Earlier text: THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE“LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN.”
By E. L. Vincent
An old lighthouse-keeper was passing away. For years it had been his duty to keep the lamps in the high tower burning. Now the fire of his own life was burning low. Suddenly he raised himself upon one elbow and asked:— “Is the lamp burning in the tower? You know we must not let it go out to-night. Some one will be watching for it.” “Yes, the lamp is all right.” And the old man passed away. How is it with the light committed to our care? Is it burning brightly? This is a stormy sea and rocky are its shores. Many are the life-barks tossing upon its waves. Many are the eyes turned anxiously toward the rocks, looking for the light which shall guide them in the right course. Is our lamp trimmed and burning?—E. L. Vincent. HEAVEN A PLACE.
By Charles H. Parkhurst
A WORLD that is simply a spirit world is not a world that we can either think about with any safety, or that we are qualified to have any particular interest in. There is no warrant in Scripture for thinking that the more unlike this world you imagine a thing to be, the more heavenly it is. Heaven is undoubtedly a locality. The first paradise, which was certainly an exceedingly commendable paradise, was a locality, and there has been, in the meantime, no such change in the constitution of our nature as to indicate that a paradise that is not local would be any improvement upon the original.—Charles H. Parkhurst. What sacred charms and blessed, joyful memories cluster around the Sabbath! The enemy of God has tried in every way he could invent to destroy it. He has led the great multitude wholly to ignore the Sabbath, to treat that sacred day as if it were of no consequence. He has led some to observe it with a strenuous austerity that has taken away all the joy and charm that our heavenly Father placed in the Sabbath when He instituted it. And in the face of these opposing and destructive influences only a comparative few have seen and enjoyed the Sabbath as the Lord intended it to be enjoyed. The Jewish people in the time of Christ were very strict in what they called Sabbath-keeping. But the Saviour had to show them that they knew nothing of real Sabbath-keeping. They had invented a lot of ceremonies and observances, and were giving the most punctilious attention to these, and calling it Sabbath-keeping. They had so filled their minds with these superstitious rites that they had really lost sight of the Sabbath altogether. That which God gave for a great blessing to mankind, they had turned into a withering curse. How often is it the case that man perverts the blessings of heaven, and makes them a yoke of bondage. Then we should not be satisfied with any human ideas of the value of the Sabbath or of what really constitutes Sabbath-keeping. We should go to the Author of the Sabbath direct, and from His Word learn just what He Himself would have us do. Any other course is unsafe, and robs us of the great blessing of Sabbath-keeping. In this connection it is well to consider one of the promises that is fulfilled alone thru the Sabbath. We should be educated away from the idea that Sabbath-keeping imposes burdens upon us; for the exact opposite is the truth. True, intelligent Sabbath-keeping brings sunshine and the richest and fullest joys into the soul. Read the following promise carefully, and see what the Lord Himself has to say about it:— “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isa. 58: 13, 14. “The mouth of the Lord” gave this great promise. It is none other than the Lord of heaven and earth who has called us to take away our feet from trampling upon the Sabbath. He it is who calls us to see and enjoy the “delight” of the Sabbath by not doing our own ways, nor finding our own pleasures, nor speaking our own words. The Lord has something7 better for us than these things of ours. So He asks us to lay aside what we have, that we may be able to enter into the rest and joy that He has provided for us in Sabbath-keeping. Having laid aside our own ways, and our own pleasures, and our own words, then comes the promise, thou shalt “delight thyself in the Lord.” O, the depths of the “delight” which the Lord gives! how boundless! how full! And how clearly does the text under consideration show that Sabbath-keeping is one of the ten beautiful gates thru which this delight is reached. Having entered upon the path of Sabbath-keeping, and thus learned of the real “delight” of the Lord, then there comes that stronger part of the promise,—“I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father.” Note it carefully. The Lord says, “I will cause thee.” He does not leave the reward to rest upon our finite resources and abilities to grasp and hold it, but the Lord Himself causes it, with all its joys, to take us up, and by the arms of Omnipotence to bear us along. He causes the Sabbath-keeper “to ride upon the high places of the earth.” Now, do not get your eye fixed upon thrones or other places of worldly honor. To the men of this world they look like the “high places of the earth;” but they are not apt to be so in fact. They are places that are filled with distressing care and anxiety, and as a usual thing are the storm-centers of earth’s selfish ambition and degenerate greed for power. There are far higher places than these positions that the men of earth are wont to look upon as the crowning realization of the highest hopes. The Lord does not want to stop short of feeding “thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father.” The heritage of Jacob embraces every promise of the Lord. It contains all that is of real worth in this life, and every one of the riches and blessings of eternity is in it. It gives the possessor the certified and sealed papers of adoption into the royal family of heaven. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” Rom. 8: 14–17. The “heritage of Jacob,” then, is to be “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.” A “joint-heir!” What glorious realities do these words hold before the mind! The “joint-heir” is to come into the possession of his full share of everything that the Father possesses. Everything that his constantly expanding powers can enjoy in all the universe of God will be eternally his. It is into just such a wonderful blessing as this that our Father in heaven wishes to bring us. All of His great universe belongs to His only-begotten Son, and He has arranged that every loyal member of the human family shall become a “joint-heir” with Him to its joys and occupations. Such, in brief, is the “heritage” of Jacob, and into such blessed realities will true Sabbath-keeping bring us. In a following paper the purpose of the Sabbath will be considered. T. The Memorial of His Resurrection.
