Earlier text: The Joy of the LordTHE BREATH OF LIFE.
By Augusta C. Bainbridge
BY AUGUSTA C. BAINBRIDGE. THIS is one of God's gifts to man, to the whole human family through Adam. Each human being born into this world, at once becomes a receiver of that gift. We read in Gen. 2:7 that God breathed into Adam, into his nostrils, the breath of life. It is God's breath. He breathed it into man. It made man live. These three facts are incontrovertible. They are continuous. The air we breathe is still God's breath for us. No human being has ever yet been able to approximate a counterfeit. No one has ever found a substitute. The mark of the Creator is upon it, and seals it His by composition, service, effect—His and His only. He is still breathing it into every mortal man. Man's organism is constructed in harmony with a continuance of this plan. Every air-cell, every blood-cell, every artery, every vein, every heart-beat, simply repeats the creative act, and God, our loving heavenly Father, is still, by His wondrous work of creation, breathing into man the breath of life. In the beginning it made man live. We read, "Man became a living soul." That creative act is still keeping men alive. That plan has not been changed. The elements of which the air is composed are still the same; and are still in harmony with man's need. They still supply that need. They still bring life to the race. The command, so to speak, "Breathe and live," is still sounding through the earth. The people of the world, the heathen in all lands, who do not know God as the Creator, think there is creative power in something else. Hence, we see them resorting to alcoholics, in numerous forms, tobacco, under many names, even drugs in pills, powders, or drops; but the Christian does not need these. The blood is the life of the physical frame; and God gave man the air, and the machinery to utilize it; in order that the blood might be kept pure and in a condition to do His will. Then, when you are tired, exhausted, do not look to any art of man's device; but thankfully, joyfully take your Father's gift. Open the door and breathe. Breathe sunny air. Breathe deeply. Breathe abundantly. There is plenty for you. It stands fifty miles high all around our earth. Inhale through your nose, the organ made and used in the beginning for that purpose. Take all your lungs will hold, retain it a few seconds, and let it escape very slowly through the mouth, and voice your thankfulness in praise, if you will. Know assuredly that life and breath are given us for service, and, as we breathe, let us praise God that His promise is given to guide us in that service, to the benefit of our fellows, and the glory of His name. ROWLAND HILL began his sermon one morning by saying: "My friends, the other day I was going down the street, and I saw a drove of pigs following a man. This excited my curiosity so much that I determined to follow. I did so; and to my great surprise, I saw them follow him to the slaughter-house. I was anxious to know how this was brought about, and I said to the man, 'My friend, how did you manage to induce those pigs to follow you here?' 'O, did you not see?' said the man. 'I had a basket of beans under my arm, and I dropped a few as I came along, and so they followed.' Yes," said the preacher, "and I thought, so it is that the devil has his basket of beans under his arm; and he drops them as he goes along; and what multitudes he induces to follow him to an everlasting slaughter-house! Yes, friends, and all your broad and crowded thoroughfares are strewn with the beans of the devil." The devil is just as busy now, with his basket of beans, as he was when Rowland Hill preached that sermon, and he is just as successful in enticing silly men and women to the slaughter-house of souls.—Unknown. A STUDY OF THE SOUL.
By William Covert
"FOR the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for the soul." Lev. 17:11. "The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." 1 Sam. 18:1. "And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him [his life was gone]. . . . And he [Elijah] said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. . . . And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord my God, I pray Thee, let this child's soul [life] come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul [life] of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child. . . . and delivered him unto his mother; and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth." 1 Kings 17:17-23. "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, tho he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?" Job 27:8. "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine." Ps. 33:18, 19. "When thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed; He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." Isa. 53:10. The life which every Christian believer has in Jesus is wholly out of the reach of man to destroy; and, for this reason, none who trust in the Saviour need to fear what man can do unto them. These enemies may take the present life through violence, as by martyrdom, but that is as far as they can go. By so doing, they have not injured the life which Christ holds in His power. In commenting on Matt. 16:26, Dr. Clarke, says, "On what authority many translate the word 'psuche' in the 25th verse 'life' and in this verse 'soul,' I know not; but am certain it means 'life' in both places." This criticism is undoubtedly true; and the same is also true of Matt. 10:28, 39. In verse 28, the word "psuche" is rendered "soul," while in verse 39, the same word is translated "life." "He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it." The thought is that the man who refuses Christ, thinking to save his present life, will lose eternal life. It is this life beyond which the enemies of Christ can not destroy. These references make it plain that the Scriptures do not teach that the soul of man is an immortal entity. Whence Comes the Doctrine?
