Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 4, 1893
Crucified With Christ
THE apostle Paul in giving his Christian experience said: "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal. 2: 20.
THIS is the experience of every true, intelligent Christian. He may not know just how or when or where the work was done, only he knew that Christ died for him and rose for him. By faith he accepted Christ's death for his death, because death comes by sin, and on Christ was laid the sins or iniquities of us all. He who thus chooses Christ yields to Christ all his sins. He keeps none himself. Christ "gave himself for our sins" (Gal. 1:4), and we yield the sins to him who thus purchased and bore them. By faith we are crucified with him, by faith we die with him for the sins.
BUT this crucifixion is not a theory, but a fact. We renounce all sin, we separate from that in which we formerly walked, from the old man, to whom we were once married; the old man, the body of sin, dies and is buried forever, or should be. We rise with Christ to walk in the new life; for he not only gave himself for our sins, but he died for us, that we might live through him. "He was delivered for our offenses, and was raised for our justification," our righteousness. In his death we die by faith. In his life we live by faith. His death was for our sins. His life is for our righteousness.
CHRIST'S life was one of willing, faithful, perfect obedience to all of God's commandments. He "did no sin," because he kept his Father's commandments. Knowing them in their fullness, because he knew the Father in his fullness, he kept those commandments—God's righteousness (Isa. 51:7; Ps. 119:172)—in their fullness, and so possessed a character complete in the righteousness of God. And he did all this that he might save mankind. All this is abundantly taught in Christ's own life and in the epistles to the Romans, Philippians, and Colossians, and elsewhere. "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell." "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." It is "Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God," and "the righteousness of God," and to them who accept him by faith he is "wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption," "the way, the truth, and the life."
ALL this Christ is to those who yield all to him, and accept him for all to them. They have then of "his fullness;" and he bears their infirmities. Such will esteem it a privilege to put on their Redeemer before the world. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Baptism is the marriage bond before men between the saved soul and Christ. "Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law [to its transgression, sin, Rom. 6:2, 11] by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God." Rom. 7:4. The old man is slain and buried; we die, and rise, and are planted with Christ. As a prince, who is not prevented by a human morganatic law in taking a peasant for his wife from the lower walks of life, bestows on her all his own royal prerogatives and privileges, so Christ does every soul who will yield to him. He gives them his righteousness and his life. They walk in newness of life, and therefore they bring forth fruit unto God. As before union with him they brought forth sin, or transgression of God's law, unto death, united with him they live his life and bring forth righteousness, or obedience to the law. Rom. 6:16-23. He kept God's commandments (John 15:10), so will they (1 John 5:3). They will walk as he walked (1 John 2:6), if Christ dwells within. They cannot do otherwise, because they have no desire so to do.
The Gambling Evil.
By Editor
One of the great evils of this country and the world is the gambling evil. Before us lies an appeal to the people on this question, signed by noted D.D.'s of various cities of the East. The power of the great gambling concerns of our country over various local, municipal, and State elections is marked, and the evil, says this appeal, "has been rapidly increasing in this country in recent years," and "it has already reached a magnitude hardly conceivable to those who have not investigated this subject. It has corrupted State Legislatures, courts, juries, and on municipal governments, and has defeated the ends of justice in countless ways." And all this and much more is true of this great evil. Those behind it are wealthy, bold, hazardous, and unscrupulous. Shame, sorrow, misery, disgrace, and ruin follow in its pathway. How many "trusted men" are ruined through this vice. Lotteries, race-track gambling, pool selling, bucket shops, roulettes, faro, fortune wheels, and other forms of gambling, are mentioned. It is recommended that organizations be formed against the evil, and especially to repeal all laws favoring gambling, educate the public, and enforce such laws as exist for its suppression.
