The Present Truth, vol. 14

September 15, 1898

“Strength in Weakness” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

“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.” Ps. cvii. 23, 24. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 577.1

What are the works of the Lord, and the wonders in the deep, which are seen in the great waters?—The answer is given in the next verses: “For He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.” The mighty power of God is seen by those who go to sea. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 577.2

God rules in the sea. When Jonah sought to flee from the presence of the Lord, and took a ship bound for Tarshish, “the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken;” but as soon as Jonah was out of the boat, “the sea ceased from her raging.” Jonah i. 4, 15. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 577.3

He rules the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, He stills them. Ps. lxxxix. 9. An example of this is seen in the stilling of the tempest by Christ on the sea of Galilee. “He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto them sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a, great calm.” Mark iv. 39. The word here rendered “peace” is the same that a mother would use in quieting a boisterous child: “Hush; quiet,” she will say; and just as with a restless infant did Jesus deal with the tempestuous sea. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 577.4

For Jesus was Immanuel, “God with us,” and “the Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.” Ps. xciii. 4. There is nothing more awful than the sea when lashed to fury by a violent wind. The destruction that it can work is beyond all description. The strongest works of man are unable to resist its force. No other created thing can equal the sea in power and grandeur; yet it is to God no more than the tiniest infant. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 577.5

See how strikingly this is set forth by the Lord in His instruction to Job: “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 prescribed for it My decree, and set bars and doors, and said, Thus far shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” Job. xxxviii. 8-11, R.V. The sea with all the might of its proud waves, is to the Lord only as a newly-born infant in swaddling bands. And this God is the God of our salvation. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 577.6

Nor only do the wonders of God in the deep show the power of God unto salvation of those who believe, but they are cited as encouragement to those who labour for the salvation of others. Read Isaiah li. 12-16: “I, even I, am He that comforteth you; who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall he made as grass; and hast forgotten the Lord thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth; and fearest continually all the day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he maketh ready to destroy ... I am the Lord thy God, which stirreth up the sea, that the waves thereof roar; the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, Thou art My people.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.1

The God who can stir up the sea, so that it will roar, and then still it again with a whisper, is the God who put His Word in the mouths of those who will be ambassadors for Christ. Nay, more, the very word that can do this, is the word which He puts into the mouths of those who will yield themselves to Him, to obey and speak only His Word, and no words of their own. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.2

In God's dealing with the sea we have still further encouragement as “labourers together with God.” God has “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.” Jer. v. 23. Yet this same sand is unstable and shifting. He who builds on it is sure to come to destruction. Matt. vii. 26, 27. “A rope of sand” is an expression for weakness; yet this same sand serves in the hands of God to restrain the raging sea, and keep it in bounds. So although man is weakness itself, and worse than useless to build upon, the word which God puts in his mouth will build a new heavens and a new earth. “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” Faith in God will manufacture strength out of weakness. Heb. xi. 33, 34. The sea itself, which rages so furiously, is but water, which is unstable and weak. The strength that it exhibits is the strength of God. “Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.3

“The Living Bread” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

In recent studies we have learned that the rain which comes down from heaven and waters the earth is the life of God. “Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it. Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water.” Ps. lxv. 9. How greatly, beyond our utmost thought, God enriches the earth in thus visiting it, we do not know, but we are told of some things that He does for it by means of the rain, and these we should believe and receive as from Him. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.4

God's life poured out upon us in the form of rain is not different from His life, as it is revealed in Christ, or as the angels behold it in heaven. It is not strained off before it is poured from heaven, therefore all the righteousness and power that is comprised in the Divine life, indeed “all things that pertain to life and godliness,” are shed freely upon the earth in the rain. “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.” The earth, being without power of choice, has to receive the rain as what it is, and consequently, that which springs from the earth as the result of the rain, is identical with it in quality and virtue. “Let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together: I the Lord have created it.” Isa. xlv. 8. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.5

If a man will recognise the fruit of the earth as the life of God he will know in eating food that he is a partaker of the Divine life and nature. Such an one will grow strong on the nurture of the Lord. It is a well-known fact that to be strong and well a man must eat strength-giving food, and the measure of his strength will be determined by the quality of his nutriment. Whosoever eats of the Lord will be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.6

