Earlier text: DENOUNCING THE PHARISEESTHE SILENT HOUR.
By S. Overgard
ALONE with God!
How sweet the hour.
The solemn quiet hour
Of midnight,
When I think of Thee
And contemplate
Thy handiwork,—
The stars that shine
In yonder sky! At this loved hour
I know Thou'rt near;
I feel Thy presence
At my side,
Beloved One.
Converse with me,
O, grant me favor
In Thine eyes. Great is Thy power;
For not one star
From his appointed place
Doth fall.
The sun and moon
Thy Word fulfil
As round the world
They shine. How sweet to know,
In this Thine hour
Of silence,
Thou dost walk abroad,
Altho unseen.
Thou keepest watch
O'er loved ones,
Dear to Thee. I kneel me down
This midnight hour
To seek from Thee
Full power
To live a holy life
And yield obedience
To Thy Word. Refine me in Thy
Furnace, Lord,
Till I transforméd be
Unto Thine image,
Showing forth
In all its power
Thy perfect life
Unto the end. In these last days,
O help me be
Thy face prepared to see,
That when Thou comest
In the clouds,
And I all changéd be,
May fly to meet thee in the air,
Thine immortality to share. S. OVERGARD.
Austin, Texas. "PUT YOURSELF IN HIS PLACE."
THE new Chinese minister to the United States, Wu Ting Fang, is said to be the most learned envoy ever sent to represent the Chinese Empire. He recently wrote an article, published in the Sunday Examiner of May 7, touching on the two countries and their misunderstandings. Here is an extract, the truth and wisdom of which Christians will do well to ponder:— The most important questions with which the Chinese Government has to deal, arise from the spirit of commercialism and the spirit of proselytism. In all the treaties which China has concluded with western powers there is an article generally known as the "toleration clause." This article provides, in effect, that Christianity inculcates the practise of virtue and that those professing or teaching it should not be harassed or persecuted. This apparently innocent provision has not, however, helped to further the cause of Christianity in China. It must be borne in mind that this official recognition of Christianity was first obtained from her after a disastrous war. The clause was no doubt inserted with the best of intentions. But it had the apparent effect of exciting in the native mind the unfounded suspicion that a deep-laid political object was intended under the cover of religion. But let us put the shoe on the other foot and suppose that Confucian missionaries were sent by the Chinese to foreign lands, with the avowed purpose of gaining proselytes, and that these missionaries established themselves in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and other cities, and that they built temples, held public meetings and opened schools. It would not be strange if they should gather around them a crowd of men, women and children of all classes and conditions. If they were to begin their work by making vehement attacks on the doctrines of Christianity, denouncing the cherished institutions of the country, or going out of their way to ridicule the fashions of the day, and perhaps giving a learned discourse on the evil effects of corsets upon the general health of American women, it is most likely that they would be pelted with stones, dirt, and rotten eggs for their pains. What would be the consequences if, instead of taking hostile demonstrations of this character philosophically, they should lose their temper, call in the aid of the police, and report the case to the government at Washington for official interference? I verily believe that such action would render the missionaries so obnoxious to the American people as to put an end to their usefulness, and that the American Government would cause a law to be enacted against them as public nuisances. Can it be wondered at, then, that now and then we hear of riots occurring against missionaries in China, notwithstanding the precautionary measures taken by the local authorities to protect them? But all this good sense is taught in the Golden Rule. THE ONE LOST SHEEP.
