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Signs of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 1.

A Happy and Unselfish Life
Earlier text: A Happy and Unselfish Life

The Ninth Commandment

By J. O. Corliss

By J. O. Corliss
AS IN all other commandments relating to man's duty to his neighbor, the ninth one defines what at first thought may appear to be a minor wrong of its kind, but in reality reaches to the root of the whole matter. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” is generally held merely to prohibit deliberate lying, that is open statements which are absolutely untrue. But this commandment covers a far wider range than that, as may be readily discovered upon the slightest inquiry.
A lie is an untrue statement, openly uttered, whether against or in favor of a neighbor, or whether in behalf of the one thus speaking, or whether concerning some impersonal object, anywhere in the universe. A lie, therefore, is in direct opposition to the truth, and truth is that which bears the closest test of scrutiny without losing credit in any particular. To tell an out-and-out lie against a neighbor, is bad enough; but that would be something readily investigated, and in the end would be likely to react upon the one who uttered it.

The Breadth of the Commandment.

But the commandment under consideration forbids an act which, if possible, is even worse than the open lie. It strikes against the too common practise of acting some pantomime when one's name is mentioned, which is calculated to convey an unfavorable impression against him. How many times one has been placed in a false light by another, simply through a significant toss of the head, or a shrug of the shoulders, and all because the one so doing has received an unfavorable impression of the other, it may be through some indiscretion of his own.
The testimony of a witness need not necessarily be given in direct words. One's conduct testifies as directly at times as would his oral testimony. To make such a testimony deceitful or misleading toward a neighbor's course or standing in a community, is to bear false witness against him. And the worst feature about it is that the one witnessed against may be ignorant of the studied effort of the other against him. He may, as did David, think he is on the best of terms with the one seeking his injury, and not be able to account for the influence that he knows is being wielded against him from some quarter. This is the most cruel kind of deceitful testimony,—not only false in itself to the injury of another, but destructive of all hope in heaven for the one employing it.

What Is the Motive?

As every act in the lives of men has some underlying motive, this one of bearing false witness against others, must be the true revelation of some inmost desire. So strong is that desire, at times, that one deliberately sacrifices the standing of a long-time friend in order to secure the position he occupies. He may know nothing definitely against his ability, or integrity, but does not hesitate to imply that the work he has in hand could be done more efficiently, and even cheaply, by another. In the trend of conversation he manages to let it be known that the “another” he has in mind is himself. He secures the influence of friends, and shortly his once honored associate retires from his position, and the impression is soon whispered that his administration was questionable, and he is made the victim of another's false witness against him. Such deeds are expected in things of the world, and are done under the name of politics. It is disreputable work, however, among men of the world, but becomes hypocritically cruel when practised in the church.
One may ask, why is it worse to practise such conduct in the church than in the world, when the act alone constitutes the sin, whether done in one place or another? For this reason: When done in the church, it injures one of Christ's disciples, and the Saviour has said: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Matt. 25:40. To treat thus a brother in Christ, is to bear false witness against the Lord Jesus Himself, who has given His life for all.
The whole thing resolves itself, therefore, into this: If the handling of one in the church is regarded by Christ as treatment given Him, how careful ought one to be that the usage he gives another be just that which he himself desires to receive from Christ. To do to others as one would have others do to him, requires serious thought, and more. It means that he let self be so swallowed up in his brother, that he can see himself in his brother. Then, and only then, can he do to that one, as he would have that one do to him under the same and all other circumstances.

Bearing True Witness.

But to bear true witness toward another, and so toward Christ, one must have a peculiar qualification. This has been stated so clearly by the Lord that we can afford to read the utterance. This is what He says: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” Acts 1:8. From this it is clear that to be a true witness for Christ, one must have the Holy Spirit as his constant monitor and teacher. Without this qualification, one must be left to bear false witness against Him, through possible wrong treatment given one of His disciples.
To witness truly for Christ, is to do under all circumstances just what He would do were He the one meeting them. When the Lord was cruelly mistreated by those who should have been His friends, He made no charge against them by way of retaliation. He simply said in His expiring breath: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” A just witness for Him will do the same toward those whom Christ came to redeem, since they are really His representatives on the earth. It is better to suffer wrongfully than to take a course which may involve the bearing of false witness against another. Be sure that when this is done, God will care for His own.

