Signs of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 11. (3/18/1880)

Signs of the Times

Mar 18, 1880

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 18, 1880

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

THE PLAGUES ON EGYPT.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

(Concluded.)

PHARAOH was now forewarned of a still more terrible visitation, that of murrain upon all the Egyptian cattle which were out in the field. It was distinctly stated that the Hebrews should be exempted from this evil. The plague came, as predicted, and Pharaoh, on sending messengers to the homes of the Israelites, found that they had entirely escaped. Still the king was obstinate, and he was encouraged in his persistency by the priests and magicians.

But they also were to feel the judgments of God. Moses and Aaron were commanded to take ashes of the furnace and sprinkle them in the air before Pharaoh. As they did so, the fine particles spread as dust over all the land of Egypt, and where it settled became a ``boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast.'' The magicians could not by any of their enchantments, shield themselves from the grievous plague. They could no longer stand before Moses and Aaron, because of this affliction. The Egyptians were thus permitted to see how useless it would be for them to put their trust in the boasted power of the magicians, when they could not protect even their own persons.

Still there was no yielding on the part of the monarch. And the Lord sent a message to him declaring, ``I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.'' Then a plague of hail was threatened which would destroy the cattle and every man found in the field. Here was an opportunity to test the pride of the Egyptians, and to show how many were really affected by the wonderful dealings of God with his people. All who regarded the word of the Lord gathered their cattle into barns and houses, while those who disbelieved the warning left their animals in the field. In thus providing a way of escape for all who chose to act upon the warning given, we see the mercy of God in the midst of judgment.

The storm came on the morrow as predicted,—thunder and hail, and fire mingled with it, destroying every herb, shattering trees, and smiting man

and beast. Hitherto none of the lives of the Egyptians had been taken, but now death and desolation followed in the track of the destroying angel. The land of Goshen alone was spared. Here the Lord demonstrated to the Egyptians that the whole earth is under the command of the God of the Hebrews, that even the elements obey his voice. Here also was fulfilled the prophecy: `

My people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places; when it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.'' The only true safety of nations and individuals is to be obedient to the voice of God, and to ever stand on the side of truth and righteousness. Pharaoh now humbled himself and said,

`I have sinned, the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.'' He entreated the servants of God to intercede with Him that the terrific thunder and lightning might cease.

Moses knew that the contest was not ended, for he understood the workings of the human heart that is set in proud defiance against God. Pharaoh's confessions and promises were not made because there was any change in his mind or heart; but terror and anguish compelled him, for the time being, to yield the controversy with God. Moses, however, promised to grant his request, as though his confession was genuine and his repentance sincere, for he would not give him any occasion for future exhibitions of stubbornness. And notwithstanding the terrific warring of the elements, he fearlessly went forth, thus giving evidence to Pharaoh and his host of the divine protection while engaged in doing the work given him of the Lord.

On going out of the city he ``spread abroad his hands unto the Lord, and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.'' But as soon as the awful exhibitions of divine power had passed, the heart of the king returned to its stubbornness and rebellion.

The Lord was manifesting his power to confirm the faith of his people Israel in him as the only true and living God. He would give them unmistakable evidences of the difference he placed between the Egyptians and his people. He would cause all nations to know that although they had been bound down by hard labor, and had been despised, yet he had chosen them as his peculiar people, and that he would work for their deliverance in a wonderful manner.

By long association with the Egyptians, and continually beholding the imposing worship of idols, the Hebrews' idea of the true and living God had become degraded. Any reference made by them to Him was treated with contempt by the Egyptians, who pointed to their bondage and mocked at the idea that their God was worthy of respect. What had he done for his people! They saw the idolatrous Egyptians enjoying an abundant prosperity, while they were continually taunted with the remark, ``Your God has forsaken you.''—But by his mighty works, the Lord would now teach his people in regard to his character and divine authority, and show them the utter worthlessness of false gods.

The Lord, in his providence, had placed a man upon the throne whose pride and stubbornness was so great that he would defiantly refuse to obey his voice, and in so doing would reveal his haughty, tyrannical spirit, and fully establish the power, authority, and justice of God. Thus all the idolatrous nations might hear and know that the God of Israel is the Lord of the whole earth.

