The Present Truth, vol. 15

October 26, 1899

“Front Page” The Present Truth 15, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

“The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” Psalm 93:3, 4. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.1

There is a grandeur and majesty in the sea. Mountains represent strength, unchangeableness, but the sea, or a rushing river, represents irresistible forces. One is conscious of a power in the sea even when it is comparatively at rest; but when it rages, and its billows roar and show their contempt of puny man in the blinding spray that they spit forth, its fury is awful. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.2

The helplessness of man and the most mighty structures that he can build,-great ships,-in the grasp of the sea, is thus vividly portrayed:- PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.3

“They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths; their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end.” Psalm 107:23-27. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.4

That is the first part of the story. The rest is this: “Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.” This God can do, because “the sea is His, and He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.” Psalm 95:5. He measures all the waters in the hollow of His hand. Isaiah 40:12. All the mighty power of the sea is borrowed from God. He both stirreth up the sea, so that its waves roar, and also stilleth their roaring. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.5

This is a reason why men should be humble, and should consent to be wholly guided by the Lord, to the one who talks proudly and foolishly in self-confidence, the Lord says: “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, and brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” Job 38:8-11. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.6

Great as is the power of the sea, God's power is infinitely greater. The sea is to Him but as a new-born infant in the swaddling clothes. Just as the one would hush a boisterous child, so the Lord says to the raging sea, “Peace! be still,” and immediately it obeys Him. It recognises His authority. It can never overstep the bounds which He sets for it. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.7

Surely, then, man, who is so helpless when seized upon by the billows, and whose mightiest ships are tossed by its waves as mere toys, ought to fear and worship Him to whom its raging is no more than the prattling of an infant. “Fear ye not Me? saith the Lord; will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it; and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?” Jeremiah 5:22. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 673.8

One would not wonder if the mighty rocks were set for the bound of the sea; we expect to see the waves break to pieces against them; but sand is the symbol of weakness and instability. It is easily moved and shifted from one place to another by the waves of the sea. Yet that very shifting sand is what God has set by a perpetual decree as the bound for the sea. Against it the waves toss themselves, but they cannot pass it, and expend their strength in a roar of baffled, helpless fury. God's word has said, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further,” and they are forced to obey. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 674.1

What is the lesson for us? Just this: “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are; that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-30. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 674.2

All power is of God, and He can exert it through the most insignificant agent. He made man to be an associate with Him in government, and so He is pleased to manifest His mighty power through puny man. This is to His glory. The fact that God can stir up or still the sea is cited as a reason why we should have confidence in Him, and then He says: “I have put My words in thy mouth.” Isaiah 51:16. The word by which the heavens and the earth were made; the word which says to the sea, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed,” is the word which He has placed in our mouth. It is marvellous, is it not? but it is true. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 674.3

What are we to do with this word?-Keep it, and use it against the enemy. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17. It was that word in the mouth of Christ, which said, “Get thee hence, Satan;” and the devil left Him. He was as weak as any man, for He said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing;” but the word was almighty in His mouth, and so will it be in the mouth of every one who keeps it. Then what if we are weak and as easily moved as the sand! The God who makes the sand the bound of the sea, can use even us, when the enemy comes in like a flood, to lift up a standard against him. Even so, let it be. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 674.4

“The Gospel of Isaiah. The Lord's Servant. Isaiah 42:1-9” The Present Truth 15, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isaiah 42:1-9.)

“Behold My servant, whom I uphold; My chosen, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him; He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the dimly-burning wick shall He not quench; He shall bring forth judgment in truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for His law. Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them forth; He that spread abroad the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein; I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord; that is My name; and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise unto graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 675.1

The student should not fail to note the frequent occurrence of the word “servant,” in the book of Isaiah. It would be an interesting and profitable employment to collate all the instances of its use, and compare them. In nothing is there more comfort for us than in the use of this term in the prophecy of Isaiah. By it our relationship to God and Jesus Christ is made very plain. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 675.2

The reference in this chapter is undoubtedly to Christ. On this there is no possibility for two opinions. Jesus is pre-eminently the servant of God. In Him the soul of the Father delighteth, for Jesus said, “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 6:38); and, “I do always those things that please Him.” John 8:29. He is the only-begotten and well-beloved Son of God, yet He is called God's servant, and this title is given Him as an honour. The servant of God may be a son, and the son can have no higher purpose than faithfully to serve the Father. Note well the fact that Christ is both Servant and Son. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 675.3

