p. 5 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 46. (11/21/1911)

"Abundance of Peace"

THE "peace which passeth understanding," which God gives here, which is "as a river" in its onward flow, is but the foretaste of the peace which Jesus Christ will give to His own. While He gives peace now in the midst of the world's unrest and strife and war, that peace is mingled with sadness of heart because of others' unrest, misery, and wo. But there is coming a time when Christ shall reign, when all of strife, and war, and tumult, and mourning, and distress, and pain, and death, will be forever banished, because sin is no more. All tyranny, oppression, and wickedness will be blotted from the universe, and nothing shall mar God's fair creation. Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will have taken to Himself His great power, and reigned "from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." Then, "in His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth." It is to this peace now and forevermore that God calls us by His grace.

The Church's One Vocation

By Editor

This writer . . . believes that the church has for its persistent business the saving of people from sin, and that the church is the solitary device which can carry on that glorious vocation. He believes that any method other than the church presents for the changing of human purpose and the cleansing of the human heart, is a spurious method. The church might do better than it does, but the notion that the church needs eternally to be tinkered with, he does not believe. The church, at least the Methodist Episcopal Church, for which this writer may claim a right to speak, is at its same old blessed business of leading men and women to God, who alone is able to renovate human nature and bring the desert to blossoming like the rose. The church and the preacher, with us, have the eternal vocation of the redemption of the world.—Bishop Quale.

We heartily say amen to the above sentiments, and would respectfully suggest that the Methodist Episcopal Church keep out of politics, and stick to her one vocation.

Studies in Daniel

II—The Book and Its Writer

THE special subject of these studies at present is the book of Daniel.

In its study we need not concern ourselves with the discussions or strictures of the "higher critics." Let it suffice the believer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to know that Daniel’s prophecy had the endorsement of Him who spoke as never man spoke. In His prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem and of future judgments upon the world, the Great Teacher cites Daniel’s prophecy as authority, and declares, "Whoso readeth, let him understand." Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14. Of what account should be the babel of a multitude of "higher critics" when the Master has spoken?

Moreover, the book itself, confirmed as it is by God in history, is evidence of its divine origin and absolute truthfulness. History demonstrates its prophecies. All this we will learn as we study its lessons.

The Purpose of the Book

While ages past could find many precious and practical lessons in the book of Daniel, it was written especially for the "latter times," the "last days," "the time of the end," the very age in which we are living. Even the prophet himself did not understand much of what God had given through him; and when he had written the greater part of his prophecy, he was told: "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4. And when in the prophet’s anxious interest, desiring to know more, he besought God to enlighten him further, he was again told: "Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Dan. 12:9, 10. Both of these passages affirm that the prophecy was written for the future, and both contain the implied promise that when "the time of the end" shall be reached, those who are wise in God ("Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding") shall understand the prophecy, knowledge of which was denied to the very one through whom it was given, simply because it could not be understood till the events predicted had been fulfilled or were fulfilling.

The same truth is thus stated again: "There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known . . . what shall be in the latter days." Dan. 2:28. "The vision of the evenings and mornings which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days to come." Dan. 8:26.

A Key to the Book

Every lock has its key or combination of keys. Difficult problems are often easy when we find their simple secrets. From certain points of view certain lines form what is to the beholder an intricate maze, but looked at from the right angle, every line is in harmony with the rest, and the whole is simple. This principle is true in the study of God’s Word. Every book has its divine purpose; every subdivision has its central thought; every lock has its key; every seeming snarl the clue, which, when found, will unwind its precious golden cord to the devout student.

One of the great purposes for which the book of Daniel was given is to teach that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will." While this is stated in so many words in but one chapter — the fourth — it is taught from beginning to end, a lesson that God would have every ruler and statesman and politician on earth learn.

Keys to Chapters

Every chapter, or rather subdivision, has its key, generally embodied in some expression found in the subdivision itself. Sometimes the subdivision is complete with the chapter; sometimes the chapters should be combined. This is true to a certain extent of chapters 8 and 9, for both deal with the same subject and vision; and emphatically true of chapters 10 and 11.

