The Present Truth, vol. 10
October 25, 1894
“Front Page” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.1
Very often we hear people say, “I can’t see very much that I have to be thankful for;” and doubtless many would thus reply even to the text just quoted. Such seem to misapprehend the scripture. It does not say, “Give thanks for everything that exactly meets your desires,” but, “in everything give thanks,” making no exceptions for disagreeable things. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.2
The exhortation is put even more strongly in Ephesians 5:20. “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Not only are we to be thankful in everything, but for everything. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.3
Nothing comes upon any child of God except what He sends or permits. When Satan was given permission to plague Job, the patriarch accepted it as from the Lord, and said, when moved to complain: “What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” Job 2:10. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.4
Those afflictions were necessary for Job. They resulted in such a revelation of God to him as he had never before dreamed of. And when He saw God, he saw that He is love. “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; but the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” James 5:11. How many people there are who have been ignorant of the depth of tender love which their friends had for them until trouble revealed it. Blessed be the tribulation that reveals to us the infinite tenderness of the Friend who is above all! PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.5
We are exhorted, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” James 1:2-4. It appears, therefore, that even temptations are necessary in order that we may have no lack. Shall we not thank the Lord for that which works to supply all our need? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.6
There is nothing more base than ingratitude. What can be more hateful than to complain when receiving good gifts? Yet who has not at some time in his life complained bitterly over some event for which he was afterwards very thankful? If we had known at the time that which we afterwards knew, we should have been patient. Now God gives us information by which we may avoid such mistakes. He tells us that He allows nothing to come to us except that which is good. To be unthankful, therefore, is not to recognise God, and is the first step toward heathenism. See Romans 1:20-23. Let us therefore in Christ always be thankful for all things. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.7
How minute is God’s care for all His creatures! Not a sparrow falls to the ground without His notice, and not one of them is forgotten. Of men, even the very hairs of the head are all numbered. Luke 12:6, 7. What force this gives to the assurance which Christ gives to His people that in the time of persecution “there shall not an hair of your head perish.” Luke 21:16-18. But note further: He says that some shall be put to death, but that even then not a hair shall perish. Why?—Because “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38, 39. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.8
“If, through unruffled seas,
Calmly toward heaven we sail,
With grateful hearts, O God, to Thee.
We’ll own the favouring gale.
PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.9
“But should the surges rise,
And rest delay to come;
Blest be the sorrow, kind the storm
Which drives us nearer home.”
PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.10
“Rome Unchanged” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
Has Rome changed? Has she become the friend and advocate of religious freedom? In two of the leading countries of Europe she has lately answered this question. In Hungary, after opposing with all her strength the Civil Marriage Bill, which narrowly escaped extinction at her hands, she fought against and defeated the Religious Liberty Bill,—a mild measure which granted to all denominations freedom in the practice of religious rites. In Spain the consecration of a Protestant bishop of Madrid has called forth protests and denunciations from the Papal Primate of Toledo, and also from the Papal Nuncio, and the whole country is excited. All the Spanish bishops, it is said, have uttered their minds, declaring the act to be “an outrage on the traditional rights of the Spanish Church,” and also “a violation of Art. XII. of the Constitution.” Meanwhile the head of the Church, Leo XIII., from his seat of power and authority looks quietly on without a word of protest or a syllable spoken in favour of that religious freedom of which the Catholic Church is alleged to be the friend and defender. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 673.11
No; religious freedom for Protestants is still an “outrage” upon Catholic “rights,” and a “violation of the supreme law of the land.” Consequently it is in order for the civil authorities in Spain to take the offenders in hand and deal with them as the law prescribes, or as it may be construed by a Catholic judge or jury. The only reason why this will (probably) not be done, is that enlightened public sentiment, both in that country and elsewhere throughout Europe, plays a restraining hand upon such extreme exhibitions of religious bigotry. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.1
Notice, also, that since this “outrageous” act is punishable as a violation of the civil law, such punishment cannot, according to the logic of some who call themselves Protestants, be considered religious persecution, and as conviction and punishment for violations of the civil law was what sent Christians of the Dark Ages to the dungeon, the rack, and the stake, it follows from the same logic that Rome never really persecuted anybody, and that the millions of “martyrs” of that period were not martyrs, but only criminals. This is exactly what Rome claims. In this, as in other respects, she is the same to-day that she was then. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.2
“Christ Our Passover” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.3
The Israelites were commanded to take a lamb without blemish, and keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, killing it in the evening. “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.” “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:7, 11-13. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.4
There was a destroying angel in the land. Death and destruction were determined from the Lord. So in this day in which we live there is destruction determined upon the whole land, “a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.” Isaiah 28:22. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.5
We read in Hebrews that by faith they kept the Passover, and so it is by faith that we must keep it. Christ our Passover is slain for us. It is His blood that averts the destruction that would come upon us. He was slain for their deliverance as well as for ours. There was no virtue in the blood of a lamb, which they sprinkled on the door post; it was simply a token of their faith in the blood of Christ, who was their real Passover, as He is ours. There was no other way than by faith that they could keep the Passover, even as Christ can be received only by faith. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.6
