Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 20. (5/15/1900)

Review and Herald

May 15, 1900

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 15, 1900

GOD LOVETH A CHEERFUL GIVER.

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

LIBERALITY is one of the directions of the Holy Spirit, and when the professed people of God withhold from the Lord his own in gifts and offerings, they meet with spiritual loss. The Lord can not reward a stinted offering. Says the apostle, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

God has made men his almoners, co-partners with himself in the great work of advancing his kingdom on the earth; but they may pursue the course pursued by the unfaithful servant, and by so doing lose the most precious privileges ever granted to men. For thousands of years God has worked through human agencies, but at his will he can drop out the selfish, the money-loving, and the covetous. He is not dependent upon our means, and he will not be restricted by the human agent. He can carry on his own work though we act no part in it. But who among us would be pleased to have the Lord do this?

It were better not to give at all than to give grudgingly; for if we impart of our means when we have not the spirit to give freely, we mock God. Let us bear in mind that we are dealing with One upon whom we depend for every blessing, One who reads every thought of the heart, every purpose of the mind.

The apostle Paul had a special work to present before his Corinthian brethren. There was a famine in Jerusalem, and the disciples, “every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea.” They presented the need to the churches, expecting to receive a small sum for the relief of the needy saints; and in prayer they presented before the Lord the necessity. But the Macedonian brethren, moved by the Spirit of God, first made an entire consecration of themselves to God, and then gave all that they had. They felt it a privilege thus to give expression to their trust in God. The Macedonian brethren were poor, but they did not have to be urged to give. They rejoiced that they had opportunity to contribute of their means. Of themselves they came forward and made the offering, in their Christlike simplicity, their integrity and love for their brethren, denying themselves of food and clothing in cases where they had no money. And when the apostles would have restrained them, they importuned them to receive the contribution, and carry it to the afflicted saints.

This self-denial and self-sacrifice far exceeded Paul's expectations, and he was filled with thanksgiving; and taking courage by this example, by epistle he exhorted Titus to stir up the church in Corinth to the same good works.

“Moreover, brethren,” he wrote to the Corinthians, “we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Inasmuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also. Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.”

This movement on the part of the Macedonians was inspired of God to arouse in the Corinthian church the spirit of liberality. Paul sought to uproot the plant of selfishness from the hearts of his brethren; for the character can not be complete in Christ when self-love and covetousness are retained. The love of Christ in their hearts would lead them to help their brethren in their necessities. By pointing them to the sacrifice Christ had made in their behalf, he sought to arouse their love. “I speak not by commandment,” he said, “but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”

Here is the apostle's mighty argument. It is not the commandment of Paul, but of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God had left his riches and honor and glory, and clothed his divinity with humanity, that humanity might take hold of divinity, and become a partaker of the divine nature. He came not to live in the palaces of kings, to live without care or labor and be supplied with all the conveniences which human nature naturally craves. The world never saw its Lord wealthy. In the council of heaven he had chosen to stand in the ranks of the poor and the oppressed, to take his place with the humble worker, and learn the trade of his earthly parent. He came to the world to be a reconstructor of character, and he brought into all his work the perfection which he desired to bring into the character he was transforming by his divine power. Nor did he shun the social life of his countrymen. That all might become acquainted with God manifest in the flesh, he mingled with every class of society, and was called the friend of sinners. In himself Christ possessed an absolute right to all things, but he gave himself to a life of poverty that man might be rich in heavenly treasure. Commander in the heavenly courts, he took the lowest place on earth. Rich, yet for our sake he became poor. Though he was in the form of God, he “thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

How great was the gift of God to man, and how like our God to make it! With a liberality that can never be exceeded he gave, that he might save the rebellious sons of men and bring them to see his purpose and discern his love. Will you, by your gifts and offerings, show that you think nothing too good for Him who “gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”? The man who truly loves God will not offer to him lip service merely. He will bring to the treasury his gifts and offerings, that laborers may be sent forth to sow the precious seed.

For a little time the Lord allows man to be his steward, that he may test his character. In that time man decides his eternal destiny. If he works in opposition to the will of God, he can not belong to the royal family. The silver and the gold, which were not his, but the Lord's, he has misapplied. The day of probation granted him he has abused, and he receives the reward of the unfaithful servant.

