Earlier text: General ArticlesTHOUGHTS ON DANIEL.
By Uriah Smith
CHAPTER II.—THE GREAT IMAGE.
IN 677, B. C., Babylon became connected with the people of God by the capture of Manasseh, king of Judah, and is at this point introduced into prophecy. The character of this empire is indicated by the nature of the material in that portion of the image by which it was symbolized—the head of gold. It was the golden kingdom of a golden age. Babylon, its metropolis, towered far above all its later rivals. Situated in the garden of the East, laid out in a perfect square sixty miles in circumference, fifteen miles on each side, surrounded by a wall three hundred and fifty feet high, and eighty-seven feet thick, with a moat, or ditch, around this, of equal cubic capacity with the wall, divided into six hundred and seventy-six squares, each two and a quarter miles in circumference, by its fifty streets, each one hundred and fifty feet in width, crossing each other at right angles, twenty-five each way, every one straight and level, and fifteen miles in length; its two hundred and twenty-five square miles of inclosed surface, divided as just described, and laid out in luxuriant pleasure-grounds and gardens, interspersed with magnificent dwellings—this city, with its sixty miles of moat, its sixty miles of outer wall, its thirty miles of river wall through its center, its hundred and fifty gates of solid brass, its hanging gardens, rising terrace above terrace, they equaled in height the walls themselves, its temple of Belus, three miles in circumference, its two kingly palaces, one three and a half, and the other eight miles in circumference, with its subterranean tunnel under the river Euphrates connecting these two palaces, its perfect arrangements for convenience, ornament, and defense; and its unlimited resources—this city, containing in itself many things which were themselves wonders of the world, was itself another and still mightier wonder. Never before saw the earth a city like that; never since has it seen its equal. And there, with the whole earth prostrate at her feet, she sat, a queen in peerless grandeur, "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," fit capital of that kingdom which constituted the golden head of this great historic image. Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar, youthful, bold, vigorous, and accomplished, seated upon its throne, when Daniel entered its impregnable walls to serve a captive for seventy years in its gorgeous palaces. There, the children of the Lord, oppressed more than cheered by the glory and prosperity of the land of their captivity, hung their harps on the willows of the sparkling Euphrates, and wept when they remembered Zion. And there commenced the captive state of the church in a still broader sense; for, ever since that time, the people of God have been in subjection to, and more or less oppressed by, earthly powers. And so they will be, till earthly powers shall give way to Him whose right it is to reign. And lo! the day of deliverance draws on apace. Into another city, not only Daniel, but all the children of God, from least to greatest, from first to last, are soon to enter; a city not merely sixty miles in circumference, but fifteen hundred miles; a city whose walls are not brick and bitumen, but precious stones and jasper; whose streets are not the stone-paved streets of Babylon, smooth and handsome as they were, but transparent gold; whose river is not the mournful waters of the Euphrates, but the river of life; whose music is not the sighs and laments of broken-hearted captives, but the thrilling peans of victory over death and the grave, which ransomed multitudes shall raise; whose light is not the intermittent light of earth, but the unceasing and ineffable glory of God and the Lamb. Into this city they shall enter, not as captives entering a foreign land, but as exiles returning to their father's house; not as to a place where the chilling words of bondage, servitude, and oppression shall weigh down their spirits, but where the sweet words, home, freedom, peace, purity, unutterable bliss, and unending life, shall thrill their bosoms with delight forever and ever. Yea, our mouths shall be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, when the Lord turns again the captivity of Zion. Ps. 126:1, 2. VERSE 39. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. It is almost with a feeling of regret, as we look at Babylon, raised to such a pinnacle of splendor, by so much care, and pains, and labor, that we turn to look at the picture of her downfall and desolation. But we must remember that the Chaldeans were the oppressors of God's people, and were guilty of iniquities which challenged retribution at the hand of high Heaven. So said the Lord by the prophet: "And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations." Jer. 25:12. Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty-three years, and was succeeded by the following rulers: his son Evil-merodach, two years; Neriglissar, his son-in-law, four years; Laborosoarchod, Neriglissar's son, nine months, which, being less than one year, is not counted in the canon of Ptolemy; and lastly, Nabonadius, the Belshazzar of Daniel, son of Evil-merodach, and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, with whom that kingdom came to an end. In the first year of Neriglissar, only two years from the death of Nebuchadnezzar, broke out that fatal war between the Babylonians and the Medes, which was to result in the utter subversion of the Babylonian kingdom. Cyaxeres, king of the Medes, who is called Darius in Daniel 5:31, summoned to his aid his nephew, Cyrus, of the Persian line, in his efforts against the Babylonians. The war was prosecuted with uninterrupted success on the part of the Medes and Persians, until, in