The book of Daniel is written in two languages. From the beginning to the first clause of chapter 2:4, it is in Hebrew; thence to the close of chapter 7 in Aramaic; from the beginning of chapter 8 to the close it is again written in Hebrew, with both of which languages the prophet was doubtless well acquainted.

The time of writing the book was from B.C. 603 to 534. The writer was Daniel, whose name means, "God is my judge," who was renowned in Israel for his greatness and piety (Eze. 14:14, 20), and God characterizes him as "a man greatly beloved" (Dan. 10:11).

How He Came to Babylon

One of the noblest and greatest of Judea’s kings was Hezekiah, who reigned twenty-nine years, from B.C. 726 to 697 (Usher’s chronology). Of his faithfulness it is said: "He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following Him, but kept His commandments." 2 Kings 18:5, 6.

In his faithfulness God prospered him. Hezekiah threw off the yoke of the Assyrian, recovered the cities taken by the Philistines, erected public buildings, improved the water-supply system of Jerusalem, and encouraged education in art, science, literature, and religion. It almost seemed as if Israel would come back to that place in the world which God gave her as light-bearer, as God’s missionary to lead other peoples and nations to Him; but the idolatry of self and nature was too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. And even in Hezekiah we are taught again the lesson of man’s frailty. In the middle of his reign God miraculously restored him to health from a sickness unto death, prolonging his life fifteen years. The king of Babylon, stirred doubtless by the miracle in connection with the healing, sent ambassadors to congratulate Hezekiah. Then Judea’s king in foolish pride showed them all the treasures and riches of his kingdom, and thus aroused their cupidity. The vast treasures at Jerusalem thus became an ever-dazzling temptation to the Babylonians, till Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and the treasure-houses of Jerusalem were robbed of their riches. And thus, more than a century before it occurred, the Lord told the foolish king it would be:

Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Isa. 39:6, 7.

This was Babylon’s answer to Hezekiah’s folly. Had Hezekiah shown the riches of God’s grace, as he had the opportunity, the sequel would have been of a far different character. He had the opportunity to preach the Gospel, and failed.

The sad prophecy was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar, who became the greatest king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem, plundered it of its treasures, burned the city and its glorious temple, and took of the youths of the royal seed for his servants. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Their deportation to Babylon took place at the time Nebuchadnezzar first captured Jerusalem, B.C. 605.

As Israel had utterly apostatized, as God could do nothing else for them or through them, He sets up His light, the center of illumination on earth, in the persons of the faithful in the heathen city of Babylon, and purposes to use that great empire for the promulgation of His truth in the earth. The book of Daniel is the divine record of God’s work in this respect. And as we study it, we shall find that a divine hand shaped the events, a divine foresight selected the lessons for later times, a divine inspiration penned them; and may the Divine Spirit guide in their study, even as divine power will attend their infinite truths to the lives of all who receive them.

My Saviour

By Lephia Bryant Larson

By Lephia Bryant Larson

Once He came; I shunned the meeting, His pleading eyes I would not see. Once He came and found no greeting — He the Man of Galilee.

The way grew dark as night before me, Storm-clouds hung low in my sky, Wild tempests broke in fury o’er me; But through it all, I saw His eye

Still shining gently, kindly on me, Tho I had walked so far away. “I will not leave thee nor forsake thee,” I heard my faithful Saviour say.

Such love! Such seeking! On He followed, O’er mountains high, through valleys dim, Until I knew I’d never be happy Unless I gave my life to Him.

Aberdeen, Washington.

The Mark of a Saint

By W. T. Richardson

The mark of a saint is not perfection, but consecration. A saint is not a man without faults, but a man who has given himself without reserve to God.—W. T. Richardson.

Decorative Divider

—**—

Love That Suffers Long

“The love that suffereth long and is kind, is not the love of self.”

