The Present Truth, vol. 11

October 10, 1895

“Fleeing for Refuge” The Present Truth 11, 41.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

When the children of Israel settled in the land of Canaan, they set apart, according to the command of the Lord, six cities of refuge, to which any man who had unintentionally killed another might flee, and be safe from the pursuit of any who sought to kill him in return. Read the whole account in Numbers 35. and Joshua 20. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.1

These cities were well known, and were so situated that they could be easily reached. Once within one of the cities, the slayer was absolutely safe; the rulers of the city were answerable for him as long as he remained there; but if he went outside the city walls during the life of the high priest, he was at the mercy of his enemy. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.2

The story of the cities of refuge is one of the things written aforetime “for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope.” Romans 15:4. We find ourselves continually beset by enemies. This is no figure of speech, but an actual fact. Everybody knows that he possesses evil habits and traits of character that are positive enemies to him, often destroying not only his happiness here, but his hope of the world to come. And what is worse, they are stronger than we, so that we cannot successfully fight against them. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.3

From all these enemies, more dangerous than any earthly foes, we have a sure refuge. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1. David wrote, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” Psalm 18:2. And every soul may say this as truly as David could. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.4

The seventh psalm is a vivid picture of fleeing for refuge from a fellow who is seeking to destroy. Instead of “put my trust,” in the first verse, read “take refuge,” as in the more literal rendering in the margin of the Revised Version: “O Lord my God, in Thee do I take refuge; save me from all them that pursue me, and deliver me; lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.” Verses 1, 2. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.5

Of the safety of those who take refuge in God, we read: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10. “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. And the Lord helpeth them, and rescueth them; He rescueth them from the wicked, and saveth them, because they have taken refuge in Him.” Psalm 37:39, 40. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.6

This refuge is real. The walls of Shechem and Hebron did not protect a refugee from his enemy so securely as God keeps those who flee to Him from the sins that beset them. True we cannot see Him with our natural eyes; but we have His Word, which He has exalted above all His name (Psalm 138:2); and His Word is backed by His oath. “God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” Hebrews 6:17, 18. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.7

Try it. When the enemy presses upon you, lay hold upon the promises of God, and they will be to you a wall which no temptation can pierce. Satan himself in person cannot get through them to lay violent hands on one who is behind them. The God of heaven is infinitely more real, although invisible, than all the gods that can be seen; so His Word is a rock infinitely more real and more enduring than Gibraltar. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.8

And this refuge will never fail. The men who fled to one of the cities of refuge found a welcome and would stay there till the death of the high priest. So we may be sure of a welcome, even though foully guilty, for the Lord says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. More than this, our High Priest will never die; He is “alive for evermore.” Revelation 1:18. So the soul that flees to Him for refuge, is for ever safe. “The eternal God is the refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 641.9

“Unshaken as the sacred hills,
And fixed as the mountains stand.
Firm as a rock like the soul shall rest
That trusts th’ Almighty hand. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.1

“Not rock nor hills could guard so well
Fair Salem’s happy ground
As those eternal arms of love
That every saint surround.” PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.2

“Where Heathenism Came In” The Present Truth 11, 41.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

When it is pointed out that certain religious observances commonly recognised are of heathen origin, the question is often asked, “What difference does it make, if only they are used in the worship of God?” A few of the things “written for our learning” will answer the question. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.3

When God called Israel away from the idolatry of Egypt in order that they might serve Him they were warned against the rites by which the inhabitants of Canaan worshipped their gods. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.4

“Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree; and ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 12:2-4. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.5

The Lord knew the tendency of the human heart to substitute self-service for His service, and forewarned them against the specious plea that some were sure to urge, that the rites of the heathen might be used in His worship. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.6

“Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them.” Verse 30. The ceremonies of the heathen worship, like garments tainted by the contagion of a deadly disease, were sure to infect those who touched them with the cursed plague of paganism. Therefore He said, “What things soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” Verse 32. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.7

Just here the people failed. They did not destroy the traces and instruments of the false worship, and soon after the death of Joshua they were following the “gods of the people that were round about them.” Judges 2:2, 12. Again and again in the history of Israel the Lord raised up some reformer to deliver them, and again and again they fell away. In the days of Ahab the religion of the Phoenicians, the worship of the sun-god Baal, was introduced into both Israel and Judah, and from that time on to the destruction of Jerusalem the worship of Jehovah was seldom free from the corruptions which turned it into the worship of the pagan gods. And as Satan is the originator of every false thing, the apostle, speaking by the Spirit, declares that this service was the worship of devils. 1 Corinthians 10:20. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.8

