Signs of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 3. (1/20/1887)

Signs of the Times

Jan 20, 1887

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 20, 1887

"THE FATHER HIMSELF LOVETH YOU."

By Horatius Bonar

Be still, my soul, Jehovah loveth thee! Fret not, nor murmur at thy weary lot; Though dark and lone thy journey seems to be, Be sure that thou art ne'er by him forgot. He ever loves; then trust him, trust him still; Let all thy care be this—the doing of his will.

Take courage, faint not, though the foe be strong, Christ is thy strength! He fighteth on thy side. Swift be thy race; remember 'tis not long, The goal is near; the prize he will provide. And then from earthly toil thou restest ever, Never again to toil, or fight, or fear—oh! never.

He comes, with his reward; 'tis just at hand; He comes in glory to his promised throne; My soul, rejoice! erelong thy feet shall stand Within the city of the Blessed One— Thy perils past, thy heritage secure, Thy tears all wiped away, thy joy forever sure!

—Horatius Bonar.

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

General Articles.

By Mrs. E. G. White

WILLING OBEDIENCE.

ABRAHAM was an old man when he received the startling command from God to offer up his son Isaac for a burnt-offering. Abraham was considered an old man even in his generation. The ardor of his youth had faded away. It was no longer easy for him to endure hardships and brave dangers. In the vigor of youth man may breast the storm with a proud consciousness of strength, and rise above discouragements that would cause his heart to fail later in life, when his steps are faltering toward the grave.

But in his providence God reserved his last most trying test for Abraham until the burden of years was heavy upon him, and he longed for rest from anxiety and toil. The Lord spoke unto him, saying, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest," "and offer him for a burnt-offering." The heart of the old man stood still with horror. The loss of such a son by disease would have been most heart-rending to the fond father, it would have bowed his whitened head with sorrow; but now he is commanded to shed the precious blood of that son with his own hand. It seemed to him a fearful impossibility.

Yet God had spoken, and his word must be obeyed. Abraham was stricken in years, but this did not excuse him from duty. He grasped the staff of faith, and in dumb agony took by the hand his child, beautiful in the rosy health of youth, and went out to obey the word of God. The grand old patriarch was human; his passions and attachments were like ours, and he loved his boy, who was the solace of his old age, and to whom the promise of the Lord had been given.

But Abraham did not stop to question how God's promises could be fulfilled if Isaac was slain. He did not stay to reason with his aching heart, but carried out the divine command to the very letter, till, just as the knife was about to be plunged into the quivering flesh of the child, the word came, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad;" "for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me."

This great act of faith is penciled on the pages of sacred history to shine forth upon the world as an illustrious example to the end of time. Abraham did not plead that his old age should excuse him from obeying God. He did not say, "My hairs are gray, the vigor of my manhood is gone; who will comfort my waning life when Isaac is no more? How can an aged father spill the blood of an only son?" No; God had spoken, and man must obey without questioning, murmuring, or fainting by the way.

We need the faith of Abraham in our churches to-day, to lighten the darkness that gathers around them, shutting out the sweet sunlight of God's love, and dwarfing spiritual growth. Age will never excuse us from obeying God. Our faith should be prolific of good works; for faith without works is dead. Every duty performed, every sacrifice made in the name of Jesus, brings an exceeding great reward. In the very act of duty, God speaks, and gives his blessing. But he requires of us an entire surrender of the faculties. The mind and heart, the whole being, must be given to him, or we fall short of becoming true Christians.

God has withheld nothing from man that can secure to him eternal riches. He has clothed the earth with beauty, and furnished it for his use and comfort during his temporal life. He has given his Son to die for the redemption of a world that had fallen through sin and folly. Such matchless love, such infinite sacrifice, claims our strictest obedience, our holiest love, our unbounded faith. Yet all these virtues, exercised to their fullest extent, can never be commensurate with the great sacrifice that has been offered for us.

God requires prompt and unquestioning obedience to his law; but men are asleep, or paralyzed by the deceptions of Satan, who suggests excuses and subterfuges, and conquers their scruples, saying, as he said to Eve in the garden, "Ye shall not surely die." Disobedience not only hardens the heart and conscience of the guilty one, but it tends to corrupt the faith of others. That which looked very wrong to them at first, gradually loses this appearance by being constantly before them, till finally they question whether it is really sin, and unconsciously fall into the same error.

