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Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 40.

General Articles
Earlier text: General Articles

Development of Indulgences in the Church.

(Concluded.)
DOUBTLESS the doctrine of salvation by faith was not entirely lost to the church. We meet with it in some of the most celebrated Fathers, after the time of Constantine, and in the middle ages. The doctrine was not formally denied. Councils and popes did not hurl their bulls and decrees against it; but they set beside it a something which nullified it. Salvation by faith was received by many learned men, by many a humble and simple mind, but the multitude had something very different. Men had invented a complete system of forgiveness. The multitude flocked to it and joined with it, rather than with the grace of Christ; and thus the system of man's devising prevailed over that of God. Let us examine some of the phases of this deplorable change.
In the time of Vespasian and his sons, he who had been the most intimate companion of the despised Galilean, one of the sons of Zebedee, had said: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." About one hundred and twenty years later, under Commodus and Septimius Severus, Tertullian, an illustrious pastor of Carthage, speaking of pardon, already held a very different language. "It is necessary," said he, "to change our dress and food; we must put on sackcloth and ashes; we must renounce all comfort and adorning of the body, and, falling down before the priest, implore the intercession of the brethren." Behold man turned aside from God, and turned back upon himself.
Works of penance, thus substituted for the salvation of God, multiplied in the church from the time of Tertullian to the thirteenth century. Men were enjoined to fast, to go bareheaded, to wear no linen, etc., or required to leave home and country for distant lands, or else to renounce the world and embrace a monastic life.
In the eleventh century were added voluntary flagellations; a little after they became an absolute mania in Italy, which was then in a very disturbed state. Nobles and peasants, old and young, even children of five years old, went in pairs, through the villages, the towns, and the cities, by hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands, without any other covering than a cloth tied round the middle, and visiting the churches in procession in the very depth of winter. Armed with scourges, they lashed themselves without pity, and the streets resounded with cries and groans, which drew forth tears of compassion from all who heard them.
And yet long before the evil had arrived at this height, men sighed for deliverance from the tyranny of the priests. The priests themselves were sensible that if they did not devise some remedy, their usurped power would be at an end. Then it was that they invented the system of barter known by the name of indulgences. It is under John, surnamed the Faster, archbishop of Constantinople, that we see its first commencement. The priests said, "O penitents, you are unable to perform the penances we have imposed upon you. Well then, we, the priests of God, and your pastors, will take upon ourselves this heavy burden. Who can better fast than we? Who better kneel and recite psalms than ourselves?" But the laborer is worthy of his hire. "For a seven weeks' fast," said Regino, abbot of Prum, "such as are rich shall pay twenty pence, those who are less wealthy ten pence, and the poor three pence, in the same proportion for other things." Some courageous voices were raised against this traffic, but in vain.
The pope soon discovered what advantages he might derive from these indulgences. His want of money continued to increase. Here was an easy resource, which, under the appearance of a voluntary contribution, would replenish his coffers. It seemed desirable to establish so lucrative a discovery on a solid footing. The chief men of Rome exerted themselves for this purpose. The irrefragable doctor, Alexander de Hales, invented, in the thirteenth century, a doctrine well suited to secure this mighty resource to the papacy. A bull of Clement VII. declared the new doctrine an article of the faith. The most sacred truths were made to subserve this persevering policy of Rome. Christ, it was affirmed, has done much more than was required for reconciling God and man. One single drop of his blood would have sufficed for that; but he shed his blood abundantly, that he might form for his church a treasury that eternity itself should never exhaust. The supererogatory merits of the saints, the reward of the works they have done, beyond and additional to the obligations of duty, have still further enriched this treasury. Its guardianship and distribution are confided to the vicar of Christ upon earth. He applies to every sinner, for sins committed after baptism, these merits of Christ and of his saints, in the measure and degree that his sins have made necessary. Who would dare to attack a custom of so high and holy an origin?
