The Present Truth, vol. 14

June 16, 1898

“‘Every Word’” The Present Truth 14, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

“The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Ps. xii. 6. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 369.1

This is true not merely of a few words, but of all. “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.” Prov. xxx. 6. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 369.2

Moreover, there is enough in the words of God for every necessary purpose. They are sufficient to make a man “perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim. iii. 17. Not only is nothing more needed, but whatever is added to God's words is a lie. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Prov. xxx. 7. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 369.3

There is no trace of error or likeness to untruth in the words of the Lord. He is the truth; therefore His words are truth, for they are His life. “Thy word is true from the beginning; and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” Ps. cxix. 160. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 369.4

Unto us the Lord says: “Let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Matt. v. 37. Also, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” 1 Peter iv. 11. That is, the Lord wishes men to speak just as He does, but He will not have them equivocate. They must not say one thing, and mean another. This is because there is nothing of that kind in the words of God. He is not double-minded nor double-tongued. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 369.5

God is infinite; “there is no searching of His understanding.” Isa. xl. 28. Therefore His word is of infinite depth. Eternity will not be long enough to enable the keenest intellect or the most diligent student to exhaust the meaning of any one of the words of the Lord. Thus it is that we can always return to the same word, and find something fresh and new. It is a sun shining with never-fading light; a fountain whose waters never fail. Therefore the one who comes into close acquaintance with the Word of God never tires of it any more than he tires of the light of the sun, the fresh beauty of nature, or the sparkling flow of the mountain stream. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 369.6

By these facts we may understand what some people call the “double meaning” of the Scriptures. There is in reality no such thing. God does not require us to be better than He is; but He will not have our speech Yea and Nay; that is, He, will not have us speak with a double meaning; therefore we may be sure that He will not speak that way. What sometimes appears to be a double meaning in the words of the Lord, is simply a deeper view into the same meaning that first appeared. We assumed that we had fathomed the full meaning of the Word; in our self-conceit we did not dream that the Lord could think greater thoughts than we could, and so we assumed that our grasp of the passage was all there was to it, at least in that direction; and then when we chanced to see something more in it, we thought that it must be still another meaning. But it was not so. We were simply by His grace looking a little deeper into the fountain; and He would have us understand that what we had thought was the bottom, was only the limit of our previous eyesight; now the Spirit has opened our eyes to see a little further into “the deep things of God.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.1

The knowledge and remembrance of these truths concerning the Word will save us from two errors in studying the Bible. In the first place, we shall never assume that we know all that may be known even of any single portion of it. No matter how well acquainted we may he with any part of the Bible, we shall know that there is always much more in it for us to learn. In the second place, we shall on the other hand not fall into the error that we cannot absolutely depend on what any text says, unless we know every test that has any bearing on the same subject. One error is as bad as the other for either one keeps us from coming to the knowledge of the truth. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.2

It is very evident that we can never learn what the Lord would have us learn from His Word, if we assume that we know it all now. But it is just as evident that we shall never believe anything with certainty, if we labour under the fear that we may possibly come across another text which will overthrow or change the meaning of the one that we have before us. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.3

Not long ago we read a portion of a conversation on the Bible, in which one of the speakers, a lady, said, “We cannot take one verse of the Scripture and say this is the way, the truth, and the life, but must compare scripture with scripture.” This is a very common opinion even among those who mean to reverence the Word of God. They do not realise that they are virtually saying that none of God's words are absolutely true in themselves, but that we must collate them all, and strike an average, in order to get at the real truth. That is a terrible charge to bring against the Lord. “Every word of God is pure.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.4

We are to live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Every word is truth and life. Any word of the Lord is sufficient to give life to the one who receives it as the Word of the Lord. If a man knew only one verse of the Bible, and believed it, he would be saved by it. This does not disparage any other word, for every other word has the same power, and although any one word is sufficient for salvation, it is much better to have more than one, yea, to have them all. A tallow candle gives light, which is just as real light, and of the same kind, as that which the sun gives; and while the candle will suffice to light us through a dark passage, we should rejoice much more in the sunshine. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.5

