A MODERN thinker gives this advice concerning the education of ministers:—
Reduce to the minimum the study of Hebrew and of Greek texts and of worn-out courses that have relatively low claim to educational value in the light of modern thought. Substitute for these thorough training in the foundations of the physical and the biological sciences, in sociology culminating in the new psychology.
After a student has successfully pursued such a course of study as is here suggested, for what is he prepared? To dabble in sociology and occultism, but not to follow the charge of the great apostle, “Preach the word.” The true messenger of the Lord of hosts is “the voice” for the good news from heaven, and needs above all to know what saith the Lord.
Treasure Hidden
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
The sayings of Christ are to be valued not merely in accordance with the measure of man's understanding; they are to be considered in the important bearing which Christ himself gave them. He took old truths, of which he himself was the originator, and placed them before his hearers in heaven's own light. And how different was their representation! What a flood of meaning, and brightness, and spirituality was brought in by their explanation!
Christ set forth deeper and more spiritual truths than had ever before been heard from rulers, scribes, or elders. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” he declared. The rich treasures of truth opened before the people attracted and charmed them. They were in marked contrast with the spiritless, lifeless expositions of the Old Testament Scriptures by the rabbis. And the miracles which Jesus wrought kept constantly before his hearers the honor and glory of God. He seemed to them a messenger direct from heaven; for he spoke not to their ears only, but to their hearts. As he stood forth in his humility, yet in dignity and majesty, as one born to command, a power attended him; hearts were melted into tenderness. An earnest desire was created to be in his presence, to listen to the voice of him who uttered truth with such solemn melody.
At the beginning of his ministry, Christ had declared the character of his work. “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
That word was fulfilled. The sick were healed, demoniacs were restored, lepers and paralytics were made whole. The dumb spoke, the ears of the deaf were opened, the dead were brought to life, and the poor had the gospel preached to them. Every miracle wrought by Christ convinced some of his true character. Had a man in the common walks of life done the same works that Christ did, all would have declared that he was working by the power of God. But there were those who did not receive the light of heaven, and they set themselves more determinedly against this evidence.
The Jews were expecting an earthly prince, who would deliver them from the power which God had declared would rule over them if they refused to keep the way of the Lord, and obey his laws. They had made their proud boast that Israel's king, the star arising from Judah, would break their thraldom, and make of them a kingdom of priests.
It was not the absence of external honor and riches and glory that caused the Jews to reject Jesus. The Sun of Righteousness, shining amid the moral darkness in such distinct rays, revealed the contrast between sin and holiness, purity and defilement, and such light was not welcome to them. Christ was not such a one as themselves. The Jews could have borne the disappointment of their hopes better than they could bear the righteous denunciation of their sins. In parables, Christ laid bare their professed sanctity. He compared them to whitened sepulchers, deceiving the people by their pretensions to purity.
In his youth, Christ was subject to his parents,—an example of obedience to all the youth. In his youth he learned the trade of a carpenter, and earned his bread by the sweat of his brow. Thus he honored physical labor. It should be an encouragement and source of strength to every human being, in the performance of the commonplace duties of life, to know that Jesus toiled to provide for his own temporal wants.
The teachings of Christ, in precept and example, were the sowing of the seed afterward to be cultivated by his disciples. The testimony of these fishermen was to be referred to as the highest authority, by all the nations of the world. They had not learned in the schools of the prophets; but Jesus had been their teacher, and had given them knowledge uncorrupted by tradition and bigotry. Christ scattered the heavenly grain, which minds and hearts that desired light and knowledge might gather up as precious treasure sent from heaven.
After his resurrection, Christ opened the understanding of his followers, that they might understand the Scriptures. Everything had been transformed by the working of the arts of Satan. Truth was covered up by the rubbish of error, and hidden from finite sight. When Christ had foretold his humiliation, rejection, and crucifixion, the disciples would not take in his meaning. It had been a part of their education that the Messiah would set up a temporal kingdom; and when Christ spoke of his sufferings, they did not understand his words. He reproved them because of their slowness of apprehension, and promised them that when the Comforter should come, he would bring many things to their remembrance.
