The Present Truth, vol. 15

January 19, 1899

“As Little Children” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

“Verily I say unto you, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.1

It is written in the prophecy of Malachi, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers.” Malachi 4:5, 6. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.2

From Luke 1:17 we learn that the object of this work of Elijah the prophet is to prepare people for the appearing of Christ. Of John the Baptist it was said, “He shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just: to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.3

To make ready a people prepared for the Lord is to cause them to become as little children, for only such can enter into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children is to put in the fathers the heart of a little child. As a result of this work done in the spirit and power of Elias, the fathers and children will become one in spirit. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.4

It is for the lack of this child-like spirit that so many parents have had to grieve over the rebellious dispositions of their children. It takes a humble, child-like spirit on the part of the parent to deal successfully with the soul of the little one, and only as parents themselves become as little children can they have a saving influence over the young. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.5

Children are very precious to the Lord. “Of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus says, “Take heed, that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.” “Whoso shall offend [cause to stumble, R.V.] one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.6

It is not the Lord's fault the children are so often a cause of trouble and anxiety to their parents. Some feel that it is almost hopeless to expect to see their children converted, but if they would only become as little children themselves, it would open the way for the Lord to work mightily in their behalf. He earnestly desires to save the children, and often all that hinders Him is the unwillingness of the parents to co-operate with Him, and reveal in their own lives the beauty and attractiveness which would win the children. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.7

Let us notice one or two of the promises which the Lord makes to parents, when they allow themselves to be made like little children by the message of Elias, which is to prepare people for the Lord. From these promises parents may learn what the Lord is willing to do now for their children, if they themselves will cease to hinder His working. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.8

“I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring.” The result is seen in conversions on every hand, “And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the watercourses. One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.” Isaiah 44:3-5. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.9

When a person receives the Spirit of God its influence does not cease with himself. It extends to his children and beyond. Out of him flow rivers of living water. John 7:38, 39. When their own backsliding is healed, the promise is given to God's people, “They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine.” Hosea 13:4, 7. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 33.10

The receiving of God's fulness is the safeguard against backsliding. While a place is reserved in the heart for the world it will always assert itself and be master. When God is allowed to fill the life, He will keep that which is committed to Him. And just as He can do this for those who trust in Him with all their heart and lean not to their own understanding, so He can and will do it for their children. Parents may be sure of the continued salvation of their children by knowing for themselves what it is to be kept from falling. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.1

This is not a speculation. God has sworn to it. His covenant with Abraham that He would write His law in his heart was “between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generation for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Genesis 17:7. “For I have known him, to the end that He may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment.” Genesis 18:19. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.2

In Isaiah 59:20, 21, we learn what this covenant would do for the seed of all “them that turn from transgression in Jacob.” “As for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the Lord, My Spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seeds seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.3

“Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1. Be yourselves a channel for the Divine blessing and it will nourish your children, so that they will grow up in the Christ. They will have to meet with temptations just as their parents do, but the promise is to both, “I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Isaiah 49:25. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.4

“The Gospel of Isaiah” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

It has already been pointed out that the Gospel as given through the prophet Isaiah was for the people who lived in the time of the promise, a time when the work of the Gospel could be closed up and the King of glory come, if the people would only receive the message. So it is emphatically a message for the present time when “the great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly.” It is also clear that in this first chapter of Isaiah a complete view of the Gospel work is presented, reaching to the full restoration through judgment and righteousness, in the experience of those who accept it, or the destruction of those who reject it, and thus “forsake the Lord.” So the work to be done just before the Lord comes will be set forth in this chapter, and the people who are doing the closing work will be carrying out the principles which are here laid down. Let us therefore study some of these principles. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.5

A Question of Food. -The Lord calls upon heaven and earth to listen while He presents His case concerning His children. He says that He has nourished them, but they have turned against Him. Even the beasts of burden recognise their owner and expect to serve those who feed them, but His children do not so. It is no mere accident that the food question is mentioned here. It was through yielding to the temptation of Satan over this very question that sin came into the world in the first place. It was over this same matter that the children of Israel murmured in the wilderness. “And they tempted God in their hearts by asking meat for their lust. Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” Psalm 78:18, 19. Satan attempted to overthrow Jesus in the wilderness on this same question. Matthew 4:3, 4. We may therefore be sure that in the closing work of the Gospel God's people will be tested to show that the victory which was gained over this question by Jesus has been fully appropriated through faith by His followers. Study anew the question of healthful living, of eating what the Lord has given for food with a constant recognition of what He gives in such food, and see that it is not a matter of chance that it is now coming into such prominence. Observe that the closing message must deal with this matter. Compare Revelation 14:6, 7 with Acts 14:15-17 and 17:24, 25, and note what is involved in the recognition of God as the Creator. Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-11; these things “are written for our admonition,” because the same test will be experienced by those “upon whom the ends of the world are come.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.6

