The Signs of the Times, vol. 15

March 18, 1889

“Front Page” The Signs of the Times, 15, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

Only a few months have elapsed since the publication of the census of 1880 was completed. That census gave twenty-four volumes, aggregating some 20,000 pages. The census of 1890 will be published in six volumes, containing about 5,000 pages, and the Census Bureau has promised that the statistics of 1890 will be in print in 1892. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.35

San Francisco has a Chinese Church of seventy-six members, scarcely a member of which earns more than $30 per month, which raised $1,000 for church and school purposes last year, and sent $60 to China for the support of the chapel. “These ‘heathen Chinese,’” says the Christian at Work, “collected all that money among themselves without the ‘Christian’ (?) methods of entertainments, suppers, etc.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.36

The Free Church Presbytery of Edinburgh had before it the case of the Rev. James Stuart, one of its own licentiates, whose views, enunciated in the work entitled “Principles of Christianity,” were alleged to conflict with the teachings of the Confession of Faith. The result of a two-hour discussion was that it was decided to “suspend Mr. Stuart’s license for the present.” It would be interesting to know how well Mr. Stuart’s views accord with the Bible. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.37

Fifteen years ago, Berlin had but 800,000 inhabitants, and church accommodations for only 25,000 persons. Since that time the population has doubled, and yet but one church has been built. In one district of the city, there is but one church to every 70,000 people, and in another, there is but one church to 140,000 people. And although each of these churches has a pastor, with several assistants, the deficiency in the pastoral provision and care of the people is correspondingly great. The state of affairs the Lutheran Observer attributes to general Sunday desecration. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.38

A correspondent of the New York Independent gives the following interesting, but at the same time alarming, facts relative to the growth of Romanism in Canada: “In the year 1760 French Canada passed by conquest into the control of the British. The population was estimated at 70,000. Now it is one million and a half. Of the present population 200,000 are Protestants, the remainder belong to the Catholic Church, and all these are French, except 100,000 chiefly Irish. The increase of the French over the English threatens the extinction of the latter at no distant day in the province of Quebec and eastern portion of Ontario. Hence, should the same rate of French increase continue, and Rome maintain her influence over them, her number will grow year by year, till by another century it would reach considerably more than the present population of the whole dominion.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.39

It is officially stated by the Bombay Government, that out of sixty-five newspapers established in that province in 1885, 1886, and 1887, twenty-four were edited by men dismissed from the Government service, or convicted of theft, breach of trust, and similar offenses, or notorious for a loose character, or of unknown social status and limited education, or by school-boys, religious mendicants, and the like. The New York Observer suggests that papers are not lacking in this country that appear to have a similar class of persons on their staff, judging by the amount of attention paid to the gratification of low taste and criminal appetites. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.40

Twenty-eight professors in four theological institutions in Chicago have signed a paper earnestly commending the recent movements designed to promote the better observance of Sunday. They specify that Sunday newspapers are prejudicial to the interests of the Sunday, and express the belief that no part of the day should be given to the reading of such papers. They also say that traveling for business purposes is a desecration of the day, and that merely social entertainments are not in accord with the divine requirement concerning holy time. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.41

They signally fail, however, to point to the divine requirement which is violated. Possibly they have in mind the fourth commandment, but all Bible students know that it says expressly, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord,” and makes no reference to Sunday. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.42

Job 19:26 reads thus: “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” The word “worms” is not in the original, and the reading of it is very awkward at best. Whether it should be read, “After my skin, worms destroy this body,” or, “After my skin worms destroy this body, is questionable with many. We have heard it read both ways. What does Job mean? In the first place, he does not use the word “worms” at all, nor is there a necessity for it. What he does mean is perhaps best expressed by Boothroyd’s translation: “If after my skin this body be destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” That this translation of this eminent Hebraist is correct is also evident from the circumstances. Job was afflicted with “sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown.” His skin was a putrid, diseased, decaying mass. But this does not limit the faith of the God-fearing Idumean. He says, “If after my skin [now already consumed] my body be destroyed [by the same disease or otherwise], yet in my flesh shall I see God,” when he shall stand the latter day upon the earth. Then Christ will change the vile bodies of mortality and make them like his own. Philippians 3:21. This Job believed; and this he expressed. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.43

“Evergreen Christians” The Signs of the Times, 15, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.44

