The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, vol. 76
February 7, 1899
“The Sermon. Our God Is a Consuming Fire” 1 The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 6, p. 84.
A. T. JONES
(Concluded.)
“WHO may abide the day of his coming? Who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s FIRE.” Good. Then when I meet him now, in the consuming fire that he is, I meet him in a fire that is refining, that purifies. “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” That is separation from sin; that is purification from sin. And that sets us where we offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness: we become the servants of righteousness unto holiness, that we may meet the Lord. So, then, bless the Lord that he is a consuming fire,—that he is as a refiner’s fire. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.1
Look again at that expression in Revelation: “His eyes were as a flame of fire.” In that day his eyes will rest upon each one of us, and he will look clear through us. When his eyes are as a flame of fire, and those eyes in that great day rest upon every one of us, and look clear through us, what will that look do for every one who is wrapped up, body and soul, in sin?—It will consume the sin, and the sinner with it; because he would not be separated from the sin. And to-day, just now, those eyes are the same that they will be in that day. To-day his eyes are as a flame of fire; and “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Very good, then. As all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do, whether we will have to do with him or not, why not accept the fact, choose to have it so, and on our part open up everything to the eyes of him with whom we have to do? And having opened up the life thus to him, to the flaming fire of the glory of his shining eyes, what will that do?—Those eyes of living flame will look clear through us, and will consume away all the sin, and all the dross; and will refine us so that he shall see in us the image of himself. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.2
It is written that we are to serve the Lord “as of sincerity.” Sincere is genuine; it is true; it is as strained honey. Originally, it is honey strained, and strained again, over and over, until, holding up the honey to the light, it is found to be sine-cera,—“without wax,” no trace of cera to be seen floating in it. That is what he says you and I are to be as certainly as we are Christians. God cleanses us in the blood of Christ, and holds us up in the light of the Lord, and the world can see only the light. And so, “ye are the light of the world.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.3
Here, again, is the word of the Lord: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me.” Psalm 139:23, 24. That is the word given to us for today and for all time. Another word goes right along with it: “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, ... and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.” Another translation has it: “Thou has compassed me all around; and holdest thine hand over me.” Verses 1-5. That is a fact. He has compassed us all around, and his hand is over us. Whether we accept it or not, is another matter; but that is the fact with every man in all this wide world. That is how it is that all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.4
Then when it is a fact that he has searched us, and known us, and does search out and know us all the time, why not accept it as a fact, and have the benefit of it? Why not present to him the word, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts”? What for?—“And see if there be any wicked way in me.” O, that sets me before his face; for his glorious eyes of light to look upon me, and to shine through me, as the fire, searching out if there be any wicked way in me! And having searched it out, and being a consuming fire, he consumes it all away, and leads me in the way everlasting. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.5
So, then, the sure way to escape the flaming fire of that great day is to welcome that flaming fire this day. Therefore, I say again, Let it never escape from your thought that “our God is a consuming fire;” and that the sure way to escape from that consuming fire in that great day when there will be no chance to change, and no time to choose, is to choose to-day the blessed change that is wrought, by welcoming freely, gladly, into the life, our God, who is a consuming fire. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.6
I remember the word that was spoken to Moses. As Moses had come nearer and nearer to God, he said at last: “I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” That is exactly what appears in the coming great day that is at hand: he comes “in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” His glory covers the heavens in that day, and the earth is filled with his praise. In that day he is “wrapped in a blaze of boundless glory,” “and every eye shall see him.” But who shall endure it? That is the question; and the answer is: Only those who have prayed, and now pray, that Christian prayer, “I beseech thee, show me thy glory.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.7
