A CURSE.—Queen Victoria.
A scandal and shame.—Wm. E. Gladstone.
Traps for workingmen.—Earl Cairnes.
Devilish and destructive.—Lord Randolph Churchill.
Stupefies and besots.—Bismarck.
The mother of sins.—Southey.
The devil in solution.—Sir Wilfred Lawson.
Liquid fire and distilled damnation.—Robert Hall.
The mother of want and the nurse of crime.—Lord Brougham.
A poison in politics as well as in society.—Sir W. Harcourt.
The nation is being throttled by the traffic.—Lord Rosebery.
A huge nuisance and misery.—London Times.
Yet this "curse," so "devilish and destructive," that "stupefies and besots," "the mother of sins," "of want, and the nurse of crime," "the devil in solution," "the nation's scandal and shame," and "the trap for workingmen," the English nation legalizes, protects, and cherishes at a cost of well-nigh seven hundred million dollars, and the American nation does the same with the huge curse at a cost of one billion dollars.—Selected.
WHEN THE HEART SINGS.
By Hartford Times
How CAN a mortal help it when the heart bursts forth in song,
When the melody is tuggin' at his heart-strings all day long?
When the world is all in blossom and the grass is wet with dew,
And the bird-song seems to whisper: "Why aren't you a-singing too?"
My heart is full of gladness spite of all the cares and tears,
And I try to bury sadness and to sing the song that cheers;
But it comes in broken measure—jes' a stanza here and there—
For the heart is full of music, but the voice can't catch the air.
O, my heart goes out in pity to the life that plods along,
That never stops the sighin' to attempt a verse of song;
That never cheers the silence, nor when the night is black
Puts forth a single note of love to coax the sunshine back.
How can a mortal help it when the heart bursts forth in song,
When the melody is tuggin' at his heart-strings all day long?
When the world is all in blossom and the grass is wet with dew,
And the bird-song seems to whisper: "Why aren't you a-singing too?"
—Hartford Times.
IS LIQUOR-DRINKING AMONG WOMEN ON THE INCREASE?
THE question, "Is liquor-drinking among women increasing?" is hard to answer. We surely hear more about drinking women than formerly, perhaps from the fact that the drinking habit attracts more attention than it did in the days when nearly every one used liquor in one form or another.
Speaking of intemperance among women, and that much of it comes through the use of alcohol in medicine, Sir Thomas Barlow, physician to the King of England, is reported to have said: "The only remedy is total abstinence; half and half measures are useless; we must banish alcohol entirely."
The most pitiful dipsomaniac I have ever known is a woman, and she acquired the appetite by first taking alcohol as a medicine. Quite recently my attention was called to an inebriate who had occupied a good position in life and who never tasted alcohol until he took it in the form of one of the many patent medicines which to-day flood our market, crowd our newspaper advertising, and harm more than help humanity. The amount of alcohol that many patent medicines contain varies from 5 per cent to 11 per cent. This fact alone should be sufficient to lead all total abstainers to decide that they can not use patent medicines themselves nor advertise their use for others.—Union Signal.
OLDEST LIVING TRIPLETS.
MAINE claims the oldest living triplets in the United States. They are Mrs. Sarah A. Fossett, wife of George M. Fossett, of Union; Mrs. Mary A. Fossett, widow of Samuel Fossett, of Union, and Mrs. Martha Hayes, widow of Thomas Hayes, formerly of Union, who now resides in Massachusetts. The first two married brothers. These triplets were born on June 20, 1823, and celebrated their eightieth birthday last month. They are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Townsend, of Union, in which town they were born.
IT WILL BE SUMMER-TIME BY AND BY.
THE cold trade winds will blow, and the people around you will be going away for some inviting spot for rest and warmth and recreation. The Russian River country is probably the most accessible and also the most inviting. Last summer sixty cottages were erected at Monte Rio Park and fifteen at Mesa Grande, both places on the Russian River. This year these delightful summer Cottage Colonies will, no doubt, have 150 homes along the river or amid the redwoods on the hillside. Streets have been laid out and water piped to all lots, which are now being sold by the North Shore Land Co., at $50.00 to $75.00. Get a copy of "Summer Home Sites," or "Summer Outings," with map and full description at ticket office, No. 626 Market Street, San Francisco. Mailed free on receipt of address.
LAMP-FITS.
By Macbeth
How do you know what chimney fits your lamp?
