The Present Truth, vol. 14

December 1, 1898

“Hid Treasure” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” Matt. xiii. 44 PTUK December 1, 1898, page 751.1

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.” Prov. iii. 13-15. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 751.2

“But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it ... the price of wisdom is above rubies. Whence then cometh wisdom?” Job xxviii. 12-20. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 751.3

“In whom Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Col. ii. 3. But if this treasure of the kingdom of heaven be hid, how can any man get it? “Canst thou by searching find out God?” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 751.4

Not only is wisdom hidden in Christ but “your life is hid with Christ in God.” Col. iii. 3. “And ye are complete in Him.” Col. ii. 10. “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God,” “who is our life,” “is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Cor. i. 34, 30. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 751.5

“Goeth and selleth all that he hath.” There is no comparison between our sin and folly and the righteousness and wisdom of Christ, yet they are the price God asks us for His Son. They are all that we have, but if we are willing to give them, the transaction is complete, and Christ, in whom “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,” is ours, secured to us as an everlasting possession by the oath of God. He “gave Himself for our sins.” Gal. i. 4. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 751.6

“But the treasure is a hidden one, and we have tried in vain to find it,” say some. To whom is it hidden? Only “to them which believe not.” Believe what God says, and the hidden things will become plain. God has no secrets from those who fear Him, and His deep things are revealed by the Spirit. Israel found them mysterious and dark, because when they came to consider them, they always took the precaution to put a veil over their hearts. The same veil of unbelief is all that now blinds the hearts of men, “that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ should not dawn upon them.” 2 Cor. iv. 4. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.1

Christ is not hidden from men. He is everywhere revealed, for in Him all things consist. Men live by Him every day, yet declare that they know Him not. He is the bread of heaven that comes down to give life to the world, and He says of the bread we eat, “This is My body:” yet men do not discern the Lord's body, for the simple reason that they do not believe His words. “Men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly Thou fillest with Thy hid treasure.” Ps. xvii. 14. “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” But even this omnipresent manifestation of Christ can accomplish nothing for those who persist blindly in denying that He is revealed when they are filled with Him. Those who believe behold their God, and accepting Him as what He is, they find Him made unto them wisdom and righteousness. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.2

The man whose eyes are thus opened, does not regard God's terms as harsh. “For joy thereof” he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field, and his testimony is, “What things were gain to me those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Phil. iii. 7, 8. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.3

People need to learn the difference between gratification and satisfaction. Anything which one gets into the habit of liking, will gratify; but only that which is good and necessary will satisfy. Strong drink gratifies a perverted appetite, but only good food can satisfy the desire of the system. The devil gratifies men by pandering to their lusts; God satisfies men by giving them what they really need. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.4

“Notes on the International Sunday-School Lessons. Trying to Destroy God's Word. Jeremiah xxxvi. 20-32” The Present Truth 14, 48. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.5

E. J. Waggoner

DECEMBER 30

Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. The people of the land had made his younger brother, Jehoahaz, king before him, but Jehoahaz had only reigned three months when the king of Egypt, under whose dominion Judah had fallen by the defeat of Josiah at Megiddo, annulled the choice of the people, and placed Jehoiakim on the throne. Jehoahaz was taken captive into Egypt, where he died. Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, “and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.6

PUBLISHING THE PROPHECY

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the Lord commanded Jeremiah to write in a roll of a book all the prophecies that had been given through him, from the beginning of his work. This was done, Jeremiah dictating the words to Baruch the scribe, who was then directed to stand at the gate of the temple and read them in the hearing of all the people. Standing in this audience, when the roll was read to the assembly on the fasting day, was Michaiah, the grandson of that Shaphan who read to King Josiah the book of the law which was discovered by Hilkiah the priest during the cleansing of the temple. Michaiah went to the scribe's chamber in the king's house, and reported to the princes assembled there the startling character of the words that Baruch war, reading in the ears of the people. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.7

BURNING THE ROLL

The princes sent for Baruch and, at their request, he sat down and read the roll to them. They cautioned him and Jeremiah to hide themselves and let no man know their whereabouts. Then the princes went in to the king, leaving the roll in the scribe's chamber, and told him of the words that God had sent. The king commanded that the roll itself he brought to him. “Now the king sat in the winter-house in the ninth month [which would correspond to our November 1,] and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.” Three of the princes begged the king not to destroy the roll, but he would not hear them. He would have been glad to serve Jeremiah and Baruch in the same way, and he ordered their immediate arrest; “but the Lord hid them.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.8

TREASURING UP WRATH

The conduct of Jehoiakim is in strong contrast to that of his father Josiah. The latter, when God's judgments against the disobedience of Judah were made known to him, humbled himself and by sincere penitence and confession, averted from himself the corning doom. Jehoiakim was stirred to fury by the Word of the Lord and, instead of recognising the justice of the sentence and turning from his evil course, wilfully defied the righteous anger of God and burned His message. By humbling himself, and turning at God's reproof, Jehoiakim might have yet been saved, but he cut himself off from the source of forgiveness and life, and while the roll itself was written out again in even fuller detail, there was added to it God's sentence against the rebellious king: “He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall he cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity.” In fulfilment of the first part of this judgment, his son, after a brief but wicked reign of three months, was carried to Babylon, where he spent thirty-seven years in captivity. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.9

