The Present Truth, vol. 10
May 17, 1894
“Jesus and the Storm” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Jesus and His disciples were on the Sea of Galilee, when so furious a storm arose that their boat was almost swallowed up by the waves. The tempest raged, and the waves tossed the little craft, and the disciples were helpless with terror; but Jesus was “in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow.” Mark 4:37, 38. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.1
At last the disciples came to Jesus, and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we perish.” Luke 8:24. Some even said reproachfully, “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?” Mark 4:38. It seemed to them, in their blind fear, that Jesus was almost selfishly indifferent about them. They felt that they had been neglected. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.2
The Master never turned away from a cry of distress, and He at once arose, saying to them as He did so, “Why are ye so fearful?” Then He rebuked the raging winds and the boisterous waves, saying, “Peace, be still.” And immediately there was a great calm. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.3
What a wealth of instruction there is for us in this short narrative of facts! Note first the power of Jesus over the elements. His word had brought them into existence. Psalm 33:6; John 1:1-3. By His word their existence was maintained. Colossians 1:13-17; Hebrews 1:1-3. And the same word could control their fierceness. He rebuked the winds and waves, just as a mother rebukes her children when they become too boisterous in their play. The words, “Peace, be still,” are identical with, “Hush, be quiet.” It was but a trifling thing to Him. But it was a mighty act, nevertheless, and the ease with which He did it, shows His greatness. No wonder the disciples wondered, and said, “What manner of Man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.4
“Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8. His message to us is, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth;” and, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:18, 20. We may know, therefore, that He is as actually with us in all times of need, as He was with the disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, and that His power to protect and deliver is the same now as then. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.5
This being the case, what calm confidence we may have. In the height of the storm He said to the disciples, “Why are ye fearful?” There was no cause for fear as long as He was with them. He hath said to us, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Hebrews 13:5, 6. He speaks peace, and He is Lord of all (Acts 10:36); if we listen to His word, it will give us peace, no matter what our trouble may be. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.6
The boat could not go down with the disciples without taking Jesus down too. But it is impossible for us to conceive of His being swallowed up by the sea which He Himself had made. So instead of saying that He was in the same danger that they were, we should rather say that they were as safe as He was. They could not go down while in the same boat with Jesus; so none of us can perish while we have His presence with us. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.7
He slept in the midst of the storm. It was not the sleep of indifference, but of confidence. That sleep is not recorded for our curiosity, but for our learning. If the disciples had really known the power and love of their Lord, they would have been as calm as He. There was no reason why they should not be, as He Himself implied by His words, “Why are ye fearful?” From this calmness of Christ, therefore, we are to learn how calmly we are to trust in all times of danger, knowing that He is with us. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:6. “In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.8
“The Gospel to the Poor” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
“To the poor the Gospel is preached,” were the words which Jesus sent to John, to convince him that He was indeed the Christ. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit for the express purpose of preaching the Gospel to the poor. Luke 4:18. But in these days it is thought that the poor need something else. Professed ministers of the Gospel are devoting much of their time to discussing “the living wage,” and to devising legislation whereby the condition of the poor may be bettered. “Well,” says one, “do you not sympathise with work for the poor?” Most certainly; but we are convinced Christ knew and practised the best way. No man can improve on His method. The object which “labour reformers” have in view is very often all right, but the method which they employ for the accomplishment of that object is more often all wrong. It does not seem as though the preaching of the Gospel would help the poor; but it will. They have never been permanently helped by any other means. All the propositions for bettering their condition by means of the State, have been tried many times, and have failed. Rome tried it, and instead of diminishing poverty, increased it. The Gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, is the only hope of the poor. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 305.9
This does not mean that the starving are to be fed with a sermon, nor the naked clothed with religious tracts. The Gospel is not in word only, but in power. “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27. He who does not sympathise with the poor and needy, and help them to the utmost of his ability, does not know the Gospel of God. Christ “went about doing good;” He did the good Himself, and they who know Him will do likewise. But personal help seems too slow a way; one man can do so little, and the dismal results are so small, that men seek to do the work by wholesale. Just as personal labour with sinners seemed so slow a way of saving them, that people seek to accomplish the result in a mass, by means of general law. But it will not do. That help which does not come from and as a result of the preaching of the word, will be like salt thrown into the ocean. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.1
“The Preparation of the Gospel” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
The Preparation of the Gospel.-It is supposed by some that commercial enterprise is the handmaid of the Gospel, opening up heathen countries and preparing the way for the missionary. Nothing could be further from the truth. The pioneer is the missionary, and the field needs no preparation before him. He carries the “preparation of the Gospel of peace.” It would be well to remember that there is no preparation for the Gospel, either at home or abroad, it is the power to save and lift up the lowest, and the only power to save to the uttermost. The commercial spirit has been the curse of missions. The cannibals of many of the islands of the new Hebrides have turned from their former ways unto the Lord, but now that the white man dares to set his foot in the group he is demoralising the natives. Dr. Patton, who went over there thirty years ago, and has seen the change accomplished by the Gospel, said last week that “the great drawback and curse to the whole work was that no sooner were the islands civilised, or partially civilised, than the white men, who before had avoided the islands, brought brandy and opium and demoralised the natives.” The real influence of what is falsely called “our Christian civilisation” is a curse to-day to the ignorant and weak. It is not our civilisation, but the Gospel which civilisation talks about but does not obey, that can do good to the nations that sit in darkness. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.2
“A Spectacle unto Angels” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
The believer who first of all counts the costs, and decides that the Christian life is worth the price, need not be troubled at every new step by thoughts of what the world will say, or what friends will think. If he follows the Lord, yielding to His word, he will assuredly be called peculiar by the world; but Christ gave Himself for us that He might purify unto Himself a “peculiar” people. The person who is unable to bear the reproach of unlikeness to the world, really shrinks from bearing the glory of the likeness unto Christ. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.3
