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Review and Herald, Vol. 49, No. 7.

Why Not Discovered Before?

Review and Herald

Feb 15, 1877

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Feb 15, 1877

Why Not Discovered Before?

By D. A. Robinson

BY ELD. D. A. ROBINSON.
(Concluded.)
Let us now return to the prophecy of an attempted change of God’s law, which has already been introduced. “He shall think to change times and laws.” This act is the last one of three ascribed to this power in Dan. 7:25. And now we inquire, Has he fulfilled the prophecy? All must admit that so far as the first two acts are concerned he has fulfilled them to the letter, and in admitting this, we also admit either that he has fulfilled the third act or the prophecy has failed. But, to this last conclusion, the lover of God’s word can never come. We say, then, that the papacy has taken hold of the law and attempted to reconstruct it. In plain language, Rome has changed the Sabbath.
The reader will notice that the prophecy indicates a change in that part of the law recognizing “time.” This clearly identifies the fourth commandment, for it is the only part that does. God made the sun to rule the day, placing it in the heavens as his great time-keeper; and when its setting rays fall upon the earth, they say to man that the day is just closing. This fact, that the day ends at the setting of the sun, is clearly set forth in the Bible. We will simply refer the reader to a few passages. Gen. 1:5; Deut. 16:6; Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32; Luke 13:14. The Roman power has changed this order for a very unnatural one, that of beginning the day at midnight; and to-day, as every one knows, we are living under Roman time. Not satisfied with this, he takes hold of the fourth commandment, and tears from it the rest-day of Jehovah, inserting in its stead the pagan sun’s-day, hence the term Sunday.
Rome is the guilty party in this transaction. We accuse her of the act, and will now call upon her to take the stand and give in her testimony. Does she plead “not guilty” of the charge? Nay, verily. We quote from standard Catholic authorities:—
“Ques. Why was the Jewish Sabbath changed into the Sunday?”
“Ans. Because Christ was born upon a Sunday, rose from the dead upon a Sunday, and sent down the Holy Ghost upon a Sunday; works not inferior to the creation of the world.
“Q. By whom was it changed?”
“A. By the governors of the church, &c.
“Q. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?”
“A. By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.”—Abridg. of Christian Doct., p. 58.
“Q. What warrant have you for keeping the Sunday preferably to the ancient Sabbath, which was Saturday?”
“A. We have for it the authority of the Catholic church and apostolical tradition.”—Cath. Christian Instructed, p. 232.
We now invite the reader to stop a moment and review the ground over which we have passed. The prophecy declares that some power would arise, and attempt to change the law. It also clearly identifies Rome as the power in question. We lay the charge at her feet, and she confesses the crime, though to her it is not a crime, but a mark of her power. What further testimony do we need here? A man supposed to be guilty of murder is accused, brought to trial, and confesses his guilt; all are then satisfied because they have the highest kind of evidence. So in the case before us, Rome declares she has done it, affirming that it shows her power to legislate in church matters.
It has already been stated that the papacy arose in 538. The prophecy marks out for it a period of 1260 years, during which time the “saints,” “times and laws,” were to be given into his hands, “until,” says the prophet, “a time, times, and the dividing of time,” which can be easily shown to be 1260 years. This period beginning in A. D. 538, when Justinian’s decree that the pope of Rome should be the head of all the churches took effect, and ending in 1798, just 1260 years from that time, when Berthier undid the work of Justinian by taking the pope prisoner and proclaiming a Republic.
An answer is here found to the oft-repeated question, “Why were not these things found out before?” A special movement could not take place till the expiration of that period. In “his hands until.” From this expression we reasonably conclude that when that time has expired they pass out of his hands. To illustrate: I ask of you the loan of your horse. You tell me I can have it until next month. When that time comes all would understand that the loan then expires. Just so with the prophecy in question. When the time of papal rule expires, the law of God will pass out of his hands,—the stumbling-block will be taken out of the way; in other words, there will be a reform, and the down-trodden commandments will be brought up, and the way prepared so that God’s people may travel safely. This brings us to the fourth proposition.
4. When the last days are reached this obstruction is to be removed.
