Earlier text: Question CornerGod’s Message for To-Day
By Abdiel
WE have been giving, during the last four weeks, some special articles on the message of to-day. The first of these was God’s Great Oneness; the second, Present Conditions in the Religious World in contrast with the oneness which God desires; third, The Healing Message, and the need of such a message to heal the divisions and spiritual sickness of Christendom; fourth, The Gospel for To-Day—the rejection of that message by great Babylon, as represented in the various Protestant denominations which are following creed and higher criticism instead of the Word of God, what the result of such rejection must be, the loss of spiritual power. Last week we gave God’s great protest, His warning against the beast and his image and the reception of his mark. The final results of the rejection of God’s message is the topic of this article. It has ever been true, as set forth in another column, that God has had a message for the needs of every age, that this message has come directly to His own people, by whatever name they may have been called. It is His design that His people should first receive His message, whether it be one of reproof and correction, or one in which new light is given. It would be contrary to God’s working, always, to expect this message would spring up in the world outside of His own people. He has not always chosen the great, the learned, the popular—nay, He has never chosen such for the giving of that message, but the humble, the meek, the teachable, the true, the loyal, the seekers after truth, the doers of the will of God. It was Noah preceding the Deluge; it was Abraham who was sent to the inhabitants of Canaan; it was Moses to Egypt; it was Samuel to backslidden Israel; it was Elijah when the nation had become corrupted under idolatrous Ahab and his worse paramour, Jezebel; it was John the Baptist, the teacher of the wilderness, to Judah sunken in dead formalism; it was Martin Luther and Ulric Zwingle and others at the time of the great Reformation. The reception of these various messages brought life and power and regeneration. Their rejection brought coldness, indifference, departure from God, and almost invariably an enmity and zeal against His true children, or those who were proclaiming His message for the time. So it was in the time of our Lord. Those who did not receive the message of John were aroused to enmity against it; those who would not accept Jesus as the Christ brought the guilt of innocent blood upon them at His crucifixion. Those who did not accept the message of the Reformation were stirred to madness against those who gave it, and persecution resulted. And so it must be, and so the Word declares it will be, regarding the last message and the last generation. We print again that great threefold message from Rev. 14:6-12, as follows: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into6 the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” We wish the reader to note again the sublime gospel message that is to go to every kindred, and tongue, and people on the face of the earth. We wish him again to note the emphasis that is laid upon the various things in that message,—“fear God,” “give glory to Him,” worship the Creator, that the judgment hour is impending. Let him note that that message which would have healed Babylon, rejected, brings the fall of Babylon spiritually; and let him note, further, that the consequent fall of Babylon brings union with the state, the reviving of the beast power in the old world, the formation of an image to that power in the new, the demand that the inhabitants of the earth shall receive the mark of that power as set forth in chapter 13, and the message is God’s faithful warning against it. Let it be noted also that those who refuse to obey the demands of these apostate powers, but who heed the warning message, develop a character which is described in verse 12: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” It is not needed that this article shall prove that these things are now going on in the world; they are patent to all observers. Throughout the length and breadth of the world men are clamoring for a union of church and state, or that the state itself shall pass certain religious or ecclesiastical dogmas, enforcing them upon the people of the world. Invariably the center of all these is the ecclesiastical Sunday, chosen as the mark of Christian patriotism, and those who advocate it are demanding that it shall be honored just as far as law can compel its honor. The Sunday in and of itself alone, observed by the individual or the church voluntarily, is merely an ecclesiastical institution, erroneous, it seems to us, utterly so from a Bible standpoint, but as such is only an ecclesiastical error; but when that is entrenched in law, and the power of the state is used to enforce the dogma of the church, in and of itself it becomes humanly a mark of distinction, a mark of loyalty on the part of the observer, and of treason or rebellion on the part of him who refuses to observe it. Set over against this, with no other law behind it save that of the Infinite, with no other compelling power save that of love, is the Sabbath of Jehovah as given from Mount Sinai, as observed by Jesus Christ, as enshrined in the volume of inspiration from the beginning to the end. Those who believe in the message of God, will observe His law. Those who accept of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ understandingly, will believe that that grace is designed to bring us into harmony with God, and make us observers of His commandments; as expressed by the apostle Paul, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” They believe that Christ died to save, not in sin, but from sin; not in transgression, but from transgression; and in loyalty to God, they must obey His law and follow Jesus Christ; and in loyalty to God and in faithfulness to the Captain of their salvation, they can not observe a rival day which apostasy and civil power endeavor to put in the place of the Sabbath of the Lord. They therefore not only can not endorse Sunday laws or yield to the worldwide demands of the apostasy, but they must necessarily oppose them, presenting God’s protest to the nations of earth. That is what is going on to-day,—on the one side, great ecclesiastical organizations demanding civil law for the enforcement of Sunday, many, no doubt, engaged in this movement honest, sincere, devoted, believing because of departure from God’s Book, their way to be the only way, but nevertheless working for that which is evil and only evil; while on the other hand there are the faithful of Jehovah, relying implicitly on His Word, presenting His message to the world, of warning against such apostasy; and the prophet Joel, looking forward to this very time, sees its result,—“multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” The result of accepting God’s message is salvation. Those who do it obtain the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the mark, and over the number of his name (Rev. 15:2, 3); while those who reject that message receive also the result of their own choosing, the wrath of God against that sin with which they have identified themselves. And therefore we plead with our readers to study the question if they have not already done so. Study it, not in the light of what men may do, or what men may say, not in view of what organizations may be for it or what organizations may be against it; but let each one study it as between himself and God, knowing that he must and shall meet it all in the judgment; that sometime each one for himself shall stand before the great white throne, and give an account as to how he has used the light which God has given in His Word. We plead with our readers to accept the message—the great, creative, power-filled message of the gospel for this day, which gives victory not only over combinations of men against God, but over all inherent and inbred sin in the human heart. Empowered to Answer
By Sunday School Times
WHEN God calls a man to do anything, He always accompanies the call with a gift. That gift is the power to answer the call. To hear God's call in any detail of life is like receiving an invitation from a friend at a distance to make him a visit, and finding that the friend has enclosed with the invitation a check for an amount more than sufficient to meet all the expenses. That is the way God invites us to do as He suggests. He always encloses with the invitation more than enough to cover the cost. If God is calling you to-day to anything,—as He certainly is,—be sure that He is also empowering you to answer His call. We may have to step right out on faith; but the power is there, and will not fail. We may reject the power, and reject the call, and wound God, and suffer unspeakable loss; but our failure will not have been because the way was not clear to our succeeding. When God calls, God empowers. If He calls us to the impossible, He empowers us to the impossible. He never miscalculates. Why should we ever hold back? The Coming of the Master
By Leslie Littell
[[FIGURE]] OON over the eastern hilltops our Saviour will be seen coming, surrounded by all the holy angels, and enshrouded in the glory of God. How glad all His children will be when they see Him coming! But how sad His coming will be to those who are not ready! As His children hear the wonderful song the angels are singing, and see His bright glory, they will say, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him." And as the chariots of glory come rolling onward, the people of God will hear the great sound of the trumpet, and see the dead in Christ stand once more upon the earth. They had studied the great lines of prophecy in the Word of God, and looking back through the vista of years, they saw the waymarks all along,—Jerusalem destroyed, the Papacy set up, the great tribulation, the great earthquake, the sun and moon darkened, the overthrow of the Papacy, the falling of the stars, the last generation, and the seven last plagues. And then they see Him coming. His glory covers the heavens, and His voice is heard to the ends of the earth, while His angels gather His children from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Those who scoffed at His coming, and derided His messengers who lifted up their voices in sounding the warning, hide themselves in the caves, and cry for the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sits on the throne. As the heavens roll together as a scroll, the earth shakes like a leaf, and the great hailstones come crashing down. The wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming, and all the fowls are filled with their flesh. Then that great scroll will unroll, and cover them from our view, and we'll take the wonderful chariot ride to the beautiful city of gold, out through space, past Jupiter and Neptune, and on to the portals of glory. We'll enter through the pearly gates, walk down the golden streets, and gather around the great white throne. We'll be clad in a garment of light, a golden girdle about our waist, a golden crown upon our head, and a golden harp within our hand. Then will we all sing the wonderful song of Moses and the Lamb. THERE is not in the world a surer sign of a little soul, than the striving to gain respect by such means as dress and rich clothes. None will depend upon these but they who have no other means. “CHERISH any guilt in thought, and one touch sets the repressed waters into a headlong torrent of act. Care, then, for your thoughts, and the acts will take care of themselves.” Marriage and Sabbath Institutions
