THERE are deeps in the heart's dim chambers,
That the cold world never knew.
There are thoughts too sacred for strangers.
There are loves too pure for the few.
Each heart has some sweet ideal,
That will fill the eyes with tears;
For, toned on the shores of the real
Is the song that the spirit hears.
We visit that "holy of holies,"
Stainless as childhood's prayer,
And we bow there, humbly and lowly,
For the loves of our life are there.
Where a light not of earth is shining,
And time measures not by years,
Where the myrtles of love are twining,
Is the song that the spirit hears.
Time's wheels tarry not in their turning,
But my spirit is strangely light,
For the fire on love's altar is burning,
Though hidden deep out of sight;
And though upon earth but a stranger,
The haven of rest is near,
And sweet in the heart's pure chamber
Is the song that the spirit hears.
And soon shall a glad evangel
Ring clear through the courts of heaven,
And the harping of the angels
Shall welcome the souls forgiven.
And there, with no tinge of sadness,
Where death enters not, nor tears,
Will be sung, with untold gladness,
The song that the spirit hears.
The Kingdom of God Within Us
By D. J. C. BARRETT
SOMETHING MORE VALUABLE THAN MEAT AND DRINK—SPIRITUAL POWER FROM ABOVE—PEACE, JOY, AND REST BROUGHT INTO THE LIFE
By D. J. C. BARRETT
“THE kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Rom. 14: 17. This text is a sublime declaration. It is an enunciation of a grand and glorious principle. It reveals clearly, definitely, positively, the perspective of the child of God. Eternal considerations are of supreme moment to the honest in heart, in contradistinction to the trifling, transitory, beggarly elements of the world which absorb the attention, the ambitions, the aims, of the unregenerate.
A GRAND CONCEPTION OF CHRISTIAN INTEGRITY
“The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness . . . in the Holy Ghost.” This division of the text receives elucidation in the fortieth psalm—an elucidation of principle which gives it a fulness of meaning, a beauty of application, an enrichment of expression, that make it convincing, overpowering, to the seeker after truth: “I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, Thou knowest. I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation: I have not concealed Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.” Ps. 40: 8-10.
What a grand conception of Christian integrity! What a fulness of joy is expressed in these words! What sympathetic, kind, effective ministry we see depicted in this prophecy pointing to the life and ministry of our dear Saviour! What a volume of meaning in the first sentence, which is the foundation-stone of usefulness, acceptable service for the Master—“I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart.” What a change—a sinful, wicked, diseased heart regenerated by the Spirit of God, and upon it written the law of God, the transcript of His character, the measurement of His righteousness, the fulfilling of duty!
IT PROMPTS TO DEEDS OF KINDNESS
The law upon the heart prompts to deeds of kindness, gives a right focus on things spiritual. It is the motive power of the Christian. It fills one with an unspeakable longing, an irrepressible desire, to see souls saved in the kingdom of God. At conversion the Spirit of the Lord transcribes the eternal principles upon our hearts; and by word, deed, and life we exemplify these principles—imperfectly, we must admit—and as a result we “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3: 18.
Examining these texts, we see a sequence of meaning, a marshaling of terms indicative of the fulness of the life of the one who has entered into covenant relation with the Master. The law upon his heart gives expression to effective preaching: “I have preached righteousness.” It reveals a straightforward course, an uncompromising surrender to the mandates of the divine: “I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation.” It manifests a sympathetic, a tender, a loving, a considerate ministry: “I have not concealed Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congregation.”
IT MAKES ONE CHRISTLIKE
The spiritual law makes one Christlike. It gives efficiency, effectiveness, converting power. It gives tenderness, sympathy, love. It gives the indwelling of the Spirit of God. The Shekinah of glory overshadows the law of God. Let us have this delight, this righteousness, this loving-kindness, this salvation, this truth. “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness . . . in the Holy Ghost.”
Again, “the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but . . . peace . . . in the Holy Ghost,”—peace, glorious peace, the heritage of the child of God; that peace which flows unceasingly from the throne of God; that peace “which passeth all understanding”; that peace which involves absolute surrender to the divine will. “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace is found alone in Christ. It is the exclusive possession of the righteous. The wicked long for it, hope for it, pray for it, but without avail. When we come to Christ just as we are, sinful, childlike, humble, repentant, contrite, we have the blessed assurance: “The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.” Ps. 29: 11.
