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Signs of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 2.

The Christian Sabbath and the Fourth Commandment

Signs of the Times

Jan 14, 1889

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 14, 1889

The Christian Sabbath and the Fourth Commandment

By Editor

The Lutheran Observer of December 28 has an article against the continental Sunday, and says that "erroneous views of the apostolic institution of the Christian Sabbath, or Lord's day, and of the proper manner of observing it, have generally prevailed on the continent of Europe." By the "Christian Sabbath" the editor means Sunday. But it is only on the continent of Europe that we have Sunday kept as originally instituted. It was always regarded more as a holiday than a holy day. Down to within a few centuries, markets were held in the very churchyards, even in England, on Sunday. Luther and Calvin both regarded it as a holiday. So also did Tyndale, Zwingle, Cranmer, and others. It was to them a mere matter of human expediency. They knew that it could not be clothed with the sacred law of the fourth commandment. It has been reserved for the latter-day friends of Sunday to dress the institution in the garb of the rest-day of Jehovah. But the garb does not fit. The fourth command was given for one day alone, namely, the seventh. It cannot be made to fit any other.

AN IMPRESSIVE MIRACLE.

By Mrs. E. G. White

JESUS healed many and various cases of bodily disease, while he was preaching and ministering to sin-sick souls. Many hearts were liberated from the cruel bondage of sin. Unbelief, discouragement, and despair, gave place to faith, hope, and happiness. But when the sick and wretched applied to the Saviour for help, he first relieved the poor, suffering body before he attempted to minister to the darkened mind. When the present misery of the suppliant was removed, his thoughts could better be directed into the channel of light and truth.
Leprosy was the most fearful and loathsome disease of the East. It was looked upon with great dread by all classes on account of its contagious character and its horrible effect upon its victim. Great precautions were taken to prevent the disease from spreading among the people. With the Hebrews the leper was pronounced unclean. He was isolated from his family, restricted from the privileges of society, and cut off from the congregation of Israel. He was doomed to associate only with those who were similarly afflicted with himself.
Away from his friends and kindred he must bear the curse of his terrible malady. No affectionate hands could soothe his pain. He was obliged to publish his own calamity, to rend his garment, and sound the alarm, warning all to flee from his polluted and decaying body. The cry, Unclean! Unclean! coming with mournful tone from the lonely exile, was a signal heard with fear and abhorrence.
There were many of these loathsome subjects in the region of Christ's ministry. The news of the great Healer had reached even them in their isolation, and a gleam of hope sprung up in their hearts that if they could come into the presence of Jesus he might relieve them. But as they were debarred from entering any city or village, it seemed impossible for them to reach the great Physician, whose chief work lay among the populace.
There was one leper who had been a man of high distinction. It was with the greatest grief that he and his family had become convinced that he was a victim to the fatal disease. Physicians of note had been consulted, and they had examined his case thoroughly, and anxiously searched their books to obtain further knowledge; but they were reluctantly compelled to acknowledge that their skill was baffled, the disease was incurable. It was then the duty of the priest to make an examination; this resulted in a decision that his was the worst form of leprosy. This verdict sentenced him to a living death, separated from his friends and the society in which he had held so lofty a position. But now those who had courted his favor and accepted his hospitality fled from his presence with horror. He went out an exile from his home.
Jesus was teaching by the lake outside the city limits, and many were gathered to hear his words. The leper, who in his seclusion had heard of some of his mighty works, came out to see him, and drew as near as he dared. Since his exile, the disease had made fearful inroads upon his system. He was now a loathsome spectacle; his decaying body was horrible to look upon. Standing afar off, he heard some of the words of Jesus, and saw him laying hands upon the sick to heal them. He beheld, with amazement, the lame, the blind, the paralytic, and those dying of various maladies, rise up at a word from the Saviour, restored to health and praising God for their salvation. He looked upon his own wretched body and wondered if this great Physician could not cure even him. The more he heard, and saw, and considered the matter, the more he was convinced that this was really the promised Saviour of the world, to whom all things were possible. None could perform such miracles but He who was authorized of God, and the leper longed to come into his presence and be healed.
He had not intended to approach near enough to endanger the people; but now his mind was so powerfully wrought upon that he forgot the restrictions that had been placed upon him, the safety of the people, and the horror with which they regarded him. He thought only of his blessed hope that the power of Jesus could set him free from his infirmity. His faith laid hold of the Saviour, and he pressed forward, heedless of the frightened multitude that fell back as he approached, and crowded over and upon each other to avoid him.
Some thought to prevent him from approaching Jesus, but their efforts were in vain. He neither saw nor heard them. The expressions of loathing and looks of horror that greeted his appearance were lost upon him. He saw only the Son of God, he heard only the voice that was giving health and happiness to the suffering and unfortunate.
As he came before Jesus, his pent-up feelings found vent; he prostrated his foul, decaying body before him, crying out, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." His words were few, but comprehended his great need. He believed that Christ was able to give him life and health.
Jesus did not shrink from his approach, but drew near him. The people fell back, and even the disciples were filled with terror, and would fain have prevented their Master from touching him, for by the law of Moses he who touched a leper was himself unclean. But Jesus, with calm fearlessness, laid his hand upon the supplicant and answered his petition with the magic words, "Be thou clean!"
No sooner were these life-giving words spoken than the dying body of corruption was changed to a being of healthy flesh, sensitive nerves, and firm muscle. The rough, scaly surface peculiar to leprosy was gone, and a soft glow, like that upon the skin of a healthy child, appeared in its place. The eager multitude now lost their terror, and crowded around to behold this new manifestation of divine power.
Jesus charged the cleansed leper not to make known the work he had wrought upon him, saying, "See thou say nothing to any man; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them." Accordingly, the now happy man went to the same priests who had previously examined him, and whose decision had banished him from his family and friends.
Joyfully he presented his offering to the priests and magnified the name of Jesus, who had restored him to health. This irrefutable testimony convinced the priests of the divine power of Jesus, although they still refused to acknowledge him as the Messiah. The Pharisees had asserted that his teachings were directly opposed to the law of Moses, and for the purpose of exalting himself; yet his special directions to the cleansed leper to make an offering to the priest according to the law of Moses, evidenced to the people that these accusations were false.
The priests were not allowed to accept an offering from the hands of one who had been afflicted with leprosy, unless they first thoroughly examined him and proclaimed to the people that he was entirely free from the infectious disease, was in sound health, and could again unite with his family and friends without endangering them. However unwilling the priest might have been to accredit this marvelous cure to Jesus, he could not evade an examination and decision of the case. The multitude were anxious to learn the result of the investigation, and when he was pronounced free from disease, and privileged to return to his family and friends, great was the excitement. Such a thing had never before been known.
But notwithstanding the caution of Jesus to the cleansed leper, he published the matter abroad. Conceiving that it was only the retiring modesty of Jesus that laid these restrictions upon him, he went about proclaiming the mighty power of this great Healer. He did not understand that every new manifestation of divine power on the part of Jesus only made the chief priests and elders more determined to destroy him. The restored man felt the boon of health was very precious. The pure blood coursing through his veins quickened his entire being with a new and delightful animation. He rejoiced in the full vigor of manhood and in his restoration to his family and society. He felt it impossible to refrain from giving full glory to the Physician who had made him whole.
But the publicity of this affair created so great a commotion that Jesus was obliged to retire beyond the city. "And they came to him from every quarter." These miracles were not worked for display; the acts of Christ were in direct contrast to those of the Pharisees, whose greatest ambition was to secure the praise and honor of men.

