We wish to call especial attention to the above important publication. It is now undergoing thorough revision as rapidly as is consistent with thoroughness and other circumstances. Some of the last numbers issued and about to be issued are as follows:—
Who Changed the Sabbath?
No. 107. This is the old title of a new and much better tract. It should be circulated everywhere. It shows by the Scripture who did not change and who would seek to change the day, and it confirms the Scripture testimony by Roman Catholic and Protestant witnesses. Price 3 cents.
Life, Its Source and Purpose.
No. 108. This is a ten-cent pamphlet by Elder Wm. Covert, on the positive side of the life question. It shows how we may obtain life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The last chapter, and there are nine in the little work, is worth the price of the pamphlet. Price 10 cents.
Tormented Forever and Ever;
Or God's Test of Immortality.
No. 111. This tract of 16 pages treats on the fearful fate of the wicked, as shown by such texts as Rev. 14:11; 20:10; 19:3; Matt. 25: 41, 46; Mark 9: 43-48, and others, in a new and reasonable light. Read and circulate. Price 2 cents.
Spiritualism: Its Source and Character.
No. 112. This tract contains all that is worth preserving in Nos. 12 and 13, and more. It is both of these 32-page tracts combined in one 24 page, and is worthy of a wide circulation. Price 3 cents.
The Christian Sabbath,
From a Roman Catholic view-point.
No. 113. This is the reprint, by importunate request, of the articles in the Catholic Mirror which have recently appeared in the American Sentinel. It shows very conclusively the inconsistency of Protestants in holding to Sunday as a Bible Sabbath, and that while professing to go by the Bible and the Bible alone, they are following the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. Price 4 cents.
The Identical Seventh Day.
No. 114. There are three stock objections brought against the Sabbath: (1) THE ROUND WORLD, (2) THE QUESTION OF LOST TIME, and (3) THE SEVENTH PART OF TIME. These questions have hitherto been considered in three tracts, Nos. 7, 21, and 39, aggregating 64 pp. These three numbers are now discontinued, and these questions are treated clearly in a tract of 16 pages. All essential arguments are given in No. 114, "The Identical Seventh Day." Price 2 cents.
No. 115. This is a revision of what was once No. 5. But as it needed revision, and as the former title was to some extent a misnomer, it has been revised and issued under the above number. Price 2 cents.
The First Number for January, 1894, is
The Sabbath School Lessons on Luke.
No. 116. There will be one year's lessons on this book, and each quarter's lessons should be preserved. Price 5 cents.
Prophetic Lights. (January, Extra.)
No. 117. This is that most worthy little work written by Elder E. J. Waggoner some years ago. It is just the book for circulation among those who know not the truth. It is finely illustrated, and is issued as a number of the Library at 50 cents.
Christ Tempted as We Are.
No. 118. By Mrs. E. G. White. This is a most precious, comforting, and strengthening number. Price 2 cents.
Order by number. Address, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.
AD LUCEM.
This is a little book of consolation for those who are "afflicted in mind, body, or estate." The selections are brief, and as the compiler says, quoting from George Herbert, "a verse may finde him who a sermon flies."
The book contains 150 pages, including a complete Topical Index and an Index of Authors. It is neatly bound in morocco, has round corners and red under gold edges. Size, 4x6 inches.
PRICE, POSTPAID, $1.75. Address,
PACIFIC PRESS PUB. CO.,
Or 43 Bond St., N. Y. OAKLAND, CAL.
TEACHER'S BIBLES
GENUINE OXFORD EDITIONS
From $1.25 to $20.00 in price. Send for price list.
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO., . . . OAKLAND, CAL.
ANGELS; THEIR NATURE AND MINISTRY. Contains also some hints on the origin, history, and destiny of Satan as gleaned from the Scriptures. Bible Students' Library, No. 8 Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. 140 pp.; 20 cents.
International S. S. Lessons.
"So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." —Neh. 8:8
LESSON IV.—SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 1894.
(NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson; it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as is the common version.)
GOD'S COVENANT WITH NOAH.
