The Present Truth, vol. 10
January 25, 1894
“Front Page” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
It is quite natural to wish that we had lived in Judea or Galilee in the days when Christ was there. We wish that we could have seen Him, and have listened to His teaching, and could have talked with Him. That we should have doubted His word never enters our heads. We are sure that under such circumstances we should have implicitly believed in Him. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.1
There is a way by which we may tell whether we would or not. If we fully believe Him now, we should doubtless have believed Him if we had lived then. If we at all doubt His word now, we should most certainly have disbelieved Him if we had seen Him in the days of His ministry on earth. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.2
Let it not be forgotten that not by any means all the people who saw Jesus believed that He was the Son of God. In fact, believers were very few. Indeed, at the very last, after His resurrection, and just before His ascension, “some doubted.” And these were of the brethren, and not of the scoffing priests and scribes. The greater number of the people who saw Jesus, did not see in Him anything more than a common man. There was nothing in His personal appearance to indicate that He was more than an ordinary labouring man. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.3
The prophet Isaiah said: “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” Isaiah 53:1-3. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.4
On one occasion Jesus asked His disciples who people said that He was. They answered, “Some say that Thou art John the Baptist; some say, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 16:13-17. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.5
Peter had been with Jesus a long time, yet he had no means of knowing that He was the Christ, except by revelation of the Spirit of God. Those who had a mind to do the will of God, knew Christ and His teaching; others did not. The disciples in Judea and Galilee had exactly the same chance to know Christ as the Son of God that we have, and no more. God has given to us the Holy Spirit as a guide, as well as to them. Through the testimony of the Spirit we may know and believe Christ; and no one has ever had any other evidence. The Apostle John wrote in order that we might have the same fellowship that he had, who had seen and handled and talked with Christ in the flesh. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.6
It is a most pleasant thought, that we have an equal chance with those who followed Jesus on earth. He has promised to dwell with us, and we may talk with Him. To be sure, we cannot see Him; but that makes no difference, for those who saw Him on earth, saw nothing with the natural eyes but an ordinary man. So we are not to know Christ after the flesh, for “the flesh profiteth nothing.” But, knowing by the Spirit, we may rejoice in Him, “with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” “What think ye of Christ?” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.7
“‘Highly Favoured’” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
When the angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary, to announce to her that she should be the mother of Jesus, he said, “Hail, thou that are highly favoured, the Lord is with thee.” Luke 1:28. Who would not be glad of such a salutation as that? Well, the blessedness of it is that these words are addressed to us,—to each one who reads these lines. We need not give them all away to the virgin Mary. Let us see if this is not so. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.8
Favour is grace. Both words, as they are found in the English New Testament, are from the same Greek word. The margin of the Revised Version has, as an equivalent for “highly favoured,” “endued with a grace.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.9
Now let us not forget that the grace or favour of God is not bestowed upon us because of our goodness, but to save us. The grace of God bringeth salvation. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace.” Romans 3:23, 24. It was while we were dead in trespasses and sins, that the great love of God was shown in saving us by His grace. See Ephesians 2:4-8. “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-7. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 49.10
And so it is true of us, that we are highly favoured. God has “blessed us with all spiritual blessings” in Christ. Ephesians 1:3. We turn again to the margin of Luke 1:28, and find the reading “graciously accepted.” The angel said, “Hail, thou that art graciously accepted.” That is true of us, for we read that God “made us accepted in the beloved,”—endued us with grace. Ephesians 1:6. The Lord says to us, “O Israel, return to the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord; say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously.” Hosea 14:1, 2. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.1
Thus we learn that our finding favour with God, or being graciously accepted by Him, is not because of our righteousness. He accepts us in order that He may give us good. God has highly favoured each one of us, in common with all mankind. There are thousands of people who would think themselves the most highly favoured mortals on earth, if Queen Victoria should take special notice of them, and especially if she should make them her special personal care. But God has done that very thing to each one of us. We are favoured with His own personal presence and protection. Happy are they who have, through faith in His word, come to a consciousness of the fact, so that they can say that they have found favour. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.2
No Special Favourites.-In spite of the scriptures quoted in the preceding article, or rather, through ignorance of them, we are prone to think that Mary was highly favoured because she was sinless. If that were true, then there would be no message to me in the angel’s word to her. But “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and this includes Mary as well as me. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.3
What a subtle scheme of the devil’s to undermine the faith and hope of sinners, is that dogma of the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary. It takes all the hope and joy for many thousands of people, out of that angelic message. How glad I am to know that that dogma is a doctrine of the devil, and that, sinner as I am, God has graciously accepted me as He did Mary. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.4
It is natural for people to feel somewhat bitter towards those who are partial in their dealing, or whom they suspect of being so. Therefore people who did not know the Lord any better than to suppose that He has His special favourites, feel rebellious toward Him, and stubbornly repel His advances. They think that He is altogether such an one as themselves. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.5
“God is no respecter of persons.” Acts 10:34. He does not choose out a few persons, and shower favours upon them, and turn a cold shoulder to others, as not being in that exclusive “set.” All such action on the part of men is utterly opposed to the wisdom from above, which is “without partiality.” James 3:17. There is no partiality with God. He is willing and anxious to do for every man all that He has ever done for any man, yea, all that He does for His only begotten Son. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.6
“‘How Shall This Be?’” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
When the angel said to Mary that she should bring forth a son, even Jesus, she asked, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” It was not a question of unbelief; she did not doubt but that it would be done, but she wished to know how it was to be brought about, so that she might know what was expected of her in the matter. The angel replied, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.7
Here again we find ourselves on common ground with Mary. Jesus said to His disciples, including us, “Behold I send the promise of My Father upon you.” Luke 24:49. This was the promise to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. The Spirit is the power of the Highest, and Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for it, or until they were endued with power from on high. He tells us also that God will give the Holy Spirit to as many as ask Him. Luke 11:13. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.8
The Holy Ghost came on Mary with power, in order that she might bring forth Jesus. The Spirit comes upon us in order that its fruit may be seen in us, namely, “Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians 5:22, 23. The power by which all these graces are to be developed, and their opposites repressed, is the power by which Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.9
But what could she do to bring the event about, or to help it along?—Just nothing, but submit. She could not do anything to bring it about, but she could have stopped it altogether, by not being willing to submit. Her part was willingly to yield to the power. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.10
