"THE ALTAR SANCTIFIETH THE GIFT."—SOUND WORDS VS. A SOUND OF WORDS.
THERE is a difference. The difference is wider than the sea. On that pivotal difference precious doctrines and vital experiences turn. Indulge me. I am not about to put forth my hand to steady the ark. It is my humble purpose to ask a few questions about the "teams" which volunteered to haul the cart.
It is pertinent to say that I am far from opposing or undervaluing the doctrine of entire sanctification, or perfect love. I have read most of the notable books published on that great topic, and for three privileged years it was my joy to attend, weekly, in the spacious parlors of Mrs. Bishop Hamline, a meeting specially designed to promote the experience. From that meeting men and women have gone forth to spread Scriptural holiness in many lands. Confidently, I have the best of reasons for assurance that the doctrine is true and the experience attainable. The very preciousness of the doctrine suggests the high expediency of having it truly and ably taught. Incompetency, shallowness, "sanctified vanity" here may, and probably will, work incalculable mischief. Yet incongruously enough, there is no other experimentalism in religion which mistaken and unqualified persons attempt to teach with such flippant and offensive dogmatism.
To select a particular or two, which will serve as both proof and illustration, let me instance a stereotyped formulary, to which Mrs. Palmer's use of the terms has given countenance, and which widely prevails.
The seeker for sanctification is addressed in set phrases thus: "You lay all on the altar, don't you? Don't the Bible say that the altar sanctifies the gift? Do you want any better reason for believing than the word of the Lord? Now you are all on the altar. The altar sanctifies the gift. If the word of the Lord is true, you are sanctified. Profess it. Mind nothing about your feelings. Don't wait for any evidence. Isn't the word of God evidence enough? Profess it; rise right up and profess it, and give God the glory!"
Such is the formula. Doubtless many devout and somewhat disciplined and instructed minds reach beyond this clumsy but well-meant scaffolding, grasp the substance of truth, and are saved. But it is too sorrowfully obvious that many habitual verbalists, like some of their teachers, get only a mechanical sense from the mechanical teaching, and—as a good woman, now in the blessed enjoyment of the grace, said was true in her own case—"profess themselves to death." The result is disastrous. Forgetting, or never having known, that "the end of the commandment is charity (love) out of a pure heart and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned, from which some having swerved, have turned aside to vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they affirm," these unfortunate ones instantly set up for teachers, with loud and irreverent professions, and a bigotry as bitter and exacting as that of a Pharisee.
This short and easy method of confusing the sincere, and inflating the conceited, so long as it passed as a rude drift of inexact speech, could be left to the corrective effect of reflection. But when a fluent sciolist sets criticism at defiance, and perverts the Scripture to find support for the error as a doctrine and model of full salvation, it is made to occupy a prominence which renders further silence akin to sin. Let us briefly examine the authority for a verbiage with which the lips of many honest persons have become unprofitably familiar.
In Matt. 23:19, our Lord rebukes the Pharisees: "Ye fools and blind! for whether is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" In Heb. 13:10, Paul says: "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle." Ergo, Christ is the altar on which we offer ourselves. And the altar sanctifies the gift!
Is not that plain? It certainly has a captivating sound, because the "name that charms our fears" is in it. But is it a just interpretation? A logician will demand to know whether the nexus, the main point which carries all the rest, is provable. If Paul does not mean that Christ is the altar, then the logomachy of the superficialist expends itself for naught. Simple souls will be misled to their hurt, but no one is edified.
IS CHRIST THE ALTAR?
The answer to this question settles the controversy. Christ is a priest, even a high priest, forever, after the order of Melchisedec. Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14, 15; 5:5-10; 7:26; 8:1; 10:21. Christ is a sacrifice, an offering. "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Heb. 9:12; 13:14. "But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb. 9:26. "By the which will [of the Father] we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Heb. 10:10. "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin forever, sat down on the right hand of God." Heb. 10:12. So much is clearly taught. Christ is priest and expiatory sacrifice.
