Earlier text: General ArticlesThoughts on Daniel.
By U. Smith
CHAPTER XII.—CLOSING SCENES.
Is THERE, then, any place for a special or limited resurrection, or elsewhere any intimation of such an event, before the Lord appears? The resurrection here predicted takes place when God's people are delivered from the great time of trouble with which the history of this world terminates; and it seems, from Rev. 22:11, that this deliverance is given before the Lord appears. The awful moment arrives when he that is filthy and unjust is pronounced unjust still, and he that is righteous and holy is pronounced holy still. Then the cases of all are forever decided. And when this sentence is pronounced upon the righteous, it must be deliverance to them; for then they are placed beyond all reach of danger, or fear of evil. But the Lord has not yet made his appearance; for he immediately adds, "And behold, I come quickly." The utterance of this solemn fiat which seals the righteous to everlasting life, and the wicked to eternal death, is supposed to be synchronous with the great voice which is heard from the throne in the temple of Heaven, saying, It is done! And this is evidently the voice of God so frequently alluded to in descriptions of the scenes connected with the last day. Joel speaks of it, and says: "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." The margin reads instead of "hope," "place of repair, or harbor." Then, at this time, when God's voice is heard from Heaven, just previous to the coming of the Son of man, God is a harbor for his people, or, which is the same thing, provides them deliverance. Here, then, at the voice of God when the decisions of eternity are pronounced upon the race, and the last stupendous scene is just to open upon a doomed world, God gives to the astonished nations another evidence and pledge of his power, and raises from the dead a multitude who have long slept in the dust of the earth. Thus we see that there is a time and place for the resurrection of Dan. 12:2. We now add that a passage in the book of Revelation makes it necessary to suppose a resurrection of this kind to take place. Rev. 1:7, reads: "Behold, he cometh with clouds [this is unquestionably the second advent]; and every eye shall see him [of the nations then living on the earth], and they also which pierced him [those who were the actors in his crucifixion]; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." Those who crucified the Lord, would, unless there was an exception made in their cases, remain in their graves till the end of the thousand years, and come up in the general assembly of the wicked at that time. But here it is stated that they behold the Lord at his second advent. They must therefore have a special resurrection for that purpose. And it is certainly most appropriate that some, eminent in holiness, who have labored and suffered for their hope of a coming Saviour, but died without the sight, should be raised a little before, to witness the scenes attending his glorious epiphany; as, in like manner, a goodly company came out of their graves after his resurrection to behold his risen glory, and to escort him in triumph to the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high; and also that some, eminent in wickedness, who have done most to reproach the name of Christ and injure his cause, and especially those who secured his cruel death upon the cross, and mocked and derided him in his dying agonies, should be raised as part of their judicial punishment, to behold his return in the clouds of heaven a celestial victor, in, to them, unendurable majesty and splendor. One more remark upon this text before we leave it. It is supposed by some to furnish good evidence of the eternal conscious suffering of the wicked, because those of this character who are spoken of, come forth to shame and everlasting contempt. How can they forever suffer these, unless they are forever conscious? It has already been stated that shame implies their consciousness; but it will be noticed that this is not said to be everlasting. This qualifying word is not inserted till we come to the contempt, which is an emotion felt by others toward the guilty parties, and does not render necessary the consciousness of those against whom it is directed. And so some read the passage: "Some to shame and the everlasting contempt of their companions." And so it will be. Shame for their wickedness and corruption will burn into their very souls, so long as they have conscious being. And when they pass away, consumed for their iniquities, their loathsome characters and their guilty deeds excite only contempt on the part of all the righteous, unmodified and unabated so long as they hold them in remembrance at all. The text, therefore, furnishes no proof of the eternal suffering of the wicked. VERSE 3. And 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. The margin reads "teachers" in place of "wise:" And they that be teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; that is, of course, those who teach the truth and lead others to a knowledge of it, just previous to the time when the events recorded in the foregoing verses are to be fulfilled. And as the world estimates loss and profit, it costs something to be teachers of these things in these days. It costs reputation, ease, comfort, and often property; it involves labors, crosses, sacrifices, loss of friendship, ridicule, and not unfrequently, persecution. And the question is often asked, How can you afford it? How can you afford to keep the Sabbath, and perhaps lose a situation, reduce your income, or it may be even hazard your means of support? Oh! blind, deluded, sordid question! Make obedience to what God requires a matter of pecuniary consideration! How unlike is this to the noble martyrs who loved not their lives unto the death! No, the affording is all on the other side. When God commands, we cannot afford to disobey. And if we are asked, How can you afford to keep the Sabbath? we have only to ask in reply, How can you afford not to do it? And in the coming day, when those who have sought to save their lives shall lose them, and those who have been willing to hazard all for the sake of truth and its divine Lord, shall receive the glorious reward promised in the