The Present Truth, vol. 15

November 16, 1899

“Front Page” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

“The children in this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” This is shown in the care taken by those who are striving for success in this world, to have their bodies in the best possible condition, while many professed Christians seem to think that it is almost irreverent to speak of health and the care of the body, in connection with the Gospel. Those who are running for an incorruptible crown ought to be far ahead physically, as well as spiritually, of those who have only a corruptible crown in view. Our “reasonable service” is to present our bodies “a living sacrifice,” holy, acceptable unto God. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 721.1

“The Gospel of Isaiah. ‘I Am with Thee.’ Isaiah 43:1-7” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

(Isaiah 43:1-7.)

1. “Yet now, thus saith Jehovah;
Who created thee, O Jacob; and who formed
thee, O Israel:
Fear thou not. for I have redeemed thee;
I have called thee by thy name; thou art
Mine. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 721.2

2. When thou passest through waters, I am with
thee;
And through rivers, they shall not overwhelm
thee;
When thou walkest in the fire, thou shalt not
be scorched;
And the flames shall not take hold of thee. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.1

3. For I am Jehovah, thy God;
The Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer;
I have given Egypt for thy ransom;
Cush and Seba in thy stead. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.2

4. Because thou hast been precious in My sight,
Thou hast been honoured, and I have loved
thee;
Therefore will I give men instead of thee;
And peoples instead of thy soul. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.3

5. Fear thou not, for I am with thee;
From the east I will bring thy children,
And from the west I will gather thee to-
gether; PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.4

6. I will say to the north, Give up;
And to the south, Withhold not;
Bring My sons from afar;
And My daughters from the ends of the
earth: PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.5

7. Every one that is called by My name,
Whom for My glory I have created;
Whom I have formed, yea, whom I have
made.” PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.6

No attention should be paid to the chapter division here, although as a matter of convenience we have made it the division of a lesson. But there is no break in the subject, and we cannot get the full force of the scripture here quoted without reading the last part of chapter 42. “Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned? for they would not walk in His ways, neither were they obedient unto His law. Therefore He hath poured upon them the fury of His anger, and the strength of battle; and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew it not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart. But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by name; thou art Mine.” And then follows the assurance that God is with them even in the fire and the water, and that they shall not be burned or overwhelmed. He who gave Israel into captivity is his Redeemer. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.7

PRESENT HELP

Our versions make the mistake of rendering verse 2, “I will be with thee.” The common version is better than the Revision, in that it places the words “will be” in Italics, indicating that they are not found in the Hebrew, as they are not. There is no verb expressed, as is often the case in the Hebrew, which is very brief. Now it is evident that when the copulative verb is omitted, the simplest form of it is that which should be supplied, which is the present tense, and not the future. Therefore it is correctly given by Lowth, “I am with thee.” That exactly represents the character of God, whose name is I AM. There can be no doubt that God will be with us, when He is always present. With Him the present contains both the past and the future. He is always I AM; therefore in all the ages to come He will be the hope of His people. But if we read it, “I will be with thee,” we are apt to forget the present. The present is all that we are concerned with; if we have God with us as “a very present help in trouble,” we can ask for nothing more. With God it is always now. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.8

THE SECRET OF DISCONTENT

“Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have, for Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. So that with good courage we may say, PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.9

“The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear;
What shall men do unto me?” Hebrews 13:5-6, R.V. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.10

Having Him, we have everything. That is true enough, and no one will deny it; and yet we very seldom act as though we believed it. And that shows how rare real Christianity is; for the very fundamental principle of Christianity is the continual presence of the Lord, and that He is everything. He who does not believe that God is always present, always loving, and always all-powerful to carry out His loving designs, does not believe in God. But whoever believes that must be content, because he knows that with the Lord he has all things. Romans 8:32. It follows, therefore, that anxiety and worry are marks of heathenism. “Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:31-33. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.11

