Earlier text: General ArticlesUncertainty of Geological Science.
By A. T. Jones
To show that we have not pressed any of these statements into service to make a point, we wish to continue this line a little further. Under Part IV., "Relative Lapse of Time Represented by Strata and by the Intervals Between Them," we read:— "As a rule, we should infer that the time represented by a given thickness of similar strata was less than that shown by the same thickness of dissimilar strata, because the changes needed to bring new varieties of sediment into the area of deposit would usually require the lapse of some time for their completion. But this conclusion might often be erroneous." "But in all speculations of this kind we must bear in mind that the length of time represented by a given depth of strata is not to be estimated merely from their thickness or lithological characters. . . . But the relative chronological importance of the bars or lines in the geological record can seldom be satisfactorily discussed merely on lithological grounds; this must mainly be decided on the evidence of organic remains [fossils]. By this kind of evidence it can be made nearly certain that the intervals represented by strata were in many cases much shorter than those not so represented; in other words, that the time during which no deposit of sediment went on was longer than that wherein deposit did take place." "The relative chronological value of the divisions of the geological record is not to be measured by mere depth of strata. Of two sets of rocks, the total depth of both groups together may be, say one thousand feet. Elsewhere, we may find a single unbroken formation reaching a depth of ten thousand feet; but it would be utterly erroneous to conclude that the latter represented ten times the length of time shown by the two former.' 'Fossil evidence furnishes the chief means of comparing the relative value of formations and groups of rock. A break in the succession of organic remains marks an interval of time often unrepresented by strata at the place where the break is found. The relative importance of these breaks, and therefore, probably, the comparative intervals of time which they mark, may be estimated by the difference of the facies of the fossils on each side." Further, Part V., under "Doctrine of Colonies":— "While the mere fact that one series of rocks lies unconformably on another proves the lapse of a considerable interval between their respective dates, the relative length of this interval may sometimes be demonstrated by means of fossil evidence, and by this alone. But fossil evidence may be made to prove the existence of gaps which are not otherwise apparent." "A few species may pass from one into the other, or perhaps every species may be different. In cases of this kind, when proved to be not merely local but persistent over wide areas, we must admit, notwithstanding the apparently undisturbed and continuous character of the original deposition of the strata, that the abrupt transition from one facies of fossils to the other must represent a long interval of time which has not been recorded by the deposit of strata." And so by this line of quotations we are brought again around the geological circle, thus:— "The first and fundamental point is to determine accurately the order of superposition [succession] of the strata. Until this is done, detailed paleontological [fossils] classification may prove to be worthless."—Part V. under Subdivisions by Means of Fossils. "When the order of succession of organic remains [fossils] among the stratified rocks has been determined, they become an invaluable guide in the investigation of the relative age of rocks and the structure of the land. And the true succession [superposition] of strata may thus be confidently established."—Part VI., No. 4. The grand argument is this: (a) Until the true order of succession of the rocks is accurately determined, the evidence of fossils is worthless. (b) Until the true order of succession of the fossils has been determined, the evidence of the rocks is worthless. But (a) it is by "fossil evidence, and by this alone," that the succession of the rocks is determined. (b) It is by the order of succession of the rocks that the true succession of fossils is determined. Upon which we would simply remark that, as the evidence of fossils is worthless without the true order of the rocks; and as the evidence of the rocks is worthless without the true order of the fossils; then the whole system that is built up on such evidence (?) can be nothing less than worthless. Such is Geological Science. And we are certain that it comes within the scope of Paul's words in 1 Tim. 6: 20. As the Science of Fossils "is looked upon as a branch of Geology, seeing that its assistance is absolutely indispensable in many of the most familiar and fundamental problems of the latter science," we might spend a little time in an inquiry as to the real inherent value of fossils themselves. One quotation, already made, may properly be repeated as the head of this division,—Part V., under Age of Fossils:— "There is nothing in the fossils themselves, apart from experience, to fix their date." Again, No. 2, under Use of Fossils:— "Consider, for a moment, what would happen were the present surface of any portion of Central or Southern Europe submerged beneath the sea, covered by marine deposits, and then re-elevated into land. The river-terraces and lacustrine marls formed before the time of Julius Cæsar could not be distinguished by any fossil tests from those laid down in the days of Victoria. . . . So far as regards the shells, bones, and plants preserved in the various formations, it would be absolutely impossible to discriminate their relative dates; . . . yet there might be a difference of two thousand years or more between many of them. They would be classed as geologically contemporaneous, but the phrase is too vague to have any chronological value except in a relative sense. Strict contemporaneity cannot be asserted of any strata merely on the ground of similarity, or identity of fossils." Similarity or identity of fossils among formations geographically far apart, instead of proving contemporaneity, ought rather to be looked upon as indicative of great discrepancies in the relative epochs of