Your ShelfYour Projects

Review and Herald, Vol. 82, No. 50.

A Time for Prevailing Prayer

Review and Herald

Dec 14, 1905

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Dec 14, 1905

A Time for Prevailing Prayer

By Ellen G. White

THE LORD is soon to come. Wickedness and rebellion, violence and crime, are filling the world. The cries of the suffering and the oppressed rise to God for justice. In the place of being softened by the patience and forbearance of God, the wicked are growing stronger in stubborn rebellion. The time in which we live is one of marked depravity. Religious restraint is thrown off, and men reject the law of God as unworthy of their attention. A more than common contempt is placed upon this holy law.
A moment of respite has been graciously given us of God. Every power lent us of heaven is to be used in doing the work assigned us by the Lord for those who are perishing in ignorance. The warning message is to be sounded in all parts of the world. There must be no delay. The truth must be proclaimed in the dark places of the earth. Obstacles must be met and surmounted. A great work is to be done, and this work is entrusted to those who know the truth for this time.
Now is the time for us to lay hold of the arm of our strength. The prayer of David should be the prayer of pastors and laymen: “It is time for Thee, Lord, to work, for they have made void Thy law.” Let the servants of God weep between the porch and the altar, crying, “Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach.” God has always wrought in behalf of His truth. The designs of wicked men, the enemies of the church, are subject to His power and His overruling providence. He can move upon the hearts of statesmen; the wrath of the haters of His truth and His people can be turned aside, even as the waters of a river could be turned, if thus he ordered it. Prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. He who marshals the stars in order in the heavens, whose word controls the waves of the great deep—the same infinite Creator will work in behalf of His people, if they will call upon Him in faith. He will restrain all the forces of darkness, until the warning is given to the world, and all who will heed it are prepared for His coming.
Mrs. E. G. White.

Our Publishing Work

By Editor

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Psalm 68:11.
Any publication mentioned on this page may be ordered through your conference tract society or from any of our publishing houses or their branch offices. See last paragraph on this page for addresses of our publishing houses.
Do not forget that this missionary campaign upon which we have entered does not end with the holidays. It is to be “ever-increasing,” and “to continue till the Lord shall come.” So do not feel that your responsibility to vigorously prosecute this work can be dismissed till the work is done. Openings are at hand everywhere, and how sad it would be if the “small corner” committed to our trust was not faithfully warned, and some souls should be lost as a result.
“MINISTRY OF HEALING” will be a help and a blessing in every home, and our medical workers and missionary nurses should introduce it wherever possible. Its circulation will bring a triple blessing—one to the reader of the book, one to the person who sells it, and a financial blessing in the assistance to our denominational sanitarium work. The price of “Ministry of Healing” is $1.65, if sent by mail, or $1.50 when ordered in quantities by freight.
“THOUGHTS ON DANIEL,” “Thoughts on Revelation,” “Helps to Bible Study,” and a large number of other truth-filled books are sold at 25 cents each. Books for the children, books for the youth, and books for adults are to be had at this price. This is the time of year when people read, and when they are giving presents of some kind to their friends. Call their attention to our good books. Send for a copy of our Catalogue of Publications, if you have not already received one.
THE great conflict between good and evil which has been going forward for six thousand years is drawing to its close. This generation is to witness its finish. If you want to see most graphically outlined the future history of God’s faithful followers, if you want to know of their fierce struggles and their grand final victory, read that wonderful book, “Great Controversy between Christ and Satan,” and especially the last five or six chapters of the book. While crime increases, while perilous times surround us, while the love of many is waxing cold, this book shows, on the authority of the Word, that there is power for holy living for those who seek it, and that out of this dark part of earth’s sad history is to be gathered a people that shall soon inherit the kingdom prepared for them. The reading of these chapters can not fail to thrill one, and to impress upon one the intensity of this last great conflict. The thousands of copies of this book should be brought into requisition now, and studied as never before. Where is your copy? Have your friends and neighbors had opportunity to read it? The price of the book in cloth, marbled edges, is $2.25.
“Not more surely is the place prepared for us in the heavenly mansions than is the special place designated on earth where we are to work for God.” “The law of service becomes the connecting link which binds us to God and to our fellow men.”—“Christ’s Object Lessons,” pages 326 and 327.
IN following up the work with the special Signs, Watchman, and Life and Health, openings will be found for giving Bible readings. Perhaps you have never prepared such a reading, and do not know how to go about it. If such is the case, you will find the little “Bible Text Book” most helpful. Price in flexible cloth, 30 cents; leather, 50 cents.
ADULTS who have never noticed closely the habits of the birds and beasts that live around them will be astonished at the intelligence which is manifested in the true incidents related in Dr. Reed’s book “My Garden Neighbors.” A perusal of the book will lead to a more careful study of our animal friends, and a greater consideration for this part of God’s creation. The book will interest old and young. Price, $1.
ALMOST every one plans to make presents to his friends at this season of the year. This provides a favorable opening for introducing our good books. Here are some which are especially suitable for gifts, and will not arouse prejudice: “Steps to Christ,” cloth, gilt edges, 85 cents; “Mount of Blessing,” 60 cents; “Master’s Monosyllables,” 50 cents; “Lover’s Love,” 75 cents. Some of our other and more doctrinal books will be readily purchased after persons have read such books as the above. All our people should have some part in this work now.
TO-DAY’s happenings are a part of the great six-thousand-year drama, the “Conflict of the Ages.” Many people see in these events the evidence of some great change, and are inquiring for the meaning—the outcome. All of this is clearly portrayed on the authority of the Bible in that excellent book “Heralds of the Morning.” Thousands of copies have been sold, and many more thousands should be sold during this winter. Can you not, dear reader, devote some time to its circulation? Have you a copy? and have you read it? If so, and you can not do more, you can loan it to your neighbors for their perusal. Keep your books in circulation. The revised and enlarged edition of “Heralds” contains 354 pages, and is sold at $1.50 a copy.
Orders for any publication mentioned on this page may be sent to any conference tract society or to any of the following: Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington, D. C., and Battle Creek, Mich.; Pacific Press Publishing Company, Mountain View, Cal.; also Portland, Ore., and Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Worth, Tex.

