Earlier text: CatholicThe Coming of the Lord Draweth Nigh.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THE elite of San Francisco is just now deeply engaged in the enjoyment of a carnival, the "paper carnival" it is called. Webster's Unabridged gives us the definition of carnival, thus: "A festival celebrated with merriment and revelry in Roman Catholic countries during the week before Lent." As Lent is the forty days before Easter, this carnival is considerably before the time, but in all other points, as best we can make out from the reports, the definition is quite fully met, for this is now virtually a Roman Catholic country, although this is not, in name at least, a Catholic carnival. The tamest definition that we can find of revelry is "noisy festivity" and the reports show that this definition exactly describes the proceedings. We read of the "grand march," "dancing," yes even of a certain minuet being "beautifully danced by people from St. Paul's Church, who have a reputation in this direction." We read of costumes "ranging from the primordial ape to the finest court costume of the queen of the English." We read that "next to the grand march" "the booths are the great feature of the carnival." One of these is "devoted to refreshments;" another is the "Mermaids' Grotto" and "the army of young ladies who take part in the tableaux of Neptune and the Mermaids, are attached to this booth." We read of "St. Luke's booth," devoted to ice-cream and cake and arranged with a "sole view for revenue." We read that "St. John's Church has an ice-cream booth" and does a "rushing business." We read that "many of the younger men found their way to the gypsy camp to have the dusky maidens reveal the future to them through the medium of the cards." All this and a great deal more we read, and that the revelers "generally gave themselves up to the full enjoyment of the occasion." By close attention to the long report of the first night's revelry, we find that it is altogether a church affair. We find that "the authors" are "the Reverend and Mrs. John Gray;" that the carnival is given in the interest of the Rev. Mr. Gray's church, that of the Advent; that "the Rev. Mr. Gray appeared upon the stage and announced that the carnival pavilion was now open," and that after about a week's run the Rev. Mr. Gray "was overjoyed with the sustained interest." The object of the carnival is said to be "to raise enough money to cancel a debt of $15,000 on the property of the Church of the Advent." In the same paragraph we read that "at a low estimate" "the dresses, costumes, etc.," made specially for the carnival and good for nothing else, as they are made of paper and flowers, "represent a cost of about $10,000;" that "the carnival has been three months in preparation;" and that "over 800 persons take part in it." These items are worthy of a little consideration. Let us make a brief calculation, and put everything at a low estimate. The time of the persons engaged we will count at twenty-five cents a day. Eight hundred persons at 25 cents per day is $200 a day. Counting but 75 working days in the three months engaged—75 days at $200 a day, is $15,000. To this add the $10,000 for costumes, etc., which gives at a low estimate $25,000. That is to say, these people have made an investment of $25,000 in order to get a return of $15,000. In other words, $10,000 is paid for revelry alone. Then what, but revelry, was the real object of the carnival? And all this no doubt is called helping the cause of God! Could anything better illustrate the scripture, "Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof"? In such a connection the title "Church of the Advent" is exceedingly and fearfully suggestive, for it is just such practices as these that the Saviour declares will be the characteristic of the times which immediately precede his second advent to this world. The word of God declares abundantly that thus it will be in the last days; that those who have a form of godliness will be "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3:4, 5. It is time to turn away, for "revelings and such like" God classes with adultery, idolatry, murder, drunkenness, and the like, and declares "that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal. 5:19-21. "Babylon is fallen" indeed; "come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:4. J. Bible Answers to Bible Questions
By J.
