The Present Truth, vol. 14

October 13, 1898

“Praise the Lord” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

“Praise to the holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise.
In all His works most wonderful,
Most sure in all His ways.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 641.1

“Let everything that hath breath, PRAISE THE LORD.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 641.2

That is what breath is for,-to praise the Lord with. It is the breath that God gives that makes man a living soul; and man was formed only for the glory of God. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 641.3

But we see that the call to praise God is not limited to man. It includes everything that has breath, and the lower animals have breath as well as man. They, too, are to praise the Lord. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 641.4

Can dumb brutes praise the Lord? Most assuredly, else they would not be called on to do so. There is no exception; everything that has breath ought to praise the Lord. If there is anything that does not praise Him, there is no use for its existence. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 641.5

The lower animals cannot speak; how then can they praise God?—In the same way that the heavens do, which also have no voice, namely, by fulfilling the object of their creation. Breath gives life, and since it comes from Cod, it is to be used only in His Service. So it is not merely with our tongues that we are to praise the Lord, but with every organ of the body that is quickened by the breath of life. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 641.6

There is stronger evidence of the worthiness of God to be praised, than the charges that men bring against Him, and the blasphemies that are uttered. Remember that no man provides his own breath. The breath that we breathe is a gift from God, which He bestows upon us fresh every moment. What man is there who would patiently and uncomplainingly continue to heap benefits upon those who persistently and unceasingly slandered and reviled him? Such goodness is not found among men; but it is the goodness and forbearance of God. No stronger proof of His worthiness to be praised is needed than kindness in giving breath to those who PTUK October 13, 1898, page 641.7

hate and revile Him, and who use the breath that He gives them in denying His goodness. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.1

Praise is an evidence of life. Hezekiah said: “The grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee as I do this day.” Isa. xxxviii. 18, 19. If a man does not praise the Lord, that is a sign that he is practically dead. It is just the same as though he had no breath at all, for he does not use it to any real purpose. What wonder if God at length leaves off giving breath to one who shows no appreciation of its value? Are you alive? PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.2

“Notes on the International Sunday-School Lessons. Isaiah Called to Service. Isaiah vi. 1-13” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

OCTOBER 23

The prophet, Isaiah began to see visions concerning Judah and Jerusalem in days of king Uzziah, and his work continued for some sixty years. It was in the last year of Uzziah's life that Isaiah saw the vision which is the subject of the present lesson. Uzziah was the grandsons of Joash. The latter, like his father; died a violent death, as did also his own son Amaziah. Both Amaziah and his son and successor, Uzziah, began to reign in the fear of God, but as the Lord prospered them, their hearts were lifted up. Amaziah worshipped false gods, and Uzziah became so full of pride and self-importance that he even forced his way into the sanctuary with the intention of burning incense. For this he was smitten with leprosy, and obliged to surrender the kingdom to his son Jotham. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.3

CLEANSING FROM SIN

In Isaiah's vision there was revealed to him the Lord upon His throne, exalted high, surrounded by angels and worshipped by the seraphim. As these declared the holiness of the Lord, a sense of his own sinfulness overwhelmed the prophet and he cried, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” But God never makes known His holiness with the object of inducing despair in men. High and lifted up as He is, His holiness and power are equalled by His love for men, and He bids them “Sing unto the Lord, all ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.” Ps. xxx. 4. In His love He bestows His holiness freely upon sinful men, hence the infinite measure of His holiness only makes known the fulness of His unspeakable gift. In quick response to the prophet's sense of need, an angel flies to him with a live coal from off the altar, and as it was laid upon Isaiah's mouth, the comforting assurance was given, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.4

A THRONE OF GRACE

The blasphemous pride of King Uzziah in presumptuously approaching that altar had merited and found swift and awful punishment; but for Isaiah's humble confession of guilt it had no terrors. The sinful and helpless, who can only plead their sad necessity, may come with boldness to the throne of grace, and find there plenteous redemption. The broken and contrite heart may be despised among men, but it is honoured in heaven. God hath respect unto the lowly. His answer to every confession of wrongdoing is, as it was to Isaiah, “Thine iniquity is taken away.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.5

“WHOM SHALL WE SEND?”