The seriousness of the Christian life will overcome this thought of what people may say, if the follower of the Lord will constantly remember it. That actor playing on the stage to amuse the audience, or the man engaged in any exercise for money or applause, very naturally thinks of the approval of the spectators. But one having the very life at stake has no thought for his surroundings. Then with more than this life at stake, with eternal life as the thing to be laid hold upon, who that thinks soberly of the issue can let the opinions of the world, and the fear of man’s disapproval or contempt, weigh for a moment in deciding to follow that which the Lord declares to be truth? PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.4
It is true that the Christian is a spectacle to the world, but it is encouraging to remember that we are also a spectacle to angels. 1 Corinthians 4:9. Let that soul that hesitates in deciding for the Lord because of the words or taunts of men, think of the heavenly spectators rather than the earthly. The approval of heaven is to be weighed against the applause of the world. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.5
The Christian life is a wonderful stage. The Lord is working out through simple men the mystery of His Gospel, and by the power of that Gospel enfeebled, fallen beings, and fallen angels are learning more and more of the mystery of God. The Gospel is proclaimed “to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God.” Ephesians 3:10. The church of Jesus Christ, and every follower of Jesus, is to be a revelation to the angels of the power of redeeming grace. No wonder, then, that, the apostle should say, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” Ephesians 4:1. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.6
It is a tremendously responsible calling to stand forth as an object lesson, in this life’s span of ours, to show to principalities and powers the glory of the Lord, who hath called us out of darkness for this end. One who lives in the conscientiousness of this will not ask what the world will think, but only what God says. In Christ’s day the great majority, even of those who professed the service of God, “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Every believer who finds the light that is sown in the word for the righteous will continually have to choose between between these two; but what are the praises of men to the praise of God? Forget the presence of men in the sacredness of God’s presence, and instead of acting for the pleasure of men, think of the host of angels that excel in strength and power, who yet are watching these lives of ours to see the operation of the Gospel. Oh, it is a wicked thing to be ashamed of God, and deny His power because the path He points out leads us out of the broad way along which men delight to go. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.7
“Untrustworthy Armour” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Untrustworthy Armour.-When David offered to go out to fight Goliath, Saul clothed him with his own armour. He had a helmet of brass, and a coat of mail, just as the giant had. None of the men of Saul’s army supposed that Goliath could be destroyed except with weapons like his own, and that was their mistake. If David had gone in Saul’s armour, he would have been defeated; for the giant was more expert with such weapons than any of the men of Israel. If David had depended on Saul’s sword, he would have been obliged to come into close contact with the giant, whose armour was much more powerful. So David went forth with only a sling and a few smooth stones. It seemed a foolhardy thing to do, and the giant derided him; but he gained the victory, because he went in the strength of the Lord. Let this be a lesson for all who have to meet the unconverted, the boasters, and the blasphemers. Do not think that you can conquer the world with worldly weapons. Do not spend time learning worldly tactics. “Put on the whole armour of God.” We do not need to study error, when the only thing which can successfully meet it is truth. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 306.8
“The Nature of Sin” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
The Nature of Sin.-The nature of sin can be correctly judged only in the light of Calvary. The Son of the infinite God expiring in agony upon the cross, the darkened sun, the quaking earth,—these and all the dreadful tokens of that day proclaimed the nature of sin. All these came as the result of sin, and one sin alone would have made them necessary, since but a single sin would have brought death to the Son of God, if the sinner was to be redeemed. Every sin that a person commits is an act fraught with the fearful realities of that dark day in the history of old Jerusalem,—realities that must be met and experienced by the impenitent at the day of Judgment. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 307.1
“Taking the Name in Vain” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Taking the Name in Vain.-Men are naturally religious, and so, just as the ancient pagan appealed constantly to the gods, it is very common for men who do not yield themselves to God, men of the world, to appeal to the Lord of all to emphasise their pleas. For instance, at a recent meeting of the liquor trade to protest against the increased tax on beer and spirits, the chairman closed with the words, “You must close your ranks and stand with a united and bold front, and I say, May God defend the right.” He was undoubtedly as sincere in his sentiment as those who justify war and bloodshed undertaken for commercial or mercenary bands by appeals to God and the right. It is a sentiment, merely, just as the Italian or Mexican bandit asks the Virgin Mary to favour him in his plans, the glib way in which politicians very frequently quote or misquote Scripture, to point a joke or strengthen a partisan thrust, is another manifestation of the spirit which prevails so largely to cheapen the word of God. The religious teacher who, to escape obligation to obey truth and duty, devotes his ingenuity to the effort to show that the Lord does not mean what He says, is also taking the name of the Lord in vain; for the Lord has set the seal of His name to His word. He says He has exalted His word above all His name. We are not, therefore, to use that word as a creature of our own, to turn and manipulate it to our own ends. The gods of the heathen are creatures of men, but our God is the Creator and we the creatures. He speaks to tell us His ways, and not that we may use His word to justify our ways. Such use is vain, and when men do that they take the name of the Lord in vain. The coarse blasphemer is not always the one who most frequently breaks the third commandment. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 307.2
“‘The End of the Law’” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Upon no point of Christian faith is it possible for men to err more seriously than in that which defines the relation of mankind to the law of God. That holy law, spoken from Mount Sinai amid scenes of the most awful and solemn grandeur, and sacredly guarded for long ages in the ark of the testament that was kept in the “most holy place” of the sanctuary where God dwelt among His people, would seem by the circumstances of its history to have been made for ever safe from the suspicion of faultiness or of secondary importance in the purposes of God toward men. Yet we find men professing the Christian faith who seriously hold and advocate the view that that law has been abolished, and that consequently its claims are no longer binding upon mankind! PTUK May 17, 1894, page 307.3
For this view they profess to find Scriptural warrant. They read that we “are not under the law, but under grace,” and that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 6:14; 10:4), and from these and some similar texts draw the inference that the law of ten commandments is no longer the standard of righteous living. But we are cautioned by Peter that in the writings of Paul are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unstable and unlearned wrest to their own destruction. 2 Peter 3:16. When men draw inferences from certain scriptures which other scriptures clearly will not warrant, and then wrest the latter to endeavour to make them harmonise with their views, they place themselves in the class of which Peter speaks, and set their feet in a path which leads to certain destruction. The only safe way is to interpret one scripture in the light of others; for all scripture is harmonious. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 307.4
There is no scripture which says that the law of ten commandments has been abolished, or any which warrants such an inference; while there are scriptures which plainly state the contrary. But let us examine for a moment the statement that “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness;” since an understanding of this text will make clear the import of all texts from which any inference of the abolition of the law can be drawn. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 307.5