Lesson Scripture, Gen. 9: 8-17.
8. And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying.
9. And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;
10. And with every living creature that is with you, the fowl, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.
11. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
12. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
13. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud.
15. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
17. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.
Golden Text.—"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." Gen. 9: 13.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. What was the moral condition of the world in the days of Noah?
"And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Gen. 6: 5.
2. What did God determine to do?
"And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth." Gen. 6: 13.
3. For how long did he lengthen their time of probation?
"And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for that he also is flesh; yet shall his days be an hundred and twenty years." Gen. 6: 3.
4. What righteous man did the Lord find at that time to whom he revealed his purposes?
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God." Gen. 6: 8, 9.
5. Does God send judgments on the world unwarned?
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos 3: 7.
6. What was the character of Noah's work?
Answer.—"A preacher of righteousness." See 2 Peter 2: 5; 1 Peter 3: 19, 20.
7. By what two operations of nature was the flood produced?
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." Gen. 7: 11.
8. How much of the earth was covered? Note 1.
"And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered." Gen. 7: 19.
9. As Noah came forth from the ark, what did the Lord say he would establish with him? Verses 8-10, lesson scripture.
10. What was that covenant? Verse 11.
11. What was the token of that covenant? Verses 12, 13.
12. For how long was this to be a token? and to how many? Verses 12, 17.
13. What would the Lord remember as he looked upon this bow? Verses 14, 15.
14. What does the Lord call this covenant of which the rainbow is a token? Verse 16.
15. Where is the divine counterpart of the earthly token? Ans.—Around the throne of God. See Rev. 4: 3; Eze. 1: 28.
16. Will it be likely that God can forget man, with the bow ever before him? Note 2.
NOTES.
1. Under the whole heaven.—What right have men to limit such expressions as "the earth," "everything that is in the earth," "all the earth," "every living thing," "all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered,"—what right have men to use such expressions as limited to a little tract of land in Asia? There are evidences all over the world, and among most peoples, of a flood. Why say, as do some scientists, that many of the various parts of the earth have been submerged at different times? Why not admit that they were all submerged when God said they were? It was not mere rain which caused the flood; "the fountains of the great deep were broken up," and doubtless the whole face, form, contour, or arrangement (kosmos) of nature was changed. For aught that we know, there was but one body of land, one central continent, and the present continents came from the ocean bed after the deluge. But the believer in Jesus Christ will desire no better attestation of the flood than is given by our Lord and his apostle. Read Matt. 24: 37-39; Luke 7: 26, 27; 2 Peter 3: 3-6.
2. I will remember my covenant.—God never forgets, but he places before us his tokens, speaks to us in the language of men, and assures us that these very things which our eyes see and mind remembers, are also before him. The rainbow in the cloud is the token of God's mercy to fallen man. It is the glorious light which shines from the incomprehensible clouds which sometimes veil his wise designs for his children. His throne, rainbow encircled, is a throne of mercy. The wild storm clouds reveal the same merciful token, showing that God's sun of light and love and blessing is still shining. It is the token of God's everlasting covenant in the blood of Christ, an emblem of his gracious promise for the salvation of all.
LESSON IV.—SABBATH, JANUARY 27, 1894.
THE PROPHECY OF ZACHARIAS, AND THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.
Lesson Scripture, Luke 1: 67 to 2: 7.
67. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,
69. And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70. (As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began),
71. Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72. To show mercy towards our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73. The oath which he swore unto Abraham our father,
74. To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies should serve him without fear,
75. In holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76. Yea and thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways;
77. To give knowledge of salvation unto his people in the remission of their sins.
78. Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high shall visit us,
79. To shine upon them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet in the way of peace.
80. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.
1. Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled.
2. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3. And all went to enroll themselves, everyone to his own city.