This apostasy destroyed the people of Israel, and it is all traceable to the adoption, little by little, of heathen ceremonies, adding to and taking from the Word of God until what was professedly His service became in reality paganism. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.9

REPEATED AFTER APOSTOLIC DAYS

The Spirit of God, by the apostles, warned the early church of the dangers before it in the great “falling away,” which was to reveal the man of sin, the spirit of lawlessness. The failures of Israel were written as a lesson for those in this danger. “They are written for our admonition,” said Paul to the Corinthian church, and in the same connection he warned that church against having fellowship with the heathen ceremonies. 1 Corinthians 10. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.10

If that lesson of Israel’s failures had been taken to heart by those who came after the apostles what a different story would be told of the history of the last eighteen centuries. The apostles taught the church to build on the Word, as the complete rule of conduct and service; for the mystery of lawlessness was even in their day at work in their midst. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.11

As soon as they were gone-even as it was with Israel when Joshua and the elders that were with Joshua had died (Judges 2:7)-the great majority began to compromise with the heathenism that was round about them. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.12

To attract the heathen and to silence their objections, “the Christian doctors thought it necessary,” says Mosheim, “to introduce some external rites, which would strike the senses.” Having lost the power of the Gospel and its purity, they must needs appeal to the senses. And what rites so useful in this as those which were familiar to heathenism? PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.13

Cardinal Newman frankly says of this time, about the third century:— PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.14

Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmit the very instruments and appendages of the demon-worship to an evangelical use, and feeling also that these usages had originally come from primitive revelations and from the instinct of nature, though they had been corrupted; and that they must invent what they needed, if they did not use what they found; and that they were moreover possessed of the very archetypes, of which paganism attempted the shadows; the rulers of the Church from early times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of the educated classes. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.15

This is soberly written in a book of great repute (“Development of Christian Doctrine,” page 371). What the development really is every reader must decide, weighing the Lord’s own words against the apology of the theologian. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.16

The rapid spread of this policy of compromise is thus confessed by the same writer:— PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.17

In the course of the fourth century two movements or developments spread over the face of Christendom, with a rapidity characteristic of the Church; the one ascetic, the other ritual or ceremonial. We are told in various ways by Eusebius that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed to in their own.... The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of trees; incense, lamps, and candles; votive offerings on recovery from illness; holy water; holy days and seasons, use of calendars, processions, blessing on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure, the ring in marriage, turning to the East, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant, and the Kyrie Elysion, are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the Church.-Page 373. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.18

These heathen abominations, introduced by the falling church, were essentially the same as those by which Israel anciently fell. The centre of them all was the same Methraic sun-worship which had spread over the world from the East. Thus it was that the introduction of the heathen festivals, alluded to by Cardinal Newman, included, as chief among them, the “venerable day of the sun,” the Sunday which has been substituted for the Sabbath of the Lord. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.19

In another part of this book the Cardinal answers the objections of Protestants to the Romish doctrines not founded on the Word of God by asking them in turn what prominence the lawfulness of bearing arms, or infant baptism, or “the substitution of the first day of the week for the seventh” has in the New Testament. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.20

Thus the Church of Rome boasts of having added to and taken from the words of the Lord, and frankly confesses the adoption of the heathen times and seasons in place of the Sabbath, just as Judah and Israel “observed times” when they forsook the commandments of the Lord, and despised His holy day. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.21

Instead of sanctifying these pagan practices by adopting them, the fallen church was itself paganised. And now what is to be done? “Preach the Word,” is the Divine answer. “Cry aloud, and spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression.” The Gospel message for the last days, just before the coming of the Lord (Revelation 14:6-14), is burdened with this special warning against the corruptions of the papal power. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 642.22

Does it make any difference whether one wears the uniform of heaven or the mark and livery of the Papacy? The difference is that between life and death, God and Satan. There is life in every word of God, and salvation from sin. There is freedom for the sinner, and rest for the weary. It is to this that God invites men as He warns them against the abominations of heathenism. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.1