By Mark Guy Pearse
Do NOT let us mistake the meaning of the ninety and nine, as if God loved sinners more than the righteous. It is better to be in the fold than astray. But the lost has all the claim, all the thought, all the effort. You know that when a little one is ill in the home, everything centers about that one. The others must wait and be content to be forgotten. The others must manage for themselves as best they can. Nobody has time to think of them. That does not mean that it is better to be ill than well—not at all. But it does mean that the sick one has a claim and a need that the others have not. I pray you believe it and bless God, for it is a glorious truth. Lost one, there is a sense in which you are more to the Saviour than are the very angels of God, more than the happy ones within the fold. Over you yet there yearns a tender pity; for you He comes with all His power to help and all His graciousness to offer: "My child, My own lost little one," said He, "I cannot rest until I find thee and bring thee home again."—Mark Guy Pearse. WHAT HIS FAITH MEANT
By Editor
ABRAHAM is often called "the father of the faithful." The apostle Paul calls him "the father of all them that believe." He is called "father" not in the sense of fleshly descent, but in the sense of character. He is the father of all those who have the same faith that he had. And therefore God's promise "is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all . . . of the faith of Abraham." Now Abraham's faith consisted in fully persuading him "that what He [God] had promised, He was also able to perform." Mark the exercise of this faith in almost our first introduction to Abraham. "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Now here are God's promises of blessing unrivaled and unnumbered; and here are the conditions:— 1. "Get thee out of thy country." He is henceforth to be a man without a country on earth. The world was to resound, if it did not already, with the glories of Babylonia and Egypt. Abraham was a citizen of neither. He was henceforth to be a foreigner, a pilgrim, a stranger, till the King should give him inheritance in the "better country, that is, an heavenly." 2. "From thy kindred." He is not to clannishly stay with the tribe. He is not to feel that "these my relatives are the best in the earth, and I stay with them. We will build us a city, and make us a name lest we be scattered abroad." Not at all. There is no clannishness in the faith of Abraham. "Get thee out . . . from thy kindred" is the command of God. He is to be a man without earthly kindred only so far as they are bound by the claims of God. 3. "And from thy father's house." It is hard to leave one's country. It is harder still to leave loving kindred. It is hardest of all to leave father's house. But earthly fathers die, and then the house gets too small for too many. Why not leave it to the weak and home-sick and characterless ones; leave it for a greater work, involving strong character building. Leave it, for God calls. The simple record of the result of God's call is, "So Abraham went as the Lord had spoken unto him." He became a man without a country, without kindred, without a home, a stranger and a pilgrim for Christ's sake: "Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city," a "continuing city." And God blessed him, and made him a blessing. Every one who harbored the pilgrim was blessed. Every one who blessed him was blessed. Every one to whom he ministered was blessed. And this was all true even in his earth life. See Mark 10: 29, 30. Since then all the families of the earth have felt his blessing through his Seed, our Lord Jesus Christ. Are you Abraham's child? Have you his faith? Have you even yet gotten out of your country and its politics? THE church of God is composed of the called-out ones, those regularly summoned. They are called by the Gospel. They are called out of the world, out of sin and selfishness, out of Babylon and darkness, out of the kingdom of Satan, out of death and destruction. They are called into holiness, righteousness, grace; into the kingdom of Christ, into light, into life and obedience and service. Jesus Christ is not only the Head of this church, but He is the Head of each one belonging to this church. All this has been abundantly proved in the past. Now it must logically and inevitably follow, that he who will not submit to God's call, who will not be effectually called, who will not make that calling "sure" by submitting to do and letting God do all that God requires, can not be a citizen of God's kingdom. He is not one of the called-out of God; he is not a member of the church of God. The church to which he belongs may be called by man, "The Church of God," "The Church of Christ," "The Church of the Apostles," or "The Christian Church," or "The Holy Catholic Church," or "The Roman Catholic Church," or the "Methodist" or "Baptist" or "Adventist Church;" the name of the church will not make him a citizen of God or a called-out one from the world; for a man may nominally belong to any ecclesiastical body, and yet be as much of the world as one who believes in no church whatever. It must inevitably follow that he who once yielded to God's call, but who turned from the path of right, and in time of trial preferred and walked in his own way and the way of the world instead of that of God, would by thus doing take himself out from among the called-out ones, the church, and become one of the world, wherever his name might be enrolled. And this is as true of a church or body of such persons as it is of the individual. "Many are called, but few are chosen," because the many will not submit to God's call. By not yielding to God's call, however or wherever we may be born according to the flesh, we remain separate from Christ the Head. By not yielding, or refusing to walk in His way, we separate ourselves from Christ our life. "Christ is the Head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body" (Eph 5:23), and His church is the body, and the individuals who compose it are "members in particular" (1 Cor. 12:12, 13, 27). We are united to Him and to each other by His Spirit, His life; "for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." 