Signs of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 48. (11/27/1901)

Signs of the Times

Nov 27, 1901

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Nov 27, 1901

CALLING FOR A PARLEY.

OUR illustration is fruitfully suggestive. Two great companies of men, made in the image of God, have been engaged in the work of slaying each other. To a man they are in all probability strangers. No one in either army has wronged any individual in the other army. Yet they are fighting, and murdering in cold blood, over some small question which ought to have been settled in reasonable peace, fathers, sons, and brothers. They are trained to kill. They are uniformed to make the calling attractive. And men call that glorious, which to bring glory must dye red its escutcheon in the blood of brother men. Is it not a pitiful spectacle, reader, two millenniums, nearly, this side of the teachings of Christ? Surely the reign of the Prince of Peace is not here.

OUR illustration is suggestive of a battle. It has just been fought, perhaps, and hundreds lie dying and dead, the earth drinking up their life-blood, while electricity in hot haste is flashing sad news with unfeeling sympathy to hundreds of widowed wives and orphaned children. There is a lull in the evil butchery, and men ride forth from one army with a white flag, a flag of truce. It may be but a white handkerchief; it is evidence of the white honor of sincerity. There is a call for a parley, a conversation between the leaders of the two opposing armies. It may be a mere temporary truce to allow one or both sides to unmolestedly bury the dead. It may be to discuss terms of peace from a war in which both sides are weary and well-nigh defeated. It may be that a practically defeated general wishes to secure the best terms of surrender for his army, and he asks a parley. He wishes to talk it over. And in all civilized nations, among all military men of honor, it is granted. Low indeed is the soldier who fires on the flag of truce. It is safe so long as it is in honor, and it is ever in honor till demonstrated to be false. Such are some of the suggestions of our graphic illustration. It has its striking moral lessons.

For we are God's enemies by nature. He has not injured us; we have rebelled against Him. He made man, gave him a home most beautiful, containing all that soul could desire or heart wish, and asked only allegiance to the highest law of man's then only perfect being, willing obedience to which would have insured life forevermore,—a life, which, rendering glory to God, would have ever conserved man's highest good and ever promoted man's highest happiness. But the enemy entered the fair domain, entered its very citadel, man's heart, through man's permission, and man fell. Where before holiness was incarnate, infleshed, sin became incarnate, and the mind became the carnal mind, the minding of the flesh, seeking the good of self, rather than God's glory. And ever since Satan was permitted to reign through sin, it has been universally true that “the carnal ‘mind is enmity ‘against God; for it ‘is not subject to the ‘law of God, neither ‘indeed can be. So ‘then they that are in ‘the flesh [living for its ‘pleasures, desires, ‘lusts] can not please ‘God.” Rom. 8:7, 8. Every man who loves sin in any form is the enemy of God; he is at war with God. “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4.

THERE are two great forces struggling for the mastery in the spiritual world. Now, as of yore, Michael and His angels fight against the dragon, and the dragon fights and his angels. The immediate stake for which they contend is the soul of man; the ultimate, the eternal existence or non-existence of the universe. The devil is now come down unto you. Rev. 12:7-12. He who is God's enemy fights with the dragon and against his own soul.

For, dear soul, tho you are God's enemy, He is not yours. Tho you have rebelled against Him, He has not shut you out. Tho you have despised the goodness of His grace, “He giveth more grace,” that you may be won to repentance by His marvelous goodness. Rom. 2:4. He withholds His blessings at times that we may see how utterly hopeless is our means of existence without Him. Sun and rain, light and heat, air and food, clothing and shelter,—blessings innumerable all come from His bountiful hand.

But He hates sin, because He knows that sin will, if cherished, prove your destruction. If forever continued, He knows it would be the destruction of the universe. Therefore He desires to save you from it. He has not even asked that you, all beaten and bruised and wounded in the battle through sin, shall come presenting a flag of truce. Pitying you with infinite pity, He sends His own servants forth to herald the tidings and terms of peace. He cries:—

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, Come ye to the waters, And he that hath no money; Come ye, buy, and eat; Yea, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. . . . Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return unto the Lord, And He will have mercy upon him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.” Isa. 55:1-7.

“Peace, peace, to him that is far off And to him that is near, saith Jehovah; And I will heal him.” Isa. 57:19.

