The Present Truth, vol. 13

January 28, 1897

“Front Page” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Revelation 12:11. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 49.1

Popular sentiment in sympathy with the Reformation very generally throws a glamour of romance over the story of the martyrs. It seems such a grand and glorious thing to stand before kings and councils, and boldly maintain the truth even at the cost of life. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 49.2

But those who thus overcame Satan were not playing a part to any gallery. It was the plain matter-of-fact question of, What saith the Lord? and what authority shall be acknowledged, the Word of God or the word of men? The men of those days who placed their lives on the side of God's sole and supreme authority are dead, but the principles which they embraced still live, as vital as ever, and are pressing all men to decide what present-day faithfulness is. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 49.3

When the Council of Constance cited John Huss before them to give a reason of the hope that was in him, there was nothing dramatic about the situation to him. He did not answer with any thought as to the verdict of posterity. He was plain John Huss, who had to tell why he believed God, and why he preached the Word, setting aside church authority and custom. The council thought that they had important business to consider, and as a mere incident, in order to rid themselves and the church of inconvenient interruption, they determined to deliver Huss and Jerome to death. But of all the work that this great council did, the condemnation of these men is that which has marked its place in church history. It was not mercy because Huss and his fellows exposed the disgraceful lives of many of the clergy that the church was against them. The very Pope who had persuaded the emperor to violate his word pledging personal safety to Huss and had thrown him into prison was himself imprisoned by the council for having committed nearly all the crimes in the calendar. But Huss had placed the authority of the Word above the authority of the officials who claimed to be able to declare the voice of the church. On that principle, which is as living an issue now as then, John Huss took his stand, and God maintained his cause triumphant to the death. One writer sketches the closing scenes of his life as follows¹ :— PTUK January 28, 1897, page 49.4

Enfeebled by illness and imprisonment-for the damp, foul air of his dungeon had brought on a fever which nearly ended his life-Huss was at last brought before the council. Loaded with chains he stood in the presence of the emperor, whose honour and good faith had been pledged to protect him. During his long trial he firmly maintained the truth, and in the presence of the assembled dignitaries of Church and State, he uttered a solemn and faithful protest against the corruptions of the hierarchy. When required to choose whether he would recant his doctrines or suffer death, he accepted the martyr's fate. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.1

The grace of God sustained him. During the weeks of suffering that passed before his final sentence, Heaven's peace filled his soul. “I write this letter,“ he said to a friend, “in prison, and with my fettered hand, expecting my sentence of death tomorrow.... When, with the assistance of Jesus Christ, we shall meet again in the delicious peace of the future life, you will learn how merciful God has shown himself toward me-how effectually he has supported me in the midst of my temptations and trials.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.2

In the gloom of his dungeon he foresaw the triumph of the true-faith. Returning in his dreams to the chapel at Prague where he had preached the Gospel, he saw the Pope and his bishops defacing the pictures of Christ which he had painted on its walls. He was deeply troubled at the sight; but the next day his grief was changed to joy, as he beheld many artists, who replaced the figures in greater numbers and brighter colours. Their work ended, the painters exclaimed to the crowd gathered eagerly about them, “Now let the Popes and bishops come! They shall never efface them more!” Said the reformer, as he related his dream, “I am certain that the image of Christ will never be effaced. They have wished to destroy it, but it will be imprinted anew on the hearts of men by much better preachers than myself.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.3

For the last time, Huss was brought before the council. It was a vast and brilliant assembly,—the emperor, the princes of the empire, the royal deputies, the cardinals, bishops, and priests, and an immense crowd who had come as spectators of the events of the day. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.4

Being called upon for his final decision, Huss declared his refusal to abjure, and sentence having been pronounced, the ceremony of degradation began. The vestments were removed one by one, each bishop announcing a curse as he performed as part of the ceremony. Finally a crown or mitre, on which were painted frightful figures of demons, and bearing the inscription, “The Arch-Heretic,“ was placed upon his head. “Most joyfully,“ he said, “will I wear this crown of shame for Thy sake, O Lord Jesus, who for me didst wear a crown of thorns.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.5