I will now call attention to the words of Isaiah again: “Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the high way; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.” Isa. 62:10. This language is addressed to the watchmen, see verse six, and we add, to the watchmen of the last days. This is evident from verse 11: “Behold the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.” This testimony shows that salvation is about to come, and the reward is about to be given. Paul tells us when salvation will come. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9:28.
Salvation will come, then, at the second coming of Christ. The prophet adds, “Behold his reward is with him.” This is explained in the following forcible words: “Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:12. It must be evident to all that when the last days are reached, God’s watchmen are especially called upon to make the way plain for the people. The truth has been trampled in the dust. The standard has fallen. So the prophet adds, “Lift up a standard for the people.” The standard has fallen; it must be raised up so that the loyal and true may rally around it.
We will now introduce a few more propositions which have a direct bearing on the question before us.
1. The law of God is represented as a hedge or wall, but it has been broken down.
This is so plain that all can see it at a glance. Had man always been obedient to God, sin never would have found its way into our world, and death, the child of sin, never would have been introduced. But Satan tempted man to break down the wall; and through the gaps that have been made, Satan has come in with every form of sin. The reason why Christ came to this earth to die was because this wall had been broken down. Had man always been loyal and true to God, he never would have needed a Saviour. But, alas! man fell, disobeyed God, broke his law, and thus incurred its penalty, which was death. Yet God loved man—pitied him, and gave his Son to die for him, or in his stead, who by this act abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
It was, dear reader, the transgression of the law that caused the death of God’s beloved Son. The law was about to strike man down, but Christ stepped forward in man’s place, and let the blow fall upon himself, thus extricating man from his hopeless condition, placing him where, by obedience to God’s law and faith in Christ “for the remission of sins that are past,” he may form a character for the kingdom of God.
2. One gap or breach in this wall, made quite prominent in the Scriptures, is the violation of the Sabbath.
Several texts might be given on this point, but I will give but two, and then dismiss it for the present, as it will claim our attention again. We find that Jerusalem was destroyed because of Sabbath desecration. Jer. 17:21–27; Neh. 13:15–18. But we pass to the last proposition.
3. This gap, or breach, will be made up in the last days.
The prophet Ezekiel has given us some very plain testimony on this point to which we will now call attention. “O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps [margin, breaches], neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord.” Eze. 13:4, 5. This text contains some very important points: 1. The breach in the hedge. 2. It must be made up so that God’s people can stand. 3. The day of the Lord.
The last of these points shall be first in our investigation. When is the day of the Lord? “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Isa. 13:9. Says Peter, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,” &c. 2 Pet. 3:10. This shows that the day of the Lord is at the second advent, after probation has ceased. See also Joel 2:1, 11; Zeph. 1:14–18.
But Ezekiel has told us that when this day is near, the breach in the hedge must be made up, so that God’s people may be able to stand. In verse 10, after speaking of those who cry “peace and safety,” he adds, “And one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar.”
It has already been shown that Rome has made a gap in the law of God, and in the place of that part of the wall which she tore down has impiously erected another, and “others have daubed it with untempered mortar.” But it is to fail; for thus the prophet declares, verse 11. But, says one, do you apply this to the Sabbath question? Our answer is, We leave the prophet to make his own application. Turning, then, to his twenty-second chapter, we find the same subject brought to view again in words as follows: “And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.” Eze. 22:28. In chap. 13, we saw that there were “gaps” in the hedge, and that “one built a wall” which others “daubed with untempered mortar.” So in this twenty-second chapter we have the same points set before us. In verse 28, already quoted, we have the “untempered mortar” brought to view. The prophet adds, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap [or breach] before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none.” Verse 30. The Lord looks for men among his watchmen to stand in the gap, and finds them not.
