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Review and Herald, Vol. 52, No. 12.

THE PERSONALITY OF GOD

Review and Herald

Sep 12, 1878

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 12, 1878

THE PERSONALITY OF GOD.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

BY ELDER D. M. CANRIGHT.
  • (Continued.) *

GOD IS A REAL PERSON.—CONCLUDED.

ANOTHER convincing proof that God is a real person, having a form and parts, is the fact that man is said to have been made in the image of God.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: . . . so God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Gen. 1:26, 27. If man was made in the image and likeness of God, then we know how God looks, what shape he has; he is in the shape of man. A poor evasion is attempted here, by asserting that it is the spirit of man that is in the image of God. But the text says no such thing. It says, “Let us make man in our image.” Then we are told how this was done: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” Gen. 2:7. Of what did God form man? It is directly said that he was formed of the dust of the ground. Very well; then that which was formed of the dust of the ground is in the image of God. Gen. 9:6 confirms this fact: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man.”
If a man killed a beast, was he to die for that? No; but if he shed the blood of a man he must die. The reason is stated: “For in the image of God made he man,” i. e., he has killed and destroyed that which is made in the image of God. Now the question is, What has he killed? Not an immortal spirit or soul, but the body, that which had blood, that which was in the image of God. Hence it is the body which is in the image of God.
The words image and likeness are thus defined by Webster:— “Image, n. 1. A representation or similitude of any person or thing formed of a material substance; as, an image wrought out of stone, wood, or wax. 2. A statue.” Its meaning is plain. It is a representation of something else in the same form. “Likeness, n. Resemblance in form; similitude. The picture is a good likeness of the original. 2. Resemblance; form; external appearance. 3. One that resembles another; a copy; a counterpart.” Plainly, then, an image or likeness is that which is in the form of, and looks like, that which it is to represent. Man is in the image and likeness of God; hence God has a body in form like that of a man.
Let us now turn to the Bible, and find the meaning of the word image as it is there used. It will be found that every time it refers to something that has a form, a real substance, a shape.
“Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it; for I am the Lord your God.” Lev. 26:1. “And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed.” 1 Sam. 19:13. “And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God.” 2 Chron. 33:7. “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.” Dan. 2:31. “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits.” Dan. 3:1. “And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?” Matt. 22:20. “Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?” Acts 19:35. “I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.” Rom. 11:4. “Saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” Rev. 13:14. “Wherefore ye shall make images of your emeralds, and images of your mice that mar the land.” 1 Sam. 6:5. “For when she saw men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed with vermilion.” Eze. 23:14. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Ex. 20:4.
All these texts abundantly show that in Bible language an image is something that has a real form and shape. Man is made in the image of God—the man that was made of the dust, too. Gen. 2:7.
“God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Rom. 8:3.
Here it is definitely stated what part of man constitutes the likeness. “Sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.” It is his flesh, then, in which the likeness consists. Phil. 2:5–8 is absolutely decisive upon this point. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God.” Here we stop to ask how Christ could be in the form of God, if God had no form. But Jesus was in the form of God; hence the argument is conclusive that God has a form. “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant [man], and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,” etc. Here it is declared that Christ was in the form of God, in the form of a servant, in the likeness of man, in the fashion of man. We know that this was his body; for Christ was both in the form of God, and in the form of man. Then God and man both have the same form.
Of Jesus Paul says, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Heb. 1:3. It is the person of God, then, of which Jesus was the image. Then God has a person. Now what is the meaning of the word person? It seems that on so simple a word as this there could be no mistake. It does not and cannot mean an immaterial, intangible, shapeless, formless essence. It always means an intelligent being, having a body, shape, and form.
Again we appeal to the word of God. Let us carefully read a few plain scriptures where the word person is used; and it will be seen that it always means an individual with an organized shape and form.
“Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.” Gen. 14:21. “And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there.” Num. 19:18. And he “slew his brethren the sons of Jerub-baal, being threescore and ten persons.” Judges 9:5. “I have seen a son of Jesse, . . . a comely person.” 1 Sam. 16:18. “And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.” 1 Sam. 22:18. “Wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed.” 2 Sam. 4:11. “That thou go to battle in thine own person.” 2 Sam. 17:11. “Likewise the fool and the brutish person perish.” Ps. 49:10. “There was not one feeble person among their tribes.” Ps. 105:37. “A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit.” Prov. 28:17. “And every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left.” Jer. 43:6. “He carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons.” Jer. 52:29. “Thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.” Eze. 16:5. “And they shall come at no dead person.” Eze. 44:25. “For thou regardest not the person of men.” Matt. 22:16. “I am innocent of the blood of this just person.” Matt. 27:24. “Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” 1 Cor. 5:13. “But saved Noah the eighth person.” 2 Pet. 2:5.
By these passages we find what the Bible means by the word person. It never means a being without body, parts, or passions. Now the Bible, after using the word person hundreds of times in the sense indicated above, says that God is a person. We believe it, and are willing to leave it there.

OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED.

However plain any doctrine may be, some will raise objections to it. So objections are urged against the doctrine of the real personality of God; but they are very few and readily answered.
1. God fills Heaven and earth. “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill Heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” Jer. 23:23, 24.
“Now,” says one, “if God fills Heaven and earth, he must be everywhere, in one place as much as in another. And beside that, he cannot be a material being, having a body and form; for if he were, his body, filling Heaven and earth, would exclude all other bodies.” It is strange that sensible men will raise so foolish an objection as this. Let us try their view of it. They say that God is an immaterial spirit and fills Heaven and earth. Very well; then this must exclude all other spirits; for just as truly as no two material bodies can occupy the same place at once, no two spirits can occupy the same place at the same time. They reason that if God were a material being and filled Heaven and earth, then he would exclude all other material beings from the universe. And their conclusion is right. So we reason just as legitimately that if God, as a spirit, absolutely and in the full sense of the word filled Heaven and earth, then he would exclude all other spirits, and there would be neither angels nor wicked spirits anywhere in the universe! But both of these conclusions we know to be untrue. What, then, is the truth? Simply this: That when the Lord says, I fill Heaven and earth, it is to be understood in a certain qualified sense, as explained by other scriptures. We must not make a single strong metaphor like this contradict the many direct declarations that God has a form, shape, body, and local habitation; that he sits upon a throne, and is in Heaven and not upon the earth. When God says he fills Heaven and earth, other scriptures explain this to mean that Heaven and earth, and all parts of the universe, are open and naked before the eyes of God, and that nothing is hid from his sight; that he sees everything just as clearly and distinctly as though it were in his immediate presence. The very text itself indicates this. Read it again carefully. “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.” There is the point. No man can hide himself anywhere so that God cannot see him. With this thought the Lord adds, “Do not I fill Heaven and earth?” But how? absolutely, personally? No; for this is not true either in fact or in the teachings of the Bible. Read a few other scriptures. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Heb. 4:13. Here we have an explanation of what this means. All things are open and naked before the eyes of God. “Great in counsel, and mighty in work; for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jer. 32:19. This states the same fact again: The eyes of the Lord “are open upon all the ways of the sons of men.”
Ps. 139:1–12 is a beautiful expression of this whole subject: “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine up-rising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”
How beautifully the psalmist expresses the thought that God sees and knows all his ways, understands every word he speaks, knows his thoughts afar off; that neither in Heaven, in earth, nor in hell can he hide himself from God. The deepest darkness is as light as the day to God. God sees him everywhere and all the time. In this sense, and this only, is God everywhere present. Reader, is God personally present in the room where you now are? You know he is not. If he were you would not live a moment. Read what the Bible says of the wonderful majesty, the burning glory, the devouring fire which surround the immediate presence of the Almighty. Could you stand in such a presence? Whatever the creeds may say, in our very souls we know better.
2. God is a spirit. “God is a spirit;and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24.
There, says the objector, if God is a spirit he cannot be a material person, having a form and body. Who says that a spirit is not a person, and has no form, no body, no substance? That is all assumption. It assumes the very thing to be proved. We maintain that a living spirit is just as much a person as a man is, and has shape, body, and form. This we can readily prove. Angels are called spirits. “Are they not all ministering spirits?” Heb. 1:14. Yet these angels are real persons, as you know by the whole tenor of the Bible. Angels came to Abraham, sat in his tent, and ate of his bread. Gen. 18. Angels went to Lot, took hold of his hand, ate at his table. Gen. 19. Angels have bodies, wings, faces, hands, and feet. Isa. 6:1–4. They have frequently been seen, and conversations have been held with them. An angel came to Daniel. Gabriel came to Mary and to Elizabeth. One came to Peter in prison. John fell at the feet of an angel to worship him. Are they not persons? Do they not have form and shape? or are they simply an essence, filling the universe, being in no place in particular? Every Bible student knows better.
(To be continued.)

