Earlier text: OUR SACRIFICETHE DECALOGUE.
By J. W. Watt
“Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Ex. 20:12. This is the first commandment with promise. The first four precepts of the law relate to our duty to God; this one relates to our duty to our fellow-men—our parents. Evidently when the Lord created the world, He designed that its inhabitants should dwell together in well-regulated families, and that there should be family government such as He could approve; therefore the family relationship is a sacred thing in the mind of God. How consistent it is that after God has set before us in His law our duty toward Himself, the next point brought to view should be the family! From the families of earth must come the men who will carry forward the work of God in the earth, also those who rule the world in civil affairs. The idea prevails that this commandment is for children, and some have used it as a whip to bring about a kind of forced obedience in their children,—an obedience which had no love in it, and was contrary to the law and to the spirit of the Lawgiver. To the mind of the writer the duty of the parent properly to instruct the child in the ways of God is just as clearly brought to view in this commandment as is the duty of the child to honor the parents. Let us note some things which the Lord has said to fathers and mothers:— “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deut. 6:6, 7. The love of God and the principles set forth in His law were to be so perfectly written in the hearts of the fathers and mothers of Israel that they would continually talk of them before their children. “And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deut. 11:19. “For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children; that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.” Ps. 78:5-7. The above scriptures are an expression of God’s will concerning the duty of parents to instruct their children in the way of life and salvation. Parents must teach their children the love of God by a consistent life of godliness as well as by precept. In fact, we may say the parents must obey the first four commandments of the law if they would have their children obey the fifth. If the character of God is seen in them, if the parents are merciful and gracious, long-suffering, full of goodness and truth, tender-hearted and forgiving, always manifesting the tenderness and love of God in every word and act of life, so that their children can see that their religion is a reality and not a sham—it would be a strange child indeed that would not honor such parents. But how many who profess to be servants of God show more of self in their family government than they do of the true character and Spirit of God! How necessary that there be a reform upon the commandments of God before the Saviour comes again! “Children, obey your parents in the Lord; for this is right.” How are children to obey their parents?—In the Lord. What kind of parents are they to obey in this way?—Parents who are in the Lord. Parents who are in the Lord will do by their children as the Lord Himself would do, were He in their stead. Children are not commanded to obey their parents if the demands made by the parents are not in harmony with the revealed will of God. Children are not to yield to a demand of Satan, altho made by father or mother. But when a demand is made in harmony with the Lord’s will, then it is a grave sin for the child to disobey; for in so doing he violates a plain precept of God. “Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” Col. 3:20. This scripture is in accord with all other statements made in the Bible on this subject. They are to obey in all things, not out of the Lord, but in the Lord. Children delight to obey parents and honor them when they see in the parents the characteristics of heaven; and, altho sin has wrought such a change in the world from what would have been seen had men always obeyed God, yet the time will come when every child in the world will obey the fifth commandment; for sin and sinners must be destroyed, and God’s original design carried out. In the world to come, God will have us carry out in all things His first design in creating man. The family5 will then be what it would have been had man not sinned; but children who refuse to honor their parents in the Lord in this life will not reach that heavenly country, neither will parents who are not “in the Lord” reach that place. Therefore both parents and children should strive with all their power to be in the family what God would have them be, and what they must be to enter heaven. Children should early in life seek God. He will hear them pray, and will comfort, guide, and strengthen them if they obey Him, just the same as He will their parents who trust Him. It is obedience that God loves in His creatures. We remember that when the Saviour was here among men, He took even small children in His arms, and blessed them, and said, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven.” What an encouragement this should be to children as they try to honor their parents by obeying the Lord! This commandment has a promise connected with it: “Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” What land has the Lord promised to give us?—He has promised us the earth. “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth hath He given to the children of men.” Ps. 115:16. God gave the earth to man in the beginning. At that time the earth was very beautiful, and was a pleasant home, where man could dwell and be happy; and had he not sinned, the earth would have remained as beautiful as it was when God made it. There would have been no death. This entire world would have been a land of living green; all nature would have glorified God. This was God’s original purpose in creating the earth, and He will not allow sin and Satan to thwart His purpose. Satan can only mar the fair universe of God for a little while; then God will destroy Satan and sin and all the effects of sin, and man will live on the earth made new, brought back again to its Eden purity and glory. The earth will be the eternal home of God’s people. Much more might be given, but these texts show what the promise embraces. Children can well afford to honor their parents by obeying God, that they may have a home in the earth as it will be when again restored to its former beauty and loveliness; the New Jerusalem, the golden city which Christ is preparing for His people, will be the capital of that country, and every Sabbath all the saved of earth will go to the city to worship the Lord. What a privilege it will be to walk these golden streets with harps of gold in our hands, making music sweet and melodious unto God and the Lamb. All this and much more we may learn by the study of the fifth commandment of the law. With such a promise as this connected with the law of God, how anxious we should be to keep all the law just as God has given it, that we may be among the number who shall enjoy the wonderful blessings God has promised to His people! May the Lord by His Spirit aid both the writer and the reader to obey Him in all things, and thus be prepared for a home in the earth made new. J. W. WATT. THE PILLAR OF CLOUD IS RISING.