When he was thus arrayed, the prelates devoted his soul to Satan. Huss, looking heavenward, exclaimed, “I do commend my spirit into thy hands, O Lord Jesus, for Thou hast redeemed me.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.6

He was now delivered up to the secular authorities, and led away to the place of execution. An immense procession followed, hundreds of men at arms, and priests and bishops in their costly robes, and the inhabitants of Constance. When he had been fastened to the stake, and all was ready for the fire to be lighted, the martyr was once more exhorted to save himself by renouncing his errors. “What errors,“ said Huss, “shall I renounce? I know myself guilty of none. I call God to witness that all that I have written or preached has been with the view of rescuing souls from sin and perdition; and, therefore, most joyfully will I confirm with my blood that truth which I have written and preached.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.7

When the flames kindled about him, he began to sing, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me,“ and so continued till his voice was silenced for ever. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.8

When the body of Huss had been wholly consumed, his ashes, with the soil upon which they rested, were gathered up and cast into the Rhine, and thus borne onward to the ocean. His persecutors vainly imagined that they had rooted out the truths which he preached. Little did they dream that the ashes that day borne away to the sea were to be as seeds scattered in all the countries of the earth; that in lands yet unknown it would yield abundant fruit in witnesses for the truth. The voice which had spoken in the council hall of Constance had wakened echoes that would be heard through all coming ages. Huss was no more, but the truth for which he died could never perish. His example of faith and constancy would encourage multitudes to stand firm for the truth, in the face of torture and death. His execution had exhibited to the whole world the perfidious cruelty of Rome. The enemies of truth, though they knew it not, had been furthering the cause which they vainly sought to destroy. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 50.9

“The Promises to Israel. The Promised Rest” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

(Concluded.)

The Israelites were in possession of the land; not one word of God had failed; He had with Himself given them all things; but they did not appreciate the wondrous gift, and so received the grace of God in vain. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.1

They were at least nominally faithful to God during the life of Joshua, but after his death “the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim; and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them; and they were greatly distressed.” God told them that because of their disobedience He would not drive the nations out from before them, but that their enemies should remain and be as thorns in their sides. Judges 2:1-15. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.2

Thus we see that although God gave them rest, they did not enter into it. It was therefore as true of them as of those who fell in the wilderness, that “they could not enter in because of unbelief.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.3

WHAT ABOUT OUR POSITION?

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Hebrews 4:1, 2. We are in the world in precisely the same situation that ancient Israel was, with the same promises, the same prospects, the same enemies, the same dangers. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.4

There are no foes upon whom we may use ordinary weapons of warfare, although the followers of the Lord are assured that they shall suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), and that they shall be hated by the world, with a hatred that will not stop short of death (John 15:18, 19; 16:1-3); nevertheless “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.” In this, however, our case is in no wise different from that of Israel of old. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.5

Their victory was to be had only by faith, and, as we have already seen, if they had been truly faithful, there would have been no more need of their using the sword to drive out the Canaanites than there was to use it for the overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts. Indeed, the reason why they did not gain full possession of the land was because of that unbelief which made the sword necessary; for it is absolutely impossible that the heavenly country which God promised Abraham can ever be gained by men with swords or guns in their hands. There was no more need for Israel to fight in the days of old than there is for us; for “when a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7), and we are absolutely forbidden to fight. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.6

When Christ commands His followers not to fight, and warns them that if they do they shall perish, He is not introducing a new order of things, but simply leading His people back to first principles. Ancient Israel affords an illustration of the fact that they who use the sword shall perish with the sword; and, although the Lord bore long with them, and made many concessions to their weakness, and has borne still longer with us, He wishes us to avoid their errors. All the things concerning them “are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.7

THE PROMISE OF CANAAN

But we must go a little further, and see that our situation is precisely that of ancient Israel, and that the same rest and inheritance which God gave them, and which they foolishly allowed to slip from their hands, is ours, provided we “hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” Fortunately the evidence is very simple and plain, and we have already considered the most of it at some length. Let us refresh our minds with the following facts. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.8

