Earlier text: European Political Turmoil and Distress of NationsWOMEN AS TEACHERS.
By W. M. Healey
The Bible teaches us that woman was made for man; and the reason why she was made for man was because it was not good for him to be alone. God gave her the same faculties of mind which he had previously bestowed upon man, which fits her to share in all his joys, and bear a part of all his sorrows. She has the same power as man to love or hate, to be forgiving or revengeful. Observe the faithful devotion of woman at the crucifixion of Christ; she was last at the cross and first at the sepulcher. Woman was created a help-meet for man—that is, a help fit for man. This was while man was in a state of purity, his physical labor not irksome. He did not need her to assist him in obtaining a livelihood for himself; his food was convenient and plentiful. She was not intended, or needed, as a servant or slave, but as a companion; and when she came into existence it became her duty to provide for her own wants, as much as it was the duty of man to provide for his. She had no right to sit in idleness while man labored for her support, but she was to be a help, and bear her part of the burdens of life. A wise Creator has placed upon woman the care and early training of children. He has made her a teacher, a moulder of character to them, and so arranged the laws of nature that it is unavoidably so. The Bible speaks of woman as a help. This she should be in the family, although man is the head. She may help in religious meetings, the Sabbath-school, and elsewhere, but should not usurp authority over the man. 1 Timothy 2:11, 12. In 1 Corinthians 14:34, where we are told that women must keep silence, it not being permitted for them to speak, it is evident from the expression, “but they are commanded to be under obedience,” that Paul had reference to their speaking with authority. He is here describing a disorderly meeting, where each one is setting up his authority to be the head; one wanting to have a psalm, another desiring to teach some doctrine, and others having revelations to give, etc. See verse 26. The apostle reproves the brethren for such a course, but some of the women had evidently been taking an active part in these disputes, and claiming the authority to say how matters should be conducted. To them he says, keep silence in this matter, and however it is decided, be obedient; that is, let it go that way. After that, they could take their proper place and part in the meeting. This is evident from the fact that in the 11th chapter and onward of this same epistle, the apostle has laid down rules to govern both men and women in speaking and praying in public. He suggests the propriety of women wearing their hair long, and of having the head covered (veiled), while prophesying or praying, which shows he had reference to the public assembly, it being common at that time for women to veil themselves in the presence of men. And Paul argues that it is more comely—becoming—for a woman to have long hair, but for a man to have short hair; and he appeals to nature to sustain him. Chap. 11:16. He says, “But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.” From the above we may learn that the length of one's hair was not made a test of fellowship, although some styles were more becoming than others. In Titus 2:11, 12, the aged women were told to teach the younger. In Acts 18:24-26, we read that Aquilla, and his wife Priscilla, went to hear the learned and eloquent Jew, Apollos, and they saw that he was a man capable of doing much good, but that he only preached the baptism of John; so they took him and instructed him more fully. Philip, the evangelist, had four daughters that prophesied (Acts 21:8, 9), and Anna, an ancient prophetess, in the temple spoke of Jesus, the infant Saviour, “to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Luke 2:36-38. This proves that she prophesied in the presence of men, as well as women. In Acts 2:17, 18, God has promised to pour out his Spirit alike upon sons and daughters, in the last days. May we each share in this blessing, and by its influence be fitted for some part in the great work of God upon the earth. Let husbands and wives read carefully the fifth chapter of Ephesians; and parents and children, servants and masters, the sixth chapter of the same epistle. Faith, Hope, and Love: A Verse Meditation
FAITH lifts her telescope on high,
And brings the heavenly glories nigh.
Hope trims her taper with a prayer,
That she may find an entrance there.
Love stoops to earth in service sweet,
And foremost treads the golden street.
—Christian Register. HE THAT OVERCOMETH.