We too have the blood of sprinkling, and the Apostle Paul speaks to us thus positively about it: “But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.7
The last part of the verses quoted is very generally taken as figurative language merely. Mount Sion is real, a literal thing; the city of the living God is a real place; the innumerable company of angels are real beings: John saw them surrounding the throne, ready to be despatched on the instant to the uttermost parts of the earth. See Revelation 5:11. God the Judge of all, and Jesus the Mediator,—they are very real beings. Jesus ascended bodily into the heavens, there to appear in the presence of God for us. He is the Mediator between God and men, “the Man Christ Jesus.” “And to the blood of sprinkling”—but here it is commonly taken for granted that the apostle is speaking figuratively. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.8
Eighteen hundred years ago or more Christ was crucified outside Jerusalem. He shed His blood. Not only were the nails driven into the hands and feet, shedding His blood, but the spear was thrust into His side, and there came out the blood and the water. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.9
Many have looked a long way into the past to the cross, taking it for granted that because Christ shed His blood there the fact has been counted for us. Of course, too, there has been a touch of the old pagan idea of propitiating the favour of God with blood; the idea that because He was sacrificed, God will take that and be satisfied. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.10
But now, at this time, there are three that bear record, “the Spirit, the water, and the blood.” In the verse in Hebrews it is said that we are come to the blood of sprinkling. So in another chapter we are told that we may now have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” Hebrews 10:19, 20. It is the blood of Jesus that gives us the boldness to enter in. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 674.11
The Apostle Peter says of this blood: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19. The blood that redeems is incorruptible, not subject to decay. Christ entered into the holy place with His own blood, and there appears for us. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.1
Is it a reality, or only a figure of speech, when we speak of the blood as being actually there? We are come to Mount Sion, to Jesus the Mediator, and to the blood of sprinkling. We read again, “If we walk in the light, as He in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” It is put in the present tense. It is cleansing us from all sin. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.2
What about the flesh of Christ? “He whom God raised up saw no corruption.” “Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell: neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.” As His flesh saw no corruption, so His blood, that was poured out at the cross, was not left to corruption; it was incorruptible, precious. He appears in the presence of God for us with His own blood, the blood that is ever living and incorruptible. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.3
This helps us to an understanding of Paul’s words to the Galatians, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” In the most vivid sense Jesus Christ is crucified now. We do not have to look back eighteen hundred years to see the cross set up, and the blood flowing from the side of Jesus; but He is crucified. His blood, ever fresh, and incorruptible, is as really and vividly present before the throne as when He suffered outside the gates of old Jerusalem. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.4
And we have come to the blood of sprinkling; it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul, that cleanseth from sin. When the apostle looked into the city, to the place where thousands of angels were assembled before the throne, he saw in the midst of it a Lamb, as it had been slain. We have come to the innumerable company of angels, and to Jesus the Mediator, and to the blood of sprinkling. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.5
The Lamb, as it were slain, was in the midst of the throne. Justice and judgment are the foundation of the throne. The law of God is the basis of it. But in the midst of the throne, identified with it, and with the righteousness of God, the law, is the Lamb slain, the blood of sprinkling. So He is crucified now, a present Saviour. His blood is shed for us now. We come to the cross literally now. We are crucified with Him. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.6
His blood is shed, and it is counted for us, because He identifies Himself with us in our sin. And as we lay hold of Him by faith, He comes into our hearts, and His blood is ever flowing to cleanse the sin. It is in Him that we live and have our being; we receive Him in the light and the air and the food by which He sustains the life, and as He comes within, even while dead in trespasses and sins our faith accepts Him and we are crucified with Him. The blood of Christ it is that makes atonement for the soul, and that blood is ever fresh, incorruptible, and ever liveth. So the same act which makes our sin His as we grasp Him by faith, makes His life ours, and we live. We are crucified with Christ; nevertheless we live. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.7
The knowledge that the cross is set up in every heart, that He is crucified with us and we with Him, makes the crosses and the burdens to be borne, the sins to be trampled under foot, the habits to be given up, which take our very life,—the knowledge, we say, that Christ is now crucified for us, that His blood is shed for us now, and not in fancy but in fact, that we are crucified with Him, makes the very presence of these crosses a joy. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 675.8
The Apostle John wrote, “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation [sacrifice] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” He is now the sacrifice. “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation to faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:24, 25. For the “passing over of sins,” as the Revised Version has it. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.1
God has set Him forth, lifted Him up to be seen, that looking at Him we may have faith in His blood for the passing over of our sins,—for the taking of them away through the forbearance of God. Christ makes peace for us through the blood of His cross. Being reconciled by His death, we know we shall be saved by His life. He receives the death and destruction that come because of sin, and we are passed over. Taking hold by faith the present work of Christ as the Mediator, coming to the blood of sprinkling for the washing away of sins, living now with the Lord at the cross, makes the Christian life such a reality that it is worth living. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.2