When Moses prayed that blessed Christian prayer, the Lord said: “There is a place by me, ... and I will put thee in a cleft of the rock,” “and I will make all my goodness pass before thee.” “And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by,” I “will cover thee with my hand. And I will take away my hand,” and you shall see me. Exodus 33:21-23. So, though every man should dread the terror of the consuming glory of the Lord in that great day, there is to-day a place by him. So we are to bid all souls; and from him I bid you, to-day, Come, and stand in this place by him, in the very presence of the flaming glory. Do not be afraid. Moses was not able to bear the fulness of that consuming glory that day; but the Lord, in his love, covered him with his hand, and protected him from the effects of that glory, which he was unable to bear. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.8
The great trouble in that great day is that the people are not able to bear the glory. The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, the chief men and the captains, and every bondman, and every freeman flee to the rocks and mountains to hide themselves, and say to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” The blazing glory of God will shine upon the earth, and these people can not bear it. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.9
But today do not be afraid. He says: “There is a place by me;” there is a place “in a cleft of the rock,” and “I will put thee in a cleft of the rock,” and I “will cover thee with my hand,” so that you can bear the blaze, and the purifying power, of my glory. And that consuming fire of my presence shall consume away all the sin. I “will cover thee with my hand,“—I will protect you even from that weakness which, in you, makes you unable to bear the fulness of my glory. And when he takes away his hand in that great day, those who have dwelt by his side, and been purified by living in this consuming fire until they are made white and tried, can look upon his unveiled face. In the full brightness of his glory, we shall look upon him, and see him as he is. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.10
And that is where we are now, to look. With open face we can look, even now, into his face. For, in the flesh of Jesus Christ, God has veiled the annihilating power of the glory of his face; for, having shined into our hearts, he gives the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In looking into the face of Jesus Christ, we see the face of God, and “we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory, to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.11
Then let every soul welcome the glorious message that God sends to the world, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost;” welcome that blessed Spirit that works this change by which we are changed from glory to glory, and made ready to meet him in that great day of glory; and welcome not only the Holy Spirit, but covet earnestly the best gifts, which the Holy Spirit brings when he comes. Desire spiritual gifts; for these are to bring us to perfection in Christ Jesus. Only in this way shall we be made perfect in Christ Jesus; and in Christ be made ready to meet him as he is. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.12
God is a consuming fire; and I am glad of it. Our God is coming; and I am glad of it. He is coming in flaming fire; and I am glad of it. He is coming in all his glory; and I am glad of it. I am sorry that there will be anybody upon whom he will have to take vengeance; but I am glad that the day is coming when all sin will be swept away by our God, who is a consuming fire. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.13
Come, brethren. Are you ready? Are you ready to meet him in that day? If not, he says to you today, “There is a place by me.” Come to-day, and stand in this place by me. I will reveal to you all my glory; “I will make all my goodness pass before thee.” And where there is any defect in you that cannot just now bear the deeply consuming fire of this glory, I “will cover thee with my hand” until it is all over: so that I may separate you from all sin, and save you in that day of glory. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.14
O, then, welcome him who is a consuming fire! Dwell in his presence. Open up the life. Recognize the fact that he is a consuming fire—that he is never anything else. Then rejoice in that to-day. Dwell in that consuming fire to-day. And when that great day breaks upon the earth, in all his glory, we shall also rejoice in that day. Then we shall stand and say, “Lo, this is our God.” But what! with the mountains hurling through the air; every island fleeing out of its place; the earth coming up from beneath; the heavens departing as a scroll, with a noise that is more than deafening; and flaming fire all around, his face as the sun, his eyes as a flame of fire,—in all this shall we rejoice?—Yes, bless the Lord! We shall rejoice, because “this is our God.” We have seen him before; we have lived with him; we have welcomed his consuming presence; we have welcomed the living flame of which his eyes are as a flaming fire, that they should pierce us through, and search out any wicked way in us. We know what blessing and joy were brought into our lives when his consuming glory purified us from sin and from sinning, and made us the servants of righteousness unto holiness. And knowing what blessedness that was, we exclaim, in the fulness of perfect joy, “Lo, this is our God” indeed. We see him now, more fully than before. That means more blessing still. “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isaiah 25:9. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 84.15
“Editorial” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 6, p. 88.