Rapidly was this almost inconceivable invention reduced to a system. The scale imposed ten, twenty years of penance, for such and such kinds of sin. "It is not merely for each kind of sin, but for each sinful action, that this penance of so many years is demanded," exclaimed the mercenary priests. Behold mankind, bowed down under the weight of a penance that seemed almost eternal.
"But for what purpose this long penance, when life is so short; when can it take effect? How can man secure the time requisite for its performance? You are imposing on him centuries of severe discipline. When death comes, he will but laugh at you, for death will discharge him from his burden. Ah, welcome death!" But this objection was provided against. The philosophers of Alexandria had spoken of a fire in which men were to be purified. Some ancient doctors in the church had received the notion. Rome declared this philosophic tenet the doctrine of the church; and the pope, by a bull, added purgatory to his domain. He declared that man would have to expiate in purgatory all he could not expiate on earth; but that indulgences would deliver men's souls from that intermediate state in which their sins would otherwise hold them. Thomas Aquinas set forth this new doctrine in his celebrated Summa. Nothing was left undone to fill the mind with terror. Man is by nature inclined to fear an unknown futurity and the dark abodes beyond the grave; but that fear was artfully excited and increased by horrible descriptions of the torments of this purifying fire. We see at this day in many Catholic countries paintings exposed in the temples, or in the crossways, wherein poor souls engulfed in flames invoke alleviation for their miseries. Who could refuse the money that, dropped into the treasury of Rome, redeemed the soul from such horrible torments?
But a further means of increasing this traffic was now discovered. Hitherto it had been the sins of the living that had been turned to profit; they now began to avail themselves of the sins of the dead. In the thirteenth century it was declared that the living might, by making certain sacrifices, shorten or even terminate the torments their ancestors and friends were enduring in purgatory. Instantly the compassionate hearts of the faithful offered new treasures for the priests.
To regulate this traffic, they invented, shortly after, probably in the pontificate of John XXII., the celebrated and scandalous tax of indulgences, of which more than forty editions are extant; a mind of the least delicacy would be shocked at the repetition of the horrors therein contained. Incest was to cost, if not detected, five groschen; if known, or flagrant, six. A certain price was affixed to the crime of murder, another to infanticide, adultery, perjury, burglary, etc. Oh, shame to Rome! exclaims Claudius of Espensa, a Roman divine; and we may add, Oh, shame to human nature! For no reproach can attach to Rome which does not recoil with equal force on mankind in general. Rome is human nature exalted, and displaying some of its worst propensities. We say this in truth as well as in justice.
Boniface VIII., the boldest and most ambitious of the popes after Gregory VII., effected still more than his predecessors had done. He published a bull in 1300, by which he declared to the church that all who should at that time or thenceforth make the pilgrimage to Rome, which should take place every hundred years, should there receive a plenary indulgence. Upon this multitudes flocked from Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, France, Spain, Germany, Hungary, and other quarters. Old men, of sixty and seventy, set out on the pilgrimage; and it was computed that 200,000 visited Rome in one month. All these foreigners brought with them rich offerings, and the pope and the Romans saw their coffers replenished.
The avarice of the pontiffs soon fixed this jubilee at intervals of fifty years, afterwards at thirty-three years, and at last at twenty-five. Then, for the greater convenience of the purchasers, and to increase the profits of the vendors, they transferred both the jubilee and its indulgences from Rome to the market-places of all the nations of Christendom. It was no longer necessary to abandon one's home; what others had been obliged to seek beyond the Alps, each might now obtain at his own door. This evil was at its height,—and then the Reformer arose.—History of the Reformation.