He is the only priest and the only expiatory sacrifice. Even he, "if he were on earth, should not [now] be a priest, seeing that [they] are priests that offer gifts according to the law;" and the law of ceremonial offerings ceased to convey significance or obligation when Christ offered himself once for all. Heb. 8:4. "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." Heb. 4:14. So much is clear. Our Lord is priest and sacrifice. There is no earthly priest of expiation, and no sacrifice to be offered by men but the sacrifice of dedication to God. Now,
WHERE, WHAT, WHO, IS THE ALTAR?
It is Paul who says we have an altar of which they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle. Did men eat the Jewish altar, or the sacrifice? Recently a very wordy teacher said in my hearing, that McKnight and all the Christian scholars said Paul meant Christ. When I ventured to correct him, thinking I might save him from making himself an object of contempt or ridicule, he became much excited and declared that he didn't care what critics said. He had the word of the Lord for it, and he would stick to that. Unfortunate for the critics! But really the man appeared incapable of discriminating between a sacrifice of consecration and a sacrifice of expiation. Nor did he appear to apprehend the patent fact that every man who discourses upon a Scriptural theme necessarily gives an interpretation of the Scriptures. The question arises with respect to the point in dispute, whether it is wiser to take the consensus of devout scholars who have given their lives to the study of the sacred Scriptures, or the shallow and self-assertive notions of a probably well-meaning but illiterate and very self-confident talker. The notion of a literal altar of expiation other than the cross in the Christian church, comes from the Church of Rome, whose priests assume to offer the very body of Christ anew as often as they elevate the host. The same theory has tinged the language of the Church of England, and of some writers outside of both communions. The Jewish altar "sanctified the gift," not by penetrating the offering with any new quality, but simply and solely by making visible the dedication of the offering to God. It sanctified the gift as the temple sanctified the gold. The renunciation of ownership on the part of the offerer, the dedication to God, was the main element in the transaction, and the altar made visible that fact. Any expiatory virtue came through the worshiper's faith in the coming sacrifice of Calvary. In the Christian dispensation, then,
WHAT IS THE ALTAR
On which our great High Priest offered himself for the sins of the world?
I will answer in the language of the most approved expounders of the word of God.
Thusiasterion, an altar. "That the altar here signifies the sacrifice offered upon the altar, is plain from this, that of this altar they were to eat. So they that eat of the Jewish sacrifices are said to be partakers of the altar." (Patrick Lowth, Arnold, Whitby, Lowman.)
"We have an altar—that is, a sacrifice upon an altar—namely: Christ, who was sacrificed on the altar of the cross." (Benson.)
"The 'altar' to which he here refers is evidently the cross on which the great sacrifice was made."—(Barnes.)
"Altar, the cross—the victim, Christ." (J. Camper Gray.)
"The altar is here put for the sacrifice on the altar." (Clarke.)
"The altar is that on which Jesus offered up himself to sanctify his people."—(The Bible Commentary, approved by the church of England.)
"Thusiasterion, an altar. The cross of Christ, on which his body was sacrificed." (Bengal.)
"Here, by a usual metonymy, the altar is put for the sacrifice, as is plain from the apostle's adding, 'of which they have no right to eat.'" (McKnight.)
"The altar is not Christ himself (Bugenhagen, Biesenthal, etc.), nor the table of the Lord's Supper (Bohn and others), nor an expiatory arrangement in general (Mich., Stier, Tholluck, etc.), but the cross on Golgotha. (Thorn., Aqui., Este, Bengal.) (Critical, doctrinal, and homiletical commentary, by Lange, Schaff, Bengel, Auberlin, C. J. Riggenbach and others.)
"We have an altar—the cross of Christ." (Wesley.)
