The Present Truth, vol. 10
September 27, 1894
“Ready to Forgive” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Ready to Forgive.—“If he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Luke 17:4. We are to forgive even as God has for Christ’s sake forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32); and of God’s readiness to forgive, we read, “Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy to all that call on Thee.” The Lord does not ask us to be more kind in forgiving than He is; therefore we may know that whenever we turn to the Lord, saying, “I repent,” we are forgiven. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 609.1
Faith Needed.-When Jesus told His disciples how ready they should be to forgive, they immediately said to Him, “Increase our faith,” or, Give to us faith. They recognised the fact that it is not in human nature to forgive so freely. It is not so difficult to forgive an occasional offence, provided it is not a very great one; but to forgive a persistent offender,—one who repeats the same injury time after time,—is a rare thing. Without faith it cannot be done. What does faith do?—It lays hold of God’s righteousness, and appropriates it for the forgiveness of our own sins. When our faith makes real to us the fact that God freely forgives us, although we have repeatedly committed the same transgressions against Him, then, and only then, can we be longsuffering with our fellow-men. This instruction with regard to forgiving, therefore, is not simply an admonition, but a wonderful comfort, since it shows us how God forgives us. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 609.2
“‘The Measure of Faith’” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
“The Measure of faith.”-The apostle tells us that “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Note that he does not say a measure of faith, but the measure of faith, indicating that there is but one measure. All men receive the same measure of faith. What is that measure? Two or three texts will show it clearly. “By grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8. The measure of faith, therefore, is the measure of the gift of God’s grace. Now we read that “unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7. Therefore the measure of the gift of faith is the measure of the gift of Christ, who is given without reserve to every man. The faith which the saints have is “the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 609.3
Thinking Soberly.-Now read, “For I say, through the grace given to me, unto every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Romans 12:3. That is, the measure of faith which God has dealt to men, is the only means by which they may be kept from being intoxicated with selfish pride. But that measure is the measure of the gift of Christ. He who keeps the faith thus dealt to him, has Christ dwelling in him in His fulness, so that he is “filled with all the fulness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19. It is impossible for a natural man to do any work and not be proud of it, at least in his own heart. But he who keeps the faith of Jesus, has the same power to enable him to think soberly, by which Christ, the Son of the Highest, dwelt in the flesh as a man, veiling His heavenly glory. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 609.4
“Covetousness Is Idolatry” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
This is plainly declared to be so by the word of God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5. Again, we find the same fact stated in Ephesians 5:5. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 609.5
This being so, the civilised races of the earth have no cause for glorying in this respect over races that bow down before wood and stone. We read also about “idols of silver, and idols of gold” which will in the last great day be cast “to the moles and to the bats.” Isaiah 2:20. These are the idols of the covetous person. A savage idolatry is no worse in the sight of God than a civilised idolatry. It is no worse to violate the first commandment that to break the tenth. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 609.6
Idolatry consists in trusting in some other person or thing than God; and covetousness is simply a more indirect and “reasonable” way of manifesting this false trust than is bowing down to an idol. God is able and willing to do all things for the person who trusts in Him. Therefore there can be no occasion for covetousness; and he who covets thereby shows that he does not trust the Lord. He reaches out after something which is not from the Lord, as though something more than God has given him were necessary to his existence or his happiness, and thereby shows that he does not wholly depend upon God. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 609.7
But to do this is to deny God, for if He be not all-sufficient, He is not God at all. All men are dependent upon God, and on Him alone. To depend upon something else, is to make that thing a god. Whatever we seek, we must seek from the Lord, and when we get any good thing we must recognise it as coming from Him. In this way we recognise God as God, and give Him the glory due unto His name. If we do this, the idolatry of covetousness will find no place in our hearts. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.1
“Esteeming Others Better” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
The only way for a man to love his neighbour as himself, as the law of God commands, is for him to esteem others better than himself, as he is also enjoined by the word of God. And every man can do this if he will be strictly honest with himself; for every man knows more of his own faults than he does of the faults of others. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.2
It is not by exalting poor, frail, erring mortals to some high plain where, in his imagination, he has placed himself, but by putting himself down upon the common level of humanity, and acknowledging himself to be, as the Bible declares, no better than others, that a man can fulfil this seemingly hard requirement. We must descend to the level where God meets man, and that is the level of the cross of Christ, where self dies. And we can descend there by letting that mind be in us which was in Christ, which prompted Him to sacrifice Himself and become “obedient unto death.” Philippians 2:5-8. God will put that mind in us if we will let it come in. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.3
“Ancient Finance” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
The record in Genesis 23. of the purchase of the cave of Machpelah, of Ephron, the Hittite, shows that it was as business-like and definite a transaction as though it had been done in the present commercial age. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.4
“Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named.... four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.5
The long-buried records of the past that are being brought to light by students of Assyriology add interesting facts to what the Scripture tells us of commercial transactions in the ancient days. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.6
Only recently the authorities of the British Museum have placed in the Assyrian Department an ancient weight, of hard polished stone, about four inches high, which was used for weighing silver in ancient Babylonia. The ten lines of the inscription tell us that it was made by Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 605, and that it is exactly copied from the original standard weight, the maneh, authorised by Dungi, King of Babylon, over 2,000 years B.C. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.7
The “current money of the merchant” very probably was weighed according to the Babylonian standard. It was not until later Babylonian times that money was stamped as coin. In Abraham’s day the Hittites seem to have been a thoroughly commercial people, and even after the overthrow of the Hittite empire the Assyrians had, besides their own “royal maneh,” the Hittite standard of the “maneh of Carchemish.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.8
Carchemish was a great trading emporium. Situated in Northern Syria, it was on the highway of traffic between the East and the West, and doubtless profited by the trade of Assyria and the commerce of Phoenicia. The latter country, with which David and Solomon had such intimate business relations also left its mark on the business transactions of the Eastern empires, as shown by Assyrian weights. The bronze lion weights, discovered by Layard in the Palace Nimroud, are also exhibited in the Assyrian Department at the Museum. They are of various sizes, and many are marked by both cuneiform and Phoenician inscriptions, showing that the standard weights were internationally recognised. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.9
The people among whom Abraham lived and preached the Gospel were not a barbarous, unlettered people. The little business transaction recorded in Genesis 23. shows fixed commercial methods. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.10
“The Lord’s Day Again” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
The readers of PRESENT TRUTH will remember an article in the issue of August 23rd, entitled, “A Sunday Memorial,” In which some strictures were made upon a petition circulated by the “Working Men’s Lord’s Day Rest Association,” asking for the closing of museums on Sunday, which was characterised as “The Lord’s Day.” We have received from the Secretary of the above-named Society a reply to our article, and in accordance with his request we publish the letter herewith. It is as follows:— PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.11