Reversing the Old Maxim.

By Editor

Judge John A. Jameson, in a recent contribution to the North American Review, says that of the things necessary to be done to save our civilization, the first and most important is to cause a complete change of attitude on the part of society toward wrong-doing. What is now the attitude maintained? It is one either of indifference, toleration, or connivance, or one suggestive of paralysis of the power of indignation and of every faculty needed for the repression of crime. Toward the criminal the attitude of the public is that of weak pity, not unmingled with admiration. The criminal is an unfortunate man, to save whom from punishment seems to be the chief end of the law.
Look for a moment at his trial in a court of justice. The jury, carefully selected for their ignorance, are made judges of both law and fact; to convict they must be unanimous; if they have a reasonable doubt of guilt, they must acquit; they are themselves to determine what is a reasonable doubt; and, to crown all, they are instructed that it is better that ten guilty men should escape than one innocent man should be punished. These rules and maxims, devised centuries ago by merciful judges, then met the ends of justice, since, as the laws were, as against the crown officers seeking to convict, a person accused had no chance of acquittal, for he was allowed neither council nor witnesses; but now they operate to screen the guilty from punishment, save in the few cases where there is a general cry for vengeance against some atrocious offender.—Ed.

Journalism Under the Law of God

There is an idea in this country that in journalism men may employ any weapon in support of a party end; but literature, like every other work of man, is under the law of God. Lying and false reasoning are as great sins in books as in conversation.

Punishment of Parental Sins.