WHAT CONSTITUTES HEATHENISM

There is more to this than appears on the surface. We are not aware how often we proclaim ourselves heathen. Consider this very apparent distinction between the heathen and the worshiper of the true God: The heathen is not content without a god that he can see; while the Christian trusts the God who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, neither can see. 1 Timothy 6:16. In short, the heathen cannot trust his god out of sight, while the Christian has as much confidence in his God when he cannot see Him as when he can. Now no one would ever complain if he could see all that he desired ready to hand. It is when we cannot see how we are to get on, that we begin to murmur or grow anxious. Yea, it is often a murmur, in that the desponding one says, “God has forsaken me.” Because he cannot see God, he thinks that He does not exist. We doubt God, because we cannot see Him. We cannot endure that He should work behind a veil. Thus we proclaim ourselves heathen. People may think that it is not a very great thing to believe in God, but really to believe in God is everything. Real belief in God means freedom from all worry, because God cares for us, and tells us to cast all our care on him. 1 Peter 5:7. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.12

GOD'S NEARNESS

“I am with thee.” Therefore we are not to fear. Jesus came and said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,” and He had just said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Matthew 28:18, 20. He cannot leave us nor forsake us, because He fills heaven and earth. Jeremiah 23:24. In every sunbeam, in every sparkling drop of water, in every breath of air, the Lord is present, and His presence is with us for the purpose of giving us rest. Exodus 33:14. How near He is, when we can feel His breath upon our cheek, yea, even in our nostrils. “For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?” Deuteronomy 4:7. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.13

CHRIST'S SAVING PRESENCE

“Fear not!” Why not? “For I am with thee.” The Lord has left on record some examples of the saving power of His presence, so that we may learn not to fear. After the miracle of feeding the five thousand with five loaves, when the people were about to take Jesus by force, and make Him king, he constrained His disciples to get into the boat, and to go before Him to the other side of the sea, while He sent the multitudes away. The night came on, and “the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew,” and the ship in which the disciples were “was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves,” “and it was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them.” Then suddenly they saw a form walking calmly on the angry waters, and they cried out with fear; but Jesus said to them, “It is I;” literally, “I am;” “be not afraid.” It is the same word, “Fear not, for I am with thee.” They thought that they were alone on the waters, but His eye was upon them all the time. His name is I AM, and He was with them when they could not see Him as well as when He appeared to them. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.14

THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER

When the disciples recognised the Lord, “they willingly received Him into the ship.” Their fear was past. Then what? “Immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.” He is the beginning and the end. With His presence there is the fulfilment of all things. The task that is but just begun is finished if it is begun in Him. They feared no more, after Jesus came to them; yet there was no more reason to fear before they saw Him, than there was afterwards. Would we fear in any circumstances whatever, if we could see Jesus right before us, or at our right hand? You say, “No; not at all.” But we do fear, and yet He is present. “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:8. Are our fears due to the fact that we do not have confidence in the saving power of the Lord? or because we do not believe that He is present? In either case, they are a remnant of heathenism that we have not yet shaken off. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 722.15

IN THE FIRE

There were three Hebrew captives in Babylon, who proved the power of the presence of the Lord. A stern decree had been issued, commanding everybody to bow down before a golden image that the king had set up. The penalty for disregarding the decree was burning in a furnace. They unqualifiedly refused to bow down to the image. Here was a test as to who was God. Was it the king and his idols? or was it the God of Israel? If the three men had bowed down through fear, what would their act have said? It would have said that they did not believe in God; that they could not trust in Him to deliver them from the king and his idols. But their profession of faith was more than a theory. They knew whom they had believed, and that their God was able to deliver them. So into the fiery furnace they went, where the fire was so hot that it slew the men who had to draw near to the outside of it to cast them in. But what of them? God had said, “When you walkest in the fire, thou shalt not be scorched; and the flame shall not take hold on thee;” and so it was. Only their bands were burned off, and the three men rose and walked erect in the midst of the furnace; for God was with them. Then the king commanded them to be brought out, “and the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed upon them.” Daniel 3:27. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 723.1

