The Present Truth, vol. 12

February 6, 1896

“Front Page” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

“I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts 9:16. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.1

That was what the Lord said of Saul of Tarsus, when He sent Ananias to baptize him. But that was the secret of Paul’s boldness to preach the truth in the face of threatened death. He entered the work expecting hardship, and he was not taken by surprise when it came. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.2

After he had been years in the work, Paul said: “The Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:23, 24. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.3

The trouble with the most of those who hear the Gospel is that they want an easy time. They have been educated to believe that the duty of Government is “to make it as easy as possible to do right, and as difficult as possible to do wrong.” Professed ministers of the Gospel have appealed to the State to remove the difficulties in the way of the Gospel, until people have come to think that the Lord doesn't expect them to take any step in His service that will involve serious inconvenience or loss of position. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.4

This is why so many people hesitate about keeping the Sabbath of the Lord. It is not popular, Government does not favour it, and they fear the reproach or possible loss of position that may follow. We often hear the statement, “I would keep the Sabbath, if everybody else did.” Well, that does not require much courage. He who says that he would do right if everybody else did right really says that he will do wrong as long as anybody else does wrong. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.5

Now the Lord does not deceive people. He does not seek to induce them to serve Him by false representation, or by concealing any fact. He tells us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” John 16:33. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12. He does not set before men the prospect that they will have an easy time in His service, but in His invitation to them shows them how great things they must suffer for His name’s sake. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.6

Is it not a risky thing to set forth the difficulties so plainly?-Certainly not; for difficulties will not affright those who have “respect unto the recompense of the reward,” which is the Lord Himself. Moses cast his lot with the people of God, in the face of fierce opposition, and the certain loss of all worldly honour and position, “esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” Hebrews 11:26. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.7

And why?-Because God “comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:4, 5. Therefore, says the apostle, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” He gloried in infirmities, because then the power of Christ rested on him. 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.8

Shall we then wish that the way were easier, and that we could assure the people of a good situation and plenty of admiring friends if they will only accept Christ and His truth?-Not by any means. We will rather rejoice that this Gospel of the grace of God is so wonderful and glorious in its power that it can irresistibly attract people even by the presentation of the cross. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.9

“Look Forward, Not Backward” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

“Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13, 14. Looking forward, and not backward, is the only way to advance. “Forgetting those things which are behind.” What things?-Everything that is behind. There is no exception. Is it a record of sin? Then forget it. God has said that He will forget it; why then should we try to remember it. From evil only evil can come. We can get no more good from looking at our own sins than we can from looking at those of others. Association with our own evil past will as surely work harm to us as association with some other person’s evil present. When God says that He puts our sins away, let us not waste time wondering if He has really done it, speculating as to where He has put them. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 81.10

But what about “the good things that we have done it”? Forget them, by all means. Nothing is more deadly than to dwell upon them. If they were the good things that we have done, then we may know that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags,” and are to be shunned as evil. If they were really good deeds which God wrought in us, thank Him for it, and look forward to the “much more” which lies beyond. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.1

Very dangerous it is also to be looking backward to the place where the light of truth first shone upon us. That is the great trouble with the mass of professed Christians to-day. They look back to the time when they were first converted, fearful lest they should lose just that phase of it that appeared to them then. Consequently they do not make any advancement. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.2

We need not disparage either the truth, or the measure of it, which we first received; nevertheless we are to look forward, and not backward. We need not be afraid of losing anything of real truth that we ever had, if we look forward to those things which are before; for it is only more light and truth that we shall find ahead, and truth is one. The fact is, truth is always ahead of us. That truth which we first saw was not the whole of some truth, but only a glimpse of the great truth in the distance. If we look ahead, and steadfastly press forward, we shall see that same truth only in a larger measure, and much more clearly. Looking backward is simply to turn our backs on the truth, to gaze at a shadow. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.3

He who looks backward is sure to go backward; for a man cannot walk in one direction while continually looking in another. And God’s word to His people is, “Go forward!” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.4

“Making Nominal Christians” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

A Japanese missionary, discussing the influence of missions in that country, says that the recent war with China has been the occasion of great changes in the general sentiment. Anxious to show that in their idea following the Lord does not in any wise hinder men from fighting and killing their neighbours, the natives themselves in the field, and the old dislike to “Christianity” has so “broken down the whole army has been thrown open to Christian influences.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.5