By T. L. Cuyler

By a striking concurrence we have two domestic histories unfolded side by side in the Bible. One is the story of wise parental training, as illustrated in the case of Elkanah and Hannah, the father and mother of Samuel. The other is the tragic story of Eli, the father of those two "scapegraces," Hophni and Phineas. This latter story is a beacon of warning against parental indulgence of sins committed by those who are intrusted to us as the trustees of their spiritual welfare. It depicts the errors and the doom of a father who fell a victim to the sins of his children, which became really his own sins by his failure to hinder them at the right time and in the right manner. Among all the Bible narratives, none is more instructive than the short, sad biography of gray-haired Eli.
Eli exhibited a wonderfully beautiful submissiveness to the will of God under a most humiliating trial. When Samuel had told him every whit of the just judgments that were impending over him, he uttered those brave words of resignation: "It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good." We do not exaggerate when we affirm that, if looked at only on the bright side of his character, Eli would be one of the most admirable men in the Old Testament picture gallery.
But the attractions of the bright side only deepen the darkness of the dark side. The clay in Eli's composition was exceedingly frail and friable. Excellent as were his convictions of duty, he seems to have been pitifully weak in working them into practice. There was a lamentable lack of will-power. When warned of his weaknesses and of the calamities that would follow them, he did not grasp hold of duty with a resolute hand and carry it through with promptness and thoroughness. This feeble irresolution and pulpiness of character brought fearful miseries upon himself and wrought fearful mischief to others.
There are too many such people now-a-days—men and women of good impulses, but of weak performance. They lack spiritual force and fiber; when the strain comes, they snap. When we hear them pray so penitently over their own frailties, we do not deny their sincerity; yet as soon as they are done sorrowing, they begin to sin again in the same direction. The one vital point in which high priest Eli broke down most disgracefully was in the management of his own household. This has given him his unhappy celebrity; his very name is proverbial for parental neglect, and for the penalty which such neglect commonly brings.
Eli's misgovernment of his children had two cardinal faults. One error was that he rebuked his sons too late. The other error of the weak-backed Eli was that, having postponed his correction of his dissolute sons until they became hardened in vice, his words of rebuke were as weak as water. As quaint old Matthew Henry remarks, "There was no edge to his reproofs." He was not only too late; he was too lenient. Eli's wretched failure was the failure of millions of fathers since his day; when his children were young he would not restrain them, and when they grew older, he could not. With a few timid words he vainly strove to subdue the stalwart transgressors whom he had allowed to wax strong and stubborn in their sins, which had become so rank as to "smell to Heaven." It was a mournful proof of the old man's utter and pitiable loss of all power of restraint, that the reckless sons would not even "hearken to the voice of their father."
The grace of God is not transmitted by inheritance, yet a father's conscientious piety is often reproduced in his children. If his footprints are deeply indented toward God and Heaven, he may reasonably hope that his children will tread in them. "He sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments," is the Bible description of the good King Jehoshaphat. If there is a law of Christian nurture by which, with God's help, the godly family becomes a nursery of religion, so there is a law of unchristian nurture, and by this law bad opinions and bad habits are transmitted to the next generation. Whatever "fires the father kindles, the children gather the wood." If the father sets a decanter on his table, the boys soon practice at the glass; a large percentage of all our drunkenness is hereditary.
Pulpit invitations and warnings, however faithful, are drowned amid the din of an irregular home. Show me a father who talks nothing but money at his own table, and I will show you a crop of boys whose chief ambition is to be rich; show me one who talks horses and games, and I will promise you a fast-driving troop of young sportsmen. Show me one who fences his home around with God's commandments, and lights it up with domestic comforts and pleasures, and anchors himself to his home, and I will show you the best kind of restraint from dangerous evening resorts. A happy Christian home is the surest antidote for evil amusements. But if a father hears the clock strike eleven in the theater or in his clubhouse, he need not be surprised if his sons hear it strike twelve in the drinking-saloon or the gaming-room or the haunts of the profligate. Even in spite of the strongest restraints, some sons will break through into sin; but if a parent leads into irreligion, what but God's omnipotent grace can keep his imitative household from following him to perdition? The history of such a family is commonly written in that frequent line found in the Old Testament: "He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him."
But Eli, you may say, was a servant of God. So he was, in his way, but there are two very different types of paternal religion. One parent prays at his family altar for the conversion of his children, and then does his utmost to secure what he prays for. He surrounds his home with Bible restraints against sinful temptations. He aims to make both his religion and his home attractive. The books he purchases, the journals he takes, the amusements he provides, the company he invites, the whole atmosphere of his home, are made to be a restraint against evil by being an attraction toward purity and true religion. The Holy Spirit is not invoked to convert his offspring to Christ while the head of the house is perverting them to worldliness, or self-seeking, or frivolity, or secret contempt for all religion.
Yet I fear that certain fathers are guilty of Eli's folly and fatal blunder. They busy themselves with certain words and acts of religious observance; they try to serve God in certain directions; they even pray, formally, for their children's conversion. But their daily example, their conduct, and the whole trend of their influence are not an effective restraint against sin; they do not draw their children toward Jesus Christ and his commandments as the law of life. It is a terrible truth to declare, but I honestly believe that some professed Christians are an absolute hindrance to the conversion of their children. For the warning of such the divine Spirit has spread out at full length the calamitous history of Eli's awful mistake.
Being dead, Eli yet speaketh. He speaks to-day, and warns us who are parents that if we commit his sin, our sin will yet find us out. Methinks that from his lips, growing pale in death, we can catch the faltering words, "A foolish son is a grief to his father and a bitterness to her that bare him. Correct thy sons, and they shall give thee rest, yea, delight unto thy soul. But a child left to himself bringeth his father and mother to shame."—T. L. Cuyler.

He That Reapeth Receiveth Wages

"He that reapeth receiveth wages."

Japanese Idea of Hell.

ONE of the curious articles exhibited at Tiffany's is a scarf of gray Canton crape, which portrays the infernal regions, according to the Japanese idea. The scarf is nine yards long, and half a yard wide. The first scene represents Satan on earth seeking new victims. The arch-fiend appears as a sulphuric, yellowish-green demon, with protruding horns, cloven feet, and a demoniacal expression, luring his victims into his net, and plunging them into fiery depths. They appear to fall into a nest of burning scorpions, where they are tantalized by a glimpse of their friends enjoying themselves in a lake of cool water. Then in the next scene Satan takes the form of an immense dragon, with his human victims crouching at his feet. They are mercilessly dragged into court, and the judge is represented as condemning them to be tied to rocks and to have red-hot lead poured down their throats. They are then chased by hyenas through a field of open knives and other sharp instruments. The victims are next portrayed as being tortured by having their limbs sawed off, and by being thrown into a revolving wheel of fire. Satan next appears to be looking out for new victims on a field of battle. Some of those victims are made to hug red-hot stove-pipes, while Satan himself, with a smile, is fanning them. Others are swimming in seas of blood, surrounded by laughing demons. Others still are seated in a cauldron of red-hot sulphur, having their tongues pulled out. Some are represented as carrying heavy burdens of coal and throwing it into the fire to burn new victims. His Satanic Majesty is next represented as feeding his subjects with rice, presumably to give them strength with which to endure greater tortures.—New York Tribune.