Christian Science

By Walter Clair Thompson

II—The Source of Its Philosophy

Man lives plunged in a world of illusion, and of deceptive forms which the vulgar take for reality. —Democritus, B.C. 430.

Matter and mortal body are illusions of human belief which seem to appear and disappear to mortal sense alone.—Mrs. Eddy, 1898.

To a people cultured and refined by centuries of Christian education, any innovation in the way of cult or science must come clothed in garments that will not repulse their sensitive natures. Modern civilization instinctively recoils from anything that is coarse or hideous. This the great adversary of souls has not been slow to recognize, and it has occasioned a revolution in his methods. He can no longer parade in our midst with "cloven hoofs," but appears instead as an angel of light.

In this twentieth century, surrounded by so many evidences of advancement, we flatter ourselves that the baser passions of mankind have been subdued, and that we have lost our taste for such hideous scenes as were witnessed by the Romans in the Pantheon, and for the orgies of the vale of the son of Hinnom; and now that we are enjoying the full rays of the Gospel age, we are immune to such temptations as degraded the early Syrians to bowing at the shrine of Baal-peor, and to offering sacrifices to the dead.

While this is true to a great extent, still the satanic agency that presided at the revolting ceremonies of the ancient sorcerers has not ceased his activities; but instead of his devotees' bowing down to Moloch, they assemble in magnificent temples, conducting the same spirit worship, but with ceremonies less offensive to the ethics of the present age; and while pantheism is relegated to darkened heathenism, it lurks in our midst in the more elusive doctrines of the Christian Scientists.

Christian Science and Ancient Cults

That Christian Science is only a modern revival of ancient heathenism, instead of, as taught and believed by that sect, a recent revelation from heaven, can be proved by such an array of evidence as to be irrefutable. This evidence will show that while this erratic philosophy comes to us labeled as Christian, and has gathered about its form the sacramental garments of the church of Christ, it is traceable to the diabolical worship of the Hindus, its modern dress serving only as a cloak to conceal its hideous identity.

Christian Science might have gone serenely on, and its integrity been unquestioned, its "good clothes" admitting it to Christian society, were it not that its ill manners, so to speak, too often betrayed its ill breeding. Its true family relation is exposed by certain principles so palpably contrary to clearly defined Christian ethics as to arouse suspicion. This suspicion has led to investigation, and investigation to startling discoveries.

A very serious accusation growing out of this investigation is that, instead of being of Christian origin, it is of heathen parentage; born not from above, but is of the earth, its Christian baptism standing not for regeneration, but serving instead a purpose to unholy ambition. This is a serious charge; can it be sustained by facts? As proof that this accusation is well founded, the following evidence is submitted:

The fundamentals of Christian Science and the Hindu Vedanta are essentially the same. This is strikingly shown by the following parallels:

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE	VEDANTA PHILOSOPHY
Denies the personality of God: "God, principle, life, mind."—"Science and Health," page 115.	Denies the personality of God: "God is essence, impersonal and formless."
Teaches self-immolation as a means of salvation: "The atonement requires constant self-immolation."—Id., pages 23, 25.	Teaches self-discipline as a means of salvation: "It is through protracted self-discipline we are absorbed into the one God."
Denies the reality of matter: "Matter is an error of statement." "The conventional firm called matter and mind, God never formed."—Id., pages 274, 277.	Denies the reality of matter: "The whole external world is an illusion. Actions and feelings are a mistake."—Williams, "Hinduism."

The following declaration of the religious belief of an educated Hindu is certainly very interesting when compared with the teachings of Christian Science:

There is but one god, by whatsoever form he is worshiped in Asia or Europe. He is in his essence impersonal and formless, tho he delights in manifesting himself in infinite developments and personalities, and tho he chooses to ignore himself in the distinct individualities created by himself. Hence the separate existence of you and me and the world around us, is a mere illusion. When through protracted self-discipline the illusion is made to vanish we are absorbed into the one God.—Williams.

