The Present Truth, vol. 9
January 26, 1893
“Nourishing Doubts” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
Nourishing Doubts.-There is nothing in the world more prolific than doubt. A single doubt will multiply itself indefinitely, and it lives and propagates upon air. Let a person air his doubts upon every convenient occasion, and they will flourish. Doubts never diminish by being expressed in words. If you have doubts keep them to yourself, for the sake of others, if not for your own. But, better still, kill them. The antidote for the poisonous germ of doubt is belief. Settle it in your heart once for all that God’s word is true, because He Himself is the truth. Then remember that as God is from everlasting to everlasting, so is His truth. It is unchangeable. That which was true yesterday is true to-day, and will be truth eternally. Doubt is simply the shadow of a lie, and no lie can overthrow truth. Doubts will come to every man, but the man in whose heart is the love of the truth and the knowledge of God, will let them affect him no more than straws on the ocean obstruct the course of the Majestic. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.1
“Ministers of Grace” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
Ministers of Grace.-It is possible that a good deal of the so-called work for the Lord that is done in these days, arises from a misconception of the work of the angels of God, the “ministers of His that do His pleasure.” Their occupation is thus set forth: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14, R.V. what is their work? To do service for the sake or benefit of the heirs of salvation. How many of them are engaged in this work? All of them. Then it seems that there are none left to engage in the work of spying out the evil and reporting it to the Lord, a thing which is commonly supposed to be a large part of their occupation. “But does not God take notice of the evil that goes on?” He certainly does know all about it, and will punish for it; but how He knows it does not concern us. Since He is God, knowledge of all things is a part of His existence. But we may be sure that God does not sit in heaven beholding the works of man as a spy, and that He does not send the angels out “slumming.” His thoughts are thoughts of peace, and the angels are ministers of His grace. Let all who would be workers together with God and the angels remember this. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.2
“The Commandments of God” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
“And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:16, 17. The young man was astonished that he should be told to keep the commandments, for he himself was so sure that he had never failed in any particular, that he thought everybody must recognize the fact, and so he asked, “Which?” As much as to say, “Which once have I not kept?” Jesus said, Thou shalt not murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother; and Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Verses 18, 19. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.3
The young man’s reply that he had kept all these, we may leave for the present, and simply consider the commandments themselves. Let us trace them from the giving of them on Mount Sinai. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.4
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to Me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.” Exodus 24:12. “And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” Exodus 31:18. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.5
“And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand; the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.” Exodus 32:15, 16. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.6
Afterwards Moses rehearsed the commandments before the people, as recorded in the fifth of Deuteronomy, verses 6-21, and at the close he said, “These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.” Deuteronomy 5:22. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.7
Still later we have the record of the apostasy of the children of Israel, when Moses broke the tables of stone, and then we read this account, “At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto Me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And He wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.” Deuteronomy 10:1-5. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.8
These ten commandments are recorded in Exodus 20:2-17, just as the Lord spoke them from the mount. We have learned that they are all that He spoke, and that they are His law. It was from these that the Lord quoted when He told the young man that if he would enter into life He must keep the commandments. It is of them that the wise man speaks, when he says, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 17.9
It is of these commandments that we read in the Psalms: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” Psalm 19:7-9. “The works of His hand are verity and judgment; all His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” Psalm 140:7, 8. “The word is true from the beginning, and every one of Thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” “My tongue shall speak of Thy word; for all Thy commandments are righteousness.” “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth.” Psalm 119:160, 172, 142. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.1
The violation of these commandments is sin, for “Whosoever committeth sin, transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. The apostle Paul said, “I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Romans 7:7. “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” Romans 4:15. “Sin is not imputed where there is no law.” Romans 15:13. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.2
There is no sin that is not condemned by them, and no goodness that they do not enjoin. The psalmist said, “I have seen an end of all perfection but Thy commandment is exceeding broad.” Psalm 119:96. It is so broad that it takes notice of the very thoughts and intents of the heart. For when we are told that to fear God and keep His commandments is the whole duty of man, there immediately follow these words, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14. Every secret thing will be judged by the commandments of God. This shows something of their breadth. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.3
The Saviour, in the sermon on the mount, illustrated the breadth of the commandments. Said He: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.4
The Pharisees were very scrupulous observers of the law. That is, they professed to be. But their observance of it was only outward. They did nothing that man could see that was wrong; but they did not hesitate to do any evil, provided nobody could find it out. The Saviour said of them, “Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Matthew 23:27, 28. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.5
Therefore when Christ said, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven,” He meant that the righteousness which is only on the outside is worthless. They that do the commandments of God will have right to the tree of life, and shall enter in through the gates into the city of God, the New Jerusalem. Revelation 22:14. But they who only outwardly appear to be righteous, cannot in any case enter there. This shows that the keeping of the commandments is an affair of the heart and life, and not one of a mere form. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.6