By T. Godfrey
Origin and Relation to Each Other
HE marriage and Sabbath institutions are of divine origin, and are the two oldest institutions upon record, both dating back to creation week. In the second chapter of Genesis we have the date of their institution. Concerning the marriage institution the inspired record says: "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. . . . And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam: . . . and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman [Isha, margin], because she was taken out of man [Ish, margin]. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Gen. 2:18-24. Mark 10:1-9. "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [fill] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Gen. 1:27, 28. Thus we see that the marriage institution is of divine order, and that it is a holy and sacred institution. God made man male and female, and gave unto them the marriage institution, and blessed them, and gave them dominion over the works of His hands. He gave to man the marriage vows to be a sign of the righteousness of the institution, and a seal of His approval. It is a perpetual covenant between the man, his wife, and God forever. God made man male and female that they might be a blessing to each other, and an honor to God. The woman is of the man, and was made for the man. 1 Cor. 11:9. To violate the marriage vow is sin; it is adultery, says the seventh commandment. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Ex. 20:14. Thus we see that there exists a close affinity between the marriage relation and the law of God. The primordial home instituted by the Lord in Eden was a holy and happy place. There God talked with man face to face, and the angels of God loved to visit it. It was the depository of God's holy law, written in each individual heart. O, that Elysian home so pure! At the close of the sixth day of creation, God reviewed the works of His hand, and pronounced them very good, and rested from all His works. In the second chapter of Genesis we have the account of the institution of the Sabbath day. Concerning that institution of the Sabbath, the word of inspiration says: "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Gen. 2:1-3. Thus we learn that the Sabbath is of divine order, and that it is a holy and sacred institution. God made the Sabbath by resting, blessing, and sanctifying it. Then He gave it to man. It "was made for man;" made for him to remember and "keep holy." Mark 2:27; Ex. 20:8. It is a perpetual covenant between God and His loyal subjects forever that He is the true God, the God that made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is. Ex. 31:16, 17. Thus the Sabbath was made for man, or the whole human family. To desecrate the Sabbath is sin. "Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. Says the fourth commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore [for this reason] the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11. These two primitive institutions have coexisted for six thousand years in spite of the many attempts on the part of the enemy of all righteousness and truth to separate and obliterate them. These two institutions are eternal and inseparable. Says the wise man: "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past" (or, "driven away"). Eccl. 3:14, 15. It is true that sin entered into the world (Rom. 5:12), and that the marriage vow has been and is violated, and the Sabbath desecrated; but sin has not changed God's plan and eternal purpose in creation. The marriage vow and the Sabbath are gifts from God. Says the Word of God, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17. "For I am the Lord, I change not," etc. Mal. 3:6. The marriage vow is still a holy and sacred gift. The Sabbath day is still a blessed, sanctified rest day. The enemy has made many attempts to reduce the marriage vow to a mere civil contract, to be dissolved at will; and many attempts have been made to set aside the holy Sabbath of the Lord, and put in its stead Sunday, "the wild solar holiday of all pagan time." These attempts are treason committed against the government of God. But the principles of truth and righteousness will prevail, and sin and its originator will be forever blotted out, and man will keep the Sabbath in the earth made new. Isa. 66:22, 23. 1. What is God's object concerning His children?
"YE shall be HOLY; for I JEHOVAH your God am HOLY." Lev. 19: 2. 2. How is the same thought and standard expressed in the New Testament?
"But like as HE who called you is HOLY, be YE YOURSELVES also HOLY in ALL MANNER OF LIVING; because it is written, YE SHALL BE HOLY; FOR I AM HOLY." 1 Peter 1: 15, 16. 3. How is the duty of man expressed?
