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Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 17.

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION

Review and Herald

Apr 24, 1900

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 24, 1900

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION.

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
If all could appreciate this great blessing, what an advantage it would be to them! We can obtain like precious faith with Peter and those who were his companions, only through one source,—the righteousness of Christ, who as a sin-bearer stood at the head of humanity, overcoming in our behalf, that we might overcome in his strength. “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
If man could appreciate this great blessing, what an advantage it would be to him! He is given the privilege of being a laborer together with God in the saving of his soul. Receiving and believing is his part of the contract. He is to receive Christ as his personal Saviour, and is to continue to believe in him. This means abiding in Christ, showing in him, at all times and under all circumstances, a faith that is a representation of his character—a faith that works by love, and purifies the soul from all defilement. Christ is the author of this faith, and he demands that it be constantly exercised. Thus we receive a continuous supply of grace.
Each person must obtain an experience for himself. No one can depend for salvation on the experience or practice of any other man. We must each become acquainted with Christ in order properly to represent him to the world. “His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” None of us need excuse our hasty temper, our misshapen characters, our selfishness, envy, jealousy, or any impurity of soul, body, or spirit. God has called us to glory and virtue. We are to obey the call.
“Whereby 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.” How can we escape the power of one who was once an exalted angel in the heavenly courts? He was a being full of beauty and personal charm, blessed with a powerful intellect. Because of his exaltation he thought himself equal with God. He rebelled against his Creator, and by his rebellion he led astray some of the heavenly angels. With these he was cast out of heaven, and then he set up a kingdom of his own, determined that he would allure the world to his apostate banner. How can we discern his false theories and resist his temptations?—Only through the individual experience gained by receiving a knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. Without divine aid we could not possibly escape the temptations and snares that Satan has prepared to deceive human minds.
In his prayer to the Father, Christ said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” We must learn of Christ. We must know what he is to those he has ransomed. We must realize that through belief in him it is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, and so escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity. Christ is the sin-bearer; John pointed the people to him, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” And Paul declared, “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, . . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Christ says to us, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We are ever to learn of Christ. Yoked up with him in perfect restraint, we are to be learners during our whole lifetime. Then we are indeed “laborers together with God.” We can be acceptable teachers only as we learn Christ’s meekness and lowliness. Constantly we must learn more and more regarding these attributes. As we partake of the divine nature, hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are cut away from the character, and we are made a living power for good. Ever learning of the divine Teacher, daily partaking of his nature, we co-operate with God in overcoming Satan’s temptations. God works, and man works, that man may be one with Christ as Christ is one with God. Then we sit together with Christ in heavenly places. The mind rests with peace and assurance in Jesus. The Saviour declares, “He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” In him there is inexhaustible fullness. As we follow on to know the Lord, we shall lead souls to the living word. With us they will know that his going forth is prepared as the morning.
Why, then, do we not have more of the Holy Spirit?—Because we do not abide in Christ; because we do not eat his flesh and drink his blood. All who eat the heavenly bread will have eternal life. God has given us every facility, every grace. He has provided the riches of heaven’s treasure, and it is our privilege to draw continually from this capital. But we do not avail ourselves of this privilege. Vanity, evil-thinking, and evil-speaking keep us powerless and inefficient. Self is cherished, petted, exalted; and therefore we can not work out our own salvation in harmony with God’s will.
The service of Christ demands prompt obedience. We are to walk as he walked, following closely in his footsteps, manifesting his meekness and lowliness. “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” “He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk even as he walked.” The service of Christ is pure and elevated. The path he traveled is not one of self-pleasing, self-gratification. He speaks to his children, saying, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The price of heaven is submission to Christ. The way to heaven is obedience to the command, Deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow me. As Jesus journeyed, so we must journey. The path he followed, we must follow; for that path leads to the mansions he is preparing for us.

CONTENTMENT

By L. D. Santee

L. D. SANTEE.
(Chicago, Ill.)
When the joys of the springtime have found you, And the rose yields its sweetest perfume, When the sweet flowers blossom around you, Wooed by amorous kisses of June; When the earth, with her smiles, is so pleasant, With the light of the sun over all, Then live in the joys of the present, And dread not the gloom of the fall.
Let us live in the spring with its gladness, Let us gather life's beautiful flowers; Let us dread not some on-coming sadness, Or the gloom of some gathering showers; Let us fear not the sable of sorrow, And dread not some threatening rod, But, taking “no thought for the morrow,” Leave all in the keeping of God.