The Snare of Ritualism .-From verses 10-15 we learn that in the very time of the promise the professed people of God were depending upon the forms of worship to commend them to God while their lives were full of evil. This is but one phase of the same old effort to put self in the place of God. The Lord's rebuke upon such mockery is intended to save the people from depending upon that which will fail them when the test comes. Read Jeremiah 17:5-8. There is nothing arbitrary in these statements. The simple consequences of man's own choice are presented. Every offering, every form of service, in which the righteousness of Christ is lacking, is a vain oblation, and empty form. It is no more acceptable than was the offering of Cain. But these principles must be emphasised in the closing work. The falling away and the mystery of iniquity reach their climax in the final struggle of the great controversy when the professed church and the world have united against God and His truth. “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” The warning against the worship of the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9, 10) is just as much a part of the closing message as is the instruction to worship God. It is again the time of the promise, and so now we see a professed religion of forms and ceremonies substituted for the reality of the life that cleanses from sin. But this is not a question simply of some church. It is a matter of individual experience, and the only safeguard against it is in an individual acceptance of the life of God in Christ: “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.7

Christian Help Work .-The spirit of the Gospel is to help the poor and the unfortunate. This is shown in the whole work of Christ for us. Those who are “ wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” are the very ones whom He came to help. He came to a fatherless family to be “the Everlasting Father” to them, the second Adam. He “gave Himself for us.” The spirit of Satan and of the world is selfish, to think only of oneself. In the closing days this spirit will be most fully revealed by those who have refused the blessings of the Gospel, and this will open the way and create a demand as it were for helping those who are thus brought into distress. So in the closing work of the Gospel, just before the people of God are to hear the invitation, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom,” they will call “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind,” to share with them in things temporal and things spiritual. And so the instruction to “relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow” will be carried out by those who are giving the last message of mercy, and by this work it will be shown that it is a message of mercy. Note that the definition of religion given in James 1:27 shows that it is not an abstract quality, but a principle which manifests itself in life, and determines our relationship to the unfortunate. That the poor, who are really the children of God, can do Christian Help Work is shown from the fact that Jesus helped others, although He had not where to lay His head. And giving from their scanty funds was so common that this came to the mind of the disciples as the probable reason why Judas left them on the night of the betrayal. John 13:27-29. Peter had no money, but he bestowed an inestimable gift upon the lame man. Acts 3. God makes believers sufficient to be ministers of His own life. 1 Corinthians 3:4-6. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 34.8

“A Gospel Epitome” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

In our study of the first chapter of Isaiah it has been necessary to divide into three lessons what is really one connected lesson, and so it will be profitable to consider the whole chapter together. As the whole text has already been printed, as translated by Lowth, we shall for the sake of the space omit it here and refer the reader to the three preceding numbers of this paper, or to his Bible, or better still to his own knowledge of the chapter from a previous study. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 35.1

Of course the only thing to be studied in the Scripture is the Gospel of Christ the Saviour, the Gospel of abundant life (John 10:10), imparted to us through our faith (John 20:30-31). But the character of God is inseparable from the power of His life, and so the Gospel is the Gospel of His character, freely given to man in the gift of His Son Jesus, “the Lord our Righteousness.” And the need of such a Gospel arises from the fact of man's unlikeness to God, even though originally made in His image, for all now lack His glory (character) through sin (Romans 3:23); and so the picture is complete only when we see man's lost and pitiable condition through his rebellion against God the Father, his utter inability to save himself by his own works, God's power and willingness to save even the vilest, and the results of accepting or rejecting this offered salvation. Such a complete picture is presented in this first chapter of Isaiah. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 35.2

The Lord's own description of the condition of every man who has departed from Him is given in verses 4-6, and what a pitiable condition is here presented! There is absolutely no soundness, nothing from which goodness can ever be developed. It is a case entirely without hope, unless a restoring power can be found outside of itself. The cause of this distressing experience is found in verse 2. It is rebellion; and the rebellion of children against a Father who has nourished and brought them up. And here it is shown that man, who was created in the image of God, to have dominion “over the cattle,” has through his sin lost his place of power and become more brutish than the beast of the field. For children treat their Father with less consideration than the ox and ass treat their owner. Thus has the head become the tail, and thus is God's glory trailed in the very dust before the face of all the universe. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 35.3