"This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard; FEAR GOD, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS; for this is the WHOLE DUTY of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12: 13, 14.
"Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So SPEAK YE, and so DO, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty." James 2: 8-12. 4. But as man is a sinner, what is the purpose of God's grace?
"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God [did by], sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the ordinance ["requirement," "righteousness"] of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8: 3, 4. 5. As God requires love, and the sinner does not naturally love God, what provision has He made for this?
"The LOVE OF GOD hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the HOLY SPIRIT which was given unto us." Rom. 5: 5. 6. Having in our hearts the love of God, what will we do?
"For THIS is the LOVE OF GOD, that we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS; and His commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5: 3.
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but FAITH WORKING THROUGH LOVE." Gal. 5: 6. 7. How are the characters of the children of grace described?
"Here is the patience of the saints, they that KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, AND THE FAITH OF JESUS." Rev. 14: 12. Follow Your Honest Convictions
By Horace Bushnell
NEVER swerve, in your conduct, from your honest convictions. Decide because you see reasons for decision; and then act because you have decided. Let your actions follow the guidance of your judgment; and if, between them both, you go down the falls of Niagara, go! It is the only cause worthy of a man. The Crown of Thorn
By Ella G. Ives
A wondrous sight! In Pilate's hall,
The Prince of Peace on mockery's throne;
While jeering acclamations fall
From ribald lips and hearts of stone!
O, bitter irony of scorn,
The King of Glory crowned with thorn! A scarlet robe around Him flung;
His scepter but a flimsy reed;
Knees bent in insult; blows that stung,
And taunts that made His spirit bleed.
O, sharper than the wounding thorn,
The scoffs and jeers so meekly borne! By suffering crowned, in sorrow's night;
His royal lineage ne'er so plain
As when upon the Lord of light
Sin's scarlet robe fell in disdain;
And brow and soul alike were torn
With seal of kingship,—crown of thorn! O Lord of Lords! O King of Kings!
More glorious in Thy lowliness
Than when the world Thy triumph sings,
And princes to Thy footstool press,—
This, this Thy coronation morn,
Thy diadem, a crown of thorn. —Ella G. Ives, in "Advance." Boys That Are Wanted
By Carlotta Perry
"Wanted — boys." This want I find
As the city's wants I read of.
And that is so — there's a certain kind
Of boys that the world has need of.
The boys that are wanted are steady boys,
Unselfish, true, and tender,
Holding more dear the sweet home joys
Than the club or the ballroom's splendor; Boys who have eyes for the sister's grace
Swift hands for the household duty;
Who see in the mother's patient face
The highest, holiest beauty;
Boys of earnest and noble aim,
The friends of the poor and lowly,
To whom forever a woman's name
Is something sacred and holy. Boys are wanted whose breaths are sweet,
The pure air undefiling;
Who scorn all falsehood and smooth deceit
That lead to a soul beguiling;
Boys who in scenes that are glad and bright
Feel their pulses beat the faster,
But who hold each animal appetite
As servant and not as master. Boys are wanted who strength can lead,
The weaker upon them leaning;
Boys whose "No" is a "No" indeed,
And whose "Yes" has an equal meaning;
Who are strong, not only when life decrees
Its bitter and heavy trials,
But can practise its small economies,
And its every-day self-denials.
— Carlotta Perry. I am standing outside thy door to-night,
Seeking thy heart to win;
The world for a while has withdrawn its light,
Wilt thou open and let Me in?
I have traveled far on a lonely road,
In sorrow and agony;
I have borne sin's heavy, crushing load,
All, all for the sake of thee! I am standing to plead with thee to-night,
While the dews of evening fall;
O'er the moaning and surging waves of life
Dost thou hear My yearning call?
I would free thy soul from the chains of earth,
From its care, its sorrow, its sin;
I would give thee joy for its hollow mirth.
Wilt thou open and let Me in? From the glorious heights of heaven I came,
To seek thee and to save;
But the world, it gave Me a cross of shame,
And a lonely, borrowed grave.