ANOTHER important question concerning man, one which has, no doubt, been asked by every person that ever lived long enough to think at all upon the subject, is, When a man dies, where does he go? what is his condition? etc., etc. This question the Bible asks: "Man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" Job 14:10. Of course there have been many answers given to this question; and there are yet many, even in this land where Bibles are scattered everywhere. Some say that if he die wicked he is in hell; if he die righteous he is in Heaven. Others say that he is in neither hell nor Heaven, but in purgatory; and yet others that he is in none of these but has passed to the "spheres," and still associates and communicates with those who still live. Of course all these answers cannot be the right ones; and as a matter of fact not one of them is the right one. The Bible alone is that which gives the right answer to this, its own question. And as it is alone the Bible answers to Bible questions that we are now studying, that alone shall be what we shall seek on this question of where is man when he has died. "Man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" Answer: "The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead." Eccl. 9:3. To good king Josiah God said, "Thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace." 2 Kings 22:20. Of the wicked he also says, "Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb." Job 21:32. Jacob said, "I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning." Gen. 37:35. We shall not multiply texts on this point, but simply show that this is confirmed by the word of Christ. When he comes to give reward to his people, and when he calls for them, they, all that are dead, are found in the grave: "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:28, 29. Therefore the Bible answer to this question is plainly that he is in the grave. But what is his condition there? Let us read a verse from Job again: "Man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up; so man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:10-12. This shows that man, when he dieth, is asleep. Again Job says that if he had died when he was an infant, "now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept; then had I been at rest, with kings and counselors of the earth. . . . There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master." Job 3:13-19. In the history of the kings of Israel and Judah, twenty-five times is the record made of their deaths, "He slept with his fathers." Not to multiply texts we turn at once, again, to the word of Christ. Lazarus was sick. Jesus and his disciples were some distance away, and Lazarus died. Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said the disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death; but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead." John 11:11-14. Here are the words of Christ: "Lazarus sleepeth;" "Lazarus is dead." Therefore the plain word of Christ is that when a man is dead he is asleep. Paul says that, "David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption." Acts 13:36. And Peter says of him, "David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:34. And the reason is, that "David slept with his fathers and was buried." 1 Kings 2:10. Of Stephen it is recorded, "He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." Acts 7:60. It is certain, therefore, that the Bible plainly teaches that when man dies he falls asleep. The word of God plainly teaches the sleep of the dead. And it is wholly an unconscious sleep, as, in the very nature of the case, it must be when the place of sleep is in the grave. But here is the proof: "The living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146:3, 4. When men's love, and hatred, and envy, and their very thoughts, have perished, and their memory is gone, there can be nothing else but unconsciousness. But that is precisely what death is, and that is the condition into which men go when they die—a long, silent, dreamless sleep. But the Bible story on this subject does not stop here. For "now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept." 1 Cor. 15:20. "And many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection." Matt. 27:52, 53. And as God "brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus," so also "them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him;" "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are697 alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:15-17. "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." Then it is that, "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." Dan. 12:2. Then is the time to which David looked when he fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." Ps. 17:15. This is the time to which Job looked when he said, "Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." For it is at the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead that the heavens roll away. "The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places," and men cried "to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:14, 16, 17. The Bible answer to the Bible question, When man giveth up the ghost where is he? is this, therefore: He is asleep in the grave until the trump of God awakes the dead, and the voice of the glorious Son of God calls and all that are in the graves hear his voice. For it is God who gives victory over death, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Reader, this is profitable teaching, for it is the teaching of the word of God, and "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." Isa. 48:17. This is the way that the Lord Jesus leads us, will you follow? The Seventh Day of the Week Not a Jewish Sabbath.
By James White