The secret of this prosperity is meditation in the law of God. To meditate in the law of God day and night is not simply to have certain fixed hours for devotion, nor is it simply to desire greatly to get away from business, in order to think. Meditation, at least in the sense that it is here used, does not necessarily imply solitude. It is certain that it does not here, for the meditation is to be continued day and night; and God does not want men to be hermits. The life of a monk does not furnish the best opportunities for holiness, as many have testified from experience. One great reason why is that those who shun the society of their fellow-men are shirking duty that God has laid upon them. If a man has light, he is to let it shine to the glory of God. It is the very essence of selfishness for a man to go off and live by himself in some solitary place, in order that he may perfect holiness, and not be contaminated by evil companionship; and such a one always reaps the reward of his selfishness, in that he has the worst possible constant companion. No man can get away from himself by going into the woods to live. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.45

Meditation is not communion with self. The person who thinks about himself very much will not make advancement in the Christian life. There is only one to whom the Christian should look, and that is Jesus. When a person shuts himself up to himself, he is apt to exclude everything else. While secret devotion and meditation are necessary, if one’s meditation is confined to his hours of privacy, he will not grow as a tree. David furnishes a good commentary upon his own words in this psalm when he says: “Princes also did sit and speak against me; but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes.” Psalm 119:23. Ridicule and abuse could not affect such a man, for he would be deaf to it. His mind is absorbed in something else. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.46

Meditation in the law does not mean simply thinking about the words of the ten commandments. There is more to the law of God than what appears on the surface. The law is spiritual. That person alone properly meditates in it whose eyes have been opened to behold wondrous things in it, and who has hid it in his heart. His sole thought is, How can I live to the glory of God? He binds the law upon his hand and his head, as well as in his heart, so that his thoughts and his acts will naturally grow out of it. The one question that he will ask is, Is this right? Will it be pleasing to God? And the law of God in all its breadth, as exhibited in the life of Christ, will be that to which he will look for an answer. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.47

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” The word here rendered “rivers” is not the ordinary word for river. It is a word that signifies division, and seems to refer, not to a river itself, but to the different streams into which a river is divided for irrigating purposes. “Canals of water” would more properly express the idea. It is not simply a tree on the bank of a river, but a fruit-tree in a thoroughly watered soil. Those who have seen the luxuriance of vegetation in a country where irrigation is carried on, can better understand the figure. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.48

“He shall be like a tree.” Constant growth is one of the characteristics of a tree. If it lives a thousand years, it grows every year. Each year of its life will see a circle added to it. It does not lose this year all that it gained last year, but it keeps all that it gains, and adds more. Only such growth as that is Christian growth. The true Christian life is continual advancement. Says the psalmist, of those who at last will appear in Zion before God, “They go from strength to strength.” Nothing else can be represented by the word “growth.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.49

A tree draws its nourishment from hidden sources. Its roots strike down deep into the earth, to take nourishment; all out of sight are the processes of growth, but the foliage and the fruit are open to all beholders. So the Christian whose abundant fruit glorifies God is the one whose life is hid with Christ in God. The promise is that if we pray to God in secret, our Father, who seeth in secret, will reward us openly men may not know the petitions that are put up to God in secret, will reward us openly. Men may not know the petitions that are put up to God in secret, they may not know the agonizing cry of the heart and the flesh for the living God, even while the individual is mingling with others in the discharge of his duty, that strong temptation may be resisted; they can see only the fruit that is borne; we cannot see the tree grow-we see only the result of its growing. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.50

“His leaf also shall not wither.” Many professors are like the grain that fell where there was not much earth; it sprang up quickly, but as soon as the heat came it withered. They are full of zeal for a time, but when actual conflicts come, they become discouraged. But the true Christian doesn’t wither. No matter how fiercely the sun beats down on the tree that stands in irrigated soil, its leaves are always green. Its roots take up moisture continually. So the one in whose heart is the law of God, who delights in it, and meditates in it, has a source of continual freshness. He feeds upon the living word, and grows thereby. This is the only source of growth. The one who depends on feeling and impulse may make a fair show for a time, but only the one who feeds upon Christ and his words, which are spirit and life, can continue to grow. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.51

“Whatsoever he doeth shall prosper,” because he will do nothing that the law of the Lord does not prompt. The beauty of the Lord will be upon him, to establish the work of his hands upon him. How much energy is wasted in this life! How many efforts fail, simply because they are misdirected! But he whose strength is in God will not labor in vain. Such shall be called “trees of righteousness;” that is, their righteousness will be increasing with steady growth, as does a tree; and being the planting of the Lord, they will bring forth fruit, and God will be glorified in their lives. W. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.52