I left My radiant home above,
All for the sake of thee;
I have died to prove My deep, deep love,
Wilt thou open the door to Me? Thou hast wandered far in the paths of sin,
Thou art weary, and sad, and lone;
But My blood can cleanse, and My love can win.
May I make thy heart My own?
The world, it has given thee care and pain,
Often famine and misery;
I offer the treasures of priceless gain.
Wilt thou open the door to Me? Never Retrograde
By J. W. Lowe
AFTER you have been placed on a higher plane of life, through your acceptance of Christ, do not allow yourself to go back to the old and lower life from which you were redeemed. It would be like a slave giving himself back into the hands and ownership of his cruel master, after he has been freed from that master's power. After you have been lifted from participating in that which is cheap and frivolous and vulgar and low, and enjoyed the atmosphere of thinking and talking of things that are good and pure and important, never permit yourself to degenerate into the former condition of thinking and talking. It would be like a man that had been purged from his rags and bodily filthiness and given a neat, clean suit of clothes, discarding the new suit and going back to his rags and former filthy condition. After you have been brought out of spiritual darkness and error and superstition into the light of the gospel and knowledge of truth, never lose your hold on Christ and His truth and retrograde into your previous lost condition. It would be like a criminal sentenced to solitary confinement in a dark cell and afterward pardoned by the governor, refusing to retain his liberty, and going back to his prison cell whence he was taken. A wealthy gentleman residing in London, on a birthday invited his servants to his house to receive presents. "What will you have?" said he to the groom, "this Bible, or a twenty-dollar note?" "I would take the Bible, sir, but I can not read; so I think the money will do me more good," replied the hostler. "And you?" he asked the gardener. "My poor wife is so ill, that I sadly need the money," responded the gardener with a bow. "Mary, you can read," said the old man, turning to the cook; "will you have this Bible?" "I can read, sir, but I never get time to look into a book; and the dollars will buy me a fine dress." Next came the chambermaid; but she had one Bible, and did not want another. Last came the errand boy. "My lad," said his kind benefactor, "will you take these twenty dollars and replace your shabby clothes by a new suit?" "Thank you, sir; but my dear mother used to read to me that the law of the Lord was better than thousands of gold and silver. I will have the good book, if you please." "Bless you, my boy! and may your wise choice prove riches and honor and long life to you." As the lad received the Bible and unclasped its covers, a bright gold piece rolled to the floor. Quickly turning its pages, he found them thickly interleaved with banknotes; while the four servants, discovering the mistake of their worldly covetousness, hastily departed in chagrin.—Selected. Giving Thanks in Everything
By George Matheson, D.D.
Am I to thank God for everything? Am I to thank Him for bereavement, for pain, for poverty, for toil? . . . Be still, my soul. Thou hast misread the message. It is not to give thanks for everything, but to give thanks “in everything.”—George Matheson, D.D. Signs of the Times
By Delwin Rees Buckner
My heavy heart would fill with fatal fear
When I peruse the daily's lurid lines,
Did not I know that they are only signs
Our Lord's appearing now is drawing near.
Within the streets they strike the startled ear
Like bursting bombs or loud exploding mines;
And even at the table, when one dines,
Before the plate these flaring words appear:
A RIVER CARRIES RUIN EVERYWHERE;
IN PLACE OF BREAD, DIRE FAMINE GIVES
A ROCK;
A CYCLONE SUCKS UP ALL WITHIN ITS
PATH;
A PESTILENTIAL FEVER TAINTS THE AIR;
PROUD CITIES LEVELED BY AN EARTH-
QUAKE SHOCK;
THE NERVOUS NATIONS HISS AND
WRITHE IN WRATH. The World To-Day
By Charles Poland
The world is wandering from Thee, blessed Lord,
And swiftly sailing to its bleak reward!
It does not know Thee. Ah, its god is gold,
With thousands on its mammoth list enrolled! The good Book tells us man — made by Thy hands,
And in Thy image built — before Thee stands
A little less in glory than the angel throng,
But sweet his anthems as the angels' song. Endowed with heaven's gift of sight and speech,
With all the wisdom which the world can teach,
And followed by Thy love and pleading voice,
Yet goes the world to ruin as its choice. Hast Thou, dear Lord, brought forth this earth to be
A home for ingrates to eternity?