Editorial

By Editor

Constant Communion

By the gift of the Holy Spirit to abide with believers provision has been made for a vital union between the Father in heaven and his children on earth. We may breathe the heavenly atmosphere and feed upon the bread from heaven. The thoughts of God may be communicated to us, and his purposes unfolded to us. We may realize the fellowship of divinity, and share in the ministry of angels from the throne of the heavenly King. These privileges are all offered to those who are willing to renounce this present evil world and yield themselves to be servants of righteousness. In the end, we shall receive both heaven and earth for our reward, and shall enjoy the blessing of eternal fellowship with the Father and with the Son. In this present communion with heaven we may anticipate future joys, and have a foretaste of those blessings which will be experienced in their fulness when the redeemed shall “come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.”
Well may we sing— “What a fellowship, what a joy divine,” “What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,”
as we walk day by day in constant communion with a loving Father who knows our frame and remembers that we are dust, and with a compassionate Redeemer who has promised to be with us always even unto the end of the world.
“O, this is blessing, this is rest!— Into thine arms, O Lord, I flee; I hide me in thy faithful breast, And pour out all my soul to thee. There is a host dissuading me; But, all their voices far above, I hear thy words, ‘O, taste and see The comfort of a Saviour’s love!’ And, hushing every adverse sound, Songs of defense my soul surround, As if all saints encamped about One trusting heart pursued by doubt. And O, how solemn, yet how sweet, Their one assured, persuasive strain!— ‘The Lord of hosts is thy retreat, The Man who bore thy sin, thy pain. Still in his hand thy times remain; Still of his body thou art part: And he will prove his right to reign O’er all things that concern thy heart.’ O tenderness! O truth divine! Lord, I am altogether thine. I have bowed down; I need not flee; Peace, peace is mine in trusting thee.”