And how clearly it appears that this course of rebellion against God has brought in its train the most terrible misery to man and a destroying curse upon the earth. Wounds, bruises and sores cover the man from head to foot, while his country is desolate, his cities are burned, and strangers devour his land. The foes within and the foes without have both gained a complete victory over him, and were it not for the wonderful mercy of the long-suffering, though powerful “Lord of hosts,” powerful to save, not even a remnant could be saved from such depths of woe. How wondrously are the mercy and the saving grace of God revealed in His own statement of the consequences of man's rebellion! How tender and strong is the love which comes to the rescue of the lost one whose condition is so repulsive! But “God is love,” and man's need is his strongest plea, and the life which heals and saves is freely given by the Great Physician “who gave Himself for our sins.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 35.4

The deceitfulness of sin and the perversity of the human heart are revealed in the way in which the Lord's provision to save us from sin is turned, by the suggestion of Satan, into an excuse for continuing in sin with the utmost complacency. Repentance for sin and faith in the efficacy of His blood (life) who has “appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” shown by offerings made with “a broken and a contrite heart,” which thus become “the sacrifices of righteousness,” will bring pardon and cleansing from the sin, which means salvation from sinning. But a multitude of sacrifices, which are mere “vain oblations,” and many prayers made with outstretched hands which are “full of blood,” are simply sin added to sin under the guise of religion, as are all our efforts at saving ourselves apart from the grace of Christ. This is only to add to the burden which we have already brought upon the Lord's life, and so He becomes “weary to bear them.” Thus is again emphasised how great is our need of Divine deliverance, as it appears that even the forms of worship provided by the Lord Himself become an expression of deeper degradation when attempted by us as works of righteousness. Satan, who desired power for selfish purposes, God's power without His character, often seeks to satisfy our sins of need by a multiplication of forms without the life, which when present will find expression for itself. Where sin abounded, there grace did much more abound, but not that we should continue in sin. God's salvation is from sin, not in sin. The blood upon the hands shows the need, not making many pharisaical prayers, but of applying to the heart the blood that cleanseth from all sin. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 35.5

And so we come to the central thought of the chapter, God's willingness and ability to cleanse from the deepest stains of sin. But this He does by virtue of what He Himself is, by the power of His own character. And so in every commandment of His, which the saved sinner knows as “life everlasting,” He is simply offering to us the assurance of His own character through His “exceeding great and precious promises.” For when He tells us to “relieve the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, plead the cause of the widow,” He is holding out to us the gift of His own life, that life which finds expression in doing the same things for us. For is it not His delight to let the oppressed go free? And “a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in His holy habitation. All that God is He desires to share with His children, and the most wonderful thing about the inheritance is that we may become “heirs of God” Himself, temples for His own indwelling. And although the temple has become defiled, yea even “a den of thieves,” yet “shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Hear the Lord's Word: “I am merciful, saith the Lord, and will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity.” “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 35.6

Father, I have wandered from Thee,
Often has my heart gone astray;
Crimson do my sins seem to me-
Water cannot wash them away.
Jesus, to the fountain of Thine,
Leaning on Thy promise I go;
Cleanse me by Thy washing divine,
And I shall be whiter than snow.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 36.1

And so complete is the cleansing and the restoration that even though the faithful city had become an harlot, and its princes rebellious and the companions of thieves, wholly given up to the work of the thief (John 10:10), yet shall it again be called “The city of righteousness, the faithful city.” Thus are we encouraged to believe that there is forgiveness with the Lord that He may be feared, and that there is help for every one of us. He redeems by His own righteousness, a free gift to be received through faith. There is no sin so heinous from which we may not be justified by faith, that faith which works by love, the only faith there is. The unpardonable sin is the sin which refuses to be pardoned. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” This is the glorious result of accepting the Gospel of Life, the Gospel of the gift of God's own character through faith in Christ! PTUK January 19, 1899, page 36.2

And now the chapter closes by stating the inevitable result of refusing the same Gospel life. “They that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” “An oak whose leaf fadeth,” and “a garden that hath no water” are the types of the man who refuses the water of life. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters.... Her leaf shall be green.” “The ungodly are not so.” And so the dry oak and the parched garden are ready for the great conflagration when “the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” But this is “the day of the Lord,” when He “will come as a thief in the night.” And so this chapter takes us from the first cause of sin, through its most loathsome manifestation, through the offers of Divine mercy, to the sure results of the acceptance or rejection of the Gospel of God's own life through Christ. And thus is the Gospel preached and to us as well as unto them. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 36.3