God’s Call to Service.

By Harlem Cliston

By Harlem Cliston.
GOD wants soldiers for His army. He is sending out His world-wide call to every soul. He has been doing this throughout the ages. His recruiting agents are everywhere. He does not ask that you shall be so tall, so broad, of so much weight. He does not demand that you shall be healthy or well or strong. He does not ask that you shall be so young or so old. Any age is acceptable. He does not debar you if you belong to any one or more of the numerous races or tribes of earth.
He does not require that you shall have made a success in any calling or business hitherto followed. You may have been a failure in everything except sin. He does not request you to come with recommends from previous employers or influential friends. He asks but the one thing,—the whole heart, the willing heart. For all such the great God is looking: “For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” Have you the willing, the perfectly willing heart?—Then no king in sore need would ever welcome more heartily a victorious army to his aid than the great Jehovah will welcome you.
There are many who enlist in earth’s armies because their fancy, their admiration, is aroused by the smart uniform, the gold braid, the easy, happy-go-lucky time the soldiers seem to have. Such prove of little value to an army except to make up in numbers or form targets for the enemy’s guns. Their moral force is of little worth. God does not call to dress parade, selfish pleasure, to love of ease. He calls to service—hard, oftentimes, hard, onerous, wearisome, monotonous service. All may forsake you for the parade drill, for the ease-loving pleasure. Your call is always, ever for duty, homely, ugly, fleshly, undesirable, but always profitable, pleasurable duty sometimes, to the willing heart. Is your heart willing?—If so, He wants you.
Many are “conscripts” in the armies of earth. That is, they are forced to serve from a certain age to a certain age. God asks willing service; He calls for volunteers. There are no conscripts in His entire army in heaven or earth.
Many enlist in the armies of earthly rulers because of hope of reward, advancement, earthly honors, success. They are there for themselves, to profit themselves, to save themselves. The true soldiers in God’s army are not there for that purpose. Of their Leader it is said: “He saved others; Himself He can not save.” It is preeminently true. It is equally true of all His servants.
God calls to warfare, a warfare within the soul, the flesh, of the human. Against unholy affections, against selfish desires, against unsanctified dispositions, against unruly tempers and tongues, against love of ease and pleasure, against kind friends who would save us from the cross, against the tenderest, most sensitive chords of selfish humanity are we to war, resolutely, determinedly, unweariedly, with no self sympathy, asking no quarters of sin or selfishness, giving none, without compromise, yet with unfaltering love of souls, expecting no praise save God’s approval, giving all the glory to God.
Young man, young woman, God wants you. Do not turn to this one or that one, and say, “Lord, what of this man?” That is not your business; yield all to Him, receive all from Him; follow Him.

The Holy Scriptures: Their Testimony to Themselves.

