The first fifteen verses of the chapter pertain to the feeding of five thousand on the east side of the Sea of Galilee with five barley loaves and two small fishes. That miracle revealed the creative power of Christ in His word. This is evident to every Bible believer. All the money in the apostolic treasury—two hundred shillings, about $34.00—was not sufficient to purchase food that every one might have a little; but the creative word of Christ multiplied the few farthings' worth of bread till the multitude was satisfied, and the basket of each of the twelve was filled besides.
Surely, said the materialistic multitude, this is the man to be our king. He can supply all our needs without labor. We will compel His acquiescence. It brought sadness to the Master, and He retired to the mountain to pray.
Verses sixteen to twenty-one inclusive are the story of the disciples' voyage across a tempestuous sea to the west side, and the Master's presence and help.
The next day the multitude, learning that Jesus did not embark for Capernaum with His disciples, and that there was no other boat by which He could have gone away, sought Him on the east side of the lake, but not finding Him or His disciples, took passage on other boats that came along, and crossed to Capernaum seeking Him. On their questioning as to when He came to Capernaum, Jesus pointed out the motives of their hearts: "Ye seek Me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled." Verse 26. Let us question the text.
What instruction did our Lord then give them?
"Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed." Verse 27.
What question did they then ask?
"Then said they unto Him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Verse 28.
What did our Lord reply?
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." Verse 29.
The pride of man ever asks: "What shall I do?" "What must I do?" He would purchase by his own efforts salvation. By his works of merit he would win the crown. Jesus here gives us the secret of holy living,—believe in Him whom the Father sent. "Whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life." "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life." John 3: 16, 36. The man who truly believes, comes into harmony with God. His whole being is opened on the God-ward side to the inflow of divine life, and that life cleanses away the sin and implants in the heart the righteousness of God. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." Rom. 10: 10. "To him that . . . believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness." Rom. 4: 5. This meets "the works of God;" for it is "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." Rom. 3: 22. This righteousness is imputed, this life is bestowed, in order "that the righteousness ["ordinance," "requirement," A.R.V.] of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8: 4. This is the "faith which worketh by love." Gal. 5: 6. This is the love that keeps God's commandments, and finds them "not grievous." 1 John 5: 3. In the light of these and other scriptures we may clearly see that the only power to do God's works comes by faith, and that faith ever results in implicit obedience.
By what quibbling did the people meet their clear duty?
"They said therefore unto Him, What sign showest Thou then, that we may see, and believe Thee? what dost Thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat." John 6: 30, 31.
It is evident from the next verse that they understood that Moses gave the manna, altho Psalm 78 clearly teaches that God gave it.
From whom alone could the "true bread," the bread "which abideth," be received?
"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven." Verse 32.
In whom do all these heavenly gifts center? who is the true bread?
"For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." Verse 33.
The carnal mortal, the world-lover, the formal professor, the unbeliever, look ever at the visible, not the invisible God behind it. God gave the fathers manna from heaven to eat, a truly miraculous bread. They received it as from Moses, murmured at him because it did not satisfy their perverted appetite, and said, "Our soul loatheth this light bread," "give us flesh to eat." (See Numbers 11 and 21: 5.) Of that food the fathers ate and died. They saw not beyond the mere material before them. But Moses ate of that bread and lived. At the age of thrice twoscore his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated. And had he not sinned, he would by the same faith have lived on till his days were "as the days of heaven upon the earth;" as God desired it for that whole people. Deut. 11: 21. Seeing beyond the material, they would have grasped the mighty power of God in their lives, and the creative energy which produced the manna would have regenerated them as it is God's will that His Spirit shall regenerate men now. Rom. 8: 11. They would not see beyond the seeming. The Jews looked upon Christ, the mere man, to them, and found neither righteousness nor life. But those who looked beyond, found the power of God and the wisdom of God and the love of God—found it all in His word that He spoke. The Roman ruler well exemplifies that faith: "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." "He sent His word, and healed them." It was just as true when the manna fell; for God wrought all that He did for them that they might "know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Deut. 8: 3. Our Lord teaches us in His own human experience the same lesson, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4: 4.
We must leave the remainder of the chapter till our next study.
Walking in Faith and Light
"Walking in faith is walking in the light of His face."
God's Warnings against Sin
SIN in its very nature is destructive. Concisely it is thus expressed by Inspiration: "Sin, when it is full-grown, bringeth forth death." James 1: 15, A.R.V. Sin is the seed, the fruitage is death.
