Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 1, 1894
Inspiration.
The inspiration of the Scriptures is a most important matter. On the essential truths connected with it rests the salvation or the loss of the soul. It is well worth consideration, not in the light of higher criticism, but in the light of the Bible itself.
What the Word Means.
The word “inspiration” as applied to the Scriptures occurs but once in all the Bible, namely, in 2 Tim. 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The word “inspiration” comes from the Greek word theopneustos (from theo, God, and pneō, to breathe), and signifies literally “God breathed.” Therefore “all Scripture is God-breathed.”
The Word, Not the Man.
Note that it is not the man that is inspired or God-breathed, but the word, or the writings. We often hear the expression, “the inspired apostles,” “the inspired prophets,” “the inspired writers,” but the Scripture does not know these terms. It is the inspired word. God breathed the word, or the writings. The writings, or scriptures, are therefore his writings, the word is his word.
Inspiration Not Illumination.
Another error which must be guarded against is in making inspiration identical with illumination, or enlightenment, whereas they are entirely different. Illumination depends somewhat on the condition of the man’s mind, while inspiration does not. He who is illuminated, or enlightened, understands what he speaks or writes, while he who speaks or writes the in-breathed word may have no understanding of the matter which comes through him. Many of the Bible writers were greatly illuminated, no doubt, some of them marvelously so, as, for instance, Moses and Paul, but it is safe to say that they did not understand all they wrote. Daniel did not understand his own prophecies. Dan. 12:8–10. The apostle represents the prophets as searching their own writings that they might understand the things of Christ. 1 Peter 1:10, 11. They were writing for other times than their own, and could not in the nature of the case understand fully.
The Agent.
The agent of illumination and inspiration is ever the same, God’s Holy Spirit, or the Spirit of Christ. Elihu says, “There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration [breath, spirit] of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” God’s Spirit enlightens man’s spirit. “The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord” (Prov. 20:27), lighted by the Spirit of God. “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13. “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.” 1 Cor. 2:10. Generally the Spirit illuminates through the word of God, which is but the voice of the Spirit. The illumination comes to the meek and humble heart (Ps. 25:9, 14), to the diligent, faithful searcher (Prov. 2:1–9; James 1:5–7). But the inspired word of God is spoken by the covetous Balaam (Numbers 22–24), by the disobedient prophet (1 Kings 13), by the wicked priest (John 11:49–51), as well as generally by holy men. But each, as with the high priest, “spake not of himself.”
But in inspiration, in God’s inbreathings, the word, as respects man, originates. Says David, “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” 2 Sam. 23:2. Peter, in referring to an expression in the Psalms, says of it, “Which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake.” Again we read, referring to the Psalms, “As the Holy Ghost saith.” Heb. 3:7. Peter, in speaking of the writings of the prophets, writes: “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” 1 Peter 1:11. See 2 Peter 1:21. Jesus Christ, in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead, says of the Old Testament scriptures, as he bases an irrefutable argument on a single word, “The Scriptures cannot be broken.” John 10:35. Of his own and other apostles’ messages Paul says: “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.” 1 Cor. 2:13. See 1 Thess. 2:13; Acts 1:8.
God’s Word Not Man’s.
The word is therefore the word of God. Whether written by Moses, the “man of God;” whether penned by David, Israel’s “sweet Psalmist;” whether by Solomon, the wise king; whether by Isaiah, the prophet of the evangel; whether inscribed by Jeremiah, “the weeping prophet” in the land of Judah, or by Ezekiel in captivity; whether by Daniel, the “man greatly beloved,” or by Jonah, the disobedient; whether by Matthew, the publican, Luke, the physician, Peter, the fisherman, Paul, the learned, or John, the beloved disciple; whether penned in the wilderness of sin, or in the temple at Jerusalem; whether written in the freedom of the prophet herdsmen of Tekoa, or in the palace of Babylon, or in the dungeons of Rome, always and everywhere it is the word of God; for all Scripture (the Holy Writings known to Paul and Timothy, with the writings of the apostles) is God-breathed, and is profitable. They are all the words of God, mighty with the power of God to everyone who will receive them.