[The quotations are from the American Standard Revised Version. Presumably all our readers have copies of the King James Version, and they can compare them. There is no difference in the general sense.]
1. By what term does the apostle Paul refer to the Old Testament?
“And that from a babe thou hast known THE SACRED WRITINGS.” 2 Tim. 3:15.
2. What are these Sacred Writings, or “Holy Scriptures,” able to do?
“Able to make thee WISE UNTO SALVATION through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Same verse.
3. What does he say of the inspiration of the Scriptures, and for what are they profitable?
“Every scripture INSPIRED OF GOD [“God-breathed,” literally] is also PROFITABLE for TEACHING, for REPROOF, for CORRECTION, for INSTRUCTION which is in righteousness.” 2 Tim. 3:16.
NOTE.—The writings which Timothy knew from a child were the Old Testament Scriptures. Those the apostle calls sacred; or in other words, they were “God-breathed.”
4. What do these Scriptures furnish for the minister of Jesus Christ?
“That the man of God MAY BE COMPLETE, FURNISHED COMPLETELY UNTO EVERY GOOD WORK.” 2 Tim. 3:17.
5. What therefore should he preach?
“I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom; PREACH THE WORD.” 2 Tim. 4:1, 2.
6. What is the character of that word?
“The words of Jehovah are PURE WORDS; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, purified seven times.” Ps. 12:6.
“EVERY WORD OF GOD IS TRIED: He is a shield unto them that take refuge in Him.” Prov. 30:5.
7. Whose word did the Psalmist speak?
“The SPIRIT OF JEHOVAH SPAKE BY ME, and HIS WORD was upon my tongue.” 2 Sam. 23:2.
8. What is the testimony of the apostle Peter to the inspiration of the word, and the agency in its giving?
“For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but MEN SPAKE FROM GOD, BEING MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.” 2 Peter 1:21.
9. In referring to the words of the Psalmist in the New Testament, what language is used?
“WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT SPAKE before by the mouth of David concerning Judas.” Acts 1:16.
“Wherefore, even AS THE HOLY SPIRIT SAITH, To-day if ye shall hear His voice.” Heb. 3:7.
10. What language is constantly used by Isaiah in referring to the messages given him of God?
“THUS SAITH JEHOVAH.” Isa. 49:8, 22.
11. What expression does the prophet Jeremiah use?
“TO WHOM THE WORD OF JEHOVAH CAME, saying.”
“And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying.” Jer. 1:2; 2:1.
12. How does the prophet Ezekiel speak of his messages?
“And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying.” Eze. 6:1; 12:1, etc.
NOTE.—The words were the words of the Spirit of God and they were also the words of the prophets. God used the human instrument according to its limitations, just as the master musician plays upon various instruments.
13. Over how much of Scripture does our Lord Himself make an argument?
One word. “If he called them GODS, unto whom the word of God came (and the Scripture can not be broken).” John 10:35.
14. What testimony does the angel bear to the effectiveness of God’s word?
“FOR NO WORD FROM GOD SHALL BE VOID OF POWER.” Luke 1:37.
15. What contrast is drawn between the word of God and the word of man?
“The voice of one saying, Cry, And one said, What shall I cry? ALL FLESH IS GRASS, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The GRASS WITHERETH, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but THE WORD OF OUR GOD SHALL STAND FOREVER.” Isa. 40:6-8. See the same in 1 Peter 1:24, 25.
[Our next Bible-reading will be upon the topic, “The One Through Whom the Scriptures Were Given—the Eternal Word.”]

Acceptance with God.

By H.

1. Who are acceptable with God?
“In every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to Him.” Acts 10:35.
2. What has He promised those who accept Him?
“God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 2 Cor. 6:16.
“Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.” Ps. 34:18.
3. What is demanded of all?
“Come ye out from among them [the people of the world], and be ye separate, . . . and I will receive you.” 2 Cor. 6:17.
“If a man love Me, he will keep My word.”
“This is love, that ye should walk after My commandments.” John 14:23; 2 John 6.
4. Who is the Christian’s pattern?
“He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked.” 1 John 2:6.
5. How did He walk?
“If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I HAVE KEPT MY FATHER’S COMMANDMENTS, and abide in His love.” John 15:10.
6. What promise is made to disciples?
“Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matt. 28:20.
7. What is the final reward of those who obey Him?
“An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:4, 5.
8. According to what will the reward be?
God “will render to every man according to his works: . . . tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil; . . . but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good.” Rom. 2:6-10.
9. With all this in view, what exhortation does Paul give?
“Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Cor. 7:1.
H.

At Last.