The missionary hopes that the Educational Department will be influenced to take the same course, in which case he sees a rosy future before Japan. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.6

It would not then be impossible that Christianity might take on the form called political, in which the upper classes would profess it and thus hasten the day when Japan would become nominally a Christian nation. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.7

It is plain that the same danger that is before the churches in professedly Christian nations is before missionaries in these great heathen lands which are coming under Western influences. It is the temptation to make Christians in some easier way than by the preaching of the Cross. The missionaries who first went to these lands had no arm of flesh to rely upon, and in the face of the keenest opposition of the powers that be they proved the higher power of the Cross of Christ. As the primitive church endured the opposition of the Roman world and grew stronger under it, but fell before the friendship of that world, so now in these older mission fields a greater danger confronts the Gospel than the hostility of earthly powers. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.8

This growing dependence on political influence for doing a religious work is a sign of the times. It is at the root of the Sunday-law movement and all the religio-political controversies continually agitating churches and legislative bodies. It is a sign of a weakening hold on Gospel principles here, as it is in Japan. Indeed, the missionary whom we quote says that the life of the Japanese churches is not seen in large additions, “nor in any special activity in creating a Christian literature.” They “are suffering from the same world-causes that affect church attendance in our own land.” This explains the readiness with which an easier way of making nominal professors is welcomed. It is one of the dreams of the last days that all the world is to be Christianised. The prophet predicted this in the words:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.9

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go out and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.” Isaiah 2:2, 3. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.10

The “many people” make fair professions,-they will walk in the Lord’s ways, and beat their swords into ploughshares, and learn war no more. But while the nominal profession is made, and they say one to another, “Come ye, and do these things,” we know from the Word that none of them will take the Lord’s way, nor give up swords and spears, however much they may cry peace. The actual practice will be directly contrary to the profession, and, as Joel says, the ploughshares will be turned into swords, until the coming of the Lord brings His wrath upon the angry nations. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.11

When it is shown that the warning messages of Revelation 14 are directed against the principles of the Papacy, it is sometimes asked how that can be when these great Eastern nations are professedly non-Christian. Really, the principles of the Papacy are but borrowed from the Oriental religions, and there is a striking similarity in doctrines and practices. But aside from this, every year sees these countries brought nearer the formal recognition of nominal Christianity. The studies on the growth of the Papacy, now appearing in these columns, have shown how naturally nominal Christianity fused with pagan philosophy to make the papal religion. Now we see a like movement, by which Christianity is toned down to a mere philosophy, and it is considered a mark of breadth of view to be able to recognise points of contact between Christianity and the Oriental religions. A Sunday law passed in Korea at once leads religious journals to the conclusion that Korea is nearly a Christian country. Thus European Governments are made nominally Christian, and it is perhaps not unreasonably supposed that the nations of the East will yet follow in the same way. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.12

But it will still be the work of the missionary with Christ’s message to teach that no nominal profession can save from unrighteousness. All the Governments may unite to make it easy for the people to be nominal Christians, but only in the preaching of the Cross, with its denial of self and its crucifixion unto the world, will be found the power that actually saves from sin. And the world will always make it as difficult as possible to be this kind of Christian. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.13

“Religion does not consist in occasionally doing religious things. It consists rather in doing everything religiously.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 82.14

“Christ the Liberator” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

“And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was about together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from the thine infirmity. And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” Luke 13:10-13. In the verses following we find the statement made by Christ, that the woman had been bound all those years by Satan. Christ loosing her, was therefore a direct evidence of His power over Satan. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 84.1

In this miracle we have an illustration of the loosing of men from the bondage of sin. Sin binds its victims. “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” Proverbs 5:22. “Everyone that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin.” John 8:34. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4); therefore the bondage is that of a law-breaker. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 84.2

So the poor woman with the spirit of infirmity accurately illustrates the condition of the sinner. She was bound down; so is the sinner. She was bowed together so that she could not lift herself up. She was obliged to go looking down toward the earth. So the Psalmist, describing his sinful condition, says, “Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up.” Psalm 40:12. The woman would fain have walked upright, but she could in no wise lift up herself. So the sinner would often gladly do that which is right, but he is not able. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 84.3

