THE answer to the question, “Why did Christ die?” will depend upon the reply which is given to the question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” If Christ was only a man, tho the greatest and best of men, His death can have only a human meaning. It can not outrank that of a patriot who dies for his country, or that of a martyr who surrenders his life in the cause of truth. And, upon such an estimate of Him, His death was inevitable. Had He escaped violence, old age would have enfeebled His powers, and He could not have escaped the grave. His death would have been a tragedy, an unfortunate and undeserved calamity; but in it He could only be regarded as sharing the fate which falls upon many who fall at the very beginning of their career.
The question assumes an entirely different aspect when the truth of the incarnation is granted. And this truth I assume. Jesus Christ was the Word become flesh. He was the eternal Son of God before He was born. He was the eternal Son of God during the entire period of His life on earth. He remains forever the eternal Son of God in His exalted and glorified humanity. Of course, this implies the mystery of the Trinity; and the Trinity of God is ingrained in the New Testament. Jesus Christ is God in the form of man—God in every fiber of His being, man in every fiber of his being; as completely God as if He were not man, and as completely man as if He were not God. We can not divide Him. He is always divine, and He is always human. The truly human experiences were also divine experiences. The truly human acts were also divine acts. The personality was human from center to circumference, and it was divine from center to circumference. The one soul was human to the core, and it was divine to the core. It follows from this that whatever is affirmed of Jesus Christ is as true of his deity as it is of His humanity. The infirmities and pains of the body touched and pierced His divine nature. The sufferings and death were those of the eternal Son of God. He was buffeted and bruised; He rose from the sepulcher and ascended into the heavens. And this gives to His death a unique and startling meaning.
For, in the first place, it could not have been inevitable. He could die; He needed not to die. His life was in His own hands, as ours is not. So He declared that no man could take it, and that He had power to lay it down and power to resume it. Not all the armies of earth, not all the devils in hell, could have dragged Him to the cross. He died because He had come to die, because He had made up His mind to die. And if death was the eternal and voluntary choice of Jesus Christ, to which He marched with deliberate and eager steps, then we must call it either suicide or sacrifice. It is only necessary to state the alternatives to make it plain that the death of Jesus Christ was a divine sacrifice. Such the New Testament always represents it to have been.
But why did Christ sacrifice Himself upon the altar of death? Sacrifice for its own sake has nothing to commend it. We do not praise the spendthrift. We do not regard foolhardiness or recklessness as courage. Wise men do not burn up their money. Good men do not throw their lives away. The word “sacrifice” is a religious term. It defines a sacred act. It means the destruction or surrender of one thing for another regarded as more desirable. The death of Jesus Christ was a divine sacrifice. It must, therefore, have had an adequate purpose. That purpose the New Testament declares to have been our salvation from sin and our eternal redemption. That we might not perish, He died and rose again. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification.
This crowds another question to the front. It is this: “Why was it necessary for the eternal Son of God to die that we might be saved?” The fact that this is the result which His death secured is a fact beyond all question for every one who believes the New Testament. But why was such a death necessary? One answer is that in the death of Christ God condemned sin—that is, destroyed its power. And to this is added the statement that the strength of sin is the law of God, and the law of God is simply the expression of His eternal justice. In death Christ grappled with sin; in grappling with sin He encountered the law of God, of which sin is the violation; and in encountering the law of God, Christ undertook to vindicate and satisfy the eternal righteousness of God—that eternal righteousness which was and remains His personal attribute as much as the Father’s. It was the lawgiver who died for the transgressor. This removes all appearance of antagonism or conflict between Christ and the Father in the atonement. It was not an angry God whom Christ appeased, and the fires of whose wrath were quenched in blood. Whatever anger or wrath there is in God is also in Jesus Christ. So that, when we speak of the death of Christ as demanded by the law of God, and by the righteousness of God, which that law embodies or enforces, we must remember that this demand is not laid upon Christ from without, but proceeds from within Himself. It is the righteousness of God in Him, it is the law of God in Him, which makes His death necessary to our salvation. So much is plainly demanded by the teaching of the New Testament. Whether we can probe the mystery any deeper admits of serious doubt.