“TO him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.1
This is the only way that anybody in this world can ever become righteous: first admit that he is ungodly; then believe that God justifies, counts righteous, the ungodly, and he is righteous with the very righteousness of God. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.2
Everybody in the world is ungodly. “Ungodly” means “unlike God.” And it is written, “All have sinned and come short of the glory [the goodness, the character] of God.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.3
Anybody, therefore, who will admit that he ever came short of being like God in anything, in that confesses that he is ungodly. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.4
But the truth is that everybody, in everything, has come short of being like God. For “they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:9-18. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.5
Then, as there is not one on earth who is not ungodly, and as God justifies the ungodly, this on God’s part makes justification—righteousness, salvation—full, free and sure to every soul on earth. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.6
And all that anybody needs to do to make it all sure to himself on his own part, is to accept it—to believe that God does justify, personally and individually, him who is ungodly. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.7
Thus, strange as it may sound to many, the only qualification, and the only preparation, for justification is for a person to acknowledge that he is ungodly. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.8
Then, having such qualification, having made such preparation, all that is required of him to obtain justification, full, free, and sure, is to believe that God justifies him, the ungodly one. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.9
It is quite easy for many to believe that they are ungodly, and even to acknowledge it; but for them to believe that God justifies them—that is too much. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.10
And the sole reason why they can not believe that God justifies them, is that they are ungodly, so ungodly. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.11
If only they could find some good in themselves, or if only they could straighten up and do better, they might have some courage to hope that God would justify them. Yes, they would justify themselves by works, and then profess to believe in justification by faith! ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.12
But that would be only to take away all ground for justification; for if a man can find good in himself, he has it already, and does not need it from anywhere else. If he can straighten up and do better of himself, he does not need any justification from anywhere else. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.13
It is, therefore, a contradiction in terms to say that I am so ungodly that I do not see how the Lord can justify me. For if I am not ungodly, I do not need to be made righteous: I am righteous. There is no half-way ground between godliness and ungodliness. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.14
But when a persons sees himself so ungodly as to find there no possible ground of hope for justification, it is just there that faith comes in; indeed, it is only there that faith can possibly come in. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.15
For faith is dependence on the word of God only. So long as there is any dependence on himself, so long as there is any conceivable ground of hope for any dependence upon anything in or about himself, there can be no faith; so long there is no place for faith, since faith is dependence on “the word only.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.16
But when every conceivable ground of hope of any dependence on anything in or about himself, is gone, and is acknowledged to be gone; when everything that can be seen is against any hope of justification, then it is that, throwing himself on the promise of God, upon the word only, hoping against hope, faith enters; and by faith he finds justification full and free, all ungodly though he be. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.17
For forever it stands written, “To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.” “Whom God hath set forth... to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.18
That is what it is to exercise faith. Are you exercising faith? For “understanding how to exercise faith: this is the science of the gospel.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.19
“Editorial Note” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 6, p. 88.
WHEN Israel had returned from Babylon, and were to re-establish the worship and the cause of God in his own chosen place in the world, everything was against them. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.1
The land had lain desolate seventy years, and from this they must find support for themselves. In addition to this there was drought in the land. And yet in addition to all this, the one thing of first importance was the building of the house of the Lord. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.2
In yet further addition to all these disadvantages, the decree of the king of Persia stood prohibiting their building the house of the Lord at all. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.3
Yet in the presence of this mountain of difficulties standing in the way, the word of the Lord came by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to all the people, to arise, and build the house of the Lord. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.4
Zerubbabel was the governor upon whom rested the responsibility of carrying on the work, and of building the house of the Lord. To look at all that was before him, it was a most unpromising, and even discouraging, prospect. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.5
But just then and there the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, was: “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.6
He was not to look at the lack of means or of facilities; he was not to look at the land overgrown with weeds, and briers, and stricken with drought; he was not to look at the decree of the Persian king,—the power,—that stood positively against any procedure whatever. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.7
It was perfectly plain that nowhere were there any visible resources. And just what the Lord wanted Zerubbabel and all the people to understand was that their real resources were not in anything earthly or visible, but only in him “who is invisible,“—and these resources made present and practicable by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.8
And when he recognized this, and put all his hope and all his dependence upon that Spirit, then the word was to this great mountain of difficulties, “Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain”? Thank the Lord for that! ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.9
When Jesus went back to heaven after his crucifixion and resurrection, he left one hundred and twenty timid and fearful disciples. With the exception of perhaps two, they were all poor. In addition to this, they were despised, jeered at, and cast out. All the authority of their own nation and all the power of Rome—the power of the whole world—were against him. And yet in these circumstances, in the presence of this great mountain, again the tabernacle of David, which was fallen down, must be built again from the ruins, and must be set up. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.10
And to these was the word, also, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” He, departing, told them to tarry at Jerusalem and pray, not for wealth, not for numbers, not for influence, not for the favor or recognition of authority or government, but for “power from on high”—for the power of the Spirit of the Lord of hosts. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.11
They did wait, and they did pray; and that Spirit came. And again the great mountain became a plain; and the worship and cause of God were established in the earth. Thank the Lord for that. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.12
And now, again, the house of God lies desolate, and the tabernacle of David is fallen down, and must be built up from the ruins, and must be “established upon an eternal basis.” Again there is a mountain of difficulties in the way; and again his people are bidden to pray, not for wealth, not for numbers, not for influence, not for the favor or recognition of authority or government, but for power from on high—for the power of the Spirit of the Lord of hosts. And when this is recognized and received as the only hope, the only dependence, again every mountain will become a plain. Thank the Lord for that. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.13
“Ask, and it shall be given you.” “For every one that asketh receiveth.” “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” “Be filled with” “the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.14
“Editorial Notes” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 6, pp. 88, 89.