If we obey, we are also servants. Nay, God does not wait to see if we are obedient, before He acknowledges us as His servants; as soon as we yield to Him, we are His. “Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?” Romans 6:16. All men are of right the servants of God, in that they owe Him all their service; but so many utterly refuse the service of God that the term is mostly confined to those who are loyal. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 675.4

Special comfort and encouragement will be derived from the study of Christ as the servant of God, and the words that are spoken of Him in this chapter, if we recall the words addressed to Israel, in the preceding chapter. In verses 8-10 and 13 we read some of the same things that are here said of Christ. “Thou, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham My friend; thou whom I have taken hold of from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art My servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away; fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” “I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand.” Israel, it will be remembered, means those who trust the Lord. To those the same terms are applied as to Christ. They are chosen in Him, accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6. They are chosen and upheld by the hand, just as is Christ Himself. So in reading this forty-second chapter of Isaiah let us not forget that we are the servants of God equally with Christ, so that the work that is given Him to do is ours also, and all the encouragement that God speaks to Him, He speaks to us also. Jesus calls us to join Him in His service, saying, “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Matthew 11:29. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 675.5

“He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles,” and He shall set judgment in the earth. To this end the Spirit of God is upon Him. He is the representative of God, charged with the task of carrying on God's case. It is He who conducts God's case at law to a successful issue. He causes judgment to be rendered in God's favour. The Father does not appear in the case at all, except in Christ, who has full authority to speak and act in every matter in the name of the Father. What wonderful confidence the Father has reposed in this Servant! “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all should honour the Son even as they honour the Father.” John 5:22, 23. The Father has placed His reputation and even His character in the hands of Jesus Christ. The “faithful and wise servant” of the Lord is made ruler over His household, and set over all His goods. See Matthew 24:45, 46. But here again we are brought face to face with the fact that we are servants of the Lord, and that this high place of ruling over the house is entrusted to us. God is not partial. He has no special favourites. What He says to one servant, even though that servant be His only-begotten Son, He says to all. The same love that He has for Christ, He has for us. John 17:23. This places a wonderful responsibility upon us. We see by this, and shall see still more plainly as we proceed, that the Lord has committed His case to us. His character is in our hands. We are to be agents to establish judgment in the earth, and to let the world know who is God. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 676.1

Jesus, into whose hands so much is committed, is meek and lowly in heart. “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.” Take notice that this is in the singular, street, and not streets. It does not say that He shall not speak in the open air. As a matter of fact we know that Jesus did most of His teaching in the open air,-in the fields, on the mountain, by the seaside, or sitting by the wayside well. But He was not boisterous and noisy. When speaking in the house, He would not cause His voice to be heard outside. He did not do anything for effect, or seek to attract attention to Himself. See Matthew 12:16-21, where Christ charged the people that they should not make Him known when He had healed a multitude, and it is said to be in fulfillment of this prophecy of Isaiah. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 676.2

There is undoubtedly much to be learned from Jesus as to the use of the voice, not only in public speaking, but on every occasion. A soft, well-modulated voice, yet clear and distinct, with full tones, marks the master. He who can control his own voice, can control the multitude. A sharp, harsh, rasping voice, pitched in a high key, carries no authority with it. Every servant of the Lord is in duty bound to train his voice as much as the muscles of his arms or legs. It is true that many people in the world do this for gain and applause, and that they become puffed up with pride over the power that it gives them; but this should not deter God's servants from doing so in His name, and for His sake, that they may not misrepresent Him. We can learn of the Lord how to speak properly as well as we can learn anything else; and if we do truly learn of Him, then we shall not become elated over any success that we may have, for He is meek and lowly in heart. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 676.3

The word rendered “cry,” in this instance, is used most frequently of crying out in pain. In this respect it is also true of Christ. “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7. Neither in boasting, nor in anger, nor in pain, did the Lord Jesus cry out. Yet His voice was far-reaching, and many heard. A well-modulated voice is not opposed to the command to lift up the voice with strength and say, “Behold your God!” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 676.4