“Studies in the Gospel of John. The Water of Life. John 4:5-15” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

In the account of Christ's interview with the woman of Samaria, we have a striking example of His faithfulness to the mission entrusted to Him. He was hungry and weary with His journey, and as He rested by Jacob's well at noonday, His disciples having gone into Sychar to buy food, the woman came to draw water. His request that she would give Him some to drink was met by an expression of surprise on the part of the woman that He, being a Jew, should ask any favour from a Samaritan. Not a very encouraging opening, but beneath the exterior of superstition and ignorance, Christ recognised the spiritual need and longed to open to this benighted soul the treasure of the Father's love. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 36.4

He did not ask her to come again when He would be feeling rested and refreshed, or suggest that, if she could get together a sufficient congregation to make it worth while, He would speak to them on some very important truths, but to this single individual He proceeded to make known His work and character. She did not seem a very hopeful subject, living in sin, her mind set on temporal advantages, only seeking the water of life if it would save her the trouble of coming to the well to draw water, and so far as one could judge from her trivial, irrelevant interruptions, entirely unresponsive to the deep spiritual truths which Jesus was unfolding to her. Yet this woman was among the very few to whom Christ explicitly stated that He was the Messiah. His words at last reached her heart. Spiritual things prevailed; she recognised in Christ the One whom she needed, and now, leaving her waterpot, she sought to bring her neighbours and friends into contact with the Saviour. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 36.5

The woman of Samaria is representative of the great majority to whom the word of the Lord comes. Earthly things engross the mind to the exclusion of the things which belong to our peace. The Lord is anxious to reveal Himself to us, but any trifle suffices to turn us away from listening to His voice. Yet He does not become discouraged. If the Lord had nothing of special value for us, He might be tempted to abandon the effort to gain our attention, but because that which He offers is beyond price, more than has entered into the heart of man to conceive, He cannot, for our sakes, withdraw the gift. If only we knew its worth, there would not be another moment's hesitation on our part to enter into the enjoyment of it. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 37.1

Christ said to the woman of Samaria, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink: thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.” Notice how Christ speaks of these steps as a matter of course, admitting of no question. If the woman knew what the gift of God was, she would of course, ask for it. Everyone can believe that. But it is just as much a matter of course that He should grant her request. Let us remember, as we study what the living water is, and desire to drink deeply of it for ourselves, that the Lord reckons on our asking for it, and says that just as surely as we do, we shall have it. It is as natural on His part to give the water of life as it is for us to desire it, and even more so, for He gives more, exceeding abundantly more, than we can ask or even think. Ephesians 3:20. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 37.2

“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Here is perfect satisfaction, fulness of life, and unending rejoicing, and everlasting salvation. How little we have appreciated what Christ wants to do for His followers, the wonderful life that He desires them to live. It is not His will that there shall be any unsatisfied longings among His people, or vain hungering and thirsting after the unattainable blessings. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6. The blessing that Moses pronounced upon Naphtali is to be the experience of all God's children, “satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 33:23. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life, he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and He that believeth on Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 37.3

In the earth made new there will be “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Revelation 22:1. This flows from God's own being for He is “the Fountain of living waters.” The tree of life, which is on either side of the river, derives its exhaustless vitality from the river of life. It will be a good thing to drink of that river. Poets have sung of it, and wherever the thought of it has found an entrance into human hearts, it has awakened a thirsting which nothing else can satisfy. Whoever drinks of that stream shall find freedom from all evil, fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore. There are none who would refuse to quench their thirst with its crystal waters if they only had the chance. It is the outpouring of God's own life, and eternity and heaven are in its flow. It is written of the redeemed, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; ... For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 37.4

We are not told of these things that we may decide to strive to win them. So far as they lie beyond the utmost stretch of imagination, do they rise beyond the compass of human effort. Not as dazzling glimpses of an uncertain future, but as present realities, to be received and enjoy it, they are made known to us. “For all things are yours ... things present or things to come.” 1 Corinthians 3:21, 22. “The heavenly gifts” is something to be tasted now, and “the powers of the world to come” are for the present life. Hebrews 6:4, 5. “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17. To men living on this earth, even to us, Jesus says, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 37.5

To drink of the living water is to drink of God's own life. What a wonderful possibility for men! It is our privilege to be filled with God's life, and to receive it as easily and naturally as we receive water when we are thirsty. His life is in all His gifts, so that as we quench our bodily thirst with pure water, we are drinking in His life. But there are so many other things for which we thirst, besides that which satisfies our physical appetites. All longing desire, ambition, discontent, lawful and unlawful, are the thirst of the soul, and nothing will quench this thirst but Christ. “He that believeth on Me shall never thirst.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 38.1

