Earlier text: The Glad Freedom of the Year of JubileeThe Sign of Creative, Converting, and Sanctifying Power
By W. A. WESTWORTH
Nature and Purpose of the Sabbath—It Means More than a Mere One-Day-in-Seven Rest
THE continued effort of the Father above to bring fallen man to a full realization of what God will do for His children is nowhere better emphasized than in the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Ofttimes an ignorance of all that the Sabbath stands for causes men to claim that it is merely a ceremony, and that in its very nature it differs from the rest of the precepts of the Decalogue. So we find that, in the effort to get away from the obligation therein imposed upon them, many insist that the Sabbath is done away, and that the other nine precepts of the law were reinstituted by Christ. ITS REAL NATURE NOT COMPREHENDED
The true nature of the Sabbath is thus passed by, and it merely becomes a relic of the old Hebrew economy. A careful study of the real character of the Sabbath rather reveals that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment stands for everything that God has done or is doing to bring man to the high plane of morality essential to immortal life. This is a strong statement; and yet as we study all the Word says for this institution, the Sabbath becomes the most prominent token that the Bible contains of God's effort to lift man up. Three steps in man's uplift are before us for consideration. The first is creation. Ex. 20:8-11 establishes the Sabbath as God's sign of His creative power. There is no dispute as to this. And as man realizes that the earth was6 brought forth by the word of God, he can not but the more appreciate the fact that this same powerful word is responsible for his own existence. So Paul expresses it in his argument on Mars' Hill. After showing God to be the Creator of all things, he brings that same creative power to the personal consideration, and says (Acts 17:28), "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." To receive the Sabbath as nothing more than a token of what was done in creation's week is to allow it to degenerate into a mere memento of Creation, a simple reminder of an ancient historic fact. The Sabbath must come to us as a token of that power which brought us forth and sustains us by His word, if we would get all God has in it for us. Creation therefore comes to us as the first step absolutely essential in the development of man in the image of God and fitting him for a place in eternity. The second step in the consideration of God's dealing with His children is the great plan carried forth to redeem man from the power of sin and to restore the lost image. After man had fallen, and sin had secured that hold on him which would drag him down to ruin and oblivion, it was necessary that a higher power get hold of him, and bring him back again to where the power of the higher life might be developed in him, and he be fitted for eternal residence with God. Deliverance from sin, without doubt, is the great step necessary for all; "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." LED OUT OF EGYPT, LITERAL AND SPIRITUAL
When God's ancient chosen people, surrounded by the damning influences of the heathen nation in whose midst they were cast, desired to worship God in the truth which would save them, it was necessary for God to lead them from Egypt with a mighty hand and a stretched forth arm. The same power which produced the world, and which sustains it, set Himself to develop in His own people that character which should stand the test of the eternal Judgment. He brought them forth from that ancient land of sin and darkness into the place where they could serve Him in spirit and in truth. So in Deut. 5:15 He gives them as another reason why they should keep the Sabbath, the fact that He had brought them forth from Egypt. But Egypt in its deeper meaning and in God's sight stands not merely for a geographical location, but for a condition. God did not lead Israel forth from Egypt because the land itself was not capable of sustaining them, but rather that they might be separated from the contaminating influences with which they were surrounded. A SIGN OF THE SECOND WORK FOR MAN
The symbolic nature of the very name "Egypt" is clearly set forth in Rev. 11:8, where "Sodom" and "Egypt" are synonymous with "sin." The call from Egypt was a call from sin, and the Sabbath was to be a sign of the call from the rudiments of the world to the higher life, where the power of God is recognized as the all-sustaining force in the world. Thus the Sabbath becomes the sign of the second work for man—the delivering from sin's cursed power. THE STEP OF SANCTIFICATION
The third great work for man after he has been released from the power of Satan's rule is the work of developing in him the higher life, that spiritual power which will fit him for a place in the everlasting kingdom of God's love. First is creation, then deliverance, and then sanctification. The same power which first brings us forth, and then saves us from the death-dealing poisons of sin, is set for the purpose of working in us His own life, and bringing us forth ready for a place with all the redeemed. Eze. 20:12 says: "Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." This text represents the Sabbath as a sign that God is sanctifying His people. God calls it His sign of that very work. So it comes to man as a sign of all that God has done or will do for the development of a people peculiar to Himself. THE INSIGNIA OF SEPARATION