PRESENT THOUGH VISIBLE

Did you ever think that we hear nothing more about the form of the fourth after the three men were taken from the furnace? He was clearly seen for a few moments, walking to and fro with them in the flames; then the doors were opened and the men were called forth, and their companion disappeared. Did He forsake them? Not at all; He was as near them when they could not see Him as when He appeared. In fact, there is nothing to show that the three men in the fire saw Him at all. His appearance was more for the benefit of the king and his idolatrous court, then for the three men themselves. They knew that He was present without seeing Him. It was the consciousness of His presence that made them able to stand unmoved in the presence of the threatened punishment. God is unchangeable. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and for ever; therefore He is as near when unseen as He is when He is seen. They who believe and trust in His presence when they cannot see Him will at the last have the privilege of seeing His face, and beholding Him for evermore. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 723.2

DWELLING WITH EVERLASTING BURNINGS

There is coming a time when “the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” 2 Peter 3:12. “The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Then the inhabitants of the earth shall be burned, and few men will be left. Isaiah 24:6. Who will be the few men left? Only those who are able to dwell with the devouring fire, and amidst everlasting burnings. Isaiah 33:14, 15. Those who make the Most High their habitation, being confident of His presence, even though it may seem that He has forsaken them, will be able to dwell in the midst of the fire that devours the earth, for they dwell with God, and “our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29. This promise in Isaiah will be very real to many before very long. But none will be able to trust in it when the great test comes, except those who have lived in the consciousness of God's presence, and the proof of it in the deliverance from sin. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.1

GOD WITH US

What is the practical daily result of having God with us? Well, of course, in the first place it is that we have life, and breath, and all things, for “in Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Everybody in the world gets this from the Lord; but those who acknowledge His presence, and who delight in it, get benefits that others do not. Of Christ we read that God anointed Him with the Holy Ghost and with power, and that He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38. So the benefit that those receive, who love and acknowledge the presence of God with them, is the power to do good to others. Now remember that the name of Jesus is “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.” Matthew 1:23. He is with us all the days until the end, and therefore God is with us, that we, like Him, may do good. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.2

Of the child Samuel we read, “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” 1 Samuel 3:19. The result of God's being with him was that he spoke “as the oracles of God,” so that his words were too valuable to be lost. If we invite God to stay with us, we must consent to allow Him to manage all our affairs, and us too; but that ought not to be considered a hardship, since His way is perfect. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.3

Perhaps the most instructive case of all, as illustrating the presence of God with a man, is that of Joseph. “The patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; but God was with him, and delivered him out of all his affliction, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh.” Acts 7:9, 10. Note this, that God was with him when he went down to Egypt, although he went as a slave. It was not merely in the prosperity that God was with him, but in his affliction. Indeed, it was God who sent Joseph into Egypt. When Joseph arrived in Egypt, he was sold again, but the Lord did not forsake him. “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.” Genesis 39:1, 2. But it was not all smooth before him, even though God was with him. Joseph was falsely accused, and without being given any chance to clear himself, he was cast into prison. Surely the Lord had forgotten him then. Not at all. “The Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. And the keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.” Genesis 39:21-23. The Lord is not afraid or ashamed to go to prison, so that the fact that a man is in prison does not prove that the Lord has left him. Indeed, the Lord is often in prison. See Matthew 25:36, 43. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.4

After a long time, and much weary waiting, Joseph was taken from prison, and placed over the land of Egypt. He became practically the king of Egypt. He was ruler over all the land, and all that he lacked was a seat on the throne. Joseph did not know what he went to prison for until Pharaoh sent for him; and then he found out that that was the way to the place of power. But Joseph did not spend his time mourning, although he could not see the way out of prison. We can look back to that time, and seeing the end at the same time that we see the experience that he passed through, it seems to us a matter of course that Joseph should do as he did. But we must remember that to Joseph things looked as black and hopeless during those years in prison as they would to us. If we could see our way clear, we should never murmur, nor doubt the presence and goodness of God. Joseph could not see ahead, but he did not mind that; God was with him all the way, and that was sufficient; he did not need to see ahead. If we would but remember that He knows the way that we take, and can see the end from the beginning, it would save us much time and useless despondency. God is with us in the dark as well as in the light, in fire, and water, and prison, as well as in times of ease and prosperity. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.5