Then ``the Lord said unto Moses, go in unto Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants; that I might show these signs before him: and that thou mayst tell in the ears of thy son and of thy son's son what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know that I am the Lord.''

Moses went according to the divine command and warned the monarch that if he still remained obstinate, a plague of locusts would be sent, which would cover the face of the earth, and eat up every green thing that had been spared; they would fill all the houses, even the palace itself; such a scourge as ``neither thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen.'' The king was permitted to choose whether to humble himself before God, or refuse and suffer the effects of the plague.

The counselors of Pharaoh were appalled at this new danger. They had sustained great loss in the death of their cattle. Many of their people had been killed by the hail. Their forests were broken down and their crops destroyed. Everything was in a ruinous condition, and they were fast losing all they had gained by the labor of the Hebrews. At last they spoke out to the king, ``How long shall this man be a snare unto us! Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?''

Then Moses and Aaron were again summoned, and the monarch said to them, ``Go, serve the Lord your God; but who are they that shall go?''

The answer was, ``We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go: for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.''

The king was filled with rage. `Let the Lord be so with you,'' he cried, `as I will let you go and your little ones. Look to it, for evil is before you.'' And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

In this answer, the king shows his contempt for the divine command. Let God require you, if he will, to take your little ones. Does your God think that I will let you go, with your wives and children, upon so dangerous an expedition? I will not do this; only you that are men shall go to serve the Lord. This hard-hearted, oppressive king, who had sought to destroy the Israelites by hard labor, would now pretend that he had a deep interest in their welfare, and a tender care for their little ones, when he only designed to keep them as a pledge of their return.

Pharaoh's scorn and unbelief had no power to stay the judgments of God. Moses was commanded to stretch out his hand over the land, and an east wind blew, and brought locusts, ``very grievous were they; before them were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.'' They filled the sky till the land was darkened, and devoured every green thing, on the ground and among the trees.

The king sent for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said to them, ``I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you. Now, therefore, forgive I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only.''

They did so, and a strong west wind arose, which carried away the locusts toward the Red Sea, so that not one was left behind. But notwithstanding the king's humility while death threatened him, as soon as the plague was removed he hardened his heart and again refused to let Israel go.

The people of Egypt were in despair. The scourges which had already fallen upon them seemed almost beyond endurance, and they were filled with fears for the future. The people had worshiped Pharaoh as being a representative of their god and carrying out his purposes. But, notwithstanding, many were convinced that he was opposing his will to a superior power who held all nations under His control. Suddenly a darkness settled over the land, so thick and black that it seemed a darkness which could be felt. Not only were the people deprived of light, but the atmosphere was very oppressive, so that breathing was difficult. ``They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days.'' But all the children of Israel had light, and a pure atmosphere, in their dwellings.

The Egyptians were in the greatest perplexity. The Hebrew slaves were continually favored of God, and were becoming confident that they would be delivered. The task-masters dared not exercise their cruelty as heretofore, fearing lest the vast Hebrew host would rise up and be revenged for the abuse they had already suffered.

This terrible darkness lasted three days, and during this time the busy activities of life could not be carried on. This was God's plan. He would give them time for reflection and repentance before bringing upon them the last and most dreadful scourge, the death of the first-born. He would remove everything which would divert their attention, and give them time for meditation, thus giving new evidence of his compassion and unwillingness to destroy.

At the end of the three days of darkness, Pharaoh sent for Moses and said, ``Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed. Let your little ones also go with you.''

The answer was, ``Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.''

The king was stern and determined. `Get thee from me,'' he cried, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die.'' The answer was, `Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face again no more.''

As Moses had witnessed the wonderful works of God, his faith had been strengthened, and his confidence established. God had been qualifying him, by manifestations of divine power, to stand at the head of the armies of Israel, and, as a shepherd of his people, to lead them from Egypt. He was elevated above fear by his firm trust in God. This courage in the presence of the king, annoyed his haughty pride, and he uttered the threat of killing the servant of God. In his blindness, he did not realize that he was contending not only against Moses and Aaron, but against the mighty Jehovah, the maker of the heavens and the earth. If Pharaoh had not been blinded by his rebellion he would have known that He who could perform such mighty miracles as had been wrought, would preserve the lives of his chosen servants, even though he should have to slay the king of Egypt. Moses had obtained the favor of the people. He was regarded as a wonderful personage, and the king would not dare to harm him.