“Come on now, and let us plead together, Saith Jehovah; Tho your sins be as scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Tho they be red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, Ye shall eat the good of the land.” Isa. 1:18, 19, Lowth’s translation.

“As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, But that the wicked turn from his way and live: Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; FOR WHY WILL YE DIE?” Eze. 33:11.

These are only a small part of the many blessed messages of God which He has sent forth blazoned upon the flags of truce borne by His trusted messengers all down the ages. But how have the messengers been treated?—They were, by those whom they were sent to save, “stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword,” and their flags of truce trampled under foot. Still God pities the poor suffering rebels. From His glorious throne He sends, in His everlasting love, His only-begotten Son. Surely, He says, “they will reverence My Son.” The Son “gave Himself.” He came; spake as never man spake; lived as never man lived; “went about doing good” as never man did, trying to tell the dying enemies of God in it all how much God loved them and desired to save them. A song of peace heralded His birth:—

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men.”

He said to them,—

“If the Son make you free, Ye shall be free indeed.”

“If any man thirst, Let him come unto Me and drink.”

“Come unto Me, All ye that labor and are heavy laden, And I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; For I am meek and lowly in heart; And ye shall find REST unto your souls; For My yoke is easy, And My burden is light.”

But Him, the infinite Peace and Rest of God, they crucified and slew. God hated sin so truly, and loved the sinner so much, that He withheld not His only-begotten Son that He might win and save man from the sin; save him from treason to allegiance, from sin to righteousness, from rebellion to loyalty, from destruction to salvation, from resistance to triumphant co-operation, from an enemy to a friend, from strife to peace, from death to life.

THE Infinite God still pleads with you, sinner. He sends His messengers with all these blessed flags of truce and asks a parley. Will you not think it over? Will you not, face to face with God and your own soul, consider the matter? What have you to gain by continued resistance and warfare against God? It is all loss, for the very sinful pleasures which you may now enjoy will sometime bear the fruit of Dead Sea apples in your life. Turn now. Yield now.

“Behold, NOW is the acceptable time; Behold, now is the day of salvation.”

SOME of us have once been rebels with you. We have despised His goodness, and treated Him shamefully. But at last the citadel of our heart could endure no more. Love conquered hate. The gates were thrown open, and Christ, the rightful King, came in. We know His reign is peace and joy. We know that His yoke is easy and His burden light. We know that this is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. We know He is all that He promised He would be, more even than we could anticipate. He will be the same to you; for He is no respecter of persons. And we invite you to come. You will find in Him the justification which brings peace. Rom. 5:1. And you will find that walking in His ways, “the work of righteousness shall be peace; and ‘the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER.

By Ellen G. White

THOSE who search for worldly distinction and glory make a sad mistake. It is the one who denies self, giving to others the preference, who will sit nearest to Christ on His throne. He who reads the heart sees the true merit possessed by His lowly, self-sacrificing disciples, and because they are worthy He places them in positions of distinction, tho they do not realize their worthiness and do not seek for honor.

To them Christ’s words of encouragement are spoken, “I ‘appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me; ‘that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on ‘thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’” What a promise is this! Christ’s faithful ones are to be sharers with Him in the kingdom He has received from His Father. This is a spiritual kingdom, in which those who are most active in serving their brethren are the greatest. Christ’s servants, under His direction, are to administer the affairs of His kingdom. They are to eat and drink at His table, that is, be admitted to near communion with Him.

The Saviour said again: “And every one that hath forsaken ‘houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and ‘shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; ‘and the last shall be first.’”

God places no value on outward display or boasting. Many who in this life are looked upon as superior to others, will one day see that God values men according to their compassion and self-denial. When the scenes of the judgment are enacted before them, they will see the mistake they have made. Those who follow the example of Him who went about doing good, who help and bless their fellow-men, trying always to lift them up, are in God’s sight infinitely higher than the selfish ones who exalt themselves.

God does not accept men because of their capabilities, but because they seek His face, desiring His help. God sees not as man sees. He judges not from appearances. He searches the heart, and judges righteously. “To this man will I look,” He declares, “even to him ‘that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” He accepts and communes with His lowly, unpretentious followers; for in them He sees the most precious material, which will stand the test of storm and tempest, heat and pressure.

Our object in working for the Master should be that His name may be glorified in the conversion of sinners. Those who labor to gain applause are not approved by God.