Some time ago a friend of the writer referred to Luther's controversy over the Lord's Supper, as an instance of the error of supposing that any one text expressed absolute truth in itself. It is well known that Luther kept repeating the words, “This is My body,” and would not be moved from them. Yet he was wholly wrong in his position concerning the bread of the Lord's Supper. And why?—Was it because he stood so firmly for the exact and literal meaning of the Word of the Lord? No; not by any means; it was because he did not take the words of the Lord absolutely. If he had taken the words which he so often repeated, just as they were spoken by the Lord, he would have had no trouble, but would have been led into a greater truth than anybody thought of at that time. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.6

Jesus said, as He took the bread, “This is My body.” He did not say that it would become His body after something had been done to it, or some words had been repeated over it, but that it was His body, just as He took it up. Luther did not believe that, nor do many to-day. What Luther meant, when he repeated the words of Christ, was that the bread became the body of Christ, after the priest had transformed it. But that, you can see, was not at all what the Lord said. That was not holding to the text, but was widely departing from it. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.7

What the Lord said, and what He would have us understand everyday of our lives, is that the bread from which we get our life day by day, conveys to us His own life, by which alone we live. There is no life but His. He is the life. He is the body, the substance, the reality, of everything that is of any value. He is the true and living Bread. If it were not for His life in the bread that we eat, it would not be food, and we could get no life from it. He would have us take His word; as absolute literal truth; and if we do that, we shall find that there is life in them. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.8

Jeremiah knew this truth, when he said, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” Jer. xv. 16. It was by giving the children of Israel bread in the desert, that God sought to impress on them the fact that man lives only by every word that proceeds out of His mouth. See Deut. viii. 3. Let us learn this lesson, and “as new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word,” in order that we may be filled with righteousness. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.9

“The Power of an Endless Life” The Present Truth 14, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

We are told in the Scriptures that Jesus Christ is made priest, “not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” Heb. vii. 16. Have you ever thought what this means to us poor, weak mortals, fainting under a load of sin that crushes us to earth, and vainly trying to stand upright before temptation that sways us to and fro like the reed before the tempest? Perhaps you have thought that it was written to help fill out a theological system; but it was not. It was written in order to help us in our everyday life. Let us come closer to it, and get such a hold of it that we may ever have the blessing of it. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.10

In the first place, why is Christ priest? The answer is, “To make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” In order that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people, “in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren.” “For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted.” Heb. ii. 17, 18. Christ's work as priest, then, is solely that of helping people that are tempted. He was made like us, therefore He can sympathise with us. “For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. iv. 15, 16. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 370.11

So much for Christ's understanding of our case, His close, personal sympathy with us, even at our very worst, and His continual willingness and intense desire to help us. But what of His power to succour us? What is His ability to deliver us from the evil, and to make us “ready to every good work?” What power does He as priest bring to our aid?—He brings “the power of an endless life.” Literally, the power of an indissoluble life, a life that can never be weakened or in any way diminished, and which death itself cannot affect. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 371.1

The power of an endless life is the power of eternity. We have here not merely duration, but concentration, intensity. Christ as God inhabits eternity. His name is “I AM.” That is to say, eternity is present with Him every instant. We look at the things which He has made, where that which may be known of Him is manifest, and though our gaze be but for a moment, we see His “eternal power.” The whole strength of a life that is eternal is available at any and every instant. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 371.2

Do you get the force of this? Let us see if we cannot bring it more within the range of our comprehension. Every one of us can exert more or less physical strength. To make the case very simple, we will put the amount exceedingly low, and say that our average strength is one hundred pounds. We can lift a weight of one hundred pounds, or can resist that force. That is what we can do at any time. We can do it this minute, and we can do the same thing the next minute, and can repeat the act at any minute of our lives. Now that is not very much at any one minute; but suppose that we could concentrate all the minutes into one, and could in any one minute lift a weight or resist a force equal to the sum of all that we could do in all the minutes of our life. Do you not see that our strength would be almost inconceivable, even with our comparatively short lives? Taking the limit of life as threescore and ten, the strength of a man, even at our low estimate, would be more than three thousand million pounds. This he could put forth at any and every instant of his life, from childhood until old age. What could not such a man do? PTUK June 16, 1898, page 371.3