Notice that this power by which Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, and by which Christ is to be formed in us the hope of glory, is the same power by which the work of creation was wrought. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.” Genesis 1:1-3. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.11
The creation was effected by the Spirit and word of God. By that same power was Christ begotten of the virgin. Mary said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy word.” Luke 1:38. All she had to do was to be willing for the word of the Lord to accomplish its purpose, and to be fulfilled. So with us; yielding to the word of God, will result in its truths being brought forth in our lives. Whoever yields without reserve to every word that he finds in the Bible, being perfectly willing that every precept and requirement shall be fulfilled in him, will have wrought in him a work equal to that of creating the heavens and the earth. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.12
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.13
“Another Man” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
There is something exceedingly comforting in the thought of receiving the power of the Holy Spirit; and no wonder, for the Spirit is the Comforter. But the great comfort of it is shown in the result, as illustrated in one typical case. When Samuel had anointed Saul king over Israel, he said to him: PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.14
“Thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy; and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.” 1 Samuel 10:5, 6. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.15
What a wonderfully pleasant thought, that the Spirit turns the one who yields to its presence into another man. The old man is sinful. We are carnal by nature. We have done many wicked deeds, because sin was our very nature. The memory of those sins have often appalled us, as the knowledge of the sinful nature, whence they came, has often been to us a grief and shame. Past misdeeds which we could not wipe out, had been held up before us by Satan to discourage us, and thus to give him greater power over our sinful nature. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 50.16
But now the glorious news comes to us that by yielding to the Spirit of God, we may be turned into other persons. That “new man” is “created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24. It takes the place of “the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” This new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him” (Colossians 3:10); and this renewing takes place “day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.1
We yield, and the transformation is effected. We continue to yield, and renewing continually takes place. And now the devil comes to us again with his old tricks. He presents the long list of sins, but they do not appal us anymore. We can say to him, “You have made a mistake; the man who used to live here, and who committed those sins, is dead, and I have no connection with him, and therefore cannot be called on to settle his accounts.” There is no more a “fearful looking for of judgment,” for we shall not come into judgment, having passed from death unto life. John 5:24. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.2
The devil tries his old temptations, through the lusts of the flesh, but again he is baffled. He used to have no difficulty in leading us astray, but now he has another man to deal with, and to his astonishment he finds that his purposes fail. There is no condemnation to us, because we walk in the Spirit. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.3
This new man has never sinned, because it is “created in righteousness and true holiness,” and kept eternally new. How often we have wished that we might get rid of ourselves. We may. The word comes to was, “Put off the old man, with his deeds,” and with the word comes the power to put him off. And the new man cannot sin, because it is the very image of God. So that our part day by day may be to declare from the heart with the Apostle Paul:— PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.4
“For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:19, 20. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.5
“Dying and Living” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
“And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to Philip.... and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew; and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:20-24. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.6
By the reading of these words we are reminded of a similar statement made by the Apostle Paul, in reply to a foolish question about the resurrection. “But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.” 1 Corinthians 15:35, 36. It is said that except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Is that true? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.7
Here is a principle of natural history that is not found in pagan philosophy. It can be found only in the Bible: for it is contrary to the natural supposition. We have been apt, in reading it, to put a sort of mental interpretation upon it. “Of course,” we have thought, “it does not really die; for if it should actually die that would be the end of it.” Thus our carnal understanding takes the heart out of the Scriptures, by explaining them away. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.8
But the word says that if the corn of wheat die, it bringeth forth fruit. “That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die.” We know that there is no power in any creature to perpetuate its own existence. Whence then must the life of everything come? We read in Job 12:10 that in God’s hand is the life, or soul, of every living thing. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.9
Now we have seen it demonstrated that a corn of wheat put in the ground will bring forth much fruit. We have seen hundreds of grains, from one single corn of wheat. This is a fact that all know. Taking the Scriptures as the guide in natural philosophy, we know that death must have preceded the fruit bearing. Did the grain die and then bring itself to life again? Life is there plainly enough, as shown by the green blade and the ripening ear. And we demonstrate that there is life in it by taking it and eating it. When we are so weak with hunger that we are half dead, and cannot work, we eat of the grain, and our spirits are revived. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.10
There is life there; but that grain had to die before the life came. Where did that life come from? The whole thing is involved in this question. Does the grain come to life?—No; because “that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain; but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body.” 1 Corinthians 15:37, 38. The apostle is here speaking of the resurrection. We read that sometime all that are in the graves will stand on the earth again. They had actually died, and they could not bring themselves to life. What brings them to life?—The word of God. They hear the voice of the Son of God. “For the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth.” John 5:28, 29. The life that will be manifested in those who are now turned to dust is not anything that is in that dust. The life comes from God. The whole process is stated in the thirty-seventh of Ezekiel, where the Lord speaks, and bone comes to bone, and again He speaks, and flesh and sinews come, and then at His command breath comes into the bodies, and they live. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.11
The resurrection of the body is illustrated by the grain, in the verses read from Corinthians. This means that the man who dies has no life in him, and no power in him to bring himself to life again. Life will be manifested there, because God puts it into him, just as he puts life into the seed that dies. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.12
In the first chapter of Genesis we read that God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass,” etc. here we see that all life comes directly from God. In His word is life and He has given to every seed a body as it hath pleased Him. It has troubled many minds to see how God had to do with every little thing in the world, that He was personally concerned with all things; but the joy of life is the recognition of the fact that God is concerned with every little thing, and that His life pervades all things. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.13
Christ said, the kingdom of God is “ as if a man should cast seed into the ground, ... and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself,” or automatically, as “of herself” signifies. The word of God being in it implies growth, and the growth of the kingdom,—of the Gospel-is just like the growth of a plant. But the plant growth, we have seen, illustrates the resurrection. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 51.14
OUR LIFE
Is there any difference between the final resurrection life, and the life of Christ in men now? Not a particle; for in order to live with Christ we are to know the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10); we are to pass from death unto life. 1 John 3:14. Every man out of Christ is dead in trespasses and sins. But not every man recognises this. Before man can partake of the life of Christ, therefore, he must reckon himself dead. And he who will reckon himself dead will live. “If we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him.” 2 Timothy 2:11. It is the same life that is given, and as in plant life death must precede the giving of it. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.1