1 Cor. 12:12, 13. The union, if it exist at all, is vital and personal between Christ and each one, as tho he were the only called-out one. Christ is the life, the power, the knowledge, the all in all of every soul saved. Christ tasted death for every soul, He lives for every one, He calls every one, and He personally saves every one who yields to the blessed call of the Gospel. If we cut ourselves off by unbelief, we die as surely as does the branch cut off from the living vine. If we hope for life in a church that has cut loose from God by unbelief and accept tradition and error in the place of truth, we will just as surely die. The only way to do is to heed God's call and come out from the dead forms and worldly emptiness. There is life only by personal abiding faith in Jesus Christ. The claim that succession of the priesthood is through a certain organization is a deception. A round of forms, elaborate ritual, and splendid ornate ceremonies, great names and sounding titles, wealth, magnificence, numbers, a succession of priests from Christ to the present, not one or all of these can save. Lucifer came pure from the hand of the almighty Creator, and could certainly claim unbroken succession even in his own person; he was "the anointed cherub that covereth," and God set him so (Eze. 28:14); but he fell, and he now ministers death rather than life. Israel of old were the chosen people of God, to whom pertained "the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came." Truly this would seem a sufficient guarantee of divine credentials! It would seem to show that Israel was the congregation of God! All these wonderful blessings of God were most precious. But the fact was that the children of Israel were called out of Egypt that they might "serve" God, and unless these blessings were held in the heart, and God's truth in the life, curses followed instead of blessing. God in mercy bore long with the rebellious children, and again and again called them back to righteousness. Still Israel trusted in the outward, and refused the call of God. But succession of priesthood through Levi was not sufficient; tracing the genealogy back to Abraham did not alone prove them to be the people of God, the possession of the temple, the ritual, the ark, were not of themselves credentials. Holding all these, yet Israel of old crucified the Lord of glory. Our Lord gives us a test, a most effectual one for all peoples, ages, conditions, and times. That test is, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Matt. 7:16. "To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them." Isa. 8:20. When the Jews boasted that they were free, because they were Abraham's seed (John 8:33), Jesus replied: "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. . . . Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do" (verses 39-44). Said John the Baptist to the same class: "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?7Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance ["answerable to amendment of life," margin]; and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Matt. 3:7-9. Man must be "born from above" before he becomes a child of God, before he is a member of Christ's body, or church, before he is a branch of the True Vine, before he bears fruit to God's glory. If this be not the case as respects the individual, he is not a member of the church of God. If this be not the case as respects a church, it is not the church of God. Lineage, priesthood, ritual, form, ceremonies are all nothing apart from God. The indwelling Word, Christ dwelling within the individual soul by faith, the fruits of righteousness manifest in the life, obedience to all God's commandments as given in God's Word, the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance,—these are God's indications of the true church, the body of Christ. Praise God, this blessed relation is open to every one. Reader, are you a member of the church of the living God? Are you His child? Are you among the regularly-summoned citizens? Are you lawfully called? If not, why not? 935. "Is Every Day a Sabbath?"
By Editor
NOTE.—We wish those who ask questions to take particular notice: (1) Only such questions will be answered here as we believe to be of general interest and information. (2) We can not undertake to explain from four to a dozen scriptures, as in one sentence we are often requested to do. (3) Do not ask to "explain" a certain text or passage. State clearly the point in question. (4) Give full name and address, not for publication unless desired, but as evidence of good faith, and to give us the privilege of replying by letter if deemed best. (5) Unsigned communications of any kind find the quickest way to the waste-basket. (6) It is always well to inclose stamp. (7) "Foolish and unlearned questions avoid," also those that minister to mere curiosity. (8) Study the Scriptures yourselves. 935. "Is Every Day a Sabbath?"
HERE is a clipping: "There is no single day of the week which is not accepted by some portion of the human race as the 'day of rest.' For example: Christians, Sunday; Greeks, Monday; Persians, Tuesday; Assyrians, Wednesday; Egyptians, Thursday; Turks, Friday; Jews, Saturday." Is it true? No; it is not true. Most Christians observe Sunday, and these include Greeks. The Mohammedans—including Egyptians and Turks—observe a portion of Friday. Assyrian literature speaks of the sacred seventh day. The old Persians were fire or sun worshipers, and therefore observed Sunday. But the idea of "rest" all came from the Biblical idea. We have the true Sabbath, the seventh day; we have two spurious sacred days, the Mohammedan Sixth day and the pagan Sunday. 936. Baptism—Water and Spirit.
