Earlier text: Desire of AgesA SHORT time ago Dr. Charles A. Briggs, professor of Biblical theology in Union Theological Seminary, New York, read a paper before the Church Club of that city, which has attracted much attention. Dr. Briggs is a leading exponent of the “Higher Criticism,” and his utterances exert a molding influence over the minds of many who hold advanced views in theology. We quote three paragraphs from his paper, as printed in The Independent (New York), which indicate clearly the Romeward trend of the “Higher Criticism:” The question is often asked, How may we bridge the gulf between Protestantism and Rome? It can not be done on the level of past controversies or of present differences. How has the East River been bridged? At first two huge towers are built on each side of the river, then a slender wire is stretched from the top of these towers; this wire gives place to cables, then a foot bridge is made at this great elevation. Then months of labor are necessary from this higher level before there can be constructed at the lower level the great highway which combines the two sides in permanent union. So will it be with the church. We must rise above the present low level of doctrine and institution into higher and more comprehensive positions, and then some reformer, called of God, will discern some simple principle which will become the first line across the chasm, and then the bridge will follow in due time. The antitheses of the sixteenth century [the period of the great Reformation] are to a great extent antitheses of one-sidedness, which the modern world has outgrown. The world has moved since then. The world has learned many things. We have new views of God's universe. We have new scientific methods. We have an entirely different psychology and philosophy. Our education is much more scientific, much more thorough, much more accurate, much more searching, much more comprehensive. . . . We are now in the twentieth century, not the sixteenth. The situation has entirely changed. Rome no longer defends Tetzel, or the abuses which provoked the Reformation in Germany. Rome has been chastened by the discipline of history. Every shred of temporal power has been stripped from the papacy. No country is in any peril of papal usurpation. It is true that in St. Peter’s on great functions one hears the roar from assembled pilgrims and clerics, “Viva il Papa Re” [Long live the papacy]. But this is a theatrical display, a mere outburst of popular enthusiasm, having no reality in it. It is safe to say that if the Catholic Church of the sixteenth century had been what the Roman Catholic Church is to-day, there would have been no such rupture of the church as took place in the great Reformation. Doubtless many serious differences have since emerged, which must be removed ere union is possible. But the original differences no longer exist, in any practical form. Why should we live on forever in the shadow of past controversies, and raise up dead issues as obstructions to the reunion of Christianity and its progress in the modern world? The “Higher Critics” have already removed, so far as they have been able to do so, one of the main differences between the Reformers and the papal theologians; in fact, the fundamental difference. In the celebrated protest of April 19, 1529, and as “the essential part of the protest,” we find these statements:— There is no sure doctrine but such as is conformable to the Word of God. … We are resolved, with the grace of God, to maintain the pure and exclusive preaching of his only Word, such as it is contained in the Biblical books of the Old and New Testaments, without adding anything thereto that may be contrary to it. This Word is the only truth; it is the sure rule of all doctrine and of all life, and can never fail or deceive us. But the “new views of God’s universe,” the “new scientific methods,” and the “entirely different psychology and philosophy” of the “Higher Criticism”7 have nullified this protest, and have gone back to the papal platform of the Bible and tradition. This is openly declared in the paper from which we have quoted. Here is the statement: “Biblical criticism has made it certain that you can not build Christianity on the Holy Scriptures alone. It is necessary also to determine the Christian inheritance in unrecorded apostolic tradition.” It thus appears that much of the preliminary work in preparing the way for bridging the gulf between Protestantism and Rome has already been done. It would appear as if the “Higher Critics” had already built the huge towers on the Protestant side of the river of separation. And yet The Independent makes this editorial comment: “Bishop Potter, we are glad to know, finds nothing schismatic in Professor Briggs’s address.” This open bid for a union with Rome is very significant. It is a sign of the times. Nearly twenty years ago the following instruction was given for the benefit of the remnant church, through the spirit of prophecy: “When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan, and that the end is near.”