Very gentle shall the servant of the Lord be. A reed that is cracked, He will not break off. The candle that is just going out, the wick of which is only a smoking cinder, He will not extinguish. On the contrary, He will breathe upon it, and fan it into a flame again. “For thou wilt light my candle; the Lord God will enlighten my darkness.” Psalm 18:28. By this means He will bring forth judgment in truth. This shows that judgment is brought forth by building up that which is weak. God is merciful. He is love. This has been denied by His enemies, and His case is to demonstrate the truth. Therefore those who are charged with the conduct of the Lord's case can win it only by exercising the meekness and gentleness of the Lord. By His care for the poor and needy, the Lord disproves the charges that have been brought against Him. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 676.5

“He shall not fail nor be discouraged till He have set judgment in the earth.” It is very interesting to know that the same words are used in this verse as in the preceding. The word rendered “fail” is the same as that rendered “smoking” or “dimly-burning,” in verse 3; and “discouraged” is from the word rendered “bruised.” He shall not burn dim nor be crushed until His work is accomplished. Of course He will not then; this is an instance of the use of the word “until” where it does not mark the limit. For similar instances, See Genesis 49:10; Psalm 112:8; Galatians 3:19. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 676.6

A discouraged man is a bruised and crushed man. He is one whose light has almost gone out. Hope is expiring in his breast. Such an one Jesus will restore. He will breathe new life into him. He heals the bruised and crushed one. There is no more difficult task in this world than trying to encourage a despondent person. How many there are who think that they have good reason to be discouraged, because they are so sinful, so easily led astray. They have fallen again and again, until they can scarcely be persuaded that there is any hope of their salvation. The servant of the Lord deals with such cases, whispering words of hope and comfort, and does not himself become discouraged. He receives rebuffs, but will not be crushed by them. His light will not burn dim, but he will gather courage from apparent defeat. What a blessed assurance this is to us when we think of it as applied to Christ! He will not be discouraged until He have set judgment in the earth, that is, in the hearts of men-in our hearts. Then when I am almost discouraged over my many failures, I will think, “The Lord Jesus has the task of making me strong and giving me the victory, and He is not discouraged in spite of my many failures. He knows my weakness and sinfulness better than I do myself. Surely if He is not yet discouraged, I have no cause to be.” And thus gathering new courage from the courage of the Lord, we become strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might, and the victory is ours. To us all the Lord says, “Be strong, and of good courage.” This was all that He required of Joshua, when He commissioned him to lead Israel into the promised land. Joshua 1:6, 7, 9. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 676.7

The Lord says that He upholds His servant. The same word is used in the two following instances. “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup; Thou maintainest my lot.” Psalm 16:5. “Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.” Psalm 17:5. “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand.” “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” Psalm 145:14. Remember that we are the servants of God, if we yield to Him, that is, if we are willing to be His servants; and therefore we have the same promise of being upheld that Jesus Christ Himself had. We have the same power to keep us from falling that He had. Nowhere has the Lord left any ground for discouragement. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.1

The word “hold” in the expression, “hold thine hand,” which occurs so frequently in those chapters, is from the Hebrew word meaning to strengthen. God promises to strengthen our hand. Everybody knows that one can stand better if he has hold of another's hand, provided, of course, that the other one's hand is stronger than his. Think then what strength comes from having hold of the Lord's hand. He says that He will hold our hand, and uphold us, by the right hand of His righteousness. That is all the encouragement we need. He will not drop our hand, and leave us when danger comes. Remember that the Father is greater than all, and no one can pluck His people out of His hand. John 10:29. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.2

What work has the Lord given His servant?-This, “to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” All this we know Christ did; but is anybody else given such work to do?-Most certainly; that is the work of every servant of the Lord, every one whom the Lord chooses. Saul the persecutor was chosen by the Lord to go to the Gentiles, “to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” Acts 26:16-18. Now do not straightway say, “Well, I have not the ability of Paul.” That has nothing to do with it. Paul was very weak and feeble in body, and had no ability except what the Lord gave him. If the Lord has not given us the ability of Paul, then He does not expect the same work of us; but one thing is certain, namely, that the Lord has sent every one who has accepted Him, every one whom He has chosen in Christ, and made accepted in the Beloved, to do the very same work to which He sent Jesus and Paul. He has not planned for any idle servants. Do not forget that He says, “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light to the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes,” etc. If we are connected with an electric battery, all the power of the battery may be felt by anyone who comes in contact with us; so when we have hold of the hand of the Lord, His power becomes ours. Even Paul the Apostle said, “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God, who hath made us able to be ministers of the new covenant.” 2 Corinthians 3:5. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.3