The root meaning of sin is "missing the mark;" but the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, includes character and life everlasting. He who sins misses that mark of character, and dies. The glory of God's presence can not endure sin. Sin can not live under His burning glory. For that reason God has veiled His glory so that mortal, sinful man might not perish, might not be frightened if he claimed submission, but that he might choose God's truth for its intrinsic excellence, yield himself to God because God's character is worthy of all confidence.
Everything contrary to that character is sin, every standard below it misses the mark, and the resultant of failure is death. God warns us against sin, therefore, because He desires us to live forever; and this He affirms with an oath: "As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." Eze. 33: 11.
Sometime the Master of the universe will come into His own, even as He is, in all His transcendent glory. He has a right to reveal Himself to the world; it is His by creation; it is His by redemption. Long time has He waited. Many have been the manifestations of His love and patience. He gave His only-begotten Son to die. That Son gave Himself that man might know that God is love, and love is life; that seeing, knowing this, man might yield his rebellion and embrace God's all-sufficiency in his salvation. For that He waits now. Against this awful alternative, death—finished sin—He warns. He is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." He waits for you, sinner. Why will you not yield all to Him now before the hardening heart rejects Him forever? Sometime He will come. Before that dazzling splendor all sin and all who have identified themselves with sin shall perish.
What will it mean to you when He comes? Will your life be saturated with sin? Have you chosen it in preference to the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus? Then with the sin you shall perish forever. But if Jesus the Lord has been admitted into your heart, then shall the glory of character within welcome the transcendent glory of character in the presence of Christ, mortal shall put on immortality, and corruptible shall put on incorruption forever. "The wages of sin is death;" "the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death."
The Passing of President Diaz
By G. W. Reaser
From Our Own Correspondent
WITH the resignation of President Porfirio Diaz of Mexico, which occurred on the 25th of May, one of the most remarkable rulers of our day passed into private life, at the advanced age of eighty-one years, after serving his country fully half of his long life.
Probably no man now living has had a more romantic and eventful life than General Diaz. He was born in the midst of poverty, with an equal mixture of Spanish and Italian blood in his veins. When twelve summers had passed over his head, he was left fatherless. History records that while doing his utmost to support his widowed mother and her younger children he became an artisan, acquiring the practical trades of shoemaker and gunsmith, obtained a good education, considering his times and opportunities, and refusing the offer of a training for the papal priesthood, he became, instead, an accomplished lawyer, then an influential statesman, and, the occasion seeming to demand it, left the national senate and became a valiant commander of soldiers, fighting, in all, fifty winning battles before peace was established in his country.
Notable Experiences
A few notable experiences in his life are worthy of special mention. Imprisoned by the would-be emperor, Maximilian, and spurning the offer of liberty and a high military position under the Austrian alien, who designed to make the Catholic Church the dominant power in Mexico, he made his escape from prison, and fled to New Orleans, where he worked as a servant, to conceal his identity, Maximilian having offered $50,000 for his head.
Attempting to return by United States steamer across the gulf to his native land, he was identified by a group of Maximilian's officers, and marked for death. To escape them he leaped into the gulf and swam for his life. Joining the greatest of all Mexicans, Benito Juarez, in the overthrow of Maximilian, he became the second president of the republic, and, after one term of office, surrendered the chief magistracy to a friend, who, during a single term of office, made such a dismal failure that Diaz was again put forward for the presidency, and duly elected. Thereafter he served continuously until the date of his resignation.
Jose Yves Limantour, Minister of Finance
Mexico Just before Diaz' Time
During the past few months the subject of this sketch has been a special target for much adverse criticism. It may be well for his overzealous critics to remember that before he came into power, the very soil of Mexico seemed to breed revolution, with a full crop, harvested in spilled blood, almost every year. It is surely to his credit that, under his long administration, the country has enjoyed a continuous term of peace, which was a thing unknown for more than three centuries of its previous history. Before he headed the government, there was little security for life or property within the confines of Mexico. Every city was constructed so that its outmost houses constituted a wall for protection, and the homestead on every ranch or farm must of necessity be a fortress.
General Porfirio Diaz
During his administration, the security of life in Mexico has compared favorably with the protection provided in other countries. This period also witnessed remarkable material progress, in railway construction, in the erection of factories, of telegraph and telephone systems, modern electric street-car service, the opening of mines and of oil industries, also in splendid improvements in buildings, water supplies, and streets in the principal cities, while educational advantages have been extended to almost every hamlet in the republic.