IN 1872 the writer was challenged to a written discussion on the subject of the Sabbath, by a Disciple preacher of high standing in his denomination. On the nature of the seventh-day Sabbath we then wrote the following remarks, which we still believe to be conclusive as proving its morality, and its entire separation from all Jewish or typical institutions:— The seventh-day Sabbath stands apart from all the other sabbaths, which were afterward ordained, in respect to its title; the reason of its institution; and the nature of the obligation to observe it. And, First, its title. In any and all of the yearly sabbaths, such as were peculiar to the Jewish system, there is no rest of the Lord from any work given as their basis; and therefore they are not the sabbaths of the Lord as is the seventh day, his Sabbath, or rest day. We find this distinction recognized in the Scriptures, as in Lev. 23. The yearly sabbaths are enumerated and enforced, “beside the Sabbaths of the Lord.” Verse 38. As all the other sabbaths were local and contingent, limited to that dispensation, to Israel, it was said in prophecy, I will cause all her sabbaths to cease. Hos. 2: 11. Secondly, the reason of its institution. We take the first sabbath given to Israel as peculiar to their dispensation; the fifteenth and twenty-first days of the first month, connected with the feast of the Passover. These, as each of the other sabbaths peculiar to their system, were (1) to commemorate an event in their experience; (2) they were typical of future events; (3) they were yearly and not weekly sabbaths. The weekly Sabbath, the seventh-day Sabbath, was made at creation, and commemorated that work; and in its institution it was related to God’s work only. But the others are relative to man’s action and condition as a sinful being. I cannot conceive how a greater difference could exist. Had man never sinned, it would then have been forever true, as it is to-day, that God made the world in six days. Had no system of redemption been devised or needed, it would still have been eternal truth that God rested the seventh day, and that he blessed and sanctified his rest day. But, on the other hand, had not man sinned; had no system of redemption been promised; had no types of the Redeemer’s work been ordained, then none of the typical or yearly sabbaths would have been instituted. Had man not sinned, the whole train of circumstances by which those sabbaths were called into being, would not have existed. They all stand related to man’s action as a sinner, and to Christ’s work as Redeemer. And as they point to, and have their fulfillment in, his work, they are appropriately denominated, “A shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Col. 2: 14-17. But the Lord’s Sabbath, as has been shown, is of an entirely different nature. It is not so related to man’s action as a sinner, or to the work of redemption. It was not based upon any contingency, or upon any future work. But it had for its foundation a glorious work all finished and complete “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy;” a work in which Jehovah himself delighted, and which he pronounced “very good.” And, thirdly, the nature of its obligation. A difference in this is the necessary result of the truths before stated. In three respects I notice this difference:— (a) The obligation to keep the seventh-day Sabbath is based on primary and eternal truth. By primary truth I here mean that which grows out of the action of God alone—out of the original constitution of things; truth that existed before the fall of man, and would ever have existed had he never sinned. There is a class of secondary truths growing out of a perversion of God’s work; out of the contingent relation we sustain to God since the fall. And all institutions, and obligations corresponding thereto, growing out of these secondary relations are necessarily limited by their nature; they are typical or shadowy. I think that no person, on reflection, will dispute the ground I here take, that NO TYPICAL INSTITUTION OR MERELY POSITIVE DUTY CAN GROW OUT OF ORIGINAL RELATIONS; i. e., out of those relations existing from creation, and by virtue of creation. And, on the other hand, NO MORAL OBLIGATION CAN ORIGINATE IN, OR SPRING FROM, A SECONDARY RELATION; i. e., a relation growing out of man’s act of rebellion. In God’s own mind all moral relations and duties originate. Man may, and he did, create the necessity for a scheme of restitution and redemption; but no part of this plan is elementary. It owes its origin to wrong-doing; its necessity is laid in sin and rebellion. (b) The seventh day was from the beginning a hallowed or sanctified day. It was “holy to the Lord.” Ex. 16: 23; 31: 15. “The holy of the Lord.” Isa. 58: 13. “My [the Lord’s] holy day.” Id. The obligation to observe it has sacredness as its basis; the commandment guarded an original, sacred institution. The Sabbath, like its twin sister, marriage, though often and much abused, comes down to us from Eden’s purity and glory. (c) It is based on the right of property. God always claimed the seventh day as his; and this claim he based on facts as old and as unalterable as creation itself, as has been abundantly shown. But the obligation of the other sabbaths did not rest on any such original relation; and, coming yearly, they fell at different times on all the different days of the week which God gave to man for his own work. The days of the week on which any of them fell (except when they fell on the seventh day), were not holy by reason of any blessing or sanctification ever put upon those particular days. The consecration, in their cases, attached to institutions which were temporary, and (as to the days of the week) were movable. God never claimed the right in them that he did in the seventh day. He did not rest from his work on any of them. They could not be the Lord’s sabbaths, or rest, as the seventh day was and is. In a word, the duty to keep the seventh day holy is based on the original right of property, specifically declared. And if the eighth commandment is moral because it guards the right of property, evidently the fourth is moral for the same reason. Certainly, every relation upon which the institution and obligation of the seventh-day Sabbath depended is as old as creation itself—as old as any of man’s moral relations possibly can be. J. H. W. The Missionary.
By Stephen N. Haskell
The Council of Basel and Its Proceedings, Rome Triumphs.