Through Samuel, God commanded Saul to go and smite the Amalekites, and utterly destroy all their possessions. But Saul only partially obeyed the command; he destroyed the inferior cattle, but reserved the best, and spared the wicked king. The next day he met the prophet Samuel with flattering self-congratulations. Said he: "Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord." But the prophet immediately answered: "What meaneth, then, this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"

Saul was confused, and sought to shirk responsibility by answering: "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." Samuel then reproved the king, reminding him of the explicit command of God directing him to destroy all things belonging to Amalek. He pointed out his transgression, and declared that he had disobeyed the Lord. But Saul refused to acknowledge that he had done wrong; he again excused his sin by pleading that he had reserved the best cattle to sacrifice unto the Lord.

Samuel was grieved to the heart by the persistency with which the king refused to see and confess his sin. He sorrowfully asked, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king."

We should not look in the face of duty and delay meeting its demands. Such delay gives time for doubts; unbelief creeps in, the judgment is perverted, the understanding darkened. At length the reproofs of God's Spirit do not reach the heart of the deluded person, who has become so blinded as to think that they cannot possibly be intended for him or apply to his case.

The precious time of probation is passing, and few realize that it is given them for the purpose of preparing for eternity. The golden hours are squandered in worldly pursuits, in

pleasure, in absolute sin. God's law is slighted and forgotten; yet every statute is none the less binding. Every transgression will bring its punishment. Love of worldly gain leads to desecration of the Sabbath; yet the claims of that holy day are not abrogated or lessened. God's command is clear and unquestionable on this point; he has peremptorily forbidden us to labor upon the seventh day. He has set it apart as a day sanctified to himself.

Many are the hindrances that lie in the path of those who would walk in obedience to the commandments of God. There are strong and subtle influences that bind them to the ways of the world; but the power of the Lord can break these chains. He will remove every obstacle from before the feet of his faithful ones, or give them strength and courage to conquer every difficulty, if they earnestly beseech his help. All hindrances will vanish before an earnest desire and persistent effort to do the will of God at any cost to self, even if life itself is sacrificed. Light from Heaven will illuminate the darkness of those who, in trial and perplexity, go forward, looking unto Jesus as the author and finisher of their faith.

In ancient times God spoke to men by the mouth of prophets and apostles. In these days he speaks to them by the Testimonies of his Spirit. There was never a time when God instructed his people more earnestly than he instructs them now concerning his will, and the course that he would have them pursue. But will they profit by his teachings? will they receive his reproofs, and heed his warnings? God will accept of no partial obedience; he will sanction no compromise with self.

THE DISTURBANCE OF CONVICTION.

A MAN who rarely thinks of his religious state may often have a sort of peace and satisfaction which is unknown to those more thoughtful. The coarser outlines of common morality are familiar to him. They stand like mountain-peaks around him, and he easily keeps within them. Name over the points of the decalogue, and he can say with the man in the Gospel, "All these have I kept." He would not steal, or kill, or defraud. Beyond these he has never seen. He has never even become aware that there is anything beyond. Let him go a little higher and look out, and the whole world of finer obligation begins to unveil itself—the world of pure motive and generous intention, of godliness and spiritual life. He begins to see how broad the divine law is, and how it takes note of the spirit that is in a man as well as the conduct that flows from him. He becomes vaguely conscious of a higher standard of living than he ever before dreamed of. He has heretofore seen the coarser outlines of the divine law, he now begins to see something of its finer spirit.

But he is more uncomfortable and dissatisfied with himself than ever before. He never seemed to himself so unworthy as now when he is seeking the better way. He surely has not become any worse by this effort to be better. But as he rises higher he sees farther; as the light shines more he sees more. He perceives what the law means, and begins to realize his task. His dissatisfaction is from the awakening of a new life. There have been aroused a new hunger and a new thirst, which the old life no longer satisfies. The old life no longer fills the enlarged capacity. He is hungry and finds no bread; he is thirsty, and knows not where to find the fountain. There is

"An aching void The world can never fill."

