Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 15, 1903
“REJOICE IN THE LORD.”
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
CHRIST declares, “The bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen Me, and believe not.”
Are not these words applicable to many to-day? We think that we believe in Christ; but have we His light and life? We do not believe as we should; therefore we do not receive the blessings that God has in store for us. We have seen God working on hearts. We have seen Him strengthening men and women to come out from the world and receive Christ as their personal Saviour. Have we thanked God as we should for the wonderful work that He has wrought? Let us recount the blessings of God and praise Him for them. We grieve our heavenly Father when we are unmindful of His mercies—like the heath in the desert, “that knoweth not when good cometh.”
When trials come into our lives, when clouds darken the horizon, how ready we are to forget that Jesus is our Saviour, that behind the clouds the Sun of Righteousness is shining; that angels are close beside us, preserving us from harm. I would say to the despairing, Look and live. Hope thou in God; for on Calvary’s cross a complete Sacrifice was offered for you. Jesus is the sinner’s Friend, the sinner’s Redeemer. Eternal joy—a life of undimmed happiness—awaits the one who surrenders all to Christ. Look away from yourself to Jesus, who is pleading before the throne of God in your behalf. Listen to His words, “Come unto Me, . . . and I will give you rest.” “Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out.” With the hand of faith grasp the promises of God. Appropriate these blessings to yourself, not at some future time, but to-day.
The strongest temptation can not excuse sin. However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act. It is not in the power of earth or hell to compel any one to do evil. Satan attacks us at our weakest point, but we need not be overcome. However severe or unexpected the attack, God has provided help for us, and in His strength we may conquer. In the hour of greatest need, when discouragement overwhelms the soul; then it is that Jesus comes very near. The hour of man’s necessity is God’s opportunity. He sees our dangers, and provides help for us. Unseen by us, He saves us from the foe. Let us praise Him at all times. He is always near us, and He never fails to send us help in every time of need.
Your heart may be so oppressed that all seems dark and dreary, but look to Jesus constantly. Take all your troubles to Him. He will never misunderstand you. He is the refuge of His people. Under the shadow of His protection they can pass unharmed. Believe in Him and trust in Him. He will not give you up to the spoiler. Flee to the stronghold, and learn that the power of Christ to strengthen and help passes all comprehension. Open the door of the heart and let Jesus enter to fill your life with His peace, His grace, His joy. Then you can say: “Altho the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”
Dear Christian friends, drop the burdens that God does not ask you to carry. The more you think and talk of these self-imposed burdens, the larger they grow, until at last they will utterly destroy your faith and courage. Do not think that when you walk with Jesus you must walk in the shadow. The happiest people in the world are those who trust in Jesus and gladly do His bidding. He is the Light of life. From the lives of those who follow Him, unrest and discontent are banished. With a full heart they echo the words of the wise man, Wisdom’s “ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” Tho they meet with trials and difficulties, their lives are full of joy; for Christ walks beside them, and His presence makes the pathway bright.
The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, and Stars
By W. A. Sweany
THE GOSPEL IN CREATION. NO. 6.
The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, and Stars.
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.” Gen. 1:14–19.
Let it ever be remembered that the sun, moon, and stars, and other seeming sources of light are only “light bearers.” Through these light flows from Him who “is light,” and in whom “is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5. The heat and light which emanate from burning wood, coal, oil, etc., is only the reproduction of the sunlight that has been stored up by these various elements when in the form of growing plants and trees. And sunlight is only the light that is imparted to that mighty orb by the mandate of Him, “the entrance” of whose “words giveth light.” Ps. 119:105, 130. And when the new creation is complete, the redeemed will witness the manifestation of the glory of God that will lighten the whole earth, independent of the sun, moon, and stars, or any other agency. “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light.” “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Rev. 22:5; 21:23. “Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously.” Isa. 24:23.
Yet even now “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” Ps. 19:1–4. Thus in the glorious beauty of the shining, starry heavens the children of God see and hear with the eye and ear of faith many precious, instructive, assuring lessons, illustrative of the wisdom and power of their Creator and Redeemer. “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one falleth.” Isa. 40:26.