This is to be the condition whenever the last days are reached. Then will the hedge be made up? Most certainly. He will have it accomplished, if he has to do it in the manner that the first advent of Christ was proclaimed. The lawyers, the scribes, and Pharisees, and all the men of note, were not the ones to announce the coming of the Messiah. They had no faith in it. But did the work fail of accomplishment? No, indeed. A humble John gives the joyous proclamation. After him are the poor fishermen, but God was with them. So we say of the truth before us; God will have men to proclaim it if he has to take the mechanic from his shop, the farmer from his plough, and men from the humble walks.
But we wish to notice the prophet’s words still further. “Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things.” Chap. 22:26. Let the reader bear in mind that the point before us is that the gap of which the prophet speaks refers to the Sabbath; and certainly the words just quoted seem to point to that fact. He says, they “have violated my law,” and then speaks of “mine holy things.” The Sabbath is called “the holy of the Lord,” and “my holy day.” But we read on: “They have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean.” What do men say of the Sabbath at the present time? They tell us that “all days are alike.” “One day is just as good as another, no difference at all.” Certainly, the above words of the prophet seem to point unmistakably to the Sabbath. But to place the matter beyond dispute, we quote the remainder of this remarkable text,—“And have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” Eze. 22:26.
Thus, we can see from Ezekiel’s testimony, that when the last days are reached, the prophets or teachers are called upon to“stand in the gap,” and make up “the breach,” preparatory to the “day of the Lord.” This clearly indicates a reform movement. A breach has been made, and it must be repaired.
We wish now to present plain, positive proof, that the “breach” referred to is the desecration of the Sabbath of the Lord. This may seem like a strong statement, yet we feel confident that it can be made good. The following words are to the point: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in, if . . .” If what? “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words.” Isa. 58:12, 13.
Reader, do you wish plainer testimony than this in proof of the above statement? If you do, we frankly confess our inability to gratify your wishes; for if we were at liberty to manufacture scripture, it would be beyond our power to frame a sentence from the English language more to the point than are the words we have just quoted from the prophet. How is the breach to be repaired? Answer, By taking our feet off the Sabbath. “Thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, . . . if thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath.”
Men have their feet on the Sabbath, trampling it in the dust. Reader, are your feet in a similar position? If so, we invite you in the language of the prophet to take them off. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” the opinions of men to the contrary, notwithstanding. The seventh day is holy. God made it so. It is the only day he requires us to keep. The immutable and eternal law contains a command for its observance; and there is no command in all the Bible for the weekly observance of any other day. With a brief survey of the main points we have passed over we draw this article to a close. We have seen,
1. That the way in which the people of God should walk was God’s law.
2. That this law is of such a nature as to admit of no change or abolition while heaven and earth endure. Yet,
3. We found a prediction of an attempted change of the fourth commandment, and also a power declaring that it had done the deed, presenting this act as the badge of its power to legislate for the church.
4. That it was to hold this power until the time of the end, or, as was shown, till 1798.
5. That the hedge around the people of God was his law.
6. That in the last days the breach in the hedge must be made up, so that God’s people can stand in the day of the Lord.
7. That the breach is the desecration of God’s holy day, hence there must be a reform in this respect.
It is not our purpose to show that we are in the last days; an examination of God’s word with the signs of the times, in the physical, political, and moral world, will convince the candid that this is a fact. The time has come for a Sabbath reform, predicted by prophets centuries ago. Already is the influence of the movement being felt in different parts of the world, and men are turning from the “traditions of men” to the keeping of God’s holy Sabbath, by scores and by hundreds. The printed truth is being scattered like the leaves of autumn. Thus all are being invited to take off their feet from the Sabbath and call it “a delight.” Men have had their feet on the Sabbath, not willingly, but ignorant of the fact that it was the Sabbath. God has accepted them because they have walked in the light they had. In his providence, God has given us greater light, and we will be accepted as were our fathers, by walking in the light that beams upon our pathway.
May this be the lot of both reader and writer; and when the Just One shall come, may we be found among those “who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.