[From a late song by Elder A. F. Ballenger. See last page.] ’Twas a glorious day in the wilderness
When the trump of God was blown,
And the mighty millions of Israel’s host
Moved on to their promised home;
When Jehovah’s cloud in its glory grand
O’er the swelling Jordan stood,
When the men of faith from the wilderness
Moved on through its parting flood. ’Twas an awful time for the faithless man
Who refused to leave his sin;
He had failed to learn from the desert tests,
And he could not enter in.
But the conquering host by the pillar led
Moved on to Canaan’s shore,
And the faithless fell in the wilderness,
For the sifting time was o’er. ’Tis a glorious time for the church to-day,
For the trump again has blown,
And the hosts of God, by the pillar led,
Move on to their promised home;
And the Holy Ghost in the “latter rain,”
With His peace and joy and power,
O’er the church now falls with refreshing flood,
Like a glorious summer shower. ’Tis an awful time for the faithless man
In the church of God to-day,
For the final sifting at last has come,
He is falling by the way.
But the justified in their armor bright,
And with faith their battle-cry,
Are marching to-day ’gainst the walls of sin,
With power from on high. The pillar of cloud is rising.
Behold, what a glorious sight!
It moves toward the land of promise.
Awake, ye children of light.
The trump of God is calling
The wilderness-wandering host
Away from the desert sinful;
“Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” The Right to Free Expression
By J. S. Mill
If all mankind, minus one, were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.—J. S. Mill. WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?
By J. Riggs Long
Questions to a Sunday-Keeper.
CHRIST says, “According to thy faith so be it unto thee.” The word “faith” includes belief. It is an established principle of ethical science that “the moral quality of an action resides in the intention of the actor;” hence the importance of being true to our convictions, whether those convictions are based on absolute demonstrations, or simply on the most reliable evidence accessible to us. Do you not believe that the day of the week which is called Sunday, and which is recognized as the first day of the week, is in reality the correct memorial day of Christ’s resurrection? And do you not claim that a part, at least, of the sanctity of Sunday is due to the fact that on that day Christ conquered the power of death, and “brought life and immortality to light”? And do you not act on such belief with as much readiness and fidelity as if you knew positively that there was no possibility of any mistake ever having been made in keeping the day? And would you not feel it your duty as a defender of the truth to refute and to disprove, as best you could, any claim that might be urged against Sunday-keeping under the pretext that the time has been lost, and that Sunday is not the resurrection day; or that we have now no means of knowing which is the true day to keep in commemoration of that event? I believe that you will readily answer these questions in the affirmative, and that you and I are agreed on the fact that Sunday, or the first day of the week, is, in deed and in truth, the correct day of the resurrection; and that there is no reasonable ground to doubt the correctness of the keeping of the succession of Sundays, or first days; and that all such claims, by whomsoever made, are only evasions of the real question at issue. Am I not right so far? And are we not both ready to defend the claim made by modern Christendom, and by civilized and enlightened nations generally, for Sunday as being the correct weekly successor of the day of Christ’s resurrection? I think we are. But let us advance a step farther. In Luke’s account of the resurrection we read: “And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on. . . . And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared. . . . And they found the stone rolled away.” Does not this declaration of the inspired historian clearly set forth the fact that “the Sabbath according to the commandment,” that is, the Sabbath of the Decalogue, had fully passed before the dawning of the resurrection day, or first day of the week; in other words, that Christ arose from the dead on the day following that which God has commanded us to remember, to keep it holy?—Most assuredly it does. So when we keep a day with the understanding that it is the resurrection day, or the first day of the week, we can not possibly believe that we are at the same time keeping “the Sabbath according to the commandment,” the Sabbath God “sanctified and blessed.” Since the seventh day, which God blessed and sanctified, does not coincide with the resurrection day, it follows that we can not possibly commemorate God’s rest and Christ’s resurrection by the observance of one day each week. Hence we are led to inquire, Does God require us to keep holy two days each week? If not, which one are we enjoined in His Word to observe? That God did in the beginning sanctify the seventh day as a day of sacred rest; that He enjoined on man its observance as such, and