Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 26, 1894
GREAT LITTLE THINGS.
MANY of the great crises of the centuries turned on very trivial acts and incidents, the actors in which did not even dream of the momentous import of the act at the time. A single act of a hasty temper may involve nations in war; a wise word may heal a breach between great powers; but neither the impatient actor nor the wise speaker may know the effect of his doings. Each spoke out the principle within him.
The decrees of rulers and the decisions of judges, though designed to meet particular cases at the time given, have often been fraught with world-wide import, unrealized by those who uttered them. This is especially true of those decrees and decisions which result in evil. Little did the early fathers in the church realize that their "small" departure from the word of truth, their compromises with paganism, would result in the great apostasy, but they did nevertheless. Little did the Jews think that their enmity toward Christ and his teaching would result in the death of the Son of God. But it did, although they did not believe it, nor would they admit it after it had passed by. If they had known the evil which they were doing, they would not have done it. 1 Cor. 2:8. But they acted on a wrong principle, and that principle was not only evil in its result, but it blinded those who acted upon it. They did not intend to do wrong, but the carrying out of a wrong principle will ever result in wrong, whatever the intention of the one or ones who set it in motion.
Even the ambitious Constantine and the ambitious bishops of his time would have paused in horror if they could have seen the result of the development of one clause in the edict of Milan. It rent the church, formed a union with the State, made the Catholic Church, and caused the centuries of after bloodshed.
We are told that Justice Brewer in his now famous, or infamous, decision of February 29, 1892, did not mean to decide this to be a Christian nation in the sense of a judicial decision, "by force of statute or Constitution," and all this may be true.
It was not what Constantine and Licinius meant in the edict of Milan that developed the Roman Catholic Church and the union of Church and State, but it was what they said and the effect of what they said. It is not what Justice Brewer and the United States Supreme Court meant by their decision, but what they said and the effect of what they said. Justice Brewer may say what he pleases at alumni dinners or at Fourth of July celebrations, but when he declares, and the United States Supreme Court declares, in a solemn judicial decision that "this is a Christian nation," and that the commission of Ferdinand and Isabella to Columbus, the charter of Queen Elizabeth to Sir Walter Raleigh, the compact of the Puritans, the various colonial declarations, together with the Constitution of the United States, and decisions of various courts, "affirm and reaffirm" all this—it is quite a different thing. It does not matter what they meant, but what they said, and what is involved in what they said.
"Backward look across the ages and the beacon moments see,
That, like peaks of some sunk continent jut through Oblivion's sea;
Not an ear in court or market for the low foreboding cry
Of those Crises, God's stern winnowers from whose feet earth's chaff must fly,
Never shows the choice momentous till the judgment hath passed by."
And doubtless Mr. Justice Brewer did not mean all that has and will grow out of the decision which he delivered; but the principle was evil, and as the oak is in the acorn, so the evil of the Dark Ages was and is in that decision. It is not the intention of men which must guide the Christian in these evil days, it is principle, the principles of justice, truth, and liberty found alone in Christ Jesus and his gospel.
Religion in the Colleges
The Christian Advocate of the 8th instant says of a certain college in this country that it "contains about four hundred students." Of this number two hundred and eighty-five are professing Christians; many of these are consecrated, but "very many are careless regarding the duties and privileges of the Christian." One hundred and twenty-five have never made a public profession of Christ. And the Advocate fears that these careless ones will do much more harm than good. It quotes one student as saying: "Students for the258ministry in my college class destroyed my religious feeling. I know I was to blame, but I have never been able to get it back."
Then, referring to the colleges of the Methodist Episcopal Church, it asks if they are awake to the importance of the subject, and says:—
"When twenty students in one class can truthfully say that during the time (three years) that they have been in the institution not a word has been said to them on personal religion by president or professors, there is something wrong. When members of a faculty say that they recognize no responsibility for the moral or religious character of the students, or their habits, if they attend classes and recite passably—except in cases of gross immorality which may scandalize the college—the question arises, Why denominational colleges at all?"
The tendency of much of the collegiate education is away from God and simple faith in his word. It is no wonder that those who teach science falsely so called, evolution instead of creation, are not spiritually minded or burdened for souls. But all these are signs of the last times, and precursors of the coming of our Lord.