THE GLORY OF GOD
In the Psalms we read: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun.... His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 19:1-8. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.2
The immediate source of all the heat and light, and so of all the life, to this earth is the sun. “There is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” The shaded soil, shut away from the light and heat of the sun is barren. Christ says of Himself, “I am the Light of the world.” The glory of God is actual, the visible light. Men who have seen that glory in abundant measure, as Paul in the road to Damascus, have been blinded by it. When the Lord comes at the second advent the wicked are destroyed with the brightness of His glory. 2 Thessalonians 2:8. So we read of the New Jerusalem that it has no need of the sun to shine in it: “for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Revelation 21:23. God says of Himself that He is a “Sun and Shield,” and Christ is the “Sun of Righteousness.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.3
CHRIST THE LIGHT
Going back to the beginning we find that in Christ all things were created, and in Him all things consists. When He made the sun He made it a light-bearer and clothed it with light. But the sun did not originate light. The light came from God before the sun was created. He said, “Let there be light,” And it came from Himself by His word. Then all the light that shines upon the earth comes directly from God. Not simply that He owns the light, but it is of and from Himself. He puts His own light in the sun. There is, of course, only a portion of His glory there-as much as the world can endure. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.4
In the sixtieth of Isaiah the Lord says, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” The chapter begins in the present condition of the earth, and ends in the new earth. In the beginning darkness covers the earth, and in the end light covers all. The light which He says, “is come” is the same as that in which the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the New Jerusalem; for “the glory of the Lord did lighten it,” and the word here in Isaiah is, “the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” His glory is the light that has come. If we will receive it now, it is the same light. But the light of God has always been shining; for God “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:9. And His light is His life. “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. The terms light and life are interchangeable. Light is life. Therefore we get light from the Scriptures only when we get His life. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.5
THE LIGHT OF LAW
In the nineteenth psalm, which we have quoted, the Psalmist goes right on from talking of the light of the sun and of the firmament to the perfection in the law. But there is no break in the thought. “The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light.” Proverbs 6:23. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:130. Now we have not taken this to mean a real light. We have thought of it as some sort of an effect upon the intellect. But the Bible says “the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light.” Now if we believe and know that the law of God is the light of God, then we must know that the law of God is an actual light, such as the eye can appreciate. The light of the Lord is simply the manifestation of His life; and His life is the law; for in the life of Christ we find the law of God. “Out of the hearts are the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23. Christ says, “Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. So the life of Christ was the law, and His life was the light of men. Christ lived the law before men, and it was said, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” Matthew 4:16. “I am the light of the world,” says Christ; “he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. The commandment is light, and the Word is a light to our path. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.6
GOSPEL LIGHT
Of the heavens the Psalmist says, “There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:3. The speech or words come from the heavens. Whose words? The words of God, assuredly. In the tenth of Romans Paul quotes this verse, and says that the heavens are proclaiming the Gospel. And the proclaiming of the Gospel is the proclaiming of the glory of God. Revelation 14:6, 7. When the angels came to announce the Gospel to the shepherds, they proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest.” He who receives the Gospel is receiving the glory of God, that God may be glorified. “The heavens declare the glory of God,” and Paul says that their words have gone out to all, preaching the Gospel. Is there any difference between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the law in Christ? No; for the Gospel proclaims life in Christ, and in Him was the law dwelling in all its fulness. Therefore the proclamation of the Gospel is the proclamation of “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” making free from death. Romans 8:2. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.7
The heavens, then, are preaching the Gospel. The Gospel is God’s glory; His glory is His righteousness. Righteousness is shown by the law. The law of God is indeed His righteousness. Then the heavens declare His righteousness, His law. So the Lord has put His law and His Gospel, His light, in the heavens. And he who will recognise the glory of the heavens as the living light of the living God, with gratitude and thankfulness, to him it will be righteousness. The man who is constantly-momentarily-thanking God for the light of the sun, and His glory in the heavens and the things that He has made, will not be sinning. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 52.8
The recognition of the fact induces thankfulness. Only when men were not thankful they fell into sin. “Because that when they knew God they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.... Their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21. We can glorify God by recognising that the glory of the sun is the glory of God, and so of all His works. So if we continually recognise the light as coming from God, and thank Him for it, and the same with the air we breathe and the food we eat, every conscious moment recognising that He is our life, and that He gives us life in the sunshine, and air, and food, our life will be to the glory of God, the law of God will be manifested in our life. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.1
CHANGED BY THE GLORY
Thus we see how the Psalmist can go on from the glory of the firmament to the law of God. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” In the sunlight we recognise God’s glory, and in that is the law of God. While we are beholding the glory of God, we are “changed into the same image.” As we have seen, it is only a portion of the glory that we see in the heavens and the works of God. Christ was the brightness of the Father’s glory. If He had appeared on earth in all the brightness of that glory it would have destroyed all. Therefore He veiled His glory in the flesh, and yet He was constantly manifesting forth the glory in His works. Of His first miracle it is said, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory.” John 2:11. His works were works of graciousness and helpfulness. God’s glory is to help and to save. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.2
And when we recognise God’s glory in the heavens,—all is placed there that the eyes can endure,—and are thankful to God in that recognition, and take it as His life, yielding ourselves to Him that He may do His will in us, He will live in us the same life that He lives in Himself. This must be so or else He would deny Himself. As we are yielding to Him, looking at His glory, that glory is working in us. This is the law of Christian growth. Really is there any difference between natural law and moral law? The law of plant growth is the life of God. This makes it grow. The law of our life is the life of God. It is the law for every created thing. The same law works in everything the purposes of God for that thing. It is the same life in all creation working God’s purposes for that created thing. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.3
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” How God has put Himself on all creation! and when we recognise His life it works peace and joy. The plant is the offspring of the life of God. God works in every plant just what He will. He giveth to every seed his own body. The fruit tree, for example, bears beautiful flowers, but the flower is not the ultimate end of the plant. The fruit is to be produced. God could have made the plant bear fruit without a sign of a flower. What is the flower? It is the beauty of the plant. God delights in beauty, in the variety of form and diversity and blending of colour. And since the life of the plant is the life of the Lord, the beauty of the flower is the “beauty of the Lord.” It is some of the beauty of the Lord’s life revealed to us in the plant. The Psalmist prays, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us.” Psalm 90:17. The beauty of the Lord is shown in what He works in the believer. “He will beautify the meek with salvation.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.4
