The Present Truth, vol. 9
September 21, 1893
“Front Page” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
Jesus said: “All things are delivered unto Me of My Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.” Matthew 11:27. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.1
Again we read, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” John 1:18. And accordingly, when Phillips said, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us,” Jesus answered, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father?” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.2
Man cannot by searching find out God. It is true that God has promised to make known His ways to men, that they may know Him; but the ways of God cannot be found out by human reasoning. No one can find out anything about God, if he studies with a critical or a selfish spirit. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Psalm 25:14. No man is understood except by his friends; who could expect to understand God except by loving Him? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.3
But, more than this, it should be understood that God is known only in Christ. The life of Christ is the life of God, but the life cannot be studied critically, as an artist would study a picture. We can know the life of God only as it is lived in us. “For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light we shall see light.” Psalm 36:9. Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; therefore we must, like Paul, determine to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified, if we would know the truth about the ways of God. The cross of Christ reveals the deep things of God. Every conclusion arrived at outside the light of the cross, will be but a libel on the character of God. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.4
“Why Did Christ Die?” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
The fact that this question has been asked in all seriousness by an active Christian is sufficient reason for considering it, apart from the fact that it touches the very core of Christianity. It shows that the fundamental principles of the Gospel are not so generally understood as people are wont to imagine. This is not because they are so obscure and complex as to be beyond ordinary comprehension, but because they have been so thickly enveloped in the fog of theological terms. Those terms are the intention of men, and have nothing to do with the Scriptures. If we are content with the simple statements of the Bible, we shall see how quickly its light dispels the fog of theological speculation. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.5
“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” 1 Peter 3:18. That is a sufficient answer, but we will read further. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15. “Ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin.” 1 John 3:5. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.6
Read again: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:6-10. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.7
Once more: “And you, that were sometime enemies, and alienated in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.” Colossians 1:21, 22. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.8
All men have sinned. Romans 3:23; 5:12. Sin is enmity against God. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. In one of the texts above quoted we read that men need reconciliation, because they are enemies in their minds by wicked works. Therefore since all men have sinned, it follows that all men are by nature the enemies of God; and that also is what we read in Romans 5:10, above quoted. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 385.9
But sin is death. “To be carnally minded is death.” Romans 8:6. “By one man sin came into the world, and death by sin.” Romans 5:12. Death came in by sin, because it carries death concealed within it. “The sting of death is sin.” 1 Corinthians 15:56. Sin when it is full grown bringeth forth death. James 1:15. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.1
Sin is death, for the reason that it is enmity against God. God is “the living God.” With Him is “the fountain of life.” Psalm 36:9. Christ is called the “Author of life.” Acts 3:15, margin. Life is the grand characteristic of God. “He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” Acts 17:25. “In Him we live, and move, and have are being;” “for we are also His offspring.” Verse 28. The life of God is the source of every created thing; and apart from Him there can be no life. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.2
But righteousness, as well as life, is the grand characteristic of God. “There is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:15. “As for God, His way is perfect.” Psalm 18:30. Since the life of God is the source of all life, and all depend on Him, it follows that His righteousness is the standard of righteousness of all intelligent beings; for God’s life is nothing but righteousness. Therefore life and righteousness are inseparable. “To be spiritually minded is life.” Romans 8:6. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.3
Now since God’s life is the standard of righteousness, it is evident that everything that is different from the life of God is unrighteousness; and “all unrighteousness is sin.” But if the life of any being is different from the life of God, it must be because His life is not allowed free course through that being. But where God’s life is not, there is death. Whoever is out of harmony with God-enmity against Him-has death working in him, and death for his inevitable portion. So it is not by an arbitrary decree that the wages of sin is death. That results from the very nature of things. Sin is opposition to God,-rebellion against Him,-and is utterly foreign to His being. It is separation from God, and separation from God is death, because there is no life outside of Him. All that hate Him, love death. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.4
Let us now sum up the case of the relation between the natural man and God. (1) All have sinned. (2) Sin is enmity against God; it is rebellion. (3) Sin is alienation from God; men are alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works. Colossians 1:21. (4) Sinners are “alienated from the life of God.” Ephesians 4:18. But God in Christ is the only source of life for the universe, and therefore all who are thus alienated from His righteous life are by the very nature of things doomed to death. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:12. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.5
RECONCILIATION
From all that has preceded it is very evident that the only object that Christ could have in coming to earth and dying for men, was the reconciliation of man to God, so that he might have life. “I am come that they might have life.” John 10:10. “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19. “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.” Colossians 1:21, 22. Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, “that He might bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18. “If when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.6
“But,” someone will say, “You have made the reconciliation all on the part of men; I have always been taught that the death of Christ reconciled God to man; that Christ died to satisfy God’s justice, and to appease Him.” Well, we have left the matter of reconciliation just where the Scriptures have put it; and while they have much to say about the necessity for man to be reconciled to God, they never once hint of such a thing as the necessity for God to be reconciled to man. To intimate the necessity for such a thing is to bring a grave charge against the character of God. The idea has come into the Christian Church from the Papacy, which in turn brought it from Paganism, in which the only idea of God was of a being whose wrath must be appeased by a sacrifice. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.7
Stop a moment, and think what reconciliation means. The existence of enmity is the only necessity for reconciliation. Where there is no enmity, there is no necessity for reconciliation. Man is by nature alienated from God; he is a rebel, full of enmity. Therefore man needs to be reconciled-to have his enmity taken away. But God has no enmity in His being. “God is love.” Consequently there is no necessity for Him to be reconciled; there is no possibility of such a thing, for there can be no reconciliation where there has been no enmity. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.8
Again: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Surely, they who say that the death of Christ reconciled God to men, have forgotten this blessed text. They would separate the Father and the Son, making the former the enemy, and the latter the friend, of man. But God’s heart was so overflowing with love to fallen man, that He “spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all;” and in so doing He gave Himself, for “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” The Apostle Paul speaks of “the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28. This effectually disposes of the idea that there was any enmity toward man on the part of God, so that He needed to be reconciled. The death of Christ was the expression of God’s wonderful love for sinners. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.9