Moses had still another message for the rebellious king, and before leaving his presence he fearlessly declared the word of the Lord: ``About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill, and all the first-born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee; and after that I will go out.''

As Moses faithfully portrayed the nature and effects of the last dreadful plague, the king became exceedingly angry. He was enraged because he could not intimidate Moses, and make him tremble before the royal authority. But the servant of God leaned for support upon a mightier arm than that of any earthly monarch.

DOUBTINGS.

By Mrs. S. L. Howell

I sit in the darkness of doubting, With a vague and sad unrest; The dread of a possible sorrow I clasp to my aching breast; A phantom of gloom, in the distance, Seems winging its way to me, And the fear of that terrible "may be" Is the keenest of agony.

I sit in the darkness of doubting— But why with these shrinking fears? Is not One watching to lighten The woes of the coming years? Doth He not desire us to travel The pathway He shows, nor seek To know what future deep waters Are waiting our weary feet?

I sit in the darkness of doubting; But the smiling of hope I see, And the sunlight of Love Eternal Flows down through the clouds to me. It "may be"—ah, yes! but the present Demands us with duty's call, And the future is in his keeping Who has love and hope for all. —Mrs. S. L. Howell.

THE UNITED STATES IN PROPHECY.

By Elder U. Smith

BY ELDER U. SMITH.

HE DOETH GREAT WONDERS.

In describing the work of the two-horned beast, which we think is a symbol of the United States, the prophecy (Rev. 13) says: “And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.” This language is urged by some to prove that the two-horned beast must be some power which holds the reins of government in the very territory occupied by the first beast; for, otherwise, how could he exercise his power?

If the word “before” denoted precedence in time, and the first beast passed off the stage of action when the two-horned beast came on, just as Babylon gave place to Persia, which then exercised all the power of Babylon before it, there would be some plausibility in the claim. But the word rendered “before” is enopion, which means, literally, “in the presence of.” And so the language, instead of proving what is claimed, becomes a most positive proof that these beasts are distinct and cotemporary powers.

The first beast is in existence, having all its symbolic vitality at the very time the two-horned beast is exercising power in his presence. But this could not be if his dominion had passed into the hands of the two-horned beast; for a beast in prophecy ceases to exist when his dominion is taken away. What caused the change in symbols from the lion, representing Babylon, to the bear, representing Persia? Simply a transfer of dominion from Babylon to Persia. And so the prophecy explains the successive passing away of these beasts, by saying that their lives were prolonged, but their dominion was taken away; that is, the territory of the kingdom was not blotted from the map, nor the lives of the people destroyed, but there was a transfer of power from one nationality to another. So the fact that the leopard beast is spoken of as still an existing power, when the two-horned beast works in his presence, is proof that he is, at that time, in possession of all the dominion that was ever necessary to constitute him a symbol in prophecy.

What power, then, does the two-horned beast exercise? Not the power which belongs to, and is in the hands of, the leopard beast, surely; but he exercises, or essays to exercise, in his presence, power of the same kind and to the same extent. The power which the first beast exercised was a terrible power of oppression against the people of God. And this is a further indication of the character which the two-horned beast is finally to sustain in this respect.

The latter part of the verse, “And causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed,” is still further proof that the two-horned beast is no phase nor feature of the papacy; for the first beast is certainly competent to enforce his own worship in his own country, and from his own subjects. But it is the two-horned beast which causes the earth (the territory out of which it arose and over which it rules) and them which dwell therein, to worship the first beast. This shows that this beast occupies territory over which the first beast has no jurisdiction.