I will not consume space with further quotations. Let any devout person ask himself, first, When was the one all-sufficient sacrifice offered? Secondly, Where was the sacrifice offered? Thirdly, On what was the sacrifice offered? The answers will not linger nor mislead. It was made when Jesus died; made on Calvary; made on the cross. What wonder then that Paul (very unlike a verbalist who asks, "What can the cross do? the cross sanctifies nothing") should exclaim, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [whereby] the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
There is no impropriety in speaking of an altar of consecration, by which figure we mean a solemn dedication to God; or an altar of prayer, as conceptually descriptive of any place where we offer our supplications before the Lord. Nor ought we to object to the common expressions that God sanctifies us, Christ sanctifies us, the Spirit sanctifies us. God the father sanctifies us as the originating cause. He loved us, and set forth Christ "to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins." Christ is the meritorious cause of our sanctification, inasmuch as he "purchased eternal redemption for us." The truth is the instrumental cause—"Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth." (Let no man pervert Scripture, and degrade his own intellect by confounding "truth" in this last quotation with the eternal Logos, the embodied Godhead.) The Holy Spirit is the efficient cause. We are saved "by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." Conventional speech cannot be held in leading-strings; but when we attempt the technical exactness of teachers, especially of the priceless doctrine of fullness in Christ, perfect love, or entire sanctification, it is desirable to give no uncertain sound. God the Father governs and upholds, Christ redeems, the spirit sanctifies. An altar of consecration is anywhere where we make a solemn self-renunciation or entire surrender to God. Our "bodies" are offered "a living sacrifice," not of expiation, but of dedication to holy uses. There is but one priest of expiation, Jesus; one altar of expiation, the cross; one sacrifice of expiation, Christ Jesus the Lord, who tasted death for every man; not by offering his humanity on the altar of his divinity, which turgidity leaves to intelligence no Christ either for priest or sacrifice. The divinity without the humanity is not Christ. The humanity without the divinity is not Christ. The human-divine Christ is a perfect Saviour, and through him we have a perfect salvation.—Cal. Christian Advocate.
"I am rich enough," said Pope to Swift, "I can afford to give you a little advice; I'll give it to you for nothing. I have a little to spare, and I should be glad to enjoy it."
Pope on Giving While Living
"I AM rich enough," said Pope to Swift. "I can afford to give away a hundred pounds a year. I would not crawl upon the earth without doing a little good. I will enjoy the pleasure of what I give by giving it while I live and seeing another enjoy it. When I die I should be ashamed to leave enough for a monument, if a wanting friend was above ground." That speech of Pope's was enough to immortalize him, independent of his philosophic verse.—Sel.
The Sabbath-School.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
Lesson for October 7.—John XVII.
THE prayer which comprises the whole of this chapter, was probably uttered by Christ just before he reached the garden of Gethsemane. See chap. 18:1. The warnings and instruction contained in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters, were given while on their way to the garden. The "Speaker’s Commentary" supposes that they stopped at the temple on their way to the garden, and that the discourse was delivered in the temple court. Certain expressions in the text give color to this view. Christ prayed first for himself, next for his disciples, and then for all who should afterward believe on him through their word. Barnes says in his "Notes:" "It adds much to the interest of this prayer that it was offered in the stillness of the night, in the open air, and in the peculiarly tender circumstances in which Jesus and his apostles were. It is the longest prayer recorded in the New Testament. It was offered on the most tender and solemn occasion that has ever occurred in our world, and it is perhaps the most sublime composition to be found anywhere. Jesus was about to die. Having expressed his love to his disciples, and made known to them his last desires, he now commends them to the protection and blessing of the God of grace. This prayer is moreover a specimen of his intercession, and evinces the interest which he felt in behalf of all who should become his followers in all ages of the world."
