The Present Truth, vol. 11
December 26, 1895
“Front Page” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” Psalm 37:23. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.1
Let no one say in discouragement, “Then the Lord will not order my steps, because I am not good.” Remember that the good man’s steps are not ordered by the Lord because the man is good, but that the man is good because the Lord directs his steps. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.2
“What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that He shall choose.” Psalm 25:12. “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know the doctrine.” John 7:17. “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. The good man is the man who is constantly willing that God should use him in His own way. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.3
Such a man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. There is no use in making difficult what God has made easy. When the Bible says that the good man’s steps are ordered by the Lord, it is folly to try to find some fanciful interpretation of the words. They mean just what they say. When even the hairs of our head are all numbered, why should it be thought a thing incredible that God literally directs the steps of those who commit their ways to Him. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.4
There are no accidents in the life of such ones. Their feet do not wander aimlessly. How many times a man has moved a few steps, seemingly without any purpose, and certainly without knowing why, just in time to escape some terrible calamity. What confidence it gives to know that we are constantly guided by Him who knoweth the way that we take. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.5
But there is a still further promise to the good man whose steps are ordered by the Lord: “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand.” Psalm 37:24. He can say, “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemies; when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.” Micah 7:8. There is no depth to which men may fall, where the Lord does not hold out hope to him. “These things I write unto you, that ye sin not, but if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.6
“Washing One’s Hands” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
To wash one’s hands has been from old-time a symbol of innocence, or of declining any responsibility in a matter. To wash one’s hands of an affair, is a familiar expression. When Pilate at last yielded to the clamour of the priests, and consented to the crucifixion of Jesus, “he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it.” Matthew 27:24. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.7
When Moses built the tabernacle in the wilderness, he was directed to make a laver of brass, and place it in the court, and between the tabernacle and the altar. This was to be filled with clean water, and the directions were: “Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat; when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord; so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not.” Exodus 30:19-21. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.8
This was to signify that those who engage in the Lord’s work must be clean, not physically, merely, but morally and spiritually. It is written, “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.” Isaiah 52:11. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.9
But that washing was only emblematical. Ordinary water cannot cleanse spiritual defilement. All the water of the Jordan could not have cleared Pilate from the guilt of condemning an innocent person at the demand of the people. It was but mockery for him to say that he washed his hands of the affair, when at the same time he delivered Jesus to their will. Even so the water in the brazen laver could not make a guilty priest innocent. The most that it could do was to indicate that they were already spiritually pure, if that were the case. The symbol without the fact was but a farce. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.10
There is a priesthood now, whose duty it is “to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5. This priesthood does not consist of a single earthly family, but is composed of the whole household of faith—“a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.” Verse 9. It is as necessary for them to be clean when they engage in the Lord’s service, which is a continual service, as it was for the priests of old. We read, “Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 817.11
The Psalmist was well acquainted with the priests’ custom of washing at the laver before they went to the altar, and so he said, “I will wash my hands in innocency; so will I compass Thine altar, O Lord; that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all Thy wondrous works.” Psalm 26:6, 7. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.1
Here is washing that is effective. Washing in innocency; how may it be done? There is but one fountain of innocency, and that is “the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:19. This blood is the water of life; for when the Roman spear pierced the side of Jesus, “forthwith came there out blood and water.” John 19:34. Now “there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree in one.” 1 John 5:8, R.V. We know that “the Spirit is life” (Romans 8:10), and therefore the blood and water are life. In that stream, emblem of the river of life flowing from God’s throne, we may all wash and be clean. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.2
May we know that we wash in this fountain and find cleansing?—By believing the Word of the Lord. Christ gave Himself for the church “that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the Word.” Ephesians 5:26, R.V. The margin has, “Greek, laver,” for washing, showing what was symbolised by the laver in the earthly sanctuary. Some versions have it, “cleansed by a water bath in the Word.” If we believe the Word, we have the witness of the Spirit. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.3
But the Lord always makes everything very plain for us, so that we may comprehend even the infinite mysteries that pass all understanding. We all wash every day. Washing with water the hands and face at least, if not the whole body, is the first thing that is done in the morning. Whence comes that water?—From the same source that everything in the world comes-from the Word of the Lord. All created things are simply the living Word of God made visible. The water which we drink, and in which we bathe, is but one manifestation of the Word of the Lord. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.4
Now we know that water cleanses. Nothing is more familiar than this fact. Therefore since the water in which we bathe is but one form of the Word of the Lord, every time we put our hands in water should be a reminder and an assurance to us of the power of God’s Word to cleanse from all defilement. Just as surely as water will wash away the outward impurity, so surely will God’s Word when received in this simple faith, cleanse us from all sin. If we continually believe, living a life of faith, we are continually cleansed. What a blessed assurance! PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.5
“Come to this fountain so rich and sweet;
Cast thy poor soul at the Saviour’s feet;
Plunge in to-day, and be made complete,
Glory to His name!”
PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.6
“The Educational Muddle” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
In the current Nineteenth Century Mr. Lyulph Stanley has a paper on the proposals of the Roman Catholics and the extreme Church of England party regarding State-aided denominational schools. The danger which he sees in these extreme proposals is the danger which was apparent in the proposals of his own party, and has been apparent all along in the whole controversy. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.7
Instead of taking a stand squarely on the principles of religious liberty, and recognising the patent fact that the teaching of religion is the work of the parent and of the church, working under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, all the parties have, with individual exceptions, discussed compromises, and sought to determine how much religion or of what kind should be taught by the State. The Catholics and the Anglicans merely demand that the State shall go further. This is Mr. Stanley’s view of the possible result:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.8
“We shall, if this goes on, see the re-establishment of the Test Act, not by law, but by the abuse of patronage. The Church training colleges and Church managers are accustomed to ask of applicants, ‘Are you a communicant?’ and when School Boards have, according to Lord Salisbury’s advice, been captured by the Church party, there will be found servile teachers who, even if the question be not asked, will make a parade for professional purposes of their presence at the most solemn rite of the Church of England. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.9
“For the moment it looks as though the ecclesiastical forces of reaction, with the help of those who resent the present cost of education, were going to bear down religious liberty and local self-government. The Church press thunders like Hannibal at the gates of the capital. To gain their object and to prevent the people from getting any more power over what should be their own schools, the Archbishops are willing to put themselves under further subjection to the central authority. Should anything of the sort take place, should a bureaucratic centralised system supersede the free initiative of local management, the old fable of the horse, the stag, and the rider will be reproduced, to the destruction of all vitality and progress in education.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.10
“The Author of War” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
War is the devil’s own element. As soon as he fell, amidst all the glories of the paradise of God, “there was war in heaven.” He was cast into the earth, and there has been war in the earth ever since he put his own hatred into Cain’s heart. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.11
The last work he does before the coming of the Lord is to send his agents forth to all nations gathering them to battle against each other and against the Lord. Revelation 16:14. When the destruction of the wicked at the second advent leaves Satan a thousand years upon the desolate earth he still plots war. And the first thing he does after the second resurrection, at the end of the thousand years, when the wicked are raised, is to go out again among the myriad hosts of the wicked “to gather them together to battle.” Revelation 20:8. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.12
He is the author of national enmities and of the theory that killing an enemy in behalf of one’s nation is a meritorious deed. He is still “the god of this world,” and the fact that the nations are arming as never before shows that he knows that the time for him to work with all his might has come. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.13
“The Specious Plea” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
When the Lord’s chastisement had led Manasseh, King of Judah, to repent of his abominable ways, he set about purging the temple and Jerusalem from the symbols of heathen worship. “He repaired the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 33:16. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.14
But the Reformation was only half-hearted on the part of the people. “Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in high places, yet unto the Lord their God only.” Verse 17. They did not want to give up all the heathen symbolism, so they kept the high places; and-notice the specious plea by which they salved their consciences-surely, they thought, it will not be so bad to keep just this much of the pagan religion and use it only to serve the Lord with. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 818.15
The reason why they wanted to keep the wicked institution was because of their own wicked hearts, and the consequence was that they fell right back into the old heathenism. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.1
Herein is a lesson for people nowadays who are compelled by the evidence to admit that institutions and ceremonies now common in the great body of the churches are of pagan origin, and were associated with the ancient devil worship. But now, it is urged, they are used in the service of the Lord. “We will still keep them, only unto the Lord our God,” is the plea. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.2
No; the Lord is a jealous God, and when His Word warns against seeking to compromise with the world by bringing the symbols of paganism into the church it will be well for men to listen to what He says. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.3
“When Did It Begin?” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