Then the Saviour proceeded to show how the commandments may be broken. He quoted the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill,” and showed that it may be broken by so seemingly small a thing as an angry word. He quoted the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and showed that a single evil glance of the eye was enough for the violation of it. And so on with others. See Matthew 5:21-47. All this shows that the ten commandments are the whole duty of man, the whole of the truth of God, they endure to all eternity, that they are that by which every man’s case will be decided in the judgment, and that so broad are they in their requirements that a single word or look may suffice to break them. God desires truth in the inward parts. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.7
“The Fulfilling of the Law” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
The young man who came to Jesus thought that he had kept all the commandments, for when Jesus referred to them, he said, “All these have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?” Then Jesus answered, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and follow Me.” Matthew 19:20, 21. This was a test that the young man could not endure, and he went away sorrowful. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.8
Shall we learn from this that there was something necessary for the young man to do more than the keeping of the commandments? By no means: For the Saviour told him that if he would enter into the kingdom he should keep the commandments. We learn that the young man had not kept the commandments, although he thought that he had. “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Galatians 5:14. But this man did not love his neighbour as himself; therefore he had not kept the commandments. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.9
“Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:10. The Saviour said to the young man, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor.” In Colossians 3:14 we are told that love is the bond of perfectness. So the Saviour simply pointed out to the man that although he had outwardly kept all the commandments, he lacked the essential element of commandment keeping, which is love. Without love there is no keeping of the law. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.10
True charity is not simply almsgiving, but it is love. Now, remembering that love is the fulfilling of law, and that without love there is nothing of any value, read the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and we shall find out what constitutes the keeping of the commandments. “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself; it is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, R.V. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.11
When we understand that love, and that alone, is the fulfilling of the law, we can see in this chapter the statement that the keeping of the commandments means kindness, patience, unselfishness, thoughtfulness for others, forgetfulness of self, and labour to build up others, meekness, and gentleness, and true courtesy. In short, it means perfection. Without love in the heart, there is no keeping of the law of God. The law was given in love (Deuteronomy 33:2, 3), and it is love. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.12
“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:7, 8. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3. “We love, because He first love us” (1 John 4:19), because love is of God. That is, there can be no real love that does not come from God. God is love, and all love springs from Him. So we are able to love one another only as “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” PTUK January 26, 1893, page 18.13
All this goes to show that the keeping of the commandments of God is simply a likeness to God Himself. It is more than mere likeness to God; it is assimilation to God; for love, which is the fulfilling of the law, comes from God. Therefore the keeping of the commandments by any man is nothing less than the manifestation of the life of God in that man. A few paragraphs may profitably be devoted directly to this point in the following article. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.1
“The Law and the Life” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
We have already seen that the keeping of the commandments of God is summed up in one word, namely, love. But love is of God, “For God is love.” Notice that the text does not say that God has love, but that God is love. Love is the nature of God; it is His very life. Therefore it is plain that the keeping of the commandments of God is partaking of the nature of God. This is a point which cannot be too often repeated, and so although we have often presented it, we shall again set forth some Scriptures upon it. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.2
When the young man came to Christ, saying, “Good Master,” the Saviour said to him, “Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.” In this Christ was not rebuking him for calling Him good, because He was good. He “knew no sin.” To the Jews He said, “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” John 8:46. And again He said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.” John 14:30. He knew that He was good, and He could not deny that without denying Himself, and that He would not do it. But in putting that question, and making that statement to the young man, He showed that He Himself was God. He and the Father are one, and God alone is good. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.3
As contrasted with God, man is only evil. “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:10-12. “Out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:21-23. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.4
As is the heart, so is the man. “An evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil.” Luke 7:45. Therefore since the heart of man,-not of one man merely, nor of a certain class of men,-but the heart of all mankind, is evil, only evil can be done by any man when left to himself. “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Galatians 5:17. And this is spoken especially of those who desire to do that which is right. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.5
This evil in the heart of man is opposition to the law of God. Thus we read, “to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:6-8. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.6
Nevertheless God tells men to keep His commandments. And since it is impossible for the nature of man to keep them, and goodness presides in God alone, it follows that in order to keep the commandments one must have the nature of God. Christ is the revelation of God. No man knoweth the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him. Matthew 11:27. In Christ’s life there was perfect goodness, because His life was the life of God. God is good. His life is goodness itself. Goodness constitutes His life. Goodness is not an abstract thing, but it must always be manifested in action. But action is life. Therefore since there is none good but God, it follows that whosoever keeps the commandments of God must do so by having His life in them. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.7