How Much Longer!
How Much Longer!—Between 1878 and 1891 the national debt of Austro-Hungary increased from $1,710,000,000 to $2,850,000,000. Between 1879 and 1892 the national debt of the German Empire increased from $44,000,000 to $436,000,000. Between 1878 and 1892 the national debt of Italy increased from $1,950,000,000 to $2,395,000,000. The increase in these three States was $1,977,000,000, or 53½ per cent. Between 1879 and 1893 the national debt of France increased from $3,750,000,000 to $5,681,000,000. Russia's national debt has increased since 1878 from $1,750,000,000 to $4,386,000,000. The increase of the debt in the two last-named States amounts to $4,941,000,000, or about 90 per cent.
These are chiefly expenses for war purposes. The figures are cold and dry, but they mean almost insupportable burdens to millions of struggling men and women. Disarmament, bankruptcy, or war must inevitably follow. Italy is already on the verge of bankruptcy, with commerce and industry paralyzed. But there will be no disarmament till the struggle for supremacy is over. How long will it be before this great battle of Armageddon is fought? And then?—the kingdom of Christ.
The Seventh-Day Sabbath and Religious Amendment
By Editor
THE seventh-day Sabbath has as strong scriptural ground as has the commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," or, "Thou shalt not kill."
THE Christian Statesman of February 10 reports a hearing before a sub-committee of the House Judiciary Committee on the House resolution, No. 120, providing for a religious amendment to the preamble of the Constitution. Dr. McAllister presented arguments in favor of the bill, and the Statesman says: "The members present expressed themselves as deeply interested in the matter, and were evidently profoundly impressed with the argument presented to them in favor of such an amendment to the Constitution. The subject was new to some of them. Assurance was given that the bill will receive careful consideration. . . . Representative Morse is in earnest in his advocacy of the bill. Other members of both Houses have expressed themselves as heartily in favor of it." The next hearing is set for March 6. Would that God might anoint the eyes of the committee that they might see the evil there is in it. Let the friends of truth and liberty pray that on that day, though the majority may be blinded by sophistry, those who desire the knowledge of the truth may be able to discern where it lies.
DO WE KNOW THE TRUE SEVENTH DAY?
By Editor
THERE are many honest souls, many sincere Christians, who believe the Bible and who desire to do God's will in respect to all things, the Sabbath included, but they are in doubt respecting the day. At some time in their life the Lord through some means calls their attention to the true Sabbath. They naturally go to their pastors or religious leaders for information, in whom they have been taught to have confidence. The replies of these spiritual advisers and shepherds of the flock are so various that a thoughtful student of the word of God would see in their very contradictions the evidence of their error. Here are a few of the answers that are given to those who are seeking to know the way: "A seventh part of the time is all that is required; one day is as good as another." "The old Jewish Sabbath is done away, and the first day is now the Sabbath, in honor of Christ's resurrection." "Time has been lost, and we do not know which is the seventh day." "The church changed the day, and God has sanctioned it by his blessing." "There is no law in the Bible for Sunday, but as the law of the land requires it, it should be observed," making religious practices dependent on the vicissitudes, fluctuations, and expediences of human law. These and other mutually destructive answers are given, sometimes by the same man in the course of one discourse or conversation, to prove that we ought not to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, those putting them forth not realizing that they are destroying each other's foundation and charging God with folly. But Sunday, the de facto Sabbath, it is felt must be maintained at all hazards, and to do this the heir named in the will, the Sabbath de jure, must be set aside.
These thoughts are suggested by several queries which have come to us of late, among which is the following candid letter from a Christian brother in an Eastern State:—
MR. EDITOR: Some good friend has been sending the SIGNS OF THE TIMES to me for several weeks, and I am grateful for the kindness. I enjoy reading it, and appreciate its merits. Of course, I cannot agree with all the findings in its columns, and there is one point concerning which I seem to be unable to see the foundation for your position. I refer to the Sabbath. I believe (Gen. 2:3) that "God blessed and sanctified the seventh day," that he bids us "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," etc., and I am trying in every way to do the will of my Father. But I cannot see how you or any man is able to compute the time or follow the chronology of events since the creation with sufficient correctness and certainty to be able to assert positively that Saturday is the seventh day or that Sunday is not the seventh day. Can I hope to be in any measure informed on this subject?