deposit. . . . When, however, the formations of distant countries are compared, all that we can safely affirm regarding them is that those containing the same or a representative assemblage of organic remains belong to the same epoch in the history of biological progress in each area; but we cannot assert that they are contemporaneous unless we are prepared to include within that term a vague period of perhaps thousands of years." These extracts show a considerable degree of uncertainty about fossil science, but the uncertainty is made absolute by the following relation of the discoveries of M. Barrande, a distinguished author of a geological treatise. He "drew attention more than a quarter of a century ago to certain remarkable intercalations of fossils in the series of Silurian strata of Bohemia. He showed that, while these strata presented a normal succession of organic remains, there were nevertheless exceptional bands, which, containing the fossils of a higher zone, were yet included on different horizons among inferior portions of the series. He termed these percursory bands, 'Colonies,' and defined the phenomena as consisting in the partial coexistence of two general faunas, which, considered as a whole, were nevertheless successive. . . . This original and ingenious doctrine has met with much opposition on the part of geologists and paleontologists. Of the facts cited by M. Barrande, there has been no question, but other explanations have been suggested for them. . . . Much of the opposition which his views have encountered has probably arisen from the feeling that if they are admitted, they must weaken the value of paleontological evidence in defining geological horizons. A paleontologist, who has been accustomed to deal with certain fossils as unfailing indications of particular portions of the geological series, is naturally unwilling to see his generalizations upset by an attempt to show that the fossils may occur on a far earlier horizon." But: "There seems every probability that such migrations as M. Barrande has supposed in the case of the Silurian fauna of Bohemia have again and again taken place." Here, then, is a doctrine based upon "facts" of which there has been "no question," which have again and again taken place, yet it meets with "much opposition" from geological scientists simply because it weakens the theory which they have adopted, simply because they are unwilling to have their "generalizations upset." A queer kind of "science" that, that holds to "generalizations" in the face of unquestioned "facts" which prove such generalizations to be wholly false. A very questionable kind of science indeed, we think, that clings tenaciously to a theory against the evidence of facts. Nor is this all. It is impossible to lay down lines by which can be marked the distinction of periods of either strata or fossils. Some would-be geologists talk learnedly of "six periods" of geological development, clearly defined according to the period theory of the days of Gen. 1. Hugh Miller was probably the most prominent instance of this, and when he lived it was admitted on the theory of the "generalizations" above mentioned, which, as we have seen, have been "upset." Proof of this we have in the Encyclopedia Britannica, article Hugh Miller:— "When he occupied the chair of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, in 1852 [he died in 1856], he could look the most eminent representatives of contemporary geology in the face, and claim their assent to the possibility of drawing definite lines of demarkation between the Tertiary, Secondary, and Paleozoic strata. He could speak of the 'entire type of organic being' as altering between these periods. 'All on the one side of the gap,' he could dare to affirm, 'belongs to one fashion, and all on the other to another and wholly different fashion.' In the thirty intervening years [to 1882] every form of the cataclysmal [the deluge] scheme of geological progression has been discredited. It has become impossible to obtain anything like a consensus of opinion among scientific men as to the placing of those frontier lines between period and period. 'Geographical provinces and zones,' says Professor Huxley, 'may have been as distinctly marked in the Paleozoic [primary, first] epoch as at present, and those seemingly sudden appearances of new genera and species which we ascribe to new creation, may be simple results of migration.'" All these things simply demonstrate the conclusion before reached as to the utter worthlessness of the deductions of the geological scientists. Not Every One That Saith Lord, Lord
The Christian at Work inclines to be facetious, even in solemn matters. But some of its hits are very appropriate; the following, for instance:— “‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven.’ Some people read that declaration very literally, and while they find that not every such one shall enter Heaven, they are sure that at least some will. And so they go about crying, ‘Lord! Lord!’ and think to squeeze through the strait gate at last. It will be a good deal like the laborer in the sugar mill who tried to squeeze through between the great rollers. He got through.—” Ministers and Witnesses
By H. Clay Trumbull
"I HAVE appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness." The work to which Paul was set of Christ, is the work for every representative of Christ. "A minister and a witness." Called to serve Jesus, and to serve others in his name; also to testify concerning him, to declare what he has done and what he has said, and what he is to whoever trusts him. A great many clergymen and teachers have an idea that they are set as lawyers for Christ, rather than his witnesses; that they ought to argue his case rather than to testify in his favor. So they fritter away their time in trying to convince men, by processes of logic, of the existence of God and of the reasonableness of his plan of redemption, instead of testifying plainly and emphatically what God has revealed, and what they know of its preciousness. If Christians generally would consent to be witnesses of Christ, instead of assuming to be his advocates, they would be performing the service to which he has called them, and would have a great deal more of success in their work for him.—H. Clay Trumbull. The Bones of Joseph.