Turning to the eighth chapter of Romans, we find that there was something which the law “could not do,” in that it was “weak through the flesh” (verse 3); and that what the law could not do, God, by the sacrifice of His Son, did do. The law, by reason of man’s fall, became unable to fulfil the purpose of God toward man, and that purpose was fulfilled by a crucified and risen Saviour. But this fact did nothing to change the law. It was no less perfect after man fell than it was before. The change was not in the law, but in the man. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 307.6
The purpose of the law was life. The commandment “was ordained to life.” Romans 7:10. It testified that the man who kept it was righteous, and therefore entitled to life; for death comes only by sin. Romans 5:12. But when a man sins, it can no longer testify to his righteousness, but instead, by it is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20. It then calls for death to him, instead of for life, as the apostle says, “The commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.” Consequently, if man is still to live, a new means must be provided by which the right to life may be given him. If the law could make a sinner righteous, it could give him life, for the just reward of righteousness is life. But this the law could not do; this was not its purpose; and we are told by the apostle that “if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should be been by the law.” Galatians 3:21. Death comes by sin, and life by righteousness, and that which can give life, can give righteousness. The law testified to man’s righteousness while he retained his innocence, and prohibited death from touching him; but when man fell, by transgression, the law could no longer do this, having become “weak through the flesh”—the carnal nature, which is not subject to the law of God, and merits only death. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 307.7
Man had lost life, and what he wanted was to gain it again. This the law could not give him, and therefore it must be provided in some other way, if at all. And it was provided by the death and resurrection of the Son of God; so that now, “He that hath the Son of God hath life.” 1 John 5:12. And Christ being the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” the provisions of His sacrifice have extended to all men since Adam fell. In all ages it has been true that “he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.1
Christ therefore being “the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,” is not an abolisher of the law, but the means by which life,—the ordained purpose of the law-is still retained to men. By putting on Christ, man attains to His righteousness, that being imputed to him through faith; and that righteousness is the righteousness of the law, for “now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:21, 22. So without the deeds of the law men are justified, or made righteous, and the law witnesses to that righteousness, showing that it is the righteousness of the law. And men thus made righteous, they are entitled to life; and thus the purpose of God toward men is fulfilled. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.2
This appears also from the language of Christ in the fortieth Psalm, which is prophetic of His first advent to earth: “Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hast Thou opened; burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Verses 6-8. The life of Christ was the perfect keeping of His Father’s law. His righteousness was therefore the righteousness of that law; and this righteousness being imputed unto us, by putting on Christ, we attain that righteousness without the deeds of the law, for by the deeds of the law we could not attain it. But do we then disregard the law? By no means; for it is only through Christ living in us His life of perfect obedience to the law, that we are justified. And the law stands now, as it did before man fell, a witness to the righteousness of the Christian, and to his right to eternal life. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.3
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.4
“Civilisation and Evangelisation” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Even many Christian people seem possessed with the idea that “civilisation” prepares the way for the introduction of the Gospel among native races. In the meeting of the Baptist Missionary Society, the Rev. R. Darby, of the Congo Mission, gave a little idea of the way “civilisation” prepares the way for the Gospel. He said:— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.5
I went out by a steamer that traded along the coast and stopped at various ports, and the cargo we landed at every port was in green cases-gin-old flint-lock muskets, the barrels looking as if they were old, defunct gas-pipes, and barrels of gunpowder, half of it dirt. These are the civilising agencies. I came down to the coast about nine months ago to see my wife off, and we brought with us a boy from the interior who had never in his neighbourhood been able to buy any European liquor. He had never tasted it; but one day he came to me and said, “Please, sir, we have had no fish to eat for two days.” I said to him, “I am very sorry, my boy,” and gave him two francs to buy some fish at the trading-house or in the market-place. He went, and soon came back, and said, “This money is no good.” “Indeed,” I said; “that is the money which the Government have made for us to buy goods with.” “Oh,” he said, “I can’t buy nothing in the market-place unless I have got gin.” And that poor boy had to take the two francs, go to the trading-house with them, buy gin, and take the gin on to the market-place to buy the fish with. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.6
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and it is dishonouring to God to suppose that it depends in any degree upon the power of man. “Civilisation” without the Gospel is nothing but polished heathenism. It is not civilisation that unenlightened heathens need, but evangelisation. With evangelisation, every needful thing will come. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.7
“What Does It?” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
What Does It?-That veteran missionary, Dr. John G. Paton, the apostle of the New Hebrides, is visiting London, and has been an inspiration on missionary platforms, as he has told of what the Lord has done in the islands. It is worth remarking that missionaries who have been spending their lives among savage races, and have seen the power of the Gospel changing savages into Christians, and introducing a “civilsation” which makes the islands more peaceful and honest than our home cities or towns, are not the men who discuss higher criticism, and minimise the authority of portions of the word. When Dr. Paton tells of the changes he has witnessed, he says it is all due simply to the reading of the word. This is the testimony from every place where the power of the Lord is allowed to operate. We need not go to distant fields, either, to learn the power of the word to change the life and give actual strength. The trouble is, that so many at home who read the word do not believe it, or do not think the Lord means what He says. Putting their own, or some man’s interpretation upon it, it becomes only the word of men, and then they find no life in it, and must search for “Christian evidences” to prove that the word is true. And thus they are troubled over the findings of worldly science and the work of the critics. The man who believes the Bible never has to look outside of his own life for evidences of its authority. The reason why the change that comes over some of these heathen and savage communities is so marked, is that the people are just simple and childlike enough to believe the word. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.8
“Resisting unto Blood” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
At one of the May meetings no little time was spent in apologising for members of churches who found it impossible to do as they believed they ought, because of the demands of their business. Much sympathy is assuredly due those who allow the affairs of this life to interfere with their duty to God; but, for the honour of the Gospel, let no minister of Christ talk as though it is too great a hardship or sacrifice for men to serve the Lord. The preaching the world needs is that of Christian manliness and trust in God; in fact, the preaching of the Gospel. There is too much stress laid on the idea that the way must be made easy in order to enable men to walk in it. So there must be legislation of all kinds, it is sometimes said, to make it possible for men to be Christians. Christian manliness and courage are not manufactured in this way. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.9