Further, then, as it is necessary for every one to recognize God's power as Creator and Sustainer in his own individual existence, so is it necessary for every one to experience God's power to deliver and separate from sin in the daily life. The Sabbath as a sign of delivering power must come as an evidence of God at work separating us from the world about us. Some may argue that the commandment simply calls for one day's rest out of each seven, but the one-day-in-seven argument surely does not show the separation from the world that is essential to salvation. Millions who make but little if any pretension to the faith of Jesus, formally recognize one day in seven; but as soon as any one steps out in full obedience to the law of God on this point, it is made very evident to him that he must come out and be separate, he must leave Egypt would he serve God aright. So to-day the Sabbath is a sign of God at work bringing forth His people from the elements of the world and establishing them as true followers of the truth as it is in Jesus. Again, sanctification must be a living experience. It can not be a theory. But as ancient Israel had to learn that God's way alone would lead to Canaan, so the child of God to-day must learn that only as the Christ life is lived in him can he expect to get that holiness without which no man can see the Lord. Thus the Sabbath becomes a great moral force. It continually leads man to see how only he can get back into life with his God. Given in love from the very beginning, it ever holds out to man the possibilities before him, and leads him on to the life and light which measure existence with the Infinite. Refined in the Furnace of Affliction
By Isaiah
FOR My name's sake will I defer Mine anger, and for My praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.—Isaiah. Is the World Growing Better?
By E. Hilliard
What the Prophetic Word and the Statistics Reveal on the Subject
MILLIONS in the scientific and religious world tell us that the world is getting better. But what are the facts in the case? From both a Scriptural and a statistical standpoint there is irrefragable evidence that we are not approaching a better condition of things in the social world. Religious teachers measure the fancied progress in morality and Christianity with progress in mechanical invention, and declare that the former is keeping pace with the latter. A BISHOP ON SOCIAL CONDITIONS
Under such conditions, it is refreshing to find a few men here and there, in high religious positions, who are not afraid to speak forth their convictions relative to the alarming increase of evil. Such a one is Bishop William M. Bell, of Los Angeles, California. In the Los Angeles Tribune of December 24, under the bold heading, "Pause, Repent, Resolve to Be Better," he gave expression to the following sentiments: "How far short of the incarnation of the Spirit and message of the Saviour of mankind, whose advent we now celebrate, is the present age and civilization! Turn where we will, the heart is soon pained to witness the many indications of our fearful lack in this respect. "In our own fair city, crime is rampant, and both state and church are comparatively inefficient in eliminating it. A messenger boy in his tender teens is ruthlessly slain by a couple of murderers who in advance are willing to snuff out a human life for fewer pieces of silver than were required by the heartless Judas Iscariot. "Society is not half aroused to the sins that lurk in the social order. Individual and corporation rapacity is such as to continue with no blush of shame to exploit the helpless, and men in official position sell themselves and the public welfare for a song. "Many men who are given official honor and trusteeship by the people are almost immediately corrupted and fall from integrity. Men of high ideals compromise with evil for the sake of political preferment, and assume public office with the collar of preferred interests about their necks. "In the midst of our holiday felicitations let us pause to repent of our sins and set our lives in the key of the peace on earth and good will toward men." What a deplorable state of things! Society seems rotten to the core, and the whole social fabric ready to crumble and fall. And yet men will tell us, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that the world is growing better. Both the Bible and statistics clearly prove otherwise. PROPHETIC OF THESE CONDITIONS
The inspired apostle gives no encouragement that our social conditions will be improved, but rather to the contrary informs us that "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." 2 Tim. 3:13. Statistics relative to the rapid increase of crime clearly reveal whither the social world is drifting. The Hon. I. C. Parker, judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, has said: "When we go to the facts, we find that during the last six years there have been 43,902 homicides in the United States, an average of 7,317 per year. In the same time there have been 723 legal executions, and 1,118 lynchings. [Italics his.] These startling figures show that crime is rapidly increasing, instead of diminishing. In the year 1895, 10,500 persons were killed, or at the rate of 875 per month; whereas in 1890 there were only 4,290, or less than half as many as in 1895. This bloody record shows a fearful increase of the crime that destroys human life." CRIME MORE THAN SIX HUNDRED FOLD
The rapid increase of crime is not confined to the United States. According to the following excerpt from Blackwood's Magazine, the same conditions exist in Europe: "For the past seventy years crime has increased in England 700 per cent, in Ireland 800 per cent; while the entire population within this period has increased but sixty-five per cent. This certainly shows progress in immorality. It has been estimated, also, that England has 100,000 professional thieves and suspected persons, and 400,000 prostitutes, and that the cost of crime is fifty times more than that expended for religion." Now with crime more than 600 per cent in advance of the growing population, who can expect to be believed when he says that the world is growing better? All we can7 hope for out of the teeming corruption is the renovation of a few sinful hearts that are willing to meet the conditions of salvation through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. In view of the prevailing iniquity, let us heed the admonition of our Saviour: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." DISTRUST — ah, what a wicked thing it is!