"WHO IS ABOVE ALL."

The thoughts of God are higher Than my poor thought and thine, And in their mighty orbits They roll in light divine.
The ways of God are wiser, And lead to holier ground, Than ways of our devising, That run their selfish round.
The care of God is wider, Than all the world of need, And in its high pavilion The soul is safe indeed.
The help of God is stronger Than dark Satanic might; And he who rests upon it Shall conquer in the fight.
The grace of God is greater Than human woe and sin, And in the soul’s deep conflict The victory shall win.
The love of God is deeper Than human hate or fear; But in its perfect fullness It doth not yet appear.
—American Wesleyan.

WAIT

By Laura C. Nourse

To sit calmly down and wait, to be able to keep our hearts from uncharitable thoughts and our lips from hasty utterances in this age of hurry and strife, of quick deductions and lightning calculations, requires much of moral force, of rigid self-control, of firmness of purpose, and, above all, a nearness to God that will enable us, always and everywhere, to exercise that charity so prominently brought out in the New Testament Scriptures, and which so eminently characterized the life and teachings of Christ, the Son of God.
How many of us have ever comprehended the meaning of the word wait, or attempted to put into execution our well-defined ideas concerning it? We are hasty in our judgment, quick in our condemnation, bitter and unsparing in our censure. We coolly and calmly criticise the opinions and actions of friends and enemies alike, and putting ourselves in the rightful seat of the Judge of all the earth, pass upon our fellow-men sentence of condemnation. With surprising effrontery and boldness, we even dare to enter the inner chambers of the heart, and, with ruthless and relentless hand, wresting from the sorrowful lives of those around us their secret griefs and sorrows, their misery and suffering, heartlessly parade them before the world, and unfeelingly pass upon them our hollow and flippant judgment; a verdict, many times, utterly devoid of justice, and from which every lingering vestige of mercy has been carefully and deliberately crushed out.
God is just, and tempers justice with mercy. Do we? Do we ever consider it necessary to pause, to wait until we may calmly and justly weigh the evidence, until we know something of the, it may be, peculiar circumstances which have conspired to produce the act that we condemn?
Do we forget in our pitiable self-righteousness that we are weak and human? And do we dare to hope that He who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” will not deem it needful, for our fuller development and furtherance in the divine life, to subject even us, to just that measure of temptation that has proven too great for our fellow? Shall we stand the test, and be able to “cast the first stone”?
Even in the petty details of every-day life, how much need have we to learn how the meaning of patient waiting, to study the motives, to understand the purposes of those with whom our business or social relations bring us in contact.
We need to keep our own hearts pure, our own lives above suspicion, our own lips from hasty words; and, doing this, we shall be better able to exercise the great gift of charity; to remember our own frailty; to wait for the development of motives and the justification of actions. Let us exercise forbearance with the failings of others, and seek by loving sympathy and gentle, kindly acts, prompted by hearts which beat in unison with the great heart of God, to remove temptation from the pathway of the weak, to comfort and strengthen those who shrink and falter beneath the burden which the cruel griefs and sufferings of this poor life have put upon them, to help other lives into the life of God, and other souls into the kingdom of Heaven. So shall we be ever ready for the lessons a loving Father designs to teach us, whether they come through pain and affliction, or the brighter rays of sunshine and prosperity.
Let love without dissimulation rule our lives and govern our acts, uniting us in a common bond of sympathy to God and humanity, and in the end gaining for us a sure entrance into life everlasting.
“In patience and faith, let our hearts be still ‘Neath the toils of each passing day; Let our Father teach us what lessons he will, In his loving and merciful way. Thus sitting in meekness at Jesus’ feet, As slowly we learn each line, The bitter and dark will be clear and sweet, Made plain by a light divine.” LAURA C. NOURSE.

The Signification of Baptism.