We live in no ordinary time. Before the Lord comes a whole world is to be awakened by the Word to make the choice between God and His truth and Satan and the systems of error by which he has sought too successfully to hide the truth. Men and women are now making that choice, and the Lord invites every soul to build upon His Word. There is safety, and there alone. Will you build upon the sure foundation? PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.2

“Some Thoughts from Psalm 20” The Present Truth 11, 41.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble.” In the Revision, as in other translations, we have the word “answer,” in the place of “hear.” That is the exact rendering of the Hebrew. The Hebrew Lexicon gives the following in the definition of the Hebrew word which in this verse is rendered “hear” in our version: “to answer, to respond; of one who answers to another calling-to call back-which the Hebrews did by the word hinni,” which means, “Behold me,” or “Here am I.” PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.3

Remember that this is not simply a pious wish on the part of David, that the Lord may hear us in the day of trouble, but it is a promise of the Holy Spirit, who spoke by him, and whose word was in his tongue. 2 Samuel 23:2. One of the offices of the Holy Spirit is to teach us how to pray, and what to pray for, and this He does by bringing to our minds promises and statements of what God is willing and anxious to do for us. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.4

The Spirit makes intercession for us, “according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26, 27. Now we know that when we ask anything according to His will He hears us, and grants us the things we ask for. 1 John 5:14, 15. Therefore we know that whenever in praying to God we use the language of the Spirit of God, our requests are already granted. True prayer is to remind God of His promises, or rather, to claim them as our own. And there are many more promises in the Bible than most people are aware of. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.5

So in this first verse of the psalm, we have the promise that when we are in trouble, and call upon the Lord, He will say, “Here I am.” As He elsewhere says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shall glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15. He will not simply answer from afar, nor will He promise to come to us; but He will let us know that He is already close by, and has been near all the time. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20. So in Isaiah 43:2, properly rendered, “When thou passest through the water, I am with thee.” He is always the “I AM,” as well as the One who is to be. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.6

But who may claim this promise? Whom does the Lord promise to hear? There is no limit; the only qualification is that one shall call upon Him. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13. It matters not that they have brought the trouble upon themselves. He “giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not.” Read in Psalm 107:5-20, that “such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the Most High,” “cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and shadow of death, and brake their bands asunder.” Read further also that “fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saveth them out of their distresses.” Let no one fear that, because his own foolishness has brought him into trouble, therefore the Lord will not hear and help him. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.7

“The name of the Lord of Jacob defend thee.” Here is another promise that the Spirit gives us. It is an assurance that God’s name will protect us. Why, even a man’s name is often sufficient to guarantee one’s safety; how much more, then, the name of God! If one is travelling through a hostile country, the name of the ruler of that country will protect him from violence. God’s name is known in all the earth; even the devils tremble at it; and if in any part of the earth it is not recognised, as was the case with Pharaoh, then God is able to make it known in a way that it will be recognised. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.8

What is the name of “the God of Jacob”?—Read Exodus 3:13-15, where we learn that the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is “I AM THAT I AM.” “This is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.” That is, His name is THE ONE WHO IS PRESENT. He is the One who is always at hand to defend. And He is able to protect, because “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10. That name is also “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.” Exodus 24:5-7. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.9

“The name of the God of Jacob defend thee.” Better still, as in the margin in the Revision, “The name of the God of Jacob set thee up on high,” or on a high place. “In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock, and now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about.” Psalm 27:5, 6. Our enemies throng round us, and press upon us, and God places us up out of their reach. He even makes us “sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion.” Ephesians 1:20, 21; 2:6. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.10

“Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion.” What help will He send from the sanctuary?—Round about the throne of God in heaven are “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” of angels (Revelation 5:11); they are “mighty in strength” (Psalm 103:20), and they are “all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” Hebrews 1:14. Of those who trust the Lord, Jesus said that “their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:10. So there is a direct communication between earth and heaven, because “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Psalm 34:7. Moreover, the number sent to any person may be increased indefinitely; for Jesus assures us that the Father loves us just the same as He does Him (John 17:23), and when one of His disciples was proceeding to defend Him with carnal weapons, He said, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more then twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53. There is abundance of help in the sanctuary for those who put their trust in the Lord. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 643.11