Israel had a great work to do when they came out of Egypt. It was no less than is committed to the church of Christ to-day,-to be co-workers with God. But God does not ask men to do anything, in their own strength, and so He fed Israel with food that was able to impart abundant strength, sufficient for the easy and successful accomplishment of every duty that lay in their path. They had “the corn of harvest. Man did eat angels’ food.” But Israel did not receive the wonderful strength that there was in the manna. They even despised it, and in so doing, “they believed not in God, and trusted not in His salvation.” Ps. lxxviii. 22. They were eating and drinking of Christ, but they did not believe it, and so they only ate and drank condemnation to themselves. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.7

Still the earth brings forth salvation and righteousness. Christ “is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.” He says, “As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.” John vi. 57. Israel failed to discern the Lord's body in the food that was given them, and so, not receiving Christ in it, their diet was too poor for the task before them. It overtaxed their strength, and they fell by the way. Christ had an infinitely more trying journey before Him, but He received so much strength in living by the Father that, all the way, He was more than conqueror. In the same way, if we eat His flesh and drink His blood, where He has put these for our use, we will triumph always. If we do not, we will fail like Israel to enter in, and the simple and only cause of our failure will be unbelief, that is, refusing to admit that God speaks the truth. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.8

It was literally true that Christ lived by the Father. He had meat to eat that His disciples knew not of. Yet He was made in all things like unto His brethren, and had no secret channel of communication with the Father that was denied to them. He said, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me.” He ate and drank what they did, but not as they did. The will of God was perfectly assimilated into Christ's life, just as every one is made of what he eats and drinks. His testimony was, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God, yea, Thy law is within My heart.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.9

Since He lived by the will of God, as His meat and drink, it must be that this was conveyed to Him in the partaking of material food. There was so high a quality of nourishment in His diet, as He took it, recognising God's life, or will in it, that it could sustain Him when others, who had last eaten at the same time as Himself, were quite exhausted. At one time, He went in the strength of it, forty days and nights, and it was only afterwards that He was hungry. It is evident that there is more strength in receiving the will, or word, of God without bread, than there is in eating bread without receiving in it the life of God. The Lord suffered Israel to hunger, and fed them with manna that He might make them know that man doth not live by bread alone. Christ could say, “I know that His commandment is life.” John xii. 50. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.10

Just as the Divine life does not deteriorate when it comes down from heaven and comes forth in vegetable life with unimpaired vitality. Nor when taken into the body of man does it change for the worse. It remains in every stage the life of God, and while the observer of nature sees in its different manifestations what he calls, at one stage, the law of plant life, and at another, the law of human development, it remains, all through, the law of the Divine life. In thus imparting His life, God communicates in it the law of His own being, His own personal character and attributes. Thus the man who acknowledges that His whole life is derived from God, will also know that in his heart, in his very being, is the law of the Divine life, the instincts of the Divine nature. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 578.11

This is what God promises in the new covenant. “I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.... And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know Me.” Heb. viii. 10, 11. This covenant is fulfilled to every one who recognises God's life in his food, and receives it with thankfulness. It was to fulfil the everlasting covenant, made with Abraham and his seed, that God gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness. He “satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out, ... for He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant.” Ps. cv. 40-43. Christ, giving His disciples the juice of the grape, said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood.” 1 Cor. xi. 25. Through Isaiah God calls us to “Eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.... and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.” Isa. Iv. 2, 3. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.1

Thus we see how it is that when we acknowledge God in all our ways, He will direct our paths. He writes His law in our hearts, putting it into us as the law of our being, just as it is the law of His own existence. “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones.” Isa. lviii. 11. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.2

God declared His covenant of life and peace to Israel on Sinai, but the people did not see the grace that was abounding there, flowing from Sinai to them in living streams of water. We are come unto Mount Zion, to the city of the living God. “The Lord's throne is in heaven.” “Clouds and darkness are round about Him,” but always from the cloud comes the stream of the water of life, in the form of rain, dropping down righteousness on the earth, that the earth may bring forth salvation for the service of man. God speaks His living law from the midst of the cloud, and those who receive it in the water of life and the bread from heaven, live by it, and find it life everlasting. To such the law is not a code of regulations, which one man can teach to another, but the life of Christ, His flesh and blood, which He gives for the life of the world. All who partake of this wonderful nutriment are strengthened with might by God's Spirit in the inner man, and Christ dwells in their hearts by faith, so that they, in Him, are filled with all the fulness of God. No work is too difficult for them, for they can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth them; and God has no secrets from them, for the Spirit, which is their life, the Divine law of their being, searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.3