The Lord uses many gifts in the work of saving sinners. In the future, common men will be impressed by the Spirit of God to leave their ordinary employment and go forth to proclaim the last message of mercy. They are to be strengthened and encouraged, and as fast as possible prepared for labor, that success may crown their efforts. They co-operate with unseen, heavenly agencies; for they are willing to spend and be spent in the service of the Master. They are laborers together with God, and their brethren should bid them God-speed, praying for them as they go forth to fulfil the great commission. No one is authorized to hinder such workers. They are to be treated with the greatest respect. No taunting word is to be spoken of them as in the rough places of the earth they sow the Gospel seed.

How dare any one bar the way of God’s servants by unjust, unfeeling speeches? But this has been done, and thereby laborers have been discouraged, and many souls lost who might have been saved. Those who do this work are not prompted by the Spirit of God, but by another spirit. Scornful criticisms and discourteous remarks are wholly of Satan. If ministers, teachers, and people would practise Bible courtesy, they would find hearts open to receive the truth, and God would be glorified.

Those who search for something with which to find fault have taken Satan’s side of the question. Christ can not say of them, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” They are not giving the trumpet a certain sound.

All who can should do personal work. As they go from house to house, explaining the Scriptures in a clear, simple way, the Lord will make the truth powerful to save. But in order to do this work successfully, all worldly ambition must be left behind. Every weight, every besetting sin, must be laid aside. The church can not measure herself by the world, nor by the opinions of men, nor yet by what she once was. Her position in the world is to be compared with what it would have been, had she continually pressed onward and upward from victory to victory. God’s watchmen are to lift up the voice, saying, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, . . . ‘and touch not the unclean thing.” “Be ye clean, that bear the ‘vessels of the Lord.’”

Some look with contempt upon those whom the Lord honors. They regard them with indifference because they have not had the educational advantages they themselves have enjoyed. But tho not highly educated, these children of God are consecrated to His service, and they work for Him with self-denial. In His sight they are much farther advanced than many who have had greater opportunities and have been entrusted with a greater number of talents. Let us rejoice that the Lord does not measure the workers in His vineyard by their learning or by the educational advantages they have had. The tree is judged by its fruit. The Lord will co-operate with those who co-operate with Him, even tho, judged by the world’s standard, they may not be educated.

Life’s best things—simplicity, honesty, truthfulness, purity, unsullied integrity—can not be bought or sold; they are as free to the ignorant as to the educated, to the black man as to the white man, to the humble peasant as to the king upon his throne. Humble workers, who do not trust in their great gifts, but who work in simplicity, trusting always in God, will share in the joy of the Saviour. Their persevering prayers will bring souls to the cross. Heavenly angels will respond to their self-sacrificing efforts. By the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus will move upon hearts, working miracles in the conversion of sinners. Men and women will be gathered into church fellowship. Meeting-houses will be built and schools established. The hearts of the workers will be filled with joy as they see the salvation of God.

These workers are trees of the Lord’s planting. In a peculiar sense they bear fruit equal to the fruit borne by the apostles. A rich reward awaits them in the future life. MRS. E. G. WHITE.

“THE LORD WILL NOT CAST OFF FOREVER.”

By Lewis C. Sheafe

THE prophet says, “The Lord will not cast off forever.” Lam. 3:31. Shall we then sin because this is a fact? Shall we live as we list; walk after the imaginations and desires of our evil hearts, and fulfil all the lusts of the flesh, because we believe God’s gracious assurance that “He will not cast off forever”?—God forbid! Could any one who has faith in the everlasting love, the covenant faithfulness, the boundless goodness, and the immutability of the precious promises of God, find in his heart to say, “The religion of Jesus Christ ‘is a vain thing; it is of no use to serve God; we may as well let the ‘reins lie loose upon the neck of our lusts, and take our fill of sin; ‘for the Lord will not cast off forever’?”—No, believer; this is not the language of such a faith. Faith in the love of God works by the love of God (Gal. 5:6), and purifies the heart (Acts 15:9). It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. Rom. 2:4.