I KNOW NOT.

I know not what the day may bring Of sorrow or of sweetness, I only know that God must give Its measure of completeness. I reach for wisdom in the dark, And God fills up the measure— Sometimes with tears, sometimes with cares, Sometimes with peace and pleasure.
From hours of grief and saddened face True wealth of heart I borrow, And heavenly wisdom often comes Clad in the guise of sorrow; I know not which is best for me Of all his mercy bringeth; I know his praises every day My willing spirit singeth.
I know not what my life may yield Of fruit that will not perish. I know God gives both seed and soil, And all the growth must cherish. How great his work! How small my part! I wonder at my weakness; And his great patience fills my heart With gratitude and meekness.
I know not what e’en Heaven can give To blessed souls who gain it; I know God’s goodness it must show, For earth cannot contain it. And if eternity but rings With love, the same sweet story That earth is telling every day— “Thine, Lord, shall be the glory.”
—The Independent.

THE OVERCOMER.

By J. H. Durland

“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.
We sometimes feel that our temptations are more than we can bear, and are apt to give way to petty trials and let Satan gain a victory over us that we feel the effects of for many days. We are prone to sin, and our very natures are such, that we are constantly looking at the dark side of our experience in present truth.
We allow ourselves to become engrossed with thoughts pertaining to this world’s goods, and thus our interest in the truth of God abates. We picture starvation, beggary, and everything that Satan can bring before our minds; and thus we are letting God’s truth die out of our hearts, and are filling the vacuum with the lusts of Satan. Oh! that we would learn of Him who has said, “I have overcome the world.”
He who left his Father’s presence and the society of the holy angels, came to this sin-cursed world, and was tempted with the strongest of temptations, has left us cheering words to buoy us up when cast down with temptations. Hear ye Him: “To him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev. 3:21. Is it not our duty to try, when we have such a rich reward promised us? Honor and exaltation could go no farther; and he does not ask us to do more than he has done.
Again, we find in verse 12 the following: “Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out.” The temple here denotes the church; and the promise of being made a pillar therein is the strongest promise that could be given, of a place of honor, permanence, and safety, in the church, under the figure of a heavenly building. And when the time comes that this part of the promise is fulfilled, probation with the overcomer is past, he is fully established in the truth and sealed. “He shall go no more out;” that is, there is no more danger of his falling away; he is the Lord’s forever; his salvation is sure.
The overcomers are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise; Gal. 3:9; “but the fearful, unbelieving,” &c., have their part in “the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.” Rev. 21:7, 8.
Dear readers, to which class do you belong? Are you among the fearful? Do you fear what the world will say of you if you walk out on the promises of God? If so, may you change your course, and seek the Lord while he may be found. The Spirit calls you, there is yet room. The heavenly city with all its charms welcomes you to come. The way is easy if you seek it through Christ.
First. “Break off from [overcome] your sins by righteousness, and turn away from your transgressions by obedience to God.” Have you no hope in Christ? Speedily obtain one. “If we confess and forsake our sins, he is just and true to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Secondly. We must comply with the conditions on which the promise was made. Christ says, “Blessed are they that do his [the Father’s] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Rev. 22:14. Then leave the trifles of this world. Why will you linger and die? Strive to be an overcomer; for he who gains access to the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God, shall die no more.
J. H. DURLAND.
Sigourney, Iowa.