“The Everlasting Gospel: God's Saving Power in the Things That Are Made” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

THE SEAS

Gen. i. 9, 10: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He seas; and God saw that it was good.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.4

Rev. xiv. 6: “And I saw another angel fly to the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.5

Ps. xcvi. 11-13: “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord; for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth; He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.6

Ps. xxxiii. 6-8: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap; He layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.7

Ps. clv. 1-3: “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, Thou art very great; Thou art clothed with honour and majesty, Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds His chariot; who walketh upon the wings of the wind.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.8

Jer. v. 22: “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.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.9

Job xxxviii. 8-11: “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as it if had issued from the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and prescribed for it My decree, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come and no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.10

Isa. xl. 12: “Who hath measured the waters In the hollow of His hand?” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.11

Ps. cxxxix. 9, 10: “If I take the wings of tile morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the seas, even there shall Thy hand lead Me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.12

Ps. lxv. 5-7: “By terrible things wilt Thou answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation; Thou art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are far off upon the sea; which by His strength setteth fast the mountains, being girded about with light; which stilleth the roaring of the seas, the roaring of the waves, and the tumult of the people.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.13

Isa. li. 10, 11: “Art Thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the ass, a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their beads; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow slid mourning shall flee sway.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.14

Ps. xcv. 5, 6: “The sea is His, and He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. O come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 579.15

The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.1

The everlasting power of God is seen in the things that are made. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.2

“The sea is His, and He made it.” Therefore the voice of the sea whether audible or inaudible proclaims the Gospel. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.3

The vast expanse of the sea, which God measures in His hand, shows us the greatness of His power, which is mercy, because it is salvation. So it is not more, but less than a full statement of the truth, that PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.4

“There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea,” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.5

The mighty power of the sea is but the manifestation of the merciful power of God to save us from our sins. If we but listen to His voice, our righteousness will be “like the waves of the sea.” Isa. xlviii. 18. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.6

What power can pluck us out of the hand of Him who measures all the waters of the sea in the hollow of His band? PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.7

God's power over the raging of the nations of the earth, is as great as His power over the sea. He can still them just as easily. See Matt. viii. 26. This is to be the confidence of the people of God in times when the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing; when the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Christ, saying, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.8

God's power over the sea is an assurance to us of salvation. Because He rules the sea, “therefore the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.9

When the Lord comes, it will be for the salvation of His people. But that will only be the consummation of the salvation which He accomplishes for them day by day. In view of His coming to judgment, the sea roars out its joy; it speaks the mighty power of God. If we but learn to understand its language, then we shall experience the power which it reveals, and shall also rejoice at the thought of the coming of the Lord, because we know the joy of His presence. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.10

“Confessing Christ” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Rom. x. 9. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.11

How simple and easy is the way of salvation! It is only the way of the transgressor that is hard. God has chosen us to salvation “through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth.” 2 Thess. ii. 13. That is the whole story. We have simply to believe and acknowledge the truth, and the Holy Spirit does the work. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.12

When Jesus hung upon the cross, just before He breathed out His life, He cried, “It is finished!” That showed that in Him the works that were finished from the foundation of the world are restored. In Him the creation is made new, as at the beginning, for He is the Beginning. So accepting the Gospel, and living the Christian life consists simply in the constant recognition and acknowledgment of things that are so. As in the record of the creation at the beginning, each successive step ends with, “and it was so,” the Gospel, which is the new creation, consists of simple facts. Surely it should not be a difficult thing to acknowledge a simple, well-attested fact. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.13

What is it now to confess Christ?—It is to confess the whole truth concerning Him. A partial confession will not do, for Christ is not divided. He who takes Christ must accept Him as a whole. “Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Eph. iv. 7. “Of His fulness have all we received; and grace for grace.” John i. 16. To confess Christ, therefore, is to confess Him in His fulness. He is the One who was, and who is, and who is to come. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.14

THE ONE WHO WAS

Many people seem to think that all there is to confessing Christ is to admit that there was such a man on this earth nearly nineteen hundred years ago. That is true as far as it goes, but the acknowledgment of that fact alone will have no more influence on a man's life than will the fact that a man named Julius C?sar lived more than nineteen hundred years ago. The truth concerning Jesus Christ at that time was that God was in Him. His name was Immanuel, God with us, He was the Divine Word made flesh. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.15