That this is the only way that the righteousness of the law can be manifested in man, is shown by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Galatians. Said He: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:20, 21. Righteousness comes only by the life of God in Christ. So it is that “by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19. In all the host of the redeemed in the kingdom of heaven, there will be the manifestation of the righteousness of Christ, and of His righteousness alone. It is not simply that Christ obeyed the law eighteen hundred years ago, when He was on earth, but that He obeys the law now, the same as He did then; for He is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever; and so when He comes to dwell in the hearts of men who believe in Him, He lives the same life of obedience in them that He did when He was here to die for man. To know this as a practical fact, is to acknowledge that Christ is come in the flesh. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.8
It is because the law of God is the life of God, and that is love, that the Saviour gave this instruction: “I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans the same?” Matthew 5:44-47. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.9
The greatest manifestation of merely human love is to do good to those who do us good. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. Man loves his friends, sometimes; but God loves His enemies. That is love itself, because it does not grow out of what He has received from the object of love. The Saviour knew that love such as that was not possible to a human nature, and so He added these words, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48. That is, we are to have the perfection of God. Not that we are to become gods, but that we are to allow His life to be manifested in us, and so we shall have His perfection. The goodness will all be of God, but will be counted ours, because we yield ourselves to it, that He may live it in us. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.10
This thought lifts the law of God above the level of mere force, and glorifies it. We “know that His commandment is life everlasting.” John 12:50. The ten commandments are not arbitrary rules laid down by the Almighty, for the government of mankind. They are not precepts that exist merely in writing, which the subjects are to read, and then do their best to keep; not like the laws of earthly governments, in the keeping of which the subject receives no help from the lawgivers. God has not given to man a law as hard as the stone on which it was traced at Sinai, and then left them to do the best that they can with it, His only concern being to punish them if they come short. Far different. The law written on tables of stone is but the statement in words of the living righteousness of the living God, which He in love gives to all who will receive it. It is the condition of life, simply because all life comes from God; and since all who live for ever must have His life, it is inevitable that they must have His righteousness. But God has not left them to secure this righteousness by themselves. He well knew that such a thing would be impossible. So He gave Himself, pouring out His own life on the cross, in order that man might have it. So the law of God is the life of God,-gracious, loving, and merciful. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 19.11
Only one thought more need be noted here, and that is, that nothing less than the life of God will meet the demands of the law. Whoever comes short of the glory of God, which is His goodness, is a sinner,-a transgressors of the law. The righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ, is the only thing to which the law will witness that it is perfect. Anything less than that will be condemned by the law; for “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Romans 14:23. There is no injustice in God’s maintaining this high standard for man, since He gives Himself, with all the righteousness of His life, to everyone who will take it. He gives His life freely. All man has to do is to submit himself to the righteousness of God. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.1
A mere form of godliness will avail nothing. No amount of mere outward conformity to the law will be accepted as the keeping of the law. There is but one God, and so there is but one life of God. He will not acknowledge any rival gods, and He cannot be deceived by a righteousness which is only a counterfeit of His life. Any amount of professed conformity to the law of God, which does not come from the life of God in the soul, is nothing but sin. Let it not be forgotten, their righteousness,-the keeping of the commandments of God,-is only by the faith of Jesus Christ, and that whatsoever is not of faith is sin. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.2
“Civil Government and the Law of God” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
In the last number of the PRESENT TRUTH a statement was made in regard to civil legislation on religious matters, something to this effect: If there is in the law of God no warrant for any given practice, then for men to pass laws enforcing that practice, is to try to compel them to sin; for the law of God contains all that He wants men to do, and anything different from His law is sin. And if the law of God does enjoin any given thing, then for men to pass laws requiring the performance of that thing, is unnecessary and presumptuous, to say the least. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.3
With what we have learned in our study of the law of God, in this number, we are prepared to go beyond that statement, and say that any human legislation whatever upon the law of God, or any part of it, is sin, and the only result of such legislation is to compel men to sin, and to confirm them in sin. This is not a rash, unconsidered statement, but is the only conclusion possible from the nature of the law, as revealed in the Bible. Remember this: The commandments of God are the righteousness of God. The perfect law is found only in the life of God, which is revealed to men in Christ. The keeping of the law of God is a thing utterly beyond the reach of human power. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20. Only by faith in Jesus Christ can the righteousness of the law be obtained. For the righteousness of the law is inseparable from the life of God, and that life is manifested only in Christ. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.4
“The law is spiritual.” Romans 8:14. Every portion of it is spiritual. That is, it is the nature of God, for “God is Spirit.” John 4:24, R.V., marginal reading. Now it needs no arguing to prove that no human power can put into the hearts of men the life and Spirit of God. No human law can put love into the heart of man. The law of God itself cannot do that, except as it is in the life of Christ. Only the Spirit of God can shed the love of God abroad in the heart. No man is able of himself so to keep even the law of God, that he will be righteous. God must dwell in him, living His own life in him. How much less, then, can any righteousness come by a law of man? PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.5