TEMPTATION

By E. Goodrich

“And lead us not into temptation.” It is rather hard for the mind to grasp the meaning of this text. One would infer upon reading it that God was quite in the habit of leading men into exposed positions and leaving them there at the mercy of their common enemy, the devil; but this cannot be true, because we are assured elsewhere in the Bible that God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But a man is tempted when he is drawn away with his own lusts and enticed; and it is always a law of temptation “that the power of enticement from without is proportioned to the power of inward desire.”
A man can only be tempted with that which he desires. One is tempted with the shining dust, the almighty dollar; another with the wine cup or alcoholic drinks; another with ambition and the sceptre of empire; while another is charmed and taken captive by bright eyes, coral lips, and words that drop sweeter than honey.
The sentiment of the prayer in the text is to be delivered from the wiles and power of the evil one in the hour of danger. But man is to be tempted and tried; and there can be neither excellency nor development of character without trial. Untempted innocency is at best but insipid virtue. And we are most earnestly exhorted in the word of God not to think it strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try us, as though some strange thing had happened to us; but we are to rejoice inasmuch as we are made partakers of the sufferings of Christ, that when his glory shall be revealed, we may rejoice with exceeding joy. Yea, we are to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations, knowing that the trial of our faith worketh patience. And we are to let patience have her perfect work, that we may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
The trial of our faith, though it be tried like gold when it is tried in the fire, will be found unto praise and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, because a blessing is pronounced upon the man that endureth temptation, even that he shall receive a crown of life. Even our Saviour was made perfect through suffering; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him. And having been tempted in all points as we are, he became a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, and is now able to succor and save all that come unto God by him.
Satan is indeed a cunning foe. In view of this, we are exhorted to be sober and vigilant, because our adversary, the devil, walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And when we are tempted, we are not to say we are tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man; but we are tempted by our own passions and the allurements of Satan, and he always adapts his temptations to those whom he would devour.
Satan is an experienced general. He has his head-quarters, his well-drilled army, his battle fields, and his lines of battle. He has his signal station, his outstanding pickets, and his spies; and he is perfectly equipped with all the instruments of warfare. And no one is safe to engage him presumptuously or to be found within his lines unbidden.
The text that we have read does not mean that God leads us into temptation. We are not only assured that he does not, but we are also assured that he will not suffer us to be tempted above that which we are able to bear, but will with the temptation make a way to escape. And it is to this way of escape that we wish to speak. It is true that we are to be tried and tempted and to fight the good fight of faith even unto death. And our warfare is as much an offensive as a defensive one. But we are not to engage the enemy on our own account, neither are we to fight without our whole armor on. God will most surely make a way of escape, but not for those who needlessly expose themselves to danger by going upon the enemy’s ground unbidden by their Captain.
Where God sends a man there God will sustain him and not otherwise. It is written, “Then was Jesus led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” And the same power by which he was led or driven supported him in his temptations.
But how very different it is with many who seem to think themselves safe anywhere and everywhere, whether in the way of duty or upon the enchanted ground of the enemy. It is the God of battles that plans our way of escape, and it is neither in the way of danger nor is it in the way of retreating from danger, but it is the way of duty, the way of the cross, and often through the thickest of the battle and over the dead bodies of the slain (the carnal appetites), or in so fighting that our enemies flee from us. Our Saviour was perfectly safe in the wilderness with the wild beasts and without food and with the tempter, and upon the exceedingly high mountain with the kingdoms of the world below him, and upon the pinnacle of the temple, as long as he obeyed God. And when he had resisted the devil at every point of attack, angels came and ministered unto him.
This is our example. Satan always makes his approaches either by the way of eye-gate or ear-gate, or by some of the low back ways of passion or appetite. And sometimes he attacks us at various points all at once, and the temptation reads, That which is pleasant to the eye and good for food and desirable to make one wise. The form of temptation addresses itself to the lusts of the eye, the lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life, and is very formidable, because so seductive. The way of escape from these is not by the way of indulgence or gratification, feasting the eye upon forbidden sights and the appetite upon forbidden fruits, and following the prompting of worldly ambition; but the way of escape is self-denial.
The exhortation is, Handle not, touch not, taste not, and look not upon. Every indulgence in sin strengthens sin in us. It both “lessens the power of resistance and augments vitiating force,” and the increasing power of temptation is its most fearful attribute. The same law that governs falling bodies—the law of accelerating speed—governs the action of sin in us. The drunkard, the libertine, the grumbler, the miser, present forcible illustrations of this law.
The way of escape is provided for those who would otherwise be tempted above that which they are able to bear. And we should always remember that (as above intimated) the violence of temptation addressed to the mind from without is exactly measured by the violence of inward desire, and we are won only by that which we inwardly wish. It is often our fault that we are severely tempted. The way of escape is the way of humility, and by overcoming our unholy or carnal desires. The way of escape is the way of watching and praying. The way of escape is that strait and narrow way which alone leadeth unto life.
E. GOODRICH.
Edinboro, Pa.