Christ’s Soon Return and Reward

"Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.

THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION.

By Archbishop Trench

SOME murmur when their sky is clear, And wholly bright to view, If one small speck of dark appear In their great heaven of blue. And some with thankful love are filled, If but one streak of light, One ray of God’s good mercy, gild The darkness of their night.
In palaces are hearts that ask, In discontent and pride, Why life is such a dreary task, And all good things denied. And hearts in poorest huts admire How love has in their aid (Love that not ever seems to tire) Such rich provision made.
—Archbishop Trench.

Be Still, and Know That I Am God

"Be still, and know that I am God," is the injunction of the Lord through the psalmist. How many fail to recognize the presence of God, and drive it away, simply by a failure to heed it. After the earthquake, the tempest, and the fire, it was the still, small voice that revealed God to the prophet. But often there is so much confusion, even in some assemblies for worship, that a still, small voice could not be heard. And then there is the sound of hilarity and mirth, and the boisterous amusements in which young people, even those professing godliness, are wont to indulge, all of which drown the voice of God, and drive away the Spirit. Still worse than these are the voices of envy and strife, which grieve the Holy Spirit of God. It is in the quiet seclusion of the closet that the soul comes nearest to God; and the more of quietness one can have in his everyday life, the more perfect will be his communion with his Maker. This does not mean that a person should sit with folded hands, doing nothing. Daniel had all the affairs of the kingdom of Babylon in his hands, yet God came to him in the midst of his business, and gave him a wonderful vision. But we cannot imagine a vision being given to him if he had been rushing and fuming and fretting. No; the presence of God gives perfect peace, and the humble, quiet-minded person is the one with whom God will take up his abode. So when the apostle warns us against grieving the Spirit of God, he exhorts us especially to put clamor away from us.

