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Review and Herald, Vol. 86, No. 52.

His Heart's Desire

Review and Herald

Dec 30, 1909

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 30, 1909

His Heart's Desire

“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” Isa. 53:11.
“Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.
“O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me.
“And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

THE WORK — AND — THE WORKERS

The Protestant Magazine is thus early yielding results, in so far as it is bringing many Protestants to the realization of the true present attitude of Catholicism toward Protestantism. The following statement is made by a Protestant who is not a Seventh-day Adventist: “Dear Sirs: Find enclosed 25 cents for renewal of subscription for the Protestant Magazine, which tells the truth concerning the savagery of that institution—Catholicism—during a long term of years; it would to-day, if it had the power, exterminate every Protestant living.”
MISS SADIE BAKER, missionary secretary of the Ontario Conference, states that one company of magazine agents not long ago made the best record of the campaign in Toronto, Ontario, having visited and worked the cities of Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Buffalo. She says, “In four and one-half hours they sold 723 magazines, an average of 90 copies each. Last summer one of our workers in Brantford, Ontario, sold 100 copies of Life and Health in one-half day. There is no reason why the ten-cent magazines can not be sold as successfully in Canada as in the United States.”
WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY. Octavo, 1,116 pages; 1,400 illustrations. Recently issued. Size, 7 x 10 x 2⅝ inches. The largest of the several abridgments of the International. Contains a valuable pronouncing glossary of Scottish words and phrases. Cloth, with complete reference index ........................ $3.00 Sheep, marbled edge, with complete reference index ............ 4.00 Half morocco, red edge, with complete reference index ......... 5.00 A special thin paper edition de luxe of the Collegiate has also been issued. It is printed on Bible paper, from the same plates as the regular edition. Very attractively bound—limp boards, round corners. Size, 5¾ x 8¾ x 1½ inches. Art canvass, dark blue, gilt stamps, marbled edge, indexed ........ $3.50 Full seal, rich dark brown, gilt stamps, full gilt edge, indexed .. 5.00 Order from Review and Herald Publishing Association, Takoma Park, D. C.
NEARLY all classes of people are becoming interested in the circulation of Life and Health. The following is just received from an assistant railroad station agent: “It is impossible for me to get off during the week, though I have no trouble in getting off on the Sabbath. Under the circumstances I was moved to go out on the street with Life and Health evenings. I felt that the Lord was leading me. The first evening I was out, in a very short time I sold all the magazines I had with me. I secured the customers' promise to take the next issue when I came around with it. One gentleman, cashier of the First National Bank, paid me in advance on my monthly deliveries. I only call on the leading men of the town, such as physicians, bankers, merchants, lawyers, etc. I usually say to them that I wish to place in their hands a live, up-to-date health magazine, written by conscientious Christian physicians; that I am taking subscriptions for the magazine for only ten cents a month—ten cents for the copy I have, and ten cents when I deliver each number; or if any one prefers to do so, he may pay $1 in advance, and have the magazine sent direct to his address for one year. This is about all the canvass I have time to give.”

The Christian Sabbath

By Editor

WE have just secured a few hundred copies of the pamphlet entitled “The Christian Sabbath, the Genuine Offspring of the Union of the Holy Spirit and the Catholic Church His Spouse. The claims of Protestants to any part therein proved to be groundless, self-contradictory, and suicidal.” This pamphlet is made up of four editorials which appeared in the Catholic Mirror, the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, the head of the Catholic Church in America. The calls for these articles were so numerous that the Catholic Mirror Company published them in pamphlet form. The claims of the Papacy in changing the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week, and its challenge to Protestants, who profess to accept the Bible, and the Bible only, as their rule of faith and practise, and yet are devotedly clamoring for legislation to protect and enforce Sunday observance, which is contrary to the Holy Scriptures, their professed guide, are fully set forth in this pamphlet. It should cause every honest Protestant to stop and consider which Master he is following.
We secured the only remaining copies that can be found, and while they last, will furnish them at the following prices: Single copies, 5 cents; six copies, 25 cents; thirty copies, $1, post-paid. We are sure that our ministers and workers will especially appreciate the opportunity to secure copies of these pamphlets. Order from Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Conference Laborer's Record Book

A MOST convenient book for conference laborers for keeping a record of their work; a place for each day's record, a monthly summary, an annual summary, a cash account, appointments, addresses, also several pages for memorandum. Besides these, there are blanks for recording the appointment of committees, which is very useful in keeping a record of these things. The whole book is arranged for one year's accounts, and is of convenient size for carrying in the pocket. Substantially bound in leatherette. Price, post-paid, 50 cents.