PRESUMPTION

By Julia E. Duffie

We understand that our Saviour was tempted with the strongest and most dangerous temptations that would assail his followers, and that the second of these was the sin of presumption. After he had passed the trial on the first point, the devil took him up to the pinnacle of the temple, and told him to cast himself down, quoting scripture to prove that if he was the Son of God, angels would bear him up that he should sustain no injury, thus tempting the Lord to display his power unnecessarily, or to protect him from a danger to which he had needlessly or willfully exposed himself.
We hear much nowadays of a religion that seems to me to be on about the same principle. The principal text quoted by its adherents is—“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” and certainly this is a most precious passage, if rightly applied. Now we should be very careful not to oppose any good work nor to place anything in the way of those who are seeking the Saviour; but when people are very loud and forward to urge upon us the idea that we are not expected to obey the law of God in order to please him, that the moment we believe on Christ we are “saved eternally,” and must never think of our characters or our sins again, but simply trust Jesus to make us pure, then perhaps we can be excused for speaking.
We know the Scriptures are the word of God, and that when rightly understood there must be perfect harmony throughout; and knowing this, we see there are many passages that cannot be taken alone in the broadest or most unqualified sense. For instance, Joel, in speaking of the last days, says, “Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” And Christ says, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven.” Thus we see the expression in Joel must be qualified in order to harmonize with the words of Christ. Those who call upon him “in spirit and in truth” are doubtless referred to.
And in the same manner these two texts can be understood: “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,” and “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” We can never be saved without faith in Christ from the simple fact that future obedience cannot atone for past sins, and also that we must have divine help to enable us to overcome; but we have no right to expect or claim this help, unless we are putting forth an earnest effort of our own in the right direction. Moreover must we not have a higher motive for serving God than simply a selfish desire for our own salvation? When a person says, Jesus has saved me, and I need have no further concern about myself or my sins, and makes no effort to ascertain what there may be about him that hinders the formation of Christian character, but follows the same course as before, walking deliberately over the law of God, saying, I am saved, and therefore need have no fear that God will suffer me to be led into a dangerous position, is it not very much the same as though Christ had said, I am the Son of God, and although this step is unnecessary and unreasonable, I will take it; for my Father will certainly protect me? But our greatPattern did not say so. His words to the great deceiver were, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Thus we see our Master did not presume to abuse his Father’s mercy in this manner. And shall we, poor rebels, expect greater favors than he? Listen to the closing words of his remarkable sermon on the mount: “He that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man that built his house upon the sand.”
JULIA E. DUFFIE.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY OF CANOSSA.