the sixteenth year of Belshazzar, Cyrus laid siege to Babylon, the only city in all the East which then held out against him. The Babylonians, gathered within their impregnable walls, with provision on hand for twenty years, and land within the limits of their broad city, sufficient to furnish food for the inhabitants and garrison for an indefinite period, scoffed at Cyrus from their lofty walls, and derided his seemingly useless efforts to bring them into subjection. And according to all human calculation, they had good ground for their feelings of security. Never, according to human probability, with the means of warfare then known, could that city be taken. Hence, they breathed as freely and slept as soundly as though no foe was waiting and watching for their destruction around their beleaguered walls. But God had decreed that that proud and wicked city should come down from their throne of glory; and his decrees, what mortal arm can hinder? In their very feelings of security, lay the source of their danger. Cyrus resolved to accomplish by stratagem what he could not effect by force; and learning of the approach of an annual festival, in which the whole city would be given up to mirth and revelry, he fixed upon that day as the time to carry his purpose into execution. There was no entrance for him into that city except where the River Euphrates entered and emerged in passing under its walls. He resolved to make the channel of the river his own highway into the stronghold of his enemy. To this, the water must be turned aside. For this purpose he dug an immense trench around the city, and on the evening of the feast-day above referred to, he detailed three bodies of soldiers; the first, to turn the river at a given hour into a large artificial lake a short distance above the city; the second, to take their station at the point where the river entered the city; and the third, and where it came out, with instructions that, when, in the darkness of the night, they found the river fordable, they should enter its channel, and immediately urge their way to the palace of the king, where they were to meet, surprise the palace, slay the guards, and capture or slay the king. When the river was turned into the lake mentioned above, Cyrus also opened the trench he had dug around the city, drawing off the surplus water into that, which soon made the river fordable, and the soldiers detailed for that purpose, followed its channel into the heart of the city of Babylon. But all this would have been in vain, had not the whole city, on that eventful night, given themselves over to the most reckless carelessness and presumption, a state of things upon which Cyrus calculated largely for the carrying out of his purpose. For each side of the river, through the entire length of the city, were walls of a great height, and of equal thickness with the outer walls. In these were huge gates of solid brass, debarring all entrance from the river bed to any and all of the twenty-five streets that crossed the river, when closed and guarded; and353 had they been thus closed at this time, the soldiers of Cyrus might have marched into the city along the river bed, and then marched out again, for all that they would have been able to accomplish toward the subjugation of the place. But in the drunken revelry of that fatal night, these river gates were all left open, and the entrance of the Persian soldiers was not perceived. Many a cheek would have paled with terror, had they noticed the sudden going down of the river, and understood its fearful import. Many a tongue would have spread wild alarm through the city, if they had seen the dark forms of their armed foe stealthily threading their way to the citadel of their strength. But no one noticed that the river suddenly became emptied of its waters; no one saw the entrance of the Persian warriors; no one took care that the river gates should be closed and guarded; no one cared for aught but to see how deeply and recklessly he could plunge into the wild debauch. That night's work cost them their kingdom and their freedom. They went into their brutish revelry subjects of the king of Babylon; they awoke from it slaves to the king of Persia. The soldiers of Cyrus first made known their presence in the city by falling upon the royal guards in the very vestibule of the palace of the king. Belshazzar soon became aware of the cause of the disturbance, and died, vainly fighting for his tyrannical and beastly life. This feast of Belshazzar is described in the fifth chapter of Daniel; and the scene closes with the simple record, "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old." Thus the first division of the great image was completed. Another kingdom had arisen, as the prophet had declared. The first installment of the prophetic dream was fulfilled. But before we take our leave of Babylon, let us briefly glance forward to the end of its melancholy fall. It would naturally be supposed that the conqueror, becoming possessed of so noble a city, far surpassing anything in the world, would have taken it as the seat of his empire, and maintained it in its primitive splendor. But God had said that that city should become a heap, and the habitation of the beasts of the desert; that their houses should be full of doleful creatures; that the wild beasts of the islands should cry in their desolate dwellings, and dragons in their pleasant palaces. To this end, it must first be deserted. Cyrus removed the imperial seat to Susa, a celebrated city in the province of Elam, east by south from Babylon, on the banks of the river Choaspes, a branch of the Tigris. This was probably done, says Prideaux (i. 180), in the first year of his sole reign. The pride of the Babylonians being particularly provoked by this act, in the fifth year of Darius Hystaspes, B. c. 