Standard Graded Course of Sight Singing

By Editor

We are glad to announce that the books that the teachers and students in our church-schools, intermediate schools, and academies have been looking for for several months are now ready for circulation. They consist of an Exercise Book, containing singing and reading exercises and examination blanks for the pupil, the price of which is only fifty cents, post-paid; and a Hand Book for teachers, which gives thorough instruction in the manner of introducing each musical fact as it appears in its logical order. The price of this book is only one dollar, post-paid. The greatest simplicity is aimed at in the explanation of each musical fact, and this again is thoroughly learned and applied before its technical term is known. For this reason the pupils are taught how to sing the chords and melodies from the staff in all its possible positions before the study of key signs is taken up, thereby giving him, what is most essential in staff reading, a quick sense of location. These books are intended to meet a great need in the schools to-day. It is a method that will not only impart the rudiments, but also develop fluent sight singers. Order from your tract society, or from the Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Circulating Liberty Against National Reform

HAVING become thoroughly aroused by a number of National Reform meetings recently held in her home town, one of our Indiana sisters has determined to counteract their evil influence by the circulation of Liberty. She says: “I have at times felt almost as if I would announce a public meeting and speak to the people myself, but I have two small children, and too many household duties. In fact, I think it would be better for me to attempt house-to-house work as I have time and opportunity, so please send me fifty copies of Liberty, and I will begin to sell them from house to house at once. I shall send for more as soon as these are sold, and will continue to order the magazine until I go to every house in the town, God giving me health and strength.”
The baleful influences of National Reformism are at work not only in Indiana, but in every State in the Union. Just now a determined effort is being made by the National Reform Bureau of Washington, D. C., to bring pressure to bear upon the Congress of the United States to enact religious legislation. In this effort many of America’s foremost thinkers are arraying themselves against the apparently feeble efforts of God’s people to stay the impending flood of religious legislation. It therefore behooves every Seventh-day Adventist to circulate as never before Liberty and our other magazines, leaflets, etc., protesting against the iniquity of ecclesiastical domination through the union of church and state.

Talks With My Students

"TALKS WITH MY STUDENTS," by Prof. Frederick Griggs, is a little book of 84 pages, consisting of a series of talks by the author to the students in one of our schools, and is filled with most excellent advice to young people, by one who has had experience in the things of which he speaks. The table of contents shows the scope of the book. It contains twelve chapters, as follows: Adaptability, Be Enthusiastic, Learn to Wait, The Value of Minutes, Our Conversation, Economy, Promptness, Our Manners, The Association of Young Men and Young Women, "If Thine Eye Be Single," The Love of the Beautiful, and Lest We Forget. Many thoughts are presented that will be especially helpful to persons preparing for missionary work, but any one, whether young or old, no matter what may be his object in life, can not fail of being benefited by reading this book. Bound in cloth. Price, only 50 cents.