By Mrs. A. W. Heald
In considering the message of the angel to the seven churches (Rev. 2 and 3), we are impressed with the blessedness of the promises to “him that overcometh.” Even the most casual reader has often breathed a silent prayer, “Oh, to be among the number who shall be clothed in white raiment, whose names the Saviour will confess before his Father and the holy angels!” What, then, is it to be an overcomer? and how may we attain that blessed state? And first, let no one think to lead an easy life of pleasure and self-indulgence, trusting that at last in some mysterious way he shall be made an overcomer, worthy to eat of the hidden manna and to receive the white stone and the new name. The work of overcoming must be constant and progressive. What are the foes we must conquer? This is a searching question, which no one can wholly answer for another. The Saviour said, “I have overcome the world.” John 16: 33. The apostle Paul writes, “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (Gal. 5: 24); and again he says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Eph. 6: 11. Here are designated the three great foes to a godly life,—the world, the lusts of the flesh, and the wiles of Satan. How do these enemies assail us? In the parable of the sower, the Saviour said, “The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches . . . choke the word and it becometh unfruitful.” Mark 4: 19. Few, comparatively, are tested by riches, but all have cares to a greater or less extent. Shall we permit them to absorb our whole time and strength, leaving no opportunity for the study of God’s word and for communion with him? The world presents before us its glory and pleasures also. The “flesh with its affections and lusts” would lead us into habits of self-indulgence, which weaken the physical, mental, and moral powers, unfitting us for the work we might do for God and our fellow-beings. We are answerable to God for all the faculties he has given us; our one talent will be required of us with interest. The temptations of the world and the flesh must be overcome, else we shall fall an easy prey to the enemy of souls, and at the last great day we shall hear the fearful words, “Depart from me, I never knew you.” Is it an easy task to overcome these foes of the Christian life? No; for Christ said, “Strive (agonize) to enter in.” “Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.” Do we tremble as we realize our weakness, and the many dangers that surround us? Then let us by faith lay hold on our Redeemer’s promise, “My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” “He shall thrust out the enemy before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.” Through faith we may overcome every foe, and at length it will be said of us, “Happy art thou, O, Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord!” “For the Lion of Judah shall break every chain,
And give us the victory again and again.” Christ's Blessings of Forgiveness and Holiness
“CHRIST comes with a blessing in each hand—forgiveness in one and holiness in the other.” Baron Von Kottwitz, whose early life was spent at the court of Frederick the Great, and who was converted in a little Moravian church, devoted his life, his own estate and that of his wife, who entered into his plans with beautiful sympathy, to charity. He established new industries to cultivate self-help for the people wherever and whenever possible. In Berlin he took possession of some deserted old barracks and housed there six hundred families. The poor in Berlin are said to have been more familiar with his name than with that of the king. Fichte, the infidel philosopher, once expressed a desire to meet him, and Baron Von Kottwitz, when he heard of it, with his accustomed humility, was the first to make a call. Fichte questioned him as to the motive and inspiration of his manner of life. Von Kottwitz, always true to his colors, acknowledged his implicit faith in God, and the great help he found in prayer. True to himself, Fichte replied: “A child may pray, but a man wills.” The old man said, “My dear Professor, I have six hundred poor families to feed, and often in the morning I don’t know where I shall get bread for them for the day. What can I do then but pray?” With tears running down his cheeks, Fichte confessed: “Dear Baron, that is beyond my philosophy.”