The Science of Music.

By Mrs. F. B. Marsh

MRS. F. B. MARSH.
(Goldfield, Colo.)
God is good; and it is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Let us lift up our heads and rejoice; for our light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
And why should not a large place in our rejoicing be filled by music, not a dry routine of formal song, but music, heavenly music,—music upspringing from the heart filled with the joys of salvation, the heart beating harmoniously with the great heart of everlasting love? We read, in Eph. 5:18, this command, which should be esteemed a wondrous privilege: “Be filled with the Spirit.” The apostle continues: “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Matthew tells us that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Where is the Spirit that sang through Moses, and Miriam, and the Israelites in the days of old, when they contemplated the works of God—the Spirit that moved Deborah to sing praises, and caused David to indite so many joyful psalms?
Has the Spirit changed? Are there now no wonderful works of God to be remembered? Ah, the Spirit remains the same, and the glories of God call for songs of praise; but Israel’s head has hung like a bulrush, and he knew not to look up and behold the bright light that is in the clouds.
The world is not unmindful of the power of music. But music as the world knows it, is sought as a thing in itself, because of the pleasure thereby afforded the senses. And he in whom was prepared the workmanship of his tabrets and pipes in the day that he was created, is wise to make use of his knowledge of music to his own ends.
Is it not time for Christians to awake and claim their heritage as sons of God in the matter of song? God’s promise to Israel was that if they would walk in his statutes and keep his commandments, they should be the head and not the tail, and that the nations of earth should seek unto them because of their wisdom.
Sin has laid a mountain of obstruction upon the human voice, which no amount of mechanical exercise can remove. True, there are many vocalists who, after spending years in study and mechanical drill, manifest a freedom in the use of the voice which they knew not before. But the mechanical exercise did not give the freedom. The freedom came through the discovery of a principle. Mechanical exercise is but a medium through which attempt is made at expressing a principle. Obstructions are overcome as soon as the principle is fully grasped. The principle is rest.
Every manifestation of weakness on our part is to that degree an acknowledgment that we know not that experience which says, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Is not God honored as we manifest in the flesh his image and power? Was Jesus ever forced to admit that the enemy was stronger than he? Does it mean nothing that he says, “As he is, so are we in this world”? Can any service rendered to God in which there is not perfect freedom and rest, be all that it should be? Has not God repeatedly bidden us to render unto him the service of song? But oh, we are so crippled! Do we not remember that every manifestation of weakness in the voice is a testimony to the havoc wrought by sin? Are we in bondage to sin? Is it not written, “Sin shall not have dominion over you”? Who has not felt in the heart that indescribable longing to burst forth in a glad, free song of praise unto God for all his marvelous works? Is it an unlawful desire? Ah, no! And he says: “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Who is ready to walk in the fullness of the freedom of the sons of God, gladdening the ears of heavy-hearted humanity with strains of heaven’s music, borne unhindered through the human vessel by the Spirit of God, thus manifesting to the world that God abides in the human temple?

“HOW MANY LOAVES HAVE YE?”