Publishing Amid Difficulties

By Editor

Editorial

Publishing Amid Difficulties. — Our first periodical, the Present Truth, was truly a pilgrim and a wanderer in the earth. It was begun in July, 1849. Numbers 1-4 were issued from Middletown, Conn.; 5-10 were printed in Oswego, N. Y., No. 10 being dated in May, 1850. The next and last number did not appear until November of that year, and was issued from Paris, Maine.
Never Ceasing the Effort. — In that interim, however, the brethren were publishing and scattering a paper called the Advent Review, printed in Auburn, N. Y. The publishing committee were Hiram Edson, David Arnold, George W. Holt, Samuel W. Rhodes, and James White, the latter being the editor-in-charge. Five copies and an extra of this paper were put out from August to November, 1850, the November number being printed in Paris, Maine. The motto of the paper was, “Call to remembrance the former days;” and lengthy reprints were made of articles by leaders in the 1844 movement, interspersed with articles on the law, the Sabbath, and the heavenly sanctuary. The aim evidently was to show the First-day Adventist believers, who were falling into utter confusion, that the logic of the 1844 movement, which laid the stress on the first and second messages of Revelation 14, now demanded the acceptance and proclamation of the third angel’s message as the next duty.
And one by one, or family by family, numbers of the scattered flock of believers in the “blessed hope” of the advent turned their feet into the pathway of advancing light.
Progressive Experience. — The development of the message was not by the throwing away of past experience, but by the pressing forward along the way of light, according to the apostolic rule: “Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.” By pen and voice the first apostles of the third angel’s message gave the call to press on.
The “Blessed Hope.” — What a story of sacrifice and patient toiling is borne witness to by those irregular dates and changing addresses on the first papers. But by the grace of God the pioneers kept the light glowing, and the printed page circulating. The preaching of the definite message God had given them built up companies of believers. And the work has been spreading, till now it touches the uttermost parts of the earth. The same third angel’s message that has built up this cause will finish it. In the same spirit of sacrifice and devotion and patient toiling the closing work will be accomplished. Their incentive was the love of souls and the bright hope of Christ’s soon coming. They lived it, and prayed it, and sang it. That is our hope, too; and now is our salvation nearer, so very much nearer, than when we believed. When the message has been preached as a witness to all nations, the end will come.
“With that blessed hope before us, Let no harp remain unstrung; Let the mighty advent chorus Onward roll, from tongue to tongue; Christ is coming! Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come!”

“Answer Me Speedily”

By William Ambrose Spicer

A LITTLE incident connected with the first article in this series on special providences, begun last summer, may be helpful to many. After years in a foreign field, one of our workers, who had returned to America, was engaged in efforts to prepare for service in a needy home conference. Though in the circumstances there was no business relationship between the worker and the Mission Board, the Board learned of the temporary ill health of the laborer, and was impressed to appropriate a small sum to help the tried and faithful worker over the temporary embarrassment.
In addition to the thankful acknowledgment of the remittance, the worker wrote of the following experience:—
I am impressed that I ought to add a few words to the letter sent last evening.
Last week, during the days that I was sick, a great longing came over me to go home and see my mother, whom I have not seen for over eight years; but I could not see my way clear to do so. I prayed earnestly that God would send me money for three different things. One thing I asked for was money for my railway fare. Then I asked for money to supply two other urgent needs. In praying I used these words: “O Lord, that article in the REVIEW says thou art a God that is able to do things for thy children. Do something for me, I pray thee, and do it quickly.”
I regard the letter I received last evening [bringing the remittance] as an almost immediate and a very direct answer to my prayer. Never have I received an answer to prayer which seems more wonderful to me than this answer does.
God has done the very things I asked him to do. He did indeed help me “quickly.” He also sent me enough to supply the three most urgent needs that I presented before him. I trust I shall never forget this experience as long as I live, and it helps greatly to strengthen my faith in God’s willingness to help us when we are in trouble. I never doubt his power, but I have often doubted his willingness.
I regret to draw anything out of the treasury, as I know it is practically empty. I did not for one moment think of receiving any money from this source; but as God has seen fit to answer my prayer through the Board, I will accept it, and trust that as God has thus supplied all my need, according to his riches in glory, so he will supply the needs of all the other workers, and will see to it that no one else shall suffer lack because of this money which has been given to me. I am led to say, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
No one else but the Lord knew of that definite prayer and that laying hold of his promise as a God who doeth things on earth for his children. And he sent the answer. There is One in the heavens who knows the struggles and the heartaches, and the needs that we could hardly tell to any ear but his. Not that we may always know what will be the answer; sometimes it may be, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” But he hears and answers in his own way and time. Yet sometimes, as in this case, the heart’s need inspires the cry, “Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.” Ps. 102: 2.
W. A. S.

The Wheat and the Tares

By F. M. W.