But that is not all that is involved in the confession that He was. “He was.” When was He was in all the time to which the past tense can be applied. Of whatever time it can be said that it was, it is true that Christ was then. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John i. 1. His “goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.” Micah v. 2, margin. He was from everlasting. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.16

“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.” Col. i. 16, R.V. “Without Him was not anything made that hath been made.” All this is involved in the confession of the Lord Jesus as the One who was. He was the brightness of the glory of the eternal God, and the very impress of His substance. This is only a part of the confession of Christ, but it is not an insignificant part; for whoever makes this confession, recognising Him as in truth the Creator, must necessarily confess Him as PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.17

THE ONE WHO IS

Christ crucified is the One who is, for, said He, “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, than shall ye know that I am,” Christ crucified is Christ risen, and the fact that He could lay down His life and take it up again, shows that He has life in Himself, and therefore has life to bestow on others. Whosoever does not believe that He is, will die in his sins. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 580.18

He is the One who is. What is He?—He is all that He was, for He is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” So then He is still “the everlasting Father,” the Creator. He created by the power of His cross; for the works which are finished from the foundation of the world, are found only in the cross. In the cross there is a new creation, even the same that was in the beginning before sin, entered into the world. So we have the two parts to the confession of the Lord Jesus. He was God from the beginning, the Creator of all things, and He still is, the same that He was from the beginning. All power in heaven and earth is His. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.1

But this is not all to this part of the confession. To confess Christ as the One who was and is, we must confess the truth about Him. What is this truth, the confession of which is salvation to us?—“Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” 1 John iv. 2. In order, therefore, to confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, we acknowledge Him as having come in the in the flesh. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.2

Jesus Christ came in the flesh. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” It is the perfect tense, reaching from the past up to the present. It is as true that He is now come in the flesh, as that He did once come. He changes not; He is the same in time past, present, and future. The One who was, and the One who is, and the One who is to come, is ever the same. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.3

He is come in the flesh. In what flesh? “There is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes.” 1 Cor. xv. 39. He was not made beast, bird, or fish, but He was made man. Said Pilate, “Behold the man!” “There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim. ii. 5. So Christ is come in the flesh of man, of mankind. Therefore whoever confesses Christ, must confess that He is come in his own flesh. I must acknowledge that He is come in my flesh, and you must acknowledge that He is also come in your flesh. And He has not divided Himself among us, but “of His fulness have all we received.” If the fulness has not been manifested in us, it is only because we have not believed and confessed. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.4

When you and I confess that Christ is come in our flesh, then we know the fact that “the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” His struggle against sin, and His victory over it, was a fight with our sins, and a victory over them. Not simply was, but is, for He is, as well as was, and is all that He ever was. So all our sins, all our sinfulness, is now on Him. He bears it. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.5

Not only is Christ come in our flesh, but He is risen. He was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Rom. i. 4. The resurrection was the proof of the fact that He was successful in His fight with sin. “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.” Acts ii. 24. Why was it not possible for the pains of death to hold Jesus Christ?—Because “the sting of death is sin,” and “in Him is no sin.” Christ is therefore come in our flesh with all the power over sin that is demonstrated in the resurrection. This means that His victory is ours. When we truly confess Christ in our flesh, with “power over all flesh,” even the power of the resurrection, it is as impossible for sin to have dominion over us as it was for the grave to hold Him. His whole life is reproduced in us. When sin comes, we rest upon this truth that the crucified and risen Saviour is in our flesh, so that it is “not I, but Christ” that it is seeking to overcome. But that it cannot do, for Christ has demonstrated His power over sin in the flesh. How easy it is to see that the confession of this fact is salvation for us. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.6

When we have confessed Christ as the One who was, and the One who is, it is but a natural step to confess Him as PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.7

THE ONE WHO IS TO COME

“Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. ix. 28. He still bears the sins of many, even our sins. Yet in Him is no sin. But His work is not complete until He comes again to take His own unto Himself. As surely as He was here once, so surely will He come again. “This same Jesus,” “the Lord Himself,” shall come again. And those who know Him as the sin-bearer, who have made His acquaintance in their flesh, cannot fail to look with longing for the time to come when they shall see Him whom not having seen they love. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.8