Your grocer tells you.
How does he know?
He don't.
Do you then?
That's about how lamps are fitted with chimneys by people who don't use my Index; and they complain of bad chimneys! Lamp-Fits indeed! Do you want the Index? Free.
MACBETH, Pittsburgh.
TOURIST CARS EAST
VIA
S. P. LINES
Personally Conducted Quickest Time Cheapest Rates
Your choice of a dozen routes
Through cars to—
Portland
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Houston
Atlanta
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Minneapolis
Louisville
El Paso
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Washington, D. C.
Salt Lake City
Kansas City
Chicago
Cincinnati
San Antonio
Montgomery
Remember these cars run through to above named cities without a change from Oakland or San Francisco. Our fast limited trains in connection with the above mentioned service. . . .
C. T. FORSYTH
Div. Pass. Agent
12 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, Cal.
PHONE MAIN 543
THINGS AS THEY ARE IN INDIA.
By Mrs. J. C. Lawson
[Mrs. J. C. Lawson, missionary in North India.]
It is only great people who acknowledge their mistakes, and it would be indeed surprising if, of all lines of work in the world, the missionary enterprise were the only one that never made a mistake. My own experience, after twenty-two years of missionary work in India, is that there is a glorious bright side, and we know that God's truth must ultimately triumph; but let us not shut our eyes to ugly facts, and thus hinder the great cause we so earnestly desire to prosper.
There are some who think so much has been done to evangelize India that but little remains, whereas only one per cent of her great numbers have as yet accepted Christianity, Protestants and Roman Catholics combined; and it is to be feared that only a small number of these are Christians in anything but name.
"But there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed." Luke 12 : 2. That nation or system that refuses to see its weak points will, sooner or later, come to grief. There are many missionaries who feel that things are far from satisfactory in the church of India. Many there are who bewail this condition in the field, but do not want to acknowledge it to the world at large; but the world hears of it anyhow, and thinks strangely of the missionaries who keep back a part of the truth. Many missionaries claim that the home churches are not strong enough to hear the dark side, and certainly this is true of not a few, but they will not be found among the spiritual ones—those that, as a rule, help missions. If everything were all right in heathen lands, there would be no need of missionaries; but it is because of the many wrong things that they are sent.
Those who work in the home missions know what difficulties there are to contend with, and is it to be supposed that we have any less on the foreign field? Laziness, avarice, deceit, and other forms of sin meet the Christian worker everywhere. So often since my return this year people have spoken to me of the great desire of the heathen to be saved, and how they were standing with outstretched hands begging for the Gospel, and it seemed a pity to have to disillusion them by stating the truth, that people in India are no more anxious to give up sinning than in this country. There is so much sentimentality about missions. Some one invented the phrase "romance of missions," but it can not be translated into any foreign language; for there is no such thing as romance in missions. It is a serious and difficult business, and every Christian should be burdened by it, for Christ gave the command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to the whole creation." It is not a thing we may do or not do, at our pleasure. It is not enough to be saved from doing wicked deeds, but we must also learn to do good deeds. How many will be condemned by those sins of omission! Matt. 25 : 31-46.
Orphans from India's Famine of 1897, Now Happy Inmates of an American School in Bombay.
While money is very necessary in carrying on missionary work, and much good can be done with consecrated money, yet far more necessary are the prayers of God's people. There are some who always take great comfort in a statement like that, but they must remember that the right kind of praying will be followed by giving; for true faith and works always go together. What is needed to-day is earnest, importunate prayer that the Holy Spirit may be poured out on all flesh; but first it is necessary to recognize God as revealed in the Holy Spirit as a blessed reality.
An earnest Christian woman said to me: "It is not right for missionaries not to tell us of the difficulties. It is not trusting us." How can friends in the home-land pray intelligently for the work, if they do not know the needs? A proper report of a work tells facts, be they good or bad.
One of the great causes of this unspiritual condition is due to the unconverted workers employed. Some will claim that, as a whole, they are as spiritual as those engaged in like work in the home-lands; but two wrongs do not make a right. God forbid that India should ever copy all the dreadful things that go on in the name of religion in the United States! O, that we may begin in time to be saved from such a condition! Much is done in the name of Christ that will not stand the test. There is too much glorying in grand reports—too much boasting of numbers and riches and earthly power. If God was angry with David for numbering his hosts (2 Samuel 24), surely He is not pleased with that church or mission that glories in the same. The struggle to show up grand results has much to do with the unspiritual state of the church in India.