517, they rose in rebellion, which brought upon themselves again the whole strength of the Persian Empire. The city was once more taken by stratagem. Zopyrus, one of the chief commanders of Darius, having cut off his own nose and ears and mangled his body all over with stripes, fled in this condition to the besieged, apparently burning with desire to be revenged on Darius for his great cruelty in thus mutilating him. In this way he won the confidence of the Babylonians till at length he made him chief commander of their forces; whereupon he betrayed the city into the hands of his master. And that they might ever after be deterred from rebellion, Darius impaled three thousand of those who had been most active in the revolt, took away the brazen gates of the city, and beat down the walls from two hundred cubits to fifty cubits.. This was the commencement of its destruction. By this act, it was left exposed to the ravages of every hostile band. Xerxes, on his return from Greece, plundered the temple of Belus of its immense wealth, and then laid the lofty structure in ruins. Alexander the Great endeavored to rebuild it; but after employing ten thousand men two months to clear away the rubbish, he died in the midst of a beastly debauch, and the work was suspended. In the year 294, B. c., Seleucus Nicator built the city of New Babylon in its neighborhood, drawing from the old city inhabitants and material for the new. Now almost exhausted of inhabitants, neglect and decay were telling fearfully upon the ancient city. The violence of Parthian princes hastened its ruin. About the end of the fourth century, it was used by the Persian kings as an inclosure for wild beasts. At the end of the twelfth century, according to a celebrated traveler, the few remaining ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace were so full of serpents and venomous reptiles that they could not, without great danger, be closely inspected. And to-day, scarcely enough even of the ruins are left to mark the spot where once stood the largest, richest, and proudest city the earth has ever seen. Thus the ruin of great Babylon shows us how accurately God will fulfill his word, and stamps upon the brow of skepticism the infamous brand of willful blindness. The Sabbath School.
By Ellen G. White
LESSON FOR PACIFIC COAST.
"WHEN Herod heard of the wonderful works of Christ in healing the sick, casting out devils, and raising the dead, he was exceedingly troubled and perplexed. His convictions were that God, whom John preached, was indeed present in every place, and that he had witnessed the wild mirth and wicked dissipation in the royal banqueting-room, and that his ear had heard his command to the executioner to behead John, that his eye had seen the exultation of Herodias, and the taunting and insult with which she had reproached the severed head of her enemy. And many things which he had heard from the lips of the prophet now spoke to his conscience in louder tones than the preaching in the wilderness. He had heard from John that nothing could be hidden from God, therefore he trembled lest some terrible punishment should be visited upon him for the sin he had committed. "When Herod heard of the works of Christ, he thought that God had resurrected John, and sent him forth with still greater power to condemn sin. He was in constant fear that John would avenge his death by passing condemnation upon him and his house. 'And king Herod heard of him [Christ] (for his name was spread abroad); and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead.' "The Lord followed Herod as is described in Deuteronomy: 'The Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear, day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, Would to God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would to God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.' "In these words is presented a vivid picture of the criminal's life. His own thoughts are his accusers, and there can be no torture keener than the stings of his own guilty conscience, which give him no rest night nor day."-Mrs. E. G. White in Great Controversy. "It is most wonderful that Herod and his courtiers should not have known of our Lord's preaching and miracles at an earlier period, especially as he spent most of his time in Galilee. Some think that Herod had been absent at Rome during the former part of our Lord's ministry; but if this were so, his nobles and counselors had not all been absent likewise. Others think that he at this time attended to the report, because Christ had just sent forth his disciples to work miracles in his name. But the supposition that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead implies that Herod had never heard of him before or known that such a person existed; for how could he who had lived about thirty years in Galilee, be John the Baptist who a short time before had been put to death? In fact, nothing can solve the difficulty but the consideration of the general disregard which persons in high rank show to the concerns of religion, and the astonishing ignorance in which most of them remain of what goes forward in that respect." "The fate of John might have remained undecided for a considerable time, had not an incident taken place, which determined it. The folly, the rashness, and the madness of such an oath as Herod's on so foolish an occasion, could be exceeded by nothing but the horrible purpose to which it was perverted. Herodias had a passion to gratify stronger perhaps than any other, when it takes full possession of the human heart, and that is revenge. She had been mortally injured, as she conceived, by the Baptist; and she not only felt the highest indignation at this insult, but was afraid that his repeated remonstrances might at length prevail. Herod conceiving himself, most absurdly, bound by his oath to comply even with this inhuman demand, preferred the real guilt of murder to the false imputation of perjury. Herodias 'had a quarrel against John; according to the original 'she fastened and hung upon him,' and was determined not to let go her hold till she had destroyed him."