It is coming out into the light which costs the struggle. Shall we say: It were better to remain in darkness than to be pained by the light? It were better to remain in a degraded lot than to be made restless by the sight of a better? No, light is better than darkness. A renovated spiritual life is worth all the fears and pains its attainment occasions. Bunyan's pilgrim grew more weary and uneasy the farther he went from the City of Destruction. His condition did not grow worse, but he saw it more plainly. The light of Sinai did not increase his sinfulness, but only revealed it. The effort to escape made him feel the chains of his bondage. While he yielded to them he did not feel them, but they were just as heavy and just as firm. It was worth the struggle to be free; it was worth the sense of restlessness endured to find the peace which awaited him. It is something to want a good thing. It is something for a man to feel his lack. Not to want may mean that a man lacks the capacity of wanting. A man's sense of completeness may be a sign of deficiency, while a sense of incompleteness may indicate progress. A sense of sin is a sign of hope. A hunger after righteousness shows deepening life. A restlessness of spirit has in it the promise of peace.—The Advance.

REVELATION VS. IMAGINATION.

By John Norton Loughborough

PAUL gives us (Rom. 1: 21, 24, 25) a vivid description of the tendency of those who, professing to follow reason and nature, in reality follow their own ways and thoughts. The apostle says: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."

That is, when all creation around them had taught them the fact of the existence of a Creator, who formed all things, they did not worship him as God, but followed their own imaginations. "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves; who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever."

A few facts will show the same tendency in modern times with those who seek to exalt human wisdom above the word of God. Let us look a few moments at the lives and teachings of some of the advocates of such a theory:

"Lord Herbert declared, that men are not hastily, or on small grounds, to be condemned, who are led to sin by bodily constitution; that the indulgence of lust and of anger is no more to be blamed than the thirst occasioned by the dropsy, or the drowsiness produced by lethargy. . . .

"Lord Bolingbroke resolved all morality into self-love as its principle, and taught that ambition, the lust of power, sensuality, and avarice may be lawfully gratified, if they can be safely gratified; that the sole foundation of modesty is vanity, or a wish to show ourselves superior to mere animals; that man lives only in the present world, and is only a superior animal; that the chief end of man is to gratify the appetites and inclinations of the flesh; that modesty is inspired by mere prejudice; and that polygamy is a part of the law or religion of nature. He also intimates that adultery is no violation of the law of nature; and that there is no wrong, except in the highest lewdness."—Horne's Introduction, Vol. 1, p. 25.

Mr. Hume maintained that self-denial, self-mortification, and humility are not virtues, but are useless and mischievous; that they stupefy the understanding, sour the temper, and harden the heart; that pride, self-valuation, ingenuity, eloquence, brilliancy of mind, easiness of expression, delicacy of taste, strength of body, and cleanliness are virtues; and, consequently, that to want honesty, to want understanding, and to want strength of body, are equally the subject of moral disapprobation; that adultery must be practiced if men would obtain all the advantages of life; that, if generally practiced, it would in time cease to be scandalous; and that if practiced secretly and frequently, it would by degrees come to be thought no crime at all!!!

Both Voltaire and Helvetius advocated the unlimited gratification of the sensual appetites, and the latter held that it is not agreeable to policy to regard gallantry (that is, unlawful intercourse with married women), as a vice in a moral sense; and that, if men will call it a vice, it must be acknowledged that there are vices which are useful in certain ages and countries! In other words, that in those countries such vices are virtues. Rousseau, a thief, a liar, and a debauched profligate, according to his own printed "Confession," also had recourse to feelings as his standard of morality. "I have only to consult myself," said he, "concerning what I do. All that I feel to be right, is right. Whatever I feel to be wrong, is wrong. All the morality of our actions lies in the judgment we ourselves form of them."

The question is asked by many, Why do those who follow nature as a guide run into such gross errors and wickedness? The simple answer, I conceive is this: That those who profess to follow nature, in reality follow self. Instead of having any real, fixed principles to follow, in the end they claim, as one writer above, that "whatever they feel to be right, is right," etc. They war against the Bible simply because it wars against self. Its injunction is, "Deny thyself." This they cannot submit to, and so war against the word. Perhaps you and I think we are safe from such a snare. "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall." Our only safety is to deny ourselves, and take up every cross, or in the end we may be as hardened as any against the word of God.