“An Important Question” The Signs of the Times, 15, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

A late number of a Roman Catholic newspaper has the following:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.53

“The Gospel Messenger asks: ‘What do we believe?’ Well, it’s a hard matter to say. A diligent search through the columns of the Messenger fails to discover anything very definite in the way of a religious belief. But then that is not unusual with Protestant papers.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.54

The charge is too true. The idea has obtained of late in religious circles that pronounced belief on religious subjects-it does not matter often of how much importance-is downright bigotry. If one criticizes error, he is uncharitable and narrow. One may have thoroughly studied a doctrine, and rejected it, because it is contrary to the plain teaching of the Bible; but then he is prejudiced. Yet in all these instances he may only be true and faithful. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.55

Some religious papers may be read from year to year without finding any pronounced opinion upon many of the most important doctrines of God’s word. The columns are filled with a goody-goody, wishy-washy stuff that can’t stand alone, furnishing neither timber with which to build nor food by which to grow. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.56

Noah knew his mission. Moses knew his. Elijah, Ezekiel, and Paul knew theirs. John the Baptist was clear and positive. He knew who he was not, and who he was. “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ...as said the prophet Isaiah.” John 1:23. The great Teacher of all spake with authority. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.57

God give us teachers, whether in press or in pulpit, who have the courage of their conviction, with conviction founded on the eternal Rock of truth, God’s holy word as it is in Christ Jesus. Souls are perishing for truth. God’s “people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.58

“The Law in the Gospel. Romans 1:16, 17” The Signs of the Times, 15, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

Romans 1:16, 17.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.59

The apostle had just before stated that he regarded himself a debtor to all mankind, and that he was willing to preach the gospel even in the proud city of Rome, because, says he “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” The reason why he was not ashamed of the gospel, was that it is “the power of God unto salvation.” Men glory in power; if they have none of their own, then they attach themselves to someone who has, and exalt in the power with which they are connected. The man who has the greatest power, or who thinks he has, has none of that apologetic air which characterizes the weakling. The ambassador in a foreign country feels boldness, and has a sense of pride in proportion to the greatness of the Government which he represents. Of course Paul’s feeling was entirely different from the pride of self-exaltation of the ambassador of an earthly court; but as the ambassador of Christ, he felt that he had nothing to be ashamed of. The power which he represented was the power of God. Why should he be ashamed? Yet it is a fact that many who profess the name of Christ are ashamed and afraid to declare it. Must it not be because they have never experienced the power of the gospel in their own hearts? When one has actually felt “the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward, who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead,” he cannot be ashamed of it. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.60

But the seventeenth verse contains another reason why he is not ashamed, or, rather, an evidence that the gospel is the power of God, namely, “for therein is the righteousness of God revealed.” What is the righteousness of God? and how is it revealed in the gospel? These questions should be settled here, for the expression, “the righteousness of God,” is one upon which a great deal depends in the book of Romans. Pages upon pages have been devoted to this question by commentators, who have learnedly discussed the original; but the reader who depends solely upon the Bible for an answer will find it very easily. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.61

In Deuteronomy 6:25, after rehearsing the ten commandments, Moses says, “And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.” This follows from the fact stated in Psalm 119:172, where the psalmist says: “My tongue shall speak of thy word; for all thy commandments are righteousness.” Since all the commandments of God are righteousness, it is evident that those who do them will be righteous; for “he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He [Christ] is righteous.” 1 John 3:7. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.62

But the ten commandments are not simply righteousness in the abstract. They are the expression of the righteous character of God. Says the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.63

“Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.” Isaiah 51:4-7. SITI March 18, 1889, page 155.64

Those who know righteousness are the ones in whose heart is the law of God; and this righteousness God calls “my righteousness.” That the commandments of God are an expression of is righteousness, may be shown in another way. The apostle Peter says: “As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation [conduct]; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15, 16. This is what God requires of us-to be holy, as he is. But the wise man 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. Now since he requires holiness of all, and the keeping of the commandments is the whole duty of man, it follows that the keeping of the commandments constitutes holiness. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.1

