Aleander, the papal legate, clearly perceived the effect produced by Luther's speech. He feared, as never before, for the security of the Romish power, and resolved to employ every means at his command to effect the Reformer's overthrow. With all the eloquence and diplomatic skill for which he was so eminently distinguished, he represented to the youthful emperor the folly and danger of sacrificing, in the cause of an insignificant monk, the friendship and support of the powerful see of Rome.
His words were not without effect. On the day following Luther's answer, Charles Fifth caused a message to be presented to the diet, announcing his determination to carry out the policy of his predecessors to maintain and protect the Catholic religion. Since Luther had refused to renounce his errors, the most vigorous measures should be employed against him and the heresies he taught. Nevertheless, the safe-conduct granted him must be respected; and before proceedings against him could be instituted, he must be allowed to reach his home in safety.
"I am firmly resolved to tread in the footsteps of my ancestors," wrote the monarch. Thus he took his position, refusing to accept any light in advance of what his fathers had received, or perform any duty that his fathers had not performed.
He seemed to feel that a change of religious views would be inconsistent with the dignity of a great king. There are many at the present day thus clinging to the customs and traditions of their fathers. When the Lord sends additional light, they refuse to accept it, because, not having been granted to their fathers, it was not received by them. We are not placed where our fathers were, consequently our duties and responsibilities are not the same as theirs. We shall not be approved of God in looking to the example of our fathers to determine our duty instead of searching the word of truth for ourselves.
Were our fathers engaged in an evil work? We are not to do wickedly because they did. Were they devoted to a good work? We can imitate them only by performing our duty as faithfully as they performed theirs; by heeding the light granted to us as faithfully as they heeded that which shone upon them; in short, by doing as they would have done had they lived in our day, and enjoyed our privileges and opportunities. Our responsibility is greater than was that of our ancestors. We are accountable for the light which they received, and which was handed down as an inheritance for us, and we are also accountable for the additional light which is now shining upon us from the sure word of prophecy. The truth that has convinced the understanding or convicted the soul, by whatever means it may have been given, will judge us at the last great day. No one will be condemned because he did not believe that which was never presented to his understanding or urged upon his conscience. Said Christ of the unbelieving Jews: "If I had not come, and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin."
The same divine power had spoken through Luther to the emperor and princes of Germany. And as the light shone forth from God's word, his Spirit pleaded for the last time with many in that assembly. Had not this appeal been presented to their understanding, their sin had not been so great. But the truth had stood forth in direct and unmistakable contrast with error; therefore their rejection of it sealed their condemnation.
The emperor decides that he will not step out of the royal path of custom, even to walk in the ways of truth and righteousness. Because his fathers did, he will uphold the papacy, with all its cruelty and corruption. With this decision, his day of mercy forever ended.
As Pilate, centuries before, had permitted pride and love of popularity to close his heart against the world's Redeemer; as the trembling Felix bade the messenger of truth, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee;" as the proud Agrippa confessed, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," yet turned away from the Heaven-sent message,—so had Charles Fifth, yielding to the dictates of worldly pride and policy, refused his last call from God.
Charles had announced his decision in the case of Luther without previous consultation with the diet. This hasty and independent act of the youthful emperor excited the displeasure of that august body. Two opposite parties at once appeared. Several of the pope's adherents demanded that Luther's safe-conduct should not be respected. "The Rhine," they said, "should receive his ashes, as it had received those of John Huss a century ago." In after years it was a cause of regret to Charles that he did not act upon this base proposition. In his after years, he said, "I committed a great fault by permitting Luther to live. I was not obliged to keep my promise with him; that heretic had offended a Master greater than I,—God himself. I might and ought to have broken my word, and to have avenged the insult he had committed against God. It is because I did not put him to death, that heresy has not ceased to advance. His death would have stifled it in the cradle." So great was the darkness which came upon the mind that had willfully rejected the light of truth.