4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
5. To enroll himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child.
6. And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered.
7. And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
LESSON SUMMARY.—The heading of this lesson is a sufficient analysis. It contains just those two topics. The remainder of the first chapter of Luke, from verse 67, with the exception of the last verse, consists of the thanksgiving and prophecy uttered by Zacharias. The first seven verses of chapter 2 relate the simple incidents connected with the birth of Christ. Since in this lesson we complete the first chapter of Luke, let us briefly summarize it, so that we can ever after carry with us a picture of its contents: Introduction; Gabriel's visit to Zacharias; Gabriel's visit to Mary; Mary's visit to Elizabeth; birth of John the Baptist; prophecy of Zacharias. If the chapter has been carefully studied, this synopsis will serve to bring to mind all the details.
With what was Zacharias filled when his tongue was loosed?
For what did he bless the God of Israel?
What did he say that God had raised up?
How had God spoken this promise?
From what had God promised that his people should be saved?
What did Zacharias say that God had remembered?
To whom was this covenant made, and how sure was it?
What deliverance was granted by this covenant?
What does this deliverance from our enemies enable us to do?
What did Zacharias say that John should be called? Why?
For what purpose should he go before the Lord?
How was he to give knowledge of salvation?
Through what does remission of sins come?
What does the dayspring, or sunrising, from on high do for us?
Into what does it guide our feet?
Where did John stay until time for his work as a prophet?
What decree went forth about the time of the events recorded in the first chapter of Luke? (See margin and Revised Version.)
To what place did Joseph go to be enrolled?
Who accompanied him?
In what place was the promised Child born?
Why was he born in this lowly place?
Though he was laid in a manger, what was his by right? Luke 1: 32.
As the little helpless Infant lay in the manger, what command was given? Heb. 1: 9.
NOTES.
1. "He hath visited and redeemed His people." This was literally true. God had visited his people; he had redeemed them. Many times had he wrought special deliverance for them, and continually had he been at work redeeming souls from destruction. And now at the birth of John the people were about to see God's promise confirmed by the blood of Christ, even as it had been long before by his oath.
2. THIS redemption "from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us," is salvation from sin. This is shown by the fact that, "being delivered out of the hand of our enemies," we are able to "serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life." God does deliver from sin and from the power of darkness, for that is the sole purpose for which Christ came into the world.
3. THE deliverance from sin is in performance of the oath of God to Abraham. It is a manifestation of the mercy of God. It is salvation, the knowledge of which comes "by the remission of sin." And this is what the promise to Abraham embraced. "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4: 13.
4. THERE is power in the mercy of God. The Psalmist says: "For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great [literally, "so mighty"] is his mercy toward them that fear him." Ps. 103: 11. The tender mercy of our God can cleanse from sin, and can do for us "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Eph. 3: 20.
5. "As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began." All the prophets gave witness to Christ; and in them all is175taught the remission of sin through faith in him. See Acts 10: 43. They testify not only of the sufferings of Christ, but of the glory to follow. 1 Peter 1: 10, 11. In fact, there is nothing else in the Bible but salvation through Christ, for that is the one work that God is doing for man, Moreover, this salvation does not rest on the authority of man. It was God who spoke by the mouth of his apostles and prophets. See Acts 1: 16; 3: 21; 4: 25; 2 Sam. 23: 1, 2. Paul says: 'When ye receive the word of God which ye heard of us, ye receive it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.' 1 Thess. 2: 13. Thus the Bible is literally and emphatically the word of God. If we receive it as such, we may as truly hear God speak to us as did Abraham, although not with an audible voice. But it is as truly the word of God, and is as fresh, as if we heard it with our ears.
News and Notes.
By Editor
FOR THE WEEK ENDING JANUARY 8.
RELIGIOUS.
—The National Reformers are persistent in their claim that this is a Christian nation, and are, at the same time, loud in their complaints that it does not acknowledge God in its fundamental law. What would be thought of the Christianity of an individual who did not acknowledge God?
—Bishop Foster, of the M. E. Church, who recently returned from a tour in the Orient, says: "The Catholic missions are more numerous than those of the Protestant churches, and are conspicuously strong. I can give no personal judgment as to the work, but I know that they are very widely extended and have great influence."