God’s Word and Man’s.
Yes, they are man’s words, not in the sense that they are fallible and erring, but in the wondrous fact everywhere apparent that they reveal man to himself. They reveal all his fallible weakness and wretchedness and need in the infallible words of the Holy Spirit. Each part of the Holy Book bears to a greater or less extent the characteristics of the men who wrote it, from Amos, the shepherd, to Ezekiel, the learned priest. Man’s sorrows, burdens, griefs, woes, heartaches, as well as joys and blessings, are portrayed as no human being could portray them. His selfishness, sin, hatred, ingratitude, and rebellion against God are faithfully set forth over against God’s wondrous love, his justice and mercy combined. It is man’s book in that it reveals man in the language of man, and instructs, comforts, and saves man by words which find response in his own being. Yet the words are of God. As the master musician produces the same sweet harmony on the piano, harp, organ, flute, cornet, and other instruments, the music showing the character of the instrument on which it is produced and the master skill behind it, even so does the Spirit of God breathe words through all the various classes of men, each class revealing its characteristics in the words, and yet all revealing the infinite wisdom, power, and love breathing through them. And as each musical instrument above all others will charm some particular ear, so will each class of men through whom God has spoken reach a particular class which could not be reached by others. As the simple harp may educate the mind to higher, sweeter music, so the rougher breathings of the Spirit in some particular scripture may open the heart738to its sweeter, fuller revelations. All the Scriptures are through man; all are God-breathed.
What It Is to Us.
God’s word, all the words which Christ spake by his Spirit, are life to him who receives them by faith as his word. Says Jesus, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63. Says the apostle: “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” To receive the word of Christ in the heart is to receive Christ there. God’s word to us, given to us through fallible men, is the word made flesh, even as the Son of God, the Eternal Word, was made flesh. He was human, and unbelief said, He is a mere man, a deceiver, a criminal, but to faith he was the love, wisdom, and power of God, mighty to save. Unbelief says of the written word, It is only human, erring, deceiving, fallible, but faith says, what Christ said, It is spirit and life, quick and powerful. And as it was mighty to bring worlds into existence (Ps. 33:6), so is it mighty to cleanse and save (Matt. 8:3; John 15:3; Acts 20:32).
READER, What is God’s word to you? Know that what that word is, that is what Christ is. What is that word to you?
BABYLON IS FALLEN.
By Editor
In past numbers we have shown, what must be apparent to all, that the divided condition of the Christian church (which the prophetic word calls "Babylon"), is not in harmony with God's plan. God permitted the division in his own wise purpose; but when the fullness of time came, about the middle of this present century, God sent forth his message of healing, which, if received, would have made his church one as in the beginning. It would have turned the church from the theories and traditions and worldly wisdom of men to the word of God. It would have swept away the "refuge of lies" which Satan has built up around his first falsehood,—"Ye shall not surely die; . . . ye shall be as God;" —it would have brought the church to Christ, our life; and the gospel—Christ's words of righteousness and life —would have shone with new glory. That healing message of the everlasting gospel would have turned the church from the false sabbath of pago-papal institution, the mark of the apostasy, the authority of which is based wholly in that tradition which makes void the commandment of God, and it would have turned her to the true Sabbath of Jehovah, the memorial of our great Creator, the sign of a Redeemer "mighty to save." It would have turned the torn and divided church from giving glory to man, and have taught her to give glory to God in view of his impending judgment and the day of wrath.
The "doctors" of the church have tried to heal her, the prophets have cried, Peace; but the church was not healed. Peace has not come. The Lord says, "They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace." And now, when men's plans have proved to be failures, God calls them back to "the old paths" and "the good way," and commands them to "walk therein." He bids the professed watchmen, in view of the coming dangers, to "hearken to the sound of the trumpet," that they may warn the people. He places before them with terrific plainness the holy law, that they may see their sins. He holds out with infinite longing the balm of Gilead, that the wounds and divisions may be healed. He does not condemn; he has not condemned for the past. If he had not sent his message, even as to the first house of Israel, "they had not had sin."
