Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 17. (4/23/1885)

Signs of the Times

Apr 23, 1885

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 23, 1885

The First Mission to the Gentiles.

By Ellen G. White

WHILE some of the apostles felt that God had appointed them to preach Christ among their own countrymen at home, Paul knew that his mission was to the Gentiles. He had received his commission from God, while praying in the temple, and his broad missionary field had been distinctly presented before him. To prepare him for his extensive and important work, God had brought him into close connection with himself, and had opened before his enraptured vision a glimpse of the beauty and glory of Heaven.

God communicated with the devout prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch. "As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." These apostles were therefore dedicated to God in a most solemn manner by fasting and prayer and the laying on of hands; and they were sent forth to their field of labor among the Gentiles.

Both Paul and Barnabas had been laboring as ministers of Christ, and God had abundantly blessed their efforts; but neither of them had previously been formally ordained to the gospel ministry by prayer and the laying on of hands. They were now authorized by the church, not only to teach the truth, but to baptize, and to organize churches, being invested with full ecclesiastical authority. This was an important era for the church. Though the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile had been broken down by the death of Christ, letting the Gentiles into the full privileges of the gospel, still the vail had not yet been torn from the eyes of many of the believing Jews, and they could not clearly discern to the end of that which was abolished by the Son of God. The work was now to be prosecuted with vigor among the Gentiles, and was to result in strengthening the church by a great ingathering of souls.

The brethren in Jerusalem and in Antioch were made thoroughly acquainted with all the particulars of this divine appointment, and the specific work of teaching the Gentiles, which the Lord had given to these apostles. Their ordination was an open recognition of their divine mission as messengers specially chosen by the Holy Ghost for a special work. Paul witnesses, in his epistle to the Romans, that he considered this sacred appointment a new and important epoch in his life; he names himself "a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God."

Paul and Barnabas started out upon their mission, taking with them Mark. They went into Seleucia, and from thence sailed to Cyprus. At Salamis they preached in the synagogues of the Jews. "And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus; which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith."

The deputy being a man of repute and influence, the sorcerer Elymas, who was under the control of Satan, sought by false reports and various specious deceptions to turn him against the apostles and to destroy their influence over him. As the magicians in Pharaoh's court withstood Moses and Aaron, so did this sorcerer withstand the apostles. When the deputy sent for the apostles, that he might be instructed in the truth, Satan was on hand with his servant, seeking to thwart the purpose of God, and to prevent this influential man from embracing the faith of Christ. This agent of Satan greatly hindered the work of the apostles. Thus does the fallen foe ever work in a special manner to prevent persons of influence, who could be of great service to the cause of God, from embracing the truth.

But Paul, in the power of the Holy Ghost, rebuked the wicked deceiver. He "set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord."

The sorcerer had closed his eyes to the evidences of truth, and the light of the gospel; therefore the Lord, in his righteous anger, caused his natural eyes to be closed, shutting out from him the light of day. This blindness was not permanent, but only for a season, to warn him to repent, and to seek pardon of God whom he had so offended. The confusion into which this man was brought, with all his boasted power, made of none effect all his subtle arts against the doctrine of Christ. The deputy was convinced of the truth of the doctrine taught by the apostles, and embraced the gospel of Christ.

Paul and his company now continued their journey into Perga in Pamphylia. Their way was toilsome; they encountered hardships and privations, and were beset by dangers on every side. Mark, who was unused to hardships, became disheartened, and returned to Jerusalem, and to the peace and comfort of his home.

They visited Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath went into the synagogue, and sat down; "and after the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on." Being thus invited to speak, "Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience." He then gave a history of the manner in which the Lord had dealt with the Jews from the time of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and how a Saviour had been promised of the seed of David; and he preached Jesus as the Saviour of men, the Messiah of prophecy.

When he had finished, and the Jews had left the synagogue, the Gentiles still lingered, and entreated that the same words might be spoken to them the next Sabbath day. The apostles created a great interest in the place, among both Jews and Gentiles. They encouraged the believers and converts to stand fast in their faith, and to continue in the grace of God. The interest to hear the words of the apostles was so great that the whole city came together on the next Sabbath day. But now, as in the days of Christ, when the Jewish priests and rulers saw the multitudes that had assembled to hear the new doctrine, they were moved by envy and jealousy, and contradicted the words of the apostles with blasphemy. Their old bigotry and prejudice were also aroused, when they perceived great numbers of Gentiles mingling with the Jews in the congregation. They could not endure that the Gentiles should enjoy equal religious privileges with themselves, but clung tenaciously to the idea that the blessing of God was reserved exclusively for them. This had ever been the great sin of the Jews, which Christ, on several occasions, had rebuked.