“When a Pope Dies” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
In religious and political circles in Italy the next Papal Conclave is being discussed. The Pope and his last Bull fixed the regulations that are to guide the Cardinals in choosing his successor. Even when a Pope is drawing his last breath there are forms and ceremonies to be performed which seem anything but appropriate to a deathbed. A French prelate has recently published a work in which he gives the traditions and the laws governing the papal succession. And describes the elaborate ceremonial of the death chamber. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.3
Around the couch where the moribund Pontiff is battling with death, the Sacred College, or at least as many of the Cardinals as are at Rome, are kneeling. The Sacristan Bishop administers the Viaticum and the Extreme Unction. The Grand Penitentiary gives the Absolution. The Penitential Psalms are then intoned. The Sacristan Bishop pronounces the consecrated formula, the expiring Pontiff, if he has the strength to do so, gives his benediction to the Assembly, and the dirge of the mortuary hymns continues until the end. In order to make official record of the death, the Camerlengo takes up a small silver Hammer, with which he strikes three light blows on the dead man’s head, and calls on him by his Christian name. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.4
On the 7th February, 1878, the dead Pope was Pious IX., and, after dealing the three blows with a hammer, the Camerlengo, Cardinal Pecci-the present Pope-called “John! John! John!” and then, turning to the assembly, exclaimed, “The Pope is truly dead!” All present then kneel, and the Camerlengo recites the De profundis. The Master of the Chambers then removes from the dead Pope’s finger the “fisherman’s ring,” and hands it to the Camerlengo-a ceremony that is intended to be the outward signs of the temporary transfer of the authority of the Holy See. At the first plenary meeting of the Sacred College this ring, the seals, and other insignia are broken up. All emblems connected with the late Pope are destroyed. The temporary sovereignty passes to the hands of the Sacred College. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.5
“Studies in Romans. Grace and Truth. Romans 5:20, 21” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
In studying the two remaining verses of this chapter, it will be sufficient for our present purpose if we remember that the main thought running through the chapter is life and righteousness. Sin is death, and righteousness is life. Death has passed upon all men, because all have sinned, and the gift of righteousness has come to all men in the life of Christ. Sin is not imputed when there is no law, yet sin was imputed to Adam and to all who lived after him, even till the time of the giving of the law, in the days of Moses. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.6
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:20, 21. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.7
QUESTIONING THE TEXT
Why did the law enter? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.8
“The law entered, that the offence might abound.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.9
What took place when sin abounded? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.10
“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.11
Where did sin abound? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.12
Wherever the law was; because the law entered that sin might abound, and sin is not imputed when there is no law. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.13
Then when did sin abound? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.14
When “the law entered.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.15
Then when must grace have super-abounded? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.16
At the entering of the law? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.17
Why did God provide that where sin abounded grace might much more abound? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.18
“That as sin have reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.19
How has sin reigned? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.20
“Unto death.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.21
How does grace reign? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.22
“Through righteousness.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.23
Unto what? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.24
“Unto eternal life.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.25
Through whom? PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.26
“Through Jesus Christ our Lord.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.27
“The Law Entered.”-This statement indicates that there was offence before the particular time spoken of as the “entering” of the law. Taking into consideration verses 13, 14, we have no difficulty in seeing that the giving of the law upon Sinai is the time referred to. “Until the law,” the time of Moses, and the entering of the law, evidently refer to the one event. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.28
Sin Abounding.-The law entered that the offence already existing might abound. “But sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Therefore we must know that the law was in the world before the time spoken of as the “entering” of the law, that is, before it was spoken from Sinai. This is what we learned from verses 13, 14. It was not possible that the law should actually make any more sin than already existed. It could only emphasise it, that is, more plainly show its true nature. It was, as stated in chapter 7:13, it was “that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.” There was not one whit more of the law of God in the world after it was spoken from Sinai than there was before; neither was anything that was right before, made sinful by the giving of the law; nor was any act that was sinful before, made more sinful by the giving of the law. But the circumstances under which the law was spoken, tended to show the awfulness of sin, and to impress the hearers with a greater sense of their sinfulness than ever before. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 676.29
Grace Superabounding.—“Where sin abounded grace did much more abound.” It would be well if every person knew this fact. We should hear less talk about being discouraged because we are so sinful. Is the heart full of sin? Know that where sin abounds, there does grace much more abound. This is shown in the fact that Christ, who is full of grace, stands at the door of the heart that is sinfulness itself, and knocks for admission. See Revelation 3:15-20. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15. When Wesley sang, PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.1
“Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin,“
he had the authority of Romans 5:20 for it!
PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.2
Grace at Sinai.-Since the law entered that the offence might abound, it is evident that at the very time of the entering of the law the offence must have greatly abounded. There never was a time when the awfulness of sin was made to stand out more prominently. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Therefore it is as plain as the Scripture can make it, that grace was superabounding at the giving of the law from Sinai. It is a mistake, therefore, to suppose that God designed that any should think that righteousness was to be obtained by their own works of obedience. On the contrary, the law was spoken to emphasise the boundless grace of God, in pardoning sin, and in working righteousness in men. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.3
The Law and God’s Throne.-We read that “righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.” Psalm 97:2. Righteousness dwells in His throne. It is the foundation of it. The law of God is righteousness, even His own righteousness. This is shown by Isaiah 51:6, 7, where God speaks of His righteousness, and says, “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law.” That is, only they in whose heart is God’s law, know His righteousness. Therefore His law is His righteousness. And the statement that righteousness is the habitation or establishment of His throne, indicates that the law of God is in His throne. He sits upon the throne of righteousness. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.4
Evidence from the Tabernacle.-The tabernacle built by Moses was for a dwelling place for God. “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8. In that sanctuary, in the most holy place, was the ark of the testament. This ark is described in Exodus 25:10-22. The cover of the ark was called the mercy-seat. Upon this mercy-seat were the two cherubim of gold. Within the ark, under the mercy-seat, were the tables of the law. See Exodus 25:16-21; Deuteronomy 10:1-5. Between the cherubim, upon the mercy-seat, and above the tables of the law, was where the glory of God was seen, and where God spoke to the people. Exodus 25:22. In 2 Kings 19:15 and Psalm 80:1. God is addressed as sitting between the cherubim. Therefore we learn that the ark of the testament, with the mercy seat, or the cover, was a representation of the throne of God. As the ten commandments were in the ark in the earthly tabernacle, so the ten commandments are the very foundation of the throne of God in heaven. We may note, in passing, that since the earthly tabernacle was a figure of the true tabernacle in heaven, therefore we are taught that the law as it stands in heaven, in the throne of God, is identical with the law as spoken from Sinai, and written on the tables of stone that were placed in the ark. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.5
God’s Throne and Sinai.-We have learned that the law of God is the very basis of His throne. This is no more than might reasonably be expected, since the basis of any government is its law, and the throne simply stands for the law. Mount Sinai, when the law was spoken from it, was the seat of God’s law. It represented the awfulness of the law, since no one could touch it without dying. The Lord was there with all His angels. See Deuteronomy 33:2; Acts 7:53. Therefore Mount Sinai, at the time of the giving of the law, was designed to represent the throne of God. Indeed, it was for the time the throne of God, the place whence the law goes forth, out of which proceed “lightnings and thunderings and voices” (Revelation 4:5), and around which stand “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” of angels. Here again we learn that the righteousness which is the habitation of the throne of God is the righteousness described by the ten commandments, just as they were spoken from the top of Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 20:3-17. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.6
The Throne of Grace.-But although the throne of God is the habitation of His law, that law which is death to sinners, yet it is a throne of grace. We are exhorted to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16. Note that we are to come to obtain mercy. Note also that the top of the ark of the testimony, in which were the tables of the law, was called the mercy-seat. It was the place where God appeared to speak to His people, so that the ark of the earthly tabernacle not only represented the throne where God’s law is enshrined, but it represented that throne as the throne of grace. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.7
The Law and the Mediator.-We are told that the law was ordained “in the hand of a Mediator.” Galatians 3:19. Who was the Mediator in whose hand the law was ordained? “There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all.” 1 Timothy 2:5, 6. The law, therefore, was given from Sinai by Christ, who is and always was the manifestation of God to men. He is the Mediator, that is, the One through whom the things of God are brought to men. The righteousness of God is conveyed to men through Jesus Christ. The statement that the law was given in the hand of a Mediator, reminds us that where sin abounded grace did much more abound. The fact that the law was in the hand of a Mediator at Sinai shows us this: (1) That God did not mean that any one should suppose that he must get the righteousness of the law by his own power, but only through Christ. (2) That the Gospel of Christ was displayed at Sinai as well as at Calvary. (3) That the righteousness of God which is revealed in the Gospel of Christ, is the identical righteousness that is described in the law as given from Sinai, without the alteration of a letter. The righteousness which we are to obtain in Christ is none other than that. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.8
The Fountain of Life.-In Psalm 36:7-9 we read: “How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures. For with Thee is the fountain of life.” It is because with God is the fountain of life that He makes those who trust in Him to drink of the river of His pleasure. What is that river?—“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Revelation 21:1. Think of it! A river flowing out of the throne of God. He is the fountain of life. The invitation is to every one that is athirst to drink of the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17, John 4:10-14, and 7:37-39, will help to an understanding of the matter. We take the living water by receiving the Holy Spirit. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 677.9
