The Present Truth, vol. 13

November 11, 1897

“Lessons From the Book of Hebrews. The Rest that Remains” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

We have seen that perfect rest follows finished and perfect work. No such work is ever found among men, and therefore real rest is unknown in this world. But “as for God, His way is perfect; and therefore His rest is perfect. The children of Israel did not learn the ways of God and therefore they did not enter into His rest. In Christ Jesus we are created unto good works, which God hath before prepared, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10), and these works are ours by faith, for “this is the work of God, that we believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29. The Jews did not believe, therefore they did not get the works of God, and consequently they could not enter into His rest; for since God's works are perfect and complete, whoever has the works, has the rest, and he in whom the works of God do not show themselves, does not have the rest. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 706.1

“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. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as He said, As I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into My rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached, entered not in because of unbelief; again, He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long a time; as it is said, To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the Word of God is quick and powerful.” R.V., “living and active.” Hebrews 4:1-12. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 706.2

It may be well to state that the words; “If they shall enter into My rest,“ are the word for word rendering of the Hebrew idiom for, “They shall not enter into My rest.” We shall therefore, without further comment, use the English form of expression, as it is in the Revised Version, instead of the Hebrew form. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 706.3

It should also be noted that in verse the Revised Version has “Joshua” instead of “Jesus.” Those who have Bibles with marginal references will find the word “Joshua” also in the margin. The two are identical in the Hebrew, being derived from the verb meaning, to save, to deliver. “Jesus” means Saviour (Matthew 1:21) as of course Joshua does. Joshua, who led the people of Israel into the earthly Canaan, is a type of Jesus, who leads His people into the heavenly Canaan-the heavenly country for which the patriarchs of old looked. Hebrews 11:16. W hen we recall the subject of the third chapter, how the Israelites failed to enter into rest because of unbelief, and note that in the immediate connection we are told that the promise is left to us because they failed, we can readily see that the Joshua who succeeded Moses as leader of Israel, is the one referred to in verse 8. So in our study we shall read it, “For if Joshua had given them rest, then would He not afterward have spoken of another day.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 706.4

Now, since the main thing is to find out exactly what the Scripture says, we will spend a few moments in asking and answering some PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.1

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

Why could not Israel of old enter into God's rest? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.2

“They could not enter in because of unbelief.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.3

What must we therefore fear? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.4

“Lest any” one “should seem to come short of it.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.5

What hope is there of our entering into His rest? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.6

“A promise is left us of entering into His rest.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.7

How do we stand related to it, as compared with the people of old? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.8

“Unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.9

What benefit did they derive from the Gospel? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.10

“The Word preached did not profit them.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.11

Why not? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.12

“Not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.13

If we, unlike them, have faith, what advantage shall we have? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.14

“We which have believed do enter into rest.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.15

What assurance is given? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.16

“I have sworn in My wrath, they shall not enter into My rest.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.17

What have we seen to be the only reason why they could not enter in? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.18

“Because of unbelief.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.19

What evidence is there that they might at any time have entered in if they had believed? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.20

“The works were finished from the foundation of the world.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.21

What did God in one place say of the seventh day, which showed that the works were all finished? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.22

“He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.23

What followed God's finished work? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.24

“God did rest.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.25

When did He rest? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.26

On “the seventh day.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.27

What then is the seventh day? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.28

The seventh day is the Rest of the Lord thy God.” Exodus 20:9. (The word Sabbath is simply the untranslated Hebrew word meaning “rest.”) PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.29

Having said in one place of the seventh day, “God did rest the seventh day from all His works,“ what did He say of it in another place? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.30

“They shall not enter into My rest.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.31

Nevertheless what must necessarily take place? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.32

“Some must enter therein.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.33

Therefore since they to whom the rest was first offered entered not into it because of unbelief, what has God done? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.34

“Again He limiteth a certain day.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.35

To what time is the offer limited? “To-day.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.36

Where is this word found? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.37

“In David.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.38

What is the word that is spoken to us? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.39

“To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts?” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.40

How is the longsuffering and forbearance of God shown in this offer? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.41

He repeats it in David, “after so long a time.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.42

But of what may we be fully assured, since “some must enter therein,“ and the ones to whom it was first offered rejected it? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.43

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.44

What time is allowed us in which to accept the rest? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.45

“To-day.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.46

What is the condition of one who has entered into His rest? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.47