Evidence of the work of grace in the heart is given when we do good to all men as we have opportunity. The proof of our love is given in a Christlike spirit, a willingness to impart the good things God has given us, a readiness to practice self-denial and self-sacrifice in order to help advance the cause of God and suffering humanity. Never should we pass by the object that calls for our liberality. We reveal that we have passed from death unto life when we act as faithful stewards of God's grace. God has given us his goods; he has given us his pledged word that if we are faithful in our stewardship, we shall lay up in heaven treasures that are imperishable.

Men and women need to understand that the means they are handling are not their own. “Ye are not your own,” the apostle says, “for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” To withhold our offerings will not be for our own interest or for the glory of God. The Lord will use all who will give themselves to be used. But he requires heart service. “My son,” he says, “give me thine heart.” When the heart is given to God, our talents, our energy, our possessions, all we have and are, will be devoted to his service.

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IF CHRIST SHOULD COME TO-DAY.

By Helen A. Beard

If Christ should come to-day! If we could find him on the broad highway Or city street, Oh, would we crowd to touch his garments' hem Or kiss his feet?

If he should come to-day! If the All-searching one should find us out, And call our name; Would we press forward toward the outstretched hand, Or sink in shame?

If he should come to-day! The Prince of Peace amidst the clang of war And battle heat; Oh, would we haste to lay our weapons down Before his feet?

If he should come to-day! Above all honors and the paltry things That men call great, Is he enshrined, and have we kept our faith Inviolate?

Oh poor, and weak, and blind! Living for self, we make our petty plans, Map out each year; Forgetting in an hour we know not of He may appear.

O gentle, pitying Christ! Delay thy coming to the weary soul, So sick of sin, Draw close thy cords of love until his heart Shall take thee in.

Then come at morn or eve! Whether in manhood, youth, or feeble age, Thy visit fall; To him who loves thee all is well, since Christ Is all in all.

— Helen A. Beard, in Topeka Capital.

C. F. LADD

By C. F. LADD.

Now is the time of even—we're gleaners in God's field, 'Tis the time of barley harvest, we the scythe of God must wield, Improve each fleeting hour—we must work while it is dawn, For our time of rest is coming soon—the resurrection morn.

C. F. LADD

LET THE LIGHT SHINE.

By Geo. B. Wheeler

GEO. B. WHEELER. (South Lancaster, Mass.)

In an address upon the effects of the higher criticism, given before a ministers’ meeting in Boston recently, the speaker said: “We do not know how sin originated, but we do know that there is sin.” As I read this, I could not but think how greatly favored our people are in having the Spirit of Prophecy. We know, not only that there is sin, but we know how it originated. A flood of light has been thrown upon the word of God, the meaning of which has been covered up by a mass of tradition and false interpretation so deep that its true meaning has been in a great measure lost sight of: and this, too, in the providence of God, at the most opportune time, just before the coming of the Lord, “whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.”

The working of Satan is seen to-day in the religious world. The moorings of its faith, the word of God, are being rejected; belief in the Bible as the word of God is being undermined in the very institutions made to establish it. Religious leaders, who shape in a great measure the thought of the people, place it upon the same level with other books written by uninspired men. The principles of Christ and those of Satan are being confused in such a way that Satanic principles are being held up before the world by professed Christians as true Christian principles. This is the last great effort of the powers from beneath, and the character of their deceptions is such that we are told that, if possible, they would deceive the very elect.

The light that God is now giving us enables us to distinguish clearly Christian from satanic principles; it foretells the signs and lying wonders of Satan; and shows us how to avoid the deceptions of these last days. Do we appreciate the light? Are we meeting the responsibility that comes to us with it? The light we have was not given to be hid, but the call now is exceedingly urgent to let the light shine.

THE THREE POWERS OF DAN. 11:40.

By G. H. Wallace

G. H. Wallace, in Advent Christian Messenger.

“AND at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.” Dan. 11:40.