God will not give His glory to another; that He cannot do, for He cannot deny Himself. He will glorify all who trust in Him, and His glory shall be seen on them; but it will be recognised as His glory. Our light is to shine before men so that they will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. God will not divide honours with any creature, much less with a dumb idol, which is nothing in this world. This is not because He wishes to exalt himself at the expense of others, as Satan falsely accused Him of doing, but because He cannot divest Himself of His personality. He is; that is His name and His character, and He cannot cease to be. He cannot allow any of the praise due to Him to be given to graven images. He cannot admit that the work of men's hands is right. If He did, that would be the overturning of all righteousness and stability. For the good of all His subjects, and for the maintenance of that which He has created, God must carry the case in which He is concerned to a successful issue. What a blessed assurance it is to know that He will do this. Wrong shall not prevail against God. Though it for a season seems to have the best of the struggle, it is only in appearance, and but for a moment. “In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength,” and He will gain the victory over all foes. Who will cast in their lot with Him? Who is on the Lord's side? PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.4

“Enduring Mercy” The Present Truth 15, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

“O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; His mercy endureth for ever.” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.5

This is the first verse of the one hundred and thirty-sixth psalm, and every one of the twenty-six verses of the psalm in is in the same manner as this one: “His mercy endureth for ever.” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.6

To some this psalm seems monotonous; but it ought not to be so. It is surely a blessed thing to know that the mercy of the Lord is everlasting, and we should never be weary of hearing of it. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.7

In this psalm we read of judgment visited upon certain people. It tells of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, the overthrow of Pharaoh and of his host in the Red Sea, and the smiting of famous kings. Now most people have the idea that God's mercy ceases, or at least is held in abeyance, when He executes punishment upon the ungodly. This, however, shows us that such an idea is a mistaken one. Nowhere does the Bible give the slightest warrant for the idea that at any time there will ever be any less mercy with the Lord than there is now. The common statement that by and by mercy will step down, and justice will take place, is most dishonouring to God. It implies a change in His character and in His dealing with His creatures. It not only teaches that sometime He will be less merciful than He is now, but it also teaches that now He is as just as He will be at some future time. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.8

In this psalm we are called upon to give thanks “to Him that smote Egypt in their first born; for His mercy endureth for ever.” The fact that He smote the first born in Egypt is given as a proof that God's mercy endures for ever. He “overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,” not because His mercy failed, but for the reason that His mercy endures for ever. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 677.9

The mercy of God for the Egyptians was just as great as for the Israelites. They were most cruelly treating the people to whom they owed their lives, and whom God, in fulfilment of His promise, was about to bring into their own land. But He did not precipitately destroy their oppressors. He sent His servants to Pharaoh, making known the truth which would save him and his people as well as the Israelites. The promised to Abraham, which God was about to fulfil, included the justification of the heathen through faith, saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Galatians 3:8. This blessing was offered the Pharaoh and his people, and was rejected with scorn and contempt. “I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go,” was the reply of the haughty king. Therefore God, in fulfilling the mercy promised to the fathers, was obliged to destroy the Egyptians. He shook them off, as they were endeavouring to stop Him in His work. His mercy did not change in the least, but the Egyptians refused to have it, and when people refuse to accept mercy, there is nothing left them but destruction. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.1

He “hath redeemed us from all our enemies; for His mercy endureth for ever.” This is identical with the inspired song of Zecharias, after the birth of John: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; as He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.” Luke 1:68-75. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.2

This does not indicate mercy for a special class. “All that hate us,” are they who resist the progress of God's merciful reign over the earth. They despise both justice and mercy. We are delivered from our enemies, only in order that we may serve the Lord in righteousness and holiness all the days of our life. If we were not desirous of thus serving the Lord, we certainly should not be delivered. God's everlasting mercy exists for all, and none fail of receiving its fulness except those who will not have it. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.3

Do not be carried away with the idea that in the preaching of the Gospel mercy is revealed, and justice in the destruction of the wicked. God's attributes are not thus divided. In the Gospel the righteousness, or justice, of God is revealed. Romans 1:16, 17. The righteousness of God is revealed in Christ for the remission of sins of all who have faith in His blood, “that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:25, 26. If God were not strictly just, He could never justify the ungodly. There is kindness and everlasting mercy in the justice of the Lord. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.4

