The Eastern question involves the fate of the Ottoman Empire. “The Balkan or Near Eastern question has been one of the most complicated political problems of the world's history for half a century. . . . For four centuries and a half, ever since the conquering Turk crossed the Bosporus and took Constantinople, the grim contest has been on to dislodge him by war and diplomacy.”—“American Review of Reviews,” November, 1912, pp. 539, 540.
The “Sick Man”
For two centuries Turkey has been in a state of decadence. On the night of January 9, 1853, a very expressive phrase was coined by the czar of Russia while conversing with the British ambassador regarding Turkey. He said: “We have on our hands a sick man—a very sick man. It will be a great misfortune if one of these days he should slip away from us before the necessary arrangements have been made.” Ever since that night, the phrase “sick man” has clung to the Turkish power. That power is known to-day as “the sick man of the east.”
His Strategic Position and His Character
Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, is one of the most strategic points in all of Europe or Asia, and hence is a prize greatly to be coveted. In addition to this, he holds in his possession Jerusalem—the holy city—all of Palestine, and very largely those lands where the gospel message was proclaimed first by Abraham, and later in greater fulness by the apostles, and whence it was carried to all the world. Like the smoke of a great furnace, Mohammedanism has overspread all these lands, and till now has resisted every attempt at either Christianization or civilization. W. E. Gladstone—“the grand old man” of England—once said:
“It is not a question of Mohammedanism simply, but of Mohammedanism compounded with the peculiar character of a race. They are not the mild Mohammedans of India, nor the chivalrous Saladins of Syria, nor the cultured Moors of Spain. They were, upon the whole, from the black day when they first entered Europe, the one great antihuman specimen of humanity. Wherever they went, a broad line of blood marked the trace behind them; and as far as their dominion reached, civilization disappeared from view. They represented everywhere government by force as opposed to government by law. They were indeed a tremendous incarnation of military power. This advancing curse menaced the whole of Europe.”
Why Not Driven Out Before
It will be apparent, from the foregoing, that Europe has regarded the Turkish Empire as an Oriental power properly belonging to Asia rather than to Europe. The Turks would long ago have been driven back across the Bosporus into Asia, whence they came, had it not been for the fear that serious complications among the great powers of Europe would result from the division of the spoils. This was clearly stated by the marquis of Salisbury, then prime minister of Great Britain, in his Mansion House speech November 9, 1895, when he said:
“Turkey is in that remarkable condition that it has now stood for half a century, mainly because the great powers of the world have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is necessary that the Ottoman Empire should stand. They came to that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they have altered it now.”
In recent years, the demand for the expulsion of the Turkish power from Europe has been growing louder and louder. This has been in consequence of the constant trouble in some portion of his dominion, now in Armenia, then in Macedonia or Albania, between his Christian and Mohammedan subjects. Tens of thousands of Christians have been ruthlessly slaughtered by the cruel Turks. These massacres may not have been wholly without provocation; but however that may be, they have resulted in a mighty chorus of voices from every part of the Christian world demanding that an end be put to Turkish rule in Europe. At this writing one of the bloodiest wars of history is being fought between the allied powers of the Balkan States, embracing Bulgaria, Servia, Montenegro, and Greece, on one side, and Turkey on the other, with a series of uninterrupted victories crowning the efforts of the allies, who are now at the gates of Constantinople. The daily press reports: “An end of Turkey in Europe—the irreducible minimum of the Balkan allies.”
If this were all that was implied in this struggle it would not be so serious; but the fear is daily expressed that all of Europe may be involved in one gigantic war. The late marquis of Salisbury said:
“The danger, if the Ottoman Empire should fall, would not merely be the danger that would threaten the territories of which that empire consists; it would be the danger that the fire there lit should spread to other nations, and should involve all that is most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest. That was a danger that was present to the minds of our fathers when they resolved to make the integrity and independence of the Ottoman Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger which has not passed away.”
His Expulsion Certain
In an article by E. Alexander Powell, entitled “The Balkan Union Against Turkey,” in the American Review of Reviews, November, 1912, the following statement appears:
“That the Turk will win in this struggle, now that he has obtained a free hand by concluding peace with Italy, is probable. That, win or lose, he will be compelled to give Macedonia a decent government, is certain. That he will, sooner or later, be driven across the Bosporus for good and all, is inevitable.”