WHEN Belshazzar had filled up his cup of iniquity, and the hand-writing had appeared on the wall, telling him that he had been weighed in the balances and found wanting, he was cited to the experience of his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. This was all rehearsed, and then came these words: “And thou his son [grandson], O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this.” How did he know it? Not from word of mouth; for his grandfather died long before he was born. He knew it just as we may know it, and every other experience that the Bible records. But was Belshazzar excused because he did not heed the light that had been given?—No more than was he who, in the Saviour’s parable, entered into the wedding chamber without having on the wedding garment. Like, him, also, Belshazzar was “speechless.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.1
And the people to-day have a knowledge of these very things that Belshazzar knew, and in the same way. if the people disregard them, as did Belshazzar, and heed not the warnings, they, like him, “are now being weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and pronounced wanting;” for the very truths that were a test for Belshazzar are also a test now, not only for the world, but especially for Seventh-day Adventists and their children. It is for this reason that judgment begins at the house of God. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 88.2
“That Abominable ‘Food’” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 6, pp. 89, 90.
IN The Review and Herald, May 17, 1898, in an article on temperance, we printed from the “Encyclopedia Britannica” the following: “From tea to hashish we have, through hops, alcohol, tobacco, and opium, a sort of graduated scale of intoxicants, which stimulate in small doses, and narcotize in larger. The physiological action of all these agents gradually shades into each other, all producing, or being capable of producing, consecutive paralysis of the various parts of the nervous system.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.1
In articles the following two weeks, we gave extracts from the same authority, showing that coffee also belongs in this list; and that cocoa, though having food elements, yet has in it the identical elements referred to in the scale of intoxicants from tea to hashish. Then in The Review and Herald, June 14, 1898, we gave an extract from the same authority, showing that flesh-meat has in it also properties that belong in this graduated scale of intoxicants. By these evidences, and for this cause, we showed that the eating of flesh-meats is a species of intemperance; and that those who would be strictly temperate—that is, those who would practise Christian temperance—can no more use flesh-meats than they can use tea, coffee, or tobacco. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.2
In the REVIEW of November 29 we quoted, from the New York Tribune, a statement of Prof. H. W. Wiley, of the Chemistry Division of the Department of Agriculture, at Washington, that “meats should never be eaten until they have ripened like game, and this process is calculated to consume about three weeks.” And what this ripening is was illustrated by saying that “a chicken should be hung out of a window, head down, until its head falls off, when it is ripe for eating.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.3
Last week we quoted, from the testimony presented to the Army Investigation Commission, that “the large wholesalers who supplied the best hotels in Chicago ‘aged’ all their beef before selling it, and got an advanced price for it after it accumulated the beard;” that “the meat was better in every respect after being ‘aged;’” and that “meat was at its best after three weeks,” and would “remain at its best for perhaps ten days longer.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.4
We there stated that the “beard” that accumulates on meat when it has become “aged” is a long fungus growth, like barley beard, that shoots out of beef as it decays. Since that article was printed, Major W. H. Daly, chief surgeon with General Miles in his campaign in Porto Rico, testifies before the commission, and gave the following testimony as to this “beard” that is grown by the “best meat:“— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.5
The “beard” referred to in this investigation, he said, could only grow upon meat containing putrescent germs. Many persons preferred to eat game slightly decomposed, or “high;” but such persons almost invariably drank wine or other spirits afterward. Such spirits, the doctor said, would kill any germs contained in the meat. It was another question, however, when it came to feeding soldiers on meat in such a condition. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.6
Of course it is a query with anybody who thinks soberly how people can eat so much rotten meat,—that is, so much poison,—and survive it. But Dr. Daly’s testimony explains it. The poison of the meat is counteracted by the greater poison of strong drink. This works on the same principle that operates with whisky and the rattlesnake-bite. The snake-bite is poison; but by large use of whisky or other strong drink, the poison of the snake-bite can be so counteracted that the victim will recover. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.7
It may be a query with some, how people can get into the habit of eating such meat as is described in these quotations. They get into this habit in precisely the same way that they get into the habit of using tobacco, strong drink, opium, tea, coffee, or other such poisonous things; that is, by using meat. Any one of these things, if used, demands the use of more, because each contains stimulants and narcotics; and the effect of using any of these is to increase the demand for itself,—and not only to increase the demand for itself, but to lead on, and gradually shade into, the next stronger one. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.8
Now this stimulating property being in meat, even at its best, and meat being used, the effect of this property in it is to increase the demand for itself; and as the more rotten a piece of meat is, the more of this property there is in it, so the users of meat are drawn by this increasing appetite into the using of meat which has the most of that property in it, and finally they get to the point described in our quotations. And then, when the use of meat has brought them to that point,—the point beyond which, by meat, they can not go, but beyond which their appetite demands that they shall go,—the only thing which will satisfy, and the logical thing, too, is strong drink. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.9