For why should I, a creature of the dust,
Not full confide in the eternal God?
Yea, trust to Him my transient life I must.
There's no escaping from His wondrous ken.
If to the heavens I would go, He's there;
If to the grave, e'en there I'm made to fear.
Then why not trust Him now and everywhere?
Why not confide in Him who is my life?
For in Him I must one day sure abide,
If, when the desolating storm shall break,
A place I'd find wherein secure to hide.
Then why not trust and love Him now,
And find in Him a faithful friend most dear —
A friend who loves and succors to the end —
And thus rise high above this earth-born fear,
A fear that always has a downward trend?
Ah, this His grace enables me to do;
For perfect love casts out all haunting fear,
And makes us one with Him who's ever true.
O, now I rise the prefix “dis” above,
And own no sentiment or word but “trust,”
While viewing Him who is my King from choice,
And not because acknowledge Him I must.
C. P. BOLLMAN. The Conflicting Demands— "Worship Him"
By E. W. Farnsworth
IN worship we reach the highest act possible. To worship what we ought not is a heinous sin. Every act of worship we can perform belongs to God alone. "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." To serve or worship anything but God is the highest treason of which man can be guilty. When Satan reached the climax in tempting the Son of God, he took Him up on an exceeding high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and then said, "All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me." In His previous temptations, Christ had met His adversary calmly and patiently with the words, "It is written"; but at the suggestion that He could save the world by choosing another path than that which led to Calvary, that He should worship any other being than God, He turned upon Satan with the stern rebuke, "Get thee behind Me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." There is in this experience a lesson for us. Temptations to worship Satan in different forms are not lacking. We have "saint-worship," "hero-worship," "mammon-worship," "the idolatry of fashion," of worldly position, pleasure, fame, and other objects too numerous to mention. It is the same cunning deception repeated in different guise, that we may not be alarmed and realize our danger. With many—very many—self is the object of adoration. To it everything must bow, and nothing must interfere with the homage given to the self-god. At this very time when false worship is so prevalent, a startling, thrilling message is being given, attended with heavenly power, and it rings throughout the length and breadth of the earth, calling upon the millions bowing in homage to the god of this world, "saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His Judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Rev. 14:7. But another voice will be heard at the same time, speaking with all the emphasis of the dragon, exercising all the power of the beast before him, and he "causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast [the papacy], whose deadly wound was healed." Rev. 13:12. We here find two proclamations diametrically opposed to each other. There is direct, decisive conflict between them. One calls upon men to worship God. The other will try to compel them to worship an earthly power, and will "cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." Rev. 13:15. Obedience is the highest form of worship. Had Christ yielded to the demands of Satan, He would have worshiped him. If we choose to obey any other power than God, we worship it. To enable us to sense the danger, that we may not yield obedience to any other than God Himself, this special warning is sent, exhorting us to fear God only, to worship Him only, for He is the Creator, and the only one worthy our adoration. Every temptation calling us to worship and obey any power but the Creator may be met and conquered by the word, "It is written." By the Scriptures we are to test every claim. They are to be the search-light thrown on every scheme of the enemy who would lure us to destruction. By heeding their warning, by obeying their precepts, we may be able to fear and worship God in truth, and He is seeking such to worship Him. "The Spirit of God Moved"
By Max Hill
"IN the beginning . . . the Spirit of God moved." When the earth was "without form, and void: and darkness was upon the face of the deep," it was God's Spirit that moved, that brought a change. "Moved"—"brooded," one good translation has it. Then there was but the waste, watery material of the earth to be moved, to be formed and divided and made into a fit dwelling-place for the creatures of God's hand. As soon as there were other objects upon which to move, that same Spirit of God moved upon them. Above all, man came under its influence; and from the wonderful day of creation to this hour—until the close of time, and on into the limitless cycles of eternity—the Spirit of God moves. By the movings of the Spirit Enoch "walked with God: and he was not; for God took him"—took him into heaven with Himself. The Spirit of God makes men the friends of God. The Spirit of God in the heart leads men into the presence of God. Noah heard the voice of the Spirit, and preached the gospel to his generation; preached it to jeering multitudes whose very