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Suttle

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Suttle.
FAREWELL, old earth, our King hath come at last; Ah, we have watched and waited long for Him, When thy chill skies were bleak and overcast, And our poor, aching eyes were dull and dim. Yes, we have waited when our hearts were sad, And when our tongues were dumb with torturing fears, When grief was ours, the scorner’s heart was glad, And strangers cared not for our falling tears.
But we shall weep no more; for His dear hand Doth wipe away the tear-drops from our eyes; O! sing, my heart, for this is Beulah land,— No serpent lurks within this paradise. For all these things, thank God, are passed away; All hail the dawn of blest eternal day. All hail eternal youth, eternal health; All hail the heirship to eternal wealth!
Gone is my grief; earth’s dull corroding care No more shall vex me in these mansions fair, Nor poverty’s rough hand assail me more, For all is peace upon this vernal shore. Gone are the lines of care upon my brow, Which shines with heaven’s resplendent glory now. Sing hallelujah! all earth’s sorrows past,— He whom we’ve waited for hath come AT LAST.

Forgive Thine Enemies

By Sir Thomas Browne

LET not the sun go down upon thy wrath, but write thy wrongs in ashes. Draw the curtain of night upon injuries, shut them up in the tower of oblivion, and let them be as tho they had not been. To forgive our enemies, yet hope that God will punish them, is not to forgive enough. To forgive them ourselves, and not to pray God to forgive them, is a partial act of charity. Forgive thine enemies totally and without any reserve.—Sir Thomas Browne.

Working for the Son of God

WHEN I read the life of such a man as Paul, how I blush to think how sickly and dwarfed Christianity is at the present time, and how many hundreds there are who never think of working for the Son of God and honoring Christ.—D. L. Moody.

The Secret of Happiness

By Adam Clarke

I HAVE lived to know that the secret of happiness is never to allow your energies to stagnate.— Adam Clarke.

Retrospect and Prospect.

THE backward view is not always pleasant. The year just gone had its days full of evil. Black deeds of wickedness and violence marred its every page. Crime and Corruption stalked boldly forth and claimed their myriads of victims. Famine and Pestilence in some of the fairest of earth’s lands slew young and old, cruelly, pitilessly. War preparations have gone on apace, but the war dogs have been restrained almost unexpectedly everywhere. Fatalities by earthquake, tornado, tempest, and fire have been great and numerous. Mad mob vengeance has glutted its insane revenge, and race hatred—not alone between white and black—is increasing. States and nations, statesmen and rulers, are in perplexity over mighty and unknown and unsolvable problems which face them.
All these and many other features do not invite the retrospective view; and yet in all the checkered landscape the thoughtful student of history who is acquainted with God can discern His mighty, masterful workings among the sons of men and their puny governments. The divine Hand has guided the wheels within wheels to His own wise purpose. He has restrained the high and unholy ambitions of kings and rulers. He has opened hitherto almost double-locked doors of hostile lands to the heralds of the Gospel. It is yet true, notwithstanding all the selfishness of men and the plotting of demons, that “the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.”
Let the vision come closer home. How has it been with your own soul? “Disastrous”? Let it be counted temporary. “Discouraging”? Perhaps so, from a human point of view. “Defeat upon defeat”? Let it be so. Still there are blessings. Look them over. Hunt up the Ebenezers, or the places where these ought to have been raised, if they were not, stones of help, and where the soul should have said in gratitude to the great Father, “Hitherto hath God helped us.” How much worse it all might have been! You do not know how many times the divine Hand swept away the darts of destruction you did not see, and saved your wavering feet from the pitfalls into which they would have strayed. Count up His abundant mercies, and be grateful.
But of the sins, the defeats, the discouragements, the pitfalls, the bruises, leave them all with the great Burden-bearer, who bore them for you. Take for the New Year the splendid motto Paul gives us: “FORGETTING THE THINGS WHICH ARE BEHIND, AND STRETCHING FORWARD TO THE THINGS WHICH ARE BEFORE, I PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL UNTO THE PRIZE OF THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.”
Good things are there behind? Doubtless. Little victories in which we would boast ourselves, triumphs which we seemed to win, blessings which were truly great, and under whose shadow we would abide, as the Arab desert wanderer would tarry under the shadow of the great rock by the cooling spring.
But we may not stay. Thank God for the rock, the spring, the unnumbered blessings. But the journey is not yet ended. There are yet trackless spaces to cross. The race is not run. There are hills and rocks, sloughs and streams, storm and tempest, to meet us on our way. Every blessing of the past is God’s earnest of greater future blessings; pledges that He will remove the obstacle or give strength to surmount it; bridge the chasm or enable you to go down into the Valley of Humiliation and up the Hill of Difficulty.
Press on! There are greater blessings before. Do not narrow your soul by satisfaction with past achievements. Do not imagine that your heart can grow with an unused blessing. “I will bless thee; and be thou a blessing,” was God’s call to Abraham. It is God’s call to every one who would become an heir to Abraham. Turn not back to the empty sepulcher. The body of Jesus is not there; “He is risen.” Ever He goeth before, out into the great needy fields of earth. There shall you see Him. There shall you find Him if your own soul is given to the salvation of others, if you are yielded to Him as a channel of blessing.
O the prospect before, at the opening of this new year! Trouble, trial, storm, tempest, aye, death perhaps; but with us in all these will be the Master if we wish His presence. It is awful to be without Him. With Him, in the year to come—service with the trial is a joy, the tempest and storm a calm, the very night of death is lighted by His presence. There is work for Him, with Him, in the year to come—service with the King, yoke-fellows with Jesus! Beyond, still beyond, toward which goal the pilgrim of earth shall forever press, are “the unfenced fields” of God’s glorious kingdom of eternal progress and increasing joy.
Leave the sin; let Him wash it away. He died to do it. Be clothed with His righteousness. He waits to clothe you with it. Let Him do it. He invites you; then press on to the infinite goal. Thus ever shall all years be useful and happy.