SIR,—My attention has been called to an article in your impression of the 23rd ult. in which you refer to this Association, and to the views advocated by its members. In this article you object to sign a memorial against opening museums on Sundays because the memorial “conveys the idea that Sunday is the Lord’s Day,” and to imply that when John said “I was in the Spirit of the Lord’s Day,” he did not refer to “the first day of the week,” the glorious resurrection day of his beloved Lord and Saviour, but to the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment, and you further urge that “the Bible does declare in most explicit terms that the seventh day is ‘the Lord’s Day,’” and in proof you quote the words from the Fourth Commandment “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.12
This construction of John’s words appears to me to be contrary to the truth. John was the most loving of all the disciples. His heart was full of the Saviour. Every circumstance connected with his Lord’s life would be cherished by John, and the day of the resurrection of his Lord and Master would naturally be looked upon by John and the other disciples as the most glorious consummation of the great work of redemption. This resurrection day would stand out with more splendour to John than all other days in the Saviour’s life. It would naturally be hallowed and reverenced more than all other days, because it was the day when their beloved Master was miraculously restored to them after His crucifixion and burial. So much was this resurrection day honoured, that the disciples at once began to meet on that day. As soon as the news spread of Christ’s resurrection, on the same day, in the evening, the disciples assembled and Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be unto you” (John 20:21, 22), and after eight days (on the first day after the seventh day) again the disciples were within and Jesus again stood in their midst, and again said, “Peace be unto you” (John 20:26). Later on we find in Acts 20:7 that “upon the first day of the week the disciples came together to break bread” and “Paul preached unto them:” and Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians, chap. 16. verses 1, 2, clearly shows that the Christians met on the resurrection day: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, upon the first day of the week [the resurrection day] let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 610.13
Now we urge, that with all those facts fully before him-the resurrection, the regular meetings of the disciples on the first day, the repeated appearance of the Saviour to them in their assemblies on the first day, the preachings and collections on the first day,—it was nothing but natural for John the loving disciple to refer to this day as “The Lord’s Day,” and it would be a forced and unnatural construction of the passage to say that John referred to the Sabbath of the Decalogue, when he said “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” His mind was brimful of the Lord, and the Lord’s resurrection day was undoubtedly to him “The Lord’s Day.” This is the common sense view of the passage in question, and the practice of Christians from the resurrection to the present day, supported by the opinions of theologians, confirms this view. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.1
From the very day of the resurrection the observance of the first day by Christians was as Dr. Scott says “gradually and silently introduced by example rather than by express precept.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.2
Christians readily admit that the example of the Apostles in other matters relating to the Christian life should be our guide, and why not on this question of the Lord’s Day. Although we call our Sabbath Lord’s Day, it still comes to us every seventh day; we still set apart a seventh portion of our time. Our forefathers before Christ kept the seventh-day Sabbath because “on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day for all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made” (Genesis 2:2, 3). The Creation Sabbath celebrated the completion of creation. The Christian Sabbath celebrated the completion of Christ’s work of redemption. Thus we have the Creation Sabbath and the Christian Sabbath beautifully blended in that glorious resurrection day which in honour of our Lord God and Saviour we call the Lord’s Day. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.3
Another point in the article referred to merits notice. The writer says “these Sunday Associations are carried on largely by men who do not engage in mental labour for a living. The real working men are not very much concerned about having Sunday observance established by law.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.4
The Sabbath rest was not appointed by God solely for the benefit of men who work at manual labour. Brain workers need the rest of the Lord’s Day as well as limb workers. But it is not true that the working men of the country are indifferent to this question. “The Parliament of labour” called The Trades Union Congress has on five different occasions passed resolutions in favour of protecting their much valued day of rest from the encroachments of labour. Mr. Henry Broadhurst M.P., by trade a mason, when resisting the opening of museums on Sunday said, “It is in the interests of labour that we should keep the Sunday as free and as fully relieved from the Associations of labour as it is possible for us to do;” 213 of the leading trade unionists of this country signed the following petition to Directors of the Chicago Exhibition: “We the undersigned feeling the national importance of preserving the Sunday as a day of rest from labour for all classes desire to express our hope that the Columbian Exhibition may be closed on the day of rest.” No less than 2,412 Working Class Organisations having more than 501,000 members, supported Mr. Broadhurst M.P. in his successful resistance to the Sunday labour which would be caused by the opening of museums on the rest day, Mr. Benjamin Pickard M.P., a miner by trade, and the leader of some 300,000 miners, said at a great meeting of the Working Men’s Lord’s Day Rest Associaiton in May, 1885, “I believe everyone in this vast assembly is of one opinion that the Sabbath day which we now have and enjoy we shall rigidly maintain against all opponents. As far as the working man is concerned I believe it would be a serious matter for him if the days of labour were increased to seven.” Let me give one more (out of many) authority on this branch of the controversy. Mr. Gladstone in a letter to M. Leon Say, the French Minister of Commerce, on September, 1889, wrote, “It seems to me unquestionable that the observance of Sunday rest has taken deep root both in the convictions and the habits of the immense majority of my countrymen. If it appears to many of them a necessity of spiritual and Christian life, others not less numerous defend it with equal energy as a social necessity. The working class is extremely jealous of it, and is opposed not merely to its avowed abolition, but to whatever might indirectly tend to that result. Personally, I have always endeavoured as far as circumstances have allowed, to exercise this privilege, and now nearly at the end of a laborious public career of nearly fifty-seven years I attribute in great part to that cause the prolongation of my life and the preservation of the faculties I may still possess. As regards the masses the question is still more important; it is the popular question par excellence.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.5
I am, Sir, PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.6
Your obedient servant, PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.7
CHARLES HILL, Secretary. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.8
Absence from the city, making it necessary that the letter should be forwarded to me on the Continent, has prevented an earlier publication of it. In PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.9
OUR REJOINER
which follows, we shall, in order to avoid circumlocution or the repetition of proper names, use the correct address, so that the article may be considered as a friendly letter in response to the one from Mr. Hill. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.10
Beginning with the last portion of the letter, I would say that the question is not as to the value of a weekly rest day. There are just two points at issue, and these are, (1) What is the Lord’s day? and (2) Should the Lord’s day be the subject of legal enactments? Let us keep these points clearly before us. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.11
I note the citation from Mr. Gladstone, and think that it is as good testimony as is needed against asking the Government to take any action regarding Sunday. It is so conclusive that I will repeat a portion of it. He says:— PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.12
It seems to me unquestionable that the observance of Sunday rest has taken deep root both in the convictions and the habits of the immense majority of our countrymen. If it appears to many of them a necessity of spiritual and Christian life, others not less numerous defend it with equal energy as a social necessity. The working-class is extremely jealous of it, and is opposed not merely to its avowed abolition, but to whatever might indirectly tend to that result. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.13
If this is true, what possible necessity can there be for a law to prevent its being used as a working day? Do you say that it is needed to prevent capitalists or Government officials who might be indifferent to the wishes of the labouring class, from exacting labour on that day? If so, I ask, What difference does it make how little employers regard the Sunday rest, if the employés are opposed to working? If they refuse to work on Sunday, that settles the matter. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.14