thoughts were only evil continually; preached it when the very years seemed to mock him; preached when friends and relatives spurned the message and turned to the round of pleasure and wickedness; preached in the power of that moving Spirit of God till the Flood came and answered his faith. Abraham was moved to go out from his father's land to a better country, where he and his posterity might serve God aright; and, never doubting, he followed the Spirit's leading, gained the wonderful title of "father of the faithful," and came into possession, by faith, of an inheritance that will one day be the blessed abode of all the ransomed. Thus were the patriarchs and prophets of old guided by the Spirit. By its movings the course of life was marked out, secrets were revealed, the future was made plain as a written scroll. By it the sick have been healed, the dead raised to life, the powers of darkness repelled and defeated. It has led through fire and flood, through sufferings of cross and sword, through trial and death, always to victory—the guide, the teacher, the comforter. Its very last work in this world, and for this world, is definitely told. With the bride of the Lamb, the church of God, it gives the last gospel invitation, "Come." The part of man is to yield to its influence. The rewards of obedience richly repay the sacrifice. "The truth is not to be practised only when we feel like it, but at all times and in all places. The Lord is not served by man's hasty impulse or his fitful performances." LIGHT—SHALL WE HAVE THE BENEFITS?
By A. G. D.
"In Thy light shall we see light." Ps. 36:9. To see light in God's light is to look at things as God looks at them. It is to place the estimate upon the things of this world that God places upon them. It is to value the gospel as He values it. It is to view every incident of life—every trial, every perplexity, every so-called misfortune, every blessing—all as God views them. This is to see light in God's light. And this is one of the greatest blessings that it is possible for man to enjoy. The light of this world is the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "I am the light of the world." John 8:12. Said John, "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5. Christ is light, not for Himself alone, nor for heaven, but for this poor, dark world. John says that He is that "true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9. Said Christ: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12. The psalmist bears witness to this, and says, "The Lord is my light." Ps. 27:1. He will be the light of every one who will receive Him. God reveals His light to men through His word. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path," said David. Again: "The entrance of Thy words giveth light." Ps. 119:105, 130. Of the Sacred Scriptures, the apostle Peter says, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." 2 Peter 1:19. Thus the light, the wisdom, the mind of God, is communicated to men. PREFERRING DARKNESS TO LIGHT
The natural abode of sinful man is darkness, and the majority prefer that darkness to the light of heaven. "Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." Isa. 60:2, R.V. The mind has been so warped by sin that men "call evil good, and good evil," and "put darkness for light, and light for darkness." Isa. 5:20. The Saviour said, "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John 3:19. God desires that every man should have His light. He says, "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." Ps. 97:11. David believed this, and said, "For Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." Ps. 18:28. It is the privilege of every one to say: "When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. . . . He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness." Micah 7:8, 9. RECEIVE LIGHT AND BECOME A LIGHT-BEARER
God gives His light to men, not only for their personal good, but for the good of those with whom they associate. He designs that every one who receives light shall carry it to others. This glorious truth is forcibly presented by the apostle Paul in the account he gives of meeting Jesus on the way to Damascus. At midday he saw a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun. A voice spoke to him, saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" He inquired, "Who art Thou, Lord?" The answer was: "I am Jesus. . . . I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee . . . a witness" to the Gentiles, "to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." Acts 26:12-18. This is an exalted privilege, and it is for every one who receives the gospel. Peter says, "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the virtues [margin] of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9. A PRIVILEGE AND HONOR TO BE PRIZED
Christians do not prize this privilege, this great honor, as they should. Every one who has been brought from the dense darkness of this world into God's marvelous light should ever pray with the psalmist, "O send out Thy light and Thy truth." Ps. 43:3. And none should ever forget that if this prayer is to be answered, they who have the light are ordained to be light-bearers, and hence must be ready to help in answering the prayer. Job took the light of the Lord and "walked through darkness," that others might have light. Job 29:3. Christ says, "Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." John 12:35. The light has gone out of many a soul because of failure to shine for others. "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Rom. 13:12. THE NOBLEST WORK—SOUL-WINNING