Christ had many truths to give to his disciples, of which he could not speak, because they did not advance with the light that was flashed upon Levitical laws and the sacrificial offerings. They did not accept the light, advance with the light, and follow on to still greater brightness as Providence should lead the way. And for the same reason, Christ's disciples of 1898 do not comprehend important matters of truth. So dull has been the comprehension even of those who teach the truth to others, that many things can not be opened to them until they reach heaven. This ought not to be. But as men's minds become narrow, they think they know all, when they have only a glimpse of truth. They close their minds, as if there were no more for them to learn; and should the Lord attempt to lead them on, they would not accept the increased light. They cling to the spot where they see light, when that which they see is only a glimmer of the bright beams they might enjoy. They know very little of what it means to follow in the footsteps of Christ.
In their harmonious relation, the truths of Scripture are like links in a chain. Just as fast as our minds are quickened by the Spirit of God to comprehend light, and in humbleness appropriate it, we shall dispense it to others, and give the glory back to God. The development of truth is the reward of the humble-hearted seeker who will fear God, and walk with him. The truth which the mind grasps as truth is capable of constant expansion and new development. While we behold it, the truth is revealed in all its bearings in the life and character, and becomes more clear, and certain, and beauteous. The mind that grasps it in its preciousness becomes elevated, ennobled, sanctified.
Far, very far, are human minds from grasping the teachings of Christ. These are old truths in new settings. The entire system of Judaism was the gospel veiled. Those who will not consider are like the Jews. It is humbling to their dignity and pride to work the mines of truth. But the Light of the world is sending his divine rays to illuminate the entire Jewish economy, and the minds that have been accepting the sayings of men as the commandments of God are to be educated to look to God himself, the author of all truth.
In his habits and customs and practices, Christ did not conform to the standard of the world. What a lesson he gives to the churches that bear his name! They are not to exalt themselves above the Majesty of heaven, their Redeemer. What do men find in the example of Christ to justify them in their feelings of superiority, in keeping themselves apart from their fellow men, hiding themselves from their own flesh, because they have obtained more of this world's goods than their neighbors? Because the world honors the wealthy and despises the poor, shall those who claim to follow Jesus do the same? Whose example are such following? Surely not the example of him who said, “He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” “to preach the gospel to the poor.”9
Very many teachers are content with a supposition in regard to the truth. They have crude ideas, and are content with a surface work in searching for truth, taking for granted that they have all that is essential. They take the sayings of others for truth, being too indolent to put themselves to diligent, earnest labor, represented in the Word as digging for hidden treasure. But man's inventions are not only unreliable, they are dangerous; for they place man where God should be. They place the sayings of men where a “Thus saith the Lord” should be. The world's Redeemer alone possesses the key to unlock the treasure-house of the Old Testament. He explores hidden things. He separates the precious truth from superstition and error and the devisings and imaginings of men.
Sharp, clear perceptions of truth will never be the reward of indolence. Investigation of every point that has been received as truth will richly repay the searcher; he will find precious gems. And in closely investigating every jot and tittle which we think is established truth, in comparing scripture with scripture, we may discover errors in our interpretation of Scripture. Christ would have the searcher of his Word sink the shaft deeper into the mines of truth. If the search is properly conducted, jewels of inestimable value will be found. The Word of God is the mine of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
The Basis of Confidence
By G. B. Thompson
G. B. THOMPSON
HAVE you sometimes feared that in the trying times just before us, you would cast away your hope, and make shipwreck of your faith? Many in times of special trial have done this, and there is danger that each of us may do likewise. Many a soldier has proved a coward, and in the heat of the battle, when his presence was needed most, has fled from the field of conflict. There are moral cowards as well.
But we need not fear. Perfect love casts fear out of our hearts. The Lord is able to make us stand. He can uphold us with the right hand of his righteousness. Have you placed yourself in his hands? If so, there is no power which is able to pluck you out of your Father's hand.