In view of the apparent certainty of the Turkish power eventually being forced out of Europe, involving all the complications foreseen by European statesmen, the Eastern question becomes one of grave and serious import.
But this is only the beginning. The half has not yet been told of all that will follow the expulsion of the Turk from Europe, and his final destruction in the Holy Land. This whole question is clearly outlined in the prophetic word; and since the departure of the Turk from Europe constitutes one of the last signs marking the approach of the great day of the Lord, and the beginning of the reign of the Prince of Peace, the7Eastern question becomes one of supreme importance.
God Rules in the Affairs of Men
“The God that made the world and all things therein, . . . made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation.” Acts 17:24, 26, R. V.
God in His wisdom produced the whole human race from one man, and in His providence scattered them over the face of the earth. In His wisdom and goodness He has also appointed each family and nation to a particular place, having determined or marked out the boundaries of their dwelling-place, and the set or proper time of their residence. God has also made known through His prophets the rise and fall of nations, in some instances having revealed the exact time of their rise as well as the period of their continuance, and has also given the name of the power to succeed them.
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure: calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth My counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” Isa. 46:9-11.
The Lord has particularly revealed the events of importance that were to take place among the nations of earth near the end of time:
“And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed [Hebrew, moed, a fixed time or season] the end shall be.” Dan. 8:19.
Introductory Prophecies
In the eleventh chapter and the first few verses of the twelfth chapter of the book of Daniel, the angel revealed to the prophet the things that were to befall the nations of earth and the people of God “in the latter days.” Beginning with the days of the prophet, the history of nations is traced even to the time where “the kingdoms of this world” “become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ.” The concluding reflection of Bishop Newton on this prophecy is quite to the point:
“It may be proper to stand a little here, and reflect how particular and circumstantial this prophecy is. . . . There is not so concise, comprehensive, and regular an account of their kings and affairs to be found in any authors of those times. The prophecy is really more perfect than any history. . . . No one could thus declare the times and seasons, but He who hath them in His own power.”
Kingdom of Media and Persia
“Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.”
Following Darius, the three kings referred to were Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspes; then came the fourth, Xerxes, who led an army of over five and a half millions against Greece.
Alexander the “Mighty King”
“And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his8will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.”
This mighty king was Alexander the Great, who conquered Persia in 331 B.C. (It will be of interest to read in this connection Dan. 8:20-22.) Soon after Alexander's death, his generals formed a compact for the government of his empire; but it was soon broken, and out of his conquests four kingdoms arose “toward the four winds of heaven.” Cassander obtained Macedon and the other Greek territory on the west; Lysimachus took Thrace and the parts of Asia Minor on the Hellespont and Bosporus on the north; Seleucus obtained Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and far beyond them eastward to the Indus; Ptolemy received Egypt, Libya, and Palestine on the south.
The Divisions of Alexander's Empire
It was not long after this division had been effected till Cassander was conquered by Lysimachus, and Macedon was annexed to Thrace. Then Seleucus conquered Lysimachus, and Macedon and Thrace were annexed to Syria. Throughout the history of the kingdom of the Seleucidae, covering a period of 250 years, it remained a Greek government (tho almost wholly in Asia), and introduced the Greek language and literature to all the lands of the Orient. At that time the city of Byzantium on the Bosporus was, and through nearly all the succeeding centuries till the present time it has continued to be, the center; tho since Constantine made it the seat of the Roman government, it has been known by the name of Constantinople.
The Kings of the “North” and “South”
From this time forward, there were but two of the original four divisions of Alexander's kingdom remaining: the kingdom of the Seleucidae, with its center at Byzantium, called by the angel “the king of the north;” and the kingdom of the Ptolemies in Egypt, called “the king of the south.” It therefore seems certain that the territory of these two kingdoms remains the territory of the kingdom of the north and the kingdom of the south to the end of the prophecy; and whatever kings reign over these territories are “the king of the north” and “the king of the south.”
In verses 5 to 14, the angel speaks only of the principal events occurring between these two powers. In verse 14 the Roman power is introduced into the prophecy as “the children of robbers” (margin), and soon becomes the principal actor on the stage. And in all these scriptures plainly referring to Rome, it is not once called by the prophecy “the king of the north.” In verse 35, we are brought to the close of the period of papal supremacy in 1798, which is also the beginning of “the time of the end.” Once more in verse 40 “the time of the end” is mentioned, and “the king of the south” and “the king of the north” are again introduced, the latter henceforth occupying a prominent place in international conflicts to the very end itself.