THEY HAVE GREAT PEACE
The psalmist rejoiced in this truth, and states the secret of the spiritual stability and permanency involved in the knowledge of it: “Great peace have they which love Thy law; and nothing shall offend them.” Ps. 119: 165.
How beautiful this testimony! We see a desire to do right, a longing after righteousness, a panting after God, a burning conviction of the binding claims of God’s law, an acknowledgment of the righteousness of His precepts. We see the divine touch. We see the heart of man attuned to the heart of Omnipotence. “After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jer. 31: 33.
What an exalted privilege for the heart of man to be in direct and sympathetic relation with that great heart of love, nourished, sustained, controlled, by a divine confidence! Let us experience direct and unbroken contact with heaven. Let us have Christ in us, “the hope of glory.” Let us have the constant and abiding presence of our dear Saviour, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
IT BRINGS THE INDWELLING OF CHRIST
If we have the law upon the heart, we have the indwelling of Christ, we have His fulness, His righteousness, His peace, His joy. “He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” John 14: 21. And again we read: “He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” 1 John 3: 24. Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost is the heritage of the one who loves and delights in the law of God.
UNAGITATED AND UNMOVED UNDER ATTACK
Peace in God is the calm of the soul. Look at Jesus. The hosts of evil concentrate their attacks upon Him, but He remains unmoved, unagitated, uncontaminated. The admirable dignity of that peace which emanates from God rests securely in the arm of Omnipotence. This is our inheritance, our joy, our stability. “Peace be unto you.” Christ “saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” The intense longing of such a heart is, “Thy kingdom come.” “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but . . . peace . . . in the Holy Ghost.”
“The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but . . . joy in the Holy Ghost.” “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Christ is all in all. Christ is our righteousness, our peace, our joy. The psalmist agonized for this experience. “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.” Ps. 51: 12. Salvation is Christ enthroned in the heart, is righteousness in the Holy Spirit, is the law of God transcribed by the Spirit of God, is the freedom from the bondage of iniquity or lawlessness, is the glorious liberty found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1: 25.
GLORIOUS LIBERTY EXPERIENCED
Liberty, glorious liberty, is experienced in the life regulated by the “royal law”—that blessed relationship that comes about as a result of adoption into the family of heaven. “Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.” Mark 3: 35.
When we come to God in humility, we receive the joy of His salvation. The Spirit of God writes upon our heart His holy law. Christ is enthroned, and “is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Cor. 1: 30.
To have the law upon the heart is to have a heart purged, washed, cleansed. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me,” should be our unceasing petition to God; and the blessedness of turning many to righteousness will be the joy of our souls. “Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.” Ps. 51: 13.
A VISION OF THE SINLESS CHRIST
The messengers of Christ must be clean, pure, holy. They must be without sin, and by faith in Christ fulfil His holy law. To see our true selves, we must get a vision of231the sinless Christ. How befitting the words of Jude: “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but . . . joy in the Holy Ghost.”
Dear friends, do you have Christ? Can you behold His face, and see your life, your righteousness, your peace, your joy? Do you make Him your confidence? Can you say with Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me”? Gal. 2: 20. Christ is knocking at the door of your heart for admittance. Let Him in. He is calling, tenderly pleading. He wants us to make Him our refuge. Let us accept Him. He will receive you just as you are, sinful, disheartened, discouraged, cast out, and will embrace you in His everlasting arms, in which are absolute security, absolute rest, absolute safety.
A UNITED UNIVERSE ASCRIBE GLORY
“The kingdom of God is not meat and drink,” but “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Jesus, our crown of rejoicing, our Brother, our Friend, our Saviour, our Emmanuel—“God with us”! Blessed name, how exalted in the universe of God! At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, every ear be attent. Angels adore Thee. The redeemed in rapturous song bespeak Thy wonderful deliverance. “And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.” Rev. 14: 3. A united universe ascribe glory to Thy name, “saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 7: 12. In Thy name the reclamation of the lost dominion! In Thy name a universe holy, pure, undefiled! In Thy name sin forever exterminated, annihilated! In Thy name joy forevermore!
Paul expresses a deep concern for the true Israel—a concern which should be the embodiment of our Christian life, and which will manifest itself in “disinterested benevolence” toward our fellow men: “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” Phil. 1: 9-11.
God grant that this prayer will be answered in our experiences, and at the revelation of His grace we will see Him as He is.