And yet our question is not fully answered unless we add one thing more. If the necessity of the death of Christ was such as has been indicated, we must join in what the Scriptures declare and thrust into the foreground, that the love which moved the eternal Son of God to suffer and die for our salvation passes understanding and is unspeakable. Love can do no more than to die for its enemies. Every doubt is silenced by such a sacrifice. Fears vanish under such a revelation of the heart of our God. If that does not make us penitent, nothing will. If that does not make us hate sin, nothing will. If that does not make us patient, nothing will. If that does not give us a song, nothing will. Let us rejoice with trembling. —Rev. A. J. F. Behrends, D.D., in the Examiner.
An Unholy Sentiment.
“Our country—may she always be right! But our country, right OR WRONG!”
The first half of this is good—so good it could hardly be better; but the last half is bad—so bad it could hardly be worse; for it is really saying that when the nation can not accomplish any desired end by right means, it would be justifiable to depart from the paths of justice and right to resort to wrong methods. Or, to put it more plainly, the people of this nation may with impunity turn their backs on God when occasion requires. And yet some of these same people claim that this is a Christian nation.
When we analyze this doctrine, we find a similarity with the ancient Roman theory that “the State is the highest expression of good;” and therefore they worshiped the State and the emperors as gods.
Whither are we drifting? We hardly think the people of this country are ready for idol worship in any form; for that is the ultimate of such doctrine. This country must always be right; it can not afford to be otherwise.—American Banner.
Religious Liberty Beyond Toleration
Toleration is an important step from State churchism to free churchism. But it is only a step. There is a great difference between toleration and liberty. Toleration is a concession which may be withdrawn. It implies a preference for the ruling form of faith and worship, and a practical disapproval of all other forms. . . . In our country we ask no toleration for religion and its free exercise, but we claim it as inalienable right.—Dr. Philip Schaff, in “Church and State in the United States.”
Modesty in the Dark
“MODESTY never shows up to good advantage in the dark.”
THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.
WHETHER or not the Spirit of God is more than life we will not now discuss. Suffice to say that it is life to the believer. “The Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Rom. 8:10. By faith it brings to every believer, direct from the great central Fountain, the life of God.
That life comes from Jesus Christ to the believer, bringing the very presence of Christ with it. It makes Christ present to every individual believer. An understanding of this great truth shows us how God can be everywhere present. His conscious presence may be known and felt by a believer in the worlds about Alcyone at the same moment it is felt by a humble believer on earth.
Our understanding of what are now facts of common knowledge will help us to realize how this is. We have the telegraph, which writes afar off; the telephone, which speaks afar off; the phonograph, the writer of sound; and it is proposed to soon make common the telephone, by which pictures may be produced at a distance. Much is said about the science of telepathy, or thought transference between minds without words or visible signs. It has been demonstrated that telegraphing could be carried on without wires a distance of twenty miles or more.
All these are faint shadows of wonderful facts in God’s kingdom. As the telephone enables us to listen to the very tones of voice of a father or mother over the intervening distance of a hundred miles, so Christ speaks to us through the life-current of the Spirit over the intervening distance between earth and His throne. As one mind of earth comes in harmony with another mind and controls it or is controlled by it, the stronger transmitting its thought and will to the weaker, so to the mind submitted to God’s will, our heavenly Father pours out His thought, and controls to the good of all who believe Him His thoughts and purposes. God has written His will in His Word, but the mighty Spirit of life, to the child of faith, energizes that Word, and brings it as it were fresh from the mouth of God.
A half dozen may hear the great man at the other end of the telephone wire; but ten million may listen to the voice of God. True souls throughout His universe may feel His conscious presence brought by the great currents of the Spirit. Loyal hearts keeping time-beat and tune with the great heart of God may know His thoughts in the silence of the soul, while others pass heedless on to night and chaos.
O, to be in perfect harmony with God! That is the secret of living. To know His perfect will is to hear His voice, is to think His thoughts, is to receive His Word, is to know His power and presence; for He “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” O soul, would you know these things? —“Yield yourselves unto God.”
“AND WHEN HE IS COME, HE WILL CONVINCE.”
By T.