“And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” That we are living in an age of wonders none deny. Time was, and that not two score years ago, when the bare mention of achievements which now constitute the warp and woof of every-day life, was considered the wildest chimera of a diseased imagination. Now, nothing is too wonderful to be believed, nor too strange to happen. Go back fifty years, and the world with respect to those things which tend to domestic convenience and comfort, the means of illumination, the production and application of heat, and the performance of various house-hold operations; with respect to methods of rapid locomotion from place to place, and the transmission of intelligence from point to point, stood about where it did in the days of the patriarchs. Suddenly the waters of that long stream over whose drowsy surface scarcely a ripple of improvement had passed for three thousand years, broke into the white foam of violent agitation. The world awoke from the slumber and darkness of ages. The divine finger lifted the seal from the prophetic books, and brought that predicted period when men should run to and fro, and knowledge should be increased. Then men bound the elements to their chariots, and reaching up laid hold upon the very lightning and made it their message-bearer around the world. Nahum foretold that at a certain time the chariots should be with flaming torches and run like the lightnings. Who can behold, in the darkness of the night, the locomotive dashing over its iron track, the fiery glare of its great lidless eye driving the shadows from its path, and torrents of smoke and sparks and flame pouring from its burning throat, and not realize that ours are the eyes that are privileged to look upon a fulfillment of Nahum’s prophecy? But when this should take place, the prophet said that the times would be burdened with the solemn work of God’s preparation.

“Canst thou send lightnings,” said God to Job, “that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?” If Job were living to-day, he could answer, Yes. It is one of the current sayings of our time that Franklin tamed the lightning, and Prof. Morse taught it the English language.

So, in every department of the arts and sciences, the advancement that has been made within the last half century is without precedent in the world’s history. And in all these the United States take the lead. These facts are not, indeed, to be taken as a fulfillment of the prophecy, but they show the spirit of the age in which we live, and point to this time as a period when we may look for wonders of every kind.

The particular wonders to which the prophecy refers are evidently wrought for the purpose of deceiving the people; for verse 14 reads, “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast.” This identifies the two-horned beast with the false prophet of Rev. 19: 20; for this false prophet is the power that works miracles before the beast, “with which,” says John, “he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image,” the identical work of the two-horned beast. We can now ascertain by what means the miracles in question are wrought; for Rev. 16: 13, 14, speaks of spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, and these miracle-working spirits go forth out of the mouths of certain powers, one of which is this very false prophet, or two-horned beast.

LOOKING FOR CHRIST AND LOVING HIS APPEARING.

By Elder R. F. Cottrell

BY ELDER R. F. COTTRELL.

THE apostle Paul assures us that to those who look for Christ he will appear the second time without sin unto salvation, and that a crown of righteousness will be given in that day to all those who love his appearing. Heb. 9:28; 2 Tim. 4:8. And yet multitudes who profess to love Christ are not willing to hear the evidence contained in the Bible of the nearness of the coming of Him whom they profess to love. Is it possible that those who really love Christ can feel an aversion to his soon coming? Will the wife who loves her absent husband be averse to hearing the evidence that he is soon to return, sooner than she had hoped? Will she say to her children who come to her with the glad news that father is soon coming home, that she don't believe it, and that she don't want to hear anything about it? Would this evince a sincere love for her husband?

Yet there are thousands upon thousands of those who profess to love Christ, who have a decided aversion—in plain English, hatred—to the preaching of the evidences found in the Bible of his soon coming. This being the case now, in case his coming should be deferred to some future generation, is it not probable, yes, certain, that this hatred to the doctrine will continue, so that when he does come he will find the mass of those who profess to love him still hating the doctrine of his soon coming? And if he is to come at all, the doctrine will be true at some time, if it is not now. Who knows that it is not true now? Professed Christians are not willing to hear the evidences on this point, and the prospect is that they never will be willing. They say, “He will not come in our day.” And so it will be; so that if he does not come till his professed people are willing, he never will come at all. But the prayer of

the true believer and lover of Christ is, “Thy kingdom come.” “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Speaking of his second coming in glory to reward every one according to his works, Jesus asked the significant question, implying the most emphatic negative, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith upon the earth?” This shows that faith in that coming will be rare. By reading the discourses of devout ministers of a few generations in the past, we see that they had much more to say of the Judgment and of the coming of Christ than we hear in the preaching of to-day. Consequently, viewed aright, this want of a lively faith in the coming of that day does really constitute a sign that the day is at hand.

Christian, arouse thee! Can you not see the increasing disposition of the professed church to close her eyes and ears to the increasing evidences of the nearness of the coming of Christ, an unwillingness to look for him, and a dread of the doctrine,—which implies hatred of, rather than a love for, his appearing? Shall our blessed Lord find you in this position at his coming? Look at the signs of our times—the fulfillment of the prophecies describing the last days. Seek a greater love for Christ, and cultivate, by frequent self-examination, a love for his appearing. In what other way can you be of that happy number who love his appearing? When you are really a lover of his appearing, you will love to hear the evidences of his soon coming proclaimed; for these evidences abound in the word of God.

