Earlier text: EditorialIS IT NOT SPIRITUALISM?
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
NOTHING is more pitiful than to see people running into danger of which they are unconscious. And the fact that they might have known of the danger ought not to prevent people from sympathizing with them and trying to help them. We do not refuse to help a drowning man, although his own carelessness has precipitated him into the water. But nothing calls for more sympathetic help than that of men who are running into the snares of the devil when they think that they are in the way of life. True, the word of God is so plain that there is no need of anybody's mistaking the way, but that should not cause us to censure. Men pity the blind, even though their blindness is due to their own fault. It is therefore only for the purpose of helping those who may be in danger, that we call attention to the following paragraph; for we are sure that very many are in the same condition, who do not know their danger. On December 4 Dr. Talmage preached a sermon about "Rizpah on the Rock" watching the dead bodies of her relatives. After drawing many parallels, he said near the close:— "I wonder if now there is an after-death watching. I think there is. There are Rizpahs who have passed death and who are still watching. They look down from their supernal and glorified state upon us, and is not that an after-death watching? I cannot believe that those who before their death were interested in us have since their death become indifferent as to what happens to us. Not one hour of the six months during which Rizpah watched seated upon the rocks was she more alert, or diligent, or armed for them than our mother if glorified is alert and diligent and armed for us. It is not now Rizpah on a rock, but Rizpah on a throne. How long has your mother been dead? Do you think she has been dead long enough to forget you? My mother has been dead twenty-nine years. I believe she knows more about me now than she did when I stood in her presence, and I am no Spiritualist either. The Bible says, 'Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation?' Young man, better look out what you do and where you go, for your glorified mother is looking at you. You sometimes say to yourself, 'What would mother say if she knew this?' She does know. You might cheat her once, but you cannot cheat her now. Does it embarrass us to think she knows all about us now? If she had to put up with so much when she was here, surely she will not be the less patient or excusatory now. Oh, this tremendous thought of my text, this after-death watching! What an uplifting consideration! And what a comforting thought! Young mother, you who have just lost your babe, and who feel the need of a nearer solace than that which comes from ordinary sympathy, your mother knows all about it. You cannot run in and talk it all over with her as you would if she were still a terrestrial resident, but it will comfort you some, I think, yea, it will comfort you a good deal, to know that she understands it all. You see that the velocities of the heavenly conditions are so great that it would not take her half a second to come to your bereft heart. Oh, these mothers in heaven! They can do more for us now than before they went away. The bridge between this world and the next is not broken down. They approach the bridge from both ways, departing spirits, and coming spirits, disimprisoned spirits, and sympathizing spirits. And so let us walk as to be worthy of the supernal companionships." Dr. Talmage says that he is no Spiritualist. We can, however, leave him entirely out of the question while we consider, for the benefit of others, whether or not that to which he has given utterance is Spiritualism. The question is, Does a belief in the conscious existence of the dead, and that they are interested in human affairs, and can even communicate with the living, constitute Spiritualism? Surely none can answer this better than those who acknowledge themselves to be Spiritualists. In order to learn what Methodism is, we go to Methodists themselves; to learn about Presbyterianism, we apply to Presbyterians; and so for a definition of Spiritualism, we must ask Spiritualists. From the standing motto of the Spiritual Magazine, for many years the leading Spiritualist publication in England, we take the following statement:— "Spiritualism is based on the cardinal fact of spirit communion and influx." Also from a leading Spiritualist journal of America, we take the two following definitions:— "The central idea of modern Spiritualism is the keystone of the religious arch. That is, a continued existence." "The very central truth of Spiritualism is the power and possibility of spirit return, under certain conditions, to communicate with those in the material form." The idea that the spirits of the dead have a conscious existence, and that they can, under certain conditions, return and communicate with the living, is the sum and substance of Spiritualism. Therefore all who believe that the dead are conscious, and that they can return to earth to communicate with those with whom they were associated in life, are Spiritualists, whatever name they may bear. And it is a fact that there are thousands who would be shocked at the intimation that they could ever by any possibility become Spiritualists, who hold exactly these ideas. Why is it that they have such a dread of the name? It is because they think that Spiritualism is nothing but jugglery and trickery. They have associated it with table-tipping, immorality, etc. It is true that such things have been connected with Spiritualism, but they are but manifestations of Spiritualism. Spiritualism itself is, as we have seen, nothing but a belief in the return and communion of the dead. Whatever is connected with Spiritualism is an outgrowth of that idea.245 Having learned in brief what Spiritualism is we now consider the question of whether or not it is wrong in itself, and if so, wherein the evil consists. SPIRITUALISM AND THE BIBLE.