The Turk rules the territory of the northern division of the Alexandrian empire. The territory identifies the power in this case. Egypt rules the territory known as the south, or the southern division of that empire, and has from the beginning, with the capital at Alexandria. The Syrian capital of the northern division was at St. Jean d’Acre, later at Constantinople. Now the king, or power of the north, so many times mentioned in this chapter, is mentioned in this verse 40; so also is the king of the south.

But the question we have been asked to answer is, What is the power referred to as him in this verse, against which the king of the south—Egypt—pushes, and against which the king of the north—Turkey—comes like a whirlwind? This third power is introduced in verse 36 as the willful king. The indefinite article is used by some very good authorities, who read this verse as follows: “And a king shall do according to his will,” etc. It will be observed that this willful king, or power, makes his appearance at the time of the end, being therefore neither papal nor Mohammedan, but being atheistical at first, and idolatrous later. See verses 37, 38.

Finding these three powers complicated in this verse, we look into history that has been made since the waning of papal supremacy, and since the beginning of the sign period known in the prophecy as the time of the end, and marked definitely by the darkening of the sun May 19, 1780, for an invasion of Egypt by a strong power, which is met by a mere push of feeble resistance, and against whom Turkey goes forth to war like a whirlwind force, and is victorious.

Now here is the historical finding. Napoleon Bonaparte fondly cherished the dream of universal empire, with his beloved France as the center, and himself as the head. He predicted the Suez canal, and calculated that if a strong power like France could control that territory, a highway by a short route could be opened up to the wealth of India. That route has been opened up by the Suez canal, but not for the control of France. The distance is said to have been shortened to 4,888 miles to Bombay from London or Hamburg. Napoleon pondered long and well, before venturing upon the risks of that invasion of Egypt in 1798-99. He saw himself monarch of a fifth universal empire.

At length he sailed for Egypt with forty thousand troops and a large fleet, and a plan of campaign so well matured that it has been the marvel of history that in the hands of such a man as Napoleon Bonaparte it had not succeeded. But God had said only four earthly, carnal, universal governments; the fifth is to be heavenly, and ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ. “The word of the Lord can not be broken.”

On July 21, 1798, the famous battle of the pyramids was fought. The French, though greatly outnumbered, lost but about two hundred, while the Egyptians lost thousands. The resistance was a mere push at him. This battle was decisive, the courage of Egypt was gone. Napoleon was filled with joy. He left a sufficient force in Egypt to finish the war, and with the bulk of his army he invaded Syria, the territory of the Turk. His plan as given to the world by his private secretary after Napoleon’s imprisonment was this: To overturn the sultan’s power in Syria, and liberate and arm his misruled malcontents, especially the Armenians, who, as he rightly said, were praying for his coming. This invasion was made in the spring of 1799, and siege was laid to St. Jean d’Acre, the ancient capital of Syria, and the gateway to the sultan’s Asiatic possessions. He fully appreciated the importance of that fortification. As he approached the little city, he pointed toward it, and said to Murat, who rode at his side, “The fate of the East depends upon you petty town.” The siege of Acre in bravery and blood beggars description.

England had correctly divined the plan of Napoleon, had landed a strong force in Egypt, and had sent a powerful fleet to Acre. Supposing that the plans of his chief had materialized, the captain in charge of a large flotilla of munitions of war went to Acre, as directed, and fell into the hands of Sir Sidney Smith, who commanded the British fleet. This enabled the city to hold out to Napoleon’s ruin. “But for the mistake of a captain,” said Napoleon in after time, “Acre would have fallen. I would have flown to Damascus and Aleppo. In the twinkling of an eye I would have been at the Euphrates. I would have reached Constantinople and the Indies, and would have changed the face of the world.” Splendid as his situation afterward became with the French, he never ceased to regret the throne relinquished by him when he sounded the retreat from Acre. And he often said of Sir Sidney Smith, “That man made me miss my destiny.”

England, seeing that her Indian interests were endangered by this invasion of Egypt and Syria, and Russia, seeing the Bosphorus in danger of falling into the hands of France, came to the assistance of Turkey in an overwhelming force by land and sea. Thus strengthened, the king of the north (Turkey) came against him (France) like a whirlwind, with chariots (artillery carriages), with horsemen (Turkish cavalry), and with many ships (British navy), and he, the king of the north (Turkey), shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and

pass over. He swept everything before him. This affiliation of natural enemies seems quite wonderful.