The Apostle Paul who received the truth direct from the Lord, says that when we eat the bread and drink the cup, Christ's body and blood, we do “show the Lord's death till He come.” 1 Cor. xi. 24-26. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.9

Thus the act which emphasises our confession that He is come in the flesh, in our flesh, is at the same time a testimony that He will come again. So in the heartfelt confession of Christ as the One who was, and who is, and who is to come, we have both present and eternal salvation. Why not confess Him, not in part, but in His fulness, and confess Him now, yes, eternally now? PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.10

“Why God Blesses” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

“Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts iii. 26. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.11

God does not bless us as payment for some good thing that we have done; as many people seem to think, but He blesses us in order that we may become good. The Lord blesses all men, regardless of their character. “The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Ps. cxiv. 9. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.12

Thanks are due to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Eph. i. 3. Everything in the universe is in Christ; and so since God gives us all blessings in Him, to turn us away from our iniquities, it follows that “His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter i. 3. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.13

How many blessings has God given us?—All blessings. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down.” God has not kept back anything. There is no good thing that He has not made to come down to men. We cannot enumerate all the blessings that God bestows upon us in Christ, but we may single out one or two, to see how they work to turn us away from our iniquities. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.14

Fruitful seasons and abundance of good food are a blessing. This blessing, like all others, comes to us in Christ; for if it were not that Christ bears the curse of the earth, it would yield nothing whatever but thorns and thistles. But the Crucified One bears the curse of death, so that life may abide with us. There is no blessing that comes to us except through the cross of Christ. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.15

Very well, then, we have food to eat because Christ died for us. This is a blessing that comes to us through His cross. If therefore we receive it as a blessing direct from heaven, we shall find that it will turn us away from sin. Why does God give us food?—In order that we may live. Food is the ordinary means which God uses to convey to us His life. Yes, but what kind of life does God design that we should live? Manifestly the very same life that He gives us, and that is a good life, because it is His own. God provides food for us, therefore, in order that we may live righteous lives. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 581.16

How can this be? The answer is, “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Prov. iii. 6. This is literally, as indicated in the margin of the Revised Version, “He shall make thy paths right,” or straight. Of course if God directs one's ways, they will be pure to be right, for He will direct them in His own way, and “as for God, His way is perfect.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 582.1

God gives us Himself in all His gifts. In Christ alone is there perfection. The beauty of the flower, and the perfection of the fruit, are due solely to Christ. If then we hunger and thirst after righteousness, and realise that in the food which the Lord gives us He gives us the body of Christ, then, eating by faith, we shall have His righteousness. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 582.2

So with everything by which He conveys His life to us. His life is always perfect, and we can have no life except His life. His life received therefore, as His life, must necessarily turn us away from iniquity, for “there is no unrighteousness in Him.” The trouble is, we pervert His gifts. We use Him life as though it were our own, and so make no real use of His blessings. One has said, PTUK September 15, 1898, page 582.3

“Man never is, but always to be blessed.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 582.4

But that is a falsehood. The same God who was, and who is to be, is the God who is. He that cometh to Him must believe that He is. All the blessings in Him are present blessings. All blessings have been given us. If we do not experience the blessings, it is because we have not accepted them. Learn to recognise God's hand in everything, not in word merely, but in fact, and you will find that sin will not have dominion over you. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 582.5

Then do not forget the reason why God blesses. Remember that He does not reserve His blessings for Him friends, but that He freely bestows them upon His enemies. There is not a soul so sinful that he has no right to claim the blessings of God. God has given them to him, in order that he may claim them. He does not bless us in sin, as a premium for our sins, that we may continue in them, but in order that we may be separated from them. For no one can live in constant recognition of the blessings of God and at the same time live in rebellion against Him. What God desires is that every sinner shall claim His blessings, realising that they come from Him. Do not be afraid; they are for you. Give God the glory for all that He does, and He will glorify you, for in glorifying you is He Himself glorified. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 582.6

“For the Children. The Gift of Speech” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

The heavens declare the glory of God;” “there is no speech nor language,” yet their words go out “to the end of the world.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.1

We have been learning lately about the way in which the heavens and all the works of God are praising Him, by revealing,-making us able to see,-His power and His glory. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.2

And last week we learned how we may do the same thing, by giving out the life that He gives to us, in loving service for others, so making His goodness and beauty to be seen. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.3

