REFERRING to a discussion of the results of the recent dissolution of church and state in France, a Catholic journal says:—
More luminous far, however, than any a priori forecasts of the outcome is the actual attitude of the proletariat in France toward the nation since this irreligious campaign reached its climax. Posters have been placed in several instances adjacent to military barracks, urging soldiers to desert, and even to mutiny, in the event of war between France and some foreign nation. Patriotism, being a moral virtue, can no more exist, in the genuine sense of the word, apart from religion, than any other moral principle. The French republic has sown the wind; it may reap the whirlwind.
This brief comment indicates clearly the real attitude of the Roman Catholic Church upon the question of the separation of the church and state. The divine principle, adopted by the founders of this republic, is tolerated by the papacy on the ground of expediency, but when the proper time comes, it will be openly repudiated.
Note and Comment
In a violent protest to the Spanish government against the visit which M. Loubet, the French president, has been paying the Spanish king, Don Carlos of Bourbon, the Spanish pretender claims that “the presence of the French president in Spanish territory is an offense to the Catholic feelings of the Spanish people, who repudiate the republican form of government, which has been adopted in France, and look with abhorrence upon the separation between church and state, which the French officials, with Loubet’s personal complicity, are now trying to foist upon the French people.” Republicanism and Protestantism with its separation of church and state are entirely at variance with the principles upon which the papacy is established. When the two-horned beast of Revelation 13 speaks as a dragon, we shall hear the same things asserted in America that are now openly stated in Roman Catholic countries.
The Jews’ Terrible Legacy
“His blood be on us, and on our children,” said the Jews to Pontius Pilate, when the latter sought to stay the purpose of the Jews to put Jesus to death. Fateful words! Little indeed did the Jews realize their awful significance. In the gruesome news from Russia there comes to-day a reminder of those words. Jews murdered, slaughtered by the thousand, regardless of age or sex! The blood of the innocent One was upon the men who crucified him, and even to this day it has not ceased to be on their children. Terrible legacy bequeathed to their unborn posterity! The Jews in many places have been the victims of the professed followers of Christ, especially where deep religious fervor has been joined with the basest instincts and passions of the carnal mind. The Jews have been persecuted and killed by many people as a mark of their devotion to Christianity. Christianity is not responsible for these crimes, but they have come in a train of events set in motion by the deluded men who rejected Christ in the days of Cæsar Augustus. There the seed was sown of which their children are yet reaping the terrible harvest.
Warning Against the Tidal Wave of Socialism
Governor Hoch, of Kansas, is quoted as having said in a recent speech touching the subject of railway rate regulation:—
I want to say to you, not as an alarmist, but as a slight contributor to the American awakening, that unless we find some effectual remedy for the control of the great trusts and corporations in the interest of all the people, a tidal wave of socialism will sweep over this country one of these days that will do incalculable damage. It will not come to stay, if it comes at all, because its wrecks, which strew the pathway of human history for three thousand years, attest the fact that it is not a stayer. To avert such a calamity conservative corporations, as well as the wisest and the most distinguished statesmen, should bend every energy.
The Prohibition Candidate’s Vote
Of over six hundred thousand votes cast in the recent mayoralty contest in New York City, the Prohibition candidate, according to the published returns, polled three hundred and twenty-eight votes.
L. A. S
By L. A. S.
An anti-alcoholic congress was recently held in Budapest, Hungary, representing an anti-alcoholic movement which has for some years been gaining force in Europe. The reason of this movement appears in the alarming results that have of late years become apparent in European countries from the use of alcoholic beverages. So impressed have some observers become with the danger of the situation, that they advocate the strongest and most radical measures of reform, urging that even the mildest of alcoholic drinks should be entirely discarded. One authority states:—
Beyond all question the use of alcoholic drinks has increased rapidly within the last three decades. The consequent demoralization, both physical and moral, has excited alarm even in governmental quarters. In some places the physical deterioration of the men has been such as to make it difficult to obtain soldiers of the required standard. The adulteration of wines has become so general that pure drinks are little used. The demand for nervous stimulant, even in the more southern parts of Europe, has resulted in very extensive use of the deadly absinth.
