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Signs of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 16.

All Sufficiency in Christ
Earlier text: FROM THE SOUTH PACIFIC.

International S. S. Lessons.

"So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." —Neh. 8:8

LESSON IX.—SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 1894.

[NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson; it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as in the common version.]

SELLING THE BIRTHRIGHT.

Lesson Scripture, Gen. 25:27-34.

  1. And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
  2. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; and Rebekah loved Jacob.
  3. And Jacob sod pottage; and Esau came in from the field, and he was faint;
  4. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint; therefore was his name called Edom.
  5. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
  6. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall the birthright do to me?
  7. And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him; and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
  8. And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way; so Esau despised his birthright.
Golden Text: "The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." Luke 12:23.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

  1. Give a brief synopsis of the period intervening between our last lesson and the present. Note 1.
  2. What was the occupation of Esau? Verse 27.
  3. What course of life did Jacob pursue? Note 2.
  4. Whom did Isaac in his old age especially love? and why? Verse 28.
  5. Whom did Rebekah regard?
  6. What was Jacob doing at one time when Esau came in from the field? Verse 29.
  7. What was Esau's condition when he returned?
  8. What did he ask Jacob to do? Verse 30. Note 3.
  9. To what name did this circumstance give rise?
  10. When Esau asked for the pottage, what demand did Jacob make? Verse 31. Note 4.
  11. What answer did Esau make to this proposal? Verse 32. Note 5.
  12. How was this bargain confirmed? Verse 33.
  13. After making the bargain, what did Jacob do? Verse 34, first part.
  14. After Esau ate the bread and pottage of lentils, what did he do? Verse 34, second part.
  15. In thus treating the matter so lightly what did Esau show? Verse 34, last part.
  16. What lesson does Inspiration draw from it for us? Note 6.
"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright. For ye know that even when he afterwards desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected (for he found no place of repentance), though he sought it diligently with tears." Heb. 12:16, 17.
  1. What does our Saviour say in respect to this? Golden text.
  2. What important question does he ask?
"For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?" Matt. 16:26.

NOTES.

1. Our last lesson closed with the trial of Abraham's faith, from Gen. 22:19. Chapter 23 gives us the death of Sarah at the age of 127, while Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba, and the purchase of her burial ground by Abraham from the children of Heth. Chapter 24 gives us an account of Abraham's servant's journey to Mesopotamia to get a wife for Isaac, the success that attended it, and his return with Rebekah. The beginning of chapter 25 tells us that Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah, and of the children which sprang from that union, some of which became nations of no small repute. Here also is given the death of Abraham, which occurred, as supposed, about 1821 years B.C. Verses 12-18 give us the descendants of Ishmael, and the death of Ishmael at the age of 137. Verses 19-20 tell us of the birth of Rebekah's two sons, Esau and Jacob by name—the word "Esau" meaning "red," and "Jacob" meaning "supplanter."These sons were born unto Rebekah when Isaac was 60 years old, fifteen years before Abraham died.
2. THE difference between the two boys was very marked. Esau was a reckless, self-indulgent hunter, and, bringing his aged father the choicest fruits of the chase, telling him of his daring adventures, naturally won the father to him. Jacob was "a plain man dwelling in tents." "A plain man" is in the Hebrew "a perfect man," one that is quiet or harmless (see margin of R. V.), looking forward to the future, and evidently much more devoted and faithful than his brother. This endeared him to his mother, who, of course, had more opportunity of observing his better qualities than did the father.
3. Red pottage.—The word rendered "pottage" signifies a dish made by boiling. It is a dish of which the people of the East are exceedingly fond, and by them, says Bush, called "kool." It is something like our soups. This was made of lentils, a species of pulse belonging to the pea tribe, of a yellowish red color. The word "sod" is the past tense of the verb "seethe," meaning to boil.
4. Thy birthright.—The marginal reading of the Revised Version is, "Sell me first of all thy birthright." The birthright was the headship of the family, combining in its privileges that of prophet, priest, and king. It meant a great deal more than this to the children of Abraham. It meant to the family of Isaac, the head of the chosen family, the one through whom all the families of the earth should be blessed. Evidently Jacob had heard from his mother the prophecy of the angel that the birthright was to be his, that the elder should serve the younger. Jacob prized this birthright above all things else, but as his heart had not been renewed by divine grace, he felt that it must be through some human means, some craft or power of his, that the birthright was to come. Simple faith would have left it with God. But Jacob seemed to feel that the time was passing, and God had not indicated that the birthright was to be his, and therefore he took it into his own hands, and the first opportunity which offered which seemed favorable to him to obtain the birthright, he accepted. But he planned in human wisdom.
5. What profit?—The character of the two young men is well brought out in this lesson. Esau said, "I am at the point to die; and what profit shall the birthright do to me?" And yet, in all probability, there was no danger whatever of his dying. Both his father and his mother would have relieved his wants before he came anywhere near death. He was simply hungry, and wanted some of Jacob's good pottage, and he prized the indulgence of appetite at that time more than he did the precious birthright by nature bestowed upon him.
6. For one mess of meat sold his own birthright.—Esau prized the enjoyment of the hour more than the eternal blessings of the kingdom of God. Had he been willing to have waited a short time, suffering if need be, he would have obtained food, no doubt, for his needs and retained his birthright. But he despised it. And so thousands are doing and have been doing ever since. He who feels that it is no harm to take a social glass now and then, contrary to the principles of God's truth, is despising the blessing which Jesus Christ died to bring him. In fact, whatever idol we may set up in our heart, to whatever thing we bow down from day to day, contrary to God's word, whatever lust of the flesh or desire of the eye we choose in preference to the blessing which God gives, are all indexes of the condition of the heart, and show that the heavenly birthright is despised. And afterward, when we have eaten our fill of these things which the appetite craves, we return, like Esau, and long for the blessing, but it cannot be found, though it be sought diligently. Well does the apostle say, "Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord; looking carefully lest there be any man that falleth short of the grace of God."