THE Scriptures, in speaking of the Roman power, say, "It shall break in pieces and bruise." This has ever been true of it. Rome never changes. At times it often appears to be defeated, but it is the "mystery of iniquity." It is Satan's stronghold on the earth. In its folds he lives, by its forms he is nourished, and in its persecutions of the saints he glories. This power was to wear out the saints of the Most High, and it has done it, and still aims to do it. Protestantism of to-day has forgotten the foe with which it contended for centuries in the past, but it is none the less a foe still. What it could not do by fire and the sword, it has tried to accomplish by stratagem, always working on the principle that the end justifies the means. Concerning the council at Basel, Fox says that the Papal legate opened the proceedings with a long and eloquent oration, in which he said that the church was the spouse of Jesus Christ, and the mother of the faithful; that it had the keys for binding and loosing the souls of men; also that it was white and fair, without spot or wrinkle, and could not err on those points necessary to salvation. He exhorted those present to receive the decrees of the council, and to give no less credit to them than to the gospel. He said that the Bohemians, who called themselves the children of the church, ought to hear the voice of their mother, who was never unmindful of her children. With many like remarks, he exhorted the people to the unity of the faith. The Bohemians briefly responded, saying that they neither believed nor taught anything that was not founded on the word of God; that they had come to the council to vindicate their innocence in open audience; and, in conclusion, laid upon the table the four articles which they had been instructed to insist upon as the basis of peace. The Fathers strove, and not without success, to draw the deputies into discussion upon points of their faith. They anticipated an easy victory over men whose lives had been spent in the battle-field, but they found in Procopius a theologian as well as a general. They learned also that the Bohemians were as obstinate in the council chamber as on the battle-field. The debate dragged along for three tedious months. It was not a little mortifying to the Fathers at the close of this council to find themselves unsuccessful, and that, in the open debate in Basel, the place of their own selection, in the blaze of the ecumenical council, these men of Bohemia, whom they had condemned to general destruction, were uncompromising in every particular. They tried to draw them into debates that would make them appear unfavorable before the council. Said the Papal legate to the Bohemians, "You hold to a great many heresies; for example, you believe that the mendicant698orders are an invention of the devil." This, it was said, had been found in the writings of the theologians of Prague. "Can you show," replied Procopius, "that the mendicants were instituted by either the patriarchs or prophets of the Old Testament, or by Jesus Christ or the apostles of the New? If not, I ask you by whom they were instituted?" The legate did not press the question any farther. Answers like this to questions asked by the legate made the Papal party, instead of the Bohemians, appear ridiculous before the council. It was thus that God vindicated his own truth, that truth that Huss and Jerome defended at Constance, where these two witnesses were burned at the stake; but here at Basel the truth came off triumphant. The council ended without any compromise on the part of the Bohemians; but still the Papal party had no desire to again unsheathe the sword and renew their warfare against this people. The Bohemian chiefs also felt it would be a great relief if the war could cease. But the only alternative for the Papal party was to call another council, and make another effort to unite with the Bohemians. Accordingly another council was appointed in 1434, to deliberate with reference to the question that had caused them so much trouble. This council was to be held at Prague, in Bohemia. Without entering into the particulars of the negotiation, it is sufficient to say that this council ended in a compromise. It was agreed that the four articles of the Hussites should be accepted, but that the right of explaining them, that is, of determining their precise import, should belong to the council; in other words, they should be submitted to the Pope and emperor. This proved the overthrow of the Bohemians. This agreement was called the compactata, and was very much like Rome as she has manifested herself in every age of the world. She accepted the Hussite articles, but reserved to herself the right of determining their true sense. It might have been foreseen that the interpretation and not the articles would henceforth be the rule. Said one writer, "This formula of the council is short, but there is more in the meaning than in its words. It banishes all such opinions and ceremonies as are alien to the faith, and it makes the Bohemians bound to believe and maintain all that the church, Catholic, believes and maintains." It was a surrender of the Bohemian faith, and thus the Pope and emperor, defeated on so many battle-fields, now triumphed by diplomacy. The emperor now became sovereign of Bohemia, but he did not live to take an active part in the government. God had marked the dreadful sin he had committed in delivering up his servant, John Huss, to death. It was a singular, but severe, providence that kept the emperor so long from ruling over the people he so miserably treated. And now, when, by their own mistake in submitting to the policy of Rome, they placed him at the head of their nation, God would not permit him to rule over the people he had so abused. If there were no God who rules on this earth, we might well despair, but there is an unseen hand lying back of outward circumstances, that guards with a tender care God's work and people. Here, in the nineteenth century, this same God lives, and is watching with intense interest the development of character in his people, and the movements of nations. While the day of wrath is hastening, and troublous times are gathering, this unseen hand will provide a shelter for God's trusting people. May the Lord help us to prepare for these events. S. N. H. Canvassing in Australia.