Do not think that because you are unworthy it would be presumptuous on your part to come and drink. The presumption consists in not drinking. It is that of which the Lord complains. Therefore do not hesitate to accept the invitation to take of the water of life freely. “Be astonished, O ye heavens at this... saith the Lord. For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:12, 13. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 38.2

We need never be afraid that any privilege which the Scriptures set forth is too good for us, being reserved for some more deserving class. God's ambition for each of us is a boundless one, and He thirsts to see it realised. He is not content that men shall live far from Him, where only the little, trickling streamlets of His blessing reach them. He wants them to live at the Fountain head, where there is always abundance. It was to secure this object that Christ came to this earth. Men had wandered away from God, every one to his own way, and Christ came to show us what it meant to live at the Fountain. “We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” He Himself drank of the Fountain of life; it was the Father's life alone that was revealed in Him, and having thus shown us how desirable it is, He invites us to receive it also. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 38.3

“But we are sinful and far from God,” we say. That is no obstacle. “Ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13. The Fountain that has been opened is for sin and for all uncleaness. Zechariah 2:13. The sin was in forsaking the Fountain. “In returning and rest shall ye be saved.” There is salvation in returning to God because He Himself is our salvation. There is nothing incomplete or ineffective about the salvation. It is as perfect as God Himself, for it is Himself. Therefore God's gift to us is Himself. We draw our supplies from His being. When that stream is exhausted we may come to want, but not before. His resources are our resources. God is the strength of our life. He is our song. He is “the deep, sweet well of love.” Therefore with joy will we draw water out of the wells of salvation. Isaiah 11:2, 3. There is more than enough for us, and for everyone we desire to help. We may draw and draw, and always with joy, because there is no disappointment with the Lord. “Great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 38.4

“And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” Isaiah 58:11. “They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain of life.” Psalm 36:8, 9. Only those who drink of Christ now, and find cleansing from sin in the fountain of His life, will be able to drink of the river that proceeds from the throne. Those who have no desire to drink of it now, will not care to do so then. It is God's presence that constitutes the glory and the attraction of heaven, and Christ is the brightness of His glory. That glory is given freely to us in Christ (John 17:22), and so, receiving Him, we are delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. The powers of the world to come work in us, and make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Colossians 1:12, 13. Unless we thus drink of Christ now, and find Him good, we should be out of harmony with the spirit and surroundings of heaven. We have the privilege now of testing the joys of the redeemed, and deciding whether we will share them or not. Those who reject them in this light do so for ever. Men will not be able to accuse the Lord of unfair treatment in concealing from them how desirable heaven was. None will be able to say, “Had we known how pleasant it is, we would have chosen very differently,” for that which makes heaven desirable is offered to men on earth in Jesus Christ. Even here they may know what it is to thirst no more. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 38.5

“He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive.” John 7:38, 39. God imparts Himself by His Spirit, and by it dwells in mortal flesh. Those whose inner man is strengthened with it, receive Christ into their hearts and are filled with all the fulness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19. Thus the Fountain of life is in them and flows forth in streams of blessing, rivers of living water. Christ was filled with the Spirit, and the rivers of living water flowed from Him in heaven. Thus He caused the woman of Samaria to drink of the water of life, that she might thirst no more. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 38.6

There is a lesson for all who labour with Christ in His experience on this occasion. No one can allow living waters to flow through him for the salvation of others without being refreshed and strengthened himself. “He that watereth shall be watered also himself.” Proverbs 11:25. This was true in Christ's case. When He began to talk to the woman He was hungry and weary, but in ministering to her need, He was refreshed and strengthened, so that when His disciples returned and urged Him, “Master, eat.” He could say, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of.” They supposed that some one must have brought Him food, but it was His meat to do His Father's will. God does not call men to exhaust themselves and His service, but to drink of the Fountain of life, and glorify Him by letting the life-giving stream flow through them, watering their own souls and making fat their bones, in lives of blessing and willing service for others. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 38.7

“The November Meteors” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

The November Meteors .-The unfavourable atmospheric conditions which last year rendered the observation of the November meteor so generally unsatisfactory has suggested the idea of sending up observers in balloons. Let the cloud-screen be ever so thick if they once get above it the view will be clear. It is proposed to arrange for at least three ascents this year, one in Europe, one in America, and a third in Central Siberia. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 41.1