For a sample of the fighting in that war we call attention to the naval engagement in the bay of Abukir, known as the battle of the Nile, Aug. 1, 1798. The respective fleets were commanded by Admirals Brueys and Nelson. There were 19,298 men engaged, with 2,217 guns. The French loss is recorded, according to Allison, as 5,325 men killed, while the loss to the British was 898 killed.

On March 8, 1801, the famous battle of Alexandria was fought between Sir Ralph Abercromby and General Menu. Mr. Allison says of this battle that “it decided the fate of the civilized world.” Vol. II., page 176.

A misapprehension that England was the king of the north in that war [and], consequently the power that must fulfill the closing verses of Daniel 11, is positively corrected by consulting Allison’s “History of Europe,” Vol. II., page 176, where we read of the celebration of victory as follows:—

The cannon of the seraglio were fired, the city of Constantinople was splendidly illuminated, medals were struck, to be distributed among the English, who had served in Egypt, and a palace was built for the British ambassador at Pera, as a lasting monument of the gratitude of the Ottoman Empire.

Who, then, was the principal in that whirlwind war?—The king of the north, Turkey. What was England’s part in the war?—An ally, as shown by the fact that her soldiers were rewarded with medals by the principal, the Ottoman Empire.

This seems sufficient to show that there are three powers brought to view in Dan. 11:40, and also to identify them as, (1) the king or power of the south, Egypt; (2) the king or power of the north, Turkey; (3) the invading aggressor, France. To this agrees the history.

These facts leave the old position intact that the Ottoman Empire, and not Great Britain, nor Russia, nor any other power, is the one described as coming to his end in the closing events of earth’s bloody drama, and in close connection with the deliverance of God’s people by the standing up of Michael, and the resurrection. These are interesting times for faithful watchmen, but perilous times for mere nominal Christianity.

“FRET NOT THYSELF.”

By Phillips Brooks

The little sharp vexations, And the briers that catch and fret, Why not take all to the Helper Who has never failed us yet? Tell him about the heartache, And tell him the longings, too; Tell him the baffled purpose When we scarce know what to do; Then, leaving all our weakness With the One divinely strong, Forget that we bore the burden, And carry away the song. — Phillips Brooks.

THEY SEE IT; DO WE?

By C. H. Keslake

C. H. KESLAKE.

“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24: 26, 27.

It is easy for us in this age to look back to the time when Christ had just risen from the dead, and marvel that the disciples should have been so dull of comprehension, and to congratulate ourselves that we believe and understand perfectly the doctrine concerning the passion of Christ, his resurrection, etc. But the text already quoted shows that “Moses and all the prophets” not only speak of the sufferings of Christ, but of the time when he should enter into his glory. Peter says that the Spirit of Christ in the prophets “testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1: 11.

The “glory that should follow” will not be fully consummated until Christ shall come again, when he shall be glorified in his saints, and they in him. 2 Thess. 1: 12. What of the time that should elapse between the passion and resurrection of Christ and his second coming? Do the Scriptures have anything to say about this? So far as Seventh-day Adventists are concerned there is, to them, a certainty on this point that is absolute. At least in theory they all believe that the Bible can not get “out of date;” that it is the Book for the times, no matter what the age may be.

But the query might naturally arise, Are we any more clear upon the word of God as relating to our own times, than the disciples were of their times when the Lord spoke to them in the language of the text quoted at the beginning of this article? Not only is it to be feared that many are not, but it is also to be feared that many professed believers do not understand the trend of events as clearly as do some who know nothing of what God in his word has said about it. This is a situation that should be deeply deplored.

Never, in all the history of God’s people, have they been so uniquely situated as they are at present. In times past God’s church has had ample time to study up and understand the philosophy of events long after their occurrence, and, in a way, still be all right. But nevertheless they should have been in a position where they could see and recognize the events as they were occurring, instead of waiting until some future time. But the situation is entirely changed now. History is being made so fast, current events being the harbingers of Christ’s soon coming, that unless we stand in the counsel of God, and so understand them and recognize their significance as they take place, there will be positively no opportunity for us to study them afterward, and so be able to place ourselves on the right side of every question, and so be saved; for the only truth that will save us is “present truth.”