The point seems to have been reached where even governments must face and settle the question whether they are to survive or succumb to the power of alcohol.
L. A. S
The Call of the Hour
By John G. Walker; N. W. Allee; Wm. Covert; S. B. Horton; E. K. Slade; E. W. Webster; G. F. Watson; Wm. Guthrie
Brief Messages From Conference Presidents
A Time of Test
THE coming week of prayer will again bring us to a test, revealing whether we are still in sympathy with the world, or have decided in our hearts to follow the Saviour in a life of self-sacrifice and self-denial. How thankful we should be, brethren and sisters, for the glorious privilege of helping in so good a cause, not only with words of good cheer by pen and voice, but with our means also. Let us try to do more this year than last.
JOHN G. WALKER, of North Dakota.
Hastening the Work
“For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness; because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” Rom. 9:28.
The Lord accomplishes his work upon the earth through those whom he has appointed to represent his cause here. His providence has opened wonderful opportunities by which this work may be done. Precious privileges are afforded his people of being “his helping hand.” This work is to be “cut short in righteousness.” During the week of prayer we may individually share in aiding to forward this great message to the last generation of men. Brethren and sisters of the Tennessee River Conference, let us prove our interest and sincerity in this cause by contributing of our means to carry the precious truth to other lands.
N. W. ALLEE, of Tennessee River Conf.
For Greater Things
THE announcement of another week of prayer impresses us with thoughts of the rapid flight which time has made. But what about the message of truth we bear? Have we cast the life-line into the regions beyond as skilfully as we have strengthened our stakes at home?
It is true that something has been accomplished, but could we not have done much more if all our energies had been worked toward such an end? Have we not reached an era in the proclamation of the third angel’s message when delay should be regarded as criminal neglect of duty? It seems that even the angels engaged in accompanying our missionaries to fields of labor are restless for greater things than we yet have done. Our Captain is ready to lead us to any height, or against any strongholds now in the hands of the enemy. That which is essential on our part, is the courage to go.
Shall not the year 1906 mark the opening of the mightiest campaign ever inaugurated under the auspices of this denomination? Has not the time fully come when our brethren with large properties should contribute thousands to the world-wide enterprise of giving the soul-stirring and soul-winning message of our Lord’s soon coming, to every nation, people, and tribe? The gifts from the purses and the standards in consecration and piety should register higher numbers and greater degrees than have yet been marked by this people. May we not hope for an undivided and hearty co-operation by all, that the truth may win its way to certain victory?
May the coming week of prayer carry us far toward the realization of our fondest hopes and most ardent desires. Shall we not lay aside the cares of business, and enter upon the appointed period with faces toward the sunrise of that bright day which will never be followed by the night?
WM. COVERT, of Northern Illinois.
What It Must Mean
APPRECIATING, as we must, the ominous movements of the world powers to-day, the pulsations of which plead for peace in one breath, and for war the next moment, evidencing the “distress of nations with perplexity;” and viewing, as we must, the demoralizing tendency of the times in the social fabric of the body politic, menacing home and business relations; and looking with concern, as we should, upon the utter inability of the church in Babylon to fulfil her obligations to a fallen world because of the substitution of forms for the power of godliness; and realizing, as we should, that the threefold message of Revelation 14 must now as never before be given with a loud voice to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people whose lands are fast ripening; and, lastly, sensing, as we doubtless will, our great need of power from on high to properly prepare us for this last-day gospel commission, and thus to finish the work entrusted to us by the Lord in this generation, the approaching week of prayer must mean to us one of the final opportunities afforded for getting ready for the harvest. May its influence arouse and strengthen our hope for “that glad day.”