Then follows the next step. Isaiah dwelt among an unclean people. God cared for them as much as He did for Isaiah. Who should go forth and tell them of the cleansing that was so freely given, and so easily obtained? The angels could not do it, for they did not know the defilement and the burden of sin. The messengers must be chosen among men redeemed, and Isaiah, who knew both the disease and the healing, offered himself for the work, saying, “Here am I; send me.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.6

A WARNING MESSAGE

Just as quickly as the cleansing of sin followed upon the confession of it, did the commission to declare the Gospel follow upon the offer of service. “And He said, Go.” The words of the message were put into his mouth. It reads like a message full of discouragement at first sight. “Tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.” The cause also was to be made known. “For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and bear with their ears, and understand with their heart.” Acts xxviii. 27. Although the words hardly seem like a message of good tidings, they were so in reality for all who would hear, since they made known the flimsy character of the barrier that kept the people from forgiveness and healing. If only Judah would use their senses, hear with their ears, see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, the result would be that they “should be converted, and I should heal them.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.7

THE GLORY OF THE LORD

God did not require great things of His people that they might be saved. If He had asked them to hear without ears, or see without eyes, they might have complained that His conditions were hard, but these faculties had already been given and God simply asked that they should be used. It was necessary to use their members for the maintenance of their physical life. Food grew around them in abundance, but they needed to see it and gather it with their hands before it could give them life. So all about them, as the seraphs sang, the whole earth was full of the glory of God, or the fulness of the whole earth was His glory. See margin of Revised Version. Had their ears been open to hear what God said to them, by His servants and His works, their eyes been willing to see in the wonders of nature the living presence and continual working of their Creator, they would have gladly recognised in every ministration of earth and sea and air, supplying their wants, that they were made partakers of the Divine life, and thus have been turned from idols to serve the living God. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.8

LIKE THE BEASTS THAT PERISH

The same lesson is for us to-day. The difficulty that hindered Judah than prevented their children from acknowledging the Messiah, and Paul told the Jews at Rome that the Holy Ghost had spoken truth by Isaiah, when it declared the real nature of the obstacle that kept them from being saved. Fuller than the beasts that perish, men receive the life of God through the channels by which it is conveyed, caring only for the food and raiment after which the heathen seek, and forgetting that these are added to a far more precious gift, the righteousness of God. Matt. vi. 31-33. In the life of God that is bestowed so freely upon men, “filling their hearts with food and gladness,” are given “all things that pertain unto life and godliness,” but it is true of the multitudes now as it was in the time of Isaiah; “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth not consider.” Isa. i. 3. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 642.9

“HOW LONG?”

The Divine ambition is to see men happy. God's rejoicing is in the welfare of His children, and He desires that men shall acknowledge His love in the abundance of His gifts. If they will not do so, before He allows Himself to be finally rejected, and the way of death irrevocably chosen by His creatures, He gives opportunity to learn the value of His gifts by their withdrawal. Some, when the judgments of the Lord are in the earth, will learn righteousness (Isa. xxvi. 9), and so, although God does not willingly afflict nor grieve the children of men, this is often the only chance of saving them. It was so with Judah. To Isaiah's question, how long it should be before the people should be willing to see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and thus be healed, the reply was given, “Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate.” Yet the promise was given that a remnant should return, and that like a tree which has life in its trunk, even though all outer sign of life, in leaves and branches, has disappeared, the holy seed should be the substance of the nation. This seed was not holy by its own merits but would consist of all who should submit themselves to the righteousness of God, and not attempt, in ignorance of God and His righteousness, to establish their own righteousness. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.1

THE GOSPEL OF ISAIAH

Isaiah had marvellous revelations of God's character. His writings present so much of the work of Christ that they are often spoken of, and truly so, as the “Gospel according to Isaiah.” For this reason many who are counted wise and learned; but who know not the Scriptures nor the power of God, have declared it impossible that a man living so many hundred years before Christ, could have been so enlightened on the subject of the Saviour's work and teaching. To all such the warning of Isaiah comes, that they should open their eyes and ears, and learn to discern, where they see now only common things and human power, the glory of God filling all the earth. This glory of God, whom the seraphim acclaimed as, “Holy, holy, holy!” when seen and received by faith, works in the beholder the fulfillment of the Divine command, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.2

“The Everlasting Gospel: God's Saving Power in the Things That Are Made” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