The Bible description of those who may expect God's favor is in these words: "But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." Isa. 66: 2. And though to pursue a course strictly in accordance with the word of God in all respects may cause us to make sacrifices, yet the Lord has said: "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; for God is Judge himself." Ps. 50: 3-6.

On the other hand, Paul describes the fate of those that fall at Christ's coming: "Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, . . . God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess. 2: 10-12.

Deceptions are in the world. Snares are prepared by Satan for the feet of all who leave God's word to follow their own ways. May God help us to cleave to him, to cleave to his word, to ever walk in the way of truth. As expressed by our Saviour, "Walk in the light while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." God help us all thus to walk, that in deed and in truth we may become more and more children of the light, in whom at last there shall be "no darkness at all."

Champions in Temptation

By Leighton

God delights to call forth his champions to meet with great temptations, to make them bear crosses of more than ordinary weight, as commanders in war put men of most valor and skill upon the hardest service.—Leighton.

CHURCH MUSIC.

MR. AITKEN, the able preacher from London, who conducted evangelical missions last winter in several cities in this country, in giving his impressions of America, has the following description of the singing in a fashionable church:—

“A female contralto voice murmuring inarticulate utterances, sustained by an organ accompaniment, scarcely more audible than would have been the tones of a musical snuff box, heard at equal distance, made me aware that something was happening as I rose from my knees. I knew not what then, and I know not what now! Soon the organ put on a crescendo, and a soprano voice broke in with equally inarticulate utterances which finally culminated in a blood-curdling shriek, a bass and a tenor by this time assisting in the performance, which lasted for about five minutes, and concluded without conveying any single idea to my mind except that I had been listening to very indifferent opera singers, which I afterward found to be the fact.”

The performance of the Venite, he says, occupied eight minutes.

“The large congregation standing meekly while the four distinguished persons in the gallery disported themselves up and down the diatonic and even the chromatic scale. The Gloria was another elaborate operatic anthem; the Te Deum was equally elaborate; the Jubilate much more so; here the four seemed to enjoy their wildest revel.”

Mr. Aitken says: “This description may read like a caricature, but it is really a description of what obtains in a great number of American churches to-day. I have mentioned it to relieve myself of a little indignation against an evil thing which I had thought had died a century ago in conservative England, but which I was mortified to find in a state of full vitality in progressive America.”—Watchman.

WHY BOLSTER UP SUNDAY.

By S. P. Bollman

Now that action is being taken in behalf of Sunday in so many ways, and by so many associations, and even by nations, the query arises, Why is so much legislation demanded? Why so many decisions of ecclesiastical bodies and philanthropic associations in regard to Sunday and its right to be regarded as the Sabbath—and now the only Sabbath of divine requirement? The obvious answer is, Sunday stands in pressing need of all these supports, and bolstering enactments, and resolutions, because the clear light of God's word shows it to be utterly without any sacredness and claim by divine appointment to be regarded as a holy day.

Having been brought into existence as a festival day, by human contrivance and concurrence and without even a shadow of divine appointment, Sunday has always needed special guarding and its supposed rights special protection to preserve anything like the semblance of that propriety, or dignity, which, according to Bible specifications, belongs, properly, to a Sabbath.

Especially has all this ado about Sunday been imperatively demanded, because starting with man's creation, and made for man (the race) stands the Lord's Sabbath, the seventh day, sanctified, made holy, by the Lord, the Creator himself; kept by the God-fearing, by Abraham and his seed, all along the ages; honored by Christ and his apostles; and destined, from its God-given origin, not only to endure through time "till Jesus comes," but to be transferred to the new earth, where as a memorial of God's creative work it will be observed parallel with the harmonious song of the redeemed throughout the ceaseless ages of an eternity of bliss.

Further, it is now generally conceded by those who take the Bible as their text-book, that the seventh day of the week is the true Bible Sabbath, God's holy Sabbath, made so by his own act as it came a holy day from his creative hand. There it stands in all its dignity and sacredness, the Sabbath of the Lord, in marked contrast with that man-made, and much bolstered institution, Sunday, the original "venerable day of the sun," which derived all its sacredness from heathen consecration.