While there are many earnest disciples of Christ in India, it is a sad fact that many come with mixed motives. The "heathen Chinee" has not more tricks than the heathen of India. There is a low caste, or outcast tribe, called sweepers, who, in some places, make trade of baptism. There are some earnest ones among them, but the majority need to be dealt with cautiously. They have no caste to lose, and some of them receive baptism every time a new missionary comes along who is not up to their tricks. There are some better caste men who do this, also. They claim they can get more help by posing as inquirers. It is possible to go out and baptize in one day hundreds of these low caste sweepers, if numbers are all one is after. But is it right to do so until they have shown their conviction of sin, and desire to give it up? There are unconverted workers who seem to think that their promotion depends upon grand reports. When I was new to the work, I was deceived over and over by some such agents. I reported work that did not exist, for I took their word for it. Then my eyes were opened to the great need of close supervision, and of having converted, helpers. Often I spoke of this state of things to other workers, but I was told that I was too critical, that the native church compared very well with the home church.
One of India's Child Wives.
Add to all this the fact that some native preachers are being instructed in so-called higher criticism, and we have a rather dark picture. Because some Christians reject the authenticity of parts of the Bible, the heathen rejects the whole; the keen oriental mind argues that if the Bible is of God it will contain no error, and he has no use for the remnants presented to him by the higher critic. How God's people do need to unite in prayer that only earnest, evangelical Christians may find their way to the foreign field! To send any other kind is worse than sending none. A great teacher has said: "The size and the age of an institution are not proofs of its real merits. There is danger of rot in things that are old and big. There is constant need of watchfulness of weak points, institutional and individual."
Years ago God laid before my husband and me the burden of industrial missions for India's Christians. The difficulties spoken of above, and others, too, had been confronting us, and we felt that one element in mission work was sadly lacking. The head and heart were being trained, but not the hand. We felt that workshops would be a good thing to test the sincerity of those who came with mixed motives, and a blessing for those who really were sincere. The Christian youth, too, were growing up indolent and, consequently, vicious, but there was no industrial training to speak of for them. In India to-day less than 2 per cent of all the children in missions are receiving manual training, and the remaining1398 per cent never will unless missionaries give them the opportunity.
When the recent famines of India left us with seventeen hundred orphans and widows, industrial departments for their support were opened up, which have developed into a whole mission, known as the Industrial Evangelistic Mission of Northern India. It is interdenominational and undenominational. Its aim is to rescue orphans and widows, and train them up in honest labor. When converts go out from these workshops and farms to spread the Gospel, as they certainly will, the call will be of God, and not as a means of livelihood. One such will win more souls to Christ than hundreds of hirelings; for conversion is by the Spirit, and the Spirit can not use unconverted agents. Consecrated laymen will be sent out to do the double work of teaching trades and preaching the Gospel. In the meantime, they who are in the mission will be urged to voluntary Gospel work—a thing as yet not often seen in India.—Christian Work.
NOT FORSAKEN.
By Arthur K. Fox
BY ARTHUR K. FOX.
"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Heb. 13:5.
WHEN blackest clouds and deepest gloom
Shut from thy path the light,
And darker than the silent tomb
To thee seems sorrow's night,
When hope is well-nigh gone from thee,
From this thy comfort take—
In sorrow's ever-troubled sea
Thy Saviour never will forsake.
When in thy pride thou wilt not see
That all things come from God,
When He in love chastizeth thee
Thou wilt not kiss the rod;
When thou art bowed with grief or pain
And sorrow's cruel ache,
Remember sunshine follows rain,
Thy Saviour never will forsake.
If, o'er thy life's bright summer day,
The cloud of death should cross,
And all the skies be turned to gray,
And heavier seem thy loss
Than thy poor human heart can bear,
Take courage, let not hope forsake;
The wildest storm but clears the air,
And He that calms is e'er awake.
In every trouble, every ill,
That comes to us on earth,
There may be found some solace still,
Some lesson of great worth;
If we but see the brighter side,
And this our watchword make,
Tho sorrow, troubles, death betide,
My Saviour never will forsake.
A CHINESE FEMALE EVANGELIST.
By Mrs. Howard Taylor
[Mrs. Howard Taylor, in Regions Beyond.]