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove [margin, “convince”] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:7, 8. Our heavenly Father desires that we shall be just right, so that we may enjoy perfect happiness. And as all sin prevents the uninterrupted flow of joy into the soul, the first work of the Comforter is to “convince of sin.”
To be convinced of sin may not seem pleasant. But upon reflection we find ourselves saying, “Well, if the ‘Comforter’ convinces us of sin, it will be all right. For even in the very act of convincing us of the dark evils of our sinful nature, He is nevertheless the Comforter.” The bitter spirit of hatred and revenge in pointing out our wrongs leaves a cruel sting. But not so with the “Comforter.” He comes to us from the heart of Divine Love, and while positively reproving of sin, He is just as positively comforting us.
He does not come to say that we need not give up our sins, because in our blindness we cherish them so dearly. No, there would be no real comfort in that. It might seem to us a comfort, but it is only because our sensibilities are blunted by long contact with evil that we even have a remote desire to continue in sin. God wants us to have the very best, so He sends the Comforter to convince us of the wrongs that are standing between us and the good that He is seeking to bestow.
But in our short-sightedness we poor sinners are apt to think it a great hardship to give up those evil ways. We are possessed with the idea that there are no joys that can really take the place of some of the sinful pleasures that we are indulging in. But try God’s plan. He will show you, if you let Him, how much superior His ways are. He will show you the truly hideous character of sin. He will also show the perfect beauty and the perfect peace and joy of His righteousness. And when sin and the righteousness of God are each seen in their true light, it does not seem that any one could refuse to give up the evil and receive the heavenly Father’s own goodness instead.
“He will convince the world of sin.” Yes, the Comforter does convince of sin. Every day as we do wrong the faithful Messenger is with us to convince of the evil. He is striving with us continually. He does not come in a boisterous or ostentatious way, but as the “still small voice” of God appealing to us through our knowledge of His Word. He is saying to us continually, “Son, give Me thine heart.” He does not ask us to give Him our heart because it is pure or holy. No, He wants our heart of sin. He wants to go into every hidden recess and point out every sin that is lurking about us. And He does not point to those sins in a revengeful way. He could not be the Spirit of God and do that. He points to the sins and wants us to see them as sins. He wants us to see how hideous, how hateful, how terrible sin is. He points also to the perfect righteousness of Jesus. He wants us to see how good it is. He wants us to see that all the joys that infinite love can devise to make our eternal existence one endless rapture of ever-increasing happiness are summed up in this blessed righteousness of Christ the Lord. Then the Comforter whispers: “Renounce your sins; for they are drawing you closer and closer to the brink of eternal ruin. And receive instead the blessings of our Father’s righteousness.”
When our sins are being pressed home upon our consciences by the power of the Spirit of God, they seem like a dark and crushing weight. We may even despair of ever having pardon granted us for sins so enormous and vile. But remember that it is the Comforter who is revealing the sin. He could not be a Comforter if He was revealing to us the great depths and darkness of our guilt, simply that He might fill us with despair. No, no. Only a demon could be capable of such deeds of cruelty. The Spirit of our heavenly Father, it must ever be kept in mind, is a “Comforter.”
“But how can I get any comfort out of the vivid revelation that my heart is a storehouse of the worst and most depressing sins?” I hear you ask. Ay, there is where the blessedness of the divine plan comes in. We see the sins, and they look hateful to us. We are horrified at the thought that we have committed them. Terrors take hold upon us as we are made to realize that these vile sins are clinging to us as the unfading coloring matter in our lifelong garments of character. Then in this crisis of despair the Comforter whispers, “Would you like to give up those sins?” Every sentiment and emotion of our soul cries out, “Yes.” Then the Comforter says again, “Will you accept instead of these sins the perfect righteousness of the Master?” And in the rapturous thrills of a renewed life we say, “Yes, heavenly messenger, a thousand times yes.”
O, the joys of the Heaven-sent comfort! The Spirit of the divine Lord does not bring us a spurious comfort. He brings us the pure gold of heaven. He is indeed a comforter. Invite Him into your heart as an abiding guest. Even now He is gently, patiently, knocking for admittance. He wants to abide with you, to comfort you with the true worth of heaven.
T.
THE SPIRIT OF WAR IS NOT THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST.