A friend has sent the following inquiry, which we have replied to by letter; but which we insert here together with a more full answer, for the benefit of many others who may wish every information upon the same subject:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.4
Would you kindly inform me at what date the first day of the week was observed instead of the seventh, and by whom it was authorised? PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.5
It may at first thought seem strange to some when we say that this is a question that cannot be answered, except by saying, We do not know. Yet if they will but reflect that Sunday observance is a thing for which there is no Scriptural authority, and upon which the Bible is absolutely silent, their cause for wonder that no one can give the date of its introduction will be gone. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.6
We need not at this time repeat the statements that have often appeared in these columns from first-day observers, to the effect that for Sunday observance there is no Divine command whatever. Let our readers take their Bibles and demonstrate the fact for themselves. But the fact that there is no such command is sufficient to show us that it would be impossible that there should ever have been any well-defined beginning for the custom. As the commentator Thomas Scott says:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.7
The change from the seventh day to the first appears to have been gradually and silently introduced, by example rather than by express precept. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.8
Since it is a custom that finds no warrant in the Scriptures, and which is in direct opposition to the fourth commandment, it is evident that it is a part of the apostasy or “falling away” of which the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Now apostasy is always gradual. It was beginning to work in the church when Paul wrote (see verses 6-8), but did not attain any great proportions until after his death. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.9
In his address to the elders of Ephesus, Paul said, “I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:29, 30. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.10
Even so they did. Mosheim, writing of the second century after Christ, says:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.11
There is good reason to suppose that the Christian bishops purposely multiplied sacred rites for the sake of rendering the Jews and the pagans more friendly to them. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.12
After relating a number of particulars, he adds:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.13
A large part therefore of the Christian observances and institutions, even in this century, had the aspect of pagan mysteries. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.14
The spirit that actuated the leading bishops being one of compliance, we need not be surprised at any heathen custom that we find in the church. The whole story of the first three centuries of apostasy is thus summed up by Dr. Killen, an Irish Presbyterian theologian and teacher of Church history, in the preface to his book, “The Ancient Church“:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.15
In the interval between the days of the apostles and the conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed its aspect. The Bishop of Rome-a personage unknown to the writers of the New Testament-meanwhile rose into prominence, and at length took precedence of all other Churchmen. Rites and ceremonies of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard, crept silently into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.16
Of course so prominent a heathen festival as the day of the sun could not fail to be gradually absorbed into the church that was so anxious to make friends with the heathen. The first time that Sunday came prominently to the front was in the year 196 A.D., when Victor, Bishop of Rome, undertook to force all the churches to conform to the Roman custom of celebrating Easter on Sunday. The churches in Asia were in the habit of celebrating it on the day corresponding to the ancient Passover, on whatsoever day of the week it might happen to be, and they refused to be led by Victor. Accordingly he anathematised and excommunicated them, but they nevertheless continued their old practice until the time of Constantine’s Nicene Council in 325 A.D., when all were ordered to observe Easter on the same day that the Church of Rome did. It is worthy of note that Constantine’s reason for the change was that they might “have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.17
But the Easter controversy was only an incident in the elevation of Sunday. Although professed Christians more and more adopted the heathen Sunday festival, it was not as a Sabbath, nor as a substitute for the Sabbath, which all recognised to be the seventh day of the week. Heathen customs were adopted as an addition to real, Christian observances, as “Leo the Great speaks of Christians in Rome, who first woshipped the rising sun, doing homage to the pagan Apollo before repairing to the Basilica of St. Peter.”—Schaff, volume 2, section 74. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.18
In this connection it is worthwhile to note a passage which Mosheim quotes from the life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, to the effect that when that bishop saw how much attached the simple multitude were to their ancient customs, “he allowed them at the sepulchres of the martyrs on their feast day, to dance, to use sports, to indulge conviviality, and to do all things that the worshippers of idols were accustomed to in their temples on their festival days, hoping that in process of time they would spontaneously come over to a more becoming and more correct manner of life.”—Eccl. Hist., Cent. 2, part 2, chap. 4, note 3. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.19