To say nothing of affairs that pertain to the world at large, one can not look at the affairs of this country without recognizing the fact that history is making with lightning-like rapidity, and the time has come when God’s people must be as “minute men,” ready to grasp and understand each event as it occurs in relation to the coming of Christ. To be anything short of this means to be left so far behind that it will be impossible ever to catch up.

As with God’s church, so with this country. No nation in the world at any age has occupied so unique a position as the United States. Founded upon principles that are eternal, this government has been the only exponent in all the world of true Protestantism and republicanism. But in late years this nation has taken steps, which, if continued, must eventually prove its undoing; and as other nations have perished, so must it.

These things are so clearly recognized by public men, who understand their significance so thoroughly, apart from what God has said about them, of which they know nothing, that it should put to shame Seventh-day Adventists, in that, instead of knowing less than these men, as is the case with many, we ought to know a great deal more.

In the New York Sunday Journal of April 15, 1900, appeared two long editorials, one of which is signed, and needs only the leaving out of a few political phrases, and the placing of a good strong Scripture quotation at the beginning, to make it a straight sermon on the Third Angel’s Message.

Under the heading, “The Republic in Danger,” and referring to the situation in Porto Rico, the editor of the Journal, over his signature, says: “Bad as the Porto Rican oppression is in itself, it is not the most sinister phase of the present situation.” And then, speaking of the influence alleged to have been brought to bear upon the executive of the nation, and accounting for the change of policy of the government, he closes with this strikingly significant paragraph:—

The Roman Republic was not overthrown by ambition, but fell through corruption; and to realize adequately what is threatening us, we should remember what has happened before under somewhat similar conditions. American citizens may profitably reread at this time the introductory chapters of Froude’s Cæsar, where the events and causes leading to the dissolution of the Roman Republic are clearly and forcibly set forth.

He then proceeds to give, under the heading, “Froude’s Roman Lessons for America,” a number of extracts from the history referred to, all of which are exceedingly interesting in view of what the Lord has been telling us in the Scriptures and through the Spirit of Prophecy concerning this nation. The whole of the editorial is too lengthy to quote here, but I group together a few of the more prominent statements:—

To the student of political history, and to the English student above all others, the conversion of the Roman Republic into a military empire commands a peculiar interest. Notwithstanding many differences, the English and the Romans essentially resemble each other. The early Romans possessed the faculty of self-government beyond any people of whom we have historical knowledge, with the one exception of ourselves. In virtue of their temporal freedom, they became the most powerful nation in the known world; AND THEIR LIBERTIES PERISHED ONLY WHEN ROME BECAME THE MISTRESS OF CONQUERED RACES, TO WHOM SHE WAS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO EXTEND HER PRIVILEGES. IF THERE BE ONE LESSON WHICH HISTORY CLEARLY TEACHES, IT IS THIS, THAT FREE NATIONS CAN NOT GOVERN SUBJECT PROVINCES. IF THEY ARE UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO ADMIT THEIR DEPENDENCIES TO SHARE THEIR OWN CONSTITUTION, THE CONSTITUTION ITSELF WILL FALL IN PIECES FROM MERE INCOMPETENCE FOR ITS DUTIES.

The life of a nation, like the life of a man, may be prolonged in honor into the fullness of its time, or it may perish prematurely, for want of guidance, by violence or internal disorders. And thus the history of national revolutions is to statesmanship what the pathology of disease is to the art of medicine.

The physician can not arrest the coming on of age, where disease has laid hold upon the constitution, he can not expel it. But he may check the progress of the evil if he can recognize the symptoms in time. He can save life at the cost of an unsound limb. He can tell us how to preserve our health when we have it; he can warn us of the conditions under which particular disorders will have us at a disadvantage.

And so with nations; amid the endless variety of circumstances there are constant phenomena which give notice of approaching danger; there are courses of action which have uniformly produced the same results; and the wise politicians are those who have learned from experience the real tendencies of things, unmixed by superficial differences, who can shun the rocks where others have been wrecked, or from foresight of what is coming can be cool when the peril is upon them.