They listened, on one Sabbath day, with intense interest to the teachings of Paul and Barnabas, who preached Jesus as the promised Messiah; and upon the next Sabbath day, because of the multitude of Gentiles who assembled also to hear them, they were excited to a frenzy of indignation, the words of the apostles were distorted in their minds, and they were unfitted to weigh the evidence presented by them. When they learned that the Messiah preached by the apostles was to be a light to the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel, they were beside themselves with rage, and used the most insulting language to the apostles.

The Gentiles, on the other hand, rejoiced exceedingly that Christ recognized them as the children of God, and with grateful hearts they listened to the word preached. The apostles now clearly discerned their duty, and the work which God would have them do. They turned

without hesitation to the Gentiles, preaching Christ to them, and leaving the Jews to their bigotry, blindness of mind, and hardness of heart. The mind of Paul had been well prepared to make this decision, by the circumstances attending his conversion, his vision in the temple at Jerusalem, his appointment by God to preach to the Gentiles, and the success which had already crowned his efforts among them.

When Paul and Barnabas turned from the Jews who derided them, they addressed them boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."

This gathering in of the Gentiles to the church of God had been traced by the pen of inspiration, but had been but faintly understood. Hosea had said: "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God." And again: "I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God."

During the life of Christ on earth he had sought to lead the Jews out of their exclusiveness. The conversion of the centurion, and of the Syrophoenician woman, were instances of his direct work outside of the acknowledged people of Israel. The time had now come for active and continued work among the Gentiles, of whom whole communities received the gospel gladly and glorified God for the light of an intelligent faith. The unbelief and malice of the Jews did not turn aside the purpose of God; for a new Israel was grafted into the old olive-tree. The synagogues were closed, against the apostles; but private houses were thrown open for their use, and public buildings of the Gentiles were also used in which to preach the word of God.

The Jews, however, were not satisfied with closing their synagogues against the apostles, but desired to banish them from that district. To effect this purpose, they sought to prejudice certain devout and honorable women, who had great influence with the government, and also men of prominence. This they accomplished by subtle arts, and false reports. These persons of good repute complained to the authorities against the apostles, and they were accordingly expelled from the region of Antioch.

(To be concluded.)

MESSIAS.

By Mrs. O. E. M'Cord

BY MRS. O. E. M'CORD.

I DID not seek thy precious word, I did not ask thy life, dear Lord, And yet, while I'm so cold toward thee, Thou gav'st thy love and life for me.

In silent awe, each angel wept, While golden lyre they left unswept, As round thy cross they lingered near, And worshiped thee in wondering fear.

O Son of God, how could'st thou leave Thy mansions fair, on earth to grieve, While enemies reviled thy name, Loading thy brow with thorns and shame?

Had I to purchase heavenly light, My hope would sink in blackest night. Ah! glad I am salvation's free, Eternal life is offered me.

And shall I e'er, by deed or word, Bring shame on thee, my blessed Lord? Ah! rather, this shall be my plea, Thou, blessed Lord, hast died for me.

Oregon City, Oregon, April 6, 1885.

Satan Incognito.

By A. J. Gordon, D. D.

THE writer of this article has been made the object of not a little cultured laughter for having recently expressed the conviction that there is a personal devil. In a letter to Joseph Cook, read at the Monday lecture, concerning the doctrines of the "Christian scientists," so called, it was charged that they denied not only the personality of God, but the personality and reality of Satan. Whereupon a writer in the Boston Advertiser playfully dwells on "the solemn sadness of the sentence; that it leaves us no personal God and no personal devil;" and is reminded of Theodore Parker's statement that "the orthodox people make the devil the fourth person in the Trinity," etc.

Now we seriously believe that there is a devil, and that he has such sway in our city, visible and invisible, as to well-nigh justify the quotation of an aged country minister recently addressed to us in a letter—"I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is." To prove his existence it is only necessary to open the Scriptures and read their ample testimony; but presuming that our critics are not up in the teaching of the Bible, we desire to take the method of Saul at Athens, "as certain also of your own poets have said," and to quote the vigorous words of an eminent literary man upon this point.