We have learned from the word of Spiritualists themselves that Spiritualism is nothing more or less than a belief in the doctrine that the dead do not really die, but that after the change which men call death they continue to exist, with keener perceptions and larger knowledge than they had while on the earth, and that they can under certain conditions communicate with people still on the earth. The question now before us is, Is this true? The Bible must furnish us with the answer to this question. "The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness. I said, In the noontide of my days I shall go into the gates of the grave; I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living; I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. Mine age is removed, and is carried away from me as a shepherd's tent; I have rolled up like a weaver my life; he will cut me off from the loom; from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. . . . But thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day." Isa. 38:9-19, Revised Version. "For to him that is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9:4-6. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Verse 10. "While I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146:2-4. Still further, the patriarch Job asked the question, "If a man die, shall he live again?" and immediately answered it thus, "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee; thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." Job 14:14, 15. What this "change" is we learn from the word of the Lord by the apostle Paul:— "Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." 1 Cor. 15:51-54. "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Rev. 20:4, 5. Note carefully all these scriptures. The first four plainly state that the dead have no consciousness whatever. Therefore to claim that the dead are conscious is to contradict the Bible. Spiritualism does make that claim. Therefore Spiritualism is a direct contradiction of the Bible. The last three texts speak of "living again," and of a change that takes place in order that men once dead may "live again." A man cannot go to Paris "again" if he has never been there once and gone away. If he was born in Paris, and has never left the city, it is impossible to speak of him, and speak correctly, as being in Paris "again." So with living. The man who has never ceased to live cannot be spoken of as being alive "again." In order for that to be truly said of him, he must have ceased to live, and then have been made alive once more. So the scriptures last quoted teach us that when man dies he ceases to live, and that in order to live "again," so that he may praise the Lord, and receive a reward, a change must take place in him. This change takes place at the coming of the Lord. But Spiritualism teaches that men never cease to live; that at the change which people call death, they are more alive than ever before; therefore, again we find that Spiritualism is in positive contradiction to the Bible. But the Bible is the truth of God. Therefore Spiritualism is a lie of the devil. And so we find it. In the form of a serpent the devil deceived Eve, and thus caused the loss of Eden. God had told our first parents not to eat of the tree in the midst of the garden, saying that if they did so they should surely die. But the devil said to the woman, "Ye shall not surely die." That is just what Spiritualism says. It is because Spiritualism is only a deception of Satan that we feel so sorrowful to see men embracing the teaching of Spiritualism, while they think that they are opposed to that system. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
By Elder F. M. Wilcox
THE second coming of Christ is a Bible subject. The verity of this claim is established by the many scores of texts in God's word, the grand central idea of which is the reign in glory of the Prince of Peace. It is an important subject; first, because it is a Bible subject, and second, because it is the culminating event in the great scheme of redemption, which has occupied the attention of the universe for the last six thousand years. It is an interesting subject, intensely so, because into the account of the second coming of Christ enters the destiny of every man, either for weal or for woe. To the child of God this question should ever be one of absorbing interest. In it he may see redemption from sin and Satan; and redemption implies much; it is an exchange of death for life, of sorrow for joy, of discord for peace, and the darkness and gloom of night for the light of eternal day. It is the grand culmination of all Christian hope, all desire, all anticipation. We lay down, then, as an introductory proposition, that Christ's return to this earth ever has been in the ages of the past, and will be till faith is swallowed up in sight, as set forth in the word of truth, This was the hope set before our first parents as, depressed by sin and sorrow, they saw the fearful results of their transgression. The promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head (Gen. 3:15), spoke to them volumes of hope and comfort through the Saviour, whom it foreshadowed. Job could turn from the enumeration of his earthly losses and sorrows to the more enduring substance and lasting joys promised in the world's Redeemer. With confidence could he say: "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." Job 19:25, 26. Christ's coming was the day of deliverance to Daniel's prophetic gaze. To him, and through him to us, does the angel Gabriel declare that when Michael shall stand up, "the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people, . . . thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." Dan. 