The Lord loves and pities as a Father; therefore He corrects us as children. Ps. 103:13. If He makes us smart for our sins, it is that we may have a hatred for sin, which is the only thing that can harm us. If He puts us into the furnace of affliction, it is only to take away our dross, and lead us to glorify Him in the fires. Isa. 24:15. The dear Lord frequently afflicts His people; but never casts them off. Ps. 94:14. He may veil His face, and to our discontented sight it may seem as if we were cast off forever; but even then it is but for a moment, and everlasting kindness succeeds a moment’s absence. Isa. 54:7, 8. He does not afflict willingly. Lam. 3:33. He never grieves us for His pleasure, but for our profit. While He holds the cup of affliction in one hand, He has the cup of consolation in the other; and He often makes use of affliction to deliver us from troubles. Let us rejoice in it all, and say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” “We love Him, ‘because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. And His love is like Himself, “an everlasting love.” Jer. 31:3. Then we “are all children of ‘God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:26. “If children, then heirs; ‘heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” Rom. 8:17.

Aiken, S. C.

LEWIS C. SHEAFE.

A SHORT BUT COMPREHENSIVE PROPHECY OUTLINING THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

By C. Castberg

ONE of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Old Testament is found in Gen. 9:20-27. In these verses we find how the imprudence of one of Noah’s sons and his contempt for his father’s honor, and the noble-minded conduct and filial reverence of his other sons, forever decided the destiny of their posterity, and determined the rôle they should act in the great drama of this world.

After Noah and his family had gone forth from the ark,—

“Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard; and he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.”

“And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”

A glance at the history of the world will show how literally this remarkable prophecy has been fulfilled; it shows that the words which Noah spoke were not the impulsive utterances of an angry father, but thoughts inspired by the Spirit of God, in which the Lord gives a short, but comprehensive outline of the history of mankind.

It is a commonly accepted fact that the posterity of Shem dwells in Asia, that of Ham in Africa, and the descendants of Japheth in Europe. The word “Ham” is derived by Gesenius from the Hebrew haman, “to be hot.” In the Biblical narrative his descendants are represented as peopling the southern regions of the earth, Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, etc. Both he and his son Mizraim appear to have given their name to Egypt in particular. Ps. 105: 23, 27; Gen. 50: 10, 11. The Coptic or native name of Egypt is “Kem” or “Chem,” supposed to be the same word as Ham, and signifying both black and hot. In the hieroglyphic language, the name of Egypt is expressed by the two letters K. M. In the Rosetta inscription, the word occurs more than ten times, and is read by Champollion, “Chme’.”

We are not told, and there is no reason to believe, that Ham was blacker or more sun-burned than his brothers; but we must remember that the names of the sons of Noah had prophetic significance. “Sem,” or “Shem,” is the one blessed by the Lord. From him Christ should descend. Japheth, in Hebrew Yepheth, a word apparently derived from pathah, “to open,” tropically perhaps, “to stretch forth,” and hence supposed to mean “widely dispersed.” Gesenius and other scholars, however, suggest a derivation from yaphah, “to be fair” or “beautiful,” in allusion to the fair complexions of the Japhetic or European races. According to the Biblical record, the descendants of Japheth peopled “the isles of the Gentiles” (Gen. 10:5), all the region about the Levant and the Ægean Sea.

The enslavement of the negro in ancient and modern times is so well known that it is not necessary to enter into a discussion of this sad phase of their history, but only to call the reader’s attention to the fact that the descendants of Ham have been not only “servants,” but “servant of servants.” A slave-owner would hardly ever condescend to give orders to his slaves; but he had an overseer, in some instances himself a slave, who did the “driving.” Altho slavery has been ostensibly abolished in America, the negroes, especially in the South, are still an oppressed class. In Arabia and in many other Oriental countries the trade in negro slaves has flourished for centuries.

“God shall enlarge Japheth.” How emphatically true this is! The descendants of Japheth have extended their borders, and spread

all over Europe, and from there to America, Australia, and other parts of the world. And what do we witness at the present time? Africa is at the feet of Japheth. Asia will within a comparatively short time be divided among his descendants—a literal fulfilment of the prophecy that Japheth “shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” With the exception of a few countries, the whole earth is now under the controlling power of Japheth.

These wonderful truths ought to impress every candid mind with the fact that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, that He that knoweth “the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the ‘things that are not yet done’” (Isa. 46:10), is its Author.

Fruitvale, Cal. C. CASTBERG.