text, and be raised up to shine as the firmament and the imperishable stars forever and ever, it will then be seen who have been wise, and who, on the contrary, have made the choice of blindness and folly. The wicked and worldly now look upon Christians as fools and madmen, and congratulate themselves upon their superior shrewdness in shunning what they call their folly, and avoiding their losses. We need make no response; for those who now render this decision will soon themselves reverse it, and that with terrible though unavailing earnestness. VERSE 4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. The "words" and the "book" here spoken of, doubtless refer to the things which had been revealed to Daniel in this prophecy. These things were to be shut up and sealed, until the time of the end; that is, not to be specially studied, or to any great extent understood, till that time. The time of the end, as has already been shown, commenced in 1798. As the book was closed up and sealed to that time, the plain inference is that at that time, or from that point, the book would be unsealed, and people would have their attention specially called to this part of the inspired word. Of what has been done on the subject of prophecy since that time, it is unnecessary to remind the reader. The prophecies, especially Daniel's prophecy, have been under examination by all students of the word, wherever civilization has spread abroad its light upon the earth. And so the remainder of the verse, being a prediction of what should take place after the time of the end commenced, says, "Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Whether this running to and fro refers to the passing of people from place to place, and the great improvements in the facilities for transportation and travel, made within the last half century, or whether it means, as some understand it, a turning to and fro in the prophecies, that is, a diligent and earnest search into prophetic truth, the fulfillment is certainly and surely before our eyes. It must have its application in one of these two ways; and in both these directions the present age is very strongly marked. So of the increase of knowledge. It must refer either to the increase of knowledge in general, the development of the arts and sciences, or an increase of knowledge in reference to those things revealed to Daniel, which were closed up and sealed to the time of the end. Here again, apply it which way we will, the fulfillment is most marked and complete. Look at the marvelous achievements of the human mind, and the cunning works of men's hands, rivaling the magician's wildest dreams, which have been accomplished within the last fifty years. It was recently stated in the Scientific American that more advancement had been made in all scientific attainments, and more progress in all that tends to domestic comfort, the rapid transaction of business among men, and the transmission of intelligence from one to another, than all that was done for three thousand years previous, put together. Or, on the other hand, look at the wonderful light which, within the past thirty years, has shone upon the Scriptures. The fulfillment of prophecy has been shown in the light of history. Applications are made which are beyond dispute, showing that the end of all things is near. Truly the seal has been taken from the book, and knowledge respecting what God has revealed in his word, is wonderfully increased. We think it is in this respect that the prophecy is more especially fulfilled. That we are in the time of the end when the book of this prophecy should no longer be sealed, but be open and understood, is shown by Rev. 10:1, 2, where a mighty angel is seen to come down from Heaven with a little book in his hand open. For proof that the little book, there said to be open, is the book here closed up and sealed, and that that angel delivers his message in this generation, see "Thoughts on Revelation," 10:2. VERSE 5. Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. 6. And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? 7. And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. The question, "How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?" undoubtedly has reference to all that has previously been mentioned, including the standing up of Michael, the time of trouble, the deliverance of God's people, and the special and antecedent resurrection of verse 1. And the answer seems to be given in two divisions: First, a specific prophetic period is marked off; and, secondly, an indefinite period follows before the conclusion of all these things is reached; just as we have it in chap. 8:13, 14. When the question was asked, "How long the vision, . . . to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?" the answer was a definite period of 2300 days, and then an indefinite period of the cleansing of the sanctuary. So in the text before us, we have the period of a time, times, and a half, given, or 1260 years, and then an indefinite period of a continuance of the scattering of the power of the holy people, before the consummation. The 1260 years mark the period of papal supremacy. Why is this period here introduced? Probably because this power is the one which does more than any other in the world's history, toward scattering the power of the holy people, or oppressing the church of God. But what shall we understand by the expression, "Shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people"? A literal translation of the Septuagint seems to present it in a clearer light: "When he shall have finished the scattering of the power of the holy people." To whom does the pronoun "he" refer? According to the wording of this scripture, the antecedent would at first sight seem to be "Him that liveth forever," or Jehovah; but, as an eminent expositor of the prophecies judiciously remarks, in considering the pronouns of the Bible, we are to interpret them according to the facts in the case; and hence must frequently refer them to an antecedent understood, rather than to some noun which is expressed. So, here, the little horn or man of sin, having been introduced by the particular mention of the time of his supremacy, namely, 1260 years, may be the power referred to by the pronoun "he." For 1260 