—A St. Paul dispatch announces a great sensation because Mrs. Frances B. Clarke, the wealthiest woman in Minnesota, has left the Episcopal Church to become a Catholic. There is no occasion for a sensation about the change—it was only a step, and many others are doing likewise, especially in England, the cradle of Episcopalianism.
—A bill is now before the South Carolina Legislature which provides for the prohibition of railway trains on Sunday. It is said to have the sanction of the governor. Just how the State will manage to stop the running of trains carrying the U. S. mails remains to be seen. Interference by an individual with the transmission of the mails is a serious offense against federal law.
—Rev. Wilbur F. Crafts has resigned the editorship of the Christian Statesman, in the expectation of a resident pastorate in or near Washington, D. C., where he hopes to be able to establish a Bureau of Reforms. He deems such a bureau essential in order "to focus the Christian sentiment of the land by petitions, letters, and hearings against the Catholic and Liquor Bureaus already established and effective at the capital, and other un-American elements in the lobby."
—A recent pastoral letter of the Hungarian bishop invokes the authority of the apostles in contending that obedience is due to God rather than men, and declares that the government bills in regard to mixed marriages, civil marriages, etc., are breaches of Catholic dogma, and counteract the fundamental principles of Christianity. It calls upon all Catholics to support the pastors and jointly defend the rights of the church, and says that their actions in public affairs must be governed by this object.
—An ex-convict has been imposing upon the Protestant ministers of St. Louis, representing himself as an ex-priest desirous of doing missionary work among the Catholics. He presented forged letters of recommendation from prominent ministers elsewhere. When at last he was confronted with evidences of his fraudulent representations, he confessed and was arrested. He had in his pocket a list of all the city ministers. He also confessed to being wanted in Chicago for grave robbery.
—The Union Signal (W. C. T. U. organ) says "the State should recognize the sovereignty of Christ in its fundamental law." This sentiment is also indorsed by all the other elements in the so-called National Reform combination. Yet they all unite in demands for compulsory recognition of religious institutions, a principle which Christ never inculcated either by precept or example. If Christ be the sovereign of this nation, then all Sunday laws and kindred enactments are rebellions in their nature; for Christ did not encourage a compulsory Sabbath observance on the part of the Gentiles, or compulsory religious action of any kind. He did not enjoin the compulsory observance even of the Sabbath which he himself kept, much less of the counterfeit institution set up as a rival of the day which he had sanctioned.
—Some of our most strenuous workers in the cause of enforced Sunday observance are also making a show of great hostility to the Catholics. It seems like trying to kill a tree by lopping off a few branches while carefully cultivating the roots.
—A Fargo, N. D., dispatch says that Bishop Shanley, of the diocese of Jamestown, has issued a circular in which he says: "Rev. Jerome Hunt, O.S.B., missionary among the Sioux Indians at Fort Totten, N. D., is one of the best living authorities in matters pertaining to the Sioux language. He has written and published a catechism, a prayer book, and hymn book in Sioux, and is editor and publisher of a monthly periodical in the same language, entitled Sina Sapa Wokicuye Taeyanpaha, that is, 'The Herald of the Black Gowns (Catholic Church)." The bishop calls for financial aid for a proposed translation and publication of a Bible history in the Sioux language.
—The Occident speaks of Monsignor Satolli, the papal delegate, as "an Italian gentleman by courtesy residing at Washington." This is simply another specimen of the tendency toward intolerance on the part of professed Protestantism. If Satolli is an Italian gentleman, he is residing in Washington by right, and not by courtesy. We do not agree with Satolli, any more than does the Occident, when he says, "The more public opinion and the government favor the Catholic schools, more and more will the welfare of the commonwealth be advanced." But when Protestants assume that allowing the advocacy of any religion in a legal manner, by whomsoever its adherents may choose, is a mere matter of courtesy on the part of the government, they assume a position that has long been condemned by Protestants as Catholic ground.