Dr. Mclaren, of Manchester, sounded an encouraging note a few days ago in a sermon on the text, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” He said:— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.10
I remember an old church, on the slopes of one of the hills of Rome, which is covered over on all its interior walls with a set of the most gruesome pictures of the martyrs. There may be an unwholesome admiration and adoration of these. I think modern Christianity, in its complacency with itself, and this marvellous nineteenth century, of which we are so proud, would be all the better if it went back sometimes to remember that there were times when “young men and maidens, and old men and children,” had to resist to blood; and when they went to their deaths as joyfully as a bride to the altar. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.11
Ah, brethren, you Nonconformists in this generation, who have an easy-going religion, do not always remember how it was won. Think of George Fox and the Friends. Think of the early Nonconformists, hunted and harried, their noses slit and ears cropped off, their pillories and exile. And then be ashamed to talk about the difficulties that you have to meet. “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 308.12
The world has become partially Christianised, and the principles of Christianity have, in a certain imperfect way, infiltrated themselves through the mass, so that the antagonism is not quite as not as it once was. And the church has dropped its testimony and largely adopted the maxims of the world. So why should the world persecute a church which is only a bit of the world under another name? But let any man for himself honestly try to live a life modelled on Christ’s maxims, ... and he will see whether the old antagonism is not there yet. What a chorus of select epithets will immediately be discharged. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.1
“Man’s Authority” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Man’s Authority.—In an address on obedience to authority Mr. Croke Robinson, a London priest, said to his audience, “Wives obey your husbands, and husbands make your wives obey. Let it be done kindly but firmly.” No doubt he meant all right, but a priest could not be expected to know very much about the exercise of the husband’s authority. The end he has in view is not to be gained if attempted as bluntly as he puts it in his address. It makes all the difference in the world how the authority is asserted. The Apostle Paul gives the counsel in much better form, saying, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands love your wives, and be not bitter against them.” Too many men read their commission about as the priest put it—“make your wives obey”—and become petty tyrants over the home, rather than husbands, or “housebands,” as the word signifies. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.2
“A Frank Admission” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
A Frank Admission.-Here is what one religious paper says about the observance of Sunday:— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.3
We do not observe the first day of the week as a day of thankful rest, as in any way observing the fourth commandment of the Jewish law, but because it is a good and proper thing to do. If it is of Roman Catholic origin, as we believe it is, i.e., in its establishment as a day of rest, we are not so bigoted as to deny that that Church did us and the world thereby a good service. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.4
That is frank, at any rate. When professed Protestants will come out and acknowledge that they have no reason for keeping Sunday, except the authority of Roman Catholicism, the issue will be very clearly defined. The question will then be resolved into this: “Shall we obey the Lord, or the Papacy?” It might be asked how it is known that to observe Sunday is “a good and proper thing to do,” and also how it can be made to appear that the Roman Catholic Church did the world a good service in establishing Sunday as a day of rest, instead of the Sabbath of the Lord; but that would be useless, since those who accept the authority of the Roman Catholic Church are not supposed to know any reason beyond the authority of the Pope. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.5
“Your Dwelling” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Not the least important problem pertaining to this temporal life is that of a suitable place of abode. An individual’s health and comfort depend very largely upon his surroundings. Frequently it is worth all but life itself to a person to be able to change his location for one affording greater security against internal or external foes. Rich men have spent fortunes in the search for an earthly paradise where nature would afford them in some shape a tree of life or fountain of perpetual youth, but they have not found it. There never was but one such paradise on the earth, and that was removed before the flood, and is now by the throne of God in heaven. Wherever men live on earth, they encounter essentially the same evils and succumb in the same manner when the allotted span of life is run. Many places on this earth are uninhabitable, or liable suddenly to become so, and even the most desirable places of abode are menaced by many foes of life and health and happiness. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.6
Paradise was once the home of man. It is the place in which God intended man to live, free from care and pain and sorrow, and beyond the reach of death. It is not the Creator’s fault that man is not living there now. But when man became a sinner, it became necessary that he should be excluded from paradise, lest he should put forth his hand to the tree of life, and eat and live forever. Genesis 3:22. An immortal sinner would be an eternal stain upon God’s universe. Nevertheless He, in His love and mercy, has not left man to dwell by himself in the dreary abode of sin. Man has been exiled from his Eden home, but God has gone with him into the place of exile. Because man could not stay in the place of holiness, God consented to dwell in the place of sin, that men might not be separated from Him. And so we read that He is “not far from every one of us, for in Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:27, 28. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.7
And this is not all; for while He dwells thus in the midst of sinners, who know Him not, He has provided a special dwelling place for those who love and obey Him. The Psalmist mentions this. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1. And through Isaiah also God has said: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” Isaiah 57:15. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.8
An earthly potentate will sometimes open to the public some of the apartments of his dwelling for a very brief inspection; but the King of heaven has opened to sinful mortals His holy and secret place, His private apartments, as it were, for them to dwell in! Such is the condescension and love of the eternal Father. His “secret place” is the most holy apartment of His sanctuary in Heaven, into which we have access by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10:19. Dwelling there, we abide under the shadow of the Almighty, away from the attack of every possible foe. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.9
There is no more desirable dwelling place in the universe than this; and you may make it your abode as soon as you will. The choice is yours; the transfer is attended to by God. Do you say, This is only imagination,—a mere spiritual picture, without any practical value? Not at all; it is real, for all spiritual things are real. Only spiritual things will endure for ever, and the things which are so real to our natural senses, will soon pass away. Nor will it be long until the intensely real and practical character of this privilege of dwelling with God will be made manifest. For we are living now in the last days, and the power of God’s judgment (Revelation 14:7), when the prophetic exhortation is given, “Come My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut the doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:20, 21. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.10