By Editor
For what are army chaplains?—One would suppose it would be to comfort the sick, the sorrowing, the dying, of either friend or foe, by pointing them to Jesus Christ, the Saviour of men. The more faithful they were in this work the more worthy were they as chaplains. This is, we believe, the theory; but in actual practise the “fighting parson” is the one most glorified. The New York World of July 13 tells the story of Rev. Dwight Galloupe, now lying in Fort McPherson Hospital, Atlanta, from a wound he received before Santiago. Here is what the chaplain is reported to have said:—
“I could not help taking part in the fight. I at first confined myself to the duties of my office, caring for the wounded as the battle progressed, but when our7men began to reel under the concentrated Spanish fire, I felt the American rise in me, and, tearing the red cross off my arm, I snatched up the gun and cartridge-belt of one of our men, and went to shooting just like the rest of them.”
“I thought,” suggested the correspondent, “that your mission was to save souls and not to send them to death.”
With a twinkle in his eye, the chaplain replied: “Yes, but when I saw our poor boys staggering under the resistance of the Spaniards, I thought of brave ‘Bob’ Evans, of the Iowa, when he said that the best place for the Spaniards was below. I think I sent a few of them there or somewhere else.”
We can understand how the natural unregenerate man will feel just as Mr. Galloupe felt. But, reader, that is not Christian. He even felt the inconsistency of fighting with the red cross on his arm. Think of a minister of Christ killing men! Think of his saying that he thought the best place for his enemies was “below,” or, to put it plainly, in hell! Think of sending a few there, if you could!
Jesus Christ rebuked Peter for drawing his sword. For those who killed Him most cruelly He prayed, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.”
How poorly have Christians learned one of the great object lessons of the Reformation as manifest in Luther and Zwingle! In many respects the latter was superior to the former, possessed more of the truth of the Gospel in some respects, was more loving in character; yet he took the sword. Luther left all to God and conquered. Zwingle trusted in the weapons carnal, and was defeated. So it will ever be. The moment a minister of Christ takes up carnal weapons to fight his foes, that moment he ceases to be a minister of Christ.
“PAROUSIA,” OR PRESENCE OF CHRIST.
We were surprised to see in a Christian periodical which stands unusually loyal to God’s Word respecting the Sabbath, the following concerning Christ’s coming, based on the remark of a correspondent:—
It is true, as L. M. C. suggests, that the first and fundamental meaning of Parousia is presence, and but for the influence of the Jewish theories our earlier English translators would have translated by “presence” instead of “coming.” This would have gone far toward a solution of the question. We suggest a thought or two for those who desire to investigate the question.
1. The conversation recorded in the 25th of Matthew as to the general judgment, the destruction of Jerusalem, etc., was intensely Jewish. In it we get glimpses of discussions which were natural whenever the question of Christ’s kingdom was considered. Probably this should be interpreted as relating to the end of the world, but not to what is usually spoken of in the New Testament as the “presence” of Christ. That is a non-material, that is, a spiritual presence and power. Christ teaches this in Luke 17:21, 22.
2. Whatever may be the full truth, it is certain that up to this time the theories as to the manner and the time of Christ’s presence have been, mainly, a reproduction or a continuation of the Jewish Apocalyptic ideas which preceded His birth, and which gave the apostles such imperfect views of His coming and kingdom.
But was the teaching of Christ “intensely Jewish”? Are the teachings of the apostles and of the prophets “intensely Jewish”? And if so in respect to His coming, are they not equally so in respect to His day? If the apostles held “such imperfect views of His coming,” views which they give us in the New Testament, have we any reason to believe that they held any less “imperfect,” “intensely Jewish” views respecting the law and the Sabbath? For, mark it, this criticism above quoted comes not against “views” which Jesus rebuked and corrected, because Adventists do not base their belief on these, but upon the Word of God as given through prophet and apostle. The criticism of our esteemed contemporary is against the Word of God, and if sound, would as truly militate against every doctrine of that Word, all of which came to us through Jews.
