THERE are thousands throughout the United States and in Europe who are ready at once to answer this question in the affirmative, for they know by experience that it is possible. Indeed, the question really admits of only one answer, and that is, "Yes; we can if we want to." But there are many persons who imagine that they cannot keep the Sabbath, and for their benefit I propose to consider some of the so-called reasons which they give. This article is not intended for those who, in order to avoid the acknowledgment that the seventh day is the Sabbath, plead that the world is round, that time has been lost, and other flimsy objections against the Sabbath. It is only for those who acknowledge the truth of the Bible, are fully convinced that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, and know that it is the duty of all men to keep it, but fancy that they are so situated that it would be impossible for them to do so. I say they fancy, for it is not so in fact. No individual was ever yet placed in such a position that he could not do what was certainly his duty to do. He might find it difficult, and perhaps unpleasant, but never impossible.
"I would like to keep the Sabbath," says one, "but my business will not let me." Well, if this is really the case, then get some other business that will not hinder. If you saw that your present business was greatly injuring your health, and would cause your death in a few months, unless abandoned, you would lose no time in changing your occupation. But by disobeying God you lose his favor, and this will bring eternal death.
"But I could not live if I were to keep the Sabbath." This is of the same stamp as the reason given above, and is offered alike by those who are in prosperous business, and those who labor for their daily bread. How do you know that you could not live? Are there not thousands who are keeping the Sabbath, and do not they live? Ask those who have tried it, and see what testimony they bear. It is true, you may not be able to amass quite so much property, but "what is a man profited if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
But let us consider this matter further. You say you cannot live if you keep the Sabbath. Are you sure that you can if you do not keep it? Have you any guarantee that your life will be continued indefinitely? Do those who violate God's law live any longer on an average than those who keep it? You certainly know of no one who is not subject to death. The psalmist says: "What man is he that liveth and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?" Ps. 89:48. "It is appointed unto men once to die," and this without any distinction in regard to age or belief. Then why do you assume that you will be exempt if you do not keep the Sabbath?
"But," our friend will doubtless reply, "I expect, of course, to die sometime in the natural course of events, whether I keep the Sabbath or not; what I mean is, that I shall not be able to earn a living for myself and family." Well, you profess to believe the Bible; let us see what it says in regard to this matter. "Therefore take no [anxious] thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall681we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:31-33. Could any promise be plainer than this? If it does not mean just what it says, it does not mean anything. And God is fully able to fulfill this promise. Just consider what a vast estate he has. Here is a description of it: "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell thee; for the world is mine and the fullness thereof." Ps. 50:10-12. Surely you need have no fear of starving, if you serve such a Master as that.
Listen to another promise: "Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Ps. 37:3. There you have the promise; now listen to the testimony of one who had an opportunity to know, as to how this promise is fulfilled: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Verse 25. You can verify this in your own experience if you choose. Who are they that form the great army of tramps, that wander through the country begging bread? Are they Christians, as a class? Are they those who have sunk their property in the service of God? I think no one ever saw a tramp that was noted for his piety. An active worker in the Young Men's Christian Association says that of the hundreds who have applied for charity to the institution with which he is connected, all are irreligious persons, and that he has never known a regular attendant of church to apply for alms. Truly, "the blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it."
Again the Lord says: "But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth." Deut. 8:18. No one can doubt the truth of this statement. "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." We could not keep ourselves alive for a single moment. All men, good and bad alike, are equally dependent on God for life and its attendant blessings. Now, if God has prospered you in the past, when you were trampling on his law, unwittingly it may be, will he not be more likely to continue his blessing if you obey him? Will he not have an especial care for his servants who cheerfully obey him? Certainly no person who professes faith in God's word should ever fear to keep his commandments.
Do not, however, get the idea that abundant riches are promised to those who obey God. The psalmist saw that the wicked were "not in trouble as other men;" he saw that they had more than heart could wish; and he became envious when he saw the prosperity of the wicked. But when he went into the sanctuary of God, and understood their end (Ps. 73:17), then his envy ceased. He saw that God does not propose to reward either the good or the bad in this life. The wicked may well have riches in this life, for that is all the enjoyment they will ever have; and the righteous can well afford to have but little of this world's goods, and even to suffer affliction and persecution, since for them God has reserved "an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away"—"an exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
But there is this difference between the wealthy sinner and the poor servant of God: There is no promise made to the transgressor of God's law. God allows the sun to shine, and the rain to fall, alike on the just and unjust. But the transgressor has no assurance that all his riches may not "take to themselves wings and fly away," and he be left a beggar; while the righteous man who may have but a bare living, has the promise that that little will be continued to him. God often permits his servants to be brought into strait places, and, in order to try their faith, to be sometimes brought where they can see no opening whatever; still his promises are sure, and cannot fail. Food and clothing are promised, and though these may be scant, yet "a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." Ps. 37:16.