The proposition of the Romanists excited great alarm among the friends of the Reformer. And even one of his inveterate enemies, a duke of Saxony, denounced the infamous suggestion, affirming that the German princes would not tolerate the violation of a safe-conduct. "Such perfidy," he said, "befits not the ancient good faith of the Germans." Other princes also, who were attached to the Roman Church, supported this protest, and the peril that threatened the life of Luther gradually disappeared.
Two days were spent by the diet in deliberation upon the proposition of the emperor. Rumors of the designs against Luther were widely circulated, causing great excitement throughout the city. The Reformer had made many friends, who, knowing the treacherous cruelty of Rome toward all that dared expose her corruptions, resolved that he should not be sacrificed. More than four hundred nobles pledged themselves to protect him. Not a few openly denounced the royal message as evincing a weak submission to the controlling power of Rome. On the gates of houses and in public places, placards were posted, some condemning and others sustaining Luther. On one of them were written merely those significant words of the wise man: "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child." The popular enthusiasm in Luther's favor throughout all Germany convinced both the emperor and the diet that any injustice shown him would endanger the peace of the empire, and even the stability of the throne.
There were many who loved and honored the Reformer, and wished to secure his safety, while at the same time they were desirous not to break with the Roman power. Hoping to accomplish this object, the German princes came in a body to the emperor to request time for further efforts for a reconciliation. "I will not depart from what I have determined," said he; "I will authorize no one to have any official communication with Luther." "But," he added, "I will allow the man three days' consideration, during which time any one may exhort him privately as he may think fit."
Many of the Reformer's friends hoped that a private conference would prove successful. But the Elector of Saxony, who knew Luther better, felt assured that he would stand firm. In a letter to his brother, Duke John of Saxony, Frederic expressed his anxiety for Luther's safety, and his own willingness to undertake his defense. "You can hardly imagine," he continued, "how I am beset by the partisans of Rome. If I were to tell you all, you would hear strange things. They are bent upon his ruin; and if any one evinces the least interest in his safety, he is instantly cried down as a heretic. May God, who forsaketh not the cause of the righteous, bring the struggle to a happy issue."
Frederic maintained a studied reserve toward the Reformer, carefully concealing his real feelings, while at the same time he guarded him with tireless vigilance, watching all his movements and all those of his enemies. But there were many who made no attempt to conceal their sympathy. Princes, barons, knights, gentlemen, ecclesiastics, and common people surrounded Luther's lodgings, entering and gazing upon him as though he were something more than human. Even those who believed him to be in error could not but admire that nobility of soul which led him to peril his life rather than violate his conscience.
COME HOLY SPIRIT.
By F. W. Faber
COME, Holy Spirit! from the height
Of heaven send down thy blessed light!
Come, Father of the friendless poor!
Giver of gifts, and Light of hearts,
Come with that unction which imparts
Such consolations as endure.
The soul's Refreshment, and her Guest,
Shelter in heat, in labor Rest,
The sweetest Solace in our woe!
Come, blissful Light! oh, come and fill,
In all thy faithful heart and will,
And make our inward fervor glow.
Where thou art, Lord, there is no ill,
For evil's self thy light can kill;
Oh, let that light upon us rise!
Lord! heal our wounds, and cleanse our stains,
Fountain of grace! and with thy rains
Our barren spirits fertilize.
Bend with thy fires our stubborn will,
And quicken what the world would chill,
And homeward call the feet that stray;
Virtue's reward, and final grace,
The Eternal Vision face to face,
Spirit of Love! for these we pray.
Come, Holy Spirit! bid us live;
To those who trust thy mercy give
Joys that through endless ages flow;
Thy various gifts, foretastes of Heaven,
Those that are named thy sacred seven,
On us, O God of love, bestow.
—F. W. Faber.
The Blessing of Foreign Missions
By Charles Haddon Spurgeon
THERE is nothing that so enlarges and expands the soul as an active interest in foreign missions. The idea compasses the globe and lifts the thoughts out of the region of selfishness into that of universal benevolence; besides, the sanction and the command of Christ is its impelling impulse.
The Principle as to Time in Sabbath Observance.