Consider further what reconciliation means. It means a change on the part of the one reconciled. If one has enmity in His heart towards another, a radical change must take place in him before he is reconciled. This is the case with man. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17, 18. But to speak of the necessity for God to be reconciled to man, is not only to say that He cherished enmity in His heart, but to say that God was partially in the wrong, and that a change had to take place in Him as well as in man. If it were not in the innocence of ignorance that men talked about God’s having been reconciled to men, it would be blasphemy. That is one of the “great things and blasphemies” that the Papacy has spoken against God. Let us not echo it. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 386.10
God is. He could not be other than He is, and be God. He is absolute and unchangeable perfection. He cannot change. Hear Him: “I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6. Instead of having to change and be reconciled to sinful man, in order that they might be saved, the only hope for their salvation is the fact that he never changes, but is everlasting love. He is the source of life, and the standard of life. When any beings are unlike Him, the difference is on their part, and not on His. He is the fixed standard, to which all must conform, if they would live. God cannot change to accommodate the desires of sinful men, but simply because such a change would lower His dignity, and make His Government unstable, but because He cannot be other than He is, “He that cometh to God must believe that He is.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.1
Just a thought concerning the idea that Christ’s death was necessary to satisfy outraged justice. Christ death was necessary to satisfy the love of God. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Justice would have been met by the summary death of the sinful race. But God’s love could not suffer that. So we are justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Through faith in His blood, God’s righteousness-which is His life-is declared upon us, and thus He is just, and at the same time the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26. The reason why it was necessary that Christ should die, in order that men might be saved, will be considered in the next edition of this article. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.2
Why have we dwelt so long upon the fact that man must be reconciled to God, and not God to man? Because in that alone is man’s hope. If God ever had any enmity in His heart against men, there would always arise the torturing thought, “Perhaps He is not yet sufficiently appeased to accept Me; surely He cannot love so guilty a being as I am.” And the more one realised his guilt, the greater would be his doubt. But when we know that God never had any enmity towards us, but that He has loved us with an everlasting love, and that He has loved us so much that He gave Himself for us, that we might be reconciled to Him, we can joyfully exclaim, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.3
REMISSION
Freedom from sin, or at least from its consequences, is what men have been seeking ever since the fall. Sad to say, however, the great majority have sought it in the wrong way. It was with a lie against the character of God, that Satan caused the first sin, and he has been vigorously engaged in trying to induce people to believe that lie ever since. So successful has he been, that the mass of mankind regard God as stern and unsympathetic, a being who regards man with a coldly critical eye, and who would much rather destroy than save. In short, Satan has largely succeeded in putting himself in the place of God, in the minds of men. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.4
Thus it is that much of the worship of the heathen is, and always has been, devil-worship. “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God; and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” 1 Corinthians 10:20. Consequently all heathen worship springs from the idea that a sacrifice must be made to appease the wrath of their God. Sometimes this sacrifice is in the shape of property, but often it is of the person. Thus arose the great hordes of monks and hermits among the heathen, and later among the professed Christians, who borrowed their ideas of God from the heathen. These thought to gain the favour of God by scourging and torturing themselves. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.5
The prophets of Baal cut themselves with knives, “till the blood gushed out upon them” (1 Kings 18:28), hoping thereby to induce their god to listen to them. With the same idea of God, thousands of so-called Christians have worn hair shirts, walked barefoot on glass, made pilgrimages on their knees, slept on the hard floor, or the ground, and scourged themselves with thorns, starved themselves nearly to death, and set themselves the most impossible tasks. But nobody ever found peace in any of those ways, because no man could get out of himself that which was not in him, and righteousness and peace are not in man. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.6
Sometimes this idea of propitiating the wrath of God has taken an easier form,-that is, easier for the worshippers. Instead of sacrificing themselves, they have sacrificed others. Human sacrifices have always been to a greater or lesser extent connected with heathenism. Men shudder as they read of the human sacrifices offered by the ancient inhabitants of Mexico and Peru, and by the Druids; but professed (not real) Christianity has its awful list. Even so-called Christian England has made hundreds of burnt offerings of men, for the purpose of turning away the wrath of God from the country. Wherever there is religious persecution to any degree, it springs from the mistaken idea that God demands a victim. This is shown by the words of Christ to His disciples: “The time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” John 16:2. All such worship has been devil worship, and not worship of the true God. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.7
Just here somebody has remembered that it is said in Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission;” and this makes him think that after all God did demand a sacrifice before He would pardon man. It is very difficult for the mind to rid itself of the idea received as a legacy from Paganism, through the Papacy, that God was so angry at man for having sinned, that He could not be mollified without seeing blood flow, but that it made no difference to Him whose blood it was, if only somebody was killed; and that since Christ’s life was worth more than the lives of all men, He accepted Him as a substitute for them. This is almost a brutal way of stating the case, but it is the only way that the case can be truly presented. The heathen conception of God is a brutal one, as dishonouring to God as it is discouraging to man; and this heathen idea has been allowed to colour too many texts of Scripture. It is sad to think how greatly men who really loved the Lord, have given occasion to His enemies to blaspheme. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.8
“Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.” What is remission? It means simply “sending away.” What is to be remitted, or sent away? Our sins, for we read that “through faith in Christ’s blood the righteousness of God is declared for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Romans 3:20. So we learn that apart from the shedding of blood there is no sending away of sins. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.9
What blood is it that takes away sins? Only the blood of Christ, “for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” “Ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” 1 John 3:5. “Knowing that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver and gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 387.10
But how is it that the shedding of blood, even the blood of Christ, can take away sins? Simply because the blood is the life. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11. So when we read that apart from the shedding of blood there is no remission, we know it means that no sins can be taken away except by the life of Christ. In Him is no sin; therefore when He imparts His life to a soul, that soul is at once cleansed from sin. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.1
Remember that Christ is God. “The Word was God,” “and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.” God gave Himself in Christ for men, for we have read of “the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” The Son of man, in whom was the life of God, came to minister, “and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.2