“The kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
Be Perfect
By John Norton Loughborough
"BE ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. 5:48. How like the injunction so frequent in the Old Testament, "Be holy, for I am holy." God said to Abraham, "I am the almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect." Gen. 17:1. How he carried out this injunction is stated thus: "Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." Gen. 26:5. In Job's case the Lord gave a definition of perfection: "A perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil." Job 1:8; 2:3.
Of the process by which perfection is gained, we read, "God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect." 2 Sam. 22:33. "It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect." Ps. 18:32. Regarding this perfecting of God's people the Lord said, "Perfect through My comeliness, which I had put upon thee." Eze. 16:14. Of this transforming, the Saviour prayed, "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one." John 17:23. In reference to the growth of this work, the apostle enjoined, "Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." 2 Cor. 13:11. Of the gifts of God's Spirit it is said, "He gave . . . for the perfecting of the saints, . . . till we all come . . . unto a perfect man." Eph. 4:11-13.
Of this process the apostles taught and prayed, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 1 Thess. 5:23. "All Scripture is given . . . that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. Again, "Let us go on unto perfection." Heb. 6:1. Jesus said, "Every one that is perfect shall be as his Master." Luke 6:40. The apostle James wrote, "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." James 3:2. Peter gives this encouraging testimony: "After that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Peter 5:10.
Now as a climax to the whole thing, we read, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." 2 Chron. 16:9.
Surrendering ourselves to God, without reserve, and claiming by faith His proffered aid, we may become perfect men in Christ Jesus. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
Encouragement for the Discouraged
By E. Hilliard
EVEN the apostle Peter became discouraged, and said, "I go a fishing." Six of the other disciples decided to accompany him. Although Peter had seen Jesus twice after His resurrection, he became disheartened in the work of his apostleship, and returned to his former occupation for a living. He and his companions toiled all night and caught nothing. In the morning they were thoroughly downhearted. Jesus knew it, and He could not leave them thus, for they were to be the light of the world to the close of time.
Through the approaching twilight, those weary fishermen discovered the outlines of a man upon the shore. Presently a clear, sweet voice sounded over the waters, "Children, have ye any meat?" In despondent tones the answer came, "No." Again the voice from the shore sounded out on the still morning air, "Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." They did so, and "they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." Where now is their discouragement?
Peter became so elated that he plunged into the sea and swam to the shore to meet his Saviour. Jesus did not leave His discouraged workers to their darkness and sorrow of heart.
Precious Saviour! He is just as willing to encourage you and me, dear reader, as He was to cheer up Peter and those who accompanied him on his unsuccessful fishing tour.
The discouraged man is likely to think that Jesus condemns him and leaves him to his sorrow and despair. But He who cheered the hearts of the Galilean fishermen, and sent an angel twice to feed the discouraged Elijah, will surely send His angels, when needed, to assist us. In our shadowy hours, let us look beyond and behold the Man of Galilee beckoning us to follow Him through evil as well as good report. With our hearts full of gratitude for the bountiful blessings of Heaven, let us be of good cheer under all circumstances.
E. HILLIARD.
Crucified Afresh
By Le Roy E. Froom
NINETEEN hundred years ago, on Golgotha's cross, the Prince of Life was crucified by the Jews and Romanists. He was the Creator and Maker of the world, and the "Lord of the Sabbath," yet He was permitted thus to die. And, as if to heap ignominy upon Him, He was crucified between two thieves.
Later, in that midnight of the world called the Dark Ages, may be seen an astonishing likeness, another crucifixion—not now the "Lord of the Sabbath" between two thieves, but the "Sabbath of the Lord" between two thieves.
Strange it would seem to find our familiar Bible chained to the pulpits of our churches, written, perhaps, only in a foreign tongue; stranger still should we be forbidden to read or possess the Sacred Volume. Unbelievable would be the sight of bonfires fed by copies of God's great letter of love. Yet the day when the Bible was a forbidden book, and when it was burned by ecclesiastical order, was not so very long ago.
It was during these centuries that the two rival sabbaths came to the front—the Roman Sunday and the Mohammedan Friday. The seventh-day Sabbath, creation's memorial, was placed under the ban of papal anathema, and the first day of the week was exalted in its place. And in the seventh century, the followers of Mohammed, to distinguish their day of worship alike from the first and from the seventh day, chose Friday, the sixth day of the week, for their religious festival.