[In the discussion of the question of the Religious Amendment of the Constitution, the editor of the Christian Statesman went the usual round to show the impossibility of keeping the identical seventh day, and then, as usual, turned to arguing in favor of keeping Sunday! The following is from Eld. Littlejohn's reply to that part of his argument.]
WERE it not true that we had long since ceased to be surprised at anything which an individual could say when opposing the claims of the Lord's Sabbath, after having received the light concerning them, our astonishment at the position taken by the gentleman of the Statesman, in the foregoing article, would have no bounds.
To one who has followed him thus far in an elaborate argument, running through a series of nine communications, all for the purpose of establishing, from both Scripture and history, the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week, and the obligation under which all men are now placed to observe the latter instead of the former, it will be extremely difficult to explain, on grounds honorable to himself, this sudden repudiation of all which he has said in the past, while endeavoring to defend the newly-found theory of the observance of one day in seven, to the exclusion of any definite day whatever.
In his second article he says: "We are concerned here and now simply with the transfer of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week." In the third article, when speaking of apostolic times, he remarks again: "It was also seen that while the observance of the seventh day was not continued, another day of the week, the first, took its place as the stated day for religious assemblies and services." Farther on he writes again as follows: "On the last seventh day on which the disciples rested, according to the commandment, the Lord himself is lying in the tomb. The glory of the seventh day dies out with the fading light of that day, throughout the whole of which the grave claimed the body of the Redeemer. But the glory of the Sabbath of the Lord survives. It receives fresh luster from the added glories of the Lord of the Sabbath. 'The Stone which the builders refused has become the head of the corner.' It is very early in the morning, the first day of the week. Again, 'God said, Let there be light; and there was light.' The Sun of Righteousness has risen with healing in his wings. This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. The first day of the week has become the Lord's day."
But we must cease from our quotations, for there is no limit to expressions synonymous with the above. Not only so, but were additional proof necessary, by more ample extracts, it could be made to appear that the whole theory of his defense, as already declared, has rested entirely upon the change of the day from the seventh, which was observed till the death of Christ, to the first, which was honored especially by our Lord, by his personal appearance to the disciples on the first and second Sundays following the resurrection, and by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, with the especial view of teaching the disciples that it had become holy time; also, that they, grasping the moral of the lesson imparted by example, if not by positive precept, inculcated the doctrine of the change, and made it binding upon all.
If we are right in this, and the reader who has followed the debate thus far will unhesitatingly admit that such are the facts, then, of course, the gentleman is arrayed against himself in a manner most distasteful, no doubt, to his personal feelings, as well as disastrous to his polished logic; for to the mind of the merest school-boy it must be apparent that a change of Sabbath from one day of the week to another, involves the definiteness of the day thus honored; i. e., if the first day of the week is now the Christian Sabbath because of the nature of events which transpired upon it in particular, then, of course, it occupies that position to the exclusion of all other days; but this utterly demolishes the seventh-part-of-time theory, which the gentleman has adopted, the very essence of which is, that there is now no superiority in days, and the individual is left free to choose any one which may best accord with his tastes or subserve his interests.
Here, then, we come to a dead halt. Which shall we believe, the nine articles of the gentleman, or the tenth, which is in direct conflict with their teachings? Should we go by the bulk of the testimony, then we must decide that there is a definite day, according to the conviction of our opponent. But if he still holds to that doctrine, then that which he has said against the seventh-day Sabbath, on the ground that the earth is round, and, therefore, that the Edenic Sabbath could not be kept in all portions of it, is deprived of all its force. For, assuredly, if he believes that God now requires all men to honor the first day of the week, the world over, then he must admit that it is possible for them to do so.
But if it is possible for men both to find and to celebrate the first day of the week, on a round world, then, beyond all dispute, the same process which will enable them to do this, will also qualify them to locate and to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For it is just as certain as mathematical demonstration can make it, that in a week consisting of seven days, having found the first of the number, in order to discover the last, you have but to take the one which preceded the known days from the one already established, and you have the last day of the week to which it belongs.