HONOURING GOD

The principle upon which God has ever dealt with men was laid down to Eli, and is often repeated in the scriptures. “Them that houour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1 Sam. ii. 30. This is not because God is like men, who will bestow respect where there is a likelihood of their getting at least as much back. God does not seek honour from men because He likes flattery, PTUK December 1, 1898, page 754.10

or finds it difficult to get honour among those who know Him better. He is not satisfied when men merely draw near Him with their lips, but desires that the heart may be yielded to Him, in confiding recognition of His love, in order that He may do marvellous things for those who trust Him. “Whose, offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth Me; and prepareth a way that I may show him the salvation of God.” Ps. 1. 23, R.V. The greater the conception men have of the glory and power of God, the more they can rejoice; for God, who spared not His own Son, keeps nothing for Himself. Those who believe Him to be the Almighty can sing for joy because of the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe.” “Therefore will He be exalted, that He way have mercy upon you.” “Blessed are all they that wait for Him.” Isa. xxx. ls. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.1

INFIDELITY

Infidelity does not always take the form of burning the Scriptures. There are other ways of rejecting the Word of God. Those of our readers who have been following, during the past few months, the studies contained in the PRESENT TRUTH, on God's Saving Power in the Things that are Made, will understand clearly why it is that Satan has been making such a special onslaught upon those parts of the Bible which deal with the record of creation. He knows what is involved in a right understanding of this question, and hence his efforts have been steadily directed towards creating false ideas of man's inherent power, and his real relation to his Creator. To hide the truth from men, and at the same time develop in them that spirit of independence of God which will most surely render them subject to his own evil influence, he has led men to set their own ideas above the Word of God, and judge the inspiration of the Bible by their own imaginations. But it is not only the avowed infidel who has been thus deceived. The satanic temptations are more subtle than men think, and many who hold in theory to the full inspiration of the Bible, have yet been insensibly influenced by the prevailing spirit of unbelief. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.2

WHAT IS MAN?

God's Word declares that man in himself is nothing more than dust. God's own life animating the dust produces a living soul (Gen. ii. 7), but only as God's Spirit is in man is he capable of any of the manifestations of life. This Spirit of God is the only life there is. By it all creation exists. “Thou hidest Thy face, they are troubled: Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth Thy spirit, they are created.” Ps. civ. 29, 30. The words “breath” and “spirit” here used are identical in the original. That which causes the dust to hold together and form the body of a man is the life of the Creator. “In Him all things hold together.” Col. i. 17, R.V. Death is simply the undoing of this connection between God's life and the dust. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Eccl. xii. 7. Many refuse to believe that it is in God they live and move, and have their being, but their unbelief cannot make the Word of God untrue. Acts xvii. 28. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.3

A TEST

There is a real test which every one may apply for himself, by which he may know if he really believes the inspired Word of God, or if he has been deceived by Satan and has been unwittingly drawn into unbelief, only different in degree from the rampant infidelity which made Jehoiakim burn the roll that rebuked his wicked course. If we believe God's record of our creation we will know that we are only dust and that all the life we have is God's life. Since it is absurd that dust should presume to direct or control the Divine life (Jer. x. 33), he who believes the Bible will in all his ways acknowledge the Lord and allow Him to direct. He will not lean to his own understanding, but will trust in the Lord with all his heart. The man who trusts in himself at all is trusting in vanity, a vain or empty thing. If he seems to be something when he is nothing, he is a lie. “Men of low degree are vanity.” But all men are alike, so that if a man thinks he is a little better than any other man, he too is only vanity. “Men of high degree are a lie.” It does not matter how high the degree. It may not be very much, or it may look down upon every one else in the world. However high it is, it is to that extent a lie. This is infidelity. No lie is of the truth, and the man who cherishes his own lie cannot receive God's truth. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.4

MEN OF HIGH DEGREE

Even among professing Christians this lie of “high degree” is found. Some will say that there are certain lines of work which they feel competent to undertake, certain temptations which they can easily meet, and because of this they feel of higher degree than others who can only make a lesser boast. Jesus, the Son of man, who was “the truth,” in whom there was no lie, said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.” He knew that God dwelt in Him and did the works and spoke the words. It is the spirit of self-exaltation, of high degree, that hinders faith. The man who knows himself to be vanity will listen humbly to the words of life spoken by his Creator, and will not presume to criticise them. “To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” Isa. lxvi. 2. “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” John v. 44. Jehoiakim thought himself of high degree, and looked upon other men as instruments of his vainglorious ambition. He built his house by unrighteousness, using his neighbour's service without wages, to make for himself a wide house and large chambers, and his eyes and his heart were filled with covetousness and oppression. Seeking houour for himself he could not believe the voice of the Lord, and this is the secret of his burning the roll. But it was seen by all that his high degree was only a lie, for before his death the word of the Lord spoke concerning him; “He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” Jer. xxii. 13-19. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.5

“The One Sure Remedy” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

A short time ago we picked up a paper, and the first thing to meet the eye was a patent medicine advertisement, which began in this way:— PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.6

