BE ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Eph. 4: 32. See Col. 3: 13.
"Even as God hath forgiven you" is the rule we are to be guided by in our forgiveness. In a previous article we found that God's forgiveness puts the offender in the place that he would have been had he never sinned. Then, when we forgive those who have trespassed against us, we are to put them in the same relation to us as God puts us to himself. Our forgiveness of others must not be partial, but exercised towards all, and multiplied in its times. "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." Luke 17: 3, 4. We are only authorized to ask the Lord to forgive us just as far as we forgive those that trespass against us. If we ask for more than this, we have no assurance that it will be granted.
But human nature cries out against this. Resentment is so easily cherished. Like the man that owed his lord ten thousand talents, we find it much easier to plead for forgiveness for such a large amount than to grant forgiveness to the one that owes us the small sum of an hundred pence. Why is this?—Self is not dead. We look upon our great transgressions as of less importance than our neighbor's lesser sins. If we do forgive the one who has asked our forgiveness, how easy it is to think of it afterward! How often we suspect the forgiven one, and think he will probably do so again! If God should look upon us the way we look upon others, and we knew it, how miserable would be our lives! There are some that think that God is such an one as themselves, and by fearing he has not forgiven them they are continually asking him to forgive, but never have faith enough to believe it is so. There come times when for a few moments they think they believe him and are made to rejoice. But how soon doubts come in and they give up all hope!
How often these same ones speak the word of forgiveness to the offender, but still look upon him in a distrustful manner, expecting him to repeat the offense! How can such persons be happy? They cannot believe God forgives them, because they know they do not grant a full forgiveness to their fellow-men.
We are to forgive as God has forgiven. This means to look upon our neighbor as God now looks upon us. His word of forgiveness justifies us from all sin. Our word of forgiveness should free our fellow-man from all his past offenses against us. This will fulfill the words of the Saviour, which say, "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." How beautiful, how divine, how far surpassing anything that is worldly and human, is Christian forgiveness! To what a high standard is he raised who exercises it! He who has never forgiven one that has offended him, has yet to experience one of the richest pleasures of the spiritual life, and to be graced with one of the choicest excellences.
When we read of Joseph forgiving his brethren the cruel treatment they had practiced upon him, David forgiving Saul his persecutions and Shimei his curses, Stephen forgiving his murderers, and Paul forgiving his false accusers, what an additional luster it adds to all the other traits of their character! Was not the spirit of forgiveness exercised by Christ one essential proof of his Deity? "Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," was one of the attributes of God's glory, as revealed unto Moses. Ex. 34: 7.
When Luther had wrongfully treated Calvin, he said, "Well, let Luther hate me, and call me a devil a thousand times, yet I will love him, and acknowledge him to be a precious servant of God." What a happy church, what a peaceful world, if this spirit universally prevailed! May we ever seek the Lord for that holy, forgiving spirit to dwell and rule in all our hearts.
DEAD TO SIN YET LIVING UNTO GOD.
By Elder William Covert
BY ELDER WILLIAM COVERT.
SIN enthroned in the heart proposes to be king, director, and overseer of the actions, not even caring to consult the will of its subjects. It is personified in the Scriptures, standing forth as the husband of the sinner. The person thus united is made a bond servant instead of a free companion, and is compelled to yield to the will of the wicked master. Rom. 7: 2, 5, 8: "The woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth." "When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." "Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence." Again it is written: "We know the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I know not; for not what I would, that do I practice; but what I hate, that I do." Verses 14, 15, Revised Version. So dreadful is the rule of this tyrant that the afflicted one cries out in anguish of soul, saying, "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Verse 24.
But, thanks be to God, sweet release will come to those who seek for deliverance from this wretched union! The apostle speaks of how relief is given, in verse 6. He says, "Now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that wherein we were holden." Revised Version. Death coming to either party in the marriage relation releases both. In this case it seems that the apostle represents both parties to this union as dying, but the wife revives again and becomes united to another, the second husband being Christ. The Spirit of Christ in the heart puts the old man of sin to death. "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts." Gal. 5: 24. "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. 6: 6.