In our article of November 29 we said that the general practise throughout the whole country is to keep meat at least two weeks after being killed before it is laid on the block to be retailed. But the quotation from an expert last week says that it is “at its best after three weeks.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.10
All these turns which we have so far mentioned are taken with meat after the animal is killed, and all are simply means of catering to the depraved appetites of those who consume the meat. But strange as it may seem, these tricks are now actually being carried back to the very feeding of the animal to prepare him for the market, where he shall be killed, cut up, and eaten by those who must have the “high” and mighty meats to eat. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.11
Under the heading, “The Meat People Eat,” the Chicago Tribune of Jan. 23, 1899, gives this information, with other pointed comment upon the testimony produced before the War Commission of Investigation:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.12
The kind of meat that is in demand in the market in various parts of the country was discussed, incidentally, during the investigation by the war committee, of the beef contracts. For New York a heavier grade of beef is required, according to the testimony of an expert; Baltimore wants a lighter and cheaper grade; while Boston calls for the best that can be obtained. Chicago hotels pay a high price for refrigerator meat, which has been kept long enough to “ripen,” until a fungus growth, or “beard,” appears upon it. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.13
Nowadays the butcher buys his meat as the dry-goods merchant buys cloth—according to grade. Some butchers have no use for the higher and better grades. Others will have nothing else. This demand has led to a great deal of experimenting in the raising of stock. Every cattle-grower has his own ideas and theories of feeding, the starting-point in each theory being the question of cost and the ultimate result. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.14
A few years ago the farmer or stockman used corn almost altogether. Not so now. He adds bran, or the meal of cottonseed or flaxseed, these supplying the protein necessary to supplement the corn, to produce the best results. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.15
An interesting investigation is being made by the agricultural chemists of the Kansas Experiment Station to improve the feeding qualities of corn. It is thought that by hybridization its fattening qualities may be increased. It is believed that this would add millions of dollars annually to the value of the corn crop. If the various essentials could be combined into the one plant, it would be a marvelous achievement. Its utility, however, is open to question; for some stockmen assert that a variety and occasional change of diet are necessary to keep the animal in good condition. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.16
Some folks thought we were extravagant in that article November 29, which we printed under the heading, “Thou Shalt not Eat Any Abominable Thing,” when at the time we were stating sober, though very ghastly, truth. And that we were stating only truth is now completely demonstrated by all this evidence that is being produced before the war commission. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.17
How much longer can it be that there can be found people professing to be preparing to meet the Lord, whom, without holiness, no man shall see; who are to be sanctified wholly, body, soul, and spirit; and yet who, at the same time, will insist that “it is all right to eat meat”? ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.18
It is perfectly safe to say that of those who to-day eat flesh, there is not one in a hundred who ever eats any flesh—even of cattle or sheep—but such as is prohibited by the Bible. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 89.19
“Who Will Stand by the Declaration of Independence?” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 76, 6, pp. 91. 92.
THE New York Tribune of Jan. 9, 1898, sets forth the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, as follows:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.1
It is a favorite notion now to quote the words, “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” as if these embodied a law of application to all inhabitants alike. But of the men who signed the Declaration, there were many who held slaves, and these slaves were governed without their consent.... It was never the intention to assert that the negroes or the savage race must give consent before just government should be established over them.... ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.2
The Declaration of Independence was a formal notice that the inhabitants of the colonies consented no longer to British rule. It declared their right to withdraw consent when government became subversive of their rights, and openly appealed to the god of battles. The consent of the governed was then withdrawn in the colonies, and from that time it was held that Great Britain had no longer just right to govern here. That is precisely the meaning of the language. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.3
The New York Sun says this:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.4
The Declaration of Independent was made to suit a particular existing condition of things.... The proposition [that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed] was generally, but the application was to a particular situation. Obviously, Thomas Jefferson, the framer of the Declaration, did not intend to apply it to all people; for the social and political conditions would have made such an application absurd. The consent of the Indians as to their government had not been asked them, nor has it been asked at any time since then. The consent of the people shut out from the franchise by a property qualification long existing subsequently, was not asked. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.5
The Declaration meant simply that the colonies had become tired of the British domination, deeming it oppressive, and intended to set up a government of their own by the right of revolution. They were not laying down a principle for anybody except themselves; and they had no conception of the “consent of the governed” as it is proclaimed by Mr. Bryan and the generally hypocritical gang who are sympathizing with him in the hope of cheating us out of our rightful conquests. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.6