The case, therefore, stands thus: All have sinned. Sin is enmity against God, because it is a condition of alienation from the life of God. Therefore sin is death. The one thing, then, that man stood in need of was life, and this is the one thing that Christ came to give. In Him was life that sin could not touch, and that could triumph over death. His life is the light of men. A single light may make ten thousand other lights, and still not be diminished. No matter how much sunlight any person receives, there is just as much for everybody else; and if there were a hundred times as many people on earth as there are, there would be no less sunlight for each one than there is now. So with the Sun of Righteousness. He can give His life to all, and still have as much left. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.3
Christ came to impart the life of God to man, for it is that that they lack. The lives of all the angels in heaven could not have met the demands of the case; not because God was so inexorable, but because they could not have imparted any life to man. They had no life in themselves, but only the life that Christ imparted to them. But God was in Christ, and in Him God’s everlasting life could be given to everyone who would receive it. Remember that in giving His Son, God gave Himself, and you will see that a sacrifice was not demanded to satisfy God’s outraged feelings, but that, on the contrary, God’s inexpressible love led Him to sacrifice Himself, in order to break down man’s enmity, and reconcile us to Himself. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.4
“But why could He not give us His life without dying?” That is to say, Why could He not give us His life, and still not give it? We needed life, and Christ alone had life to give; but the giving of life is dying. His death reconciles us to God, provided we make it our own by faith. We are reconciled to God by the death of Christ, because in dying He gave up His life, and He gave it to us. Being made partakers of the life of God, through faith in Christ’s death, we are at peace with Him, because one life is in us both. Then we are “saved by His life.” Christ died, but He still lives, and His life in us keeps us united to God. The imparting of His life to us frees us from sin and the continuing of it in us, keeps us from sin. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.5
“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12. Now we can understand how it is that if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” His light is His life; walking in the light is walking in His life; and when we thus walk, His life is flowing through us, a living stream, cleanses from all sin.” “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” His life is light, and will dispel all earth’s darkness. In His light (life) we shall see light. Only as we consider hard questions in the light of His life, can we understand them. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.6
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:31, 32. Let the weak and fearful sinner take courage, and trust in the Lord. We have not a God who demands a sacrifice from man, but one who in His love has offered Himself a sacrifice. We owe to God a life perfectly in harmony with His law; but since our life is just the opposite of that, God in Christ has substituted His own life for ours, and so we can offer up “spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” Then “let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Psalm 130:7, 8. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.7
“Our Duty to Rejoice” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
It is the privilege and duty of the Christian to rejoice. In the Christian life, privilege and duty go hand in hand. Duty is a privilege to the Christian, and it is his duty to improve his privileges. And one of the privileges given him by the God whom he serves, is that of always rejoicing. “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice.” “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4, 6, 7. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.8
The Christian life is the only life which affords continual joy. The world says. Rejoice when everything goes right,-when you have health and home and position and money and friends-but in this life of sudden changes all these things are not likely to keep company very long in the experience of any one individual. The day of misfortune comes, when one or more of these happy accompaniments of life’s journey takes its flight, and lo! he is left in mourning and gloom. The conditions which prevail in this world do not invite one to hope for a life of happiness in any of its pathways. But in the path that leads up from earth to the city of God, that leads away from sin to holiness, it is not so. There joy is continually present, no matter how rough the road and how dark the way; for there is One who walks beside the traveller, who lights his path and whose presence gives rest and peace. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 388.9
The Christian’s joy may be perpetual, because he can “rejoice in the Lord.” This is the secret of his ability to rejoice in the midst of trials. In God there are no difficulties and no trials. Whatever he loses here, he has again “in the Lord.” God has everything, and can lose nothing. No misfortune can befall Him. All the conditions of perfect happiness are constantly with Him. And all these conditions surround the individual in whom He dwells. For God dwells in the human heart by faith (Ephesians 3:17), and the human body is made the temple of His Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19. And no individual is of such lowly station that He may not have God’s company; for it is not with Him as it is with the worldly great, who deem themselves too honourable to associate with such. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:19. And “the blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.1
The psalmist understood all this when he penned the beautiful and familiar words of the twenty-third psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” The divine Shepherd is able to supply every want of all in His flock. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters;” and when misfortune and sorrow come, “He restoreth my soul. Yea,” the psalmist exclaims, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.” If God be for us, what can be against us? Truly, nothing; for there is nothing that can stand against Him. “One person, with God on his side, is in the majority.” Even in view of the dark passage through the valley of the shadow of death, in the midst of all the vicissitudes that marred his life, the psalmist could say, “My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” And these words were written for the afflicted and the sorrowing of all succeeding ages; for God is the Shepherd of all His people, as He was of Israel’s king. He will do for them what David knew He would do and was doing for him. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.2
Therefore we can take to ourselves these words of cheering admonition: “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” Psalm 32:11. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.3
“Motives” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
This is a subject which cannot be too carefully considered in connection with our Christian experience. Upon the character of our motives depends the result of the efforts put forth in the Christian life. Motives lie back of all deeds, and are the true index of the condition of the heart. And they are often a source of deception, not only to the friends and neighbours of an individual, but also to the individual himself. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.4
God reads the motives of every heart, and by them measures the standing of each individual. When the prophet Samuel came to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be king, and looked upon Eliab, the first-born, he said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:6, 7. Men may deceive those around them by their outward appearance and life, and may even thereby deceive himself; but no one can in the slightest degree deceive God. And upon many a one who presents himself, as did Eliab, a confident candidate for Divine honour, God looked as He did upon the firstborn son of Jesse, and unheard by man repeats the sentence of condemnation. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.5
Eliab was doubtless self-deceived; but in this respect he does not stand apart from the generality of mankind, the victim of a strange misfortune, for it is the natural condition of every man to be ignorant of the evil that is within him. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9. Man cannot in his own wisdom know his heart, and the hidden motives that lie within it. God only can read the heart of man, and only upon the revelation made to him by God can man depend for a correct knowledge of what he is. “I the Lord search the heart; I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Verse 10. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.6