“Honest Work” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

The Rev. Dr. Newman Hall, nearly eighty-four years of age, has been ill for a few weeks, but writes to the Christian to correct the impression that his illness was due to overwork. He says:- PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.6

Preaching Christ has been the chief joy of my life since eighteen years of age. I was never injured by it-never caught cold by open-air preaching, never became hoarse by exercise of voice, never lost my sleep through the anxiety and excitement of meetings and addresses. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.7

Hard, honest work never yet injured anybody, for to do work was what man was made for. It is true that many people have died from working when, because of a feeble condition brought on by carelessness or wrong habits of living, they were not fit for work; but work of any legitimate kind never yet of itself injured anybody. It is the work done at table that is responsible for the most of the langour, lassitude, the jaded and “overworked” condition, of which so many complain. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.8

At the half-yearly meeting of the “Catholic Truth Society,” Father Maturin, an ex-member of the Church of England, expressed his belief that the Ritualist movement in the Anglican Church is bound to end at Rome. Nobody who understands the situation can have any doubt of it, since it is wholly Roman to begin with. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 724.9

“Notes on the International Sunday-School Lessons. Woes of Intemperance” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.1

“They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.” PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.2

“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.” Proverbs 23:29-35. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.3

Place with this lesson a few other texts. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Proverbs 20:1. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.4

“Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not trunk with wine, wherein is excess: but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:17, 18. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.5

Let us consider the last text first. In wine there is excess, or riot, as the Revision has it. Here we have the answer to those who talk about taking wine in moderation, but not going to excess. Take notice that the text does not say of wine in it one can go to excess, but that excess is in wine excess. Wherever there is wine there is excess. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.6

How much wine must one have in order for it to be said of him that he has wine?-No more than a single drop. We say, “a drop of wine.” A barrel of wine is nothing more than a mass of drops of wine. The single drop is wine just as surely as is the barrel. Therefore if one has but a drop of wine, he has excess, and it can be truly said of him that he has drunk to excess. Excess is in the wine, in every drop of it, so that one cannot have a single drop of it without going to excess. One drop is too much. All the evil that is in a hogshead of wine is in the one drop, only of course not to the same degree. The evil that is in the large quantity is only the evil of the single drop multiplied. There is no element in the barrel of wine that is not in the one drop. The thing to do therefore is to let it alone. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.7

Wine is deceitful. That is the reason why the one who uses it never thinks that he has too much. Men think that it supplies a demand of the system, when the fact is that it creates the demand which it seems to supply, but which it never satisfies, because the more one takes, the greater the demand. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.8

People drink too drown trouble. Yes, and people commit suicide for the same purpose. When a man is dead he knows no trouble, or anything else. But that is the worst remedy in the world for trouble. Drink helps a man who is in trouble in just the same way that suicide does: it takes away his consciousness, so that the one who by drinking forgets his troubles also forgets everything else. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.9

Drink does not help the man in trouble, but it helps people into trouble. At first it produces exhilaration of spirits; but that is deception, for the good feeling is not real. Everything appears in a rosy light, and the man thinks that he is the happiest person in the world. He thinks that he can do anything that he undertakes, and he feels well in body. But he is no better off than he was before, and is no stronger, for that which stimulates does not strengthen. Then there comes the reaction. Just to the extent that one is exhilarated, is there a corresponding depression of spirits. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.10

Our nerves were given us for a definite purpose, namely, to warn us of danger, and also to enable us to appreciate that which is good,-to discern good from evil. If they be excited unnecessarily, they lose this power of discernment, and cannot warn us of danger. If a bow be kept bent all the time it loses its elasticity, and at last will not respond to the one who draws it. So if the nerves be stimulated, they in time lose the power to respond to legitimate use. This is true of every part of the body. The brain suffers most of all, so that the one who uses stimulants, even though they may for a time seem to make his brain more active, are diminishing its usefulness. So drunkenness destroys the intellect. Therefore we have the injunction not to be drunk with wine, in connection with the exhortation to understand what the will of the Lord is. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.11