If a page containing this quotation should be picked up from the streets of some American city, the finder no doubt would think that some disciple of Mrs. Eddy's had lost a page from his text-book. While the language is not exactly the same as found in "Science and Health," the philosophy is identical. In fact much of the text of Hindu philosophy could be inserted bodily into the pages of "Science and Health," and the insertion would run but small risk of being detected by any but the most careful student.

These striking parallels could be extended to great length would space permit; but where evidence is so clear, it is not necessary to multiply testimony. These facts prove beyond the possibility of successful contradiction, that Christian Science, instead of being of Christian origin, is traceable to the darkness of heathenism, its garments of apparent righteousness being worn only as a mask that it might bid for disciples from the church of Christ. "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works."

Contrary to Real Christianity

Having proved that this cult is related to heathenism, it is hardly necessary to show further that it is utterly contrary to Christianity. However, as atonement through the shed blood of Christ is a vital doctrine in the Christian faith, the conviction will be strengthened if this doctrine of the efficacy of the blood of Christ to cleanse from sin is shown to be entirely repudiated by the doctrine of Mrs. Eddy. Let us quote from her work:

The material blood of Jesus was no more efficacious to cleanse from sin when it was shed upon the "accursed tree" than when it was flowing in His veins, as He went daily about His Father's business.—"Science and Health," page 25.

Let us place in contrast with this the words of Paul:

Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood.

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.

Now with this evidence before us, and taking into consideration that the Bible nowhere ever hints of so vague and elusive a philosophy, it is difficult to escape the conviction that Mrs. Eddy was either a very diligent student of Eastern religion, or quaffing from the same virulent stream, has imbibed of its spirit, and under its intoxicating influence she fancies she has discovered the elixir of life. Filling her cup with this Babylonish wine, she offers it to ailing humanity as the only remedy for the "healing of the nations."

Unknown to Historic Christianity

It is because historic Christianity has known nothing of such a philosophy, that we are led to look elsewhere for its source. None of the great reformers, whose powerful ministry of the Word revolutionized the world, bringing about great moral and social reformations, ever dreamed of such doctrines as set forth in this so-called science. It has remained for Mrs. Eddy to give this new "light" to the world. But if the thought that she has been more favored of Heaven in the bestowal of light than were any of the Christian reformers, is hardly tenable, what attitude should the Christian assume toward the claim that this prophetess has received a greater revelation than Jesus Christ? Should it not be classed as that "other gospel" of which Paul warns in his epistle to the Galatians?

In the light of these facts, are we not justified in branding Christian Science as unsound doctrine? And as such it is a fulfilment of the prophecy concerning the last days which reads:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Reader, the great prevalence of false isms so characteristic of the present generation, is a sign of the times, and should serve as a

warning that this sin-laden world has about run its course, and soon the Judge of all the world is to appear.

Shining in the Sun

By Jessie Andrews

By Jessie Andrews, in “S. S. Times”

That brown leaf, shining in the sun This golden autumn day, A wondrous radiancy hath won,— And now to me doth say:

Thy life may be or brown or gray; But, shining in the sun Of heavenly love that streams alway, A golden victory won!

The Wicked Fly

THE following from the World's Work is worthy of consideration by all housewives, or others who have to do with the managing of homes or dwellings of any kind:

"The house-fly exists only through the toleration of men — a toleration which, were it not ignorant, would be criminal.

"The house-fly is the most terrible single enemy that mankind has among living creatures. Beasts of the jungle have slain their thousands, but this prowler in the household has slain his tens of thousands. Of all vermin he is the most filthy; of all purveyors of disease the most deadly.

"The house-fly is born in offal — nowhere else. And his life is in keeping with his birth. He lives, to the day of his death, in filth. The manure pile, the cuspidor, and the cesspool are his home. It is from these haunts that he comes to visit the kitchen, the dining-room, and the nursery. He drags his filthy feet across the bread, dips them in the butter, wipes them on the meat, and bathes in the milk. He seeks out the sick-room, and sips the delicious excretions of the consumptive, the typhoid fever patient, and the child with summer complaint. Then he flies to the kitchen, and deposits the poison on the rim of the milk bottle, and to the nursery, where he lights on the baby's lips.