Is your liver torpid? Are you constipated? Have you become a victim to gout? Does rheumatism ever rack your frame, or do you ever suffer from biliousness, dyspepsia, sciatica, etc.? It any one or more of these maladies ever trouble you, the probabilities are that as a result of indulgence in too much or too rich food, or the too free consumption of strong teas, coffees, and cocoas, or from insufficient exercise, your system has become filled with uric acid and other life-destroying substances, which not only produce the diseases mentioned, but accentuate any tendency you may have to other ailments of the stomach, liver and kidneys. In order to rid your system of these impurities an aperient is necessary, but the one employed should not be drastic, lowering, or nauseating. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.7

Then follows of course the name of the wonderful remedy which will rectify all the evils above mentioned, and make and keep the patient well, provided he keeps on taking it. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.8

Just after reading this advertisement, we picked up another paper containing an advertisement of another sure cure for everything. After recounting a list of ills, the writer says: “By doing as we direct you will in a short time become strong and healthy; your digestion will be all right; you can eat what you please and be your own master; your brain will become clear, and its reasoning powers will return with four-fold vigour. All we ask is that you do as we direct. Now what do we direct? Simply this: Take 4s. 6d. and go to the nearest chemist's and ask for a bottle of-” etc. We are not advertising patent medicines, so we will not give any names; but we quote these things for the purpose of illustrating a lesson in health. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 755.9

Why is it that with all these medicines in the world, which are swallowed most faithfully by tens of thousands of people, and which are certified to be sure cures for everything that can happen to a person, people still suffer from these same ills? Surely no one can think seriously of the matter for a minute without seeing that they are all of them utterly worthless. No doubt some of the men who push these things think that they are doing the people good, for many of them are as ignorant as the people whom they dupe; but the rapid increase of the very diseases which they profess to cure, shows that these supposed remedies are only deceits. Those who use them most are the ones who continue to suffer the most. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.1

The reason is that the cause and nature of diseases are ignored. As long as people regard disease as something like rate in a house, for which they are in no way responsible, and medicine as something that will hunt it out, as a ferret will chase the rats, so long will they suffer many things of many patent medicines, and get no better, but rather worse. Who would be so foolish as to think that he could cure a burn while holding his hand on a live coal? If he had accidentally or wilfully put his hand in the fire, the first thing that he would do in order to effect a cure would be to take the hand out of the fire. Now in ninety-nine out of every hundred cases of disease, if the sufferer would simply remove the cause he would get well without doing anything else whatever. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.2

Look at the advertisement first quoted. The statement is made that if any of the diseases mentioned are troubling a person, the probabilities are that he has been indulging in too much or too rich food, or too freely consuming ten, coffee, and cocoa. That is reasonable enough. What would common sense teach such an one to do? Manifestly to leave off those injurious things. But no hint of such a course is given. Rather is the idea conveyed that people can eat what they please, no matter how injurious, and can counteract its ill effects by taking liberal doses of some man's medicine. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.3

It should be known by everybody in the world that there is no medicine compounded by man that can cure any disease. No physician on earth, no matter how skilful, can cure anybody. God alone has the power of life. He is the Fountain of life. Jesus Christ is the life. There is no life in the universe except the life of God; and the great Creator has given His life to us abundantly, putting it into us, and surrounding us with it, so that we may have health in spite of the curse which has fallen upon the earth and all mankind. If one will but study the workings of that life, and learn the ways of God, which He reveals to us, and will yield to the life, putting no obstacle in its way, health cannot fail to be his portion. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.4

The Gospel of Jesus Christ points out the way of life and health. It teaches us that God gives us His life in Christ, in order that we may be saved from sin. This life He gives to everybody, because it is His desire that all shall live. Its nature is righteousness. Whoever will not oppose the life, will be sanctified by it. It is not that God will count one man righteous because somebody else with whom he has no connection has lived a righteous life, but that the life of that other, even the life of Jesus, is allowed to manifest itself in the man, thus making him actually righteous. This is a simple statement of a fact known to all Christians. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.5

Now that righteous life of Jesus, which is freely given to all, is perfect life. It is eternal life. It is life that conquers death. It is evident, therefore, that if this life be accepted and recognised in its fulness, health must be the result. The life which the Lord gives to every man in the world, and which keeps us in existence day by day, is His own eternal life. All things that pertain to life as well as godliness have been given to everybody. No new factors need to be put in operation if we but recognise and fully accept the richness of the gift that God has bestowed upon us, we shall have physical health as well as salvation. Indeed, salvation pertains to the body as well as to the soul and spirit. 1 Thess. v. 23. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.6

The stream of life flows from Christ to all mankind. Men have resisted its flow, and sought to clam up its course, and thus disease and death, the result of sin, have abounded. Cease to work against the life. Give the Word of life free course. Do not deliberately nor thoughtlessly put poisonous things into it, nor do those things which are plainly contrary to it. It is true that the life conquers death, but you must not trifle with it, and put death upon it for the purpose of seeing it manifest its power. That is continuing in sin, that grace may abound. There is poison and death enough in our own natures to give the life all the exercise that is needed. Rather seek to know the ways in which it manifests itself, that you may coincide with it, and you will be astonished at its wondrous power. The life of Jesus manifested to the full in our mortal flesh will accomplish for every one who yields to its sway all that it did when it was manifested in the flesh in Judea and Galilee. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.7