I used to wonder how I could know that I would stand when confronted with the beast and his image, and forced to struggle amid the trials of the closing conflict. But I have settled it like this: If I stand now, I have the assurance that I will stand then. If I am an overcomer to-day, I can have assurance that I may be an overcomer to-morrow. It is simply a matter of a daily walk with God. “As thy days, so shall thy strength [security, margin] be.” Deut. 33:25, A. R. V. The daily overcomer can look with confidence into the future, and with an abiding trust in God, expect in his name to triumph. But it will be a day-by-day fight for victory.
But what confidence can we have of being an overcomer in harder trials if we are being defeated in the conflicts we are now having? “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?” Jer. 12:5. The soldier who is defeated in a skirmish can hardly expect to win in a pitched battle.
But be of good courage, for we have a Captain who has never lost a battle. One “who always leadeth us in triumph.” 2 Cor. 2:14, A. R. V. In him we can triumph each day till the end. And we have assurance for the future. The blessed Lord has provided that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Let us never forget that we are fighting a vanquished foe, and in all these things we are “more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
Takoma Park, D. C.
S. N. HASKELL
By Stephen N. Haskell
Nehemiah — No. 2
S. N. HASKELL
WHILE we may admire Nehemiah in his character as an organizer and a builder, yet the finest traits in his character are seen when we study him as a Christian and a Bible student.
The first glimpse of this side of his character is seen in his sorrow on account of the desolate condition of Jerusalem. We can imagine how he was brought face to face with the proposition, whether he loved the cause of God more than the good position he held in the court of the king. No doubt many earnest prayers were offered before he came to the place where he was willing to attempt what was considered an almost hopeless task, in the face of countless difficulties. No wonder that his face betrayed the inward struggle of his soul, and was noticed by the king!
Nehemiah’s constant trust in God is shown by his sending up a prayer to heaven for wisdom before he answered the king. If all were in such close touch with heaven, there would be more men through whom God could work mightily for the advancement of his work in the earth. Nehemiah had an experience with God; he had something to tell. It would have been of great interest to us if he had recorded the testimony he bore in that first large gathering that he held after he reached Jerusalem. It was a stirring personal testimony of how God had wrought for Nehemiah personally, and perhaps he related his experience during that three months before he came to the place where he could relinquish his high position, and give all there was of him for the work of his God. All we have recorded is,—‘Then I told them of the hand of my God, which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me;’ and the same spirit of self-sacrifice entered into the people and they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’
If every worker had a deep, living experience in the things of God to relate to the people, it would inspire courage and hope in their hearts. A stream can rise no higher than its fountain; we can not impart what we have not received. This truth is taught in the following scripture: ‘Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort whereby we ourselves are comforted of God; for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation aboundeth by Christ.’
The power Nehemiah had with the people was measured by the depth of the Christian experience he himself had experienced. Every man’s usefulness in the cause is measured by the depth of his own Christian experience.
When Nehemiah was ‘laughed to scorn’ by the enemies of the work, he replied, ‘The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build.’ He took no credit to himself, but gave all the honor to God. Over and over again, as the difficulties thickened around this faithful worker, we have his prayers recorded; he cries out to God for help, but does not slacken his efforts to forward the work. With weapons of war in one hand, and laboring tools in the other, they work from daylight until the stars come out, and watch all night. When the people might become discouraged, Nehemiah’s words of courage, ‘Our God shall fight for us,’ bring new hope and courage to the weary workers. Nehemiah did not direct others to do what he himself did not share. During the rush of work he never took off his clothes, except for washing; he was ready for any emergency that might arise day or night. When the conflict waxed the hottest, and the enemy was trying every device to turn him from the work and discourage him, we hear him pray, ‘O God, strengthen my hands,’ as he steadfastly refuses to make any compromises whatever with the enemy, or even to hide in the temple from their assaults.