S. B. HORTON, of Louisiana.
When God Blesses
He blesses for service, and not for selfish interests. That we may freely receive we must be willing to freely give. He whose hand reaches out to minister to the needy world at the same time that he reaches up to God that he may be blessed to serve, will not be turned away empty. In every possible condition and phase of need, this is the principle upon which God’s blessings are bestowed. He gives us of the water of life that there may flow from us into the desert places about us “rivers of living waters.”
The great unwarned world is appealing to us on every hand. Hitherto unentered fields are throwing their doors wide open for the minister, the missionary, and the message for this time. By these conditions a direct appeal is made to every believer of the truth. As we enter upon the week of prayer, can we hope for God’s blessing to be freely bestowed in answer to our appeals, while turning a deaf ear to the appeals thus coming to us? I believe that if we enter into the week of prayer with a burden for the work committed to us, praying to be fitted in every way for the accomplishment of that work, bountiful gifts will be bestowed upon the Lord’s people at this time.
E. K. SLADE, of East Michigan.
One More Week of Prayer
DECEMBER 9-16 has been set apart for the week of prayer this year. It is time for us to ask, What is its meaning to us and to the world for 1905-06? What is its opportunity, its responsibility, and its load of blessings for us?
It Should Mean
to all our people throughout the world that 1906 must show the greatest record we have ever made in mission work; that we, by the most liberal contributions ever offered, will say to our Mission Board, No longer hold back from our needy missions; go ahead with new and broader enterprises. We will stand back of you. This work must be finished without further delay.
To the world it means the saving of thousands, if we make haste with our message, who might die without the light if we delay longer. It means the closing up of this work, and the hastening of the coming of the glorious kingdom of Christ on earth, and immortality,—the end of sin and sickness and death. The speedy bringing about of this glorious result is left in the hands of this people.
Yes, the significance of this occasion is very great. The needs of the world and of our various missions, as presented in the REVIEW and other papers the past year, only can convey to us what this opportunity really means. Those appeals have brought tears to the eyes of those of us who have seen these needs face to face out in the fields, and perhaps to many others. The inability of the worker to answer all the urgent calls that press upon him daily, while he, like a spirited horse held in by bridle and bit, is almost fretting his soul away to speed the work to a glorious end, is, perhaps, a little more wearing on him than the privations that he and his family undergo, at times, because the treasury is so low that he is deprived of many of the luxuries those enjoy who stay at home, or even of the bare necessities of life. But he makes no complaint; only words of courage and cheer and news of some progress reach9our ears from him.
The dark shadows about him and his work are lighted up by the glories of heaven, and dispersed before they reach us. But if he had plenty of means at hand, he would not only be free from thoughts of his own and his family’s wants, he would also be free from the heavier burden and worry of not being able to answer the many calls; he would have a lighter heart, which would make his work easier, and his life longer and more useful. New outposts could oftener, and with less time and energy, be established, and we here at home would have greater joy at seeing the work go faster.
The past two years this sacrificing body of people has carried the burden of establishing our denominational headquarters at the capital of the nation. That opportunity was successfully improved; the board is cleared of that; and now we are ready for—
“The Opportunity”
of this people for mission work. Let this opportunity be as well improved as was the former, and heaven and earth will rejoice at the results of this week of prayer. Instead of recruiting and strengthening our missions the past two years, they have languished, and the work has halted while we were improving our last opportunity, and so nobly doing the work the Lord told us to do,—to establish the work at Washington. Many of our ardent missionaries were called home, and held here waiting for the present opportunity of this people to supply the needed funds to send them back to their waiting work, and to supply them with needed help.