By Theron Brown
THE highest quality of love is its endlessness, but it can last only as its object lasts, and it is an instinct of personal affection to cling to aspects and outlines, and insist on the corporeal duration of what it holds dear. This demand, seen in the tender reverence of the ancient Egyptians for once-animated clay, led them to invent a kind of visible immortality for it; and if that had been all Joseph thought of when he "gave commandment concerning his bones," and all that was in the minds of his posterity while they hoarded and watched his embalmed remains for more than two hundred years, then the modern mourner could plead some precedent for holding passionately to the relics of his dead, and refusing to let them return to dust. But it was not all. "By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel." "God will surely visit you," he said, "and bring you out of this land into the land which he sware to Abraham . . . and ye shall carry up my bones:—" and though their sworn promise to fulfill that last command was sacred, it was swallowed up in the greater sworn promise that their future inheritance was sure. We believe that the faith and hope of a dying Hebrew, when he spoke of being "gathered to his fathers," contemplated, beyond mere burial companionship, his reunion with them in "a better country, even an heavenly," and that Joseph bequeathed this faith to his people along with the solemn bequest and charge of his coffined body. They loved and revered the image of the man who had been the shepherd and father of their nation, and his history was their pride; but his dead form, held in their keeping through generations of affliction, became less and less a memory, and more and more a prophecy. Least of all could such a legacy represent mere horror of decay. Few can misunderstand, and fewer will rudely rebuke, the outcry of a bereaved heart for the very person of its loved and lost. The Bible utters no such rebuke. The individual make and mien of no human being was ever a whim; but each creation was wisely and divinely planned; and God keeps the plan. To bear this in mind only refines and glorifies our wish and hope and faith to see and know our dead again, "raised in incorruption." But on that "holy ground" every restored life will wear the personality that never dies. It has only exchanged the faded for the freshened rose. Anything less than such continuity of being and sameness of characteristics would make the "rising again" an impertinence of terms. The New Testament doctrine of the resurrection of the body appropriates with singular fitness the poetical promise in Isa. 26:19, as a classic quotation; and the prophet's language there seems to have borrowed its imagery from the same doctrine, as believed in his day. This promise of corporeal resurrection, addresses the only sense in us that could appreciate its precious import. "That which hath been shall be" is the inevitable habit of thought even in the most purified hopes of bereaved affection, and the mould in which memory has cast the lost objects of love is the one that shapes the fruition of their looked-for return. But to keep their bodies above ground, in mockery of companionship, is virtually a jealous distrust of the Divine Preserver, and too much resembles a pagan worship. Christian faith retains the affectionate idea in mourning, without its grossness, and regards not an artificial but a spiritual immortality. Luther said of the little bird, "He lets God think for him;" so the Christian mourner lets God keep for him. Lay the dear mortal relics away, then,—tenderly indeed, but lay them away,—out of sight. And be assured that when the dominion of death is forever past, the restored ones will appear with the very presence that has always been suggested by the mention of their names, or with every mark of recognition that can make reunion unmistakable. Until the fullness of that glad hour the repose of those who sleep in Jesus is safer and sweeter than the slumbers of the embalmed Pharaohs in their Memphian shrouds; and we no further need the company of their dust than as a monitor of life to come. The bones of Joseph kept alive in Hebrew hearts the expectation of the promised land. In proportion as the same hope is preached today from every mound watered with loving tears, is the bitterness of death taken away.—Rev. Theron Brown, in the Watchman. The Resurrection Literal.