Nevertheless the sinner’s case is not hopeless. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” This being the case, we may come “boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15, 16. Christ said that this scripture applies to Him, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Luke 4:18. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 84.4

To the woman that was bound Christ said, “Thou art loosed from thine infirmity.” So it is with His word that He loses men from the bondage of sin. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which had believed Him, If ye abide in My word, then are ye truly My disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32. The Jews boasted that they were not in bondage, but Jesus showed that they were, by saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. And the bondservant abideth not in the house for ever; the Son abideth for ever. If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Verses 34-36. The bondage, therefore, is the bondage of sin, and the freedom which Christ gives is the freedom from sin. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 84.5

Christ said that it was by the Spirit that He gave liberty. So we read that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 2 Corinthians 3:17. The Spirit gives liberty, because it is righteousness; it is the source of the law, for “the law is spiritual.” Romans 7:14. The fruit of the Spirit is obedience to the law. For “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22, 23. Those who have this Spirit, and are led by it, are free, because they keep the law; for the Psalmist said, “I will walk at liberty; for I seek Thy precepts.” Psalm 119:45. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 84.6

As Christ healed the poor, infirm woman by His word, so He sets sinners free by His word. His word is law; He speaks the words of the Father; and the commandment of God is life everlasting (John 12:50), because it is His own life. The words that Christ speaks are Spirit and life; and since it is the Spirit that makes free, it is evident that the reception of the words of Christ will make the sinner free. As the bondage is the bondage of sin, and the words of Christ are the words of righteousness, the receiving of those words is in itself the freedom from bondage. Simple faith in the word of Christ is sufficient to give the sinner his liberty; but to every one who has thus been made free, the words of inspiration come, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made a free.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 84.7

“Palestine 3,500 Years Ago” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

The following from the Edinburg Review give some instructive facts gleaned from recent discoveries in the East, showing the literary life of the days of Moses and before. Incidentally the writer rebukes the Higher Critics, who, years ago, before these bricks and tablets were dug up, refused to believe that Moses could have written anything in his uncivilised day. The rebuke is useless. The critics believe the tablets, of course, but now the theory is that the Scripture record of the creation and later history is from the tablets. Well, Christians can only preach the Word, knowing that it convicts the sinner, and that sinful departure from God is the source of infidelity. Here are the paragraphs referred to:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.1

“We have become possessed of certain very important indications as to the early civilisation of Palestine by means of clay tablets. Not that the knowledge so attained is altogether new, or that it conflicts with that which has been deduced from yet earlier Egyptian records. It is well known to scholars that Thothmes III., when he defeated the league of Hittites of Phoenicians at Megiddo, in 1600 B.C. (a century before Amenophis III. acceded), reaped a spoil which indicates the advanced civilisation of Syria, including not only the precious metals and chariots painted and plated, but also objects of art having a high ?sthetic value, and that he found corn, wine, and oil abundant in the country, and many hundreds of walled towns, in which there were already temples of the gods. Such evidence has, however, been slighted by those who regard the early Hebrews as savages, and who think that, though placed in the very centre of the ancient civilised world between the Egyptians and the Assyrians, they were, nevertheless, unacquainted with any arts and uninfluenced by surrounding culture. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.2

“The new discoveries insist on quite another understanding of their ancient history. It is surely a lesson of humility that the modern student should learn from such discoveries. Voltaire was no doubt a writer of great originality and acumen, though, from our present standpoint, wonderfully ignorant of antiquity. He finds it hard to believe that Homer’s poems could have been written down before 500 B.C., and asserts that papyrus had not been invented in Egypt in the time of Moses, though we now possess in the maxims of Ptah-hotep a manuscript as old as the pyramids. We find, on the contrary, that not only in Egypt or in Mesopotamia was the art of writing known in the time of Moses, but that the inhabitants of Palestine also could pen a brick epistle, which in the space of a few inches contained as much information as can now be condensed into a sheet of notepaper. Such letters were neither heavy nor bulky, and could be carried in the turban or in the folds of the shirt-bosom just as easily as paper letters are now carried, with the additional advantage that they were imperishable, as is witnessed by the fact that they are now being read three thousand five hundred years after they were written.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.3