The proposition that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, which is only stated here, is fully elaborated in the epistle later on, so that a few words on it may suffice at the present time. First, the righteousness of God-the law of God-is revealed in the gospel, because the gospel carries the law on its very forefront. Without the preaching of the law there can be no preaching of the gospel. The gospel is God’s remedy for sin, which is the transgression of the law. All men are sinners, but all men do not realize that fact; for many who are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, think that they are rich and increased with goods. Revelation 3:17. Now it is evident that before such will listen to the counsel to buy the eye-salve, the gold tried in the fire, and the white raiment, they must be shown their condition. They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick; but they who are sick will not send for a physician until they are convinced of their illness, and shown that they need help. So it is useless to preach the gospel as the way of salvation, without showing the need of salvation; and the law of God is the only thing that points out sin. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.2

But it is with a deeper meaning than this, that the apostle says that in the gospel of the righteousness of God is revealed. The opposite of sin is righteousness; and so when God remits-sends away-sin, he does it by putting righteousness in its place. Where once was sin, now appears perfect righteousness, “even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Romans 3:22. The righteousness of God is declared for the remission of the sins of all who believe in Jesus. He cures the disease by putting health in its place. The righteousness which is brought to the believing sinner through the gospel, is the same thing exactly as the righteousness of the law, for it is witnessed by the law (Romans 3:21); but it cannot be contained except in Christ, who, as the Word of God, is the embodiment of the law. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.3

This gospel righteousness is the righteousness of which Paul speaks in Philippians 3:9, where his desire is that when Christ comes he “may be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” The fact that God cannot deny himself, proves that he can have but one righteousness; and therefore the righteousness of his law, and the righteousness which the gospel imparts,-the righteousness which is of God by faith,-must be the same righteousness. So we have the law before the gospel, the law in the gospel, and the law in the life as the result of believing the gospel. W. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.4

“Not ‘Law or Love,’ but Law and Love” The Signs of the Times, 15, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

Under the heading, “Law-or Love?” the Christian at Work of February 28 says:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.5

“How pitiable the spectacle presented of Christians called into liberty, going back to the slavery of literalness, as witnessed in the observance of Saturday as their rest-day, many even going so far in their literalness as to drop the smile and recreation and mirth at sunset because ‘the evening and the morning’ and not the morning and the evening, formed the Genetic day. And then what sticklers for the bare letter of the Decalogue we meet with-as if those ten laws laid down for the primitive Hebrews were the Alpha and Omega of the Christian duties to-day-as if perfect love was not as far above these ten specific commands as heaven is above earth.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.6

Terribly afraid of literalness, some people are, especially if it is literal compliance with any divine commandment. But we notice that these same persons who make so much ado about the observance of the literal day required by the commandment, are very strenuous about the observance of Sunday, even going so far as to advocate the enforcement of Sunday observance by civil law. Now a query arises: If it is so terrible a thing to yield literal obedience to a commandment, what will they do when they get their much-desired Sunday law? Will they then consider it their duty to keep Monday? or do they think that only God’s laws ought to be treated with contempt, and that human laws should be kept strictly? SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.7

Notice the admission that the observance of Saturday is literally in conformity with the fourth commandment. But the people who deprecate literal conformity to the commandment, are very regular in their observance of Sunday, and, as we have noted, advocate literal conformity to a civil Sunday law. From this we must conclude that the great requisite with them is to be at variance with the terms of the commandment. So long as people do not do exactly as the commandment says, they are satisfied. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.8

That this is not a harsh conclusion, is evident from the latter part of the paragraph quoted. Deprecating compliance with the letter of the Decalogue, it says: “As if perfect love was not as far above these ten specific commands as heaven is above earth.” That is to say that perfect love ignores the letter of the commandments. Thus the practice in regard to the fourth is consistently carried to all the ten precepts. The first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me;” but perfect love, according to the Christian at Work, would scorn to be tied down to exact conformity to any such commandment, and would make gods of its own. The sixth commandments says, “Thou shalt not kill;” but, soaring far above servile obedience to the letter of the commandment, perfect love would lead a man to take the life of the first person he met. Why not? If it is so very pernicious a thing to keep the letter of the fourth commandment, it must be as bad to keep the latter of any other commandment. So, according to this theology, the only way a person can perfectly comprehend God is to steal, kill, commit adultery, and swear falsely. This, according to the Christian at Work, marks the free man. Surely not in vain did the Lord say, through his prophet:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.9

“Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?” Jeremiah 7:8-10. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.10