They Will Not Understand.

By T.

IN THE prophecy of Daniel is the interesting statement that “many shall be purified, and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Dan. 12:10.
It is not an arbitrary decree that “none of the wicked shall understand.” God supplies both wisdom and understanding. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments; His praise endureth forever.” Ps. 111:10. Another scripture says: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5.
Now if a person will not accept these words of the Lord,—if he will not acknowledge this source of wisdom,—he places himself where the heavenly Father can not help him. The wisdom and understanding so kindly offered to all must be accepted and acted upon, if we would receive the benefits that He is seeking to bestow upon us.
This verse in Daniel which tells us that “none of the wicked shall understand,” is toward the close of a most wonderfully interesting and important book of prophecy. The rise and fall of kingdoms has been most vividly depicted, and the sublimity of the closing moments of time and of the Judgment-day has been presented. It is in connection with these topics of absorbing interest that we find this statement of divine truth,—“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”
These words of the Lord do not tell of something that may possibly occur; they utter a truth that is based upon a divine law that is as positive in its action as the law of gravity. If we would be wise enough to forsake wickedness and all its consequences and penalties, there must be a positive laying hold on the word of God. This word reveals sin and all its deceptions; and it not only reveals the sin, but it puts us in contact with the power to overcome it.
T.

Principles of Right.

IT IS character which makes men worthy of salvation, of life which never ends. It is inwrought principles of righteousness which make character. Through Christ Jesus this transmutation of character is possible for all. But the individual must choose the right. He must choose in the ultimate, not because of any recompense or reward, not because it will pay, not because some one else has so chosen; but because “right is right since God is God.”
In such a choice expediency has no place. When the principle involves a matter of right or wrong, it matters not the present or near outcome, the choice is of the right. To illustrate: There is a strong sentiment, voiced by many, especially religious people, against race-track, stock-exchange, and various other forms of gambling. At the same time many of the protesters are members of religious bodies who hold church fairs and picnics at which there are raffles, fish ponds, races, and contests for prizes, and various games of chance. In all these the essential basis of gambling is involved. “O, but these are such little things,” remarks a devotee. “What is a few cents one way or the other?”
Not much, unless it is the price of a principle of right. If it is, the little transaction is infinitely serious. The winning of a cake or ring or book is but a step toward risking bigger things in the hope of bigger results. Many a gambler took his first lesson in what was considered at the time a harmless amusement, or a means to a good end, the helping of a church or some benevolent cause. But the evil principle was in the first step as truly as in the last, even tho the first was taken in church circles and the last in a “gambling hell.”
There is but one true way — shun all the evil deeds by abjuring the principle. See by the clear vision of a good conscience the fruit in the sowing, and shun the sowing. Bring all things to the everlasting standard of God’s truth. In this path Christ walks. To bring you to it He died. And here He will be with you always, even to the end.