"THAT he [the Son] should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." Christ is the only source of eternal life revealed in the Bible. Without him no one can hope to obtain it. He suffered in order that "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Eternal life is nowhere promised to the wicked. This cannot be evaded by saying, as Dr. Clarke does, that "men who are not saved by the grace of Christ, do not live, they only exist," and that therefore only the righteous have eternal life, although all men exist to all eternity; for the simple terms life and death are used, and contrasted. Thus, "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23. The rich man in the mansion, or the poor boy in the street with only rags to shield him from the storm; the man in the prime of life, rejoicing in the fullest measure of health and strength, or the helpless invalid whose body is racked with pain; the child of God, whose only thought is to glorify his Maker, and who lives continually in his presence, and the wretched sinner who has sold himself to Satan, and whose purposes and desires are "only evil continually,"—these all live, only under different conditions. If they die, they are all reduced to the same condition. The righteous are promised eternal life; but from this simple statement we cannot learn whether they will be happy or not; we are dependent upon other scriptures for a knowledge of the condition of the righteous during eternity. The wicked are threatened with death. This means that they will lose life, and not that they will continue to live, but under changed circumstances.
"AND this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." That is, a knowledge of God and of Christ is that which will bring eternal life; and eternal life will so surely follow from a knowledge of God, that he who possesses this knowledge, may be said to have eternal life. The complete realization of the gift, however, is a future event. "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:54. See also verse 40.
"That they might know thee." On this expression, Barnes says: "The word know here, as in other places, expresses more than a mere speculative acquaintance with the character and perfections of God. It includes all the impressions on the mind and life which a just view of God and of the Saviour is fitted to produce. It includes, of course, love, reverence, obedience, honor, gratitude, supreme affection. To know God as he is is to know and regard him as a lawgiver, a sovereign, a parent, a friend. It is to yield the whole soul to him, and strive to obey his law." Compare, also, with this text, 1 John 2:3, and Matt. 19:17.
"I PRAY for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine." Jesus does not mean by this expression to exclude all worldlings from an interest in his intercession; for John says: "And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world." In this instance Christ is praying especially for his disciples. It was of the utmost importance that they should be preserved, and that their strength should not fail, for they were to be the bearers of light to the world. Afterward (verse 20), he includes all who should believe on him, even down to the end of time. And this practically includes all, for "whosoever will" may come.
"I PRAY not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." Christ foresaw persecutions and afflictions for his followers. But he did not pray that they might speedily be removed from these perils, and from the temptations of this evil world, but that they might be kept blameless in the midst of wickedness. We learn that we are "appointed" to suffer affliction. 1 Thess. 3:3. "Tribulation worketh patience." Rom. 5:3. These very trials, that seem so hard to be borne, are the means by which God purifies his people and fits them for their eternal reward. See 2 Cor. 4:17, 18. If we had everything that we desire, and had no trials or persecution, we should become so much in love with this present world that we would not make an effort to gain the world to come. We would become like the world, and thus lose favor with God. The afflictions that we may have to undergo should tend to draw our minds from this earth to the heavenly inheritance. And when we think of that, we will naturally be led to consider what we must do in order to gain it, and by this means we will be kept unspotted from the world.
"SANCTIFY them through thy truth; thy word is truth." The following comments of Dr. Barnes’ are valuable: "Sanctification in the heart of the Christian is progressive. It consists in his becoming more like God, and less attached to the world; in his getting the ascendency over evil thoughts, and passions, and impure desires; and in his becoming more and more weaned from earthly objects, and attached to these things which are unseen and eternal. The word also means to consecrate, to set apart to a holy office or purpose." All this can be done only by obedience to the word of God.
"THAT they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." It was not the design of Christ that there should be divisions in his church. No stretch of interpretation can find any warrant in the Bible for the numerous sects now in existence. It is by being sanctified through the truth that God’s people are to be one. There will be no differences in regard to doctrines or anything else, among those who have the union for which Christ prayed. That it is possible for all to see alike, the following text proves: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment." 1 Cor. 1:10. The apostles continually exhort to this unity. It is true that there are true Christians in all denominations, who do not yet "see eye to eye;" but God, by his Spirit, will eventually bring all who love him, "in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God." Dr. Clarke’s comment on John 17:21 is to the point: "This prayer was literally answered to the first believers, who were all of one heart and of one soul." Acts 4:12. And why is it that believers are not in the same spirit now? Because they neither attend to the example, nor to the truth of Christ."