But parousia means “presence,” not “spiritual presence,” but personal presence, as the reader may readily learn by noting its use in the Word of God. It occurs and is rendered “coming” in the following passages: Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Cor. 15:23; 16:17; 2 Cor. 7:6, 7; 1 Thess. 4:15; Phil. 1:26; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28. It is rendered “presence” in 2 Cor. 10:10 and Phil. 2:12. The above references, if we mistake not, give every instance where the Greek word parousia occurs in the New Testament. In not one instance is the idea of personal presence forbidden. In many of these instances it could mean nothing else. The conclusion is therefore unavoidable that in all cases it should be given the obvious meaning of “personal presence.” Take, for instance: “The coming [parousia] of Stephanas and Fortunatus” (1 Cor. 16:17); “Comforted us by the coming [parousia] of Titus” (2 Cor. 7:6). No one will for a moment contend that this meant anything else than the personal, bodily, physical presence of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Titus, in whose coming (parousia) Paul was “glad” and “comforted.”
So also the parousia of Jesus Christ means His bodily, personal presence; for “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven.” “This same Jesus” is coming again.
A SUMMARY OF A CRIMINAL'S WORK.
Its Beginning.
READ the following list of particulars concerning a noted California criminal, and then ponder the last, in which was laid the foundation of all the others:—
At the age of thirteen he stole seventy-five hogs.
He robbed the house of a widow of all valuables and then helped her to hunt for the culprit.
He stole a jug of whisky while harvesting, and it was found untouched years afterward in his cabin.
While a pedler talked with his mother, Coburn dropped his satchel of wares into a furrow and plowed over it. A year later he dug it up and sold it in Santa Rosa.
He stole the organ from the district schoolhouse.
He took the collection plate and contents from the church.
He looted houses while the owners were at church.
He sold some hogs, and when the buyer had fattened them, he drove them home at night, killed them, and buried the carcasses.
He laid water pipes for a neighbor, and when the work was done, dug them up and carted them away.
He carried stolen beehives five miles.
He masqueraded in ladies’ bloomers at times, and wore petticoats as a disguise.
He made away with the buggy robes from teams tied in front of the church.
He tore up and stole his own job work.
He rode off on a man’s bicycle while the owner was ringing a door-bell.
His father was shot while defending him from the sheriff.
He altered stolen articles so that they could not be identified.
His mother and two sisters were arrested on his account.
He stole Bibles from the church.
He built four cabins to hold his plunder.
Enough stolen goods were taken from his cabins at the time of his arrest to fill a good-sized store.
His favorite boyhood’s amusement was playing robber.
We asked a boy of ten years, in an exceptionally good city, what the boys mostly played at school, and he replied that last year they played “robber” more than anything else. A common cry in the play is:—
“I’m a robber, I’m a thief,
I’m the man that stole your beef;
or raised to this form,—
“I’m a robber, I’m a thief,
I don’t care for old police.”
The thoughtful man and woman, and, more than all, father and mother, knowing the lasting, moulding effects of early impressions, will look with pain and alarm upon such manifestations, and will do all in their power to change the current. So will the earnest, thoughtful teacher.
The thoughtless and indifferent will look upon such things and laugh, believing time will correct it all, and banish early impressions. In most cases the boys who play “robber” and “thief” may not become criminals, but some may; and, among those who do not become actual criminals, there is a lowering of moral tone and a hardening and perverting of conscience which involve their future in many questionable transactions. Parents, look after the education of your children.
Question Corner
“Enquire and make search and ask diligently.”
842. A. M. C.—This department is too limited to discuss so extensive a subject as the promises to Israel and the return of the Jews. This may be considered at length in this volume.
843. A. M. C.—The Keswick School or Plan is centered in Keswick, England, and is made up of Christians who are seeking for greater spiritual power, who believe that the Christian should walk in newness of life in the power of Christ’s resurrection. The steps are forsaking of sin, crucifixion of self, surrender of the will to God, the infilling of the Spirit, Christ dwelling within, revealed in the life, rest of faith, burden for souls, prevailing prayer, etc. And all this and more is taught by the SIGNS OF THE TIMES and the Word of God.
844. The Christian and War.
Is a Bible Christian drafted to go to war, how can he keep from going? Would he not be forced by the government to go?