Success Measured by Principle, Not Numbers

It is not right to estimate ministerial success by the number who unite with the church. The growth of a church cannot be determined by the numerical increase. God looks to quality and not quantity. If that minister is most successful who adds to his church the largest number of souls, there are churches that are lamentable failures when compared with those of Rome; and thus measured, the most successful church of all is, perhaps, the Mormon. How few converts Jesus had when he died. If we except the great Pentecostal outpouring, Dwight Moody has, in all probability, brought more men and women into the church than any of the apostles. At the end of the first century of the Christian era, there were only about 500,000 professed followers of our Saviour in all the world. The world is not to be converted by numbers, but by principle; not by a large, but by a holy church.

Then Shalt Thou Prosper

By H. Clay Trumbull

"THEN shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged; . . . be strong and of a good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed." The assurance of prosperity does not relieve the child of God from downright work, or from times of sore trial. Of course you will prosper, if you are doing what the Lord has set you to do; but you may have a hard time prospering. Prosperity is often a hard road to travel; and it sometimes seems as if the Lord were against his children on that road. If everything seems to be going wrong with you, while you are sure that you are going right, keep up and keep at it; be strong and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed; then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the word of God to you.—H. Clay Trumbull.

Maintain Good Works

"This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works." Titus 3:8.

The Sabbath-School.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—NOV. 9.