When Tobiah, Sanballat, and the false prophets were striving by every means in their power to discourage him Nehemiah has no words for them, his prayer ascends as he hastens on with his work: ‘My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works,’ etc. He leaves it all with the Lord, and keeps at the work the Lord has given him to do. If he had stopped to parley with the enemy one moment, he would never have finished the wall in fifty-two days.
When the workers in the third angel’s message are so absorbed in hastening the work that they have no time nor words to spend on the enemy, we shall see the loud cry of the message, and a mighty work accomplished in a very short time.
Even the nobles were in league with the enemy, and were reporting Nehemiah’s10words to them, but Nehemiah had no time to spend mourning over this. He kept at his work, and the Lord wrought mightily for him. We serve the same God to-day, and the man that will have but one object, the upbuilding of God’s cause, and will keep that ever before him, and work unselfishly for that one end, will find that God will work just as mightily to-day as when Nehemiah built the walls of Jerusalem with a constant prayer on his lips, and an undaunted courage, born of a simple trust in his God.
When the wall was finished, there was then even a greater work to be accomplished; namely, a reformation among the whole nation, and Nehemiah called a general meeting, and the record states the people came together as one man. When the multitude were gathered, Ezra and the leading teachers in Jerusalem entered the pulpit and read from the book of the law. This reading began in the early morning, and continued until midday. The second day they read again, then they began celebrating the feast of tabernacles for seven days; and the record states that, ‘Day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God.’ A mighty reformation followed, not a reformation in forms only, but a heart reformation.
In the ninth chapter we have the record of another general meeting, when all the people were gathered together; and we find them spending one fourth part of each day in reading from the book of the law, and a fourth part in confession and worship.
If our annual gatherings of the people were after this order at the present day, we would see a mighty outpouring of the Spirit of God; if there were fewer business meetings and more Bible study, the people who attend these meetings would be strengthened in the work of the Lord.
In Nehemiah’s day all the leading Levites, thirteen of them, sat in the pulpit with Ezra, and Nehemiah was also present to listen and to aid in the service. What a good impression upon the people! One and all would feel that the Word of God was highly esteemed by the ministers; their presence and assistance gave dignity to the meeting and an impression of solemnity to the people. How different the influence of such a meeting than where none of the leaders are present!
Nehemiah himself really and truly feared God; it was no form with him; he felt that he needed to know God’s will. Thus, by precept and example, he taught the people the value of God’s Word.
When Nehemiah returned to Babylon to fulfil his promise to the king, after twelve years of arduous labor in Jerusalem, the people after a time departed from the instruction given in God’s Word. Tobiah took possession of the tithe chamber, and many other errors followed.
When Nehemiah returned, he called the people together, and, according to his custom, read from the book of the law. He Nehemiah evidently chose the subject, for we find that ‘they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people, and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God forever.’
One can readily see the effect of such a course upon the people, and the way was prepared for Nehemiah to ‘cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.’
Throughout the whole record of Nehemiah’s life-work we see him a close student of the Word of God, and a man of simple faith and prayer. This phase of his character is worthy of close and prayerful study by every child of God.
Oakland, Cal.
The Book of Daniel
By Editor
The Revelation of the Secret
THE EDITOR
Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his. And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding; he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king’s matter. Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him, Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these: as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart. Dan. 2: 14-30.
The True Temple Service
By their deportation from Jerusalem to Babylon, Daniel and his companions were deprived of the outward forms of the worship of the temple. Perhaps their only reminder of the sanctuary and its services was a sight of “part of the vessels of the house of God” which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem “unto the treasure-house of his god.” And now in a far-off land, among those who know not the true God, these Hebrew youth, in company with the other wise men of Babylon, are under sentence of death because “the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans,” are unable to reveal to the king of Babylon the dream which he dreamed.
But although deprived of the service of the temple, these Christian captives have maintained that which is the very essence of all the outward forms—communion with God. Not now with the sacrifice of animals or the sprinkling of blood are they able to seek the fellowship of Heaven; but apart from these outward forms given as a channel for the expression of faith, these young Hebrews know how to worship God “in spirit and in truth.”