You say that the labouring men are afraid to go contrary to the wishes of their employers in respect to Sunday work, lest they should lose their places? Then what becomes of your argument that the great body of working men are opposed to Sunday work? There certainly would be no danger of their losing their places unless as many men were working and anxious to work on Sunday. There is a plain inconsistency here. If the majority of working men are, either conscientiously or otherwise, opposed to Sunday labour, there is no need of a law forbidding them to work. For no matter how much capital a man has, he is powerless if labouring men refuse to work. They have the matter absolutely in their own hands. But if they are willing or anxious to work on Sunday when opportunity offers, then it is clearly unjust to forbid them so to do. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.15
THE BETTER WAY
In Paris, the Syndicated Grocers have been brought to engage to close their shops on Sunday, only, however, as a trial, “M. Leon Say, in congratulating the League on this victory, advised them never to ask the State to help them. State help was a remedy that often killed where it meant to cure. The recent legislation to limit the hours for the employment of women, was depriving them of work. It was better to gain one’s object by transforming habits and ideas than by rigid laws, the working of which was sure to oppress.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.16
This is quoted from the religious paper, which says, “the movement may not, at present, have much connection with evangelical religion, but it must be favourable to it.” This points to the fact that the ultimate result, if not the object, of all Sunday legislation, of whatever character, is the advancement of religion, and not a mere social well-being. And who needs to be told that true evangelical religion cannot be advanced by human laws? Even from a social point of view, M. Leon Say advises the working men not to ask the State for help, as it will be a disadvantage to them. How much more must this be the case with religion? From whatever point of view we look at it, therefore, we see that there is really no need of any legislative action being taken in the matter. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 611.17
REPRESENTATIVE SIGNATURES
I am sorry that you forgot to explain the matter of representative signatures. Your petition asks signers to state what society they represent, and how many members it has, and also to state whether they sign it officially or in their individual capacity. Now it must be evident that such representation may result in very much misrepresentation. Thus, the chief officer of some society may sign the petition, stating that the society which he “represents” has five hundred members. Then his signature will be counted as five hundred. Yet the matter may never have been brought before the society. In that case there is clear misrepresentation, although he may not have intended to misrepresent, but may have followed the directions of the memorial without thought. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.1
Again, the petition may have been brought before a meeting of the society, and endorsed by a majority vote. Now if there were any votes at all against it, it is clear that it is a misrepresentation to count the whole five hundred members in favour of it. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.2
Further, it is very seldom that all the members of any society are present at any regular meeting, or even at a meeting specially called. Therefore even if the vote in favour of the petition were unanimous, it would still be a misrepresentation of the truth to count the entire membership as having endorsed it. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.3
Still further, the petition may be signed by several officers of a society, each of whom will sign it “officially,” and will therefore state that he “represents” so many hundred members. It was thus that, in petitions concerning one matter to which you refer-the Sunday closing of the World’s Fair in Chicago-more people were counted as having signed in one or two States than the entire population of the States, by some million or two. It is evident, therefore, that this signing of memorials “officially,” gives no true idea whatever of the actual sentiments of the people. It is in this way that sentiment is “made” in favour of Sunday laws. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.4
In attention to this, I wish to repeat what I said in my former article, that I have not the slightest thought of imputing any wrong motives to your Association. Your attention has doubtless before been called to the fact that not only may unscrupulous people take advantage of such petitions, but that it is absolutely impossible to ascertain the true sentiments of the people by such “representation.” It is more than probable that your figures would be very much modified if no one spoke for anyone except himself. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.5
“DISTINGUISHED THEOLOGIANS”
All this, however, does not touch the real point at issue, namely, What day is the Lord’s day? This is to be decided by the plain statements of the Bible. “Distinguished Theologians” are no authority whatever here. We do not ask what somebody thinks, but what the Bible says. When we read a plain statement in the Bible, we do not ask to have it interpreted. It must be allowed to stand for just what it says. The Bible is the word of God, and it must be allowed that the Holy Spirit has at least as good command of language as any man. Therefore God is able to express His will in terms so clear that they need no interpretation. As Protestants we acknowledge no Pope, to stand between us and God’s word. A child may understand the Bible as well as a Doctor of Divinity, because it interprets itself. Jesus said, “I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Matthew 11:25. The reason why they are revealed to babes rather than to the wise and prudent, is that children take the Bible as it reads, without trying to find some other than the apparent meaning. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.6
NO CONSTRUCTION
The Apostle John says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” There is no construction to be put on these words. They must be taken as a simple statement of fact. They do not define anything as to the day. How shall we find out what that day is? Shall it be by the Bible, or by the custom of men? It is not a question for sentiment or emotion. To say that it evidently refers to the first day of the week, because it is generally so regarded, is to beg the question entirely. We are not to inquire what people think or do, in order to know what the Bible means, but we are to inquire what the Bible says, in order to learn what people ought to think and do. Let it be noted that in what follows we do not put any construction on any text, nor draw any inference. Every text stands for just what it says, and no more. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.7
SEVENTH DAY, LORD’S DAY
Does the Bible anywhere say that the first day of the week is the Lord’s day? It certainly does not. This is a question that anybody who can read can settle for himself. You yourself do not claim that it does. You simply say that “it would naturally be hallowed,” that it “would naturally be looked upon by John,” etc. Such important questions as this are not to be settled so lightly. It is not what we may think would be natural under any circumstances, but what the Bible says, that must determine the matter. The question is, Has God anywhere in the Bible said that the first day of the week is the Lord’s day? The answer must always be, No. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.8
Again, the Lord spoke by the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah, seven hundred years before Christ. No one questions the fact that at that time the seventh day of the week was regarded as the Sabbath by all people who worshipped only the one true God. At that time the Lord spoke of the Sabbath distinctly as “My holy day.” Isaiah 58:13. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.9
Still further, on one occasion Jesus was upbraided by the Pharisees for allowing His disciples to pluck and eat corn on the Sabbath day. There is no question as to what day the Pharisees called the Sabbath. It was the seventh day of the week. Jesus showed that His disciples were guiltless, and said, “The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.” Matthew 12:8. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.10
Here then we have three separate and distinct Scripture texts showing that the seventh-day Sabbath is the Lord’s day. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.11
Now let it be remembered that the Scriptures did not come by the will of man: “but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21. The Apostle John wrote by the same Spirit. This must be admitted, or else all that he wrote is discredited, for he says, “I was in the Spirit.” We have not to ask what John’s ideas or natural conclusions might have been, for we are not dealing with a human production. We are dealing with the words of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures show us that the Holy Spirit calls the seventh-day Sabbath the Lord’s day. Therefore that must settle the matter. Whenever the Spirit may mention the Lord”s day, we know what is meant. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 612.12
“THE SAME DAY”
Although the Scriptures given above are conclusive, I will yet notice your arguments for the Sunday. Speaking of the first day of the week, you say:— PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.1