How differently this terrible event will affect the righteous and the wicked may be seen from the Psalmist’s words. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.... He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust; His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee and all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:1-12. When the seven last plagues, to which reference is here made, are poured out upon the earth, men will not despise the invitation now given to hide under the shadow of the Almighty; but all who would be hidden then must accept the invitation now. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 309.11
In view of these things, the desire of our hearts may well find expression in these other words of the Psalmist: “One thing have I desired of the Lord; that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.” Psalm 27:4, 5. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 310.1
Do you inquire the way to enter into the temple of the Lord? The answer is, “I am the way, .. no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” John 14:6. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:19-25. This will be the occupation of those who dwell in the secret place of the Most High, and will be hid from trouble in the day of God. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 310.2
“God Not an Enemy” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
God Not an Enemy.-No greater mistake could be made by any man than to think of God as his enemy. God is not the enemy of man, the creature of His hands. He is not the enemy of any of His creatures, not even the hardest sinner. But He is the enemy of sin and death; and sin and death are man’s enemies. These God hates; but man, the sinner, He loves. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God is the great Friend to whom, in our struggle against sin, we may confidently look for help. The attitude of God toward the sinner is not that of stern Justice with uplifted sword ready to strike, but of Mercy with mighty arm outstretched to help. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 310.3
“Missing the Point” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
The English Churchman of May 3, takes strong ground in regard to the Welsh Disestablishment Bill. While regarding that Bill as in reality a Bill for the establishment of the Church of England, it has no enthusiasm for Church defence, although it holds that an establishment is scriptural. Here is its statement of the position which it takes:— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 310.4
“Believing that the principle of the establishment is scriptural, and that the Church is thoroughly sound in respect of her standards of doctrine and ritual, our sympathies are necessarily with her defenders, whether we regard the question in its political or its ecclesiastical aspects; and a few years ago we should have pressed forward with an ardent desire to render substantial service in their ranks. But we cannot ignore the fact, that, in utter disregard of the Protestant character stamped upon the Church of England at the Reformation, the bishops, with very few exceptions, and a growing section of the clergy, are actively engaged in promoting an unscriptural sacerdotalism, claiming for themselves an authority which the word of God does not sanction, and imposing on the laity, for doctrines of the Gospel, the commandments of men. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 311.1
“The tendency to play with ‘the trinkets of Rome’ is not confined to Ritualistic curates. We observe with much pain, evidence on every side that members of the clergy seem to have lost their belief in the power of God to add to the Church such as shall be saved, and to keep in the Church those in whose hearts He begins the work of faith. And, sad to say, the clergy are encouraged in this mistaken practice by the bishops and Convocation assembled. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 311.2
“The report of their Lordships’ proceedings on Wednesday and last week states that the Bishop of Lichfield moved a ‘special resolution,’ which was unanimously adopted, inviting the attention of the clergy to the opportunity afforded by Act of Parliament, and especially by the Local Government Act of 1894, for the provision of such permanent counteracting agencies to the social attractions of the public-house, as free libraries, reading-rooms, recreation-grounds, allotments, parish halls, and the like. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 311.3
“The Gospel ought to be the ‘counteracting agency.’ It is God’s remedy for the recovery of fallen man. If the preaching of the clergy proved ineffectual as a counteracting agency, it is most desirable that the bishops should inquire into a cause. We are very confident that the failure is not in the Gospel: but it is by no means impossible that the clergy are preaching ‘another Gospel,’ or, as the Revised Version renders the passage, ‘a different Gospel, which is not another;’ a Gospel very different, indeed, from that which the apostles preached. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 311.4
“This state of things damps the ardour of would-be Church defenders. We ask ourselves what is it that we are called upon to defend? and that answer is ‘A Church in which a large section of the clergy is in open revolt against her standards of doctrine, and is encouraged therein by the bishops.’ ... PTUK May 17, 1894, page 311.5
“We cannot avoid looking upon the present attack on the status of the Church as a judgment, or a warning of judgment, upon an unfaithful witness, upon a Church that ‘suffereth’-note the expression-that is particeps criminis because she ‘suffereth that woman Jezebel to teach and to seduce the people to commit [spiritual] fornication;’ and we are confident that we give expression to the sentiments of multitudes of Churchmen, who are thoroughly dissatisfied with the present aspect of affairs, when we say that, if the Church of England once become identified, in respect of her standards of doctrine and of her lawful ritual, with sacerdotalism, we shall feel our efforts for her defence utterly paralysed. To work for reform in the hope that by the mercy of God the bishops and clergy may retrace their steps, is one thing; to defend an institution whose rulers persistently revel in the catholicity of error is difficult.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 311.6
It is encouraging to know that there are many men in the Church who protest against Pagan Romanism labeled Christianity; but it is a sore fact that they do not recognise the cause of it. They cling to the idea of a State Church, not realising that it is the secret of the corruption against which they protest; that it is the fornication, of which the practices which they condemn are only the fruit. Wycliffe and Tyndale did indeed put the stamp of Protestantism upon the Church in England, in that they led it to the Bible; but the stamp of Romanism never departed from the Church of England, in that it never cast off its unlawful union with the State. The fact, however, that the practices of Rome are detested by many, must lead some of them, at least, to protest against Rome’s principles. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 311.7
“The Book for You” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Are you thinking of getting a new book, or of asking your father or mother to get one for you? PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.1
Wait a moment until I whisper something in your ear: The best book in this world for you is the one that Timothy had when he was a boy. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.2
“And what was that?” you say. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.3
In 2 Timothy 3:15 we are told that the name of it was “The Holy Scriptures.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.4
“What! do you mean the Bible?” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.5
Yes. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.6
“Oh,” I imagine I hear you say, “that is too dull and uninteresting.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.7
Ah, you would never say that if you knew what was in it. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.8
You have doubtless thought some friend dull and uninteresting until you got acquainted with him, and now perhaps you find him the best and most interesting friend that you have. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.9
That is the way it is with the Bible. You are unacquainted with it, and it therefore seems dull and uninteresting. But have patience, and spend time to get thoroughly acquainted with it, and you will find it not only the most interesting book in the whole world, but also the most helpful. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.10