“My son, attend to My words; incline thine ear unto My sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health [medicine] to all their flesh.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 756.8

“The Everlasting Gospel: God's Saving Power in the Things That Are Made” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

“HIS COMMANDMENT IS LIFE EVERLASTING”

Gen. i. 3: “God said, Let there be light; end there was light.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.1

Gen. i. 6, 7: “God said, Let there be e firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.... And it was so.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.2

Gen. i. 9: “God said, Let the waters under the firmament be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.3

Gen. i. 11: “God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.4

Gen. i. 24: “God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.5

Ps. cxlvii. 15-13: “He sendeth forth His commandment upon earth; His Word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes. He casteth forth His ice like morsels; who can stand before His cold? He sendeth out His Word, and melteth them; He causeth His wind to blow, and the waters flow.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.6

Ps. cxlviii. 8: “Fire and hail; snow, and vapours, stormy wind fulfilling His Word.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.7

Job xxxvii. 6: “For He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of His strength.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.8

The Lord God has also said: PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.9

Matt. v. 37: “Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.10

Eph. iv. 28: “Let him that stole, steal no more.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.11

Eph. iv. 29: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.12

Eph. iv. 31, 32: “Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamour and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.13

Phil. ii. 5: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.14

Col. iii. 15: “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.15

Col. iii. 16: “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.16

1 Peter iii. 10, 11: “He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.17

Rom. xii. 9: “Let love be without dissimulation.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.18

John xii. 50: “I know that His commandment is life everlasting.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.19

Ps. lxxxv. 8: “I will bear what God the Lord will speak; for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.20

Isa. Iv. 3: “Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.21

Dan. x. 16-19: “Then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my Lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me Ono like the appearance of a man, and He strengthened me, and said, O man greatly beloved, tear not; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when He bad spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my Lord speak; for Thou hast strengthened me.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.22

Note from these texts that whatever God says is so. This does not mean merely that He tells the truth, but that whatever He says ought to be, comes to pass. He “calleth those things that be not as though they were” (Rom. iv. 17), because the very calling of their names brings them into existence. His Word creates. When God wanted the earth and the things that are on it to come into being, He simply said, Let them exist, and immediately they were. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.23

Therefore if anyone wishes to learn the way of life and righteousness, “Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee, and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee, or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?” Job xii. 7-9. What will these teach us?—They will teach us that if we hear what God the Lord speaks, we shall have life and peace. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.24

There is life in simply hearing the Word of the Lord. “Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.... Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth.” John v. 24-29. Read the story of Lazarus, of the daughter of Jairus, and of the son of the widow of Nain, to see the lifegiving power that there is in the Word of the Lord. Now “these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.” John xx. 31. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.25

When the prophet Daniel had a vision from God he lost all strength, and even his breath left his body. Then the Lord spoke to him, and said, “Be strong, yea, be strong,” and immediately he was strengthened. That same Word says to us, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” Eph. vi. 10. “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim. ii. 1. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Josh. i. 9. Compare Isa. xli. 10-16. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.26

It will be well worth while to look up many other places in the Bible where direct commands are given, and whenever one is found, instead of thinking, “What a hard thing to do!” remember that the word which commands that these things be done is the same word that says to the snow, “Be thou on the earth,” and which commands the rain to fall. It is the same word that in the beginning created all things, and caused the light to shine out of darkness. “This commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off.” Deut. xxx. 11, R.V. If we hear the Word of the Lord, not for one moment merely, but continually, it will he as easy for us to do according to the commandments of God as it was for the earth to bring forth grass at His command. The dead do not do anything to make themselves live; they simply hear the voice of the Lord, and live. So our part, when we are dead in trespasses and sins, is to listen continually to what the Lord says, and we shall live and be strong. Remember that God's Word is always the creative word. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 757.27

Read Ps. lxxxi. 5-10 very carefully. See what a wonderful promise God makes to His people, that if they will only hearken unto Him there shall be no strange god found among them, and no false god shall be worshipped by them. He will take the idols away. Now read Ex. xx. 1-3, and see that this is the same thing. From this learn that all the commandments of God are but “exceeding great and precious promises” of what He will do for us it we will but heed His words. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.1

“The Living Word” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

“The Word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. iv. 13. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.2

The Word of God is not simply living, but it gives life. “My soul cleaveth unto the dust; quicken [make alive] Thou me according to Thy Word.” “My Word hath quickened me.” Verse 50. “Hear, and your soul shall live.” Isa. Iv. 3. Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” John v. 24, 25. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.3

God gives to us His Word, in order that we may live; if we but keep the Word, we shall keep the life, for it is “the Word of life.” When man issues a commandment, the one to whom it is addressed is obliged to supply the force necessary to carry it into execution; but when God gives a commandment, the commandment is itself the living force that will work effectually in those who receive it . “His commandment is life everlasting.” This is why it is that if we would enter into life, we must keep the commandments. Only in keeping the commandments of God have we life, for they are life. We keep them by faith, and they supply the life and righteousness. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.4