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT HARMONY.
"If a man die, shall he live again?" Job 14:14. "The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." John 5:25. "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." Ps. 16:10. "This Jesus hath God raised up." Acts 2:32. "He whom God raised again saw no corruption." Chap. 13:37. "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." Job 19:25. "I am he that liveth and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." Rev. 1:18. "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads." "These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." Chap. 14:1, 4. "My flesh also shall rest in hope." Ps. 16:9. "Thy dead men shall live; together with my dead body shall they arise." Isa. 26:19. "If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Rom. 8:11. "I will ransom them from the power of the grave." Hosea 13:14. "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." 1 Tim. 2:5, 6. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Gal. 3:13. "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves." Eze. 37:12. "God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power." 1 Cor. 6:14. "God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for he shall receive me." Ps. 49:15. "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself." John 14:3. "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction." Hosea 13:14. "He will swallow up death in victory." Isa. 25:8. "This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. 15:53-55. "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Verse 57. Stick to Your Work.
By Christian Union
"Hard pounding, gentlemen," said Wellington to his aids, at the battle of Waterloo; "we will see who can pound the longest." It is this long pounding that wins life's battles. There is value in force, but the greatest value is in the most persistent force. Victories are won by overcoming obstacles. He who by his patient persistence vanquishes them is the victor. The man who is always trying new experiments rarely succeeds in any of them; the man who finds one thing to do and does it, is the successful man. The difference between doing and dreaming is made by patience, persistence, steadfastness, firmness. Patience is firmness in enduring pain, physical or mental; persistence is firmness exercising force against obstacles; steadfastness is firmness adhering to a purpose. I meet in every walk in life men whose ill-success used to be a mystery to me. They are brilliant in conception, fertile in resource, energetic in action; and yet their lives are failures. Men of less capability win the successes their friends were confident they would win. I now know where always to look for the secret of these failures: unstable as water, they could not excel. To cultivate firmness, never enter on an undertaking until you have counted the cost. Forecast the difficulties and impediments in your way. When you have once entered on an undertaking, never abandon it because of difficulties and impediments, unless your judgment definitely pronounces it impossible. Then abandon it absolutely and forever. Never leave one enterprise half done because another looks easier. All enterprises look easy before they are undertaken; all useful enterprises are difficult when they are undertaken. After you have begun your work get all the counsel you can as to how it shall be accomplished; never listen to any advice as to whether it shall be accomplished. The worst possible symbol to put on your coat of arms is an interrogation mark. No man can develop a spirit of courageous firmness who lives in perpetual doubt about himself and his work. Believe in your work; believe in yourself. And believe in both because you believe that God has given you your work to do. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God;" this is the secret of the divinest firmness. He who possesses this secret of the Lord, who believes himself set in his place and given his work by God, has the means for preserving an unwearied patience, an unshaken persistence, an unfaltering steadfastness. Every Word of God Is Pure
Heirs with Christ Through Suffering
"Whom he hath appointed heir of all things." As he is heir of all things, so "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Gal. 3:29, 26. "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Rom. 8:17. There are several of such "if's" as this, in Paul's writings. "We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Heb. 3:14. "To present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight, if ye continue in the faith." Col. 1:22, 23. "It is a faithful saying, For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us." 2 Tim. 2:11, 12. We can deny him in refusing to suffer for him, as really as in any other way. And these promises are to those who suffer for him. We are joint-heirs if we suffer with him. We shall reign with him, if we suffer with him. Blessed suffering! "There is suffering ere the glory,
'There's a cross before the crown." It was so with the Master, and the servant is not greater than his Master, neither is the disciple greater than his Lord. And, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Rom. 8:18. Hold Fast the Words of Christ
"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip." This Wonderful One has spoken to us. His words are spirit; they are life. No better, no greater, words can ever be spoken to the children of men; and if these be let slip, all is gone; if these be despised, it is ruin, for there are, and can be, no others. "Whosoever will not327 hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." Hold fast his words, and do not let them go, for he is thy life, and the length of thy days, and blessed are all they that put their trust in him. LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—JUNE 20.