"Don't mind a rattlesnake or two about the house, but kill every house-fly as you value your life and the lives of your children. Don't buy your groceries or your milk or bread or fruit of any dealer who is not as particular as you are yourself. There would be little typhoid fever without the house-fly, and little chance of cholera infantum. And there can be no flies where there is no filth. Keep your kitchen, cellar, and yard clean; let no refuse accumulate. Put lime about the stable, and keep the garbage pail tightly covered. Kill every fly you see; burn insecticides (pyrethrum is the best); use fly-traps, sticky paper, and the wire paddle, until the house is clear. If you can't drive out the enemy unaided, call on the board of health."

Our Bible Reading

The Law of God

1. What is said of the perfection of the law of God?

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Ps. 19: 7, 8.

NOTE.—There is no necessity for change in a law that is “perfect,” that converts the soul, that makes the simple wise, that rejoices the heart, and that is so pure that it enlightens the eyes.

2. What is said of the holiness, goodness, and spirituality of God's law?

Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. . . . For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. Rom. 7: 12, 14.

3. What is said of the unchanging character of God Himself?

For I am the Lord, I change not. Mal. 3: 6.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1: 17.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever. Heb. 13: 8.

4. Since the Bible speaks so plainly in regard to the unchangeable character of God, what should we expect that same book to say concerning the unchangeable character of His holy law?

The works of His hands are verity and judgment; all His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. Ps. 111: 7, 8.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matt. 5: 17, 18.

5. What is the Bible definition of fulfilling law?

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Gal. 6: 2.

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. James 2: 8, 9.

NOTE.—The foregoing scriptures make it perfectly apparent that to “fulfil” a law means to obey it.

6. Then what may we expect the prophets to teach concerning the attitude of Christ toward His Father's law?

Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast Thou opened: burnt offering and sin-offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart. Ps. 40: 6-8.

7. Can there be any doubt that the prophecy in the last foregoing scripture refers to Christ?

Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, But a body didst Thou prepare for Me; In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hadst no pleasure: Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of Me) To do Thy will, O God. Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law), then hath He said, Lo, I am come to do Thy will. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second. By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Heb. 10: 5-10, A.R.V.

NOTE.—This comment in the book of Hebrews shows that the quotation from the Fortieth Psalm clearly refers to Christ, and that His delight in His Father's law was such that He had that law enshrined within His heart.

Part of the Day's Run

By Annie Burnham Bryant

"You make it your business to do a lot of good turns in the course of the day, seems to me, young fellow!" remarked a passenger on an up-town car to the pleasant-faced young conductor who had just patiently helped a particularly helpless old lady to alight safely on the sidewalk.

"Sure!" was the cheerful answer. "Part of the day's run, isn't it?"

"May be, for you!" said the other. "Can't say that it's the regular thing with everybody. But I've happened to ride up and down with you four times to-day, and you've gone out of your way to make things a little less rocky for somebody every trip."

"Have to," said the young man briefly. "'Tisn't going out of your way, either. The chances come in your way. Part of the day's run—that's the way I like to look at it."

The little phrase is well worth tucking away for a pocket-piece. We do not need to get up in the morning and make any mighty resolutions to do great deeds of kindness or benevolence. What we do need is to fill our minds so full of kind and tender thoughts, that a bubbling impulse of helpfulness will characterize all our day's living.

While we are planning to be prompt and punctual and industrious and careful, we want to be sure to add one thing more—the purpose to be helpful. Just take it as a matter of course, as much a regular thing as eating breakfast or going to work or school. Eyes have to be quick and alert to carry out such a purpose. Ears have to be delicately trained till no moan of distress or cry for help shall escape them.

One has to stop being absent-minded, which often means selfish-minded, and try for that "heart at leisure from itself!" which the poet prayed for; since the chance of helpfulness in any particular instance is a gift so fleeting that the least inattention often loses it forever.