By Editor
THE following from Brother Arnold, in Australia, we were permitted to copy from a private letter to Elder Haskell. It will give some idea of what an active canvasser can do in spreading the truth of the Third Angel's Message. May the Lord bless the canvassers and their work:— DEAR BROTHER HASKELL: Your welcome letter written at Washington, N. H., July 16, was received August 30. We are all of good courage, and are having success in the work. Have instructed several canvassers since you left; I take them with me, and they have a chance to hear the real business many times each day. One brother came up here and I took him out with me. The first day I got nine orders. I believe the Lord blessed me on his account. Another brother has gone to a mining town near here, working in the mines on the "night shift" to pay his way, and canvassing during the day. He writes that he is having success, and calls for Brother Israel to come up as there is a good opening for Bible-readings. It is, indeed, cheering to hear the good reports from all parts of the field, and what a grand thing it would be if we had a few energetic men to go to India, Africa, South America, and other places, and get the work started. I had a talk with a man in business in this city, who was in India three years. He said there were 40,000 English-speaking people in Calcutta. He thought we would get on all right if we went to Bombay during the hot weather. I took an order from a lady who once lived in St. Petersburg, Russia. She said there were many English-speaking people there. There are quite a number of Chinamen in this city; some of them have been converted to Christianity; I have been wishing that I could get the truth before them. A few days since, one of their most influential men gave me his order. He is said to be a devoted Christian man and is well off. He seemed to understand about the signs that show the coming of Christ near. I was much pleased with his appearance; he referred me to their Chinese missionary, who gave me an order for two books—one for himself and one for his sister-in-law at Sydney. Brother Israel went with me when I canvassed the missionary. From a picture he showed me, I should judge that his wife was an English lady. His home was well furnished, and as neat as one could wish. I hope these men will yet carry the message to China. I have been blessed to-day in reading Sister White's article in Review of July 20, entitled, "Among the Churches of Switzerland." The Spirit will yet be poured out with greater power than on the day of Pentecost, and every man will hear the truth in his own tongue. I hope you will still pray for me as you used to at Summarlide, and I will keep up good courage and go ahead. Hoping to see you again sometime, I remain your brother in Christ,
WILLIAM ARNOLD. The Promise of the Holy Spirit
By Macdonald
ONE promise without reserve, and only one, because it includes all and remains—the promise of the Holy Spirit to them who ask it.—Macdonald. North Pacific Conference.
By Charles L. Boyd
A VERY encouraging interest has been awakened in the city of Portland by missionary labor. In this interest the guiding hand of God is especially manifest; and it is very important that the work here receive proper attention. In company with Elder Reed, the writer held meetings at Albany, where a small church and tract society were organized. The members of this company seem to have received not alone the theory of the truth, but also the love of it. This company were brought into the truth by the labors of Elders Potter and Reed while there with the tent the past summer. At Gravel Ford I united in meetings with Brother Ward, where he and Brother Cole had been engaged in tent labor this summer. Some of the members of the Coquille City church have recently moved here. A church was organized, and preliminary steps taken for the organization of a tract society, which can be completed in due time by the director. The church at Vancouver, W. T., are receiving encouragement in their missionary work. Some have already commenced to keep the Sabbath and others are interested whom we hope will soon unite their interests in thorough Christian work with the church. Their quarterly meeting was held the last Sabbath and Sunday in October. The presence of the Spirit of the Lord was manifest. This church very much need a house of worship, which they hope to build soon. Four have recently been baptized at East Portland and have united with that church. The Sabbath-school here is doing a good work. Besides the classes in English there are now two classes in the German and one in the Scandinavian language. The Cause in Colorado.
By C. P. Haskell
As THE season for tent labor is nearly or quite closed, we can form some estimate of the summer's work in this State. There have been but two tents in this Conference the past season. The one in the southern part of the State has been faithfully warning a very rough and hard community, and though the impressions have not been as deep as could be desired, yet books to a considerable amount have been sold and some good souls are keeping the Sabbath as a result of the meetings. The tent in the northern field was more favorably located, being in a good farming community; and as a result of the labor in this locality, quite a goodly number have embraced the truth. About thirty-five have signed the covenant. The mission work has been actively carried forward, with but a few laborers however. There are four good souls who are keeping the Sabbath, and many more are interested. The truth has been sent from one end of the United States even to the other by means of those who have come to Colorado for health and pleasure. We have had visitors even from Australia. We know that some of this good seed will find a lodgment and take root and bring forth fruit to God's glory. One brother who started in the canvassing work but a little over two weeks ago, with no experience, reports about sixty orders for "Marvel of Nations," which we think encouraging for a beginner. Our hearts are encouraged, and we are determined to press the battle more vigorously than ever before. C. P. HASKELL.
Denver, Col., October 27, 1886. Christ's Care for His Disciples.
THE most beautiful commentary possible on John 10:11, 12, is Christ's solicitude for the safety of his little band of disciples. The power and majesty which could make the armed men, sent to arrest him, go backward and fall to the ground is not used for himself; it was never used for himself. He even undoes the effect of Peter's rash act, which might have otherwise involved him in the same danger. And the question naturally rises, Is he less solicitous now? If under all that cloud of anguish and dread his first thought is for them, can there be any difference in his feelings now that he is exalted above all principalities and powers? To this question the Scriptures answer, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday and to-day and forever."—Cynosure.