Not all motives that prompt the performance of religious deeds are acceptable in the sight of God. “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6); and “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” But much that passes for faith is not true faith. We are told what is the characteristic of true faith in Galatians 5:6: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” This is the motive which God approves, and which makes a deed acceptable to Him. Faith which worketh by love is that which avails in the service of God. All effort which proceeds from any other motive is thrown away. Without love it is equally “impossible to please God,” for love is greater than faith. “Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Corinthians 13:13. And charity and love by which faith works, are one and the same thing. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.7
In the opening words of this thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, the effect of trying to serve God without charity (or love) and the possibility of deception upon this point, are strikingly set forth. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.8
Can a man, then, bestow all his goods to feed the poor, and give his body to be burned, and yet not have charity? Evidently, he can; or Paul would not have stated it as he did. The misguided fanatic or the deluded enthusiastic may outwardly go to the very extreme of self-denying labour for God, and yet be without that motive of love which would render his service acceptable. That love is the love of God, the love that comes from and has its origin in Him, and contains no human element in its composition. It is a love in which self is entirely lost. “Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21-24. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 389.9
These have not been wanting in zeal, and outwardly they have made a very good showing in all respects, having “many wonderful works” to their credit, which have no doubt brought them great admiration and reverence from their fellow-men. But there was something wrong with their hearts. The right motive was not there,-the faith working by love, which takes no account of self. Their plea gave evidence of this fact. “Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?” have we not cast out devils? have we not done many wonderful works? “We” is not the password into the gates of heaven; and “our wonderful works” are not good currency at the bank of Heaven, but only the basest counterfeit. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.1
In that day, the righteous will base no claim upon themselves or anything they have done, or upon the great things accomplished by the religious organisations with which they have been connected. One thing alone will avail the candidate for a position at the right hand of God,-Jesus Christ and His righteousness, received and held by the faith which worketh by love. “Charity never faileth.” It will continue as long as God continues; for God Himself is love. When this love is in the heart God is in the heart, and eternal life can never be separated from Him. This is the one acceptable motive in all work that is done for His name. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.2
“Majorities” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
In round numbers, there are six hundred million Buddhists in the world, two hundred million Mohammedans, two hundred and fifty million Brahmins and followers of Confucius, besides millions of unclassified heathen. Of professed Christians, including Greeks, Catholics, Protestants, etc., there are less than four hundred million, and these are divided into a multitude of discordant sects, many of them holding scarcely anything in common. Some of our friends think that custom, and the majority, ought to decide the correctness of matters of religion; but if that were true, it would show Christianity to be false, for it is greatly in the minority. If majorities are to be counted, we must not stop at professed Christians, but must include all men. But majorities do not decide anything. Since the fall of man, the majority of people on earth have been in error. The Lord says: “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:13, 14. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.3
“A Sure Foundation” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
“The foundation of God standeth sure.” So wrote the Apostle Paul to Timothy, after he had spoken of some who were teaching heresy in the church, and who did “overthrow the faith of some.” 2 Timothy 2:18, 19. There were some in the church then, as there have been ever since, who built their faith upon the teaching of men. But this is not the foundation that God has provided. Man is fallible, and nothing of a fallible nature will do to put into the foundation upon which God erects His church. With anything there that was not permanent in its nature, the church itself would inevitably be swept away; for the time is coming when everything that can be shaken will be removed, that only that which cannot be shaken may remain. See Hebrews 12:27. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.4
The church of God is not built upon the Apostle Peter, as claimed by very many who profess to be Christian teachers, for Peter was but a man, and fallible like all who are human. If any testimony were needed upon this point other than that supplied by reason and common sense, it is furnished by the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians. In the second chapter of this letter, speaking of his visit with Barnabas to the brethren at Jerusalem, he says: “But contrariwise, when they saw that the Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the Gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (for He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles); and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.” Galatians 2:7-9. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.5
From this it is evident that Paul had at least as much laid upon him in the building up of the church as had been laid upon Peter, and if it be measured by the extent of the field assigned him, very much more, since “the circumcision” were but a very small part of the total of earth’s inhabitants. Considering this fact, and the labours of the great apostle in building up the church of Christ, both in his own day and, by his numerous epistles, in all succeeding ages, the honour that is claimed for Peter might with more propriety be given to the apostle to the Gentiles. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.6
In the same chapter also is found a record of Peter’s fallibility. “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles; but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.” Galatians 2:11, 12. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.7
How many other mistakes Peter made we are not informed, but the record of this one has been left to us, in anticipation, it may be, of the blasphemous claim that was to be put forth for his so-called successors, the popes. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.8
But neither Peter nor Paul were chosen by God to constitute the foundation of which it is testified that it “standeth sure.” The great apostle himself said, writing to those who had made the mistake of confessing spiritual allegiance to men: “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” And the same apostle who here testifies that he is nothing, in another place declared, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15. What a mistake, then, to think that spiritual allegiance can be due to any being on the earth. “For,” says Paul, “other foundation can no man have than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.” 1 Corinthians 2:5-7, 11. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.9
Christ is the sure foundation. God is revealed to us in Christ, and Christ is revealed in His word; for it was the Spirit of Christ that inspired the writers of the Scriptures. See 1 Peter 1:10, 11. Christ is called the Word. See John 1:1-14; Revelation 19:11-13. Therefore we know the foundation of God by knowing His word. We stand upon the foundation by standing upon His word, and that His word is an unmovable foundation Christ testified when He said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.” Luke 21:33. And in the conclusion of His memorable sermon on the mount, He testified, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.” Matthew 7:24, 25. Whosoever builds upon Christ’s sayings, builds upon Christ Himself. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 390.10
Let us make sure of the foundation upon which we stand. The rain will descend, the floods will come, the winds will blow; and “the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies.” But the word of God will stand. God has provided a sure foundation for all His people. He does not leave them to build their hopes of heaven on the least uncertainty. “For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Hebrews 6:13-19. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.1
“How sure a Foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is built for your faith in His excellent word.”
PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.2
How confidently can His saints stand upon that foundation! The time is coming when men will be looking, even more than at the present, for something on which they can rest with confidence. Already they are losing confidence in earthly institutions and earthly helps. Distress and perplexity prevail among high and low, and men’s hearts are failing them for fear, for the prospect presented as their eyes turn to the future. And when the day comes in which the earth itself shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and on every hand men’s eyes shall behold the breaking up and dissolution of earthly things, then what will it not be worth to a man to know that under his feet is a foundation that cannot be moved. What will it not be worth to recall the words of the Saviour, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away,” and to know that His words are the foundation on which we rest! He offers us now this foundation. Truly we may say, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.3
“The Truth Must Be Heard” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
The New York Independent brings us the latest intelligence concerning the controversy over closing the World’s Fair on Sunday, in the following paragraph, printed in its issue of September 7:- PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.4
“The injunction restraining the World’s Fair directors from closing the gates on Sunday came before Judge Goggin, who invited two associates to sit with him. Before they could announce their views in favour of closing the gates, Judge Goggin told the clerk to enter an order to continue the case for sixty days. On the protest of his associates he withdrew his invitation to them to sit with him, and carried through the sixty days’ continuance. This will result in leaving the Fair open for the remainder of the time on Sunday.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.5
The most indifferent person to this Sunday controversy cannot have failed to note that it has displayed wonderful vitality in keeping before the public, in the face of a long-continued and almost unanimous desire to see it ended. The whole combined legislative and judicial powers of the United States Government invoked to decide the question, with public sentiment thrown in, had failed to give it a quietus. The people have grown tired of the discussion, and enough time has seemingly elapsed for it to die a natural death; but with each new turn of the wheel it comes up again as fresh as ever. With nothing, apparently, to feed upon, it still keeps strong and flourishing. What is the secret of its vitality? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.6
Ah, the secret is with Him who has instituted the Sabbath, to whom belongs its observance, and to the interests of whose cause the discussion of the whole subject pertains. The truth must be heard. God’s designs to enlighten man upon the subject of His Sabbath, that those who will may observe it on the day and in the manner that He has commanded; and when God sets His hand to carry out His purposes in the earth, all opposition must give way before it. It matters not what the appearances are or what are the natural expectations of men. The work may appear to have no foundation at all; yet in reality it rests on the best of all foundations, for it is in His hand. Like the burning bush that stood unconsumed before the astonished eyes of Moses in the wilderness, it sets at naught all human calculations and expectations, because it is ordered and controlled by the Omnipotent. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.7
The number of times it has seemed that the question of closing the World’s Fair gates on Sunday was definitely settled, so that the public mind could be turned upon something else; but the announcement of the fact was each time speedily contradicted by its reappearance in the arena of public controversy. First, Congress settled the matter by a vote, which not only declared that the gates must remain closed on Sunday, but also that the first day of the week was the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. But the directors of the Fair entertained doubts as to the binding nature of this politico-religious vote upon themselves, and accordingly it was again “settled” by them. Meanwhile the gates had been closed for three Sundays. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.8
The directors deciding differently from Congress, by a strict interpretation of the governing rules, the gates were thrown open to the public. The question then went into the courts, where at first it was decided that the decree of Congress must stand; but about two weeks later a higher court declared that Congress had no authority in the matter. Next the directors decided to close the Fair on Sunday because it did not pay financially; but a decree of court restrained them, after the gates had been shut on the first day. Next it was heard that the injunction was dissolved and the gates were shut; and now again comes the announcement that the Exhibition is likely to remain open seven days in the week until it ends. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.9
It is needless to say that in the meantime the claims of Sunday sacredness of character and to honour and reverence from men were investigated and discussed as never before. It was not left merely for such as felt inclined to consider it from a passing feeling of interest or curiosity. It was thrust upon them, and there was no escape. They were compelled to investigate it, until they had no excuse for ignorance upon the subject. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.10
There is a compelling power about the truths which God sends to the world. Men cannot pass them over with the feeling of indifference that attaches to matters of no importance, or which have no higher mission than to attract the minds of the curious and speculative. They compel men to make a decision. Often it is made unwillingly, because against the admonitions of conscience, but it must be made, nevertheless. God’s truth must go, and all the world must hear it, some to heed and obey it, and others to reject it-but the question of whether man will obey or disobey is not the paramount question, God’s justice must be vindicated when He visits His judgments upon the disobedient. The world must be warned; they must have the light set before them. Then if they reject it, the great plan of God for the destruction of sin and evil must still move forward; the end must come, the righteous and the wicked be separated, and transgressors be blotted out in the lake of fire; but the consequences will not reflect in any way upon God. It will be seen by all that the wicked have brought destruction upon their own head; and all will unite in giving unto the Lord the glory that is due unto His name, for His mercy toward all, even those who were the most indifferent to His claims. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 391.11
The same journal from which we have quoted makes mention also of a great agitation upon the question of Sunday observance in the Dominion of Canada, a proposition having been made to run street-cars on Sunday through the streets of Toronto. The question came to a popular vote, after having attracted universal attention from both platform and press. We are told that “interminable columns of letters and editorials were written and eagerly read. Several meetings were held in which both parties were represented. The feeling was intense... All classes represented on the platforms, from the hod-carrier and workwoman to learned Profressor Goldwin Smith, who favoured a limited service... The city was strewn with dodgers, fly leaves and cartoons, and the walls placarded with quotations from the Scripture and from bishops and divines, on the obligations or limitations of the Sabbath. The subject was thoroughly thrashed out in pulpit and press and on the platform as never before. Like the opening of the World’s Fair, the attempt to run Sunday cars caused, in a narrower sphere, a thorough discussion of the Sunday question, which cannot but be a great moral education of the people.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 392.1
We do not agree, of course, with the statement that the subject of Sabbath observance was “thoroughly thrashed out;” for no part of the truth of revelation can be “thrashed out” by man, though it is quite possible for a man to thrash out all he knows on the subject, and that, doubtless, was done upon the occasions mentioned. But the point in it all is that there was “a thorough discussion of the Sunday question, which cannot but be a great moral education of the people.” That is what God wants. He wants people to be educated in His truth, and to be sanctified and saved by it; but if they will place themselves among the class to “hold the truth in unrighteousness,” it must needs be that it be brought before them, that they may be without excuse in the day of God. The Gospel will not convert and save all men, but it will be sent to all for a witness before the end shall come. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 392.2
God has said, “My word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish the purpose whereunto I sent it.” And He will send it into all the earth. The agitation must go on in countries where it has already been raised, and be raised in fields to which it has not yet come. Sooner or later it will be here; how, or in what form we know not, but it must come. All will be called upon to decide whether they will honour God by keeping His Sabbath,-the seventh day-or whether they will acknowledge the authority of the power which has dared to change God’s law, in commanding the observance of Sunday. The decision all must make, however reluctantly. The truth received, sanctifies; rejected, it condemns. It will be a choice for life or death. Decide now, and wisely, which it shall be PTUK September 21, 1893, page 392.3
“Prejudice” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
Prejudice is a decision of a biased jury rendered before any evidence has been offered. Morally, there would be no difference between the witness who perjured himself, and the juryman who took oath to be governed by the law and the testimony, and then made up his mind as to the guilt of the prisoner before evidence was heard. We are all sworn to be impartial. No man can allow himself to be ruled by his prejudices in matters of religion without laying himself liable to the charge of stultification. The man who resists Christ and His claims on some vulgar prejudice which he has imbibed he scarcely knows how, is a juryman bound by every solemn obligation to be fair and impartial, yet who, taking his seat with a preconceived view of which he has not tried to dispossess himself, is a perjurer. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 394.1
“‘Fire Water’” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
Satan, the enemy of all good, was not satisfied with the cooling, refreshing, life-giving drink that our heavenly Father made for all His creatures. He therefore caused men to think that they knew more than God, and led them to invent another kind of water for us to drink. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.1
It looks very much like the water that God has given us, but, oh, how different it is! Instead of cooling and refreshing what it touches, it burns and sears and withers. Instead of life and health, it brings death and decay. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.2