-Scott's Commentary. "As the sun was setting, Jesus saw before him five thousand people besides women and children, who had been all day without food. He inquired of Philip concerning the probability of obtaining bread for so large a number, that they might not return to their homes unrefreshed nor faint by the way. This he did to test the faith of his disciples, for he himself was at no loss how to provide food. He who would not work a miracle to satisfy his own hunger in the wilderness, would not allow the multitude to suffer for lack of food. Philip looked over the sea of heads and thought how impossible it would be to obtain sufficient food to satisfy the wants of such a crowd. He answered that two hundred penny-worth of bread would not be nearly enough to divide among them so that each one might have a little. Jesus inquired how much food could be found among the company. He was told that Andrew had discovered a lad who had with him five barley-loaves, and two small fishes. But this was nothing among so many, and they were in a desert place, where no more could be obtained. "Jesus commanded that this meager store should be brought to him. This being done, he directed his disciples to seat the people upon the grass in parties of fifty and one hundred, to preserve order, that all might witness the miracle that he was about to do. This marshaling of five thousand people into companies, was at length satisfactorily accomplished, and they were all seated in the presence of the Saviour. He then took the loaves and fishes, and, having given thanks, distributed them to the disciples and to the multitudes, in quantities sufficient to satisfy their appetites. "The people had arranged themselves in the required order wondering what was to be done, but their amazement knew no bounds when the problem was solved, and they beheld food portioned out to that vast assembly from the slender store scarcely sufficient for a score of persons. The food did not diminish, as Jesus handed it to his disciples, who in their turn served the people. As often as they returned to him for a fresh supply, it was furnished them. After all had been satisfied, he directed the disciples to gather up the fragments that nothing might be lost; and the broken fragments filled twelve baskets. "During this remarkable feast, there was much earnest reflection among those who were so miraculously served. They had followed Jesus to listen to words such as had never before fallen upon their ears. His teachings had sunk into their hearts. He had healed their sick, had comforted their sorrow, and, at last, rather than send them away hungering, he had fed them bounteously. His pure and simple doctrine laid hold of their minds, and his tender benevolence won their hearts. While eating the food he had provided for them, they decided that this was indeed the Messiah. No other one could do so mighty a miracle. No human power could create from five barley loaves and two small fishes, food sufficient to feed thousands of hungry people. His teachings and work of healing had already nearly convinced them of his divinity, and this miracle crowned their growing conviction with entire belief."-Mrs. E. G. White. ONLY two ways—one broad, the other narrow; one leads to destruction, the other to life; many go by one, few by the other. Which is your way? Only two sorts of people. Many sorts in man's opinion; only two in God's sight—the righteous and the wicked, the wheat and chaff, the living and the dead. Which are you? Only two deaths; the death of the righteous and the death of the wicked. Which will you die? Which would it be if you were to die this moment? Only two sides at the day of Judgment—the right hand and the left. Only these two. Those on the right will be blessed—"Come ye blessed of my Father." Those on the left shall be cursed—"Depart, ye cursed." All must appear before the Judgment seat of Christ, to receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Only two destinies—the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, and the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The marriage supper of the Lamb within the holy city, and the weeping and gnashing of teeth. Which shall be your portion?—Sel. “HE that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul; but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.” Chicago’s Unaccounted-for Children
By Golden Censer
In Chicago there are one hundred and thirty-six thousand children and youths between six and twenty-one years old. Of this number forty-seven thousand four hundred are enrolled in the public schools, twenty-two thousand six hundred in the private schools, and twelve thousand are engaged in work of one kind or another. This leaves fifty-four thousand unaccounted for. There are sixty-one thousand in Protestant Sunday-schools and seventeen thousand in Catholic schools. But while these are the names on the various school rolls, there are probably not over fifty thousand different children upon the average, in attendance upon all the schools in the city upon the Sunday. This leaves eighty-six thousand that are not in the Sunday-schools. One district was found with twenty thousand population where not ten per cent. attended church or Sunday-school. And in another district with fifteen thousand people there is no Protestant church or Sunday-school; and in still another district having twenty-six thousand people there is but one church where services are held in the English language. FIRST REACH THE HEART.