For these reasons the fall of the Roman Republic is exceptionally instructive to us. A constitutional government the most enduring and the most powerful that ever existed was put on its trial and found wanting. We see it in its growth; we see the causes which undermined its strength. We see attempts to check the growing mischief fail, and we see why they failed. With such vividness, with such transparent clearness, the age stands before us of Cato and Pompey, of Cicero and Julius Cæsar: the more distinctly because it was an age in so many ways the counterpart of our own, the blossoming period of the old civilization, when the intellect was trained to the highest point it could reach; and on the great subjects of human interest, on morals and politics, on poetry and art, even on religion itself and the speculative problems of life, men thought as we think, doubted where we doubt, argued as we argue, aspired and struggled after the same objects.

It was an age of material progress and material civilization; an age of civil liberty and intellectual culture; an age of pamphlets and epigrams, of salons and of dinner parties, of SENATORIAL MAJORITIES AND ELECTORAL CORRUPTION.

The highest offices of state were open in theory to the meanest citizen; THEY WERE CONFINED, IN FACT, TO THOSE WHO HAD THE LONGEST PURSES, or the most ready use of the tongue on popular platforms. DISTINCTIONS OF BIRTH HAD BEEN EXCHANGED FOR DISTINCTIONS OF WEALTH.

Religion, once the foundation of the laws and rule of personal conduct, had subsided into opinion. The educated in their hearts disbelieved it. Temples were still built with increasing splendor; the established forms were scrupulously observed. Public men spoke conventionally of Providence, that they might throw on their opponents the odium of impiety; but of genuine belief that life had any serious meaning, there was none remaining beyond the circle of the silent, patient, ignorant multitude.

THE WHOLE SPIRITUAL ATMOSPHERE WAS SATURATED WITH CANT—CANT MORAL, CANT POLITICAL, CANT RELIGIOUS; AN AFFECTATION OF HIGH PRINCIPLE WHICH HAD CEASED TO TOUCH THE CONDUCT, AND FLOWED ON IN AN INCREASING VOLUME OF INSINCERE AND UNREAL SPEECH.

THE PROUD PRIVILEGE OF ROMAN CITIZENSHIP WAS STILL JEALOUSLY RESERVED TO ROME ITSELF, AND TO A FEW FAVORED TOWNS AND COLONIES; AND A MERE SUBJECT COULD MAINTAIN NO RIGHTS AGAINST A MEMBER OF THE HAUGHTY OLIGARCHY WHICH CONTROLLED THE CIVILIZED WORLD. Such, generally, the Roman Republic had become, or was tending to become, in the years that followed the fall of Carthage, B. C. 146. Public spirit in the masses was dead or sleeping; the commonwealth was a plutocracy. THE FREE FORMS OF THE CONSTITUTION WERE THEMSELVES THE INSTRUMENTS OF CORRUPTION.

I have given these quotations, not because they are not known by many of the readers of the REVIEW, for many of them have already appeared in our publications, but simply that it may be seen that those who are watching closely the trend of events at this time see clearly that this nation has begun to parallel the Roman Republic; they see plainly that the very same causes that led to the final overthrow of Rome are being repeated by this nation; they see that the disease has laid hold upon “the Constitution” of this country, and that its life can be saved only by such governmental action, or possibly revolution, as would be analogous to the amputation of a human limb to save the rest of the body.

But will this be done? Having started in the direction indicated, are the probabilities likely that this nation will wrench itself from the awful grasp of present influences, and so become again what she once was? Doubtless this is the thing hoped for by those who recognize the alarming situation. But the fateful words of Froude, which I quote direct from his “Cæsar,” might appropriately be given here:—

The popular leader of the hour sees some present difficulty or present opportunity of distinction. He deals with each question as it arises, leaving future consequences to those who are to come after him. The situation changes from period to period, and tendencies are generated with an accelerating force, which, when once established, can never be reversed. When the control of reason is once removed, the catastrophe is no longer distant, and then nations, like all organized creations, all forms of life, from the meanest flower to the highest human institution, pass through the inevitably recurring stages of growth and transformation and decay.