Drinking in Righteousness.-The Saviour says, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6. If one is thirsty, how only can he be filled? By drinking. Therefore the Saviour means that we can drink righteousness, if we thirst for it. Remember that God’s throne is the seat of righteousness, and that from it flows the river of life, and we shall see the fitness of the assurance that we may drink in righteousness. Since the throne is the seat of righteousness, the river that proceeds from the throne must, so to speak, be charged with the righteousness of the law. Whosoever therefore believes on Christ, and drinks in of His Spirit, must drink in of the righteousness of the law as it is in the throne, or as it was spoken from Sinai. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.1
Drinking at Sinai.-Whoever will read Exodus 17:1-6 together with Deuteronomy 4:10-12 (which shows that Horeb and Sinai are the same), will learn that at the very time when the law was spoken from Sinai, there was a river of water flowing from its base. That river flowed from Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:4. Christ, the living Rock, stood upon that rock in the desert, from which the water flowed for the thirst of the people, and He it was from whom it came. With Him is the fountain of life. And so we have the complete likeness of the throne of God in Sinai. It was the embodiment of the law of God, so that no one could approach it without death, and yet they could drink the living water that flowed from it. And in this figure we again see that the righteousness which those who accept Christ’s invitation are to drink in, is the righteousness that is described in the ten commandments. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.2
The Heart of Christ.-Through David Christ spoke thus of His coming to this earth: “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. He said that He had kept His Father’s commandments. John 15:10. So closely did He keep the commandments that He observed the seventh-day Sabbath, which is sometimes stigmatised as “the Jewish Sabbath.” Canon Knox-Little says, “It is certain that our Lord when on earth did observe Saturday, and did not observe Sunday.” Sacerdotalism, p. 75. This is not true because Canon Knox-Little said it, but it is true because the Bible teaches it. It is so clear a fact that there is no chance for discussion about it. We have never yet heard of any one who had the hardihood to assert that Jesus ever kept any other day than the seventh, the day enjoined in the fourth commandment. The keeping of “the Sabbath day according to the commandment” was part of the righteousness which was in the heart of Christ. And since Christ is the same to-day that He ever was, it is in His heart still. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.3
Eternal Life Through Christ.—“Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Christ’s life was given for us and to us on the cross. It is by being crucified with Him that we live with Him. Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:8. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19. In His heart was the law, so that the heart of Christ was really the throne of God. Thus we sing of “Christ enthroned within.” When Christ hung upon the cross, “one of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” John 19:34. This was the fountain of life, that freely flows for all. It flowed from the heart of Christ, in which the law of God was enshrined. So we find that Sinai, Calvary, and Mount Sion all present the same thing. Sinai and Calvary are not in opposition, but are united. Both present the same Gospel and the same law. The life which flows for us from Calvary, bears to us the righteousness of the law that was proclaimed from Sinai. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.4
Grace Through Righteousness.-Thus we see how grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life. Eternal life is in Christ, because His life is the life of the self-existent God, who is “from everlasting to everlasting.” But the life of God is the law. The grace of God flows to us through the life of Christ, and bears to us the righteousness of it. Thus in Christ we receive the law as it was ordained, namely, to life. To accept the unspeakable gift of God’s grace, therefore, is simply to yield ourselves to Him, that Christ may dwell in us, and live in us the righteousness of the law as spoken from Sinai, and treasured in the throne of God. From Christ that living stream still flows, so that, receiving Him, we shall have in us that well of water spring up unto everlasting life. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.5
“A Gloomy Doctrine” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
There is nothing gloomy about the Gospel. That is the “good news” of the “power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” It is all brightness and glory. 2 Corinthians 4:4. “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5. Therefore nothing but light can emanate from Him. His word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Psalm 119:105. When any doctrine set forth in that word is said to be gloomy, it simply shows that there are some persons whose spiritual eyesight does not enable them to distinguish light from darkness. They do not stand where they can see God in the light that proceeds from Him. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.6
The Bible declares that the dead “sleep;” that they are unconscious, and “know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5); that their thoughts have perished (Psalm 146:3, 4). Theology, on the other hand, declares that they are conscious and exist in heaven as disembodied spirits, having greater power and knowledge than before death. The majority of people choose to believe the latter doctrine, as being a bright and cheerful one, and reject the former as something too gloomy and dark to be entertained by any mind but one that repudiates Christianity. But an examination of the two doctrines in the light of Scripture shows that such a view is entirely superficial. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.7
The teaching of theology upon this point is expressed in these words of the poet Longfellow,— PTUK October 25, 1894, page 678.8
“There is no death; what seems so in transition,
This life of mortal breath
Is but the suburb of the life Elysian,
Whose portal we call death.”