Why should anyone desire any other protection than this? Very much is said just now about governmental protection of missionaries in China. To their honour be it said that none of this talk comes from them. We have not heard that any missionary has been petitioning his government for protection. Neither have any complaints come from them, that they have not been sufficiently protected. If they made such complaints, they would be unworthy the name of missionaries of Christ. He sends them forth, and He is fully able to protect them. Those who are sent out by earthly governments may consistently look to those governments for protection; but those who are sent out by the God of heaven, should not dishonour Him by implying that He is not able to defend His own, but that His servants must depend upon earthly power. The “Gospel of peace” can never be helped by any weapon in the hands of man. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal.” 2 Corinthians 10:4. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 644.1

Christ is a King, above all the kings of the earth. But His kingdom is not of this world, therefore His servants cannot fight. John 18:36. When Peter thought to defend His Lord with a sword, Jesus said, “Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” If the sword could not be used in defence of the Lord Himself, how can it be used in support of His work or His servants? It is utterly impossible; it may be unwisely drawn in their behalf, but always to their disadvantage. The servants of the Lord are forbidden to fight, for He says, “I say unto you, That ye resist not evil,” meaning, of course, evil done to us. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay saith the Lord.” “Overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:19, 21. But since they cannot fight even in their own defence, it is very evident that they cannot ask others to fight for them. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 644.2

What is the result of trusting in earthly powers, as compared with trusting in the Lord?—Here is the answer: “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and fallen; but we are risen, and stand upright.” Verses 7, 8. They who trust in chariots and horses are overthrown, while the ones who trust in the name of the Lord are made to stand. So we see that it is not an arbitrary thing, but simply the statement of a natural consequence, when the Lord says, by the prophet, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river.” Jeremiah 17:5-8. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 644.3

“We will rejoice in Thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners; the Lord fulfil all thy petitions.” A banner is an ensign, a standard, something round which to rally. What then is the banner that is to be set up in the name of our God? “In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign for the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious.” Isaiah 11:10. Let Christ be lifted up as “the Prince of peace.” Let His servants be content to preach “Christ and Him crucified,” and they will prove that the power of the cross is saving power. Spiritual power, do you say? Yes, certainly; but the greater includes the less. He who is able to save from “all the power of the enemy,” meaning the devil, is certainly able to save from all earthly foes. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 644.4

Very well, we have learned the lesson: “Now know I that the Lord saveth His Anointed; He will hear Him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.” That is power enough on our side, for both the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.” “But,” some one will say, “this promise is to the Lord’s Anointed, meaning Christ.” Very true, and since He sends His servants forth just as the Father sent Him forth (John 20:21), with the very same message, and clothed with the same authority (2 Corinthians 5:19, 20), it is very evident that the same protection that the Father accorded to Him will be granted to us, if we continue to be identified with Him. When we truly pray in the name of Jesus, it is the same as if Jesus Himself were praying, and we may be as sure of being heard as He was. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 644.5

Notice that this very thing appears in the psalm. The promise that the Lord hears His Anointed from His holy heaven, is the same as that which is in the second verse, and which is unlimited in its application. Christ was on this earth in man’s place. He was “made in all things like unto His brethren.” Hebrews 2:17. He had originally every advantage over man. But He “emptied Himself,” when He came to earth, so that as man He had no advantage that the meanest son of Adam may not have. As He was heard and protected, so may we be. He said to the Father, “Thou hearest Me always.” John 11:42. So we have the wonderful promise, “The Lord... grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.” Verse 4. This is a large order. “If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:14. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 644.6

Lastly we may consider the promise that the Lord will “Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice.” No wonder the Psalmist here inserted “selah,” which means “silence,” as much as to say, “Stop a little, and think of that.” Instead of “accept thy burnt sacrifices,” read the more literal rendering, “makes fat thy sacrifice.” The offerings that we bring to the Lord are poor at the best. We can bring nothing to Him except that which He gives to us. When the Jew of old offered a lamb as sacrifice, he was required to bring the best of the flock. But if he had a large flock of fine animals, it was simply because the Lord had given them to him, and made them fat. So that however much he might give, he must say with David, “All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee.” 1 Chronicles 29:14. But his neighbour, a poor man, would have but little to bring. His flock might be small and feeble. Nevertheless if he brought the best he had, the same God who had made the other man’s offering fat would count his as fat also.” If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” 2 Corinthians 8:12. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 644.7

