Earlier text: Comfort to God's PeopleTHE statement is often made that the Sabbath was changed by the early apostles. There is not a text in all their writings that bears out the argument, if argument it may be called, since no proof is given of the statement other than the word of men. It would be strange, indeed, if in all of Luther's writings there should be not one word concerning justification by faith, one of his most prominent doctrines. What would be thought of the historian who told the story of the United States and neglected to mention Independence Day? Yet here is a record of the acts of the apostles, among them Paul, "the greatest apostle," and never a word from them concerning the change of the Sabbath. Passing strange, is it not? Let us notice some events in the experience of Paul, with his own words on the subject: In Acts 24 is the record of one time when Paul was arrested and brought before the civil authorities at the instigation of the Jews. What was their charge against him? Read verses 2 to 9. "We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews thruout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes; who moreover assayed to profane the temple." Evidently they charged him with the worst things they could imagine, but never a word as to their laws; and the charges of insurrection were so evidently unfounded that the Roman authorities would not convict Paul on the evidence. Note Paul's defense before the governor: "I cheerfully make my defense; seeing that thou canst take knowledge that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem; and neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any man or stirring up a crowd, nor in the synagogs, nor in the city. Neither can they prove to thee the things whereof they now accuse me. But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets." Again, when he was brought before Festus, he declared: "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Cæsar, have I sinned at all." Acts 25:8. In telling of this experience to the brethren in Rome, whither he had been taken for trial, Paul declared: "I, brethren, tho I had done nothing against the people, or the customs of our fathers, yet was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans." Now one of the "customs of our fathers" to which all Jews held most tenaciously was the keeping of the Sabbath. Had Paul, or any other apostle, so much as mentioned to the Jews that in accepting Christ they must keep the first day of the week in the place of the Sabbath, there would have been a storm of opposition. Without question, an uproar would have resulted, and the charge before the civil authorities would have included the attempt to change the law. Further, Paul could not have truthfully said, "I have done nothing7against the people, or the customs of our fathers." Such a statement would have brought instant and decided denial from the zealous Jews. One word more from Paul, his appeal to the believers in Rome: "If thou bearest the name of a Jew, and restest upon the law, . . . being instructed out of the law, . . . having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth; . . . thou who gloriest in the law, thru thy transgression of the law dishonorest thou God?" Rom. 2:17-23. Here is a letter written years and years after the resurrection of Christ, and the writer still stands by the law, admitting no change or revocation, but calling for obedience to the letter and the spirit; urging faith in Jesus, but ever insisting on the binding claims of the law;—"do we then make the law of none effect thru faith? God forbid; nay, we establish the law." Rom. 3:31. Paul is not alone in pointing to the law. John, in his epistle to the churches, speaks of the duty of the followers of Christ to keep the commandments: "Hereby we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments;" "whoso keepeth His word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected;" "he that doeth the will of God abideth forever;" "he that keepeth His commandments abideth in Him, and He in him;" "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments;" "this is love, that we should walk after His commandments." Possibly the most conclusive statement from John is in his first epistle, verse 6 of chapter 2: "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked." Now there is no question whatever as to how Jesus walked. His own words tell us: "I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." "I am come down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." John 5:30; 6:38. The will of the Father is expressed in His law. An inspired prayer of the Levites, recorded in Nehemiah 9, contains this statement concerning that law: "Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments." Surely "true laws" then would be true laws for all time, for God's plan of salvation and government has never changed, for "whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever." Two points determine the direction of a straight line. To the Corinthian brethren Paul wrote, "Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ." The inspired record of Christ's attitude to the law is given by the psalmist, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart." Ps. 40:8. That law emanated from God Himself, who spoke it to His people and wrote it with His own finger on the enduring stone. Thru all the ages of the world's history, men have obeyed that law in its entirety; men have kept God's Sabbath in every age. But above all others, Jesus the Son of God kept that law and honored the Sabbath. He established the direction of that law for succeeding ages, and the apostles agreed with Him in all things. As was said of old of the glory of God and His handiwork, "Their line is gone out thru all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world."
"The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart.
The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever;
The ordinances of Jehovah are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is Thy servant warned;
In keeping them there is great reward." Ps. 19:4, 7-11. In the Shadow of His Hand.