Baptism is, first of all, a testimony and memorial of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, just as the Sabbath is a testimony and memorial of the work of creation, and of God’s rest on the seventh day.
Baptism is therefore an outward, emblematic representation of the gospel. This will be easily seen when we compare the two.
The great sum of that gospel which Paul, as well as others, preached, is this:—
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Cor. 15: 3, 4.
The testimony of the great apostle to the Gentiles concerning baptism reads as follows:—
“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.” Rom. 6: 3-5.
According to this testimony, baptism is the likeness of the death and resurrection of Christ, and believers are baptized for a testimony and a memorial of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. At the same time the candidate confesses by his baptism that he has received this testimony, or, in other words, that he believes the gospel, and that he now from henceforth will die to sin and walk in newness of life as a disciple of Jesus. This cannot be misunderstood.
This agrees exactly with the last commission from our Saviour to his disciples: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16: 15, 16. Then follows the promise of our Lord that the Holy Spirit will confer precious gifts on those who, according to this commission, are organized into a Christian church, or a denomination of baptized believers. Verses 17, 18. Those who believe and obey the gospel, or the good message of salvation through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, must be baptized in the name of the Lord. They must be immersed into the death of Christ, and be buried with him by baptism, in order to rise from their immersion in the water like as Christ was raised up from the dead.
Our Saviour has placed faith and baptism as conditions of salvation. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” This cannot be denied without contradicting the words of our Saviour.
Are these two, then, the only conditions upon which salvation is suspended? Far from it! All the promises and ordinances of the Lord are given unto salvation. The Holy Scriptures are divine. By the word of God we must be saved or condemned. 2 Tim. 3: 16, 17. We are not born again (or saved) “of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” “And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” 1 Pet. 1: 23, 25.
Many things are presented in the Scriptures as necessary to salvation. “If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Rom. 8: 9. Without peace and holiness no man shall see the Lord. Heb. 12: 14. “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt. 5: 5. “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matt. 24: 13. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life.” Rev. 22: 14. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13: 17.
Baptism pertains to salvation, because it is a part of the word of God, and because it is a holy ordinance which the Lord himself has instituted. With this agree the words of Ananias: “And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22: 16. And the words of Peter: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2: 38. “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 1 Pet. 3: 21. It becomes us ill to contradict the word of God, and say that baptism does not save us, when the Lord says it does also now save us.
How, then, does baptism save us?
This is easily understood when we remember, that baptism is an outward representation of the gospel,—of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and a glorious testimony of these grand facts unto the end of the world.
Baptism is a means of salvation; for it is one of the holy ordinances of God, and belongs to the “all things that pertain unto life and godliness,” which God has given us by his divine power, that we may be partakers of his divine nature. 2 Pet. 1: 3, 4.
But baptism is not our saviour, neither is faith our saviour, nor the gospel, but baptism is a testimony of our Saviour. This we will illustrate: A vessel is wrecked. The crew are lost except two, who still cling to some floating timber. The storm rages, and the foaming billows threaten with destruction. A noble man starts from the shore to save them. He risks his life for their sake. After much hard rowing he reaches them. They catch hold of a rope, and he pulls them into the boat. At last all reach land in safety. Now the boat and the rope, with several other things, were means to save these men, but the man himself was their saviour. And it would never enter into their minds to thank the boat, but they would be grateful to the man for their lives.
Thus faith, baptism, and all of God’s holy ordinances, are means of salvation, but the Lord himself is our Saviour. Baptism has not been crucified nor raised from the dead for us, but it is a memorial of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Saviour.
Many look upon baptism as their saviour, and turn it into an idol. But they do not hearken unto the voice of the Good Shepherd nor follow his footsteps as presented in the Holy Scriptures. Jesus is our living High Priest. He now ministers in the heavenly sanctuary, and intercedes for us. Heb. 8: 2. He offered himself on the cross for us. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. 1 Pet. 2: 24. He can hear us when we pray to him, and will help us in all our trials.

AN IMAGINARY DISTINCTION.