12:1. Joel takes up the same prophetic strain: "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." Joel 3:16. The marginal rendering of the word "hope" in this scripture strengthens the thought of the perfect safety and security that exist in God. "The Lord shall be the hope, or place of repair, or harbor, for his people." With God as our "hope," our "place of repair," our "harbor" of rest and safety, what need we fear from the tumultuous scenes of this world which will usher in that great day. Truly "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Those that fear the Lord and think upon his name "shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Coming now to the New Testament Scriptures, the second coming of Christ is none the less the hope kept before the church of God. It was the time of reward set before Peter, when he asked, "What shall we have therefore? for all our sacrifices in following thee? When the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Matt. 19:27, 28. The return of Christ to the earth was the comforting hope and consolation administered to the sorrowing hearts of the disciples on the eventful evening preceding the betrayal. "Let not your heart be troubled. . . . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3. Paul, as a prisoner, could witness Rome's mighty hosts in battle array. He could hear the songs of the victors, watch the triumphal march of the victorious legions, and see placed upon the brows of the conquerors a wreath of ivy or laurel. But from this vain display of pomp, and power, and pride, his mind turned to the far more brilliant and glorious triumph of those whom Rome counted as the offscourings of the nations, the oppressed people of God. Of himself, and of all the faithful in Christ Jesus, does he testify by the Spirit's direction: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. Peter exhorts the church to "hope to the246 end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:13. And what that grace is he reveals in the fifth chapter of the same epistle, fourth verse: "And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." The last book of the Bible opens with the prophetic utterance, "Behold He cometh with clouds." Christ himself declares, "And behold I come quickly;" and John rolls up the inspired scroll with the earnest prayer, "Even so come, Lord Jesus." Who can say, in view of these utterances from representative men in all ages of the church, patriarch, priest, prophet, and apostle alike, that the reign of Christ in glory has not been the hope of the church of God? Truly it is the hope of the ages, and the utterances of these Bible writers that we have quoted above—utterances inspired by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ himself—present that grand and glorious event as the hope of his people, the time of their redemption from the power of sin, and of their glorious inheritance of everlasting joy. Reader, is the appearing of Christ your hope? Do you look for that event with joyful anticipations? Is Christ the one around whom center your fondest hopes, your highest expectations, your most earnest desires? Is he your hope and stay here? If so, he will be your crown of rejoicing, your exceeding great and rich reward in the times of restitution. Seek him to-day. Make peace with him now, that you may meet him in peace when he comes. THE advocates of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul claim Gen. 2:7 for one of the pillars of their superstructure. They contend that God first created the body of the dust, and then breathed into it something that, when the body dies, still lives on, retaining its consciousness, and, in fact, being the real man, while the body was only a casket, or temporal dwelling place for that something which God breathed into man. This they call the soul. To ascertain whether this claim is well founded we have only to learn what is meant by the expression “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” When God created the heavens and the earth, he simply “spake, and it was done.” Ps. 33:9. He said, “Let there be light, and there was light,” etc. The whole creation was made by the “word of the Lord,” “by the breath of his mouth.” Ps. 33:6. From these statements it is clear that the “word of the Lord” and “the breath of his mouth” are the same thing. The same idea is found by comparing Job 37:10, which reads, “By the breath of God frost is given,” with Ps. 147:15, 16: “He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth; his word runneth very swiftly. He giveth snow like wool; he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.” His breath has the same power to create as his word. His word is life. John 6:63. It was the “breath of his mouth,” his “word,” by which all things were created; and it was by the same breath or word that man lived. Paul was said to breathe “out threatenings.” Acts 9:1. This breathing out was simply speaking. From these considerations we conclude that the statement in Gen. 2:7 is to be understood as setting forth the idea that God spake the word and man lived. God said, “Let there be light.” This was the “word of the Lord, the breath of his mouth,” which had the power in it to bring light into existence. So when God created man, he “spake, and it was.” His body, composed of the “dust of the ground,” assumed its form, but yet lacked the principle of life, so the next thing to be done was to give it life. God spake again, and this fact is recorded in the statement, “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” and man lived. Thus we find no foundation for the claim that Gen. 2:7 teaches the immortality of the soul. THE PLAN OF SALVATION.