By Annie Johnson Flint
("I have covered thee in the shadow of My hand." Isa. 51: 16.) I REMEMBER the years of His hand's deep shadow—
The sun was darkened, the stars were veiled;
The glory of life was a fading flower,
And mirth was over and music failed,
But in that shadow I was safely hidden,
From wind and tempest I knew release,
And for the old, new songs were given;
My heart learned patience, my soul found peace.
—Annie Johnson Flint. Farmers and National Strength
“No nation was ever overthrown by its farmers. Chaldea and Egypt, Greece and Rome, grew rotten and ripe for destruction, not in the fields, but in the narrow lanes and crowded city streets, and in the places of their nobility.” HE has said so in His word. He has told us that there would be signs of His coming. Line after line of prophecy has He given in His word, and the very last predictions are in process of fulfilment. He told us that there would be signs of His coming in the physical, social, political, and religious worlds, and they are all before us. The creation groans for her coming King. The old earth quakes under the burden of the curse. Wild storms sweep over her surface and pestilence follows plague. In the social world the long-talked-of brotherhood of man is as far distant as ever. The rich are growing richer. Poverty is pinching the millions in lands of plenty. The gulf which separates the "classes" and the "masses" grows ever broader. Thousands of schemes are proposed and thousands are rejected by every one but their projectors. Oftentimes the poor are their own worst enemies in the combinations they form, and the intemperate and prodigal lives they live. On the other hand, with thousands of sufferers for the necessities of life under the very shadow of the mansion of the rich, the Dives of the twentieth century piles up his colossal fortunes into the hundreds of millions. It can not go on much longer. In the political world thrones are trembling in the balance; governments slumber on hidden mines of dynamite; nations are living in hourly expectation of great calamities, and their hearts are failing them for fear of the things coming on the earth. Socialism, Nihilism, and Anarchism hold the nations in dread, and uneasy rest the heads who wear the crowns. Preparations for war proceed in colossal degrees, and at the same time men are predicting peace, when there is no peace. And all are fulfilling prophecy, and saying, "Christ is coming." The Divine Resource.
By Frank B. Everitt
("Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" John 6:5.) "WHENCE buy we bread,
That these be fed?"
The Master the faith of His servant would test.
O, soul of man,
With the Divine at hand,
Why fail to discern where the power doth rest? The Master may ask
Of thee some task
Which might be the testing faith in you.
O, faltering man,
With the Divine at hand,
Why shrink from the work He calls you to do? Hungering soul may crave
For the Christ that will save,
And be lost for the lack of a life-giving word.
O, faithless man,
With the Divine at hand,
Why miss the joy of the service of God?
—Frank B. Everitt. Work is a secret of happiness. It saves the heart from being overcharged. The emotions which otherwise would lie pent up to the hurt of the life, find vent and are wrought out in activities which bless others, while they produce health and wholesomeness in him who performs them. No worse mistake can be made by one in grief than to drop life's duties and tasks out of the hands and put one's self off from the common duties and ministries of life. God's comfort is not found in this way. Joy comes not back to him who nourishes his sorrow in idle brooding; it is found only in the earnest and faithful doing of every duty. Work has saved many a life from despair in time of great grief.—Forward. The State of the Dead.
By Arthur L. Manous
1. What saith the Scripture concerning those who are asleep?
"I would not have you to be ignorant," says Paul, "concerning them which are asleep." 1 Thess. 4:13. 2. Do the dead praise the Lord?
"The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Ps. 115:17. 3. What question is asked concerning man?
"Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" Job 14:10. 4. Does man have any thoughts in death?
"His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146:4. 5. Can the dead remember anything?
"For in death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5. 6. What is death called?
"So man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:12. 7. Is there any knowledge or activity in the grave?
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Eccl. 9: 10. 8. Who only can praise the Lord?
"The grave can not praise Thee, death can not celebrate Thee: they that go down into the pit can not hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee as I do this day." Isa. 38:18, 19. 9. Do the dead know anything?
"The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything: . . . their love and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9:5, 6. 10. Has David ascended to heaven?
"Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day." "For David is not ascended into the heavens." "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Acts 2: 29, 34; Job 14: 12. The Law of the Most High.