—“Testimony for the Church,” No. 32, page 207. These words are almost startling, when read in connection with the quotations which appear in this article. The long-looked-for crisis is just at hand. How great is the need for the clear and positive teaching of the threefold message of Revelation 14! Let nothing turn us aside from this work. SIR OLIVER LODGE, a leader among English scientific men, in an article regarding the indifference of laymen to religion, contributed to an English journal, says that in England intelligent laymen are not indifferent to real religion, but that they are tired of, and therefore indifferent to, religious formalities. Church services which are largely of this character have come to be regarded as of very little account. Comparing them with the worship of heathenism, he says: “We jeer at the Tibetan water-worked praying wheel as a mechanical form of prayer; and yet I can imagine a peasant joyfully going on with his labor in the fields, in the consciousness that his prayer was being periodically turned up to heaven by the forces of nature, and his soul might send an aspiration after it, without interfering with the industry of the body. I doubt if such a ritual is really more mechanical than some English services that I have attended.” It is a form of godliness without the power, the husk of religion without the meat, that is making the people indifferent to religion. In all this is to be heard the call of a dying world for the third angel’s message. THE annual report submitted to the commissioners of the District of Columbia regarding conditions in the District, shows that the use of cocaine “has taken a firm hold on the lower classes.” Two years ago, the report says, the drug was almost unknown here, but now wrecked lives due to its use are becoming apparent. The report calls attention to the fact that there is no way to restrict the sale of cocaine in the District, owing to a mere typographical error in the law governing its sale, which as it stands provides that the “name and quality” of the drug sold shall be registered by druggists, the word “quantity” having obviously been intended by the lawmakers, in the place of “quality.” Reports from different States show a great increase in cocaine using among the negroes in Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, New York, Michigan, and Indiana. “A GOVERNMENT of the rich, for the rich, and by the rich,—is that what we are coming to in this nation?” inquires The Independent, having in mind a recent speech by President Hadley, of Yale University, in which he advised young men not to make politics their vocation, saying that the vocation of politics should be left to the rich. “It can not be supposed,” says The Independent, “that he advises young men to make politics an avocation rather than a vocation because he himself is satisfied with a rich man’s government. He can give such advice only because he believes that we have already gone so far on the wrong road that a poor man, trying to make politics a vocation, must encounter difficulties that he can not reasonably hope to surmount, save at the expense of his moral manhood.” “We have entered upon a period,” The Independent admits, “when thousands of thoughtful men have drifted into an acceptance of plutocracy as a normal order of things.” Still it believes that the great majority of Americans still regard politics “as one of the most honorable careers to which any boy in the land, of whatever station in life, of wealth or poverty, should be able to aspire. To surrender this ideal,” it adds, “would be to surrender practically everything that the founders of our republic dreamed of, that the men who fought through the wars of the Revolution and the Rebellion offered their lives for.” And now just this tremendous question is before the nation. Shall everything that the founders of our republic dreamed of be surrendered? If so, what is to be the history of this nation after that? Is the money power to control the government? or is plutocracy to be forced back from the position it has already gained in politics, and the love of money and the power of money be overcome by the forces of honesty and virtue? “It is plain,” says The Independent, “that if we are . . . to save our nation from a government by the rich and for the rich—a government under which the plain people will have such privileges as the rich graciously concede—we must soon take steps to amend many things that at present are going wrong.” The only suggestion it has to offer, however, is that the salaries of men in public office should be increased to be commensurate with the expense pertaining to such office, so that poor men will not necessarily be debarred therefrom. The Roman republic soon went down when it became a government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich. Now this modern republic is at a place where just such a government seems to be the next development in its history; and well may its people ponder the pages of Roman history, and ask themselves whether history is about to repeat itself in the government with whose affairs their own life interests are concerned. THE New York Times prints the following press dispatch containing a “startling statement” made a few days ago by a physician at a meeting of the Chicago Medical Society:— “Drug treatment is