Apples of Gold

By Editor

ENVELOPE SERIES

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Pacific Press Publishing Co.,

Oakland, Cal.
THE NATIONAL SUNDAY LAW.—A pamphlet of 190 pages price, 25 cents. It is the argument of Alonzo T. Jones before the United States Senate Committee on Education and Labor, together with the text of the Blair Sunday Bill introduced in the U. S. Senate. Address orders to your State Tract Society secretary or to Pacific Press Publishing Co., Oakland, Cal.

LESSON IX.—SABBATH, MARCH 3, 1894.

PREACHING WITH POWER.

Lesson Scripture, Luke 4: 22-44.
22. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth: and they said, Is not this Joseph's son?
23. And he said unto them, Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in thine own country.
24. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own country.
25. But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land;
26. And unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
27. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them were cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.
28. And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things:
29. And they rose up, and cast him forth out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong.
30. But he passing through the midst of them went his way.
31. And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath day:
32. And they were astonished at his teaching; for his word was with authority;
33. And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil; and he cried out with a loud voice,
34. Ah! what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
35. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him down in the midst, he came out of him, having done him no hurt.
36. And amazement came upon all, and they spake together, one with another, saying, What is this word? for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
37. And there went forth a rumor concerning him into every place of the region round about.
38. And he rose up from the synagogue, and entered into the house of Simon. And Simon's wife's mother was holden with a great fever; and they besought him for her.
39. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she rose up and ministered unto them.
40. And when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hand on every one of them, and healed them.
41. And devils also came out from many, crying out, and saying, Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
42. And when it was day, he came out and went into a desert place; and the multitudes sought after him, and came unto him, and would have stayed him, that he should not go from them.
43. But he said unto them, I must preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also: for therefore was I sent.
44. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
LESSON SUMMARY.—Our last lesson left Jesus in the synagogue, with the people's hearts burning and responding as he uttered gracious words, proclaiming liberty to the captives of sin. But now we hear the people beginning to question and doubt, and soon the blessed influence of the word is gone. Jesus showed them by illustrations from the past that because of their unbelief they would be passed by, and others whom they despised would be saved. After his expulsion from the synagogue, he came to Capernaum and preached. Verses 33-37 relate to the casting out of a devil from a man in the synagogue; verses 38, 39 tell of the instantaneous healing of Peter's wife's mother; and the remaining verses tell of his healing multitudes of people. The lesson may be summarized thus: Jesus rejected at Nazareth; preaching in Capernaum; casting out an unclean devil in the synagogue; healing Peter's wife's mother and multitudes of others.
  1. While the words of Jesus were winning the hearts of the people of Nazareth, what did they begin to say?
  2. What did Jesus reply to them?
  3. What did he say about a prophet's acceptance in his own country?
  4. What of Israel in the days of Elijah?
  5. Unto what widow only was he sent?
  6. What were there in Israel in the time of Elisha?
  7. Yet who only was healed?
  8. Can you tell what lesson Jesus meant to impress upon the men of Nazareth by these references?
  9. How were the people affected by these things?
  10. What did they endeavor to do?
  11. Were they successful?
  12. To what place did Jesus go and teach?
  13. What accompanied his word there?
  14. What afflicted man was in the synagogue as Jesus was teaching?
  15. What did he say to Jesus?
  16. What did Jesus say? and what was the result?
  17. What did the people say?
  18. What was the effect of this miracle?
  19. To whose house did Jesus go after he left the synagogue?
  20. What did he there find?
  21. What did he do? and what followed?
  22. What did the people do when the sun set?
  23. What did Jesus do for all that came?
  24. Where did he go when it was day?
  25. What did the people desire of him?
  26. What was his reply?