By J. S. Hart
Few, even of teachers, appreciate fully the influence of the heart upon the head. How slow the mind is to receive or understand that to which the heart is averse. On the contrary, how readily we take in knowledge which is pleasing. Aversion to a subject, or to the person who presents it, has a sort of blinding influence upon the mental vision. A wise ancient has told us, indeed, that it is right to learn even from an enemy. But it is the very difficulty of so doing which has given to this saying its chief celebrity. Much of the up-hill work in the training of the young has been because the young have regarded, and often with good reason, the race of teachers as their natural foes. This unhappy idea, when it once takes possession of a child, has the effect of placing him in an attitude of resistance against instruction. Whatever knowledge the teacher succeeds in putting into the mind of such a child, is by the hardest labor. The skillful advocate before a jury knows that much of his success in producing conviction, depends upon his first creating a pleasant impression on their minds. Those advocates who are most successful, always pave the way for their arguments by adroit speeches, intended simply to gain the confidence and good will of the hearers. To the public speaker of any kind, the willing ear is an indispensable element of success. Religious teaching, beyond every other kind of teaching, depends for its success upon the good will and affection of the pupil. There are many reasons for this. In the first place, attendance upon religious instruction is voluntary to a much greater extent than attendance upon other studies. Then, it is one of the direct effects of sin to make the mind averse to religious knowledge. Sin moreover has vitiated the taste, and corrupted the judgments, so that there are no topics on which even children have so much to unlearn, as they do on those connected with religion. The subject, therefore, more than most subjects, needs to be made attractive. Now nothing so gilds any theme, as love for the one who propounds it. Love is indeed a great beautifier. It makes the plainest picture comely, the dullest subject entertaining. The teacher who has the love of his scholars, may lead them through almost any path, however hard or strait. Wherever he goes, they will follow.—J. S. Hart, in Thoughts on Sabbath schools. DEATH OF ELDER JAMES WHITE.