So much was this resurrection day honoured, that the disciples at once began to rest on that day. As soon as the news spread of Christ’s resurrection, on the same day, in the evening, the disciples assembled, and Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said, “Peace be unto you.” John 20:21, 22. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.2
Let us see about this. There is considerable said about that first day, and it will pay us to study it. If the day of the resurrection of Christ is to be observed as the Sabbath, we ought to find some statement to that effect. If in the mention of the day we find no hint that it should be observed, then we may be permitted to disregard it. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.3
We have the statement that “the same day at evening,” Jesus appeared to the disciples as they were together. Now let us read further about that day. In the last chapter of Luke we read that very early in the morning of that first day, certain women came to the sepulcher and found it open, and were told by two angels that Jesus was risen, and were also reminded of His words before His crucifixion. “And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.” Luke 24:8-11. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.4
Afterwards, as Mary Magdalene lingered about the sepulchre, Jesus appeared to her, and she believed. “And she went and told them that had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that He was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.” Mark 16:9-11. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.5
As yet we have not found much encouragement for believing that they began at once to celebrate Christ’s resurrection by keeping the first day. Let us look further. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.6
Returning to the last chapter of Luke, we find in verses 13-35 the account of His appearing to two of the disciples as they went into the country. They did not believe that He was risen, and did not recognise Him. He explained to them the Scriptures concerning Himself, and finally consented to stop with them when they reached their home, as it was almost night. Then as they sat at supper, He was made known to them. He at once disappeared, and they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem, and told the other disciples that they had seen Him. Read the entire account, which I have summarised to save space. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.7
Now turn to the reference to this affair in the book of Mark. Here it is: “After that He appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue; neither believed they them.” Mark 16:12, 13. This was near the close of that same first day, yet the disciples did not believe that Jesus was risen. Then of course they were not celebrating His resurrection. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.8
The record in Mark continues: “Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen.” Mark 16:14. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.9
This was “the same day at evening,” as recorded by John. In Luke we learn that it was while the two were still telling how they had seen Him. “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.” Luke 24:36-42. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.10
Now what have we as the sum of the whole matter?—Simply this: With the exception of Mary Magdalene, none of the disciples believed that Christ was risen until near the close of that first day of the week. When it was nearly night He was recognised by two of them as they sat at supper, and they returned to Jerusalem, a distance of several miles, and found the apostles at supper, and told them that they had seen the Lord. But the apostles did not believe them. Then while they were still talking about it, Jesus appeared unto them, and with difficulty convinced them that He was indeed risen. As final proof, He asked them for something to eat, and they gave Him a portion of their meal. In Acts 1:13 we learn that they all lived together; so we know how they came to be assembled. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.11
A POINT TO BE NOTED
The phrase, “The first day of the week” occurs but eight times in the New Testament. Of these eight times six refer to the day of the resurrection, the day of which we have just been reading. But instead of any intimation being given that it was to be regarded as the Lord’s day, and to be kept in honour of the resurrection, they are simply used to give us the information that the disciples did not believe in the resurrection. You see, my dear friend, how uncertain a thing inference is. You inferred that the disciples were celebrating the resurrection; the facts are, as seen by the plain statements of Scripture, that they were eating their supper when Jesus appeared to them, and did not believe that He was risen. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.12
But while these references to the resurrection day afford no support to the theory that Sunday is the Lord’s day, they do offer positive testimony as to the day of the Sabbath. In Mark (Acts 16:1) we read that when the women came to the sepulchre very early in the morning of the first day of the week, “the Sabbath was past.” Matthew’s record says that they prepared their gifts on the preparation day, and “rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment,” and then came to the sepulchre on the first day of the week. Luke 23:54-56; 14:1. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.13
Now note, (1) That the Sabbath day is the day before the first day of the week. (2) That the day immediately before the first day of the week, is “the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” (3) That no matter how early we rise on the morning of the first day of the week, we shall be too late to find the Sabbath, because it is then passed. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 613.14
And note further, as the most important point of all, that these words that we have quoted are the words of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament, to say nothing of the Old was written for the church of Christ. It was written years after the resurrection and ascension of our Lord. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore the language that it uses, is the language that Christians ought to use. Years after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit referred to the seventh day of the week as “the Sabbath,” as distinguished from the first day of the week. There can therefore be no question among those who recognise the authority of the Holy Spirit, that the seventh day and not the first is the Sabbath. If the seventh day had ceased to be the Sabbath, then the Holy Spirit, in words written years afterward, would not have called it the Sabbath. Some intimation would have been given that a change was made. The whole question is reduced simply to this: Shall we follow the New Testament or not? PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.1
“THE EIGHTH DAY”
Again I quote from your letter:— PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.2
After eight days (or, the first day after the seventh day) again His disciples were within, and Jesus again stood in their midst, and again said, “Peace be unto you.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.3
Can you tell me where you found your new method of reckoning? And what authority have you for making that addition to the Scripture? There are but seven days in a week. Then how can Sunday be both the first day and the eighth? PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.4
But did you not notice that the Scripture says nothing even about the eighth day? It says, “after eight days.” After eight days from when? Why, from the time just mentioned,—the day of the resurrection. Now please take a calendar and begin to count the days of the week. Remember that the first day of the week is past, so that it cannot be counted. Now count eight days. I will go over them with you. Monday (1), Tuesday (2), Wednesday (3), Thursday (4), Friday (5), Saturday (6), Sunday (7), Monday (8). There we have the eight days. But the Bible says, “after eight days.” Therefore the next meeting could not have been before the next Monday night, and might have been later. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.5
SUNDAY COLLECTIONS
I see that you make the common inference from 1 Corinthians 16:2, namely, that the apostle there enjoins that when the people assembled on the first day of the week they should take up a collection. Shall we not read the verse, and see if it says anything of the kind? “Upon the first day of the week let everyone of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.6
This says nothing about a meeting on the first day of the week. Neither does it say anything about collections. It says, “Let every one of you lay by him in store.” But when a man goes to church and drops a penny or six pence in the box, he does not lay anything by him. Each one was to lay something by him, and keep it in store until Paul should come, when he would take it to Jerusalem. There is no hint that they were to go to meeting at all. The only certain thing is that they were to be at home when they laid their offering by in store. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.7
So far as I know, there are no people in the world who obey this injunction of the apostle except those who keep the seventh day of the week. I am sure that as a general thing those who keep the first day do not regard it. But, as a rule, Seventh-day Adventists do obey the injunction. “First-day offerings,” is a common expression among them. They do not ordinarily go to meetings on that day, but it is a practice among them, among other business done on the first day of the week, to lay by a certain sum for the poor, and for general missionary purposes. Each one lays it by him, and keeps it in store until some appointed time as the apostle directed. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.8