NOTES.

1. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?—And with that saying they lost the blessing that they had received. The fact that their hearts burned within them as Jesus spoke to them from the word, and that the blessing of God came upon them as he set forth the application of the scripture, was evidence of truthfulness of Christ's claim. If they had cherished the light that came to them, a flood of light would have burst upon them, and mighty miracles would have been wrought among them. But unbelief shut out light. Only those who believe can understand. The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Rom. 1:17. "By faith we understand." Heb. 11:3. Let men who count it a virtue to question and criticise, who think it a sign of a strong mind to doubt, and of a weak mind to believe without cavil, learn a lesson from the men of Nazareth.
2. In the reference to Elijah and Elisha, Jesus showed the people why he could not do the works in Nazareth that he had done in Capernaum. They did not believe. His miracles were not done to gratify curiosity, nor to break down unbelieving prejudice, but to bless those who felt the need of blessing. The widows of Israel might have had the blessing of Elijah's presence, if they had believed. But only the poor widow of Sarepeta, in Phœnicia, had faith enough to receive the prophet. The lepers in Israel might have been healed, but none of them had faith. But Naaman, the Syrian, was healed, because he believed. It was no injustice to the Jews that they were passed by. As Paul at a later date said to other unbelieving Jews, they judged themselves unworthy of everlasting life. See Acts 13:46. These cases to which Jesus referred showed that God is no respecter of persons. He puts no difference between Jew and Gentile. All are alike in his sight, and all have an equal chance of salvation, since all must receive it by faith. Rom. 4:16. The words of Jesus implied the rejection of the Jews, because of their unbelief, and the salvation of the despised Gentiles who would believe; therefore the Jews were filled with anger. Behold how quickly a little doubt will turn one who is rejoicing in the light into a bitter persecutor. The people of Nazareth furnished a notable example of "men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness." Rom. 1:18, Revised Version. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." Heb. 3:12.
3. And they were astonished at his teaching; for his word was with power.—How powerful the word was is shown by the miracle that followed. Right here at the beginning of the record of the miracles, by Luke, let us stop to see why they were recorded. John writes: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." John 20:30, 31. With a word Jesus healed Peter's wife's mother. From a raging fever, she was brought by the word of Jesus to perfect health and strength. With a word Jesus cast out the devils. "And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out." Why do we not more readily learn the lesson that these miracles were intended to convey, namely, that there is power in the word of Jesus to cleanse from sin? We cannot understand how he can cleanse from sin, any more than the people of Capernaum could understand how the unclean spirits could be cast out with a word; but those instances were placed on record so that we might believe it without understanding it. There is a mighty power in the word of God. If in time of temptation, and in all times when the Spirit brings some word to our remembrance, we would yield ourselves to its power, we should have proved to us that it is both living and powerful. Heb. 4:12. The miracles of Christ are object lessons for us. They show us the power of Christ to cleanse and save from sin. It is the spirit of Satan that works in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:1, 2); but Christ is as able to cast out evil spirits now as he was then, for he says, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matt. 28:18.