“He also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.48

Ceasing from his own works, what works, if any, does he have? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.49

“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before prepared, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.50

What are we then exhorted to do? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.51

“Let us labour therefore to enter into rest.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.52

But what shall we do in order to work the works of God ? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.53

“This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.54

What in our lesson shows that this is the way we are to labour to enter into rest? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.55

We are exhorted to Iabour to enter into rest “lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.56

What shows that the kind of labour that consists in receiving God's Word in simple faith, does not mean idleness and indifference? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.57

“The Word of God is living and active.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.58

God's Oath .—In verse 3 we have the words, “As I have sworn in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest,“ as proof that “we which have believed do enter into rest.” The only oath of God we find recorded in the Bible is in Genesis 22:16-18, where God swore to Abraham that in his Seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, and that his Seed should possess the gate of His enemies; and this is the same that constituted Christ Priest after the order of Melchizedek. See Hebrews 6:13-30. That was a promise of rest, consequent on Abraham's faith. The promise of justification by faith is equal to a statement that the faithless shall not be justified, and likewise the statement, made of the unbelieving, “They shall not enter into rest,“ is only the reverse side of the oath that they who believe shall enter into rest. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.59

Faith, Works, Rest .—“By grace are ye saved through faith; ... not of works, lest any man should boast; for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before prepared, that we should walk in them.” Human works have nothing to do with salvation; for, as we have previously seen, they are always imperfect, and can therefore never be finished, so that rest can follow. But God's works do save us. “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” Psalm 74:12. “Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work; I will triumph in the works of Thy hands.” Psalm 92:1. The works of God do save us; and these works we make ours by faith. John 6:29. The works are perfect and are all done, so that in getting then we get rest; therefore it is that “we which have believed do enter into rest.” Whoever believes finds that rest. Our part, therefore, is to acknowledge that our best works are only a damage to us (See Philippians 2:6, 7), and to recognise and worship God as the sole Creator of all things. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.60

When the Rest was Prepared .—Those who did not and would not believe, could not enter into rest. Of them God swore, “They shall not enter into My rest,“ and this in spite of the fact that “the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” It was not because the rest was not ready, that they could not enter in, for it was ready and waiting from the foundation of the world, when the perfect work of God was finished. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 707.61

What Works? -What works were finished from the foundation of the world?—Manifestly, the works of creation; for in proof of the statement that the works were finished from the foundation of the world, we have this: “For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works.” That “certain place” is Genesis 2:1-3, where, after the detailed account of the six day's work in creating the heavens and the earth, we read: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which God created and made.” The “finished works,“ therefore, which afforded the rest, were the new heavens and the new earth, which God pronounced “very good.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.1

Two things are said of the seventh day. In one place God says of it, “And God did rest the seventh day from all His works.” In another place He said of it, “They shall not enter into My rest.” Thus we see that the rest which God enjoyed on the seventh day, when creation was finished, is the identical rest which He offered to Israel of old, and which He now offers to us. That is the rest into which those who believe do enter in. Let no one think that this is a belittling of God's rest. No; it is not that God's rest is a small thing, but that the Sabbath is a much greater and more blessed affair than most, even of those who regard it, know it to be. God's rest is infinite and eternal; and the seventh day is the Sabbath-rest of the Lord. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.2

Seal and Mark of Perfect, New Creation .—Jesus says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:35. He gives rest because in Him the works of God are perfect. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” In Him “we have our redemption, the forgiveness of sins, ... for in him were all things created.” Redemption through Christ is nothing else than creation-a new creation. Just before His crucifixion, Christ said to the Father, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.” John 17:4. And when He hung on the cross He cried, “It is finished; and He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19:30. Thus He indicated that in the cross are to be found all the perfect, finished works of the new creation. Now the Sabbath was given as the sign of a perfect creation completed; therefore it is the sign of those perfect works restored by the cross of Christ. That is to say: Since the Sabbath is the sign of a perfect creation completed, and by the cross of Christ a new creation is accomplished, the Sabbath must be the sign of the cross. Try it and see if it is not. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.3