But that is only a feeble representation of the actual strength which Christ as High Priest in our flesh is able to exert in our behalf. He has Himself suffered and withstood the strongest assaults that can possibly be brought to bear against human beings. He ever lives to make intercession for us, that is, to put Himself in between us and the enemy. And the power which He brings to bear at any and every instant is “the power of an endless life.” Whatever power we can conceive of His having at any moment, we may multiply by all the moments of eternity, and may know that all of it is at our service every moment of our conflict with the devil. Lifting mountains is a light affair with such strength. “He taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 371.4

Is there not inspiration and strength in the very thought? Is this not encouragement for us to “fight the good fight of faith,” and to “lay hold on eternal life?” Ah, who can tell the power there is in that life? In comparison with it, all the power of the devil and all his hosts is but nothing, for they shall all perish. With this strength given unto us, we may confidently resist the devil, knowing that he will flee from us. By faith this life is ours. Therefore “trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 371.5

“Three Sabbaths” The Present Truth 14, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

THE LORD’S SABBATH—THE JEWISH SABBATH—THE POPE’S SABBATH

One can in truth speak of sabbaths in the plural only as one can speak of many gods. “There is no god but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth; as there are gods many and lords many; yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we through Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him.” 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6. So, though there be various sabbaths, so-called, there is but one true Sabbath, the Sabbath of the Lord. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 372.1

THE LORD’S SABBATH

The word Sabbath means http://nc.st rest. It is a Hebrew word transferred into the English language. When the Hebrews used the word “Sabbath,” it conveyed the same idea to them that the word “rest” does to us. The fourth commandment therefore really says to us: “Remember the rest day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the rest of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the rest day, and hallowed it.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 372.2

We must not make the mistake of judging of the Lord's rest from what men are accustomed to call rest. God is not a man. We should rather learn from God's rest what rest really is. God's rest is not mere physical rest from weariness. This we know from two facts. First, “God is Spirit.” John iv. 24. Not “a spirit,” as though He were one of many; but He is Spirit, as it is rendered in the margin of the Revision. Second, “The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary.” Isa. xl. 33. The Lord therefore did not rest because He was tired, and His rest is not physical, but spiritual, since He is Spirit. “They that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 372.3

God rested, not because He was weary, but because His work was finished. When work is finished, and is well done, nothing but rest remains. In six days God finished His work, and as He surveyed it, He pronounced it “very good.” There was no flaw in it. It was without fault before Him. Therefore since God's work was done and well done at the close of the sixth day, “He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 372.4

He had no sad reflections, no regrets. His rest was not marred, as what man calls rest so often is, by any such thought as, “To-morrow I must go at that work again;” nor, “I wish that I had done this portion a little differently;” nor, “If I could do that over again, I could make an improvement;” nor, “That last day's work is so bad that I cannot bear to look at it; I was so tired when I got to it that I couldn't half do it.” Nothing of the kind. Every portion of the work, even man, was as perfect as it was possible for it to be, and God took pure delight in contemplating the work from which He was resting because it was complete and perfect. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 372.5

This is the rest which He offers to us. It is not something that He imposes on us, but which He in everlasting love and kindness gives to us. Rest is not a task that is laid on one. It is not a burden. They who look upon the Sabbath as a burden, have no idea of what the Sabbath of the Lord is. It is rest, perfect, unalloyed rest. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 372.6

Jesus Christ is the One by whom the worlds were made, “for in Him were all things created, in the heavens, and upon the earth,” therefore He is the one who offers us this rest. To every soul He cries, “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. xi. 38. The rest is found in Him, because in Him the works of God are completed. In Him is the new creation, and if any man be in Him, he is a new creature. On the cross Jesus cried, “It is finished,” thus showing that in His cross we find that perfect rest that comes alone from the finished work of the Lord. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 372.7