useless in cases of pneumonia. The medical profession, so far as medicines are concerned, can be of no assistance in the fight against this disease. The sooner the profession will acknowledge this to the public, and set to work to discover some specific to save pneumonia patients, the better for all concerned.” This startling statement by Dr. Arthur D. Bevan, who stands high in the profession, stirred up the members of the Chicago Medical Society at their meeting to-day. Several physicians sprang to their feet to protest. All had to admit, however, that there is no definite remedy known, and they based their protests solely on the contention that they might influence the patient favorably by easing him somewhat, and by the moral effect of their presence. The recent great increase of this very dangerous disease makes the discovery that drugs are powerless to combat it, a fact of much significance. It is strong testimony against the efficacy of drug treatment in all inflammatory diseases; while, on the other hand, the fact remains that water treatment in pneumonia and kindred diseases is highly effective. It is a good time to call public attention to the virtue of natural, God-given remedies for bodily ills. The Second Coming of Christ
By C. S. Longacre
Its Place and Meaning in the Plan of Redemption
THE second coming of Christ in person with his heavenly associates to this earth is not only the greatest event because of its surpassing glory and majesty, but because of the consummation of all the eternal interests and the realization of the blessed hope of the whole family of faith. From the day when Adam and Eve turned their sorrowing steps from Eden and the tree of life, the children of faith have waited for the coming of the promised One, who is “the resurrection and the life,” who has “the keys of death, and of hades,” to break the destroyer’s power and bring them back again to the lost paradise, and restore them to their original privileges as partakers of the life-perpetuating fruit of the tree of life. Upon the second coming of Jesus Christ to this earth hangs the9 realization of the great problem of redemption and eternal life. If Jesus were never to come, redemption would never come. As the signs of his coming were to be fulfilled, redemption in its fulness had not yet come to his people, but at that time they were commanded: “Then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” The coming of Christ is the great sheet-anchor of hope to the Christian. The promise of the coming of the Deliverer into the land of the enemy is our only hope of deliverance. It is the only light that illuminates the uncertainty of the future. It is the only balm that can heal all ills. Were it not for the second coming of Christ to unlock the tomb of every pious saint, clothe him with the beautiful garments of immortality, and escort him up the shining heights to those mansions he has gone to prepare for us, a fearful and sorrowful wreck would mark the end of each and all. Life would be but a narrow vale—a moment of time between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We might strive to look beyond the heights, but it would be all in vain. We should see only a black gulf of despair. We might cry aloud for deliverance, but were it not for the second coming of Christ and the resurrection, the only answer that could come back would be the echo of our own wailing cry. Thank God, he has not left us to grope in darkness, but has given us a positive answer that deliverance will come. In this night of sin and death, hope sees a guiding star piercing through the mists of time, and painting on the horizon the golden dawning of a grander day. Every vessel that sails out upon the wide ocean carries a captain, a compass, and an anchor. In the time of storm amid rocks and shoals these are indispensable. It is a good thing to have a hope—a hope anchored within the veil. In the Christian’s life, the Bible is his compass, Jesus is his captain, his hope is his anchor, and heaven is his port. Take the second coming of Christ out of his Bible, and you have taken the needle out of his compass. What good is a compass without a needle?—None, until the needle is put in its proper place. All the stars and systems of worlds in the whole universe from time immemorial have been revolving around two polar centers. So the Bible has two central points toward which everything within its lids has been pointing. These two objects, or themes, in the Bible toward which everything points, and around which everything revolves, are the first advent of Christ to this earth as a helpless infant, and the second advent of Christ as universal King, glorious in apparel and mighty in strength. The first time, he came to have his heel bruised, as it is written: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his bruise [margin] we are healed.”