A Gift, Not a Task Exacted .—Here is where so many people mistake: they think that the Sabbath is a hard requirement that God lays on men, and then they soon get in the way of thinking that God cannot require it of us, since He does not desire his people to be burdened, But salvation is not a thing required of us, but a gift to us; and the Sabbath is the sign of Christ's saving power: He saves by the power by which He creates. Rest is not a burden, it is a pleasure. Nothing more absolutely delightful can be imagined than rest in the consciousness of work all done and well done, and this is the privilege of the people of God: “All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord, and Thy saints shall bless Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and talk of Thy power; to make known to the sons of men Thy mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of Thy kingdom.” Psalm 145:10-12. “One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts.” Verse 4. The Sabbath is the pledge and assurance to us, that the power by which the worlds were made has wrought good works for us in Christ, and that these works are all ours if we believe. This is the rest prepared for us from the foundation of the world. This is the rest to which Christ invites us-rest from our own sinful works. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.4

“Some Must Enter In.” -What a blessed assurance this is: Some must enter into that rest. God has sworn by Himself, and it must be done. God does not owe anything to sinful men, but He has put himself under obligations to Himself, so that he says: “I, oven I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember Thy sins.” Isaiah 43:25. So absolutely necessary is it that some must enter into the rest that God has prepared, and which can be entered into only by faith, that even if every man should be false and faithless, God would still remain true to his promise (Romans 3:3, 4), for He could take some of the ground and raise up children to Abraham. Matthew 3:9. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.5

It would be a manifestation of the same power that in the beginning made man of the dust of the ground; it would be only the same creative power now that takes the stony heart and reduces it to dust,-makes it contrite,-und then creates a new man in Christ Jesus. Therefore since God is able, and not only willing, but even under bonds (to Himself) to prepare people for His rest, let “whosoever will” come. “Him that cometh to Me,“ says Jesus who calls, “I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. The case is urgent, and the Lord is not requiring any certificates of good character, or making any examination of candidates. The worst and weakest and most degraded and despised, is accepted without any questions being asked except this: “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.6

“Christ receiveth sinful men,
Even me with all my sin;
Purged from every spot and stain,
Heaven with Him I enter in.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.7

None Compelled .—As anxiously as God longs to save men, and as urgent as the need is, He forces none, How could He? Think what it is that He offers: it is rest-rest from sin. Now it is an utter impossibility to force anybody to take rest. Mere cessation of activity is not necessarily rest. Bind a man who wishes to do a certain thing so tightly that he cannot by any possibility use a muscle, and he will not rest; he will wear himself out by the resistance of his mind against the enforced idleness. God not only does not and will not force anybody to be saved, but He cannot; for the very word “force” implies resistance, and the man who resists does not rest. Those, therefore, who make and enforce laws to compel people to be religious, show that they have not the faintest conception of what the Christian religion is; men who would compel people to keep the Sabbath, have no more idea of what the Sabbath really is, than they have of the language used by the inhabitants of Saturn. There is no one so foolish as to suppose that he can compel another to Iove him by kicking and beating him; yet many think that people can be compelled to serve the Lord, not knowing that God is love, and that His service is love. Absolute freedom is what the Lord gives,-freedom from every sort of oppression. This is what the true keeping of the Sabbath brings. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 708.8

“The Longsuffering of God.” -Because some must enter into the rest, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief, therefore God extended the time. When Moses was born, the time of the promise which God had sworn to Abraham drew near (Acts 7:19), yet five hundred years later, in the days of David, “after so long a time,“ we hear the Spirit saying, “To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” And still the Spirit says, Come. Men abuse the longsuffering of God, and mockingly say, “Where is the promise of His coming?” but we must remember that “the longsuffering of our God is salvation.” He is not willing that any should perish. 2 Peter 3:3, 4, 9, 15. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.1

A Limited Time.—“Another Day.” -Although God is so longsuffering, He has not given men eternity in which to repent and believe. Eternity of rest is what He offers, but He allows men only one day in which to accept the offer; and that day is To-day. “Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2. This is the day of which we read in Psalm 118, as we readily see by reading a portion of it: “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter.’” Verses 19, 20. Compare John 10:9: “I am the Door, by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved.” “I will praise Thee; for Thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The Stone which the builders rejected is become the head Stone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the clay which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice, and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech Thee, O Lord; O Lord, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity.” Psalm 118:21, 25. This is the day of the Lord which Abraham rejoiced to see, and in which He was glad (John 8:56), for the aalvation which he enjoyed is the very same that is now offered to us. It is salvation from sin. See Rom. 4:1-0. The accepted time has been extended, “another day,“ and so from day to day God is patiently waiting. Who will heed the blessed invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.2