"But," says the Sunday advocate, "did not Constantine make the day sacred by his edict in its favor?" Absurd! Who and what was Constantine, when he issued his famous edict in behalf of the venerable day of the sun? Nothing but a heathen sun worshiper. But again it is insisted "that councils and ecclesiastical assemblages, in great numbers and at various times, have consecrated and made holy Sunday, the first day of the week." Made holy a day which God has not made holy? Impossible! All ecclesiastical organizations combined, seconded by all combinations into which men have ever entered, can never make the first day of the week holy in the sense in which the seventh day, the Sabbath, is holy. It is God's prerogative alone to make holy as his Sabbath is holy. Men cannot make Sunday a holy sabbath, since God has not made it holy.

God has given the first day of the week with the five days following it in numerical order, to man for his use as secular days, and he has never altered this arrangement. "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." There it stands, distinctly and prominent, in all the warp and woof of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, whilst Sunday has no other recognition than simply the first day of the week.

Sunday as a holy day is then an impostor, claiming characteristics which, from the nature of the case, can never belong to it. Hand may join with hand, and nation co-operate with nation, to make Sunday the Lord's Sabbath, but it will be all in vain. "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision."

S. P. BOLLMAN.

PERVERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE.

IN a recent caustic review of some of the arguments commonly used by apologists for the opera and its accompanying ballets, the Christian Standard says:—

"We must not close without noticing a mischievous perversion of Scripture—for now, as in the olden time, the devil can quote Scripture! 'To the pure all things are pure,' quote the ballet defenders. Hence if one condemns the ballet as impure, it simply shows that he is impure himself! On this we wish to make three remarks.

"1. When Paul used this language, he was not discussing moral purity at all, but was replying to those who insisted on legal distinctions of clean and unclean in reference to meats, and persons, and rites. He declares that to the enlightened Christian all such distinctions are valueless. But he did not say concerning drunkenness, adultery, and other offenses against moral purity, 'To the pure all things are pure.'

"2. If the text is even applied to moral purity, it is as well to keep the whole text in mind: 'Unto the pure all things are pure; but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.' Tit. 1. 15. It will not be pretended that the spectators at these ballet performances are, in the main, an assembly of saints. They are the lovers of fun and pleasure—the 'unbelieving,' as Paul would describe them, to whom such an exhibition must, according to this inspired authority, be anything else than pure.

"3. There certainly are some things which are not pure to the pure—rotten eggs, for instance; and much more impure must be rotten hearts and rotten lives. Nothing that is known to be impure in itself, or of impure tendency, can be pure to the pure. And so far are the Scriptures from encouraging familiarity with such things, that the voice of wisdom is, 'Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of wicked men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.' '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.' It is better to put wax in one's ears than to listen to the song of sirens."

SIMPLICITY OF CHARACTER.

THERE is nothing more beautiful in the young than simplicity of character. It is honest, frank, and attractive. How different is affectation. The simple-minded are always natural; they are at the same time original. The affected are never natural. As for originality, if they ever had it, they have crushed it out, and buried it from sight utterly. Be yourself. To attempt to be anybody else is worse than folly. It is impossible to attain it. It is contemptible to try it. But suppose you could succeed in imitating the greatest man that ever figured in history, would that make you any better? By no means. You would always suffer in comparison with the imitated one, and be thought of only as a shadow of a substance, the echo of a real sound, the counterfeit of a pure coin. A genuine cent is worth more than a counterfeit dollar; and the smallest man who is real, is worth more than the biggest fraud in existence. Let the fabric of your character, though ever so humble, be at least real. The world has frauds, and shams, and humbugs enough—do not add to their number.—Selected.

EXTRAVAGANCE IN NEW YORK DINNERS.

Not every one is aware of the extent to which extravagance in dinners is carried in New York. At a dinner given not long ago by Mr. P—, a banker, residing on Madison Square, what served as "dinner cards" for the ladies cost $1,200. They consisted of the best quality of wide ribbons, each different in color, and each long enough for a sash. The ends were exquisitely painted and edged with an elaborately-made fringe. One end of each was drawn over a ring which was fastened below the chandelier, and carried to the lady's place for whom it was designed. These formed a tent over the table, which was very elegant in effect. Each lady, as she seated herself, drew her sash from the ring above, appropriating it as she pleased.