The reader will doubtless wonder how the doctrine of the soul's immortality could ever have obtained a footing in the world if it is not taught in the Bible. But when the subject is studied, its origin seems plain enough. In Eden the doctrine was generated by Satan himself. Egypt harbored and fostered it. At a very early age it formed an6alliance with the idolatry of Babylon, and in their multiplied forms this union of darkness has sent all its offspring into the world. Herodotus says, "The Egyptians were also the first who asserted the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal, and that when the body perishes, it [the soul] enters into some other animal." Mitchell's "Ancient Geography" says: "The Egyptian priests adopted the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul, while the belief that it will continue as long as the body endures, obtained with the people; whence came the care displayed in the preservation of embalmed bodies, or mummies, and the vast expense of excavating tombs in solid rocks." (Lesson 24, p. 60, Art. Egypt.) Their idea was that the soul would be made better during the transmigration cycle, and that if the body could be preserved during the transition period of the soul, then it would cause the body to revive, and happiness would be secured. AT THE FOURTH WATCH.
By Llewellyn A. Morrison
BY LLEWELLYN A. MORRISON. "The ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea." Matt. 14:24, 25. A BARK, at midnight, on rough waves tossing;
A crew, long toiling 'gainst wind and sea;
Nor ray, nor shadow the ebon crossing
Where Stygian demons beat jubilee;
There, darkly down by the bulwarks, bending,
The weary oarsmen in silence strain,—
And still the shivering spray, descending,
Benumbs and drenches with rack and rain;
Nor star, nor promise belights the main. Avaust! Seen dimly where vision falters
Against the blackness of doom and dread,
Like spirit phantom by Lampian altars,
Drawn outward from the sepulchral dead,
A human form appeareth, faintly,
And dull eyes flash with a stony stare:
Is't fiend or seraph, in semblance saintly?
The dazed hearts cry unto God in prayer
From the sinking depths of a dark despair. Above the din of the breaking billows,
Who hush their tumult to hear the word—
Like mother's whisper by restless pillows,
O'er weary lov'd ones in slumber stirr'd,
Or like the "song in the night" which cheereth
The heart by its somnolent serenade,
A voice calls gently—yet each one heareth:—
"'Tis I, beloved, be not afraid!"
He cometh strangely with grace or aid. With awe and tremor they rise to greet Him—
The waves a pavement beneath His feet—
While one goes forth at His word to meet Him;
"'Tis Christ, the Master," their lips repeat.
And lo! around Him, in calm, approaching,
The laughing waters in ripples run,
And lave His sandals, in love's encroaching:
The storm, the darkness and toil are done—
The rest, the morning, and peace are won. UNWARRANTED INTERFERENCE.
By Christian Advocate
MANY a faithful minister has been removed from his charge by the unwarranted interference of one officious man or woman. The church prospered, the people were satisfied, but one person given to change became restless and began to whisper. The whisperer is seldom worthy of belief. He whispered that the young people desired a change, that the people were all talking about a change, that several persons had asked him if they could not have a change, that the finances were running behind, and unless they should soon get a preacher who would attract outsiders the church would be hopelessly in debt. One whisperer can make a world of trouble.—Christian Advocate. WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER.
By Fannie Birdsall
Caught 'mid some mother work,
Torn by a hunter Turk,
Just for your hat!
Plenty of mother heart yet in the world;
All the more wings to tear carefully twirled;
WOMEN want that.
O, but the shame of it,
O, but the blame of it,
Price of a hat!