This is shown in the case of the widow’s two mites. The rich men cast large sums into the treasury, out of their abundance, and she dropped only two mites, equal to a farthing. But it was all she had, and Jesus said, “This poor widow hath cast in more than they all.” Luke 21:3. The loving heart and the willing mind make the gift of valuable, for in the mere offering itself, no matter how great the amount, there is nothing that is of any real value, nothing that can add to His store. He requires an offering from us, not for His benefit, but for ours. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 645.1

This is our encouragement when we offer Him ourselves, the only offering that He desires; since without the gift of ourselves any other offering is mockery. So we will, with a sincere heart, give ourselves, including all that we have. But what is the value of the gift? “Every man at his best state is altogether vanity.” Psalm 39:5. We are poor, vile, and worthless. But here comes in the blessedness of giving ourselves to the Lord: He takes our offering, and makes it good. That which was but a disgrace, becomes transformed as soon as He looks upon it, and is found to be “to the praise of His glory.” Then whatever earthly things there are that men think worthy of confidence, let us make mention only of the name of the Lord our God. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 645.2

The moment a man knowingly does anything wrong, he hates the light. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 645.3

The fact that God can be seen in us ought to be enough to make us willing to be unknown and misunderstood all our lives. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 645.4

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth 11, 41.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

-In Berkshire the dairyman get 1? d. per quart for the milk that sells at 4d. in London. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.1

-The wealth of the United Kingdom, if divided among the inhabitants equally, would give ?350 to each person. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.2

-Of thirty ships leaving Bristol for trade on the West Coast of Africa twenty-live are loaded with gunpowder and rum. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.3

-A war is imminent between Italy and Abyssinia. Russia is said to have sent arms and money to assist the King of Abyssinia. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.4

-The warm weather the last of September started fruit trees and Homo forest trees into a second budding and blossoming in some parts of the country. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.5

-Pictures represent the Queen as wearing her crown on any and every occasion. It is said, however, that she has not worn it more than twenty times during her whole reign. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.6

-The race question in the Southern Staten of America has been given a now and more serious aspect by the proposition to disfranchise all negroes who cannot road or write in South Carolina. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.7

-The revenue returns show that trade conditions are improving. More business transactions are being entered into, postal, telegraph, and customs returns are increasing, and-not so encouraging-the consumption of spirits is also increasing the revenues. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.8

-The storm last week wrecked many vessels along the coast, and stirring accounts of rescues have come in from the lifeboat stations. Many lives have been lost. At Padstow, where the men failed in launching the boat, the women came to their aid, and by their united efforts a shipwrecked crew were saved. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.9

-A German editor has been sentenced to five months’ imprisonment for criticising the Emperor. It is stated that the terms of imprisonment of members of the Social Democratic Party in Germany during the year, if added together, produce a total of over eighty-three years. Germany has a bitter fight before it. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.10

-The Emigration Society issues reports dealing with the demand for labour in foreign parts. A report just published shows that in all the Australian colonies there is an over-supply of labourers, and in New Zealand, while the general depression is not so great as it has been, there is little demand for general labourers and skilled workmen. No demand in South Africa for mechanics, save for bricklayers and carpenters in Natal. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.11

-At the Temperance Congress, Chester, last week, Dr. Walmsley, of the London Idiot Asylum, had a paper in which he declared that insanity was one of nature’s penalties for her broken laws, and that alcoholic intemperance was responsible for much of the increase of mental diseases. Pauper lunatics in London wore increasing at the rate of 500 a year. This increase would necessitate building a new asylum every four years at the cost of half a million. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 654.12

“Back Page” The Present Truth 11, 41.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.” This is what the imminent coloured man, Booker T. Washington, is telling to his people in America. It is as applicable to individuals as to races. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.1

Referring to the chorus of denunciations of China, and the demand of not the secular press only, but the religious as well, for reprisals, the New Age very pertinently says:— PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.2

What has the religion of Jesus of Nazareth to do with ultimatums, backed by ironclads? The propagation of the faith by the sword is, we believe, a principle of Mohammedanism, but it seems to us to be rather late in the day for Christians to adopt the methods of the Prophet of Mecca. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.3

An Odessa despatch says that about 5,000 of the Russian Quakers have been forced to leave their homes in the neighbourhood of Kars owing to their refusal to bear arms. Russia is doubtless acting only as Germany or France would; but what a comment it is on the official profession of the powers of this world to be Christian nations when those who follow the precepts of Christ are exiled for following them. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.4