Yours in the Master's service.
We hope to give the desired information, but first let us say that a knowledge of what is the true seventh-day Sabbath is not dependent on the chronology of events from the creation. God has made every practical duty depend upon knowledge which is reasonably within the reach of every man who will put forth proper effort to know, as our correspondent is evidently doing. "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." In the word of God is revealed the old ways and the good ways.
1. God ordained the Sabbath in the beginning. Gen. 2:2, 3. A specific day, the seventh, around which clustered the great facts of creation, was chosen as the rest day of Jehovah. God rested upon that day, making it his rest day; and no other than the seventh of the cycle could ever be counted his rest day. He then placed his blessing on the day, and sanctified it, or set it apart for man, holy to His service. This he did in the beginning, not for one race, but for all men. "The Sabbath was made for man." Certainly we have the true seventh day clearly defined in the beginning.
2. Admitting that the chronological order of the days of the week was lost during the twenty-five centuries that intervened between creation and the Exodus, the true seventh-day Sabbath is not lost. He who is "too wise to err" points it out by a threefold weekly miracle in the fall of the manna for forty years. The manna fell on every day but the Sabbath; a double portion fell on the sixth day; that which was preserved would keep over the Sabbath, but would keep over no other day. This seventh day is declared to be "the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord," and "the seventh day which is the Sabbath." See Exodus 16. There could be no question among the people of God at that time as to which was the true seventh day.
3. Nearly fifteen centuries of alternate sun and shade, light and darkness, reformation and apostasy, liberty and captivity, follow. During those trying times the true Sabbath possibly might have been lost, though it is not at all probable or reasonable. But at the end of that checkered period there comes to earth Him in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, in whom were all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. What may have been dark and obscure to men was light and clear to Him. He knew the Sabbath, and declared Himself the Lord of it. Mark 2:27. He showed by his own works what it was "lawful" to do on the holy day. Matt. 12:12. At the close of his earth life he declared that he had kept his Father's commandments (John 15:10), and abode in his Father's love. His perfect life, in perfect harmony with the perfect law of God (of which one jot or tittle cannot fail, Matt. 5:15-17; Luke 16:17), is left us as our example (1 John 2:6; 5:3; 1 Peter 2:22). The New Testament, written all the way from A.D. 38 to A.D. 97, calls but one day the Sabbath. The day thus named was the day kept by the Jews, the day which came just before "the first day of the week," "the Sabbath day according to the commandment." See Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1, 2; Luke 23:56; 24:1. It is the only weekly Sabbath day concerning which God has given us any command or spoken any blessing.
4. From the time of the crucifixion to the present there has never been raised the question of the succession of the days of the week. Sunday is considered by all to be the first day of the week of the New Testament. The day prior to that (Bible time) was the seventh day of the week, the true seventh day, and so termed by Inspiration. Eclipses dated as far back as 500 years before Christ, show that there has been no lost time. The Jews, scattered in every nation of the world, are positive evidence to the same effect. And the constant practice of the greater part of Christendom proves that the first day of the week of the New Testament is coincident with the first day of the week now, with this exception, the Bible first day began at sunset the day previous and ended at sunset, twenty-four hours later. And therefore the Sabbath of the New Testament, which was the day just before the first day of the week, which was the Sabbath "according to the commandment," which was the Sabbath marked by God's miracle of the manna, which was the day on which God rested, which he blessed and sanctified, is the seventh day in regular succession at the present time. This seventh day must therefore also be coincident in time with our Saturday, except that Saturday begins at midnight, while the Sabbath of the Lord begins Friday evening at sunset and closes Saturday evening at sunset.
Is not the above evidence sufficient? God himself has made sure by inspiration, by mighty miracle, by his own Son, the Sabbath for the first four thousand years of earth's history; and there is no question among men as to the proper order of the days for the last nineteen hundred years. These are the old ways, the good way, and in walking therein we can assure our correspondent there is rest, precious rest to the soul, through Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath.
