries that none but a select few could understand or fathom, and that all the rest must be dependent upon them for their instruction and understanding in the matter? Is it not rather reasonable to expect, and to believe, that God would place that revelation in such simple language that even the child might comprehend and understand its unsearchable riches, and that as universal as is the race, so universal is his plan and the revelation of that plan, and so universal also would be the ability to understand and the duty to study the same? What! Did God endow some with intellects and reasoning powers to comprehend his will, and others only to bestow upon the things of this earth? or did he not rather design that we all should, first of all, seek to know his will and strive to glorify his name? And if so, must we not conclude that the duty to study his word is extended to all?—Most assuredly!

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." 1 Peter 3:15.

But how can we do this unless we not only know what we believe, but also why we believe? Here, then, we find the duty of studying his word is virtually enjoined upon all. Not infrequently do we meet with individuals who do not even know what they believe. Of course they belong to some church, and believe as that church believes, but if you should ask them what that church believes, they could not tell; and if they could, perhaps about the only reason they would be able to give for believing the same would be that they believe so because the church or minister says so, or because their father or mother said or believed so, and of course they were real good people, etc. But our father or mother believing or saying thus or so, or the minister teaching this, that, or the other, does not make it so; nor would that constitute a good and sufficient reason why we should believe it. Let them be ever so good, the question with everyone should ever be, Does the word of God teach it? If not I have no right to believe it. My father or mother may have believed as our forefathers did, that the earth was perfectly flat; but that did not make it so. Anything short of a "Thus saith the Lord" is not a sufficient or valid reason for my either believing or disbelieving a thing. But when we can give the "Thus saith the Lord," chapter and verse, we submit to any candid mind if we have not given all the Lord calls for, all anyone ought to call for, a good and all-sufficient reason for our faith and hope?

"The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever." Deut. 29:29. Not to the ministers alone, but to "us and to our children."

"But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. 3:14, 15.

If Timothy when but a child could know or understand the Scriptures, is it not just to conclude that they are still within the reach of the child's comprehension? Or shall we conclude that children are less capable of comprehension or of understanding now than they were then?—Assuredly God's word is the same.

(To be continued.)

Continue reading: WRITING THE LAW IN THE HEART