It might be, in fact there is every reason to believe that it will be, that the hope will be cherished that it will finally be true of this country what Froude further says of Rome: “When nothing seemed so likely as complete dissolution, the whole question [will be] changed by a violent operation, and the dying patient’s life protracted for further centuries of power and usefulness.”

But just here is where many will be in danger of making this fatal mistake, and doubtless many will make it; and to guard against it, the Spirit of God has faithfully shown that which really will be, as follows:—

When our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then may we know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan, and that the end is near.

It took Rome hundreds of years to reach the point where decay set in, but barely a hundred years has sufficed for the United States. As its rise has been phenomenally swift, so will there be a corresponding decline. We may understand perfectly the present course pursued by this nation by tracing the history of her prototype—Rome; and as all this has been set forth in the word of God, it clearly shows one of the purposes for which it was done, and that because in no other way could these things now be understood, and this people of to-day be saved from the impending destruction.

But there are many who will plead that they have so much business on their hands that they do not have time to search out all these things, even though they could afford it, and had the inclination. This is doubtless quite true. Yet God has arranged it so that none shall have even that excuse to offer. God is faithful, and he assures us that he is watching over his word to perform it. Jer. 1: 12, Leeser’s Translation. And as he does this, he is raising up faithful watchmen who, in response to the question, “Watchman, what of the night?” are calling, as the dark night is settling upon the world, “The morning cometh, and also the night.”

In other words, God has moved upon some of his servants to study closely the history of Rome, and also to watch closely that which is a perfect parallel to it in this day; and thus knowing the one, they are able to recognize the other. And in the light of the word of God they are faithfully giving us both, in our publications. For ten years it has all been told in “The Two Republics.”

ROMANIZED.

(Advent Christian Messenger.)

ARE we becoming Romanized? It would seem so from the way we are following in Rome’s steps in forms and ceremonies. Many of Rome’s festivals, festal days, and observances were borrowed from pagan idolaters, such as Christmas, Easter, etc. These are now celebrated by Protestants with as much enthusiasm as by the Romanists. Not long ago Massachusetts abolished our “Fast Day,” so long observed by the people of this country as a holiday; now the press is agitating the question of making one of Rome’s festal days a legal holiday, as the following from the Worcester West Chronicle will show:—

There is a growing sentiment in the public press, for the setting aside of Good Friday as a legal holiday, not for sports, but, if possible, with such restrictions as legally apply to Sunday, so that those who revere the day as one consecrated by the death of Christ for the salvation of the world, may spend it in such religious service and duties as will best bring men to a realization of their obligations to their Creator. In five States in the Union the day is already a legal holiday, and others may soon be expected to follow their lead.

When will this nation become fully awakened to see that Rome is rapidly tightening her coils around this government, and that we shall soon be fully within her grasp, unless the influence she is now exerting upon our government officials shall be thrown off by those who are fully aware of our danger?

THE SOLUTION.

By Willard H. Saxby

WILLARD H. SAXBY.

(Battle Creek, Mich.)

Not long ago, I heard a mother say, with unspeakable joy, of her only son, who had recently given his heart to the Lord, and was all aglow in his service, “— is just lovely.” There was something in her way of saying it, the tone of her voice, etc., that followed me.

I had often heard (and who has not?) extravagant expressions from young, thoughtless, and superficial people, as, such and such a thing, an ordinary affair, was “lovely,” “just lovely,” was “just perfectly lovely,” or was “just perfectly delightful,” all of which carried very little weight with it. I began to think, How is it that such a perverse, unloveable boy has been transformed into one who is, by all who know him, considered “just lovely”? And here is the solution: “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Rom. 5 : 20. “Christ liveth in me.” Gal. 2 : 20. Consequently, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor. 5 : 17. This is our wonderful transforming Saviour,—“the chiefest among ten thousand,” the one “altogether lovely.” Cant. 5 : 10, 16.

Every son who has this indwelling Saviour becomes, in a sense, the chiefest among ten thousand boys that know not Christ: the one “altogether lovely.” Precious son, indeed! All this applies equally to every daughter, yes, to every member of the family. What a little heaven a whole family of such would have, to go to heaven in!

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