So, too, with every objection urged in the communication. The one in regard to the difficulties which would be experienced in an attempt to keep the Sabbath of the commandment at the poles, is just as fatal to the first day as it is to the seventh. All this talk, also, in regard to the impossibility of preserving a correct count, and the lengthening and shortening of the days, as the traveler passes from the east to the west, if it has any force at all, or even the semblance of force, must be met and answered equally by the observers of the so-called Christian Sabbath, with those of the Sabbath of the Lord. This being true, we might pause right here, and roll the burden on to the opponent. Having raised the dust which is blinding the eyes of the ignorant, yet conscientious, it would be but substantial justice for Sabbatarians to fall back and say to them, Take the field, gentlemen, and wrest from the hand of the infidel and the atheist the weapons with which you have armed them to be employed against you in the very work in which you are engaged; for, be it remembered that the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light, and they will readily perceive the advantage which they have gained by such doctrines and difficulties as those to which the gentleman has called their attention.
This, however, we shall not do, but shall ourselves, in due time, strike at the very root of the error, in the interest of a definite and universal day of holy rest. Before entering upon this work, nevertheless, there is a matter which concerns Sabbatarians most deeply, to which attention should be directed.
The gentleman and his friends are pressing upon the nation the necessity of the Constitutional Amendment—contrary to his former declaration, in which he said there was no necessary connection between the Sabbath and the amendment. He now justifies our strictures upon the disingenuousness of his argument, by deliberately stating in the article before us, with an air of triumphant exultation, that, the amendment once secured, the Sabbath laws in this country will then cease to be a dead letter. By this he means, of course, that they will be carried into operation. But what are those Sabbath laws? They are laws enforcing the first day of the week, in nearly every State in the Union.
Now, we believe that what the gentleman says will be fulfilled; but right here is the proper place to offer a solemn protest. Will the gentleman fine and imprison my brethren and myself for disregarding the first day of the week, after having conscientiously kept the seventh? If so, we ask for the logic by which such a course could be justified, on the ground that the seventh-part-of-time theory is correct? Now, mark it, the object of the amendment is to make the Bible the fountain of national law. All the enactments of the Congress and all the decisions of the judiciary are to be in harmony with it. If, therefore, laws are passed, they must be such as the Scriptures would warrant; for the Sabbath, be it remembered, which this movement seeks to enforce, is the one which the Bible teaches.
But, according to the last theory, the day which God now requires to be observed is not any one in particular, but simply one in seven, the individual being left to make the selection of the one which he prefers thus to honor. Now, therefore, it is submitted that if God has given to man this prerogative of choice, then he has done so because this course was the one which commended itself to infinite wisdom, and no person or set of persons has a right to come between the creature and the Creator, depriving the former of rights which the latter has guaranteed to him. If the Bible Sabbath is indeed an indefinite one, we say to these gentlemen, Hands off; in the name of religion and the Bible you shall not perform a work which will do violence to a large class of conscientious citizens, and which, according to your own argument, is contrary to the doctrine of the Christian Sabbath, as laid down in the word of God. Be consistent with yourselves and your views of Scripture.
If, indeed, you are sincere in believing that Sabbatarians violate no divine law in the keeping of the seventh day, then we say to you in the name of charity, Why not allow them, so long as they are Christian men and women, and obedient citizens, to carry out their convictions of duty, without compelling them, by the appliances of persecuting legislation, to keep the particular first-day Sabbath which indeed you have chosen for yourselves, but for which you have now ceased to claim any special divine honor? To force them, either to disregard their own convictions of duty, or to keep two days holy, would be an act of despotism but one remove from that terrible bigotry which, in the Inquisition, resorted to the rack and the thumbscrew; not, indeed, to make men better Christians or better citizens, but to coerce them into the acceptance of institutions for which there was no divine authority.
A Scene in India.
The following tender incident, related by A. H. Baynes, in a recent address, will touch a responsive chord in many a Christian heart.