and again in the lines of the familiar hymn,—
“Death is the gate to endless joy.”
PTUK October 25, 1894, page 679.1
But Christ Himself said that He was the gate to endless joy, and the portals through which all men must enter into the life beyond. The record is found in the tenth chapter of John. “Then said Jesus unto them [the Pharisees], Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.” “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” Verses 7, 9. To those who love the Lord, who see in Him the “One altogether lovely,” the perfection of glory and beauty and majesty, the thought that He is the portal to the life beyond, is far brighter than the thought that that portal is death. Death is the “King of terrors;” but Jesus Christ is the Lord of life, the Prince of Peace, the eternal fountain of love and joy. He is the most glorious portal to everlasting life that could possibly be provided or imagined. And no one who loves Him would be glad to believe He had not told the truth. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 679.2
Theology declares that men go to their reward at death. But while this idea would place some of amidst the joys of Heaven, it would consign the great majority who have died to a very different place; for we read that “wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; but strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14. And certainly, between the thought that some of our dead relatives and friends are in torment, and the thought that they are resting, quiet and unconscious, in their graves, there can be no hesitation in choosing. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 679.3
The popular belief that “there is no death,” but only a transition from one state of life to another, contains much that appeals to the natural desires and imaginations of mankind; but it is far surpassed in grandeur by the Bible doctrine of “the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:10. This is no figure of speech, but a statement of actual fact. Our Saviour has abolished death, by passing through the grave Himself, and taking away with Him the keys of death. Revelation 1:18. So that to all those who believe in Him, the close of this earthly life is but the beginning of “a sleep,” during which they “rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.” Revelation 14:13. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 380.1
Nor does the Bible use a figure of speech when it speaks of the death of the saints as a sleep. Sleep and death are two very different things. In the one case there is life, and the other there is no life. In sleep there is a quick awakening to a renewal of the activities of life, but in death there is no awakening. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 380.2
So it is with those who “sleep in Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14. They have life, even that life which God has prepared for those that shall live and dwell with Him, and which has been brought to light in the Gospel. Those who believe on His name have not to wait until death before they can enter the portal of eternal life, as would be necessary were death the gate to that life, but enter in the moment they have faith in Jesus as Redeemer. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” John 11:25. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 380.3
Christ dwells in the heart of the believer by faith (Ephesians 3:17), and wherever Christ is, there is the resurrection and the fountain of life. “He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life.” John 3:33. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death until life.” John 5:25. Such an one has already entered the portal to eternal life and happiness, and no power can draw him back, for there is nothing that is able to separate the soul from Him. Romans 8:38, 39. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 380.4
In this doctrine there is no gloom, but the brightness of hope and comfort which sustains the soul in the hour of separation from those whom it loves. It is the doctrine of Jesus Christ as the Lifegiver, without which power He would not be the Saviour of sinners. It exalts Him, and in this all those who love Him will rejoice. It is no misfortune to any person to “sleep in Jesus,” any more than to sleep at night during his natural life. On the contrary, we read that “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15), and that, “blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” Revelation 14:13. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 380.5
While theology may set forth our dead friends as teachers and comforters to us while we remain here, the word of God presents the far more glorious doctrine that our comfort is none other than “the God of all comfort;” that Jesus is Himself our Comforter (John 14:18), and that we have “another Comforter,” which is the Spirit (v. 16, 17), and that the Spirit is our Teacher, who is able to guide us into all truth. John 16:13. Every true Christian must infinitely prefer this comfort and guidance to all others. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 380.6
Thus the Bible doctrine of eternal life through Christ far outshines the man-made doctrine of life through the portals of the tomb. That, and that alone, is the gloomy doctrine which interposes the tomb between us and the life which we need, which Jesus Christ, through the Gospel, offers freely now to all, and bestows upon all them that believe on Him. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 380.7
“Don’t Force the Truth” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
Condemn no man for not thinking as you think. Let every one enjoy the full and free liberty of thinking for himself. Abhor every approach in any kind or degree, to the spirit of persecution. If you cannot reason or persuade a man into the truth, never attempt to force him into it. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 681.1
“Children’s Page. Moral Backbone in the Young” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