Inheritance of the Saints.
1. To whom were the promises made?
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Gal. 3:16. 2. From which one of Abraham's sons was the seed to be reckoned?
"And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Gen. 21:12.
"Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called." Rom. 9:7. 3. To whom did the expression "the seed" specifically refer?
"He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Gal. 3:16. 4. Then what must one be to be one of Abraham's children?
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29. 5. If we are heirs, with whom are we joint-heirs?
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Rom. 8:17. 6. Does the fact that one is a literal descendant of Abraham, make him an heir of the promise?
"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance; and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." Matt. 3:7-9.
"Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." Rom. 9:7, 8. 7. What does mark one as a child of Abraham?
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29.
"They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." John 8:39. 8. What were the works of Abraham?
"Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." Gen. 26:5. 9. Then, according to Gal. 3:29, what will characterize the follower of Christ?
Since to be of the seed of Abraham is to be Christ's, and none are the children of Abraham except those who do his works, which are defined in Gen. 26:5, it follows that to be Christ's one must keep the commandments of God. 10. What other thing did Abraham possess in a marked degree?
"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Gal. 3:6. 11. Then what must all his children possess?
"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Gal. 3:7. 12. What New Testament verse gives a brief but complete description of the children of Abraham?
"Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12. NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.
God's Message by His Son.
"GoD . . . spake . . . by the prophets." God is the author, the matter is his, the words are his, and he spake them to the people by the prophets. That which the prophets have spoken therefore is the word of God. These men spoke not of themselves, "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Pet. 1:21. The Bible needs to be defended less, and preached more. The very best defense of the Bible is to preach it faithfully. And then, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear, nevertheless it is the word of God that has been spoken. If they will hear, it is the word of God that they hear; if they refuse, it is the word of God which they refuse. Great is the responsibility of him who stands before the people with the word of God. "He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully." "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; . . . that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ." 1 Pet. 4:11. "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Isa. 62:6, 7. "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." Isa. 62:1. "HATH in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." As God spoke by the prophets, so also he hath spoken by his Son. It is altogether a wrong conception of his mission, that many now have who oppose the law of God—that he came as a lawgiver, to set up a new law and a new word in opposition to the old. He was "that Prophet," not a lawgiver. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." Deut. 18:18, 19. When he came, he accordingly declared, "For I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me." John 6:38. "I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak . . . Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak." John 12:49, 50. And as the mission of the prophets "in time past" was to bring the people to the law of God (Neh. 9:29); so it was pre-eminently the mission of Christ to magnify the law and bring the people to its observance. Christ the Creator and Intercessor
"By whom also he made the worlds." "God . . . created all things by Jesus Christ." Eph. 3:9. "Without him was not anything made that was made." And this mighty One, who was before all worlds, who made all worlds, and who upholds all worlds by the word of his power, "was made flesh, and dwelt among" men. He who was higher than all angels, who made all angels, was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death; and having by himself purged our sins, sits at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. He has entered into the presence of God for us; and, having obtained eternal redemption for us, he makes intercession for us. "A MORE excellent name." "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." As his goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity (Micah 5:2, Hebrew), so he has obtained the excellent name of "Son" of the Father, the "eternal God." Yea, he has obtained a "more excellent" name than that, for the Father calls him God, saying, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. . . . Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." That is, God the Father speaks to God the Son, and says, "Thy throne, O God," &c. And further the Father says to the Son, "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands." And when he brought him into the world, he said, "Let all the angels of God worship him." This is he who died for us. This is he who hath humbled himself, and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, and for this reason God hath also again highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This is the more excellent name of the most excellent Saviour of sinners, "Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. 9:6. Those Hard Lessons.