One thought more: If we keep the commandments of God, we are God's servants. If we refuse to obey him, whose servants are we?—We certainly must be the servants of Satan. There is no neutral ground. "To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey." Now suppose you continue in sin, and sin is nothing else but the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), what is your prospect for living? Here it is: "For the wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. "The soul that sinneth it shall die." Eze. 18:20. You say you cannot live if you keep all God's commandments; God says you cannot live if you do not keep them. If your statement were true, you would only lose this present life, and many men in times past have lost their lives for the truth of God, and we honor them for it; but if you disobey God, you will lose eternal life. Jesus says: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Matt. 16:25. Satan may promise well, but he has nothing but the treasures of this world to offer, and they are all forfeited, so that he has really nothing to offer you. How different is the service of God. The apostle says: "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." 1 Tim. 4:8.
But the promises of life and happiness to those who fear God are almost innumerable. Not a tithe of them has been given. Surely those mentioned are sufficient to enable anyone to trust God.
SUNDAY LAWS AND THE RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE.
By C. P. B.
It is claimed by the advocates of Sunday laws that they are Christian laws, but it is a notable fact that they invariably infringe the rights of conscience, and hence are anything but Christian. The fundamental principle of Christianity is for each one to do as he would be done by, and that he must do to all, whether believers or infidels, if he would not belie his Christian profession. But Sunday laws are always and everywhere in conflict with the golden rule. Where is there a Sunday-keeper who would wish to be compelled to refrain from work one day each week in addition to the day which he regards as sacred? Such an one cannot be found; and yet that is just what thousands of them want to force upon other thousands of their fellow-men. Indeed, bigotry and intolerance seem to be inherent in the Sunday institution.
But it may be said that they seek to do this from a sense of duty to God. Then they had better get a correct sense of duty. But that it is nothing of the kind is shown by the fact that many of them, at least, do not believe that Sunday is the Sabbath, nor do they believe that there is any divine obligation to keep it. In a Sunday-law convention held in San Francisco a little over two years since, a leading Baptist minister said:—
"There is no such thing as a Christian Sabbath. And if anyone here has fixed upon the idea of a Christian Sabbath, he had better revise his scholarship. The term Sabbath has no place in Christianity; it is a Judaistic expression. The term Christian Sabbath the Lord never used, nor his disciples."
But the poor man showed his utter disregard of the rights of conscience by declaring, "I want a Sunday law; I believe in having a Sunday law." And yet we suppose that he would be highly indignant if anyone should intimate that he is not a Christian.
Nor was his an isolated case; for the convention decided by vote that what they demand is "a civil Sunday law." Said a Disciple minister:—
"I come in simply as a citizen to work for a civil Sunday, not as a preacher to work for a law to enforce a religious institution."
Thus these men, though virtually saying that with them Sunday-keeping is not a matter of conscience, demand a law compelling all men to keep a day which they admit is not the Sabbath, a day of which the Scriptures say nothing except as a common working-day. And not only so, but they propose to compel those who are conscientious in keeping another day, to violate their consciences by keeping a day which they feel in duty bound to devote to labor, according to the word of God, which says, "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work." A law requiring them to keep Sunday would virtually impose upon them a fine to the amount of one-sixth of the time which God has given them for the support of themselves and their families. This is manifestly unjust; and yet this is just what the advocates of the Sunday law propose to do, that they may have merely a "civil Sunday."
But it may be urged that this is a religious question, and that it is a matter of conscience with those who desire the Sunday law. Then why do they not say so? But the majority of them did nothing of the kind; the expressed sentiment of the convention was that the question was one of political economy and State ethics, and not of religion at all. The preacher, they said, should be entirely separated from the question, and the law should be demanded by them as citizens. And this is just what the American Sabbath Union, so called, says. The demand is for "a civil Sabbath," and they well know that there can be no conscience back of such an institution.