The death of this dominant power of evil and the believer's union with Christ are beautifully blended in the story of the cross as told by Paul in Col. 2: 10-12. He says:—
Ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power; in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
In the above reference the body of sin is declared to be put off, or cut away, by the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. The believer also by faith joining with Christ in his death, does also by faith join with him in his burial through the ordinance of baptism, thus signifying his complete separation from all past relations and his entire union with the Lord. Death having ensued, burial must take place. These ordeals discharge the dead from all past obligations and relations. That individual who renounces self and merges into Christ, may remain hid in him, and to the past be dead and buried.
But the apostle carries the figure still further by representing the believer as risen from the dead in Christ. Having in death found his Saviour, he is raised to newness of life by coming in contact with Christ's life. Upon these propositions read the following: "So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6: 3, 4.
So far as these figures are concerned, they represent the believer in Christ wholly dead to the body of sin, having all connection wholly severed; therefore he need serve sin no more, nor hear when it calls him. Says the apostle, "He that is dead is freed from sin." Verse 7. Verse 11 says, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." This is the privilege of the believer. He is called upon to make his reckoning. This admonition implies consecration. He must yield all to Christ, and receive all from him. All bands must be broken, that the captive may go free. The apostle exhorts, "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh." Rom. 13: 14.
These admonitions of the Lord bring us face to face with the greatest question that man is ever called upon to settle. It is the question of his whole life. Will he give all, that in Christ alone he may have all? God gave that which was dearest to him. Jesus gave himself. What is man asked to give?—A corrupt nature, a sin-polluted heart, a state of bondage, a life of shame, a mind of sorrow, a condition of death. What is he to receive in exchange?—Exemption from bondage, freedom from sin, a mansion in heaven, a home in the new earth, with life everlasting. Those who do fully consecrate all, will be so filled with the love of God that the service required will be performed in love for God. They will not depend on what they do to bring them the blessings of heaven. But, instead, the heavenly blessings will so fill the soul that they will not inquire, "What shall I receive for doing this?" but, "How can I glorify my Saviour?" It is written of the death of Christ, and the life of the Christian, "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." 2 Cor. 5: 15. Christ, having bought the sinner when he was condemned to die, and having paid all charges that were against him, rightly claims that the86one thus bought is not the property of himself. He belongs to the Purchaser. He should now live unto the Lord. Having died as the slave of his former owner, and having been raised from the dead by another, his life and his service all belong to the One who raised him into newness of life. So the apostle exhorts:—
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Rom. 6: 12, 13.
This exhortation means that your will is surrendered to God, and no mental reserve made by which to serve self. Self is to stand back, or, more properly, to be abandoned, and Christ is to have the affections or place in the mind that self formerly occupied. Doing this, God will work in us to will and to do what is his good pleasure. When you have thus chosen the Lord and yielded all your members to him, you will be dead unto sin and alive unto God in Jesus Christ our Lord.
THE WAY TO CHRIST.
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
(Continued.)
But in repenting of sin we need not go into a cell, as did Luther, imposing penances upon ourselves to expiate our iniquity, thinking by so doing to gain the favor of God. The question is asked: "Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." The Psalmist says, "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." John writes, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." The only reason that we have not remission of sin is that we have not acknowledged to him whom we have wounded by our transgressions, whom we have pierced by our sins, that we are at fault, and in need of mercy. The confession that is the outpouring of the inmost soul will find its way to the heart of infinite pity; for the Lord is nigh unto him that is of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
How mistaken are those who imagine that confession of sin will detract from their dignity, and lessen their influence among their fellow-men. Clinging to this erroneous idea, though seeing their faults, many fail to confess them, but rather pass by the wrongs they have done others, so embittering their own lives, and shadowing the lives of others. It will not hurt your dignity to confess your sins. Away with this false dignity. Fall on the Rock and be broken, and Christ will give you the true and heavenly dignity. Let not pride, self-esteem, or self-righteousness keep anyone from confessing his sin, that he may claim the promise. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Keep nothing back from God, and neglect not the confession of your faults to your brethren. "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed." Many a sin is left unconfessed to confront the sinner in the day of final account; better far to confront your sins now, to confess them and put them away, while the atoning Sacrifice pleads in your behalf. Do not fail to learn the will of God on this subject. The health of your soul and the salvation of others depends upon the course you pursue in this matter. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." The humble and broken heart can appreciate something of the love of God and the cross of Calvary. Ample will be the blessing experienced by him who meets the condition by which he may become a partaker of the favor of God.