in giving the law through Moses reiterated the commandment, saying, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;” all will admit. That there is any record of that law ever having been, by divine authority, repealed or changed, no one will dare to claim. That there has ever been any divine command for commemorating Christ’s resurrection by the observance of a weekly Sabbath, no one will claim. If there may be found, as is claimed, in the practise of the early Christian churches evidence that they regarded the resurrection day as a sacred day, or even that they observed it as a Sabbath, does that alone enjoin on us the doing of the same, or release us in any way from keeping the day God commands us to keep holy; and especially since no one lays claim to having received any higher authority for the change than the wisdom(?) of the church? What do you really believe in regard to this important question? And are you acting according to your honest convictions, or are you deceiving yourself by saying, It makes no difference what day we keep, as if you could prevail upon God—and that presumptuously, too—to accept at your hand something else instead of that which He has required of you? Did not God bless and sanctify a definite day as a sacred day of rest? Did He not select the seventh day without consulting man’s wisdom or wishes? Did He not make that particular day of each succeeding seven superior to any other day by His sanctifying power and special blessing? And has He given to you, or to the church, or even to the apostles, authority and power to sanctify some other day in its stead? “Who hath required this at your hands?” “Be not deceived. God is not mocked.” THINK NOT THAT GOD DESERTS THE FIELD.
By J. F. Rankin
THINK not that God deserts the field,
Tho truth the battle loses;
But grasp again faith’s sword and shield
And follow where He chooses.
He shrouds Himself in dark events;
No mortal eye beholds Him;
And many an adverse providence
As in a cloud enfolds Him. We see truth’s foes closing around,
Distrusting her resources;
Faith fills the teeming battle-ground
With chariots and with horses.
And, lo, God’s standard rises clear,
Amid the smoke and thunder;
Embattled armies disappear,
Or into fragments sunder! The baffled surf ebbs to the sea,
As tho its task forsaking,
But to return more mightily,
In greater volumes breaking.
What God has sworn shall yet be done;
No pow’r of man can stay Him;
Upon the seas He plants His throne,
And all the waves obey Him. Soldiers of Christ, take heart again,
Fear not dark portents solemn.
God moves across the battle plain
In many an unseen column.
The very stars of the blue night,
As they fulfil their courses,
Shall wheel obedient in the fight,
And add them to our forces. —J. F. Rankin, D.D., LL.D. “And He [Jesus] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” Eph. 4:11. While evangelists are traveling preachers who proclaim the Gospel of Christ to sinners, pastors are shepherds of the flock, those who look after the believing children, the sheep within the fold. The word means a feeder, a shepherd. There is nothing more suggestive of kind care and loving attention than the word and office of pastor or shepherd. The familiar Bible reader will at once recall the life of Jacob, with its fourteen years of hard service for Laban in cold and heat, in sun and frost, in rain and drought; of Moses, who served forty years in the deserts of Midian, keeping the flock of his father-in-law, and there learning lessons of man’s littleness and God’s greatness, thus becoming fitted to care for the feeble and young and wounded in the flock, in order that he might be a true shepherd over Israel. David also had the spirit of a true shepherd, not only in tender love and care for the flock, but in protecting them from the beasts of prey which infested the land. Said he to Saul: “Thy servant kept his father’s sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.” I Sam. 17:34, 35, R.V. David periled his life; he gave it for the sheep. He was vigilant, watchful. He did not wait for the wounded sheep to come to Him; he went to it. The sheep were bound up in his life. This was emblematic of the Spirit of Christ. He is the true Shepherd, the good Shepherd of the sheep, the flock of God. He loves them; for He gave His life for them, that His life might be in them. Thus they know Him, and He knows them, as so beautifully set forth in the tenth chapter of John: “I am the good Shepherd; and I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father.” Verses 14, 15, R.V. He does not capture His sheep by force; He wins them by His love. And after He has won them by His love, He does not drive them, or coerce them; “He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice.” Every step of the pathway is marked by His footprints. This is the spirit and work of the true pastor, or shepherd, of Christ. This is the work He has given His under shepherds, or pastors, to do,—to give their lives for God’s work, which is the salvation and care of His flock. The food which they are to feed the flock is the Word of God. “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” Acts 