Bear this in mind while we note the first Sunday law ever issued. It was Constantine’s decree, A.D. 321, which Canon Eyton says “was the first public step in establishing the first day of the week as a day on which there should be secular rest.” Now that law ran thus:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.20
Let all the judges and townspeople, and all artisans rest on the venerable day of the sun. But let those who are situated in the country freely and at full liberty attend to the cultivation of their fields. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.21
Mosheim says that in consequence of this law Sunday was “observed more sacred than before.” It is evident, therefore, that previous to A.D. 321, Sunday had not at all been observed as a day of rest. There is no doubt but that religious services had to some extent been held upon it before that date; but when we consider the decree itself, together with what is told of Gregory Thaumaturgus, whose practice probably was much the same as that of other bishops, we are shut up to the conclusion that the observance of Sunday in those days corresponded very closely to that of a Bank Holiday in these days. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 819.22
The so-called “conversion” of Constantine gave the worldly, time-serving bishops the ascendancy, not only in the Church, but in the empire, so that from that time apostasy swiftly passed to the full development of “that lawless one” of whom Paul wrote. The Council of Laodicea, about fifty years later, enacted a canon to the effect that Christians must not Judaise and be idle on Saturday, but that they should especially honour Sunday, and, if possible, do no work on that day. Those who persisted in resting on the Sabbath were to be “shut out from Christ.” Constantine’s sentiment, “Let us have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd,” doubtless contributed much to this result. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.1
Here we have in brief the history and the cause of the introduction of Sunday into the Church. It insinuated itself so gradually that no one can tell when it first began. There is no date upon which we can put our finger and say, Here Sunday-keeping began. And even after the Sunday was established by law it was not regarded as a Sabbath day. It was not until after the Reformation, in 1595, that the idea was first broached that Sunday was the Sabbath. This was done by Dr. Nicholas Bound, for the purpose of concealing the fact that Protestants were following a purely Roman Catholic custom. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.2
“Wretchedness of the World” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
Says a newspaper, speaking of the East and West of London:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.3
That is the double prospect that appals every beholder nowadays. At the West, luxury and selfishness enervating and emasculating the rich and high-born; at the East, privation and disease crushing out the last remnants of health and manhood from the dregs of our people. And every remedy we try for these sores is but a plaster which hides their rottenness, but does not relieve it. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.4
And London’s problem is only that of the whole world. It is not that the work of the many self-denying workers in the poor districts and the rich ones is useless. Many souls are snatched from the misery of sinful ways by such efforts. But the great mass of the world refuse the Gospel, which alone can deal with the problem. The only remedy is the coming of the Lord, which will bring the reign of sin to an end and bring in the everlasting reign of righteousness in the earth made new. The sadness of the wretchedness of the world, as well as the gladness of the great day of the Lord’s coming must put in every heart that loves the thought of the coming of the Lord the prayer, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.5
“All About a Title” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
The quarrel between Gregory, called the Great, and the Patriarch of Constantinople over a question of title is an interesting episode in the history of the exaltation of the Roman bishopric. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.6
The primacy of the Bishop of Rome had been practically acknowledged and was stoutly maintained by Rome, but the Patriarch, John the Faster, taking courage by the fact that Constantinople was the seat of the empire, assumed the title of “Universal Bishop.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.7
Thereupon Gregory wrote epistle after epistle roundly denouncing the pride of his episcopal brother. He himself claimed the primacy, and declared that it was for Peter’s prerogatives, not his own, that he protested, but he quoted Christ’s words, “Be not called Rabbi,” and said that John was imitating, not His humility, but the pride of His great foe. Of course John could not see it, as he wanted the honour of the first place as much as Gregory himself, and the emperor, Maurice, as well as his successor, Phocas, failed to find any way of suppressing the title, that “wicked word,” which Gregory declared plainly indicated that the full manifestation of Antichrist was at hand. The sequel is thus told by Professor Hodgkin, in “Italy and Her Invaders“:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.8