PLEASE explain Luke 3:16. What is the difference between water-baptism and Holy Ghost baptism? What is meant by the fire spoken of? 1. Water baptism is the outward sign of an inward work. It is the Heaven-ordained rite by which we put on Christ before the world. It is the marriage ceremony between the believer and Christ. See Rom. 7:4; Gal. 3:27; Matt. 28:19, 20. Baptism by the Spirit is that experience by which we come into full communion with God, and are swallowed up in His life. His Spirit fills us and enswathes us. It is that by which vital union is effected with the body of Christ and the soul fitted for His work. 1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 1:8; 2:1-11. 2. The baptism by fire is utter destruction of sin; the burning out of its last remains. The fire comes from the presence of God; "our God is a consuming fire." His presence in us will destroy all sin if we will let Him in. His burning glory will destroy us with the sin when He comes, if we cling to the sin. See the lesson taught in Lev. 9:24 and 10:1, 2. The burnt offering represented the sin of the people who put away sin; but Nadab and Abihu are types of those who cling to sin. See also 2 Thess. 2:8. IN Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43, and in John 8:44, are we not taught that there are in the world many who, like the tares, resemble wheat so closely that we can not at all times tell the difference; and yet, being children of the devil, they can not be changed into the children of the kingdom without abrogating the law, "Let every seed bring forth after his own kind," given in the beginning? And if this is true, is it not misleading to say that the vilest, the worst, can become "children of the kingdom"? 1. A parable is not designed to teach everything. To use a stock expression, it will not go on all fours. The parable of the tares is given to show that the wicked will exist with the good till He comes who alone can separate; it is not given to show that the wicked can not be saved. See Isa. 1:18, 55:7. The lesson for man is, Do not attempt to judge; God alone can decide. Man's salvation depends upon his choice and submission to God. The wickedness and vileness have naught to do with it; for God's saving power is creative power. "If any man is in Christ, there is a new creation." 2 Cor. 5:17, R. V. It is, therefore, not misleading to say that any one may be saved if he will. NOW IF Christ was crucified Friday, and was, according to Matt. 12:40, three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, did He not rise Monday morning? Would not that show Sunday to be the seventh day? Why linger about the "ifs"? (1) What proof is there that "the heart of the earth" in Matt. 12:40 means "the grave"? The expression occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. May it not as truly mean in the power of earth's rulers, the rulers of the darkness of this earth? (2) What proof is there that Jonah was in the sea monster just seventy-two hours? There is none. Jesus says on "the third day." Mark 9:31; Matt. 16:21; 17:23, Luke 9:23, 24:21, 46. Jesus was betrayed into the hands of the powers of earth on what would be our Thursday night. Luke 22:53. All of Sixth day, all of Sabbath and part of First day, Jesus was in their power. That Sabbath was the one according to the commandment (Luke 23:56; Ex. 20:8-11), the day regarded by the Jews to the present time. The Bible First day began at sunset following, but not until midnight following that day did the Roman Sunday begin. 939. The Foundation of the Earth.
WHAT is meant by the "foundation of the earth," as spoken of in Heb. 1:10? The original for foundation is defined, to "lay a basis for, to erect, consolidate, to settle." It everywhere means the substruction, the basis. See Luke 6:48; 14:29. It is therefore the beginning. See "began," Ezra 7:9. The foundation upholds the superstructure. See Heb. 1:3. (1) Is THE "beginning" spoken of in Heb. 1:10 the same as in Gen. 1:1? (2) Is the "beginning" spoken of in Gen. 1:1 the same as the "beginning" mentioned in John 1:1? (1) We should so understand (2) No. The Creator was before the thing created. “WHATSOEVER HE DOETH SHALL PROSPER.”
By T.