Even thus was the "Sabbath of the Lord," the seventh day of the week, or Saturday, crucified between the Mohammedan Friday and the Roman Sunday.
Let us beware lest we crucify our Lord afresh by crucifying and heaping contempt upon the Sabbath of which He is Lord.
LE ROY E. FROOM.
The Faithful Servant
"The Lord does not reward the large amount of labor. He does not regard the greatness of the work so much as the fidelity with which it is done. The good and faithful servant is rewarded."
Religious Legislation in Virginia
By S. B. Horton
Her Splendid History in Matters of Freedom of Worship — Recent State and Municipal Measures That Tend in the Opposite Direction
By S. B. HORTON
A FEW days ago the writer had the privilege, and I may say with propriety, the honor, of standing on the spot where Patrick Henry, the illustrious Virginian, made his world-famous “Give me liberty or give me death” speech. This, together with visits to other scenes connected with the experiences of our national patriotic ancestry, is calculated to impress one with the importance and value of their lives and services in the cause of civil liberty and religious freedom.
OBJECT OF THE VISIT
The object of my visit to the Old Dominion concerned some legislation before the legislature, and also before the city council of one of the large cities of that commonwealth, affecting the principles of civil and religious freedom.
It will be remembered, by those conversant with the early history of the nation, that Baptists and Presbyterians of Virginia labored with patience and fortitude for the development of the principles of church and state separation, pleading for the rights of all people to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience. It will also be remembered that on June 12, 1776, less than one month before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the Virginia Declaration of Rights was adopted, in which it was stated, “Which rights do pertain to them and their posterity, as the basis and foundation of government.”
Section 1 of the Declaration of Rights asserted “that all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they can not, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.”
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM GUARANTEED
George Mason wrote the first fourteen articles, while Patrick Henry wrote the fifteenth and sixteenth, the fifteenth declaring “that no free government or the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.”
Tyler’s “Patrick Henry,” pages 183, 184, referring to the sixteenth article, says:
“The sixteenth article is an assertion of the doctrine of religious liberty,—the first time that it was ever asserted by authority in Virginia. The original draft, in which Henry followed very closely the language used on that subject by the Independents in the Assembly of Westminster, stood as follows:
“That religion, or the duty we owe our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, and not by force or violence; and, therefore, that all men should enjoy the fullest toleration in the exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience, unpunished and unrestrained by the magistrate, unless, under color of religion, any man disturb the peace, the happiness, or the safety of society; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practise Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.”
These two articles are still in the Bill of Rights of the Virginia Constitution. But, in the face of all of such guaranties, there is a disposition on the part of some to deviate from these principles.
A MORE RIGID OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY
A bill was recently introduced into the legislature, “by request,” entitled, “A Bill to Provide for a More Rigid Observance of the Sabbath.” The provisions of this bill are to the effect “that no person shall be employed in any mechanical or mercantile establishment, or factory, or foundry, or laundry, or hotel, or restaurant, or telegraph or telephone establishment, or office thereof, or in any place of amusement, or by any person, firm, or corporation engaged in any express or transportation, or public utility business, or by any common carrier, or in any public institution, incorporated or unincorporated, in this state, more than six days in the week, or fifty-four hours in any one week.”
For the violation of the provisions of this proposed law, a fine of from $25,000 to $100,000 is to be imposed. Such proposed fines may seem to brand this as a piece of “freak” legislation bordering upon the farcical. It is to their credit that the measure was not reported from the committee to which it had been referred. But the very fact that such legislation is in the minds of some is an indication that eternal vigilance still continues to be the price of liberty.
MORE RIDICULOUS MEASURES HAVE BEEN ENACTED
It will be remembered that in the colonial days, much more ridiculous legislation found its place upon the statute-books; and as laws of that character are the outcome of misguided religious zeal and intolerance, we may expect that whenever possible, history will repeat itself.
In Petersburg, Virginia, an ordinance was passed by the city council recently which, if carried into effect, would nullify the exemption clause of the present state Sunday law. The exemption protects those who keep another day than Sunday for the Sabbath, in their right to conduct their business on Sunday; and as stated, the ordinance in effect would annul those exemptions.
The mayor of the city vetoed the measure, on the ground that the ordinance was too drastic in character and was contrary to the principles of civil and religious liberty. The attempt is to be made to pass the measure over the veto of the mayor; but at present writing, the chances for success in that direction are not very bright.