“The issue of the controversy, which shall be finally stated here, was so illogical as to be almost amusing. Notwithstanding a decree of Phocas, the successor of Maurice, confirming in strong terms the primacy of the see of Rome, the Patriarchs of Constantinople continued to use the objectionable title, and at length the Roman Pontiffs, finding that they could not inhibit the use of it by their rivals, decided to adopt it for themselves. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.9
“About the year 680 two Pope’s began to style themselves, and to allow others to style them, Ecumenical Bishops or Ecumenical Popes; and in the two succeeding centuries the title, as used by or of the bishops of Rome, was a frequent occurrence. The world had thus the curious spectacle of two rulers of the Church, each of whom claimed universal jurisdiction, though not yet at open war with one another; and the Church of Rome saw Pope after Pope assuming a title which, in the judgment of their greatest predecessor, was a distinct note of the precursor of Antichrist.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.10
“How It Is Done in Canada” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
The following papers have just been served upon me:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.11
Canada. Province of Ontario, County of Kent. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.12
To A. O. Currill, of the Township of Chatham, and the County of Kent. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.13
Whereas, You have this day been charged before the undersigned, Geo. A. Watson, a Justice of the Peace in and for said county of Kent, for that you on the third day of November, A.D. 1895, at the Township of Chatham, in the County of Kent, did exercise worldly labour, being the Lord’s Day (the Sabbath Day), by working at the carpenter and mason work. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.14
These are therefore to command you in Her Majesty’s name, to be and to appear before me on Thursday, the fifth day of December, A.D. 1895, at ten o’clock, at the old Townhall in Ridgetown, or before such other Justice or Justices of the Peace for the same County of Kent and shall then be there, to answer to the said charge and to be further dealt with according to law. Herein fail not. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.15
Given under my hand and seal, this twenty-second day of the November in the year 1895, at Ridgetown, in the County aforesaid. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.16
GEO. A. WATSON, J. P.
P. M. Howe and William Simpson, both preachers of the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, are summoned to appear on the same charges; also Brother Thomas Griffith, for chopping wood on the same Sunday. A. O. BURRILL. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.17
Selton, Ontario.
We are able to add to our correspondent’s letter the intimation that the work done was in the process of building a meeting house in the vicinity of Chatham, Ontario. The opposition first set fire to the timber prepared for building, and several thousand feet of it were consumed. This failing to hinder the work of building, the opposition watched for an opportunity of preferring a charge under the “Lord’s Day” Act. The Chatham Justice of the Peace refused to receive the charge, but it was taken by the Justice of a neighbouring village, as the summons indicates.-ED. P. T. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 820.18
“The Temperate Miller of Billericay” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
Orin of the regular correspondents of the Christian World, “Christopher Crayon,” has written for that paper about the ancient town of Billericay, in Essex, and its quaint buildings, with some notes of notable people who lived there long ago, some of whom suffered martyrdom for the faith of Jesus. Of one of them he says:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.1
Not a little notoriety was attained in his day by Thomas Wood, known as the Ghastly Miller of Billericay. The miller is said to have been very powerful; he could carry two sacks of flour with ease, was of a masterful disposition, an enthusiastic and successful bee-keeper, fond of the birds in his garden, who were very tame with him. He was a great floriculturist, always carrying a nosegay in the buttonhole of his coat. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.2
I suppose he was called ghastly because at a time when every one believed in beer he gave up the use of it. There was a time when Wood ate a great deal more fat meat and drank more strong beer than was good for him. When be was about forty, in consequence, he began to grow very stout. Three years after he began to have gout, rheumatism, epileptic fits, and suffered from constant thirst and a sense of suffocation. A friend lent him Connao’s celebrated work on long life. The book convinced him that intemperance in eating and drinking was the true cause of his complaint. He reduced his allowance of beer and beef. In a little while he went a step further and gave them both up. The result was that, to use his own expression, he was transformed from a monster to a mortal of ordinary size from being a decrepit and unhealthy old man he regained the vigour and activity of youth, and could carry weights to which before he had been unequal. It was thus I fancy, he gained his nickname of the Ghastly Miller. At that time every one believed in beer. To live without it was absurd. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.3