The same courage to do the right which led Patteson when a boy to refuse to join with those who were doing wrong was shown in the work that led to his death. He was in an island group where the natives were angry with the whites, owing to the injustice done them by white traders. Notwithstanding this, Patteson was there to tell the natives of the Lord Jesus, and to show them that white men who loved the Lord were not cruel and dishonest. The danger was that before he could get a chance to convince them of his intentions to do them good, they would attack him. This was the situation on the morning that his party of missionaries approached the island of Nukapu. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 685.1
Four canoes were seen hovering about the coral reef which surrounded the island. The vessel had to feel her way, so lest the men in the canoes should be perplexed he ordered the boat to be lowered, and when asked to go into one of the native boats he did it to disarm suspicion and was carried off toward the shore. The boat from the schooner could not get over the reef. The bishop was seen to land on the shore, and was then seen alive no more. After a while Mr. Atkin was struck with an arrowhead from the islanders in the canoe, but in spite of suffering and weakness he crossed the reef to seek the bishop. A canoe drifted toward them; the body of a man was seen as if crouching in it. they came up with it and lifted the bundle wrapped in matting into the boat; two words passed, “The body.” Then it was lifted up and laid across the skylight. The placid smile was still on the face; there was a palm leaf fastened over the breast, and when the mat was opened there were five wounds. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 685.2
This is an almost certain indication that his death was vengeance for five of the natives. “Blood for blood” is a sacred law almost of nature wherever Christianity has not prevailed, and a whole tribe is held responsible for one. Five men in Fiji are known to have been stolen from Nukapu, and probably their families believed them to have been killed, and believed themselves to be performing a sacred duty when they dipped their weapons in the blood of the bishop, whom they did not know well enough to understand him to be their protector. The next morning the body of John Coleridge Patteson was committed to the waters of the Pacific, Joseph Atkin reading the burial service even though then recognizing his own doom in a body already stiffened from a poisonous arrow that caused his death. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 685.3
“News of the Week” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
-It is rumoured that the Ameer of Afghanistan is dead. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.1
-The Belgian elections so far have resulted in the complete rout of the Liberal party, with great gains for the Catholics. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.2
-There are rumours that Russia is making a secret advance in the Pamirs, and that a battle has recently been fought by them with Afghan troops. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.3
-A bill has been introduced in the Council at Simla, India, proposing that licenses should be granted for religious processions in India, with a view to securing the proper regulation of such public observances. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.4
-The Spanish Government has taken umbrage at the terms in which the Papal Nuncio has denounced the recent consecration of a Protestant Bishop in Madrid, and has complained to the Vatican on the subject. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.5
-A terrible fire has occurred at Grosny, near Tiflis. A large naphtha spring ignited, and the flames spread in a moment to the neighbouring buildings. Seventeen workmen were engulfed in the sea of fire and perished. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.6
-Private post-cards bearing adhesive penny stamps and private reply post-cards with perm stamps on each half may now be sent abroad. The cards must be of same size and substance as the official post-cards, and must have the words postcards printed on the address side without the Royal arms. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.7
-The Sultan has prohibited dancing and other festivities in Constantinople, plots against the Government having, it is thought, been hatched at these social gatherings. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.8
-At a recent meeting of the London School Board, an application, signed by over 5,000 teachers, asking to be relieved from giving religious instruction, in accorddance with the terms of the religious circular, was submitted. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.9
-The Conservatives in the Norwegian capital have sustained a heavy defeat by the late election, and the three largest towns in Norway-Christiania, Bergen, and Trondjem-have declared themselves in favour of national independence. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.10
-It is reported that Morocco City is in a state of insurrection. Prince Muley, who was sent by the Sultan to arrest a Caid, is hemmed in by insurgents; but it is hoped that the Sheroefian troops will succeed in quelling the rebellion. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.11
-A general strike is threatened in Austria if the motion demanding urgency for the Franchise Bill should be rejected In the Reichsrath. About 10,000 workmen in Vienna, after holding a meeting, came into collision with the police, several on both sides being injured. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.12
-A German doctor has been publishing the results of a long course of visual examination. He finds that only in one case out of fifteen are both eyes in good condition. In seven oases out of every ten, people possess one eye which is stronger than the other. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.13
-In America, a millionaire’s infant, having been born out of due time, was being reared in a ‘baby’s incubator.’ This foster mother was a glass case which was kept at a temperature of 100 degrees by hot pipes. The child lived for some months, but is now dead. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.14
-The Sultan has prohibited the Armenian Patriarch from going to Rome to take part in the conference for the reunion of the schismatic and the Roman churches. The Pope telegraphed to the Sultan begging him to alter his decision, but with what success is not stated. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.15