We have no fellowship with the love that is so “perfect” that it ignores the simple, direct commands of the Lord. Said the psalmist, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. Obedience to a perfect law will make a perfect man, and nothing else will; but obedience can be rendered only in Christ. God is love; the ten commandments are only an emanation from him-the expression of is perfectly righteous character; and so the ten commandments are only a law of love. So the beloved disciples says: “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3. Perfect love can be manifested in no other way than in perfect obedience to the requirements of God, both in letter and in spirit. If the commandments are not kept in letter, they are not kept at all; for a man cannot keep the spirit of the sixth commandment and at the same time murder his neighbor. The Christian at Work has made a mistake in terms. To deliberately reject the plain letter of God’s commandments for ways of one’s own, is not perfect love, but perfect selfishness. W. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.11

“Back Page” The Signs of the Times, 15, 11.

E. J. Waggoner

Dr. Maxwell, of Swatow, China, says of the people of that country that “there is a great misapprehension as to the number of people who can read. It is absolutely certain that there are not twelve millions who can do so, and it is certain that they will never read the Bible except it is supplied in their own vernacular.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.12

Outside of the thousands of churches in London there are 500 missionary workers. Each missionary calls on 500 families every month. They visit the slums and rum-holes, and are subjected to many dangers. During the warm season open-air meetings are held every day and night on the streets and in the parks. The class of people who attend these meetings are people who never have seen the inside of a church. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.13

A letter from London to a recent number of the Churchman says:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.14

“One well-meaning M. P., Mr. Francis Peek, is about to ask Parliament to enact a measure to prevent police, railway men, omnibus men, etc., from working more than six days a week, and enforcing in other respects a stricter regard for the Lord’s day [Sunday]; but it is perhaps to be feared that such attempts to ‘enforce Sabbatarianism’ will only provoke other parties to get repealed what they term ‘obsolete statutes at variance with the spirit of the age,’ which have helped hitherto to uphold a public decorum.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.15

Agitation for legislation in favor of Sunday is becoming world-wide. It is an ill omen of the times. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.16

Concerning the affairs of the American Board the Missionary Herald for March says:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.17

“The receipts from donations for the first five months of the financial year are about $5,400 less than those for the corresponding months of the preceding year, and the receipts from legacies are about $34,200 less; so that the total receipts fall short by over $40,000. The call, therefore, with which the year began, for an additional $150,000 beyond the receipts of last year, is a call now for nearly $200,000 additional.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.18

This is rather an alarming showing; and the Herald asks, “What does it mean?” Reports from the American Home Missionary Society and the Presbyterian Boards show about as large a falling off in receipts during the same time. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.19

The Los Angeles Tribune of February 25 contains a report of a sermon preached by the Right Reverend Bishop Murray, of New South Wales, Australia, in Los Angeles, February 24, 1889. After speaking of the prosperity of Roman Catholics in Australia,-stating that they numbered about one-fourth of the entire population of Australia and New Zealand, or about 750,000,-he referred to the necessity of individual and family prayer, so as to make a “prayerful, God-loving country.” The report continues:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.20

“He urged this as a medium for making government less antichristian, for the Legislators representing a religious community would enact laws. Following up this same line of thought, he took another step and affirmed that only on a firm religious basis can a government stand, if it would be strong, powerful, and morally secure from misgovernment, from weakness and corruption. ‘And any creed,’ he said, ‘is better than none. Give me the Church of England, or the Presbyterian, rather than that government with no religion.’” SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.21

This is another straw which shows the direction of the religio-political current in our country. Herod and Pilate were made friends over the persecuted and maltreated Christ; can we wonder if a proud and emasculated Protestantism joins hands with Roman Catholicism to persecute the followers of Christ in these days? SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.22

The Churchman says that “the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London have been provoked to write to the Times against the N. Y. Herald’s Sunday issue in that city.” They regard this new departure with “much concern, involving, as it does, the loss of the weekly day of rest to all who are employed in connection with that paper.” But these prelates ought to know that there is more Sunday labor put on a Monday morning issue than is on the Sunday morning paper. The reason why the Sunday paper is opposed there, is, we suppose, something skin to the reason why it is opposed here,-it is a competitor of the churches; men read it instead of going to church. But Bishop Temple mentions lawn-tennis parties, and Thames boat-racing, which are prevalent, and he hints that this is so even among the church people. The protests have not much edge to them. Their chief effort at the present will be to advertise the Herald, and that will suit Mr. Bennet. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.23