By L. A. Reed

L. A. REED.
We have said that what we give to God determines, under him, what is to be, and we cited the life of Jacob as illustration. We have another striking illustration in the lives of Simeon and Levi and their descendants. These two men were very cruel in their conduct toward the Shechemites, and God declared that they should have no possession in Israel. Gen. 49:7. God declared that this act determined their future, just as every other act of their lives had done its part to determine this one cruel act, and hence all future acts.
And this divine law of continuity, that character perpetuates itself, is to such as Simeon and Levi the most hopeless truth that man can know. And yet it has another aspect. Simeon, true to destiny, received no inheritance in Israel. Now follow the life of Levi and the Levites. By this act of cruelty they, too, are disinherited, and to them comes the hopeless decree. But is it forever?—Yes, the decree is forever, but not the hopelessness. Levi repented. Mal. 2:4, 5. At the giving of the law, when Israel rebelled against God, it soon became apparent that the Levites alone had been true to God. Now God makes a new decree; and in making it does he set aside the first?—No; like the laws of the Medes and Persians, that first decree must stand, but nevertheless a new decree is issued, and this new decree contains all that the first contained, and oh, how much besides!
Though Levi has no inheritance in Israel, God says, I shall be his inheritance; and though he has no possession, I will be his possession. Besides this he gives to the Levites the holy ministry of the sanctuary, and places them closer to him than any others in Israel. He gives them the tithe, one tenth of all the increase, although, granting that they should have been able to secure their own relative proportion in Israel by their own work, such proportion would have been but one twelfth of the whole, since there were twelve tribes. And last of all, certain cities are allotted to them, and cities we all know contain the treasured wealth of the country. The Levites were “scattered in Israel,” but it was in blessing, for their cities were the cities of refuge. So with Levi and the Levites, the act of cruelty to the Shechemites determines under God what the future is to be; it is not set aside; it has perpetuated itself, and will perpetuate itself throughout the life of that people. But another great act comes in, one of repentance and of loyalty to God; and though it does not remove the effects of the first, under God it changes it all to blessing. Of all the tribes of Israel, the Levite is placed in the nearest relation to God, and is favored above all others.
Do not forget the lesson. “How many loaves have ye?” God will not break the continuity of your life. As you sow, you reap. Out of the acts of your life a chain is woven to bind you either to hell or to heaven. Out of it all must come a blessing or a curse.
We all have sinned, and our sins have dragged us down, and degraded us with their filth. We have become not saints, but images of evil. And God has said that because of this thou shalt have no part in this or that. But at last we rose from our sin, we gave ourselves to God. Yes, hearing the question, “How much have ye?” we have answered, “Only this, O Lord,” and have given it all to him. Then out of the old experiences he builds the new. By the light of God and the life of God all is changed, and we move on to the high and noble destiny that under him is ours.
Have you heard the voice, “How many loaves have ye?” Ah, it is little we have. It seems as nothing. But for this he asks. It is the Lord who asks, even he, great in power and marvelous in working. In this that we give he sees infinite possibilities, therefore he calls us to a glorious hope, and points us to a wondrous destiny.
In closing, I would say another word: Every act of your life has in it two possibilities—one for evil destiny, the other for good. Separated from God, you will see, yes, there will be, but one possibility—the evil. But there is the other possibility, this possibility only when you are given up to God. So only when yielded to him will you see this second possibility.
And then when life’s race is run, looking back upon it all, whether your path has led downward to the pit, or upward to the gate, you will see that through it all character has perpetuated itself. The early acts of your life when performed seemed utterly insufficient for such result as has come from them. But you have either let the evil one bring to bear all his accumulated power of six thousand years of evil working, or you have let God work in the wondrous powers of an endless life, and the result is what you never thought or dreamed—what otherwise could not have been.

YIELDED THINGS.

By J. S. R.

God can take “a worm to thrash a mountain” with; “The things that are not,” he can use “To bring to naught the things that are;” And wert thou small enough, he might find use for thee; Or wert thou but a cipher, “the things that are” might cease to be.
God can take “one pot of oil,” and many vessels fill; Or he can make “the widow’s mite” Outweigh the pompous rich man’s gold; And if you had God’s “pot of oil,” more vessels he might fill; Or if you gave your tiny “mite,” some heathen heart might sooner know his will.
You may be that “worm” with which God smites the hills; Or you may be that thing of “naught,” Through which his Spirit works To raze the devil’s monuments, and haste the coming of God’s Son, “Whose right it is to reign” upon this earth as “his anointed” One.
Or you may have God’s “pot of oil” within your breast to-day, And “vessels not a few” he’ll fill By his own Spirit’s power; Through you he’ll pour omnipotence, if you’ll but yielded be, And still enough and low enough you lie, and “only Jesus” see.
It is “a worm” God wants, or one that “naught” will be; “The widow’s mite” is all he needs, If that wee “mite” be “all;” And through these tiny “yielded things,” God moves the hearts of men, Till Christ becomes their “all in all,” and reigns supreme within.
— J. S. R., in King’s Messenger.

Benjamin Franklin on Disappointment

BENJAMIN Franklin it was who once said: «Are you angry that others disappoint you? Remember that you can not depend upon yourself.»

PROPHECY FOR THE LAST DAYS.