By Mrs. E. G. White
TO FALLEN man was revealed the plan of infinite sacrifice through which salvation was to be provided. Nothing but the death of God’s dear Son could expiate man’s sin, and Adam marveled at the goodness of God in providing such a ransom for the sinner. Through the love of God, a star of hope illumined the terrible future that spreads before the transgressor. Through the institution of the typical system of sacrifice and offering, the death of Christ was ever to be kept before guilty man, that he might better comprehend the nature of sin, the results of transgression, and the merit of the divine offering. Had there been no sin, man would never have known death. But in the innocent offering slain by his own hand, he beheld the fruits of sin,—the death of the Son of God in his behalf. He sees the immutable character of the law he has transgressed, and confesses his sin; he relies upon the merits of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. The plan of saving sinners through Christ alone was the same in the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and in every successive generation that lived before the advent of Christ, as it is in our day. The patriarchs, the prophets, the martyrs from righteous Abel, looked forward to a coming Saviour, and they showed their faith in him by sacrifices and offerings. The sacrifice of beasts shadowed forth the sinless offering of God’s dear Son, and pointed forward to his death upon the cross. But at the crucifixion type met antitype, and the typical system there ceased. The Son of God is the center of the great plan of redemption which covers all dispensations. He is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” He is the Redeemer of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam in all ages of human probation. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Christ is the substance or body which casts its shadow back into former dispensations. When Christ died, the shadow ceased. At the death of Christ the typical system was done away, but the law of God, whose violation had made the plan of salvation necessary, was magnified and made honorable. The gospel was good tidings of great joy to Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses; for it presented to them a coming Saviour. A more clear and glorious light now shines upon the Christian. Those who lived before the coming of Christ looked forward by faith to his coming, but what had to be grasped by faith by them is assurance to us; for we know that Christ has come, as foretold by the prophets. It is just as essential for us to have faith in our Redeemer, who came to earth and died our sacrifice, as it was for the ancients to believe in a Redeemer to come, represented by their offerings and sacrifices. In becoming man’s substitute, in bearing the curse which should fall upon man, Christ has pledged himself in behalf of the race to maintain the sacred and exalted honor of his Father’s law. He came to convince men of sin, which is the transgression of the law, and through divine mediation bring them back to obedience to God’s commandments. God has given the world into the hands of Christ, that he may completely vindicate the binding claims of the law, and make manifest the holiness of every principle. Christ was the Father’s “appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” He was the “brightness of his glory, the express image of his person.” And he upheld “all things by the word of his power.” He possessed divine excellency and greatness. It pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell. And Christ “thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Yet Jesus exchanged a throne of light and glory which he had with his Father, counting it not a thing to be desired to be equal with God, while man was lost in sin and misery. He came from heaven to earth, clothed his divinity with humanity, and bore the curse as surety for the fallen race. He was not compelled to do this; but he chose to bear the results of man’s transgression that man might escape eternal death. The coming of Christ to our world was a great event, not only to this world, but to all the worlds in the universe of God. Before the heavenly intelligences he was to take upon himself our nature, to be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet to leave an example of perfect purity and unblemished character. Satan and his angels exulted as they discovered that the Son of God had taken upon himself the nature of man, and had come to be man’s substitute, to engage in the conflict247 in our behalf. The human family had been overpowered by the deception of the enemy; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, and the enemy hoped that Christ also would become a victim to his seductive wiles. Satan gloried in the opportunity of besieging the Son of God with fierce temptations. Because he had taken upon himself the nature of man, Satan deemed that his victory was certain, and with every malignant device in his power he strove to overcome