APOSTOLIC EXAMPLE
You say that we should follow the example of the apostles. Well, we have examined every occurrence of the term “first day of the week,” with only one exception, and have found not the slightest hint that it was regarded by them as in the least degree sacred. There is in whole Bible, just one solitary case of a meeting on the first day of the week, and that is the case recorded in the twentieth chapter of Acts. We might let this pass without any comment, because the fact that the disciples met once on the first day of the week proves nothing. Those who keep the Sabbath often have meetings on the first day of the week. In fact, I myself am accustomed to preach every Sunday night; yet I do not keep the day, but spend nearly the whole of it at work. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.9
But the facts must be told even here, and they are that according to the Bible reckoning, that night meeting on the first day of the week, must have been on what we commonly call Saturday night. If it had been on the night following the first day of the week, it would have been on the second day of the week, because the first day, like all others, begins and ends at sunset. It was the closing meeting of a week’s series, and Paul was about to depart on the following morning, namely, Sunday morning. This fact is recognised and treated as a matter of course by Coneybear and Howson in their “Life and Epistles of the Apostle Paul.” Of this event we read:— PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.10
The labours of the early days of the week that were spent at Troas are not related to us, but concerning the last day we have a narrative which enters into details with all the minuteness of one of the Gospel histories. It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail. The Christians of Troas were gathered together at this solemn time to celebrate that feast of love which the last commandment of Christ has enjoined on all His followers.... Many lamps were burning in the room where the congregation was assembled. The place was hot and crowded. Paul, with the feeling strongly impressed on his mind that the next day was the day of his departure, and that souls might be lost by delay, was continuing in earnest discourse, and prolonging it even till midnight, when an occurrence suddenly took place which filled the assembly with alarm, though it was afterward converted into an occasion of joy and thanksgiving.... PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.11
The act of holy communion was combined, as was usual in the apostolic age, with a common meal; and Paul now took some refreshment after the protracted labour of the evening, and then continued his conversation until the dawning of the day. It was now time for the congregation to separate. The ship was about to sail, and the companions of Paul’s journey took their departure to go on board. It was arranged, however, that the apostle himself should join the vessel at Assos, which was only about twenty miles distant by the direct route, while the voyage round Cape Lactrin was nearly twice as far... There may have been other reasons why he lingered at Troas after his companions, but the desire for solitude was doubtless one reason among others. The discomfort of a crowded ship is unfavourable for devotion, and prayer and meditation are necessary for maintaining the religious life even of an apostle. The Saviour to whose service he was devoted had often prayed in solitude on the mountain, and crossed the brook Kedron to kneel under the olives of Gethsemane. And strength and peace were sorely sought and obtained by the apostle from the Redeemer, as he pursued his lonely road that Sunday afternoon in spring among the oak woods and the streams of Ida. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.12
I might mention the fact that there is a record of many meetings on the Sabbath, but will content myself with giving some references. Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 17:2; 18:4. These speak of Paul’s preaching “every Sabbath,” and that not only to Jews, but the Gentiles as well. And moreover we are told that it was Paul’s manner to do so. What a grand thing it would be for the Sunday cause if something like that could be found about the first day of the week. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 614.13
But we make no argument for the Sabbath from the fact that there were many meetings held by the disciples on that day. The Sabbath rests on the commandment of Jehovah, and nothing can add to that. It is worthy of note, however, that in every case the Holy Spirit, by whose inspiration the book of Acts was written, calls the day on which the Jews were accustomed to assemble, “the Sabbath.” The fact that the Holy Spirit calls it the Sabbath, is sufficient evidence that it is the Sabbath. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.1
CHRIST’S EXAMPLE
Of more importance than anything else is the example of our Lord. He left us an example, that we should follow in His steps. 1 Peter 2:21. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” 1 John 2:6. Now what do we read of Him? “He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” Luke 4:16. The Spirit of the Lord was upon Him also. Like John, He was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.2
Still further we read His words, “I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” John 15:10. And again He says of the law, “I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.” Matthew 5:17. How did He fulfil it?—Just as He said, by keeping it, the fourth commandment included. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.3
Now there is not the slightest question in the mind of anyone that the day which Christ kept when He was on earth as a man, was the seventh day of the week, and that He never kept any other day. Then if we walk as He walked, we shall also keep the same day. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.4
“SAVED BY HIS LIFE”
This is not a matter to be lightly passed over. The Apostle Paul wrote that being reconciled to God, “we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10. There is no other means by which we can be saved, for there is no righteousness in our own lives. It is by His obedience alone that we can be made righteous. Romans 5:19. But His obedience included obedience to the fourth commandment, which requires the observance of the seventh day. Therefore we must submit to let Him live that same obedience in us. It will not do to say that it was as a Jew that Christ kept the seventh day. The only life that He lived on this earth in the flesh was as a Jew. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.5
The fact that it was before His resurrection does not affect the case, because all the record that we have of His life was before the resurrection. We are to be saved by His life, and Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8. His life before the crucifixion was as perfect as any other part of His life. It is recorded for our example. Who dare say that anybody is wrong for doing just as Christ did when on earth? and who dare say that anybody is right in doing what He did not do? PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.6
A QUESTION OF THE GOSPEL
This is not a mere controversy concerning days, but is a question as to the proper understanding and acceptance of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whatever has to do with the life of Christ, has to do with the Gospel. It is not through indifference to the Gospel, nor to the glory of the cross of Christ, nor to the power and glory of His resurrection that we plead for the observance of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Quite the contrary. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation unto everyone that believeth. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. The law of God is righteousness, and the work of the Gospel is to save men from sin to the obedience of the law of God. God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” Romans 8:3, 4. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.7
THE CROSS AND CREATION
The Gospel is the preaching of the cross, for Paul says that he was sent to preach the Gospel, but not with human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. Then he adds, “for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:17, 18. It is therefore the Gospel, for the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1:16. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.8
Ever since creation, the power of God is seen in the things that are made. Romans 1:20. The power of God is creative power. The evidence of His greatness, and of His superiority to other gods, is that He is Creator. “For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens.” Psalm 96:5. “The Lord is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting King; ... The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His direction.” Jeremiah 10:10-12. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.9
We have redemption through the blood of Christ, because in Him were all things created, and in him all things consists. Colossians 1:14-17. All things were created in Christ, because in Him is life. John 1:14-17. All things were created in Christ, because in Him is life. John 1:1-4. We have redemption in Him, through His blood, because the blood is the life (Leviticus 17:11-14), and we are saved by His life. It was by the power of His life that He created all things. Note therefore these points:— PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.10