The story of creation is given to show us the reality of these things. There we see the word in action. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made;” “He commanded, and it stood fast.” When He spoke, it was. The earth did not have to go about to make itself, when God spoke; but when He spoke, it existed. The darkness did not have to exert itself to produce light; but God commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and it was so. The earth was without form, and void. God desired order, but He did not expect the earth to put itself in order. “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.5

That same Word speaks to us. The Gospel is the power that creates, for “if any man be in Christ, there is a new creation.” “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. iv. 6. The Word says to us, “Be filled with the Spirit.” Eph. v. 18. If we receive that Word, the Spirit will fill us, and will bring order out of the chaos of our minds and hearts. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.6

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John i, 1, 4. “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Therefore the same Word which in the beginning caused the light to shine out of darkness, says to us, “Arise, shine; for thy Light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isa. Ix. 1. If we will hear that Word, we shall as surely be “light in the Lord” as the light in the beginning shone when God said, “Let there be light.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.7

“God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit;” “and it was so.” There was no struggle on the part of the earth to perform the commandment of the Lord; only the reception of the Word of life, which works effectually wherever it finds an opening for it. Now “as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” Isa. lxi. 11. “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Then shalt have no other gods before Me.” Ex. xx. 1-3. Now how did God suppose that we were to keep that commandment? Israel of old made the mistake of supposing that they themselves must furnish the power to do it, and they did not attain to the righteousness of the law. But God did not expect anything of the kind. Hear what He says, repeating almost the words that are in Ex. xx. 1-3. “Hear, O My people, and I will testify unto thee; O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto Me, there shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt then worship any strange god. I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Ps. lxxxi. 8-10. There was to be no straining to manufacture power which they did not have, but a simple yielding to the self-acting Word. Let the people but hear, and continue to hear, the Word of the Lord, and He will take the responsibility upon Himself of seeing that strange gods are kept from among them. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.8

The first commandment includes all the ten. The tenth commandment, “Then shalt not covet,” is only another precept against idolatry, for covetousness is idolatry. Col. iii. 5. The law ends just where it begins, and is as a whole but an exhortation to love God. But love is of God, and He sheds His love abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit. So instead of expecting us to do what the flesh cannot possibly do, God simply asks us to submit to His love, to submit to His righteousness. “His commandments are not grievous,” but they are love. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.9

Thus we see that the commandments of God are in reality promises of what He will do for, us, or rather, statements of what He has already laid up for us ready to our hand. His grace supplies all that His justice demands. He never asks anything of us that He has not first given to us. “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them.” How precious is the thought that no matter what God requires us to be, no matter what He tells us to be or do, the very same Word that makes known to us the requirement supplies the thing required. Let us read all the commandments of God in the light of the first chapter of Genesis, and life will assume a new phase. Then the greater the commandment, the greater will be our thanksgiving for what the Lord has done for us; and even in the midst of the thunders of Sinai we can say, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 758.10

“Treasure” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

One feature of the last days is that treasure will then be heaped together in a special manner. It will be obtained by dishonesty and oppression, but it will not profit its possessors. James v. The fulfilment of this sure word of prophecy is at present more noticeable in the United States than in any other part of the world, but other countries are fast following in the same train. A recent estimate of the capital invested in trusts in the United States shows that it amounts to nearly ?541,000,000 sterling. About half of this is taken up by nine trusts. In spite of Anti-trust laws, which recognise the danger of such gigantic combinations, the evil continues to grow. The present year has shown in England what a comparatively small trust can do to raise the price of wheat and cause distress among the poorer classes. The report on the trusts concludes:— PTUK December 1, 1898, page 759.1

What the actual value of the property covered by the stocks and bonds of these companies is it would be difficult to say, but the figures show to what an extent the abuse has spread and the dangers that are involved to the community by this unrestrained centralising of capital. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 759.2

“The Children. Telescope and Microscope” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

Have you ever looked through a telescope at the stars? If not, take the first opportunity that you get to do this, and you will be astonished and delighted at the wonders that you will see. The telescope is an instrument made to aid our sight by making objects that are really far away seem to be much nearer, so that they can be better seen. Things so far off that they cannot be seen at all with the naked eye, can be looked at through the telescope. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.1

By the help of the telescope astronomers have discovered that the stars, which seem like tiny points of light because they are so far away from us, are many of them suns much larger than our sun, with worlds moving round them as our world moves round the sun. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.2

And besides this they have found that these suns and worlds that can be seen, are only a very small part of God's great universe. For as men are able to invent more and more powerful telescopes, they see millions of stars that were invisible before. And yet there are as many more beyond, and there is really no end to the universe of God. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.3

Yet God is lighting up each one of these countless suns with His own glory, and upholding and guiding all the worlds that move round them. All this shows us the greatness of our God, greatness that our minds are too small to understand, even as our eyes, with all the help that men are able to invent, can see only a small part of His works. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.4

As we think of these things, and “ consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained,” how it brings to our minds the words of the Psalmist, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.5