THE POWER OF GROWTH

Gen. i. 11, 12: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass.... and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.3

Ps. civ. 14: “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; that he may bring forth food out of the earth.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.4

lsa. xl. 6-8: “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field; the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon It; surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fedeth; but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.5

1 Cor. iii. 6, 7: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.6

Ps. lxii. 9, 11: “Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.” “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.7

Isa. xl. 29: “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.8

1 Cor. i. 33, 24: “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.9

1 Chron. xxix. 12: “In Thine hand is power and might; and in Thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.10

Matt. xi. 29, 30: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.11

Lam. iii. 27: “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.12

2 Cor. xii. 9, 10: “And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.13

1 Cor. x. 13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.14

Matt. xvii. 20: “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.15

Luke xviii. 27: “The things which are Impossible with men are possible with God.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.16

2 Peter iii. 18: “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.17

Acts i. 8: “Ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost la come upon you; and ye shall be My witnesses.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.18

Remember that God's message of comfort includes the special cry, “All flesh is grass; ... but the Word of our God shall stand for ever.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.19

There is nothing that grows that is weaker than the tender grass; it is a synonym for weakness and instability. Just as there is nothing weaker than the grass, so there is nothing stronger than the Word of God. In this lies the comfort. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.20

It is not an uncommon thing for people to acknowledge that they are weak. Even the strongest physically have times when they feel weak. Especially among professed Christians is a confession of weakness a common thing. Nevertheless they do not get comfort out of the confession. On the contrary, the fact that they are obliged to confess that they are weak, is a source of great sorrow to them. They are continually mourning their weakness. “I am so weak!” is the sorrowful cry. “Oh, if I only had more strength!” is their often expressed wish. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 643.21

What is the trouble? Simply this, that their confession does not go far enough. They say that they are so weak, and wish that they had more strength, thereby showing that they flatter themselves that they have some strength. But the facts are that all men together are lighter than vanity, and that God alone hits power. He is the Almighty. That is, He has all might, so that there is no might outside of Him. Strength is an attribute of Divinity. If man had strength in himself he would be God. So just to the extent that men imagine that they have strength, do they imagine themselves to be God. As long as men think themselves to be gods, with strength in themselves, so long will they trust in themselves instead of in God. But “he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool.” As long as a man thinks that he has the slightest particle of strength, there is continual failure and discouragement before him. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.1

What is the remedy?—Simply this, to acknowledge the fact that there is absolutely no strength in him, but that “in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isa. xxvi. 4), and then to say, “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup.” Ps. xvi. 5. Then he has the benefit of “everlasting power and Divinity,” although he himself is but helpless grass. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.2

Walk through a cornfield in the spring time. Everywhere you will see little rifts in the ground, showing where the tender blades are pushing their way up to the light. All over the earth there is a general upheaval, more in the aggregate than any earthquake over known, yet there is not the slightest sound or commotion. Men go about entirely unconscious of what is taking place. What causes it?—It is the power of God's Word, which in the beginning and ever since said, “Let the earth bring forth grass.” The word “dynamo” is simply the Greek word for power. We have another form of the same word in the familiar word “dynamite.” All know what dynamite is used for, and what terrible explosions it causes. Well, this rifting of the earth by the growing grass is but an example of the working of God's dynamite. God's dynamite, contrary to that perverted form which man makes use of, works silently, and to upbuild, instead of with deafening noise, and to destroy. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.3

When the poor woman who was dying from loss of blood came behind Jesus and touched the hem of His garment, and was instantly made whole, the Lord said, “Somebody did touch Me; for I perceived that power had gone forth from Me.” Luke viii. 46. This is the word just referred to. The power that went from Him can be conceived only by thinking of the force which men call dynamite; but, as already stated, it works quietly and to restore, instead of to destroy. It is what He gives to every one who believes on Him, and the illustration of the same thing is constantly before us in the power that is manifested in the growing grass. Just as power-the power of the life of Christ-came into the poor woman; just as the power of the ever-living Word animates the grass of the field; even so does the Spirit of life in Christ come into us, and manifest itself as righteousness, when we believe in truth. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.4