Place a beautiful white lily or a rose in it, and lo, what a change! The green leaves become spotted and eaten, the flower turns brown and withers and decays. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.3
If you should get some of this water in your eye it would hurt you very much. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.4
Your horse or cow or dog would not touch it, and if you should give it to your little baby brother, it would throw him into spasms, and might kill him. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.5
It is so hot and fiery that it cooks and hardens the white of an egg that is dropped into it. And it treats men’s brains in the same way when they drink it. It hardens their brains so that they cannot think well, and it burns the lining of their stomachs and causes it to become covered with sores. It makes their blood hot and feverish, makes their faces and eyes red, and sometimes covers their faces with sores. It often makes men so crazy that they cannot walk straight, and do not know what they are doing. It first causes them to be very silly and foolish, and then to be very cross, so that they want to steal, and fight, and shoot one another, and even kill their own wives and children. It causes them to become so weak and ill that they are not able to work, and it makes them so thirsty that they will sell their homes, and furniture, and children’s clothes, and let their families starve to death so that they may have money to get some more of the dreadful drink. They think it will quench their burning thirst, but it makes it only worse and worse. Sometimes it makes men so drunk that they cannot stand up or know any more than a dead man, and then they lie about by the roadside or in the ditches like beasts. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.6
Thousands are dying every day because of this terrible poison. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.7
The water that God has given us puts out the fire, but if we soak a paper in this water that Satan has given us, and touch a match to it, how it burns! A pair of the Indians call it “fire-water” because it burns people, and is so much like a fire. Do you not think it is a very good name for it? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.8
But the real name of this fire-water is-Alcohol. We find it in brandy, whisky, beer, wine, hard cider, and other strong drinks. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.9
Alcohol is no better for a food than it is for a drink, for “there is not so much food in a pint of wine or beer as there is in a grain of wheat.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.10
It does not give men strong bodies, and strong minds with which to resist evil, but it makes them weak and wicked. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.11
In short, alcohol is one of Satan’s own traps which he has set for every boy and girl and man and woman. He hides it in the ruby wine and in the foaming beer, and in the innocent looking sweets. He tempts a boy to taste it but for once, and then to taste just once more, until he wants it all the time, and cannot break away from the deceitful habit. Ah, Satan’s caught him now, and he cannot get away! No one but Jesus Himself has power to set him free. Oh, will he let Him do it? or will he go on and on until he sinks into a drunkard’s grave, lost, for ever lost? No drunkard can inherit the kingdom of heaven. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.12
My dear young friend which water do you choose? Do you know what your best Friend says to you to-day? Listen to His voice:- PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.13
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.14
“Touch not the foaming, tempting glass
Nor look upon the wine;
A serpent vile is hid within
The liquid of the vine.
Its ruddy gleam invites you all
To taste the sparkling bowl,
And hides beneath the poison fangs
Which smite into your soul.”
PTUK September 21, 1893, page 395.15
“Pure Water” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
As we bathe in the billowy sea, or sit neath the falling cataract, or quench our thirst at the bubbling spring, or walk by the peaceful river, we should be reminded of that better and living water which flows from Jesus, the never-failing Fountain of Life. It can cleanse the inner most recesses of the hearty. It can satisfy the thirsting soul as nothing else can. It can be a well of water in us springing up into everlasting life. It is free for who-soever will, and the supply is more boundless than the ocean, more powerful than the cataract, more satisfying than the purest mountain spring, and more peaceful than the river. Blessed is the man, woman, or child that forgets not to drink daily of this wonderful, life-giving water. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 396.1
Impure, dirty water is as unhealthful as impure, spoiled air. We therefore should be very careful not to drink water which has stood all night for it has taken in the impurities of the room. Our cisterns should be cleansed often, and we should be careful to have everything dirty far away from the well, for the impurities soak down through the ground and find their way into the water. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 396.2
Did you know that water is one of the best medicines in the world? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 396.3
“Water” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.... And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” John 7:37; Revelation 22:17. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.1
Water, how clear, and sparkling, and beautiful! It is so bright that you can see your face in it, and so clear that you can look right through it. If it is clean, good water, you cannot smell it? Almost the last thing before you close your eyes at night you say, “Mamma, please give me a drink of water.” Did you ever notice how many times you say that in just one day? Then in the morning you bathe your face and hands in it; how cool and refreshing it is, and how bright and clean it makes you look. “It is the world’s cleanser. It washes everything, even the air. Your breakfast and dinner are cooked in water, and your clothes are washed in water. Some people have their houses warmed with the steam that comes from boiling water, and others have their sewing machines run with water. We have not time to tell you half of the wonderful things that are done with water. Ask your father to tell you how it runs the steam cars, the steamboats, the mill that grinds your flour, the printing presses that print your books and papers, and the machines that weave cloth for your dresses. Watch and see how many ways water is used in your house. Keep your eyes and ears open every day and see how many things you can learn about it. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.2
Do you remember how some of the water that was on the earth at first, got way up above our heads in the clouds? Well, after God had made the beautiful firmament above us, and part of the waters that had been on the earth were floating about in the air, there was still much water on the earth; for there was no dry land at all. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.3
On the third day, therefore, God gathered these waters together so that the dry land could be seen. He did not have to dip the water up, and carry it to the places where He wanted it, as we do, but He just said, “Let the waters be gathered together by themselves”; and they were! And God called the dry land “Earth,” and the great bodies of waters he called “Seas.” And God placed sand all around the edge of the seas for a bound or border. And God said to the waters of the seas, “Hitherto [that is, to this place] shalt thou come, but no farther; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” And though the great waves have tossed themselves ever since, yet they cannot break away from where God put them and again cover the earth; though they roar, they cannot pass over the sand that God placed around them. Jeremiah 5:22. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.4
God did not put all the water in one part of the earth. He sent some into the mountains in springs and told them to run down into the valleys in little streams, that the beasts and birds might go there and find water to drink, and that the grass and trees in those places might be kept fresh and green. He put part of the water into lakes and ponds; and part, he put way down in the ground so that if men do not live near a river or spring, they can dig holes or wells down in the ground and find water. And then besides all this, He shows His tender love, by giving us the beautiful rain, about which we learned last week. The great Heavenly Father must love us all, for He sends His rain on the good and on the bad, and He freely gives us each all the good pure water that we need. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.5
This water is wonderful, and useful, and good, and it keeps us alive; but it cannot keep us alive for ever. It causes us to have clean faces and hands; but it cannot cause us to have pure thoughts and actions. Jesus can give as “living water,” water that will cause us to have pure, good thoughts and actions, so that we finally can live for ever with Him. Would you like to know what this “living water” is? It is His Holy Spirit. We cannot see it any more than we can see the air, but it makes us gentle and kind, and makes us want to please Jesus in every little thing that we do. You know how freely God gives us the beautiful water. Well, the Bible says that Jesus is just as willing to give us His Holy Spirit. Let us think of this every time we take a drink of water. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.6
1. How do you get your face clean? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.7
2. Name some of the places where we find water. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.8
3. Did you ever see a spring? An ocean? A river? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.9
4. What is an ocean? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.10
5. Why don’t the waves rush out over the dry land? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.11
6. Do you think that it is just that little sand that keeps them there?—No. Psalm 89:8, 9; 93:4. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 397.12
7. Were the waters always in oceans, and lakes, and rivers, and springs? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.1
8. When did God gather them together? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.2
9. How did He do it? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.3
10. For what is water good? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.4
11. Suppose God had put all the water in one part of the earth, would it be so pleasant? Why not? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.5
12. What should we always remember about dirty, bad-smelling water? It is just as bad for us as spoiled, bad-smelling air. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.6
13. Is wine, or any other strong drinks as good for us as water? Why not? Proverbs 20:1; 23:29-32. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.7
“Water, bright water, pure water I drink,
From clear mountain streamlet, or deep wells
brink;
It cooleth, when parched, my thirsty tongue;
It helpeth my happiness to prolong;
’Tis the drink of the flowers, the birds, and bees.