The repetition of the sentence, “for His mercy endureth for ever,” shows that there is need of the dwelling much on the mercy of the Lord. “I will sing of mercy and judgment; unto Thee, O Lord, will l sing.” Psalm 101:1. “The earth, O Lord, is full of Thy mercy; teach me Thy statutes.” Psalm 119:64. In the commandments of the Lord,-the ten commandments,-which are commonly supposed to be the embodiment of stern justice, we learn that the mercy of the Lord endures to thousands of generations. He takes vengeance on them that reject all goodness, but His anger soon ceases in their destruction, while His mercy endures. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.5

The mercy of the Lord not only fills the earth, but it is also “in the heavens.” Psalm 36:5. It “is great, unto the heavens,” and reaches unto the clouds. Psalm 57:10. The sun, moon, and stars reveal it to us. The exhortation is, “O give thanks unto the Lord of lords; for His mercy endureth for ever. To Him who alone doeth great wonders; for His mercy endureth for ever. To Him that by wisdom made the heavens; for His mercy endureth for ever. To Him that stretched out the earth above the waters; for His mercy endureth for ever. To Him that made great lights; for His mercy endureth for ever. The sun to rule by day; for His mercy endureth for ever.” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.6

Therefore “lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one is lacking.” Keep looking up, and meditating on the greatness of the Lord, and you will never more say or think, “My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed away from my God.” He is always looking in every part of the earth for an opportunity to exert all His mighty power in behalf of the weak and the oppressed. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.” “I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.” Psalm 140:12. Therefore “give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever.” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.7

“The Victorious Gospel” The Present Truth 15, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

The article which we reprint from the Chronicle on “Military Conquest and Missions” is not a blast against nothing. One of the commonest things in the world is for missionary journals to tell how such-and-such a country has been “opened up” to Christian missions by the invading army of some “Christian nation.” The war may have been, and doubtless was, the result of greed, and may have cost the lives of hundreds of the invaders, and thousands of the natives against whom it was waged, but “some good has resulted,” for now we have free access to the country, and can carry the Gospel unhindered. Thus say the leaders of the missionary societies. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.8

We can only charitably suppose that they do not realise what is implied by their statements. What they virtually say is this: “Our lives are too precious to be risked; but the soldiers go ahead,-it is their business to risk their lives, and lose them,-and when the danger is over, we will follow.” We are glad to know that this is not by any means the language or the thought of all missionaries. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 678.9

It is a fact that the Gospel cannot be carried to all the world without the giving of life. The Gospel is itself the gift of life-the giving up of life that others may receive it, the laying down of life to take it again. The victories of the cross in the first centuries after Christ were won by those who “loved not their lives unto the death.” But the loss of life if heathen countries should always be “opened” solely by true missionary effort, and not by armed force, would be infinitely less than it is when the army goes ahead. An unarmed man is always and everywhere safer than the man who is known to carry weapons; and scores of valuable missionary lives have been sacrificed simply because they were supposed to represent the people who “opened up” countries with Maxim guns, when they would have been unharmed if the natives had heard of Christianity only as a Gospel of peace. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 679.1

Christianity has been wounded through the misrepresentations of its professors; nevertheless Christianity itself is perfection and only perfection. There is no comparison between it and any other religion. It never compromises with evil, and never calls sin righteousness. It “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.” It is true that God, who “maketh the wrath of man to praise Him,” does make even hellish war serve His purpose; but this no more justifies war than Joseph's prosperity in Egypt justified his brothers in selling him, or the salvation wrought by the death of Christ justified Judas betraying Him, or Pilate in delivering Him to be crucified. The Lord can use even the devil to perform His will,-and it is certain that the devil can never frustrate God's purpose,-but the Lord is never to the slightest degree dependent on the devil nor any of his works. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 679.2

“Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds) casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 679.3

“For Little Ones. All for Good” The Present Truth 15, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

“None of us liveth unto himself.” This is what the Word of God tells us, and perhaps you will understand it better since reading in our last paper of how all things are but as links in one great chain, a part of the great plan of God. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.1

You see that this is true, not of human beings only, but of all things in this wonderful universe. Even the tiny grains of sand that make up the dust of the ground, each is fulfilling its own part in this loving purpose, and no doubt has a far more wonderful work and history than anything that you can imagine. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.2