MUCH is said during the early part of April from various pulpits and in various religious newspapers on the resurrection of Christ, more than in all the year beside. Why is this? Does the resurrection pertain to special seasons? Is it more important at one time of the year than another? What is its lesson? What does or should the resurrection of Christ mean to us? How should the great event be celebrated? How should it be remembered before the world? These are important and vital questions to every child of God, nay, more, to all people. When Jesus was taken down from the cross, He was dead. That is one of the great facts of the Gospel. In order to live He must have a resurrection. Death comes in consequence of sin. But Jesus Christ did not die because He Himself was a sinner. He kept the Father's commandments, and abode in His love. John 15:10. He “did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” 1 Peter 2:22. He “gave Himself for our sins.” Gal. 1:4. God “made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor. 5:21. And so He died, and hence the necessity of His resurrection. He died because of our sins, He was raised because of His righteousness, or the righteousness of God in Him. For “in the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” Prov. 12:28. He died, “the Just for the unjust,” to bring us to God; He lives, the Prince of righteousness and life. The power which raised Him from the dead was the power of God manifest in a righteous life in sinful flesh. The law in Him was not “the law of sin and death,” but “the law of the Spirit of life.” Rom. 8:2. And “the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Verse 10. And as Christ was absolutely righteous, God “loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.” Acts 2:24. Death can hold forever only those who are identified with sin. Christ identified Himself with sin, but not for Himself nor in Himself; it was solely for others that He died. He lives because death can not hold the righteous. The resurrection is, therefore, the demonstration of the power of God triumphant over finished sin,—death,—even as it had been triumphant in a flesh of sin in His life. The power by which He was raised is the power of God, the same power that is in the Gospel; “for it [the Gospel] is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. For therein [in the Gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Rom. 1:16, 17. The power of God in the Gospel is, therefore, the power which enables the child of faith to live the righteousness of God. This is the power of the eternal Spirit by which Christ was enabled to offer Himself without spot, and by which His children fulfil or keep the righteousness of the law. Heb. 9:14; Rom. 8:4. It is the power of the life that Christ lived while on earth, and which He lives in every one who will have faith in Him. Gal. 2:20. It is the power by which we are “born from above,” are made new creatures in Christ Jesus, “created” “unto good works,” “in righteousness and true holiness.” (See John 3:3-5; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10; 4:24.) This is the power of God, the power of His “endless life,” the power of His “eternal Spirit,” the power manifest in Christ's life over sin, the power triumphant over death. That same power must be in us, and will be in us, unless we receive the grace of God in vain; for “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Rom. 8:9. It is this power that the Spirit prays thru the apostles that we may possess—“that ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Eph. 1:18-21. The Gospel Memorials or Symbols.