We recognize the evil; we would that it did not exist; but it does, and the sad fact is that it is fostered and fed by our church fairs, festivals, and raffles, where the principle of gambling is as much in operation as existed in the Louisiana Lottery. Let reform begin in the churches. Law may make and suppress crime, but it cannot reform men, and their vices will but take another form, which will require a new law to make it criminal. It is not the business of the ministers of Christ to endeavor to promote morality by law. Let the gospel of Christ in its purity and power take hold of men's hearts, and gambling and all other vices will appear in their true colors. We are opposed to gambling. We do not believe in it as seen in the great gambling concerns of the country, in the numerous gambling hells, in the various prize articles and packages in common stores, shops, and groceries; neither do we believe in it in the church; and the only effectual remedy we know which the church can use with unsparing freedom is the gospel of Christ.
THE METHOD OF CHRIST.
IN past articles we have considered briefly the two principles, two religions, and the two methods of these two religions. God is love. His religion is a religion of love, as his character is love. That character and religion were manifest in their beauty and perfection to the world in our Lord Jesus Christ. He declared God to the world in his teaching and example. He came to reconcile men to God, to win them back to their allegiance to God, to proclaim the glad tidings of an all-powerful Redeemer to a race lost and wrecked on the stormy, treacherous ocean of sin.
What were his methods? Did he compel, coerce, boycott, persecute? What were Christ's teachings? What was his example? He is the great example of the church, their66great prototype. First of all, hear him proclaim the motive which brought him here:—
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
It was love that brought Christ here, and love will not compel. To compel men against their choice would destroy their freedom and make them slaves. True, Christ has his bond servants, but it is “the love of Christ” that “constraineth.” He will allow men their own way. He will set before them all the beauties of God’s truth; he will appeal to them to become sons of God and walk in his light (John 1:9–12), but he will not compel belief and acceptance; for loving acceptance and belief cannot be compelled save by love. But what if men would not believe?—He did not condemn them, nor give them over to punishment. His mission was not to destroy but to save. His words are:—
“I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” John 12:46–48.
His light shines, but the judgment is suspended. Infinite mercy pleads; the Holy Spirit touches the heart; Christ on Calvary still draws all to him; but he does not compel acceptance. He leaves all to the judgment of the last day, when every truth he ever spoke will be demonstrated in the resplendent glory of eternity, and every sinner will stand self-condemned by the word of Christ. But his disciples then as now thought otherwise. On one occasion when the Master, weary and worn, would have turned aside to rest in a village of the Samaritans, they in their national prejudice “did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.” His disciples, James and John, had not yet learned the heart of the Master; they would condemn and punish:—
“And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.” Luke 9:54–56.
When he came to the close of his life, in that hour of the power of darkness, when betrayed by his own disciple, another, impetuous Peter, drew a sword and smote one of the band which came to arrest him. What did Jesus do?—He healed the wound of his enemy, and, turning to Peter, said to him and to every disciple who has since lived, “Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” Matt. 26:52. He could then have called on his Father, and angelic power would have been given to scatter the powers of darkness, but it was not to be. He was living man’s example, while dying man’s sacrifice.
A few hours later he stands before Pilate, charged with sedition in stirring up rebellion and making himself a king. What does he say?
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence.” John 18:36.
He sends forth his servants on the same mission of the gospel, with the instructions, “Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” The power he promises, the all power, is that of the Holy Ghost, received by faith. Acts 1:8. His panoply with which he clothes his own soldiers (Eph. 6:10–16) contains only spiritual weapons, not carnal, yet mighty through God for meeting all the powers of darkness (2 Cor. 10:4, 5).
But why enlarge? It is ever the same—strong and tender love to the sinful and weak. From his first call of the disciples, from the gift of freedom to the demon bound in Capernaum, on that wondrous Sabbath day, to his weeping over Jerusalem and to his prayer for them who nailed him to the cross, it was ever love, and only love, which longed that men should choose his way of righteousness and life, but could not nor would not compel.