By Stephen N. Haskell

ELDER S. N. HASKELL.
“AND, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.” Dan. 10:10–14.
The prophecy of Daniel is to be studied and understood in the last days; so in a true and special sense, Daniel is a latter-day prophet. This is stated positively in the last verse of his prophecy: “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and STAND IN THY LOT at the end of the days.” Dan. 12:13.
The book of Revelation is also a prophecy that refers directly to the last days, and supplements the prophecy of Daniel. The Spirit of Prophecy, which exists in the last days, is associated with Daniel and Revelation by certain expressions not found anywhere except in these two prophecies. Daniel in Babylon, John on the Isle of Patmos, and the gift of prophecy now existing in the remnant church, ARE ALL LATTER-DAY PROPHETS. God by special expressions has connected three prophets, at least, for his people in the last days.
The careful reading of a few texts will show the connection between the Spirit of Prophecy manifest in the remnant church, with the book of Revelation: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12:17. Notice that the remnant HAVE the testimony of Jesus. “And I fell at his feet to worship him [that is the angel]. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus.” Rev. 19:10. Then this angel was John’s fellow servant, and also of the remnant. He especially mentions the remnant. “Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets [that goes back into the past], and of them which keep the sayings of this book.” Rev. 22:9. Who takes up the three messages, and keeps the prophecy that is fulfilled in the very last days?—The remnant. This angel is the fellow servant not only of John and of all the prophets who lived in the past, but also of the remnant.
There is nothing more in the book of Revelation to identify this angel, although the first verse adds another thought: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” Christ has a particular angel by whom he communicates with his prophets, through whom he speaks to his people. There are but two books in the Bible in which this angel is specified by name—the book of Daniel, and the book of Luke. “And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning [referring to the twenty-three hundred days], then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.” Dan. 8:15, 16.
As Daniel was a prophet, it is clear that this angel who revealed the future to Daniel, and was also the fellow servant of John and of his brethren the prophets, is the angel through whom God communicates with man, even in the time of the remnant. Thus the books of Daniel and Revelation are inseparably united with the Spirit of Prophecy existing in the remnant church.
It is true that Gabriel has been the fellow servant of all the prophets. But why has God particularly interlinked three prophecies—Daniel, Revelation, and that which is in the remnant church? Is it by accident, or had God a purpose in mind?—Certainly nothing has come to us from God by accident. When expressions interlink like that in the other books, God means something. What does he mean in this instance?—That the books of Daniel and Revelation, in connection with the Spirit of Prophecy manifest in the remnant church, are all latter-day prophecies, and should be studied as such; and the three should be taken together to reveal to the people of God where they are, and the truths that pertain to this time.
The books of Daniel and Revelation are closely united by many expressions of vital meaning to the remnant. For illustration: “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. . . . Go thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” Dan. 12:9–12. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.” Rev. 14:13. To Daniel is given the special blessing of resting, and yet standing in his lot as a prophet in the last days; while of those who die in the Third Angel’s Message it is said that they shall rest, and their works shall follow them, and they will come up in season to share the triumph of God’s people before the Lord actually appears.
What makes a separate people in these last days?—Is it not the three messages? Was it not a test of time that first called out a separate people? Was not that time based upon the twenty-three hundred days? That twenty-three hundred days can be got only from the eighth of Daniel. “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice [or the daily desolation], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:13, 14.
Is there any connection between the cleansing of the sanctuary and the judgment?—“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Rev. 14:6, 7. The first angel’s message leads to the eighth chapter of Daniel, and these two scriptures form one of the many links in the chain binding these two books together.
The voice comes from Christ, “Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.” This was spoken for Daniel; but those who are contemplated in Daniel’s prophecy are the remnant people of God in the last days. Then the commission to the remnant people of God in the last days is to understand the book of Daniel.
It is not difficult to show from the book of Daniel itself that it is a prophecy for the last days. “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the LATTER DAYS.” Dan. 2:28. This dream was given, not only for the benefit of Nebuchadnezzar, but for those living in the latter days. Then the second chapter of Daniel was surely written for the last days. “Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.” Dan. 10:14. Did not, then, that angel come to make those living in the last generation to understand?—Certainly. Put verse 20 with this: “Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?” Why did he come?—To make the prophecy of Daniel understood in the last days. So in the last days the same angel that communicated to Daniel will communicate to God’s people, and one grand object of the prophecy will be to make them understand what will take place in the last days. Is not that the nature of the Testimonies of the Spirit of Prophecy?
“So he [the angel Gabriel] came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.” Dan. 8:17. Then this vision containing the twenty-three hundred days is for the people of God in the time of the end. “And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.” Verse 19. “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.” Dan. 11:35.
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard, but I understood not [no wonder he did not understand; for it was not especially given to him to understand, but simply to reveal what would be in the LAST DAYS]: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried;but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Dan. 12:4–10.
Will the wise understand the book of Daniel in the last days?—God says so. The same angel Gabriel who was commissioned by the Saviour to make Daniel understand that prophecy, has represented God’s people in every age of the world; and the very first words that the angel spoke were, “Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. . . . I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.” Then in the twelfth chapter the angel says: “Seal the book, even to the time of the end.” But Daniel was not satisfied with that. He desired a special understanding of it himself. Then the angel said: “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. . . . Go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and STAND IN THY LOT AT THE END OF THE DAYS.”
Thus Daniel was assured that he should be a prophet of the last days, in which time his prophecy would be understood by the wise. If there are any books which the remnant people of God should study, they are the book of Daniel, the book of Revelation, and the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, through which the angel is commissioned to communicate directly to the church in the last days.
God has been very mindful for the remnant. He spoke to the angel Gabriel, calling him by name, and told him to make Daniel understand; and Gabriel in his very first words said that at the time of the end this vision will be understood.
(To be concluded.)