News and Notes.

By Editor

FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 12.

RELIGIOUS.

—Captain Jones, of the Salvation Army, has been committed to prison in Selma, Cal., in default of $75 fine for beating a drum on the streets.
—Announcement is made of the marriage in this city of a Presbyterian Chinaman to a Catholic Chinese woman, the ceremony by a priest, of course.
—The Congregationalist complains of the growing custom of quiet dinner parties on Sunday evening in the large cities. But this is a common way of observing legal holidays; why not Sunday as well as the others?
—Two society young ladies of Cleveland, Ohio, have joined the Salvation Army. One is the daughter of a judge and the other of a doctor. The judge told a reporter that he was not at all ashamed of his daughter's action.
—Late advices report serious religious riots at Verola, India. Hindu temples and Mohammedan mosques were destroyed and a number of people killed and wounded. The military interfered to quell the disturbance.
—The Catholic Order of St. Sulpice, said to be one of the wealthiest orders in the church, with headquarters in Paris, has decided to build a theological institution in New York and another in California. The latter is located at Menlo Park, and is designed to be a large and influential institution.
—There sailed from San Francisco, on the 11th inst., fourteen young men who go as Mormon missionaries to different points in the islands of the Pacific,—four to Australia, two to New Zealand, two to Hawaii, six to Samoa. They range from 21 to 27 years of age. The church sends out about 200 missionaries every year to various parts of the world, and they go at their own expense.
—The Christian Statesman says that the fines collected for violation of the Sunday laws of Pennsylvania during the year 1893 amounted to $1,996, and argues that if all offenders were fined, the State treasury would be filled. Raising money by means of religious tyranny is by no means a new idea, but as a financial project in a so-called Protestant country, it certainly has an "image"-like appearance.
—Prince Galitzin, of the Russian royal family, has been converted to the Salvation Army in New York, and is said to have consecrated himself to the work of the army for life. He proposes to translate General Booth's book, "In Darkest England," into the Russian language, and to use his large income in the establishment and maintenance of houses along the terrible road to Siberia, for the relief of suffering exiles. He has no doubt of getting permission from the czar.
—At the San Francisco Ministers' Meeting, February 5, there was read and discussed a paper entitled "Is Sunday the True Sabbath?" If it was an answer to the question that was wanted, they could have found one very easily, provided a Bible answer would suffice. Ex. 20:10 says unqualifiedly that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Matt. 28:1, Mark 16:1, 2, Luke 23:56 and 24:1, all locate the first day of the week after the Sabbath. These positive statements of both the Old and New Testaments, in addition to the fact that no other weekly Sabbath is enjoined by the Scriptures, leave no room for the claims of a Sunday-sabbath.
—A large meeting was held in Chicago, on the 11th inst., which is said to have been preliminary to the organization of a church among the ranks of organized labor, to be known as the Modern Church. A leading speaker said the purpose was to establish a central building which would provide lecture and entertainment rooms, a coffee palace, baths, gymnasium, etc., as well as facilities for religious services. It would be on the plan of the edifices in London which offer the most perfect substitute for the saloon. This may be all right as a matter of entertainment, but a church with no higher aim than the entertainment of its members will never accomplish any more than that object.
—Rev. H. H. George, field secretary of the American Sabbath Union, urges the necessity of a "Bureau of Moral and Religious Instruction" in Washington, D. C., for the instruction of members of Congress as to how they should vote on questions of that character. He wants $25,000 for the purpose, and says that "able and competent men [from the National Reform ranks, of course] can be gotten to constitute such a bureau if the funds were provided." But why not utilize the Catholic Bureau already established for that purpose,—it will support a "national Sabbath law" and "a uniform marriage and divorce law," barring the divorce, and also a "Christian amendment to the Constitution." Moreover, that Bureau has the start and the advantage of experience and the prestige of having had its cardinal (red cap and all) occupy a complimentary seat in the speaker's desk in Congress. Why not let Rome do his own work, and save the $25,000 for a better purpose?
—Owing to serious heart trouble, Evangelist D. L. Moody has been ordered by his physicians to take a period of rest, and Mr. Sankey is reported to have said that Moody's return to the pulpit is doubtful.
—A church paper of the Christian denomination says: "Christ preached the gospel of love, and not the gospel of form and ceremony; the spirit and not the letter." What about the confession of sin? What about baptism? What about the communion? What about keeping the Sabbath? What about ministering to the poor and needy, and scores of other practical duties enjoined by the gospel of Christ? What becomes of the spirit of obedience if the letter be ignored? Suppose your children or your hired help should try the theory of service without the letter.