We are to surrender our hearts to God, that he may renew and sanctify us, and fit us for his heavenly court. We are not to wait for some special time, but to-day we are to give ourselves to him, refusing to be the servants of sin. Do you imagine you can leave off sin a little at a time? Oh, leave the accursed thing at once! Hate the things that Christ hates, love the things that Christ loves. Has he not by his death and suffering made provision for your cleansing from sin? When we begin to realize that we are sinners, and fall on the rock to be broken, the everlasting arms are placed about us, and we are brought close to the heart of Jesus. Then we shall be charmed with his loveliness, and disgusted with our own righteousness. We need to come close to the foot of the cross. The more we humble ourselves there, the more exalted will God's love appear. The grace and righteousness of Christ will not avail for him who feels whole, for him who thinks he is reasonably good, who is contented with his own condition. There is no room for Christ in the heart of him who does not realize his need of divine light and aid.
Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." There is fullness of grace in God, and we may have his spirit and power in large measure. Do not feed on the husks of self-righteousness, but go to the Lord. He has the best robe to put upon you, and his arms are open to receive. Christ will say, "Take away the filthy garments from him, and clothe him with a change of raiment."
But shall we wait till we feel that we are cleansed?—No; Christ has promised that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." You are proved of God through the word of God. You are not to wait for wonderful emotions before you believe that God has heard you; feeling is not to be your criterion, for emotions are as changeable as the clouds. You must have something solid for the foundation of your faith. The word of the Lord is a word of87infinite power, upon which you may rely, and he has said, "Ask, and ye shall receive." Look to Calvary. Has not Jesus said that he is your advocate? Has he not said that if you ask anything in his name you shall receive? You are not to depend on your own goodness or good works. You are to come depending upon the Sun of Righteousness, believing that Christ has taken away your sins, and imputed to you his righteousness.
You are to come to God as a repenting sinner, through the name of Jesus, the divine Advocate, to a merciful, forgiving Father, believing that he will do just as he has promised. Let those who desire the blessing of God knock, and wait at the throne of mercy, with firm assurance, saying, "For thou, O Lord, hast said, For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." The Lord longs to have those who seek after God believe in him who is able to do all things. The Lord has sought to show us how ready is God to hear and answer our request by the use of a most familiar and commonplace occurrence. He said: "What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" Christ made an appeal to us concerning the willingness of God to help, arguing from the natural love of the parent to his offspring. What father could turn from his son who asks bread? Should anyone dishonor God by imagining that he will not respond to the call of his children? Would we think a parent capable of trifling with his child, and tantalizing him by raising his expectation only to disappoint him? Will a father promise to give good and nourishing food to his child and then give him a stone? If ye then, being human and evil, give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? The Lord assures those that ask him that he will give them the Holy Spirit.
With the confession of the repenting, believing sinner, Christ mingles his own righteousness, that the prayer of fallen man may go up as fragrant incense before the Father, and the grace of God be imparted to the believing soul. Jesus says, to the trembling, repenting soul: "Let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me." "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Will you let him reason with you? Will you commit to him the keeping of your soul as unto a faithful Creator? Come then, and let us live in the light of his countenance, and pray, as did David, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." By faith apply the blood of Christ to your heart, for that alone can make you whiter than snow. But you say, "This surrender of all my idols will break my heart." This giving up of all for God is represented by your falling upon the Rock and being broken. Then give up all for him; for unless you are broken, you are worthless. When you turn away from the broken cisterns that can hold no water, and in the name of Jesus your Advocate come directly to God, asking for the things you need, the righteousness of Christ will be revealed as your righteousness, the virtue of Christ as your virtue. You will then understand that justification will come alone through faith in Christ; for in Jesus is revealed the perfection of the character of God; in his life is manifested the outworking of the principles of holiness. Through the atoning blood of Christ the sinner is set free from bondage and condemnation; through the perfection of the sinless Substitute and Surety, he may run in the race of humble obedience to all of God's commandments. Without Christ he is under the condemnation of the law, always a sinner, but through faith in Christ he is made just before God.
(Concluded next week.)
SUFFICIENT AND NOT SUFFICIENT.