“Thine eyes shall behold strange women.” There is no greater cause of impurity in the world than the use of stimulants and intoxicants. It is utterly impossible for an intemperate man to be a pure man. The spirit of wine is in direct opposition to the Spirit of God. “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable.” James 3:17. But wine destroys the sense of Divine things, working against the knowledge of the will of the Lord. Therefore it tends to impurity. Since it is taken solely for the pleasure that it gives to the flesh, it is but natural that it should stimulate the desires of the flesh. Absolute temperance, in the fear of God, would for ever settle the question of “social evil.” But this cannot be brought about by any wholesale methods. The individual must be dealt with, and brought to the knowledge of God. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.12

They that tarry at the wine have contentions. “Pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated,” is the wisdom that comes from above, and the stimulant that deadens the perception of God's will necessarily tends to make one impatient and irritable. An intemperate man, cannot be a patient man. On the other hand, a perfectly temperate man can never be an impatient man. Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, is the order that is given in the Scriptures, and it is not accidental. 2 Peter 1:5, 6. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.13

Too often people mistake the evil and the source of intemperance, and therefore their efforts against it are futile. The sin of drunkenness does not consist in taking a certain amount of liquid from a glass. One may take water and be innocent. Neither would there be any sin in taking any amount of any kind of liquor, if there were no evil results from it. The sin consists not, in the mere act of drinking, but in the injury done to the temple of God, and to the consequent robbery of God, in the fact that the service due Him cannot be rendered. But this state of things is often arrived at in many other ways than the drinking of intoxicating liquors. The most of the drunkards in the world are made at the home table, even in homes where liquors are never found. The stimulating and even intoxicating tea and coffee accomplish the same results although to a lesser degree, and lead to the use of the stronger stimulants. No one ever saw a confirmed tea-drinker who was not nervous and easily irritated, especially if he or she were deprived of the accustomed stimulant a little longer than usual. Tea and patience are never done up in the same parcel. It would not be so if tea and coffee were food, but they are not, and they supply no want of the body, but are only detrimental. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 725.14

Overeating, which is the almost inevitable result of the modern method of cooking, as one cook vies with all others to see what complicated dishes can be produced, is a prolific source of drunkenness. It is in itself one of the grossest forms of intemperance. Victuals are prepared, not with reference to the absolute needs of the body, but with reference to perverted tastes, and to the creating of perverted taste. So people are led on by the tickling of their palates to eat far more than is necessary, and that, too, of food which is in itself the producer of poisons in the system, which have the same effect as alcoholic liquors. Many earnest and conscientious temperance women labour hard to eradicate the evil of intemperance, while at the same time they are working with all their might to promote it, by means of the food which they set upon their tables. Those who think to stop intemperance, even in a single individual, by working solely against alcoholic liquors, while they pay no attention to the matter of food, are working to little purpose. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 726.1

But some one will say that not all people who drink are impure, and that many people who drink do not exhibit the affects here mentioned; and concerning tea, coffee, spices, and rich foods, they will most certainly say that they know many people who use these things and are not injured at all. Even allowing that this were true, it would not prove that these things are not injurious. There are many men who have put their heads in lion's mouth, and have been uninjured, but that would not be taken as proof that it is not dangerous, even beneficial, to put one's head in a lion's mouth. Many men have done this thing once too often, and it has been found that a seemingly innocent lion is not to be trifled with. It is far safer to keep one's head out of such places. But the fact is, that no one can indulge in any of these things without injury. It is not always apparent, but it is none the less certain. A person indulges his appetite for many years, with seemingly no evil results, and he thinks that he is an exception; but suddenly he dies after a very short illness, or sometimes with no warning at all, and people wonder how so strong a man should be taken off so suddenly. If the foundations are undermined, the house cannot stand, no matter how strongly it be built. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 726.2