The Rise of the Mohammedan Power
The rise and spread of the Mohammedan power is presented in the ninth chapter of Revelation under the symbols of the fifth and the sixth trumpet. The prophet saw the bottomless pit opened, “and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.” Rev. 9:2. It was indeed a dark day when this advancing curse spread over a large part of Asia, and crossing the Bosporus in 1453, brought the ancient city of the Caesars under its power. They soon advanced as far as Italy and Vienna, menacing the whole of Europe. Henceforth to the end of the seventeenth century they occupied a very prominent place among the nations of Europe, and took their part in the shaping of its destinies.
A Time Prophecy
The period of the supremacy of this destructive monster as given in the prophecy is “an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year.” Rev. 9:15. Counting 30 days to the month, and 360 days to the year (according to the rule in symbolic prophecy, Eze. 4:6), we have one year, 360 days or years; a month, 30 days or years; and a day, which is one year. These added together give 391 years. But there is “an hour” to be added to this period. An hour is one twenty-fourth part of a year, or 15 days. This gives us an entire period of 391 years and 15 days. In order to obtain a starting point from which to reckon, we must go back to 1299, when the roving bands of Saracens were organized by Othman into a nation. Of this event the prophet states, “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” Rev. 9:11. In each of these tongues, the name means “a destroyer” (margin), which is surely descriptive of the character of the successive heads of the Ottoman or Turkish Empire. The prophecy further declares that there was to be a period of “five months” (Verse 10), 150 days or years, when he was to hurt men.
A Remarkable Fulfilment
The following significant words are used by the historian:
“It was on the twenty-seventh day of July, in the year 1299 of the Christian era, that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster.”—“Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” by Gibbon, chapter 64, par. 14.
One hundred and fifty years from July 27, 1299, brings us to July 27, 1449, at which time the heir to the Greek throne, Constantine XIII, refused to ascend his throne till after he had obtained the consent of Sultan Amurath II, thereby acknowledging his own servile dependence upon the Ottoman power, and their supremacy. This marks the date from which the Turks were “let loose” upon the Greek Empire: also the time when the first wo ended and the second wo began. Four years later, Constantinople fell into the hands of the Turks, the Greek Empire was no more, and Turkish rule in Europe was begun.
By this the Turks conquered Eastern Rome, and thereby obtained whatever title Rome may have had by virtue of this territory.
A Lesson from the Three Hebrew Children
By Ellen G. White
“Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the Plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.”
A Confederacy to Establish Religion
THIS scheme, devised in the counsel of Satan, was made in order to compel the three Hebrew children to obey human laws in direct opposition to the laws of Jehovah. The most learned of the nation, men who were noted for their aptness and educational advantages, thus worked to form a confederacy that would exalt the king of Babylon and excite enmity against the Hebrew captives. They prevailed upon the king to enact certain laws which these youths could not consent to respect.
The worship of the image which the king had set up, was made the established religion of the country. But the Hebrew children were determined not to dishonor the God of heaven, who made the world, and all things that are therein. Their God was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and they would serve Him, at whatever cost.
“Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spake and said to the King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Hitherto the king had shown great regard for these youths. Their faithfulness in all their duties could not but increase his confidence in them, and he had exalted them to positions of high honor. But he was filled with rage that his word had been disregarded, and commanded that they be brought into his presence.
“Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
The sentence of death did not change their decision. The martyrs knew what would lessen the fierceness of the fire, kindling upon nerve and muscle. In beholding Christ, in the manifestation of His presence, the most cruel death was made bearable.
The Last Resort of a False Religion
The last resort of the king of Babylon was force, and he put his terrible threat into execution. Filled with fury against these men for thus defying him, he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
“And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.”
“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”
A Lesson for To-Day
The children of God to-day must not expect to meet less of persecution and trial than did these ancient worthies. Just as long as we are followers of Christ, we must be witnesses for Him. Tribulation will assuredly come; for Satan knows that Christ has purchased salvation for the whole world, and he is determined to wrest every soul possible out of His hand.