In an article on Thomas Carlyle, Mr. Henry James rehearses a conversation heard at his house in London one Sunday evening. An American general was talking with Carlyle of repudiation in Mississippi, when the grim old philosopher broke out, "You are all on your way to the devil in America." "Talking with Mrs. Carlyle at just that moment," says Mr. James, "was Mr. Henry Woodman—I will call him—from Massachusetts, who, in former times, was a Unitarian clergyman in good standing; but having made what seemed to him a notable discovery, namely, that there is no personal devil, he forthwith snaps his fingers at the faded terror, drops his profession, and betakes himself to agriculture." Pricking up his ears at Carlyle's utterance, he said, "What devil do you speak of, Mr. Carlyle?" "What devil, do you ask?" Carlyle fairly roared back in reply, "What devil, do you ask, Mr. Woodman? The devil, Mr. Woodman, which has been known in these parts from the beginning, and is not likely soon to become unknown—the father of all liars, swindlers, and repudiators, Mr. Woodman? The devil that in this Old World boasts a very numerous though unconscious progeny, and in your New World, Mr. Woodman, seems, from all accounts, to be producing a still more numerous and still more unconscious one! That is just the devil I mean, Mr. Woodman, and woe be to you and yours the day you vote him lifeless!"

Here is vigorous preaching, which shows that the iron of Scotch Presbyterianism had not entirely worked itself out of Carlyle's blood. And the setting of the sermon is very suggestive, too. Our Massachusetts Unitarian abandoned his profession when he discovered that Satan is a myth. That is quite generally the case. The shallow optimism which sees no evil in the world leads to the most nerveless and effeminate preaching—a preaching that inevitably dies of its own inanity. Jesus Christ was manifested "that he might destroy the works of the devil." He took part in our human nature "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." When a minister has come to deny the existence of the evil one, he invariably drops from vigorous and determined preaching into a soft pulpit sentimentalism, and in many instances drops out of his work entirely.

Paul and Luther were great fighters because they measured their foe. Their confession was, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." In the presence of such enemies all their powers were taxed and all their resources drawn forth. The man who denies the fact of a personal devil is rarely good for much as a soldier of Christ. He may carry on a sham fight; he may execute the tournament of a theological carpet-knight, but he will deal no sturdy blows at God's enemies.

As for Mr. Carlyle's saying about the devil's "numerous though unconscious progeny" in the New World, O sage of Chelsea, how could you have dealt such an ungracious blow at those in this New World who have recently garnished your sepulcher with all manner of high encomiums? Did you never hear that their creed is that all men are the sons of God? And you have joined in with him who spoke with authority and said of certain, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do."

And yet they know not their father, and he is well pleased thereat. "The greatest intellectual triumph that can be achieved by the devil is gained when men are prepared to believe that he is not," says an old writer. Not to be known by those whom he knows and influences is his deepest purpose. He walks to and fro through the earth seeking whom he may destroy, but so far as possible, he travels incognito. He has invented a creed which he would be glad to have recited in all the churches. That creed contains no denial of God; he can effect more for the present by fostering a denial of himself. This creed we have seen lately formulated: "There is no personal devil. That which is mystically called the devil is the negation and opposite of God. And whereas God is I AM, or positive Being, the devil is not."

And subscription to this creed is rapidly going on in liberal churches and rationalistic journals. Here is what one of these organs of advanced thought has recently put forth: "Our mission is to teach men to live without the fear of God; to die without the fear of the devil; and to attain salvation without the blood of Christ." A consistent trinity of doctrines! If there is no devil and no work of the devil, Christ's mission "to destroy the works of the devil" and "to destroy him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil," was in vain. Verily the Chelsea philosopher spoke truly when he talked about the devil's "unconscious progeny," and when he said very vehemently, "Woe be to you and yours, the day you vote him lifeless."

Ridicule and Christian Principle

RIDICULE is the devil's strongest weapon for beating down principle. A sneer is more dreaded by most men than a blow; and where the enemies of Christ cannot compel men to do evil by brute force, they often accomplish their end by the more potent weapon of mocking words. Yet there is nothing more foolish than to attempt to avoid ridicule for one's scrupulousness, by yielding to the evil; for the mocking laugh of the tempter, over a soul that has sinned, is a hundredfold more terrible than his sneer at a soul that refuses to sin.

"The grim fiend laughs at him who sorroweth. 'O fool! be merry while you may,' he saith; Then laughs more loudly when the fool has played."

If ever you feel that you cannot stand out against the jeers of those who call you strait-laced and a Bible-bigot, just think how much more their jeers will hurt when they who tempted you to your ruin make a mock of your fall.—S. S. Times.