—healed from all the wounds which sin has made; the second time, he is to come to bruise the serpent’s head. The first time, he came as our sin-offering to take away our sins, and to satisfy by his death the irrevocable claims of God’s broken law upon the sinner; the second time, he is to come without sin unto salvation to all who look for him and love his appearing, and to justify by his decisions the immutable claims of God’s holy law. The first time, he was sent as the holy apostle and servant of God, to declare the love, the mercy, the character, and the care of his Heavenly Father toward us, that we might be reconciled and believe and trust him; the second time, he is to come with the armies of heaven, as King of kings and Lord of lords, and out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, and with it he shall smite the nations, and with a rod of iron he shall break them into pieces as a potter’s vessel. The first time, he came to save sinners; the second time, he comes to glorify his saints, and to punish sinners. Without the second advent of Christ, all that Christ wrought out during his first advent would be rendered null and void. In fact, if you were to take the promises of Christ’s second advent out of the Bible, you would take the glad tidings out of the gospel, the needle out of the compass, the kernel out of the shell; and all that you would leave would be a compass without a needle, a shell with no kernel, a hope without a consummation. From Genesis to Revelation the second coming of the Lord is the song and science, the keynote and the anthem, the precious, joy-inspiring hope and comfort of the Sacred Scriptures. And thank God, the unmistakable omens and precursors of this greatest event tell us that only a few more rolling suns will bring us face to face with our blessed Redeemer. Prepare to meet thy God in peace. The heart, it hath its own estate;
The mind, it hath its wealth untold:
It needs not fortune to be great,
While there's a coin surpassing gold. No matter which way fortune leans,
Wealth makes not happiness secure;
A little mind hath little means,
A narrow heart is always poor. ’Tis not the house that honor makes,
True honor is a thing divine;
It is the mind precedence takes,
It is the spirit makes the shrine. The Need of Earnest Effort
By Ellen G. White
We are far behind in our missionary work, both at home and in foreign countries. We have in our keeping the most sacred truth ever committed to mortals, and our work should correspond to our profession of faith. The world is becoming more and more lawless. Soon great trouble will arise among the nations,—trouble that will not cease until Jesus comes. What are we as a people doing at this important time? Are we purifying our souls by obedience to Christ’s words? Are we humbling our hearts before God, and confessing our sins? Are we seeking with earnestness and sincerity for help from him who is the source of strength? Are we claiming the promises, believing that Jesus pardons our transgressions? Are we educating ourselves to overcome all temptation to murmur and complain? My brethren and sisters, as never before we need to press together, unitedly following him who has prepared his throne in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over all. God has not forsaken his people, and our strength lies in not forsaking him. Christ died to redeem us. By the infinite price with which he ransomed us he has shown his love for us. He is not willing that any should perish. He desires all to believe on him, that they may have eternal life. With pity and compassion, with tender yearning, the Lord is looking upon his tried, tempted people. For a time the oppressors will be permitted to triumph over those who obey God’s commandments. All are given the same opportunity that was granted to the first great rebel, the opportunity to show what spirit is prompting them to action. It is God’s purpose that every one shall be tested, to see whether he will be loyal or disloyal to the laws that govern the kingdom of heaven. To the last God gives Satan opportunity to reveal his character. Thus the final triumph of his people will be made more marked, more glorious, more complete. The words of the prophet will be fulfilled: “The day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.” “The Lord reigneth; let the people tremble; he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.” Now and onward till the close of time the people of God should be more earnest, more wide-awake, not trusting in their own wisdom, but in the wisdom of their Leader. They should set aside days for fasting and prayer. Entire abstinence from food may not be required, but they should eat sparingly of the most simple food. No one should lift up his soul unto vanity, walking in pride and self-indulgence. We are living in a time that demands genuine humiliation and most earnest prayer. We are nearing the most important crisis that has ever come upon the world. If we are not wide-awake and watching, it will find us unprepared. There is among us a decided lack of love for Christ and for one another. Christlike simplicity is looked upon as weakness. There is a lack of clear spiritual discernment. Wrongs remain unconfessed. The transgression condemned in the law of God is on the increase in our borders. Sin is cherished, and the result is hardness of heart. When those who are handling sacred things do not walk in the light, the light becomes darkness to them, and how great is that darkness! Men are making strange mistakes in reading character. Those