“FACTS FOR THE TIMES” is the name of a useful work for sale at this office. It is made up of extracts from ancient and modern writers bearing upon a wide range of Bible subjects. It is not designed to detract from the authority of the Bible in any way, but to show what good and great men of the past believed, or were compelled by force of evidence to admit, concerning some of the great doctrines of the Bible. It clearly shows that many of what are called “new doctrines” are old, and have been held by respected men of other generations. It also shows the difference between the religious teaching of to-day and that of previous times. Extracts and comments from different writers to the number of nearly one thousand are given on remarkable fulfillments of prophecy, difficult Scripture texts, natural phenomena, facts connected with our country’s history, statistics of population, intemperance, war, and crime, condition of the religious, political, and physical world, and many other subjects of interest. The book is also of assistance many times in helping the reader to come to correct conclusions on many important subjects, and to lead him to the “old paths” of truth. It contains nearly 300 octavo pages, well bound in cloth. Price, post-paid, 50 cents. Address the Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.24

Would that modern clergymen were as willing to make as much of the apostle Paul’s sacrifices and labors as they are of his vacations (?). We clip the following form the Churchman of March 2:- SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.25

“A very sensible thing had been done by the bishop of Carlisle in laying the foundation of a fund for providing a holiday rest for clergymen who are unable to meet the expense out of their own pocket. Clergymen live a life of emotional and moral excitement which is more wearing than is generally supposed. The smallest parish, and most remote cure, have responsibilities which are more than human. St. Paul, at a most trying and exciting period of his life, broke away form his companions and his work and took that pleasant, lonely walk from Troas to Assos.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.26

How little it takes to satisfy men, when they wish to be satisfied! An unwarranted inference, a perverted text of Scripture, is then a sufficient basis for a theory. That church which professes to trace its succession from St. Paul, must needs find something in the apostle’s life to justify vacations and holidays for clergymen. His whole life is scanned, his holidays noted, and an instance cited; and that instance was a nineteen-mile journey on Sunday from Troas to Assos after the apostle had preached all night! Acts 20. We would suggest as examples of vacation Paul’s labor at Corinth (Acts 18:3), his trip to Rome (Acts 27 and 28), or, his night and day in the deep (2 Corinthians 11:25). What a change would take place if ministers of Christ were as willing to make as much capital out of the sacrifice of Christ and his apostles as is here made out of a holiday (?)! Souls would then be saved. Political power would not be needed to bolster up a perverted system. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.27

St. Clement, in an article in Our Day of February, condemns England most unmercifully for shipping her idols into India-and justly, too. But he cannot let it rest there. He says: “The governing race in India flatters the marketable goods, and profanes the God of the missionary by forgetting to remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. There is no Sunday in its calendar of public works.” SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.28

Now we suppose if England made such a calendar, if India only had a Sunday law, the idols she furnishes India would be considered only toys. The worship of idols is the transgression of the law of God, because it substitutes the images for God. The putting of Sunday in the place of the Sabbath, is directly contrary to the command of God. It is just as unwarrantable a substitution as that of the images, and we opine would have as little effect in converting the nations to true Christianity. It might compel the form, however, as that is the principal thing with these Reformers. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.29

The Christian is called to fight; and one of the essentials in the character of a good soldier is courage. It comes from the Latin words, cur, heart, and age, to act. It is heart action. Fear causes the heart to cease its beating, but courage is the heart acting in its regular manner. The word implies a sense of strength and confidence. A man who is not confident in his strength, or his supposed strength, cannot possess courage. His heart cannot act normally. It flutters, or ceases to beat. Courage also implies threatened danger, strong, wily foes, and seeming defeat, at times. Were the way always smooth and safe, did our foes immediately surrender, did success ever attend us, we would need no courage. Anyone could be brave and confident under such circumstances. But the path of the soldier of Christ is the opposite of all this. The roughest of ways, the strongest and subtlest and most sleepless of foes, sometimes defeat through lack of wisdom or watchfulness. None but the courageous can conquer. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.30

But the Christian may have courage. Faith lays hold of God’s strength; so it does not matter how weak the individual, his confidence is not in his own power to cope with his enemies, he is “strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.” And when by faith he is clad in the best armor, serving in the best cause, under the mightiest Captain, with unlimited resources and strength, surely the Christian may be of “good courage.” “Be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart.” Then, with God’s strength, thou shalt “be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For Jehovah shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.” Proverbs 3:24-26. SITI March 18, 1889, page 167.31