Canaan is a land which God gave to Abraham and to his seed “for an everlasting possession.” Genesis 17:7, 8. It was to be an everlasting possession for both Abraham and his seed. But Abraham himself had not so much as a foot-breadth of the land in his actual possession (Acts 7:5), and none of his seed had it either, for even the righteous ones among them (and only the righteous are Abraham's seed) “all died in faith, not having received the promise.” Hebrews 9:13, 39. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.9

Therefore, as previously shown, the possession of the land involved the resurrection of the dead at the coming of Christ to restore all things. By the resurrection of Christ, God has begotten us unto a lively hope, “to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-6. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 51.10

A WORLD-WIDE KINGDOM

But the possession of the land of Canaan meant nothing less than the possession of the whole world, as we learn by comparing Genesis 17:7, 8, 11, and Romans 4:1-13. Thus: circumcision was the seal of the covenant to give Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. But circumcision was at the same time a sign or seal of righteousness by faith; and “the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” That is to say, that which sealed to Abraham his right to the possession of the land of Canaan, was the seal of his right to the whole world. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 52.1

In giving to him and his seed the land of Canaan, God gave to them the whole world. Not of course “this present evil world,“ for “the world passeth away;” and Christ gave Himself for us that He might deliver us from it and its destruction; but “we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13. It was not the temporal possession of a few thousand square miles of land tainted by the curse, that God promised to Abraham and to his seed, but the eternal possession of the entire earth freed from every vestige of the curse. Even though it were true that the little territory of Canaan constituted the whole of the promised inheritance, still it would be true that the Israelites never had it; for the promise which God confirmed was to give Abraham and his seed the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, that is, Abraham must have it for an everlasting possession, and his seed must also have it for an everlasting possession. But they all died, and in time even the country itself passed into the hands of other people. No temporal dwelling in Palestine could possibly fulfill the promise. The promise still remains to be fulfilled to Abraham and to all the seed. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 52.2

THE NEW EARTH

The rest is the inheritance; the inheritance is the land of Canaan; but the possession of the land of Canaan means the possession of the whole earth, not in its present state, but restored as in the days of Eden. Therefore the rest which God gives is inseparable from the new earth: it is rest which the new earth state alone can give, rest found only in God; and when all things are restored, then God in Christ will absolutely and without hindrance fill all things, so that everywhere will there be complete rest. Since rest is found only in God, it is most evident that the children of Israel did not enjoy the rest and the inheritance, even while in Palestine, for although “He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents, yet they tempted and provoked the Most High God, and kept not His testimonies; but turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their graven images,“ so that “God greatly abhorred Israel.” Psalm 78:55-59. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 52.3

Remember that it was an heavenly country that Abraham looked for. Nevertheless, the promise of God to give him and his seed (including us, if we are Christ’s, Galatians 3:16, 29) the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, will be fulfilled to the very letter. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 52.4

When the Lord comes for His people to take them to Himself, to the place which He has prepared for them (see John 14:3), the righteous dead will be raised incorruptible, and the righteous living ones will likewise be changed to immortality, and both together will be caught up “in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. The place to which they will be taken is the free Jerusalem above, “which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26); for that is where Christ now is, and where He is preparing a place for us. A few texts may be quoted to show this fact more clearly. That the heavenly Jerusalem is the place where Christ is now “in the presence of God for us,“ is evident from Hebrews 12:22-24, where we are told that those who believe are now come to Mount Zion, unto “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,“ “to God the Judge of all,“ and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.” Christ “is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,“ (Hebrews 8:1), and from this throne, it will be well to remember, proceeds “the river of water of life.” Revelation 22:1. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 52.5

THE CITY FOR WHICH ABRAHAM LOOKED

This city, the New Jerusalem, the city which God has prepared for those of whom He is not ashamed, because they seek an heavenly country (Hebrews 11:16), is the capital of His dominions. It is the “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (verse 10), for which Abraham looked. In the twenty-first first chapter of Revelation we find a description of those foundations, where we also find that the city will not always remain in heaven, but will descend to this earth with the saints who have reigned in it with Christ for a thousand years after the resurrection. Rev. xx. Of the descent of the city we read:— PTUK January 28, 1897, page 52.6