It is not simply joy, theoretically, that we get in this, but there is life in it. There are hard things for some of us to meet. We have burdens to bear, and crosses to endure. Our whole flesh is opposed to God. “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other.” Galatians 5:17. We are coming close to the end, face to face with the coming of the Lord, and eternity. The flesh cannot go there, and we will not go there either if we cling to the flesh. We cannot take it with us. Before the Lord comes, when we will be delivered from this earthly tabernacle, and be clothed upon with the house from heaven, we must have crucified the flesh. That is a practical, everyday work. Paul doesn’t say, “I was crucified with Christ,” but “I am crucified with Christ.” There was a constant crucifixion, and constantly a springing up of life. “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14. Paul sought that He might “know Him, and the power of His resurrection.” Philippians 3:10. We must make this a practical thing now. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.5
LIVING THE LIFE
We know this, that as we breathe we are taking in the life of God. As our eyes greet the sunlight, it is the light of His life. As we eat the food He gives, it is His life in it that gives the strength. So all the life we live, we live by God. “In Him we live and move and have our being,” said Paul. The life is the light, and the light lightens every man that cometh into the world. So the life of Christ is the life of every living soul. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.6
Some one may say, How can I get the life of God? How can the connection be made? How often have we wished that we might get hold of that life in some way. Now the news comes that we have that life, only hitherto we have refused to recognise it. We have perverted it, and have used it to think and speak and do what God would not do. “We have turned every one to his own way,” we have used God’s life in doing it. Now we must say continually, “The Lord is my light,” He is my life, recognising Him in everything. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct by paths.” Proverbs 3:6. This life is already here. All we have to do is to acknowledge it. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.7
With this we can understand what the Psalmist meant when he said that the Lord had brought him out of the miry clay, and set his feet upon a rock and put a new song in his mouth. Psalm 40. A temptation comes to us. Whose life have we? God’s life. We will simply say, The life is Thine, live it in Thine own way. It is not the old life that is meeting the sin, but God’s. Cannot God work victory in us? He can if He can live in us. But this He does all the time, He gives us life, breath, food; and in the air, and sunlight, and food, and all His works, God has meant to teach all creation how He is able to live in men. If we submit to Him He will work in us the perfection of His life, and actually as He is, so will we be in this world. 1 John 4. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 53.8
This solves the question of the evangelisation of the world. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isaiah 60:1. What is the glory?—His life, His law. What is the light that is come? The life of Christ. What will be the next thing? “Gentiles shall come to the light, and kings to the brightness of the rising.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.1
The life is here, for the light is come. Take it. Rejoice in it; and while we are recognising it, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, and we thus become the light of the world. The world will see it and recognise the light of the Lord, just as the scribes and rulers recognised that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Do not let one soul dare to lift up the voice to proclaim the truth until he knows he has the life of God. And then when He says Go, what will be carried? The life and the light. Men were convinced by Christ because there was power in His words, and if we go thus, the words we speak will be like the oracles of God, and with the power of God’s life. So that we, wicked and sinful as we are, may speak with the same authority, the same convincing power that Christ spoke. Then life will be carried to men. Men may reject it, but they will be forced to acknowledge, as the Jews did, that there is power there. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.2
This is the power of the Gospel Message. The light has come to enlighten the world. The power from on high is ours and we can speak the life and shed the very light of God to the world if we will but yield to it. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.3
“‘The Lord Is with Thee’” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
These were the words the angel Gabriel used in his greeting to Mary. Could he say the same to us? He could, for the Lord has said it. “Lo, I am with you all way, even unto the end of the world.” Long before the angel appeared to Mary, the Lord had said, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10. So we may be sure that the Lord is with us now and always. He says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.4
The birth of Jesus of the virgin Mary, was in fulfillment of a prophecy, referred to in Matthew 1:23. It said, “A virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Jesus, then, is “God with us.” So that the very words to Mary, “God is with thee,” are the assurance to us that the Lord is with us. The Lord was with her, in order that He might be with us. If we believe the words of the angel, as addressed to Mary, we must believe that they mean us as well. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.5
“Power in Religion” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
The leading characteristic of the true religion-the religion of Jesus Christ-is power; not the power of man, but the power of God. “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,” wrote the Apostle Paul, “for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” Romans 1:16. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.6
There are many religions in the world, some of which have an immense following and great wealth of church property, and a strong backing of State laws, but neither one nor all of these stamp any religion as the true religion. That only is the true religion which has “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” And because it has the power of God, it is certain that it cannot be any religion which asks or accepts the power of man. It will never be found in alliance with the State. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.7
The same apostle wrote to Timothy that in “the last days,” when “perilous times” were come, men would be found “having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” Not merely a few men are specified, but men in general. It is this general hypocrisy that brings the “perilous times.” The Saviour also said of the last days that “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” There will be, in other words, a cold, formal, worldly church,—the “form of godliness,” but not the power. “From such,” says the apostle, “turn away.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.8
And certainly no Christian would wish to do otherwise. Every sincere follower of Christ would wish to turn from that which is mere form to that which is living and real. What the Christian wants is “the power of God unto salvation.” That is his very life. And this power is not withdrawn from the world. Though men in general have but a form of godliness, the true Gospel is still sounding, and is still within the reach of all men. No one is obliged to go on a long and perilous and toilsome journey in order to find the Gospel. We have not to say, “Who shall ascend into heaven (that is, to bring Christ down from above)? or, Who shall descend into the deep (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead)?” in order to realise the power of God unto salvation. No; for “the word is nigh thee, even in the mouth and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:6-9. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.9
Men look to the wrong source for this power unto salvation. They look to the church; but in this day the church-that is, the numerous, wealthy, influential, and conspicuous body of professed believers-has it not. They have, as the apostle states, the “form of godliness”—no lack of pomp and ceremony-but where is “the power of God unto salvation”? It is denied; for by not knowing it, not manifesting it in their lives, professed Christians deny this power, just as Peter denied his Lord by saying, I know Him not. They say in effect to the world, There is no such power to be had. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.10
And there is nothing mysterious about this, for the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” But when there is so much of the preaching of the gospel of doubt,—the “higher criticism,” the “errancy of the Scriptures,” and other forms of disguised infidelity-it is no wonder that men are not led to believe. It is no wonder, when the power of man is so much sought after and counts for so much with the church, that men’s minds are not directed to the power of God. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.11