In this world the difference between the righteous and the ungodly does not always appear. The Lord does not place an outward premium upon righteousness. To do this would be to defeat the very plan he is endeavoring to carry out in connection with the salvation of the human family.
If the Lord to-day invariably sent upon the righteous man the blessings of life, of health, of property, and upon the wicked, sickness, death, and disaster, the ungodly would come to serve the Lord for mercenary motives, and with hope of temporal gain, rather than from true love. Hence the Lord sends his rain upon the just and upon the unjust. He bestows upon all alike the blessings of life and health and temporal prosperity. But the time is coming, in the last great day, when the Lord will make up his jewels and gather his precious ones home unto himself, and then the difference now unseen will be made manifest. “Then,” says the prophet, “shall ye return, and discern . . . between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Read Mal. 3: 13-18; 4: 1-3.
This same experience, as illustrated in the parable of the wheat and the tares, is brought to view in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew:—
“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them: Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”
The disciples could not understand the lesson taught by this parable. After Jesus had sent the multitude away, and, with his followers, had gone into the house for a period of rest, they came unto him requesting an explanation.
“He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world: the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
We see from this lesson, and its explanation by our Lord, that so long as this world in its present form shall exist, the righteous and the wicked will both exist with it. They will live here together, side by side, in the same company, and perhaps associated together in the same relations of life, and in many instances their lives may be so blended, and their interests so closely identified, that only one with more than mortal vision could pierce the exterior of form and pretension, and, in the light of divine illumination, weigh the motives and purposes of the heart, and determine who were the sound wheat and who were the light and worthless chaff. Not much of the world's conversion is couched in these words of our Lord. On the contrary, this parable stands as a strong and emphatic protest against this delusive doctrine of the enemy, which has been foisted upon the world during this closing century.
In addition to this, what a blessed, practical truth is taught us to reserve judgment to the final day of harvest gathering, when that which is clouded and indistinct now shall appear in its true light, the wheat brought to a golden maturity, and the tares revealed in their pretentious worthlessness. To-day the wheat and the tares are growing together in every part of the world's great harvest-field. Every church contains both good and evil. Side by side on the roll of the same book, side by side perchance in the pew of the same church, sit persons, one the pure gold, and the other base and worthless dross; one sound wheat, and the other chaff. But there is a power still seeking to transform even those upon whom the love of sin has set its stamp. Hence, it is for us to labor for all men lovingly, earnestly, faithfully, even as Christ labored; for the Judas as well as the John, for the impulsive Peter as well as the conservative James.
And in doing this we are to remember the words of the great apostle, “Judge nothing before the time.” Perfect knowledge must precede perfect judgment. Only God possesses perfect knowledge; hence only God can perfectly judge. And so the child of God to-day must labor in charity, in love, and in long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but determined, so far as possible, that all shall accept the grace that is in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have their lives transformed by the power of his gospel. If we do not know now, we shall know sometime. If we can not discern clearly now, but must see through a glass darkly, sometime we shall see face to face. The cloud of sin will be rolled away, and the glory of God will shine forth in all its radiant effulgence.
So in the darkness of night through which we are now passing, that darkness which just precedes the breaking of the glorious day, let us hope on and labor on, being sure that the night is far spent, and that the morning will soon break. O glorious day, long desired, dawn upon thy waiting children! O blessed Jesus, long expected, come and come quickly to thy waiting people! F. M. W.