Judaism and the Sunday Lecture

THE Jewish Voice (St. Louis) says that after a two years’ trial Judaism has gained “nothing by the Sunday lecture, the religious spirit among the young has not increased, and if anything the worm is slowly eating into the very core of our faith in the hearts of our sons and daughters.” This is just what the Jews or any other people might expect from a lowering of the standard of their faith in any particular. The willingness of many Hebrews to abandon the Sabbath of their fathers, the Sabbath divinely ordained in the beginning, and to accept in its stead the Sunday, marks but another step in apostasy. The claims of business are considered before the claims of the law of God, and when this is done in the case of one commandment, it is likely to be in the case of the entire decalogue. Hence it is not strange that “the worm is slowly eating into the very core” of their faith.

Preach the Gospel in Our Cities

"What shall be done with our cities?" is a question which is troubling many of our contemporaries. "Preach the word," brethren; "be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." The gospel of Christ has not lost its savor; it is still the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. It is adapted to urban and suburban dwellers, to all nations, tongues, and people, and to every condition and station of life.

A Message from the Pope

A MESSAGE from the Pope to the people of Ireland was read in Dublin on the 1st inst. by Archbishop Walsh. Among other things the pretended successor of St. Peter said: “We have always held in special affection the Catholics of Ireland, who have been sorely tried by many afflictions, and have ever cherished them with love which is the more intense because of their marvelous fortitude and their hereditary attachment to their religion.”

We Do Not Need a New Religion

The St. Louis Globe Democrat, though far from being a religious paper, thus fittingly rebukes the demand which has recently arisen in certain so-called Christian quarters for a new religion. The Democrat says: “Science has not provided a substitute for conscience, and has not yet furnished a plan of salvation. . . . The evidences of Christianity do not depend upon technical points of that kind. . . . The fundamental principles of that religion do not require vindication according to the methods by which the scientists analyze and determine physical problems. They are their own vindication for the most part, and their results prove them to be sound and wholesome. . . . We do not need a new religion; but we do need more of the one that already exists, and that has been thoroughly and profitably tried. Science has its place and its beneficial use in the world; but it cannot supply material for another and better form of religion. It does not deal with spiritual truth in any definite sense, and its opportunities do not lie in the direction of the forgiveness of sin and the adjustment of man’s destiny beyond the grave.”

REMARKS UPON ZECHARIAH 5: 1-4.