In the first place, it is written to you. And it always pays to read a letter very carefully that is written to you. If it came from the Queen to you, you would read every word of it again and again, no matter how uninteresting it might seem at first. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.11
It is from the King of kings, therefore it should receive special and immediate attention, and the utmost reverence. It must be something very important to you, or He would never have taken the trouble to send it to you. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.12
He says that it is able to make you “wise unto salvation;” to thoroughly furnish you “unto all good works;” to make you “understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path”; “to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.13
A book that can tell you just how to be saved, and can make you understand every good path, and furnish you with every good work, and give you a home on the new earth,—is not that a book worth having, and worth studying? Where is there another book that can do that much for you? PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.14
No wonder that Timothy listened to it so reverently and studied it so carefully. And no wonder that he became a great and good man filled with “unfeigned faith,” and was “faithful in the Lord,” and worked “the work of the Lord” all his life. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.15
If you would learn how to walk with God and be saved, get the Book that Timothy had, and study it and obey it as He did. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 316.16
“Walking with God” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
No matter how cold or stormy the day, or how rough or slippery the road, it is all forgotten if father says, “Come and take a walk with me.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.1
What joy it is to trip along by his side and feel his great hand over yours and look up into his kind face and listen to his loving voice! If danger threatens, you feel sure that he will protect you; and if you grow weary you know that his strong arms will carry you. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.2
But there is a greater treat than this in store for you, if you will accept it. Your Heavenly Father sends you an invitation to walk with Him! PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.3
He has done more for you than your earthly father ever could do, for He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and Creator of heaven and earth. He is much stronger and wiser than your father, and loves you with a deeper, truer love. If you will stop to count up some of the things that He has done for you, you will see that this is true. Therefore you need not be afraid to walk with Him although He is so powerful. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.4
“Well,” you say, “when does God want me to walk with Him?” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.5
To-day. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.6
“Where does He want me to walk with Him?” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.7
Wherever He goes; just as your father does when you walk with him. You cannot walk with your father, you know, unless you are agreed with him and go in the same path and in the same direction that he goes. You need not fear that God will ever lead you into evil paths, for the Bible tells us that all “the ways of the Lord are right.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.8
“But,” you say, “I cannot see Him as I can my father.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.9
No, that is true, for He says that we must “walk by faith, not by sight.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.10
But have you ever walked with your father when you could not see him? And yet you walked with him as truly as when you could see him plainly. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.11
Thus you may walk with God, although you cannot now see Him with your eyes. You walk with Him when you willingly give up your way and walk in His way, and do as He does. And He promises that He will lead you with His right hand, and guide you with His eye, and get you with His arm, and carry you in His bosom, and talk with you in His word. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.12
That you might not make any mistakes, but might know just how and just where God walks, He sent His only Son to this earth to show you the whole way from childhood up to manhood. So no matter how young you are or how old you may become, you may always walk with God if you follow the steps of Jesus and “walk, even as He walked.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.13
He was sent to guide our feet back into the way of peace, which is God’s way, and to walk with us and help us along. Without Him we could never walk with God, for we have all been out of the way ever since Adam chose to walk with Satan. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.14
When man was first created, it was perfectly natural and easy for him to walk with God in His way of holiness, for he was then pure and holy like God. But now we have all yielded to Satan’s evil mind so long that we have no power at all to do right and walk in God’s way. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.15
Without Jesus to strengthen us and guide us we cannot do good works any more than your knife can do good work without someone to guide it; for Satan is stronger than we. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.16
But Jesus is stronger than Satan, and God says that if we believe on Him and yield our minds, and eyes, and ears, and tongues, and hands, and feet, and our whole bodies to Jesus, as completely as we have been yielding them to Satan, then we may be able to walk with God by faith and do as He does. Where? Even here while surrounded by temptation and sin of every kind! And more than that He says that if we now thus walk with Him by faith, we shall one day see Him with our eyes, and walk with Him in white. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.17
Is not that good news? Is not God’s loving kindness very great to give His only Son that we might be able to walk with Him in His way of life? Would you not think that every one would gladly believe on Jesus and follow Him? PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.18
But you remember how Cain disbelieved, and therefore lost all the blessing of walking with God both here and hereafter. Well, ever since that time people have been following the example of Cain. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.19
As people increased upon the earth, many of them went away from Adam and the few who believed, and they built themselves great cities and placed their affections on the perishing things of this sin-cursed earth. They did not believe the promise of a Saviour and of Eden restored, and therefore they were not willing to count themselves strangers and pilgrims here. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 317.20
Satan tried to get all to disbelieve God’s promise, and try to make them believe that no matter how earnestly they believed on Christ and followed Him, they would never receive the promised reward and see God face to face. So to encourage His faithful ones and show to all that He had not forgotten His promises, God did a wonderful thing one day— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.1
He translated Enoch, the seventh from Adam, that is, He changed him and took him to heaven that he should not see death! PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.2
We are told in Hebrews that Enoch was chosen because he had faith. Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. And we read in Genesis that he had this faith not for one day, or two, or even for one year, but for over three hundred years! He had shown that he could be trusted. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.3
Now that is the kind of companionship that God wants to find in you. He wants you to be like Enoch, and trust Him and walk with Him day after day and day after day all your life, for He says— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.4
“What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.5
If you are ever tempted to think that God will forget to give you the promised reward, remember Enoch, and remember that God is no respecter of persons; He will reward you as surely as He did Enoch. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.6
1. What was the name of the first child that ever lived on this earth? Genesis 4:1. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.7
2. What was the name of his brother? Genesis 4:2. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.8