This rest is gained by faith. “We which believe do enter into rest.” How so?—Because by faith we have the finished, perfect work of the Lord as our own. “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John vi. 29. Believing Him means receiving Him; and since in Him the works of God are complete, it follows that by believing on Him we find the rest. The rest that Jesus gives is rest from sin. The heavy laden whom He calls to Him are those who are burdened with the weight of their sins. All men are thus burdened, “for all have sinned.” Our best works are utterly worthless. Christ will have a people who are “zealous of good works” (Titus ii. 14, 15), but the good works must be those which God Himself has wrought for us in Christ. Only His work is enduring. “His work is honourable and glorious; and His righteousness endureth for ever.” Ps. cxi. 3. Therefore, “by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast; for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before prepared, that we should walk in them.” Eph. ii. 8-10. It is “not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He poured out upon us richly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” Titus iii. 5, 6. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.1

It is by the works of God, therefore, that we are saved, and not by our own. Good works there are in abundance, and they are for us too, but through no work of our own; solely through the perfect work of God in Jesus Christ. If the works were our own, then the rest would be our own; but God gives us His rest, not ours, because only His works can yield perfect rest. “He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered” (Ps. cxi. 4), or, literally, “He hath made a memorial for His wondrous works.” That memorial is the seventh day, the day on which He rested from all His works. That day He has blessed and sanctified, made holy. Its holiness has never departed from it, for “whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever.” No matter what man does, nor how man regards the day, its holiness remains. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.2

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God;” and the seventh day, which God for ever declares to be His rest, is that by which He makes known to us the perfection of His rest, because it calls us to contemplate a finished and perfect new creation. It reveals to us the everlasting God, the unwearied, almighty Creator, who has wrought and laid up great goodness for them that trust in Him before the sons of men. Ps. xxxi. 19. It reminds us that we are “complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.” It tells us that, although we have sinned, and brought the curse upon God's perfect creation, the cross of Christ, which bears the curse, restores and perpetuates the perfect work of God, so that through it we may stand without fault before the throne of God, just as when man was first made. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.3

THE JEWISH SABBATH

There is such a thing as “the Jewish Sabbath,” or the Sabbath of the Jews, but it is a far different thing from the Sabbath of the Lord. Many people imagine that if one observes the seventh day he is keeping the Jewish Sabbath; but that does not at all follow. No one keeps the Jewish Sabbath if he keeps the Sabbath “according to the commandment.” There is the same difference between the Jewish Sabbath and the Sabbath of the Lord, that there is between a man and God. Let us explain. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.4

“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord;” but we have seen that the Lord's rest is spiritual rest, which the seventh day commemorates. A man may cease from physical toil on the seventh day of the week, and not keep the Sabbath of the Lord. If a man stops work on Friday evening at sunset, and abstains from all labour until the next day at sunset, merely as a form of worship, and in order that he may be physically better able to go at his work again, or with the thought that he is thereby discharging a duty, and gaining the favour of God, that is not keeping the Sabbath of the Lord. To keep the Sabbath of the Lord is to delight in the Lord. Those who do not delight themselves in the Lord, do not keep His Sabbath, no matter when they abstain from labour. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.5

It is absolutely impossible for one who is not a Christian to keep the Lord's Sabbath; for, as we have seen, God's rest comes only from His perfect work, which is found only in Christ. “We which believe do enter into rest.” Therefore no Jew, so-called, as distinguished from a believer in Christ, keeps the Sabbath of the Lord, even though he apparently rests on the seventh day of the week. His rest is his own rest, and not the rest of the Lord, do you see the difference? The Jewish Sabbath falls on the same day of the week as the Sabbath of the Lord, but it is not by any means the same thing. It represents only the man himself, and his own work. Instead of being the sign of justification by faith in the work of the Lord, it is the sign of self-righteousness, as indicated by the question which the Jews asked of Jesus: “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” They counted their own works equal to God's works. Their obedience was not the obedience of faith, but only of form. From such a Sabbath may the Lord deliver us. It is from it that we are delivered in the Sabbath of the Lord, for we are saved from our own works, and given the perfect works of the Lord. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord,” but let us beware of making it a mere caricature of rest. Let us take it for what it is: the rest of the Lord. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.6

THE POPE’S SABBATH

This is something entirely different from the Sabbath of the Jews, and infinitely different from the Sabbath of the Lord. The Sabbath of the Lord is the acceptance of God's own works, and rest in them alone, allowing Him to work both to will and to do of His good pleasure; the Jewish Sabbath represents the vain attempt of zealous and self-confident men to do the works which God Himself does, and which God alone can do; but the Pope's sabbath signifies the substitution of man's work for God's work, as being not only as good, but even better. It dispenses with even the form of the commandment of the Lord. Let us see how this is. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.7