Christ. The steadfast resistance of Christ to the temptations of the enemy brought the whole confederacy of evil to war against him. Evil men and evil angels united their forces against the Prince of Peace. The issues at stake were beyond the comprehension of men, and the temptations that assailed Christ were as much more intense and subtle than those which assail man as his character was purer and more exalted than is the character of man in his moral and physical defilement. In his conflict with the prince of darkness in this atom of a world, Christ had to meet the whole confederacy of evil, the united forces of the adversary of God and man; but at every point he met the tempter, and put him to flight. Christ was conqueror over the powers of darkness, and took the infinite risk of consenting to war with the enemy, that he might conquer him in our behalf. The Redeemer of the world clothed his divinity with humanity, that he might reach humanity; for, in order to bring to the world salvation, it was necessary that humanity and divinity should be united. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man, and humanity needed divinity, that a power from above might restore man to the likeness of God. Christ was God, but he did not appear as God. He veiled the tokens of divinity, which had commanded the homage of angels and called forth the adoration of the universe of God. He made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. For our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. He humbled himself to pass through man's experiences, and he would not turn aside from the plan by which salvation could come to man. Knowing all the steps in the path of his humiliation, he refused not to descend step by step to the depths of man's woe, that he might make expiation for the sins of the condemned, perishing world. What humility was this! It amazed the angels. Tongue can never describe it. Pen can never portray it. The imagination cannot take it in. Sinless and exalted by nature, the Son of God consented to take the habiliments of humanity, to become one with the fallen race. The eternal Word consented to be made flesh. God became man. But he stepped still lower; he humbled himself to bear insult, reproach, accusation, and shameful abuse. In the world which he had made, which was sustained by the word of his power, there seemed to be no room for him. He had to flee from one place to another until his life work was accomplished. He was betrayed by one of his followers, and denied by another. He was mocked and taunted. He was crowned with thorns, and forced to bear the burden of the cross. He was not insensible to ignominy and contempt; he submitted to it, but he felt its bitterness as no other being could feel it. Pure, holy, and undefiled, he was yet arraigned as criminal before the eyes of the world. From the highest exaltation the adorable Redeemer took step after step in the path of humiliation. He consented to die in the sinner's stead, that by a life of obedience man might escape the penalty of the law. He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death. And what a death! It was the most shameful, the most cruel—the death upon the cross as a malefactor. He died not as a hero in the eyes of men, loaded with honors; he died as a condemned criminal, suspended between the heavens and the earth—died a lingering death, exposed to the tauntings and revilings of a debased and profligate mob. "All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head." He was numbered with the transgressors, and even his kinsmen according to the flesh disowned him. He was forced to see the sword pierce the heart of his mother,—he beheld her sorrow. He expired amidst derision. But all his sufferings were counted as of small account in consideration of the result he was working out in behalf of man, and for the good of the whole universe. He expired on the cross exclaiming, "It is finished," and that cry rang through every world, and through heaven itself. The great contest between Christ, the Prince of Life, and Satan, the prince of darkness, was practically over, and Christ was Conqueror. His death answered the question as to whether there was self-denial with the Father and the Son. ONE UPWARD LOOK EACH DAY.
EVERY day is a fresh beginning,
Every morn is a world made new,
You who are weary of sorrow and sinning,
Here is a beautiful hope for you,
A hope for me and a hope for you. All the past things are past and over,
The tasks are done and the tears are shed,
Yesterday’s error let yesterday cover;
Yesterday’s wounds, which smarted and bled,
Are healed with the healing that night has shed. Let them go, since we cannot relive them,
Cannot undo and cannot atone;
God in his mercy forgive them and blot them,
Only the new days are our own;
To-day is ours and ours alone. Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain;
And spite of old sorrow and older sinning,
And puzzles forecasted and possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again.
—Selected. TRUST IN THE LORD.