By H. A. St. John

A RECENT writer in the Clyde Sentinel lays the foundation for a change of the Sabbath in a supposed distinction between the Sabbath as a divine ordinance, and the seventh day. He argues the early introduction of the Sabbath institution and its perpetual obligation; but opposes the idea that the Sabbath ordinance is inseparably fixed upon a certain day and especially upon the seventh day. He does not attempt to prove this distinction any further than to cite two illustrations, which are supposed to make it perfectly clear. These are, first, the passover and the 14th day of Nisan, and second, the Declaration of Independence and the 4th day of July. He then argues that the distinction between the passover and the 14th of Nisan must be evident to every one; also the distinction between the Declaration of Independence and the 4th day of July. He says that no one who thinks closely will confound the two; and that the same distinction exists between the Sabbath as a divine ordinance and the seventh day.
All this sounds well, and to the casual or superficial reader may appear very plausible; but those who think closely cannot fail to see simple fallacy. The distinction supposed to exist between the Sabbath as an ordinance and the seventh day, is wholly imaginary, having no foundation in fact. The illustrations presented are good proof of this. In order to make the 4th day of July a parallel to the Sabbatic institution, it is only necessary to suppose that the United States government had made a law requiring the observance of the 4th day of July in memory of the making and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Let us compare the two thus: Let the framing of the declaration answer to the making of the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is, in six days; the signing of the declaration on the 4th day of July, to the rest of Jehovah on the seventh day; the command to observe the 4th day of July, to the blessing and sanctification of the seventh day. It must be clearly seen that such action on the part of the government would inseparably connect the 4th day of July with the Declaration of Independence, and a refusal to observe it would cast reproach upon the government, so is the seventh-day Sabbath inseparably connected with the great work of creation, as it is its memorial; and to refuse to observe it, is to trample upon divine authority.
The passover is even a better illustration of the truth, as God did fix its observance upon the 14th of Nisan, the very day upon which the first passover lamb was eaten. Suppose some one of the Israelites had imbibed this modern idea that as the passover and the 14th of Nisan were clearly distinct from each other, he could just as well keep the passover on the 15th of Nisan, or upon some other day, and in some other month. Does the reader think this wouldhave answered just as well? Would it have been obedience? or rather would it not have been presumption, self-will, positive disobedience? So we think.
Can a person celebrate his birthday on a day upon which he was not born? Can we celebrate Washington's birthday on the 4th of July? Why not? There is clearly a distinction between George Washington and the 22d day of February. It is my thought that no man would risk his reputation for sanity upon the opinion, that as there is a clear distinction between the 4th day of July and the Declaration of Independence, we might just as well celebrate the signing of the declaration upon the 22d day of February as upon the 4th of July. Yet learned men will present just this kind of an argument for the change of the Sabbath. We may justly inquire, What next?
And further: if this argument is good for anything, why should not seventh-day people have the full advantage of it? There is clearly a distinction between the ascension of Christ and Thursday, the crucifixion of Christ and Friday, and the resurrection of Christ and Sunday, and our friends, if they will but think closely, cannot fail to see this distinction in each case; therefore, while we remember the seventh-day as God has commanded, we will remember all these other glorious events at the same time. And as God has never commanded us to keep holy the day upon which these other events transpired, and has commanded that the seventh day be thus kept, are we not certainly right?
H. A. St. John.

THOUGHTS

By Eliza H. Morton

Thinking of the future, What my life may be; Is there in its bosom Happiness for me?
Cruel fate may place me In a harder lot: Could I bear its trials? Could I murmur not?
All that makes life pleasant, Home, and friends, and love, May be taken from me By the God above.
Ways I cannot fathom, Deeds I cannot see, All lie in the future, Hidden quite from me.
Lord, I will not doubt thee, Thou canst give me strength; O'er life's stormy billows, I shall ride at length.
Trials, woe, and darkness In this life must be, To fit me for the glory Of eternity.
ELIZA H. MORTON.

WHAT DO THEY INDICATE?

By John R. Calkins

It is said that there were more failures during the first half of 1877 than during any other corresponding time in the history of the country. According to the semi-annual circular of R. G. Dunn & Co.'s “Mercantile Agency,” the failures for the first half of the present year exceed those of the first half of last year. For the purpose of comparison, I group together the following statements, which will illustrate at a glance the significance of the figures for the past six months:—
No. Failures. Liabilities.
First six months of 1875 3,568 $76,844,266
First six months of 1876 4,600 105,415,429
First six months of 1877 4,749 99,606,176
First six months of 1878 5,825 130,832,766
The failures for the half year just closed are thus shown to be, in number, over twenty-five per cent greater than in 1877, while the liabilities indicate a percentage of increase still greater.
These figures are of very grave import; for, according to the Agency, never before in an equal period of time in the history of the country have business misfortunes been so numerous, and never have they aggregated so great a loss by bad debts.
The other day a man doing considerable business was asked why he did not keep a better office, have things in style, etc. His answer was, that that was just the reason why so many men only pay twenty-five cents on the dollar; he can do business in a plain office and pay one hundred cents on the dollar.
What do these facts indicate?
JOHN R. CALKINS.

BIBLE LESSONS FOR YOUTH.

LESSON XIV.—THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROMISES.

QUESTIONS.