The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are the three great facts of the Gospel. This the apostle Paul sets forth in 1 Cor. 15:1-4:— “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” Certainly, these great events, the death of the eternal Son of God, His burial and resurrection, should be remembered, should be kept before the world, should be proclaimed that others might receive it and be saved, even as did the Corinthians. Has God given us such memorials?—He has. “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come.” 1 Cor. 11:26. The bread and wine of communion are a reminder of the death of Jesus Christ, which is continually and forever effectual—an occasional symbol of a continual spiritual feast of feeding on the Word and life of God. (See 1 Cor. 10:16, 17; 1 John 6:54-56, 63.) It is not on Good Friday alone, or once a year, that Christ's death should be remembered, but “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” 2 Cor. 4:10. The burial and resurrection of Christ is symbolized by baptism. Says the same apostle:— “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Rom. 6:3-6. But the careful reader will observe that it is not in the naked ceremony of baptism that the memorial is revealed. There is the likeness—the going down into the water, the whelming, immersion, burial, and the rising again. All this is of value only as it represents faith in the facts of the Gospel and the power of God. If the faith is genuine, it should mean a funeral and a wedding to all beholders. It says that the old man, the old life of sin, is dead, and we bury him forever; and that the new man is married to Christ, the One also raised from the dead, and whose life is in the believer. (See Rom. 7:4.) The ceremony of baptism itself is, therefore, but a symbol of the new life that is to be. It declares that the believer has forever renounced the world and sin, “that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Such a life should bring forth the fruits of righteousness unto the glory and praise of God. The Value of Such Witness.
The value of Christianity is in its power, its life. If it be only the mere forms, the ceremonies, the ritual, the days, it is no better than paganism. Its reality is in the power of the individual life over sin and in righteousness, of which the simple Christian ceremonies are but symbols. What a witness it is to the power of God to see a sinner, one who loved sin, who bore its varied, corrupting, loathsome fruit, a curse to himself and a disgrace to his family and neighborhood, transformed by the power of God to a righteous man, whose life bears the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost! But this is no fancy picture. There are many such transformations yet, praise God. There would be many more if His professed people only knew Him and knew His power. If they knew Him, they would not need the recurrence of a spring pagan festival to bring the power of His resurrection to mind. They would not supplant His Sabbath by another pagan festival day in memory of a new event, a day never appointed of God. The power of Christ's resurrection, the witness of that resurrection, is manifest in the righteous life of the believer, not for one day in the week, but every hour of every day. “Christ is risen!” Christian brother or sister, does your life show it? Are you “risen with Christ”? This is the vital question. What is His resurrection to you? Sinner, Christ desires to live His life in you. From beyond the tomb He sends the glad message to all, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” He has power to save you. He will live the same life in you that He lived while on earth—a life triumphant over sin. Will you let Him do this? If you have His power in your life, the resurrection to life and immortality awaits you. JESUS APPEARS TO MARY MAGDALENE.
By G.
IN the Gospel according to Mark, we have this record: “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.” Ch. 16:9. Never was there a more forcible, a more practical commentary on the words of the prophet, “Tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; tho they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa. 1:18. Should any one, with this example before him, ever feel a hesitancy in coming to Jesus with a penitent heart? As “a brand plucked out of the fire,” Mary became a personal follower of the Lord, as one of those who “ministered unto Him of their substance.” Luke 8:2, 3. She was one who stood at the cross with the mother and the aunt of Jesus. John 19:25. She had lingered till Joseph and Nicodemus took Him down from the cross, and then she followed to see where they laid Him. Matt. 27:59-61; Mark 15:47. And when the Sabbath was past, she was one of those who “bought sweet spices” for the purpose of further showing a loving regard for the Master. This zeal to show her appreciation of all that Jesus had done for her was rewarded by the honor not only of the first recognition of the risen Saviour, but of being the first human messenger to herald His resurrection. Those whom He had specially chosen to preach the Gospel of His victory over death were still at home, weeping and mourning over the supposed failure of all such hope, when Mary met Him at the tomb and learned that He was alive. However, up to the time of Mary’s actual conversation with the Lord, there was one element—the essential element—lacking in her loving ministrations. Up to this moment the element of faith had been lacking, notwithstanding the plain declarations of Jesus regarding His death and resurrection. This lack of faith was shown in the purchase of the spices and the errand to the tomb. There was no thought of finding a living Saviour at whose bidding she could have the joy of carrying the Gospel message to others. This lack of living faith was shown in the query of the women on the way to the sepulcher, “Who shall roll us away the stone?” But it is especially emphasized in the fact that Mary did not know where to find the Saviour when Jesus was not in the tomb. She was still disposed to seek the living among the dead. Now far be it from our purpose, or the purpose of any one, to criticize the sorrowing disciple. Jesus did not criticize her; He simply proceeded to enlighten her and to employ her to further His work. This employment would of itself tend to strengthen her faith. But He did upbraid His male disciples—His chosen apostles—who had enjoyed much greater privileges, because they did not believe the word of Mary and the other women who had seen Him alive. We can neither receive benefit nor do any good by criticizing the ignorant or the weak in faith, but there are lessons for us in the experience of Mary, else it would not have been written. The first lesson has already been mentioned, namely, that there are none so low as to be beneath the love and pity of our God, or out of reach of His purpose to save. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:8. “The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it can not save; neither His ear heavy, that it can not hear.” Isa. 59:1. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.” Heb. 7:25. The second lesson from Mary’s experience is in her ready appreciation of the ministry of Christ in relieving her from the power of the devil. This was shown not only in an ordinary desire to be in His presence, but in her practical consideration of His physical necessities, and in her personal sacrifice in order to honor Him even in His death. And to show that she imbibed somewhat of His spirit of loving sympathy, she is found close by His mourning relatives at the cross. The mother’s deep sorrow on account of the awful death and humiliation of her Son, of whose career she had hoped so much, was shared by the sympathizing Mary. Personal devotion to the person and cause of one who is being executed at the behest of a cruel mob is always a precarious situation, for no one knows what an over-excited populace will do next when once they have gained the ascendancy over law and order. That the followers of Jesus were by no means safe on this occasion, excepting by the special protection of an overruling Providence, is shown by their subsequent persecution after the murder of Stephen. But not the least important of the lessons to be learned from Mary is in her example of perseverance and sacrifice in spite of her ignorance of the faith. She did what she could, altho in the hour of her greatest need she knew not where to find her Lord. She knew not that He was alive at all. Her most earnest purpose was to find the body of a Friend whom she supposed to be dead. In all this there was the very reverse of faith or hope—only the desire to honor the remains of a dead Benefactor. But in doing what she could to honor Him whom she had believed was the Son of God, she found the living Saviour. Now we may learn from the story of Mary that while the Lord pities our ignorance in doing superfluous service for Him, He will honor honesty of purpose. He therefore designs to enlighten us by His Spirit, thru the Word, and thereby turn all of our earnest efforts into the right channel, as He did Mary’s when He met her at the sepulcher. Many things that Mary lacked are supplied to us—especially to those of our race who live under Christian influences; so there is now no excuse for any to spend time and energy in seeking particular localities in order to find the Lord. “The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the Word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The “throne of grace” is not confined to any earthly locality; and any one, at any time, in any place—any one who believes the Word, and has an honest purpose to obey it—may “come boldly” and “obtain mercy” and “find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16. Now that we have learned these truths, what would the Master have us do? What did He have Mary do when she learned the good news of His resurrection?—He sent her to tell others. “Go thou and do likewise.” G. The following from the Monthly World tells of the process which must be gone thru before Elizabeth Seton can be canonized as the first United States saint:— “Before Mother Elizabeth Seton can be canonized as the first saint who lived in the United States, as a result of the inquiry begun by the Very Rev. P. S. McHale, President of Niagara University, a long and tedious process of formal inquiry must be concluded. “It must first be proved by competent witnesses that Mother Seton was in her life a person of eminent virtues, and that by her direct intercession miracles were performed. “The process of canonization extends over years and sometimes over centuries. The candidate must have possessed the three theological virtues—Faith, Hope, and Charity—and the four cardinal virtues—Prudence, Justice, Courage, and Temperance. “The process is held before the Congregation of Rites in Rome. If the first trial issues satisfactorily, the candidate is called ‘Venerable’ by a Papal commission, which is issued ten years after the transmission of the facts to the Congregation. “A second commission is then called, the Pope makes known his judgment, and when all is finished the ceremony of beatification takes place in St. Peter’s, Rome. “Mrs. Seton was the daughter of a distinguished New York doctor. After the early death of her husband, she devoted her life to teaching and to the building up of the Order of the Sisters of Charity, now a vast and powerful sisterhood.” It is a blessed thought to the child of faith to know that God’s methods are much simpler. In speaking to the Corinthians the apostle uses this language: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified [made saints, holy ones], but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor. 6:9-11. And the characteristics of God’s saints, the character they must possess, are here set forth by inspiration: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. And the life of each of them bears witness to the regenerative, recreative miracle of God’s grace. WHEN bad men combine, the good must associate, else they will fall one by one an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.—Edmund Burke. A STRONG ENEMY.
By C. M. S.