Those, therefore, who seek civil law to compel furtherance of religious or moral ends, do not know Christ. Those who know Christ will seek to save in love’s way.
OUR “CHRISTIAN NATION.”
By Editor
Is THIS a Christian nation? Thus the Supreme Court decided; and thus we are repeatedly told. It is said that Christianity is pervading all nations, that “this is a Christian nation,” that the human forces that make for good are dominant, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum. And at the same time every earthly result of note proves the contrary. And in their sober thought our most optimistic men present evidence which shows that the world is growing worse. Before us lies an appeal to the public on the great “gambling evil,” which says:—
An abundance of facts and figures is at hand to prove that this evil has been rapidly increasing in this country in recent years, and that it has already reached a magnitude hardly conceivable to those who have not investigated the subject.
This appeal is signed by prominent men, mostly ministers, among whom are Bishop J. H. Vincent, President F. L. Patton, of Princeton College, Rev. R. S. MacArthur, D. D., Bishop J. F. Hurst, Rt. Rev. F. D. Huntington, D.D., Hon. Noah Davis, Ex-chief Justice New York State Supreme Court, Revs. E. P. Ingersoll, D.D.; Josiah Strong, D.D., Chas. L. Thompson, D.D., and others of equal note. They talk of the crime, misery, disgrace, and ruin which follow the evil, and declare “that over $2,898,000 was stolen in a single year recently by men who had lost money playing the races.”
As regards the status of the temperance cause the Independent of November 9, 1893, declares:—
No careful observer can well doubt that the drink habit is on the increase. This is certainly true of social drinking. Families entirely abstemious ten years ago now think nothing of having wine at dinner. This custom, which seemed at one time to have died out almost entirely, has been generally revived, at least in the Northern States. The saloon evil has grown to tremendous proportions. Our consumption of beer and ale is something terrible to contemplate; . . . nor does it seem to have sensibly diminished the consumption of the more fiery potations. The condition of the temperance cause has been anything but encouraging for the past three or four years, and the outlook is certainly not bright. Many who contemplate the prevalence of the increasing drink habit, and the apparent failure of legislative attempts to check it, are discouraged and do not know what to do.
The same paper, of the same date, has an article headed “An Atmosphere of Crime,” and the first paragraph reads thus:—
That is what we seem to be living in, here in New York and New Jersey. Moral right has temporarily shut us in, and we have to rub our eyes to find out where we are and whither we are being led.
And this is about the same story that is told us by reputable journals of most localities. In the Old World matters are no better. The black clouds of intemperance, war, anarchism, and plutocracy gloom the entire land. The rich corporations of our own land hold in their grasp the governmental powers, and grind down the people at their will. Parties change, but gold and greed hold sway. The professed church of Christ, panic stricken, turns from her Lord—rather, she has already turned from her Lord, and is therefore panic-stricken—and clamors for earthly power, for human law, to do the work of the gospel of Christ. And yet this is a “Christian nation”! Christian, forsooth! the golden calf, the shrines of Plutus, of Venus, of Aphroditus, of Bacchus, are more numerous in the land than the altars of the living God, and their worshipers are more numerous and devoted; aye, they are found among the professed worshipers of Christ. Some, like Jeroboam of old, will declare, “Come and see my zeal for Jehovah,” but they crush out the worshipers of Baal to set up instead the calves of gold.
Are we discouraged?—No; God lives and reigns. Nations and governments may prove false to their trust; the church of Christ may become apostate Babylon, yet Christ is risen indeed. He has a people in the earth, in the world, and in all the churches, and he will call them out by the same mighty gospel which shattered idol temples and shook the empire of Rome from center to circumference. His word abides; its foretold omens of the coming King are marshaling before us; in the closing gloom of the night of sin bright rays of the coming radiant morning flash hope to his children, and reveal to those trusting in him the glorious highway of his commandments, and the standard of his glorious gospel message.
What Is This?