years he had grievously oppressed the church, or scattered its power. After his supremacy is taken away, his disposition toward the truth and its advocates still remains, and his power is still felt to a certain extent, and he continues his work of oppression just as far as he is able, till—when? Till the last of the events brought to view in verse 1, the deliverance of God's people, every one that is found written in the book. Being thus deliv-317ered, persecuting powers are no longer able to oppress them, their power is no longer scattered, the end of the wonders brought to view in this great prophecy is reached, and all its predictions are accomplished. Or, we may refer the pronoun "he" to the one mentioned in the oath of verse 7, as "Him that liveth forever," that is, God, without particularly altering the sense, since he permits the agency of earthly powers in chastising and disciplining his people, and in that sense may be said himself to scatter their power. By his prophet he said concerning the kingdom, "I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, . . . until He come whose right it is." Eze. 21:27. And again, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21:24. Of like import is the prophecy of Dan. 8:13: "How long the vision . . . to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot." Who gives them to this condition? God. Why? To discipline, "purify and make white" his people. How long? Till the sanctuary is cleansed. Bad Books and Sunday-school Libraries.
By Daniel Wise
WHEN the sons of the prophets in the days of Elisha were about to eat the pottage which had been prepared for their homely meal one day, they were startled by voices crying, "O man of God! there is death in the pot." The presence of an unwholesome, perhaps poisonous, vine, mixed by mistake with other herbs, had been discovered by those who first tasted the unsavory mess. It required a miracle to neutralize the poison in that mess of pottage. Reasoning from the testimony of many competent witnesses, we are of the opinion that there are few Sunday-school libraries in the land which would not prompt an intelligent Christian investigator to exclaim, "O church of God! there is death in this Sunday-school library!" Publishers and dealers in juvenile books have learned by experience in their trade that librarians and purchasing committees very generally decline to purchase truthful and useful books. Many reject even books of fiction if written with serious aim. "We want interesting books," they say; "our scholars will not read any others." By "interesting," these mistaken Sunday-school people mean sensational books—books of which that thoughtful educator, Horace Mann, said, "Amusement is the object—mere amusement, as contradistinguished from instruction in the practical concerns of life; as contradistinguished from those intellectual and moral impulses which turn the mind, both while reading and after the book is closed, to observation and comparison and reflection upon the great realities of existence." Having amusement as their chief aim, these purveyors for the mental food of children and young people placed in our Sunday-schools principally for the culture of their spiritual nature, not only reject useful, valuable, and qualified fiction, attractive histories, and really delightful biographies, but they select books, many of which are positively injurious to the minds, morals, and hearts of our youth—books full of exciting impossibilities, of adventures which could not happen, of pictures of wild wickedness, and sometimes of unchristian sentiments and slang phrases bordering on profanity. The character of some volumes found in some libraries is shocking to cultivated and Christian tastes, reminding one of Shakespeare's exclamations: "Was ever book containing such vile matter so fairly bound? O that deceit should dwell in such a gorgeous palace!" and tempting one to paraphrase this exclamation, and write, "Was it ever dreamed that such base matter would be put into a Sunday-school library? O that such vile trash should dwell in a library originally consecrated to pure morality and to the honor of Christ!" Charles Lamb says that there are "books which are no books." That is, they possess no value, intellectual or moral. Such are the books we condemn. Milton observes that "a good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life." And no book which does not embalm its writer's purpose to promote the moral and spiritual life in a child or youth, should be found in any Sunday-school library. Is it not time to call a halt, to send out a bugle-cry of alarm on this Sunday-school library question? Is it not high time to insist that purchasers of books for our children and youth shall no longer aim supremely to find books which merely please? Crabbe has well said, even of books for adults, that
"Books cannot always please, however good;
Minds are not ever craving for their food." In point of fact, there is no surer way to curse children than for teachers or parents to make their mere pleasure a rule of action. There is too much selfishness, too strong a tendency to self-pleasing in them to make it safe to give them what pleases, without regard to the moral quality of the gift. To say that they will only read what pleases them, is to yield the whole question of discipline in education, and indeed of education itself. Would it not please most children and many youths to burn up every good book, to close up the school-house, to leave their minds undeveloped, and to feast their bodily appetites on dainties instead of healthful food? It is the part of the educator to teach them that to be pleased is not the end and aim of life, but to be noble, good, and loyal to virtue and to God. To simply please a child is to ruin it, soul and body. No parent, no teacher, no Sunday-school has a right to make its mere pleasure a supreme end. More than this, he who does so commits a crime. He is false to his own obligations, to the child's interests, to the just expectation of the church, and to Christ who looks to the church not to injure but to lead the child to his side to be folded to his heart of love. O that our libraries were fully consecrated to this blessed aim! Rev. D. Wise, in Zion's Herald. Prophecies Concerning Christ.