A civil law for the enforcement of religion is a religious law, and no amount of sophistry can make it otherwise. Calling the first day of the week the "civil Sabbath" does not alter the fact that a law requiring its observance may be made the instrument of religious persecution, as has been the case in several of the Eastern and Southern States, where within the last three years nearly a score of conscientious observers of the seventh day have been arrested, and some of them fined and imprisoned for not keeping the "civil Sunday," and that after they had religiously and conscientiously observed the seventh day "according to the commandment" of God.
If these Sunday-law advocates are sincere in the declaration that they wish only a "civil Sunday," it shows that they place a very low estimate upon the rights of conscience, because in that case they exalt a mere "police regulation" above a conscientious adherence to the divine law; and if, as we believe, they are not sincere, and really desire to enforce their religious tenets by civil law, in what respect are they better than the minions of the Inquisition? And are they not part and parcel of the forces of antichrist?
But suppose that it were with every Sunday-keeper in the land a matter of conscientious conviction, would that make Sunday laws right? Suppose that A keeps Sunday, but B feels that to preserve a conscience void of offense toward God, he must keep the particular day enjoined in the fourth commandment, and so keeps Saturday; has A the right, simply because he has the power, to compel B to violate his conscience in the matter of Sabbath rest?—By no means; for no one has a right to force his conscience upon another.
Every man has a right to demand of his fellows all that God has guaranteed to him by the second table of the law (the last six commandments); but no one may constitute himself censor of another's actions toward God. To his own master every servant must stand or fall. So far then as B owes any duty to A, A may exact the performance of that duty, but A has no right to exact from B the service that B owes to God. To go further than this is to justify the Inquisition; for if men may enforce upon others one religious duty, then they may likewise enforce upon them any and all religious duties. And, like the Church of Rome, they may even dictate to men what they shall believe.
"Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale." The force of this item of information can only be felt by reading in the preceding part of the chapter the account of the battle between the forces of Absalom and those of King David, in which Absalom lost his life. The contrast between his ambitious design regarding his burial and perpetual renown, and that which actually came to pass, is recorded in the seventeenth verse: "And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him." Verily "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
BOOTHROYD comments as follows: "We here see the miserable end of an undutiful and rebellious son. . . . How quickly did his rebellion come to an end, and all his gay dreams vanish! His pillar of honor was turned into a monument of shame; his beauty perished in the dust, and his memory was blasted. How awful, and yet how righteous, was the judgment of God upon this wicked son! God is still displeased with undutiful children; and he will make their plagues wonderful." And Dr. Adam Clarke says that four times had Absalom's life been forfeited to the law: "1. In having murdered his brother Amnon. 2. In having incited an insurrection in the State. 3. In having taken up arms against his own father (Deut. 21:18, 21). 4. In having lain with his father's concubines (Lev. 18:29). Long ago he should have died by the hand of justice; and now all his crimes are visited on him in his last act of rebellion."
AHIMAAZ was a fleet runner, recognized as a trustworthy messenger, and withal a favorite of the king. He was anxious to carry the news of success to David. But, for some reason, Joab preferred to send Cushi, who had witnessed the death of Absalom—a fact, it appears, not known to Ahimaaz. But he pressed his solicitation, "and Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?" That was indeed a pertinent question. How many in this age are running without a message! What can be the object? Of course those messengers expected pay for running, and in such case the one who should take good tidings to the king would certainly stand a chance for unusual reward. So when we see professed messengers of God running without any special message, we are free to infer that there is some selfish motive at the bottom of the effort.
FINALLY Ahimaaz' importunity won the coveted privilege of running. He wanted to run anyhow, whether there was any use of it or not; and Joab told him to run. He was fleet afoot, and outran Cushi, who had started in advance of him,682getting to the king first. But just what David wanted to know most, the fast runner could not tell him. All he could tell was that the army was successful, but there was something the humiliated king wanted to know more than that. The welfare of his wayward son was at stake, and upon this, to David the most vital point, the ambitious messenger without tidings could not inform him. So Ahimaaz was told to "turn aside" and make way for another.
So with the messengers of all ages who persist in running without the tidings which He whom they profess to represent most desires to have carried. They may run well, attract admiring attention, present the pleasing intelligence, that which is calculated to "take" well; but when it comes to the essential point—the pith of the message—they are silent, utterly uninformed. All they can say is, "I saw a great tumult, but I know not what it was." The less brilliant runner, who was chosen for his special fitness for the duty, and did not start out until he had a message, was the one to give the desired information, although the duty was a disagreeable one.