The Lord's Sabbath has been sufficiently dwelt on for the present. We know what it is. We have seen that the Jews’ sabbath is the observing of the form of the Lord's Sabbath, without the substance which can come only by faith. It falls on the same day, but is man's Sabbath, not the Lord’s. The Pope's Sabbath has nothing in common with the Sabbath of the Lord, not even in form, but utterly repudiates it. Thus, a papist book, entitled, “A Sure Way to Find Out the True Religion,” says:— PTUK June 16, 1898, page 373.8

“The keeping holy the Sunday is a thing absolutely necessary to salvation; and yet this is nowhere put down in the Bible; on the contrary, the Bible, says, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy (Ex. xx. 8), which is Saturday, and not Sunday; therefore the Bible does not contain all things necessary to salvation.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 374.1

This is only one out of many similar citations that might be given, but is sufficient to show that in the observance of Sunday the Catholic Church deliberately repudiates the Word of the Lord, and sets itself above it. It has placed its sabbath on an entirely different day from the Sabbath of the Lord,-a day which even God Himself could not possibly have made His Sabbath, since on it He began His work, in order to emphasise its claim to be above God. It would teach men that they are to obey the church rather than God. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 374.2

Notice that the citation speaks about the necessity of “keeping holy the Sunday.” But God has not made the Sunday holy. In fact, the Bible knows nothing about such a day. It does know the first day of the week, which it calls a working day, but the Sunday, a day composed of parts of two days, was made in Rome. The only day that God has ever spoken of as holy is the seventh day of the week. That day He Himself has made holy, and all He asks of us is to keep it holy. But since God has not made the Sunday holy, it follows that if man is to keep it holy, man himself must make it holy. All the sacredness in the world that Sunday has is that which man gives to it. The Sunday-sabbath, therefore, stands as the sign of man's pretended power to make things holy. For it man can make one thing holy, it is evident that he can make anything holy. If man can make and keep a day holy, then he can make and keep himself holy. The Pope's Sabbath is thus the sign of his claim to take the place of the Lord as the sanctifier of sinners. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 374.3

While the seventh day is the sign of God's power to save by His own works, the Sunday is the sign of man's assumed power to save himself by his own works, entirely apart from, and in spite of the Lord. It repudiates the Lord, in repudiating His Word. Take notice that this is said of the Pope's Sunday, and not of all those who regard it as a holy day. There are thousands who are keeping the Pope's day, honestly supposing it to be the Sabbath of the Lord. Such of course believe in justification by faith, although they unwittingly observe the sign of justification by works. It is for the benefit of such that this article is written, that they may be wholly consistent in their profession of faith. We are dealing with facts, regardless of how men may stand related to them; and the facts are that the Lord's Sabbath is justification by faith; the Pope's Sabbath means justification by works, and that man's own works. On which side will you stand? PTUK June 16, 1898, page 374.4

“Modern Superstition” The Present Truth 14, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

Italy is in sad need of the Gospel. Her people, in common with all others, realise the need of a Saviour, and it is pitiful to read of the profitless superstitions with which the Church of Rome pretends to satisfy their aspirations. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 376.1

A special correspondent to the Catholic Times writes a lengthy article on the recent exposition of the “Holy Winding Sheet” at Turin. He says:— PTUK June 16, 1898, page 376.2

Innumerable pilgrimages were being organised in Italy and Southern France, and the greatest joy and gladness reigned supreme in the hearts of the Turin people, who for the last thirty years-namely, from the year 1868 up to the present day-ardently sighed for the signal favour of being allowed to prostrate themselves before the Holy Winding-Sheet, and there acquire a new impulse of faith, of confidence, of love, end of gratitude towards Jesus Christ, who deigned to leave impressed upon that linen sheet the features of His inanimate body. On account, however, of the sanguinary conflicts of which Italy unfortunately has bean the theatre for some time past, the authorities deemed it prudent to postpone the unveiling of the Winding-Sheet until the past eight days. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 376.3