The whole matter is summed up in a few words. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31. It is our duty, which we owe to God, to eat “for strength, and not for drunkenness.” The needs of the body, and not “the desires of the flesh and of the mind,” should be attended to. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Galatians 6:7, 8. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 726.3

“All Responsibilities His” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

A Christian lady, when asked “If God gave her a choice, whether she would prefer to live,” replied, “she would not make a choice, but would refer the matter back to Him.” So does the holy soul decline all responsibilities of its own and confides alone in the wisdom of the Father. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 727.1

“Little Folks. ‘The First Adam’” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

Read in your Bibles in the first two chapters of Genesis all that you can find about Adam, the first man that God made, and then we will talk over together some of the things that we are told about him. Notice all these things particularly, for we shall speak of them again next week. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.1

First, God said: “Let us make man in our image.” In the first chapter of Luke we read that “Adam was the son of God.” He was a perfect likeness of his Father; so that all who looked upon him could see at once that he was a child cf God. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.2

Next God said: “Let them have dominion.” Over the whole earth and everything upon it,-the beasts, the cattle, the creeping things; over the air and all the birds that fly in it; over the waters, the fish, and all “whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea,” Adam was to have dominion; that is, all these things were to be his kingdom, he was to rule. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.3

What do we call one who has a kingdom? A king, you will say at once. And how is a king distinguished,-what is the mark of a king or queen? If you were in a large assembly of people among which was a king or queen, I think I know what you would look for; the crown, would you not? And you would know that the one upon whose head you saw it was the king. But it is not always, in fact it is very seldom, that the kings and queens of earth wear their heavy gold crowns; they can put them on and off just as they like. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.4

Queen Victoria has not worn her crown more than twenty times during all the sixty-two years of her reign. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.5

Adam, the king of the earth, had a crown, but it was not like that. It was not something that could be put on, and the burden of which would make his head ache, but it was a part of himself: “Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour.” His crown of glory was the shining forth of his own kingly character, the image of God in which he was made; it was “a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.6

In the kingdoms of this world where everything has been turned upside down by sin, it is the crown that makes the king; that is, one is made king by being crowned. But that is not God's way. He made man a king by giving him His own kingly nature; and this royal character was itself the crown of glory that encircled his head. He was crowned by being made king, and not made king by being crowned. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.7

But although Adam himself was perfect, and lived in such a beautiful home, and was king over every living thing, there was still something wanting to make him quite happy. God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” He had no companions who could enter into his plans and feelings, and share the kingdom with him. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.8

God brought before Adam everything that He had made, but among them all “there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man.” PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.9

While Adam slept, God pierced his side, and from his own being formed a suitable companion for him. “And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” But Eve herself came from the side of Adam, so the whole human family really came from him. He was to be the head of all the human race, and all who lived and reigned with him on the earth would be his own children, formed from his body and bearing his image-just himself multiplied. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.10

Think what a beautiful picture of happiness and peace; man in the perfect image of God, crowned with glory, one happy family ruling over everything in the earth. But Adam, as you know, fell from his high position as king; he lost his crown, disgraced himself and his family, and sold all their possessions for nothing. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.11

Yet in all these things of which we have spoken God had been “preaching the Gospel beforehand,” showing how all that man, lost through sin could be brought back to him. Next week we will talk of this again, and see what “good tidings” God has hidden there for us. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 730.12

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

-Two powerful battle ships and one cruiser have just been ordered added to the French navy. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.1

-A terrible epidemic of dysentery is reported in Japan. Out of 50,000 persons attacked, 12,000 have died. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.2

-Last year 25,000 persons were killed by wild animals in India. Tigers were responsible for about 1,000 deaths. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.3

-The English Presbyterian Church has ten hospitals connected with its missions in China and India, where 30,000 patients are annually treated. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.4

-A baby while sleeping in its cradle in a village near Nice, was pounced upon by an eagle and carried off, and no trace of the child has been discovered. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.5

-From a careful computation of the church-going people of London, it is estimated that there are three main 3,750,000 persons who never enter into place of worship. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.6

-To care for the starving people in India, the Government has endeavoured to provide places for them on public works, and over half a million are so employed at present. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.7