I shall never forget as long as I live that day when in the glow of the eventide, as the sun was sinking and as the mists were creeping over the land, I walked with one of our native brethren by the riverside, and saw a light in the dim distance, when he said to me, "Yonder is the only Christian in all that great town." Ten years ago he received Christ into his heart; his father and mother turned him out; his friends forsook him; his neighbors persecuted him, and all these years he stood his ground, scarcely getting food to eat.
During all these ten years he maintained his Christian character, unspotted in the midst of the heathen around him, and the native brother said to me, "Now his business is reviving, because people say he sells the best things, and always means what he says." I entered his humble bamboo hut and sat down upon the ground by his side, and as I discoursed about his loneliness and his sadness, the tears sprang into his eyes, and he said, "No I am never lonely; for as Christ was with the Hebrew children, and as he was with Daniel in the lions' den, so all these years has he been with me."
"Lonely, dear Lord! how can I be
With thy sweet presence here ?
Thy strength in weakness to make strong,
Thy hand to wipe each tear ?"
Prevailing Prayer.
By Wm. M. Taylor
THE desire that simply flits across the soul, as the shadow of the cloud glides over the summer grass, is no true prayer. It must take hold of the spirit, and gather into itself all the energy and earnestness of the suppliant. The popular idea, indeed, is that prayer is a very simple matter; but, in reality, it is the highest exercise of the soul, and requires for its presentation the concentration of all its powers. The English prelate was right when he said that “no man was likely to do much good in prayer who did not begin by looking upon it in the light of work to be prepared for, and persevered in, with all the earnestness which we bring to bear upon subjects which are, in our opinion, at once most interesting and most necessary.” So much as this must be evident from the phraseology of the Scriptures themselves. Observe the gradation in the terms, “asking,” “seeking,” “knocking.” The “asking” is the lower form of requesting; but the “seeking” implies the activity of one who puts himself to the labor of a search; and the “knocking” refers to the continued opportunity that repeats its application until it is satisfied that there is no one in, or until the door is actually opened.—Dr. Wm. M. Taylor.
Why Is Good Rejected?
By R. F. Cottrell
WHY is the light which tends to life, both in this world and that which is to come, rejected? When man's interest is appealed to, as well as his reason, why is he not ready to follow truth and live? The laws of his nature, the laws of life and health, appeal to him in like manner as does the Spirit of Inspiration, Why will ye die? Both are unheeded, and why?
Obedience to revelation and obedience to natural laws both call for self-denial. A change is required that seems a great expense. And not only must false and injurious appetites and passions be denied, but the established customs of society forbid it. One might deny himself of hurtful indulgences, but how can he bear the thought of walking contrary to his friends and neighbors? That is the difficult point. Society is running in certain ruts; and though he sees the evil, it seems too much to undertake the work of reform, for he sees no hope of correcting the evils in society, and therefore he will not undertake to lead out in the right way; and so he chooses to close his eyes to the light, and go with the multitude in the downward road to death. He wishes it were different—that all would do right. If everybody else would choose the way to life, he would. And so he waits for the world to get right, and does not lift a finger to get them right. He would go the right way, if all would; but the mass are in the road to death, and he thinks he can but go with them.
What the world wants is reformers. They need strong hands to lift them out of the false grooves of fashion, and set them in the right way. To do this requires those who will follow the truth, though they have to stand alone. They must advance from the rank and file, though they be exposed to the shots of those who fear to advance. But such have real worth, and will finally reap a rich reward.
R. F. COTTRELL.
Want of Reverence.
THERE have been ages—history denomi-
nates them dark—when men, enshrouded in supersti-
tion, shuddering amid the shadows, recognized
the working of supernal or infernal power in all
the varied phenomena of nature, and, filled with
dreadful awe, abased themselves not only beneath
"the hosts of heaven," but before "four-footed
beasts and creeping things,"—a lizard or a toad.
It is perfectly clear to any casual observer in
America that we at least have got far beyond
that. We have swung to the other extremity of
the arc; and though the most of us profess to be-
lieve in God Almighty, who is "glorious in holi-
ness, fearful in praises, doing wonders," yet, so
far from exhibiting such reverential awe as is be-
coming in his august presence, it is the rarest
thing to see him treated even in his own house
with anything approaching to decent respect.
