p. 3 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 30. (8/5/1897)

Signs of the Times

Aug 5, 1897

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 5, 1897

Unequally Yoked

By Editor

Editorial

Unequally Yoked.—A divine and merciful injunction to Israel of old was, “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.” Deut. 22:10. There was a reason for this apart from its incongruity; it was cruel to beasts of such different dispositions and temperaments. Our cut illustrates what is said to be a common scene in Egypt; a condition is presented which must be galling to both the tall camel and the low ox.

For Us.—But not for the sake of the beasts alone was this scripture written; it was a lesson of God to Israel that he abhorred incongruous, unholy alliances or mixtures. He would not have their moral senses blunted even in the yoking up of beasts of different genera for common labor, the mingling of different seeds in the sowing of their fields, or the mixing of different materials in the weaving of their garments. See Deut. 22:9–11. So also the distinction of sex should be outwardly preserved.

Verse 5. He would teach them the lesson that the people of God must not thus mingle with the world; that, just as the ox and the ass were of different genera and nature, so the people of God and the people of the world were in essentials—nature and motive—different, and that no profit could come to either by the forbidden union.

Plain Precept.—Not only did the Lord teach this truth by instruction concerning the common things of life, such as given above, but he taught it by plain precept over and over. The people of God were not to preserve as works of art the images made to false gods, but they were to overthrow their altars, break down their pillars, burn their groves (Asherim) with fire, hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy their names out of the place. “Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree.” See Deut. 12:2, 3. They should make no covenants with the people lest it prove a snare; they should not go to the idolatrous feasts; they should not allow intermarriages of their sons and daughters with those of idolatrous nations; but they should be a holy people, a people set apart and separated unto Jehovah. See Ex. 34:11–16; Deut. 7:2–6.

But these instructions did not mean that Israel should keep all God’s blessings to themselves. They were to be “a kingdom of priests,” and “the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth.” Ex. 19:6; Mal. 2:7. God designed that Israel should be the means of enlightening the nations around them, not by walking in the way of idolatry, not by countenancing or excusing it, but by exalting the truth in pure, holy, beneficent, godly lives.

They should show by their own course toward others that there was no god like Jehovah. They were to be kind to the stranger, to love him as themselves, and thus win him for the Lord. Lev. 19:33, 34; Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Deut. 10:17–19. Thus would the nations of earth be led to fear, love, and serve the Creator of heaven and earth. Deut. 4:6–8; 1 Kings 8:41–43. “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) is but the echo of the “great God, . . . which regardeth not persons” (Deut. 10:17). He would have his people love all souls and hate all sin.

He Is Ever the Same.—He does not have

one standard of right in one age and another standard in another. He at times excuses persons because of the times of ignorance in which they live, but he never lowers or changes the standard. And just as truly as he demanded complete separation from the world then in spirit, in motive, in methods of labor, in object to be sought, so surely does he require it now.

Differing in Nature.—The church of Jesus Christ is not of the world. Her children are begotten by the Word, “born from above,” of the Spirit, “created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” James 1:18; John 3:3–5, margin; Eph. 2:10. Therefore the injunction: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.” 1 John 2:15–17. In that wonderful prayer with his disciples, Jesus said: “The world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” John 17:14–16. The nature of the world did not change from Moses to Christ. It has not changed from Christ to the present. The images of Plutus and Bacchus and Venus, and many other gods, may not be in evidence, but the principles they represent are still as dominant in the world as in the days of our Lord. The world is ruled as never before by the god of wealth; the bacchanalian revels have not diminished; and lust under the name of love holds high sway over the hearts of millions. The children of God have nothing in common with the world, its sins, or its spirit, or its motives. The spirit of the world is that of selfishness, self-protection, self-aggrandizement, self-advancement. The spirit of Christ is that of self-denial, self-effacement, self-forgetfulness, and all for the sake of God and his children.

A Common Evil.—Yet notwithstanding all that the Lord has said, the professed people of God in their own wisdom are prone to think that they can help the world by entering into partnership with its children, by intermarriage with unbelievers, and so save them, by mingling in their banquets, feasts, games, and shows, and winning them to the self-denying religion of Christ. But such wisdom is carnal, such a course is fatal to spirituality and peace. No truly earnest Christian husband can be happy with a wife out of Christ, even if he holds fast his integrity; and it is even so with the Christian wife. In the great majority of such unequal yoking the Christian is induced in various ways to deny his Lord, or compromise the truth. Principle is often exchanged for expediency, and the result is seen in the offspring. In a marriage between a Christian and an unbeliever, especially in these last days, one of these things will happen: the Christian will yield his faith, a life of unrest and differences will follow, a separation will take place, or (a very rare thing) the unbeliever will become converted. The chances of happiness and blessing are slight indeed; the chances of unhappiness and cursing are indeed great; and the Word of God is against it, because in its very essence and nature such unions are not the genuine union desired of God. Every Christian parent should do all Christian things in his power against such a union for daughter or son. Every Christian young man or woman should in all such crises be loyal to God and his Word. He has given us much instruction in the Old Testament in the line above quoted; he has left on record the sad results of not heeding this instruction. Can we afford to ignore the solemn warnings?