On the other hand, one who begins, in ever so small a way, to make it a part of his day's program is quickly and wonderfully rewarded. Every step of his path blossoms thick with opportunities. No "day's run" can be without them.—Annie Burnham Bryant.

The Day of Doom

By Charles P. Holt

By Charles P. Holt

O, dreadful that day when it dawneth On the children of crime and of sin— When the Lord shall appear in His glory, Mid a whirl of destruction and din; When, swift as the flash of the lightning, All life shall be swept from the world By the terrible hand of Jehovah, As star against star shall be hurled;

When the mountains shall tremble, then topple, Then melt in the chaos like snow; And the oceans arise in a vapor That will hiss in the infinite glow; And the fires, incased and eternal, That beneath us for eons have roared, Shall burst with a fury infernal From their bonds at the touch of the Lord;

And the homes that we live in and cherish, In a trice shall be tombed in the past; And the forms that they welcome and shelter Shall as ashes be swept in the blast; And the earth, that in grandeur and glory In its orbit now circles the sun, Shall return to its molten beginning, By the might of the Infinite One.

In His Footsteps

"UNCOMPLAINING, tho with care grown hoary, I desire to wear no crown of glory, Where my Saviour wore a crown of thorn. Not in paths of roses would I dally, Where my Saviour trod the gloomy valley, When He suffered bitter pain and scorn."

PRESENT WORLD MOVEMENTS IN PROPHECY

By Editor

God's Message for To-Day

IN our last issue we briefly considered God's dealings with the world, local and general, in past generations. As He met the needs of each age, generation, or nation, by messages of salvation, reasoning by analogy we would expect a God-given message for the ills and needs of this generation. Has He such a message?

Reader, we believe there is such a message, a message foretold in God's Word, a message which bears on its own face the impress of the Divine, if men will but consider and receive it. It has within itself the evidence that it is from God. That message is not confined to one Bible writer or book; it is variously expressed. We refer to simply one statement of its great, positive truth, found in Revelation the 14th chapter and the 6th and 7th verses, as follows:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

In this writing we wish to note these things:

1. The time of the message is indicated by the expression, "The hour of His judgment is come." In the teachings of our Lord we are told that the great judgment-day is future—when Christ shall come (Matt. 25:31-34). The apostle Paul preached before Felix of "righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come" (Acts 24:25); and he declared to the Athenians that God had "appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world" (Acts 17:31). By all the New Testament writers the great day of judgment is placed in the future, and in connection with Christ's coming. But this message, we are prophetically told, applies at a time when "the hour of His judgment is come." The judgment is pending when that message is due to the world. The world has been resting in human judgment; it has trusted to the decrees of men, of councils, of conferences, of nations. The great bar of God has been forgotten, the Court of last Assize has found small place in the calculations of men. Human conduct has been molded by imperfect human standards. Surely all will recognize the necessity, the need of a message that brings men back to the standard which God requires.

We spend in this world but a little time, at most. We may spend eternity elsewhere. This world is the preparation day for that longer period. How vastly important it is that the standard of our conduct, infinite in its results, shall be measured not by the standards which men erect, but by the standard which God Himself has given. Therefore the importance of calling men's attention to His judgment, to His holy standard. Surely such a message is demanded at this time.

2. The universality of the message. It is not a local message, as was God's message to Sodom, or to His own people at the time that our Lord first came, or as was Jonah's message to Nineveh. It is a universal message, a world-wide message. It is to go to every nation and kindred and tribe and tongue and people. They all need it. "We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God." "Each one of us shall give account of himself to God." The message must be given to all. And God is giving just such a message as that to the world in these days.

3. It is the Gospel message. It is not a new message; it is the old, ever-repeating message, in a new, living setting, for there can be but one Gospel which is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." It has not lost its power in the lapse of time. As it was when Paul uttered the great truth to the Romans, it is to this generation. The power of God is manifest in creation—the heavens declare His glory; but the power of God is manifested through His Gospel in the re-creation of men, and there can be no greater power.