“Little Folks. Ice” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

Suppose you had always lived in a hot country, where you never saw any ice, do you not think you would be very much surprised, and perhaps find it hard to believe, it you were told that the water which you had always seen flowing so freely could be changed into a perfect solid; is hard as glass, upon which you could ran, and play, and jump, just the same as on the dry land? PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.1

This wonderful transformation of the water is made by God for His own wise, loving purposes. In the Book of Job we are told that it is “by the breath of the Lord frost is given.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.2

You may have noticed that everything contracts, or gets smaller, with cold, and expands, or swells and grows larger, with heat. Perhaps you have seen this even in your own bodies. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.3

Did you ever notice that your hands get larger if they are very hot, so that your gloves become tight? Then too if there is a pan quite full of water on the stove, the water expands as it gets hot and runs over the sides of the pan; and in many other ways you can notice the same thing. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.4

So it is what men call “a law of nature,” that things contract with cold and expand with heat. But “the laws of nature” are simply the ways of God,-His way of doing His wonderful works. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.5

We know that God can work in any way that He pleases; but men notice His usual ways of working, and call these “the laws of nature.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.6

But in forming the ice, God works in exactly the opposite to His usual way, and I think we shall see something of His loving purpose in doing this. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.7

Until it reaches a certain temperature, water, like everything else, contracts and grows heavier with the cold. But when it gets near what is called the freezing point, it suddenly changes and begins to, do just the opposite,-to expand and lighter. Because of this the ice floats and stays on top of the water instead of sinking to the bottom as it would do if it were not for this change. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.8

You will see that in this way a covering is made for the water underneath, which is kept warm enough for fish and water animals to live in. “The waters are hidden as with stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.” Job 38:30. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.9

Of course if all the water were to freeze up, as it would do but for this wonderful change from God's usual way of working, all the creatures that live in the waters would die, and the water would become a mass of solid ice that the summer sun could never melt. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.10

Then when the weather is warmer, so that the waters do not need this protection any longer, God, who made this icy sheet for their covering, “sendeth out His word and melteth them; He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.11

“The fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee; who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?” Job 12:8, 9. “Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons and all deeps; fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy wind fulfilling His word.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.12

As you think of these things, and see more and more of God's love and goodness, you too will want to join this song of praise to God that is going up to Him continually from all His works; for “All Thy works shall praise Thee, O God; and Thy saints shall bless Thee.” “Both young men and maidens, old men and children, let them praise the name of the Lord!” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 42.13

“Cleanliness and the Gospel” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

The vicar of Little Marlow, Bucks, recently made an interesting announcement. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 45.1

Speaking at the Wyombe Board of Guardians, he said that he was so profoundly interested in sanitary work that he had decided to soon surrender his cure in order to devote himself solely to the sanitary needs of the district He regarded social work of that kind quite as holy and necessary as that of the clergyman. His experience had brought him, he said, face to face with the deepest needs of the people, and they were sanitary improvements. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 45.2

Doubtless the change will be one for the better, an it is more than likely that the vicar understands sanitary improvements better than he does the Gospel. If it were not so, he would not have concluded that the deepest needs of the people could be met by improvements in the drainage of their houses. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 45.3

When the Gospel is received as it is presented in the Word of God, it will soon put men right on these matters. For one thing it will correct the greatest sanitary evil of all, the disposition of men to make a cesspool of their own bodies. When the body is recognised as what God declares it to be, the holy temple of the Holy Ghost, men will see the unfitness of defiling it with portions of dead bodies, cooked or uncooked. Decaying substances, and those which, like alcoholic liquors, are the products of decay, will be disposed of in some more hygienic fashion than by filtering them through the human system. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 45.4

It is the lack of true Gospel that results in so many insanitary evils. Where it is faithfully searched and preached, men will know that God sanctifies body, soul and spirit. His promises provide for the cleansing of His people from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and it is only as men are delivered from the power of darkness that they can begin to understand the malignity of Satan's purposes in binding men with the fetters of unclean habits. Let us have sanitary reform by all means, but let it come by the Gospel, far only so will there be power in it to help men out of the bondage of sins that make their lives unhealthful. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.1

“Jottings” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Government has decided to erect and astronomical observatory at Cairo. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.2

-Father Chiniquy, author of “Fifty Years in the Church of Rome,” is dying at Montreal. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.3

-Victoria Station is to be enlarged to double its present capacity at a cost of about a million and a half. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.4

-Another vessel, loaded with 500 barrels of naphtha has exploded off the Nore. All the crew escaped. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.5