It is evident to everybody that the most that human law-givers and judges can take account of is the outward acts of men. Man judges after the outward appearances; the Lord alone looks upon the heart. But the keeping of the law of God, as we have seen, does not consist of mere outward acts. Mere outward righteousness is sin. Therefore the conclusion is inevitable, that whenever men pass and attempt to enforce laws that profess to be a part of the law of God, they are dishonouring the law of God, and compelling men to sin. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.6
For (1) when men make a law, and say that in enforcing it they are enforcing the law of God, they thereby say that the law of God is no better than their law. They say that the law of God requires no greater degree of righteousness than they can enforce. That is the greatest possible dishonour to the law of God. And (2) when men make that claim, and lead people to think so, they are leaving them to sin. For the most that any human law can require and enforce is outward compliance, and that is the most that any man can of himself render to any law. Therefore when men profess that they are enforcing the law of God, they are educating the people to think that mere outward observance satisfies the law of God. And therefore just so far as such laws have any effect at all, their effect is to lead men to sin, and to cause them to rest satisfied in sin, thinking that they are keeping the law of God. No more wicked and presumptuous a thing can be done in this world than for men to attempt to enforce the law of God, and to cause men to think that such a thing is possible. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.7
In the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel we find the Papacy represented under the form of a “little horn” coming up among the ten horns of the fourth beast, which symbolizes Rome. Before it three of the ten kingdoms of the Roman Empire were plucked up, to make room for it. Of this little horn,-the Papacy,-the angel that interpreted the vision of the prophet said, “And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” Daniel 7:25. The apostle Paul, writing by inspiration of God, sets forth the Papacy as “that man of sin” “that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4, R.V. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.8
These characteristics are met in every case where men think that they can enforce the law of God. For to say that men can enforce the law of God, is to say that man has the power of God; and that is for those who make the laws to set themselves forth as God. So every nation that enforces religion by law puts itself in the place of God. But when a nation puts itself in the place of God, it turns the attention to just that degree away from God, since it is not indeed God, and has none of His attributes; therefore such enforcement of religion is nothing else than idolatry. Therefore we find that the professed enforcement of even the Christian religion is heathenism. The union of Church and State, or the union of religion and the State, which is the same thing, is the very essence of Paganism. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.9
This will be plain enough to anyone who will think of it seriously. The promise of the everlasting covenant is that God will put His laws into the inward parts of men, and write them on their hearts, and that He will be their God, and they shall be His people. All this is what God alone can do. No man can write the law of God upon His own heart, much less upon the heart of anyone else. No man can make himself a child of God, any more than he could make himself the child of his natural father. As a child has nothing to do with making himself the child of his father, so the man has nothing to do with making himself the child of God. Only in this latter case, he gives his consent. But man becomes a child of God only by the will of God. See John 20:1, 12, 13; James 1:18. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.10
Neither can any man make God his God. God can make Himself the God of any man; but whenever man has attempted to make God his God, the result has been an idol. No man can make God. So the attempt to enforce the observance of the first commandment of the law of God, would result only in national idolatry. And a similar result must follow the attempt to enforce any other commandment. So we see that in religious legislation by human governments, the sin is not so much in the fact that men misinterpret the plain words of the law, as it is in the fact that they presume to enforce the law God at all. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 20.11
“The Second Table of the Law” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
There is a notion quite prevalent, derived by tradition from we do not know where, that, as the law of God is summed up in two parts, namely, love to God and love to man, the first four commandments relating solely to man’s duty to God, and the last six relating to man’s duty to his fellow-men, so it is within the province of human governments to legislate upon the last table of the law, even though they may not presume to meddle with the first tables. This we say is a tradition, having no foundation whatever in fact. The consideration that we have already given to the law of God is sufficient to show the fallacy of that idea. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 21.1
To see clearly that the enforcement of the second table of the law as a whole, at least, is not within the province of human governments, one has only to read the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.” There is a commandment of which no earthly government can ever take any notice. A man may be almost eaten up with covetousness, and yet human laws cannot punish him, and the officers of the law cannot even tell that he is covetous. So it is evident that the second table of the law cannot be enforced by human government. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 21.2
But no other commandment of the second table can be enforced by human power anymore than the tenth. For the law is spiritual. Every part of it is spiritual. The sixth commandment, and the seventh, and the eighth are spiritual, as well as the first. The keeping of the commandments does not consist of outward form. If there is no spiritual life in the soul, there is no commandment keeping. Moreover, the outward appearance is often deceiving if we should allow ourselves to judge a man’s actions, we should often say that he is doing wrong when if we could read his heart and see his motives we should note that he is doing right. And very often men are praised for doing what seems to be right, but what is actually wrong. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 21.3