Try to understand, in all the things that you see around you, their relation to all the other things with which they are connected,-to see just the place and work that God has given to them and how they are fitted for it, and you will be astonished and delighted as you learn more and more of His wonderful wisdom and greatness, who even numbers the hairs of our heads, and without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.3

You will see that all things do indeed “work together for good.” Even, as we to found last week when we were talking about volcanoes, those things which have come upon the earth as the result of sin, are the best thing for it in its present imperfect, state. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.4

The animal creation preying and feeding upon each other as they now do,-God is overruling even this for good; for some creatures now multiply so fast that they would become a plague and a nuisance if they were not kept down by other animals. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.5

Think of the swarms of insects that would cover the ground if every insect egg became in time a perfect insect. Instead of this, most of them are eaten up by the birds when they are only tiny grubs. The butterflies alone lay so many eggs that the caterpillars which come from them would soon eat up every green thing if they were left undisturbed, and the autumn would bring no harvest,-no food for man or beast or insect. So they would even themselves be destroyed by their great number. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.6

Suppose an insect lays fifty eggs (some lay a great many more than this) the fifty insects coming from them would bring forth a greatly increased number, and the third generation would probably be over a thousand! So you see that the destruction of even one insect is not an insignificant matter. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.7

You have sometimes watched the spider at his work, and thought only of his cruelty and cunning, or perhaps admired the skill with which he weaves his snare. But you may never have thought how much your comfort depends upon his work; for if all the flies were left to multiply, there would soon be a swarm like that which darkened the air of Egypt in the time of the fourth plague. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.8

How useful, too, we find our cats to keep down the swarms of mice that would otherwise infest our houses. To show how all things, instead of living to themselves only, are “wheels within wheels” on which the comfort and happiness, and even the life, of other things depend, the question has been asked, What relation is there between the pastoral interests (the work of feeding or grazing cattle) and the number of cats in a district? PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.9

The cat is the great enemy of the field mouse, which in its turn is the enemy of the humble bee. This is the only insect that can fertilise the clover blossoms by carrying the pollen from one flower to another. So you see that the clover which feeds the sheep and cows, cannot flourish where there are no cats to destroy the mice which destroy the bees which fertilise the clover. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.10

You will perhaps be able to trace out for yourselves some other links in this chain which is all about you. A well known naturalist recently told this little story of what happened when the ordinary course of nature was interfered with. Water cress is a favourite food of the caddis worms, but caddis worms are eagerly devoured by trout. The trout, in turn, have an enemy in the herons, which usual catch the fish after they have grown fat on caddis worms. It lately happened that a large grower of water-cress had three quarters of his crop destroyed by the caddis worms. It was found that trout which usually eat the caddis worm and thus save the water-cress, had been eaten up too soon,-before the time-by a flock of hungry herons, and the worms were left unmolested to destroy the water-cress. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.11

As you go through this world you will see much to distress and pain you, for results of sin are to be seen everywhere and “sin when it is finished, bring forth death.” So PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.12

“you in this fair world
See some destroying principle abroad,
Earth, air, and water full of living things,
Each on the other preying.” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 682.13

But remember always that the eye of love watches over all, the heart of love feels for all, and the hand of love is overruling all things for good, although you cannot understand how this can be. When “the young lions roar after their prey,” they “seek their meat from God;” and He “hunts the prey” for them, and “fills the appetite of the young lions.” But He cares just as much for the creatures with which He feeds them, for “the Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Not over each species only, but over every single creature that His hands have formed, and we may be sure that He will do the best for each. He will permit nothing to happen to anything but what will be for His own glory, and PTUK October 26, 1899, page 683.1

“His glory is His children's good,
His joy His tender fatherhood.” PTUK October 26, 1899, page 683.2

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth 15, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

-The farmers of New York State, U.S.A., have just formed a Milk Trust, with a capital of ?6,000,000. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.1

-Mrs. Parry, the mother of twenty-five children, has just celebrated her 102nd birthday at the West Ham Workhouse. She is well and hearty, and is able to do needlework. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.2

-The railways of Great Britain have cost on an average ?50,000 a mile, and yet the traffic is so heavy, that a dividend of nearly four per cent. is earned by them for the stockholders. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.3