Ceasing from Our Own Works .—He that has entered into God's rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His; but not for the same reason. God ceased from His works because they were finished and perfect; we are to cease from our own works because they are all imperfection, and there is no hope of making them good. Taking into consideration all the people of the earth, the Lord says, “Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing.” Isaiah 41:29. “Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works; their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.” Isaiah 59:6. The Lord rested in the contemplation of His own glorious works; we likewise find rest in the contemplation of His, not our own, gloriously perfect work. “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law, and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:20-22. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.3

It is sometimes supposed that it is only the works of a man before his conversion, that are of no avail for righteousness, and that a man's works are all right after he is once converted. But this is a mistake. The best man in the world is but a man, and not God. The righteousness of the best man is not his own, but the righteousness of God by faith. The righteous man has no more strength than the sinner, but his advantage lies in the fact that He knows and acknowledges the Lord as the source of strength. A man must absolutely and for ever cease from his own works, if he would rest in God. This is what the Sabbath of the Lord-the seventh day, teaches us. Sabbath-keeping in spirit and in truth is the fulness of justification through faith. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.4

Labouring to Enter into Rest .—“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest,“-the rest that still remains. What kind of labour secures that rest?—The labour of faith, for “this is the work of God that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” Paul thanked God for the Thessalonians, when he remembered their “work of faith and labour of love.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 3. Faith works by love. Galatians 6:6. Belief is salvation and rest, for “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” “If thou shalt confess with Thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9. But this does not mean idleness and indifference. It means passivity to the Word of God dwelling in us, that it may have free course, but that means intense activity, “for the Word of God is living and active.” Oh, weary, troubled soul, believe the Word of the Lord, and believe now. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.5

“Art thou weart, art thou languid, art thou sore oppressed?
Come to Me, saith One, and coming, Be at rest.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.6

“The Soudan” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

The Soudan .—The nations are gathering round this mid-African region, ready to fight one another or the natives for monopoly of it, trade. It is a vast country, about 4,000 miles across, peopled by about 80,000,000 souls. “The Koran is carried thither by the Arab,“ says Regions Beyond. “The Gospel by Christians?—No. Traders have reached the heart of this country. Gin and gunpowder are finding their way in thither. But messengers of Jesus? The water of life?—Not yet. One feeble light flickers at the junction of the Niger and Binue-the C.M.S. centre, left now without any white missionary. But beyond Lokoja, Islam stretches unbroken sway.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.7

“Naval Outlay” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Naval Outlay .—During eleven and a half years’ service, the present chief naval constructor, Sir W. H. White, has designed about fifty million pounds’ worth of ships. It is safe to say that no man since the world began ever equaled this record. “In 1813,“ he says, “the Navy, exclusive of armament, might have been valued at about ten millions sterling. Its value to-day, according to Parliamentary returns, is sixty-one millions, excluding small ships, steam tugs, and the like.” So that nearly five-sixths of the money spent on battle-ships, now in service, has been spent during the past eleven years. During the same period other Powers have been feverishly increasing their naval forces. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.8

“Power of the Imagination” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

It is important in illness to keep up the spirits and let good cheer and hopefulness exert their powerful influence over physical conditions. A person may brood over fancied symptoms until actually ill; and sometimes cases are reported in which, in ailments induced by morbid fancies, a cure has been effected by means which worked on the imagination. A journal describing some cases of this character says:— PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.9

“One of the most remarkable cases of this description is connected with the first introduction of nitrous oxide-laughing gas. It was believed that this gas would be of great value in cases of paralysis. Sir Humphrey Davy undertook to experiment with it upon a paralytic patient, who was told that a certain cure for his disorder had just been discovered. Before applying the gas Sir Humphrey placed a small pocket thermometer under the tongue of the patient, who believed that this was a portion of the cure. A moment after the thermometer touched him, he exclaimed gleefully, ‘I feel better already.’ Sir Humphrey did not undeceive him, but after taking the thermometer from under his tongue, dismissed him, and told him to come again in a few days for a second application. After two or three doses of the thermometer the paralysis seemed entirely cured.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 709.10