The same day that this was said by the Sun, the New York Journal said:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.7
What our anti-expansionists mean when they speak of liberty is something quite different [from liberty under the American flag]. They mean power. They mean that unless the Filipinos have unchecked authority to run their government as they please, even if they run it to smash, they are not free. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.8
And in the Congressional Record of Dec. 19, 1898, page 330, occurs the following passage in the speech of Senator Platt, of Connecticut:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.9
Mr. Hoar.—“May I ask the senator from Connecticut a question?” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.10
Mr. Platt, of Connecticut.—“Certainly.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.11
Mr. Hoar.—“It is whether, in his opinion, governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed?” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.12
Mr. Platt, of Connecticut.—“From the consent of some of the governed.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.13
Mr. Hoar.—“From the consent of some of the governed”? ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.14
Mr. Platt, of Connecticut.—“Yes.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.15
All this shows that such views are now quite popular. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.16
These identical arguments, in substance and almost in words, were made just forty years ago. And they were as popular then as they are now. These arguments then were sanctioned even by the great authority of the Supreme Court of the United States. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.17
Forty years ago, also, these arguments were thoroughly answered. The answer was made by Abraham Lincoln, and is good for all time. It is well that the people can have Abraham Lincoln’s answer to these denials of the Declaration of Independence that are made to-day. And especially is this so just now, since, on February 12, Lincoln’s birthday, Abraham Lincoln will be honored, in speeches and celebration, over all this land. In view of that, we here present, even at considerable length, Abraham Lincoln’s answer to the imperialists’ denial of the vital principles of the Declaration of Independence,—their repudiation of the principles of republican government. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.18
Directly, and at the time, Lincoln was replying to United States Senator Stephen A. Douglas. Now, read “Imperialists” for “Judge Douglas;” and his speech is a direct reply also to these. All this is the working of the subtle spirit which, in fulfilment of the Testimony, will yet lead this nation to “repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government.” And it is all in illustration of the United States in prophecy in the book of Daniel. Abraham Lincoln spoke as follows:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.19
I think the authors of that noble instrument [the Declaration of Independence] intended to include all men; but they did not intend to declare all men equal in all respects. They did not mean to say all were equal in color, size, intellect, moral developments, or social capacity. They defined, with tolerable distinctness, in what respects they did consider all men created equal,—equal with “certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This they said, and this they meant. They did not mean to assert the obvious untruth, that all were then actually enjoying that equality, nor yet that they were about to confer it immediately upon them. In fact, they had no power to confer such a boon. They meant simply to declare the right, so that the enforcement of it might follow as fast as circumstances should permit. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.20
They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all, and revered by all; constantly looked to; constantly labored for; and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated; and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of all colors everywhere. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.21
The assertion that “all men are created equal,” was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain; and it was palced in the Declaration of Independence, not for that, but for future use. Its authors meant it to be, as thank God, it is now proving itself, a stumbling-block to all those who, in after-ties, might seek to turn a free people back into the hateful paths of despotism. They knew the proneness of prosperity to breed tyrants; and they meant when such should reappear in this fair land, and commence their vocation, they should find left for them at least one hard nut to crack. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 91.22
I have now briefly expressed my view of the meaning and object of that part of the Declaration of Independence which declares that “all men are created equal.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.1
SENATOR DOUGLAS’S VIEW
Now let us hear Judge Douglas’s view of the same subject, as I find it in the printed report of his late speech. Here it is:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.2
“No man can vindicate the character, motives, and conduct of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, except upon the hypothesis that they referred to the white race alone, and not to the African, when they declared all men to have been created equal,—that they were speaking of British subjects on this continent being equal to British subjects born and residing in Great Britain—that they were entitled to the same unalienable rights, and among them were enumerated life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration was adopted for the purpose of justifying the colonists in the eyes of the civilized world in withdrawing their allegiance from the British crown, and dissolving their connection with the mother country.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.3
My good friends, read that carefully over, some leisure hour, and ponder well upon it. see what a mere wreck, mangled ruin, it makes of our once glorious Declaration. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.4