An Onward Movement

By George A. Irwin

The week of prayer is now a thing of the past, but we trust that such a blessing has come to God’s people through its observance that a new impetus with which to begin the new year will be given to the work of the third angel’s message.
The spirit of union and harmony that pervaded the meetings at the head of the work is an omen of good. The message is one, though made up of different branches and departments for convenience and better administration.
In union there is strength; division brings weakness. It is when God’s people pay heed to the entreaty of the great apostle, “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment,” that they will go forth “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners;” for the Holy Spirit will be their teacher and leader, and nothing can resist his influence. Difficulties that to the doubtful seem insurmountable vanish before the onward march of a united people whose entire trust is in the God of Jacob.
After the prophet Jeremiah had delivered the prophecy regarding the captivity of Judah because of her sins, in order to impress upon the minds of the people that God did not utterly forsake them, the Lord instructed the prophet, through a dream, to purchase a field in Anathoth, of his cousin, and weigh him the money for it, and take a deed therefor properly signed and sealed according to law, in the presence of witnesses, and place the document in the hands of Baruch; all of which he did. “And I charged Baruch before them, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence . . . which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.” Jer. 32: 13-15.
Even after complying with this instruction from the Lord as an evidencethat he would not forget his people, the prophet himself, as he thought of the length of time covered by the prophecy, and the strength and power of the great universal kingdom into whose hands they would fall, was well-nigh staggered, but after reflection and prayer he broke out with these words, “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great might and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.” If we, like the prophet, will follow the Lord’s instruction, we too shall see that there is “nothing too hard” for the Lord. The same God that spoke a world into existence from nothing, and made man from the dust of the ground, can as easily control the elements, or change the plans and purposes of both men and nations, and make them conform to, and conserve, his purpose in regard to his work and people.
If we shall successfully accomplish the work that is before us, we must be united in our plans and efforts and move forward in faith. The Lord expects great things of us now, and we can accomplish great things if we all properly relate ourselves to one another and to the work. The ministry alone can never accomplish the work that is to be done; it will require the united and hearty co-operation of all in our ranks. Each one is responsible for the success or failure of the work just in proportion to his ability and opportunity. No one will stand clear in the day of final account who remains idle or indifferent in a time like this.
A turning-point is before us in our work. It is not the honor of men, but the cause of God, that is at stake in all this. Reproach in the form of debts must be lifted from our institutions. Enterprises already under way, and that are badly needed properly to represent our work, should be pushed to completion at once. Advance moves in new fields must also be made. How sad it would be if in a time like this, when we are being tested, we should allow a desire for ease or self-gratification to control us! Had our Saviour done this, we would have been lost; and should we succumb to these desires, souls will be lost that might have been saved had we been true and faithful to the trust committed unto us. It is no time now to talk doubt or discouragement, for it is written of the tarrying time, “If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” But, beloved, I am “persuaded better things of you;” that you “are not of them who draw back unto perdition,” but that you are of them that “believe to the saving of the soul.” So let us consecrate anew our all to the Lord, and be ready, when the call comes for means to advance the cause of God, to respond heartily to the full extent of our ability, or if it is for personal service, to respond quickly, saying, “Here am I, send me.”
G. A. IRWIN.