By Editor
LAST Sabbath the intelligence came to Oakland by telegraph that Eld. James White was very sick and probably dying. This was speedily followed by other telegrams which gave hope of his rallying; but again grave symptoms returned, and before the sun went down we received the sad tidings of his death. The news of this event filled our hearts and our houses with gloom. For us, who had stood so long connected with him in the work of the third angel's message, it was impossible to bring ourselves to the belief that he would die in this sickness; and now, it is hard to realize that he is no longer one of our number. Twenty-nine years ago we began to correspond with him in the Review, which was then small but eagerly hailed by every Sabbath-keeping Adventist, and twenty-six years ago we became associated with him as Corresponding Editor of that paper. Almost the full period of an active life we have stood together in this work. Last winter, while in his room in Battle Creek, we called his attention to the fact that very few whose names appeared in the early volumes of the Review, were yet remaining with us. One by one they have fallen. We both felt that it was an admonition to us, but we did not then imagine that he would be the next to pass away. James White was born in Palmyra, Maine, August 4, 1821; at his death he was two days over his three-score years. In his youth he gave himself to the service of God, and most of his life has been spent in the ministry. One of the first to embrace the truths of the third angel's message, the providence of God placed him in the forefront of the work in which he literally spent his life. It was often remarked by those who were associated with him more than a quarter of a century, that we never knew a man whose being and personality were so entirely identified with his work. He was a man of strong and ardent feelings. Consequently his disappointments, especially in individuals, were almost overwhelming to him. His position as leader in a work which was "everywhere spoken against," subjected him to the complaints and criminations of opposers and the murmurings of the disaffected. He often suffered most keenly by these assaults of the enemy, knowing that these efforts were made to put down, not him, but the cause which he represented, and which was dearer to him than life itself. No man ever occupied a position where the careless would more readily misunderstand his motives. It was to his credit that they who stood with him the longest, and were most intimately acquainted with him, clung to him the closest and trusted him most fully. About fifteen years ago he was stricken down with paralysis, which brought him very near to the grave; and as slighter shocks followed the first one, he never fully recovered from their effects. They who knew him only since that time cannot realize with what strength and energy he labored in this cause previous to that time. Coming from a strong and long-lived family, his afflictions made him appear like a man of fourscore years while he was yet in, what might have been, the prime of his life. He needed rest. He sleeps in peace. Our words of sorrow cannot reach his ears; his eyes cannot perceive our tears. If it shall be our happy lot to meet him at our Redeemer's side, we believe our association in this work will not be forgotten by us, even amid the joys and glories of the kingdom of God. But it is not possible for us to express our feelings at this time in a mere obituary. His memory does not need our words. His memorial is engraven on faithful hearts all the way from Maine to California. The deep sympathies of all at the Office of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES go with Bro. and Sister W. C. and M. K. White as they take their journey homeward to attend the funeral of their father. Our prayer is that God will sustain the stricken family, and especially our dear sister E. G. White, upon whom this visitation falls so heavily. We feel assured that He who has guided and upheld her in so many trials in life, will not desert her in this hour of her heart's anguish. And we know that the "pioneers" in this work will appreciate our feelings as we ask God to deal tenderly with our dear Brother Andrews, who, in the midst of his other afflictions, can but be sorely stricken by the tidings of the death of his life-long associate in the faith and work of the present truth. THE REVISED VERSION.
By Editor
THE English revisers were fifty-two in number, but twenty-seven were appointed to the Old Testament, and twenty-five to the new. The number of American revisers was about thirty; nearly two-thirds as many as the English. All the principal denominations were represented. The "Companion" well remarks:— "No sectarian version can succeed even within sectarian limits. There is a commonwealth of Christian life and scholarship which transcends all sectarian boundaries, however useful and necessary they may be in their own place." We have said that if a version could be made which would exactly and fully suit any one man, it probably would not suit any other man. In any accepted version we must consent to some things which we would prefer not to have retained. Of the Revision the Companion again says:— "It is a compromise: every member had to sacrifice some of his preferences to the majority; but for this very reason it is more likely to prove generally acceptable to the churches." There were two reasons why the American Committee had to make the greater sacrifice. 1. They were in favor of giving a more literal version and of making more changes than were the English. 2. They were in the minority, and it was possible for the English Committee to control the matter entirely. Yet, in justice to the English Committee we must say that they did not exercise their power in an unfair manner; indeed, the Americans seemed quite well satisfied with the consideration they received, which was as great as could reasonably be expected. A great many of the changes were suggested by both committees, each independent of the other, so that, if only one had been engaged in the revision, the result would have been much as it is. The following list of American suggestions adopted by the English will give a fair idea of the influence exerted by this Committee. In Matthew, 126; in Mark, 46; in Luke 62; in John, 84; making in the gospels, 318. And something over 100 changes in the gospels, suggested by the American Committee, were rejected; but all these, in the gospels and elsewhere, are put in an Appendix in every copy of authorized editions, where all may examine them who desire to do so. To further show that the changes made are not novel,—that they did not originate altogether with these committees, Dr. Riddle, one of the New Testament company of revisers, and a contributor to Lange's Commentary, has counted the changes made in certain chapters, and given the number of the same which had previously been adopted in the Commentary, published 1864 to 1871. In Matthew 25—changes 62; anticipated in the Commentary, 30.
John 7—changes 85; anticipated by Lange, 60.