“The ‘Dark Ages’” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

A Paris firm of milliners has recently placed an order for twenty thousand gold-finches for next season, which indicates that the custom of wearing birds or birds’ wings on the head is still to be continued by people who, by reason of their superior advantages, ought to be much farther in advance of ordinary savages. The French are however by no means the only sinners in this respect; England uses annually about 30,000,000 song birds and birds of beautiful plumage for hat “decoration.” It is stated that in the last twenty-five years, not less than three thousand millions (3,000,000,000) of humming birds, birds of Paradise, etc., have been slaughtered as offerings to the goddess of fashion, and in many places these birds have been almost entirely destroyed. When it is remembered that the birds are usually taken in the breeding season, and that the thousands captured each year mean many more thousands of young and helpless birds abandoned to a miserable death-, and moreover that the wings that are used are are from the living birds, some faint idea an be obtained of the horrible cruelty of the business, and of the heartlessness of those who wear this kind of adornment. The Bible tells us that “the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty” (Psalm 74:20); when therefore we consider the facts just stated, we can see that “darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people” of the whole so-called “civilised world,“ and that we need not go back of the close of the nineteenth century to find “the Dark Ages.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 715.1

“Cast-Off Garments” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Those whose business and circumstances make it necessary that they should not wear clothing until it has reached the utmost limit of usefulness can do better than to sell left-off garments for a trifle to the dealer in old clothes. That may be the easiest way to get rid of them, but a greater service may he done by giving them to people in distress. We need not fear taking business from the “old-clo’” man; he will get plenty of merchandise from those who do not know of anyone who needs worn clothing. As for us, if we don't know such, it is a sin to be confessed. It will do us good to know them. “The cause which I knew not I searched out,“ said Job, and he had a blessed experience in doing so. Job 29:12-16. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 715.2

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

-Bulawayo is lighted by the electric light. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.1

-The population of London has almost doubled since 1850. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.2

-Turkey is reorganising its navy, and ordering new ships. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.3

-Severe shocks of earthquake were felt in Greece last week. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.4

-The French are preparing for an outlay of ?1,000,000 on the world's fair to be held in Paris in 1900. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.5

-The race rivalry which has led to violent scenes in the Austro-Hungarian parliament has given rise to conflicts in provincial towns. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.6

-The new governor of Cuba is confident of success in ending the war by the granting of reforms. The Cuban insurgents however demand complete independence. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.7

-There is danger of a strike amongst cotton mill operatives against a proposed reduction in their wages, The dispute will directly affect about 50,000 workers. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.8

-At various points round the South Coast the sea is encroaching upon the land at the rate of from two to thirty feet each year. The latter figure is reached at Westward Ho. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.9

-The foreign-born and the children of foreign-born people constitute two-thirds of the population of New York. There are in the city 900,000 Germans and over 800,000 Irish. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.10

-The French are still in territory claimed by the British in West Africa, and natives are appealing to the Royal Niger Company for protection against the French expedition. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.11

-The Indian frontier force is now in the home country of the hillmen who are resisting the advance. They find well cultivated valleys and well-built houses, and signs of general prosperity. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.12

-Holland is said to be the worst offender in the importation of spirits into Africa for native consumption. Major Lugard says the natives spend their money for drink instead of for implements of agriculture. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.13

-The Bulawayo Railway was formally opened laat week. It starts from Vryburg, the terminus of the Cape Government Railway, and runs 579 miles to Bulawayo. The cost is estimated at nearly ?2,000,000. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.14

-Canada is glad of a generally prosperous year, due to good harvests and the growth of butter, cheese, and other industries. In a single month ?4,000,000 above the ordinary monthly sum was deposited in the savings banks of the country. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.15

-?36,000 weekly strike pay is now paid to 83,000 engineers. The funds of the society are rapidly being depleted, and if the crisis is prolonged many weeks longer great suffering must follow. The masters are unbending in opposition to the eight-hour demand, and the men equaIly so. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.16

-A severe thunder-storm recently washed out over a hundred miles of the Siberian Railway. Thousands of workmen are employed along the line, hastening it forward. Travellers report excessive drunkenness among them and immorality, and in consequence a heavy mortality. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 718.17

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

Nearly five hundred medical missionaries are at work in mission fields abroad. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.1

It is said that “there are in the whole of Wales not more than fifty Welsh people who are Roman Catholics.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.2

A news agency reports that “a special mass for the conversion of England is to be said every month throughout all the churches in France.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.3