Christ forewarned His disciples of this, saying: “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogs: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” It is not the world, who make no profession, from whom the persecution comes. It is those who profess to be doing God service, who manifest the most bitter hatred.
But tho man may have power to harm the bodies of those who exalt the law of God above all human enactments, he can not harm their souls. God’s grace will be given in every way proportionate to the trial suffered to come upon us. Christ has promised, I “will manifest Myself to him;” “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” And again He comforts us with the words: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Our victory as believers is obtained through the grace of Christ, which He can and will bestow upon all who will put their trust in Him. This is the good news with which Christ would have us comforted. In all the tribulation which the child of God must receive, whatever his position in the world, he may be of good cheer in contemplation of the truth that Christ has overcome the world.
It is a great thing to be right with God, the soul in harmony with its Maker. Amid the contagion of evil example, which by its deceitful appearance would lure the soul from duty, angels will be sent to our rescue. But if we invite temptation, we can not have divine aid to keep us from being overcome. The three worthies endured the fiery furnace, for Jesus walked with them amid the flames. If they had, of themselves, walked into the fire, they would have been consumed. Thus it will be with us. If we do not deliberately go into temptation, God will sustain us when the temptation comes.
Meet the Future by Meeting the Present
But let no one think that an entirely new set of energies are to be communicated, when we are brought into trying circumstances. We are to seek daily for the converting power of God. We should daily seek to recover in ourselves the moral image of God. Every affection, every attribute that has been perverted, must be restored by the grace of Christ. Lesser trials nobly borne under the control of God, will purify, refine, and ennoble us for endurance when the time shall come for greater test and greater trials.
Then let us look the future decidedly in the face, and say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” We must cherish the presence of Christ, for we need Him in the less as well as the greater trials. By a willingness, for His sake, to endure shame and reproach, by learning the meekness and lowliness of Christ, we shall prove the sincerity of our Christianity. When we are called to imprisonment and shame, when degraded by our fellow beings, who are inspired by the spirit of Satan, God will give His grace to sustain us. His promise is, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”
The righteous have ever obtained help from above. How often have the enemies of God combined to destroy the character and influence of a few simple persons who trusted in God? But because the Lord was for them, none could prevail against them. Only let the followers of Christ be united, and they will prevail. Let them be separated8from their idols and from the world, and the world will not separate them from God. Christ is our present, all-sufficient Saviour. In Him all fulness dwells. It is the privilege of Christians to know that Christ is in them of a truth. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." All things are possible to him that believeth; and whatsoever things we desire when we pray, if we believe that we receive them, we shall have them. This faith will penetrate the darkest cloud, and bring hope to the drooping, desponding soul. It is the absence of this faith and trust which brings perplexity, distressing fears, and surmisings of evil. God will do great things for His people when they will put their entire trust in Him. Christ will prove a never-failing source of strength, a present help in every time of trouble.
God's Magna Charta of Divine and Human Rights
By Albert Carey
By Albert Carey
HE Decalogue is God's great charter of inalienable rights. The first four words of the ten guard the rights of the Creator, the last six those of the creature. In such a light, the ten precepts of Jehovah become a new and beautiful code, God's "banner of love" cast around each individual in the vast universe of created intelligences, for protection from every other.
As Creator, Supreme Benefactor, and above all, Redeemer of mankind, He of right should be held alone in reverence as God. Nor should worship be paid to representations of Himself or any of His creation. His name should be held sacred to its proper use and significance. And His requirement of one seventh of our time, in which to turn our minds toward the great Heart of the Universe, is both wise and beneficent.
These are the rights of the Creator, and their recognition is the solemn obligation of every human being. But His Magna Charta does not stop here. Around each individual, no matter how small or mean he may appear in the eyes of his fellow beings, it throws a guard of protection from those who are stronger, or intent on infraction of his rights.
The rights of parents are sacredly enjoined, while life, the marital bond, property, and character are each guarded by a solemn "Thou shalt not." And as a crowning touch to this great Bill of Rights, even the desire for their infringement is forbidden in the last of the code.