“And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write; for these things are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 52.7

From Isaiah 49:17-21 we learn that the believing, righteous ones, the children of the New Jerusalem, constitute the adornment which the city has when it comes down prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. So we see that the saints of God go at once to the New Jerusalem, when Christ comes for them, and then return with it to this earth, when the time has come for the cleansing of the earth from all things that offend, and them that do iniquity, and for the renewing of all things as at first. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.1

THE PLACE WHERE THE CITY WILL COME DOWN

But to what spot on this earth will the city descend? Speaking of the time of the destruction of the wicked, the prophet Zechariah says:— PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.2

“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee by the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel; yea, ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and the Lord my God shall come, and all the holy ones with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be with brightness and with gloom; but it shall be one day which is known unto the Lord; not day, and not night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light. And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the Lord be One, and His name One.” Zechariah 14:3-9. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.3

Thus we see that when God brings back the captivity of His people, He brings them to the very spot of earth that He promised to Abraham for an everlasting possession-the land of Canaan. But the possession of that land is the possession of the whole earth, not for a few years, but for eternity. “There shall be no more death.” It was this glorious inheritance that the children of Israel had in their grasp when they crossed the Jordan, and which they faithlessly allowed to slip. If they had been faithful, a very short time would have sufficed to make the name and the saving power of God known in every part of the earth, and then the end would have come. But they failed, and so the time was lengthened, until our day; but the same hope has been the one thing ever before the people of God. So we may look forward to the possession of the land of Canaan with as much earnestness as did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, yea, and David also, and all the prophets, and with the same confident hope. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.4

THE RESTORATION OF THE ISRAEL OF GOD

With these few outlines well fixed in mind, the reading of the prophecies both of the Old and the New Testament will be a delight, for we shall be spared much confusion, and many seeming contradictions will be seen to be plain. When we read of the restoration of Jerusalem, so that it will be the joy and praise of the whole earth, we shall know that the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, to take the place of the old. If a city on this earth is burnt entirely to the ground, and men build a new city on the same site, the city is said to be rebuilt, and it is called by the same name. So with Jerusalem, only the city is rebuilt in heaven, so that there is no interval between the destruction of the old and the appearance of the new. It is as though the new city sprang at once from the ruins of the old, only infinitely more glorious. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.5

So also when we read of the return of Israel to Jerusalem, we know that it is not the return of a few thousand mortals to a mass of ruins, but the coming of the innumerable, immortal host of the redeemed to the ever new city where their citizenship has long been recorded. Mortal men will not rebuild the city with brick and stone and mortar, but God Himself will rebuild it with gold and pearls and all manner of precious stones. “When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.” Psalm 102:16. He says to Jerusalem, “O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” Isaiah 54:11-13. These are the stones in which her children take pleasure. Psalm 102:14. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.6

Here will be rest, perfect eternal peace. The promise is, “in righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear; and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.” “In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.” God Himself will be with His people for evermore, “and they shall see His face,“ and therefore they will have rest, for He said, “My presence,“ literally, My face, “shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.7

Why will men nullify all these glorious promises, by reading them as though they taught merely the temporal possession of a ruined city on this old sin-cursed earth? It is because they limit the Gospel, not realising that all the promises of God are in Christ, to be enjoyed by none except those who are in Christ, and in whom He dwells by faith. Would that God's professed people might speedily receive “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” in the knowledge of God, that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened, that they might “know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,“ and that it is to be gained only by “the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:17-20. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.8

Now that we have taken this hasty glance ahead, and have seen the consummation of God's promise to give His people rest in the land of Canaan, we may return and fill in a few of the details, which will be more easily understood by reason of this outline, and which in turn will bring out in still bolder relief the view we have already had. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.9

The paper in this series which appears next week will consider—under the title “Another Day”—the rest that now remaineth for the people of God. Heb. iv. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 53.10