-Shooting game, aside from being a cruel and heartless sport, is in England an expensive hobby. There is a tax income from this source of over ?300,000 a year to the Government in this country. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.4

-Ceram, a large island lying west of New Guinea, has just been visited with a terrible earthquake. The town of Ambel has completely destroyed, and 4,000 persons were killed, and many hundred injured. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.5

-As an indication of the growth of the sea commerce of Great Britain, it may be stated that the largest vessel of Sir Humphrey Gilbert's famous expedition to Newfoundland, the Raleigh, one of the very largest Ocean vessels then made, was a ship of only 200 tons. The Oceanic, launched in January last, is a vessel of England was under 50,000 tons; to-day it is over 11,000,000, and the seafaring population of this country numbers over 600,000 men. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.6

-The West Ham Town Council has just adopted a proposal to obtain Parliamentary powers to acquire 100 acres of land, on which it is estimated 3,000 houses can be built at a cost of ?1,000,000, to be occupied by the workingmen of that densely populated area. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.7

-During the week ending October 12, there were sixty-three of which were fatal, and the total deaths from plague numbered fifty-nine. There were nearly the same number of fresh cases during the week at Oporto. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.8

-The leading firms engaged in the calico printing trade of Lancashire and Scotland have just entered into a combine, with a capital stock of nearly ?10,000,000. Thus the manufacturing interests of this country are following in the wake of those of the United States. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.9

-A train on the Chicago and North-western Railway, a short distance out from Chicago, was recently held up at midnight by masked robbers, who blew open the express car and the safe, and carried away cash to the amount of ?5,000, also a large quantity of jewellery. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.10

-The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, through its Secretary, Mr. Benj. Waugh, makes public the fact that during the past year the society has dealt with cases of cruelty affecting 76,000 children, and since its formation it has championed the cause of over 450,000 little victims of cruelty and neglect. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.11

-Alexander Willis, a rural letter-carrier at Great Shelford, has established a postal record. He began delivering letters in July, 1861, and down to the present time has never missed a single delivery throughout the intervening thirty-eight years, in which he has walked a total distance of 84,000 miles, and although past threescore and ten years, he is still at work. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.12

-Twelve dynamite guns have been ordered to the Philippine Islands to enable the American forces there to cope with the situation. Of these guns it is said that they are the most destructive of any light artillery guns used in modern warfare. The explosion of a shell from one of these guns is guaranteed to kill everything within a radius of fifty feet. Then to add to their effectiveness, a new explosive is to be employed which will render it impossible for any foe to withstand the effect produced by a battery of such guns. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.13

-The spread of a forest fire threatened the destruction of the great vinery on the Santa Cruz mountains, California. (U.S.A.). There was no water supply available, and to save the vinery, 40,000 gallons of wine were used in extinguishing the fire. it is far better to use wine to extinguish a fire outside of the body than to create one inside of the body. The unfortunate thing about this case is that the loss of this wine is the saving of perhaps a hundred times that amount which will be used to destroy men's reason. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.14

-The Thames Conservancy Board has just set in motion the machinery of the new sewage disposal works, erected by the Hampton Urban District Council. This method marks a new era in sanitary science, and promises to effect quite a revolution in the present method of dealing with the sewage of the large centres of population. In brief, it is to render it innocuous by means of microbes. The sewage of the district is forced to the station by means of what are called Shone's injectors, and flows over beds formed of clinker and earth. Here it is left standing so as to allow minute organisms, which cover every particle of the clinker, to attack the organic matter contained in it, and after passing over two such beds, the effluent flows out pure and sparkling. No chemicals are used, and no sludge is said to remain after the sewage is purified. The plan has been given a thorough trial, and pronounced a perfect success. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 686.15

“Back Page” The Present Truth 15, 43.