“They were speaking of British subjects on this continent being equal to British subjects born and residing in Great Britain”! Why, according to this not only negroes, but white people outside of Great Britain and America, were not spoken of in that instrument. The English, Irish, and Scotch, along with white Americans, were included, to be sure; but the French, Germans, and other white people of the world are all gone to plot along with the judge’s inferior races. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.5
I had thought the Declaration promised something better than the condition of British subjects; but no, it only meant that we should be equal to them in their own oppressed and unequaled condition! According to that, it gave no promise that, having kicked off the king and lords of Great Britain, we should not at once be saddled with a king and lords of our own in these United States. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.6
I had thought the Declaration contemplated the progressive improvement in the condition of all men everywhere; but no, it merely “was adopted for the purpose of justifying the colonists in the eyes of the civilized world in withdrawing their allegiance from the British crown, and dissolving their connection with the mother country.” Why, that object having been effected some eighty years ago, the Declaration is of no practical use now—mere rubbish—old wadding, left to rot on the battle-field after the victory is won. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.7
THE FOURTH OF JULY
I understand you are preparing to celebrate the “Fourth” to-morrow week. What for? The doings of that day had no reference to the present; and quite half of you are not even descendants of those who were referred to at that day. But I suppose you will celebrate, and will even go so far as to read the Declaration. Suppose, after you read it once in the old-fashioned way, you read it once more with Judge Douglas’s version. It will then run thus: “We hold these truths to be self-evidence: that all British subjects who were on this continent eighty-one years ago, were created equal to all British subjects born and then residing in Great Britain.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.8
And now I appeal to all,—to Democrats as well as others,—are you really willing that the Declaration shall thus be frittered away,—thus left no more at most than an interesting memorial of the dead past,—thus shorn of its vitality and practical value, and left without the germ, or even the suggestion, of the individual rights of men in it? ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.9
These Fourth of July gatherings, I suppose, have their uses. If you will indulge me, I will state that I suppose to be some of them. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.10
We are now a mighty nation; we are thirty, or about thirty [now (1899) about eighty] millions of people, and we own and inhabit about one-fifteenth part of the dry land of the whole earth. We run our part of the dry land of the whole earth. We run our memory back over the pages of history for about eighty-two [a hundred and twenty-three] years, and we discover that we were then a very small people in point of numbers, vastly inferior to what we are now, with a vastly less extent of country, with vastly less of everything we deem desirable among men; we look upon the change as exceedingly advantageous to us and to our posterity, and we fix upon something that happened away back, as in some way or other being connected with this rise of prosperity. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.11
We find a race of men living in that day whom we claim as our fathers and grandfathers; they were iron men; they fought for the principle that they were contending for; and we understood that by what they then did, it has followed that the degree of prosperity which we now enjoy has come to us. We hold this annual celebration to remind ourselves of all the good done in this process of time, of how it was done, and who did it, and how we are historically connected with it; and we go from these meetings in better honor with ourselves; we feel more attached the one to the other, and more firmly bound to the country we inhabit. In every way we are better men in the age and race and country in which we live, for these celebrations. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.12
THE ELECTRIC CORD OF LIBERTY
But after we have done all this, we have not yet reached the whole. There is something else connected with it. We have—besides these men descended by blood from our ancestors—among us, perhaps half our people, who are not descendants at all of these men; they are men who have come from Europe—,German, Irish, French, and Scandinavian,—men that have come from Europe themselves, or whose ancestors have come hither and settled here,—finding themselves our equals in all things. If they look back through this history to trace their connection with those days by blood, they find they have none; they can not carry themselves back into that glorious epoch, and make themselves feel that they are part of us: but when they look through that old Declaration of Independence, they find that those old men say that “we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal;” and then they feel that that moral sentiment, taught in that day, evidences their relation to those men, that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh, of the men who wrote that Declaration [loud and long-continued applause]; and so they are. That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together; that will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world. [Applause.] ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.13
A GOVERNMENT OF SOME OTHER FORM
Now, sirs, for the purpose of squaring things with this idea... that the Declaration of Independence did not mean anything at all, we have Judge Douglas giving his exposition of what the Declaration of Independence means, and we have him saying that the people of America are equal to the people of England. According to his constructions, you Germans are not connected with it. Now, I ask you in all soberness, if all these things, if indulged in, if ratified, if confirmed and indorsed, if taught to our children and repeated to them, do not tend to rub out the sentiment of liberty in the country, and to transform this government into a government of some other form. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.14
THE ARGUMENTS OF KINGCRAFT