But there is another instrument which aids our sight in a different way from what the telescope does, and helps us to see how mindful God is, not of man only, but of even the tiniest of His works. This is the microscope. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.6

With the telescope we can look away off from our world, and see something of the great works of God, and the immensity of His universe. With the microscope we can look into the works of God that are round about us everywhere upon the earth, and see the perfection and beauty of the very smallest thing that our eyes are thus enabled to see. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.7

With the telescope we see that our world, which seems to up so great, is but an atom, like a little grain of sand, compared with the great universe; and all the waters of the ocean are like “a drop of a bucket.” But when we take the microscope and examine the tiny grains of sand and the little drops of water that make up our world, we find that each is in itself a little world of wonders. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.8

A drop of water magnified (you may have seen one, or the picture of it), is full of tiny living creatures as perfect, as wonderful, as the stars of heaven. And into whatever of the works of God we look in this way, we find that the more they are magnified the more wonders they show. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.9

But here, again, our sight is limited, and when we have seen all that can be seen with the most powerful microscope, there is still hidden from us as much of the wonderful working of God's power, His infinite perfection and skill revealed in the most minute atoms, as there is of His greatness in the heavens beyond the power of the telescope to reveal to us. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.10

So while the use of the telescope might lead us to look upon our world as insignificant and unimportant, because it seems such a little speck in the universe, the microscope shows us the importance not of the world only, but of every little particle that forms it, and of the smallest and lowest living creatures that inhabit it. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.11

Therefore while the telescope leads us to exclaim, “What is man thou Thou art mindful of him?” the microscope, showing how “fearfully and wonderfully” not we only, but all the works of God are made, puts into our mouths these words of the same Psalmist, “How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God; how great is the sum of them; they are more than can be numbered.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.12

“The God of nature and of grace
In all His works appears
His goodness through the earth we trace,
His grandeur in the spheres.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.13

“Hidden Wonders” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

When Professor Huxley was visiting the Highlands of Scotland, one day as he wandered over the moors, he picked up a moss-cup, and began to examine it with his magnifying glass. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.14

A Highland shepherd came near and watched him with interest and curiosity. Mr. Huxley asked the man if he would like to see the moss-cup through the glass. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.15

As he looked, his eyes opened wide with PTUK December 1, 1898, page 761.16

wonder; presently he said, “Can this be a moss-cup?” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 762.16

When he was assured that it was, he asked that he might see it again, and then, handing back the glass and the moss-cup, he said, “O sir, I wish you had never shown it me.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 762.1

“Why?” asked Mr. Huxley in surprise. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 762.2

“Because I do tread upon thousands of them every day of my life,” was his reply. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 762.3

Now that his eyes were opened to see what had before been hidden from him in this common, familiar object, it had become such a mystery of wonder that the thought of trampling on it seemed almost like sacrilege. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 762.4

And so it is with every one of the works of God's hands. The more we think upon them, and seek them out, and examine them, the more we shall realise that He does indeed “fill heaven and earth,” and “the whole earth is full of His glory.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 762.5

“The Ostrich” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

Although the eagle is “the king of birds,” and is able to fly the highest of all the feathered tribe, it is not the largest. The largest of all birds is the ostrich, which you call see in the picture. It has a long neck and when it holds up its head, it is seven or eight feet high, taller than a tall man. When God was telling Job about some of His wonderful works, He spoke about the ostrich. Let us see what we can learn of it from what He who made it said about it. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.1

“Gavest thou wings and feathers unto the ostrich? which leaveth her eggs on the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, and forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. She is hardened against her young ones as though they were not hers; her labour is in vain without fear; because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath He imparted to her understanding. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.2

First we will speak about the “wings and feathers” which God has given to the ostrich. The wings are very small for the size of the bird, too small for so large and heavy a bird to fly with. But when it is running it lifts its wings, and flutters them over its back, and they act like a sail to catch the wind and carry the bird onward. When it runs at full speed, it cannot be overtaken by the swiftest horse, but “scorneth the horse and his rider.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.3

You have all seen the beautiful soft feathers which are so much used for trimming hats and bonnets for ladies and little girls, and the helmets of some soldiers. These are the tail feathers of the ostrich, and are thought so highly of that people pay a large price for them. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.4

The bird is so much hunted to get these valuable feathers to be used for useless ornaments, that it is disappearing from the earth through the pride and cruelty of those whom God meant to be its protectors. For we have learned that in the beginning God gave into man's care and keeping all the living creatures on the earth. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.5

If you think of this whenever you see these beautiful plumes, which have usually been torn from the living ostrich, I am sure you will not take any pleasure in seeing them used as an ornament by others, nor ever want to wear them yourself. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.6

There is one thing in which the ostrich is just the opposite of the eagle. We read last week from God's Word some beautiful passages which show the tender care of the eagle for her young ones. But the ostrich “leaveth her eggs on the earth,” and “is hardened against her young ones.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.7

God has not given to her the same wisdom and understanding to hatch her eggs, and to care for her young ones, that He has given to the eagle, for in the case of the ostrich it is not necessary. She lives in the hot desert regions of Africa, and lays her eggs in the warm sand, where they are hatched without her help by the heat of the sun. When they are hatched she has no special care for the young ones. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.8