So successful is He in thus upholding, controlling, guiding, and directing them by “the word of His power” (Heb. 1:1–3), that those who study the laws that govern their movements can tell for years in the future the precise minute at which the sun will rise and set2or be eclipsed, as well as the exact position of each of the planets and stars at any given time. Surely in view of all this we may safely trust Him when He says: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” Isa. 41:10. Of all the countless, starry hosts of heaven “not one faileth”—they shine on and on, eternal, everlasting illustrations of the wisdom and power of the Creator. Mists and darkness may obscure them, so that our eyes may not behold them for a time, but we know they are still there, shining with undimmed luster and unimpaired brilliancy.
Let this remind us that “they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” Dan. 12:1–3. Surely this should inspire every one to seek and search for wisdom as for hid treasure (Prov. 2:1–6), and when found, use it in soul-winning; for “he that winneth souls is wise.” Prov. 11:30.
But there is yet another lesson that God has caused to be written in the heavens so plainly that he who runs may read. When the sun, moon, and stars were placed in the firmament to give light upon the earth and to rule the day, and the night, the Creator also said, “Let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” That the seasons, days, and years are governed by the heavenly bodies is plainly evident to all, but the mandate, “Let them be for signs” has been no less strikingly fulfilled. Shortly before He went back to heaven, when His disciples asked Him what should be the sign of His coming again and of the end of the world, He replied, “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars.” And He also told them when these and other signs foretold at the same time should appear and what the nature of these should be. After carefully, clearly, and repeatedly assuring them that these signs and the end would not take place in their day, and after warning them again and again to beware of imposters, He directed their minds forward through ages filled with war, famine, plague, earthquakes, tidal waves, through the long, dark centuries of persecution, which began in 538 and ended in 1798.
And “immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken.” In fulfilment of this, on May 19, 1780, “the sun was darkened at midday,” “in his going forth,” and “became black as sackcloth of hair,” and the following night the moon, altho’ full, gave no light, causing a darkness that could be felt, and when next seen, had the appearance of blood. On Nov. 30, 1833, the prophecy of the falling stars was fulfilled in the most wonderful display of celestial fireworks ever witnessed by man. The most learned astronomers freely acknowledge that no scientific reason or explanation of these wonderful events has been given. But the student of God’s Word sees therein the explanation and the reason. Please read carefully and prayerfully Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; Isa. 13:9–11; Eze. 32:7, 8; Joel 2:1–14, 28–32; Amos 8:1–14; Rev. 6:12–17; and then when ye see all these things come to pass, then know that He is near, even at the door, as surely as ye know that summer is near when the trees put forth their leaves. For “this generation [that sees these things] shall not pass, till all these things [including the coming of Christ] be fulfilled.”
All these things spoken of by the Saviour as signs of His coming have been or are now being fulfilled, and every member of this present generation should see in them the omens of the coming King and prepare to meet the Lord. No one now living witnessed the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, but through the record of those events and the preaching of the Gospel we see them as the signs and assurances of our salvation. Just so, dear reader, altho you may not have witnessed the darkened sun or the falling stars, they become signs to you through the testimony of those who did see and bear record, to which testimony your mind is now directed. No past generation has seen all these signs—this one has. So this generation shall see the Son of Man coming in power and great glory. This is a matter of fact, because the Scripture, which can not be broken, so declares. The only question is, Will you be ready to meet Him when He appears? For years He has been near, even at the door; soon the opening heavens will reveal Him. And when the church of God shall read and believe these “glad tidings of great joy,” written not only on the sacred pages of Inspiration, but in the sun, moon, and stars, they will arise and trim their lamps, and go forth to meet the Bridegroom, “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Cant. 6:10. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.”
“God is light;” His Word is light; be thou, reader, a light-bearer for Him.
W. A. SWEANY.
A NAME TO LIVE.
By Watchword
“I KNOW thy works, O Sardis,”
The Faithful Witness said,
“Thou hast a name that thou dost live,
Yet truly thou art dead.
“I KNOW thy gifts are princely,
And praised by men thou art;
But man looks on the outward show,
While I look on the heart.
“Men call thee ‘great’ and ‘blessed,’
But I can deeper see;
I see thy lack of faith in God,
And want of love for Me.
“Unquickened by the Spirit,
Beclouded from the sun,
Unwatered by the streams of life
Which flow for every one.