THE LAW OF GOD

By E. J. Hibbard

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”

But once in the history of our world since sin entered, has the Infinite One descended to earth in His consuming glory, to deliver in person a message to man. This fact alone ought to set men thinking. The glory of that transcendent scene will be surpassed by no other, save one. Of these two events we have this testimony: “Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which can not be shaken may remain.” When this latter time comes, all men will decide whether or not Jehovah meant what He said at Sinai. But it will be well to have this matter decided, and that rightly, before that day shall come.

In delivering a message, the God of heaven usually introduces Himself in a way that will convey the fullest possible knowledge of the speaker to the party addressed. Thus at Bethel He said to Jacob, “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac.” But twenty years later, in the land of Mesopotamia, He thus addresses the same man: “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto Me.” The God of Abraham and Isaac—the God heard of; the God of Bethel—the God who was known.

To Moses at the “burning bush,” as to Jacob at Bethel, the message was, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” He then gave to Moses a commission as leader of His people out of Egypt and into the promised land. “And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. And He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

Apart from the fact that the God of their fathers had sent him, Moses could describe Jehovah no further to that people than to say, He is what He is,—“I AM THAT I AM.” However, the ten plagues of Egypt, which humbled that proud nation to the very dust, and utterly annihilated the supposed power of its almost infinitude of gods, also gave each individual abundant opportunity, such as few have realized before or since, of gaining a personal knowledge of, and acquaintance with, “the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” To the people who believed Him, how surpassingly impressive must have been the deliverance of their first-born, while in the homes of the rejecters of God’s mercy not one escaped the destroyer’s hand. But the climax was reached at the Red Sea. In the dead of night they find themselves entrapped,—insurpassable barriers to the front and left, the sea on the right, and the enraged Egyptian hosts so close in the rear that it becomes necessary for the “pillar of cloud” to lie between, with the light side toward Israel and darkness toward Pharaoh’s host. The sea is opened; the people pass over dry shod; but the Egyptians are drowned in the depths of the sea. Then follows the sweetening of the waters of Marah, the giving of the “bread from heaven,” and crystal waters from out the dry, flinty rock.

In view of all this thrilling personal experience, how ought the living God to have prefaced His holy law? “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” means little now in comparison with the more comprehensive title, “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

Nothing in the Bible is of merely local application, since “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.” And while this is true of the Scriptures as a whole, shall man select from all the rest that portion which was deemed too sacred to be spoken through prophet, priest, or potentate; that which is the epitome of all; and call it obsolete? “God forbid. Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.”

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Does that sound as if it were of local import? Whoever you are, if you are acquainted with our God, you will never consent to give this away to any one tribe or nation. No more can we do this than we can consent to give away the Gospel according to Luke and the book of Acts because these portions of Scripture are addressed to an individual named Theophilus; or that the epistles of Paul should be taken from us, since they are addressed to definite local churches or to individuals. “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

How can we have other gods before the Lord when there are no others? “I am the Lord, and there is none else.” “There is one God and Father of all, and through all, and in you all.” “Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.” These are the facts; and the commandment simply asks all men everywhere to recognize, acknowledge, and accept the facts.

But all men have become bewildered. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” The natural man is unlike his Maker. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.” “The carnal [natural] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

How evident it is, then, that in order not to have other things in place of God, the man must be turned square about—converted. The first commandment, therefore, of the ten, calls for conversion, full and complete. But conversion makes necessary the Saviour, since man can not change his nature, his thoughts and words and actions. It is therefore evident, again, that none of these ten commandments can be rightly or profitably considered, except in Jesus Christ, and in the light of His atonement. “Reconciled to God by the death of His Son.” “He is our peace.” “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ is the Saviour. Faith appropriates to the individual the salvation which is in Him for every man. “After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

This means the giving up, the entire surrender, of all the affections and powers, to the Lord our Righteousness. Why should He ask so much? That He may restore us; that He may make us every whit whole.

“For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” These are the people who delight in keeping the first commandment. Being “filled with all the fulness of God,” there is no place for other gods besides the Lord.

E. J. HIBBARD.

Each Christian Must Work His Passage

By T. L. Cuyler

CHRIST never promises smooth water to His followers. Nor is His church a vast assemblage of tow-boats pulled along by the sheer power of the divine will. Each Christian has his own oar of personal responsibility to pull, and his own rudder of conscience to steer with, and must “work his passage” as a free agent.—T. L. Cuyler.

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