The Responsibility
of this week of prayer is the responsibility of Seventh-day Adventists to support in their tasks those whom we send to the front, and to complete this work as soon as possible; and this responsibility each one of us pledged himself to take when we espoused this glorious cause. It is not a light one; but if all will unite in carrying it, it will be lighter upon a few already heavily burdened souls; it will be met and finished sooner, and its—
Load of Blessings
will be seen and felt in the churches, the homes, and in the lives of the members; in the neighborhoods, the country, and in the world; reaching wider and wider until their ripples touch the eternal shores, and cause the harps of heaven to sound with the jubilee song begun here upon earth. O brethren and sisters, let us pray much that we may be led fully to understand its meaning and its responsibilities, and enjoy the blessings of the week of prayer of 1905, and soon triumph in the glorious completion of this good work.
E. W. WEBSTER, of South Carolina.
Preparation for a Greater Work
THE year 1905 is fast drawing to a close, and we are again reminded of the mercy shown to us by a never forgetful and always forgiving Heavenly Father. In view of all this, how fitting that we should set apart a time for thanksgiving and seeking his face for strength to begin the duties of the coming year. Every one living at this present time who entered into the week of prayer service last year with full purpose of heart, will say, Thank God for the help that I received back there. But, beloved, the coming year will bring to us greater responsibilities, heavier burdens; and a greater march toward the kingdom must be made. This being true, we need more of the wisdom, grace, and love of God than we had during the year that is now closing. O that every Seventh-day Adventist would not only say, but do the things that would make each one, young and old, a greater power in this world and in the closing message than ever before! And, dear ones, while some who were with us last year will meet no more with us while we sojourn here, there are others who will meet with us for the first time as a result of the work we did then. As the years come, and as our burdens broaden, more men and more money will be needed. Would you not be glad to see a much larger gift this year than this people has ever given? I am sure our Saviour, yes, all heaven, would be glad; for a greater work could be done, the end of sin would sooner come, and we be gathered home.
G. F. WATSON, of Colorado.
Power Needed for Service
Now the day is far spent, the night is at hand, and there can be delay no longer. Shall we not, therefore, rise in the strength of our God and bear the word in haste to a perishing world? To do this we must have power; but the manifestation of spiritual power in our lives involves the reception of the Holy Spirit. Therefore to do this work we must have the Spirit; for “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Knowing these things, beloved, how shall we approach the week of prayer that is just before us? The prayer of the Master is that we might all be one; the admonition of Paul, that we should be of one mind; that of James, that we come nothing doubting; while Peter tells us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt us in due time, “casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you,” and likewise to be sober and vigilant. Only a few more such feasts will be ours to enjoy on this earth. Let us come to this one in God’s way, with the burden of an unsaved world resting upon us, and he will abundantly bless us. Let the ninth of December find us “all with one accord in one place.” Let us come with our possessions devoted and our lives consecrated to the service of the Master. God will then set his seal to the work, and we shall see his cause advance in these provinces as never before. May God bless you all and prosper his cause that a great victory may be speedily gained for him.
WM. GUTHRIE, of the Maritime Conf.
Early Morning Thoughts
By A. G. WRIGHT
A. G. WRIGHT (Deceased)
It is time to begin,
If at last we would win
In the battle with self and wrong.
There’s a cause to maintain,
And a heaven to gain,
If we sing the triumphant song.
There’s a warning to give
To the people who live
In this generation of men.
There are truths to proclaim
In the power of his name
Who said, “I am coming again.”
The time now is near
When he shall appear
To redeem his chosen and tried
Who believed on his name,
By his grace overcame,
And will in his presence abide.
Soon his judgments will fall
On the great and the small,
Who have heard, but would not obey.
Soon a voice from the throne
Will declare, “It is done;”
Thus will end probation’s long day.
Then the whole earth will shake
With so great an earthquake;
The islands will then flee away,
The mountains will fall,
And the great men will call
For a place to hide in that day.
Then the trumpet will sound
The whole earth around
With the power of the Archangel’s
voice,
As he calls from the tomb,
Clothed in immortal bloom,
All those who have made him their
choice.
Then, up to the skies,
With glad shouts they’ll arise,
To meet their Redeemer and King.