—Selected. “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” WHAT a vast difference there was between the church in Rome in Paul’s day, and the church of Rome to-day. Then their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world; now their superstition is the object of comment everywhere. Then their faith was spoken of by others throughout the whole world; now that which has been substituted for faith is published by themselves throughout the whole world. It is a good thing when the faith of a church is so marked as to attract attention. But how was it that the faith of the church in Rome came to be known so widely and so well? It could not have been because the Romans told everybody of it, for that very thing would have proved that they didn’t have it. It could not have been because people could see their faith, because faith is not a thing that can be seen. But the results of faith can be seen, and it was by these that the faith of the Romans became so generally known. In the nineteenth verse of the last chapter, Paul says to them: “For your obedience is come abroad unto all.” True faith always works obedience, and that could be seen. How many Christians there were in Rome, we have no means of knowing. There might have been a very large church, yet when we consider the character of that city, we know that the number of Christians must have been very small in comparison with the entire population. It was a heathen city. Nero, whose very name is a synonym for everything that is wicked, cruel, and licentious, was the emperor when Paul wrote his epistle. The character of a king and court largely determine the general character of the people. The lower orders ape the customs and morals of the higher. The love of place and power, and the desire for the recognition of loyalty, are always powerful factors in leading men to conform to the whims, the sentiments, and the morals of an emperor. History tells us that society in Rome at that time was rotten. This is the only word that can describe the condition of things. With all his vices, Nero was luxurious. He had elegant tastes, and spent money lavishly in adorning the city. But effeminate vice always accompanies the lavish expenditure of wealth. Rome was the metropolis of the world, not simply as to population, but in matters of business and fashion. It was both the London and the Paris of that time. Of course, then, the thought and practice of the great mass of the people of Rome was anything but Christian. Yet in the midst of this sink of iniquity there lived a handful of people whose faith was spoken of throughout the whole world. They were emphatically a peculiar people. They were in the world, and yet not of it. The fact that they lived in the most populous, the most fashionable, and the most wicked city in the world, did not hinder them from living “soberly, righteously, and godly.” It is right that the faith of Christians should be spoken of, but it is not necessary that they should do the speaking of it. All they have to do is to have the faith, and it will be known. Says Christ:— “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” Matt. 5: 14-16. Just let, or allow, your light to shine. Have the light, and the world must necessarily see it. The darker the night, the more plainly can we see a lighted candle in the room; so the more of moral darkness there is in the world, the more distinctly should the light of truth be seen in the lives of Christians. They are to be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom they shine as lights. Phil. 2: 15. Christians are Christ’s representatives in the world; that is, the world will learn of Christ through his followers. He is the light of the world, and they, receiving light from him, are to transmit it undimmed to those around them. And this heavenly light shining in them shall increase more and more until it blends with the everlasting glory that shall cover the whole earth. W. THE REST OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
By W.
A FRIEND asks an explanation of Heb. 4:9. We accordingly give the following, which, although brief, will, we think, be found a sufficient key to the entire chapter. That God made to Abraham a promise of an inheritance, is well known. We will quote only two texts. The first is Gen. 13:14-17:— “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” Again the Lord said to Abraham, after he had offered Isaac:— “I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.” Gen. 22:17. Putting these two texts together, we learn that the inheritance promised to Abraham contemplated peaceable and quiet possession of the land; not simply of a few square miles, but of the whole world. Rom. 4:13. Now it was in pursuance of this promise, that the Lord delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. See Ex. 6:1-8. Passing by the wanderings in the wilderness, we come to the address which Moses made to the children of Israel just before his death. Speaking to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, who were allowed to settle on the east side of Jordan, he said:— “The Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it; ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, . . . until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan; and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.” Deut. 3:18-20. From this we learn that the giving of them rest was nothing more nor less than the establishing of them in their possession. The same thing is also shown by the following words:— “For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you. But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; then shall there be a place,” etc. Deut. 12:9-11. In further