—On New Year's day there was unveiled in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, a large stone cross fifty-seven feet high, including the pedestal of seven feet. It is composed of sixty-eight pieces of stone, whose aggregate weight is 600,000 pounds. The monument is the gift of George W. Childs, of Philadelphia, and is "a memorial of the services held on the shore of Drake's Bay, about St. John the Baptist's day, June 24, 1579, by Francis Fletcher, priest of the Church of England, chaplain of Sir Francis Drake, chronicler of the services." Drake's Bay is a slight indenture in the Pacific shore, a few miles north of the entrance to San Francisco Harbor. The occasion, on the inscription says, was the "first Christian service in the English tongue on our coast, first use of the Book of Common Prayer in our country, and one of the first recorded missionary prayers on our continent."
SECULAR.
—Fire destroyed about $750,000 worth of property in Toledo, Ohio, on the night of the 3d inst.
—The Joliet, Ill., branch of the Consolidated Steel and Wire Company has closed, and as a consequence 900 men are idle.
—Reports from the Samoan Islands say that since the departure of the war ships from Apia the natives are manifesting their old-time restlessness.
—The banking house of Porty and Bressy, at Saluzzo, Italy, has failed for $1,000,000, and the senior member of the house has committed suicide.
—The government of Austria has decided to make the manufacture of dynamite and other explosives a State regulated monopoly under control of the War Department.
—A member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, who has returned to the capital from Sicily, says it is famine and not politics that has induced the masses to revolt.
—At Ottumwa, Iowa, the citizens have decided to buy standing timber and give their unemployed male population work at cutting it down and converting it into cordwood.
—Congressman Maguire, of California, has introduced a bill for the establishment of a postal telegraph system, under the supervision of the Post Office Department.
—London dispatches report very cold weather in Great Britain and on the Continent, and in Vienna it is said that many people are in the hospitals suffering from being frostbitten.
—The offer of the pope to mediate in the trouble between the governments of Peru and Ecuador has been accepted, but it is stated that both countries continue military preparations.
—A Baptist evangelist at Sanger, Cal., took occasion last week to speak very harshly of a leading citizen. The next evening, on his way from church, he was greeted with a shower of rotten eggs.
—The latest news from Honolulu indicates political unrest and uncertainty, constantly increased by the indefinite action of the United States Government. The acknowledged power of this government is no doubt the means of keeping the two parties in Hawaii from open war, but the influence is being wielded at an immense expense—not only of money, but of political harmony at home.
—A Victoria dispatch states that large quantities of Chinese silver and Straits Settlements dimes, which had been bought up at thirty cents on the dollar, have been distributed in various parts of British Columbia.
—Dr. West, who is charged with the murder of Ada Gilmore, in San Francisco, last fall, has been swindled out of nearly all his money by one of his lawyers, and now has next to nothing left wherewith to defend himself.
—At Ashland, Oregon, on New Year's day, 1,000 children were each given a slice of mince pie with a half dollar inside of it. The pie was twenty-two feet in circumference, four inches thick, and weighed nearly five hundred pounds.
—Advices from Shanghai state that while the emperor of China was proceeding to his winter palace bandits attacked the procession and secured a large quantity of valuables. They are also said to have kidnapped several imperial officials.
—Ten Spanish Anarchists arrested at Barcelona have been turned over to the military authorities for trial. The pretext for the transfer is injury of General Campos by one of their explosives. It is deemed probable that they will all be shot.
—A Lansing, Mich., dispatch announces a new secret political order, whose national committee met in that city last week. It is said to be non-partisan and non-sectarian, is entitled the Order of Loyal Americans, and is conducted in a semi-military style.
—Chihuahua, Mexico, advices state that heavy snows in the Sierra Madre have caused such privations among the Temochic Indians as to almost exterminate them. For years this tribe has been at war with the government, and their resources had been greatly reduced.
—On the 3d inst. numerous arrests of Anarchists were effected in the French cities of Paris, Argenteuil, Bondeville, Lyons, Bourges, and Montpelier. At Havre all Anarchist newspapers and almanacs were seized. Three men arrested at Brest were employed in the government arsenal.