Communion With Heaven
Having maintained in the true temple the uninterrupted service of the true God, Daniel has the assurance that the channel of communication is open between the throne in heaven and his own soul, and therefore when he learned of the sentence of death which the king in his wrath had pronounced upon those who had failed to maintain their profession of ability to penetrate into secret things, he did not hesitate to ask an appointment with the king, with the assurance that “he would show the king the interpretation.” His hope is in united prayer, following the rule put into definite form by our Saviour in these words: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.” The case is an urgent one. It is a question of life or death. Without special help from heaven, they must perish, and therefore they plead for knowledge which shall be unto them salvation from death. Not in general terms, do they seek help. They have a specific request to prefer “concerning this secret,” and any failure to make known to King Nebuchadnezzar those thoughts of his which came unbidden and were taken away without his consent, will place Daniel and his companions in the same class with the Chaldeans, who have already declared that “there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
A Typical Experience
It is hardly necessary to point out that this experience of Daniel and his companions is a typical one in which is represented the case of every lost sinner. “All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God,” and so “death passed unto all men, for that all sinned.” Not11in human philosophy, but in the revelation of the knowledge of the truth is there hope of deliverance. The wise men of the world are unable by their wisdom to save from death. Earth must be united to heaven by that knowledge which is life. “This is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.” “Grace to you, and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.” Such knowledge comes only by revelation. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!” “Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him. But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit.”
The Revelation of Salvation
Daniel and his companions were not disappointed. Without priest, without Urim, without Thummim, the answer came from the heavenly courts and the secret was “revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night.” In grateful acknowledgment of that mercy shown toward them, which meant deliverance from death, “Daniel blessed the God of heaven,” and the very forms of expression used have reference to that foreview of future events presented to him. He recognizes the God of heaven as the one “who removeth kings, and setteth up kings;” as the revealer of “the deep and secret things,” who can give light upon that which lies beyond mortal vision, since “the light dwelleth with him.” There is no doubt in the mind of Daniel that his specific request has been granted. He desired “mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret,” and now that the answer has come, he makes direct connection between the prayer and the vision, and is confident that the God of heaven has made known unto him the king’s matter. As evidence of this confidence, he urges Arioch, the chief executioner, to spare the wise men of Babylon, with the definite promise that he “will show unto the king the interpretation.”
The True Interpreter of History
The thoughtful reader will not overlook the suggestion contained in the statement of Arioch to the king, that he had “found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah,” who would furnish an interpretation of the king’s dream. The sequel shows that the interpretation of the dream was a description of the course of the world’s history from the time of Nebuchadnezzar until the setting up of the everlasting kingdom. But only “the Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath overcome to open the book” of the world’s history. By his incarnation, by his death on the cross, by his resurrection, by his ascension, by his administering the divine government as priest upon the throne, the man Christ Jesus has changed the whole course of human history; and in him alone is found the philosophy of those changes in which the kingdom of this world is overturned, overturned, overturned, “till he come whose right it is,” and to whom it shall be given.
The Hebrew captive is brought before the king, and we need not be surprised that after his experience with the reputed wise men of Babylon, the monarch inquires of this youth of the conquered people, “Art thou able?” The answer of Daniel shows the nothingness of man and exalts the wisdom of the God of heaven. Not to himself is any credit to be given. Only through a direct revelation could such knowledge be attained. Into the king’s mind had come speculations concerning the future, and the Revealer of secrets had lifted the curtain, and had permitted him who was the founder of the world-power, to behold the future development of world-power, and the outcome “in the latter days.”
The Mystery of the Kingdom
An attentive reading of this record will make it clear that the revelation of a secret is the leading theme. It was “concerning this secret” that Daniel and his companions sought knowledge. In response to their united prayer, the secret was revealed. Daniel declared to the king that the secret which he demanded could not be shown by the wise men of the world, but he assured him that “there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,” and it is “he that revealeth secrets” who had given the dream to the king; and further that this secret was not revealed to Daniel through his own wisdom.