An Immanent God and an Evolutionary Conception of the Bible

By Editor

It is plain that professed leaders of religious thought are being impelled by a satanic inspiration to write books which will undermine the confidence of the people in the authority of the Holy Scriptures, and which substitute a merely human philosophy for the fundamental truths of a Biblical Christianity. These books are being multiplied very rapidly, and those journals which advocate a liberal theology are recommending them to the reading public. It is the outbreaking of that infidelity which has been gathering strength for more than a quarter of a century, but which has been more or less successfully repressed until recently by the legacy of Christian faith from a past generation. All such restraint now, however, appears to have been cast aside. The flood-gates of infidelity are wide open.
Our attention is called anew to this subject by the appearance of two books which voice in the most outspoken way the teachings of the new theology. One of these books bears the title “The Inward Light,” and is written by a prominent Congregational clergyman who is a lecturer at Andover Theological Seminary. His doctrine from which he develops his complete treatise upon the subject is summarized in his own words, as follows:—
There is in every man light sufficient to disclose all the truth that is needed for the purposes of life; that light is from God who dwells in humanity as he is immanent in the universe; therefore the source of authority is to be found within the soul, and not in external authority of church or creed or book.
Here we have in plain terms one of the logical and inevitable consequences of that modern interpretation and perversion of the Scriptural teaching of the omnipresence of God which is phrased in the expression “the immanent God.” This is the pantheistic conception of God which arises from so dwelling on “the universal, ever and everywhere, present immanence of God in nature and in man as to identify and confound God with creation.” These teachers reject the Biblical revelation of the fall of man, the entrance of sin, and the fact that there is another spirit “that now worketh in the children of disobedience,” and declare that God dwells in every man regardless of any question of repentance for sin and the acceptance of the way of salvation as revealed in the Scriptures. It is an easy step from this position to the conclusion that this is the primary and all-sufficient revelation of God to man, and then comes the teaching that the written revelation of God in the Bible is to be tested by the inward light which emanates from God in man. It only remains for Satan to take possession of minds thus deprived of that weapon with which Jesus met the arch-deceiver in the wilderness (“It is written”), and the inspiration of Satan will become “the inward light,” and then the fruit of the doctrine that “the source of authority is to be found within the soul” will be that Satan will be enthroned in the human heart and manifested in the life. What a pity that the wiles of the great adversary of souls are not perceived!
The other book is entitled “The Use of the Scriptures in Theology,” and consists of a series of lectures recently delivered by Prof. William Newton Clarke, of Colgate University. It is claimed for this teacher that he “holds to an unusual degree the confidence of religious leaders of all schools and all churches,” and “his sincere Christian devoutness” is vouched for.
In treating his subject it is declared that “he does not argue for a new view of the Bible, though he frequently states the newer view with a clearness which is in itself an argument; he considers rather the case for the historical or evolutionary conception of the Bible to be now beyond need of argument, and he proceeds to show what this means in the formulation of Christian doctrine and in ordinary Christian thinking.”
What this evolutionary conception of the Bible really does mean, so far as Christian doctrine is concerned, is shown by the following summary of the results arrived at by this devout Christian lecturer, as given in The Independent:—
When Dr. Clarke has finished with his argument, there is very much in the systematic theologies hitherto regnant that is absolutely obsolete, and much in the methods of handling the Bible by the ordinary minister that is no longer tolerable. The proof-text method is gone, and the dogma of an infallible doctrinal repository, equal in all its parts; the covenant theology is also put in limbo, and the theory of the imputation of another’s righteousness, also the expectation of Christ’s bodily return, and the idea of a general judgment, and all that has grown out of the application of altar terms and conceptions in the doctrine of salvation.
After thus testifying that this lecturer has discarded some of the most vital and fundamental doctrines of Christianity, The Independent congratulates itself that “this final pronouncement of the breakdown of the old ways of treating the Bible is made, not by an agitator or an extremist, but by a warm-hearted Christian man.” According to this view it is not the work of an extremist, but rather of a genuine Christian to declare “absolutely obsolete,” such doctrines as the covenant with Abraham, righteousness by faith, a literal second advent of Christ, a general judgment, and all the typical teaching embodied in the sanctuary and its services. How much worse could an extremist do?
Is any further evidence required to show that representative leaders of Protestant religious thought have utterly abandoned the ground gained at such cost in the Reformation of the sixteenth century? The authority of the Bible as the Word of God, and the belief that our acceptance with God depended upon the merits and righteousness of Christ imputed to us through our faith in him as “the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world,” were basic principles of that movement which liberated mind and conscience from the bondage of papal superstition. But now the modern idea of an immanent God and the evolutionary conception of the Bible have led to the rejection of these principles by the successors of the Reformers. What is the meaning of this modern apostasy?—It means the revival of the papacy. This is so clearly stated through the spirit of prophecy that we will quote two brief paragraphs:—
In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God, and place finite men in their true position; therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in their homes, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. . . .
A day of great intellectual darkness has been shown to be favorable to the success of popery. It will yet be demonstrated that a day of great intellectual light is equally favorable for its success. In past ages, when men were without God’s Word, and without the knowledge of the truth, their eyes were blindfolded, and thousands were ensnared, not seeing the net spread for their feet. In this generation there are many whose eyes become dazzled by the glare of human speculations, “science falsely so called;” they discern not the net, and walk into it as readily as if blindfolded. . . . Thus the false science of the nineteenth century, which undermines faith in the Bible, will prove as successful in preparing the way for the acceptance of the papacy, with its pleasing forms, as did the withholding of knowledge in opening the way for its aggrandizement in the Dark Ages.—“Great Controversy,” pages 51, 572, 573.
Recently we published the announcement of a Roman Catholic journal that the time had come to build a Catholic America. It is plain that professed Protestants are preparing the way for the accomplishment of this long-cherished purpose. And only in the light of the third angel’s message can these movements be understood. These things ought to arouse us to a holy zeal in behalf of this truth. How can we be slothful? How can we drift along in a Laodicean condition,—neither cold nor hot? How can we fall asleep on the enchanted ground? Awake! Awake!! We are under bonds to give the message of warning to the world. Those who neglect this duty are placing their own souls in peril. The infidelity of those who are unfaithful to their trust must quicken our faith and zeal. The truth must be proclaimed with a loud voice, and a standard must be raised to which the people can be called.