“Thy name, thyself, O Sardis,
Are hastening to decay;
Thy sembled faith, unmixed with works,
As dead as soulless clay.
“Awake, arise, O Sardis!
And be no longer dead;
Cast off thy cold, sepulchral robes,
And ‘put on Christ’ instead.
“Pray for the ‘living water,’
For God’s own Spirit pray;
Then live for love, and serve Him here,
And dwell with Him for aye.”
— Watchword.
WHAT DO THESE THINGS MEAN?
By Alonzo T. Jones
III.
In closing the previous article we said that the power and influence which the Papacy had already gained in the national government, in connection with the coal-strike and labor combines, is only a part of the true standing of the Papacy in connection with the United States Government to-day.
The opening of the Spanish-American war presented to the Papacy a grand opportunity which she instantly seized, and which she has been working to the utmost at every stage of proceedings since. The entanglement of the question of the friars in the Philippines she so worked as to draw the national government into official communication with the papal government in Rome. She secured a commission from the United States Government to be sent to Rome to deal with the Papacy on her own ground in the Vatican. This commission consisted of three persons—Governor Taft, of the Philippine Islands, Bishop O'Gorman, of the Catholic Church, and attorney James F. Smith, a Roman Catholic and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. That is to say, the United States Government and the Papacy are two parties to a controversy or negotiation. The United States Government sends a commission of three to represent the United States, and two of the three are themselves Papists. This, then, was nothing else than another instance in which the Papacy in professedly dealing for the United States Government, simply deals with herself. For is there anybody in the world so obtuse as not to be able to discern that the papal two-thirds of that commission sent to deal with the Papacy would inevitably work for the interests of the Papacy first of all? that they would represent the Papacy instead of the United States?
This two-thirds papal commission went duly to Rome, and entered upon negotiations with the Papacy: with the result that the question in controversy was relegated to Manila as the place of the further consideration of it, and Governor Taft and the papal apostolic delegate, Mgr. Guidi, as the persons to conduct the further negotiations, with “the Philippine Government expressly recognizing the official character of Mgr. Guidi, and has pledged itself, over Mr. Taft's signature, to treat with him as a duly accredited representative of the Holy See.” And this is but the recognition of the papal government by the United States Government in her Philippine possessions and jurisdiction.
In the negotiations Governor Taft proposed four articles as a basis of procedure and settlement. One of these articles proposed a tribunal of arbitration composed of five members, two to be appointed by the pope, two by the Philippine Government, and the fifth to be chosen by “an indifferent person, like the Governor-general of India.” By the Papacy those four articles were expanded to twelve, and this particular one was so changed as to have that arbitration board composed thus: “Two shall be named by the Holy See, two by the Philippine Government, and the fifth by the common accord of the other four; and if such accord can not be reached, his holiness the pope, and the President of the United States shall come to an understanding as to the choice of said fifth member.” Negotiations were at this point abruptly broken off, so that the matter went no further. But this one item shows plainly enough how ready is the Papacy to set traps by which she shall involve the United States Government in such a way that it shall be caused to work hand in hand with the Papacy in behalf of the Papacy. If that proposition had been accepted, can anybody believe that the four would ever have agreed upon the fifth member, when the alternative was that the pope and the President of the United States should work together in the matter, thus forming a union of the United States and the Papacy?
The School Question.
Another item in this papal entanglement is the school question in the Philippines. The Papacy claims the sole right of controlling and conducting education in the Philippines; and at the same time have the schools supported from the public treasury: in other words, to have the Papacy, a union of the Church, and the State, supported by the United States. Governor Taft claims the right of the American principle of separation to prevail in the Philippines and in the school matter there. The papal plea is represented in the following documents:—
Cincinnati, July 10, 1902.
Rev. Dear Father:—
Should you be willing to do so, kindly sign your name to the enclosed memorial and return it as soon as possible to the Chancery, stating at the same time the number of Catholics under your care. The document has already been signed by the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Hartford, and the 282 priests of his diocese, and probably by many others.
Wm. Henry Elder,
Archbishop of Cincinnati.
Cincinnati, July 10, 1902.