By John Nevins Andrews

THIS passage records the vision of a roll which went forth over all the city. This roll was of immense size, being twenty cubits, or about thirty feet, in length, and ten cubits, or about fifteen feet, in breadth. The angel said that this roll represented the curse which goes forth over the face of all the earth against all who steal and against all who swear falsely. Verse 3. It must therefore be the curse of the law of God which is pronounced against all iniquity. Deut. 27: 15-26; Gal. 3: 10, 13. It originated when God pronounced his curse upon Adam and upon the earth, and it will remain upon the earth and upon sinners till it has utterly consumed them by the fire of the last day, after which there will be no more curse. Isa. 24: 6; Rev. 22: 3.
Only two kinds of sins are specified by the angel, theft and perjury, but these are taken as examples of all the things which the law of God condemns. Thus, theft is forbidden in the second table of the law by the eighth commandment (Ex. 20: 15), and swearing falsely by the name of God is forbidden by both tables, that is, by the third commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," and by the ninth commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness." Ex. 20: 7, 16.
On one side of the roll the curse related to the sins against the first table of the law of God, perjury being taken as an example. On the other side of the roll the curse related to the transgressions of the second table, theft being specified as an example. Verse 3. The immense size of this roll was for the purpose, no doubt, that the acts of transgression against each table of the law might be written each under the commandment which it transgresses. Thus, idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, disobedience to parents, murder, adultery, and covetousness, must also be included with theft and perjury in this terrible curse which goes forth over the face of all the earth, to enter into the house of every transgressor, and to abide there till it utterly consumes that house. Verse 4.
St. Paul speaks of self-righteousness as the most prominent of the sins upon which the curse of the law of God reposes, for it is the transgression of the whole law. He says: "As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse." Gal. 3: 10. The law of God does not curse obedience, but disobedience. But every act of the self-righteous man is an act of disobedience, for the law demandslove in every commandment, and the Pharisee gives it in not one case. Rom. 13: 8-10; Luke 11: 42.
The Christian is redeemed from the curse of the law, that is, from its just condemnation, by the blood of Christ, so that he need not be consumed by that curse at the last day. Gal. 3: 13. For Christ took the curse upon himself, though innocent, that he might die in the place of the guilty. 1 Pet. 2: 24; 3: 18. But no one can share in this redemption except upon condition of repentance, faith, conversion, and the solemn promise to refrain by the grace of God from future transgression. Acts 2: 38; 3: 19. The law of God is written in the heart of the redeemed, and the law of sin is removed from that heart by the Spirit of God, so that obedience is made possible through the grace of God. Heb. 11: 16, 17; Ps. 37: 31; Isa. 51: 7; Rom. 7: 21-23; 8: 2. But the angel of God said that this roll, the curse of God, should enter into the house of the sinner, and should remain there till it utterly consumes it. Zech. 5: 4. No sinner can escape this terrible visitor except by repentance. The death of Christ did not destroy this curse; it only made the escape of the sinner possible. Every house where men live in sin has a copy of this great roll lodged within it, and day by day the recording angel writes upon it the sins committed in that house. If the inmates could see this roll as it enters their dwelling they would be alarmed. Still more would they be alarmed if they could see that this roll had taken up its permanent abode in their house, and that the angel of God was standing by it and writing upon it the sins which they were each day committing.
Yet it is absolutely true that every house where the inmates transgress the law of God, has a copy of this roll as a permanent dweller. Not an act of injustice, of fraud, of blasphemy, of impurity, of covetousness, of cruelty, or of falsehood, will fail to be placed upon this roll and to receive at the last day its terrible malediction in the case of all who do not repent.
This roll is at present invisible to human eyes, but it is none the less real on that account. At the day of Judgment, when the books are opened, the curse of the law of God will be found a terrible reality, as Christ shall pronounce these words to those on the left hand: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. 25: 41.—J. N. Andrews.

CONDEMNATION.

"If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things." Let us think how much this means. Our little qualms of conscience, our little sorrows over faults and foibles of conduct, these trouble us for the moment, and then go. But they are not gone! God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. And if sins remain on our conscience in that day, even though they went from our memory here, we cannot stand before God—indeed, we cannot see God. It is written, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." We think that it is only necessary to go to Heaven to see God. Not so. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart." If my hands are not clean, and my heart be not pure, though I be placed close to the throne, I could not see God; I should rather flee from his presence, and call on the rocks and mountains to hide me from his face.—Selected.

TARRYING AT JERUSALEM.