MANY people wonder at David's great grief for the death of one whose life had caused him and the kingdom so much trouble. That just at the critical moment, when his own army had been victorious over the rebellious forces, and twenty thousand of his subjects lay dead upon the field of battle, he should seemingly forget everything else and shut himself up to mourn for the slain outlaw. There are several reasons: David was a man of God, and he knew that the hand of God was resting heavily upon him on account of his former sin, as had been foretold by the prophet Nathan. His own son had been the instrument of his punishment, and had thereby lost his life. And Absalom had died impenitent, while in the most daring manner violating the law of God.
AGAIN: David was a most affectionate father, and he had been very indulgent to Absalom. He was, no doubt, made to feel most keenly that he was in a great measure responsible for the course which his erratic son had chosen. Some have compared David's mourning on this occasion with that of Christ when weeping over Jerusalem; but, while some features may be similar, the two cases are far from parallel. While David mourned for one who had rebelled against himself, and often had spared him just punishment, and even now would fain have spared him (having given special orders to that effect before the battle), it cannot be said of Christ, in deploring Jerusalem's sad fate, that he had in any degree been the cause of her downfall. There could be no remorse of conscience on the part of him who had done all possible for the instruction and correction of his favored and chosen people, when they rebelled against his rightful authority. His was a loving care, and his was a depth of grief with which nothing human can compare. His was—
"Amazing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree!"
And the same pity, grace, and love has been extended to everyone. "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Ps. 107:8.
"THE last words of David." Adam Clarke says (and other commentators concur), "I suppose the last poetical composition is here intended." The entire chapter seems to be a psalm, or song, wherein the writer's mind is carried from his own obscure origin to the fulfillment of God's covenant with him concerning his house and the Messiah's reign. David never attempted to ignore his humble origin. The truly regenerate man will never indulge pride of heart, no matter how highly he may have been exalted, or how deep the "hole of the pit from whence he is digged." All have cause of rejoicing and thanksgiving before God. "Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted; but the rich, in that he is made low." Jas. 1:9, 10.
"THE sweet psalmist of Israel." Not merely of the natural seed, but especially of the true Israel. "For they are not all Israel which are of Israel." Rom. 9:6. An Israelite is an overcomer, a prince. "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God." Only the true Israel, who are "Jews inwardly," can appreciate the value of the "sweet psalmist's" inspired melodies, moral instructions, and prophecies. There are many professed Christians who, in their eagerness to eschew anything "Jewish," especially the Sabbath of the Lord, will utterly ignore the Old Testament. Of course they lose the benefit of the psalms, as also much other essential help.
IN this psalm David explicitly asserts inspiration from the "God of Israel," the "Rock of Israel." Then let us not be too fast in endeavors to cut loose from things pertaining to Israel, lest in so doing we spurn away our connection with the Rock Christ Jesus, who is the Rock of Israel. To Israel "pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises." Rom. 9:4. If David wrote by inspiration of the Rock of Israel, it behooves all who would stand upon that Rock to take heed to what David says.
"HE that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." Clarke paraphrases: "The just One is the ruler among men;" and, "It is by God's fear that Jesus Christ rules the hearts of all his followers." Boothroyd says: "These words contain the substance of what God had promised; and they cannot be applied with propriety to Solomon. For how could he be said to be a ruler over mankind? . . . The just ruler then must signify the future Messiah, who sprang from David, and whose kingdom was to be universal." And the following verse shows that the reference is not to any mere human ruler: "He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds."
ON verse 5 there are about as many different renderings as there are commentators, mostly based on the idea that the expression, "Although my house be not so with God," should be in the form of a question, implying an affirmative, asserting that David's house is "so" (or established) because of the covenant. Be this as it may, the common rendering states an important fact, which also seems to be in harmony with the general thought of the prophecy: "Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure." It had not been "so" with David himself, nor was it so with his successors; but the promise—the covenant—was that "thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever." Chap. 7:16. And the psalmist adds (verse 5 of the lesson), "For this is all my salvation, and all my desire." This could not be true of anything short of a perfect ruler; and of all the representatives of the house of David, this could be said of no other than Christ. But "he shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:32, 33.
IF further evidence were wanting of a direct reference in the lesson to the final reign of Christ on the throne of David, the following verses would supply it. "The sons of Belial shall be all of them thrust away;" and "they shall be utterly burned with fire," are expressions so often used as descriptive of the final destruction of the wicked, that there can be no excusable mistake as to the identity of the just ruler, and the time when he shall take his throne. See Matt. 25:30 and onward.