The Promised City

By Irwin H. Evans

God’s children have ever looked forward in fond anticipation to the time when the Lord should bring them to the promised New Jerusalem. Again and again the Bible speaks of this glorious city, and encourages the people of God to look forward to the time when they shall receive this city as a part of their inheritance, and be privileged to enter its pearly gates.
In speaking of the homelessness of the people of God,—how they had forsaken country, home, and all earthly kinship for the promised land,—Paul says: “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” And again when he is talking of Abraham’s leaving his father’s land, going out into a country that he knew not of, Paul says of him, “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” And when Paul mentions the triumph of the saints, and the glories which they are to inherit, he speaks of them in these words: “But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.”
The city which God has prepared for his people is called the New Jerusalem. In vision John saw this glorious city, and he describes it in this language:—
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. . . . And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
“And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth four-square, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.”
“And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of onepearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Thus Inspiration describes the New Jerusalem, the city whose “builder and maker is God.” No city that has ever been builded by the hands of man can compare with this.
The size of the city is something almost beyond man’s comprehension. The greatest cities of the world are mere pygmies compared to this New Jerusalem. New York, London, Paris, Berlin—the greatest cities that have ever been builded by the hand of man—occupy but small space compared to that occupied by this great and marvelous city. It lies in a perfect square, and is fifteen hundred miles around, containing 140,625 square miles.
This city is surrounded by a wall, great and high, and is entered by twelve gates. “And the building of the wall of it was of jasper.” “And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man.” There has never been a city that had a wall that would compare with that of the New Jerusalem. The ancient cities of the world were surrounded by great and high walls, probably the most notable among which was the wall that surrounded the city of Babylon, in Chaldea. This wall was made of mortar and brick and stone, and while it had mammoth proportions, neither in size nor in structure is there any comparison between the wall of Babylon and the wall that surrounds the city of God. John said that this wall was made of jasper, clear as crystal.
Twelve gateways enter this city. “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one
pearl.” In this world we have seen gates of iron and steel and brass, but the gates of the city of God are of pearl—every gate one pearl. Pearls are considered among the most precious of all things in this world. Small ones cost fabulous prices. How little conception we have of the glory of that marvelous city where the gates that let the nations in are of pearl!
“And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.” Thus it seems that the saints of God always have access to this glorious city, and are at liberty to come and go as they please. “And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
“And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” The best pavements that man knows to-day are stone, brick, or asphalt, and we say that a city is well cared for and looks beautiful if its streets are well paved and clean. But the New Jerusalem has streets of pure gold,—gold so pure and crystal-like that it shines and reflects as if it were transparent glass.
To the disciples, Christ said: “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” The Bible gives us no description of the mansions that Christ is preparing for his people. But when we think that the Architect of the universe and heavenly angels are building these mansions with such materials as gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones, with an inexhaustible supply at their command, we can only faintly realize the unspeakable beauty they will possess.
This great city rests upon twelve foundations, and in these foundations are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. “And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.” Each one of these precious stones constitutes one of the foundations of the wall of the great city. They are the most priceless precious stones known to man.
The city is lighted with the glory of God. “And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; . . . and the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Here again we have a description of beauty and glory infinitely beyond man’s comprehension. The walls themselves give light; the gates give light; the very foundations of the city of God give light. The street is paved with gold clear as crystal, reflecting the mansions and walls and gates of the city, and the glory of God radiates from center to circumference, and illuminates everything everywhere. It is no wonder that John said, “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.”
The city is not built to be left uninhabited, with all its resplendent glory, but the Lord brings his people to this glorious city. This language is used in describing their condition: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
The inhabitants of this glorious city are immortalized, having been redeemed by the blood of Christ from sin, having enjoyed the thrill of immortality on the morning of the resurrection, and are now to dwell forever in the glorious city of God. There will be no more weeping eyes; there will be no more death; no heart will ever ache with sorrow; from no lip will there ever escape the cry of pain, “for the former things are passed away.”
The promise of this glorious city has been made to the church of God through all the ages. From the days of Abraham until the present time it has been the desire of God’s people to enter upon possession of their inheritance. The glories that have been promised, the unspeakable beauties that are to be ours to possess forever, are to wean our hearts from this world, and to make us pilgrims and strangers here, looking forward to the city whose builder and maker is God.
Paul said that Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. None but those who have accepted salvation through Christ and have overcome by the word of their testimony and the blood of the Lamb will enter those gates of pearl. While we journey homeward, we can pray,— “Lord, help us by thy mighty grace To keep in view the prize, Till thou dost come to take us home To that blest paradise.”
I. H. EVANS.

Bible Finance

“LAY not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matt. 6: 19-21.

Note and Comment

A Voice From the Orient

TRULY enough, there is a waking up of the vast heathen nations to prepare for Armageddon. And the nations of Christendom have set the example. The Bishop of Gibraltar, writing in a London paper, quotes the following from a Chinese writer:—
Yes, it is we who do not accept the gospel of peace. It is we who practise it. It is you who accept the gospel that trample it under feet; and, irony of ironies! it is the nations of Christendom who have come to us to teach us by sword and fire that the right in this world is powerless unless it is supported by might. O, do not doubt that we shall learn the lesson! And woe to Europe when we shall have acquired it. You are arming a nation of four hundred millions,—a nation which, until you came, had no better wish than to live at peace with itself and all the world. In the name of Christ you have sounded the call to arms, in the name of Confucius we respond.
And the millions are arming and drilling, in East and West, for the coming clash of nations, as predicted in the “sure word of prophecy.”

Self on the Throne

The old Baptist reformers contended and died for the open Bible as the sole and supreme rule of faith and practice. Now a Baptist journal is declaring that many in their ranks are being led away from God's Word. It says a professor in a Baptist theological seminary is teaching that “those parts of the Bible, even the words of Christ, which do not commend themselves to his moral judgment may be rejected by any one.”

Going Far

A METHODIST paper utters a protest against the rage for amusements, as a department of religious work, that has led various Y. M. C. A. organizations to introduce pool-rooms as a feature to draw the youth.
Continue reading: A Great Factor