We remember the awe which he formerly de-
manded and inspired—Jacob at Bethel, Moses
at the burning bush, Israel at the base of Sinai,
when "so terrible was the sight that even Moses
said, 'I do exceedingly fear and quake.'"
We remember the sudden smiting of Uzzah be-
cause, in an unguarded moment, he touched the
ark with forbidden hand; and how, for a similar
offense against this sacred symbol of God's pres-
ence, more than fifty thousand men of Beth-
shemesh perished. We remember how Isaiah in
his presence-chamber became as a dead man be-
fore him, and how Daniel worshiped him as the
"great and dreadful God," and how John was
overwhelmed with the glory of his majesty, in
the isle of Patmos; and then, with all these
records fresh in memory, we repair on the Lord's
day to the Lord's house.
It is the hour devoted to the study of the Bible
lesson. We are at the threshold. But who are
these that stand without? They must be the
sons of Eli, or near akin to them, judging from
their manners in the precincts of the sanctuary.
You press through the group, your nostrils of-
fended with tobacco smoke, your ears with jests
unseemly. You might think this the entrance to
a Bacchanalian club-house, if you did not know
it had been dedicated to religious uses. You en-
ter. "Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord,
forever." Such is the motto inscribed upon the
wall, but it seems to have made little or no im-
pression on anything but the wall. Before the
school comes to order, if indeed it ever does, there
are loud and boisterous demonstrations, frivolous
laughter, and general jocularity, which are often
only slightly intermitted during the opening ex-
ercises.
While prayer is being offered, many, even of
the teachers, gaze vacantly around, as if the
prayer were no concern of theirs, as is probably
the fact. And the singing is done with a ring
and a swing, and a jolly sort of sleigh-bell jingle,
as if it were the glee of a carnival carousal,
instead of a sacred song of praise offered up by
grateful hearts unto the God of Heaven.
After the discussion of the lesson, in which
things sacred and profane, things serious and ri-
diculous, have been recklessly jumbled, the school
is dismissed, and the scholars tumble about as
though it were a week-day school just dismissed
for a Christmas holiday. Nor are the scholars
the only sinners against the sanctities of the day
and place.
Even the officers think it not amiss to have a lit-
tle "religious fun." If a Sunday-school address is
to be made, the funniest man that can be found is
the man to be sought; but such is his popularity,
so great is the rage for fun, that it is difficult to
secure his services unless you engage him months
beforehand, in which case he will be likely to
forget it, for which all good people ought to be
thankful.
When even in circles professedly religious we
listen to the quips and puns that are based upon
the Scripture; when we mark the familiar and
flippant way in which men pray, and the frivol-
ous way in which they conduct themselves in the
sanctuary of the Most High, and then think of
the awful majesty of "the God of the Hebrews,"
the God of the Gospels, the God of the Apoca-
lypse, we are ready to ask, Has God come down
so much, or has man come up so much, in this
nineteenth century of the Christian era, that the
creature can afford to treat the Creator with such
jocose familiarity, as if he were "altogether such
an one as ourselves?" The fact is, this whole
business of fun in religion is beginning to be seri-
ous; and, unless we are wise enough to consider
our ways and reform our habits, to "stand in awe
and sin not," we have need to fear that God will
come and smite the earth with a curse, such as
will turn our unseemly merriment into dreadful
mourning.—Selected.
The Sacredness of the Sabbath.
By D. A. Robinson
THE first word of the Sabbath commandment appeals to our memory. "Remember," says the Lord, "the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." The great Creator knew that man would be liable to forget his "rest-day," so he says, "Remember." We should sacredly regard this great memorial of creation's King. This calm and peaceful visitor makes his weekly calls on the dwellers of this globe. He is not received alike by all. In many dwellings he is not permitted to enter. He calls but is unnoticed by thousands; they see him not.
At other doors he seeks admittance, but alas! he is met with a strong rebuff even by some who know of his approach. He only has blessings to leave, and yet he is repulsed.