-Smallpox following hard on famine has, according to the latest news from Mombasa, been making fearful ravages in certain sections of British East Africa, the natives dying by the thousand. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.8

-The Japanese empire has established a national system of education, in which it is decreed that “religion in any form,” shall “no longer be taught in any of the schools receiving financial aid from the national funds.” PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.9

Pope Leo XIII. is declared to be worth ?4,000,000. The Christ and the Pope professes to represent went through the world without even a home. It is expected that most of this money will be left the Catholic church! PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.10

-Rich gold deposits have been discovered on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk, and already expeditions are planning to brave the severe weather conditions existing there, in search of the precious metal. What will not a man give in exchange for gold? PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.11

-The excavations in the ruins of Babylon have demonstrated the fact that the “broad walls of Babylon” were one hundred and thirty-eight feet thick. There was first an outer wall twenty-four feet thick, and inner wall forty-three feet thick, “built of burnt brick bearing the stamp and impress of Nebuchadnezzar,” and between these two walls there was a filling of seventy-one feet. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.12

-The Transvaal leads the world in the amount of gold produced 1898. Australia comes second and the United States is third. The world's output of gold for 1898 is worth ?57,400,000. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.13

-Fashion has now decreed that owls must be sacrificed, because there the others are wanted for spring trimmings. In spite of all the protest to the contrary, it would seem as though the slaying of birds for ornamentation is on the increase, rather than diminishing. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.14

-According to the report of the London School Board there are over 55,000 of the pupils in attendance at the schools, that are underfed, and a movement is on foot to augment the voluntary agencies that work in this direction, whereby all these can be supplied with at least one meal during the day. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.15

-On account of the withdrawal by the British Admiralty of so many freight boats between the United States and England, to be used as transports to the Transvaal War, at Boston, U.S.A., every elevator is filled to its utmost capacity with grain, and over 1,000 loaded freight car stand on the sidetracks waiting to be emptied. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.16

-The Head Pension Agent of the United States reports that his bureau has on file 20,000 applications for pensions arising out of the Spanish war-a number which implies that more than half the total force is engaged in that brief campaign were killed, wounded or disabled. This is, of course, a palpable fraud, but it indicates to what lengths men will go in these days for the sake of obtaining a little money without working for it in an honest and legitimate manner. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.17

-The Christian Endeavour Society will hold a world's convention in London in 1900. Forty thousand delegates are expected to be present, and the convention will take the form of a huge camp-meeting instead of being held in halls in various parts of the city. Two huge tents, capable of holding 10,000 persons each will be brought over from America, and it is expected that around these will be pitched up words of 1,000 smaller tents, which will form a “white city” which will be remembered in the history of religious gatherings. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.18

-A prospect of terrible suffering is reported from Cape None, Alaska. This is the latest bonanza in the gold fields. According to reports, the metal is picked up in fabulous quantities along the seashore. There is plenty of gold, but there are at least a thousand more men in the camp than can be supplied with food and shelter. The men have been warned, but in their desire to be on the ground in the spring, they could not be induced to leave. Coal is from ?15 to ?20 per ton, and no supplies can reach them during the winter. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.19

-An international congress, under the patronage of the French Government, has been appointed to be held in September, 1900, to consider the question of Sunday as a legally and socially recognized day of rest. Representatives of both Catholic and Protestant clergy are on the committee, which will include members of Parliament, economists, and delegates from various commercial and manufacturers’ unions. The congress will be open to all who are interested in the programme, but only active members and delegates will have a right to take part in the sessions. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.20

-Twenty-two traction engines with trucks have just been dispatched from England to South Africa for use in the Transvaal military operations. They weigh about fifteen tons each, are capable of carrying forty tons, and travelling thirty or forty miles per day. One engine can do the work of eighty horses. In the tests they were submitted to, no obstacle seemed too great for them to cope with. Trees were lifted with roots attached, deep gullies navigated, and under the skilful guidance of the operators they seemed as sinuous as serpents, as they were guided about. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 734.21