  1. Of what substance did God create man? Quote proof, and give reference.
  2. What was given him to make him live?
  3. In what part of man is this breath of life located?
  4. When man's breath is taken away, what takes place? Job 34:14, 15.
  5. What then becomes of the breath which caused him to live? Eccl. 12:7.
  6. Is man the only creature that has this breath or spirit of life? Gen. 7:14, 15.
  7. In what part of the beast is this breath placed? Gen. 7:21, 22.
  8. When God takes away their breath, what becomes of them? Ps. 104:29.
  9. Is the breath of the man any different from that of the beast? Eccl. 3:19.
  10. Of what are both beasts and men composed? Verse 20.
  11. To what do both classes alike return at death?
  12. Is there any difference between the wise man and the fool in the matter of death? Ps. 49:10.
  13. Does David agree with Solomon in saying that the death of men is the same as that of beasts? Verse 14.
  14. If this is the case, what hope can a man have in life? Isa. 25:8; Job 19:25-27.
  15. If there were to be no resurrection, would man be justified in living as the beast does? 1 Cor. 15:32.
  16. Then in what does man have the pre-eminence above the beast?
  17. Where do we find a graphic description of the resurrection? Eze. 37:1-12.
  18. What did the prophet see? Verse 1.
  19. Were the bones living? Verses 2, 3.
  20. By what means did the Lord say he would cause them to live? Verses 5, 6.
  21. When the prophet prophesied, what took place? Verses 7, 8.
  22. When the bones, sinews, flesh, and skin were all in their proper place, what was still lacking? Verse 8.
  23. What was the prophet next directed to say? Verse 9.
  24. How were the bodies made to live? Verse 10.
  25. Then for what purpose does God receive a man's breath or spirit of life when he dies?
In Gen. 2:7 we are told that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." It does not say that a soul was put into man, whereby he might live, but that man himself became a living soul. We are sometimes told that man is a dual being, composed of body and soul, and that the first was formed of the dust, but that the latter is pure spirit. Without entering into a discussion of the subject of the soul, what it is, we are warranted, by the text just quoted, in saying that whatever different elements combine to form "man," were made of the dust of the ground. When the catechisms tell us that man is composed of body, soul, and spirit, then they must also claim that all these were formed of the dust, for "man" was formed of the dust. But the fact is, that which was formed of the dust was "man" before the breath or spirit of life was bestowed. He was a lifeless soul; but when breath was given, man became a living soul.
This conclusion is verified by Job 34:14, 15. The patriarch, speaking of God, says: "If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust." After the breath is taken away, then man turns again to dust. That this breath may be called the spirit is shown by Job 27:3, 4, quoted in last week's lesson: "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit." Here the spirit (called the spirit of God, because it came from God) is said to be in the nostrils, and that, it will be remembered, is where God placed the breath of life, which is the same thing.
In the light of the above texts, we can readily understand Eccl. 12:7, where, after having spoken of death, the wise man says: "Then shall the dust return to the earth, as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it." This is no more than a repetition of Job 34:14, 15: "If he [God] gather to himself his [man's] spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to dust." Both texts teach simply this: that at death man returns to his original elements; that which was formed of the dust—the whole man—returns to the dust, and the spirit or breath, having come directly from God, returns to his keeping. There is no more reason for supposing that the spirit, as it returns to God, is conscious, than there is in supposing that the dust is conscious, or that the spirit was conscious before God bestowed it upon man, or that the breath, while in man's nostrils, was conscious. The dust of which man was formed was inanimate; man, after he was formed by the Creator, was inanimate, unconscious; and the spirit while yet in the hands of God was likewise without consciousness; but when the man and the spirit were brought together, conscious existence was the result. How this result was obtained is a secret known only to the Author of life.
This breath of life is something that man shares in common with the beasts. In the description of the flood we learn that every beast and creeping thing—"all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died." Gen. 7:21, 22. It is not the possession of the breath or spirit of life that distinguishes man from the beast. In Ps. 104:28-30 we learn that their creation is effected by God sending forth his spirit, and that, as we learned concerning man, when he takes away their breath they die, and return to their dust. More than this, we are expressly told that there is no difference between the formation of man and the lower animals, nor in the elements composing them. We read: "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them; as the one dieth so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, all turn to dust again." Eccl. 3:19, 20. This language is plain, and no apology is needed for it, because it is the language of inspiration. Let it be remembered that when the wise man says that a man has no pre-eminence above a beast, he is speaking of death. In that event all are alike. Here the parallel ends, for to man a resurrection is promised. In this life man has pre-eminence above the beast, because he is gifted with a moral nature, the faculty of distinguishing between right and wrong, and the power of loving the right because it is right. This the beast does not have. To all men a resurrection is promised, but not to beasts. If, however, it shall then appear that a part of mankind have lived as do the beasts, without regard to the future, they will die the second death, and then they will indeed be like the beasts that perish, for with that death their existence will forever end. Man's hope is in the resurrection; but he cannot have a well-grounded hope even in that, unless he seeks those things which are above.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 brings to view the literal resurrection of the dead. First the bones, sinews, muscles, and skin are arranged in proper order. At death these returned to the earth, but now they are re-formed. There are the complete bodies; but there is no breath in them. They are just as Adam was before God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. But at the command of the Lord the breath comes into the inanimate bodies, and they stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Some choose to apply all this to the bringing of literal Israel from the Babylonian captivity, but such an interpretation is of their own choosing, and not by divine authority. God himself (verse 12) says that it is the bringing of his people out of their graves, and this takes place when the Lord comes. 1 Thess. 4:15-17; John 5:28, 29. And thus we learn that when the spirit—that which causes man to live—returns to God at the death of the man, it is that he may bestow it again at the resurrection, when man shall live again.

NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.

By W. N. GLENN

NOVEMBER 9—1 KINGS 10:1-13.

The Queen of Sheba Visits King Solomon.