The Seventh-Day Baptist View
By Editor
THE Christian Advocate of February 8, in speaking of the Seventh-day Baptist body and its views, presumably on the Sabbath question, says: "We do not believe the distinctive view held by it, but there is many a doctrine held that has less plausible ground." We should say so too, for instance, the Sunday sabbath.
Cultivate a Cheerful Disposition
"CULTIVATE a cheerful disposition; endeavor as much as lieth in you always to bear a smile about with you; recollect that 'Rejoice evermore' is as much a command of God as that verse which says, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.'"
BEWARE OF PREJUDICE.
By D. T. Bourdeau
BY ELDER D. T. BOURDEAU.
"PROVE all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:21.
Prejudice is thus defined by Webster: "An opinion or decision of mind formed without due examination; a bias or leaning toward one side or the other of a question from other considerations than those belonging to it; an unreasonable predilection or prepossession for or against anything; especially, an opinion or learning adverse to anything, formed without proper grounds, or before suitable knowledge." Kindred to this definition is the following from Littre's French Dictionary: "It is a truth that cannot be too often repeated that prejudice is synonymous with a hasty judgment; and much time is lost by desiring to go too fast."
Pernicious and deplorable are the effects of prejudice, as appears from its present workings in society, and from the history of the past. Until now prejudice has been one of the greatest obstacles in the way of all progress, whether in the arts and sciences or in matters of religion. It was prejudice that led many to accuse Guttenburg of witchcraft when his first printed works appeared. It was prejudice that led persons of rank and influence to condemn the illustrious Galileo when he declared that the world turned. It was prejudice, in 1807, that induced Americans, on the banks of the Hudson, to accuse Fulton, the inventor of steamboats, of insanity when he announced that he would navigate against wind and tide.
Influenced by prejudice, the French Senate260in 1833 directed strong opposition against a Frenchman who spoke of constructing railroads in France. One objection urged was, "Where can a sufficient amount of iron be found to build such roads?" Others asked, "How can such heavy wagons be made to ascend the mountains?" What difficulties Parmentier, a celebrated French philanthropist, met in introducing the culture and use of the potato plant in France! The French were afraid of this American plant. They said: "Perhaps it is a poison. Our fathers have done without it, and so can we." To succeed, Parmentier cultivated the plant, and hired soldiers to watch his potato field, that the passers-by might be led to think that there was something precious, and to desire some of it. He went further; he caused some of the potatoes to be cooked and prepared with taste, and then exposed them to country people passing by, that they might taste of them on the sly. The scheme worked well. Prejudice was removed; and to-day the French appreciate potatoes as well as Americans.
Such are some of the pernicious effects of prejudice in things pertaining to physical life and to our present well-being; and a thousand times more pernicious are the effects of prejudice in those things on which depend our eternal well-being and happiness. One of the objects of the law of the Jewish people was to serve as a safeguard against prejudice. Said Nicodemus to those who wanted to kill Jesus, "Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?" John 7:51. These words did not have their desired effect. The envy, hatred, and prejudices of bloodthirsty men led them finally to carry out their infernal project.
Prejudice has been the cause of the martyrdom of millions of saints in past ages. Especially does prejudice work when religious movements are on foot and carried forward against the tide of pride and popularity.
Our Saviour came clothed with humility, and his testimony was not popular. It did not flatter the national pride of the Jews; therefore they prejudged with regard to him and put him out of their way. At one time he went to Nazareth, where he had led a humble life doing the work of a carpenter. The inhabitants of Nazareth were astonished at his knowledge, wisdom, and mighty works. Yet, giving way to prejudice, they exclaimed, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him." Mark 6:1-3.
There was a time when even the brethren of Jesus manifested this same weakness as the result of their prejudice. They saw Jesus confining his labors to Galilee, and hastily concluded that he was not the promised Messiah. It is written, "Neither did his brethren believe in him." John 7:5. They urged him to go into Judea, assigning as one of the reasons why they believed he should do so the fact that no man that does anything in secret seeks to be known openly. They claimed that if he was what he pretended to be, he would go into Judea and publish his doctrine, and added, "If thou do these things, show thyself to the world." Verse 4. They were prejudging, or speaking under the power of prejudice. They would not have spoken thus if they had duly weighed the fact that there were many in Judea who wanted to kill him, and that the time for him to die had not yet come. Verse 1.