It is a mistake to suppose that because the last six commandments define man’s duty to man, they have no relation to God. They are the commandments of God, and of God alone. It is man’s duty to God to love his fellow-man. Love to man can spring only from love to God. Love to God cannot exist without love to man. “For he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?” 1 John 4:20. And mark this: The two tables of law are not duty to God and duty to man, but they are love to God and love to man. Duty may be enforced, but love cannot be. The law is love, for love is the fulfilling of the law. But no human power can force a man to love another. Therefore no human power can enforce the law of God. God Himself cannot force men to keep His own law, because it is a law of love as He Himself is love. But He puts the keeping of it into those who are willing, by shedding His love abroad in their hearts by His Holy Spirit. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 21.4
“But is it not right for the government to make and enforce laws against murder and theft?” Most certainly; but in punishing a man for killing another or for stealing, the government is in no sense enforcing the law of God. Murder and theft are punished in nations that know nothing of God. When the thief is put in goal, it is not because he has violated the law of God, but because he has interfered with the peace of another. So also when the murderer is hanged. The punishment which the State inflicts upon the murderer will in no wise diminish the punishment which he will receive from God at the Judgment. If in hanging the murderer the State were enforcing the law of God, then that would be all the punishment that the murderer would receive. But no one supposes that because a man suffers the penalty of law He will receive any less punishment at the hands of God than he would have received if he had escaped detection by man until he died a natural death. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 21.5
Civil governments are ordained by God, but not to take the place of God. God has no vicegerent on this earth. No earthly power is deputed to enforce the law of God, nor to see that it is obeyed. The object of human government is to hold in check man who would make it impossible for others to live in peace. Civil governments are not for the purpose of making men religious, nor of helping them in any way to be religious, but only for the purpose of compelling certain men to act civilly, who will not do so unless they are forced to. It is true that there has never been a government on earth that has kept within its proper bounds, but the fact that governments have presumed to meddle with a great many things beyond their range, does not make it right. Precedent does not make a thing right. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 21.6
The idea that men are deputed to see that God’s law is obeyed is what led to the establishment of the Inquisition. Men recognized the fact that the law of God has to do with more than the outward acts. So as they felt themselves charged with the burden of seeing that it was obeyed, they began to inquire into people’s private affairs, and into their secret lives. As nobody could know so much about any man’s thoughts as the man himself, the inquisitors were not content with the testimony of spies, but interrogated the man himself. And as he would naturally be reluctant to lay bare his secret thoughts, the rack, the thumb-screw, the pulley, etc., were resorted to in order that human judges might know what God alone can know. The evil of the Inquisition is the evil of the union of Church and State. The former naturally and inevitably grows out of the latter. Just to the extent that the union is close and effective, will be the strictness of the Inquisition. No man can defend the union of Church and State without upholding the Inquisition. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 21.7
“Enforced Rest” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
One of the strange things in connection with Sunday legislation is the notion that people will not rest when they are tired unless they are compelled to. The plea so commonly made is that Sunday laws are necessary in order that the labouring men may take the rest that is so much needed. Now while it is true that there are some persons who were so industrious that they literally “worked themselves to death,” spurring themselves up to work when nature demands rest, it is a fact that such persons are rare exceptions among mankind. It is natural for people to rest when they are tired. It is very unnatural for one to keep on working after he is very weary. It requires an extraordinary effort to do so; and very few put forth that effort. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 22.1
Let one read the daily papers, and he will not get the idea that excess of work is killing off many people. We have never read of a case where a man was arraigned before the magistrate, charged with trying to commit suicide by overwork; but we can scarcely take up the paper without noticing a case in which an able-bodied man is charged with neglecting his family through his idleness. To rest when one is tired is as natural as to sleep when one is sleepy; and we have never heard any of the advocates of an enforced Sunday rest plead for a law compelling men to take seven hours’ sleep in the twenty-four. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 22.2
But the case becomes more absurd, when we see the argument applied to the keepers of public-houses. In the Memorial which was noticed at length a few weeks ago, we read that “the Sunday sale of intoxicating liquors is wrong in principle, unfair to other trades, and injurious to the publicans and their servants, whose hours on other days of the week are grossly excessive.” Their hours of labour are indeed long, but they have the privilege of shortening them if they wish. But if their hours on other days are too long, why is it that there is no effort to give them rest on those days, when they need the rest? Why not equalize matters, by giving them the proper amount of rest every day, instead of putting the rest all into one day? Why? Because all Sunday legislation is in the interest of the day, and not at all in the interest of the people. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 22.3
“A Present Help” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 17:1. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 26.1
How much help and consolation we miss by unconsciously omitting the word “present” when reading the above text. We readily admit meant that God is a “refuge and strength” to others, and we may even go so far sometimes as to say that He is “our refuge and strength.” That is, we believe He has helped us, and that He will help us, if we trust Him, but is it not quite another thing to believe that He is “a present help” in this trouble,-and not only a present help, but a “very present help?” How natural it is to look back on that long illness or that severe trial in the past and gratefully acknowledge God’s care and help through it all, and yet at the same time fear to trust Him in the present emergency! It is so much easier to believe that He has heard us, and that He will hear us, then that He does hear us. We assent to the fact of a crucified and risen Saviour, and yet how feebly we laid hold upon it! How often we act as though we believed there was no one to pity and no one to save, as though our Saviour were yet buried in Joseph’s new tomb! But praise God, “He is risen!” “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.” Psalm 145:18, 19. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 26.2