I REMEMBER a very degraded woman in a city in the heart of China. One day there were a dozen women around me, and sitting right at my feet a woman I had never seen before, poor and degraded. I could see at a glance she had lived a very sad life. Her hands were hard with toil, and she seemed stupid. We were talking about the power of Jesus Christ and how He even cast out evil spirits, and delivered people who were tormented with devils. She had never heard of Christ before, never heard His name, and stopped me several times, asking, "Is it true?" I assured her over and over again that it was certainly true. Towards the end she said one thing more, "Does Jesus Christ do things now—to-day?" What would you have said? There is nothing so powerful as a present experience of the power of Jesus Christ, enabling one to assure those who never heard of Him before that these things are true. I must not tell you all about it. She went away and gave her heart to Jesus Christ that night, and He wrought in her a most wonderful transformation.
She came a few days afterwards and said, "I know now that what you told me the other day is true." "How do you know?" "He has done it for me." "Are you going to another city where they have never heard of Jesus?" "Yes." "Are you going soon?" "Yes, soon." "Have you a servant to go with you?" "No." She said, "I am going with you, and I will do your washing and make shoes. I love you and I love your Jesus." The end of it was she came. She was truly converted, but very rough. I felt, however, there was a soul filled with love to Jesus, and I spent a great deal of time in teaching and praying for that woman. I taught her all I could of the life of Christ, and the way to put the Gospel.
There came a day when there was a great fair, and hundreds of women crowded to see us. While I was speaking to them, I lost my voice and could not go on talking. The room was full, and this woman was sitting near me. She had been a Christian two or three months, and, turning to her, I said, "You see I can not speak any more; will you try, and just tell the women the rest." She said, "I can not preach; don't ask me to do such a thing." "Well," I said, "if you don't, they will have to go without hearing and perhaps never come again. The Holy Spirit can help you and make you tell them far better than I can. Won't you ask Him?" She bent her head in prayer for a moment, and I sat praying for her with intense earnestness, feeling that it was
A CRISIS IN HER LIFE
and might prove such for many souls. Presently she raised her head, looked around, and I saw what had happened. Never shall I forget the light which shone upon her face, and she began to try to tell the certainty of those things that she herself had known about Jesus. She forgot me, the time, everything, and just poured out her heart before these women.
If ever I saw anybody filled with the Spirit of God, it was that woman, that day. She went on for an hour or two without a pause, and nobody moved. Many of them were in tears; many of them had never heard of Jesus. They had never heard a missionary until two weeks before. A woman sitting in the room gave her heart to God, and still lives a consistent Christian life.
Best of all, the preacher was saved from herself and filled with the Spirit, and became from that time such a teacher of the Gospel that I never thought of speaking when she was there. Men have often said, when she had preached half the day: "We don't want to go home; we never heard anything like this before. You go to bed, and let this woman stay and talk; she can talk all night." I have wakened in the middle of the night, and heard that woman, in the dark, still telling of Jesus to those who were so eager to hear. Sometimes they would ask her questions, and even go to sleep and wake up and ask more questions, and early in the morning would be listening still. The power of the Spirit in the life of that woman was simply wonderful. It left nothing to be desired—nothing. One could not wish for anything more reasonable, logical, clear, persuasive, tender, full of love and of the power of the Spirit than that dear woman's message to others.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
By Editor
A SESSION of the Central Union Conference will be held at Omaha, Neb., March 4-14.
THE Missionary Worker says, "We now have a membership of about nine hundred in Brazil."
BROTHER C. H. PARKER, who went to the Fiji Islands a few years ago, is now able to preach in the native language.
THE organization of a church of nine members at Bartlesville, I. T., is reported by Brother G. F. Haffner, president of Oklahoma Conference.
AS A result of lay missionary work among the Germans in the vicinity of Arpin and Bethel, Wis., ten Sabbath-keepers are noted in the Reporter.
BROTHER A. G. HAUGHEY has been re-elected president of West Michigan Conference, and Brother D. W. Reavis has been chosen secretary and treasurer.
THE president of New York Conference, Brother S. H. Lane, says, "The church-school work in the State is doing well and exerting a good influence over our children and youth."
REPORTS of meetings held in Melbourne, Victoria, by Brother W. A. Hennig, note the baptism of ten candidates within three weeks. These meetings followed the camp-meeting held there in the autumn.