—It is stated by officials that in Montreal there are not less than 100 noted gambling resorts, more than twice as many as there were two years ago. A court prosecutor states that under the new criminal code it is just as hard to get a warrant to raid a suspected gambling house as to search a private residence.
—On New Year's day the French police raided the quarters of Anarchists in several of the principal towns and seized large quantities of incendiary literature. In and around Paris thirty-four arrests were made, twenty-four at Lyons, and many more in various other places. At Allier 450 charged cartridges were found, and at Havre a lot of stolen bonds were recovered.
—Late advices from Honolulu state that U. S. Minister Willis had written to the Provisional Government requesting the surrender of the offices, as the United States had decided in favor of restoring the queen. The queen, it was said, had promised to ratify all the obligations of the Provisional Government, and to govern faithfully under the present constitution. The surrender will not be made for the mere asking.
—At Cleveland, Ohio, on the 2d inst., a large crowd of unemployed men, accompanied by women, many carrying children in their arms, marched to the City Hall and demanded work from the city. They were informed there was no work, and thereupon made many threats. One leader said, "We will have work, or tear down the City Hall; our families are suffering; we must have employment or bread." The police dispersed them.
—Notwithstanding the hard times, a new evening paper, The Citizen, has been started in this city. It is a six-column quarto, devoted principally to local news. It is supposed to be on the line of moral reform in the newspaper field, but the few copies that we have seen display about the usual range of vocabulary, personality, etc. It is hard for old hands to get out of the rut, even if they do change vehicles. It is a question whether the handling of a third evening paper in this city, amid such financial depression, is bravery or presumption; and it is a question which only time can answer.
—Great excitement has been created in France and Great Britain by an engagement between their respective forces in Senegambia, West Africa. It appears that a British force of 500 native troops had been sent out against the native Sofas, and while in camp were attacked early in the morning by a French force composed of Benguists and natives. The result was that one British officer and twenty-six soldiers were killed. The French commanding officer was wounded and taken prisoner. Before he died he explained that he mistook the white service uniforms of the British for the dress of the Arab chiefs. Whether it was a mistake or not, it is a question for diplomatic solution, and there will necessarily come into the inquiry an explanation of how the French troops happened to be within the territory over which Great Britain claims control.
BISHOP MORRIS ON THE SABBATH.
By Editor
A FRIEND sends us a copy of the Florida Christian Advocate of December 13, 1893, with a marked article on "The Holy Sabbath," by Bishop T. A. Morris. The bishop says that the Sabbath is still obligatory, because "it is a part of the moral law, which is of perpetual obligation." Good! So the Scriptures teach. He continues: "Hence Christ says, 'I am not come to destroy [the law], but to fulfill.' . . . He magnified it and made it honorable by a holy life and sacrificial death. . . . Of course the obligation to keep the Sabbath is in full force." Good again, for the Bible so teaches. He gives other reasons for the perpetuity of the Sabbath, such as that it existed before Sinai, "was often mentioned by Christ and his apostles as existing in their day," that Christ was Lord of the Sabbath, that many miracles were wrought on that day, and that, even though the Sabbath was a type, it should exist till the final consummation of earthly things. All this is good, for it is in accordance with God's word. Then the good bishop turns around, contrary to all the word of God, and says, "It is, however, changed from the seventh to the first day of the week." For proof of this he cites the worn-out and oft-exploded arguments of meeting on the first day, etc.
Two things strike us as strange: (1) When "the moral principle of the Sabbath" "consists not so much in keeping the seventh, first, or middle day of the week as in employing a certain portion of our time in the service of God," as the bishop says, why does he hold to the first day, which God never calls a Sabbath, and reject the very day God does call the Sabbath? (2) Why, if "the law of God is of perpetual obligation," and, therefore, the Sabbath law also, is not that part which requires a particular day as obligatory as that part which requires by implication a proportion of time? God has not said he requires a seventh part of time, but he has said that the seventh day is the day of the Sabbath. Why cannot the bishop see this? And why cannot the editor see it?