Just for a jauntiness brightening the street,
This is your halo, O face so sweet,
DEATH; and for that! One London dealer in birds received a single consignment of 32,000 dead humming birds, 80,000 aquatic birds, and 800,000 pair of wings! But ladies will permit the slaughter rather than be out of fashion. WHO can read the above without commenting in plain words. The minister who has nothing to say against this wholesale slaughter to satisfy the pride of the sinful heart is sadly in need of help from God; and what can we say about those who sanction it by wearing the plumage? Hear what the Lord says, "The daughter of My people is become cruel." Lam. 4:3. Is not this true? Pride is heartless and cruel indeed. At the world's fair in Chicago a piece of lace was exhibited which belonged to an oriental queen. It was made by a woman especially for her. Afterward the proud hearted queen had the woman's right hand cut off so she could never make the same kind of lace for any other person. You think that this was heartless indeed, but think of the pangs and bloodshed of the slaughtered innocent birds, because of pride. Repent of this sin of your heart, and God will save you from the desire to follow the world's fashions, and "set your affection on things above, and not on things on the earth." How They Became Convinced
By Editor
[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the Signs of the Times has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.] I HAD been reared to doubt the inspiration of the Bible, and even to scoff at all theories of religion. But at last, by studying the Word of God for myself, I found that it proved its own inspiration. It gave the prophetic history of the world so clearly that no one could help seeing it who really wanted to. Then I found that it did not teach that there is an eternal lake of fire anywhere. I next learned of an able Saviour from sin, and a promised kingdom of heaven. Then I learned that God, through Christ, rehearsed His law on Mount Sinai; and, search as I would, I could not find any command for a first-day Sabbath. I fully believed that “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” (Ps. 19:7), and my Saviour had said that He did not come to destroy one jot or tittle of the law (Matt. 5:17, 18). That law says that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and as all things were made by Christ (John 1:3, 14; Col. 1:13-17), of course He made the Sabbath day (Gen. 2:3; Mark 2:27, 28). Praise God, it is for me to remember the wonderful power of my Creator, Redeemer, and King. THE TWO THIEVES.
By H. A. St. John
“AND with Him they crucified two thieves; the one on His right hand, and the other on His left.” Mark 15:27. And thus was fulfilled the prediction of the prophet Isaiah, “He was numbered with the transgressors.” Isa. 53:12. As an actual fact, and in a literal sense, both of these thieves were crucified with Christ. But in that spiritual sense in which the sinner is crucified with Christ, only one of them was thus crucified. The penitent thief confessed his sins before God, Christ, and the world, recognized in Christ the One who had done nothing amiss, the sinless One, the Saviour of the world, thus becoming acquainted with Him at the cross; and he then appealed to Christ to be remembered when He came into His kingdom, and received from Jesus that very day and hour the blessed assurance that he should be with Him in Paradise. Thus was the thief crucified with Christ—dying to sin by repentance and confession, and then quickened into a new life by a hearty recognition of Christ as his Saviour, and an unwavering faith in His words of answer to his petition. In this the penitent thief stands as a representative of all penitent and converted sinners. The other thief well represents that other large portion of humanity who, altho ofttimes convinced and convicted of sin, refuse to submit to the death to sin, neglect the great salvation provided, and die without hope, and hence must die the second death for their sins. Reader, to which class do you belong? SAYING GOOD-NIGHT TO MOTHER.
I WAS once spending the night in a large city. At about nine o’clock my host, a gentleman of about fifty-eight years of age, got up, went out in the hall, and put on his overcoat and rubbers. Returning to the parlor, he said:— “Excuse me, please, for just a few minutes. I am going to say good-night to mother.” His mother lived three blocks distant, and for thirty years her son had never failed to go and bid her good-night if he was at home. “No matter what the weather may be, no matter who his guests are, my husband never fails to run over to his mother’s and bid her good-night,” said the gentleman’s wife, when he had gone. “Neither he nor she could sleep, if this duty had been neglected. When his business compels him to be away from the city, he writes to her every day, if only a single line. Her mental powers are beginning to fail, and she forgets many things, so that her mind is blank on some points; but when nine o’clock comes, she always knows the hour, and says: ‘It is time for Henry to come and bid me good-night.’”—Selected. WHAT FAITH MEANS.