By Editor
THE character of every government is reflected in its law, especially in its fundamental law,—in those principles by which all legislation and jurisprudence is molded and directed. In the United States it is the Constitution. All statute law is null and void if not in harmony with that great fundamental document. Any person or combination of persons who would subvert that constitution, pervert its principles, is at heart a traitor to the government. The loyalty of a subject to a government is measured by his regard for its fundamental law, the principles upon which it is founded. He may question subsidiary laws, he may not understand many things, but if he be a true subject, he is loyal to the foundation principles upon the maintenance of which rests the very existence of the government. The constitution of God's government is the Decalogue. That wonderfully comprehensive code enjoins on the positive side all righteousness, and prohibits on the negative side all sin or transgression. Says the psalmist, "All Thy commandments are righteousness." Ps. 119: 172. Declares an apostle: "All unrighteousness is sin;" and "sin," he avers, "is the transgression of the law." 1 John 5: 17; 3: 4. And this law, as clearly shown by the apostle Paul, is the Decalogue. Rom. 7: 7. All sin is therefore the transgression of God's law of Ten Commandments; and "sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1: 15. All disregard of God's ordinances, all unbelief, all hardening of the heart against the Spirit, are the results of the "enmity" of the carnal heart to the law of God. Rom. 8: 7. Therefore he who strikes against God's fundamental law is a traitor to His government. We do not mean by this the mere sinner or the ignorant transgressor; but the one who seeks to change that law, who sets it aside, who substitutes for the utterances of Jehovah the traditions of men, who pleads for no-lawism. Therefore it is that Inspiration denominates that system which deliberately seeks to place its own tradition in the place of God's law, which defends the deliberate setting aside of God's commands, "the man of sin," "the son of perdition;" not a man of sin is it called, or a sinful man, for there are many such; but it is "THE man of sin," a system of man which exalts man to the place of God as law-giver. In such a system we may look for the perversion of all truth, all ordinances, all the simplicity of the worship of God and the simple ceremonies of His church. They follow as a matter of course; but the sin is primarily against God's law, the rejection of His authority. It is utter folly to twist and turn and fritter and patter over trifles concerning which there may be honest differences of opinion. Men are made offenders for a word. The Lord's Supper should be celebrated weekly, says one; yearly, says another. You do not understand what this means, says a third, unless you pronounce s-h-i-b-b-o-l-e-t-h in my way; you are condemned; falls your head at the Jordan. All these trifles are magnified while God's law, the emblem of His authority, and the test of human, creature, loyalty to the Creator is lost sight of or trampled underfoot. One other consideration among many: When man comes into the light of the truth of God, he enters by the door of submission to God's will, God's law, God's authority. And here are the words of the Master to prove it: "If any man willeth to do His [the Father's] will, he shall know of the teaching." John 7: 17. That is the entrance of the soul into light—submission to God. Yielding to His authority, as did Jesus Christ (Ps. 40: 7, 8), all truth follows. The soul will find a Saviour from sin, a life power in righteousness, a constant growth in grace. OUR last study in Romans was in the paper of two weeks ago, and brought to view the blessed experiences of absolute freedom from condemnation, and from all the sorrows and disappointments and griefs that this life brings to us. All of this much-to-be-desired condition is obtained by submitting ourselves completely to the teaching, the power, and the life of our Lord and Saviour. The purpose and object of bringing about this perfect freedom in Christ are set forth in the next verses of the chapter as follows: "That the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: and they that are in the flesh can not please God." Rom. 8: 4-8. The verse preceding the foregoing quotation must be given in order to get the connection. It reads, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak thru the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." Rom. 8: 3. And then follow the words of verse four, quoted above, "That the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." The weakness of our flesh makes it impossible for the law to give us perfection, and hence Christ came to do for us what neither we nor the law could do. He came to free us from the bondage to the lusts of the flesh. He came to give us the power of His Spirit, and to show us how to live perfect lives thru Him. The gratification of the flesh—with its appetites, ambitions, and passions—can never bring happiness. The individual who is seeking happiness from this source is doomed to constant disappointment. The Lord knew this and hence He came to set us free from this bondage to the flesh so that the real righteousness called for in the law might be wrought within us. And the accomplishing of this great work for the sinner does bring to him perfect happiness, ness, perfect peace, and an ever-increasing joy that are simply beyond the powers of description. Any one who has tasted the joys of pardon and cleansing thru Christ knows that this is so. "They that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh." The mind is all the time dwelling on some gratification or some form of pleasure that will minister to the flesh. And ministering to the flesh is always ministering to one's self; it is selfishness pure and simple. And since those who are after the flesh "mind" the things of the flesh, it should be clear that to be set free in Christ means to have the mind emancipated from this slavery to the flesh. And to have the mind emancipated means to have it recreated; or, what is a better way of expressing it, it means to have the mind of the flesh completely taken away, and the mind of Christ given to us instead. "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Phil. 2: 5. And the same thought is expressed more strikingly by Peter: "Forasmuch then as Christ suffered in the flesh, arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that ye no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." 