In anthems of praise,
On that glad day of days,
With loud hallelujahs they’ll sing.
Then the chariot grand,
At the word of command
Moves on toward the city of light,
Where the King on his throne
Will welcome them home
Into day where there’s nevermore
night.
Battle Creek, Mich.
The Dedication of the Temple
By Ellen G. White
Lessons From the Life of Solomon—No. 10
The Dedication of the Temple
MRS. E. G. WHITE
SEVERAL years had been spent in the building of the temple, and at last it was complete. And now, in order that this beautiful palace might indeed be, as David had declared, a dwelling-place “not for man, but for the Lord God,” there remained the solemn ceremony of10formally dedicating it to Jehovah and his worship.
The time chosen for the dedication was a most favorable one—the seventh month, when the people from every part of the kingdom were accustomed to assemble at Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the tabernacles. This feast was pre-eminently an occasion of rejoicing. The labors of the harvest being ended, and the toils of the new year not yet begun, the people were free from care, and could give themselves up to the sacred, joyous influences of the hour.
At the time appointed, “a great congregation” from every part of the realm gathered at Jerusalem, and participated in the removal of the wilderness-tabernacle and all its holy furniture, including the ark of the testament, to the temple.
The hour for the dedicatory service revealed a scene of great splendor. Before the temple were assembled the hosts of Israel, and the richly clad representatives of many foreign nations. Solomon stood facing the great altar of burnt offering. The priests who had carried in the sacred furniture, came out of the holy place, and took the places assigned them in the court of the temple. The singers,—Levites “arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps,”—“stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets.”
“It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.”
Solomon, realizing the significance of this cloud, declared: “The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling forever.”
An Inspired Blessing
“In the midst of the court” of the temple had been erected “a brazen scaffold,” or platform, “five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high;” and after ascending this, Solomon stood and lifted up his hands, and blessed the vast multitude before him. “And all the congregation of Israel stood.”
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,” Solomon exclaimed, “who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel: but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
“Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. But the Lord said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart:” “nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. And the Lord hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
The Dedicatory Prayer
Having pronounced this blessing upon the people, Solomon knelt upon the brazen scaffold, and in the presence and hearing of all the people before him, offered the dedicatory prayer. Lifting his hands toward heaven, the king offered an earnest and solemn petition to God, while the congregation were bowed with their faces to the ground. The king pleaded:—
“O Lord God of Israel, there is no god like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and showest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
“Now therefore, O Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David.
“But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can not contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to harken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: that thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to harken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. Harken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive.
“If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness.
“And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.
“When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.
“If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men); that they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
“Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name’s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.
“If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
“If they sin against thee (for there is no man which sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive11and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; if they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.
“Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness.
“O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.”
A Divine Token of Acceptance
As Solomon ended his prayer, a miraculous fire “came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices.” The priests could not enter the temple, because “the glory of the Lord filled the house.” “When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.”
The Closing Ceremonies
“Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord. And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of music of the Lord, which David the king had made to praise the Lord, because his mercy endureth forever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.”
The Feast of the Tabernacles
“Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the Lord had showed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.”
The Papacy and the Constitution
By K. C. RUSSELL
K. C. RUSSELL.
A ROMAN CATHOLIC priest, John F. Mullany, in the October number of the North American Review, tries to defend the Roman Catholic schools against a criticism that they are un-American. In this article he attempts to prove that the papacy is in harmony with the Constitution of the United States, and, not only this, but claims that Roman Catholic philosophy taught by St. Thomas Aquinas is the basis of the Declaration of Independence, and further that the principles of Aquinas were the basis upon which the fathers of the American Revolution fought for liberty and justice.
In view of the foregoing arguments to prove that the papacy has a supreme regard for the Constitution of the United States, it would seem like a most fitting time to refresh the memories of all with other statements from the Roman Catholics concerning liberty of conscience, which the Constitution of the United States guarantees to every citizen.