By Editor
Are Roman Catholics idolators? Do they exalt the creature above the Creator? Let the following from a sermon preached at the dedication of St. Joseph's Church, De Pere, Wis., with Monsignor Satolli and Bishop Messmer in attendance, answer. We quote from the Independent of November 9:—
Joseph was the head of the family, the foster father of Jesus, the spouse of Mary. Jesus was subject to him, so the Scriptures say, not only loving him, but was a dutiful child to him, obeying him readily. A mere wish of Joseph had the power of command for Jesus. The relations of the three are not now changed, although the surroundings are; the Virgin Mary is still the spouse of St. Joseph, as Jesus is still the foster child. That Mary, queen of heaven and earth, is still the perfect spouse, and Jesus still subject to Joseph, his foster father, gives some idea of the high position in heaven of Joseph;67with the exception of the blessed Virgin, he alone of all the saints takes first rank; for even Mary and Jesus pay homage to Joseph, what they could pay to no one else. Therefore his influence with the Fountain of Grace must be powerful, a mere wish of Joseph equaling to Jesus as a command. This immense influence Joseph uses in the interest of the welfare of his clients and as protector of their temporal interests.
The testimony of the Bible is that when the children of Israel "ate the sacrifices of the dead," or to the dead heroes in the heathen worship, that they in reality sacrificed "to devils, and not to God." See Lev. 17:7; Ps. 106:20, 37; 1 Cor. 10:20. They did not know it, but it was the fact, nevertheless. The testimony of the Scriptures is that "the dead know not anything;" that "his [the dead's] sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." Satan induced our first parents to believe that they would not die, but would be as God. (See Gen. 3:4, R. V.) Believing that their ancestors and great men possessed something that did not die, demons, the messengers of Satan could claim to be that something, and so deceive men. Hence came ancient sorcery and witchcraft. Hence comes Modern Spiritualism. Hence comes the saint worship, the Mariolatry, and the Josepholatry of Roman Catholics. Satan said Joseph did not die, he became as God, and Catholics believe it. Are they not idolators? Whom do they worship in worshiping the supposed Joseph? And yet many Protestants call the system which recognizes and permits this "Christian"! There are Roman Catholics who are Christians, but it is in spite of the system.
MR. CRAFTS' FALLACIES.
IN the Christian Statesman of November 18, 1893, the editor, Rev. Wilbur F. Crafts, has an article entitled "Fallacies of Saturday-keepers." We wish to notice three points. Says the Statesman:—
The first day of the week, say they, has no authority but the Roman Catholic Church. For proof they cite whole pages to that effect from the Roman Catholic Church, which they count infallible only on this one point where their argument is habitually rested on Roman Catholic support.
In reply we simply wish to state again, what we have before said so many times, that the prophecies of God's word (Dan. 7: 25; 2 Thess. 2:3-8; Rev. 13: 4-8) have predicted the very criminal which would attempt to change God's law, and Roman Catholic testimony is simply brought forward as the unwitting confession of the criminal to the crime. That the criminal would claim justification of his deed is only natural, and so that church claims to have done its work instructed by Jesus Christ, or by the Holy Spirit, or through the apostles. All this has no bearing on the case at all. The Spirit of God said that an attempt would be made to change God's law in the matter of time, and the Roman Catholic Church apart from that word says, I am the one that made that change. That she would falsely claim divine power to do this is also predicted in the prophecy.
But this is not the only evidence which Seventh-day Adventists have presented. For years the "History of the Sabbath," by Andrews, has been before the public; and that history gives an abundance of historical testimony apart from the Roman Church. They have published a little pamphlet, No. 90 of the Bible Students' Library, entitled "Origin of Sunday Observance in the Christian Church" (price 15 cents), which bases the whole argument on Protestant testimony. Our new tract on "Who Changed the Sabbath?" No. 107 of Bible Students' Library, gives not only the testimony of Roman Catholics, but of reputable Protestant authorities, as to the change of the day. We commend the reading of these to Mr. Crafts, and we commend their widest circulation by the friends of the Sabbath.