By Dwight Lyman Moody
IN second Timothy, third chapter sixteenth verse, we read, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." That referred, of course, to the Old Testament, and is a text which ought to be preached on by ministers in these days who have their doubts about the inspiration of the Old Testament, while they profess to believe in that of the New. When Christ was on earth he was constantly referring to the Scriptures; by which term, of course, he meant the Old Testament, as there were no other Scriptures then in existence. There are two hundred prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus Christ, every solitary one of which has been fulfilled; and yet there are some intelligent persons who say they really don't think that the Bible is inspired. Such people ought to remember that "the Scriptures cannot be broken." Moses, and the Prophets, and the Psalms, all testify of Christ. If you turn to the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke and twenty-seventh verse, where Christ, after his resurrection, was talking with the two disciples as he walked with them to Emmaus, you will find these words: "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." Then in the forty-fourth verse of the same chapter: "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." There was never so much said about the birth, life, death, and resurrection of any man as about that of Jesus. Mark and John say nothing about Christ's birth. We are indebted to Matthew and Luke for all we know about it. For four thousand years, from the time that God made the promise in Eden, men had been looking for this child. The mothers of Israel had been praying that they might be the mothers of this child, and now, as we come into the first chapter of Luke, we find the long, dark night had rolled away. We are told that Zacharias, the priest, received a visit from the angel Gabriel, and that he was somewhat staggered by the message. If you turn to Daniel you will find that it was the same angel that visited that prophet while he was praying. Gabriel is only recorded by name as having made three visits to this world, and every time he came it was on something connected with Christ. In the first chapter of Luke we find this same Gabriel visiting Mary at Nazarath, and revealing to her the great event that was to befall her. I call your attention to what Gabriel said to her about her son: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest." So we have the right to call him the Son of God, because the angel said he should be called the "Son of the Highest." The birth of John was not a secret; and so you will find that, notwithstanding the claims of the infidels to the contrary, Christ's birth was not a secret. The emperor of Rome issued a decree that the whole world should pay a tax, and that every one should repair to his native place and be registered. That is one of the most marvelous things in the whole word of God. I am told by very good Bible students that that impost was not collected for nine years afterward. The child Jesus would have been born at Nazarath had not the emperor sent out this decree. In consequence thereof Mary went to Bethlehem, and the child was born there; in other words, God set the whole world in motion to bring the virgin to Bethlehem, so that his word might be fulfilled. If that child had been born at Nazarath the Scriptures would not have been true, and if the Scriptures can be broken in one place, they may in another. What are you going to do with the passover if you take Christ out of the Old Testament? What are you going to do with the atonement—the sacrifices—the brazen serpent—the sin-offering? What do they all mean? The Old Testament is a sealed book if you take Christ out of it. He is the key of the word, and he unlocks the Old Testament just as he does the New. Philip found Christ in the Old Testament at the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, (Acts viii, 30-35,) and you may find him in the same place, and in hundreds of other places in the writings of Moses and the prophets. Study the book of Genesis. You will find Christ there. "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Take Exodus. That may be called the book of redemption. Leviticus is the book of sacrifices. They both abound in typical references to Christ. There is no other way of understanding the entire system of Old Testament worship except as types and prophecies of Christ.—Moody. "Oh, the drudgery of this everyday routine!" cries many a business man, and many a housekeeping woman. "To get through the day, and have the same round to traverse to-morrow!" Yes, but how do you know what use the gracious Superintendent of your life is making of this humdrum, as you call it? A poor, blind mill-horse treads his beat, hour after hour, and it all seems to come to nothing. But the shaft he is turning is geared into others, and they into wheels, that in other rooms above him, far away beyond his hearing, are working out results that he could never comprehend. Wait until you see no longer through a glass darkly, and see the unknown bearings and connections of your life work with other generations and may be, with other worlds. WHAT sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. They are but trifles, to be sure, but, scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable. TRUTH and love are two of the most powerful things in the world, and when both go together, they cannot be easily withstood. THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR.