Transgression of this great charter has thrown the human family into confusion and distress. To restore order, God has ordained two great institutions among men, the church and the state. Each acts with direct authority from Him, but along entirely different lines. The one deals with the thoughts, desires, and intents of the heart, the other entirely with outward acts. The one carries the gospel of salvation, the other is "a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." The one persuades men to the adoption of new motives through the merits of the Christ, the other restrains by means of threats of violence. One uses the sword of the Spirit, the other the sword of civil power. The church leads to the fountain for absolute cleansing, the state but restrains from outward acts of wrong. The first may beseech men, may pardon, or may excommunicate; the second may punish with civil penalties according to the offense.
The charter of the church is the whole ten of the Author's code, while the state may deal with only five, and with those only to consider deeds, not thoughts. The state can not forbid the inward thought of murder or adultery. Such an act on its part could be enforced only by the cruel and uncertain procedures of the Inquisition.
For the civil power to command the enforcement of the first four precepts of this universal charter of rights, would be to require of men hypocrisy and blasphemy. The Creator is still able to defend His own rights, without the help of fallen mortals. In its proper sphere of protecting human rights, the powers that be act with divine authority, but meddling with religion, they confront the very Fountain of Divinity.
He who observes this great code, will offend against none, but regard the equal rights of all. And he who offends such a one, by infringing his rights, will offend the Author of all rights, and be called to answer before His bar for each such infringement. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Can Experience Save Us?
By Christian Advocate
EXPERIENCE as a teacher has a good many limitations. The man who drinks, and becomes a worthless, hopeless drunkard, does so over the experience of thousands. The young man who smokes his first cigaret, does so against the experience of a host of victims. The young girl who listens to the wicked and alluring suggestions of some young villain seeking her destruction, knows that experience of others teaches her a different lesson.
If the experiences of mankind were heeded, there would be no need of anything beyond; but unfortunately for mankind, experience of others does not convince, or at least effectively control those having no experience of their own. Even our own experiences do not govern our own conduct. There is no other name given under heaven whereby we can be saved but the name of Christ.
Supreme Authority
By Thomas Hamilton
SUPREME authority is involved in the very idea of a Supreme Being. It is His to command. Being God, He will command nothing but what is right. It is for His creatures to obey, satisfied that implicit obedience is at once their duty and their interest. Therefore if He has spoken as He has in the Bible, whatever He has declared there is most surely to be believed, because it is so declared, and whatever He has indicated as His will is most carefully to be obeyed, because it is His will.
Moreover, that revelation of His is to be taken in its plain grammatical meaning. Its histories are neither to be transmitted into myths nor allegories. Its statements are not to have read into them non-natural senses, such as similar statements in any other book would never be subjected to. The fact that this Bible is a revelation for man, therefore intended surely to be understood by man, so far as he is capable of understanding it, is to be kept in view.—The Rev. Thomas Hamilton, M. A.
Belonging to God
A PERSONAL friend asked Wendell Phillips, not long before his death, "Mr. Phillips, did you ever consecrate yourself to God?" "Yes," he answered; "when I was a boy, fourteen years of age, in the old church at the North End, I heard Lyman Beecher preach on the theme, 'You belong to God,' and I went home after that service, threw myself on the floor in my room, with locked doors, and prayed: 'O God, I belong to Thee; take what is Thine own. I ask this,—that whenever a thing be wrong, it may have no temptation over me; whenever a thing be right, it may take no courage to do it.' From that day to this it has been so."—Sunday School Chronicle.
The Christmas Star
By Melville Winans Miller
O, wondrous bright
The stars of night
Shone down on sleeping Bethlehem!
But brighter far
Another star
Outshone and dimmed the host of them.
Lo, in the East,
When they had ceased,
The wise men see it softly gleam;
With wond'ring eyes
They watch it rise,
Until o'er all it casts its beam.
Ah, can it be
At last they see
On high the answer to their prayer?
Ay, so they do,
For God is true—
It is the Christ-star shining there!
With joyful hearts,
They leave the marts
Where all is noise and strife for gain;
Exultant they
Now take their way
Across the silent, starlit plain.
With eager feet
And hope most sweet
They follow where the star doth show;
With reverent gaze
And humble praise
O'er hill and vale on, on they go,
Until at last,
The Jordan passed,
They halt upon Judea's plain;
And kneeling there
In fervent prayer,
They know their quest is not in vain.
For now they hear
From far and near
The angel chorus sweetly sing.
All, all around
The heavens sound
The praises of the new-born King.
And lo, in white,
Clothed as with light,
There comes an angel from on high.