3. Tell all that you know about Cain. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.9
4. Tell all that you know about Abel. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.10
5. After Abel was slain, whom did God give to Adam and Eve in his stead? Genesis 4:25. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.11
6. Did Adam ever have any other children, or grandchildren? Genesis 5. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.12
7. How long did Methuselah live? Genesis 5:27. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.13
8. What did Enoch, the seventh from Adam, do, that pleased God very much? Hebrews 11:5, last part, and verse 6, first part. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.14
9. What did this faith in Jesus enable him to do, even while surrounded by wicked people and all kinds of temptations? Genesis 5:24. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.15
10. How long did he walk with God? Genesis 5:21, 22. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.16
11. What is meant by “walking with God”? Psalm 119:1-3. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.17
12. In what kind of paths does God always walk? Hosea 14:9; Psalm 145:17. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.18
13. Then if Enoch walked with God, in what paths must he have walked? Amos 3:3; Leviticus 26:3, 12, 21, 24; Malachi 2:6. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.19
14. Was it natural for him to do right and walk in God’s way of holiness?—No, no more natural for him than for us. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.20
15. Why not? Romans 3:12. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.21
16. How far have we all gone out of God’s way? Isaiah 55:8, 9. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.22
17. But what has God done that shows wonderful love for us?—He has given His Son to guide us back into His way of peace and life. John 3:16; 14:6; Luke 1:79. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.23
18. If we yield ourselves up to Jesus every day, and “walk even as He walked” when He was on earth, what shall we be sure to do?—To walk with God. 1 Peter 2:21, 22; John 2:6. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.24
19. How completely must we yield ourselves to Him?—As completely as we have been yielding to Satan. Romans 6:19. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.25
20. But if we do not yield to Jesus and let Him use us, how much good work can we do?—No more than your knife does by itself. John 15:5, last part. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.26
21. Can Jesus show us how to walk with God when we are only little children?—Yes, for He has walked with God from childhood up to manhood, and knows all the way that we must take. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.27
22. Then no matter how young you may be, what does God want you to do? Micah 6:8. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.28
23. And how can you do this?—By letting Jesus lead you along the same path that He walked when He was a boy. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.29
24. Need you fear that God will forget to reward you?—No; the God that rewarded Enoch will never forget you, for He is no respecter of persons. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.30
25. When will He reward us all? 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18; Revelation 22:12. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.31
“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
-Alarming landslips are reported from Canada In the neighbourhood of St. Anne de la Parade. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.32
-Severe earthquake shocks continue to be felt in Greece, in the districts of Thebes, Livadia and Atalanti. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.33
-Two more members of the Newfoundland Legislature have been unseated for bribery and corruption. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.34
-The strike of bricklayers and masons in Vienna is collapsing, but the coal strikes in Moravia and Silesia are extending. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.35
-ln a conflict which took place between the miners and the gendarmes in the Polish Ostrau district, twenty of the men were killed and many wounded. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.36
-The operations against Kabarega, the chief of Unyoro, in East Africa, have been completely successful, and the British flag has been raised at Wadelai. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.37
-A tornado swept through Iowa City, U.S.A., on the afternoon of May 6, doing immense damage there and in the surrounding country. Many people were injured. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.38
-At the request of the various Labour organisations the Canadian Government has decided to introduce a Bill making the first Monday in September a statutory holiday, to be known as Labour Day. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.39
-The extraditing of anarchists and other criminals has assumed such proportions of late that the French authorities are beginning to complain of the cost. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.40
-A bomb was exploded May 8, at the entrance of a palace belonging to Prince Odescalchi, in the Pratt di Castello quarter of Rome. Several persons were slightly injured. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.41
-Fighting is going on in Salvador between the Government forces and the insurgents, and several battles have been reported, the Government being in the main victorious. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.42
-At the burning of Gatow, a village near Berlin, Emperor William distinguished himself by personally carrying water buckets, wielding an axe, and rescuing live stock from the conflagration. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.43
-The seven entombed cave explorers at Gratz were at last released from their perilous position, and it was found that their stock of lights and provisions was not quite exhausted. Six of the men were able to walk without assistance. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.44
-The United States Charge d’Affaires at Caracas reports that an earthquake occurred on April 28 in the northwest of Venezuela, which destroyed the towns of Fijian and Merida, besides several villages. The loss of life is said to have been heavy. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.45
-The “United Exhibitions” at Milan, comprising ten special exhibitions of fine arts, oils and wines, sport, etc., were opened May 6, with great ceremony, in the presence of King Humbert, Queen Margherita, Signor Crispi, and other persons of royalty. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.46
-Many cities in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Missouri are experiencing great distress owing to the coal famine which has been caused by the coal strike. If no relief is afforded them within a few days, all the factories, gas, water, and electric light plants will be closed. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.47
-The coalowners in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, and the Lothians have made a demand of twenty per cent. reduction in their men’s wages. The miners in these counties have refused to entertain the demand, and have been locked out. A conference of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain has been called to consider the matter. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.48
-A telegram from Lyck, in East Prussia, reports that a serious anti-Jewish riot has taken place at Grajewo, a small Russian frontier town, whore the workmen engaged in building some new barracks attacked the houses of Polish. Jewish dealers and shop-keepers. Four persons were killed and about 100 injured, some of them very seriously. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.49
-The Russian authorities are reported to be clearing out hundreds of the passportless Turks inhabiting the district around Bateum. Those Turks are now being shipped by the steamers of the Russian Steam Navigation Company to Rizeh, Trebizond and other places along the Antatolian coast. Great distress prevails among them as no provision has been made for them. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.50
-The Royal Dutch Commission, which has long been studying the scheme for the draining and reclamation of the Zuyder Zee, has concluded its labours. Twenty-one members out of the twenty-six composing the commission recommend that the projected work be carried out. It is proposed to reclaim from the sea about 450,000 acres, the value of which is estimated at 326,000,000 guelders. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.51