“Among French Spiritualists” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

Not long ago one of the London organs of Spiritualism, boasting of the power of the cult, said that Spiritualists never had apostasies from their ranks. It is a fact that Spiritualism has a powerful hold upon all who get fairly entangled in its meshes. Beginning by willingly, and perhaps curiously, tampering with it, ignorant of the fact that it is the Devil’s manifest working, they end by being “taken captive by him at his will.” When one submits to God his will is set free and continues free; but when to Satan the will is enslaved, the great slave master does not willingly release it. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.4

But the power of truth can save to the uttermost, and bring every honest soul out of the snare. We have known of more than one Spiritualist who, on learning that the manifestations which deceived him were Satanic, has turned to the truth. And one of our American papers just at hand contains the following report of the work of one of our French ministers in the West, whose meetings the Spiritualists had evidently thought to break up:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.5

“One French Spiritualist family had already embraced the truth, which had greatly aroused the other members of the circle to which they had belonged for four years. Wonders had been performed among them, such as speaking in tongues and in trances, and healing the sick under the influence and through the power of pretended spirits of the departed. We knew of no alternative except either to let the enemy have the ground and still control those he had bound in darkness, or with love, prudence, the sword of the Spirit, and reliance on the mighty One, break into the Spiritualistic ring. The latter we decided to do. We have had three encounters with them, one of which held us one day and part of one night, the other two a half day each. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.6

“It was hard to keep unruly spirits at bay while we set forth man’s nature, his state in death, the two kinds of angels, the Holy Spirit and its operations. But God gave us wonderful victories. At the close of our last interview, as we were giving the benediction, the Spirit of God came in with such power that one who had been a leading medium and speaker was overpowered, and under the influence of the Holy Spirit, vindicated the truth before a room filled with Spiritualists, and in the presence of a trance speaker who had come from Green Bay to oppose us, and in the effort had barely managed to manifest a faint outburst of imprecations, and of self-laudation in the matter of healing the sick. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.7

“That one of their number should be thus overpowered, and vindicate the truth under such circumstances, was indeed wonderful. It remains to be seen what the outcome of all this will be. Some of the Spiritualists are turning away from us; a few are under conviction, and we pray that the spell of the enemy may be entirely broken, and that the captives may be wholly set free.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.8

“Church Growth” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

“And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 2:47. Whether we follow this or the rendering of the Revised Version,-“And the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved,”-a wonderful condition of things is revealed. There were no hypocrites in the church at that time. None joined except those who were in the way of salvation. Why was this?-Because the Lord added the people to the church. It was not the work of men. It is a good deal better that the Lord should bring additions to the church than that new members should be brought in by this or that minister. That which the Lord does is done right. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.9

What were the believers doing?-They were praising God, not alone with their voices, but by their lives. They were, with voice and life, showing the power and goodness of God. This is the way that God wants His people to work for Him. David said: “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God; many shall see it and fear, and trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 85.10

“The Secret of Reformation” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

When Wycliffe was translating, or was about to translate, the Bible into the English language, he wrote these words:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 86.1

As the faith of the church is contained in the Scriptures, the more these are known in their true meaning the better; and inasmuch as secular men should assuredly understand the faith they profess, that faith should be taught them in whatever language may be best known to them. Forasmuch, also, as the doctrines of our faith are more clearly and exactly expressed in the Scriptures, than they may probably be by priests,-seeing, if I may so speak, that many prelates are but too ignorant of Holy Scripture, while others conceal many parts of it; and as verbal instructions of priests have many other defects,-the conclusion is abundantly manifest that the leadership ascertain for themselves what are the true matters of their faith, by having the Scriptures in the language which they fully understand. For the laws made by prelates are not to be received as matters of faith, nor are we to confide in their public instruction, nor in any of their words, but as they are founded in Holy Writ,-since the Scriptures contain the whole truth. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 86.2

The work of translating the Scriptures into the language of the people has now been almost completed. Still the work of the Reformation is not complete. It is not enough that the Bible should be furnished in the language of the people; it must be read and studied by the people. It is of little use to have the Bible, if the words of man are to be taken as to what it means, instead of reading it for one’s self. To too great an extent at the present day, as in the days of Christ, when the people had the Bible in their own tongue, the fear of God is taught by the commandments of men, rather than by the Word of God. So the work of the true teacher is to take the Bible which the people have already to their hand, and bring them to face to face with it. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 86.3