By Sunday-School Times
FAITH means venture. What we have learned by experience to be true is no longer a matter of faith, but of sight, of conviction, of certainty. It is not a matter of faith with us that the earth will sustain us as we walk upon it, but it may once have been such in our infancy, if we had clearness of thought sufficient to deal with that problem. When a boy has learned to swim, it ceases to be a matter of faith with him that the water will bear him up, but it was so at the outset of his learning. And as the baby trusts itself to the ground and the boy to the water, the believer trusts himself to God by an act of volition, by an act of courage, at a venture. Eliminate these elements, and you have eliminated the essentials of faith. You may have a calculating prudence left, or a doctrinal speculation, or a pious emotion, but not faith. A. J. GORDON met an old man one time going to the place of prayer. “Aged friend,” said he, “why should an old man be so merry and cheerful?” “Well, then, why should you be merry?” “Because I belong to the Lord.” “Are none others happy at your time of life?” “No, not one, my friendly questioner,” said he; and his form straightened into the stature of younger days, and something of inspiration glowed in his countenance. “Listen, please, to the truth from one who knows; then wing it ‘round the world, and no man of threescore and ten will be found to dispute it: The devil has no happy old men.”—Selected. God Fights for the Fearless
“They who are fearless for God find Him faithful to fight for them.” "BACK TO THE LAND."
By Editor
To Our Friends in Oakland and Elsewhere.
THIS issue of our paper is printed in the thriving little town of Mountain View, about thirty miles, as the crow flies, a little southeast of Oakland, tho the type was set and plates made in our old office in Oakland, where for thirty years this journal has been published. Our printing plant—the Pacific Press—has grown from a small third or fourth class book-making factory to one of the completest west of Chicago. Tho a religious house, doing a large business of its own, it has also done a large amount of custom work in various ways, and has made many friends, especially in Oakland. These friends are expressing regret at our leaving. We hear it from business men, old customers, social acquaintances; and for all these kindly expressions we are grateful. These friends and kindly wishers can not see why we should leave Oakland at all, where we are so well established, have a good property, and are in no trouble, financial or otherwise. In the light of these and other queries it may be well for us here to set forth some of the reasons for our leaving Oakland and establishing our plant in Mountain View. 1. Property in the center of a large and growing city like Oakland, in a residence district, is too valuable for factory purposes. Taxes are high, and when more room is needed, it is difficult to enlarge without great expense. In our present location we have five acres, which were donated us by the citizens of Mountain View. While we have never had any trouble with our resident neighbors, one of whom for many years' standing is now California's honored chief magistrate, we, ourselves, have felt that at the best, large manufacturing plants would, for the good of both parties, be better elsewhere. And yet we are glad that our case is not like that of the ancient king in Israel, who "departed without being desired." 2. In Oakland we were at quite a distance from the freight depots. We use large quantities of paper, generally coming in car-load lots. The expense of drayage has been great. In Mountain View we have our own switch from which paper can be loaded direct from the car into our own factory. 3. We have many children and youth among us. Some of these are employed in our work. Others are in process of early education, of which environment forms a great part. The history of past generations has demonstrated that the best place to rear growing boys and girls is not the large cities, with their strenuous life, their numerous questionable attractions, their multi-form pleasurable vices, their indifference toward things pure and sacred, their growing class of hoodlums and street gamins, their manifold temptations to lure from the path of virtue, honor, sobriety, and religion. The city breeds insincerity. Its best side is always out. Not so does nature and the country deal with man. Never does nature hide to deceive. Flower and leaf and tree, sunshine, rain, and soil, treat us honestly. They all have their defects, but the defects are not always leading to disappointment. There is more money to be made in the city generally, but there is more of real heart and soul experience, worth more than shining gold, in the country. It was Cowper, we believe, who phrased the thought, "God made the country; man made the town." Under God's sun and stars and sky, undimmed by city murk and smoke, breathing God's unpoisoned air; walking the great magnet of God's earth; listening to song of bird and hum of bee, unmarred by discord of the city's din; coming into closer touch with more distant neighbors; finding more time to cultivate the soil and thus learn more of life's primitive, essential lessons, the country offers advantages and opportunities—albeit, not so much surface "culture,"—that the city never knew. And then in the growth and beauty of springtime life and the fulness of the strength of summer,— "Why, one day in the country,