Again says the Statesman:—
Another favorite theory of Seventh-day Adventists is that if the United States Government should pass a law against Sunday trains and mails it would be necessary to go forward in "religious legislation" until the government at last would define true religion and persecute all who fell short of its standard. Now all this "almighty-must-be-ity" of prophecy is refuted by history, for we have always had laws in defense of our national Christian institutions, and they have not led to any official surveillance of religion. What such laws have not caused in the States, there is no reason to expect they will cause in the nation.
But this is not a theory of Seventh-day Adventists. Richard M. Johnson, in a report adopted by the United States Senate in January, 1829, said on this very matter:—
If this principle [legislating on a matter of religious controversy] is once introduced, it will be impossible to define its bounds. . . . Extensive religious combinations to effect a political object are, in the opinion of the committee, always dangerous. This first effort of the kind calls for the establishment of a principle which, in the opinion of the committee, would lay the foundation for dangerous innovations upon the spirit of the Constitution, and upon the religious rights of the citizens. If admitted, it may be justly apprehended that the future measures of the government will be strongly marked, if not eventually controlled, by the same influence. All religious despotism commences by combination and influence; and when that influence begins to operate upon the political institutions of a country, the civil power soon bends under it; and the catastrophe of other nations furnishes an awful warning of the consequence.
If the principle is once established that religion, or religious observance, shall be interwoven with our legislative acts, we must pursue it to its ultimatum.
Says Gibbon ("Decline and Fall of Roman Empire," chap. 37, par. 23, part 5):—
It is incumbent on the authors of persecution previously to reflect whether they are determined to support it in the last extreme. They excite the flame which they strive to extinguish; and it soon becomes necessary to chastise the contumacy as well as the crime of the offender. The fine which he is unable or unwilling to discharge, exposes his person to the severity of the law; his contempt of light penalties suggests the use and propriety of capital punishment.
Much, very much, more might be quoted from the best of men. See Macaulay's essay on Gladstone, and the expressed determinations of Sunday-law people demonstrated in their persecutions of Sabbath keepers in Tennessee and Maryland. But these evidences are not needed by observing minds. Our country has already entered upon the career of religious despotism. The dignity of the government will at last demand the visitation of the death penalty upon those who deny its blasphemous assumptions, but who walk blamelessly before God. Persecution is always the ultimatum of religious legislation; and this is what Mr. Crafts and his associates are demanding.
One more of his utterances:—
Just as Seventh-day Adventists read "United States Government" in Revelation where the Bible says "the third beast," so they insist on calling "the seventh day" after six days of work in the fourth commandment, the seventh day of the week, adding the last three words, which are neither included nor implied in the Bible text.
"The seventh day" of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue is "the seventh day of the week." Proof: (1) "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;" (2) the Sabbath comes just before the first day of the week:—
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulcher." Matt. 28: 1.
"And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun." Mark 16:1, 2.
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them." Luke 23: 56; 24: 1.
(3) The day just before "the first day of the week" is "the seventh day of the week," and that Inspiration declares to be the Sabbath "according to the commandment."
Upon such "arguments" as the above, from Mr. Crafts, is builded the entire Sunday fabric, and the saddest thing about it is that so many believe them without looking further. Seventh-day Adventists make no claim concerning the Sabbath of the Decalogue which cannot be proved by evidence from God's word, and this is admitted by first-day observers. May the friends of the truth let their light shine.
Goals and Success
"It is because so few have definite goals before them that so many fail; it is because so many aim at impossibilities that so few succeed; it is because there is too much wishing for success, with so little unremitted striving after it, that so many end with wishing; it is because there is too much eagerness for speedy triumph that so many end in defeat."
THE UNCERTAINTY OF PETITIONS.