It was stated at the conference of Peace Societies last week that the Secretary for War was taking a special interest in the Boy's Brigade movement. Why shouldn't he? It encourages the martial spirit which military men are seeking in every way to cultivate. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.4

In a book written against the Sabbath of the Lord, designed to show that Christians ought not, like the early disciples of Christ, to rest on the Sabbath day “according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56), we find the following given as one of the “reasons” for not keeping the day: “There is not an allusion to the Sabbath in the entire book of Genesis after chapter ii.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.5

But there is a most direct and positive reference to the Sabbath in the second chapter of Genesis, and that is about as early as it could well he made, since it is in the account of the creation of the world. It is a record of the giving of the Sabbath to man. God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, or appointed it to be observed (compare Joshua 20:7, and margin), because that in it He had rested from all His work. This is identical with the fourth commandment. Exodus 20:5-11. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.6

“Yes,“ says the opposer; “but we do not find any other reference to it in the book.” Well, then, let us drop the subject for a moment, and consider a case nearer home. It is nine o'clock in the evening: A father says to his son, “John, did you post that letter, as I directed you this morning at breakfast?’” Now hear the reply of the son: “Why no, father, of course not; how could you expect me to, when you simply told me to do it, and didn't say anything more about it? It was early this morning when you spoke about it, and you didn't allude to it all day afterwards.” PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.7

Will the son once think of giving such an excuse?—Certainly not, that is the last excuse in the world he would think of making. I fancy I hear the objector to the Sabbath muttering something about its not being a parallel case. Well, perhaps not. “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master; if I then be a Father, where is Mine houour?” saith the Lord. Malachi 1:6. Is God your Father? PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.8

A morning paper, on the authority of its American correspondent, prints the following:— PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.9

Several leading newspapers, commenting on the recent Democratic successes and an Mr. Bryan's increasing popularity, express some alarm at the revolutionary spirit which is spreading among the masses throughout the country, and the increasing threats of demagogues against plutocrats and the wealthy educated classes. A fact which, taken with the above, has considerable significance is that; General Miles, commander-in chief of the American Army, is reported to have recommended the Government to provide a Treasury building at Chicago, surmounted by a turret of Gatling guns, which could sweep the streets in case of an attack. He also proposed that the Government buildings in other large cities should be similarly fortified. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.10

The United States seems leading in the van in this matter; but all the world over it is apparent that the restraints of the Spirit of God are being loosened. The fierceness of the struggle for life and for gain, and the competition and rivalries of classes and nations, are threatening the order of society and the peace of nations if it can be said that there is peace amongst the nations, when they are either warring somewhere or preparing to do so all the time. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.11

At the root of all the trouble is selfishness and covetousness. And the last days were to be specially perilous because men should be lovers of their own selves, covetous, fierce, etc. Only God's power in His Gospel can root out and hold down these characteristics of human nature. When the world rejects this Gospel with its salvation from self, and the Spirit of God is resisted, it is easy to see that the “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation” will sweep over the world very swiftly. But, thank God, the Gospel saves every soul that wants to escape from these things, and saves from the sin and self. There is something better to seek after than the things that the children of this world are seeking for. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,“ and then “wait for His Son from heaven.” The distresses and perplexities among the nations are signs that Christ's coming is near at hand. “These things” have begun to come to pass; “then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:25-28. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.12

“‘Which She Did’” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

“Which She Did.” -Dorcas was “full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.” Many people are full of good works and almsdeeds which they intend doing as soon as they can find a convenient opportunity. There is danger that good intentions may lull one into inactivity. One may be so full of good intent that the conscience rests easy while nothing is actually done. Dorcas's example is a good one. She was full of good works which she did; and the opportunities come to all of us on the right hand and on the left in this needy suffering world. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.13

“What the Public Wants” The Present Truth, 13, 45.

E. J. Waggoner

What the Public Wants.—The cables have given meagre news of the progress of the Australian federation movement, and none at all of the agitation carried on by the church leaders, demanding that the Federal Constitution shall be given a religious character-a step which could only work evil to genuine religious interests. No greater danger has ever faced the people of the colonies yet we hear of details only by the Australian mails. But now that the English cricket team is playing an Australian team, we get fullest details every day of the “brilliant batting,“ and can learn who hit the ball and to what part of the field it went. The significance of it lies in the fact that the news agencies know what most interests the public. PTUK November 11, 1897, page 720.14