A Better Prospect.

SPEAKING of the future state of man, the Western Watchman of Nov. 15, 1908, says:
“But O, in that world to come conditions are unchanging. There is no death there; no relief will come in death. There the rich will be rich forevermore and the poor will suffer want forever and ever. There those who are happy will be happy without end; those who are in misery will be in misery forevermore. O, what will reconcile these conditions? O, how reconcile the existence of heaven and hell with a just God, who is the Father? WE SHUDDER AT THE THOUGHT that some men will be eternally happy, while others will be eternally miserable. Would you know why that great distinction? After you have reconciled the different conditions of human society here, can you face that other proposition; CAN YOU RECONCILE WITH THE JUSTICE OF GOD THE EXISTENCE OF AN ETERNAL PLACE OF TORMENT and the existence of eternal abode of happiness?”
We do not wonder that human reason staggers at the awful, horrible thought of eternal existence in misery. Bigoted as men have been, cruel as they have been in their persecutions, one could not conceive how they could consign their worst enemy to torture unending, to misery perpetual. And yet men will charge God with inflicting upon poor mortals that very thing. They charge Him with perpetuating existence, that He may perpetuate misery. No wonder that men having been taught that conception have denied God. No wonder that souls have gone insane while contemplating such a fearful future. And it is all the logical sequence of endeavoring to combine eternal justice with the utterly unscriptural doctrine of the immortality of the soul. Mankind have been led to believe the old lie, “Ye shall not surely die; . . . ye shall be as God.”
The words are found in the Bible, reader, but it is not God who said them. They are from the lips of that old serpent, “called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” Upon that falsehood of the inherent immortality of the soul rest the doctrines of the endless hell, eternal torment, purgatory, prayers for the dead, and other doctrines equally unbiblical. Because of this falsehood, men reject the resurrection of the dead and the second coming of Christ.
Yet there is nothing in the Bible to support the immortal-soul doctrine. Rightly understood, the Bible teaches no endless torment. It rather points forward to the time when all strife will be over, when sin and all identified with sin shall have perished, when God’s universe will be clean from every trace of sin, forever clean. Punishment of the incorrigibly wicked will be eternal, but it is eternal death. It is everlasting punishment, not everlasting punishing. It is a completed act, not a continued process. It metes out exact justice and indicates the character of God.

Religious Liberty at Home and Abroad.

The Philippine Christian Advocate stands for religious liberty in the Philippines. It tells us that in what is called the Navotas case, “Fifty men, women, and children, including an American missionary and his wife, were thrust into jail because they held street meetings; and this not once, but twice. In the first place they were arrested under a defunct Spanish law, and in the second instance, under an unapproved town ordinance which was illegal. The Advocate says:
“It was clearly proved that this persecution was directed by the town officials, headed by the municipal president, and they were sustained by unjust decisions of the justice of the peace. Altho these matters with the accompanying proofs were laid before the Governor General, no action was taken in removing these officials.
“It is, to say the least, difficult for the disinterested observer to understand the prompt action in settling difficulties for the Roman Catholic Church, and the tardy action, or no action at all, in regard to the complaints of the Protestant Church.
“La Asamblea Filipina, a daily organ, under the heading, ‘There Is No Equality,’ well points out that it is almost impossible for any one not a Romanist to secure justice in the Philippine Islands.”
Yet at the same time that the Philippine Christian Advocate is pleading for religious liberty in the Philippines, its sisters in America, as for instance the California Christian Advocate and The Christian Advocate of New York, are pleading for Sunday laws out of which will grow as there has grown just as much injustice and inequality as exists in the Philippines. The true Christian demands religious liberty for those whom he is opposing.