1 Peter 4: 1, 2. The natural, sinful man is subject to the whims of his fleshly appetites. If he has acquired the habit of drunkenness, he is held to the drink curse by his appetite. The clamors of the flesh are so strong that he can not break away from drink. It matters not how much he hates himself for being a slave to the habit, yet he is led to the cup and the bowl by his fleshly appetites in spite of himself. He will resolve not to drink any more, but his resolutions become ropes of sand before the fierce onslaughts of the demands of the flesh for indulgence. If the man is not a slave to drink, he may be a slave to tobacco, or perhaps he is gluttonous in his habits so that he is always in misery thru overeating. But it matters not what the form of fleshly gratification; so long as the flesh is allowed to control, we are9dragged into the indulgences of sin in spite of ourselves. It is to relieve men from this accursed slavery to the flesh that the Gospel of Christ has been given to every one who will receive it. And the Gospel of God, as we learned in one of the earlier chapters of Romans, "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." The Gospel itself is the power that brings complete salvation. "For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace." Death is the portion of him who keeps the mind of the flesh. The lusts and passions of the flesh are all the time sowing the seeds of death and decay. They do this by destroying the mind and so debasing the individual that he is not fit to live eternally in the land of purity and righteousness. But while the mind of the flesh produces death, thank the Lord, the mind of the Spirit brings both life and peace. "The mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: and they that are in the flesh can not please God." The mind of the flesh is enmity against God because it can not be subject to His law. Then the individual must learn to love the law of God in order to be made in harmony with the character of God. The carnality of sin and the law of God are the exact opposites. And to claim, as some do, that the law of God is abolished means simply to hurl all the believers of such a wicked theory into the very anarchy of sin and death. They that are in the flesh can not please God because they are not subject to His law. This is the plain and clear teaching of this text. And incidentally, it emphasizes the fact that the book of Romans keeps the binding claims of the law of God constantly before us. Some of the reasoning of the apostle might lead the superficial thinker to believe that the law had been abolished. And hence he fortifies the point over and over that the law is an essential factor in the plan of salvation and in the work of regeneration. The law is just as binding and just as necessary now as it ever was. It is only when we see the law of God in its true light that we learn really to enjoy and to appreciate the cleansing power and the infinite peace of the Gospel. T. "If Need Be, Stand Alone."
By Editor
RIGHT and wrong are not matters of majorities. Right is right whether it have one adherent or a thousand. It is right to stand with the right whether we stand with the mass or stand alone. It is a sad thing to see the sentiment sweeping in among the men of America that to stand for the right they must stand en masse. Just recently a number of students in a great university denounced with a deal of perfervid oratory certain actions by the faculty as wrong, and declared that the only right thing to do was to leave the school with certain suspended students; but to do this they wanted two hundred and fifty men! That is, if a quarter of a thousand men would stand for the right the individuals will stand with them; but if they could not get that number, what is the use? They did not get the number, and the eloquent orations over "rights" and "right" and "manliness," etc., are but memories of ghosts that were. Now if the course advocated for the two hundred and fifty were right, it was right for each one of the two hundred and fifty. Why were not the advocates of the plan willing to sacrifice themselves, if need be, for the principle? If they had possessed this spirit, doubtless their oratory would have had more effect. Thus far the illustration. It is the principle and the lesson of the principle we wish to place before our readers. These are days of mad activity. Principle and policy seem to be deplorably and confusedly mixed. Policy in a thousand forms is bidding for men. Astounding prices are offered for the barter of conscience. Great personalities and mighty masses of men are standing for policies which are crushing ruthlessly principles of right and equity and justice and truth. People are swayed by success, or hoped-for success, and by numbers. Great, simple, moral principles are forgotten, forgotten with the awful fact that there is a coming judgment bar before which every soul must give account, not for the men or the multitude he has followed, but for himself. We are living in the prophetic "valley of decision," packed with the teeming multitudes of earth, garish with flaunting worldly policies, tense with struggling energies of opposing forces. What shall we do? —Weigh the great questions before us not in the scales of moving multitudes or jubilant masses, not under the influences of great rulers or personalities, nor swayed by eloquent oratory or glittering generalities; but weigh the questions in the balances of God's sanctuary, and decide them in the light of His judgment. Hold to the right; do the right; live for the right, tho in it all you stand alone. Do not make a mad charge against the forces of evil, and go down in the conflict. That were foolish. God wants calm, deliberate decision, then wise, energetic action. Stand for the truth, stand for the right, tho all the hosts of earth and hell oppose. Always remember that you are not alone; Jehovah of hosts stands with all the sons of principle and right and truth and honor; and He is a majority. You may go down, but better to go down with Him than to win with the devil. On the other side of Satan's victory is death. On the thither side of Truth's seeming defeat is life forevermore. "For Men or for Things."