Much precious truth which was lost sight of in the Dark Ages must be brought to light with present truth, truth that relates to the near coming of Christ; and the danger of the people now is to hastily pronounce themselves against important truths that apply to the inhabitants of the world at the present time. To guard against this danger, let us "prove all things, and hold fast that which is good." Like the noble Bereans, let us search the Scriptures daily to know whether these things are really so. Acts 17:11. Let us be reasonable, aim at having our views of religion as broad as the Bible, and, by all means, beware of prejudice.
Battle Creek, Mich.
PUT AWAY THE EVIL OF YOUR DOINGS.
By Mrs. E. G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
"Is NOT this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" The doing of these things is the keeping of the commandments of God; but the people to whom these words are addressed, though claiming to keep God's commandments, are yet transgressors of his law. The prophet is instructed by the Lord to give them a message of warning and reproof. "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God; they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God."
Though making high professions, they were not sincerely seeking to understand the plain "Thus saith the Lord." The Lord condescends to open before them the errors and deceptions which they were cherishing, while professing to be his worshipers. He says: "Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness; ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?" "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifice unto me? . . . bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; . . . and when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood." How much lifting and spreading forth of the hands in self-righteousness and self-importance there is, while at heart many of the professed workers for God are transgressing the principles of the law of God in their daily practices.
The Lord says to this class of professors: "Wash ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Why is it that so many are deceiving their souls, apparently delighting in the service of God, and yet trampling upon his precepts? The law of God is a transcript of his character; it is the standard of righteousness. "Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Man is required to render obedience to the revealed will of God in the smallest requirement of the law. Terrible results followed the transgression of the law when our first parents sinned. The flood gates of woe were opened upon our world. With the history of sin before us, how dare we disregard and ignore any one of the commandments that God has given us? The law of God is the foundation of his government, and is exactly what is needed to preserve life and righteousness. Every principle of the law emanates from the Infinite God, and man will fail in his duty to God and his neighbor unless he believes and weaves the principles of the law into his life. Without faith it is impossible to please God, for it is through faith that we may render obedience to the law.
Man belongs to God, both by creation and redemption. "Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Man owes to God his life, and should therefore yield all his powers in submission to the will of God. "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."
The Lord has universal supremacy and sovereign authority over the human family. They are recipients of his mercies and bounties, and dependent upon him for life and protection. To them he says: "Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein; I am the Lord your God. . . . Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them; I am the Lord." "And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them."
God has given to the world a clearly-defined revelation of his will, and he has shown the richness and fullness of his mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, that we might be partakers of the divine nature, and escape the corruptions that are in the world through lust. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
In order that we may make no mistakes where our eternal interests are involved, the Lord has given us plain instruction as to what to receive as truth. He says, "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." We shall be in danger of being misled if we trust to ministers, or councils of men, or depend upon the interpretation that men may put upon the Scriptures. Whatever doctrine is brought to us, we should diligently search the Scriptures, as did the noble Bereans, to know for ourselves whether the messenger's exposition is in harmony with the sure word of prophecy. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." God has given us the precious endowment of reason and intellect, and we shall be held accountable for our mistakes if we do not use the mind in earnest study of the word of God. God has endowed us with capabilities whereby we may understand what is acceptable unto him. Our human ideas, our human wills, are not to take the throne, but the will of God is to be supreme.
(To be continued.)
SAVING THE PAINTER.
By Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler
BY ELLEN THORNEYCROFT FOWLER.
A PAINTER, standing on a scaffold high,
Stepped back to wonder how a passing stranger
Would scan his art; a workman (who stood by
And saw his danger)
Bedaubed the finished fresco. With a start
The artist forward rushed in consternation;
And thus the spoiling of his work of art
Was his salvation.
O ye who pleasant pictures love to paint,
Then find your daydreams doomed to disappointment,
Take for the healing of your sad complaint
This healing ointment—
That Love withholds the triumph of your toils,
Bids Fancy's frescoes fainter fade and fainter,
And with a gracious Hand the picture spoils
To save the painter.