By Editor
THE following from the Christian Advocate, edited by Dr. J. B. Buckley, we commend to those who are expected to be influenced by petitions for Sunday closing of the Midwinter Fair:—
Senator Dawes, in presenting to the Senate a petition which was signed by a prominent clergyman in this city, said that the statements contained in the petition were unsupported by the facts, and suggested that intelligent people ought to know better than to circulate such untruthful petitions for signatures.
The clergyman referred to says that he signed the petition thoughtlessly, as it was presented to him by one of the women of his congregation. The signing of petitions is generally done in that way, and for that reason they have no influence. In a Texas court a lawyer, to prove the worthlessness of petitions, sent around a petition to hang a judge. It was signed by a number of citizens who did not read it, and was by the lawyer offered in evidence before that very judge.
JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them; but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.”
Here it was demonstrated that a worse blindness than that of physical blindness closed the understanding of the Jewish people. By his infinite power Jesus could heal those who were physically blind, but those who were spiritually blind could not discern their need of enlightenment; for they thought themselves righteous. The treatment that Jesus received from those of his own nation is symbolic of the treatment he was to receive from the whole world. He lived in the world, and he had a deep, earnest love for the world, and especially for the Jewish nation. The question was brought to an issue that had been the point of controversy since the fall, concerning the character of God. Satan had charged God with exercising arbitrary power, and of alienating the human race from himself. Satan sowed seeds of enmity, and kept them well watered, in order that he might be successful in deluding souls, and thus triumph over Christ, making the gulf more deep and impassable between earth and heaven. He presented his falsehoods as truth, and became bold in transgression, seeking to wear out the goodness, mercy, and forbearance of God, to extinguish from his heart all love for man, and thus so exasperate divine justice that God would leave the world under Satanic jurisdiction. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Instead of being softened by the long patience of God, they encourage themselves in continual resistance.
Satan took the field in person against Jesus Christ. Evil angels conspired with evil men to resist good, to trample upon righteousness, and all the energies of evil were confederated together to destroy the champion of God and truth. While success seems to attend the masterly activity of Satan, Jesus takes the field to contest his power. Jesus came “unto his own, and his own received him not.” He was charged with an ambassage of mercy, sent of the Father at a crisis when rebellion had overspread the world, in order that man should not perish, but have everlasting life through faith in the Son of God. Through Christ they were to bruise the serpent’s head, and gain eternal life.
Jesus was the truth, yet he was scorned as a deceiver. He was hunted from place to place as a malefactor. His own nation took the most active part in throwing contempt upon him. His friends, and even his own brethren, denied and forsook him. Every cruelty that an apostate angel could instigate was set in operation. He was buffeted with temptations, lacerated with stripes, crowned with thorns, mocked and derided as a false king, and at last crucified on the cross.
Satan has kept up his system of cruelty, and still employs his planned agency of crookedness and deception, and accuses and condemns and tortures in order that he may control the conscience. While exercising his power in torturing those whom he controlled through demoniacal possession, he yet laid the blame of it upon the Lord God of heaven. He put his own interpretation on his Satanic actions, and charged God with being the author of all evil. In the parable of the shepherd Jesus puts his own interpretation on his work and mission, and represents himself as the good shepherd, feeding and taking charge of the sheep. He said, “He that entereth not in by the door [by himself] into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” Christ said that all who came before him claiming to be the Messiah were deceivers. At the time of Christ’s coming there was much agitation concerning the appearance of the world’s Messiah. The Jewish nation expected that a great deliverer would come, and there were men who took advantage of this expectation, turning it to the service of themselves, that they might be thereby profited and glorified. Prophecy had foretold that these deceivers would arise. The deceivers did not come in the way in which it was prophesied that the world’s Redeemer should come; but Christ came, answering every specification. Types and symbols had represented him, and in him type met antitype. In the life, mission, and death of Jesus every specification was fulfilled.