The noblest, greatest work in which man can engage is winning souls for the kingdom of God. There are many kinds of work which are good in themselves and which merit reward. It is a good deed to give food to a hungry child. It is commendable to visit the sick and to minister to their necessities. Supplying fuel to a helpless widow in her poverty is a praiseworthy act. Some good works are more excellent than others, but all are to be respected, and the doers thereof will surely be rewarded either in this life or in the life to come. However, there is one work that transcends all others, both in the reward given and in real intrinsic value. That work is winning souls to the service of God, and helping them to gain eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. Why is this the greatest of all good works?—It is because man, created by God, made and fashioned in the image of his Maker, capable of a development which makes him superior to any earthly thing, is of priceless value in the sight of heaven. THE GREAT PRICE THAT WAS PAID
Nothing proves the great worth of man in the estimation of his Maker more than the price God was willing to pay for man's salvation. The wonderful statement, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," shows the price that God volunteered to pay for man's salvation. In the parables of the lost pieces of silver and the lost sheep, Christ showed how heaven looks upon man, no matter how deep in sin, or wandering how far from the fold. Surely nothing could speak more plainly of the value that God places on the lost than His infinite effort to redeem man and bring him back to God. "Lord, whence are these blood-drops all the way,
That mark out the mountain's track?
They were shed for one who had gone astray,
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.
Lord, why are Thy hands so rent and torn?
They are pierced to-night by many a thorn."73 Speaking of the kingdom of heaven and of its worth to those who shall enter, our Saviour used the following language: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Matt. 13:44-46. The Bible speaks often of the value of souls. In the book of Proverbs, we are told by one who gave his heart to seek out wisdom, "He that winneth souls is wise." And the apostle James added these words, which have echoed down the ages, and have been read wherever the word of God has been preached: "He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Referring to His own great mission, Jesus said, "The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." And to His disciples He said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." The example of the life and work of the apostle to the Gentiles, who counted himself a "debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise," should lead the church to spend and to be spent, that souls may be born into the kingdom of God. Hear Paul's testimony concerning the worth of souls: "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Rom. 9:1-3. It was a consuming zeal for soul-winning that burned in the heart of Paul, as, unwearied by continued labor, he journeyed from city to city, from country to country, as the ambassador of his King. THE PASSION FOR SOUL-WINNING
Men who have lived close to God have ever felt this passion for souls. Doddridge said: "I long for the conversion of souls more sensibly than for anything besides. Methinks I could not only labor but die for it with delight." Matthew Henry said, "I would think it a greater happiness to win one soul for Christ than to gain mountains of gold and silver for myself." It is said that Brainerd, a man seasoned in service and suffering for Christ, said of himself: "I cared not where or how I lived or what hardships I went through if only I could win souls to Christ. While I was asleep, I dreamed of these things; when I waked, my first thought was of this great work." The same consuming desire to win souls to Christ glowed in the hearts of such men as Wesley, Whitefield, Rowland Hill, Moody, and others who gave their all to bring sinners to Christ. The duty of soul-winning does not belong wholly to the ministry, though it must become their passion, but it rests also upon the entire church of Christ. To enlarge and extend the dominion of our Lord, and to gather into His fold those in bondage to sin, is the duty and it should be the privilege of every Christian. It must be the chief business of every converted soul. No zeal for anything else will take the place of winning souls to Christ. That should be, it must be, the great, supreme motive controlling the life. The reward is commensurate with the importance of the work. "They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." Let us see to it that our labor is such as will endure the test of fire, spoken of by Paul; for "the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." And "if any man's work abide,"—such is the condition,—"he shall receive a reward." A WORD TO OUR READERS
By Editor
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By I. H. E.