And this universal message for this time is a great Gospel message—the everlasting Gospel message which has regenerated men through all the ages of the past. The world needs it now, the church needs it now. The religion of Jesus Christ is more than mere form; it does not consist in inducing men to join a church and place their names upon a religious roster and declare that they will live a different life and follow a different form of mere ethics. There is no power in that. It may influence for a while, but it does not touch the fountain of the heart. What is needed is the life of Jesus Christ, by which men are born from above, created in Him, made new men and women.

One of the great charges against the church to-day is—and by this we mean Christianity in general—that her membership is like the rest of the world; that there is no difference as a general thing in conduct, in character; that grafting, dishonesty, and failure to meet needed standards, is as manifest in the church as it is in the world. If this be true—and there are few who will deny it—the message of the everlasting Gospel is needed now.

4. The very burden of that message indicates its need: "Fear God, and give Him glory," and "worship Him." The fear of man possesses men to-day. The whole trend of public life is away from the individuality, the manhood of man. Recognizing more and more his weakness, he is gathering together by federations, by guilds, by bands. The individual is becoming lost in the mass; he is coming to recognize that he is of little worth if he stands, or seems to stand, against the interests of the many, and in this education men are coming to fear men.

They wish to question of men as to their conduct. They take the standards of the mass of men as to their character. Sounding out above all this is God's message: "Fear God." Let His presence be ever before you, let His law be your standard of character, let His Son be the example of your life, set Him always before your face.

The mighty men of all the ages, so far as Christian lands are concerned, are men who have had this vision of God, a vision of God's awful majesty, of His awful holiness of character, of the sure judgment which lies before; and having seen Him, and stood, as it were, an individual before His throne, they have come to fear God, and that fear of God has taken away the fear of men. It has not made man less precious in their sight—it has made him more precious, because he was the purchase of the blood of Christ; but it has made God so overwhelmingly great in their vision that they are no longer afraid of men. It has given them a recognition of man's right, which can come in no other way. In the sight of God they have seen the little difference that exists in men, that they are all creatures in His sight, and no one of them or no combination of them has the right to lord it over his fellows, or to usurp the throne of the Infinite; to Him must all men be responsible. Surely such a message as that is needed for this time.

And with the fear of God goes the worship of God: "Worship Him." Men are worshiping men at the present day. Religious papers teem with the praise of man. They have little to say in the praise of God. Men's theories have swept away the blessedness of the Gospel. Evolution has taken the place of re-creation, in the minds of men. Why should they not worship the men who have taught evolution, and men who in their wonderful wisdom set their hypotheses of science against the verities of the infinite God? Men are worshiped, the works of men's hands are worshiped, men's devices are worshiped. Human creeds are worshiped, and God is forgotten. Surely men need that message, which we have quoted above, to-day: "Worship God." Truest worship is service, and worship is truest service, and the worship of God means the service of God.

5. That message received is a unifying message. It sweeps away all creeds, all human barriers; it brings the individual, soul-naked, before the throne of the infinite God. It gives him, in response to faith, the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus; it holds before him as a standard the norm, the rule, the law of God. It places in his heart and soul the blessed Gospel of Christ to give to humanity. It leaves all human tradition behind, and treads underfoot all human superstition. Surely such a message as that is needed now.

And under this heading, in this series of the Signs of the Times for the next six months, we hope to give to our readers continually additional evidences so plain and so clear that every unprejudiced soul can see it, that God has a message for this time, for this day, and that that message received brings salvation, with all its blessings, to the receiver.

Christian Protest Against Wickedness

"It is not enough that the Christian character remains uncorrupted by the epidemic of wickedness; the Christian must protest against that wickedness, and war against it to the death."

God First

In the business office of Sir George Williams the visitor might always have seen this framed illuminated motto: "God first."

Pleasant Words or Silence

“In speaking of persons, if you can not say a pleasant word, say nothing.”

Continue reading: Jubilee of Cardinal Gibbons