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It has become so common for men to assail the law of God—the ten commandments—that they no longer think it necessary to give a reason for their assaults; they just make a strong assertion and pass it along with as much apparent assurance as if they had announced a self-evident fact. The objection which we now notice is not a new one by any means; it is rather a standing one, which we have heard very often, and to which we have often replied, in our ministry and in our writing on the nature of the law. It is objected that the decalogue is not fitted for a rule of Christian life because its morality is far below that of the teachings of Christ; that the Christian system of morals is higher and more complete or perfect than any system which was taught before the incarnation of the Son of God. This we consider a very grave error. It is a direct impeachment of the only law which Jehovah ever announced in person; the only part of the great revelation which Heaven has vouchsafed to man which bears the impress of Deity alone. We do not believe that inspiration ever destroyed the individuality—the selfhood—of its subject. Each and every book in the Bible bears the unmistakable impress of the writer. This does not detract from its value as a revelation from God. Our Lord chose a number of men to act as special ambassadors, whom he called apostles. He specially endowed them with gifts and wisdom for their work, which endowment we call inspiration. Believing in their inspiration, we should yet be astonished if we found that Peter, John, and Paul, spoke and wrote exactly in the same manner and style. Paul, when inspired, was inspired to use his strong reasoning powers in advocacy and defense of the truths of the gospel. And so of each writer in the Bible; his inspiration moved and directed the powers which he possessed as an individual without at all destroying his individuality. Therefore every part of the Bible bears, to some extent, the impress of the mind or natural endowments of the writer. The Son of God who acted as teacher and prophet for three years and a half, left no writing on record. It seems remarkable that we have no account of his ever writing anything, or at any time except once, and that in the sand. He whose teachings were to revolutionize the world, wrote nothing for the world; wrote only once, and then where it was certain to be very soon effaced. He left his words to be recorded by his followers. The only writing which was ever given to man, which was not given through man, which emanated directly from the hand of God, is the decalogue—the ten commandments. Therefore we say this alone bears the impress of Deity alone. Its origin is all of Heaven, without the intervention of human instrumentality. If the Bible—the whole Bible—is to be respected as the inspired word of God, with what respect, what reverence and awe, should we regard the sacred oracles which are a transcript of the mind of the Eternal One! which God considered worthy of being singled out from all that he had revealed or should reveal to man, and first speak them with his own voice, and then, to add dignity and importance to the Heavenly Law in the minds of his creatures, write it with his own finger, not in the sand, not on parchment, but on stone, as indicative of its stability and immutability. We propose to examine, not the opinions of uninspired writers, but the Bible itself on this subject. It speaks in no uncertain tones regarding the nature of this wondrous law. God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ, prophets and apostles, have all left their testimony concerning it. 1. God the Father. He called the ten commandments his covenant. See Deut. 4:12, 13. Not the covenant or agreement which he made with the children of Israel which may be found in Ex. 19:5-8, but his covenant "commanded to a thousand generations," which underlies the agreement with Israel, referred to in Ex. 19:5, as it underlies the gospel or Christian system. God said if they would obey his voice and keep his covenant, then they would be a holy nation, and of course a peculiar people or possession to him above all the nations of the earth. These words are plainly to the point. They prove conclusively that God's covenant which he declared with his voice, which he commanded to his chosen people, was a rule of holiness. Obedience to it would develop a holy character, and thus separate them to the Lord in distinction from the nations who had all departed from God and refused to retain him in their knowledge. Rom. 1:20-23, 28. An imperfect law cannot develop a perfect character. A character of holiness can only be formed by obedience to a law which is holy, or a rule of holiness. This conclusion, which none can deny, cannot be evaded by saying that the standard of holiness of that dispensation was not as complete, as elevated, or as purely spiritual as that of this dispensation, for God said to Israel, "Ye shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy." Lev. 19:2, and other places. None can read this text and say that the holiness referred to in this and parallel texts is not as pure as that referred to