To His Excellency, Theodore Roosevelt,
President of the United States:—
The undersigned, the clergy of the diocese of Cincinnati, in their own name, and in the name of 200,000 Catholics of the diocese, would respectfully beg3to lay before your excellency the following memorial bearing upon the Philippine schools:—
Your excellency is aware that the Filipino people, in so far as they are Christians at all, are members of our communion. For three hundred years they have committed the education of their children to the care of religious teachers. To the training thus imparted the natives owe their present status as a civilized and Christian people. We respectfully submit that, in our judgment, the abrupt and complete breaking away from this system of education and the adopting of another entirely devoid of religious coloring, coupled with the violent disruption of venerable traditions which must necessarily ensue, would be a grave hindrance to their progress in civilization, and impede unnecessarily our peaceful and successful government of the archipelago.
We respectfully submit that the clause of the Constitution which requires the absolute separation of Church and State was intended by the framers of the document to meet the conditions in the United States of America, and not those which obtain in the Orient and among a people unanimously of one form of religious belief.
And the Catholic paper, the Church Progress, of St. Louis, indorses these documents with the following editorial endorsement:—
While our government has been far from doing the right thing by way of recognizing American Catholics in the Philippines, we believe justice will eventually prevail. For that the demand of fifteen million American Catholics is somewhat of a guarantee. It is one which no administration dare ignore.
Against Governor Taft's holding to the American principle of separation of Church and State, the Papacy sets up the argument: “The Constitution of the United States does not apply in the Philippines,” and since that is exactly what the Supreme Court has decided, who can deny the legality of the papal contention? And since the Papacy has the highest possible legal basis for her claim that the Constitution does not apply in the Philippines, she holds distinct vantage ground in her claim that the system that has prevailed there for three hundred years shall continue; and that is the papal system, with the splendid addition that the authority of the United States Government is now included in the papal system. And that this shall be firmly secured, she proposes to swing in the United States itself, as the political power.
In addition to “this demand of fifteen million of American Catholics,” “which no administration dare ignore;” and as a further strong security that her system and conniving will and shall prevail in the Philippine school matter; is the significant fact that that Hon. James F. Smith, who was half of that two-thirds papal commission of the United States to the Vatican, was, upon his return from that commission, appointed by the President of the United States a “member of the Philippine commission and Secretary of Public Instruction in the Government of the Philippine Islands.” And this simply puts into her hands the whole control of the school question in the Philippines. And what possible prospect can there be of Governor Taft alone stemming that papal tide in the Philippines, when that tide is so industriously fed, not only from Rome, but from Washington itself?
No, that tide will surely engulf not only the Philippines, but the United States. Eleven years ago the Papacy published in the United States that “what the Church has done for others, she will now do for the United States.” Ten years ago she gave by Satolli her official commission to the Catholics of the United States to bring their country into immediate contact with the papal church. And by every possible means this is being done; and her success in the scheme is remarkable. And through the success of this scheme she proposes to lift herself again to supremacy in Europe and the world, and so dominate “all humanity.”
And she will succeed in that world scheme as certainly as she is succeeding in her scheme to dominate the United States, as the preliminary to that world scheme. And so it is written in the Scriptures: “These kings are of one mind in surrendering their power and authority to the beast.” “For God put it into their minds to carry out His purpose, in carrying out their common purpose and surrendering their kingdoms to the beast, until God's decrees should be executed.” Rev. 17:12, 17 (Twentieth Century New Testament).
And when she gets again world-power and supremacy, what will she do with it? How will she use it?—She will do with it just what she did before. She will use it just as she did before,—to compel “all humanity” to do her bidding, and whoever will not do it will incur her wrath in persecution, boycott, and inquisition, unto death. And the one thing in which has always centered her will to be conformed to by all people without distinction, is the recognition of Sunday as the day of rest for all. This she will enforce upon all the world by all the power of the world. And every movement of any sort in behalf of Sunday as the rest-day is a direct play into the hands of the Papacy; it is a direct helping forward of the papal domination of the world.
And this is the religious despotism of the one-man power that is the logic and the culmination of the universal spirit of combine that prevails to-day. And when she finds herself once more at the head of the world, she exultingly congratulates herself: “I sit here a queen; no widow am I; I shall never know misery.” But her exaltation will be short-lived this time, thank the Lord. For the Lord's own response to her note of triumph is, “Therefore in one day shall these curses befall her—death, misery, and famine, and she shall be utterly destroyed by fire.” And the kings of the earth that surrendered their power and authority to her, hoping that she should be the means of bringing to their kingdoms help and peace from the confusion and anarchy that her own elements had caused—these same kings, in their infinite disappointment and vain humiliation, “will all hate the prostitute, and cause her to become deserted and strip her bare; they will eat her very flesh and destroy her with fire.”