20:28, 32. “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed; feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” I Peter 5:1–4. They are not to place the food too high. The babes are to be given “the sincere milk of the Word;” the older ones are to be fed with “strong meat.” “Things new and old,” “meat in due season,” are to be given to the flock. “Feed My sheep;” “Feed My lambs,” are the commands of our Lord. Tenderly care for the wounded, the lame, the helpless, the sick; gather in the straying. But how unlike this is the work of the false shepherd, thus depicted by the prophet:— “Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds: Wo be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. . . . My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.” Eze. 34:2–6. “Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.” Verses 18, 19. How manifest this has been in professed Christianity,—pastors who feed themselves, not the flock; who do not strengthen the feeble, nor heal the sick, nor bind up the broken-hearted, nor seek those driven away or lost; but, instead of this, the help of civil law is sought, and the people are ruled by force, and scattered! The pastures of the Word upon which the flock is to be fed are trodden down by false shepherds, and the pure waters of truth fouled—perverted—by their feet, leaving only corrupted food and drink for the flock. We see now the work of the false pastors, and its results. We see the scattering of the flock. God would also have us see the gathering. The under shepherd should preach, not himself, but Christ Jesus the Lord, that all the flock might know and see and hear the one Shepherd and be gathered unto Him. So God will have it. “Therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, even my servant David [Christ]; He shall feed them, and He shall be their shepherd.” Verses 22, 23. Only those who thus know Christ can appreciate the beautiful psalm:— “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul;
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Evangelists and pastors are both precious gifts, oftentimes united in one man, but rarely to a high degree. When in two individuals, the superficial Christian, the worldling in the church, the souls of little experience, generally appreciate the work of the evangelist most. There is a certain amount of impulse and dash generally attending his work which easily win friends. His object is to win men from unbelief to faith in Christ, the easiest part of Gospel work generally. The pastor’s work is more difficult. It is to build up, to perfect the work of the evangelist. It means closer work, heavier strain on the material undergoing finishing, finer polish. Against this the superficial heart rebels. The evangelist and pastor are compared, with criticism of the latter. The former is thought to be superior. He is flattered, urged to be pastor, altho not fitted for it. If he accepts, the church suffers a great wrong, and the man’s efforts are crippled. Praise God for the evangelist who, through the grace of the Gospel, brings us to Christ. Thank God for the noble pastor who faithfully, patiently labors to help us to overcome all faults and imperfections of character, that he “may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” “For the Word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12, R.V. “The word of God is living and active.” It is not alive merely without action, but it acts. Indeed, it is impossible to have life without action of some kind attending it. The place where that part of God’s word which we call the “Bible” is to live and act is the mind and heart of the believer. We can plainly see the action of God’s word in nature. “God said, Let there be light;” and we are enjoying the light to-day that came in response to that word. “God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind;” and all the vegetation that so beautifully covers this earth, furnishing food to both man and beast and bird, is simply growing in obedience to that word. Now if you will receive the Word of God into your mind, that is, if you will study the7 Bible day by day, and as you study it acknowledge that it is true, you will find by experience that God’s Word both lives and acts. It will not be to you mere words on paper, but it will manifest its life and action by doing in you just what it says it will. But if you enjoy this blessed experience in the Word of God, you must continually say that every one of God’s words are true. You may not understand how they can be true. But that makes no difference. You can not tell how grass grows, unless you are able to say that it is by the power of God, yet you see that it does grow. And so when you really and truly believe the Bible, you will see that it is “living and active,” and will know that it puts life and power into the believer, just as well as you know that there are life and power in the blade of grass. If you have never tasted the joys of believing the Word of God, come to the fountain and drink. “O, taste and see that the Lord is good!” T. THE IMPATIENCE OF THIS AGE.
By T.