Those arguments that are made, that the inferior race are to be treated with as much allowance as they are capable of enjoying; that as much is to be done for them as their condition will allow,—what are these arguments? They are the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments in favor of kingcraft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden. That is their argument; and this argument of the judge is the same old serpent that says, You work, and I eat; you toil, and I will enjoy the fruits of it. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.15
Then it is whatever way you will, whether it comes from the mouth of a king as an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent; and I hold, if that course of argumentation that is made for the purpose of convincing the public mind that we should not care about this, should be granted, it does not stop with the negro. I should like to know if, taking this old Declaration of Independence, which declares that all men are equal upon principle, and making exceptions to it, where will it stop? If one man says it does not mean a negro, why not another say it does not mean some other man? If that Declaration is not the truth, let us get the statute-book, in which we find it, and tear it out! Who is so bold as to do it? If it is not true, let us tear it out! [Cries of “No, no.”] Let us stick to it, then; let us stand firmly by it, then. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.16
It may be argued that there are certain conditions that make necessities, and impose them upon us; and to the extent that a necessity is imposed upon a man, he must submit to it. I think that was the condition in which we found ourselves when we established this government. We had slavery among us; we could not get our Constitution unless we permitted them to remain in slavery; we could not secure the good we did secure if we grasped for more; and having by necessity submitted to that much, it does not destroy the principle that is the charter of our liberties. Let that charter stand as our standard. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.17
My friend has said to me that I am a poor hand to quote Scripture. I will try it again, however. It is said in one of the admonitions of our Lord. “As your Father in heaven is perfect, be ye also perfect.” The Saviour, I suppose, did not expect that any human creature could be perfect as the Father in heaven; but he said, “As your Father in heaven is perfect, be ye also perfect.” He set that up as a standard; and he who did most toward reaching that standard, attained the highest degree of moral perfection. So I say, in relation to the principle that all men are created equal. Let it be as nearly reached as we can. If we can not give freedom to every creature, let us do nothing that will impose slavery upon any other creature. Let us then turn this government back into the channel in which the framers of the Constitution originally placed it. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.18
I adhere to the Declaration of Independence. If Judge Douglas and his friends are not willing to stand by it, let them come up and amend it. Let them make it read that all men are created equal except negroes [or Filipinos]. Let us have it decided whether the Declaration of Independence, in this blessed year of 1858 [and 1899] shall be thus amended. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.19
In his construction of the Declaration last year, he said it only meant that Americans in America were equal to Englishmen in England. Then, when I pointed out to him that by that rule he excludes the Germans, the Irish, the Portuguese, and all the other people who have come among us since the Revolution, he reconstructs her construction. In his last speech he tells us it meant Europeans. I press him a little further, and ask him if it meant to include the Russians in Asia; or does he mean to exclude that vast population from the principles of our Declaration of Independence? ... Who shall say, I am the superior, and you are the inferior? ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.20
THE RIGHT OF SELF-GOVERNMENT
I trust I understand and truly estimate the right of self-government. My faith in the proposition that each man should do precisely as he pleases with all which is exclusively his own, lies at the foundation of the sense of justice there is in me. I extend the principle to communities of men, as well as to individuals. I so extend it because it is politically wise as well as naturally just,—politically wise in saving us from broils about matters which do not concern us. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.21
The doctrine of self-government is right—absolutely and eternally right.... If the negro [or the Filipino, or the Cuban] is a man, is it not to that extent a total destruction of self-government to say that he, too, shall not govern himself? When the white man governs himself, that is self-govern- ment; but when he governs himself, and also another man, that is more than self-government,—that is despotism. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 92.22
No man is good enough to govern another man WITHOUT THAT OTHERS’S CONSENT. I say this is the leading principle, the sheet-anchor, of American Republicanism. Our Declaration of Independence says:— ARSH February 7, 1899, page 93.1
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, DERIVING THEIR JUST POWERS FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED.” ARSH February 7, 1899, page 93.2
THE “ANCIENT FAITH”
I have quoted so much at this time, merely to show that according to our ancient faith, the just powers of governments are derived from the consent of the governed.... Allow all the governed an equal voice in the government; and that, and that only, is self-government. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 93.3
Is there no danger to liberty itself, in discarding the earliest practise, and first precept, of our ancient faith? In our greedy chase to make profit of the negro [and now, 1899, of the Filipino] let us beware lest we “cancel and tear to pieces” even the white man’s charter of freedom. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 93.4
Our Republican robe is soiled, and trailed in the dust. Let us repurify it. Let us turn and wash it white, in the spirit, if not in the blood, of the Revolution.... Let us readopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it the practises and policy which harmonize with it. Let North and South—let all Americans—let all lovers of liberty everywhere—join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it as to make, and to keep, it forever worthy of the saving. We shall have so saved it that the succeeding millions of free, happy people, the world over, shall rise up and call us blessed, to the latest generations. ARSH February 7, 1899, page 93.5