-Trees are now to be foiled by electricity. The modus operandi is as follows: A platinum wire, having been stretched out between two poles, is heated till it becomes incandescent. It then drawn tight against the tree, through which it immediately proceeds to burn its way. It is said the that a tree can by this process be felled in about one-eighth of the time it would take to saw it down. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.52
-A terrible disaster has over alum the town of Stephani, in the Russian Government of Volhynia, a place of about 5,000 inhabitants. Through a chimney catching fire, a house was burned down, and then the flames, driven by a high wind, quickly spread first to the adjacent dwellings and then extended from house to house, with a rapidity which defied all efforts to check their progress, until nearly the whole town had been destroyed. All that the inhabitants were able to do was to remove as much of their property as they could hurriedly get together to the surrounding fields. While the people were all thus encamped in an exposed place, a cyclone broke over them, and their property was swept away in every direction by the wind. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 318.53
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
It is not surprising that “higher criticism” should flourish in these days. The apostle predicted that it would be a “heady,” “high-minded” age. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.1
A traveller in the East begins a letter to his home religious paper thus: “Our first day in Jerusalem was the first day of the week, but it was no type of the Sabbath which the redeemed hope to spend in the New Jerusalem, when earthly Sabbaths have given place to the everlasting rest.” Of course it was not, and could not be. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, and the first day of the week is a working day; therefore the first day of the week could no more be a type of any Sabbath, either earthly or heavenly, than could Monday or Tuesday. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.2
If there is any Bill that richly deserves to be passed by the present Parliament, it is the one for the abolition of religious prosecutions, which proposes the repeal of certain ancient laws, as, for instance, the law (Act 1 Edward VI. c. 1) “against such as shall unreverently speak against the sacrament of the altar;” the section of 1 Elizabeth, c. 2, which is directed against anything in derogation of the Book of Common Prayer; the section of 21 George III., c. 49, directed against Sunday lectures and debates; and so much of the Act of 6 George IV., c. 47, as relates to “blasphemy” in Scotland. One would think that the naming of these laws would be all the argument necessary to secure their prompt repeal; yet the English Churchman says of the proposal: “Thus the extreme Radicals-we hope unconsciously-further the interests of Romanism and infidelity.” Such laws as these are the outgrowth of Romanism, and the breeders of infidelity. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.3
“Reversed” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Reversed.-In the early days of Christianity and the Roman Empire, Christians were persecuted for refusing to serve as soldiers. Now a missionary in Japan complains of the action of the chief of the Japanese army in issuing an edict ordering soldiers professing Christianity to leave the service. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.4
“God’s Care” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
God’s Care.-Those who have a hazy idea that they are buying the Lord’s favour, or putting Him under special obligations to them by their performance of religious exercises hurl the greatest possible insult in the face of the Almighty. Yet that very idea enters into the thoughts of many who would be horrified at a plain statement of the real significance of their attitude. An incident supposed to be amusing, is vouched for by one writer as follows:— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.5
W., a child of seven or eight, went to visit his grandmother, who asked him, on the morning after his arrival, if he had said his prayers the night previous. W.: “No, I forgot it.” She: “You mustn’t neglect to say your prayers, W., God will take care of you if you do.” W.: “Well, He did.” PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.6
What an accursed thing to teach a child, who might be taught to look upon God as a compassionate Father, before whom to come with thankfulness and love, rather than as a being whose good will must be secured by such methods as might be employed to appease an earthly despot. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.7
“Who Shall Rule?” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
The same question that caused the rupture between Henry II. and Thomas ? Becket, namely, whether ecclesiastics are amenable to civil laws, has caused a little flurry in the Catholic body in the United States. D. S. Phelan, a Catholic priest, and editor of The Western Watchman, had declared that bishops were subject to the laws of the State, and could be held to account for any illegal act, the same as anyone else. Sattoli, The papal legate, denied this, saying:— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.8
It is well enough known that by Canon law all ecclesiastics and, by a greater right, bishops are personally exempt from secular courts, whether in ecclesiastical causes, or in causes either civil or criminal, unless the Holy See by a concordat takes away their privilege. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.9
Mr. Phelan declared that in the United States, where there is no concordat, this did not apply. The Archbishop ordered that in every church in the diocese there should be read a rebuke for his utterance, and his paper be declared dangerous and unworthy of support. Phelan declare that his pen was his own, and that he would never apologise, under compulsion, for what he had written, the truth of which he still affirmed. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.10
But this did not end the matter. Sattoli wrote a letter to the archbishop, stating that he “wished and exacted that The Western Watchman should be compelled to advocate the laws respecting the exemption of the clergy from the jurisdiction of secular courts,” and also wrote to Phelan to the same affect. This was sufficient, and Phelan at once wrote the archbishop that he was ready to sign any apology that might be required. The next issue of the Watchman contained a humble retraction and apology. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.11
This little incident is very significant. It shows the power of the Catholic Church over its members, and it also shows that Rome’s claim to supremacy over the nations is no less now than in the Middle Ages, and is as strong in the United States as elsewhere. There is nothing that Rome cannot do when her clergy are exempt from allegiance to the laws of the land. Of course this claim is not yet recognised by the civil authority; but as the Catholics are accustomed to getting everything they ask for in the United States, it will doubtless be acceded to before long. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.12
“Working It Out” The Present Truth 10, 20.
E. J. Waggoner
Working It Out.-It is not in harmony with human nature to acknowledge itself utterly helpless; therefore the religion of human nature is justification by works. This is the heart of the Catholic system, and it is the religion of every unconverted man. He may profess justification by faith as a part of his creed, but unless he knows it as a life he really knows nothing of it. Of all the sacred books of the Eastern religions, Sir Monier Williams has said:— PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.13
I have devoted as much time as any man living to the study of the sacred books, and I have found the one keynote, the diapason, so to speak, of them all is salvation by works, a salvation which may be purchased, the sole purchase-money, being our works and our deservings. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.14
Many quote the words, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” but they stop there. The apostle goes on, however, “For it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do.” Unless our works are “wrought in God,” by the Lord Himself, the works will be just as wicked as we are by nature. Thank God that He promises to live in us, to work His will and righteousness in our sinful flesh. PTUK May 17, 1894, page 320.15