Then, in the midst of the anarchy and destruction that is the result of all this, the Lord Jesus appears in the clouds of heaven with true power and infinite glory. And in their blindness and anarchistic confusion the beast and all the kings of the earth turn to make war even against Him. “They will fight with the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are on His side will share His victory.”
And so the meaning of the things that are occurrent to-day, and the outcome of the combines that are prevalent everywhere, and in all things, is the religious despotism of a one-man power of the Papacy restored to a short-lived supremacy, and then hurled down to eternal destruction and perdition. While for those who, with the other heroes of the ages, in their individual integrity refuse all that, and stand in their individual integrity with God in Jesus Christ, the sure outcome is the rising to be with God in everlasting victory and eternal glory. For “those who are on His side . . . will share His victory.” Who is on the Lord's side? ALONZO T. JONES.
GOD'S LOVE.
By S. Longfellow
EMBOSOMED deep in Thy dear love, held in Thy law, I stand;
Thy hand in all things I behold, and all things in Thy hand;
Thou leadest me by unsought ways,
And turn'st my mourning into praise.
—S. Longfellow.
SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.
By H. A. St. John
The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. This is an important part of the aggressive armor of every Christian. Only the true Christian can have or use this sword, for it is the sword of the Spirit, and only the Christian has the Spirit, and, hence, he only has the sword. Where the Spirit is not, there the sword is not, and whenever we find the Spirit of God there is also the Word of God, the Spirit’s sword.
The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is light—moral and spiritual light. Its opposite and enemy, is darkness—moral and spiritual darkness. Spiritual illumination conquers by simply being admitted. The light, being let in, dispels the darkness. The body then is filled with light from Him in whom there is no darkness at all. Such are children of light and of the day—ever waging a warfare against the kingdom and prince of darkness by simply letting their light shine. As their light shines out in the darkness, other souls in darkness beholding that light, accept and admit the light, being thus led to glorify God or shine for God.
The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is truth—moral and spiritual truth. Its opposite and enemy is error—moral and spiritual error. Spiritual truth conquers by simply being admitted. The truth, being let in, dispels the error. The person then, like his divine Lord, becomes the embodiment of truth. He is sanctified by that Truth, in which there is no error at all. Thus by simply living a life of truth, they are constantly waging a warfare against the father of lies, and winning souls to the truth.
All conquests in the Christian warfare are the peaceable and bloodless conquests of light and truth over darkness and error in the body, soul, and spirit of the warrior. And when the warfare is ended, and the church militant becomes the church triumphant, the blessed results of that warfare will be an immortal crown of light and truth, shining like the sun and stars in the kingdom of our everlasting Father, world without end. H. A. St. John.
“LOVE NEVER FAILETH.”
By Dr. L. A. Bankes
THERE is an oriental story of two brothers, Ahmed and Omar. Both wished to perform a deed whose memory should not fail, but which, as the years rolled on, might sound their name and praises far abroad. Omar, with wedge and rope, lifted a great obelisk and its base, carving its form in beautiful devices, and sculpturing many a strange inscription on its sides. He set it in the hot desert to cope with its gales. Ahmed, with deeper wisdom, and truer tho sadder heart, digged a well to cheer the sandy waste, and planted about it tall date-palms to make cool shade for the thirsty pilgrim and shake down fruits for his hunger. And these two deeds, says the one who tells the story, illustrate two ways in either of which we may live. We may think of self and worldly success and fame, living to make a name splendid as the tall, sculptured obelisk, but as cold and useless to the world. Or we may make our life like a well in the desert, with cool shade about it, to give drink to the thirsty, and shelter and refreshment to the weary and faint. How much better it is to be loving than famous! How much more glorious than to have a fame which, like the great Sphinx, will finally fade and wear away, is it to give forth, from a fountain of love, a stream of helpfulness that shall never fail!—Dr. L. A. Bankes, in S. S. Times.