1. WHEN the Lord called Abraham to leave his father's house and go into the land of Canaan, what did he promise to make of him? Gen. 12:2.
2. At other times, when this promise was renewed to him, how numerous did the Lord say his seed should become? Gen. 22:17; 13:16.
3. What must be the meaning of such expressions?
4. Did Abraham's descendants become a great nation? Deut. 26:5.
5. What does Moses say in regard to their number? Deut. 1:10.
6. In Gen. 17:4, what did the Lord tell Abraham that he should be?
7. Could this promise have been fulfilled in the Jews?
8. Why not?
9. When will the complete fulfillment of this promise be realized?
10. To whom was this company shown? Rev. 7:9.
11. In Gen. 22:18, what does the Lord say to Abraham in regard to his seed?
12. In whom is this promise to be fulfilled? John 1:12, 14.
13. In what way is Christ a blessing to all men? 1 Cor. 15:22.
14. In what especial manner is Christ a blessing to those that believe on him? 1 John 3:14, 15; 1 John 2:25. Read Mark 16:16; Rom. 6:23; John 3:36.
15. Is there any means of salvation except through Christ? Acts 4:12.
16. What promise was made to Abraham in Gen. 12:7?
17. What in Gen. 17:8?
18. When did Abraham's seed, according to the flesh, possess the land of Canaan?
19. Did they hold it for an everlasting possession?
20. Did Abraham himself receive any part of the land of Canaan as a possession? Acts 7:5.
21. Did Isaac, or Jacob, or any of the patriarchs to whom it was promised, ever inherit any part of the land? Heb. 11:13, 39.
22. Did they expect the promise to be fulfilled to them in the future? Read Heb. 11.
23. Was Abraham's inheritance to be limited to the land of Canaan? Rom. 4:13.
24. How far was it to extend?
25. What promise is made to the meek? Matt. 5:5.
26. Whose seed are the meek?
27. Why?
28. Then what is the promised inheritance to Abraham and his seed?
29. Of what do we learn in 2 Pet. 3:13?
30. What is the marginal reading to this verse?
31. Where, then, will Abraham and his seed have their everlasting possession?
32. What will be their number?
33. What will they then fully enjoy?

SYNOPSIS.

When the Lord called Abraham to leave his father's house and go into the land of Canaan, he promised to make of him a great nation. This promise was fulfilled to Abraham's descendants, as we see from Deut. 26:5.
At other times, when the promise was renewed to him, it was said that his seed should become as numerous as the stars of heaven, as the sand upon the sea-shore, or as the dust upon the earth; which must mean that they were to become a multitude too great to be numbered. Moses tells the children of Israel that they have become as the stars of heaven for multitude. Deut. 10:22.
But in Gen. 17:4 the Lord tells Abraham that he should be a father of many nations. The Jews were only one nation; so this promise was never fulfilled in them. But when all the seed of Abraham shall be gathered before the throne of God, a complete fulfillment of this promise will be realized. This innumerable company, made up from all nations, was shown to John in vision. Rev. 7:9.
In Gen. 22:18, the Lord says to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” This promise will be fulfilled in Christ; for he is the seed of Abraham. Gal. 3:16. Through him all men will have a resurrection from the dead, 1 Cor. 15:22, and it is only through him that any can be saved. Acts 4:12.
In Gen. 12:7 we find the promise that God would give the land of Canaan to Abraham's seed, and in Gen. 17:8, that he would give it to him and to his seed for an everlasting possession. Now the Israelites, Abraham's seed according to the flesh, did possess the land of Canaan in the time of David and Solomon; but they did not hold it for an everlasting possession, and Abraham himself did not possess any of it, neither did Isaac and Jacob, to whom the same promises were made.
In Acts 7:5 we read that Abraham had no inheritance in it, not so much as to set his foot on; and in Heb. 11 we are told that neither Abraham nor any of the other patriarchs to whom the promises were made, have ever received a fulfillment of them; but that they looked forward to their fulfillment at some future time.
From Rom. 4:13, we learn that the promise was made to Abraham, that he should be the heir of the world; and in Matt. 5:5, that the meek shall inherit the earth. Now the meek are Abraham's seed, for they are Christ's.
In 2 Pet. 3:13, we learn of a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. The margin reads, “Where the righteous shall dwell.” See also Isa. 65:17; 66:22.
It is in this new earth that Abraham and his seed, Christ and all that are his, will have their everlasting inheritance.
They will be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and will fully enjoy all the blessings secured them through Christ, the seed of Abraham. Read Dan. 2:44; 7:13, 14, 27.
All the inhabitants of that glorious kingdom will be Christ's and therefore Abraham's seed and heirs with him of the promises,—heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.
Continue reading: A NEGLECTED PHASE OF TRUTH