But listen again: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:14–18. Nothing could be more explicit. Righteousness can not blend with unrighteousness and remain righteous. Light has no communion with darkness. There is no harmony between Christ and Belial. Faith has no part with infidelity. The temple of God should have, can have, no shrines for idols. That love or principle or logic which would seek to blend these is not of God, but is “earthly, sensual, devilish,” and should be abandoned or cast out of the heart as a deadly foe. Which side, whose side, will you take?

A Broader Application.—The above is true of the individual Christian; it is just as true of the church of Christ. The same sad results will follow in a still greater degree when any organic church follows the leadings of some of its members and unites with the world. And yet the wisdom of the world has again and again, from Israel of old to the present, led what should have been the pure, unsullied bride of God to turn from the instruction of her Divine Spouse and seek other lovers, worldly powers and nations. Such a course has always seemed at first to promise much. Because she has drawn nearer to the world, she imagines the world has drawn nearer to God. Blinded by her own selfish desires to the pure precepts of God and the solemn warnings of his Word, she has gone on blindly to destruction. She has leaned upon Egypt and failed. She has turned to Assyria and been spoiled and made naked. Mercifully, graphically, and plainly has God depicted such a course in chapters 2 and 3 of Jeremiah and in Hosea, and elsewhere. He tells us that union between the church and world, or between the church and the State in any way, is fornication, departing from God. “Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4, R. V. It is this union of the world, this fornication, that made the great apostate church the harlot Babylon. Revelation 17 and 18. As a church increases in numbers in this unlawful union, she augments her sin against God. Hos. 4:7. The children begotten are “strange children.” Hos. 5:6, 7. Ephraim “hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not; yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. . . . Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart; they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.” Hos. 7:8–11. Who that is spiritual can not see the history of Ephraim and Judah of old enacted over again in much of the professed religious life of to-day? Who does not see the individual unequal yoking-up in every conceivable form between professed Christians and children of the world? Who does not see the departure of the church from Christ, her Spouse, and his commandments, and her clamoring for religious legislation in the halls of the Egypts and Assyrias of the present? If it continues, how long will it be ere God will say, “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.” Hos. 4:17. O children of the living God, come out from the world and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and God will receive you, and crown you sons and daughters! He waits to welcome you back, and receive you into his own secret presence. Come back. There is naught but destruction awaits in the world; there is life in God. “Be ye not unequally yoked.” Couple not together the bride of Christ and the monster of the world. Come back to thine own Creator, Redeemer, Husband. “Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you; and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.”

The Sayings of Jesus.

Much has been said of late about the reputed “New Sayings [or Logia] of Jesus” found in January at Behneseh, Egypt. These sayings were discovered among a lot of very ancient papyri, and Prof. B. W. Bacon, of Yale, says that “the Roman character of the uncial script indicates a date not later than 200 A.D., tho the whole third century lies within the possibilities,” and he thinks it is fairly settled that the fragment belongs “to the latter half of the second century, or at least is not earlier.” They were cabled from London to the Journal and the Sun, of New York. The translation given, as quoted by Professor Bacon in the Independent, follows:—

1. “. . . and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.” Matt. 7:5; Luke 6:42.

2. “Jesus saith, Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in nowise find the kingdom of God; and except ye keep the Sabbath, ye shall not see the Father.”

3. “Jesus saith, I stood in the midst of the world, and in the flesh was I seen of them, and I found all men drunken, and none found I athirst among them; and my soul grieved over the sons of men because they are blind in their heart.”

5. “Jesus saith, Wherever there are . . . , and there is one . . . alone, I am with him. Raise

the stone, and there thou shalt find me. Cleave the wood, and there am I.”

6. “Jesus saith, A prophet is not acceptable in his own country, neither doth a physician work cures upon them that know him.” In part Luke 4:24; Matt. 13:57; Mark 6:4; John 4:44.

7. “Jesus saith, A city built upon the top of a high hill and established can neither fall nor be hid.” Similar to Matt. 5:14.