But the world-loving people declare concerning "the old paths" and "the good way," "We will not walk therein." The prophets say concerning God's trumpet which is blown to warn the people of the great day of God's wrath, "We will not hearken." When they reject the message, then there is no more "cloak for their sin." They turn to their traditions, and will not heed God's law, and therefore he witnesses against them:—
"Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the latter day, that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord."
What is the consequence of this turning away from the healing message, from the law of the Lord, from the gospel of life?—A moral decline. As a city in the case of a seige, rejecting all succor, would be sure to fall, so when the professed church of Christ, modern Babylon, rejects all that would help her, she is sure to fall morally. And this is what the Lord declares. In the very message where the Lord tells his church to walk in "the old paths" and "the good way," and she refuses and clings to her errors, clothes herself with her shame, and walks in her own abominations, he says:—
"Were they ashamed when they had committed abominations? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore they shall fall among them that fall. . . . Because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it."
This sad condition is just what is declared by the message of the second angel:—
"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."
There are two points in this which we will briefly consider,—the fall, the wine of her fornication.
The Fall of Babylon.
The fall of Babylon, as before intimated, is not her destruction; it is a moral fall. This is shown by Rev. 18: 1-4, when God's people are called out of her after her fall to avoid her destruction. Of course a moral fall means utter destruction sometime, because "sin; when it is finished, bringeth forth death," and "the wages of sin is death." But Babylon's fall is a moral fall, consequent on her rejecting God's truth. Continuing in that condition brings her to that place noted in Rev. 18: 1-4,—"the habitation of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit."
As before said, the healing message of Rev. 14: 6, 7 began to be preached in 1844 and onward. The rejection of that message leaves the churches in a worse spiritual condition than it found them. That the churches have not accepted the message is shown by their position on the three prominent doctrines named,—the Bible as the word of God, the only standard of faith and morals; life only through Christ; and the Bible Sabbath. Upon the latter especially has the test of the churches come, for the Sabbath question involves a decision between the word of God alone on the one hand, and tradition alone on the other; between the law of God as spoken by him, and the law as given by the Papacy. Between these (and it is with sadness we record it) the great Protestant churches have decided with papal tradition. Many Protestants admit that the day has no scriptural authority, and not one of them can give a Thus saith the Lord for its observance. Note the following testimonies:—
The festival Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance; and it was far from the intention of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect, far from them and the early apostolic church to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday.
The observance of the Lord's day [Sunday] is founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the church.
The current notion that Christ and his apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament.
The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath. . . . There is no scriptural authority for so doing, nor, of course, any scriptural obligation.
The day is now changed from the seventh to the first day, . . . but as we meet with no scriptural direction for the change, we may conclude it was done by the authority of the church.
We hear less than we used to about the apostolic origin of the present Sunday observance, and for the reason that, while the Sabbath and Sabbath rest are woven into the warp and woof of the Scripture, it is now seen, as it is admitted, that we must go to later than apostolic times for the establishment of Sunday observance.
Many more testimonies might be given. The church has chosen the tradition rather than the word of God, and representatives of the churches witness to their fall. Take the following as representing what might be quoted in the same line regarding other denominations; this is by the venerable Bishop Moore, editor of the Cincinnati Western Christian Advocate:—
TO THE CHURCH OF METHODISTS, WRITE.
The great trouble with us to-day is that the rescue of imperiled souls is our last and least consideration. Many of our congregations are conducted on the basis of social clubs. They are made centers of social influence. Membership is sought in order to advance one's prospects in society, business, or politics. Preachers are called who know how to "smooth down the rugged text to ears polite, and snugly keep damnation out of sight." The class books are filled with names of unconverted men739and women. Official members may be found in box, dress circle, and parquet of opera and theater. Communicants take in the races, and give and attend card parties and dances. The distinction between inside and outside is so obscure that men smile when asked to unite with the church, and sometimes tell us that they find the best men outside. . . .