Thirty-two years ago, Protestant missionaries worked in Mexico at the peril of their lives. If for no other work, we can honor Diaz the aged for having held the persecuting power of fanatical Catholicism in check, so that during his administration there has been commendable freedom for the proclamation of "the everlasting Gospel" in a land where probably more than seventy-five per cent of the masses, spurred on by the priests, would gladly suppress Protestantism. It might be truthfully said that during his term of office there has been far less religious persecution by the hand of the law in Mexico than in the United States, and also a more complete separation of Church and State in the former than in the latter.
Grave Fears of Permanent Peace
A very intelligent Mexican lawyer recently expressed to the writer his grave fears for permanent peace in Mexico after the passing of Diaz. He gave these reasons for his misgivings: first, that there was absolutely no man in Mexico sufficiently popular and of recognized ability to take Diaz' place; and, second, that the race of people who compose the republic are by nature of such a revolutionary spirit that the recent taste of blood and plunder will result in the development of scattered bands of bandits, which will be difficult to suppress. I give these items simply as the opinion of a prominent Mexican. Diaz felt compelled to crush the thousands of organized bandits who once overran the country, by very severe measures; and even yet, good families in Mexico bemoan the fact that some of their relatives, being, by accident, as they say, found on the public highways in company with bandits, were summarily executed, without trial. The reason that bandits were executed without trial was because of the well-known fact that, like the Camorrists of Italy, it was impossible to secure evidence on which to convict them legally. This question is well worth weighing. Which policy was better for the protection of the lives and property of the innocent,—to execute swift vengeance upon all organized bands of bandits, or, through the constant failure of court trials, to permit them to continue their reign of terror indefinitely? To take them alive would have meant the death of hundreds of loyal soldiers, and their trials11would have meant financial bankruptcy to the nation.
If the same conditions develop in future, will mild measures suffice to suppress them? We know from precedent how Diaz would have dealt with the Camorrist "black hand" of Italy, had the society developed in his country. He actually had similar conditions with which to deal.
Intelligent Americans living in Mexico express grave fears for the country if the ballot is placed in the hands of the Catholic, priest-ridden masses.
If there is any blame that the large peon class of Mexico have not been educated, it should be attached to the papal priesthood, who have had them under their blighting influence for three and one half centuries, rather than to Porfirio Diaz. The fact is too well known to need proof, that the Catholic system prefers ignorance of the common people, rather than enlightenment, unless compelled by environment to foster education. The condition of all purely Catholic countries substantiates this statement.
It is quite possible that, during his latter years, Diaz has been too largely influenced by men of wealth, who were his advisers. Being human, he had the ambitions common to humanity.
Diaz Did Not Seek Re-Election
Before the last election it was common talk in Mexico that Diaz pressed the matter of retiring from office, but his advisers dissuaded him from his purpose. The revolution that followed, demonstrated that the counsel of the astute old statesman was wiser than that of his counselor.
It is freely conceded that Diaz employed extreme measures to preserve the peace, and, some say, to keep himself in power. He constantly asserted that his only desire was the good of his country. Without any design to cover faults, it is at least charitable to say that he knew the peculiar characteristics of his people better than most observers who take a distant view of Mexican soil across the Rio Grande River.
Mexico's Numerous Tribes
The Government of the United States has had its perplexities with its native Indian tribes. Mexico still has one hundred and eighty-three tribes of proud, independent spirited aborigines, who speak as many different dialects. The classification or amalgamation of the citizens of Mexico, whichever you may choose to call it, is approximately as follows: nineteen per cent pure Spanish blood, thirty-eight per cent mixed, and forty-three per cent pure Indian stock.
Diaz' methods were always military rather than civil in the punishment of high crime, but he believed this to be the only way to preserve the peace. Madero and his associates have had grievances and seen many errors in the Diaz régime. Time will tell whether his successors, altho legally elected, will be able to keep themselves in power to serve out their respective terms of office, without resorting to Diaz' methods of suppressing certain ambitious men, rather than have the country suffer an armed revolution to overthrow the administration.
The public needs no reminder of the fact that a people of the same mixture of blood, occupying Central America, just to the south of Mexico, seldom neglect to keep the revolutionary pot at the boiling point.
Diaz has frankly stated that Mexico was not a republic in the fullest sense, and has expressed a strong desire for such development on the part of his people that they might safely be entrusted with the enjoyment of all the privileges of a true republic.
The Middle Class Lacking
Mexico's weakness in the matter of self-government to-day is the absence of a middle class, of educated, intellectual people. While such a class, essential to self-government in any nation, may be in process of development, as yet the population of Mexico is largely made up of hundreds of the wealthy class as compared with millions of peons.