-Another battle is reported with the dervishes under Ahmed Fedil, in which 500 were killed and 1,500 taken prisoners. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.6

-Colonel San Martin, who surrendered Porto Rico to the Americans, has been sentenced to imprisonment for life. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.7

-Since the institution of the penny postage rate Canadian correspondents with England has more than doubled. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.8

-A remarkably cold wave is travelling eastward through Canada; at Montreal the mercury fell to 19 degrees below zero. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.9

-For the first time steel has been sold to England from Austria, a considerable order having been received at Pilsen, Bohemia. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.10

-Brussels has a tower-clock which has never been wound up by human hands. By an ingenious arrangement the wind keeps it wound up. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.11

-Venetian coins of 1570 and 1577, bearing the name of one of the doges, have been found in Mashonaland, in the interior of South Africa. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.12

-The situation in the Philippines has become serious. The natives intend to fight rather than allow America to take possession. Manila is surrounded and Ilolio has been saturated with petroleum, so that a bombardment by the American fleet would destroy the European quarter. It is believed that Aguinaldo is receiving encouragement from Germany. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.13

-Venice is built on eighty islands, and has 400 bridges, which are very steep and have many steps. The circumference of the city is about eight miles. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.14

-The King of Italy signed a decree granting a free pardon to 2,700 persons sentenced to terms of imprisonment in connection with the disturbances of last spring. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.15

-The American Government have placed an order with an English firm for the supply of ten million cartridges. These are being turned out at the rate of a million a week. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.16

-Lord Cromer has proclaimed that the Soudan will in future be governed by the Queen of England and the Khedive of Egypt, of whom Lord Kitchener will be the sole representative. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.17

-Cool a sick-room by wetting a sheet and hanging it in the room (but out of the patient's sight). The influence of the moisture upon the temperature will be considerable. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.18

-An omnibus propelled by compressed air is about to be placed on the streets of London as an experiment. The cylinder of compressed air will be sufficient for a seven mile trip. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.19

-Fresh trouble is brewing in the Balkan states, where it is thought Macedonia will shortly declare itself independent of Turkey, with the result that Russia will intervene for the protection of her own interests. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.20

-Experiments are being made with a view to establishing a system of wireless telegraphy between the South Foreland lighthouse and the Goodwin Sands. The points of communication are about three miles apart. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.21

-Two thousand workmen employed in quarries near Waterloo have struck work. Among the grievances formulated was the new regulation forbidding men to take a nip of gin during the forenoon, according to time-honoured custom. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.22

-The Czar, on the occasion of the new year, has for the first time addressed a long and touching telegram to the Pope thanking him for his support of the Conference for reducing armaments, and begging him to do what he can to ensure its success. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.23

-The Vatican having arranged to send missionaries to the Soudan, the English Government has opposed it for the moment, informing the Vatican that England wishes first of all to organise on a solid basis the administration of the new territories before introducing missionaries to the country. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.24

-Lord Kitchener has been known in the past as an interested student of archaeology, and he has made arrangements for investigating the antiquities of the region over which he rules. As the northern Soudan is the site of the ancient Kingdom of Ethiopia, it is hoped that the search will throw light on its history. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.25

-At a temperance lecture given at Lye, near Stourbridge, the lecturer stated that he had visited fifty public-houses in Southampton inside of fifty minutes. A gentlemen present declared this to be impossible, and the matter was put to the test in Lye the following day, when it was found possible to visit twenty-six public-houses in seventeen minutes. The evil has fastened itself more firmly upon the life of the country than many people realise. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.26

-A Blue Book has been issued by the English Government which contains the correspondence addressed to France on the subject of her violation of promises not to injure British trade in Madagascar. The matter of the French occupation of a part of Newfoundland is also being brought up, and it is believed in France that England intends to take advantage of her present overwhelming superiority in naval strength to demand a settlement of these and other matters in dispute on her own terms. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 46.27

“Back Page” The Present Truth 15, 3.