The insects that dance on the summer’s breeze;
The cattle that graze on the hill and plain:
The traveller’s friend on the mighty main:
’Tis the drink that God gave first unto man.
In rivers that through lovely Eden ran.
Water, bright water, pure water, to thee
May I be a life-long, true devotee!”
PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.8
14. What precious promise does God make to those who love and obey Him?—Their water shall be sure; they will always have enough. Isaiah 33:15, 16. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.9
15. But can this water make us live for ever? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.10
16. Can it cause us to have pure thoughts and actions? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.11
17. What kind of water can?—Living water. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.12
18. What is this living water?—God’s Holy Spirit. John 7:37, 39; 4:10-13. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.13
19. Where can we get it? John 12:37. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.14
20. Do you want this gentle Spirit to come and live with you? PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.15
21. Then what does Jesus invite you to do?—To come unto Him, without money, and ask Him for it and He will give you freely all that you want. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.16
“Ho, ye thirsty, come and drink!
Water! living water!
Gather at the fountain’s brink,
Take the living water.
Souls athirst, oh, hither haste,
Stay not in the desert wastes;
PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.17
“Come the healing waters taste,
Water, living water.
PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.18
“Come ye who in deserts roam:
Water! living water!
Whosoever will may come
To the living water.
Ye who hear, lift up the cry,
Every soul that thirsts, draw nigh:
Come and drink, and never die;
Take the living water.”
PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.19
“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
-The insurgents appear to be getting the upper hand in Brazil. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.20
-It is announced that Sweden is about to join the Triple Alliance. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.21
-A Capetown telegram says that fears are still entertained in Mashonaland of a Matabele attack. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.22
-The Foreign Ministers at Rio de Janeiro have been warned that the city will be bombarded forthwith. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.23
-A battle is reported to have taken place at Cordova in Argentina, in which the insurgents were victorious. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.24
-A pension attorney of Pittsburg has been arrested on a charge of conspiring to assassinate President Cleveland. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.25
-Egypt’s cultivated area of land is about 5,000,000 acres, 2,800,000 being in Lower Egypt, and 2,200,000 in Upper Egypt. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.26
-A great fire broke out at the Philadelphia Asylum for the Insane. Many of the unfortunate inmates are said to have perished in the flames. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.27
-A telegram from Buenos Ayres states that fighting has been going on between the rebels and the Government troops in the City of Tucuman. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.28
-The Legislative Council in New Zealand has passed the clauses of the Electoral Reform Bill, conferring the Parliamentary franchise on women. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.29
-This Hungarian Government has replied to the Papal Encyclical, affirming that the Emperor-King will accept the politico-religious programme. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.30
-India has 280,000,000 inhabitants, and only between 14,000 and 15,000 miles of railways. America has 85,000,000 people, and over 120,000 miles of railway. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.31
-The New York express train on the Lake Shore Railway was stopped by a gang of armed robbers, the driver shot, and gold to the value of 250,000 dollars stolen. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.32
-It is calculated that the quantity of opium grown in China is five times as much as that in India. Ten per cent. of the whole population of China are addicted to the habit of opium smoking. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.33
-M. Charles de Lesseps, who was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for swindling and breach of trust in connection with the Panama scandal, has been released after remaining nine months in prison. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.34
-The National Liberal Federation has issued an important manifesto to the federated Liberal associations with regard to the action of the House of Lords in rejecting the Hone Rule Hill. It is intended as a warning to the Lords. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.35
-In consequence of the Czech agitation for Home Rule the Bohemian Constitution has been partially suspended by Austria, and the police have already suppressed some of the Radical papers and dissolved unions of the young Czechs. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.36
-Of 9,000 Mecca pilgrims from Tunis and other parts, it is estimated that 4,500 perished of cholera on their way to or from the Holy City. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.37
-“Very little alcoholic liquor is drunk in China,” says Professor James Legge, Professor of the Chinese Language and Literature at Oxford. “In thirty-four years I have often been in such large cities as Canton, and I never saw one Chinaman drunk.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.38
-As a result of the recent cyclone in the islands off the coast of South Carolina, it is stated that 20,000 persons are on the verge of death from, famine, thirst, and disease. Another cyclone has visited Lockport, Louisiana, killing six persons and injuring others. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.39
-The cholera continues its havoc in Russia and Central Europe, but does not seem to be making much headway on the western frontier. The latest Local Government Board report as to cholera in England states that “the history of the more recent occurrences, and their isolated character, may be regarded as reassuring respecting the immediate future.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.40
-The great coal strike still continues, and distress is deepening among the unfortunate families of the miners. Several persons in the mob who were fired upon by the military during the recent riots, have succumbed to their injuries. At a meeting of the London Trades Council a resolution was passed expressing sympathy with the miners, and recording its severe censure upon the Government for allowing the military forces to be used against the men. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.41
-A number of merchants and captains engaged in the seal trade met recently at Victoria, B.C., and appointed a committee to draw up a petition to the British Government, showing that the regulations, as settled by the recent International Tribunal of Arbitration at Paris, will operate against the interests of the Dominion so seriously as to threaten the ruin of the seal-fishing industry. The petitioners ask the Government to purchase their schooner and outfits at a reasonable compensation. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.42
-The Austro-Hungarian Ministry has suspended certain constitutional rights of the inhabitants of the city of Prague and its environs owing to the Home Rule agitation, and has issued a proclamation prohibiting all assemblages in its public squares or thoroughfares, the parading of the streets in bands, the ostentatious wearing of badges, and the carrying and displaying of flags with the exception of the Imperial and national colours. Anyone contravening this order will render himself liable to very severe punishment. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.43
-War is raging in the central Soudan. Intelligence has been received from the interior PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.44
-The Congress of Religions, which promises to become one of the most interesting of the numerous gatherings in connection with the World’s Fair, was opened in the Columbus Hall in the Fair ground September 11. On the platform were Christians-Protestant and Roman Catholic and members of the Greek Church-Buddhists, Brahmins, Mohammedans, followers of Confucius, and representatives of their creeds. The session will last seventeen days, and during that time each sect will expound the principles of its faith. The services are to be free to mankind. The doors were opened at ten o’clock. The proceedings were commenced by prayer, which was offered by Cardinal Gibbons. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.45
-Great excitement continues to prevail in the Midlands in connection with the coal riots. At Pontefact three of the rioters who had been shot by the military on duty at Lord Masham’s Acton Hall pit died of their injuries. More troops have been dispatched to the scene of the riots. Miners ballots taken in Derbyshire and Lancashire in the direction of the National Federation, show that the men are determined to resist the demand of the employers, and to remain out til the whole dispute is settled. In North Staffordshire, the men have gone back to the pits at the old rate of wages, pending the general decision. A new strike is said to be imminent in the Pas de Calais colliery distract, the coal companies being determined to resist the demands of the men. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 398.46
“Back Page” The Present Truth 9, 25.