Boast Not Thyself of To-morrow

"BOAST not thyself of to-morrow." To-morrow never comes. The present, to-day, only is yours. You might as well think of improving the past as the future. They are both alike beyond your reach. Duty is always present. God's time is now—and you should make it your time. To defer a present duty to a future time, is simply to refuse to perform it. You may console yourself with the thought that you will have another opportunity to discharge it, but that is mere presumption—you have no assurance that such will be the case. It may possibly be so, but then it may not. You should not run the risk of delay. You should not be unfaithful now on the presumption that you will be more faithful hereafter. The "more convenient season" will never come. Work while it is day. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Be instant in season and out of season, abounding in the work of the Lord.—Methodist Recorder.

True Godliness

The miser covets gold, the soldier valor, but the Christian true godliness; the first deceives, the second intoxicates and declines, the third cherishes and elevates unto eternal glory.

Hypocrisy

HYPOCRISY is that hole through which our vicious habits peep out.

"Despise not Prophesyings."

By W. N. Glenn

THIS exhortation of the apostle Paul, in closing his first letter to the Thessalonians, has lost none of its importance. It is as necessary to the church at large to-day as it was to that particular company when it was written. The apostle did not say, as many would construe the language, "Despise not the prophecies," referring to those of the past, which all Christians, as well as Jews, recognized as of divine origin. Such an exhortation would hardly have been necessary. It has ever been a characteristic of the Jews, as well as of Christians, to "build tombs" for the prophets of old, and "garnish the sepulchers" of the reformers centuries after their decease; while the same classes have been equally prone to reject and "despise" the "prophesyings" of their own time.

Prophesying is an important part of the machinery of the church, given for the guidance and encouragement of believers, and for the furtherance of the gospel work. Prophets are "set in the church" after apostles (1 Cor. 12:28); and "he that prophesieth edifieth the church." Chap. 14:4. "Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy." Verse 39. That the gift of prophecy was to continue in the church until the end, is taught by the apostle Peter, as he quotes from the prophet Joel: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." Acts 2:17, 18.

And this doctrine is further supported by the prophetic vision of John. Rev. 12:17: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman [the church], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus." The Angel testified to John (chap. 19:10) that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." As a "remnant" is always understood to be the last of a quantity, we understand that the remnant of the church will be that part which exists till the coming of the Lord, and will, up to that time, be sustained by the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy. There is no doubt that the church will experience the wrath of her "dragon" adversary as long as he exists, and surely nothing could invoke that wrath but her obedience to God and his communion with her.

But there is great danger of the modern church failing to recognize or appreciate the gift of prophecy because of an erroneous idea concerning the meaning of the term. The definition of prophecy is quite generally limited to the sense of foretelling events. This narrow construction, like all narrow-mindedness, leads not only to a misconception of the Scriptures, but to a loss of the present truth, or present will of the Lord concerning his people. Prediction of the future has not always been the most important feature of prophecy. John the Baptist was a most prominent prophet (Luke 1:17); he was "more than a prophet" (Matt. 11:9); among them that were born of women there had not risen a greater than he (verse 11); yet his special mission and teaching had direct reference to his own day and generation.

In addition to their predictive powers, the Old Testament prophets were, in the language of Dr. Smith, "specially illumined revelers of God's will." They were "preachers of morals and of spiritual religion," being "extraordinary, yet authorized exponents of the law." The same authority, in his "Dictionary of the Bible," says: "That predictive powers did occasionally exist in the New Testament prophets, is proved by the case of Agabus (Acts 11:28), but this was not their characteristic. The prophets of the New Testament were supernaturally illuminated expounders and preachers."

This is evidently the special character of the "prophesyings" which Paul exhorted the Thessalonian brethren not to "despise." And if they were anything like their Jewish predecessors, or like the generality of Christians since their day, that is just the feature of prophecy which they would be most likely to despise, and which would be most needful to them. It is that which is comprehended in the same apostle's last charge to Timothy,—"reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine; for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

Verily, there is need of often repeating to the church in these times the solemn, earnest caution of the apostle to the Gentiles, "Despise not prophesyings."

MAN'S MORTALITY.

[The original of this poem was found in an Irish MS. in Trinity College, Dublin. There is reason to think that the poem was written by one of those primitive Christian bards in the reign of Diarmid, about the year 554, and was sung and chanted at the last grand assembly of kings, chieftains, and lords, held in the famous halls of Tara. We publish it by request.]

LIKE a damask rose you see, Or like a blossom on a tree, Or like the dainty flower in May, Or like the morning to the day, Or like the sun, or like the shade, Or like the gourd that Jonah made; Even such is man whose thread is spun, Drawn out and out and so is done. The rose withers, the blossom blasteth, The flower fades, the morning hasteth, The sun sets, the shadow flies, The gourd consumes, the man dies.