By Editor
THE great preachers' monthly, the Homiletic Review, in discussing the perilous social situation, asks: "Shall patriotic Americans care most for men or for things, for natural human rights or for artificial property rights, for the welfare of the many or for the privilege of the few?" It ought not to be a hard question to answer; but it will never be solved in this world. "Vested interests," if wealthy and influential enough, demand special legislation; laboring classes are demanding special legislation in behalf of their special organizations, with no regard for the rights of others; Sunday-law advocates are demanding legislation in behalf of the Sunday. Why not leave things, and legislate in behalf of the man, the individual. If his rights are protected, the equal rights of all will be. Whatever the institution of man may be, the rights of man are greater. Schedule for Week Ending May 30, 1908.
| Sun. |
May 24 |
2 Kings 13, 14 |
Psalm 141 |
|---|
| Mon. |
" 25 |
" 15, 16 |
" 142 |
| Tues. |
" 26 |
" 17, 18 |
" 143 |
| Wed. |
" 27 |
" 19, 20 |
" 144 |
| Thurs. |
" 28 |
" 21, 22 |
" 145 |
| Fri. |
" 29 |
" 23, 24 |
" 146 |
| Sab. |
" 30 |
" 25; 1 Chron. 1-3 |
" 147 |
The sad story of transgression, war, strife, defeat, captivity, conspiracy, continues with the kingdom of the ten tribes and the reigns of the following kings: Jehu (28 years); Jehoahaz (17 years); Jehoash (16 years); Jeroboam II (41 years); Zechariah (6 months); Shallum (1 month); Menahem (10 years); Pekahiah (2 years); Pekah (20 years); Hoshea (9 years). During this time the ten tribes were subject to Assyria, in the reign of Jehu; devastated and laid under tribute to Hazael, king of Syria, in the reigns of Jehoahaz and Jehoash; made tributary to Assyria by Tiglath-Pileser III, in Menahem's reign. The complete subversion of the kingdom of the ten tribes occurred in the reign of Hoshea, by Shalmaneser IV and Sargon, kings of Assyria, bringing the kingdom to an end in B.C. 721-722. Many of the people were carried into captivity, but a remnant was left in the land. At times during this period, Elisha, Hosea, Jonah, and Amos prophesied. God had His faithful little remnant during all this time of blackness, most of whom doubtless connected with the kingdom of Judah. The mixed races placed in the land by Sargon formed the Samaritans. Chapter 17. There reigned in Judah during this same period the following: Athaliah, daughter of Jezebel (7 years); Joash (40 years); Amaziah (29 years); Azariah, or Uzziah (52 years); Jotham (16 years); Ahaz (16 years); Hezekiah (29 years), in whose sixth year the conquest of Israel was completed. Joel, Isaiah, Micah, were prominent prophets in Judah. After the overthrow of Israel the following kings reigned in Judah: Hezekiah; Manasseh (55 years); Amon (2 years); Josiah (31 years); Jehoahaz (3 months); Jehoiakim (11 years); Jehoiachin (3 months); Zedekiah (11 years). Unlike the kings of Israel, all of whom were idolaters, some of the kings of Judah were godly men, and wrought great, tho not lasting, reforms. Noted among these were Hezekiah and Josiah. During the last of Judah's existence the kings were at times conquered and made tributary to Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, and finally to Babylon. After B.C. 722 Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Obadiah prophesied. What a sad, sad record is that of Israel and Judah, all because of lack of faith in God, leading to disobedience and the grossest idolatry. The books of Chronicles cover more ground than the books of Kings, and deal more exclusively with the kingdom of Judah. The name in the Septuagint means "Things Omitted in the Hebrew," "Words [or "Acts"] of Days," or "Minutes of Events." The book was written and compiled by Ezra, under the guidance of God. In the dry lists of names in our lesson this week, besides the gems of information or instruction which occasionally crop out, we are shown how carefully the records of God's people, especially those channels thru which the Promised Seed was to come, were kept.