SECULAR.

—A fire in Montgomery, Mo., on the 7th inst. destroyed property to the value of $130,000.
—The sixth convention of the Trans-Mississippi Congress is now in session in San Francisco.
—It is said that a German syndicate is coming to the rescue of the Italian financial embarrassment.
—The Brazilian revolutionists have sought recognition by the Government of Italy, but have been refused.
—The bill repealing all Federal laws for the control of congressional elections has been passed by Congress.
—The old Godey Publishing Company, of New York, publishers of Godey's Magazine and other works, has failed.
—A. J. McLaurin (Democrat) has been elected U. S. Senator from Mississippi to succeed Senator Walthall, resigned.
—A recent dispatch from Calcutta says the money market is rapidly approaching a state of panic, even government securities having fallen below par.
—A Russian company with a large capital is being formed for the purpose of running a line of steamers between Odessa and the United States.
—The contractor for the Tehauntepec Railroad, which is to connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean, says that the road will be in operation by next September.
—A cyclone struck Port Hudson, La., on the 8th inst., demolishing several houses, leveling fences, and uprooting many trees. One child was killed and several persons injured.
—A contract to build a bridge across the Mississippi River at New Orleans, for the Southern Pacific Company, has been let to the Phoenixville (Pa.) Bridge Company, the cost to be $5,000,000.
—On the next steamer for China from San Francisco two Chinese burglars will be deported, under the felon clause of the McCreary Extension Law. They go at the expense of the U. S. Government.
—There are, according to report of persons in a position to know, 5,000 unemployed Chinese in San Francisco, and many of those who have employment in shoe and cigar factories are working on half time.
—A real fight is said to have occurred at Nictheroy, harbor of Rio Janeiro, last week. The insurgents did great damage to the forts and town, but were finally repulsed. Heavy loss on both sides is reported.
—The Secretary of the Treasury asks Congress for $450,000 for enforcing the Chinese Exclusion Act. The main item of expenditure will be for policing the borders, to prevent illegal entrance to the country.
—The police of New York City are calling attention to the alleged system of slavery practiced all over the United States by Italian padrones, the traffic being in Italian boys. It is said to be a flourishing trade.
—Stormy weather and heavy snowfall are reported throughout the States between the Mississippi River and Rocky Mountains, on the 11th inst., causing much suffering and extensive blockades of travel and business.
—The Northern Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads have declared a limited first-class passenger rate of $49.50 between Chicago and Portland, Ore. A brisk railroad war in the Northwest is expected to follow this action.
—The new commercial treaty between Russia and Germany is of quite a liberal nature and is to last ten years. Its consummation is said to be the source of great disappointment in France, as the latter had counted on Russia's exclusive friendship and alliance.
—France's aim to extend her colonial possessions in northern Central Africa has received a check, one which necessitates a back out from her recent occupation of Timbactoo, or an enormously expensive campaign to subdue the Tuaregs, a tribe of Arabs who occupy that desert region. An entire command, said to number some 300 men, was recently ambushed and massacred by the retaliatory natives. The small command in possession of Timbactoo is reported to be in imminent danger.
—The people of Stockton, Cal., a city of about 15,000 inhabitants, make a good showing considering the hard times. A recent procession of the unemployed could not muster quite 200 persons, and those were mostly persons who had recently come to the place.
—The coal operators of the Massillon district, Ohio, have submitted a proposition to the miners to reduce wages 12½ per cent. It is said they do not expect the offer to be accepted, but expect, on its refusal, to declare a lockout, which will throw 4,000 men out of employment.