Telegraphic news from Turkey is not very reassuring from day to day if we look for signs of peace and quiet. However, a correspondent who is attending the Bible institute being held in Constantinople, for the benefit of our Armenian and Greek workers, wrote us just before the riots:— PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.5

Matters here in Turkey seem quiet; the Armenian question has dampened business, but the position of Armenians seems to be improving. Our brethren think that the result will be more freedom for them. Ten years ago, the Armenians had much more freedom than of late; and it is hoped that those times may return. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.6

Experiments show that when alcohol is applied to plants even in extremely minute proportions, it prevents or retards germination, and kills or stunts the growth of seedlings that are developed. The deadly effect of alcohol on plant life is very marked even with so small a proportion as one of alcohol to 800 of water. Imagine then, if you can, the terrible effect of alcohol on the human system, when taken in much larger quantities. The “moderate drinker” has no immunity. At the National Temperance Congress at Chester, Dr. F. H. Walmsley said, “Taken to excess, alcohol is in its passage through the organism everywhere equally a destroyer.” But from the above facts it is evident that it is impossible to take alcohol except in excess. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.7

Catholics quote the command to “hear the church,” and infer from it that their church cannot err in doctrine. Not at all; for the church of Christ can only speak “as the oracles of God.” As Christ spoke only the words of God, so the church can speak with authority only as it speaks the words of God. And God has given us His word in order that every one may know whether that which professes to speak for Christ is indeed His body. As the Catholic Church asks people to take its voice instead of the Word, we know it does not speak the words of God. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.8

A recent book Review tells us that “the Pauline authorship of both the Epistle to the Romans and the Epistle to the Ephesians has been disputed by scholars whose researches cannot be ignored by serious students.” In this we see the out-cropping of one of the meanest faces of human nature, namely, readiness to seize upon a suspicion. The fact that a man has once been accused of a crime, no matter how falsely, is taken as evidence that he is not what he ought to be. It requires no legal ability to bring an accusation against a man; so it is no evidence of scholarship to dispute any part or the whole of the Bible. This fact needs to be emphasised, because many people are thrown into confusion by strong assertions and denials, which they are led to suppose must come from great learning. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.9

Let it be remembered that it is faith, not scholarship, that finds out God. “After that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:21. “By faith we understand.” Remember also that there is a vast difference between “scholarship” and real knowledge. A man of vast scholarship may reason like a parrot. Much of the “scholarship” of five hundred years ago is a thing for laughter even among men to-day. Even so is much of the “scholarship” of to-day with God. “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool. That He may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” 1 Corinthians 3:18, 19. “For the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” A humble-minded man with no “scholarship” whatever, who is content to take God’s thoughts as his wisdom, knows far more about God’s truth than a learned man who thinks the Bible a thing for him to sit in judgment upon. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.10

Russia insists that nowhere is religious liberty more zealously guarded than in her territories. That means liberty to profess the Russian religion. Every year the authorities seem to be getting stricter. A Reuter’s despatch says:— PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.11

All German books and tracts which the sect of Stundists in Russia are in the habit of importing for the purpose of propagating the principles of their faith among the orthodox, are henceforward to be confiscated on the frontier. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.12

This will doubtless add to the difficulties of our own work in the Russian German colonies. But the “Holy” Synod can never put up a barrier that will be allowed to check the work of the Gospel in Russia. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.13

Work is a blessing, not a curse. Activity is life. Exercise means development. Idleness means stagnation and death. It is for this reason that the Lord graciously allows, rather than requires, His people to engage in His work. A bit of work faithfully done, whether with hand or brain, or both, is so much added to one’s capital, not simply for this world, but for the world to come. What matter, then, if somebody else does get the credit for it from men? He cannot get the discipline from you. And on the other hand, how foolish, not to say wicked, it is to seek to get credit for that which we have not done. It is as foolish as it would be to be content with the credit of having eaten breakfast, when you have eaten nothing. The applause of men is an empty thing, after all. Only He whom the Lord commendeth is approved; and the Lord commends only him who has “well done.” PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.14

We noticed that in one of the States of America the Spiritualists, with a keen sense of the fitness of things, have just held a camp-meeting at Devil’s Lake. PTUK October 10, 1895, page 656.15