And yet we have so spread out, under the inflation of the rich and ungodly, that they are a necessity to us. The enforcement of the unmistakable letter of the discipline for a single year would cut our membership in half, bankrupt our missionary society, close our fashionable churches, paralyse our connectional interests, and leave our pastors and bishops unpaid and in distress. But the fact remains that one of two things must happen,—the discipline must purge the church, or God's Holy Spirit will seek other organized agencies. The ax is laid at the root of the tree. The call is to repentance. God's work must be done. If we are in the way, he will remove us.
Says Rev. George Guirey, Baptist:—
The blandishments of the world are too much for human nature to withstand, and we see the sad spectacle of the great moral and religious activities of the church drop down into the rut of the ordinary routine of mere business affairs, while her beautiful and glorious life is shorn of its spiritual power. As a result, Sabbath desecration is almost as common in the church as out of it. . . . The love of the world, the greed for wealth, and the ambition for place and power, leave the church in the hands of a faithful few to bear her burdens and responsibilities, while the great body of her membership joins the world in Sunday pleasuring.
"The church has fallen, the beautiful church,
And her shame is her boast and pride."
The Wine of Her Fornication.
The wine of Babylon's fornication is the exact opposite of the gospel of truth she has rejected. It is that which leads up to the fornication which she commits with the kings of the world. The harlot often poisons her victim's blood and arouses his passions with wine before he yields to her solicitations. The wine of Babylon is the errors and corruptions which she opposes to the pure wine of Christ's gospel. When the church, grown proud and popular, rejects the healing message of the gospel, she says to the nations of earth that God's word is worthless, that the pure wine of his gospel is of no account, but that the corrupted creeds of tradition, the adulterated liquid of her own vintage, is superior to that bought by the blood of Christ.
What must necessarily follow such a course?—Union with the world. The wine of fornication leads to fornication itself. By the rejection of the message she rejected Him who gave it. But the message goes forward, borne by earnest servants of God. It cannot be stayed. The Spirit of God through it convinces the world and a proud, popular church of its sin. The true basis of life through Christ is preached. The Sunday sabbath is shown to be a counterfeit coin in the kingdom of grace. The Sabbath of the Lord everywhere comes to the front; and Babylon has only the perverted word and unholy tradition by which to withstand the mighty shocks of God's truth; and the slight wall, plastered with "untempered mortar," ever trembles before the mighty blows of the word.
What will the church do? What is she doing? What has she done?—She has done just what the apostate church has always done,—gone to Egypt or Assyria for help instead of seeking unto the Lord. She seeks the power of the kings of earth to promote her counterfeit evangel. Read her prototypes in Israel of old as recorded in Ezekiel 16, 17; Jeremiah 3; Isa. 30: 1-13. Read her history in the apostate church of the first centuries, when it departed from Christ and united with the world. That is what (would to God it were otherwise) the churches once so wonderfully favored of God are doing today. A consideration of this we must reserve to our next. But, reader, how are you related to this work? What is your attitude toward God's message?
WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS OUGHT YE TO BE?
By Ellen G. White
GOD is the Governor of the universe. He has put everything under law. Everything in the natural world is under law, from the tiniest flower of the garden to the mighty cedars of Lebanon. The beasts of the fields obey God's law. The ocean obeys his mandate, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." When God speaks to man, his voice is to be heard, and his word is to be obeyed. Man is an intelligent being, and has a mind by which to understand God's will, and a conscience by which to feel his accountability. He has a heart with which to love the law of God, which is holy and just and good. But God compels no man to do him honor, and to render obedience to his law. Compulsion is the work of Satan and his agents.
As intelligent creatures we may know and do the will of God, or we may stubbornly refuse to submit our finite will to the will of the Infinite. This responsibility that is placed upon us should fill us with a sense of awe. The requirement of God to us is, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." On these two principles hang all the law and the prophets; and it is for our present and eternal interest to have a proper understanding of the far-reaching principles of the law of God. "By the law is the knowledge of sin," and "sin is the transgression of the law." Sinners must know what is sin before they can have a desire to be rid of sin. It is a matter of eternal interest that we do not misconceive this vital question. When appeals are made in the pulpits of our land, and sinners are invited to repent and to be converted, it is the privilege of the sinner to inquire, What is sin? This we must know, for it is at the peril of our souls that we continue in sin. The apostle740gives us light on this subject, and says, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law."