The “power of God unto salvation,” is not the power of man. Let this distinction always be clearly recognised. It has nothing to do with human wisdom, eloquence, magnificence, or influence. It has nothing to do with wealth or numbers. This independence of the power of God, this disconnection from all that pertains to the power of man, is clearly and prominently set forth all through the records of Scripture; and if men would but search the Scriptures they would see it. God is not dependent for the manifestation of His power, upon anything that pertains to the power of man. Through all the recorded instances of the manifestation of the power of God, there runs this implied declaration, “It is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power.” 2 Chronicles 14:11. And Paul declares that “not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things to confound the things which are mighty; .. that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. The apostle declares that his preaching among them was “not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 54.12
It need not therefore be thought strange if where man’s wisdom and eloquence abound, and wealth, numbers, and influence impress the beholder with the pomp and power of man, the power of God unto salvation should be absent. God’s strength is manifest in man’s weakness; otherwise man will take the glory to himself. 2 Corinthians 12:9. God manifests His power through man, but never in such a way as to call attention to man. Where God works, the human instrument is covered by His hand, and He alone is exalted in the eyes of all beholders. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.1
AN ILLUSTRATION
No man ever did a greater work than John the Baptist. John’s work was to prepare the way for the advent of the Messiah. The angel which announced his birth to Zacharias said, “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:14-17. And the Saviour’s testimony of John was, “Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” Matthew 11:11. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.2
John’s work was done in the wilderness of Judea. He carried with him no mark of earthly greatness. His raiment was of camel’s hair, and his food was locusts and wild honey. But he stirred the country mightily, and multitudes came to him from all sides and were baptized in Jordan, confessing their sins. Mark 1:5. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.3
Who and what was John? This was the question raised by the Jews at Jerusalem, and they sent priests and Levites to him, who asked him if he were the Prophet foretold by Moses. John told them he was not the Christ, neither Elias, nor the Prophet. “Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” John 1:20-23. That was all; but that was enough. No greater man than John ever lived, yet he himself was nothing. Those who came to him found only “the voice of one crying in the wilderness;” not John’s voice, but the voice foretold by the prophet Isaiah, and that was the voice of God. The message that John gave was the message of God, and his words were the words of God. This was the secret of John’s greatness, and of the power that attended his work. It was simply the power that attends the voice of God. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.4
ALL ON A LEVEL
John’s message was directly against everything that savoured of the greatness and power of man. This is shown in the words of the prophet Isaiah, to which John made reference. The prophecy declares, “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 40:3-5. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.5
In the work of John the fulfilment of this prophecy was clearly seen. All, high and low, came to him and were baptized together, confessing their sins. Before him all stood upon a level. To the scribes and Pharisees, those in exalted positions, he said, “O generation of vipers! who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” They, like the poorest and meanest, were told to bring forth “fruits meet for repentance.” And those who flattered themselves over their descent from Abraham were told, “God is able of the stones to raise the children unto Abraham.” Thus was every mountain and hill brought low, and every valley exalted, and every rough and crooked place made straight. This was the kind of work needed to prepare people for the Lord. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.6
This is exactly what the language of the voice declares. “The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isaiah 40:6-8. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.7
And this is the message for to-day, to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” All flesh, high and low, rich and poor, mighty and weak, is grass, and all the goodness of them is as the flower of the field. It will all wither alike and fade away; therefore no flesh can glory before the Lord. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.8
“But the word of our God shall stand for ever.” The word is the great thing; man and all his glory and power are nothing. Here is the secret of power in religion. That religion which has the word of the Lord has power, even “the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth.” He that believeth must believe the word of the Lord. The word of man is nothing; the word of God is spirit and life (John 6:63); it is filled with creative power. Therefore let all men turn to the word of Lord. Let them turn away from a “form of godliness” merely, which those have who deny the power thereof, that is, who do not manifest it; and let them turn to the power of the word, which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. That word is the sure foundation; and he who stands on that, and that alone, will never be moved by all the tempest which may burst upon him. Matthew 7:24, 25. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.9
“The Right Defence” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
A religious journal says: “No church is so fenced and guarded against error as that established in this land, and the increasing prevalence of false teaching within its pale is therefore the more deplorable and astounding.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.10
True it is that the Church of England, to which reference is here made, is as thoroughly “fenced and guarded against error” as she well could be by any means devised by man. She is the established church; she is guarded (?) by the laws of the land, she is fenced in with litanies and prayer books, forms and ceremonies, which have all the strength and venerableness that lapse of time can impart to them; and yet through these petrified ramparts, so long trusted to keep out error, “false teaching” is continually and rapidly forcing its way, until the church organs, looking helplessly on, have begun to bewail it as both “deplorable” and “astounding.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 55.11
What is the trouble? Ah, the Church’s defence is not the right one. When the situation is understood, it will be seen that it is not at all astounding. The sure defence-the only reliable one-against all false teaching is the word of the Lord. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. God has prepared the true defence for the Church; but the Church is trusting in the defence prepared by man. The true defence is a living one, and not a dead one composed of petrified ceremonies and forms of worship. It is the Lord round about her like a wall of fire. Zechariah 2:5. This is the Church’s true defence, and all the defence that she needs. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 56.1
But God says, “Is not My word like as a fire, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces.” Jeremiah 23:29. Yes; His word is a wall of fire; for He is in it. It “is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12. Then let the word, full of the life and power of God, be freely proclaimed, and let it take the place of the round of dead forms. The “sword of the Spirit” will do its work; the hammer will break the rocks of error in pieces; and the strongholds of error will be pulled down, with all “imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 56.2
“In the Image of God” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
“And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” Genesis 1:26. “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him.” Verse 27. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.1
In this respect man was different from all the other creatures that God had made to live upon the earth. To him alone was given the exalted privilege of being the son of God, made in His own likeness, and partaking of His Divine nature, and of His wisdom and glory. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.2
We read that he was made but “a little lower than the angels,” and was “crowned with glory and honour” (Psalm 13:6); in the “image and glory of God” (1 Corinthians 11:7); “after the similitude of God” (James 3:9), or “likeness of God” (Revised Version); and that he was made “upright” (Ecclesiastes 7:29), thus partaking also of the character of God. Daniel 9:7. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.3