Look a little closer at that growing corn. Here we see not only a little crack in the earth, but a portion of it is raised up a heavy clod is tilted to one side, and stands on edge. What causes it?—Look down, and you will see a tiny, white, tender blade of corn underneath it. That little spire of grass, that if removed from its bed has not strength enough to stand alone, is now not only standing bolt upright, but is bearing a load many thousand times its own weight. Is grass then such powerful matter? No; it has no strength at all. At any rate, anybody can see that there is a power manifested here that is no part of the grass itself. What is it?—The nearest that anybody can come to an answer without the Bible is that it is “vital force.” That is all right; it is the strength of life, for that is what vital force means. But the Word of God tells us that Christ is “the life.” The force therefore that is manifest in the growing grass is nothing other than the power of the life of Christ. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.5

Now we may form some idea of the statement that “His Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter i. 3. If a man could lift as much in proportion to his size and weight as the tiny blade of grass does in pushing the clod of earth away from before it, it would not be so difficult a thing for him actually to remove a mountain, would it? But the mountains of earth are where the Lord has placed them, and do not need moving. The mountains that man needs for the most part to remove are the mountains of sin. This earth, and earth life, are upon him, holding him down. The power which God gives him is first of all to be directed to the removing of this load. Let him now receive that word which said, “Let the earth bring forth grass,” and in obedience to which the tiny blade comes forth, even though it must raise what to it is a mountain, and the world and all the lust thereof cannot any longer hold him down. Let a man consciously and voluntarily submit himself to the Word of the Lord as completely as the grass of the field does unconsciously and involuntarily, and the same power that brings it to perfection as grass, will bring him to perfection as man, even “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Eph. iv. 13. The only thing that hinders is man's pride, which makes him unwilling to acknowledge that he has no more power than the grass of the field. But that is the fact, and it is far better to acknowledge it and so be filled with Divine, everlasting power, than to deny it, and have no power at all. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.6

“‘The Open Grave’” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

In the city of Hanover, Germany, there is in one of the churchyards a grave which attracts the attention of hundreds of visitors every year. Pictures of it are to be found for sale in nearly every stationer's shop, and it is known far and wide as “The open grave.” The history of it is in brief this:— PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.7

More than a hundred years ago a woman was buried there, and the following inscription (whether by her own direction or not, I do not know) was placed on the lowermost stone of the tomb: “This grave, purchased for eternity, must never be opened.” The grave, as will be seen from the cut, was covered with heavy stones, the top one being a solid block that doubtless weighs not less than a ton, and all the stones were firmly bound together with iron bands. But no human device can hinder the working of the power of life. Either a seed fell into the grave before it was closed up, or else a shoot from a tree penetrated the grave from beneath, and in obedience to the law of life, proceeded to make its way to the light. Slowly and imperceptibly, but with irresistible power it forced its way between the huge stones, and burst every iron band. Now there is not a single stone left in its original position, although no hand of man has ever presumed to try to move them. A vigorous birch tree is now growing from the open grave which was to remain closed to all eternity. The tree is flattened where it comes in contact with the huge covering stone, so that it fills the entire aide of the grave, but immediately above the block it assumes the natural, round shape, and is about fifteen inches in diameter. There is in the same churchyard another grave that has been opened in the same manner by a small locust tree, but it does not attract the attention that the first one does, since it has no inscription and no iron clamps. Both however teach the same thing, namely, the power of life. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 644.8

How easily the voice of God sounding from heaven can rend all the tombs! That voice which at the last day will shake the earth, and open every grave, is but the same voice which in the beginning said, Let the earth bring forth grass and trees; and although no sound of it is heard, that Word is able, as we have seen to break every bond. That is the power of the resurrection. But the power of the resurrection of the last day is only the power which Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead, exerts in every believer. He is near to every soul, with all the power of His resurrection life. “The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the Word of faith, which we preach; that 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. 8, 9. That Word, which at the last will open every grave, and whose power is shown in the bursting of the iron bands that were designed to keep the Hanover grave closed, is able to burst every bond that would hold any soul down to this earth and its grovelling life. Jesus still comes as of old, anointed with the Holy Spirit, “to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” Who will listen to Him? “Hear, and your soul shall live.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 645.1