A remarkable instance of the fulfilment of this promise is noted in the New York Observer of December 29, 1892. It is in connection with the story of the wrecking of the Spree, the Atlantic steamer on which Mr. D. L. Moody recently took passage for America. He says:- PTUK January 26, 1893, page 26.3
“I embarked on the Spree, a vessel about four hundred and ninety feet long, with seven hundred passengers on board representing Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Russia, Hungary and other countries, besides our own. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 26.4
“When about three days on our voyage, as I was lying on my couch I was startled by a terrible crash and shock, as if the vessel had been driven on a rock. I did not at first feel much anxiety-perhaps I was too ill to think much about it. But my son jumped from his berth and rushed on deck. He was back again in a few moments, explaining that the shaft was broken and the vessel sinking. I did not at first believe it could be so bad, but concluded to dress and go on deck. The report was only too true. The captain told the affrighted passengers, who had rushed on deck that there was no danger, and some of the second cabin passengers returned to their berths, only to be driven out again by the inrushing water, leaving everything behind them. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 26.5
“The officers and crew did all they could to save the vessel. But it was soon found that the pumps were useless, for the water poured into the ship too rapidly to be controlled. There was nothing more in the power of man to do. We were utterly, absolutely helpless. We could only stand still on the poor, drifting, sinking ship, and look into our watery graves. All this time, unknown to the passengers, the officers were making preparations for the last resort. The life-boats were all put in readiness, provisions prepared, life-preservers in hand, the officers armed with revolvers to enforce their orders, and the question was evidently being debated in their minds whether to launch the boats at once, or wait. The sea was so heavy that the boats could hardly have lived in it. Two of the passengers had loaded revolvers ready to blow out their brains if the vessel should go down, preferring death by bullets to death by drowning. At noon the captain told us he thought he had the water under control, and was in hopes of drifting in the way of some passing vessel. The ships bow was now high in the air, while the stern seemed to settle more and more. The sea was very rough, and the ship rolled from side to side with fearful lurches. If she had pitched violently but once, though bulkheads must have burst, and the and come. The captain tried to keep up hope by telling us we should probably drift in the way of a ship by three o’clock that Saturday afternoon, but the night closed upon us without sign of a sail. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 26.6
“That was an awful night, the darkest in all our lives. Seven hundred men, women, and children waiting for the doom that was settling upon us. No one dared to sleep. We were all together in the saloon of the first cabin-Jews, Protestants, Catholics, and sceptics-although I doubt if at that time there were any sceptics among us. The agony and suspense were too great for words. With blanched faces and trembling hearts the passengers looked at each other, as if trying to read what no one dared to speak. Rockets flamed into the sky, but there was no answer. We were drifting out of the track of the great steamers. Every hour seemed to increase the danger of our situation. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.1
“Sunday morning dawned, without help or hope. Up to that time no suggestion of religious services had been made. To have done that would almost certainly have produced a panic. In the awful suspense and dread that prevailed, a word about religion would have suggested the most terrible things to the poor souls. It was necessary to divert their minds, if possible, or they would break under the strain. But as that second night came on, we held a prayer-meeting, with the concurrence of the captain. Everybody attended, and I think everybody prayed, sceptics and all. Surely the cries of the dear little children were heard in heaven. With one arm clasping a pillar to steady myself on the reeling vessel, I tried to read the ninety-first Psalm, and we prayed that God would still the raging of the sea and bring us to our desired heaven. It was a new psalm to me from that very hour. The eleventh verse touched me very deeply. It was like a voice of Divine assurance, and it seemed a very real thing, as I read: ‘He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.’ Surely He did it. I read also from the one hundred and seventh Psalm, verses 20-31. One lady thought those words must have been written for the occasion, and afterwards asked to see the book for herself. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.2
“I was passing through a new experience. I had thought myself superior to the fear of death. I have often preached on the subject and urged Christians to realize this victory of faith. During our civil war I had been under fire without fear. I was in Chicago during the Ggeat cholera epidemic and went around with the doctors, visiting the sick and dying. Where they could go to look after the bodies of men, I said I could go to look after their souls. I remember a case of small-pox where the flesh had literally dropped away from the backbone, yet I went to the bedside of that poor sufferer again and again with Bible and prayer for Jesus’ sake. In all this I had no fear of death. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.3
“But on the sinking ship it was different. There was no cloud between my soul and my Saviour. I know my sins had been put away. That was all settled long ago. But as my thoughts went out to my loved ones at home-my wife and children, anxiously waiting for my coming-my friends on both sides of the sea-the schools and all the interests so dear to me-and realized that perhaps the next hour would separate me for ever from all these, so far as this world was concerned, I confess it almost broke me down. It was the darkest hour of my life! I could not endure it. I must have relief, and relief came in prayer. God heard my cry and enabled me to say from the depths of my soul, “Thy will be done.” It was all settled. Sweet peace came to my heart. I went to bed and almost immediately fell asleep, and never slept more soundly in all my life. Out of the depths I cried unto the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. I can no more doubt that God gave answer to my prayer for relief, then I can doubt my own existence. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.4