Each thing that God has made shows something of the character of God. The heavens declare His glory, the flowers His loveliness and fragrance, the mountains and the seas His power and fulness, and in His manifold works His infinite wisdom is shown. But in man, His crowning work, all the fulness of His glory, His power and wisdom, were revealed. God made man in His own image, and filled him with His own Spirit, that He might fully reveal Himself in him. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.4

All the other works of God praise Him and declare His glory “without speech or language.” But to man God gave the power like Himself to speak out and put into words the thoughts that filled his mind. God did not teach man a language, and give him a lot of words to learn, but He gave him the power to speak and make language. He did not teach him the names of the animals, and all the living things in the earth, but He brought them all before him “to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.5

As God brought each living thing to Adam, His Spirit which dwelt in him showed him its nature, and what was the lesson that God was teaching him by it. Then the same Spirit of God which showed him the truth, gave him utterance, and made him able to speak out what he saw. So the name that he gave showed the truth that each living thing revealed. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.6

And then you know that man was only the house or temple of God, and all the powers that God gave him were for Him to use to do His own work through man. So man's mouth was made for the Spirit of God to speak His own words through man, and there was power, the power of God, in the words that man spoke, so long as he was perfect. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.7

And even since man has fallen by sin, and lost the fulness of the power and glory and honour with which God crowned him in the beginning, the Spirit of God still speaks His own words of power through all those who will let Him use them. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,” and this is how the Bible, the Word of God, was given to us. In the Bible we have a great many beautiful songs which we call psalms, and David, “the sweet Psalmist of Israel,” who sang and wrote most of these, said, “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His Lord was in my tongue.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.8

In one of these, which he calls “a song for the Sabbath,” he says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name.” In another psalm he tells us how we may do this, and what the result will be. “He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God; many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.9

When the Spirit of God is using your eyes and your ears and all your senses to reveal God to you, and to teach you of Him in all the things that He has made, your hearts will be filled “with wonder, love and praise.” Then like David you will pray, “O Lord, open Thou my lips, that my mouth may show forth Thy praise.” You will long to tell others of that which you have seen and heard of Him. And God has made your mouth so that you may do this. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.10

When Isaiah “saw His glory,” he “spake of Him” (John xii. 41), and so will all who really behold their God. And the Spirit of God who fills you with praise will also give you utterance, so that you may speak and sing of Him with power that shall lead others to “fear, and trust in the Lord.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 586.11

“Jottings” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

-The heart beats ten strokes a minute left when one is lying down than when in an upright posture. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.1

-When a chameleon is blindfolded it loses all power of changing its colour, and its entire body remains of a uniform tent. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.2

-The shoe factories use 1,000,000 kangaroo skins yearly. Australians have begun to raise and breed kangaroos as they would sheep. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.3

-The hearing organ of animals is not always located in the head. In some grasshoppers it is in the forelegs, and appears on the wings of many insects. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.4

-According to the latest returns there are at present in London 37,000 people living in one room; 17,000 living six in one room; 6,000 living seven in one room; 1,800 living eight in one room; 32,000 living eight in two rooms; and 11,000 living nine in two rooms. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.5

-A telegram from Kiao Chao announces that that place has been opened as a free port. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.6

-In spite of great natural difficulties, it is determined to extend the Soudanese railway to Khartoum. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.7

-Last year 852,000 persons were employed in the mines and quarries of the United kingdom. The annual output of coal is about 200,000,000 tons. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.8

-The Russian Government has expressed the wish that the peace conference should assemble at the end of the present or the beginning of next year. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.9

-The London School Board has decided to make its evening schools free, and is also making provision for a complete commercial education at these. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.10

-The French Minister of War has resigned, as he is still of opinion that Dreyfus should not be re-tried. His colleagues were all in favour of a new trial. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.11

-Colston Hall, in Bristol, where the Trade Union Congress has been meeting, was destroyed by fire, the largest known in the city for half a century. The damage is estimated at ?90,000. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.12

-After expending nearly ?120,000 in vain attempts to float their stranded vessel, the steamship China, which went ashore at Perim, the P. and O. Company have decided to blow up the steamer. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.13

-The South Wales colliers are all returning to work.The proprietors held out strongly for the abolition of the monthly holiday, but the men would not work on it last week, and say they never will. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.14