“Sudden Death” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

It is said that the petition in the Book of Common Prayer, “From sudden death, good Lord, deliver us,“ is not in these days a heart-felt prayer in the mouths of the thoughtful and intelligent, but that it is now felt that death comes in its most acceptable form when it instantly and almost unexpectedly removes its victim from amidst the customary surroundings and pursuits of daily life. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 54.1

The prevalence, in these days, of sudden death while yet seemingly in the vigour of life, may perhaps account, partially, for this. Men have become accustomed to seeing noted persons, of great activity and renowned achievements, depart this life without even time to say farewell. So, as in more warlike days death on the battle-field was the only way by which a career could be nobly ended; now, a man must, to fittingly close a life of such strenuous effort as the spirit of the age demands, drop down and die in the harness. The battle-fields have changed, the spirit is the same. It is unnatural for man to die suddenly, without the progressive signs of the approach of age. Such death must always be the result of some contest against nature, carried so far that at last the life powers suddenly succumb without warning. Certainly this result should not be desired, because the means by which it is attained are not desirable. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.1

A sudden end of life while in seeming strength is an evidence of unwise waste of physical resources somewhere. Both brain and body have been overdriven, overstimulated, by methods more or less mistaken, and for purposes more or less noble, or often too sadly ignoble. No! the desire to be delivered from sudden death, and to pass away at a ripe and peaceful old age, was the most calm, and sane, and reasonable wish. The lives and deaths of many of England's truly greatest men remind us that this is true. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.2

“Positive Preaching” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

In Dr. John Watson's new book, “The Cure of Souls,“ containing his Yale lectures on preaching, delivered during his recent visit to the United States, these sentences are found: “What is wanted above everything to-day is positive preaching, by men who believe with all their mind and heart in Jesus Christ.... The pulpit is not the place for discussing systems of scepticism, or proving the instinctive truths of religion, or adjusting the speculated difficulties of Christianity, or apologising for Christ.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.3

Truer words than these could scarce be written. Their application in preaching would seem to be simple. Why then are there not more such men filling such pulpits. It is because the positive preaching of Jesus Christ, as He has revealed Himself to the world in the Word of God, without admitting the influence of systems of scepticism, ignoring speculative difficulties, but accepting the difficult things which the Bible itself takes out of the realm of speculation, presenting the plain truths of religion without apology for them, or their Author, or the Book from which they are drawn,—it is because such preaching as this, Christ and His Gospel pure and undefiled, so contravenes accepted theology and the popular learning of the schools and customs of Christendom, that few popular pulpits or comfortably furnished pews would endure it. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.4

“The Schools” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

The Anglican Bishop of Chester recently wrote—not to the Archbishop of Canterbury, but—to Cardinal Vaughan, head of the Roman Church in England, to ask his advice as to the course which should be pursued if the Government fails to satisfy the demands of the party working for direct State support of denominational schools. The Cardinal advised doing their best to win the present Government to their cause, but said that if this failed— PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.5

Other political combinations must be sought, and it will become our highest prudence and truest fidelity to the country and to God to make a political break up. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.6

The education controversy is just beginning, and the real point in it all is to see which of the great religious bodies can best manipulate political parties to further their own ends. It was by such work in the latter days of the Roman Empire that the Church of Rome secured the ascendancy. Those on the other side, who have inconsistently demanded State-taught religion in one class of schools, while opposing State aid to distinctively religious schools, will yet see that to make religion a matter of politics is to play into the hands of Rome and Sacerdotalism. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.7

“Indirect Conscription” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

It is plain to be seen that the desire is growing in military and other circles to see some beginning made in the direction of conscription in this country, where the passionate love of individual liberty has kept out the accursed militarism of the Continent. This political aspect of the question does not concern us, but the moral evil of training the youth for war is the wrong against which the Gospel of Christ lifts the standard. The latest suggestion of an indirect scheme of conscription is made by Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Havelock Allen, in the Fortnightly Review. He proposes:— PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.8