He saith to them,
In Bethlehem
In swaddling clothes the Babe doth lie.
They cease from prayer,
They hasten there,
Star-led and guided as before;
They find the Child,
The Undefiled,
And Him they worship and adore.
O, vision sweet!
The gifts, most meet,
Of gold and frankincense and myrrh;
The treasures rare,
The Babe so fair,
The calm and shining face of her
Who gave Him birth;
The wise men of earth
With humble shepherds bowing low;
And there on high,
Amid the sky,
The wondrous Christ-star all aglow!
Ay, over all,
As if to call
The myriad hosts of light to earth,
It blazeth there,
And shineth where
The Babe of Bethlehem had birth.
O blessed star,
Shine thou afar,
Until all men shall follow thee;
Shine on, shine on,
Until day dawn,
Until the world the Child shall see.
Shine on until
Jehovah's will
By all of earth is known and done;
Till all mankind
The Christ shall find,
And own as King the Sinless One!
—Melville Winans Miller.
Love’s Christmas Tales
By Llewellyn A. Morrison
By Llewellyn A. Morrison
When bells are pealing Christmas’ times,
We read the dear old stories over,
And in the rhythm of their chimes,
Do each become an ardent lover
Of all the charming tales they tell:
The angel Gabriel’s great embassage;
The virgin’s song—that triumphs still;
And Zacharias’ wondrous message.
We always go by Bethlehem,
And in the stable find the manger.
Before the Babe, we bow with them
Who reverence pay the heavenly Stranger.
Within, the cattle standing near,
The mother on the straw reclining;
Without, the midnight winds we hear,
Where the white wintry stars are shining.
Once more the mighty chorus breaks
The stillness where the flocks lie dreaming;
While every wondering shepherd wakes
To hear the psalm, and see the gleaming.
The wise men bring their gifts and gold;
We learn of Shiloh’s visitation,
The name on temple books enrolled,
And saintly Simeon’s exaltation.
These are not fiction. Mortal mind
Would not so from the chaos mold them
In all their sweetness, love refined,—
Our God alone hath plann’d and told them.
We scan their matchless logic o’er,
The mightiest minds may scarce expand them;
Yet, in their mystic, simple lore,
A little child can understand them.
San Francisco, California.
Lo, He Comes!
By Anon.
Through the twilight, through the gloaming
Of the swiftly passing day,
God is flashing to the nations
Signals of the coming fray.
Men may read it in the judgments
That are falling on the world,
In the deeds that quench the Spirit,
Where sin's banners are unfurled.
They may read it in the reckless
Race for riches, place, and fame;
While the racers crush the helpless
In their mammon-maddened game.
It is written in the records,
Of the strivings of the soul
That has bartered all of heaven
For a gilded, crumbling goal.
God is waiting, waiting, waiting,
Justly balancing the scale;
And no power of man's devising
'Gainst that justice can prevail.
Sure as shines the sun above us,
Sure as rivers seek the sea,
God will soon declare: "'Tis finished—
Time is now eternity."
Heed, ye careless! Heed the warning
God is flashing forth to-day!
Earth and heaven are loudly telling
That our God will not delay.
He is coming, say the prophets—
Shout it till the welkin rings!
He is coming—earth declares it—
Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
—Anon.
Lean Hard
Child of My love, lean hard,
And let Me feel the pressure of thy care.
I know thy burden, child; I shaped it,
Poised it in Mine own hand, made no proportion
Of its weight to thine unaided strength.
For even as I laid it on I said,
“I shall be near, and, while she leans on Me,
This burden shall be Mine, not hers;
So shall I keep My child within the circling arms
Of Mine own love.” Here lay it down; nor fear
To impose it on a shoulder which upholds
The government of worlds. Yet closer come—
Thou art not near enough; I would embrace thy
care,
So I might feel My child reposing on My breast.
Thou lovest Me?—I know it. Doubt not, then;
But loving Me, lean hard.
—London Evangelist.
At Close of Day
By Anon.
Once more 'tis eventide, and we
Oppress'd with various ills, draw near;
What if Thy form we can not see?
We know and feel that Thou art here.
Thy touch has still its ancient power,
No word from Thee can fruitless fall;
Hear in this solemn evening hour,
And in Thy mercy heal us all.
Amen.
—Anon.