“BLESSED is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Ps. 1: 1-3. The foregoing words are not the statement of a theory. They are not what people usually call theology. But they are the statement of an actual Christian experience. Every one who really and truly believes God’s words, and who has consequently learned how to feed upon them, knows of the complete realities of every utterance in the foregoing expressions of the psalmist. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Not that the man will be blessed at some future time. But “blessed is the man” right now. God does not leave us in anxiety and doubt for a single moment. He blesses us now, even to-day, so that we may know that His blessings are sure for all time. The man who is walking not in the counsels of the ungodly is walking in the counsels of God. In other words he is walking with God, and he is also blessed of God, and he knows it—he really and positively experiences the blessing. The one who is thus enjoying the blessing of God can always say with the keenest and deepest emotions of joy, “My delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law do I meditate day and night.” God’s law, God’s way, God’s great fountain of the right and true, is indeed a “delight.” There is no drudgery at all in the service of God. There is no gloom in it. There is no ray of sadness or despair. The service of the Master is delight. It is pure joy, and we meditate in the law of the Lord because it is an inexpressible pleasure, and not as a painful duty that we must perform in order to be religious. Then the person who has thus learned to delight in the Lord “shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, . . . and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” A superficial human view may lead some to say that there are exceptions to the foregoing statement of a divine principle. But if it appears to us that there are cases in the which the principle does not hold good, it is only because of our superficial understanding, and not because of a failure in the Word of God. Sometimes a person will profess to delight in the Lord, and to meditate in His law, while his profession is not genuine, and so it may seem that there is a failure in God’s Word. But the failure is in the individual instead. We should find our delight in the law of the Lord; and in His law we should meditate day and night; and then we should expect prosperity. “Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” is the sure promise. This prosperity comes both as a reward and as a result. The man who is meditating in the law of the Lord is drinking at the great fountain of wisdom. His mind is being lifted above the fog into the sunshine. He is enabled to see as God sees. He works on correct lines. The hand of Infinite Perfection guides him, and prosperity comes as a blessed result as well as a divine reward. Now, we beg of you, do not spend your time philosophizing over this subject after the manner of men. Neither allow the failures of some superficial professors to cast shadows between you and the bright truth of God. God’s Word is truth, and the verses quoted at the beginning are actually so. They are not theory, but fact. You may theorize about the words of God, it is true, but the words are facts—they are vital, and real, and true,—all the while that you are expending your energies on mere theory. But if you so choose you may lay down your theory, and take up the actual experiences of a definite knowledge that every word of God is a literal fact. T. THE INERRANCY OF THE BIBLE.
By G. B. Thompson
THE following, clipped from the Syracuse (N. Y.) Journal of March 7, 1899, is significant as showing the attitude which professed Bible expositors are assuming toward the infallible Word of God:— "At the regular weekly meeting of Methodist ministers of New York, the proposition 'that the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible are no longer possible of belief among reasoning men' was advanced in a paper read by the Rev. S. P. Cadman, pastor of the Metropolitan Temple. Mr. Cadman pointed out alleged discrepancies, and asserted that the time had come when people could find truth only at its fountain head, Christ. "At the conclusion of Mr. Cadman's paper, the four hundred ministers present, including Bishop Edward G. Andrews, applauded him, and entered into a lively discussion of the proposition. The paper was one of a series, the first of which was based on practically the same grounds, and was read at last week's meeting. The utterances contained in these papers involve a radical departure from the tenets of the Methodist Church since its foundation, and were accepted by the most representative body of the clergy of the church in America. It places the Bible on a plane with historical works, and rejects the authenticity of all parts of the Scriptures that are not in accord with modern human reason. "Mr. Cadman said the authorship of the greater part of the Old Testament was unknown. The New Testament likewise contained many contradictions." "By the new construction, the truth of such Bible stories as Jonah and the whale, the fate of Lot's wife, Elijah's ascension, the age of Methuselah, Daniel in the lions' den, and God speaking to Moses out of the burning bush are questioned, thus undermining the fundamental pillar of Methodist theology." In view of the above, it would seem that the time foreshadowed by Paul in 2 Tim. 4: 1-5 had fully come. When a large and influential religious denomination begins to place the Bible on a level with such works of historic research as those compiled by Gibbon and others, and reins it up at the bar of human reason, it is time to become alarmed, not for the Word, but for the people who are led into the ditch by blind shepherds. The time has come when those who believe the Bible are no longer looked upon as 'reasoning men,' but are regarded as old fogies. Pointing out 'alleged discrepancies' has been the unholy work of infidelity in the past, and it is with sorrow we see them aided in their work by the professed watchmen on the walls of Zion. Yet, the Bible still stands. One celebrated infidel in the past declared that twelve men established the Christian religion, but he would demonstrate that one man could overthrow it. He is dead; but the Bible is still here, translated into the leading languages and dialects of the earth, and millions of copies are sold annually. Its precious truth still lives, and the fruition of the Christian's hope which it portrays will soon be realized. Man may continue the work of searching for 'discrepancies,' but there are none. 'Thy Word is true from the beginning; and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.' Ps. 119: 160. A CONFESSION OF WEAKNESS.