The Devil’s Shop

Old Thomas Fuller gave wise advice when he said, "If you do not want to trade with the devil, keep out of his shop." This is in keeping with the petition in the Lord's prayer, "Lead us not into temptation;" a prayer which we are in duty bound to help answer by keeping out of the way of temptation ourselves. Men may well confess to being tormented with evil thoughts, when they spend their evenings in reading story papers, or loafing at the store, or attending comic lectures. Why not keep out of the devil's shop? If you trade with him, he will cheat you every time.

CHRIST AND THE WORD.

By J. H. Vincent

BY J. H. VINCENT, D. D.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.—Col. 3:16.

The Bible is the word of Christ. He is its central and all-absorbing theme. To him all the history, and poetry, and prophecy of the Old Testament point. The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles are as full of his person and work as the Evangelists themselves.

The Bible contains the mind—the thought—and love—that is in Jesus. Every fundamental principle of morals and religion which may legitimately be drawn from any portion of the Bible as its manifestly intended interpretation, finds its center in Christ. There is no contradiction between his character as portrayed by the Evangelists, and the fairly deduced doctrines drawn from any part of the sacred volume. This is a great thing to say about the Book. It is an argument of weight in its favor. Think of it! Sixty-six volumes, written by at least forty different persons; at different periods of time—the extremes measuring over two thousand years; written in different parts of the world; under different forms of civilization; under different governments; in different languages. Yet from these diverse sources come sectilia of a beautiful mosaic, which, when combined, form a unity the most perfect; a doctrinal scheme the most profound and philosophical; a picture glowing with poetic beauty, at the same time startling and enchanting the soul by prophetic visions; while in all and through all there shines forth the image of One who is above his fellows, glorious with divinity, and peerless as the ideal of a redeemed humanity. That Book must be divine.

It is the word of Christ moreover in this sense, that it is the medium of his present power. Of every author it may be said, "He, being dead, yet speaketh." So the blind Homer gives light and inspiration to-day. But Jesus more, and in a deeper sense than Homer. The Iliad and the Bible are alike and unlike. The thought of their respective authors is embalmed in both. But in the one we have a tomb, full of commemorative pictures, the fragrance of the funeral incense still lingering on the air, a place of beauty, and inspiration, and sacred memory; but, after all, in the central sarcophagus the author lies—dead. But the Bible is no tomb. Its author is not dead. Its delights are not those of memory and imagination, for the living Christ is in his word. Mystically, invisibly, but really, is he present there. The Book is his divine body. We need not ascend into Heaven to bring Christ down from above. We need not descend into the deep to bring up Christ again from the dead. Do we seek him? Would we see Jesus? Here is the gospel reply to our search, "The word is nigh thee." Rom. 10:8. Lo! here in the Scriptures is this same Jesus whom shepherds and wise men worshiped, whom the multitudes thronged in the days of his flesh, whom soldiers crucified, and Joseph buried, and the eternal God raised up from the dead. He is here in his own word, a living presence, ready to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, healing to the leprous, deliverance to the demoniac, life to the dead, and pardon to the guilty—the erring Magdalenes, the troubled Marthas, the unstable, but repentant Peters. Seek ye the Lord Christ? Find him in his word.

The whole gracious work of redemption is wrought through the mediumship of this word. Life is a probation and a pupilage, in which man must be born again, and then trained for eternity. From the moment of his regeneration the processes of spiritual culture should go on. This twofold work of quickening and culture is effected by the Holy Ghost. But the Holy Ghost operates through the truth as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. This is the sharp blade that penetrates the inmost things of the soul, and lays open to self-consciousness the fearful condition which requires a gracious interposition: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Do we seek converting influence? Look not to the "glory of God" in the heavens, nor his "handiwork" in the firmament. Seek it not of the sun, though "his going forth is from the end of heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof," but turn to the word of God in revelation and learn that "the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Do you seek spiritual enlightenment? "The entrance of thy words giveth light." Do you seek regenerating power? "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." Man is "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."