E. J. Waggoner
No financial panic was ever known to affect the bank of Heaven. If your money is there, it is as safe as you could possibly wish it. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.1
The denominational statistics read at the recent Conference of Wesleyan Methodist Churches of Great Britain, showed that during the last connectional year 23,839 persons “ceased to be members.” PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.2
It will be the poorest kind of consolation to the sinner when in the great Judgment he finds himself among the lost, to reflect that he was just as good a man as his neighbour Mr. A or Mr. B, who is lost likewise. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.3
Christian people are civilised. Christianity civilises, the most ignorant heathen as if by the touch of magic. Christianity and the highest civilisation are identical; we mean not the highest national civilisation now seen, but the highest that is possible; for the truest civilisation cannot exist where there is not the observance of the golden rule. Civilisation owes much if not everything to Christianity; but Christianity owes nothing to civilisation. Its source is only in God. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.4
Public Opinion states that a well-known American geologist, Mr. C. King, has by the use of a new and improved method of computation, discovered the earth’s age to be only about twenty-four millions of years. This is a great reduction from the “vaguely vast” figures given us by geologists hitherto. So let them keep on with their computations. It may be that in the lapse of time they will at length get almost as near the truth on the subject as it would from a few hours devout study of the Scriptures. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.5
We are not familiar with all the facts and arguments pertaining to the Home Rule controversy, but there is one kind of Home Rule which we thoroughly believe in and would advocate everywhere. It is that mentioned by Solomon in Proverbs 16:32: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.” This kind of “home rule” is more pressingly demanded to-day than any other. In fact, no scheme of governmental rule can succeed without it; for he who is not able to rule himself, is certainly not fit to govern any one else. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.6
An Italian physician has come forward with the announcement that tobacco smoke possesses “a very pronounced bactericide power, acting particularly on the bacillus of asiatic cholera.” He therefore urges that tobacco smoking be adopted as a preventive of the disease. One cannot help thinking that the physician is himself a smoker, or that he has an interest in the tobacco trade; for although the mission of tobacco is solely to kill, there is no evidence that in cholera epidemics women and other non-smokers have suffered more than smokers. On the contrary, the greatest mortality is among the drinking class, who are also the most addicted to the smoking habit. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.7
The Chronicle publishes a letter written by James Defoe, a pauper paralytic, who claims-and to all appearances truthfully-to be the great-great-grandson of the author of Robinson Crusoe. The Chronicle appeals to the boys of England to do something that will enable this unfortunate descendant of the celebrated author to pass his last days, amid some comforts which do not fall to the paupers’ lot. It is the old story of the unreliable nature of the gratitude and mercy of man. Not so is it with God. Cardinal Woolsey declared that if he had served God as faithfully as he served the king, he would not have been left to the misery and gloom which attended his approach to the grave. The Psalmist testifies, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Psalm 37:25. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.8
Some Zulu converts to Christianity, being told that they did wrong in exchanging girls and women for cattle, have demanded of the missionaries proof from the Bible that it is wrong to dispose of their daughters in that way. To civilised people such a demand seems very foolish, as of course it is; but it is no more so than the demand often made by civilsed men-or those claiming to be civilsed-for proof from the Bible that it is wrong to use tobacco. The one may be explained in some degree by the natural ignorance of the untutored savage; but the other is only accounted for by the lustfulness of the natural heart. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.9
When men are told that they must cease some practice or custom because it is contrary to the word of God, they are always particular to demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord” in proof of it; but when they are told that they should begin, some new observance because God’s word enjoins it upon them, the smallest inference to the contrary that can be drawn from any passages seeming to have a bearing upon the subject, is sufficient to convince them at once. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.10
It is said of Moses that “by faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:27. This statement will apply generally to those who live the life of faith on earth. Their sight is directed to that which is invisible. They look with the eye of faith, and that brings invisible things in the sight; for “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And while the eye of faith sees that which is invisible, it takes note of the carnal things which are visible. In the crowded street, in the busy marts of trade and commerce, in the presence of sin and temptation, the man of faith lives and moves so though he saw it not. The sounds of earth’s confusion and revelry and strife break upon his ear in a hardly distinguishable cadence, while his mind is full of the consciousness of the truth of the life beyond. Satan does not find easy access to such a mind with his temptations. And when the hour of trial comes, faith brings in sight the glory beyond, and the individual is strengthened to endure. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.11
Thus it was with Moses, who, amidst the splendour of the royal palaces of Egypt, saw with the eye of faith the glory of the courts of the King of kings, before which all the glory of Egypt paled in insignificance. Thus it was with Christ, whose faith beheld the time when He should “see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied,” who thus “for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame.” And thus it is with the follower of Christ to-day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17. PTUK September 21, 1893, page 400.12