“First, the general recognition, by law or by resolution of both Houses of Parliament, that ‘It is the bounden duty of every Englishman receiving State-aided primary, secondary, or technical education, at the expense of the general taxpayer, to learn the use of arms between his ninth and twenty-first year, so as to be able to defend his country in times of emergency.’ Second, a declaration by a resolution of both Houses of Parliament that any able-bodied boy who does not bind himself, through his parents or guardians, at the age of nine years, to become a qualified volunteer at the age of twenty-one, should not, after the former age, receive any educational aid, either from the State or from the grants made by the county councils. Now is the time to secure a recognition of this national and patriotic duty from the English nation.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 55.9

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

—One thousand acres of land have been damaged by the bog slide at Kerry, Ireland. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.1

—England has seventy war-ships now in process of construction, with a total displacement tonnage of 236,045. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.2

—It has been proposed to cleanse the plague-stricken city of Bombay with fire,—to burn the infected portions. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.3

—Mr. Thomas Garton, who first brought to England the news of the discovery of gold in Australia has just died at Wandsworth. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.4

—Outbreaks among the natives were reported last week from several parts of South Africa. The spirit of unrest and revolt is spreading. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.5

—The Leads courts are said to have abolished the rule by which witnesses kiss the Bible on taking the oath. The Scotch method of swearing with uplifted hand has been substituted. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.6

—The Health Department of New York City has stationed a special commissioner at Suez, with instructions to cable information regarding vessels from all ports infected with the plague, and bound for New York. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.7

—The returns from the Baltic canal show that during the past year there passed through it 7,551 steamships, and 9,303 sailing vessels. The receipts amounted to about ?45,000, which Ieaves a large deficit to be met by the Imperial Treasury. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.8

—Correspondence from Rome states that a new papal order has been issued requiring all members of the Catholic clergy to be indoors at a stated hour in the evening, marked by the ringing of bells. All priests who disobey this order are to be suspended. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.9

—Some years ago stoats, weasels, and ferrets were introduced into New Zealand with a view to exterminating the rabbits. Instead of doing this, however, they have themselves increased so greatly as to become almost as serious a past as the rabbits. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.10

—A Frenchman, H. Bazin, has in process of construction a seagoing steamship which is to move on wheels, or rather, hollow, circular floats. He believes that with this form of vessel the trip from Havre to New York can be made in one hundred hours. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.11

—The medical officer of health for Kensington has made a report which shows that the average death rate of a few streets in North Kensington is 50.0 per 1,000 as against 16.5 for the whole of London. In this district the death rate of children under one year, is more than four times greater than the general average in other portions of the city. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.12

—Labour riots in Hungary last week led to the shooting of ten of the strikers by the police. The people bitterly resent the killing, and bad blood increases. There seems to be less patience and tact on both sides of the labour war on the Continent than in England. The conditions are harder, doubtless, and the people have less to hope for from constitutional agitation where the administration is military. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 62.13

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

The next year's naval budget of Germany provides for the expenditure of about six and a half million pounds, an increase of over two millions above the past year's estimates. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.1

The annual pilgrimages to Mecca are a source of great danger to the health of the world every year, and in view of the plague at Bombay the Government of India have forbidden all pilgrim traffic from Bombay and Kurrachi to Mecca. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.2

The debate in Parliament last week on the proposed Roman Catholic University for Ireland, showed that there is every prospect that something will be done, though when it comes to details much controversy will doubtless arise. Religious laws and religious establishments are the order of the day now in all countries, and thus it must continue to the ruin of the peace of States. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.3

The committee of the Mansion House Famine Fund made their first remittance to India last week of ?100,000. A Calcutta despatch says that about two million people are now employed in the relief works undertaken by the Government. The scenes attending the famine are terrible enough, and the suffering increases. A Reuter's agent who has been visiting the camps where those on the relief works are quartered says:— PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.4

Altogether, from what I have witnessed, I am convinced that a more effective or humane system of State aid for helpless population than that now in force here has never been seen in the history of the world. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.5