A little consideration will make it evident that the secret found in the dream and its interpretation is the mystery of the kingdom of God. The objective point of the dream was “what shall be in the latter days.” And in the interpretation of the dream, Daniel declared that all world-kingdoms would be succeeded by the everlasting kingdom of the God of heaven. But what is the explanation of the fact that after four successive world-kingdoms had fallen, there could be a kingdom established on this same world, with subjects composed of the same frail human beings, and yet this kingdom could stand forever? The explanation is found in that mysterious union of divinity with humanity in the person of Jesus the Son of God and the Son of man, “who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Here is found “the mystery of the kingdom of God,” the mystery which was made known by revelation unto the apostle Paul, “even the mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is the mystery of the gospel concerning which Paul desired that utterance might be given to him that he might make it known with boldness. This is “the mystery of God” which should be finished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel. Of this mystery we read: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; he who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” The very essence of this mystery is therefore the manifestation of God in the flesh. That which was denied in the creed of Babylon is the glory of Christianity. “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” By taking our nature the eternal Word so united divinity and humanity in his own person as to establish communion between God and flesh, and made it possible that man should again become the temple of the living God.
“Thank You for That Word!”
Picture to yourself the courtyard of a Chinese farmhouse, in which are a cow, a pig, a dog, and cats, with grass and corn-stalks for fuel; a shed to shelter the animals at night, muddy with much tramping in the recent rains; a tiny grass and mud house in which the meals are cooked for the family; a guest-room, opening toward the south; the mud floor, nicely swept, the long table opposite the door, on which are the ancestral tablets—old, black, and dusty; two tiny stools; seed-corn and various farming implements hanging on the mud walls,—such were the surroundings of a pitiful old woman I saw to-day.
When the Bible woman and I entered the court, we heard her groans, and, as we came into the guest-room, saw her lying in the corner of the room on a mat on the floor, a cotton-stuffed pillow supporting her head, unable to move herself, and the flies tormenting her in her filth and discomfort. She had on a bright-red wadded garment, preparatory to her death and burial, and in the yard12under a shed we saw her coffin, all in readiness.
I moved my little stool over, and spoke to her, and she began to weep, saying, “You see me here, an old woman, sick and utterly helpless, just lying here as if dead. Alas! alas!” She realized, I think, that she could probably never rise from that sick-bed, and was afraid. I told her to listen to me, and said, “Don’t worry about that, only trust the God of heaven, and he can save your soul.” She looked up at me as one longing for the least ray of hope, and answered eagerly, “Can he? Thank you, thank you for that word!”
I told her of salvation by Jesus’ death,—she had never heard it before,—and told her to pray to God for forgiveness of sin, trusting Jesus’ merit. She asked, “How pray to him? Burn incense?”
“No, just speak to him reverently and in sincerity, and he will hear and answer,” I replied.
“How? What shall I say?”
“Say, ‘I pray the Lord of heaven to forgive my sins and save my soul in heaven, trusting Jesus as my mediator, who died to save me.’”
“But I can’t get up and kneel to pray.”
“That doesn’t make any difference; pray lying where you are, only mean what you say.”
She clasped her wrinkled hands, and said, “O heavenly Lord, I pray thee pity me, take away my sin.”
“Save my soul in heaven, I trust Jesus, who died to save me,” I added, she repeating it after me.
“Sin” and “suffering,” in Chinese, are the same word, and the Bible woman and I both tried to make her understand that this salvation was from sin and transgression, and not from sickness and physical death.
Does she know enough to be saved?—I do not know. Yet who knows the unbounded love and pity of the loving Father, who has said, “Before they call, I will answer”? He only knows if the ignorant old heart in reality turned the eye of faith, be it ever so feeble, to him. He is far more tender than we; and if there is in the poor woman’s heart any repentance and faith, he knows and will honor it. We taught her the same words again and again, and then left her with the prayer that she might grasp their meaning, and believe and trust in him who alone can save.—The Missionary.