Why cannot the people see the folly and deceit in this business? If the exhibition of the sheet could inspire new faith and love in beholders, surely it was most unjust to withhold it for thirty years, especially when the people “ardently sighed for the signal favour.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 376.4

Further, if it could impart these desirable impulses, which would have so great a tendency to strengthen and build up the church, the leaders of the church must have been singularly blind to their own interests to withhold the sight so long. Since it is not conceivable that the priests of Rome should be indifferent where the interests of their Church are concerned, it must be that they have no faith in the efficacy of the sheet themselves. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 376.5

This is seen clearly in the fact that its exhibition was delayed several days on account of the rioting in Italy, the very time when impulses of love were most needed. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 377.1

A great responsibility rests upon those who know the Lord to let the light shine, till the dark places of the earth are illuminated, “with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.” Jesus asks none to ardently sigh for His blessing for thirty years. He says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” and to all who will receive it, be offers, not the vision of a discarded sheet, but “the power of His resurrection,” the riches of the glory of the mystery, “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 377.2

“Things Turned Upside Down” The Present Truth 14, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

The leading article in the New York Independent of May 13 is by Justin McCarthy, M.P., on “Affairs in England,” the principal topic of which is the recent victory of the British and Egyptian army over the Dervishes, which he deplores, as a useless waste of life. He frankly says that he believes in war, but only when it is “necessary,” and he cannot see any real profit in opening the way or going to Khartoum. The following paragraph from his article, coming as it does from a man of the world, who does not profess wholly to disbelieve in war, is very striking, and should cause the blush of shame to tinge the cheeks of many ministers of the Gospel:— PTUK June 16, 1898, page 377.3

There is no voice now in England like that of Mr. Bright-no voice coming from a really great orator, who ventures to stand up for the Gospel of Peace. So far as I know, the pulpits of the English State Church have not much concerned themselves of late years about that Gospel of Peace. Now we get into a war, no one knows why a war of which all we know is, that it certainly is not a war of national defence; and when our brave soldiers win a victory, we are bidden to rejoice; and if anyone expresses the slightest doubt as to the occasion for the joy, he is at once set down by the majority of his acquaintances as a Little-Englander, or an Irish Nationalist, or some equally objectionable person. Perhaps the time may come when the memory of Prince Bismarck will be lees honoured by thoughtful and impartial men for his triumph over Austria and over France than for the noble declaration which he once gave forth, that the Eastern Question was not worth to Prussia the blood of a single Pomeranian grenadier. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 377.4

Sad to say, this particular paragraph is selected by the Independent, a religious paper, for special editorial comment and rebuke. Is it so, that the church, which should be the salt of the earth, is leading even the world in the march to destruction? The loudest clamours for war seem to come from professors of Christianity, while the voices that deprecate bloodshed are in the world. What a strange reversal of the order of things! PTUK June 16, 1898, page 377.5

“Back Page” The Present Truth 14, 24.

E. J. Waggoner

China has granted to France the following compensation for the murder of Father Berthollet: Condemnation of the guilty parties; punishment of the authorities concerned; payment of 100,000 francs; building of a memorial chapel; and an important railway concession. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.1

It now appears that the recent massacre of Russian troops in the province of Ferghana, was caused by the inflammatory intrigues of the Mussulman priests. The Turkish victory over Greece has led to a widespread revival of the Islamic spirit, and the leader of the insurrection is known to have been in communication with high circles at Constantinople on the subject of proclaiming a Holy War. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.2

By the War Revenue Bill, which has just passed the U. S. Senate, and which will come into effect the last of the present month, a tax of 10 cents (5d.) a pound is imposed on tea. The amount of tea imported into the United States last year was almost one hundred million pounds, on which amount the proposed tax would be about ?2,000,000. Unfortunately many people who might easily be free from this tax, will find it a heavy burden, because they will deny themselves necessities in order to provide themselves with that which is not only superfluous but injurious. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.3

The Archbishop of Canterbury, presiding on Monday at the Diocesan Sunday-school Teachers’ Festival in that city, said PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.4

He had no doubt there were inaccuracies in the Old Testament narratives, but they must notice that throughout the book there was evidenced the great desire of the writers to tell the truth as far as they knew it. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.5