W. N. GLENN.
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.
7. Why is sacrifice necessary?
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23.
8. Why can such a priest have compassion?
"Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity." Heb. 5:2.
9. For whom must such a priest offer for sins?
"And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins." Verse 3.
10. Do men take the office of priest upon themselves?
"And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Verse 4.
11. Did Aaron take the office upon himself? or was he called of God?
"And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons." Ex. 28:1.
"And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood." Num. 18:1.
12. Did Christ take the priesthood upon himself?
"So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to-day have I begotten thee." Heb. 5:5.
13. Did he seek to glorify himself?—Ib. See John 8:50.
14. Of what order was his priesthood?
"As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Heb. 5:6. See note.
15. How long was his priesthood to endure?—Ib. See note.
16. What did he offer up in the days of his flesh?
"Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared." Verse 7.
17. What is meant by the days of his flesh?
Ans.—The day of his earthly or mortal life. Compare chap. 2:14 and 1 Cor. 15:50, 53.
21. Was his prayer heard?—Ib. Instead of, "in that he feared" (verse 7), the margin reads, "for his piety." The Revised Version is probably the best, "heard for his godly fear."
23. In what prophecy did Jesus express his confidence that his Father would give him life? Ps. 16:8-11. Compare Acts 2:29-32.
24. How did the Father hear and answer his prayer?
"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him." Rom. 6:9.
25. For whom did he die?
NOTES.
THE apostle has now reached the fourth and final main point in his argument. After the heavenly beings, the angels, the Hebrews revered the name of Moses, their leader from the land of Egypt, through whom they received their rites, their ecclesiastical and civil laws; and Joshua, the successor of Moses, who led them into the promised land, and who so victoriously conquered their enemies; and Aaron, who was consecrated a priest to make atonement for them, and whose sons alone held that office. In this letter One is introduced of whom the Scriptures speak as receiving the worship of angels, who made all things, and who bears the name of God. He is above Moses, who was but a servant, and a witness of the things relating to Christ; above Joshua, who gave them but a temporary rest, the true rest remaining to be given by the Messiah; he is above Aaron; he is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The difference of the two orders occupies specially the attention of the writer. The priesthood whereby comes the atonement being the central point of their whole system, is the main point of consideration in this letter.
"THOU art a priest forever." So it was said to Aaron and his sons: "Their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations." Ex. 40:15; Num. 25:13. This signified that the priesthood should be theirs as long as it endured. So also of Christ; he should be priest continually and without interruption or succession. For this is often the meaning of everlasting and forever. See Ex. 21:6. The servant was to serve his master forever, which meant as long as he lived. The priesthood of Christ will remain with him only, but it will also end. His priestly robes will be changed for "the garments of vengeance." Isa. 59:17. Then he will come to take vengeance on his foes. 2 Thess. 1:6-8. The day of salvation, during which he pleads for man, will be succeeded by the great day of the wrath of the Lamb. Rev. 6:16, 17.
ADDITIONAL NOTES.
PRIESTS are "ordained for men." God sets value upon human souls; not as they are in the natural, carnal condition, but what they are capable of becoming through grace. It is for these possibilities that Heaven has done all that has been done. Christ gave himself for this. The typical priesthood pointed forward to that of our Lord. It was all "for man."
BUT the priesthood was not for man temporally or politically. It was not ordained to give man wealth or position. The priests were ordained "in things pertaining to God," to "offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins," or, as stated in Heb. 2:17, "to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." They were the typical mediators between man and God in things pertaining to God,—the "all things that pertain unto life and godliness." 2 Pet. 1:3.
THOSE who profess to be the children of God and are mixing with political parties or clamoring for earthly power or position, or seeking to accomplish great reforms by civil law, may learn a lesson from this. God's ministers in this dispensation, even as in the Levitical, "are ordained for men in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." Not that this is done in the same way, not that the ministers make reconciliation, but preach reconciliation, to beseech men to become reconciled to God through Christ, to build them up in the word of God. 2 Cor. 5:11; 6:10.