Is worth a month in town." Mountain View gives us all of the advantages of train service that a town could well ask, with many other town advantages, and yet it gives us the country, not only surrounding, but interweaving and interlacing, the town. Better, therefore, this country place for the children and youth than the city. 4. The city offers little place for tillage of the soil. The country gives opportunity for almost every family to secure a little home, cultivate a good garden, and eat of the labor of their own hands. Then, too, a day off from regular professional trade, or factory work is not lost; it may oftentimes be spent more profitably at home than in regular work. It was our desire in moving to give our employees these opportunities. 5. Labor Unions are a constant menace of disturbance in our large cities. In their struggle for the betterment of their condition against monopolistic wealth they have our sympathy. We have no objection to their organizations as such, if that is what they desire. But we can not concede to their demand that they shall control all labor irrespective of the rights and wishes of the laboring man. For among the inherent rights of humanity is the right of each man to use his time as he will, when he will, how he will, for what object he will, providing he does not infringe the equal right of his fellow man. 6. Our readers will also note this: We are a religious publishing house. Our publications, especially this journal, stand for a definite work, a message of God to this generation. Of that message of a soon-coming Saviour and the necessary preparation therefor, we need not here speak. Those who know us will concede to us honesty of opinion and conviction if they do not accept the evidence on which our convictions are based, of which evidence most are really ignorant. The giving of this message demands sacrifice. Its reception and living demands sacrifice. It is our duty, so far as we can, to assist those first who sacrifice for the Lord's sake; and, therefore, we could not place the management of our plant under the control of a non-religious union whose members have no sympathy with our work. As well might the minister of the Gospel invite a worldling to lead and teach his flock. It would be the denial of our faith to yield in this respect. We are glad to know that there are even among union men those who can see, and do see, the inconsistency of the demand, which for years has been made that this office be unionized. Consistently, they know we could not do this. But tho we have been upon the blacklist of the Typographical Union for years, it has never seriously affected us. Most of our customers, even those sympathizing with the union, knew that we could not yield control of our plant, or compromise with any outside organization, and be consistent with that Gospel we proclaim. Going out of this great center into the country, will remove us from an antagonism which we have not created. 7. Again: We believe that we are living in the last days. To us the prophecies of God's Word are distinct and clear upon this point. While there is greater profession, there is a constant increase of wickedness, lawlessness, dishonesty, irreverence, disregard of all things sacred and divine, which sooner or later in themselves will bring the twofold harvest of cumulative evil and the judgment of infinite justice, the harvest plagues of the last days, for which no many are now sowing. This sowing of lawlessness, the unconscious leaders of which are those religious teachers, professedly Christian, who are making the word and the law of God of none effect either through hoary, human tradition or vain seductive philosophy, will be more and more manifest in crime of every sort, in mob violence, in all lack of self-control. Already do we see whole communities, nominally Christian, that can not leave the execution of justice upon some supposed criminal either to the courts or to God, but take brutal, mob vengeance in their own hands. The majority of the mob know nothing of the criminal, save what they have heard, and the supposedly guilty, tho actually innocent, person has been put to death as summarily, as cruelly, as has the most guilty. We shall see more and more of this in the great centers of population—the cities—as the years rush by. Having the warning in "the more sure word of prophecy," seeing its fulfilling constantly before our eyes, we believe that it is the part of prudent men to establish our plant in some quiet country place "far from the madding crowd," where our work can be wrought for God and humanity in quiet and peace, so far as may be. "But know this, that in the last days grievous times [perilous times] shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof." 2 Tim. 3:1-5. We see all this now, even among the professed people of God. Jesus declares that the days of His coming will be as were the days of Noah. Matt. 24:37. But as in those days the earth was "filled with violence" (Gen. 6:11), so will the conditions of the last days fill the earth with violence, and so bring the grievous "perilous times." With their crude, undigested, uncontrolled masses of restless humanity, ready for any magnetic leader, evil tho he may be, the cities will lead in time and degree of violence. And again we say that, as we see these things, it behooves us to establish our center of work, if possible, in the quiet of the country. This has been another reason why we have left a city that we love, where are friends and acquaintances that we highly esteem, to establish our plant in the quiet, growing borough of Mountain View. But we shall not feel wholly separated from our friends in Oakland. A branch office will be maintained, and we shall expect to meet old friends many times in a business way as well as social. To the people in Mountain View