Notes on Current Topics
By Editor
THOSE who find the Sabbath day dragging heavily with their children may find some helpful suggestions in the article by Sister Adams in our Home department.
ALL classes may find help in way of reproof for the past, perhaps, as well as suggestion for the future, in the article "Speaking the Truth in Love." There are other articles worthy of mention; in fact, all are.
THOSE who fancy that so-called "sincerity" is all that is necessary to justify error may find some help by reading an article on that subject in another column. It treats upon a very important subject, and presents clearly the logical conclusions.
WE present another contribution from our correspondent in Europe, Pastor H. P. Holser, who has excellent opportunity, keen observation, and good judgment to comprehend the drift of affairs, and to discern the things that differ. We hope to hear from him frequently.
A NEW quarterly has been issued, entitled Sunday Reform Leaflets, edited by Rev. Edward Thomson, LL.D., published at Columbus, O. In a footnote the editor says, in regard to the spelling of Sunday, "We prefer the spelling Sonday, since it means day of the Son of God." It means nothing of the kind; and Dr. Thomson and every other scholar knows that it does not. Sunday means the day of the sun, and is pagan in origin and character. This is akin to the work of Roman Catholicism, which took the statues of the old Roman gods and named them after the apostles and holy men.
ONE church in this city, the First Baptist, has dispensed with a paid choir. Three other churches, the most wealthy, are seriously contemplating doing likewise, on account of the hard times, but the paper states that "it would hardly do for one to abolish their paid choir unless the other two did." And why? Well, we have no trouble in that direction. We believe in congregational singing of scriptural hymns, led by those whose hearts have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and, though not so finished at all times, it is, we believe, more pleasing to God. The professed church of Christ has yielded step by step to the principle of doing work by proxy, till she is now asking the State to do her work. In this is the evidence of her fall, but she does not know it.
This Man Receiveth Sinners
By Editor
READ the article "This Man Receiveth Sinners." Christ receiveth sinners to-day, even as of yore. Every worker for souls, every sinner, should ever remember it. Christ was manifested to take away sins. Let our workers read the above-mentioned and the following from the same writer, which will be published in order: "A Representation of God's Love for the Sinner," "The Prodigal Son," "Thus Do and Thou Shalt Live."
Soul Sleeping
By Editor
Soul Sleeping.—The Florida Christian Advocate, noticed elsewhere with reference to the Sabbath question, seems to have said some things in its issue of the 13th ultimo with special reference to us. It thinks that believing that all future life for the dead depends on the resurrection contradicts "all that great mass of Scripture which contrasts the soul with the body, and the testimony of Jesus that men can kill the body but cannot kill the soul." Nay, but our view is the only view that is in harmony with the Scriptures. Paul says that if there be no resurrection of the dead, there is no hope, and that even they that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 1 Cor 15:12-18. But if the soul go to reward at death, what need of the resurrection? what need of Christ's coming? what need of the judgment? True, man cannot eventually destroy life or the soul, but Christ can and will "destroy both soul and body" of the finally impenitent. We believe in a soul, body, and spirit of man, but we deny their immortality and conscious existence apart from the body carnal or glorified.
Incorrect Reports About Adventists
By Editor
A DISPATCH from Battle Creek, Mich., to the Daily World of Vancouver, B. C., dated January 2, states a great many things which are not so. Seventh-day Adventists believe that the end of this age is near at hand, not solely nor principally because Mrs. White says so, but because God's word teaches it abundantly; and that is the very reason why Mrs. White and others have declared these things for so long. Of course the end is constantly growing nearer. But the elders in Battle Creek have not "enjoined all who can to sell," for there is no compulsion. Yes, many are going out to preach the gospel. The amount given the evening of January 1 was not $250, but, all told, was over twenty thousand dollars, over eight thousand of which was cash. Not simply $50,000 has been invested in building in Battle Creek, but more than ten times that amount. The item in the World, for the incorrectness of which the editor is probably not responsible, is only an illustration of the incorrectness of many other reports of us as a people.