who do not possess moral worth are exalted, while those who are endeavoring to seek the Lord and walk in his steps are not appreciated. This danger will become more and more apparent. We must awake to the perils that are thickening around us. All pharisaism, all self-righteousness, must be separated from the soul. Then we shall realize that we need Christ’s righteousness, and we shall accept it by faith. There is among us a manifest lack of searching the Scriptures. We must know the reasons of our faith. The importance and solemnity of the scenes opening before us demand this. And on no account must the spirit of complaint be encouraged. Do you cherish malice, bitterness, and wrath if plans are introduced that do not harmonize with your ideas? Is not this indulging a spirit of war, rather than a spirit of meekness and humility? If ever we needed to manifest kindness and true courtesy, it is now. We may have to plead most earnestly before legislative councils for the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. Thus in his providence God has designed that the claims of his law shall be brought before men in positions of highest authority. But as we stand before these men, we are to show no bitterness of feeling. Constantly we are to pray for divine aid. It is God alone who can hold the four winds until his servants shall be sealed in their foreheads. The Lord will do a great work in the earth. Satan makes a determined effort to divide and scatter God’s people. He brings up side issues to divert minds from the important subjects that should engage our attention. Individually we are to feel the importance of uniting in the bonds of Christian faith. With one heart and one mind we are to prepare for the conflict, by faith laying our petitions before the mercy-seat. The throne of God is arched by the bow of promise, and the prayers offered in faith and simplicity are heard. It is God’s glory to answer the supplications of his people. I have been especially instructed in regard to the danger of drawing apart. Let us leave to Satan the cruel work of accusing and faultfinding. Let us bow before God in repentance because of our want of love for one another and for him who died for us. The gold of love and faith is wanting in our ranks. Christ declares, “I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Many are holding on to the truth with only the tips of their fingers. They have had great light and many privileges. Like Capernaum, they have in this respect been exalted to heaven. But unless they put away their pride and self-confidence, in the time of trial that is approaching they will become apostates. Unless they have an entire transformation of character, they will never enter heaven. You strike too low, my brethren. Set your mark higher. Let your work be in harmony with the work of Christ. It is the privilege of all to grow up to the full stature of men and women in Christ. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Is it your will also? My brethren, with intensity of desire long after God; yea, pant after him, as the hart panteth after the water brooks. Press toward the mark of the prize of your high calling in Christ. Why do not those who name the name of Christ reveal the earnestness and the self-denial that he revealed? Why do they not arouse from their indifferent, self-satisfied condition? God’s people must have a fixed purpose to honor him. They will never be holy until they put all their energies into his work. A. F. LEMON, M. D
By A. F. Lemon
The Israelites were given the truth through Moses and the prophets. But they overlooked Christ, the great central figure of truth (John 14:6), and, seeking to be saved by obedience to the law as they interpreted it, watched every detail of life for fear they should be defiled. They thought they were preparing to meet Christ when he should come; but when he came, they did not recognize nor receive him. “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” It would seem incredible that any of us should fail to know Jesus, or should reject his teachings, if he should come among us as he did among the Jews. But suppose he should visit us to-day, and come among us quietly, as a stranger of our own nation, dressed the same and speaking the same language as ourselves. Suppose that, having had his attention called to the subject of defiling the body, he should tell us that nothing that goes into the body from without can defile us; but that we (as temples of God) may be defiled only by the things which proceed from us; and being asked for further explanation, he should declare that what we eat can not defile us, because it does not go into the mind, but into the stomach, and passes through the process of digestion, by which all foods are purified. But the words we speak are the things which defile us, for they come from the heart. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, such as hatred, lust, jealousy, pride, dishonesty. These are the things which defile the man. See Mark 7:14-23. Would we gladly accept such teaching from a stranger? or would we accuse him of teaching contrary to principle, and of misapplying the scripture that we thought applied only to the washing of hands? (It is so easy to overlook verse 19.) Would we be afraid to let him preach in our churches for fear he would encourage a disregard for health reform? The Jews accused him of sin in regard to his diet. Luke 7:34. Would we, like them, stumble at his teaching? What does he mean to teach us? It is very plain that this instruction, agreeing as it must with the whole Bible, is not meant to give the slightest encouragement to any disregard of true health reform. But the Lord’s manner of introducing the parable shows that he meant it to teach a very important lesson, and one that it would be hard for people to receive. See verse 16. Does not this parable, as well as the whole Bible, teach us that our salvation, our relation to God, our purity and freedom from defilement, our all, depend upon one all-important thing, a regeneration of the heart? Our own works count for nothing in the work of redemption. “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” He would teach us that physical redemption as well as spiritual redemption, both being different phases of the same thing, depends upon him alone. See Rom. 8:23. Of what value in the way of salvation is a clean diet in itself, apart from Christ? Have not the four hundred and fifty million Buddhists been religious vegetarians for centuries? Are they any nearer redemption to-day than when Gautama taught them, two thousand three hundred years ago, to hope for annihilation? Are the rice-eating Hindus, or the head-hunters of Borneo, any nearer the kingdom of God than the meat-eating English or Americans? Do we forget that the Scripture uses the horse as an example of lust and incontinence? Jer. 5:8. But Christ would teach us that there is only one righteousness that we can attain to, “even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:22-24. We are to seek for this righteousness. But where does health reform come in? The Bible tells us. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.”10 Eph. 3:17. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13. If we have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5), will that mind in us lust after the fleshpots of Egypt? And on the other hand, we can not eat and drink to the glory of God without a change of heart first. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” If we make it the chief object of our lives to let the Spirit of God dwell in us and lead us, the fruits of the Spirit will result. Then with hearts burning with love, the first fruit, we shall work unitedly to carry the last warning message to the world. We need to go to God constantly, with the humble prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. . . . Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” No Place for Sin
By E. K. Slade
He who “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” is the rightful ruler of the universe. He is qualified to rule, and where God is permitted to be in his rightful place, there his kingdom is established. He dwells not only in the “high and holy place,” but in the heart of the loyal subject as well. The heart of every loyal subject is God's throne, where his law, which is the foundation of his throne, is the rule of action in all his subjects. No one less than the Creator is qualified to be such a ruler. Lucifer's desire to occupy the place of God resulted in robbing God of the place to rule in Lucifer's heart. In doing this, to that extent he dethroned the King of the universe. Every effort of his life and every energy of his being from the time of his fall has been to this one end. By his deception and artful cunning he put himself in the place of God in the heart of Adam and Eve, thus carrying out his purpose as far as this earth and its subjects are concerned. When Christ came to rescue the subjects and their kingdom from this rival ruler, he was caused to meet temptations to the same end, that even the King of kings might give up the throne, and give place to him who rules to ruin. The gospel, the “mystery of godliness,” is God's plan through Jesus Christ for rescuing his subjects and regaining his throne. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” the union wrought by the gospel, is but the enthroning of God in the hearts of his children, thus making them fit subjects for his kingdom. To the same end—the dethroning of God and the defeating of his purpose—as in the temptation of the two Adams, a false gospel is instituted, known as the “mystery of iniquity.” Purporting to be the true way of salvation, its work and end are in keeping with the nature and purpose of its author, as seen in his fall in heaven, and as stated of his nature and work by the prophet, in the following words: “And that man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” What has been said and done by this pretended gospel is understood by all. From the system of personal penance to the blasphemous claims of the pope, the purpose of the rival ruler, seeking to be in the place of God, is clearly seen. In that great struggle when Satan calls to his aid all his host of followers, in whose lives he occupies the place of ruler, he has this one purpose in view, to sit in the seat of God. Because of the purpose