1. Christ, the Word, is God. John 1:1. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.11
2. The power of Christ is the power to create. His power is seen in the things that He has made. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.12
3. The power of Christ is the power of an endless life. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.13
4. The cross of Christ is the power of God, because it represents the life of Christ, which was poured out upon it. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.14
5. Therefore the power of the cross of Christ is creative power. So that in keeping the Sabbath, the memorial of creation, we are celebrating redemption, which we have through Christ’s blood. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 615.15
6. That the power of the cross is creative power, is shown by the two following texts: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; all things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, 18. “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 September 27, 1894, page 616.1
THE CROSS AND THE SABBATH
Since the power of the cross is the power of creation, it is evident that the memorial of creation is the sign also of the power of the Redeemer. For Christ redeems by His power as Creator. But it is the seventh day, and not the first, that is given as the memorial of creation. And it is the seventh-day Sabbath of which God says that it is the sign of salvation. Thus, “I gave them My Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and the, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Ezekiel 20:12. It is in Christ that we have sanctification. 1 Corinthians 1:30. The Sabbath makes us know His power as Sanctifier, because it is His day, the day which celebrates His creative power by which He redeems and sanctifies. Many people have proved the fact that the keeping of the Sabbath is the bearing of the cross. But since it is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ that they find in it, they can glory in it. It brings blessing to them. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.2
CHRIST AND THE LAW
These are the words of Christ, through the Holy Spirit, “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.” Psalm 40:7, 8. Out of the heart are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23. Therefore the life that proceeds from Jesus Christ, by which we are saved, is the perfection of the law. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.3
Christ kept the law just as it was given from Sinai. It was in His heart, and was His very life. When He hung upon the cross, His heart was pierced by the Spirit of the Roman soldier, and therefrom flowed blood and water. In that stream His life flowed out for us and all mankind. But we remember that His life was the law. Thus we learn that the cross of Christ is for the purpose of conveying to us the righteousness of the law. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.4
BLENDING DAYS TOGETHER
You say, “We have the creation Sabbath and the Christian Sabbath beautifully blended in that glorious resurrection day.” The Bible nowhere warrants any such distinction as the creation Sabbath and the Christian Sabbath, but I pass that to notice the idea of the two days blending. It is really wonderful how elastic the first day of the week is. It is the first day of the week, and is professedly kept in honour of the resurrection of Christ on that day. Then when we quote the fourth commandment, which says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” you exclaim, Oh, the first day of the week is the seventh day, easily enough. And at the same time it is the eighth! Why not have it the second, third, fourth, etc., as well? PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.5
SUNDAY AND THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Do you mean seriously to say that the keeping of Sunday is an act of obedience to the fourth commandment? Can you keep a commandment to observe the seventh day by observing the first? If so, why will not the rule work the other way as well? Thus, the law of the State forbids labour on Sunday, the first day of the week. Would you admit that I am obeying that law by resting on the seventh day, and working on Sunday? Would the Government listen for a moment to any such plea? You must answer, No, in both instances. If human laws were allowed to be juggled with in that way, there would be an end of all law. Why will you deal with the law of God as you would not dream of dealing with the law of men? PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.6
I notice that you agree with Dr. Scott that the observance of Sunday was “slowly and gradually introduced, by example rather than by express precept.” Yet you say that the observance of the first day is in obedience to the fourth commandment. Now which position do you mean to hold to? If Sunday keeping fulfils the fourth commandment, then it came in by express precept. But if there is no express precept for Sunday observance, then it is in opposition to the law of God. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.7
If Sunday observance is required by the fourth commandment, then it must have been required from the beginning. For a law cannot mean anything different after the lapse of years than it did at first, unless its words are changed. But the words of the fourth commandment have not been changed, and we have the authority of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to the effect that it did mean from the beginning the seventh day, in distinction from the first day of the week. Therefore it means the same to-day. Until within 300 years, nobody ever thought of defending Sunday observance by the fourth commandment. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.8
HUMAN LAW AGAINST DIVINE LAW
As to the second proposition, Should the Lord’s day be the subject of legal enactments? there is really no need of any argument. It is only when men suppose that Sunday is the Lord’s day, that they think it necessary to make laws establishing or “protecting” it. The reason is, that since the Lord Himself has given no precept commanding Sunday observance, which you admit, they have no other way of upholding it but by human laws. But as soon as they see that the seventh day is the Lord’s day, they are relieved of all anxiety concerning the day, because it would be the height of presumption for man to add a law to that of Jehovah. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.9
With this I will close. I have given this much space to the question because it is important. If it were a matter to be settled arbitrarily, then a few words would have been sufficient. But it can only be settled by the word of God and therefore the attention of the people must be called to that word, so that they can determine their duty for themselves, without depending upon theologians. When men realise that the law of the Lord is of more importance than any human law, then the issue will be clear. When they know that they cannot lightly juggle with its words, calling the first the seventh, then they will see that the question whether Sunday or the seventh day of the week shall be observed, is simply the question of whether the commandments of God shall be obeyed or rejected. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.10
“The Middle Ages Upon Us” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
It is a common idea that the superstitions of the Middle Ages could never have flourished in an age of enlightenment and general knowledge like the present. It is true that ignorance was the parent of the medi?val superstitions, but it was ignorance of God. The advancement of general knowledge in this century is no barrier to superstition where there is ignorance of the Gospel. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.11
This is shown by the rapid increase of superstitious practices in our own day. The shrines of “saints” were never more patronised, and the demand for relics and all the kindred mummery seems to increase from year to year. In France Lourdes draws its thousands, and in Britain St. Winifrede’s Well, in Flintshire, has done the same this summer. Across the water, in Canada, the worship of the shrine of St. Anne has been as grossly idolatrous as anything in the centre of Africa. A writer who is often contributed to our columns describes it as follows:— PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.12
Should Paul come forth from his grave and visit the shrine of “Good St. Anne of Beaupre,” near the city of Quebec, Canada, his spirit would again be stirred within him as “he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.” He would not see the “temple of the great goddess Diana,” but the temple of the “valiant,” “invincible,” “holy,” “blessed,” “glorious St. Anne,” the “Mother of the Queen of Angels,” “Mother of the Mother of God.” Instead of hearing Demetrius and his fellow-craftsmen shouting for “the space of two hours,” “Great is Diana of the Ephesians,” he would find the people saying day and night, “O good, O glorious, O pious, O merciful, O incomparable Mother Anne.” Instead of beholding the people prostrate before the shrine of the “goddess Diana,” he would see them kneeling before a gilded statue of “St. Anne,” imploringly saying, “Grant, O Good St. Anne, that henceforth I may show myself more worthy of thee, so that, one day, I may be united to thee in heaven.” He would see the people crowding the marts of the church buying, not the “Holy Scriptures, which,” as Paul wrote to Timothy, “are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,” but memorial beads, rings, and chains, medals, books, and images of “Good St. Anne,” with which, through faith in St. Anne, they hoped for protection from the ills of this life, and “eternal glory through her intercession.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 616.13