But one word of the fourth was legible, and we omit. The text of the fifth is obscure, and parts are wanting. The second is criticised, because it is said that Jesus did not hold to fasting and the Sabbath. On this the Independent (July 22) remarks:—

That they are of a very early period there can be no question; but we hesitate to accept them all as genuine. It is well known that a number of reported sayings of our Lord were rejected by the consensus of the early church as not genuine, altho they were current in certain circles; and the second of these sayings may very well be of this character. It imposes the duty of fasting and the duty of keeping the Sabbath under penalty of rejection from the kingdom of God. There is nothing like this in the Gospels and nothing like it in any of the epistles; indeed, the drift of the canonical New Testament is the other way. It would appear as if this might have been such a saying as would be current toward the end of the first century among the Ebionites, who were a Jewish Christian sect very zealous of the law.

But if we had read as a saying of Jesus in some equally old papyrus, “Except ye keep the Lord’s day, which is the first day of the week, ye shall not see the Father,” how would our first-day friends have received it? Would they not have declared its antiquity to be a proof of its genuineness? As to whether it is genuine or not, the follower of Christ needs no such proof to confirm the obligation to keep the Sabbath, or to fast. It was the Spirit of Christ that testified through the prophets (1 Peter 1:11), and in the prophets are injunctions both to fast and keep the Sabbath (Isa. 58:3–7; Joel 1:14; 2:12, 13; Isa. 56:1–7; 58:13). But more than this, Jesus saith, “Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” Matt. 9:15. Moreover of that law which enjoins the Sabbath, Jesus saith: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17); “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (see Matt. 5:17–20); “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). Besides this we have his own example. What more can be asked?

The Independent thinks that the Jews might solve the question of Sabbath-keeping by going round the world once. It says:—

How would it do, instead of this ecumenical Jewish council (to decide the question), to have the Jews simply circumnavigate the globe? Then they could call the day Saturday which we call Sunday.

If this is the Independent’s idea of the Sabbath, why ask aught for Sunday? Surely if the Jew can lightly violate a law given of God, why may not men utterly disregard a law wholly of man’s ordinance? Moreover, the Independent knows that a journey around the world does not affect the truth nor the command of God, and that as surely as people have no trouble in observing the first day, so they need have no trouble in observing the seventh day, so far as knowing the day is concerned. If days are not important, why do not Sunday-keepers magnanimously relinquish Sunday? If they did, they would save themselves much distortion.

“COME YE YOURSELVES APART, . . . AND REST AWHILE.”

By Ellen G. White

“And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile; for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” The disciples had just returned from their first missionary tour. They came to Jesus and told him all things. Their intimate relationship with him encouraged them to lay before him all their favorable and unfavorable experiences, their joy at seeing results from their labors, and their sorrow at their failures, their faults, and their weaknesses. They had committed errors in their first work as evangelists, and as they frankly told Christ of their experiences, he saw that they needed much instruction. He saw too that they had become weary in their labors, and that they needed to rest.

But where they then were they could not obtain the needed privacy; “for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” The people were thronging after Christ, anxious to be healed, and eager to listen to his words. Many felt drawn to him; for he seemed to them to be the fountain of all blessings. Mercy and truth and the very essence of love were expressed in his words. He was indeed the very fountain of all good, able to meet all the necessities of a fallen world and of a tried church. No one appealed to him in vain. All that poor, suffering, helpless sinners need is found in him. He is not only mighty, that does not fully express it, but almighty to save, ready to take the sinner’s load of guilt, and impute to him his righteousness.

The physical restoration of every soul that came to Christ to be healed the diseased soul. He is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Many of those who then thronged about Christ to receive the precious boon of health, accepted him as their Saviour. Many others, afraid then to confess him, because of the Pharisees, were converted at the descent of the Holy Spirit, and before the angry priests and rulers acknowledged him as the Son of God.

But now Christ longed for retirement, that he might be with his disciples; for he had much to say to them. In their work they had passed through the test and trial of conflict, and had encountered opposition of all kinds. John the Baptist had just been beheaded, and his disciples, full of grief at his death, had taken up his body, and laid it in a tomb, and had then come and told Christ.

Hitherto the disciples had consulted Christ in everything, but for some time they had been alone, and at times they had been much troubled to know what to do. They had found much encouragement in their work; for Christ did not send them away without his Spirit, and by faith in him they worked many miracles; but they needed now to feed on the Bread of Life. They needed to go to a place of retirement, where they could hold communion with Jesus, and receive instruction for future work.

Duty to Rest.

“And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile.” Christ is full of tenderness and compassion for all in his service. He would show his disciples that God does not require sacrifice but mercy. They had been putting their whole souls into labor for the people, and this was exhausting their physical and mental strength. It was their duty to rest. Christ called them to rest that they might spend a few hours with him. How thoughtful and tender was his love and care for them!