“About three o’clock at night I was aroused from my sound sleep by the voice of my son. ‘Come on deck, father,’ he said. I followed him, and he pointed toward a far-off light, rising and sinking on the sea. It was a messenger of deliverance to us. It proved to be the light of the steamer Lake Huron, whose lookout had seen our flaming signals of distress, and supposed it was a vessel in flames. Oh, the joy of that moment when those seven hundred despairing passengers beheld the approaching ship! Who can ever forget it? PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.5
“But now the question is, can this small steamer tow the helpless Spree on a thousand miles to Queenstown? Every movement was watched with intensest anxiety and prayer. It was a brave and perilous undertaking. The two vessels were at last connected by two great cables. If a storm arose these would snap like a thread, and we must be left to our fate. But I had no fear. God would finish the work He had begun. The waves were calmed-the cables held-the steamer moved in the wake of the Huron. There were storms all around us, but they came not nigh our broken ship. Seven days after the accident, by the good hand of our God upon us, we were able to hold a joyous thanksgiving service in the harbour of Queenstown-just one week ago to-day, as I stand here among the friends and neighbours I love so well. The rescuing ship that God sent to us in our distress, had just sufficient power to tow our vessel, and just enough coal to take her into port! There was nothing to spare! Less would have been insufficient. Her captain also is a man of prayer, and besought God’s help to enable them to accomplish their dangerous and difficult task. God answered the united prayers of the distressed voyagers and brought them to their desired heaven.” PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.6
Shall we not learn a lesson from those ship-wrecked passengers? Is not our need of a life-boat as great as theirs? If we but realized that need as vividly as they did, and cry as earnestly for help, would we not experience more such deliverances, and join in more such thanksgivings? PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.7
Again, it is well to remember to give thanks to God for deliverance from peril; but it is better still to recognize His hand at all times. His care is over us no less in keeping us from accidents than it is in saving our lives when accidents occur. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.8
Two preachers once met at a church, and one said that he had very much to thank God for, because although his carriage had been thrown down an embankment as he was coming, he had escaped injury; it was a miraculous deliverance. Said the other, “My brother I have more to be thankful for than you, because I came over the same road and no accident whatever happened to me or my carriage.” PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.9
It is the direct personal care of God that keeps us at all times. But for His mercies we should be cut off. So instead of waiting until some great affair takes place, and we experience a remarkable deliverance from danger, let us thank the Lord that His presence keeps us from the presence of danger. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 28.10
“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
-It is calculated that 10,000 individuals get their living in Paris as professional beggars. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.1
-General Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, died on the 11th instant, at the age of seventy-five. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.2
-An acre of bananas is estimated to produce forty-four times more by weight than the potato, and 135 more than wheat. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.3
-About 30,000 vehicles and 100,000 pedestrians daily pass the western end of Cheapside, between Newgate-street and St. Paul’s Churchyard. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.4
-Twelve of the strikers at the Carnegie Iron and Steel Works have been convicted-one of them of riot, and two of having taken part in an unlawful assembly. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.5
-In the United Kingdom the number of applications for patents in 1892 was 24,166, a total far exceeding that of any previous year, and greater by 1,278 than that of 1891. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.6
-The yield of gold in the colony of Victoria during the last year was 663,000 oz. This was 41,000 oz. in excess of that of the previous year, and the largest amount that has been obtained since 1886. Number of German women who take an active part in the Socialist movement is rapidly increasing. Several meetings are announced at Berlin and for the next few weeks, which will be mainly attended by female Social Democrats. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.7
-Iceland has a population of 70,000, yet the only military force consists of two policemen stationed at the capital, Reykjavik; and the only two lawyers in the island are the State attorney, and another who is prepared to defend anyone who may be put on trial. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.8
-The return of the Congregational churches to the official Year-book of the Congregational Union have just been made, showing that there are 4,684 churches and mission stations in England and Wales, providing sitting accommodation for over 1,547,000 persons. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.9
-Mgr. Satolli, the Papal legate to the United States, has declared that it is lawful for Catholics to send their children to public schools, to acquire the elements of learning, providing the parents “do not neglect their most serious duties, and the pastors of souls put forth every effort to instruct the children.” PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.10
-It is said that the Methodists of the United States have condemned football as a pastime that savours of sin, and that is unbecoming the Christian life. We do not believe in ecclesiastical condemnation; but it is very certain that football as engaged in by the professional teams, not only savours of sin, but is actual sin. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.11
-“According to ancient custom a boar’s head was served up at Queen’s College, Oxford, on Christmas Day, in memory of the feat of a former member who, when attacked by a wild boar, is credited with causing its death by thrusting a volume of Aristotle down its throat.” The cramming of Aristotle has been the death of many men, but if all the swine in the country could be served with a dose of him, with the same result as in the case of the boar referred to, the philosopher would not have lived. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.12
-It is stated that Dr. Meyer, of Berlin, has discovered a process by means of which aluminum can be produced at two pence per pound. In 1828 the price was 1,000 per pound. The price to-day is four shillings per pound. Here we have vast possibilities open to us. There is said to be ten times more aluminum in the world than there is of iron, lead, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, and silver combined. It is stronger than iron, and more malleable than copper, as hard as silver and one-fourth the weight, as white as polished steel, and is unaffected by the atmosphere.—Amateur Photographer. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 30.13
“Back Page” The Present Truth 9, 2.