Pope Pius IX, in his encyclical letter of Aug. 15, 1854, said: “The absurd and erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are a pestilential error—a pest, of all others, most to be dreaded in a state.”
The same pope, in his encyclical letter of Dec. 8, 1864, anathematized “those who assert the liberty of conscience and of religious worship,” also “all such as maintain that the church may not employ force.”
Says Bishop O’Connor: “Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.”
The Archbishop of St. Louis once said: “Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as other crimes.”
It is difficult to comprehend how this stupendous system of error, which is the very embodiment of a union of church and state, could pose before the world as not only the champion of that charter of American rights and liberties, the Constitution, but as the one which inspired the creation of this document.
Another strange feature concerning the boastful claims of the papacy in being the champion of religious liberty, and of the principles on which this government was founded, is the eagerness with which they are being received by professed Protestants. It should be remembered by Protestants that the policy of Rome has always been to adapt herself to the various conditions of the nations where she is operating, in order to gain influence and prestige. It is very fitting indeed, and shows great foresight, that this power should pose in this country as the champion of religious liberty and education; but, if we want to know her real attitude upon these questions, we have but to turn our eyes to the countries of Spain and South America, where, for centuries, the Catholic Church has borne sway. Here we find the people locked in the embrace of ignorance and superstition, and in the bondage of priestcraft. A celebrated prelate some years ago said, “What the Catholic Church has done for other countries, she will do for America.” This is not a very flattering outlook.
Washington, D. C.
“Wait”
“Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed.”
YES, I am waiting, Lord, and it is sweet
To rest the while close at thy sacred feet;
Here with thy wounded hand upon my head,
My weary soul is blest and comforted.
'Tis joy to tarry at thy bleeding side,
Whence flows the healing, purifying tide,
My only hope, my perfect righteousness;
Yes, I will wait in this dear hiding-place.
For prone am I, my Lord, from thee to stray,
And lose thy presence in earth’s busy way;
Yea, sometimes out on errands thine alone,
Self rises, and I count them all my own.
So eager am I to devise and do,
And in my frantic zeal the way pursue,
That I forget I should but follow thee;—
And hurry till thy face I can not see.
*And Thou in love dost check my foolish haste,
Take me apart into the desert waste,
And bid me pause till thou shalt point the way,
And go before me, lest again I stray.*
So here beneath the shadow of thy wing
I stay my steps, and as I wait I sing;
While peace divine through all my soul distils,
And love its blessed, perfect work fulfils.
In this dear refuge, quiet and still,
I fold my hands, and bide thy holy will.
“Speak, for thy servant heareth,” I will say;
Ready, when thou shalt send me, to obey.
*Shall disappointments or dismay betide
The soul that meekly waits her Lord beside?*
Ah, no, my expectation is from him,
And shall not fail, though heaven itself grow dim.
God is the Lord, who gives the soul’s desire;
I bind the sacrifice and wait the fire;
They shall not be ashamed who watch and wake,
The morn of joy and glory soon shall break.
—Selected.
God’s Great Plan
“What can be the use,” said a fleecy cloud,
“Of these few drops that I hold?
They will hardly bend the lily proud
If caught in her chalice of gold;
But I, too, am part of God’s great plan,
So my treasures I’ll give as well as I can.”
A child went merrily out to play,
But a thought like a silver thread,
Kept winding in and out all day
Through the happy, golden head—
“Mother said, ‘Darling, do all that you can,
For you are a part of God’s great plan.’”
She knew no more than the twinkling star,
Or the cloud with its rain cup full,
How, why, or for what all strange things are;
She was only a child at school.
But she thought, “‘Tis a part of God’s great plan
That even I should do all that I can.”
So she helped another child along,
When the way was rough to his feet,
And she sang from her heart a little song
That we all thought wondrous sweet;
And her father—a weary, toil-worn man—
Said, “I, too, will do the best I can.”