LESSONS LEARNED BY THE WAYSIDE.

By Anna C. White

ANNA C. WHITE.
FAITH and works are good, but the faith that works is the best thing in the Christian experience.
The pure in heart are by natural outcome pure in life, and come into close and intimate communion with God.
All other qualities sink into insignificance beside this—a deep consecration to God and to his work.
“The minister is the sole responsible public teacher of the young as well as the old in his parish.” Christ’s first command was, “Feed my lambs;” his second, “Feed my sheep.” The average church of to-day fails in the primary purpose for which it was organized, because it has no food for its members.
If the discouraged and weak ones were helped more and talked about less, their ranks would be rapidly thinned; and the helpers themselves would grow in love and Christlikeness.
God never gives up till he sees no further possibility of a sinner’s conversion.
Strong in God’s sight does not always mean strong in the eyes of our fellow men.
If the state in all its individuals cuts loose from religion, after it has risen by religion, anarchy will follow.
The light in the heart shines out first at the hearth.
No individual soul can shut itself up in secret isolation. Its circle of influence ever widens and broadens. It touches every other soul with whom it comes in contact, whether by a sympathetic clasp of love and charity or by the cold, relentless grasp of worldly ambition and philosophical reasoning.
The world and progress are marching rapidly these days. Satan and his servants are keeping step with them, improving every opportunity as it comes. Where are the heralds of salvation and the forerunners of Christ?

Bible Hypnotism.