By C. H. Edwards
DEAR READER: In your Christian experience do you ever have times of discouragement—times when the cares of life roll over you, till it almost seems as though you would be buried beneath their weight? Does it seem as though one more such billow would forever engulf you? Does the pathway before you seem dark, and the truth, which you have seen shine so brightly, look less glorious than before? In the distress and anguish of your souls do you ask, "Is this the freedom Jesus gives? Is this the 'path' that 'shines more and more unto the perfect day?'" Do you stop and wonder why your pathway is so dark? Do you yearn for the light and liberty of the children of God? Are you asking how this may be obtained? If so, your loving Father, who stands all the day long with outstretched arms to you, sends you this counsel: "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." Isa. 50:10. When you hear of others shouting the praises of God, and rejoicing in his love, and trying to tell of that "peace which passeth all understanding," which is theirs, do you wonder why this peace is theirs? Would you have it yourself? Then this promise is yours: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee." Isa. 26:3. Do you still ask, "How long may I have this peace?" Dear soul, it is yours forever, for the next verse says, "Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is the Rock of Ages" (margin). As you contemplate the spotless righteousness of Jesus, do you long to know how this may be brought out in your life? Still your Father tells you: "Roll thy way upon the Lord [margin]; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." Ps. 37:5, 6. When others become discouraged, and turn from the Lord, and wander away, would you be kept from this? Would you be firm, and true to God? Then accept this promise as your own: "They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever." Ps. 125:1. At times when you are weary and lonely, are you ever led to say, "I am so poor and unworthy the Lord does not know me"? Say it no more, for he says, "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him." Nahum 1:7. Do you ever, as you look forward to the time of trouble, wonder if you will be able to stand? Do you become fearful, and shrink from these things? Then let us say, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation" (Isa. 12:2); for here is his precious promise: "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them; he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him." Psa. 37:39, 40. Then can you not exclaim, "Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!" Ps. 31:19. "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth." The Urgency of Repentance
"You cannot repent too soon, because you do not know how soon it may be too late." As THE heavy prison bolts turned on the minister, he looked sadly on the prisoners in their strange garments, and thought with more and more anxiety of his errand. He had come to see a young man of his congregation convicted of forgery. The heartbroken parents had begged him to visit the prison, hoping the peace of God might reach even his gloomy cell. As the minister kindly greeted him, the youth scarcely replied, but gazed with a sort of defiance. He began giving the mother's tender message, with the interest all the church felt in his welfare. At last the prisoner broke out, “Do you know you was what done it?” “What have I done?” replied the pastor, striving to understand his strange language. “I began the business,” returned the youth, speaking very loud, “in your Sunday school. Don't you remember the Sunday-school fair, when they first set up raffling, and you hid a gold ring in a loaf of cake? Just for twenty-five cents, too, I got a whole box of little books. I was pleased with my luck, and went in afterwards for chances. Sometimes I gained, and sometimes I lost. Money I must have for lotteries. I was half mad with excitement; so I used other folks' names, and here I am; don't let the church come blubbering around me. They may thank themselves. Their raffling was what done it. It ruined me.”—Selected. ABOUT FAITH.
By Wm. T. Heald
“WITHOUT faith it is impossible to please God.” This text carries with it the idea that faith is pleasing to God. But there comes to the mind of some a question as to what faith is. Let me illustrate this by the figure of an artist. When he begins to sketch there are two distinct pictures in his mind; one is that of the object which he is going to sketch, and the other is of the picture which he designs to sketch of that object. Now notice particularly that one is the picture of an object which exists, while the other is a picture of a picture which will exist in the future. Notice again that all the material exists for the making of the picture which the artist is going to draw, and that his second mind picture has to do only with the arrangement of that material. Of these two pictures which are in the artist’s mind, the first will not represent faith because of its basis being before the eye; but the second will answer for a representation of that principle, because, while all the material for the making of its basis exists, still the basis itself will not exist until the future. If the artist did not have this second picture in his mind, it would be impossible for him, as an artist, to please those whose approbation he deserved. This similitude may be carried still farther. For instance, take this text: “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Supposing the artist did have this second picture in his mind; although it would be possible for him to execute it, yet if he did not do so he would still fail to please. Indeed, he might say, “I have a picture in my mind,” but the public would say, “Show us the picture.” So we might say to God, “I have faith,” but his reply is, “Show me your faith by your works.” “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Again we use our artist and his pictures for a comparison. His first mind picture came by seeing, but with the second it is not so. His second came by hearing, yes, by much hearing. Rule after rule had he listened to; time and again had he heard the repetition of those rules. From those rules he learned how to form his picture, and from the practicing of them he pressed on toward perfection in art. Just as the artist’s second mind picture comes by the hearing of rules, so faith comes by hearing the word of God. The basis of our faith picture is Christ. Without his likeness in our minds and in our lives, it is impossible for us to please God. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” 2 Cor. 3: 18. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The Christian’s hope lies in attaining to the character of Christ. If we look at the hoped-for home of the Christian, we may see that only with the character of Christ could the peace and happiness of that home be maintained. So we see that in a true picture of Christ’s character we have the substance of what we should hope for. Also faith is the evidence of things not seen. This might be called the distinguishing feature between faith and credence. Faith and works are so closely allied that the former can hardly be imagined to exist without the latter. When the Bible speaks of faith without works, it speaks of it as being dead, which is about equal to saying that it is out of existence. It is because of the works that accompany it that “faith is the evidence of things not seen.”