THERE was an interval of ten days between the ascension of our Lord and the descent of the promised Spirit upon the disciples who had been commanded to go from Olivet to Jerusalem there to await his coming. It was an interval of prayer, expectancy, hope deferred, and possibly almost despair; for our Lord had not told them that they must wait any given length of time, but only that they must "tarry until they were endued with power from on high." But there was special meaning and reason, as it seems to us, in thinking over the waiting time, why the Spirit tarried. That interval, if it was trying to their patience, was a time of deep spiritual education such as we all need; a time the like of which we all must sooner or later have, and have by experience; for the lessons to be learned in these times of waiting before the Lord, must be learned by experience, for the reason that they can be learned in no other way.
The interval between promise and fulfillment is not indeed always long, but it is usually longer than we would choose, and certainly in most cases much longer than is pleasant to our eager and impatient desire. Notwithstanding, we believe God always fulfills his promise just as soon as we are ready to receive his gift. It is difficult for us to realize the anxious intensity of feeling of those disciples as day after day passed, while they waited and prayed and talked of their absent Lord, recalling, bit by bit, all his sayings to them, and what they might mean, his wondrous life, his death, his resurrection, his sudden ascension out of their sight, his promise to come again, and in the mean time his promise to send to them, as the Father's gift, the Holy Ghost, for whom they were now waiting, without so much even as a sign of his coming. Their faith must have been put to a severe test. . . . Entirely apart from any discussion in respect of the descent of the Holy Ghost, we may at least learn two wholesome lessons: one with reference to prayer, and one as to the meaning of God's delays.
With reference to prayer we are taught of the three elements which enter into it. So far as these disciples were concerned, there were three things which entered into their prayer; and we believe these three things must be found in every prayer that is successful in bringing the desired answer.
First, they were certain of the thing desired, not because they had a feeling that their prayer would be answered, but because they had the word of their Lord that he would send the promise of the Father upon them "not many days hence." Doubtless they strengthened their wavering faith by thinking over and again the words of the Lord's promise. What did he mean by "tarry," "wait," and "not many days hence"? By these they corrected their expectation, and the more enduring ones strengthened and encouraged those who were more ready to faint. All true prayer deals much with the promise, and scans the terms of the promise and the general law of prayer closely, that the thing desired may be asked in accordance with his will.
Second, they were uncertain as to the time of the fulfillment of the promise. No doubt at first full of joyful praise, they went up to Jerusalem, not questioning but immediately the promise would be upon them. But as they continued to wait and pray and no sign of answer came, doubtless they began to remember that the Lord had not told them when, as to day and hour, he would fulfill the promise. There is no more important lesson for us to learn than this—that God has not put "times and seasons" into our hands, either as to the great events promised to the whole church or the minor things which personally affect us. It is a part of the "Thy will be done" to leave the time as well as the thing to God.
In addition to these two elements of certainty and uncertainty, there is the element of steadfast, continuous prayer. This unwearying waiting and pleading draws out our whole heart to God. "Men ought always to pray and not to faint." So said our Lord; but some men say: "If you are sure of the thing, why 'continue in prayer'?" Others say: "In the midst of so many uncertainties, why not make your prayer once and then leave the whole matter to God to answer in his own good time?" These waiting and praying disciples have by their successful praying and waiting refuted both of these equally unscriptural and dangerous teachings on the subject of prayer. "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them." "When ye shall search for me with all your hearts ye shall find me." Thus must we pray—with a promise in our mouth, with patient waiting, and with continuous, unwearying petition.
The second lesson has to do with the reflex educating power of prayer. The delay in sending the Spirit was to teach them how absolutely they were dependent upon the faithfulness of Him who had gone up from them. Had they received the promise at once they would have missed that education which came to them through their anxious waiting, and which can only come after the heart has been strained and torn by anxiety, in connection with a close look into God's word. Power or any other gift that is had immediately for the asking, or the mere taking, is apt not to be appreciated, and would soon produce self-sufficiency. This delay, also, had a salutary tendency to correct and regulate that human restlessness that chafes at any postponement of human desires.
Doubtless they were filled with an intense eagerness to start out on their new commissionof preaching and testifying concerning Jesus and the resurrection and the gospel message attached thereto; but now they are learning that God is not in such a hurry as they are. God always works surely, but not always quickly.
Again they were to learn, and so are we, that God's promises are wheels within wheels. They did not know how important it was that that promise should be fulfilled on the feast day, when vast multitudes of strangers from every part of the world would be there to hear the first gospel sermon and carry it away with them, to be re-delivered over the whole face of the world. We do not know how much the affairs of others depend on our own; how the desired fulfillment of our prayers may affect others. No real prayer was ever purely selfish, and no answer to prayer was ever meant to be consumed alone upon our own selves.—Independent.

PRAY AND WAIT.

"I know not by what methods rare, But this I know, God answers prayer. I know not when he sends the word That tells us fervent prayer is heard. I know it cometh soon or late; Therefore, we need to pray and wait. I know not if the blessing sought Will come in just the guise I thought. I leave my prayers with him alone Whose will is wiser than my own."

BONDAGE AND FREEDOM.