In letter to the Ephesians, changes 314; anticipated 229. These were changes adopted by the first English revision, and the Commentary was the American edition. In some portions of the New Testament the correspondence is even greater than above. There seems to be no doubt that the work of the American revisers is more faithful to the original than that of the English. The following from an English paper concedes this:— "Several of the recommendations of the American Committee might have been adopted with advantage. The general excellence of the suggestions of the American revisers is undoubted, and they ought not to have been so often neglected. What is most obvious is the small amount of material change. A conservative spirit pervades it. Perhaps this was a prudent measure on the whole, when we consider the sensitive orthodoxy of the English church, or rather of those members whose influence was paramount among the revisers at the beginning, middle, and end. But might not one scholar of proved competence, belonging to that same church, have done as much within ten years? Probably, indeed, he would have considered it a waste of time to spend years on the homeopathic revision of a venerable translation. Yet the volume, with all its shortcoming, will do good, exorcising from the minds of many simple people, the notion that the old version is infallibly inspired. It is a step in advance, preparing the way for a new and independent translation from another critical Greek text." This conservatism on the part of the English was only to be expected. It is accounted for in the following words of the "Companion":— "The Revision must be faithful first to the original Scriptures, and next to the idiom and vocabulary of the Authorized Version. Sometimes these two kinds of loyalty come into conflict. In unimportant or doubtful cases the English revisers allowed their regard for the old version and for English usage to overrule their regard for the Greek text, and felt bound to do so by the Canterbury rules. This is very natural, if we remember that the old version is largely incorporated into the liturgical and devotional literature, and that the Book of Common Prayer is a greater power in England than in the United States. The American editions of the Prayer Book depart from the English editions in some of the disputed particulars of language, for instance in the change of 'which' to 'who' in the Lord's prayer. The American Appendix then represents closer adherence to the Greek, and greater freedom from old English usage." The Examiner and Chronicle, N. Y., has been gathering the opinions of Baptist ministers throughout the country. As a general thing they are quite favorable to the Revised Version. As a specimen, and one of the most briefly comprehensive criticisms among them, we copy the reply of Rev. Z. Grenell, Jr. of Detroit, Mich.:— "The presumption is in favor of the New Version. It goes without saying that the outcome of ten years' work by such men as have made the Revision must be an improvement on the version of 1611. This expectation is justified by even the most superficial examination. If the Revision did nothing more than make such corrections as Christian scholars have for years agreed ought to be made, it were a great advance. It does this and much more, and is therefore worthy of first place in the pulpit, the school, and the home. And yet it is needlessly faulty. Conservatism and timidity have conspired to retain blemishes which ought to be found least in the book we call the best. Why the revisers should 'cloke' Matt. 5:40, set the most significant interrogation point of John 12:27 in the margin, and 'had rather' have bad grammar in 1 Cor. 14:19, like Paul, in Phil. 1:22, 'I wot not.' Such unreasonable retentions seem almost to merit the mysterious objurgation still found in Jas. 5:1, 'Go to now.'" Our remarks on this subject, though brief, have already extended beyond the limit we at first marked out for them, except a few points for adverse criticism which we purpose to notice next week. We repeat, that we are greatly pleased that this work has been done, believing that it will add much to the knowledge of the people at large of the sacred Scriptures. It is to be expected that many will read from mere curiosity. But as Paul rejoiced at the preaching of the gospel of Christ even when it was preached of contention, so we rejoice when people search the Scriptures, whatever the present motive may be. For, they may be benefited while reading, in a manner which they did not anticipate; or they may lay a foundation of Bible knowledge which will give the preacher of the gospel, at some time, opportunity to awaken up their religious sensibilities and alarm their consciences. And finally we again recommend to our readers the "Comparative Edition" as most convenient, and the surest means of becoming acquainted with the changes actually made. Many of these changes are suggestive, and open up a line of profitable thought to the reader. If you trust to two books, a separate copy of each version, your examination and comparison will not likely be very close, and you will suffer loss accordingly. If you have a copy of both constantly open before you, as is the case with the Comparative Edition, you can scarcely fail to compare the two in your daily reading. You will of course, read more slowly, and examine more closely, and this is exactly what most readers need to do.