On every hand is accumulating evidence of the fact that the wages of sin is death. Thru sin death came into the world in all its varied forms. There are multitudes of immediate causes; but the cause of all causes is sin. The continual breaking of God's law gave us a broken character, a broken constitution; and upon this broken constitution earth's myriad maladies are able to prey at will. In years gone by, an occasional plague would sweep over a country, or leave a windrow of its dead around the world, having found in some unsanitary locality a favorable breeding ground; but the great, dreaded malady of to-day is local to almost all parts of the world, and other diseases which had been dominant only in certain localities are fast taking root and making for themselves homes everywhere—planting their seeds as it were for a great future harvest. The prevalence of consumption in Great Britain has aroused the government of England to the thought that something must be done to restrict the ravages of this omnipresent plague. The statistics of the English isles have startled the world on account of the great proportion of deaths from consumption. The State of New York recently took action looking to the establishment of a consumptive hospital in the high Adirondacks. The city of Boston finds that the number of deaths from this disease within its borders for the past year is 1,236. In view of this fact, the city health board has taken action directing that physicians shall report all cases of consumption as they would cases of smallpox, and disinfection of the premises must be performed after the removal or death of the patient. Circulars have been distributed giving information in regard to how to prevent the spread of the disease, what precautions the patients themselves should take, etc. California has been considering the feasibility of having a State quarantine against consumptive patients, as the mild climate of this State has induced many such sufferers to locate within its borders in the hope of gaining relief; and the number of these has become so great as to be an actual menace to the inhabitants of the State. The city board of health of Oakland has advised the board of education to employ no teachers known to be afflicted with tuberculosis. In 1899 the surgeon-general of the army was authorized to establish a general hospital at Fort Bayard, New Mexico, for the treatment of officers and soldiers suffering from consumption. At the present time the State of New York is considering the proposition of entirely remodeling the famous State prison at Sing Sing, as its somber interior seems particularly adapted to the increase of tuberculosis. Its cells are small and low, get no sunlight, and often have more than one occupant, and in their damp, fetid atmosphere the bacilli of this malady thrive without hindrance. So prevalent has the disease become that wherever companies of people are gathered together, as in the army, the hospitals, and the prisons, its victims are bound to multiply. There are two reasons for this: more people have it, and the human system is less able to withstand its ravages than formerly. The germ may be taken into a healthy body and no ill effects follow; but a weakened constitution is a standing invitation to it, and there are more of these standing invitations than we imagine, and they are growing more numerous all the while. Insanity is increasing rapidly; the statistics in regard to hydrophobia indicate that this malady also is increasing. This last, taken in connection with the phenomenal increase of tuberculosis in cattle, shows that even the animal kingdom is deteriorating in its disease-resisting powers. The bubonic plague is spreading with a slow, dogged persistence, and other maladies are showing the same tendency. Students of the medical profession are doing their utmost to combat this strenuous enemy, but little is accomplished. If the present rapid increase of disease should continue, the whole race would be sick before many years. The continual breaking out of the bubonic plague in unexpected places shows how a persistent malady can baffle quarantine laws when fertile soil is provided for its spread and growth. All this is the fruit of sin. It is working out its weakening process in all parts of the earth. Amid the groups of the dying and the anguish of the sick, the fearful work of Satan is speeding to its end in the earth; and that end will come in the midst of the most terrible diseases. That work of sin is making fertile soil of the human family for the “noisome and grievous” sores that shall fall upon both man and beast when the angels of God are pouring out the vials of His wrath in the earth. See Rev. 16. When that work of God is in progress, He reminds His children to watch, and to be ready for His coming (verse 15). It will be a sign to the faithful that their King is at the door. It is blessed to know that even this strong enemy can not triumph over the people of God in that time. The pestilence of those days will not be able to fasten itself upon them; for “He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. . . . Thou shalt not be afraid . . . for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.” Ps. 91. The one who would stand in that day must put away sin, and flee for safety to the arms of the Almighty. It is time to do this now; for the Judge standeth at the door. FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE
By G.