By C. H. Bliss

It is not an uncommon thing to hear those who have rejected the commandments of God, refer to those who observe them as in a state of bondage, while they boast of their liberty. I once heard a minister say that if he believed the law was binding he would shut himself up in a close room every Sabbath day and consider himself a prisoner. But how is this? Are those who disobey the law at liberty? or are those who keep it? Here is a man who strictly observes the laws of the Government under which he lives. He pays his taxes, he respects his neighbor's rights. He walks at liberty and enjoys perfect freedom. But here is another man who steals, and defrauds his neighbor, and is lawless. By and by he is arrested, and shut up in prison. This seems like a strange way to obtain liberty; but strange as it is, some prefer the fate of the transgressor. Says David, "I will walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts." So says every loyal child of God.
Not even the observance of the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic ritual would place one in bondage. Bondage does not result from doing, but from not doing. The Jews were not in bondage because they observed so many rites and ceremonies, but because they depended upon their observance for justification, thus rejecting Christ, the only means of salvation. In 1 John 3:4 we read that "sin is the transgression of the law;" and in Rom. 3:23 that "all have sinned;" and again (verse 19), "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God." Thus by transgression all are under condemnation. In Acts 4:12 we read that "there is none other name [but the name of Jesus] under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
The Jews rejected Christ, and continued the observance of rites and ceremonies which were types of him, depending upon them for salvation. But as the blood of these sacrifices could not take away sin, this people, with all others who reject the Saviour, remain under the law (under condemnation). But this bondage does not result from doing rites and ceremonies, much less from the observance of the moral law. But all who continue to sin (transgress the law) remain in a state of condemnation (in bondage) until they have repented (ceased transgressing the law) and obtained pardon through faith in Christ. Thus we find that the liberty of the gospel is freedom from condemnation. And this being true it follows that when those who have obtained pardon turn back again to sin (transgressing the law) they re-enter a state of condemnation and are under the law and in bondage. "Oh that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever." Deut. 5:29. C. H. BLISS.

THE MAN OF GOD.

By Editor

PAUL, in his second letter to Timothy, says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable; . . . that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." We have here a name or title which occurs only in one other place in the Scriptures, viz., 1 Tim. 6:11. It is there applied to Timothy himself. In the passage above quoted it seems to be applied to all true believers. The Christian is then "the man of God." What is meant by this designation? How is he trained for the duties of his position? and what are those duties?
"The man of God." In the old days of slavery we asked a negro in Richmond, "Who do you belong to?" He drew himself up to his full height and replied, "Ise Governor Wise's man." He felt that, though a slave, he was lifted above the common herd by the official position of his master. The same day, in another part of the city, trying to find a gentleman, and thinking that a fine-looking mulatto near his place of business might be one of his servants, we said, "Do you belong to Mr. A.?" "No, sar," he replied, "I belong to God Almighty." We found that this was a somewhat irreverent way the free negroes had of proclaiming their freedom. But that which the mulatto so flippantly asserted is a fact solemnly recognized by every Christian. He is not his own. He belongs to God by the twofold title of creation and redemption. He is a man with all the dignity of that dominion which God gave him over the earth. He is a little lower than the angels. And yet the highest honor and glory of his position is that he is a servant of the Most High—that he waits upon the Lord and delights to do his will. Service is not degrading. Ask the epauletted general, and he will tell you with pride that he belongs to "the service." His superior officer may order him to Arizona or to Alaska to-morrow and he will not hesitate to obey. It is the law of the service that he is to go wherever he is sent. He is not a slave. He has chosen freely to be a soldier, and he meets with manly fidelity the responsibilities of the service. His uniform proclaims what he is and whose he is wherever he goes. He wears it, not as a convict wears his horizontal stripes, but as a king wears his crown. There is no such thing as absolute independence for any creature in the universe. Such independence is a fevered dream of atheism. We all must belong to somebody—children to their parents, citizens to their country, sinners to Satan. Our highest possible place is that of servants of God. For that we were created. We forfeited it by sin. We can be restored to it through Christ. Such restoration ought to be the object of our most ardent wishes and efforts. When secured it should fill us with joy and hope. We have reached the summit of true manliness in becoming the men of God.
But a high position demands corresponding character and culture. Paul tells us where Timothy acquired these and where we all may acquire them. From a child he had known the holy Scriptures. The object of God in inspiring those Scriptures was that his men, his servants, might by "doctrine," "reproof," "correction," and "instruction in righteousness," be "thoroughly furnished." The Christian when he enters the service of the Captain of our salvation is like a raw recruit just enlisted. He has a great deal to learn. But the Bible is his text-book, his drill book, his manual of arms. He must study it constantly. . . . And that is just what Peter says in his second general epistle, "Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue [courage]; and to virtue knowledge." It is a great mistake to think that the man of God has only to believe in Christ, join the church, and go to Heaven when he dies. He is enlisted for a life-long service, and if he is honest in his enlistment he will want to be a good soldier; and here he is told how to become one. The word of God is the sword of the Spirit. He must unsheathe it and learn to wield it. The Christian manual of arms is Bible study, with earnest, fervent prayer.—Interior.
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