By William C. White
THE organization and growth of the Sabbath-school work among our people furnishes an interesting study. The unity of purpose, and the determination to do better work, quarter by quarter, are very encouraging. In the matter of Bible study it is difficult to retain a fixed degree of efficiency; for by persevering diligence we are forming better habits, or by indifference or neglect we become less capable of mastering the subjects brought out in the lessons. If our work is not progressive, and our lessons so prepared as to call for more earnest study, quarter by quarter, we should feel that they came short of fulfilling their mission. It is a fact that the present series of lessons treating upon Bible doctrines calls for much diligent study, perhaps more than any other lessons we have had. And we are glad that we see in many churches a real revival of the spirit of Bible study. We can ill afford to pass these subjects more slowly than we do, for there are many we desire to study; and as it is, a long time will be required to take up the most important. Then if the lessons were so easy that they could be learned by a few moments' study on Friday night or Sabbath morning, they would fall far short of accomplishing the desired work upon the hearts and minds of the students. We are living in a time when every one is busy about important and unimportant matters. Satan has invented many devices to absorb the attention of the people, and engage their entire time, so that they shall have no opportunity to think of their eternal interest, or to study the word of God. We have been frequently told that our only safety from the deceptive temptations that are soon to be brought upon us, and from the worldly influence to which we are daily subjected, lies in a diligent and prayerful study of the word of God. But it is apparent that to a large extent we neglect this solemn and important duty. And although a good many resolutions are made, we pass along from week to week, devoting but little more than a fraction of the Sabbath to this study. What a blessing, then, to have a Sabbath-school lesson which furnishes sufficient matter for thought and study during the week. We will not claim that there have not been lessons which were so hard as to be discouraging to those who were not accustomed to diligent Bible study; but we think that in our present and future lessons there will be found to be very few that cannot be thoroughly mastered. Some one has said to us that there are too many texts to be committed to memory; and we were pointed to some lessons which had a large number of references printed in black letters, indicating that they were to be memorized; but upon examination we found that many of these texts had been used in the back lessons, and that only a part of them were new texts. We have noticed that when a new subject has been begun, but five or six texts in each lesson are marked to be committed to memory. In the following lesson five or six new texts are given, and every reference to those formerly committed to memory is printed in black letters. This would lead one who has not been studying the lesson thoroughly, to feel that the lesson is a very hard one; whereas, a person who has learned each lesson, week by week, would experience no difficulty. We are aware that there is a way of studying which will lead both the student and the teacher to think that the lesson is mastered, but which accomplishes but little or nothing in the way of acquiring permanent information. There are persons, especially among the young, who can study a lesson just before going into the school, and by mere force of memory repeat the verses and answer the questions correctly, although they have devoted no earnest thought to the subject; and in almost every case they are as quick to forget as they were to learn. This kind of study accomplishes but little permanent good. But if the study of each lesson is begun on Sabbath afternoon, and some thought is devoted to it each day during the week; all its arguments are mastered and well understood. The lesson learned in this way, will not leave the scholar as soon as it is recited. We are in danger of placing too little importance upon the study of these doctrinal lessons. We know many churches which take hold of the matter with a will, and they have been greatly blessed by these studies. Is there less necessity for us to study the Scriptures, than for the children of Israel anciently? They were commanded to teach their children the commandments of the Lord diligently, when they sat down, when they rose up, and when they walked by the way. Deut. 11:19. We believe that in these days of peril, there is more need of diligent, daily, prayerful study of the Scriptures, than for any generation in the past.—W. C. W., in S. S. Worker. Ancient Assyrian Knowledge
By Christian at Work
The pyramids—and notably Cheops—have shown us that the Egyptians knew a thing or two about astronomy, and the further investigation is pursued the more evident it becomes that if knowledge lingered, yet the ancients had the inquiring mind peculiar to human nature to-day, and indeed in nothing are the ravages of time more clearly set forth than in the scant information which meets us as we attempt to learn how far the ancients were advanced in knowledge. Thus, to Galileo is given the credit of the discovery of the telescope, but it is by no means certain that he was the first discoverer, and the contrary is pretty clearly set forth by the discoveries of the cuneiform inscriptions at Nineveh, which reveal the fact that the ancient Assyrians were acquainted with the existence of spots on the sun, which they could only have known by the aid of telescopes. These it is supposed they possessed. Mr. Layard found a crystalline lens in the ruins of Nineveh. The Assyrian Cyclopædia, printed on bricks, was an exhaustive work. The inscriptions on the bricks disclosed the facts that houses and lands were sold, leased, and mortgaged, that money was loaned at interest, and that the market gardeners, to use an American phrase, “worked on shares;” that the farmer, when plowing with his oxen, beguiled his labor with short and homely songs, two of which have been found; and connecting this very remote civilization of 2000 B. C. with the usages of to-day, dispose the reader to fall back upon the exclamation of Solomon, that “there is nothing new under the sun.”—Christian at Work.