To be a follower of the Reformers does not mean to believe just what they believe, and nothing more. To be a worthy follower of the Reformers is to be actuated by the same spirit that moved them. That was loyalty to the Word of God. Their principle was that the Bible should settle all questions; that it, and it alone, was the truth. They did not know all that the Bible teaches. No man has ever yet known it all. Sometimes, also, they were mistaken in their views of Scripture, and made the common mistake of teaching what they thought instead of what they knew. Whether a man is right or wrong, if we follow the man we shall surely go wrong; for at the best we shall get only partial truth; but if we follow the Scriptures we cannot make a mistake. Only they are true followers of the Reformers, who have the same loyalty to the Word they had, regardless of what they thought about certain points. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 86.4

“Peace” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you,” said the Lord. That perfect peace in which He continually lived is ours, therefore, and we have to make use of it, to know its greatness. He has given it to us, whether we accept it or not. If we have once had it, and have thrown it away, still it is ours. He has not withdrawn it, for He said, “My peace I leave with you.” So then in the place where we rejected or lost the peace, there we may always find it. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 86.5

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Turkish army is nearly three-quarters of a million strong. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.1

-Locomotives and steamship engines use a third of the coal mined in England. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.2

-Ocean steamers of the first class each consume from 800 to 400 tons of coal a day. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.3

-During the year just closed the services of about 35,000 men were accepted for the army. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.4

-Queen Ranavalona, of Madagascar, has signed away the last shred of independence in a new treaty, and France takes over the complete administration of the island. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.5

-Companies have been formed in America for the manufacture of acetylene, a gas said to possess forty times the brilliancy of ordinary illuminating gas. It is a product of coal drat and lime dust, treated in an electric furnace. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.6

-Another terrible mining disaster in South Wales, by which fifty-seven miners lost their lives last week, reminds us that those who dig out our coals are daily in peril of their lives. Had this last explosion occurred an hour later 2,000 men would have been in the mine. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.7

-The Duke of Bedford expressed the general apprehension in a speech last week when he said “he could not detect the least harmony in the concert of Europe against Turkey, but it appeared as very likely that harmony would be shown in the concert of Europe against England.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.8

-Reports from the naval stations of all the great powers of Europe state that unusual activity is seen. The Russians are putting their Black Sea fleet in order, and Turkey is completing the armament of its cruisers. Rumours of alliance between Russia and Turkey are taken seriously. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.9

-The photographic discovery by which, with the aid of electricity, a bullet or a fracture may be located, is to be utilised in hospital practice. The rays of light are shown to penetrate flesh, but not bones or metal bodies, so that the surgeon can determine from the photograph the nature of the difficulty with which he has to deal. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.10

-The Yellow River is styled the “Sorrow of China.” During the last century it has changed its course twenty-two times, and now flows into the sea through a mouth three hundred miles distant from that of a hundred years ago. It is estimated that its floods in the present century have cost China something like eleven millions of lives. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.11

-A workman in the alkali works at Widnes was overcome by gas and fell into a sewer. A companion rushed to his rescue and also fell, and another who tried to rescue them was also overcome. “These brave men knew the danger, and knew that if they waited for a rope it would be too late, though with a rope under their arms they would have run no risk themselves. They faced the risk, and lost their lives in the attempt. When a descent was made, later on, all three were found dead. Greater love hath no man than this.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 76.12

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

Grumbling is only bad. The man who grumbles that the thing that is wrong does not right the wrong, but only puts himself in the wrong. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.1

Anti-slavery workers are still agitating in behalf of the slaves in Zanzibar and Pemba, of whom there are at least 200,000, held under law and administered by the British Consul-General. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.2

The saddest of all the pitiful sorrows of Armenia is that the truly Christian and peaceable Armenians, of whom there are many, are made to suffer innocently along with those who, under the mask of Christianity, have unsuccessfully worked for political revolution, and prove the truth of the scripture, “All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.3