By E. J. Dryer
THE Lord's Day Alliance, of Canada, is making a desperate struggle to secure, by law, a better observance of the Sunday. The following is the solemn warning and clarion call to battle by the Westminster, the chief organ of the Presbyterian Church of Canada:— "What does it mean? Plainly it means conflict, a more determined and costly conflict than the Christian people of Canada have ever known. The temperance question is not to be named with the Sabbath question as involving in its settlement life or death to the church and to society." "A battle for the Sabbath is upon the churches in Canada. It can not be evaded except at the cost of the church's life. The church that draws back on any pretext of pre-occupation, or out of respect to any theory of the Sabbath, or of the functions of the church, does so at its peril, and its perdition is sure. The Presbyterians and every other evangelical church must know that the fight is on, and that it is a fight to the death." An editorial in the Hamilton daily Herald of May 13, commenting on the above quotation, aptly says:— "A fight to the death. It means conflict.' But the fight must be in the political arena, and the conflict must be a secular one. If this were purely a social question, there would be nothing strange in the appeal of the Westminster. But it treats the question as a religious one—one that can be evaded only 'at the cost of the church's life.' It is 'a fight to the death' between the church and the forces of evil." "And has it come to this, that the church, in its conflict with the forces of evil, must take shelter behind the civil power, appealing to the State to save it from destruction? Alas! has the church grown so weak that it must fall unless it have the aid of the civil arm? This is not the spirit of the church in apostolic times and in the three centuries following. Then it defied all the powers of darkness, the civil power included, and triumphed." "This appeal from the chief organ of the Presbyterian Church in Canada is a confession of weakness. We think it not only evidence of a timorous spirit, but that the fear it expresses is not well founded. There is no good reason to fear that the interests of true religion will suffer from a less rigid observance of the Sabbath than the Puritanic observance which some extremists deem desirable. Let there be national liberty. But if the churches have not influence enough to induce the people to keep holy the Sabbath day, we don't think that they have a right to demand of the secular authorities that the people shall be compelled to keep it holy. 'A battle for the Sabbath is upon the churches of Canada,' says the Westminster. But has not this battle always been upon the churches? Let the churches continue the battle, using as their weapon the sword of the Spirit, and not calling upon the politicians to relieve them of their responsibility." What a comment by the secular press upon the weakness of the aggressive policy of Canadian Christianity. But the professed Christianity of Canada is not alone in its methods of aggressive warfare—in its anti-christian policy of seeking to secure obedience by force. The professed Christianity of the United States, of England, and all the so-called Christian nations have adopted the same policy. Truly it is a "confession of weakness" when all "Christendom" enters upon a united attempt to bolster up its Sunday sabbath by the aid of the civil power. Where is the manifestation of Pentecostal power in this present crusade? There is none. The Holy Ghost can not venture into such an enterprise. The armory of Heaven affords equipments for no such warfare. Such forceful methods are against the principles of the Gospel of Christ. In His commission Christ said, "Go ye into all the world and PREACH the Gospel to every creature." The Gospel of Christ is a Gospel of persuasion and not of force. "The temperance question is not to be named with the Sabbath question as involving in its settlement life or death to the church and to society." True, indeed, the temperance cause is of insignificant importance compared with the question of compulsory Sunday-sabbath observance, in the eyes of aggressive workers and supporters of the cause of popular Christianity. It has become the paramount religious question of the day,—the supposed life-and-death problem of all Christendom. All this is pointed out in the prophetic Word. Rev. 13:11-18. This religio-political worldly-policy Christianity—this gospel of force—was to become one of the mightiest Satanic forces to oppose the closing work of the Gospel of Christ. It was to be a repetition of the history of the workings which developed the Papacy, the "man of sin," the "beast" of Rev. 13:1-11. In other words, it is to be the "image to the beast." We are in the midst of the fulfilment of that prophecy. Satan is marshaling his forces to press this issue to a climax. The final message of Rev. 18:9-11, is to warn every soul to separate himself from this cause and keep the commandments of God. Its work is to call every honest soul from the support of this false Sunday-sabbath movement to obey the Sabbath of Jehovah. Reader, on which side of this controversy do you stand? THE PEACE CONFERENCE.