Christ was manifested to take away our sins, and in him was no sin. But were the law abolished, as some claim, we would have no need of a Saviour to take away sin, for "where there is no law, there is no transgression." "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin." "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came [home to the conscience], sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which [if obeyed] was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is [a yoke of bondage, against me, and something to be trampled underfoot because it points out my sins?—No.] holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin."
But though we are carnal, we are to reckon ourselves "dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
". . . But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."
". . . But now being made free from sin, and become servants of God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning."
In order that there might be no mistake, and no excuse for disobedience, the apostle makes it very plain as to what commandments are to be regarded,—"an old commandment which ye had from the beginning." In this reference to the law of Jehovah he carries the mind back to the commandment which is a memorial of the creation of the world, when by his work on the six days, and his rest on the seventh, God laid the foundation for the Sabbath. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy, God placed the fourth commandment in the bosom of the Decalogue. In this commandment a special charge is given to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Then follow the reasons for this special charge: "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."
In the fourth commandment we have the fact set forth that the Maker of heaven and earth is the true God. "But the world in its wisdom knew not God." There is much wisdom in our world, but men, proud in their knowledge, do not employ their wisdom as did Daniel. They do not behold the beauty, the majesty, the justice, the goodness of God. They do not see the wisdom and holiness of his truth in his law, which is the transcript of his character.
If those who believed in God during the old dispensation were enjoined to arise and shine, how much greater is the obligation to-day to arise and shine, when our light is brighter, and shines with clearer and more steady rays. Our obligation to shed forth light is as much greater than was the obligation of the people of ancient times, as our light is more clear and definite. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." The disciples of Christ are to make him known to the world. We have reasoning faculties, and as our capacity increases as we improve upon the talents that God has given us, we should gather up the divine rays of light that patriarchs, prophets, and apostles have left to us as hereditary trusts, and should still continue to seek for truth as for hidden treasure. We are called upon of God to let the light which he has given us shine forth in clear and steady rays. Everyone who believes in Christ as the light of the world is to be as a lighthouse on a dangerous coast, sending forth bright rays of light to warn souls, lest they make shipwreck of faith. But instead of thus shining, there are thousands who are living a godless, Christless, worldly life, whose names are registered upon the church books as Christians. They believe about Christ, but they do not believe in him.
He who obeys the law through the imputed righteousness of Christ, meets every claim that the Bible presents; but he who sets himself above God, and tramples upon his law, and still professes to be a child of God, is working on the enemy's side of the controversy. In our day, even from the pulpits of our land, professed ministers of the gospel are, as were the Pharisees, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. The only safety for the soul at this time is to inquire at every step, What saith the Lord to his servant? The word of the Lord endureth forever. The Bible is to be our guidebook, and instead of consulting the wisdom of men, and accepting as divine truth the assertions of finite mortals, we should search the sure word of prophecy. God has spoken, and his word is reliable, and we must rest our faith upon a "Thus saith the Lord." God would have us study the events that are taking place around us, and compare them with the predictions of his word, in order that we may understand that we are living in the last days. We want our Bibles, and we want to know what is written therein. The diligent student of prophecy will be rewarded with clear revelations of truth, for Jesus said, "Thy word is truth."
Those who profess to be followers of Christ will be found guilty before God unless they are laborers together with God, and earnestly seek to lift up their fellow-men. Prophecy is rapidly fulfilling; and all men are ranging under their chosen standards. One class are preparing to be used of the Holy Spirit, and another class are ranging under the black banner of the prince of evil. This class have no love for either God or their fellow-men, and Satan uses them as vessels to honor himself. The very atmosphere of our world is tainted with physical and spiritual miasma. The principles of truth are corrupted. God has been dishonored, his law has been transgressed, and the earth has become defiled under the inhabitants thereof, and the vials of the wrath of God will be poured out upon the world.