of the rival ruler to rule or ruin, which is to rule and ruin, these words from the rightful Ruler come with special force: “Neither give place to the devil.” To cherish any one thing out of harmony with the law of God, or not to permit him to fill the heart with the fulness of his life, is to give place to the devil, and to that extent dethrone God. He is robbed of that much of his realm, inasmuch as he is not permitted to have his place and way in us. He has no place for sin. His fulness is to fill all, and the place that he is not permitted to fill “shall come to naught.” In the plan of God no place whatever is provided for sin or for sinners. When Satan and his angels rebelled in heaven, it is stated that they were cast out; “neither was their place found any more in heaven.” When Adam and Eve sinned, they were driven from the garden, the place especially prepared for them. In all the course of time since the fall, men and nations have been permitted to exist that they might seek and find restoration to a place in the kingdom of God as provided in the gospel. Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Grecia were each in turn overthrown, as this privilege ceased to be recognized. The fate of earthly kingdoms, wholly denying God's right to his place, and constituting the realm of the rival ruler, is described by the prophet in the following words: “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them.” When the New Jerusalem comes down to the earth at the end of the one thousand years, the resurrected wicked will be assembled from every part of the earth. God and the saved will be within the city. At this time “all flesh will see his glory together.” Inspired anew at the sight of God's throne, Satan and his subjects who have given place to him, make the last mighty attempt to overthrow the government of God. The destruction that comes to this rebellious host is stated as follows: “And there was no place found for them.” Satan, with all who gave place to him, proved to the last to be wholly unfit for any place or part in the kingdom of God. Only those who have refused to give place to the devil will be safe subjects for the kingdom of heaven. There is no place for him, and neither is there place for one who gives place to him; for he is thus, by his own choice, placing himself without the bounds of the kingdom of God, by choosing citizenship and yielding obedience under a ruler whose complete annihilation, with all who give him a chance to rule, will be certain, just, and expedient. Thus is revealed the enormity of sin. The cherished sin may seem to be innocent and harmless, but its presence in the heart, in that measure gives Satan a realm and a throne. While sin is thus revealed, the love of God is no less made evident by his manner of dealing with the sin and sinner, in providing a gospel by which all heaven is poured out in one gift, that rebellious subjects may be restored to a place in the kingdom. Jesus Christ gave up his place in heaven, and came to this world, in which he had not “where to lay his head.” This he did that he might prepare a place for the lost and homeless ones, and hold out the promise made to Abraham and all Israel of a “sure dwelling-place” for all eternity. The kingdom of God is soon to have its place in all the earth. In a very short time all rival rule is to be put down, and given no place in all the vast universe. Great intensity is crowded into every remaining moment as that event draws near. But a little longer can we have the opportunity to choose to let him have his place and way in us. While he is preparing a place for us, he wants to prepare us for that place. This he can do only by being permitted to have his place in us. To this end are all the means of grace. For this purpose precious probationary moments are still granted. My heart is tired, so tired to-night—
How endless seems the strife!
Day after day the restlessness
Of all this weary life!
I come to lay the burden down
That so oppresseth me,
And, shutting all the world without,
To spend an hour with thee,
Dear Lord,
To spend an hour with thee! I would forget a little while
The bitterness of fears,
The anxious thoughts that crowd my life,
The buried hopes of years;
Forget that mortal’s weary toil
My patient care must be.
A tired child, I come to-night,
To spend an hour with thee,
Dear Lord,
One little hour with thee! A foolish, wayward child, I know,
So often wandering;
A weak, complaining child—but O!
Forgive my murmuring,
And fold me to thy breast,
Thou who hast died for me,
And let me feel ’tis peace to rest
A little hour with thee,
Dear Lord,
One little hour with thee! Home Again
By Mary F. Butts
We have roamed in the fragrant fields,
We have lived with the murmuring trees,
We have heard the love talk of the birds,
And the whisper of the breeze. We have rocked on the laughing wave,
Where the breaker tossed its foam;
Now we turn again, as the bright days wane,
To the happy hours of home. For not on the mountain-top,
Nor in the softest vale,
Not where the canvas fills and strains
To the boisterous summer gale; Not in the secret wood,
Though the restless heart may roam
The world around, can joy be found
Like the joy of love and home.