The prophet Jeremiah speaks in his Lamentations about some people who were so forgetful of their little ones that “the tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst; the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.” Of such people he says that they have “become cruel like the ostriches in the wilderness.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.9

But although the ostrich is “hardened against her young ones as though they were not hers,” they are not left to perish. He who “knows all the fowls of the mountains,” and thinks of and feeds the little sparrows, does not forget them. He hatches the eggs by the heat of the sun, and cares for and feeds the young birds, so that they grow up and become large and strong like their parents. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.10

What a sweet lesson of trust in God, our Creator, He is teaching us in all this! He says, “Can it woman forget her sucking child?” “Yea, they may forget; yet will not I forget thee.” So like David we can say, “When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.11

But I expect you have been looking at the other birds in the picture, and wondering especially about the one with its magnificent tail spread out so proudly. Another time we will perhaps tell you something about this. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 763.12

“Jottings” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

-A severe snow-storm has been experienced over the North of England and Scotland, several railways being blocked. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.1

-The Sultan has ordered the closing of an orphanage at managed by American missionaries, which shelters sixty homeless victims of the Armenian troubles. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.2

-Crete has been cleared of Turkish soldiers, and the suzerainty of the Sultan will be recognised by allowing one Turkish flag to fly in the island at a spot to be agreed upon. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.3

-Italy is experiencing a revival of trade prosperity which will allow of the duties on bread and flour being abolished. A treaty just concluded with France is expected to promote the development of Italian industries. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.4

-At some recent French army man?uvers a battery of the new quick-firers discharged twenty-one shells per gun per minute. A target consisting of 200 wooden soldiers was directed at a distance of two miles and a half. In one minute and three-quarters every one of them was destroyed. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.5

-The vicar of Hexton has justified his bishop by administering Holy Communion at a Congregational Church in Wellingborough. He refused to recognise the bishops authority until this should be exercised in putting down the ritualistic practices which were carried on in the diocese. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.6

-The United States Congress will soon be asked to vote ten millions sterling for the construction of a number of first-class ironclads, in addition to the thirty-six torpedo boats and destroyers lately authorised. Congress will also be asked to increase the enlisted force of the navy from its present maximum of 12,000 men to 17,000. The United States seems determined to live up to its new reputation as a fighting power. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.7

-A curious incident is reported from Syria in connection with the Kaiser's tour. The Turkish man-of-war which escorted his yacht ran out of coal, and a local merchant refused to deliver any fuel without payment. On reporting the difficulty to Constantinople by cable, an honourable distinction and the title of pasha was authorised to be conferred on the inexorable merchant, who thereupon promptly delivered the coal. The humour of the situation is somewhat modified by the recent revelations concerning Mr. Hooley's attempted purchase of a Jubilee baronetcy in our own enlightened country, and the terms of his admission to the distinguished circle of the Carlton Club. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.8

-The Turkish Government has addressed a formal request to the Vatican for the appointment of an Ottoman Legation to the Holy See. The Pope is favourable to the proposal, and is at present endeavouring to obtain the consent of the French Government. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.9

-According to an American paper, President McKinley is determined that unless Turkey makes preparation for the American missionary property destroyed in Asiatic Turkey, in 1895 and 1896 a naval demonstration will be made against Smyrna or some other Turkish city. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.10

-The American Commissioners at Paris offered Spain $20,000,000 for the session of the Philippines, and stated that a clause would be inserted in the treaty allowing Spanish ships and merchandise to enter on the same terms as American. If these terms are not accepted America will take the Philippines by force. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.11

-On the Pennsylvania Railway, a gang of platelayers who were working on one track stepped on to another to avoid a train. The noise from this train, together with the smoke and steam, and a fog, prevented their noticing the approach of another train which crashed into their midst. Eleven men were killed, and six badly injured. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.12

-The question of what ought to be done with the gold Communion plate presented to St. Paul's Cathedral by Mr. Hooley, has been settled by the payment to that gentleman's creditors of ?1,500, the value of the service. When the church leaves the modest simplicity of its Founder, it must expect to get into embarrassing situations. The early church was not careful to answer those who thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.13

-1897 was the biggest year for the coal trade there has ever been. From the minds of the United Kingdom there were dug and raised 202,129,931 tons. This colossal output exceeded that of 1896 by no less than 6,768,671 tons. The export of thirty-seven million tons is also the largest on record. The number of persons employed above and below ground, including those engaged in working the ironstone and fireclay produced from coal mines, was 681,531. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.14

-Lord Charles Beresford in a recent speech bitterly deplored the loss of British prestige in China. Which meant to speed the destruction of our enormous Chinese trade. Russia had jumped the boundaries of the Chinese Empire by twelve hundred miles during the year, and there was nothing to prevent her going forward as far as Peking, unless Great Britain declared that there was a certain line beyond which Russia must not go, and that to cross that line would mean war. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.15

-Speaking at a recent meeting of a Society for training church workers, the Bishop of Lincoln began with an apology for being there at all, because he had no right to presume to speak upon the definite religious life. This sounds bad from a bishop, but what he meant by a “definite religious life” was joining a “brotherhood.” Still if the bishop thinks that is the only way to live a definite religious life, his apology was not out of place after all. The definite religious life is the life of Christ, and if a man has not that, he is none of Christ’s, bishop or no. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.16

-Bohemia and the other German provinces of Austria, which are at present Roman Catholic, wholesale conversions to Protestantism are reported. This is attributed to the general desire to become connected with the German Empire, which did not favour their aspirations while the provinces remain Catholic, they are being already sufficient Catholics in Germany to endanger the Protestant ascendancy. The agitation is making considerable progress. Germany will probably discover that people who change their religion wholesale for political reasons do not make any essential change in their principles. If Roman Catholic principles are now inimical to German interests, they will not be less so when christened Protestant. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 766.17

“Back Page” The Present Truth 14, 48.