we would say that we wish to help them in every way and in all ways which make for the exaltation of Christ's cause and the true upbuilding of our little town and our homes. We are all very human among humans; and we wish to be human among you, in the very best sense of the over-used word. We are far from our own ideal, tho we aim to serve the perfect Master. And, therefore, with you, sowing for righteousness, building for righteousness in all that pertains to this life, we hope, with you, to reap happiness and prosperity in this life as incidents, and eternal reward in the life to come, through Christ Jesus as the object of all the truest hopes of humanity. THERE IS SOMETHING BETTER.
By Editor
REV. DR. LYMAN is quoted as saying: "I want something better for America than the Sunday of Continental Europe." Why not take "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God"? Next to Christ Himself, it is God's best and most blessed gift to the human race. It was blessed and hallowed by the Lord when given to the world. That blessing and that sanctification were never repealed by the One who only could have the right to repeal them. The institution itself was never set aside by the command of the One who only could have the right and the power to make such a change. One of the purposes of its establishment was to keep always in men's minds the memory and the love of the Maker of the "heavens and the earth." God pronounced a blessing upon those who would remember to keep it. Christ kept it. He neither changed it nor intimated that He ever intended to change it. His disciples kept it. There is no record, sacred or profane, that they ever ceased to keep it, or that they ever kept any other day. No statement of the New Testament can, by any fair or impartial interpretation, be made to teach that they kept any other day as a Sabbath, or sought to teach others to do so. We are free to admit that the world needs something better as a Sabbath than the "Continental Sunday." And we know there is something better. It is the Sabbath of Jehovah, given in Eden; given with His seal; protected by Him through all the ages; still in force as when He spoke the law concerning8it; never to be repealed. "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." Isa. 56:2. This is God's own promise to the man that honors His hallowed Sabbath day. The one who does it God will cause to "ride upon the high places of the earth," and to be fed "with the heritage of Jacob." Isa. 58:13, 14. That is better than anything which the "Continental Sunday" has to offer. There is no promise in all God's Word of a blessing with the keeping of a "Continental Sunday" or an "American Sunday," or any other kind of a pseudo-sabbath. Look it up, and find out for yourself, if you are not already sure that this is true. Man is not a source of divine blessing; so no sabbath that he can institute can carry a divine blessing with it. The speaker above referred to declares that "there is no distinction in the days," and proposes to have the Sunday preserved, "one-half for religious culture, and the other half for real rest and recuperation." Now that is a man-made arrangement, pure and simple. There is no blessing pronounced upon it by Him who alone can bless humanity with spiritual blessing. No one who has the right and power to hallow a day or a sabbath has hallowed that one. As no divine blessing has been put into it by the One who alone has authority and power to do it, it can carry no divine blessing. More than that, it is a distinct defiance to the Author of the true Sabbath; for the would-be founder of this half-and-half, Sunday sabbath has declared that there is no difference in the days. To him (and to many others) it makes no difference in the days for God Himself to declare one blessed and hallowed, and command it to be kept. But God has put a difference between the days of the week; and in the body of the law which He wrote "with His own finger" He has declared that difference. He is the same unchangeable God "yesterday, and to-day, and forever." "I am the Lord, I change not." Mal. 3:6. The difference is still there; the blessing is still there; and he who honors God in the keeping of His holy day will receive and know that blessing, and he will have something better than the "Continental Sunday." Then, why not take Him at His word, honor the day which He appointed for the Sabbath—the only one He ever did appoint—and get the blessing He has in it for you? Let us be loyal to the great King now, if we expect to dwell forever under His government by and by. NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S CHASTISEMENT.