“The Only Way” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

“Could not God have devised some other way to save man?” PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.1

Who has not heard this foolish question asked? Yet foolish though it be, it must be answered, because it indicates an entire lack of comprehension of the nature and greatness of the Gospel of salvation; and that ignorance must be helped, in order that the questioner may lay hold of the hope set before him. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.2

The question is foolish, in that it does not become people who are in deadly peril to stand and argue over the means provided for their rescue. Here is a man in deep water, and he cannot swim. He is in danger of drowning; indeed, he will drown if help does not come. Now a rope is thrown to him, but instead of grasping it, he begins to question. “Is this the only rope that has been provided for the saving of the drowning? Could not some other mode of rescue have been hit upon? Why could it not have been just as well to throw out a plank?” Before the man could have time to finish all his questions, he would go down. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.3

The question is the more foolish, because it is not asked with any thought that the means of salvation that God has provided are not sufficient to save mankind. If there were danger that the board over which a man must pass from a burning building to safety might break, and let him fall into the street far below, there would be excuse for examining it carefully. But the question is asked merely to satisfy an idle curiosity, which, as before said, ill becomes a lost person. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.4

The question implies that salvation is not a very good thing. The one who asks it seems to think that almost any man can carry about in his head three or four schemes for saving men, each of them about as good as the one that God has provided; and here again is it dishonouring to God. Infinite wisdom has provided only one way of salvation, but finite man would plan half a dozen. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.5

But to come to the question itself. Here is the fact: Speaking of the Name of Jesus, in which the former lame man stood before the Council a perfectly sound man, the Apostle Peter said, “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. This being the case, it is useless to look further, or to speculate about what might have been. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.6

We may and should, however, consider the way of salvation, because it is plainly set forth before us; and when this is done there must be an end of all speculation. God has set forth Jesus “to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed.” Romans 3:25. We are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Verse 24. This is the way, and the only way that has been provided. Could there have been another way? PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.7

Who is this Jesus? The answer to this question will settle the other one. What think ye of Christ? whose Son is He? He was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, but “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Romans 1:4. He in whom we have redemption through His blood, is “the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation; for in Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:15-17. What think ye? Could there have been any other way? is there anything outside of Him? PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.8

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without [that is, apart from] Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4. That which fallen man needs is life; and he can get it only from Him who is life, and who alone has life to bestow. Angels are created beings, living by the power of Christ, just the same as men, and therefore one of them or all of them could no more bring salvation to mankind than any man could. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.9

“Hereby perceive we the love of God because He laid down His life for us.” 1 John 3:16. God has purchased the church “with His own blood.” Acts 20:28. He is the only God, and the living God, therefore He says, “What could have been done more for My vineyard that I have not done in it?” Isaiah 5:4. When God Himself can find nothing else to do for men, it is useless for men to seek further. PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.10

One thing more. God must be just, at the same time that He is the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. He that believeth not is condemned; but none could justly be condemned, if there was a possible way of salvation, that had been left untried. The way which God sets forth is a tried way, and He has ventured His reputation and His life upon it. There will not be found in the Judgment of the last day a single mouth opened in criticism of God, but all will admit that He is just, and that He has done all that could be done for the salvation of man. The provision is ample enough for all, and “now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.” Therefore make haste, and “lay hold on eternal life.” PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.11

“Back Page” The Present Truth 15, 46.

E. J. Waggoner

At a recent meeting of the Playgoers’ Club, at the Hotel Cecil, an actor said that the Viennese audiences “did not dine heavily before play-going. It dined early, and went with all its wits about it. Would not the British merchant forego his big dinner in the interests of dramatic art. The existing methods of play-going in England did not favour that unquenchable joy in dramatic art which the Viennese exhibited.” Shall church-goers wait for theatre-goers to show them how to derive “unquenchable joy” from the service of God? Will they not rather set a far higher example, and, by recognising that light spirits and heavy feeding never go together, so live that their dinner will never interfere with their ability to appreciate spiritual things, but will, on the contrary, be a help? PTUK November 16, 1899, page 736.12