—On the 3d inst. a procession of German Jewish unemployed men attempted to hold a meeting in the old St. Paul's Church yard, London, but were clubbed away by the police. The procession then went to Trafalgar Square and held an excited meeting, which was closely watched by the police.
—A strikers' riot at the large iron works in Nizhnee Taghilsk, Russia, participated in by 5,000 workmen, is said to have proved too much for the local authorities, and troops were called on the 7th inst. to restore order. The rioters were not subdued until a large number had been killed and wounded.
—President Peixoto, of Brazil, has ordered an election for president and members of Congress to be held March 1. It is thought this move will end the revolution, as opposition to Peixoto has been the principal excuse for the revolt, and it is supposed that Moraes, who is not objectionable to the insurgents, will be elected.
—Some of the Balmacedan adherents, who were the government in the late Chilean civil war, are now playing in the role of revolutionists, and the territory between the Coquimbo and Bobio Rivers has been declared in a state of siege. A number of persons, among them two of Balmaceda's brothers, have been arrested.
—The 11th inst. was a day of fires. At Hartford, Conn., the Colt firearms factory was damaged to the extent of $150,000. At Duluth, Minn., the Board of Trade building was destroyed, causing a loss of $120,000. At Wapakoweta, Ohio, property to the value of $80,000 was destroyed. At Henderson, Ky., two tobacco factories were destroyed, the loss being $150,000.
—On the 8th inst. several of the rich men of New York City found on their doors threatening notices written in Latin. Chauncey M. Depew's door contained a placard which read as follows: "Brothers, remember the glorious example of Vaillant. Death to the rich man. This is a marked man. Warn all. By the will of the common people." Underneath was a picture of a bomb.
—A Utah Mormon, who has been trying to support two families in this city in the double capacity of grocery clerk and larcenist, is to be sent back to the Mormon Territory for trial for violation of the law against polygamy. He has just served a short term in jail in this city for stealing from his employers. One of the wives and her children have been returned to her friends in Utah by charitable ladies.
—The brutal murder of a blind woman occurred near Petaluma, Cal., last week, and the assailants thought to murder her husband also. They left him for dead, but he recovered. He could give no other clue to the murderers than the recognition of the voices of two of his wife's sisters after they supposed he was dead. He was shot through a window. The two sisters and a son of one of them have been arrested. It is supposed the deed was done in order to secure possession of the property.
—The French headsman Deibler, who recently executed Anarchist Vaillant, has been sent to England under the watchcare of two detectives in order that he may escape the threats of the Anarchist element. He is also an extra burden to the London police, who are charged with the duty of protecting him from the same element in that city. Any injury to his person would be likely to precipitate international complications. Just now he is not wanted anywhere.
—Another collision has recently occurred between English and French forces on the frontier border of Sierra Leone, Africa, in which several persons were killed on both sides. As in the affair of December last, the French made the attack. That assault was explained as a mistake; the last one has not yet been explained. Some of these small occurrences on the part of isolated small commands, most of whose rank and file are natives of the country where they operate, may yet imbroil the home governments in general warfare.
—The old U. S. sloop-of-war Kearsarge ran onto Roncador Reef, about 200 miles from the Mosquito Coast, Central America, on the 2d inst., and was broken to pieces. There were about 220 officers, sailors, and marines aboard, all of whom escaped—after severe battles with wind, fire, and waves—to a small island. From there a picked boat's crew succeeded in reaching the island of Old Providence, ninety miles distant; thence they secured passage on a schooner to Colon, and telegraphed to Washington for relief. The party had saved some provision, but were short of water. The Kearsarge was made famous in 1864 by her defeat of the Confederate steamer Alabama, which was sunk in the English Channel, off Cherbourg, France.