At another dinner, at Delmonico's, the table was entirely covered with flowers, except the center, in which was a pond, on which there were two white swans, sailing back and forth at their own sweet will, eating the bread crumbs thrown by the guests, while they were either too well trained or too frightened to splash the water. At another "simple meal" given on Fifth Avenue, to a company of eleven, the large square dinner cards, painted for the occasion, cost $100 each.—New York Letter.

Abstain from All Appearance of Evil

"Abstain from all appearance of evil."

GOODY-GOODY BOOKS.

IT has fallen to our lot lately to read quite a number of volumes which evidently have been written for young people, and many of which seem to have been intended for the shelves of our school libraries. . . . Each of these volumes now in mind has a religious tone, and is intended to stimulate Christian thought and life. But some inculcate a mere pious sentimentalism, others confuse moral distinctions, others exhibit such ignorance of good manners and the proprieties of life as to be objectionable, and yet others preach to the reader in long moralizings as insipid as they are well meant. Instead of picturing a strong, cheery, healthy piety, they portray a namby-pamby goodness which is enough to sicken the average boy or girl. Instead of a sensible and practical gospel, they recommend a sickly, goody-goody type of religion. . . .

It is high time that a stop were put to such an evil. A higher standard should be adopted generally, as it has been already in some instances. It is a sinful waste of money and of good paper and ink to go on publishing such feeble tales as certain hack writers compose—some of them apparently at the rate of three or four yearly—merely because they are offered for publication, and have a pious flavor. It is no sufficient answer to say that such books are demanded and sell rapidly. That only proves what everybody knows, that many persons do not realize what poor stuff they are reading, and would welcome an improvement, even though they do not ask for it in terms, and probably suppose that they are receiving the best which can be had.

It does not lessen the solemn responsibility of those who publish such books. They are bound to furnish a proper quality of literature, and not to be content to sell feeble books merely because some people know no better than to buy them. The sort of books which inculcate goody-goody piety ought to be kept out of the hands of our young people. To be an accessory to the development of a flaccid, ill-balanced type of piety, when it is possible to aid in the cultivation of a sturdy and judicious type, is a sad mistake, if not also an actual sin.—Congregationalist.

WHY DON'T THEY SEE IT?

By A. O. Tait

THAT "truth always pursues a straight course," is self-evident. It cannot make two statements that are directly opposed to each other. No matter how much truth says upon a given subject, each statement is in exact harmony with every other statement that it has made. If we consider these facts till we fully grasp them, we may save ourselves from numerous deceptions that continually confront us. Let us apply this recognized rule to a case that comes to hand through the columns of the Christian Statesman.

In a leading editorial of its issue of April 1, 1886, it gives a review of the Sabbath question, in which it notices the obstacles against, and the omens in favor of, their proposed scheme to legalize Sunday. In one paragraph it quotes and highly endorses the following from the Catholic Review: "The first day of the week Christ, the Son of God, rose from the dead, and on that day by their rest from labor the whole Christian world pays homage to him, to his glorious work, and to his eternal Father." In another paragraph of the same article the editor states: "Finally, we have the promise and covenant of the Lord of the Sabbath that he will yet plead his own cause, that he will write his law, including its great fourth precept, upon the hearts of all men, and will bring into subjection to it every custom and every institution of men."

Applying our rule to the above statements, we detect an error at once. Truth always tells the same story. But here in the same article we read that the "first day of the week" is the Sabbath, and also that God will write his "great fourth precept [which declares the seventh day to be the Sabbath] upon the hearts of all men." Both of these positions cannot be true. One or the other is surely false. And since the "great fourth precept" of God's law expressly states that the seventh day is the Sabbath (Ex 20:10), and the Bible nowhere contradicts the statement by intimating that some other day has been set apart as sacred, we must conclude that the

Bible is harmonious and tells the truth; and on the other hand that the editor of the Statesman is not only out of harmony with himself but is at variance with the Bible also.