The contestants in a race are very intolerant of anything that might come in to hinder them. And it would seem as you watch men going about their business in these days that everybody was running a race with everybody else, and that they would resent any obstacles that chance might throw in their way. Just stand on the street corner and watch the people as they rush hither and thither. They stride along as fast as they can, elbowing each other, and pushing and crowding as tho their lives depended on their getting to some distant place in just a few moments. Everything is whirl and hurry and excitement. The literature that is most generally read by many of the people of this age must also be of an exciting nature. Commonplace facts will not do. The marvelous, the highly romantic, the fanciful, and the unreal must be had in order to satisfy the stimulated imagination. Those who give themselves to solid reading, to a very great extent, are also kept under a constant strain. The world is driving so fast that they fear they can not keep up with it. Every new idea must be written up in magazine or book; and, to keep fully intelligent, men think that they must read, and read, and read. The day is not long enough for them, so the night is heavily drawn upon to do the immense amount of reading that is thought to be necessary. The business man is not satisfied with an income that will keep himself and family in comfort, but he must strive for thousands, and even millions, simply to hoard it. He can not possibly use it, only as he may invest it for the purpose of making still more money, to be again invested to make more money for further investments, and so on till the man drops dead from exhaustion. And what has he done?—He has spent his life racing for wealth. And a mad, rushing race it was, for thousands of competitors were in the contest with him, and each one straining every nerve to make his heap of wealth the largest. And so, in all the avocations of our time, men are on the rush and hurry. Old-fashioned sociability is largely a thing of the past. Everybody is too busy to spend time in social intercourse. Unless there is some money to be made, they can not stop. They must hasten on for some more dollars. The only exception to the rule, perhaps, is in the field of sport. Many who will stop for nothing else, will leave their money-making to attend a race, a ball game, or a prize-fight. And here more than any other place the same feverish excitement rages. Men and women fairly go wild over the fun-making and exciting sports of the day. And hundreds are being drawn entirely away from business to the races and the games. They throw away their money in betting and hilarious, riotous living, and often resort to frauds and robberies to replenish their wasted fortunes. In all this rush of business and pleasure there is a feverish desire for stimulating foods and drinks. Nature in its normal condition will not hold up under the strain. So the reserve forces of vitality are whipped into action by all sorts of excitants and nerve stimulants. Most of the nostrums that are sold to cure “nervousness” are only nerve stupefters. The worn nerves are seeking to warn the individual of his excesses of work, dissipation, or whatever may be his physical transgression, but instead of heeding the warning, he swallows some drug that is highly recommended for “nervousness,” and its benumbing effects make him think for the moment that he is benefited. But, in the place of real relief, he is only turning on more steam, to drive him down the grade all the faster. Any one who reflects at all upon the condition of things in the world to-day is fully aware of the fact that the foregoing paragraphs by no means overdraw the situation. And while the general cultivation of the reading habit makes the majority of people more intelligent than in former years, and while there is an abundance of veneer politeness, and while the most beautiful ideals of “the brotherhood of man” are pictured out, still you will find the people at large full of impatience. If a person is jostled in a crowd, it is a rare thing if some angry word does not escape the lips. If things in general do not come around just to suit the individual, his “brotherhood of man” is forgotten, while he indulges in fretful, unkind, and even heated speech. And while the world is so universally in this condition, where is there any chance for a general peace? It may be pleasant for those who are given to dreamy imaginations to picture Utopias in their minds, but for practical purposes it is far better to look at the facts. The manner of living in the world to-day is driving it headlong over the precipice into destruction. And the fact that the multitude is so completely intoxicated with business and pleasure that it does not seem to even dream of the peril, is continually adding fuel to the flame. Why is it that so few have ever been able to see the present-day facts of their time, and must wait till calamities and revolutions overturn the foundations of society before they awake to the situation? And even then their awakening is so tardy that they only have time to see the ruin that might have been averted if they had not refused to observe the unmistakable premonitions of danger that had been urged upon their attention. The people of this age can not go so fast without soon striking the rocks that will dash them to destruction. And do not smother your convictions in regard to the danger signals that are so visible. Reflect upon the condition of things as they are in the world to-day. Throw away your ideals, and confront the facts. What are the portents of the hour? T. “GET THEE HENCE, SATAN.”
By T.