ROME AND THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.

By Editor

SAYS our esteemed contemporary, the Cottage Pulpit, in quoting the second commandment of the Decalogue (Ex. 20: 4-6):—
"As this second commandment has been left out of her copy of the Scriptures by the Roman Catholic Church (the tenth being split into two to supply the deficiency), and it is so directly connected with our subject, the Mark of the Beast, we add it to the matter of our standing head."
The one point we wish to notice here is what is said about the omission of the second commandment in the Roman Catholic Scriptures. Evidently the Cottage Pulpit means the Douay Bible, the one authorized by Rome. But the Douay Bible, printed by John E. Potter & Co., of Philadelphia, approved at the time by the archbishop and all the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, reads as follows:—
"Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them; I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments." Ex. 20: 4-6.
If by "her copy of the Scriptures" our contemporary means the catechisms used by the Roman Church, we reply that the catechism may omit verses 4-6 for sake of brevity, believing that verses 3-6 are one commandment, and that the principle is covered by verse 3, or what we denominate the first commandment. But all catechisms do not omit what we call the second commandment. Before us lies a little work with the following title: "A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, No. II, Approved by the Cardinal Archbishop and Bishops of England and Wales, and Directed to be Used in All Their Dioceses." Published by Burns & Oates, London. On page 27 is the following question and answer:—
"What is the first commandment?"
"The first commandment is, 'I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not adore them nor serve them.'"
The only mark against Rome in her treatment of God's law is her perversion of the fourth commandment. She claims it as a mark of her authority in the things of God, and, sad to say, many Protestants admit the claim practically. The prophetic word of God stamps it as the mark of the man of sin.

This Number.

By Editor

We commend this number to the perusal of those Protestants who believe either that Rome is making no progress or that she is a part of the church of Jesus Christ and one of the moral forces of the day. We call particular attention to the following articles: "Romanism the Religion of Human Nature," "A Review of Sunday Legislation, or What Rome Will Do for the United States," and "The Pope on the Past and Present." The latter, from the Christian Advocate, presents the matter just as it is, but, sad to say, the great church papers of the Protestant churches do not know that they have laid the foundation for Rome here, and made the superstructure which she is building the logical outcome of it all. But we do not wish our readers to think for a moment that we have aught against individuals, Roman Catholics or Protestants; for we have not. Our war is with principles not with man.
THE Christian Statesman of January 27 has the following item:—
"The Congregationalist states that the custom of giving quiet dinner parties on sabbath [Sunday] evening is increasing, especially in our cities. The custom must cease if the sabbath is to remain."
Now the Statesman may take either horn of the dilemma it chooses, but it either does not believe that its Sunday-sabbath is of God or it has no faith in God. Think of dinner parties destroying that which is of God!

CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER.

By Editor

Editorial.—Notes and Comments—Religious Amendment to the Constitution—The Sunday-law Spirit (What a "Protestant" Has to Say)....................241, 242, 256
General Articles.—Luther's Great Hymn (verse)—Romanism the Religion of Human Nature—The Weakness of the Church—A Review of Sunday Legislation in Century Nineteen, No. 11 (What Rome Will Do for the United States)—Only Wait (verse)—Let the Modern Church Heed—The Pope on the Past and Present—The Lord Our Righteousness—Are You Weaned?—The Church Then and Now—True Giving............................................................243-247
Home and Health.—He Leadeth Me (verse)—California Midwinter Fair—The Effect of Tobacco on Health—Try It Yourself—About the Senate........248, 249
Mission Fields.—The Day of God (verse)—South America as a Mission Field—Mission Field Notes..249, 250
Our Work and Workers.—Art Thou Happy (verse) —From the South Pacific—Sad News from Pitcairn Island—Field Notes...................................................251-253
International S. S. Lessons.—Selling the Birthright (Lesson 9, Sunday, March 4, 1894)—Preaching with Power (Lesson 9, Sabbath, March 3, 1894)......253, 254
News and Notes.—Religious—Secular.....................255

California State Camp Meeting

The California State camp meeting will be held at Bushrod Park, near Oakland, May 10-20.

Georgia’s Age of Consent Law

The State of Georgia, whose over-righteousness is manifested in its oppressive Sunday law, places the "age of consent," "at which a female may consent to the violation of her person" and the violator go free, at ten years! This is characteristic of legislative "righteousness."

The Policy on Publishing Obituaries

By Editor

We are requested to copy the obituaries of Anna M. Swinson, aged 5 years, of Antigo, Wis., and Flora V. Wheeler, aged 33 years, of West Monroe, N. Y. We wish to say again that, by the advice of the General Conference Committee, the SIGNS OF THE TIMES does not, and has not for some time, published obituaries, and we do not wish to depart from it in this instance. This will explain why these are not published. They are found in the Review and Herald of February 6.
Continue reading: Sunday Labor and Irritated Neighbors