Calamities by land and sea, by fire and flood, by pestilence and famine, by horrible accidents, by earthquakes in divers places, all testify in unmistakable language that the end of all things is at hand, and that great Babylon is coming into remembrance before God. The Lord is even at the door, and men's hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which shall come upon the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. But there is a defense for those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The prophet declares, "Thy righteousness shall go before thee." Whose righteousness?—The righteousness of Christ. And he continues, "The glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward." "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof." "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"
Politics and Religion.
The "Labor Churches" starting in England are but another impetus to the union of Church and State which will soon dominate the entire world. It has been said that in these "Labor Churches" politics would be so much discussed that religion would have no place; but Tom Mann, the English Labor leader, says: "Let those who say that the Labor Church makes a divorce between religion and practical politics go to the Brotherhood Church, in Southgate Road, of which Mr. Bruce Wallace is pastor, or to Mr. Belcher's, at Hackney, and there he would find earnest and devout worship going on." The fact is that these Labor Churches are only politico-religious churches, and they will force the backslidden Protestant churches into just the same channel, into which many now have already launched themselves; for while it is popular to preach to the rich politicians and public men, the politicians and public men want votes, the Labor Churches can supply them, and therefore the politician will court the favor of the Labor Church; and to hold this influence the other churches will become labor churches also, or religio-political clubs, in which problems of labor will be discussed, as a sop to the growing socialism of the day. Religion and politics is but the beginning of Church and State.
The Perverted Use of Power
ALL power is of God, even that exercised by Satan; but it is not God's power in the sense that it is exercised by him and he responsible therefor. Satan and all his evil angels, as well as all men, are intelligent, reasonable, responsible creatures, with wills to choose either the right or the wrong. The life, the power, the influence which each one possesses God has given him the privilege of using as he will subject to his finite limitations. But for it both man and demon are responsible as individuals. God never perverts anything; nor from his nature can he do so; for he cannot prove false. Power perverted is evil, and works destruction. Truth perverted is falsehood. Light perverted is darkness. God permits it, but God does not will it. He has given man the privilege of choosing the right or perverting it; he therefore allows the development of man's choice, in order not only that the perverter may see its evil result, but that others may be warned and saved.
PATIENCE.
By Fannie Bolton
BY FANNIE BOLTON.
PATIENCE is godlike. Doth not God each hour
Wait till the centuries drag their weight of ill
To its last goal, albeit he hath the power
To sweep the face of earth clean? And yet still
He waits the final working out of sin. The nations fill
The cup of their iniquity to brim, albeit it grieve
The heart of Infinite Love to see men weep,
And angels mourn, desiring to relieve.
They weep to see sin brush the bloom from life,
And long to sweep the destroyer to his doom,
To put an end to all earth's weary strife,
And see the Conqueror burst the noisome tomb.
Yet in the sanctuary's place they see
The face of Infinite Patience looking on,
And drop their wings, that raised impetuously,
And hush their murmurs till God's will is done,
Saying, "God waits, and till he waits no more
Let us be patient who are finite still,
Stand veiled before his throne, love to adore,
And wait submissive to the all-wise will."
O human heart that lives so brief a span,
Gaze on the majesty of patience still.
Wait; all is well, for love fulfills the plan.
Be patient also; God completes his will.
CATHOLIC HIERARCHY.
The College of Cardinals numbers at present 61 members. As the full number is 70, there are 9 vacancies. Of the present members 32 are Italians and 29 foreigners. Seven of the latter are French, namely, the Archbishops of Paris, Rheims, Rouen, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Tours, and the Bishop of Rodez. Five are German, the Prince-Bishop of Breslau, the Archbishop of Cologne, and the Cardinals Hohenlohe, Krementz, and Ledochowski. The Austrians also number five,—the Archbishops of Vienna, Prague, Krakow, Grau, and Grosswardein. The rest of the foreign members of the Holy College are divided among the following nationalities: Spanish, 4; Portuguese, 2; English, 1;741Belgian, 1; Irish, 1; Austrian, 1; American, 1; Canadian, 1.
The youngest member is Cardinal Rampolla, who was born in 1843. Two of the cardinals are older than the pope. The total number of prelacies in the Catholic hierarchy is 1,254, of which 93 are at present vacant.—Hierarchia Cattolica, Rome.