All this idolatry is practised by the church claiming to be Christian, to be “the only true church,” the “spouse of Christ,” the “holy Catholic Church.” When the servant of God raises his voice against such apostasies, as of old, its votaries are “full of wrath,” “the whole city is filled with confusion,” and, as in the case of the Baptist mission at Quebec on August 7, the servant is stoned and the house of worship wrecked by a Roman Catholic mob. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 617.1
“The Commerce of Solomon” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Solomon formed a trading partnership with Hiram, king of Tyre, of Phoenicia, and they did a business which would not be called small even in these days, when steamships are on every sea. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 621.1
The Phoenicians were the great seafaring people of ancient times, and their ships brought wealth to Tyre from far distant lands. They were skilled in the manufacture of all kinds of goods, getting materials from one country and making it up into articles to be sold by their merchants in another. They provided the fir and cedar trees for the great temple which Solomon built in Jerusalem, and also sent the skilled workmen to do the finest of the work in wood and metal. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 621.2
We are told that Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, on the shore of the Red Sea. This was a good port from which to send ships to Arabia, India, and all countries round the Indian Ocean. “And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to King Solomon.” 1 Kings 9:27, 28. In our money this would make over four million pounds sterling. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 621.3
Then Solomon joined with Hiram of Tyre in trading with the West. He “had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram.” This was on the Mediterranean Sea; and “once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing “gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” They doubtless got gold and silver from the mines of Spain and Northern Africa, and they found on the African coast the elephants tusks of ivory, and the apes and peacocks. They went out through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic, and traded up and down the west coast of Africa, and in later centuries even rounded the Cape and sailed up the East coast. We know also that the Phoenician fleets came as far as England, and from the tin and lead mines of Cornwall and the Scilly Isles they got much-needed metals which they could exchange very profitably with countries where gold was a drug in the market. “Gold for brass,” the rate of exchange in some places. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 621.4
“Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffic of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia.” The amount of gold named is over six and a half million pounds. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.1
“So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.” It was for the latter that he was most famous. “And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his heart.” God prospered him to show him how much he depended upon Him for everything; but like so many whom God helps, he began to be proud of his might, and departed from the right way in his later years. All the riches and glory that the earth could pour into his treasury could not make up for the loss of purity and righteousness, and so it was that Christ said of the lily of the field, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.2
“Tobacco, Alcohol, and Microbes” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Because alcohol and tobacco kill insects and some germs, some users of these drugs have thought they would find them a safeguard against the microbes of disease. However, the fact that nicotine, or tobacco, will kill insects as quickly as it does, is hardly a reason why we should inhale it. The best safeguard in the midst of disease is a healthy body, and neither alcohol nor tobacco have elements capable of assisting in the building up of some tissue or the making of good blood. And further, according to the findings of investigators, tobacco predisposes to tuberculosis instead of destroying the germs of the disease. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.3
“M. Tusseau recently reported (Lyon Med.) three cases of tuberculosis of the tonsils, in all three of which the patients have been addicted to the very free use of both alcohol and tobacco. The reporter expressed the opinion that the free use of both alcohol and tobacco is a predisposing cause of a tuberculosis infection of the tonsils. In one case in which the disease was cured, by thorough cauterisation of the tonsils, the patient, an innkeeper, remained well for some little time, but on resuming his bad habits was again attacked by tuberculosis, and died of the disease, which became general. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.4
“In still another case the local disease was cured, but the patient, a soldier, continued his bad habits, and a few months later died from a return of the malady. These observations afford the best possible evidence against the theory that tobacco is in any way advantageous as a germicide. Of all the various pathogenic microbes which attack the body, those of tuberculosis are perhaps the most easily destroyed, yet the antiseptic quality of tobacco, even when used to a great excess, as in the cases reported by M. Tusseau, has no influence whatever in preventing the development in the mouth, but actually encourages the growth by producing an irritated and inflamed condition of the tonsils.”—Bacteriological Review. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.5
“News of the Week” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
-A Widow Re-marriage Association has been formed in India. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.6
-The first cargo of live cattle from Australia has reached England. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.7
-It is reported from Vienna that Russia is sending a squadron to Korea. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.8
-The Lucania has lowered the record by crossing the Atlantic in 5 days 8 hours 38 minutes. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.9
-The Victorian Government has sustained a crushing defeat as the result of the general election. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.10
-It is said that the Queen reads all letters ad-dressed to her, including the anonymous ones, which average five a day. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.11
-Incendiary fires in Sicily are very frequent, and the populace is thoroughly alarmed. They attribute them to the Anarchists. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.12
-A number of lives were lost in New York City by the burning of a mattress factory. Five bodies were taken from the ruins soon after the fire had ceased. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.13
-A specialist, after extensive investigation, states that the marriage of cousins is more likely to produce deaf-mutism than even the inter-marriage of deaf-mutes. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.14
-The Czar is reported to be seriously ill, as the result of worry and overwork. He is said to be suffering from an affection of the brain, complicated with an ailment of the kidneys. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.15
-Herr Dowe’s famous military invention has in several instances been outdone by his numerous competitors. The latest is a breastplate of chrome-steel, invented by Captain Boynton, and weighing only 6lbs. This successfully resisted the impact of the bullet when tested at Sheffield. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.16
-There is a proposal to establish a school near London for the training and discipline of the in-subordinate sons of the well-to-do, on the model of an institution which has been a success in France. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.17
-A Norwegian newspaper gives an account “from several completely trustworthy men” of the appearance of a sea serpent “at least 180ft, long,” near the fishing village of Ervikon, Hammerfest. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.18
-The value of land in England seems to he seriously on the decline. Recently a freehold and tithe-free farm in the Fen district sold for about ?7 an acre, and an estate in Berke realised only ?6 an acre, the growing timber biting included. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.19
-A telegram from Warsaw announces the collapse of a three storied naptha warehouse near the town of Minsk. A number of men lost their lives, and up to the present thirteen dead bodies have been recovered. Many other persons received severe injuries. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.20
-The arrival of a now community of nuns in Edinburgh is reported. The Sisters of Charity are to take charge of certain schools and to visit the poor. The Sisterhood was founded by St. Vincent of Paul in 1634, at Paris, and now possesses 1,000 convents and over 10,000 sisters throughout the world. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.21
-The situation in Madagascar is exceedingly strained, according to the news brought by the mail to Marseilles. The Hovas are said to be preparing for war, and evince strong feeling against France. The French colony regard war as the only solution of the difficulties created by the disorderly state of the island. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.22