E. J. Waggoner

“For Thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.” Ps. xxv. 11. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.1

What a strange ground on which to base a plea for pardon! One is naturally inclined to minimise his fault, when asking for pardon; among men the smaller the offence the more easily the pardon is secured, and that is why people are so apt to try to hide their sins, or make them appear as small as possible. That plan, however, is not the right one to pursue with the Lord. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.2

“Pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.” When we think of it, we can see that the greater the sin the greater the need of pardon; and when we look at the matter from the Lord's point of view, we can understand how it is that the surest way to obtain pardon from Him is to set forth the sin in all its enormity, without minimising or excusing it in any way whatever. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.3

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all uurighteousness.” 1 John i. 9. Righteousness belongs to the Lord (Dan. ix. 7), and “He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Tim. ii. 13. The greater our sin, therefore, the greater the manifestation of God's righteousness in forgiving it. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.4

“Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief; howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief Jesus Christ might show forth all His longsuffering, for an ensample of them which should hereafter believe on Him unto eternal life.” 1 Tim. i. 15, 16. Just because Paul was the chief of sinners he received mercy! “What a wonderful Saviour!” Let no one fear to come to the Lord for pardon, because he is so great a sinner. His sinfulness is his recommendation to the Lord. “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.5

The name of the Lord is “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Ex. xxxiv. 5-7. Now the plea is, “For Thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity.” If He should refuse such a request, He would be denying His own name. He would be saying that He is no longer the Lord God. You see it is absolutely impossible for the Lord to refuse to pardon any sinner. As long as God lives, He must pardon the sins of every one who from the heart requests forgiveness and cleansing. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.6

“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Rom. v. 8-10. Belief in Christ is incompatible with doubt as to His power or willingness to forgive any sin. To doubt on these points, is to disbelieve that He is the Christ, the Son of God. “Him hath God exalted with His own right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” Acts v. 31. Mark, He gives repentance and forgiveness to Israel, without exception, and it was they who crucified Him. To the very ones who cried, “Crucify Him!” forgiveness was preached. Who then dare say that he has sinned so much that he cannot be forgiven? PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.7

We are reconciled to God by the death of Christ. “He died for all.” 2 Cor. v. 15. By the grace of God, He tasted death “for every man.” Heb. ii. 9. Then are all reconciled. There is not a soul on earth whom God does not in Christ count as sinless, for “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” 2 Cor. v. 19. Whoever in the world, therefore, sincerely acknowledges himself to be a trespasser, may know that he is that very moment freely and fully forgiven. And since it is by the life of Christ that we are saved, it is evidently just as easy for Him to save one person as another. To disbelieve this is to limit the Lord, and to make Him like one of us. The same One who created the tiniest blade of grass also created the entire universe, and by the very same power. Nothing less than the life of Christ could create the smallest thing, and nothing more is required for the greatest. So to create a clean heart in the vilest sinner is for the infinite life of the Lord just as easy as to do so for the little child. With what confidence then may we trust in the Lord for all that we need! PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.8

“This life of trust, how glad, how sweet!
My need and Thy great fulness meet,
And I have all in Thee.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.9

The Daily Chronicle, reporting a series of interviews with the leading publishers and booksellers of London, says:— PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.10

More and more the tendency of the public loans toward the reading of fiction. Young people do not delight, as their grandfathers did, in selecting a grave, informing work, say in biography or in travel, and poring over it long nights in succession. The whole competition of broad-winning is keener, and what is sought from books is, first and foremost, recreation. PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.11

It is a sad state of things. The last word, however, is a mistake. It is not recreation, but amusement, that people seek. Recreation, creating anew, renewal, is what people ought to seek and to find in books; but it does not come from fiction. From nothing, nothing comes. He who feeds on nothing, will come to nothing. The mind that dwells only on the imaginary, will in time become unable to appreciate or understand that which is real. And so the one Book which above all others affords real recreation, is cast aside as uninteresting. The final result is, that “truth is fallen in the streets.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.12

“How precious is secret prayer-the soul communing with God! Secret prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hearing God. No curious ear is to receive the burden of such petitions. Calmly, yet fervently, the soul is to reach out after God; and sweet and abiding will be the influence emanating from Him who sees in secret, whose ear is open to the prayer arising from the heart. He who in simple faith holds communion with God will gather to himself Divine rays of light to strengthen and sustain him in the conflict with Satan.” PTUK December 1, 1898, page 768.13