Then does he not find a hearty reception anywhere? Ah yes, indeed. Go to the homes of those who are anticipating a visit from this resident of paradise. They know the time of his approach(at even, which is at the going down of the sun). The daily toils are ended, the earthly cares are laid aside, and all are ready to give him a sweet welcome to their homes. They can truthfully sing,
"Another six days' work is done;
Another Sabbath is begun."
Peace and quiet reign supreme in such a dwelling, and the inmates can say,
"Thine earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love."
What a contrast is this to that home where the entrance of the Sabbath finds everything in confusion. He has called on them too soon. They tried to get ready to receive him, but the trouble was they did not begin soon enough, and when he came they were not prepared to greet him with song and praise. My brother, my sister, did you ever seek to prepare to meet an expected friend and fail in your endeavors? Doubtless you have. And at such times how you have been vexed, disappointed, and chagrined to think you did not get ready. Do you feel as badly when the holy Sabbath enters your dwelling and you are not ready for it? If not, there is occasion for coming a little nearer and drinking in more of the spirit of this sacred institution.
"And hallow my Sabbaths," saith the Lord, "and they shall be a sign between me and you that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." To hallow the Sabbath on our part is to sacredly set that day apart to its proper use. Not nine-tenths of it simply, but the day itself. Let us be careful to sacredly guard the day that belongs to God. He has placed it in our hands, not for us to use for our own personal pleasure or profit, but to keep it as a sacred memento, and not to desecrate a moment of its holy hours by secular acts that should have been performed before its commencement, or perhaps might remain till the Sabbath has passed.
The busy season of the year is upon us, and here we are all especially in danger of encroaching upon God's holy Sabbath-day. The Lord understood how this would be, and gave this instruction in speaking of the Sabbath: "In earing time [seed time] and in harvest thou shalt rest." Ex. 34: 21. Thus at all times we are to revere this blessed rest-day.
Many of us can improve in this respect. Who of us does not enjoy being in a home when the Sabbath comes where all are ready for it? We all do. And angels of God are attracted to such places. Let us, as far as in our power, be prepared to meet them. D. A. ROBINSON.
The Strait Gate.
By Epsilon
"ENTER ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt. 7: 13.
This scripture should not discourage any one who is moved upon by the Holy Spirit to become a disciple (or learner) of the Lord Jesus, for the Saviour says: "All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6: 35. The great mass of the people will choose this present world and will not come to Christ. But it seems that many will seek to come to him in the wrong way; for according to Luke 13: 24, many will seek to enter in and shall not be able. By reading to verse 28 we find that many will be astonished to find themselves shut out of the kingdom.
And in Matt. 7: 22, 23 we read: "Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." There are many ways in which professed Christians work iniquity. At the present time, as in the past, many make war upon the truth when it is presented to them. In that day will not a large number of the disappointed ones be those who held with an iron grasp to their errors, and persecuted those who received the truth? These scriptures, shutting the mass of mankind out of the kingdom and saving comparatively few, would be intolerable if the doctrine of the immortality of the soul were true. But the truth is the great mass will go into destruction, and the noble few go into the strait and narrow path of life. The words destruction and life are antithetic, or opposite in meaning. EPSILON.
Confidential to Ministers.
By Dr. King
MAKE no apologies. If you have the Lord's message, deliver it; if not, hold your peace. Have short prefaces and introductions. Say your best things first, and stop before you get prosy. Do not spoil the appetite for dinner with too much thin soup. Leave self out of the pulpit and take Jesus in. Defend the gospel, and let the Lord defend you. Do not get excited too soon. Do not bawl and scream. Too much water stops mill-wheels, and too much noise drowns sense. Empty vessels ring the loudest. Powder is not shot. Thunder is harmless, lightning kills. Do not scold the people. Do not abuse those who do come to church because the lazy ones do not attend. Have a good time with those who do attend, and the others will hear of it and turn out to see what is going on.—Dr. King.
Reporting the Faults of Others
He who reports to you the faults of others is likely to report your faults to others.