“God's Dynamite” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

One evening in the spring, as I was taking a walk in a side street of a country village, I noticed little crater-like upheavals in the hard concrete pavement. Stooping down to examine them more closely, I saw that they were caused by little tufts of grass that had forced their way through. The pavement was very hard, and there were no crevices in it, through which the grass could get a start, but the tender blades had come through what was almost solid stone. What a marvel was this! If men had wished to break up the pavement, they would have been obliged to give many heavy blows with hugs hammers; but in obedience to God's Word, the grass made its way through without a sound, and unnoticed by any body. That same Word says to us, “Be ye holy, as I am holy,” and the commandment has as much power in the one case as in the other. Why then are not all holy who wish to be?—Simply because they do not receive the commandment in the same way that the grass of the field does. When God makes known His commandment they at once think that they must put it into action, and thereby they prevent its action in them. The grass of the field, on the contrary, does not flatter itself that it has strength. It is content to be simply grass, and so it grows in obedience to the Word because that self-fulfilling Word has free course in it. Obedience to God's commandments does not consist in our working them, but in allowing them to work us. God's everlasting power and Divinity are just as ready to manifest themselves in us for all that God wishes us to be, as they are in the grass of the field, when we will give God the glory, and will not assume that we are God, and that the power comes from us. God, and not we, is to be glorified in our fruit-bearing. This is the message, “Fear God, and give glory to Him.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 646.1

“The Value of Burdens” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” A yoke is for the purpose of carrying a burden, so that the words of the prophet are equivalent to the statement that it is good for a man to bear burdens in his youth. It is not natural for people to like to bear burdens. Whenever we have them, we are inclined to drop them, or to shift them on to other shoulders, as soon as possible. Now learn a parable from the grass of the field. You may at some time when you have seen the tiny, slender, white blade of grass standing upright under the load of a heavy clod of earth, or perhaps a stone, have taken pity on it, and removed its burden. Mistaken kindness! The stem which before stood erect, now droops, and leans upon the earth. It has not strength enough in itself to stand alone, yet the power of the Word of life working in it enabled it not only to stand upright, but to bear a heavy burden as well. Only with the burden could it stand. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 646.2

How often we see this same thing in human grass. Young men shirk responsibility, they chafe under some burden which God in His wisdom has allowed to rest upon them, and they throw it all off. They think that they cannot stand so much. Neither can they in their own strength, which is nothing but weakness. But in throwing off the burden, they reject the strength which God provides for bearing it, and with this strength gone, they could not stand at all. All the strength that any man has with which to stand is the strength which God gives him, and God is as able to make a tender shoot lift a ton as He is to make it grow at all. God's strength is made perfect in weakness. He allows no trial or temptation to come upon any soul without at the same time furnishing the strength needed to hear it. To him that has no might, He increases strength. How much better to bear burdens with the strength which God gives, than to bear nothing and to be utterly destitute of power. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 646.3

“Knowing God” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

The greatest good that any man can get in this world is the knowledge of God. This contains in itself all that can be desired, and much more. The message of glad tidings that Christ brought for all people was simply the revelation of the rather. The world sat in darkness and in the shadow of death because it had forgotten what God was. Christ came to light up the darkness, and that which He brought to do it with was the life of God. John i. 4. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.1

“This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God.” Men shun this knowledge, fearing that it only bits for them a sense of condemnation. “The world hath not known Thee,” said Christ. If men would only look upon God as He has revealed Himself in His Word and works, they would find it a revelation so wonderful in its nature and effect that in the very beholding they would become changed. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” Isa. xlv. 32. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.2

There is comfort in the knowledge of God. When He commits to His servants a word of comfort for the sinful and troubled, to tell them that their warfare is accomplished, and their iniquity is pardoned, the glad tidings is given in the message, “Behold your God.” Isa. xl. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.3

The everlasting Gospel which prepares believers to meet the Lord in peace at His appearing bids men to “fear God and give glory to Him.” God does not seek fictitious honour, and when He invites men to give glory to Him, it is that they may know the wonderful fulness of the reasons there are for doing so. This call is glad tidings, because the glory of the Lord is that He saves, even to the uttermost, that He endures the contradiction of sinners against Himself, that He meats all hatred and defiance with an unalterable love, and bears for man the curse that man has earned. He does all this and desires man to give Him credit for it, by joyfully accepting the situation which infinite love has created. “Give glory to Him,” as One who gives His own glory to the unworthy. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.4