Oh, to have seen him then, as he came fresh from the hand of his Maker! His looks, his actions, his words, all proclaimed that he was the very image of God. No trouble then to tell to whom he belonged or who was his Father, for His image was plainly seen. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.4
But look at the ravages of sin! What is man now? He is dwarfed and weak and filled with the seeds of pain and death. His glory is gone, his wisdom is corrupted, and his nature is sinful. He is no longer the free son of God, but is the bond-slave of Satan. The image of God is well-nigh effaced. He who was once a fit companion for God and angels has sunk too low to be able to bear even the sight of their purity and glory. From the soul of his feet even unto his head there is no soundness in him, but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores. Isaiah 1:5. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.5
But, “behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us!” He who has denied his sonship, and sold himself for nought, and allowed his Maker’s image to be defaced until scarcely a trace of the likeness of God remains,—He may again become the son of God, and partake of His Divine nature and be stamped with His image! John 1:12; 2 Peter 1:4. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.6
He may have his knowledge renewed after the image of Him that created him (Colossians 3:10), and be transformed by the renewing of his mind. Romans 12:2. He may have a new heart given him (Ezekiel 36:26); and a right spirit renewed within him (Psalm 51:10); and be cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9); and clothed in the righteousness of God. Isaiah 61:10. He may be created anew (Ephesians 2:10; 4:24), and become an entirely new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17) now, all but his vile body, and when Jesus comes even that vile body will be changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body (Philippians 3:21); then he can again shine forth in the glory of the Father (Matthew 13:43), and as the stars for ever and ever. Daniel 12:3. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.7
How can this wondrous transformation be wrought? And how many can have a share in it? “Whosoever will” is the answer sent forth from God, and “To as many as received Him [Jesus] to them gave He power to become the sons of God.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.8
Christ’s life in human flesh and death upon the cross redeemed us and made it possible for Him to live in our hearts by faith. Ephesians 3:17. Jesus Christ is the perfect “image of the invisible God.” Colossians 1:15. Therefore when we receive Jesus into our hearts we receive the image of God. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.9
The more we yield ourselves to Him, the deeper and deeper grows His image. The more we think upon Him and view His loveliness and glory, the more we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:18. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.10
Is this glorious transformation taking place in you and me? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.11
“A Living Temple” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
“A wonderful house have I,
That God has made for me,
With windows to see the sky,
And keepers strong and free.
The door has a tuneful harp,
A mill to grind my bread,
And there is a golden bowl,
A beautiful silver thread.”
PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.12
How often we have read or sung these words, and been led to exclaimed, Yes, “It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves,” “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” But how often have we fully realised why God has given us this wonderful house? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.13
Why did God create you and me? Why has He placed us upon this earth? He Himself tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” Again in 1 Corinthians 6:19 we read, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” In Isaiah 43:7 we read, “I have created him for My glory,” and in Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life;” plainer still, in Job 27:3, “All the while my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.14
When man was created, God breathed into him the “breath of life,”—some of His own life, His own Spirit. ‘Tis true He did the same for the beasts, for we read that man and beasts “have all one breath” (Ecclesiastes 3:19), but the Spirit was intended to do more for man than for the beast, for we read that only the man that “understandeth not” is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49:20. He that understands not is he that does not recognise this life as coming from God, and does not honour Him with it, for we read in Job 28:28, “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.15
But when man recognises God’s life in him and also the fact that his body is its temple, and allows it to live its own way in him, it works righteousness in him, even the righteousness of God. And righteousness is life, and the never-changing, eternal life of Christ. When such an one lies down in death, he does not perish as the beasts do, but he merely sleeps in Jesus. His eternal life is untouched, and unharmed, for “his spirit returns to God who gave it,” his “life is hid with Christ in God” until the resurrection morn when it will be restored to him. This is the reason for those words in 1 John 5:12: “He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” The one who does not recognise God’s life in him and allow it to control him in everything, resists its purifying and life-giving power and thus brings eternal death upon himself instead of eternal life. He therefore shall “not see life.” John 3:6. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.16
Now we read in Malachi 3:1, 2, “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple.... But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.17
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand!” oh, in what condition will He find your heart temple and mine? Will He say to us as He did to the priests in Jerusalem,—“My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves”? Is our body “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird?” Is it a temple in ruins, with the lamps extinct, the altar overturned, the mercy seat displaced by a throne for the prince of darkness, the fragrant incense exchanged for a stench, and the order and purity for confusion and filth? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 59.18
God forbid! Let us speedily “sanctify the Lord God in our hearts.” Let us recognise our high calling in Christ Jesus and allow His life which is in us to indeed make us holy temples for the Holy Ghost. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 60.1
“Health” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
Think of the curious set of winding passages in your ear,—some full of air, others of liquid, with their membrances stretched across them like parchment curtains. Study about the hammer and the anvil and the piano-like strings that help to carry the sounds into the innermost chambers of your soul, and see if you do not find something to thank God for. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 60.2
Have you ever stopped to think about the perfectly fitting and self-adjustable curtain that protects your eye? It draws up suddenly when the light is too bright for your eye, and opens wide when the light is too dim. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 60.3
Notice how perfectly your skin is fitted to your body. Lay your hand down flat and see the little folds of skin that are arranged around your knuckles in order to give room for your fingers to bend. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 60.4
Do you know the effects of alcohol and tobacco on your heart and brain? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 60.5
“Man” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” Ecclesiastes 12:1. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.1
This great wonder-ball of earth and water and rocks upon which we live, and which is carpeted with green, and so full of life, was not always here. We have learned that long ago, on the first day, the God of heaven made the heavens and the earth by His word. He just spoke and they were. “And God said, Let there be light and there was light.” On the second day, He spoke, and the firmament with its air and clouds and blue sky was made. On the third day, God said, Let the waters be gathered together, and let the dry land appear, and let the earth bring forth grass, and herbs, and trees; “and it was so.” On the fourth day, He set the sun, moon, and stars in the firmament and made them His light-bearers for the earth. On the fifth day, at His word, the air swarmed with merry birds, and the waters with creatures both great and small. On the sixth day, He formed all beasts and cattle and creeping things. How beautiful, how glorious the earth must have looked! For “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.2
But what is home without a father or mother and the friends we hold so dear? The house may be a palace, the carpets velvet, the mirrors set in gold, and the gardens full of flowers and pots, but if that is all, how empty it seems! It needs someone who can think and use it and feel grateful for all of these things. So with the newly created earth on the sixth day. It was a home more beautiful than words can tell, but it lacked one thing yet,—some one to live in the home who could enjoy it and understand its worth, and who could praise and glorify the bountiful Giver. That is just why God made the earth. He says that He created it not in vain, He formed it to be lived upon by good people. Isaiah 45:18. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.3