E. G.
His duty would be frankly to tell the authorities just how he felt, and just what his convictions of duty were: that he could not do common labor on the Sabbath, nor could he shoot to kill his fellow-men. He would probably be recognized as a non-combatant, and if not excused wholly, be made to do hospital duty. He might be severely dealt with and punished. In such case he should “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
845. King James Version.
Is there any particular reason why the older editions of the Bible were ascribed to King James?
“King James Version” relates wholly to our common English translation, sometimes called “the Authorized Version.” It is so called because it was translated by the order of King James, and by him and his ministers authorized to be used in church services. Its authorization is of course nothing more than any human order.
THE REVOLUTIONARY MATERIAL OF OUR TIME.
By T.
There is no nation to-day but what is permeated with material for an internal revolution. The conditions that produced the revolution in France a hundred years ago are, with certain variations, to be seen now in every country on the globe. The French revolution, of course, produced its “Reign of Terror” in France only. But the whole of earth is at present confronted with conditions that foreshadow a crash that will render that revolution a mere incident of comparatively small consequence.
During the present war between the United States and Spain, the Austrian governors have been very desirous of assisting the Spanish nation because of the blood relation that exists between the crowned heads of the two countries. But Austria dared not attempt any assistance, on account of the menacing condition of her turbulent elements at home. Riots have broken out, and it has been with difficulty that the Austrian troops have temporarily suppressed them.
The Austrian parliament has its “Nationals,” “Progressives,” “Clericals,” “Christian Socialists,” etc. The “Social Democrats” and the Catholics should also be mentioned among the elements that are carrying on a very progressive agitation. Racial animosities and religious prejudices and controversies are most bitter, and must be given serious attention when reckoning up the elements that are dissolving the old Austrian Empire.
Agitators, each deprecating the appalling conditions that exist, but wholly disunited in regard to the remedy to be applied, keep society in a continual turmoil. And there must come a break sometime. As Mr. Francis W. Hirst recently said of Austria, “Loyal supporters of the dynasty must look at the past with regret, at the present with dismay, and at the future with an apprehension bordering on despair.”
Are you keeping watch of these evidences of dissolution among the various nations of earth? And do you know what is foreshadowed by these alarming conditions? This whole world has long suffered from the curse of sin. This sin has struck so deep into the very vitals of all social life that the convulsions of the impending dissolution are plain to be seen. And He whose right it is to reign is about to come. And when He comes, how glad we will be to see Him; for His coming means the complete deliverance from all this whirlpool of strife and sin! The one thing now is to get ready for His coming. Get ready quickly; for the time is at hand. T.
HAWAIIAN INTELLIGENCE.
In a speech advocating Hawaiian annexation, Hon. Marion de Vries, of California, paid this tribute to the intelligence of the 109,000 people who have just been added to the citizenship of the United States:—
“The intelligence of a people has never been so recklessly mistaken or misstated as that of the Hawaiians. It seems we are accustomed to assume their ignorance, when, in fact, man for man, they are as well educated as almost any people on the globe. Indeed, their standard of education compares well with that of any State of the Union. Almost every adult Hawaiian can read, write, and speak the English language. That is the language taught in their schools. About one-half of the Portuguese on these islands are equally as well educated. The remarkable showing is made that their laws require compulsory education, and that of 14,286 eligibles, 14,023 children actually attended school in 1896. Their school system compares favorably with any of the world.
“Annexation, therefore, would not bring us a mongrel, ignorant race, but a race whose standard of education is good, and among whom are already established schoolhouses and a school system rarely excelled.”
A DISASTROUS EXPLOSION.
By T.
On July 19 a fuse factory in this city was blown up by a Chinese murderer who had taken refuge in the powder magazine, declaring that he would explode the whole supply of 2,000 pounds of powder if the sheriff undertook to arrest him. After being kept in the magazine all night by a guard of several officers, he exploded this great mass of powder, and the pictures on this page show some of the results.
One of the buildings shown herewith stood 100 feet and the other 200 feet from the exploded magazine. The terrible ruin wrought by the mere shock of this explosion is very impressive. If the officers had not taken the precaution to have the people near the factory leave their homes, but very few if any of them could have escaped.
The people living near the scene of this great disaster had come and gone day after day, giving no thought to the danger they were in. It is well for every one to give careful heed to their surroundings. There may not be a powder magazine right by you, but evils just as full of danger to your moral and physical natures may be lurking about, ready to accomplish your ruin. The work may not be so sudden as with the powder magazine. But the effect in the end may be even more disastrously destructive.