"THAT the world may believe that thou hast sent me." The numerous divisions, and the disagreement in regard to faith and practice, among those who profess to be followers of the same Lord, and who be guided by the same inspired word, are the strongest arguments that infidels have against Christianity. If all who profess Christ were "of one heart and of one soul," what might they not accomplish in the way of converting souls to God! Christians are not to be distinguished by the name they bear, nor by wealth or popularity, nor by any badge, but by their perfect harmony in word and in deed, and by their love for one another. E. J. W.
ONE of the greatest helps in the Sabbath-school work is a love for the work. What we really love to do, we generally try to do well. Love is the grand impetus in the Christian race. If the love of God is truly in our hearts, we shall seek to do our duty, and advance his truth by every means within reach.
NEW MUSIC!
THE LAST IS THE BEST!
JUST published by GEO. D. RUSSELL, 126 Tremont St., Boston, a new book of music, 160 pages, entitled
# PEARLY PORTALS.
BY D. S. HAKES.
The music and words of this book are mostly entirely new, and well adapted to the Sabbath-school and social circle. It is receiving the most unqualified praise from all who have examined it. The music is of a high order throughout and yet not at all difficult. Per copy, 35 cents; $3.60 per dozen. Bound, 50 cents; $5.00 per dozen.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
BIBLE SANCTIFICATION: A CONTRAST OF TRUE AND FALSE THEORIES.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
This is a pamphlet of only 84 pages, but its value is not to be judged by its size. It is just what its title indicates: a faithful presentation of Bible truth on this important subject, and an exposure of the false theories prevailing in regard to it. Every believer in Bible truth should read it. Buy it, read it, and lend it to your neighbor. Price 10 cts.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
THOUGHTS ON REVELATION, CRITICAL AND PRACTICAL.
By Uriah Smith
BY ELDER U. SMITH.
This work presents every verse in the book of Revelation with such remarks as serve to illustrate or explain the meaning of the text. It is a new and harmonious exposition of that important book, and is designed to create an interest in its study. 416 pp. $1.25.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.
REVISED EDITION—JUST ISSUED.
By Joseph Harvey Waggoner
THOUGHTS ON BAPTISM.
BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER.
Being an examination of its ACTION, SUBJECTS, and RELATIONS.
Also, a brief consideration of the Historical Evidences of Trine Immersion.
Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged.
Price, postpaid, Paper Covers, 25c.; Flexible Cloth, 35c.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR.
By Editor
AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY PAPER FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN, DEVOTED TO MORAL, MENTAL, AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE.
This paper is not devoted to insipid stories and religious fiction, but is filled with a great variety of that kind of reading which tends to the healthful development of the youthful mind. Its pages are made bright by the choicest illustrative pictures, and its columns are always full of useful information.
As a Sabbath-school and Lesson paper, it is suited to the wants of scholars and teachers, and is calculated to increase the interest of all who read it, in thorough Bible study.
The Sabbath-school Department contains two series of lessons, one for children and one for youth.
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, 75 CENTS A YEAR.
All new subscribers paying the above price will receive the "Child's Poems" as a premium without extra charge.
TERMS TO CLUBS, PAID IN ADVANCE.
Price per Copy, Post-paid.
5 to 10 copies... 60 cents a year.
10 copies and upward ... 50 cents a year.
Subscription for 5 to 10 copies will be taken for six months. Larger clubs may be paid for quarterly.
Address YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR, Battle Creek, Mich.
Or, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
Scriptural Meaning of the Word Soul.