“And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.” With his disciples Jesus crossed the water, and chose a retired place away from the cities, away from the thoroughfares of travel, at a little distance from the lake, where they would be in seclusion, and away from the bustle and agitation of the city. The scenes of nature were in themselves a rest, a change grateful to the senses. Here they could listen to the words of Christ without hearing the angry interruptions, the retorts and accusations of the scribes and Pharisees. Here they could enjoy a short season of rest and precious fellowship in the society of their Lord.

The rest which Christ and his disciples took was not self-indulgent rest. The time that they spent in retirement was not devoted to pleasure or frivolous amusement. They talked together regarding the work of God, and the possibility of bringing greater efficiency into the work. The disciples had been with Christ, and could understand him; to them he need not talk in parables. He corrected their errors, and made plain to them the right way of approaching unbelievers. He opened more fully to them the precious treasures of divine truth. Important truths from the inexhaustible storehouse were presented to them. They were vitalized by divine power, and inspired with hope and courage.

Christ’s words of compassion are spoken to his workers to-day just as surely as they were spoken to his disciples. “Come ye yourselves apart, . . . and rest awhile,” he says to those that are weary. He does not urge us to work to the utmost of our strength. We are to remember that there is important work to be done on the morrow, and for that

reason we are to take care of our physical powers. There is much work to be done, day after day; but we must not strive to load ourselves with more burdens than we can carry.

Altho we are required to be self-denying, to make self-sacrificing efforts, yet God has fixed a limit. His workers are to show no presumption. God does not require his servants to ruin their health by continual taxation. This is not the fast that will glorify God. The mind can not act healthfully if the worker weakens his physical machinery by overexertion. God would have all study the laws of health, and then use reason when working for him, that the life which has been given may be preserved.

The religion of Jesus Christ requires every human being to obey the laws of the physical organism. We may be fitted for the labors of to-morrow by the judicious exercise and care of our powers to-day. The servants of Jesus Christ are not to treat their health indifferently. The Lord remembers that we are but dust, and he does not expect more of us than we can do.

Let no one labor to the point of exhaustion, thereby disqualifying himself for other duties. Do not try to crowd two days’ work into one. All should use their strength wisely, and at the end those who work carefully and wisely will be found to have accomplished as much as those who so expend their physical and mental strength that they have no deposit from which to draw in a time of need.

God’s work is world-wide; it calls for every jot and tittle of the ability and power that we have; but there is danger that God’s workers will abuse their powers as they see that the field is ripe for the harvest. But God does not require this. After they have done their best, they may say, “The harvest truly is great, and the laborers are few; but God knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”

Christ’s workers should take time to rest. I speak not this to those that are constitutionally tired, those who think they are carrying heavier burdens than any one else. Those who do not labor have no need of rest. Those who can not show that they have been using their spiritual and physical powers for God, working earnestly and thoroughly for him, with mind, and soul, and strength, are not in need of the sympathy that Christ gave to his disciples. It was to those who were worn down in his service, not those who were always sparing themselves, who did no earnest, self-sacrificing work, that Christ addressed his tender, compassionate words. And to-day it is to the self-forgetful, those who work to the very extent of their ability, who are distressed because they can not do all they would do, and who in their zeal go beyond their strength, that Christ addresses the words, “Come ye yourselves apart, . . . and rest awhile.”

The disciples sought Jesus, and told him “all things;” and he comforted and encouraged them. If to-day we would take time to go to Jesus with our troubles, we should be stronger. We should not be disappointed; for he would be at our right hand, and we should not be moved. We need more simplicity, more trust and confidence in our Saviour. “Ask, and it shall be given you,” he has promised. “Come unto me,” he says, “all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Mrs. E. G. WHITE.

A LIVING SAVIOUR.

By Minnie Embree

She stood outside the sepulcher And wept in grief alone, For no one came her heart to cheer And tell where Christ had gone.

E'en then two beings clothed in white Were sitting in the tomb; For Mary they had truth and light; They from above had come.

Then, stooping down and looking in, She saw this heavenly pair, As there they sat where Christ had been, For now He was not there.

To them she told the cause of tears, Then turned herself about, And Jesus took away her fears, For He stood there without.

O soul, art thou in grief to-day, Because thy Lord has gone? Has something taken Him away And thou art left alone?

Then, stooping down, give up thy pride; Angels wilt thou behold; Tho Jesus Christ was crucified, Death's prison could not hold.

Leave sin, and turn thyself about, And, turning, thou shalt see That Jesus lives and stands without With light and truth for thee.