By F. D. Starr

F. D. Starr.
(Oakville, Ontario.)
The expression “Bible hypnotism” may seem like a very strange one; but it is not designed to convey the idea that anything like the modern belief and practice that are known by the name of hypnotism are of Bible origin. I wish rather to call attention to the derivation of the term.
Hypnotism is from the Greek term hypnos, the ordinary Greek word for sleep. Thus, for a person to be hypnotized would be for him simply to be put to sleep. The word hypnos very often occurs in the Septuagint, as well as in the original Greek of the New Testament.
Sleep is one of the most interesting and mysterious phenomena with which we are acquainted. And inasmuch as the Lord has chosen it as the most beautiful and appropriate illustration of death, it is no wonder that Satan, the great deceiver, usurper, and counterfeiter, should have utilized it to further his own cause, and to palm himself off as the great hypnotizer, having power over both sleep and death. The fact is, he has neither. God has both.
Satan, it is true, had the power of death, but he has not the power over death. God gives sleep. “I laid me down and slept, I awakened, for the Lord sustained me.” “He giveth his beloved sleep.” Ps. 3:5; 127:2. Death also is in his power. “I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Rev. 1:18.
It is interesting to notice some of the instances in which the term in question is used. The sleep that God caused to fall upon Adam, as recorded in Gen. 2:21, was merely hypnos, and while it might seem irreverent to say that Adam was hypnotized, yet if the great adversary had not, as it were, monopolized this expression, there would be nothing out of place in so stating the case. The same can be said of the record concerning Jacob’s experience, as given in Gen. 28:11–16. In 1 Sam. 26:12 Saul’s bodyguard are said to be in this same hypnotic (sleeping) condition. In Judges 16:20 Sampson is said to have been ex-hypnotized (if we may be allowed to coin a new word); that is, he awoke from the sleep into which Delilah had induced him to fall.
We might give many references, and increase the number of our illustrations, showing the use of this term in the Greek, but will not take the space for that, further than to say that the condition of Joseph, as stated in Matt. 1:24; of the disciples on the mount of transfiguration (Luke 9:32); of the young man who fell out of the window (Acts 20:9), was simply that of yielding to the influence of hypnos, nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep. They were in the natural hypnotic condition.
The beautiful manner in which Inspiration links this condition with that other which it so closely resembles is exquisitely stated in Ps. 13:3: “Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Here we have the hypnos of death. Our Saviour uses the same expression concerning Lazarus. John 11:11, 13. Here we have the term ex-hypnos, or rather ex-hypniseo, referring to the Saviour’s act in awaking Lazarus from this sleep of death.
The condition into which the finally impenitent will be left is stated in Jer. 51:39. To give the Greek expression, we would say that they will be hypnotized with an everlasting hypnos (sleep)—sleep an eternal sleep. The same is stated in Ps. 76:5: “They have slept their sleep.” This will indeed be a dead sleep, or the sleep of death.
It is in this condition of unconscious slumber that all the dead now are, and in which they will remain until he who only has the power to awaken the sleeper, shall, through the resurrection, call them to life again. This is the real hypnotic condition as revealed to us in the Scriptures. It is no marvel that Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light and life, should seek to make mortals believe that he has the power to awaken the dead, as claimed by the witch of Endor, and that the hypnotic spell is already broken from those who have passed into the realms of hades, and that he should thus seek to establish his claim by demonstrating through the alluring exploits of hypnotism (so called) that he has power to induce and terminate ordinary sleep.
What though he has apparent success? What though, in resisting Moses, “the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments”? Beware of the base counterfeit. Satan, as of old, seeks to steal the livery of heaven. Satan is the destroyer. Christ is the restorer. But if men will so willingly yield themselves to the agent of modern hypnotism, to have their bodies controlled as he may choose during their unconscious hours, then how cheerfully and confidently should the servants of God yield their bodies (Dan. 3:28) to him who can, with all the ease with which he called Lazarus out of his sleep (hypnos), call all the righteous out of their graves, and break their slumbers.
Of his power to do this, he gives us proof daily, in causing us to enjoy unconscious slumber, and awakening us morning by morning. The one is no more difficult for him than the other. This takes from death all its terror. Thank the Lord. That is what the gospel is for. Why will men be amused with the lying wonders of modern hypnotism, when they should be amazed at the mighty workings of him who raised the dead, as seen in their daily experience in sleeping and waking?
So what is intended by Bible hypnotism is the unconscious condition of the dead as set forth in the Scriptures. They sleep, are in a true hypnotic condition, in the dust of the earth. From this condition they shall not be awakened till the heavens pass away. Job 14:12. In this men do not believe. They believe rather in the conscious condition of the dead, who are in reality asleep; and they choose to believe in the human agent who claims for himself the power to hypnotize beings like himself, and awaken them at his will. But supposing he possesses this power to a very limited degree, what is that in comparison to the power of him who raises the dead, and brings them from their dusty beds? “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” John 5:25.
Here is the only power that can break the hypnotic condition, and rouse the slumberers from their sleep. Divinity only has resurrection power. Sometimes the church of God is found in a dead, or sleeping, condition. Under the preaching of the Word that church is aroused to life and activity again. How is the change regarded? Some one may say, This church was dead till So-and-so came here and resurrected it. Is that correct? As well may we say that Moses brought the water from the rock. Nothing but the power of God could do that. Nothing but the voice of the Son of God can awaken the dormant soul, whether he be sleeping in the church or in the tomb. Let us be careful that we do not attribute to poor weak mortals the power that belongs to God only, and thus imbibe the seductive teachings of modern hypnotism.
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