confirmation of the idea that the promised rest comprehended quiet possession of the land, we read 2 Sam. 7:1, which says that “when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies,” then he thought to build a house for the Lord. In refusing to allow him to do this work, the Lord made great promises to David, and said:— “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as before time.” 2 Sam. 7:10. It is evident, then, that the “rest” promised to the Israelites was the inheritance. Into this rest Joshua led them, as it is written: “And the Lord gave them rest round about according to all that he sware unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.” Josh. 21:44. Yet in the face of this declaration, the apostle declares (Heb. 4:8, margin) that Joshua did not give them rest, and that the Lord afterward spoke of “another day,” in which they might secure rest. We have just read from 2 Sam. 7:10 the promise of that rest. If Joshua had given them that rest, then another day could not have been spoken of. Although God did give to the Israelites the land of Canaan, Abraham had no part in it (see Acts 7:5), neither did Isaac and Jacob, to whom the promise was made as well as to Abraham; and the apostle, after mentioning these patriarchs, and many other worthies, says, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Heb. 11:39, 40. This shows that the possession of the land of Canaan by the Israelites did not fill all the specifications of the promise. This is still more evident from the fact that they were at peace when the Lord renewed the promise in 2 Sam. 7:10. But how shall we explain the statement in Josh. 21:43-45, that God gave to the Israelites that which he promised? Simply on the ground that the partial inheritance which they had, might have been made complete, if they had obeyed and trusted God. That they did not have the complete rest and inheritance that was promised to Abraham, is evident from the fact that the promise to him included nothing less than the possession of the whole world. Rom. 4:13. Now from Jer. 17:19-27, we know that God designed that the Israelites should be forever established in the land of Canaan, whose capital, Jerusalem, was to be the capital of the whole world, even as the New Jerusalem will be the capital of the earth made new. But although they were given possession of the capital of their inheritance, they entered not into the full possession thereof, because of unbelief; so that it was the same as though they had never had any of it. But the “Lord is not slack concerning his promise,” and so “there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” This rest is the same as that promised to Abraham, namely, the whole earth; for, after evil-doers have all been cut off, “the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Ps. 37:11. The fact that some could not enter into rest because of unbelief, does not invalidate the promise that those who will now believe shall enter into it, for the rest was prepared and completed from the foundation of the world; and God will not allow his original plan to be frustrated. With the knowledge that the earth is the rest that was promised to Abraham and to his seed, and which remains for us who believe, it is very easy to understand Heb. 4:3, 4, and the relation which the facts there stated bear to that rest. Thus:— The apostle says, “And God did rest on the seventh day from all his works.” This is positive proof of the statement made just before, namely, that “the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” Gen. 2:3 says that God “rested on the seventh day from all his works which he had made,” and that his blessing pronounced upon the seventh day was “because that in it he had rested from all his works which God created and made.” He made the earth “to be inhabited” (Isa. 45:18), and gave it to man for a peaceful abode; and the fact that he rested on the seventh day was a proof that the103 works were finished and the rest prepared. The Sabbath, therefore—the memorial of God’s rest—a day in which to be glad through the work of God, and to triumph in the works of his hands, as we meditate upon their greatness (Ps. 92:4, 5), is an assurance that God has prepared a rest for his people, and that they will share it just as surely as he is the great Creator who changes not. When Christ shall descend in glory, sitting upon the throne of his glory, having received the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, that he may rid it of all that corrupt it, he will say to the righteous who have kept the faith, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34); and when they with him shall have executed upon the wicked the judgment that is written (See Jude 14, 15; Ps. 149:5-9), then will be fulfilled the promise given through the holy prophet: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” Isa. 32:17, 18. Then shall the people of God enjoy the rest which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world. W. THE SABBATH OF THE LORD.
By W. C. W.