MINNIE EMBREE.

Oakland, Cal.

THE MORAL CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

By G. T. Wilson

Nature of God and the Origin of His Law.

“God is love,” his law is love. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” Rom. 13:10; 1 John 4:8.

Jehovah “is a God of truth.” “Thy law is the truth,” and again, “All thy commandments are truth.” Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Deut. 32:4; Ps. 119:142, 151; John 14:6. “Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:17. The Father and the Son are alike in character, and so the moral law, or constitution of the universe, emanates from both.

Of our Creator it is said, “Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments;” “thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.” God declares, “My righteousness shall not be abolished.” Isa. 51:6, 7.

Of the character of Jehovah’s law, we read, “All thy commandments are righteousness.” “Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.” “The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting.” “Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever.” Ps. 119:172, 138, 144, 152. That the “testimonies” here referred to are the Ten Commandments is evident from the language of Ex. 24:12; 25:21; 31:18; Deut. 10:4, 5: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.” “And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.” “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” “And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.”

So the Ten Commandments are God’s testimonies against wrong, and in favor of right, and are everlasting in their nature as the character of Jehovah.

Love is the foundation of those ten words, and love fulfils them. They spring from two great principles,—love to our Maker and love to our fellow-creature. “God is love,” and says, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” When God formed angels, and man, and created intelligences, for the habitation of all the worlds on high, Divinity put the principles of his own blessed character into them,—love to Creator and fellow-creature. These great mutual obligations are drawn out in ten precepts for the use of mankind, and have never been abolished, nor can they ever be set aside, for they are the moral attributes of the supreme Governor of the universe, and are the foundation-stones of his government. “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.” “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” “Righteousness and judgment are the establishment of his throne.” Again, “All thy commandments are righteousness.” Ps. 11:7, 3; 97:2, margin; 119:172. Sin has

turned “all the foundations of the earth out of course,” but it can not shift the foundation of God’s moral government; it always will be our duty to love God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves.

G. T. WILSON.

Hobart, Tasmania.

The Power of a Good Example

“A GOOD example before one's neighbor's children is the most potent power for good. It far excels words; and a bad example destroys more than every other agency can build up.”

THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM.

By W. H. B. Miller

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. Knowing perfectly well what he would have to encounter, the suffering, the terrible conflict, the ignominy, torture, and death, he cheerfully made the great sacrifice “for the joy that was set before him.”

His exalted position with the Father, his great name, the adoration of the host of heaven and of the inhabitants of countless worlds, he resigned, and willingly made himself of no reputation “for the joy that was set before him.”

Love was the living fountain from which issued this stream of pure self-sacrifice. Love for God’s name and for the glory of his kingdom, love for the great universe of God, and pitying love for fallen humanity. His joy would be but the realization of his loving desires. It is no marvel that our minds can not conceive the supreme earnestness of this divine love when even the angels of God were filled with amazement as they realized the nature of the terrible sacrifice.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Hallowed be thy name.” The enemy of God had sought with great subtlety to tarnish the great name of God, and to exalt his own name above that of the loving Creator. Some of the angels believed him and were cast forth from heaven with him. Others who were still loyal to the government of heaven had heard the name of God blasphemed, and had possibly sympathized to a degree with the great deceiver. Driven from God’s presence, he next attacked the new creation, man. We know the disastrous result, —sin and death. Throughout earth’s history his supreme effort has been to misrepresent God. But Christ, by his perfect life and loving deeds, his forgiveness, mercy, humility, goodness, and truth, and finally by his great sacrifice, manifested to earth and heaven, to the fallen and unfallen, God’s perfect character, the glory of his great name. The honor thus brought to the Father was part of “the joy that was set before him.”

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” Christ’s great love drew men, through him, to God. His death on Calvary won the loyalty of earth and the universe to the government of heaven. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” That he might establish beyond the shadow of a doubt the glory and righteousness of the government of God was part of “the joy that was set before him.”

“The penalty of sin is death,” and “all have sinned.” But “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God takes no pleasure in death. “He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” His thoughts toward us are thoughts of mercy and peace. Christ came to manifest this, to save men from their sins, to bear the penalty of their sins in his own body, and by a spotless life to clothe them with righteousness and reconcile them to God. His longing desire is to present us faultless before the presence of his Father’s glory, to give us a life that measures with the life of God, to give us a name that is even better than that of sons and daughters, and to fill our hearts, even now, with love, and peace, and joy unspeakable. For this joy that was set before him, he “endured the cross and despised the shame.”

“O, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” W. H. B. MILLER.

Melbourne, Victoria.

Continue reading: MINISTERS AND THE TARIFF