-At Wellingborough last week a Midland express train was derailed and smashed. Six persons were killed and forty injured. The catastrophe was caused by some boys playing with a barrow which they pushed on to the lines just as the train was passing. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.15

-The best and riches class of natives in the Philippines are anxious that the United States should annex the whole of the islands. They consider the clamours for independence impracticable, and propose that the insurgent regiments should be enrolled in the American army, under American officers. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.16

-The Standard Oil Trust, which is one of the greatest monopolies in the world, and which supplies England with the low-flash oils to which so many fatal accidents are due, has now succeeded in getting complete control of the Canadian business. Two weeks ago the last independent refinery passed into the possession of the American monopoly. The price went up at once a penny per gallon. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.17

-Khartoum has been taken by the Egyptian army, with heavy slaughter of the dervishes. It is hoped that now the power of the Khalifa has been permanently destroyed, and that the Soudan will be restored to peace and order. What will be the next step no one can say, but many are advocating that the English forces continue their advance southwards, until they arrive at Matabeleland, and so form an unbroken line of communication on English territory from the north to the South Africa. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.18

-Turkey has not yet made any reply to the Czar's proposal although it is said that the Sultan has already expressed to the Czar his admiration of the proposal, assuring him of his assistance in the work of peace. The Pope has also blest the project, and his official organ is full of enthusiasm over it, but holds that the Czar and Pope must act together in order to guarantee definitive peace. Those who really desire peace must tremble at the prospect as they behold these expert peacemakers hastening to lend their assistance. What do they know of peace? PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.19

-It has been decided by the Board of the Hospital Saturday Fund to drop the annual street collection, as the numerous imitations of this practice have brought it into disfavour. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.20

-Spain has not yet had enough of militarism, or at least her rulers think so. A call has been made for 100,000 recruits. It is thought that this move will keep the young men from joining any Carlist insurrection. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.21

-It was announced last week that an alliance had been concluded between England and Germany. The German press contradicts the report, but says that an agreement has been reached on some minor points of policy. The Kaiser is to visit Egypt after leaving Palestine. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.22

-The Swedish Commission has reported in favour of spending about a million and a half sterling on the defences of Sweden. The King, however, is in warm sympathy with the Czar's proposed disarmament, and will send delegates to the Conference. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.23

-It appears from a recent report that the Kurds have complete dominion over the Armenians in Van, Bitlis, and Erzeroum. Armenians are murdered, their houses plundered, their stock stolen, and the marauders are never punished, and their victims never received redress. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.24

-The Kaiser has announced that a new law will come into force this year, in which is provided that anyone, no matter who he is or what he is called, who seeks to hinder a German worker who is willing to work, or who incites to a strike, will be punished with penal servitude. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.25

-There is an early prospect of a short cut across the Atlantic. A line of steamers is to run between Milford Haven and Canada, which will shorten the journey to the States by some five hundred miles. As soon as fast steamers can be built it is expected to accomplish the journey in a little over four days. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.26

-Speaking at Leicester, the Chief Rabbi, Dr. Adler, alluding to the British victory at Khartoum, said it was a remarkable fact that near the scene of last Friday's battle Moses won a great battle when connected with the Egyptian Court. Atbara also bears the same name to-day as it bore in Moses’ time. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.27

-The Mussulmans at Candia (Crete), being discontented with what they regard as ill-treatment and undue favour shown to the Christians, held a monster demonstration last week, after which they set fire to various parts of the city, and attacked the British troops. Candia has been bombarded by the fleet. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.28

-The President of the Royal Society has calculated that in thirty years the increase of the world's population will call for more wheat than can be produced. He proposes that manure should be taken from the air in the form of nitrogen, so as to increase the productiveness of the soil, and so stave off for a while the universal starvation. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.29

-The supply of water in the East End has now been restricted to four hour's daily service. With the return of hot weather much privation is felt. At many houses no water is received at all. Indignation meetings are being held, and it is generally felt that this off-repeated stoppage of the supply is becoming intolerable. The usual water-rates are charged, and rigorously collected. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.30

-A meeting, attended by influential delegates from the principal West Indian sugar producing colonies, was held at Barbados, resolutions were adopted declaring that the only effective remedy was the abolition of the sugar bounties, and some speakers suggested that, failing their treatment from England, only one course was open-viz., an appeal for annexation to the United States. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.31

“Escaping from the World” The Present Truth 14, 37.