"The sunset burns across the sky;
Upon the air its warning cry
The curfew tolls from tower to tower;
O Christians, 'tis the last, last hour!" "The work that centuries might have done
Must crowd the hour of setting sun,
And through all lands the saving Name
Ye must in fervent haste proclaim." "It is a vineyard of red wine,
Wherein shall purple clusters shine;
The branches of His own right hand
Shall overspread Immanuel's land." "The fields are white to harvest. Weep,
O tardy workers, as ye reap,
For wasted hours that might have won
Rich harvest ere the set of sun."
I. H. E. Evolution
By Mabel Corinne Craker
EMPEDOCLES, the ancient Grecian, once
Conceived the the'ry that by chance arose
From out the playing of the elements
With nature's forces, mingling and opposed,
Small fragments of some quiv'ring atom life,
Which, joined together by mere accident,
Became some monstrous individuals
That nature much abhorred. Her skill she lent,
And soon survived the "fit" of species new. Shall we to old Empedocles assent,
And say that man from lower forms evolved?
And shall we give our feeble brains the task
Creation's great hypothesis to solve?
If man is an improvement on the ape,
In peril great is he. In time, perchance,
He might degenerate, and find at last
Some caudal or as queer appendages.
'Tis true that giants lived in days of old;
That we to-day are smaller far than they;
But man is man, and ape is ape, the same
As when the bounds were set creation's day. THE SPECULATIONS OF EVOLUTION
Could Atoms Chance to Fall Together and Produce Life? — Are We Going toward or from the Monkey? — Darwin's Theory Requires Law of Hate for Its Success COMMENTING on the evolutionary theories of creation, an article in the Times Literary Supplement of June 9, 1905, says: "Never was seen such a melee. The humor of it is that they all claim to represent science, . . . yet it would puzzle them to point to a theological battle-field exhibiting more uncertainty, obscurity, dissension, assumption, and fallacy than their own. For the plain truth is, that there is not a single point in which all agree. Battling for evolution, they have torn it to pieces. Nothing is left — nothing at all, on their showing, save a few fragments strewn about the arena." Lord Kelvin wrote, in the London Times, May 4, 1903: "Was there anything so absurd as to believe that a number of atoms, by falling together of their own accord, could make a sprig of moss, a microbe, a living animal? . . . It is utterly absurd. . . . Here scientific thought is compelled to accept the idea of creative power. Forty years ago I asked Liebig . . . if he believed that the grass and flowers, which we saw around us, grew by mere mechanical forces. He answered, 'No, no more than I could believe that a book of botany describing them could grow by mere chemical force.'" Lord Kelvin also said to a class of medical students, October 28, 1904: "Let them not imagine that any hocus-pocus of electricity or viscous fluids would make a living cell. . . . Nothing approaching to a cell of a living creature has ever yet been made. . . . No artificial process whatever could make living matter out of dead." HIS EARLIEST STATE THE BEST
Sir J. W. Dawson says that "man's earliest state was his best"; and further, "No remains of intermediate forms are yet known to science." ("Scripture of Truth," pages 214, 215.) Professor Owen says, "Man is the sole species of his genus, and the sole representative of his species." (Ibid.) THE TESTIMONY OF NATURAL HISTORY
Perhaps the most unanswerable testimony against the Darwinian theory of the transmutation of species is that given in the following conversation. Professor Post, a scientific gentleman from Syria, visited the British Museum of Natural History in 1885. He was associated, during his visit, with Mr. Ethridge, who was considered one of the foremost experts in that great institution. "Professor Post asked Mr. Ethridge to show him, in that museum, some proofs of Darwin's theory, and he was astonished when so great an expert said: 'In all this great museum there is not a particle of evidence of transmutation of species. . . . It is not founded on observation and facts. The talk of the antiquity of man is of the same value. There is no such thing as fossil man. I have read all their books, but they make no impression. This museum is full of proofs of the utter falsity of such views.'" — "Inspiration of the Bible," Forlong.