“Strength for Service” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

The power of God, manifested in all creation, is the power in which the Gospel is to go as a witness to all people. This was the encouragement with which Christ sent forth His disciples. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” Matt. xxviii. 18, 19. It was in this confidence that the early church bore its testimony. When opposed by earthly rulers their only appeal was to God, “which last made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.” Acts iv. 24. Paul so taught and laboured that the faith of his converts “should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 1 Cor. ii. 5. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.5

As the churches have failed to rely to the full on the strong arm of God for efficiency, weakness has come in, but instead of returning to the Lord, recourse has too often been had to the world. Protection and favour are sought from earthly governments, but these, while ministering to carnal pride and the desire for worldly standing, are found poor substitutes for “the exceeding greatness of God's power.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.6

Dr. Fairbairn is about to visit India for the purpose of delivering a series of lectures on the Christian religion, for the Haskell Trust. The duty of the trust is to provide “distinguished men to discuss with representatives of the leading religions their different forms of faith, to show the points in which they agreed and differed, and to enable those who followed each better to understand the feelings of the other.” Dr. Fairbairn is considered to be pre-eminently fitted for such work, and his approaching visit to India was made the occasion of a complimentary dinner at the Holborn Restaurant. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.7

After the company had drunk to the success of his mission, Dr. Fairbairn, in replying, expressed himself as feeling the responsibility rather than the pleasure associated with his undertaking. It would have been easy to go to learn, but the puzzle was how to go to teach. Religion in a sense was but an incident in the life of our people. We were an imperious race, it not imperial. It was very difficult for a religion of peace to be carried out by a people of dominion; it was very difficult for the people who were ruled to receive the religion of the rulers as s religion that was a religion of peace end humility. Christianity would have a far better chance in India if it came in its own right, to speak in its own name in absolute dissociation from the imperial power. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.8

These words are true. Christ's kingdom is not of this world. Its sole concern with the world is to save out of it all that will be saved, and “imperial power,” connected with its“work, is only a source of weakness. Those who plead that the church is helped by the money and influence of the world should remember what God said to Amaziah, when he hired a hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. “There came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel. And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? and the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this.” 2 Chron. xxv. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 647.9

“The Children. ‘The Enemy’” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

We began to learn last week about the “enemy” who sowed tares-bad seed-in the Lord's field, where He had put only the good seed of His own Word, Jesus! said that this parable in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew is about the kingdom of God explained it to His disciples, “The field is the world; to teach us When He said, the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.1

You all know when and how Satan began to cast his bad seed into the Lord's field. Into the beautiful garden of Eden he came with his heart filled with hatred, to try to destroy the work of God. He began by whispering lies into the ear of Eve, telling her that the Word of God was not true, so that she might let him pluck it from her heart, and put his had seed in its place. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.2

If only Eve had trusted in God and believed His word, she would have kept it in her heart and been safe. For we learned last week how carefully our Heavenly Father watches over His plants, and keeps them “night and day” lest any hurt them. But, oh, she listened to Satan until she really believed that what he said was true, and so his bad seed got right into her heart, and choked the good seed and destroyed it. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.3

And how quickly this bad seed sprang up and brought forth its bitter fruit of sinful actions, disobedience and shame and sorrow. Instead of “the children of the kingdom” which come from the good seed of God's Word, Adam and Eve became “the children of the wicked one.” They were just tares or weeds in God's garden, instead of His precious and fruitful plants. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.4

And since, as we have learned, every plant must bring forth “after its kind,” and can only multiply itself, but not bring forth any other kind of plant, all their children must be like themselves, “the children of the wicked one.” So the whole world would be filled with weeds. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.5

How sad for the Lord to see His beautiful garden that He loved and watched so eagerly bringing forth only weeds. But He did not become discouraged and leave the field to Satan. He says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,” and “My word shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” No enemy can really hinder the work of the Lord, or keep Him from carrying out His purpose. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.6

God did not pull the weeds out of His garden and destroy them at once; He loved His children so much that He longed to save them. He wanted to put the good seed back into their hearts, and undo all the work of the enemy. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.7

So He gave to the woman in her sorrow the promise of a most precious Seed that He would plant in His field, through whom they might again become “the children of the kingdom” and the whole world be filled with the precious fruit of it. Read the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of Galatians, which will tell you who this precious Seed is, and then we will talk more about this next week. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 650.8