E. J. Waggoner
At the annual meeting of the Barrow branch of the United Kingdom Alliance, one cause of thankfulness that was noted was the fact that out of over 2,000 voters pledged to support Sunday Closing and the principle of the Direct Veto. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.1
We would call attention to two new and very important books just issued, and advertised on the preceding page, namely, “Steps to Christ,” and “The Gospel in Creation.” Every Christian will find them helpful to him, and they are just the things to put into the hands of those who are not Christians, to show them the simplicity of the Gospel, and to direct them to the solid foundation for faith. A more extended notice will be given in the next number of the paper. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.2
Two trials have just been brought to a close in the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Dr. Briggs of New York, and Dr. Smith of Cincinnati, both theological professors, have been tried on practically the same charge of heresy. The result is that Dr. Briggs has been acquitted, and Dr. Smith has been suspended from the ministry. And now people who believe that the church has authority to pronounce the judgments of God, are wondering which verdict is correct. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.3
McGlynn, the New York priest who was excommunicated five years ago, for advocating Henry George’s land theories, has been restored to the communion of the Roman Catholic Church, and celebrated Mass on Christmas Eve. Although he has been very severe on some of the ways of the church, he has always allowed himself to be a Catholic. He still retains the views for which he was excommunicated, and some people take his restoration to the church as an evidence that Rome is becoming liberal. We shall see. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.4
An important convention of the temperance party of Scotland took place in Glasgow, January 17. Sir W. Wedderburn, who presided, said the Government were prepared to carry out a temperance measure. Mr. John Wilson, M.P., said that if the House of Commons passed a Local Veto Bill and the Lords threw it out, nothing would satisfy the Scotch people but Home Rule for Scotland. With Home Rule for Scotland and fifty-six out of seventy-two members favouring temperance legislation, the Veto Bill was as good as passed. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.5
One of the speakers of the Liberal Federation at Liverpool said that he “would rather go into the poll under the influence of the Roman Catholic priesthood, than under the influence of liquor.” For this he was roundly applauded; yet someone has thought to ask, “Why is it necessary to go under the influence of either one?” This is more to the point. But still more to the point is the question, Why is it worse for the Roman Catholic priesthood to influence politics than for the ministers of any other denomination? That which made the Roman Catholic Church was the ambition of ministers and of the church generally, to engage in politics. But for that, there would never have been a Roman Catholic Church. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.6
“Archdeacon Farrar does not often dabble in politics, but he had a good deal to say last night at the Victoria Hall of what might be expected in the way of temperance reform from the present Government. He took courage from the fact that no fewer than four of the present Cabinet have on various occasions presided over meetings of the United Kingdom Alliance. He demands five things from the Liberal party. Local option, of course, stands in the forefront of his programme. Sunday closing, which he pointed out was possessed already by three other units of the United Kingdom; earlier closing on week-days came next in importance, and the two minor reforms which he advocates are a law to make it penal to sell drink to children under fifteen, and more stringent provisions as regards the sale of liquor to those who are intoxicated or who are known as habitual drunkards. The Government, he added, was pledged to temperance reform, and every effort should be made to force them to nail their colours to the mast.”-Chronicle, Jan. 12. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.7
At a recent meeting of the London Wesleyan Council the following resolution was adopted:- PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.8
“That this Council declares its conviction that immediate legislation for the control of the liquor traffic is necessary, and that no legislation will be satisfactory which does not exclude all direct monetary organization, and which does not provide for entire Sunday closing throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, and for giving the ratepayers the direct veto of all licenses.” PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.9
This implies that legislation which provides for the “control” of the liquor traffic, and for “entire Sunday closing throughout the whole United Kingdom” will be satisfactory. That is, with complete Government control of the liquor traffic, the churches will be satisfied to have it continue, provided it is stopped on Sunday. And yet many good people think that such a resolution is in the interest of temperance. A compromise with sin is inevitable when churches attempt to influence legislation. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.10
On Monday evening, the 9th instant, a monster meeting was held in Exeter Hall, for the purpose of extending formal welcome to Miss Frances R. Willard. Lady Henry Somerset presided, and among the speakers were Canon Wilberforce, Rev. Mark Guy Pearce, Rev. Mr. Horton, and Mr. W. T. Stead. Of course the greater part of the speaking was in praise of the guest of the evening, but it was most important as showing the wide-spread interest in securing legislation upon temperance, Sunday observance, and morals and religion generally, and also in woman suffrage. Forty-six different societies were represented. The meeting doubtless accomplished more for the combination of the various forces of “legalized reform” than any other meeting ever held in London. After the large hall was packed with people, an overflow meeting, at which a thousand were present, was held in the lower hall, and many were still turned away for lack of room. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.11
The sentiment of the people as to the means by which reforms are to be accomplished may be noted from a remark made by Canon Wilberforce, at the recent meeting in honour of Miss Willard, which was most enthusiastically applauded. Said he, “The axe is laid to the root of the upas tree; but it is only lying there at present. It has to be grasped by the strong hand of one who has had exercise in cutting down oak trees at Hawarden Park, and you have got to give him the power to do it.” The Gospel, which deals only with individuals, is becoming almost entirely superseded as a reform agency, by the law, which deals with men in the aggregate. But the best work is not that which makes the biggest show, and receives the most applause. PTUK January 26, 1893, page 32.12