What blessings in the whole range of spiritual life and experience do you seek? Preservation from sin? "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Stability? "The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide." Success in prayer? "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Strength of character and victory over the enemy of souls? "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." Spiritual freedom? "If ye continue in my word then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Sanctification? "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." Do you aspire to the attainment of that holy character in which you shall be "partakers of the divine nature?" Then go to the gospel of Christ, in which "are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Go through the Book, from the bold words of the first verse, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," to the blessed benediction of the last verse, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all," and learn by a precious experience that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

Seeing that the word is so important an element in the work of grace, I do not wonder at the song of David concerning the man whose "delight is in the law of the Lord," and who in this law doth "meditate day and night." Verily he "shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." I now understand why he sang: "O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers; for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. . . . The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver. . . . How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. . . . My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly."

The tradition concerning Jonathan Ben-Uzziel, one of the pupils of Hillel, is in a spiritual sense fulfilled in the devout student of the word. It is recorded of him that "when he studied the law every bird that flew over his head was burned up." So glorious, and vivid, and intense is the light that falls from Heaven upon every sincere disciple of Jesus who sits before the open Book to learn of his master. So also the ancient maxim of the Jew is realized in the better dispensation of the gospel: "In whatsoever place the law is, there the Shekineh is present with it."

This is the mystery of the Book; a sealed Book to the multitude; a literary marvel indeed, a reliable history, a volume of poetry and ethics and sublime speculations to the candid, thoughtful, unilluminated student—but to him whose secret heart the Lord hath opened—lo! in the word is the Lord himself!

If this be the relation of Christ to his word there is need that the modern church of Christ in its quest of the Master be told where he is to be found. O that some apostle would cry aloud unto the churches of the age, as Paul to the elders of the Ephesian church when he met them at Miletus: "And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."—The Church School.

NO SABBATH.

IN an essay on the Sabbath, written by a journey-man printer in Scotland, there occurs the following passage. Read it, and then reflect for awhile what a dreary and desolate page would this life present if the Sabbath were blotted out from our calculation.

“Yokefellow! think how the abstraction of the Sabbath would hopelessly enslave the working classes with whom we are identified. Think of labor going on in one monotonous and eternal cycle, limbs forever on the rack, the fingers forever straining, the brow forever sweating, the feet forever plodding, the brain forever throbbing, the shoulders forever drooping, the loins forever aching, and the restless mind forever scheming.

“Think of the beauty it would efface, the merry-heartedness it would extinguish, of the giant strength it would tame, of the resources of nature it would breed, of the projects it would wreck, of the groans it would extort, of the lives it would immolate, and of the cheerless graves it would prematurely dig! See them toiling and moiling, sweating and fretting, grinding and hewing, weaving and spinning, strewing and gathering, mowing and reaping, razing and building, digging and planting, striving and struggling—in the granary and barn, in the factory and in the mill, in the warehouse and in the shop, on the mountain and in the ditch, on the roadside and in the wood, in the city and in the country, on the sea and on the shore, in the day of brightness and of gloom. What a picture would the world present if we had no Sabbath!”

WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES SAY?

By CHAS. P. WHITFORD

The Scriptures say in regard to the Sabbath institution that God rested from his work on the seventh day. They do not thus particularize in regard to the first day. He claimed the seventh day as his own; he did not so claim the first day, but gave it to man for labor. He blessed and sanctified the seventh day; he did not sanctify the first day. He commanded that the seventh day should be kept holy; he did not command to keep the first day. He has uttered fearful threatenings against those who profane the seventh day; he has not spoken aught against those who labor on the first day. He has given special and great promises to those who keep holy the seventh day; he has not uttered one word of promise or blessing for keeping the first day. Everything that is necessary to give importance to the day, or that is calculated to induce a proper observance of the day, is produced in favor of the seventh day; nothing of the kind can be produced in favor of the first day,—no institution—no sanctity—no command—no penalty.

Friends, are you, or do you desire to be, “followers of God as dear children”? Are you believers of the word of God? Then you will surely, with me, consider as unavoidable the following conclusion: No obligation exists to observe, in any manner, as a rest day, or holy day, the first day of the week. CHAS. P. WHITFORD.

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