The Jesuits of the Vatican have decided to celebrate January 25, the octocentenary of the infamous treatment of Henry IV., of Germany, in 1077, by the notorious Hildebrand, Pope Gregory VII. Prince Bismarck’s pithy saying, “Germany is not going again to Canossa,” seems to have rankled in the souls of the Jesuits, and in the spirit of indomitable defiance of all earthly power, which is the breath of their nostrils, they have resolved that not only Germany, but all the world shall hear it; and not only hear it, but have it thundered into its ears by a noisy and boastful exhibition wherever popery prevails. To any but Jesuits the great fact that the circumstances of the two parties are now reversed, that, instead of the papacy’s being able to dictate to Germany, Germany is become a great and commanding power, and the papacy is become just nothing at all, would have inculcated some modesty; but it is this very change which stings the Vatican to madness.
This commemoration of the most notorious and offensive display of the assumed right of the Romish church to depose kings is to show to the world, with which the papal church is everywhere at war, that not only does the church approve the dogma of Hildebrand, but that after a lapse of eight hundred years it glories in the most infamous transaction of the kind that ever took place, and is resolved to glory in it in the face of all knowledge of the nineteenth century, of every monarch, and every people. It is to say, with all the possible emphasis of words and acts, that had the church power, it has still the will and the wish to treat Emperor William, Bismarck, Queen Victoria, Victor Emmanuel, and the President of the French, exactly as Hildebrand treated Henry IV. at Canossa. As the Catholic Bishop Kendrick, of Philadelphia, candidly confesses, the church does not do these things, only because she cannot.
Henry IV., indeed, disheartened by the effect of Hildebrand’s excommunication on his superstitious subjects, and by the attempts on his throne to which it emboldened his princely neighbors, in the frightful winter of 1077—such a winter as no man living had witnessed—crossed the Alps with his wife and family, through the most incredible sufferings, and arriving at the castle of Canossa—whither Hildebrand had fled, supposing that Henry was coming with an army, and where he was feasting luxuriously with his paramour, the Countess Matilda of Tuscany—presented himself in the castle court in sackcloth, with a rope round his neck, and with bare head and feet. The outer gates were immediately closed upon him, and for three days and three nights he was kept standing there, vainly imploring admission to the presence of the pope. His limbs were rigid with cold, his beard and hair were clotted with ice; in his agonies he howled like a wild beast, and how he survived it is marvelous.
It was not the heart of the diabolic pontiff, in whom the Vatican glories, which relented; it was the heart of a woman. Giving way, at length, to the tears and entreaties of the Countess Matilda, Gregory VII., seizing his crucifix, exclaimed, “For thee, Jesus, I make this sacrifice!” Odious hypocrite! who dared to introduce the name of Christ into this drama of priestly arrogance and vengeance, and to pretend to sacrifice his envenomed passions to the meek Saviour.
But he did nothing of the sort. Though he professed to forgive Henry, and took off the excommunication, he refused to restore him to his throne, and attempted to put Rudolf of Bavaria into it. This is what the present pope and his advisers deem the proper model for the treatment of crowned heads by a pope.
This is the transaction and the church doctrine which the Vatican now, after 800 years, is preparing to celebrate as still the doctrine and principles of the infallible. But what were the consequences of this papal display? If God, according to the proverb, first drives mad those whom he means to destroy, the Jesuits should be profoundly silent on this affair; but it is precisely for this divine driving to destruction that the Jesuits bring it forward in glorification.
Henry IV., roused to action by the unexampled indignities which he had suffered, returned to Germany, raised an army, for now his people were aroused too, crossed the Alps, marched to Rome, deposed Gregory in full conclave, and set up Clement III. in his place.
Gregory, dastardly and weak as he was overbearingly insolent, fled to the castle of St. Angelo, which was shut up three years. The discord which his audacious conduct at Canossa had stirred up tore to pieces the two desolated countries. Everywhere there were princes maddened by ambition, sacked cities, violated women, burnt villages, and people infuriated against each other. As for himself, he was hurled from the papal throne and continued so. With a heart corroded by disappointment, by public contempt and by jealousy, he saw another pope wearing the tiara, and lived and died miserably in exile at Salerno, in the bay of Naples. Is that a story for a pope in his senses to revive?
But the consequences to the church have been equally disastrous. This doctrine proclaimed by Hildebrand of supremacy over kings, and this first scandalous enforcement of it, struck the first blow against the church in the heart of the kings. Thenceforth it was the avowed enemy of the civil power, which, as knowledge increased, was sure to become too much for it.
It is since the Jesuits have come into power, dating from the Council of Trent, that this war of the church on the States has gone on most determinedly, and ever to the damage of the church. All monarchies, especially since the Œcumenical Council, have come to regard the Vatican as their most open and also their most insidious enemy; all, even the most bigoted, except Spain, have broken off their concordats with Rome. Every step that the Jesuits, through their submissive tool, Pius IX., have of late years taken to maintain their fast-falling prestige, the Syllabus, the Œcumenical Council, the dogma of infallibility, have only brought additional ruin on their heads. The pope, instead of being benefited by the doctrines and deeds of Gregory VII., instead of ruling over and trampling on monarchs, is himself put down by a monarch, stripped of his temporal power, reduced to a mere householder, at the mercy of a government whom he contrives to menace and insult in a manner which may ere long lead to a crisis which will practically illustrate the axiom of “Quem Deus vult perdere prius dementat.” This is the real moral of the story of Canossa.—Christian Weekly.
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