in the New Testament. In that we read: "But as he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 2:15, 16. There cannot be two standards of holiness, because God is the source and fountain of holiness. It is one of his essential attributes, and the holiness of his creatures is only formed by conforming to his holy will; by the coming into harmony with his divine mind. The revelation of his will—the very transcript of his mind—is found in his law, by obedience to which himself declared they would be a holy people. And the nature of holiness cannot possibly change with the change of dispensations, unless the nature and attributes of God himself can change, which one considers possible. And the rule of holiness—that by which such holiness is perfected in our character—is, of course, as unchangeable as the mind and attributes of God himself. Morality is, indeed, a matter dependent on time and circumstance, measured by a sliding scale, as too often regarded by the people of this world. But not so in the word of God. Nor can it be urged that this expression in Ex. 19:5, "obey my voice," has reference to everything which God has revealed or may reveal to man, and included the Levitical or ceremonial laws as well as the ten commandments. Moses, recounting the ten commandments, said: "These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered them unto me." Deut. 5:22. Compare chap. 4:12, 13. And this distinction between the utterance of the voice of God and ceremonial observances is made equally plain in the words of the prophet: "For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings nor sacrifices. But this thing commanded I them, saying: Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people." Jer. 7:22, 23. See also 6:19, 20. No further proof can be asked on this point. We have ascertained clearly the light in which Jehovah regarded this law of "ten words," which he himself uttered and wrote for the instruction and benefit of his people. 2. Moses gave his testimony concerning the law of God. No man ever communed with God as closely and as often as did Moses. With none other of all the prophets did the Lord speak "face to face, a man speaketh unto his friend." He understood the mind and will of God concerning the great principles of his government. He said: "And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to all these commandments before the Lord our God." Deut. 6:25. Also in chap. 30:15, 16, he said that life and death were set before them that they should live if they obeyed the commandments of God, but if they disobeyed they would surely perish. And these results were not confined to the issues of this present life, for his hearers were probationers for a world and life to come, and those commandments were the rule of holiness and righteousness by which they formed characters which must appear in the Judgment. We shall not attempt to exhaust the evidence, but only to give sufficient to place the question fairly before our readers, and to stop the mouths of those who are so blind or so presumptuous as to speak lightly of that upon which the great God has bestowed such abundant honor. 3. David was the psalmist—yea, he is the psalmist, for being dead he yet speaketh—of the worshipers of the true God. He has furnished the songs of praise for all generations. He had the high honor of bequeathing to the household of God the devotional part of their service and worship of the Most High. The commencement of the Book of Psalms gives the key to the whole; it announces the blessedness of the man who delights in the law of the Lord—who day and night meditates therein. And this blessedness is not confined to this life, as some have affirmed. "The ungodly are not so." "Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the Judgment." That man is blessed indeed who delights in that which is given to prepare him to stand in the Judgment. Psalm 19 is another evidence of the nature and value of the law of God. The writer gives credit to the material creation for its declaration of the power and majesty of God, whereby we are incited to feelings of devotion. But there are certain things which nature cannot do. It cannot guide to the true worship of the great Creator—it cannot teach man how to "worship him in spirit and in truth." It cannot guide a probationer for the Judgment in the formation of a character which will fit him to stand in that day. It cannot furnish a remedy for moral evil, or turn the heart away from its wanderings from God. After giving full credit to nature for what it can do, mark how abruptly the Psalmist turns to another instructor in verse 7. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. . . . The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." This is the refrain of the remainder of this remarkable psalm. "In keeping of them there is great reward." And it closes with a prayer that both the words of his mouth, and the meditation of his heart may be acceptable in the sight of his Lord and Redeemer. And this because the statutes of the Lord are a discerner of secret things, even of the thoughts and intents of the heart, as will be fully shown as we further examine the Scriptures.