Hast nursed its millions with affections deep,
And as reward their base desertion reap? The world cares not to see or hear or know
There is a God who sees His children's wo,
Who in His own good time will judge the wrong,
And bring disaster to the godless throng. The world is blind. It will not, can not see
Why it should bow the head and bend the knee
To Thee, from whom all our blessings flow,
And in whose hands are held our weal and wo. There's none so blind as those who will reject
The voice of light and truth! As well expect
Of sightless orbs to form an image true
Of sunset glories in celestial blue. Now, Father dear, I shun this godless corps.
Their evil deeds I censure and abhor,
From sinners many let's turn to saintly few
Who are Thy people, Lord, sincere and true. To change from world to Thee, how sweet the theme!
Seems angel hands had wrought the deed unseen.
Ah, homes palatial which no hands have touched,
Mansions celestial which no skill has matched! And we can think of living, scented bowers
Enshrined in glories of perennial flowers,
Of fields elysian where the saints may rest,
Of fruit ambrosial fit for the blessed. Behold, the saints in rapture see their home,
And martyrs mass around their Saviour's throne,
Do homage to Thy august majesty,
And in Thy worship spend eternity. The Glories to Be
By Edson Carpenter
There shall dawn a fair morning most lovely and bright,
Over which will not gather the shadows of night;
Like creation's fair morn a new day will arise,
But no sin cloud or gloom cloud will darken its skies. O, the King in His beauty we then all shall see,
Whose glory illumines that city to be. But no mortal can tell of the rapture untold
That will gladden our hearts when our Lord we behold. But this truth may we know, and His Word standeth sure,—
That if unto the end we shall faithful endure,
Only that which is good, and the things that are best,
Will be ours evermore in the home of the blessed. A Message for To-Day
By Editor
GOD has had a message for every age, for every generation, for every world crisis. He reads lightly, superficially, or blindly the lessons of history who can not see in it the marvelous working of the invisible hand of God, molding, shaping the destinies of nations, so far as it could be done without compelling or coercing the human will. He does not know the true principles of reform who can not trace the true reformations among men back to the principles of the living Word of God among men. A crisis came into this world when sin entered. God gave His everlasting gospel, and those who embraced it entered into His everlasting covenant of grace. A crisis came sixteen centuries later. The world became so full of wickedness that in mercy to untold generations the earth must be cleansed. Therefore the Deluge, and therefore the mighty message to that generation, preached by Enoch, Methuselah, and Noah for one hundred twenty years. When the fulness of time came, God called Abraham from Ur of Chaldea, a missionary to Palestine, that he might preach God’s message there before the cup of the Amorite was full for judgment. When the four hundred years of pilgrimage and bondage of Abraham’s seed had ended in Egypt, God sent Moses and Aaron with a mighty message of deliverance — deliverance from sin for Egypt had it been accepted. “When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons;” and He preceded that advent by the mighty “voice of one crying in the wilderness,” in the person of John the Baptist. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” The above are examples of how God has sent His saving message for every age, always the everlasting gospel, always adapted to the very generation in which it was given, always demanding present faith to grasp that present truth. These days are days of evil, days of opportunity, days pregnant with possibilities, days of doubt and stress and trial and crisis. Well did the old prophet express it, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3: 14. In such a time as this, a time when every human hope is under attack, when every “wind of doctrine” is blowing, when every creed of man is questioned, will God leave the world without a message? — Nay, it is unbelievable. It is contrary to God’s character; it is contrary to the analogy of all His past dealings with men; it is contrary to the revelation of His Word, which discloses just such a message. We have been presenting it in the past, we shall still present it to our readers in all its many phases. We are not doing this for the pecuniary profit there is in it, nor to gather converts to a creed, nor to oppose some one else, nor to exploit a theory. We are endeavoring to proclaim it because it is God’s message for this time, for this generation; and it has in it all the potency of God for the salvation of the souls that receive its words of life. It presents no human towers of strength, save the divine-human Jesus, mighty to save. It knows no compelling power, save that of honest conviction and the love of Christ. It has