-Severe forest fires have occurred in Greece. Several large woods, including one of the famous fir-trees of Cephalonia, have been destroyed. Twenty houses were burned at Moles, near Thermopyl?, and serious fires have also occurred at Aulis and Kophissia. The weather is now cooler after many weeks of intense heat. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.23
-Two disasters are reported from the Pir?us, Greece. The boiler of a flour mill burst, and the chief engineer and three other men were struck by fragments of metal and killed on the spot, while many others were fearfully injured and scalded, several of whom have since died. A fire broke out at the Pir?us at midnight, Sept. 18, and several shops and private houses were burned to the ground. The damage is estimated at 300,000f. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.24
-Mr. Wellman, who nearly perished with the expedition in the Arctic regions, has left London for America. It has been a dreadful year in the Polar regions. The hardships experienced by Lieutenant Peary’s party surpass all previous records, the sledge-doge being frozen to death. Peary remains in Greenland, and will resume his explorations next year. The progress of the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition was also impeded by the ice. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.25
-During the last recorded month the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children investigated 1,671 complaints of neglect, ill-treatment, exposure, and other wrongs, 1,521 of which were found to be true, involving 2,077 offenders and affecting the welfare of 3,899 children. In 1,124 cases warnings were given; in 175 cases prosecutions were necessitated owing to the gross nature of the cruelty (convicted 170, discharged five); and 222 were dealt with in other ways. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.26
-The annual wheat Drop estimates issued by the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture shows the world’s production of wheat to be 87,278,000 hectolitres. The countries dependent upon others for part supplies require 12,849,000 hectolitres, while those having a surplus production can spare 15,659,000 hectolitres. Great Britain’s supply is estimated at 21,500, and the deficit at 60,000 hectolitres. France’s supply at 125,000 hectolitres, and deficit at 7,000 hectolitres. Russia’s at 128,000 with a surplus of 50,000, and Hungary’s at 53,260 with a surplus of 16,000 hectolitres. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.27
-The Japanese and Chinese land and naval forces came into collision Sept. 15, the land forces at Ping Yang, and the naval forces off the mouth of the Yalu river, and the result was a great victory for the Japanese. At Ping Yang the Chinese lost almost their entire army of 20,000 men, most of whom were taken prisoners, giving Japan ruff control of Korea. The naval battle is described as a very desperate and sanguinary fight, resulting in great damage to both fleets, the victory being claimed by both aides. The worst damage was probably sustained by the Chinese, who lost five vessels of their fleet. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 622.28
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Society is always exacting-in certain well-understood particulars. Max O’Rell, the Frenchman who has made such extensive observations amongst English-speaking peoples, says in his latest book on colonial society and ways that in Australia “an ill-cut coat will close more doors to you than a doubtful reputation.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.1
“All the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.” It is this wisdom that is in the heart that is valuable. The wisdom of the world is of the head and not of the heart, and it is foolishness. Paul tells us that in the last days men were to be “heady,” “high-minded.” The wisdom that comes from above makes men hearty not heady. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.2
In Russia duelling has been taken under the wing of the Greek Church. The Czar has promulgated a law making it obligatory upon officers of the army to fight not only when they fancy they have been insulted, but whenever others think they have. Yet in Russia the law punishes men for worshipping God contrary to the customs of the Church. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.3
The habits and customs of the East change so little that the traveller in lands of the Book is constantly meeting scenes which seem to him familiar. In one of the reviews Mr. Burt describes a marriage procession in Southern Arabia, just such an one as we are familiar with from the parable in Matthew 25. And recent excavations in Upper Egypt have brought to light some wood carvings of the time of the Pharaohs, showing that the dress of soldiers has remained the same. “The Mahdi’s warriors,” says the Echo, “save in the matter of firearms, are clad and equipped like those of the pyramid builders.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.4
“There are countless households where the reading of novels is the one resource against the dulness of life,” says Mr. Zangwill in one of the magazines. And, just as with a taste for alcoholic drinks, the novel reader must have the stimulant increased as the dulness of his real life is increased by the unreal and artificial. Hence the tendency of the modern novel. The one who lives by every word of God does not find life a dull existence, and living by the life of the word does not develop a taste for the false and fictitious. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.5
It is a great mistake to look upon a life of self-denial as a life of sorrow. This is what leads so many to look upon the Christian life as a hard and gloomy one. It is not self that makes one happy. The most unhappy men are generally the most selfish. But that life is happiest which is most full of love. These are facts which all observing persons must admit. And therefore self-denial cannot lead to unhappiness. In the truly Christian life self is forgotten; and when self is forgotten, its sorrow and gloom are forgotten with it. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.6
Westminster Chapel, in the City, has the reputation of being a very difficult place to fill. It is, however, a good omen that the new pastor, Mr. Hurndall, considers the devices so frequently resorted to by depleted congregations as useless. He tells an interviewer that he has “more faith in prayer-meetings than in entertainments. His experience at the Eastend was that entertainments were fatal to the highest kind of success; and that in the proportion in which such were well attended the numbers and spiritual fervour at the Gospel service or prayer-meeting declined.” PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.7
The Japanese proclamation of war states that the Mikado enters the contest, “fully assured of heavenly aid.” The natural man invariably makes a god like unto himself, and so the Japanese think that Deity sides with them in their hatred of the Chinese. And the Chinese call upon Heaven to aid them to root the pestilent Japanese from their lairs. It is so with other nations. On the anniversary of the battle of Sedan the German papers this month quoted from the Psalms, intimating that they did not trust in chariots and horsemen, and so won the day at Sedan. Men take it for granted that God shares in their hatreds and passions, that He is such an one as themselves. Thus it was that the gods of the heathen were but deifications of their own passions. Men must either worship God or self, and every day they make choice whom they will serve. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.8
“Seeing God’s Goodness” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Seeing God’s Goodness.-The Psalmist says, “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.” Psalm 73:1. God is good to all, and “His tender mercies are over all His works;” but those who are clean of heart see and recognise His goodness. “Israel” does not mean a class of people whom God has distinguished from all others by being good to them, but simply those who, by having clean hearts, have recognised and acknowledged the goodness of the Lord bestowed upon all. Only the pure in heart can see God, and only they who see Him can know Him. We see God now with the eye of faith, and faith is that which purifies the heart. Acts 15:9. As soon as we believe what God has said, we shall know for ourselves that God is good, not only to the world in general, but to us. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.9
“Temporal Power” The Present Truth 10, 39.
E. J. Waggoner
Temporal Power.-Jesus Christ refused to be made a temporal King. His Kingdom is not of this world. But apparently the subjects of the Papacy are willing to go to almost any length in their effort to restore the Pope’s temporal power. A writer in the Tablet, referring to the resolutions passed by Catholic Congresses every year, urges that these are useless until public opinion in Italy is changed, or until the Catholics of France, Spain, and Austria are ready to do more than pass resolutions. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.10
Not until the Catholics of these three states, or even of one of them, acquire the supremacy over the anti-Christian portion of their fellow-subjects and hold in their hands the destinies of their country, can they invite the 200 million of Catholics, in the rest of the world to aid them by furnishing money and volunteers for the undertaking which should be carried out in the name of the whole Catholic community. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.11
This is the real spirit of the Papacy, the encyclicals on peace and good-will amongst men notwithstanding. PTUK September 27, 1894, page 624.12