It is to be hoped that the Old Dominion will not forsake its patriotic and illustrious record in behalf of civil and religious freedom, the principles of which are, as it were, engraved upon the very soil of that commonwealth.
The New and the Old
By B. M. Grandy
A Contrast
TO even the casual thinker along religious lines, it is strikingly apparent that the fundamental beliefs among the various church-members have altered greatly within the last few decades.
If not deceived, he is at least puzzled as he beholds the great combinations of wealth, worldliness, and profession, as prominent elements in the modern religious movements.
It is declared that in the twentieth century religion, the shackles of superstition have been shaken off, and the supernatural in creation has been rejected. This is called a transition to a higher and modern conception of man’s relation to God. It embraces another gospel, “a broader plan,” by which man, by the exercise of latent powers, can attain to the perfection of God as exemplified in the life and teaching of Christ.
The sophistries of modern dreamers, and platitudes of ancient philosophers, are clothed in the pleasing language of the “peace and safety” crier. The latest novel or spicy drama, art, poetry, and travel, and all the forms of exciting pleasure, have a prominent place in the “new” religion. The Bible, God’s eternal word, “which liveth and abideth forever,” “which effectually worketh also in you that believe,” is relegated to a secondary place. The injunction found in 2 Tim. 4:2, “Preach the Word,” is unheeded.
The call to “repent and be converted”; the ringing injunction of the Master, “Ye must be born again”; the change of heart that God’s power alone can effect — there is no place found for these.
This is not the religion of the prophets, Christ, and the early apostles, not the religion of Wyclif, Luther, and Wesley. No, sadly no, but only a poor substitute for true Christian religion. Calling itself Christian, it is but a travesty on the religion whose name it bears.
The time is come, and the solemn message is going, that calls attention to the fall of spiritual Babylon. Conditions serve to emphasize the cry as it resounds throughout the world.
The honest in heart, many of whom, for a time, may be deceived by the glitter and popularity of this modern religion, will respond to the cry, “Come out of her, My people.” There is a yearning to-day for the untrammeled truths of the Word.
Faith — simple, trusting faith — is still powerful; and to behold the marvelous working out of God’s way, and to experience the sweetness of His saving power, is the privilege of all who so choose.
The “out of Babylon” experience brings us to that other experience of keeping the “commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” This fits a people for meeting the coming Saviour.
Truly, as the ringing of the sounding brass, so are the deceptive doctrines of these last days, when compared with the tried assurances of the “sure word of prophecy.”
And in response to the Lord’s question, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) there comes the assuring answer, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.
B. M. GRANDY.
A MESSAGE OF HEALING
By E. E. A.
The Gospel, Rightly Understood, Heals Both Body and Soul—The Commission to Heal the Sick as Well as to Teach and Baptize—What Hinders Healing Power
AN ARTICLE by Dr. Theodore Christlieb, on medical missions, quoted in the Missionary Review of the World for August, 1888, contains the following beautiful statement of the relation of healing to the gospel:
"'All genuine missionary work must be in the highest sense a healing work.' So writes that vigorous missionary pioneer, Mackay, from that newest martyr land of missions, Uganda. As certainly as sin disintegrates soul and body, and these are most strictly conjoined, so certainly also must a complete redemption extend itself over the whole personal life, and therefore finally over the body. Therefore forgiveness of sins, or preaching of the gospel, and bodily healing, are only two sides of the same comprehensive salvation, brought nigh to man in Christ, although its realization in the two spheres may be widely divergent in time."
THEY WERE COMMISSIONED TO HEAL
"Therefore we see Christ not merely Himself preaching and healing as He goes around, but also sending forth the disciples 'to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick,' giving, on the one hand, especial power to the twelve 'to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease,' and, on the other hand, commissioning the seventy (Luke 10: 9) to heal the sick and to announce that the kingdom of God was at hand, here even giving the commission of healing the precedence."
"Nor is this power of healing given merely as a sign confirmatory of their mission, but as a manifestation of 'the universal compassion of the gospel,' which brings help for every harm."
ESSENTIALLY A MESSAGE OF HEALING
The gospel message is essentially a message of healing. It is truly good news of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's method of preaching this glorious gospel must certainly be the best method that could be employed. In sending forth His disciples, He said: "Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you." John 20: 21. They were to go forth into the world to do the same work He had come from the Father to this world to accomplish.