Sir Isaac Pitman, who died last week at the age of eighty-four, after a life of great industry, was an example of the benefits of plain living and hard working. He attributed his capacity to work on untiringly, even at an advanced age to “clean food, fresh air, and plenty of work.” He began his work of publishing his system of shorthand in 1840, the same year that the penny post was established, and for over forty-seven years was at his work from six in the morning till nine or ten at night. He was an abstainer, and for fifty years a vegetarian. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.6

The locust has been so great a pest from ancient times that he has become the symbol of destruction. His later days are becoming worse than his first if the report that comes from the Transvaal is correct. There strenuous efforts have been made to save the crops from the swarms of locusts which have frequently appeared, but “to the consternation of the farmers,“ it is said, “the new hordes of locusts bring with them scores of black insects, which sting horribly whenever their patrons are interfered with.” PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.7

“The Record Reign” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

The Record Reign.—The speeches on the Address in reply to the Queen's Speech at the opening of Parliament last week touched upon Her Majesty's long and unique reign of sixty years. In speaking of the influence and character of the Throne in the long period during which a woman has presided over the affairs of the empire the Prime Minister said:— PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.8

Those who had the opportunity of watching that character more nearly can testify to the effects and benignant influence which it has always worked on the conduct of constitutional policy, and can bear witness to the extent to which the peculiar characteristics displayed by the Queen have enabled constitutional government to obtain a success which it has never attained in any other part of the world. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.9

“Constitutionalism” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

Constitutionalism.—Not only in this country—where, probably, the political independence and correct representation of the individual in administrative affairs has been carried to the highest degree of development—but all the world over, the past century, and more particularly the Victorian era, has been the era of constitutional government. Men have made and unmade constitutions, and have tinkered them, and alternately trusted them and cursed them-and all the time sin and misery and social evils have increased, until now the problems which statesmen have to face in nearly every country are generally recognised by them as the most serious in their history. All history abundantly testifies to the incapacity of men to govern their fellows, whatever form of government may be adopted. The whole question turns upon sinful man's absolute incapacity to govern himself. God has overruled and restrained and made His power known in order that He might save some out of the world, but the fact remains that Satan is the “god of this world,“ and man's only hope is in the world to come. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.10

“The World to Come” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

The World to Come.—We pray, “Thy kingdom come,“ and the prayer will be answered. As an earnest of the coming kingdom God sends forth peace and joy and righteousness of the kingdom to rule even now in the hearts of His subjects. The constitution of His government, the foundation of His throne, is the law of righteousness, and a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of His kingdom. The same Gospel power that proclaims the coming kingdom writes the law of that kingdom upon every heart that believes. This is the constitution that can do what human constitutions cannot do—it makes men free with a freedom which no power can take away. Ever since this world joined the rebellion of Satan against God's rule, the Lord has been calling men back to loyalty. “The earth is given into the hand of the wicked,“ said the prophet, but nevertheless “the earth is the Lord’s,“ and the day hastens when the rightful owner will take possession of His purchased possession. Now He is entreating every sinner to cease building his hopes on this present evil world and to yield his heart to the rule of the everlasting kingdom. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.11

“Peace” The Present Truth, 13, 4.

E. J. Waggoner

Peace.—Of course Great Britain and the United States ought not to go to war. No more ought this country and Germany, or Germany and France. But in some circles there has been much nonsense talked about the treaty of arbitration between this country and the United States. The City Temple pulpit, for instance, said, “I look upon this treaty as the Second Advent.” When this view is taken of an agreement between two nations, that they will not fight one another unless the quarrel involves a point of honour, the peace of Christendom, as it is called, must be in a parlous state. If the religious world would preach the Word about war, and show how absolutely wicked strife is, and that no Christian can take the sword, something might be done to hold back strife. As it is, the attitude of the pulpits served to justify resort to arms to defend the honour and possessions, and while crying, “Peace, and safety,“ as the prophecy says, popular religion is only lulling men to sleep in the face of the sudden destruction that will overcome the world when the last great struggle comes. 1 Thessalonians 5:3. PTUK January 28, 1897, page 64.12