The spot where we live in either village, town, or city, should be chosen with reference to the health and safety of our families from both the spiritual and physical standpoint. Then from this haven of rest and strength which we designate by that dear word “home,” we may in the name of the Master invade the strongholds of sin and misery and do valiant service for the cause of God. T.
IT WILL COME BY AND BY.
WHAT will come?—That Catholic Church at West Point Military Academy. Under President Cleveland’s administration the Secretary of War gave the Catholics permission to erect a chapel on the reservation; but it was said that they began preparations for a very elaborate structure, which caused considerable comment. Soon after the present administration came into power, Attorney-General McKenna (now of the supreme bench), himself a Catholic, rendered an opinion that the Secretary of War had no authority to grant such a privilege. Of course this put a temporary (many people supposed it was permanent) quietus on the enterprise. Such will no doubt be surprised on reading the following paragraph from the Catholic Mirror of July 16:—
“On Thursday last, Senator Sewall, of the Military Affairs Committee, called up the bill permitting the Secretary of War, at his discretion, to have erected on the West Point reservation an edifice for religious worship. The measure aroused some discussion. Senator Sewall and Senator Hawley defended it, and Senator Gallinger criticised it because it lacked frankness in not naming the denomination which was to be allowed to erect the chapel at West Point. While the measure permits the erection of a building by any denomination or sect at West Point, Senator Gallinger said it was well understood that the bill was for the purpose of enabling a Roman Catholic Church to be erected. This he believed ought to be stated in the bill. The measure was passed without amendment. It passed the House several days ago.”
HER DAYS NUMBERED.
By T.
It is very interesting to observe the matter-of-fact way in which China is being dealt with in the discussions of the Old World. Mr. R. S. Yorke in a recent Fortnightly Review says, “It is hardly possible to avoid the conclusion that the days of China, as an independent and integral power, are numbered.” Another sentence in his article reads, “The only reasonable course to pursue is to bury the remains and divide up the estate.”
The burden of the discussions, not only in England but on the Continent, show that the one thing that is absorbing the attention of the “Powers” in their efforts to divide up China is to secure the Chinese trade. Business and traffic are the one thing sought after. The moneyed men of the world are ever grasping after new fields for trade. And the moneyed men of the world are the great dominating power in the several nations. They see these openings for traffic, and soon succeed in convincing their governments that “patriotism” and “loyalty to home interests” require the securing of “additional outlets for their products.”
Poor old China seems now to be the next in order to be victimized by this policy. And it is too bad that a “heathen nation” should be thus broken down and divided among the “great Christian nations.” There are many Christians in these great nations, but they can not be called “Christian nations.” For if they were Christian indeed and not in name merely, they would not stand ready to pounce upon China for the sole purpose of sordid gain. The hollow sham of such Christianity should be apparent to any one.
And when the facts as they exist are looked at, rather than as they may appear from a superficial view, very much of what passes in the world to-day for Christianity is no Christianity at all. And the notion that the world is getting better and better is the greatest delusion that was ever cast upon the minds of men. The profession of Christianity is woven into a cloak to cover all manner of sin and crime. But the real wolf within the stolen garment is too clearly apparent to deceive any one who has a spark of discernment left. It may be pleasant to listen to the platitudes from platform and press about the “glorious goodness of this age,” but facts are facts. Just take time to look at the real actual facts.
Dangers, the like of which have never confronted the world, lie just before us and all around us. And your own observation forces you to acknowledge it. Do not be deceived. Study the situation just as it is and learn what it means. Moments now are more than golden. And mistakes and failures in correctly reading the significance of the absorbing events of to-day may result in eternal ruin.
T.
Without Me Ye Can Do Nothing
The sentiment seems to be gaining ground very rapidly that there is a latent power within man that will lift him up if he only exercises it. Some even go so far as to say that man is his own saviour. But Jesus of Nazareth says, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” There are some who already know that these words of the Master are true. Continued failures in lifting ourselves up will force all sooner or later to acknowledge the literal truth of the words of the Son of God.