demonstrated its power to bless and save in thousands of instances, and therefore we commend it to you. “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” w. THE curse of religious caste began early in the Christian dispensation. It was extended and established by Constantine, a heathen emperor, who professed Christianity only for policy’s sake. There were as many ranks of ecclesiastical officers during the Dark Ages, as there were civil, and many of them still exist in name. It is difficult for proud man to get back to the simplicity of the gospel of Christ. Jesus said: “Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.” Matt. 23: 10, 11. And that apostle claimed by the apostate church as its head, says to those upon whom God has placed responsibility: “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5: 2, 3. That same church has “my lord bishop,” “the Lord our God the Pope,” and other extravagant and blasphemous titles. If Peter were their head, they would say as Peter said, do as Peter did. The Word of God declares: “All flesh is grass,” and all the glory of man it makes as transient, and insignificant as the flower of the grass. The gospel of Jesus brings down the high and lofty, and elevates the lowly and humble. But it leaves no man room for boasting or glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ and His abundant grace. WHAT a precious promise it is, and how often it is repeated by the faithful few who meet in various parts of this sin-darkened earth: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matt. 18:20. How often have the honest-hearted ones felt compelled to draw from the larger company of worshipers, contrary to natural inclination, for the truth’s sake, henceforth to associate with the few! But the promise of the Master is precious. He does not demand the great congregation in order to manifest His presence, but the “two or three” who meet in His name will receive His blessing. But some have not so precious a privilege as the two-or-three meeting. They are alone. The cleaver of truth has separated them from very friends and dear associations. There is not one human, so far as they know, with whom they can unite in prayer. Is there no promise to such? — Yes; one still more precious than the promise to two or three: “If any man hear My voice, and open the door [of his heart], I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Rev. 3:20. These are the words of the same precious Saviour, Helper, Friend. Precious promises to the “little flock,” scattered among strangers! Precious promises to the earnest and persevering who are living in the midst of deadly Laodicean apathy and lukewarmness and blindness! All alone thou mayest be for the truth’s sake, Christian pilgrim, but the promise of Christ’s companionship is thine. If any man, if any one—it includes thee, youthful soldier in the battle of life; it includes thee, tired and care-worn mother; it includes all; it includes any one who will open the heart’s door, cast from thence the rubbish of worldliness, sin, and unbelief, and invite his Redeemer in. The multitude may not partake with thee, but thy Guest is more than they all. W. In Justice as Well as Mercy
MEN talk glibly of the infinite mercy of God, and ignore His infinite justice; for God is infinite in justice as well as in mercy. The stability and integrity of the divine government depend upon the maintenance and integrity of the moral law, upon the principles on which all true justice is founded. In fact, the greatest manifestation of God’s mercy—the gift of His only-begotten Son—was founded on the integrity of His law and His justice; for if the law could have been broken with impunity, Christ need not have died. God’s mercy and justice are infinite, and they both unite in love. And while we have a holy fear of God’s justice, let His loving-kindness and mercy bind us to Him with that strong, ardent affection which keeps all of God’s commandments, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” When Heaven Prefers Otherwise
“It is natural for a man to have his preferences, but he should not insist on these when it becomes evident that Heaven prefers something else.” THE Hon. E. Nelson Blake gives utterance to the following wise and timely words: “A positive belief that amounts to a conviction is an unfailing source of success. Wavering is weakness everywhere. This pertains to business, to politics, and more especially to religious life. Doubting there is dangerous. No man can put forth his best efforts if unbelief or disbelief in his work has entered into his heart or mind. ‘I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded,’ must be the bold utterance of every successful ambassador of Christ. Hesitation and doubt in the messenger and the message will produce only doubt and unbelief in the hearers. John Wesley said, ‘Give me but a hundred men who fear nothing but God, hate nothing but sin, and are determined to know nothing but Jesus and Him crucified, and I will set the world on fire with them.’”