Seeing that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,” and it was “God who spake in time past by the prophets,” it is a good thing that we can rely not only on the great desire of the Author of the Old Testament to tell the truth, but on His power to do so. It is a pity that the Archbishop should conceive it in his province to cast any doubt on the Word of God, especially to those who teach it to the young, but the loss is his own. “For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect. God forbid: yea let God he true, but every man a liar.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.6

It is very significant when so important a church paper as the Church Times, utters sentiments like the following in a long article on “Church and stage.” Speaking of the idea that the theatre is irretrievably bad, it says:— PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.7

We do not accept the verdict of utter condemnation, and equally refuse to believe in the impossibility of winning the stage for Christ. Rather we hold that believers in the lncarnation should claim the stage for righteousness and in the service of truth, and should lose no chance of extending the reign of our ascended Lord to the theatre and all belonging to it. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.8

In the days of Christ the ecclesiastical leaders loved to “go in long clothing.” Mark xii. 38. In these days they love not only long clothing, but long titles as well. The Greek Patriarch of Alexandria is a good instance, although not an isolated one. It is not at all likely that he has ever been heard of by one person in a million outside of his own flock, or that he, has ever distinguished himself there except by his title, yet he modestly styles himself, “By mercy of God, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria, Libya, and the whole Africa, Fathers’ Father, Pastors’ Pastor, Thirteenth of the Apostles, and Judge of the Universe.” One would not think there was room enough in the universe for another such being, yet there are hundreds of them on this small earth. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.9

In striking contrast with the bombastic, self-glorifying title of the “Patriarch” of Alexandria, is the account given of himself by a man who has actually done something in the world. Mr. Edison wished to join the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, and as would-be members are required to mention work that they have done, he did so as follows:— PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.10

I have designed a concentrating plant built a machine shop, etc., etc.
THOMAS A. EDISON. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.11

Another of those interesting fictions, which the humour of modern diplomacy describes as “leases,” has been entered into between China, and England, by which an area of two hundred square miles in the neighbourhood of Hong Kong is brought within the jurisdiction of the latter Power. The pleasing illusion of a lease is kept up by the term of ninety-nine years, but the amount of the consideration is not stated. England will proceed at once with the improvement of the property, and it may safely he assumed that she has no intention of surrendering it, with the fixtures and fittings, when the lease expires. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.12

In the current number of Harper's Magazine, Captain Mahan, the eminent authority on all naval matters, deprecates the idea that all the United States needs is a navy for defensive purposes only. He says:— PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.13

Among all masters of military art-including therein naval art-it is a thoroughly accepted principle that mere defensive war means military ruin, and therefore national disaster. It is vain to maintain a military or naval force whose power is not equal to assuming the offensive soon or late, which cannot, first or last, go out, assail the enemy, and hurt him in his vital interests. A navy for defence only, in the political sense. means a navy that will only be used in case we are forced into war; a navy for defence only, in the military sense, mean's a navy that can only await attack and defend its own, leaving the enemy at ease as regards his own interests, and at liberty to choose his own time and manner of fighting. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.14

In the grand demonstration given the week before last in Brooklyn, N.Y., in honour of General Woodford, recent U. S. minister to Spain; Dr. Storrs said:— PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.15

It may be that it is the Divine purpose to bring us out from our long isolation on this continent, and push us forward in the march toward the world's civilisation. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.16

Is it not passing strange that even ministers of the Gospel always connect war and civilisation? Since civilisation in itself has only one advantage over barbarism, namely, to enable men to kill more of their enemies, and to do it more artistically, would it not be well for lovers of the Lord to drop the designation “civilised” altogether, and be content to be known as Christians alone? Civilisation means war; Christianity means peace. PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.17

At the recent meeting of the American Baptist Association, Dr. George Dana Boardman, of Philadelphia, in speaking on “Bible Work,” felt impelled to give expression to his feelings of sadness over the prevailing military enthusiasm. It is a most striking sign of the times, and not by any means to the credit of the professed ministers of the Gospel of Peace, who were assembled there, that while Dr. Boardman's solemn words touched every heart, they were “out of accord with the prevailing sentiment of the meeting.” PTUK June 16, 1898, page 384.18