In his way Wood was an innovator and reformer; and the world has always nicknames for innovators and reformers-men who have the misfortune to be a little wiser, or, at any rate, to have more common sense ban their neighbours. In a little while wisdom is justified of her children, and the laugh is the other way. Abstainers like the miller are to be met with in every town, in every street; and if now we rejoice in civil and religious liberty, it is because in such towns as Billericay there were men who feared God rather than man, and who had the courage to die as martyrs rather than live as slaves. If in these days the martyr-spirit has died out among us, if it has given place to the love of money, of respectability, of position, the world and England are all the poorer. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.4
We wish it were a fact that abstainers like the miller are to be met with “in every town, in every street: in almost every home;” but we fear that they are more rare than that. Indeed, there are doubtless villages where such a man would be a novelty. Nevertheless there are many such, and although they are often thought to be foolish, “wisdom is justified of her children.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.5
“Items of Interest” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
-Canada is nearly thirty times as large as Great Britain and Ireland. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.6
-Private companies in Japan have submitted to the Government plane for over 2,000 miles of new railroads. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.7
-A report shows that marriages, like births, are diminishing in France, while divorces are on the increase. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.8
-Lord Rayleigh and Professor Ramsay have been awarded by the French Academy of Sciences 50,000 francs for the discovery of argon. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.9
-The City of London, proper, has 27,827 inhabited houses. The night population is 34,881, and the day population about 815,400. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.10
-It is very probable now that the King of Ashanti will fight, and he is said to be making alliances with other chiefs against England. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.11
-The average Scotsman, it is said, stands 5ft. 8 6/8in., the average Irishman 5ft. 7 7/8in., the average Englishmen 5ft. 7?in., the average Welshman 5ft. 6 5/8in. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.12
-A young woman in Holland has now been asleep for over 220 days. The doctors, who say it is a genuine case, regard it either as chronic hysteria or auto-suggestion. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.13
-The holiday season in the North finds the great shipbuilding lookout and strike still unsettled, and all the time a danger that it will spread. But responsible parties on both sides are hopeful that a settlement will be arrived at after New Year. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.14
-Thames shipbuilders are taking action to see if they cannot bring some of the Government orders for ships to the slips along the Thames, some of which have long been deserted. The North has secured most of the Government work for years. The lock-out may turn it southward again. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.15
-It is a peculiarity of Ashanti, says a writer, that the common names, seven in number, correspond to the days of the week. “Kwasie” indicates a man born on Sunday, “Kudjoe” on Monday, “Kwabina” on Tuesday, “Kwaku” on Wednesday, “Yao” on Thursday, “Koff” on Friday, and “Kwamina” on Saturday. These are all accented on the final syllable. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.16
-France has secured from the Shah of Persia the exclusive privilege to unearth whatever archaeological treasures lie buried in that ancient empire. The Louvre already contains many valuable antiquities dug up at Shushan-coloured bricks of Artaxerxes’ palace, life-size reliefs of archers of the different races of Asia and Africa, etc.-and the work has scarcely begun. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.17
-The talk of war with this country, which has arisen in the States over the refusal of arbitration in the boundary dispute between British Guiana and Venezuela, has been the great subject of discussion in the press this week. Very generally it is taken as nothing that can lead to serious conflict, but when the war spirit gets possession of nations no one knows what will come, and the most unnatural strifes are possible. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 830.18
“Back Page” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
This is a season of the year when people are usually talking of “peace on earth,” and “good will to men.” There is no reason why peace and good will should be more prominent as a topic at this time of year than at any other, but so it is, and we may console ourselves with the reflection that it is better to talk peace once a year than not at all. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.1
But this year we seem to hear less of it than usual. Indeed, it seems to have been almost entirely crowded out by talk of war. Not for years, even when fierce war raged in America, or when the Franco-Prussian or Turkco-Prussian war was being waged, has war-talk been so nearly universal. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.2
Passing by the little wars which powerful “Christian” nations are all the time planning or waging against the weaker heathen tribes that need to be “protected” and “civilised,” we find that the spirit of war seems to be breathed everywhere. Just now all classes of people, but especially ministers of the Gospel, are clamouring for war with Turkey, and lastly comes strong talk-which we may with good reason hope will be all there is to it at present-of war between Great Britain and the United States over a bit of land in South America. No one really supposes that these two nations will actually fight over the question of the Venezuela boundary; but the fact that the President of United States could suggest it, and that the suggestion should rouse so much enthusiastic “patriotism” among the people, is most significant of the spirit that is working among the masses. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.3