Bible Infallibility

By L. A. S.

THERE is a vast difference between the position of those who accept the Bible as wholly the word of God, and that of those who say that it simply contains the word of God. At first glance these positions appear to be similar, but on investigation it appears that, judged by their results, they are directly opposed to each other.
The one is the position of the true Christian, the man of faith, who looks for salvation to a source altogether outside of himself; the other is the position of the man who essays to be his own savior.
If I say that the Bible merely contains the word of God, it is left for me to determine what portions of the Bible are inspired and what are not. I must do this by the exercise of my own judgment. My own human, erring judgment, therefore, comes first; that is made the foundation, and upon that rests my faith. But true faith, saving faith, must rest upon a divine foundation.
Naturally, I will select as inspired such portions of the Bible as commend themselves to, or which do not cut across, my own ideas, feelings, and tendencies, and reject those which would oblige me to give up my own ideas or to change my habits of life. I would have a Bible conforming to myself, instead of conforming myself to the Bible. I would cast away the very things that were most essential—the part which, by faith, would bring to me the experience of the new birth.
The very essence of the idea of salvation by faith is that the natural, carnal heart must surrender its own ideas and tendencies, and accept a teaching which cuts directly across that which human wisdom and impulses would approve. It is the idea of crucifixion of the natural man, resulting in his death.
The only possible position consistent with the idea of salvation by faith is that which accepts the whole Bible as the infallible word of God, and those portions which most directly cut across our own ideas, which bring to us reproof and correction, as the most necessary portions of all. And what is true of the Bible in this respect is true also of the Testimonies of the spirit of prophecy. They must be either wholly accepted or wholly rejected. L. A. S.

It Will Be Too Late

By W. A. S.

MANY who know the arguments for this truth and understand the prophecies are waiting to see the fulfilment of the final prophecies regarding the Eastern question and the lining up of the nations for Armageddon. Then, they think, they will come into line and practically accept the saving truth. They are in the gravest peril of missing their opportunity.
No future events can do more than past events to demonstrate the truthfulness of prophecy. As the eleventh of Daniel has been fulfilled to almost the very last specification, that last step will be taken. The word that has not failed through twenty-five centuries of history will not fail when only the last words remain to be fulfilled. Just a year ago the spirit of prophecy said to us:—
We have no time to lose. The world is stirred with the spirit of war. The prophecies of the eleventh of Daniel have almost reached their final fulfilment.
The present revival of the Eastern question, in its acute form, is a striking comment on these words. But the observerwaiting to see the final fulfilment of Daniel 11 before taking his stand, will be too late. When the “king of the north” comes to his end, when the power in the great river Euphrates is dried up (Rev. 16:12), when the nations begin wheeling into line for the actual clash of Armageddon, probation will have closed. The final fulfilment of these prophecies dealing with the very last phases of the history comes during the pouring out of the plagues, when already the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary has ceased.
Now is the time for those who have an eye on the fulfilment of prophecy to take their stand for God and join in the closing work. God's mercy reaches to the eleventh hour, it is true, but in the parable those who came into service at the eleventh hour, and received reward with others, were not men who had refused service at the morning call, or in that of the third or ninth hour. They responded when the call came, eleventh hour though it was.
It is at the jeopardy of their souls that men put off salvation and the consecration of life to service to some eleventh hour. There is no hour like the present hour for surrender to God. It is even now, in fact, the eleventh hour. And these last golden minutes as they fly are glorious moments in which to work for God. W. A. S.