"SIN" is the transgression of the law. The root meaning of the original words from which it is translated in both Old and New Testaments is "missing the mark." To sin is to miss the mark. God's law is the great standard. It embraces all righteousness; it marks out the perfect way. Any deviation from this way is sin. Whether known or unknown, it is still sin, it is still missing the mark; but sins of ignorance are justified through Christ if the heart is right with God; and the heart right with God,—the new heart,—walks in all the light which is revealed. He who knowingly transgresses God's law, "wickedly departs." He who is truly converted to God, counts the keeping of God's law a delight. If such an one sins or misses the mark, the failure is caused by ignorance or weakness and not by intention.
ANCIENTLY the priest, in order that he might have compassion or mercy, or, as the margin expresses it, "reasonably bear with" the people, must himself be compassed with infirmities. Nothing gives us more compassion for men than to know their condition, to realize their infirmities. So Christ himself was "in all things made like unto his brethren;" he "suffered being tempted" in order that he might be touched with "the feeling of our infirmities." He was made perfect through sufferings; but not perfect in moral character; for he was ever without sin. He never missed the mark. But he must be perfect in meeting man's trials, infirmities, temptations. But as a priest, he differs from the Aaronic priests in this respect. They were priests while compassed with infirmities, he a priest after the sufferings and the temptations are over,—"perfected forever more." Heb. 7:28, margin.
WE have no reason to suppose that the only time our Saviour prayed with "strong crying and tears" was in the Garden of Gethsemane. There is no doubt but that was his greatest struggle with the powers of darkness, before his death upon the cross; but the forty days' fast, the fierce temptation in his physical weakness, the whole nights spent in prayer to God, the fervent prayers for his disciples, must all have been strong crying to God for help. John 17; Matt. 14:23; Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28, 29; 11:1. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; yet he was nevertheless a wise and mighty sympathizing Redeemer.
WITH God goodness is true greatness. The value of things is measured by their source, their intrinsic value, and their capability to endure. Goodness is from God; man possesses it only as he receives it from God. It, being from God and of God, must be of great intrinsic value. And as it is an essential attribute of God, it will exist to all eternity. Education may be wrong in part or in whole. Earthly wisdom, riches, or power are evanescent, partake more or less of evil, and may degrade their possessor and make him more prolific of evil. But goodness is only good. Get all these other things possible, only let the basis of all be goodness—the righteousness of God through Christ.
The Missionary.
By P. W. B. Wessels
THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION FIELD.
God in his providence has provided that the Third Angel's Message should also be introduced to that distant land generally known as the "Dark Continent." South and Central Africa has been an active missionary field for the last thirty years. Different societies from England, Scotland, Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, France, and America are represented there. Although the missionaries were persecuted and at times even murdered, new ones, and double the number, were sent to fill their places; so that the country is now dotted by missionary stations, in which are educated and trained some of the Christian natives, as teachers and ministers to their own tribes. Some of these prove to be very intelligent and earnest Christians and workers.
There are many tribes, which may be classed in two general divisions—the copper-colored and the blacks. The first may be classed as follows: The Malays, originally brought as slaves from the Malay Peninsula, near India. Their religion is Mohammedanism. Second, the Bushmen, Hottentots, Gorandars, and the Griquas, who principally occupy the western territory of South and Central Africa. They are worshiping images, insects, and other objects.
The Kaffir races inhabit the eastern and central parts of South Africa, which consist of the Damaras, Ovampoes, Kreli, Basutos, Fingoes, Zulus, Setsuana, Bethsuanas, and Amaswies. The copper-colored have each their distinct dialect, and also the Kaffir races; nevertheless, there exists a similarity in the languages, and the larger tribes can mostly understand each other.
I have visited some of these mission stations, and I had also the privilege on my voyage from Africa to England to be in the company of one of the principal missionaries of South and Central Africa, and I obtained valuable information regarding those different tribes and races. Receiving such information, and by my own experiences when I visited the different missionary stations, the question came to my mind whether that is not a favorable field for us to present our truths,—whether these dark races of South, Central and Northern Africa are not also included in the gospel commission: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." You will all agree that they are. Many of them have already accepted Christianity, and are now trusting in the merits of a risen Saviour. So we plainly see that the Third Angel's Message must be proclaimed to these races, for are not the one hundred and forty-four thousand to be composed of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people? The end is near, as prophecy plainly proves. When will this work be done? and by whom? You say we must wait. Wait for what? Can we not hear the pleading, Go and preach the gospel to every creature? God has prepared the way for the presentation of the Third Angel's Message to these nations. Shall we not follow on as he leads?