THE importance of this royal interview is emphasized by the Saviour, as recorded in Matt. 12:42: "The queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon is here." This recognition and application by the great Teacher, stamps the transaction as a lesson of no small moment. It lays great responsibility upon those who receive a knowledge of the truths of the gospel, and refers directly to the Judgment, where, without fail, an account will have to be rendered whether his word has been received or rejected; and those who do receive it will be witnesses against those who do not.
THERE was an extensive trade between Jerusalem and the then rich country of the South, and the merchants had no doubt spread glowing accounts of the wisdom and grandeur of the Hebrew king. But in all probability, judging from the language of verse 1, that which most attracted the notice of the queen was the fact that the God of Israel was accredited with directly imparting this distinction to their king. Hence her tedious and expensive journey of a thousand miles or more in order to hear and test his wisdom for herself. That she was actuated by a spirit of earnestness, and not mere curiosity, is indicated in the statement that "Solomon told her all her questions." The answers were really from the Lord, for it is said "there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not;" and the Lord does not lend his wisdom or power to gratify idle curiosity. See Luke 23:8, 9, etc.
WE have the testimony of the Lord that she came to hear wisdom; and we have the inspired record that her desire was fully granted. James says: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." Chap. 1:3. This woman not only desired wisdom, but she was willing to employ every means in her power of obtaining it. It must not be supposed that God will grant wisdom to those who are unwilling to use their own utmost endeavors to obtain it. They who ignore God's word—his acknowledged medium of imparting knowledge—have no warrant in expecting a miraculous gift of wisdom. There is a class of people in these days who set aside the Lord's revealed will, and claim to get a superior wisdom direct from Heaven. This is sheer presumption; it is an attempt to affect wisdom in a lazy, cheap manner; and such seekers have no reason to complain should deception and darkness be allowed to overtake them. See 2 Thess. 2:10-12.
"THE half was not told me." The fame that is strictly of this world—of its wonderful persons, places, and things—is usually exaggerated,especially by interested parties. But such never can be the case with the wisdom of God or the glories of his kingdom. No human tongue can tell a tithe of the truth in praise of these. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor. 2:9. He that overcometh will be enabled to repeat, in the new earth, the words of Sheba's queen, "It was a true report that I heard"—"behold, the half was not told me."
IN addition to the queen's expression of extreme satisfaction with the attainments of her gifted host, her hearty appreciation of the privilege of such an interview is worthy of note. She deemed even the servants of his household happy on account of their access to such a fund of knowledge. Here is a lesson for this highly favored age, and especially for those who acknowledge and profess to believe the Bible. A greater than Solomon is with us by his word and Spirit, both of which are accessible to any earnest seeker after true wisdom. Are the privileges of this generation appreciated? Is every one who has access to the Scripture treasury, no matter how humble his lot, happy at the thought of having it "continually" within reach? If not, if all this store of Heaven-sent knowledge, consolation, and encouragement be carelessly neglected till probation ends, and the soul fail to grasp and apply the much needed instruction, there is great danger with us also, that "the queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and condemn it."
THE frank acknowledgment of the God of Israel, and the keen discernment of the duty of Solomon as the custodian of such wisdom, is happily expressed: "Blessed be the Lord thy God which delighteth in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice." Solomon's wisdom was not solely for his own personal benefit or aggrandizement; it was given in consideration of God's love for his people, that they might be well governed. And this was just the reason assigned by Solomon for asking of the Lord "an understanding heart." See chap. 3:9. And this strong reminder that he was made king "to do judgment and justice," must have come home to the wise man as a timely reproof, and ready reflex of the wisdom he had just imparted.
AS WITH Solomon, so with every recipient of wisdom from on high—it is given for the benefit of those who will accept it. God never inspired a man for a recluse, or for his individual benefit. Not one of the Bible writers labored for his own gain, and every prophet of the Lord was a servant of the people. Talents are put to use that the Lord, not the servant, may receive his own with usury. "Freely ye have received, freely give." W. N. GLENN.
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