Our Bible Band

We begin the year with Genesis—“In the beginning.” One familiar with the book will learn to pass over some passages rapidly, but even in the “dry” places one finds beautiful oases. We can not say to our Band as one “Christian” paper says:
“Certain portions of the Bible relate to things forever gone. These are genealogies, accounts of bloody battles, and all the paraphernalia of Jewish ceremony and the various censuses of the ancient tribes. One going to California by rail the first time, to observe everything, should keep his eyes open by day, and if possible arrange so that when he returns he may see by day what on his outward tour was passed in the night. Then he will know that he has seen all that can be seen. But after this, knowing as he does that there are many miles of desert in which prairie dogs and sage-brush are all that greet the eyes, he will not find it remunerative to concentrate his gaze for a second time upon that which can not add valuable knowledge to his repertoire.”
The genealogies are instructive in showing how God preserved a “seed,” and how the seed came as He predicted. Then, too, in the genealogies sometimes are wonderful inspirations; and in the Jewish ceremonies are striking lessons of God’s abhorrence of sin and regard for order and righteousness. Some of the bloody battles have their awful and useful lessons. The outlook through a car window on a journey to California is a weak and poor illustration of a year spent in the treasure-house of God’s word. True it is that many things are in the past, but it is well to remember what the apostle says, “Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15:4. Once through the Bible, or ten times, will not reveal all there is to be learned.

Schedule for Week Ending January 13.

Morning Evening
January 7 Gen. 18, 19 Matt. 6: 1-18
“ 8 “ 20, 21, 22 “ 6:19-34
“ 9 “ 23, 24 “ 7
“ 10 “ 25, 26 “ 8: 1-17
“ 11 “ 27, 28 “ 8:18-34
“ 12 “ 29, 30 “ 9: 1-17
“ 13 “ 31, 32 “ 9:18-38

Suggestive Notes.

Our reading last week brought us through the creation and fall of man, the promise of the Seed, the awful apostasy of the race, the Deluge, the preservation of Noah, the repeopling of the earth, the call of Abraham, and some of God’s dealings with the man of faith.
This week we continue the story of Abraham and his family, his gradual development of faith; Isaac and his two sons, their defects, and finally Jacob’s victory, which made him “Israel,” “prevailer with God.”
Our New Testament reading last week began with Matthew, covered the genealogy of Jesus, told the story of His birth, the visit of the wise men, of His temptations, a little of His ministry, and a part of the great Sermon on the Mount. We begin the sixth chapter and read to the close of the ninth. How rich in teaching and miracle and good works it is. Yet that Jesus is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.

The Resurrection Past.

By H.

THERE is among many religious teachers a doctrine that the resurrection takes place at death, that with each individual there is a resurrection when the soul is taken to heaven or doomed to eternal punishment, at the moment when life leaves the body. These teachers will doubtless readily admit that if such is the case now, it has always been the case; that if believers, for instance, are resurrected at death now, the early believers were also resurrected at death. What, then, shall we do with the word of Paul to Timothy? Speaking of Hymenaeus and Philetus, he says, “who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.” 2 Tim. 2:18.
Paul knew and taught a general resurrection, not a private resurrection of one individual at a time. A few of the many references he makes to the resurrection will make clear his view: “The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.” 1 Cor. 15:52. “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise.” 1 Thess. 4:16.
The apostle comforts the believers with the words: “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him”— with Jesus from the dead. “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.” 1 Thess. 4:13, 14; 2 Tim. 2:19. In the resurrection God will know His own and bring them forth to everlasting life.
H.
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