“Jottings” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

-The Turkish army is to be increased by the addition of thirty-two regimens of cavalry. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.1

-France has more than a quarter of a million carrier pigeons train for use in time of war. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.2

-The first meeting of the Spanish-American peace commission was held in Paris on October 1. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.3

-The wheat crop of Manitoba and territories is estimated at 40,000,000 bushels, or about double last year's crop. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.4

-A famous musician says that 50 per cent. of the Germans understand music, 16 percent. of the French, and 2 per cent. of the English. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.5

-A woman who had undertaken to abstain from food for thirty days, broker fast last week on the eighteenth day by the orders of her medical attendance. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.6

-An attempt by Dervishes to retake Gedaref, which had been recently captured by Colonel Parsons and his Egyptian troops, was repulsed with heavy Dervish losses a few days ago. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.7

-Nothing has yet been decided with regard to the participation of the Vatican in the Disarmament Conference, but the Pope is extremely desirous to be represented. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.8

-More than 200 kinds of an extinct life, including insects, reptiles, plants, shells, fruit, etc., have been found in amber. In one collection, which is valued at ?100,000, is a perfect lizard, eight inches long. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.9

-In order to avoid loss of time the British and French Governments have decided not to wait for the arrival of Major Marchand's report, negotiations will therefore begin at once in Paris, with a view to the settlement of the Fashoda question. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.10

-President McKinley's forthcoming Message to Congress will recommend an increase of the regular army to 100,000 men, quadrupling the strength of the army prior to the war. Native regiments for the colonial possessions will also be proposed. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.11

-The sewage of the city of Paris is now being used to irrigate an immense farm of nearly four square miles’ area. It has proved such a benefit to the land that farmers in the vicinity who oppose it, are now anxious to arrange to receive sewage on their own farms. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.12

-The otter is the fastest-swimming quadruped known. In the water it exhibits an astonishing agility, swimming in a nearly horizontal position with the greatest ease, diving and darting along beneath the surface with a speed equal, if not superior, to that of many fishes. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.13

-The Lord Mayor has invited the London County Council to a dinner at the Mansion House. Some of the Councillors are objecting strongly to the acceptance of the invitation, on the ground that the two bodies have conflicting interests, and they regard the dinner as an attempt to buy off opposition. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.14

-In the public schools of Switzerland heat-holidays have been established by law. The well-known fact that the brain cannot work properly when the heat is excessive has been recognised there, and the children are dismissed from their task whenever the thermometer goes above a certain point. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.15

-According to reports from Constantinople, the cost of entertaining the German Emperor will be widely felt. To effect the necessary economy, all Government employees, excepting those holding high positions, have received only three months’ pay this year, and there is great distress in consequence among the poorer classes. Extraordinary precautions are being taken for the preservation of order during the sojourn of the Emperor and Empress in Constantinople. Numbers of young Turks and other suspected individuals have been arrested, and will be kept in confinement until the departure of the Imperial visitors. It is calculated that when the Imperial party travel between Jaffa and Jerusalem there will be between 8,000 and 10,000 soldiers and animals on the road. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.16

-Dr. Herzl, the leader of the Zionist movement among the Jews, is sanguine as to its early success. Lecturing in London, he said that “they had organised a Jewish colonial bank, and that the vitality of this organisation would soon be felt. Within one short year the whole situation would be changed, and Palestine open to all.” He said that they had numerous Christian sympathisers who shared in their hope, but if this be so, they are doomed to disappointment. Jerusalem which now is in bondage with her children. It is Jerusalem which is above, which is free. Gal. iv. 25, 26. When Jerusalem which is above comes down from heaven, the Israel of God will possess their inheritance. Rev. xxi. 2. This is the city for which Abraham looked, and no other is promised to his seed PTUK October 13, 1898, page 654.17

“Faith, Hope, and Love” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

“But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Cor. xiii. 13. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.1

The greater includes the less. Unlike things cannot be compared. If one is compared with another, as being greater than that other, the idea is that he is greater in the very elements that make the other great. Love, being greater than faith and hope, comprises in itself all the elements of faith and hope. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.2