THE Lord Jesus met Satan in the wilderness of temptation. Every device by which the great deceiver has ever been able to lure men into sin was brought to bear upon the Master. He “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Heb. 4:15. Jesus was “tempted.” But that is not all; He was tempted “in all points.” And still that is not all; He was tempted “like as we are.” Thus He comes right into sympathy with us, yes, closer still, He comes into very touch with us. He allowed Himself to be tempted just as we are. And the most blessed part of it all is that He did all this “yet without sin.” He endured this temptation for us. None of it was for Himself. And after Satan had exhausted all his powers to drive the Saviour into sin, then it was that the Master said, “Get thee hence, Satan.” When the Lord spoke those words, Satan had to go. He had been met and conquered, and it was the voice of the Victor who was commanding him. But the Saviour did not speak those words for Himself. When He commanded, “Get thee hence, Satan,” those words were spoken for us. The Master wishes us to know that Satan is a conquered foe. And these words of our Lord are for all His children to find shelter under. When we feel the powers of temptation breaking us down, then it is that the Redeemer wants us to trust in His imperishable Word. The Word of the Lord is a living Word, and when we with reverent faith meet the tempter with, “Get thee hence, Satan,” he must obey. So many professors are nothing but weakness because they do not believe these all-powerful words of the Lord. It is one thing to merely give our assent to the truth of the Bible, but it is a different thing altogether to receive the Word into the mind, as the living, acting, powerful, and purifying agent of our Master. “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to My commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” Isa. 48:17, 18. The Lord Our Only Saviour
“Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Saviour.” Isa. 43 : 10, 11. Fear Not in the Time of Trouble
THE “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,” is now confronting the world. Its dark shadows are now clearly to be seen. But the Lord’s word to all who will receive it is, “Fear not; for I am with thee.” One of the subjects that is much discussed in political circles is the probable policy of the United States in the government of the Philippine Islands. The so-called “open-door policy” seems to find favor, especially abroad, as well as being the reputed ideal of President McKinley. It will no doubt be of interest to many of our readers to know something of what is meant by the policy. Probably no one is better qualified to explain the matter than Congressman Dingley, author of the present tariff law, and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the House. Following are his comments on the subject, given to a press reporter:— The phrase “open door policy,” which is now being talked about so much in the newspapers, means simply equality of treatment, and not free trade. As applied to the dependency of a country, it simply means that imports from all countries are to be admitted on the same terms as imports from the mother country. As applied to the Philippines, it would mean that imports from Great Britain and all other foreign countries are to be admitted at the same rates of duty as imports from the United States. Of course this policy could not be applied to the Philippines if they should be admitted into the Union with territorial form of government, because the Constitution provides that duties shall be uniform within the United States, unless there should be an amendment to the Constitution permitting this. Whether it would be possible to apply this policy to the Philippines after they should become a part of the territory of the United States, under that provision of the Constitution which authorizes Congress to make needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United States, I am not prepared to say. It is noticeable, however, that in the resolution providing for the annexation of Hawaii, passed at the last session of Congress, it was provided that the Hawaiian Islands tariff should continue in force until Congress should otherwise determine. It is to be borne in mind, however, that the present talk about an “open-door policy” for the Philippines is intended to apply entirely to those islands while under a military administration, which would be permissible, and not apply to those islands after they shall have been formally recognized as a part of the United States. Of course, it would be competent for the Paris Commissioners to incorporate in the treaty with Spain a provision granting to Spanish imports into the Philippines equality of treatment with imports from the United States for a term of years, and that provision in the treaty when ratified by the Senate and projected into law by Congress, would be the law of the land. In the discussion of the “open-door policy,” I notice that many papers assume that it is the uniform policy of Great Britain in her colonies. It should be borne in mind, however, that there is a conspicuous exception to this in the case of Canada, her most important colony, which admits imports from Great Britain at 25 per cent. less duty than they are admitted to us and other countries. It is understood that this policy, as adopted by Canada, if not on the suggestion, is at least with the approval of Mr. Chamberlain, British Secretary for the Colonies, and that he is urging other colonies of Great Britain to give a similar preference to that country. The Catholic Mirror of November 5, with a good deal of gusto, quotes the following from Benjamin F. De Costa, D.D., rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, New York:— “It is the sectarian squabbles of modern Protestantism which are making a failure of our efforts for the church. I am not in despair. I look for a revival of the true Christian spirit, which is above all such littleness. But I say the immorality of the present day is something awful, and what are we doing to check it? The Roman Catholics are doing much more. The more intensely Protestant a people are, the less religion is brought to bear with united efficiency against vice.” Yes, the sectarian squabbles are deplorable, due not to true and intense Protestantism, but to sectarianism. But the immorality for which religion is primarily responsible lies at the door of the Roman Catholic Church. The rule of morality is God’s law. The transgression of that law, the change which the Roman Catholic Church has attempted in it, are the primary educational bases for the “awful immorality” prevalent. No human being can check it. It must be done, if done at all, by the power of the Gospel of Christ.