If Madero is placed in power and can not "make good" on his promises of good wages, good times, and the ballot to these millions, discontent will again reign, which, with suitable leadership, will at least worry the administration.
While we should not condone the wrong, yet, in making our criticisms of men who, under God, have held the destinies of nations in their hands, it is well to remember that popular opinion,—always impetuous, and lacking the opportunity for full investigation, and hence minus the balance-wheel of sound judgment—will one day worship its heroes, the next day stone them to death, and later erect statues to their memory in halls of fame.
General Francis Madero, the Real Ruler in Mexico
Trusting that the revolution may end with the signing of the terms of peace, let us hope—even against the prophecies of some of her own citizens—that our sister republic may enjoy freedom from political upheaval, and that her famous ex-ruler, who, with a firm hand, has preserved the peace of fifteen millions of people for more than three decades, may have taught them the ways of national peace, and the blessings thereof, and that the remainder of his days may be spent in tranquility, with a peaceful end at last.
G. W. REASER.
Francisco De La Barra, Provisional President of Mexico
A New Brand of Christian Science.
By Editor
A magazine has just been started entitled "Newlife Monthly." It claims to be the "official organ of the 'Newlife Movement,'" and it further claims that this movement is "the true science of God." The doctrines of the "movement" are set forth in the magazine in a lot of paragraphs, a few samples of which are the following:
The Newlife Science teaches that God is love and All in All, Omnipotent Omnipresent and Omniscient to all Eternity.
The Newlife Science teaches that sin, sickness, and disease is err and can and will be overcome here and now.
The Newlife Science teaches that death is a stupid blunder and not a necessity of our lives, and that in time it will be considered stupid to die.
It would seem that the "Mother Science Church" was doing all the teaching like the foregoing that is needed, and hence "The Movement" ought to take a sober second thought and consider itself superfluous. It is very catchy to many people to hear the claim made that men may get hold of some kind of doctrine that will fix them over in some way so that they need not die. It sounds almost amusing as well as delusively satisfying to hear the statement made that "death is a stupid blunder and not a necessity of our lives." But God has said in His Word that "the wages of sin is death," and furthermore He told our first parents in the Garden of Eden that "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." And this fact is affirmed in the New Testament by the statement, "In Adam all die;" and consequently it is said again, "It is appointed unto men once to die." It is clearly a part of God's general plan in dealing with sin to require all men to die. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but they appear as exceptions, and not as something that all may attain to.
Mrs. Eddy has tried to get her followers to the place where none of them would die. Thousands of them honestly thought that Mrs. Eddy herself would live forever. But she has died, and all her followers are compelled to acknowledge the sober fact. In like manner all the Newlife Movement people will die, despite all their high-sounding claims to the contrary. God's Word says that "death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." It has ever been true and it will always remain true that God's simple Word is stronger than all the imaginings that men may devise to the contrary. Why will not men believe that Word, and thus save themselves the trouble and disappointment that come from building theories that are contrary to divine law? Most men have learned that it is absurd to try to set aside natural law. It is equally absurd to fly in the face of spiritual law.
Christian Unity and Prohibition News
By Editor
Rev. W. Manning, rector of Old Trinity, New York, has proposed a world-wide conference of representatives of every creed in Christendom, Catholic and Protestant alike, for the purpose of negotiating church unity. Real Christian unity can come only through a careful study of the Word of God and adhering to what that Word teaches. When we allow the Word to speak for itself and to interpret itself, there is no difficulty in arriving at its meaning. Unity that is brought about through the Spirit of Him who inspired the Bible, will come by following what that Book actually teaches, and not through what men may affirm in creeds about its teaching. In His Word God calls for unity among His followers, and has made arrangements by which this unity may be brought about. He has also given warnings in that Word against "confederacies" that men will seek to build up under the guise of "unions." For real Christian unity let us all labor earnestly; but let us be on the look-out against confederacies. The union is God-given, and greatly to be desired; the confederacy is not from above, and the Lord has warned against it.
"The National Prohibitionist" has an item from San Francisco dated March 13, which says that "the first contract let for a building for the Panama-Pacific-International exposition is that of a building which will be known as the 'Hades Café.' It will cost about $50,000, will be built in the form of a mountain, and the waiters and bartenders are to be garbed like devils."
"Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard" was originally published for sixpence, or twelve cents. Mr. E. D. North paid for a copy the other day at the Hoe sale in New York $4,500.