Therefore “God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let them have dominion [or become king] over, the fish of the sea, and the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:26. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;” and man lived. And that is the reason that we live, for when God first created that first man He made it possible for us to live; and He gives us our breath and strength every day. He is therefore our Father and Creator as well as his, and we read in the Bible, “It is He [God] that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Psalm 100:3. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.4
On the sixth day, when God first created man, he, like all the other things that God had made, was good. He was taller, stronger, more beautiful, and better in every way, than men now are. The glow of perfect health was on his cheek, and the joys of perfect life in his heart. We shall learn in another lesson how it is man’s own fault that the earth now is full of sickness and sorrow, wickedness and death. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.5
Man was the noblest and the best of all the creatures that God had made. Even now, although so cursed by sin, we see many things for which to thank and praise God. The more you study about the wonderful thinking machine and telegraph office in your head, about the little chords, called nerves, running to all parts of your body like telegraph wires; the more you learn about the music box in your throat, the mill for grinding in your mouth, and the pump that forces blood through all your body; the more you stop to think that God made these wonderfully jointed bones, that perfectly fitting skin and useful tongue, those well protected eyes and ears, and those helpful hands and nimble feet; the more you notice and think about these things the more you will feel like saying, “I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.6
Do not think that you must wait till you are grown to love and praise God for all His goodness. It may be too late then; do it now! Think about Him and His works every day, and love and try to please Him. This is what He says to you in Ecclesiastes 12:1: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.7
1. Of all the balls that you ever saw, which is the largest and most wonderful? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.8
2. Who made this great earth-ball upon which we live? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.9
3. Out of what did He make it? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.10
4. What covered it at first? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.11
5. How do you think it looked when man first saw it? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.12
6. For whom had God prepared this beautiful home? Why? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.13
7. On what day was man, the noblest and best of all the creatures, made? Genesis 1:26-31. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.14
8. Out of what did God form him? And how did He make him live? Genesis 2:7. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.15
9. Who only has this power to make things live? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.16
10. Name some of the ways in which man is better than other creatures that live upon the earth. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.17
11. Since God has made us to know more than the beasts, what does He expect us to do?—To act as though we knew more. If He had wanted us to act like beasts He would have made us beasts. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.18
12. When boys and girls need to be either driven, or tied up and held back, or watched all the time, to keep them from going and doing wrong, and when they kick and bite, are stubborn, and run away, like what beasts are they acting? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.19
13. What does God say about this? Psalm 32:9. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.20
14. Although man knows so much more than the beasts, what does he know when compared with God? Isaiah 55:9. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.21
15. Who gave us our minds and all our skill and wisdom? Who gives us strength to do everything that we do? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.22
16. Then instead of being proud and praising ourselves when we do anything, whom should we praise? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.23
17. Do you need to wait till you grow up to love and praise your Creator? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.24
18. What does He say that you should do now! Ecclesiastes 12:1. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.25
19. Why does He want you to do it now while you are young? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.26
20. Was man at first just as he is now? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.27
21. Whose fault is it that the earth is now full of sickness and sorrow, wickedness and death? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.28
22. When God placed men upon the earth over what did He tell him to be the ruler or king? Genesis 1:28; Psalm 13:4-9. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 61.29
“Health” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
Observe the different ways in which you can move your head. What a wonderfully jointed hinge connects it with the rest of the body! PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.1
Are you acquainted with the workings of the wonderful music box in your throat? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.2
What are your muscles good for? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.3
What harm is there in wearing tight clothing? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.4
What command do we find in 1 Corinthians 10:31? PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.5
“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
-The vine-growers of Belgium purpose establishing markets in London for the cheap sale of grapes. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.6
-Chicago is said to be infested with criminals and tramps to such an extent as to produce almost a reign of terror. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.7
-A severe earthquake shock occurred at Yamagata, in Japan, on Christmas eve, doing considerable damage to property. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.8
-Japan has a population of about 41,089,940, in 7,817,570 families, of whom 20,752,886 were males and 20,837,574 females. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.9
-The steamer Allonby, belonging to Cardiff, has foundered off the Saints in the Bay of Biscay. Eleven of the crew were drowned. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.10
-The situation in Servia is described as very serious owing to the differences existing between the King and Radical party now in office. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.11
-The number of coins struck at the Mint last year was, gold (sovereigns and half-sovereigns), 11,397,502; silver, 45,484,451; bronze, 20,948,527. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.12
-According to the latest intelligence from the Shereefian Court, the Sultan is organising an army to be dispatched against the insurgent Riff tribes. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.13
-Fighting has again broken out in Uganda between the Protestants and the Mohammedans, a number on each side having been killed. There has been a new partition of territory in that country. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.14
-In Paris, the situation in Sicily and in Italy generally, is regarded as of the most critical character, some papers apparently being under the impression that the proclamation of a Republic is possible. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.15
-Terrible distress is reported to exist among the labouring classes of Cadiz and hands of unemployed have been going about the town and the neighbouring villages, pillaging shops and farmhouses. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.16
-The New York State Court of Appeals at Albany (N.Y.) has decided that foreign corporations can legally buy and sail real estate in that State. This decision affects property to the value of $25,000,000. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.17
-Ships entirely laden with cotton have reached the port of Manchester. For the passage of the canal one vessel paid tolls amounting to ?216. One of the earliest consignments was an Egyptian mummy 1,000 years old. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.18
-Advices from St. Petersburg state that certain revelations in connection with the raids on French PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.19
-Anarchists have led to numerous arrests in Russia. The documents indicate some criminal attempt upon the Imperial family. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.20