By Editor
In our last issue we noted the failure of the "wise men" of Babylon to interpret the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, recorded in Dan. 4:10-17. This was their second failure. Some time before, they had failed in the matter of the dream of the great image, described in the second chapter of Daniel. In that instance the king had required that they tell the dream and then interpret it. But they confessed their inability to do this, and Daniel was called. Through a vision from God, he was enabled both to tell and interpret the dream. In this second instance the king told his dream to the "wise men," but even then they could not interpret it. So Daniel was called again, when the king told him the dream and asked for an interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar said:— "Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed; I saw, and, behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: and the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter the fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches. Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven; and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the lowest of men." Dan. 4:10-17. Daniel was astonished at the dream, and "his thoughts troubled him." He understood it, and, knowing that it boded great humiliation for his master, he was loathe to reveal the secret. Nebuchadnezzar had been very considerate of Daniel, and Daniel was sad of heart as he contemplated the king's severe chastisement. So he remained silent for an hour, until the king bade him speak. Nebuchadnezzar did not doubt that Daniel understood the dream, and suspected that he was hesitating to make known its import. So the king reassured Daniel by saying, "Let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee." Daniel replied in a way that manifested his deep sympathy for his master, saying, "My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies." Then he proceeded to reveal the meaning of the dream. King Nebuchadnezzar himself was the great tree which grew so strong and high, and whose branches extended over all the earth. Said Daniel:— "This is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king; that thou shalt be driven from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and thou shalt be made to eat grass as oxen, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee; till thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule." Verses 24-26. The point of it all was that the Lord would teach Nebuchadnezzar that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will." This had been the purpose of the former dream, but the king had not fully learned the lesson. So, in order to impress the lesson without the king's being obliged to undergo the terrible ordeal indicated by the dream, Daniel tendered some inspired counsel. He said, "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility" [margin, "healing of thine error"]. Verse 27. A universal truth is touched in this counsel to show mercy to the poor, as evidently it struck a prominent flaw in proud Nebuchadnezzar's character and administration. As governments grow strong, they grow wealthy, and there is always the tendency to concentrate wealth on the part of those who are shrewd enough, and sufficiently unprincipled, to gain favor of the powers that be. A wealthy government always betokens a wealthy, favored class, and a poor, general populace. The richer the government, the poorer the common people. "Showing mercy to the poor" would have materially equalized the wealth of Babylon, and this is the reason why Nebuchadnezzar could not see his way clear to heed the prophet's counsel. He continued in his wonted way, aggrandizing his wonderful capital by the oppression of the country at large. But "the Word of the Lord endureth forever," and Nebuchadnezzar could not escape its sure prediction. He was given another year's probation, and then the crash came. "At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee is it spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee." Dan. 4:29-31. Nebuchadnezzar was suddenly bereft of his reason; "he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like birds' claws." But at the end of the appointed time of his chastisement, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and that moment his reason was restored. Like the prodigal son, he "came to himself;" he accepted the chastisement he had received as a blessing (See Heb. 12:6-11), and "praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation." At last he had learned the lesson, which God had been so long and so patiently teaching him, that "the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will." Hence the noble testimony that he gives in verses 1-3 of the chapter under consideration, as also in the closing verses. Nebuchadnezzar was now a "new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17); the once proud heart was now humbled, and subdued, and ready to recognize the rulership of the God of heaven. The Most High God, who had given him his kingdom, and had held it for him during the period of his derangement, now restored it to him, and "excellent majesty" was added to him. "Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face."