INQUIRIES are frequently coming to us for information on the subject of the soul. It will and must remain an open question until there can be some agreement as to the nature of the authority by which it may be settled. Unfortunately the world is getting farther and farther from the only true standard, the Bible, and placing more reliance on science—often "falsely so-called"—and philosophy. The Bible doctrine of the origin of man is largely disputed even by men who pretend to be teachers of the Bible. Where this is the case there is little use to offer Bible proof on the subject of the nature of man. But this is the only kind of proof we accept on such subjects; therefore we offer no other. That part of the religious world which believes in the immortality of the human soul, to this day accepts the sophistries of Plato as sound reasoning, and his conclusions as the highest form of truth. Yet all are aware that Plato was ignorant of the revelation which the Creator had given concerning the origin of man. His philosophy was drawn from that of the Egyptians. And it is well known that Egypt has been the favorite home for speculative philosophy both inside and outside the Christian Church.
What do the Scriptures teach concerning the soul? We might here raise the query whether the Bible treats man as a being possessed of inherent immortality, of independent powers of existence, or as a frail, feeble, dependent creature, who will surely and utterly perish without divine help. But this is not our purpose at present. We wish to examine, as briefly as possible, the usage of the Bible in regard to the term "soul." It must be borne in mind that we have no lexicon in the Scriptures. Our ideas of Scripture definitions are derived entirely from Scripture usage.
The English word "soul" is, in the Old Testament, translated from three words in the Hebrew. One, n'dee-vah, occurs but once; Job 30:15. Job is recounting the treatment which he received of his enemies. "Terrors are turned upon me; they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud."
Gesenius gives the definition of this word as follows: "Nobility; trop. elevated and happy state, excellency. Job 30:15." It has reference in the text to the great change which has taken place in Job's condition; those who had honored him before, then held him in contempt.
He had fallen from his elevated and happy state, and his enemies rejoiced over him. It certainly has no reference to anything which we now call the soul, and it seems strange that the translators so rendered it. As it occurs in no other place we can learn nothing further concerning it.
Another is n'shah-mah. This occurs twenty-four times. It is from the root nah-sham, to breathe. It is translated breath seventeen times, referring to both man and beasts. See Gen. 7:21-23. Translated blast three times; spirit, twice; inspiration, once; and soul, once. Gesenius thinks it is equivalent to one definition of neh-phesh in one text, Prov. 20:27. "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord." It is rendered soul in Isa. 57:16. "For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made." In this text Gesenius gives it the definition of "breath, anima, vital spirit." These two words have but very little to do with the question of the soul.
The other Hebrew word is neh-phesh. From this the term "soul" is always translated in the Old Testament, except in the two instances just noticed. It is translated forty-three different ways, but this fact has no bearing whatever on its signification. It occurs 754 times, and is translated "soul" 472 times. It is translated person twenty-six times, in the following texts:—
Gen. 14:21. And the king of Sodom said, Give me the persons.
36:6. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, etc.
Ex. 16:16. Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons, etc.
Lev. 27:2. When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation.
Num. 5:6. When a man or woman shall commit any sin . . . and that person be guilty, etc.
Num. 19:18. And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon all the persons that were there, etc.
31:19. Whosoever hath killed any person [neh-phesh, soul], and whosoever hath touched any slain, etc.
Verse 35. And thirty and two thousand persons in all of women, etc. In this text the word women is from the same original, soul.
Verse 40. And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the Lord's tribute was thirty and two persons.
Verse 46. And sixteen thousand persons.
35:11. That the slayer may flee thither which killeth any person unawares.
Verse 15. That every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.
Verse 30. Whosoever killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
Deut. 10:22. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons.
27:25. Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person.
Josh. 20:3. That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither.
Verse 9. The same. Whosoever killeth any person.
1 Sam. 22:22. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house.
2 Sam. 14:14. We must needs die, . . . neither doth God respect any person.
Prov. 28:17. A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit.