Jesus well knew that it was utterly impossible for them to carry out His instruction, to do the work He had been doing, without a special enduement of power from on high; so "when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost." Verse 22.
"YE SHALL RECEIVE POWER"
While giving them His final counsel just before He ascended to heaven from Olivet, He said to them: "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1: 8. This promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, in the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the waiting disciples, and the scenes of Christ's ministry were repeated in the work of the apostles. "They went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." Mark 16: 20.
Is it not the divine plan that this same blessed work should be continued? As Christians, our watchword to-day is, "The gospel to all the world in this generation." Shall we not therefore follow the same methods so successfully employed by the disciples of our Lord? It seems quite clear to me that in the work of the gospel, teaching and healing are never to be separated.
GOD-GIVEN SCIENCE OF RATIONAL MEDICINE
Undoubtedly God has led in the development of the science of rational medicine, and intended that this should be employed in the work of the gospel. Men and women are to be taught how to retain their health, as well as how to regain it; how to protect themselves against the encroachments of disease, as well as how to overcome its ravages after it has invaded the sacred precincts of the body temple.
But is this all that we are to expect? Luke, "the beloved physician" was a faithful coworker of the apostle Paul's; but Paul did not, because he had a physician with him, abandon the work of healing by prayer. However, Luke's skill as a physician was undoubtedly employed with great profit in their gospel work.
PRESENT OUR SICK AND SUFFERING BEFORE GOD
In an article that appeared in the Review and Herald, of Washington, D. C., July 19, 1898, Mrs. E. G. White very forcibly sets forth the duty and the privilege of the child of God, and especially of the gospel minister, in the matter of healing by prayer, in the following impressive language:
"Why do we not present our sick and suffering before God in the arms of our faith? Why do we not teach them to believe in the great Healer? Why do we not lay hold of the promises, and bring the sick to God, praying for His healing power to be revealed? Why do we not plead the promise, 'These signs shall follow them that believe'? This is the privilege of God's children, and faith should lay hold of all that it is possible to have as an endorsement of faith."
"Christ's promises are just as strong and trustworthy now as they were in the days of the apostles. Some have carried the matter of faith healing to an extreme, and this has greatly hurt the subject. But the need of faith in God should be kept before the church. The realization of our privileges has become almost extinct. Let this part of the commission be brought into our practical life. It is of as much importance as the preaching of the Word."
"THESE SIGNS SHALL FOLLOW THEM"
"These signs shall follow them that believe on Christ as a risen Saviour, who proclaimed, over the sepulcher of Joseph, 'I am the resurrection, and the life.' But if the workers neglect to link themselves in divine connection with God, the electric current of reviving, life-giving, spiritual energy can not flow in full, rich streams to the people. The church needs to be awakened. When Christ was on this earth, trying to reclaim souls, to restore the moral image of God in man by warnings, entreaties, appeals, by a perfect example of obedience to His Father's will, He could not do many mighty works in some places He visited, because of their unbelief. This is why we do not now see more of the deep moving of the Spirit of God upon human minds, more of His power manifested in healing the sick. Unbelief is the barrier between us and God."
SHALL WE DISAPPOINT GOD?
"How sad it is that God is disappointed and robbed of His glory because those who minister the Word do not realize their privilege, and fail to increase in faith and charity! Bring your sick to God in faith. Humble your hearts before Him, confessing your sins. Then pray earnestly, trustingly. You will see the practical working of God's power, and it will be said: 'God hath chosen the foolish234things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are.'"
GOD LOOKING FOR HEARTS PERFECT TOWARD HIM
To-day "the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." 2 Chron. 16: 9. The rich treasures of grace and of power are accessible to every believing soul, and God is only awaiting our demand upon His exhaustless resources.
We are living in the time of the latter rain, when God would do great things for His people. Let us pray that God will unseal the fountain of grace, and pour upon His people copious showers of the latter rain. How much we need to-day to see the stately steppings of Israel's God walking in our midst, to hear the voice of the mighty Healer as He bids the sick arise, and says to the troubled heart, "Thy sins be forgiven thee;" to know the power that begets a new life in the soul, and girds it with strength for the battle! Let us pray that God will give us "a living faith [that] means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power."
E. E. A.
A WORD TO OUR READERS
By Editor
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SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS
Our authority for the doctrines we teach is the Bible. Quotations are usually from the King James Version or the American Standard Revised.