By Editor
THE New York Independent does not entertain very hopeful anticipations in regard to the results of the Peace Conference. Concerning it the Independent says:— "The more that is learned of the general opinions in regard to it, the less confidence there appears to be in any result in the line of actual disarmament. The czar has just issued a special edict, forbidding all Jews, even foreign Jews, to reside in St. Petersburg, and that is to be extended over the empire. An agreement has been arrived at by negotiations between the European powers not to receive any petitions, memoranda or letters, whether from governments or associations, which deal with national grievances, international conditions, or political or religious questions of individual countries. The refusal to send invitations to the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, while such countries as Montenegro and Bulgaria are invited, has created considerable bitter feeling in Holland, and there was opposition to the vote of supplies for the entertainment of the Conference. It has been decided that the votes of the Conference shall be by delegations, each delegation to have one vote, to be deposited by its representative. There are various suggestions with regard to possible arrangements for arbitration, etc., but these do not appear to have substantial foundation. Professor Bloch, whose article, it is understood suggested to the czar the project of the Conference, affirms that the opposition of diplomats and military leaders who are to attend will paralyze any positive action, and suggests that the most that can be done is to order a preliminary inquiry into two questions: (1) Whether the time has not actually arrived when war would result in mutual destruction of the combatants, and (2) whether the existing balance of power would not remain the same after a war, with the difference that it would no longer be possible to prevent a Socialist movement from leading to catastrophe." There is just one way to secure peace, and that is to allow the Prince of peace to have His rightful place in every heart. And this work must be accomplished between the individual and Christ Himself in the private conference of the closet. Every other effort to enforce peace will be a failure. For we are in the time when prophecy is being fulfilled by the stirring up of the war spirit through the agency of the demons of darkness. The dove of peace has departed from this earth, and the clamorings and the clashings of war will prevail until the Master appears in person to end it. And may the day be hastened. NEED OF REVIVALS.
By Editor
THE Christian Advocate begins an editorial in the following words:— "A contemporary which still occasionally treats religious subjects remarks that if less has been heard during the last year of 'revivals,' it only shows that the church has outgrown them. Whether that conclusion is warranted depends on what is meant by 'revivals.'" After speaking of a certain kind of revival that is not wanted, the editor forcibly presents the need of a true revival constantly, and thus concludes:— "Every church not now in a state of revival, or busy garnering the fruits of such a time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, should humble itself and do its first works over again. "How blessed the work! Let an extract from a personal letter received at this office inspire every Christian, lay or ministerial, with zeal:— God has graciously poured out His Spirit upon us. Fifty-nine persons up to the present time have turned their feet unto the testimonies of the Lord. The work continues; my heart rejoices; the people are entering into rich and blessed experiences. Twenty-six young men thus far, ranging between seventeen and thirty years of age, have been reached. For these young men I am specially solicitous. I wish to hold them to Christ and save them to the church. Splendid fellows they are, and full of promise. I can not bear the thought that one of them shall stray. I love them every one, and my heart is drawn toward them with an unusual affection and solicitude. In your judgment as a pastor and an observer, what is the very best course for me to pursue in their training and development for the largest usefulness and greatest service to the church? "The candlestick of the church that has outgrown such revivals and such a spirit as this, is ready to be removed out of its place; and if the angel of the church sympathizes with the church, the star that represents it in the hand of the Ancient of Days is in danger of being left to follow the candlestick into outer darkness." Tea Tasting.—The Evening World of May 18 tells us that Mr. J. S. Wolf, formerly a prosperous tea merchant in Bethayres, Penn., "lost his reason from tasting teas." It is well to remember that there are stages of unreason. Tea-drunkenness is not an uncommon thing.