Like the grass that's newly sprung, Or like the tale that's new begun, Or like the bird that's here to-day, Or like the pearled dew in May, Or like an hour, or like a span, Or like the singing of the swan; Even such is man, who lives by breath, Is here, now there, in life and death, The grass withers, the tale is ended, The bird is flown, the dews ascended, The hour is short, the span not long, The swan's near death, man's life is done.

Like to the bubble in the brook, Or in a glass much like a look, Or like the shuttle in weaver's hands, Or like the writing on the sands, Or like a thought, or like a dream, Or like the gliding of a stream; Even such is man, who lives by breath, Is here, now there, in life and death, The bubble's out, the look forgot, The shuttle's flung, the writing's blot, The thought is past, the dream is gone, The waters glide, man's life is done.

Like an arrow from a bow, Or like a swift course of water flow, Or like the time 'twixt flood and ebb, Or like the spider's tender web, Or like a race, or like a goal, Or like the dealing of the dole. Even such is man, whose brittle state Is always subject unto fate. The arrow shot, the flood soon spent, The time no time, the web soon rent, The race soon run, the goal soon won, The dole soon dealt, man's life soon done.

Like the lightning from the sky, Or like a post that quick doth hie, Or like a quaver in a song, Or like a journey three days long, Or like snow when summer's come, Or like a pear or like a plum; Even such is man, who heaps up sorrow, Lives but this day and dies to-morrow. The lightning's past, the post must go, The song is short, the journey so, The pear doth rot, the plum doth fall, The snow dissolves, and so must all.

Religion

RELIGION.—"Whatever definitions men have given to religion," says Cecil, "I find none so accurately descriptive of it as this: that it is such a belief of the Bible as maintains a living influence on the heart and life."

The Habit of Prayer.

By William T. Taylor

WHEN Hezekiah received the blasphemous letter from Rabshakeh, he knew what to do in his extremity, for he "spread it before the Lord." When Nehemiah was challenged by the Persian monarch for his sadness of countenance, and asked what his request was, he was not dismayed, for even with the king's cup in his hand, "he prayed unto the God of Heaven." When the mutinous band, at the sight of Ziklag's smouldering ruins, spake of stoning David, he was not appalled, for "he encouraged himself in the Lord his God," and said, "Bring me hither the ephod." When that "thorn in the flesh" afflicted Paul, he, too, had his resource in prayer, and "besought the Lord thrice" concerning it. And to take again the highest and holiest example, when the divine Lord himself was oppressed by that mysterious agony, which came upon him in Gethsemane, he cried, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."

Now, if we ask how it came that in these times of special emergency those great ones ran first to God, we shall find the answer in the fact that prayer had become the habit of their lives. They had always kept open the pathway to the mercy-seat; so in the hour of urgency they could find it easily, and run along it with speed. These were not exceptional instances in their histories, or, if exceptional at all, they were so not in the direction which their souls took, but only in the gravity and perplexity of the crisis. The men who never pray save when they are in peril, rarely if ever get at such times the full benefit of prayer. Their cry then resembles the shriek of a conquered enemy for quarter, and is not the entreaty of a loving son for help, and so it brings them little relief. But he who has been daily, or even more frequently, at the mercy-seat for years, and knows God as his friend, always receives grace sufficient for him, and strength according to his day.—Rev. W. T. Taylor, D. D.

The American Race-Course.

By Talmage

They say that an honest race-course is a "straight" track, and that a dishonest race-course is a "crooked" track; that is the parlance abroad; but I tell you that every race-track, surrounded by betting men and betting women, and betting costumes, is a straight track—I mean straight down! Christ asked in one of his gospels, "Is not a man better than a sheep?" I say, yes, and he is better than all the Dexters, and the Luke Blackburns, and the Hindoos, and the Glenmores, and the Old Paroles that with lathered flanks ever shot around the ridge at a race-course. That is a very poor job by which a man in order to get a horse to come out a full length ahead of some other racer, so lames his own morals that he comes out a whole length behind in the race set before him.—Talmage.

More Than Conquerors Through Christ

Though infidels, skeptics, and even those who profess to "hold up the truth as it is in Christ, trample it under their feet, it is sure to rise again in power and glory, and continue to be the hope of God's people unto the end. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and by the grace of God we can exclaim with the apostle, 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'"

Continue reading: Constantine.—IX