E. J. Waggoner

When God bestows His Spirit upon any it comes as a reprover of sin. John 16:8. The Spirit poured out upon the day of Pentecost was never withdrawn from the church, but as the church lost its first love reproof became distasteful and was unheeded. Men prefer to continue in sin undisturbed. Thus the Spirit was prevented from manifesting itself, and this is why the fruits or the gifts of the Spirit are not more largely seen among professing Christians. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.1

Many are praying for the Spirit in the expectation that it will come as a spiritual enthusiasm, giving them power to do mighty works in a way that will immediately exalt them to a high place in the public esteem, and cause them to be much sought after. When their prayers are answered and the Spirit comes, convincing of sin in the form of some rebuke for transgression on their part, they often take offence at the manner in which the rebuke is conveyed to them. If the channel of reproof is one that warns their self-esteem, they promptly close their ears to its message, and refuse to receive anything from such a source, but in doing this they are rejecting the Spirit and making void their own prayers. “Turn you at My reproof, behold I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known My words unto you.” Proverbs 1:23. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.2

“The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His way.” Psalm 25:9. When Christ came to His own, His own received Him not. The teachers and religious leaders of His day were offended at His sayings. They had desired the coming of the Messiah, but their one thought had been of the personal exaltation that would accrue to themselves when the King of Israel should be revealed. Had Christ been prepared to gratify these selfish ambitions they would have been among His warm adherents. But although He came to do for them an infinitely greater thing, because this involved the humbling of their pride, they rejected Him. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.3

The same test is applied to the men of this generation by the offer to them of God's Spirit. It brings all power and blessing, the fulness of the Divine life, but because it gives no occasion to the flesh to glory, it is rejected even by some who claim to desire it above everything else. Those who hate to be reproved for their sins, hate the Holy Spirit, for it is the Comforter that convicts of sin, and if Christ were to come to them, they would reject Him also for the same reason. The Spirit does not speak of itself. “Whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.” “He shall glorify Me; for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:13, 14. It is still possible for men to deny the Holy One and desire a murderer to be granted unto them. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.4

Lord Salisbury has replied to the Czar's invitation to join in a Peace Conference, expressing warm sympathy with the proposal, but calling attention to the fact that the universal expressions of approval are not in harmony with the course pursued by the different nations. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.5

It is unfortunately true that while the desire for the maintenance of peace is generally professed, and while, in fact, serious and successful efforts have on more than one recent occasion been made with that object by the Great Powers, there has been a constant tendency on the part of almost every nation to increase its armed force, and to add to an already vast expenditure on the appliances of war. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.6

Russia herself, from whom the peace proposals and emanate, is in no wise behind in this tendency to increase armaments, and when the Pacific utterances of the nations are attended by a constant increase of warlike preparations, who can expect that there precepts will prove more potent than their example. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.7

In the German Reichstag, while a Bill for the increase of the army was being discussed, one of the members was called to order for saying that it was a mockery to express to the Russian Government sympathy with the Czar's Manifesto and at the same time to introduce this Bill. The member may not have been in order but he was certainly talking common sense. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.8

The most disastrous storm of recent years visited the British Isles last Thursday. Fatal accidents are reported from all directions, and many lives have been lost at sea. Among the signs which declare to the world the nearness of Christ's return, there shall be “upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.” As these things come more and more frequently, and with growing severity, we are to be warned and know what they point to. “When those things begin come to pass, then looked up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.9

The fury of the elements has no terror for those who see in it the promise that their redemption is approaching. While the world views with increasing terror the destruction of their property, and the dangers that on every hand threaten their very existence, those who fear God and commit themselves into His hand will not fear though the mountains be removed. God is to them a very present help, and destructive cyclones and raging tempests are but “stormy wind fulfilling His word.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.10

The United States is certainly receiving warning of enough of the perils that beset the path of imperialism, and a large number of her citizens are strongly opposed to the departure from Republican principles which is involved in the assumption of sovereignty over subject races. The issue will shortly be decided. The Filipinos are preparing to resist a landing at Iloilo, and refuse all dealings with the Americans, who find it impossible to obtain supplies of vegetables and fruits. Meantime business is suspended and the native warehouses full of rotting sugar. As no planting has been done and the season is advancing, the prospects for the next crop are not hopeful. The situation is regarded in the States as very critical. PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.11

The Lord says, “Ye have sold yourselves for naught.” When we have wasted the time and strength received from Him, getting in return only a burden of sin and disease, it would seem indeed as though we had sacrificed everything for sins and were without hope. For are not the sins worse than useless, securing only death to their possessor? PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.12

Yet, thank the Lord, even our sins have an enormous purchasing power. Whoever is willing to spend them can buy the Lord and all that is His. He “gave Himself for our sins.” Galatians 1:4. So that although they are worthless to us we may exchange them for all that we have lost by our sins. Does not God deal bountifully with us? PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.13

He does not say to the sinner, “You have had your chance and wasted it. Now you've got to bear the consequences.” But He says, “How much longer must you prove that the way of transgressors is hard, before you will drop it and take My way? Return unto Me, for I have redeemed thee.” PTUK January 19, 1899, page 48.14