A Midday Prayer Season

By W. A. S.

It has long been the practise of the workers in the General Conference offices to gather at the noon hour, in the Mission Board rooms, for a short prayer season.
Reports, in few words, are given by different departments of interesting news or correspondence in the morning mails. Often a paragraph from a fresh letter from some missionary in the field is read.
Then in one or two prayers the blessing of the Lord is sought for ourselves and for the day's duties, and in behalf of the work and workers in all the world and in all departments.
This brief season is a source of deep satisfaction in times when some worker in far-away fields is struggling with fever, or when the mail brings news of special difficulties encountered at any point. Then specifically and by name the need is set before the Lord, whose care is over all his work in the earth.
It may be that many in their homes would feel it a privilege to spend a moment at the noon hour in special prayer for the workers and the work in the world-wide field. As our missions and companies of believers now “belt the world,” we may have a prayer circle girdling the whole earth.
The history of the cause of God in all past time shows that the victories have been won and new ground gained to the accompaniment of earnest prayer. The very certainty we feel of the triumph of the truth in all the world may easily lead us to overlook the fact that human hearts are to carry a burden for the great work, and that the Lord associates his people with himself in the victories gained.
We are in the thick of the conflict—not merely spectators. Is there difficulty and special need at any point in this work, we are all meeting difficulty, and the need presses as a personal burden upon our souls. There is a cause to plead before the Lord of hosts. The spirit of prophecy says that when there is more praying in the churches and in the homes, there will be more victories in the fields. “Pray ye the Lord of the harvest.”
Will not those who read the missionary reports in our papers from week to week make a practise of specific prayer for the work and workers, mentioning places and names more frequently than perhaps has been common among us?
W. A. S.

Some Second Advent Logic

By L. A. S.

THERE is no doctrine of the Bible more essential to the system of truth which it reveals, or more prominent in that system, than that of the second advent of Christ.
The very first prophecy uttered by the holy men of old through whom God spoke—the prophecy of Enoch, the seventh from Adam—was a prophecy of this event. This great theme holds by no means a minor place among Old Testament prophecies, while those of the New Testament relate to it almost exclusively. A very large part of the New Testament, indeed, consists of instruction to the church relating to the time of Christ's return. Repeatedly and emphatically Christians are warned and admonished to watch and be prepared for that day. The return of Christ to receive his saints and visit judgment upon sinners is the end at which, from the time of his ascension, every gospel movement aimed, and against which every purpose of the enemy of his gospel was directed.
There was never a greater necessity for anything since time began than for the existence in the world to-day of a body of Christian believers who shall meet the demand which arises from these Old and New Testament prophecies of the second coming of Christ. Never was anything more essential than that God should have a people to-day who will lift up their voice like a trumpet to give to the world these prophecies, and to warn it of their certain fulfilment. Here the popular Christian churches of the day are found signally wanting. They are not watching, they are not preparing, nor seeking to prepare the world, for Christ's return. If no more were being done to this end than they are doing, the very stones would be crying out in men's ears, that God's word and purpose might be fulfilled. The stones are not crying out simply because there exists a body of believers who are actively proclaiming this message.
And connected with this work from its very inception has been a guiding and controlling agency, known as the spirit of prophecy. As the thread is woven into, and becomes a part of, the cloth, so has this agency been identified with the work of proclaiming the third angel's message. But it has been much more than a constituent part of this work; for it has been, as stated, the directing power in it. Without it, the movement would have come to naught. Again and again have crises been met and safely passed under its guidance, which, but for the counsel and instruction it afforded, would have brought disruption to the work, or diverted it to the side-track of fanaticism. It is impossible that a movement which is of God should have been guided and controlled by an agency of a fraudulent character.
If the testimony given through this agency is not what it claims to be, then the message which from its beginning has been under its direction is not what it claims to be. And if this be so, then the prophecies of the second coming of Christ and of the work to be done to prepare the church and the world for that event, have failed, and the Bible itself is not what it claims to be. Very much is involved in the first step that is taken toward loss of faith in the genuineness of this message. He who would take this first step, may as well ask himself whether he is prepared to take the last step in the logical sequence, which is that of losing faith in the Bible itself.
L. A. S.
Continue reading: Inter-Church Federation Conference