This is just what the Scripture says: Love “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” Verse 7. Love believes, and love hopes. But love is everlasting. Therefore faith and hope, as well as love, abide. Love without faith would be maimed. Love is the perfection of faith and hope, because love itself is absolute perfection, since “God is love.” And “this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.3

That which expresses man's highest idea of benefaction is “the greatest good to the greatest number;” the Gospel of God, however, brings the greatest good to everybody. It is itself the highest good, salvation, complete salvation of body, soul, and spirit,-and it is “to all people.” God leaves nobody out of His calculations. The free gift has come upon all men unto justification of life. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.4

Many men think that they do very well if they do not do much evil. If in their great schemes for human advancement only a few people are made to suffer, they count it unto themselves for righteousness. But he who does injustice to a single soul is an enemy of the human race, for humanity is one. This fact may be a great encouragement to the many whose sphere is limited, and whose opportunities are few; for since humanity is one, he who does good to a single soul is a benefactor of mankind. More than this, he is counted a friend of the Lord. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.5

“Back Page” The Present Truth 14, 41.

E. J. Waggoner

The Guards, who were engaged in the fighting at Khartoum, arrived in London last week, where they received a most enthusiastic welcome. The public excitement had a marked influence in increasing the number of recruits who offered themselves for enlistment. Since Omdurman fell, recruiting for the principal British regiments engaged there has increased by about a third. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.6

The Sultan will agree to the demand of the Powers that the Turkish troops leave Crate. This move will doubtless do something to restore peace to the distracted island, but it is significant that when the Turks leave the country, the Jewish families also intend to go. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.7

Small detachments of British, German and Russian troops have now arrived in Peking, for the purpose of protecting their respective Embassies and assisting in the maintenance of order. It is reported that the Chinese appeared cowed as the troops entered the city. If they were posted in the recent history of their country, and knew what was the usual outcome of European intervention, they may well have trembled to see the Powers establishing themselves, under any pretext, in Pekin itself. In the past, nations have only been impelled to conquest by their own hunger for territory, and need of expansion. Now their appetites are quickened by a keen competition, and the knowledge that they must “grab” quickly and largely, or there will be nothing left for them. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.8

“If Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Matt. xxvii. 40. These words were spoken by men for whose sake Christ was nailed to the cross. They did not know it, but they had become the mouthpiece of Satan, and their taunts were simply the continuance of the temptations in the wilderness, all of which were directed at that same point, “If Thou be the Son of God.” The priests and rulers promised that if He would only show His power by coming down from the cross, they would Him as their King. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.9

There had been enough evidence of power in Christ's ministry to convince all, but this test was the only one they were willing to abide by. Yet it would have been destruction to them had Jesus descended from the cross; and Satan, who had inspired their offer, would have rejoiced in their ruin. The depth of Satanic cunning and malignity is seen in making those who were the objects of the Saviour's dying love the instruments of this most subtle snare. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.10

Satan is still the god of this world and blinds the minds of those who believe not. Under his influence men, for whom Christ died, take the same stand as did the priests and rulers. “Let Him now come down from the cross” say they, “and we will, believe Him.” It is the cross that makes them draw back. The very thing which makes it possible for them to be saved, Satan persuades them to regard as the most objectionable feature of the religion of Christ. If they could accept Christ and retain the possession or the hope of worldly honour and reputation, they would be willing to become Christians, but Christ must come down from the cross, and become uncrucified, before the friendship of the world ceases to be enmity against God. The world hates Him, and that is why He is crucified. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.11

“The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor. i. 18. Jesus is plainly set forth crucified among men (Gal. iii. 1), and although some who profess His name and service connect with the world, He remains crucified to it. Therefore He is always able to save from the world those who weary of its vanities, and esteem the reproach of Christ greater, riches than the treasures of Egypt. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.12

Because Christ was the Son of God, He did not come down from the cross, and by His steadfastness in the face of all opposition and discouragement, He proved beyond doubt that He was indeed the Son of God. The way to find salvation is to be crucified with Him, for thus we shall live with Him. Rom. vi. 8. To as many as thus receive Him, identifying themselves with Christ crucified, and acknowledging that His crucifixion is for our sake and that by His stripes we are healed, to them He gives power that they also should become the sons of God. John i. 13. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.13

“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Gal. vi. 14. PTUK October 13, 1898, page 656.14