JANUARY 16 three candidates were baptized at Youngstown, Ohio, by Brother C. C. Webster, who is holding meetings there. He also reports the addition of four to the church on profession of faith.
FOUR candidates were recently baptized by Brother G. F. Haffner, at Meno, O. T., where Sister Minnie Syp was holding meetings. Brother Haffner also reports the addition of fourteen members to the Concord church.
IN the Union Conference Record, Brethren C. A. Paap and F. E. Lynden report five new Sabbath-keepers in connection with their meetings at Dannevirke, N. Z. They also note liberal reports of their Sunday night meetings in the Monday papers.
TO ASSIST in establishing the publishing, educational, and medical work in the vicinity of Washington, D. C., Mrs. E. G. White and Brother W. C. White and family will take residence there for awhile. In connection with the medical work there, Dr. George A. Hare, who has been located in Fresno, Cal., for the past twelve years, has responded to the call of the General Conference Committee to assist in the new sanitarium enterprise at Washington.
A LETTER from Sister Mattie A. Price, of Ingersoll, O. T., says: "I have had wonderful experiences in selling the special number of the SIGNS. One of these I will mention. I took a supply of papers to a community about eight miles from where I live, thinking to take advantage of a gathering there Christmas Eve. I asked for permission to introduce the paper after the exercises, and was given a few minutes. The meeting was then dismissed and with the help of the Lord I disposed of thirteen copies. How I thanked Him for the privilege!"
A LETTER from Sister Mabel Branch, of Cholo, British Central Africa, says: "Our school buildings are of grass and bamboo poles, with grass roofs. Occasionally snakes come out of the grass roof to view the classes in the schoolroom. Two large afternoon classes are attended by many of the working people after their day's work is finished. There is a great work to be done here. We have a very meager supply of books, slates, and pencils. We are all interested in our work and trust that the seed sown will bring forth fruit for the Master."
A LETTER from Huntsville, Ala., to the Welcome Visitor, has this interesting information about our school there: The "Oakwood Industrial School is constantly increasing both in members and spiritual growth. Several of the students who came here not knowing God, have given their hearts to Him for the first time. This gives us more joy than any other advancement that could be made. There are about forty students in the school home now. Most of them are of an older class, who appreciate the value of an education, and are willing to put forth an effort to obtain it. They have, as a rule, an ambition to become workers for the Master."
A LETTER to the Mission Board, from Dr. A. W. George, who has recently taken up the work in Turkey, we take the following paragraph:—
The Turks have no special opposition to our religion. They reason that the preaching of a new doctrine will stir up riots. And so it does; for our workers are always liable to mobs. Only a few weeks ago one of them was severely beaten at Adana, near Tarsus. Another is in prison in Aleppo. If we were recognized as Protestants, there would be no difficulty with the officials. [The Protestant organization refused such recognition on account of the Sabbath.] It is the Sabbath question that really causes all the trouble. But, thank the Lord for trouble when it comes in a good cause! The Sabbath and the "mark of the beast" are the distinguishing standards here, as well as in America. In Brother Baharian's case it appears that interference from a foreigner would only create difficulty. So I must enjoy my nice room here in Pera, while Brother Baharian lies in prison just across the Golden Horn. My heart smites me when I think of it, but I can do most by doing nothing. I hope the Lord will provide open doors for the truth by the medical work. Pray for me.
THE POWER OF THE WORD.
AN evangelist, who traveled at one time in the interests of missions in India, attended one evening a prayer-meeting connected with a mission station at Ahmednuggur. He noticed near him a very strange-looking man, with hands deeply scarred, and across his skull were deep furrows. At the close of the meeting this man was introduced to our revered friend, and the latter will never forget the sensation which he experienced as he held the deeply-scarred hand in his and could feel the scars.
Our friend was told the man's history. Earlier in life this man belonged to an organized band of murderers, and lived in a great, dense gloom of heathen wickedness and superstition. One night he strayed into the mission chapel, attracted by the lights and the sweet notes of sacred song. He listened as the missionary told in clear simple language "the old, old story" of Christ's love. At the close of the meeting he waited to speak to the missionary.
"This Man that you told us about can save from sin?" he asked.
"Yes," was the answer, using the words of the Book, "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."
"Can He save from the sin of one murder?" asked the man.
"Tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow," said the missionary, still quoting from the Book.
"Can He save from the sin of two murders?" was the next question.