Jesus was the good shepherd to whom the porter openeth, who knows the sheep, calleth his own by name, and leadeth them out. He it is who is stronger than the thief and the robber, those who enter not in at the door, but climb up some other way. The Pharisees were not able to discern that this parable was spoken against them, the professed leaders of the people, pastors of the flock. Jesus presented himself in contrast to them, and when they reasoned in their hearts as to what he could mean by the parable, he said: “I am the door of the sheep. . . . By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” Christ presented himself as the only one in whom were qualifications for making a good shepherd. He is represented as the “Chief Shepherd.” Peter writes, “When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” Again he is called the great Shepherd. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever.” “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.” The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”
The Pharisees had just cut one off from the fold because he had acknowledged that Jesus had wrought a wonderful miracle, and had opened his eyes. They had called the blind man to them after his healing and had said: “Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner. He could never have wrought the miracle. As to this man doing the miracle, you are wrong. It is only a deception.” But the restored man answered, “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not; one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” Then they asked again, “What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?” How hard they were to convince! How hard they tried to cover up with unbelief the mighty work of Jesus, and sought to persuade the man to disbelieve his own senses! They were false shepherds indeed, and sought to scatter the sheep. But the blind man who had been made to see answered their caviling, asking them if they too would be his disciples. They were indignant that this ignorant man should presume to teach them, and could scarcely find words to express their contempt. They were men who had been educated in the schools, and claimed to be expositors of the Scriptures. They were not to be thought of as disciples of any pretender, and declared themselves to be the disciples of Moses.
But the man upon whom the miracle was wrought was not to be intimidated by their scorn, and said: “Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man69were not of God, he could do nothing.” The indignation of the scribes and Pharisees knew no bounds. Gathering their robes about them, as though they feared contamination, shaking the dust from their feet against him, and treating him with the utmost contempt and derision, they said, “Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?” And in no gentle manner they thrust him out of the synagogue. The sheep was cast out of the fold for being a living witness to the power of Christ. Many have been cast out of the church whose names were registered upon the book of life. Wolves in sheep’s clothing were ready to cast out of the fold and devour one who was entitled to the Lord’s pasture; but Jesus, the True Shepherd, sought him, and gave him a place within the fold.
THE LIFE THAT SATISFIES.
By Eliza H. Morton
BY ELIZA H. MORTON.
With haughty pride the heart may say: "I have
No need of strength outside of self. This life
Alone can give me truth, and love, and fill
The yearnings of my soul." O foolish man,
To thus exalt the clay above the hand
Of Him who seeks to fashion it! He who
Looks not above the dim, low hills of earth
Sees not the heights that sunward rise beyond
This weary world. A tiny wreath of smoke,
A fragile flower, a drop of dew, a blade
Of grass, the shadow of a shade is life.
All feel the ebb and flow within of that
Which, like a restless tide, impels them on,
And yet some say, "The force is ours." With song
And smile they drink the cup of earthly bliss
And lose themselves amid the waves of time.
How grand is life to him who stands in awe
Before its mighty miracle and views
The path between the cradle and the grave,
As one beholds a road that leads to home!
The torch of intellect grows dim with age,
But God's great lamp of truth swings low; and man
May reach far up and touch its golden beams
And gather brightness to himself. O Star
Of Hope! O sweet mysterious One! We bow,
We worship, and adore. No poet's dream
Is this we grasp by faith. It is revealed.
We know it's true, and lo, it makes us free!
The low horizon of this earthly life
Recedes. The dark and gloomy clouds depart;
The mighty beams of Christ's divinity
Shine in our souls and kindle there a flame,
So sacred in its glow that other hearts,
Beholding, long to feel the warmth and power.
Humanity puts on a brighter garb.
The loves of earth more tender seem, more dear,
Because the heart wells up with love divine,
And feels a rapture that no slight can chill.
O life that satisfies! O life that feeds
The yearning hunger of the famished soul!