The Bookman says that the recently published life of the late Cardinal Manning is gravely disapproved of by influential Roman Catholics, and there is talk of legal proceedings. The biographer to whom the late cardinal committed all his papers published too much, and gave a sorry picture of ecclesiastical intriguing and rivalry. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.4

As the result of circulating literature in Iceland our friends in Scandinavia report good interest in that island. One Lutheran preacher there has, with his family, been led to accept the Bible Sabbath and desires to fully co-operate with our Danish brethren in the work. Iceland is a Danish possession and has a population of nearly 71,000, mostly of the Lutheran Church. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.5

Ritualism is apparently as flourishing in the Disestablished Church in Ireland as in the Establishment in England. This month a primate is to be selected, and a stiff fight is to be made by Protestants against the election of an archbishop who is a Sacerdotalist. But the latter party appeared to be the stronger. No church can hold the leaven of Sacerdotalism, and insisting upon observances contrary to the Word, and at the same time keep the leaven from affecting the whole lump. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.6

The spirit of militarism is rising everywhere, and no one knows how soon the accursed forced conscription of the Continent may come upon us. The Sydney correspondent of the London journal says:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.7

The Government of South Australia is pushing forward a Defence Forces Bill. This divides the forces into two-active force and reserve. If there are not sufficient Volunteers, the Government is empowered to declare military districts, in which all men between eighteen and forty-five are liable to be called upon to serve, the unmarried men being taken first. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.8

And the newspaper publishing this note adds: “It is high time some similar steps should be taken in England.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.9

An order of monks is invited by the French Resident to colonise Madagascar. Free passages and other inducements are offered. Of course, as in other French colonies, they will represent the official religion which will attract natives who desire to stand well with the ruling power. In former times Protestantism was the official religion of the Court, and this patronage made the cause of genuine Protestantism languish. Perhaps now, under Catholic opposition, the Protestant missions will gain new life. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.10

“Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, again spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:11, 12. Since it is only by the strength of God that we can win in this wrestling contest, how pertinent the prayer, “Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.” Psalm 36:11. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.11

The annual conference of our friends in South Africa has just been held as a camp-meeting in the Cape Town suburbs. The Cape Times of Jan. 8, just received, makes the following reference to the preparations of the meetings:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.12

Quite a cotton city has been springing up near Mowbray railway station within the past two days. The Seventh-day Adventists have over forty tents erected, which are being fitted up for temporary homes for families in attendance from various parts of the Colony. The public services are to be held in a pavilion 50x70, which can be enlarged by another twenty feet if the occasion requires. A fifty-foot circular tent is erected in which the children’s and youths’ meetings will be held. A specially constructed tent is to be used as a dining tent, in which meals are to be furnished for all the campers who wish to avail themselves of such accommodation. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.13

Bishop Hendrix, of the American Methodist Episcopal Church, writes as follows of an interview recently had with Li Hung Chang, which shows that the Chinese statesman does not share in the popular hostility to the “foreign teachers” which led to the recent riots:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.14

He spoke at some length of the great service which both the schools and hospitals of the missionaries had been to China, and how much they needed yet more. Having twice asked: “Can't you persuade the American people to send over more teachers and physicians?” I replied: “If all were like your Excellency, it would be much easier to send over more.” The great Viceroy then said, with much emphasis: “Say to the American people for me to send over more for the schools and hospitals, and I hope to be in a position both to aid them and to protect them.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.15

The “conversion” of the infant heir to the Bulgarian throne continues to agitate cabinets. The Governments of earth patronise religion because it is useful in carrying out their political aims. Could anything more plainly show how completely religion is officially identified with politics than the following from a St. Petersburg journal:- PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.16

The latest information from Bulgaria causes a serious belief to be entertained here that Prince Ferdinand can no longer delay the baptism of Prince Boris in the Orthodox faith without compromising the security of his throne. The baptism would be hailed here with great satisfaction as a moral victory for Russia and the Orthodox Church. PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.17

“A Place for Safety” The Present Truth, 12, 6.

E. J. Waggoner

A Place for Safety.-“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10. And what is the name of the Lord? Let the Lord Himself answer. “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” Exodus 34:5-7. This is the strong tower of safety, and so the Psalmist said, “I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation;” and, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever.” PTUK February 6, 1896, page 96.18