Jer. 43:6. And the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had left, etc.
Jer. 52:29. In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty and two persons.
Verse 30. —carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty and five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.
Ezek. 16:5. Thou wast cast out into the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
Ezek. 17:17. Casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons.
Ezek. 27:13. They traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market. Compare Rev. 18:13.
Ezek. 33:6. If the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, etc.
If the reader will substitute soul for person in the above texts he will find that they will correspond to scores of texts which have similar meaning where the word soul is used.
To this list properly belong such texts as the following:—
Ex. 12:16. No manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat.
1 Chron. 5:21. And they took away their cattle; . . . and of men an hundred thousand.
Isa. 49:7. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, etc.
In these three texts the word man (neh-phesh) is the equivalent of person in the others.
Under the same head come all the personal pronouns, as in the following texts:—
Gen. 37:21. And Reuben heard it, . . . and said, Let us not kill him.
Num. 23:10. Let me [neh-phesh, literally, my soul] die the death of the righteous.
Deut. 4:15. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, for ye saw no manner of similitude, etc.
Deut. 19:6. Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, . . . and slay him.
Deut. 22:26. As when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter.
Josh. 23:11. Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.
1 Kings 19:4. And he requested for himself that he might die.
1 Kings 20:32. Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live.
Esther 4:13. Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.
Esther 9:31. As they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry.
Job 32:2. Against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
Job 36:14. They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.
Ps. 35:25. Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it.
Ps. 105:18. Whose feet they hurt with fetters; he [his soul] was laid in iron.
Ps. 131:2. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child, etc.
Prov. 16:26. He that laboreth, laboreth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.
Isa. 5:14. Therefore hell hath enlarged herself [her soul], and opened her mouth without measure.
Isa. 46:2. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.
Isa. 47:14. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame.
Jer. 3:11. The backsliding Israel hath justified herself.
Jer. 17:21. Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath-day.
Jer. 37:9. Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us.
Amos 2:14. The strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself.
Verse 15. Neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
Jonah 4:8. And the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die.
In all these twenty-eight instances the idea of personality is as clearly given as in those texts in which the word person is used. How could it be more clearly expressed in this text: "His soul was laid in iron," i. e., he was laid in iron. Ps. 105:18. And in this: "The Lord hath sworn by his soul," i. e., by himself. And so in all cases where the translators have rendered neh-phesh by the pronouns.
Healdsburgh College.
By Editor
By very favorable providences, for which we feel truly grateful, we have been able to do much more in educational matters, since the Sacramento camp-meeting, than anyone imagined would be possible in one year. Having an excellent school-building purchased, a school in successful operation, and a convenient boarding-house under process of erection, upon consultation it was decided to organize and incorporate the College before the coming camp-meeting. When the advantages afforded by this early action are presented to the brethren we are confident that it will meet with their approval. We hope that all who made pledges to the school will be ready to pay them by the time of the camp-meeting. And all our people ought to be ready to take stock at that time. We expect that the incorporation will be fully effected by the time so that certificates may be issued then. It would be better still if some could redeem their pledges by Oct. 1, and thus enable the Trustees to meet some obligations before camp-meeting.
It is important that our brethren bring their children to the camp-meeting, and it is no small object to get all the young people interested in the school. It will be an excellent opportunity for all to take observations of the school premises, get acquainted with the teachers, and learn the present and future prospects of this enterprise, and their own duties in reference to it.
There have been calculations made for a term of Biblical instruction in the College immediately after the camp-meeting. Arrangements for this term will be perfected at the camp-meeting, and all who desire to enter this class should be at the meeting. Especially those who intend to labor in the ministry should be there. It is our opinion that ten weeks is too short a term, as most of those who need this instruction ought to take lessons in history, grammar, and writing, and nothing will more effectually frustrate the design of the work than for them to take too many studies at once. But we will not anticipate. Come to the meeting where the whole matter will be discussed and settled.