E. J. Waggoner

“The Bible without the Holy Spirit is like a sun-dial by moonlight.”-Coleridge. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.1

In 1879 the number of deaths from alcohol in the United Kingdom, was six hundred and fifty-five for each million of the population; now it is nineteen hundred and sixty, just three times as great. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.2

India is again facing a famine. At the Viceroy's Council, Oct. 20, it was stated that the area threatened with famine comprised 100,000 square miles of British and 250,000 square miles of Native States territory, and 30,000,000 people. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.3

The Marconi system of wireless telegraphy is to be put into practical use in the South African campaign, the Government having entered into a contract with the Wireless Telegraphy and Signalling Company for six months. The advantages of this system over that of telegraphing by wires, that may be cut, are obvious. The system has already been tested, and found satisfactory. In the Naval man?uvres in the Channel, messages are transmitted over eighty-three miles. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.4

The Roman Catholics are now quoting a “prophecy” of Edward the Confessor, to the effect that the time would come when his country would turn heretical, but that after a lapse of three hundred years after the break with the Pope. There can be no doubt but that movement was the beginning of a marked return towards Rome. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.5

Our readers must not discount the Chronicle's estimate of war by the fact that it is opposed to the present war in Transvaal. Every reader will remember that in times past it has been warmly in favour of war, notably against the Turks. Its present utterance has no reference to any special case, but applies to war itself, as related to Christianity. Its statement will bear repeating: “It is a horror, the sum of all villainies, with no redeeming feature. It does not moralise men, it degrades them, stirring up, as it does, all evil passions, and negating, as it does, all morality. Lying, theft, murder, are not only permitted in war, they are even classed as virtues if only they are performed according to the rules.” No man can deny this, and yet there are hundreds of professed ministers of the Gospel who claim that war is perfectly consistent with Christianity! PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.6

The speech that met with the most decided opposition in the Church Congress, the demonstration against it amounting to an uproar, and threatening to break up the meeting, was that by Rev. Prebendary Webb-Peploe, who said: “The Anglican Church can no more admit into her services the forms and ceremonies of the Roman Church than she can admit the fetishes of the Pagans.” The Church Times says editorially, “We shall not pretend to regret that at this point the speaker's voice was drowned by a tumult of protests from the audience. It were a scandal had it been otherwise.” The whole Congress showed that the sentiment of the Church of England is overwhelmingly Roman. The Roman Catholics have good reason to expect the “conversion” of England to Romanism. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.7

A pitiable exhibition of parental imbecility and unfitness was made in one of the police courts the other day, when a man attended on a school board summons, because his boy, ten years of age, did not attend school. He complained that he could not get the boy to attend. When asked what he had done, he replied that he had given him three strokes on each hand with a cane, and had beaten him with his belt. The magistrate commended him, and although he stated that he had been “very near cruel” to the boy, the magistrate advised him to give him “another good strapping,” which he promised to do. They doubtless suppose that after that the boy will go quietly to school. The use of the rod has a proper and necessary place in the training of children, but the man who pleads that he cannot induce his ten-year-old boy to go to school, nor, presumably, to do anything else to which he is not inclined, shows such parental incapacity, that the rod would be much more reasonably applied to his back and to the boy’s. Unfortunately for the race, such people have children just the same as do people of good judgment and character. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.8

In a recent sermon Monsignor John S. Vaughan, brother of the Cardinal, said:- PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.9

As there is a sun in the material universe, so there is likewise a sun in the spiritual and ecclesiastical universe. I need hardly say that the sun in the spiritual universe is the vicar of Christ-the Pope. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.10

The sermon is reported in the Catholic Times of October 20, and the last clause is put in bold type as a sub-head. Thus it appears that none of the blasphemous claims of the Roman body are in any wise abated in these days. That thousands, and even millions, of people are absolutely sincere in this belief, is evidence of the fact that popular education is not by any means synonymous with enlightenment. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.11

Blind obedience is not required by the Lord. He takes His people into His confidence, and lets them know what He does, and, as far as their minds can grasp it, why He does it. “He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.” Psalm 103:7. Jesus said, “The Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that Himself doeth.” John 5:20. And further: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.” John 15:16. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.” Psalm 25:14. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.12

There is not and cannot be any such thing as “blind belief.” It is unbelief that is blind. Unbelief blinds, while belief gives sight. The Lord has no pleasure in blindness, but does not blindfold His people. He is light, and has sent Christ, the light of the world; and He exhorts us to walk in the light. But light is of no value to a blind man or a man with his eyes shut. Therefore the fact that God wishes us to walk in the light, shows that He expects us to have our eyes open. Christ is sent to bring “recovering of sight to the blind” (Luke 4:18), and He counsels all to anoint their eyes with the eyesalve which He furnishes,-the Holy Spirit,-that they may see. Revelation 3:18. His life is the light of men, and whoever is willing to have Christ's life developed in him will see and be taught all things. PTUK October 26, 1899, page 688.13