Is coming to be deemed a privilege to be restricted to those whose consciences are governed by civil law. When this shall have become a generally-recognized theory—a time apparently not far in the future—then true republicanism will cease to be a predominating factor in our government. Christian Work accredits Mr. Justice Brewer of the U. S. Supreme Court with being “one of the clearest-minded men” on that bench, and then quotes in evidence from a recent speech on the general topic of strikes and labor organizations. He is quoted as saying:— “It may be wise that all who are engaged in pursuing the same vocation should be organized into one body, but whether they should be so organized or not depends, as the law now stands, solely on voluntary action, and to attempt to deny a laborer his right to work, whether he be within or without an organization, and to deprive him of full protection in that work, implies a plain disregard of the mandates of the law.” This utterance is good as far as it goes, but it treats the subject solely from the standpoint of law. And the following further expression shows the danger of that restricted mode of treatment:— “If it be, as a matter of political economy, wise that there should be a consolidation of all employes into one or more organizations, and that no one should be permitted to work except he be a member of such organization, let the lawmakers so enact, and whenever a constitutional enactment to that effect is passed, then every good citizen should strive to enforce it.” This argument utterly ignores the right of individual judgment in the matter of joining a labor organization. Liberty of conscience is not taken into consideration at all. “If it be wise” to have such a “consolidation of all employes,” then “let the lawmakers so enact.” But who is to be judge as to whether it be wise? This is left blank; but it would be necessary for at least a majority of the lawmakers to be of that opinion. It is not for the laborers as a whole to decide. If they were all agreed upon such a course, there would be no need of a law; the laborers would have the natural right to form such a union. It is admitted that they have that right now. The very suggestion that law would be necessary to consummate the “wise” action implies that somebody would have to be coerced into the organization or be denied the privilege of remunerative labor. And “every good citizen” who would “strive to enforce” the law must needs boycott the laborer whose conscience would not allow him to join such a combination. In order to appreciate the force of Justice Brewer’s argument, and Christian Work’s indorsement of it, it should be remembered that he was the author of the Supreme Court’s dictum, in 1892, that “this is a Christian nation.” It should also be remembered that the so-called National Reform element in the country has been endeavoring to draw the labor organizations into its ranks, and to utilize them in the furtherance of the work for virtual Church and State union. The aforesaid dictum of the Supreme Court has been used very extensively to that end, and was made the basis of the first direct intentional religious legislation on the part of the national Congress. Now the suggestion of a law, under any circumstances, providing for the compulsory organization of all laborers, coming from one who believes the nation to be Christian, shows the character of the so-called Christianity which he thinks proper for the nation to foster. And there are thousands, perhaps millions, who would indorse such legislation as “wise,” if such organization could be utilized in the furtherance of certain religio-political schemes. Furthermore the readiness with which such organizations of men can be called from their work on the slightest pretext, or sent back to work, at the beck of a single man, shows their characteristic pliancy in the hands of designing persons. Laws which ignore the freedom of conscience are bad in their very incipiency, and when the industrial question is considered solely from the standpoint of arbitrary law, leaving out the element of justice to even the smallest minority, the foundation is laid for wrong conclusions. In the London National Review, according to the Literary Digest, Mr. Lionel Holland sets before us some of the existing conditions in Spain, among a people whom he calls “far more democratic in temperament than the English.” The elections are falsified, being all arranged beforehand, even to the majorities. Sometimes it becomes necessary, on account of popular demand, to make some change, and officials are all turned out (and pensioned) and new ones given office and salary. Thus are the people tricked, till they lose all faith in their rulers. Of the religious conditions he thus speaks:— “The Spanish priesthood has forfeited, thru the misconduct of many of its members, the respect of the populace, who now regard it with a curious combination of a half-jealous, half-contemptuous dislike, and a superstitious reverence for its superhuman attributes. . . . The curse of untempered liberty has carried corruption to her [the church’s] core. Every charge that Luther hurled against the hierarchy of the Roman Church in the sixteenth century can be established against her Spanish dioceses in the twentieth. Bishoprics are sold to the highest bidder, regardless of the fitness of applicants, yet simony is one of the least of the scandals that flourish under ecclesiastical protection. Vicars and curas are sheltered from the punishment which their crimes or the disgrace which their immorality should entail, by fear of sacerdotal authority. An outrage of a character too grave to overlook and too widely known to hush up may necessitate the banishment to South America of an occasional reverend offender, his escape from justice being invariably connived at by provincial officials and the central government.” And there is much more, which we do not wish to repeat. Spain is Roman Catholicism gone to seed. There are devoted, God-fearing, Christian Roman Catholics, many, we would fain believe; but they are so not because of Roman Catholicism, but in spite of it. A religion based on human works of merit puts man in the place of God, and if left to itself, will ever develop just what is manifest in Spain. And yet one Catholic writer tells us that what Rome has done for other lands she will do in the United States. And this nation is bowing to the same authority. Why can not the honest in heart, even among Roman Catholics, see that it means destruction to Church and State? Austria Expands Its Standing Army
AUSTRIA is making provision for a large increase in her standing army. The minister of public defense declares that as there is no prospect of a disarmament movement among the nations, Austria must be prepared to protect herself.