At a meeting last week in the City Temple, which was called by the London Nonconformist Council, the purpose of which was to demand that the English Government proceed alone against Turkey, if the other powers will not co-operate, a letter was read from one of the leading ministers in the kingdom, who was detained at home because of illness, in which he said, “The righteous indignation of a nation must certainly rest upon any Minister who allowed his country to be humiliated.” This was received by the assembly of Christians with “loud cheers.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.4
In the same Spirit was the prayer of the chaplain of the United States Congress at the opening of the session a few days ago. He said, “Let peace reign within our borders. Yet may we be quick to resent anything like insult.” No other comment is needed than that of the American paper from which we quote it: “Praying to God to help them to do the very thing that the whole Bible and the whole spirit of Christianity opposes! That’s the kind of Christian nation we are.” And the same may be said of every other. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.5
One of the speakers of the anti-Turkish meeting already referred to, a Member of Parliament, said that he was the treasurer of the Peace Society, yet in spite of this He was compelled to admit that the time was coming when force must be used. We are not apologising for Turkey, but are simply showing how the spirit of war prevails. There are very few people in the world who are not for peace until they think there is cause for war. But if it were the fact that only inoffensive Christians were slaughtered in Turkey, and that only because of their Christianity, where could we find any warrant in the teaching of Christ for making war about it? The spirit of popular Christianity to-day is not the spirit of the Prince of Peace. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.6
Herein lies the cause for alarm. We are not afraid of being called alarmists, for God has said, “Sound an alarm in My holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at hand.” These “wars and rumours of wars” are signs of its approach; but they do not proclaim it nearly so much as does the spirit of war which pervades the people. The spirit of war is the spirit of Satan, and its manifestation now is an omen of the time when “the spirits of devils working miracles” will “go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.7
The arming of a nation costs money. “Between 1892 and the current year,” we are told, “the Imperial expenditure of Germany has increased by 120,000,000 marks, of which all but 20,000,000 is due to the demands of army and navy. Meanwhile, the revenue has increased by only 32,500,000 marks, the balance has been met by borrowing.” PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.8
“A Practical Protest Against the War Spirit” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
The Daily Telegraph of Dec. 14 contained the following item of news from France:— PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.9
At Mans, another court-martial has sentenced a soldier named Jules Goutandier to two years’ imprisonment for disobedience. His defence was that God and his conscience forbad him in any manner whatever from co-operating in fratricidal contests. The accused was at one time in America, where he became a member of the Salvation Army. Later on he joined an extraordinary sect who call themselves the “Seventh-day Adventists.” When the prisoner appeared before the court he acknowledged the charges brought against him, but added that nothing would induce him to give way. He not only refused to take his place in the ranks, but declined to go on fatigue duty. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.10
That is a refreshing change from the hot breath of war that is now coming from the four corners of the earth. We shall see and hear of many more such an effective protest as time goes on; but “Christian nations” will have little sympathy for those who believe that the precepts of Jesus were meant to be practically followed. Nevertheless the peace of God will be with them and keep them. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.11
“An ‘Obsolete’ Law” The Present Truth 11, 52.
E. J. Waggoner
One day last week a lad was brought before the magistrate at Camborne, charged with selling newspapers on Sunday. A policeman bought a paper of him, and then promptly arrested him. The case was dismissed, the chairman of the bench saying that this was a prosecution under what was practically an obsolete Act of Parliament. Newspapers were sold on Sundays in almost every town in England, and no action was taken in the matter. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.12
The Daily Chronicle also says editorially that all sensible people know that the Act forbidding the Sunday sale of newspapers is obsolete. Nevertheless it is still an Act of Parliament. What then about the “pillars of English law” which received such a shock when the International Tract Society pursued its ordinary work on Sunday? What about the sacredness of law, which must be enforced though the heavens fall? We have simply a demonstration of the fact that for law, as law, people care very little, only desiring the enforcement of such as suits popular sentiment or prejudice. PTUK December 26, 1895, page 832.13