E. J. Waggoner

We are told that Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.” Gal. i. 4. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.32

Yet the same Jesus has given to His disciples this commandment: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Mark xvi. 15. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.33

He made the greatest sacrifice to deliver us from this world, and yet He deliberately sends us into it; how can this be?—The answer is given in His prayer for His disciples: “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” John xvii. 15. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.34

This world is diametrically opposed to Christianity, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” 1 John ii. 16, 17. And “the world” does not get converted. It is as much opposed to Christianity to-day as it was to Christ. What Christ does is to save men from it. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.35

A faulty idea of what and where the world is, from which Christ would save men, has led many to retire into monasteries and into desert places. A writer in a recent number of the Echo gives the following explanation of why a certain author has become a nun:— PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.36

The world is irreligious, and for the man of spiritual views it is a huge disappointment. According to M—, whilst a man is of this world, he cannot commune with God, therefore the only course left Is to retire from it, to mix with men who think only of their Creator, and who, by a life of prayer and meditation, reach a plane of devotion denied to those who seek the things of this world. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.37

It is true that “while a man is of this world, he cannot commune with God;” true Christians are “not of the world.” John xv. 19. But they do not withdraw from their fellow-men, because Christ has set them in the world to be lights to it. To them it is said: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” Phil. ii. 14, 15. Thus we see that the ideal Christian life is that which is lived “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.” The true Christian life cannot be lived anywhere else by the man who is in possession of ordinary health and strength; for God has never sent any man to dwell in a monastery, and men can live true godly lives only where God sends them. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.38

“The world” is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; and these every man carries with him. It is not some other person's lust and pride, but the lust of our own flesh, and our own pride, that cause us to sin. One may go into the desert, and live alone, yet he will carry the world with him. If he cannot live free from the world when surrounded by people, he cannot do it when alone. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.39

Jesus Christ lived a life of activity in this world. He had seasons of retirement, as every one should have, but His life was among the people. “As He is, so are we in this world,” if we are His true followers. The sole business of the Christian is to benefit others; and he who can benefit his fellows in no other way than by taking himself away from them, is certainly not a representative of Christ. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.40

A light is for the purpose of shining where it is dark. Christ is the true light. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.” The darkness could not put it out. A light that cannot be seen better in the dark than in the light, is not worthy of being called a light. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.41

The darkness of sin in this world did not cloud the life of Christ. He was able to live a perfect life among men who lived in sin. He is the same to-day that He was then, and by the Holy Spirit He lives personally in those who yield to Him in faith. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” His life in a man to-day will be as perfect as it was centuries ago. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.42

He “gave Himself,” instead of taking Himself away. The object of Christianity is not a selfish one. The Christian is not selfishly seeking for the pleasantest thing for himself in this life, nor are his efforts directed to the saving of his own soul. In seeking to save himself, a man loses everything; but when, forgetting himself, he devotes his efforts to the salvation of others, He finds salvation; for he can save others only by the life of Christ in him, which is salvation. No man can save himself by good works; but any man may and should be a worker with Christ for the salvation of others. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.43

Europe has been horrified by another Anarchist outrage. The Empress of Austria, who was travelling in Switzerland, was stabbed by an Italian while leaving an hotel, and died shortly afterwards. The assassin had no motive for the deed, except the usual Anarchist hatred for those in high places. A London paper publishes a report that an attempt was also made on the life of the young Queen of Holland, during the coronation festivities last week. Three shots were fired at her, but all missed, although one of her attendants was wounded. The growth of Anarchism is an ominous sign of the times. Men are deluded by Satan into the belief that by doing evil good will come, but it would be a very corrupt despotism indeed that would not be preferable to the murderous rule of anarchy. “While they promise them liberty, they themselves servants of corruption.” PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.44

Word has been received at Khartoum that a French force is in possession of Fashoda, the next place of importance on the Nile southwards. If this be true, it is likely to cause trouble between the French and British Governments, as the latter is credited with a determination to occupy all the available territory lying between Khartoum and the Cape. The outlook for peace is not encouraging, and every day makes it clearer that the Czar's proposal is doomed to failure. The Russian papers are now endeavouring to explain away the manifesto, and, it is thought, thus prepare the public mind for the inevitable collapse of the disarmament suggestion. PTUK September 15, 1898, page 592.45