-Two little children, specially treated in Vienna with the anti-diphtheria serum, have died. Experiments at a children’s hospital have, how-ever, greatly reduced the mortality from the malady, the deaths being only 10 per cent. The serum is obtained from the horse. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.16
-An attempt at negro-lynching in Ohio, led to a sanguinary encounter between the mob and the militia. The mob attacked the courthouse, and after breaking through one of the doors the militia fired, four men and a woman being killed, three mortally wounded, and twenty injured. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.17
-A father asked a London magistrate if he could send his buy to work and let him attend a night school. He was thirteen and in the second standard. The magistrate replying in the negative, said the boy was not the father’s property to the extent of depriving him of his birthright, namely, a good elementary education. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.18
-News from Vienna states that the Czar is conscious that he will probably live only a few days. This information is confirmed from other sources, and is borne out by the fact that the Grand Dukes have been hastily summoned irons St. Petersburg and Paris, and have left for Livadia. The Czar desires to witness the marriage of his son, the Czarewitch, with Princess Alix, and it is understood that the wedding will take place privately at Livadia. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.19
-According to a Shanghai telegram Port Arthur is menaced by Japanese troops, and an attack is believed to be imminent. All foreigners have been peremptorily ordered to leave Pekin. A battle at Wi-ju is said to be imminent. The two armies still face each other on the banks of the Yalu; but Marshal Yamagata is waiting for his heavier artillery and supplies before attacking. The Chinese of all arms are estimated at 25,000. It is affirmed that peace overtures were made to Japan, and were rejected as inadequate. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.20
-The Princess Alix of Hesse has, it is said, in view of her approaching marriage with the Czarewitch, obtained concessions from the Russian “Holy Synod” such as no Princess in a like position has ever before secured. In embracing the Orthodox faith her Royal Highness will not declare her former religion to be accursed, not will she state that her conversion is duo to the conviction that the truth lies not with her own but with the Russian Church. The Synod will content itself with the declaration that the Princess has joined the Greek Church in order to be of one religion with her future husband. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 686.21
“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 43.
E. J. Waggoner
The Clericalist party in Belgium has gained a sweeping victory in the recent elections. The party is pledged to work in the interest of the Church of Rome. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.1
Out of 156 speakers at the recent Church Congress at Exeter, only 18, it is said, were “evangelical.” It is evident that the Church of the England is rapidly becoming a distinctively Catholic church. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.2
The excise law allows two per cent. of alcohol and so-called temperance drinks, which are sold without license. But some samples of these drinks have recently been analysed by the excise officials, and are found to contain from four to even ten per cent. Beer has only eight per cent. of alcohol. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.3
While so much is being said of school teachers and their work, the Schoolmaster points out that artisans and mechanics are better paid in England than teachers. “Highly equipped certificated masters in hundreds,” it says, “toil, even in 1894, for less than thirty pence a day, certificated mistresses for less than twenty.” PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.4
The literature of an age is a very fair reflection of the quality of social life. If the literature so much talked about is true to life, and that is what is claimed for it, what must we conclude as to the tendency of the times? Dr. Marcus Dods is very far from being what the world calls a “pessimist”—a word which many people are so afraid of that day commonly say black is white-and he said recently:— PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.5
Fifty years ago an individual was aware that if he transgressed the bounds of decency marked out by the conversation of well-bred families, he limited his circulation; now there is no surer way of increasing his circulation. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.6
It is true, as anyone can observe from the newspapers and reviews. The novel’s most talked about are those which hold up the sensual and foolish, and weave romance about them. And after disporting weakness and dishonour if they but attach a small moral, and properly bring about the punishment of the guilty, many religious reviewers are ready to applaud the moral teaching of the book. Anyone who knows what morality is knows that it is not taught in that way, and one who watches the effect of this class of novels on the popular taste from year to year will not be at a loss to determine the influence of such writers. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.7
The English Church Union, representing the majority of the Church of England, through the President, Lord Halifax, addressed a letter to Cardinal Monescillo, the Spanish primate of the province of Toledo, to express “the profound distress” which they feel at the action of the Archbishop of Dublin in appointing a bishop for the separated Catholics of Spain. Lord Halifax says:— PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.8
We, on our own behalf believe it to be right, as members of the Catholic Church, which is the mother of us all, and as members of this Church of England in particular, the solemnly to assure your Eminence, and the Bishops, clergy, and faithful of the ancient and Illustrious Church of Spain, of our repudiation of the encouragement which the action, we deplore, has given to those who have withdrawn themselves from the communion and authority of their unlawful pastors. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.9
The English Church is thus represented as identical with the Roman Catholic Church outside of England. PTUK October 25, 1894, page 688.10