-A distinct commercial improvement generally throughout the United States is reported. Statements from all points agree that the tide has perceptibly turned in the direction of expansion in all channels of industry. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.21
-A Paris paper has printed a letter from Bangkok, stating that the Siamese in evacuating the left bank of the Mekong pillaged and burned all the villages, and carried off the inhabitants as prisoners to the opposite side of the river. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.22
-According to advices from Honolulu, Queen Liliuokalani is liable to die of heart disease at any moment. Visitors are prohibited, and every precaution is taken to prevent excitement. Threats against the Queen’s life have greatly added to her trouble. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.23
-Reports have come from different quarters of serious disturbance at the Cameroons. The situation appears to become more serious each day, and the Europeans have abandoned their factories owing to the inability of the German authorities to protect them. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.24
-According to a telegram from Ottawa the Canadian Government will entertain the proposal for a fast Atlantic steamship service on the basis of the actual subsidy of ?150,000, and will ask Parliament for the necessary authority. The statutory offer at present is ?100,000. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.25
-A body of about 9,000 Sofas was defeated on Dec. 28 at Gala, in Tonkia, by a detachment of frontier police, consisting of forty men with some native auxiliaries, under the command of Sub-inspector Taylor. Two hundred and fifty of the Sofas were killed, including the Chief Porrekery, their commander. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.26
-Telegrams to hand from Havana report a railway disaster to an express from Matanzas eight miles from Cumanayagua, where it was run into by a heavy freight train, several ears being completely demolished. It was found that thirteen persons were already dead, four more succumbed while being attended by the doctors, and nine others were seriously injured. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.27
-A dispatch from Escalon, in Mexico, states that a disastrous fire, believed to be the result of incendiarism, has occurred at a mining camp in Sierra Mojada. The flames spread with terrible rapidity among the wooden cabins occupied by the miners, and twenty-one men, with several women and children, lost their lives in the conflagration. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.28
-The steel work of the great tower for London at Wembley Park now rises to a height of 150 feet, and it may be completed in the coming spring. London is also to be provided with a gigantic wheel and towers, after the model of the Chicago marvel. The wheel is to be 300 feet high, and have attached to its circumference forty passenger carriages, each to held forty persons. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.29
-Telegrams from Brazil report that several encounters have taken place between the insurgents and loyalists, in which both sides suffered defeats. In a naval engagement near Nictheroy the insurgent vessels were forced to retire with heavy lose, and while an insurgent force was retreating from Bage it was routed, with a loss of 400 killed. In other engagements, however, the insurgents were victorious. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.30
The steamer City of Peking, which has arrived at San Francisco from Hong Kong, brings the details of a disastrous fire that occurred at the large temple in the city of Ningpo on Dec. 8, and resulted in the destruction of the temple and the death of 300 women and children. It appears that while the animal theatrical performance in honour of the gods was being given in the temple a boy threw a lighted cigarette into a heap of straw. In an instant the building was ablaze, with the terrible results mentioned. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 62.31
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
When the angel of God foretold to Zacharias the birth of John the Baptist, Zacharias said, “Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.” Luke 1:18. He did not believe the message, and yet, as we learn from verse 13, he had been praying for the very thing that was promised him. Thus it is with many people: they ask blessings of the Lord, and when His word assures them of those blessings, they refuse to believe. Let every soul believe that whenever he asks according to the will of God he receives. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.1
Even the newly settled and agricultural countries are feeling the Depression and distress of the times. The despatch from the great wheat-growing district of Canada, Manitoba, says, “Never in our history have we experienced such a critical time. Men’s hearts fail them, and many are in want.” “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth,” were the words of Christ descriptive of the last days. It is time for men to lift up their heads and look up, taking hold of something more stable and secure than earthly possessions. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.2
A London daily newspaper remarks:— PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.3
Our ancestors were so sure of many dogmas and doctrines that they tortured or killed the men and women who did not agree with them. Our Puritans, exiled for conscience’ sake, repeated the process across the seas, and persecuted their Dissenters exactly as they had been worried by Churchmen in the old home. In those days it seems impossible for anybody to believe anything without burning somebody for not believing it; it was in that epoch the necessary proof of earnestness. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.4
But no man ever yet condemned another for not accepting Christ as He really is; for he who knows of a surety that Jesus is the Christ has apprehended the spirit of the truth which Jesus uttered in John 12:47: “If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not.” It is only when men set up ways of their own that they usurp the place of judge. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.5
“Fear” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
Fear.-The confession of a tight-rope walker to Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson is that there is “nothing so catching as fear.” He says that expressions of fear by on-lookers are most dangerous to one’s nerve and presence of mind, and adds: “No man in peril ever, by his own wise efforts, rises out of fear.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.6
Christians may learn a lesson from this. Expressions of doubt and fear are disastrous. Fear is catching. If you are afraid, you will make somebody else afraid. And if you think of fear, fear will come. But you cannot cure yourself of fear. The love of God alone can cast out fear. If you trust in that alone you will not be afraid. Isaiah 12:2. “There is no fear in love.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.7
“It Stands Sure” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
It Stands Sure.-An Oxford professor has decided that the Lord’s Supper was not instituted by Christ, and that the account in the Gospels of such institution is an interpolation. This he concludes because the record reads right on without a break, when these accounts are dropped out! If, after the manner of composite photography, we could make the composite “higher critic,” we should doubtless find that the entire record between the lives of the Bible might be dropped out without great loss. No wonder many are exclaiming, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” But the word of God to the righteous is, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.8
“Who Shall Separate Us?” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
Who Shall Separate Us?-It surely betrays a misconception when men speak of looking to Parliament for “the protection of our faith and liberties as by law established.” If it could be established by law, it could be overthrown by law. Faith is the victory that hath overcome the world. What then should we look to man or any combination of men to preserve the faith? No power on earth can help us to acquire or keep it, and none can take the faith in Jesus from us. Neither death, nor life, nor principalities, “nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Look to Him alone. PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.9
“The Difference” The Present Truth 10, 4.
E. J. Waggoner
The Difference.-The Echo has the following comment on the death of the company of English troopers in the Matabele campaign: “We cannot but regret the fate of these young Englishmen, though we could have wished that they had died in a noble cause. They were killed in fight by those whom they were pursuing an order to slay, yet the telegrams declare that they were ‘massacred.’ A massacre is the indiscriminate slaughter of human beings, especially without authority or necessity. Such a term is altogether out of place when applied to men who have invaded a country for the express purpose of despoiling its inhabitants of their lands. When we mow down naked Africans by thousands with Maxim guns, that is a battle; when the natives turn in desperation and kill thirty-four Englishmen, that is a massacre.” PTUK January 25, 1894, page 64.10