In articles preceding this, we have learned from the word of God that the Sabbath was made at creation. The Creator, who was none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, rested on the seventh day (the last day of that cycle which we call week), blessed that day, and set it apart for mankind. In fact it was the Sabbath which gave us our week. The apparent revolution of the sun gives us the day and year. The month comes from the revolution of the moon. But the week has no astronomical basis. It originated from the institution of the Sabbath, and the arbitrary command of God concerning the Sabbath. If it had not been for that institution, time would have gone on in one ceaseless, tireless round, bringing no rest to toiling hand, busy brain, or weary soul. The fact that the week is known among so many nations, ancient and modern,—nations which have no connection with the Bible or a Bible people,—proves that they received it from the one common source; and that source was not the motions of terrestrial or celestial bodies, but the facts of creation received through Noah, the second father to the race. The ancient scraps of Chinese history and the Assyrian tablets prove that the Sabbath was known by these nations, separate from the Hebrews, through whom came the Bible. It is a strong testimony to the authenticity of the Mosaic account of creation. For what purpose was the Sabbath made? Its primary object was to furnish an especial time when men should worship God. Of course, it is man’s duty to worship God at all times; but there should be special times devoted to God, to call to remembrance his blessings, to seek him for help, to meditate upon his attributes. The idea of rest is also involved, but it is only a secondary matter. The rest is a change of service, not mere inactivity. Neither did man in his primitive condition need rest as he now does. The chief use of the Sabbath is a religious use. A reason for this exists in the very nature of man himself. To God, man owed his existence with all its blessings. It was certainly man’s duty to serve and worship God in harmony with the laws of his Author. As it would be man’s duty to render perfect obedience and worship to God, and as he would find his highest happiness in doing this, he must have been given a nature adapted to this, and which would feel its need of such worship. And this is just what is exemplified among all generations and races of men. They worship something. Their nature demands it. And all the systems of worship we see in the world are but perversions and corruptions of the worship of the one true God implanted in man at the beginning. The conscious weakness of man’s nature leads him to worship a being higher than himself. In order to satisfy man’s needs and to prevent him from falling into idolatry (as well as to give a time of rest), God gave man the Sabbath. That he might not selfishly forget his Creator in his own labor, a certain time must be wholly devoted to God, to call his requirements and man’s duty to remembrance. No one but man’s Author could say how much time should be devoted to this, and he declared that to be one day in seven, and so set apart the seventh of a cycle. But man’s nature demands more than one day in seven for each individual. He was created a social being. He loves companionship. If he worships any object, he desires others to worship that same object. And the effects of that worship would be increased in this union. Therefore men would worship God together in public. But in order to avoid confusion, there must not only be a certain time for each one, but the time of each one must be identical with that of others. In other words, as “God is not the author of confusion,” he must not simply give a certain proportion of time, but a definite day. And which day of the cycle shall be chosen? Man may not choose here. As God only could have seen what proportion of time is needful, he only could say what day was best; and he therefore chose that day around which clustered all the great facts of Creation, that day which would be a constant reminder of his eternal power and infinite wisdom. In this light, the Sabbath is God’s memorial. Says the psalmist, “He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered;” and this memorial is his holy Sabbath. This is plainly set forth in the Sabbath law:— “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Ex. 20: 8–11. In connection with the consideration of this fourth commandment, and the object of the Sabbath, we wish to consider another question, inseparably connected with it, namely, Is the Sabbath a definite day? Certainly the consideration of the subject thus far points to this conclusion, and the Sabbath law is equally conclusive. God rested upon but one day, he blessed only one day, he set apart only one day; and that was the seventh day of the weekly cycle. The commandment, reaffirmed 2,500 years after, states the same thing, and points us back to the same event, the creation of the world, for the basis facts of the Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day.” It was a bulwark against men’s selfishness and greed. The Lord would say to man, Your own selfish interests would lead you to forget the Sabbath; therefore you need to pay particular heed to this. “Remember” not the institution, but “the Sabbath day,” the rest day of God. Remember it to keep it holy.” That is the object of the command. The transgressor could remember the institution; but the obedient will have an object for his remembrance; he will remember it to keep it holy. Notice, that the remembering of it alone is not the point; neither is the keeping of it alone the point of the injunction. But man is to remember it in order that he may keep it holy. Again, man’s remembrance of a day or man’s keeping of a day would not make the day holy; he is to keep holy that which God has “hallowed,” “sanctified,” or made holy. God alone can make things holy. He has made but one day holy, and that is the seventh day. Gen. 2: 1–3. And he commands man to keep holy the day he has made holy. True he says not, “Remember the seventh day,” but “the Sabbath day.” But this carries us back at once to the time when that day was made, when it was distinguished by the Creator’s rest. The law also specifically defines which day is the Sabbath. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” Therefore the one is identical with the other. The seventh day is the rest day, or Sabbath, of Jehovah; and the Sabbath is the seventh day. If the Creator rested upon a day, he must have rested upon a definite day; hence the seventh day is a definite seventh day. Therefore, when the Lord says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” it is just the same as though he said, Remember the seventh day to keep it holy. The seventh day of the week’s cycle is the holy day. The day, as before stated, is given as a memorial. The reason of this is stated. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth . . . and rested the seventh day; wherefore [for which reason] the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Just as often as the seventh day came, it would bring to man’s remembrance the one true God, the Creator of the heaven and earth. He who held this in remembrance as truth, would never go into idolatry. The sun, moon, and stars would be to him not visible deities, but only creatures of God’s hand. So the Lord says through the prophet: “And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.” Eze. 20: 20. Israel of old proved this to be true. When led captive by the king of Babylon, it was because of idolatry and Sabbath breaking. 2 Chron. 36: 14–21. But their late history was marked by an exceeding strict and burdensome observance of the Sabbath, loading it down with exactions not required; but during this time, we find no worship of idols. But to the faithful child of God who observes the Sabbath according to the divine law of the Sabbath, it will be “a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable.” Isa. 58: 13. It will prove to be a watch-tower, defending us from our enemies, and from which we can see the gate of Zion. But we must reserve further consideration of this for our next. W. C. W. Why is it that men who profess Christianity, and especially men who profess to take the Bible as their only guide, will so persistently ignore its plainest teachings? For instance, read the following from an editorial in the Christian Oracle, on the death of Isaac Errett:— “In attempting to pronounce a eulogy on such a man as Bro. Errett, words appear to have such poverty that the heart hesitates to use them. If, however, the departed one knows what is said of him (and who shall say he does not?) he will know the sentiment that prompts the expression, and that its very sincerity is its chief virtue.” “Who shall say that he does not” know? Solomon, to whom God gave wisdom greater than that of all men who ever lived before or since, will say. Hear him:— “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.” Eccl. 9:5, 6. Job will speak most emphatically to the contrary. Hear what he says of the dead man:— “His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.” Job. 14:21. Surely, then, the man cannot perceive what is said in his praise. If men would but heed the plain words of the Bible, they would know, what certain also of their own poets have said, that flattery cannot “soothe the dull, cold, ear of death.” Hear what the psalmist says on this point:— “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Ps. 115:17. Take now the case of a man eminent for his piety; a humble-minded man. Will it be claimed that, although in death he cannot praise the Lord, he can nevertheless know all that is being said in his own praise? Is it so, that the man whose whole life was104 one of self-denying love for Christ, becomes oblivious of everything but self, as soon as he is dead? Can he listen to eulogies upon himself, while he is unable to utter a word for his Master? No; it is not so. Again the psalmist, by whom the Lord spoke, says of man:— “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146:4. The grave is “the land of forgetfulness.” Ps. 88:12. It is the synonym of nothingness. Now the question is, “Do the men who use such language as that quoted from the Oracle really believe the Bible?” We shall not attempt to answer it; but we will say this, that there is no actual difference between such language and the language of Spiritualism. If the dead know all that is taking place on the earth, if their activity and consciousness go on just the same as before, and even in increased degree, then it is simply absurd to say that they cannot communicate their own ideas, and manifest themselves just the same as before their death. The only logical believers in the natural immortality of the soul, are Spiritualists. And all who cling to the Oracle’s theory, will, by their position, sooner or later be driven into Spiritualism. “But,” says some believer in the doctrine of immortality outside of Christ, “the Bible teaches that between the living and the dead there is a great gulf fixed, so that those in the two states cannot communicate with one another; and so I cannot by any possibility become a Spiritualist.” Very true; the Bible does so teach; but is there any more truth in that portion of the Scripture than there is in another? The Bible also teaches that the dead know not anything; yet you squarely and positively deny it. Since you deny the teachings of the Bible in one point, what is there to keep you from denying any other part, or the whole of it, when some species sophistry, or some manifestation that appeals to your senses, is presented to you? Just nothing at all. And so we say that the man who, in contradiction of the Bible, declares that the dead are conscious, is on the high road toward declaring, in contradiction of the Bible, that the spirits of the dead may appear to and communicate with the living, and of finally denying the whole Bible. W.