Again the missionary replied, "Tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
The question was again and again repeated until the specified number of murders was a large one, and with a sense of his own helplessness, the missionary again and again replied in those strong words of Sacred Writ, "Tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
Deeply stained with sin as was this man, his skull furrowed and his hands scarred by the dreadful wounds received in fearful encounters with his victims, yet he received the word, and deeply repenting of the past, accepted this gift of a Saviour, and became a humble and sincere follower of the Lamb. Is not this a striking instance of the power of the Gospel of Christ "unto salvation," and shall we withhold a Gospel which is capable of working such changes in the human heart and character? Who can say what we might have been had we never heard the gracious truths of the Gospel—The Presbyterian.
LESSON 9.—FEBRUARY 28.—HEARERS AND DOERS OF THE WORD.
(21) "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven. (22) Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and by Thy name do many mighty works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.
(24) "Every one therefore that heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: (25) and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon the rock. (26) And every one that heareth these words of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: (27) and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell; and great was the fall thereof. (28) And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at His teaching: (29) for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."
Golden Text.—"Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only." James 1:22.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What does Jesus say of those who profess to be His disciples? Who are sure of an entrance into the kingdom of heaven? Verse 21. Note 1. (2) What will many disappointed professors say in the judgment? Verse 22. Note 2. (3) What will be the Lord's reply to them? Verse 23. Note 3. (4) To what does He liken those who both hear and obey His Word? What does the "house" signify? What is meant here by the rock foundation? Verse 24. Note 4. (5) By what is the "house" assailed? And what will prevent it from falling? Verse 25. Note 5. (6) To what is the professed disciple likened who does not obey the Word of the Master? What does the "sand" represent? Verse 26. Note 6. (7) What becomes of a "house" built on such a foundation? Verse 27. (8) What did the people think of the doctrine that Christ taught? Verse 28. Note 7. (9) What was there so peculiar about His teaching? Verse 29. Note 8.
NOTES.
1. Mere profession of allegiance to Christ may be affected by even His worst enemy. The case of Judas is an illustration of this point. The betrayal of his Master was signalled by a friendly salutation and a kiss. The will of the Father is His law. The Spirit of prophecy, by the pen of David, had said to Christ, "Lo, I come; in the volume of the Book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart." Ps. 40:7, 8. Again, He said to one who inquired the way to eternal life, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt. 19:17. And again, "Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46.
2. Neither prophecy nor miracles is a sign of acceptance with God. A prominent deception is that of false prophets (Matt. 24:11; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1-3), and in the very last days people will be deceived by miracles (Matt. 24:24; Rev. 13:11-14).
3. "I never knew you" does not mean that Christ has not an acquaintance with them; for He knows even the inward thoughts of every one. Mark 2:8. But His Spirit implants the seed of the Word in the hearts of all who will receive it, thus rendering them fruitful of good works. Spiritually the word "knew" is here used in the same sense that it is in Gen. 4:1. So Christ disavows the responsibility of their inspiration, and therefore of their works.
4. The house that one builds is his character. No one can build a good character on an earthly foundation; for "that which is of the earth is earthy." No one can of himself establish a foundation better than himself, and "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." There must of necessity, then, be a foundation other than fallible man can lay. See 1 Cor. 3:11; 2 Tim. 2:19; Isa. 28:16.
5. The "rains," "floods," and "winds" represent persecutions, temptations, evil influences, worldly pleasures, appetites, and passions. In Palestine and Arabia the streams (sometimes called "floods") are often quite dry in summer time. But at some seasons there are heavy rains, accompanied by heavy winds. Then the streams become torrents, overflowing their banks and sweeping everything before them. Then the only security for a building is a deep, substantial foundation.
6. The foundation of sand represents human schemes of salvation, human standards of holiness, the traditions of men, false doctrines of all kinds.
7. The doctrine of Christ astonished the people because it was so at variance with the teaching of the scribes and rabbis. They always dwelt on forms and ceremonials as the great essentials, while Jesus taught the principles of "righteousness and true holiness."
8. "Having authority,"—Jesus had the authority of absolute wisdom and power. Of His doctrine He Himself testifies: "We speak that which we know, and bear witness of that which we have seen." John 3:11. "My teaching is not Mine, but His that sent Me." Ch. 7:16. "I spake not from Myself, but the Father which sent Me, He hath given Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." Ch. 12:49. His Word was authority because it was the Word of God. Ch. 17:14, 17.