We cannot comprehend how it is possible for a person endowed with reasoning faculties to state with one breath that the first day of the week is the Sabbath, and with the next abolish his first-day theory by quoting the fourth commandment, and still imagine himself consistent. If any one thinks that the first day of the week is the Sabbath, he certainly should not be so stupid as to quote the fourth precept of the decalogue to enforce it. Truth cannot run and be glorified among the adherents of such inconsistencies.

A. O. TAIT.

SALVATION BY GRACE.

By Methodist Recorder

SIN and grace are words closely associated in the word of God. Sin, as the destroyer of the soul; grace, as the power of God unto man's salvation. Sin is of man, reigning within him unto death; grace is of God, and the gift of his love to sinful man. Sin seeks the enthronement of God; grace seeks the salvation of man, and his enthronement at the right hand of God. Sin brings man under the curse of God; grace delivers him from that curse, and brings him into the favor of God. Sin begets in the soul of man misery and death; grace brings into the heart of man peace, and joy, and the hope of eternal life.

By nature man is born into a state of sin and misery; by grace man is born of the Holy Spirit, and is a child of God and an heir of Heaven. If saved at all man must pass from the state of nature into the state of grace. He must be born again. Without the new birth he cannot be saved, because as long as he remains in the state of nature he is dead in trespasses and in sins; but a dead soul cannot love and obey God, nor by his own power restore himself to life. While thus living in sin he is under the condemnation of the law, which declares that "the soul that sinneth it shall die."

For his salvation he must, therefore, look to God through Christ. In this emergency, that "grace of God that bringeth salvation" appeared unto all men. "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." So, by being justified by his grace, we are made "heirs according to the hope of eternal life." "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." . . . Although salvation is of grace, and "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ," and salvation "is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy," this grace and mercy do not in the least interfere with man's free agency, nor his personal efforts to secure salvation; but working in and with the sinner makes effective his desires and his efforts to the salvation of the soul, so that his salvation is all of grace. This is clear from the words of Christ, "If any man will [or wishes to] come after me." Salvation is not forced upon anyone. No one is saved unless he wishes salvation. It is chosen by the sinner. It is desired before it is sought, and the desire and the seeking belong to the sinner, and spring voluntarily from his heart, and must precede the self-denying, the taking up of the cross and the following of Christ. From the first motion of the heart of the sinner toward Christ and salvation, all the energy of the soul is called into activity. . . .

Yes, salvation is of grace. This is the joyous song of our pilgrimage. Blessed be the name of the Lord! He has made salvation sure. It is he that "worketh in us, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." It is because his love first sought and found us that we ever sought and found Jesus. It is because we are born of the Holy Spirit that we are able and disposed to deny self and take up our cross and follow Christ. We are encouraged to persevere in the divine life and to bear our cross daily because "his grace is sufficient for us," and his strength is made perfect in our weakness. Gladly do we follow him because he is ever with us, and his everlasting arms are our protection. And when he leads into the valley and shadow of death we will not fear. Even if he requires of us the surrender of all earthly possessions as an evidence of our love for him, we will freely give them all up.—Methodist Recorder.

IN FAVOR OF IGNORANCE.

THE Brewers' Association, which met at Niagara Falls last September, declared itself opposed to all laws requiring children to be instructed in the toxicology of alcohol. They expressed themselves greatly pleased that in States where such laws exist they had not been enforced, and in some places utterly ignored. Think of this, you who vote to perpetuate this wicked traffic. Think of a great national association which claims to represent an important industry, opposing the spread of light and knowledge, and especially a knowledge of their own products. They are well aware that to enlighten the rising generation in regard to the nature and effects of their products, means the final overthrow of their business. They would keep the children ignorant of the poisonous effects of alcoholic drinks, that they may the more easily ensnare them in the terrible meshes of this villainous trade, when they go out in the world for themselves.

A business that dreads the light and that thrives best in darkness, cannot long sustain itself in this age of intellectual advancement. Give the children the light; if it hurts the business of the rumites, so much the worse for them, they have no business to be in such a business. Those who love the darkness better than the light prove by that very fact that their deeds are evil. Educate the children, throw about them the safeguards of enlightenment, unmask the traffic, make bare its villainy.—Lever.

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