By James White
By most people, the evidences of the soon coming of Christ are considered insufficient to base faith upon. But the testimony and acts of one man condemned the people destroyed by the flood. The evidences then were sufficient; otherwise the world would not have been condemned. But a hundred times more convincing evidences come pouring in upon us that the day of the Lord is near and hasteth greatly. We follow down the numerous prophetic chains of Daniel and of the Revelation, and we find ourselves in every instance standing just before the day of wrath. We see the signs spoken of by prophets, by Christ, and in the epistles, fulfilling or fulfilled. And at the right time, and in the right manner, to fulfill certain prophecies, a solemn message arises in different parts of the world: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Joel 2: 1. Wherever we look, we see prophecy fulfilling. While the knowledge of God and the spirit of holiness are departing, spiritual wickedness, like a flood, covers the land.
But these evidences are considered insufficient to rest faith upon. Well, what kind of evidence would the unbelieving have? "When the signs of the end," says the skeptic, "are fulfilled, they will be so plain that no one can doubt." But if the signs are of such a nature, and are fulfilled in such a manner, as to compel all to believe in the coming of Christ, how can it be as it was in the days of Noah? Men were not then compelled to believe. But eight believing souls were saved, while all the world besides sank in their unbelief beneath the waters of the flood. God has never revealed his truth to man in a manner to compel him to believe. Those who have wished to doubt his word, have found a wide field in which to doubt, and a broad road to perdition, while those who have wished to believe, have ever found everlasting rock upon which to rest their faith.—Elder James White.
Duties to Others
By Ivan Panin
I AM dissuaded from helping my friend, because, forsooth, I have duties to myself. But I have no duties to myself which should hinder me from helping others.—Ivan Panin.
Miscellaneous.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."—John 3:16.
SABBATH WORSHIP.
By Mrs. J. H. Knowles
BY MRS. J. H. KNOWLES.
THOU God of sovereign love,
In whom we live and move,
Glorious in power,
Blest with thy richest grace,
Grateful, we seek thy face,
Enter thy courts with praise
In this glad hour.
Here to the weary feet,
Longing repose to meet,
Sweet rest be given;
Worn with life's toilsome tread,
We ask for living bread.
Dear Lord, thy table spread,
Foretaste of heaven.
Here may the shadows part
From sorrow's bleeding heart;
Her tearful eye
Beholding through the gloom
A better, happier home,
Where, 'mid a fadeless bloom,
Joy cannot die.
Here let thy light arise,
Piercing the heavy skies
Of sin's dark night,
As, when Creation woke,
Thy voice the silence broke,
Thy word of power spoke,
"Let there be light!"
Hasten, O Lord, the dawn,
Pledge of that blessed morn
When sin shall cease,
When every mountain height
Shall glow with truth's clear light,
And all earth's vales unite
In songs of peace.
—Christian Advocate.
WHAT JESUS SAID OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.
By Stephen N. Haskell
BY ELDER S. N. HASKELL.
JOHN THE BAPTIST was a child of promise, like others mentioned in the Scriptures. God selected John as the forerunner of Christ, because he knew that Zacharias and Elizabeth, like Abraham, would order their household aright. As God is no respecter of persons, John was not arbitrarily chosen for that work, but only from the fact of his being better fitted for the work, from the circumstances connected with his birth and his early life, than any other person then living.
The experience gained by the disciples of John was not such as would lead them, with their selfish natures, to appreciate the advanced experience of those disciples that followed our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It was a wonder to them why they and the Pharisees fasted oft, while the disciples of Jesus did not fast; but the Saviour assured them that his disciples could not fast while he was with them. Their experience was in advance of the disciples of John.
An important question now presents itself before us as to how Christ himself looked upon John. Did he belittle his work by any expression or action on his part? Did he speak of John's work as being inferior to his work? On a certain occasion when there was rising a feeling of jealousy among the disciples of John because of the increasing popularity of Christ, the Saviour "left Judea, and departed again into Galilee." No action of his, therefore, could be construed in any way to belittle the work of John the Baptist.
But this matter is set forth in a very forcible light in the eleventh chapter of Matthew. After John had been cast into prison, and had met with the great disappointment of not seeing Christ take the kingdom, he sent two of his disciples to inquire of Christ, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" Matt. 11:3. Christ took occasion in this same hour to heal the blind, to cleanse the lepers, to restore the lame, to cast out evil spirits, to raise the dead, and to preach the gospel to the poor. Luke 7:19-22. This was for the benefit of these disciples that had come from John. They would carry the message back to John, and state what they had seen, while John would take the prophecy of Isaiah and read that these very things would happen when Christ came. Thus the prophecies themselves would evidence to his mind that Jesus was the true Messiah. But the Saviour tenderly withheld from them information which he might have given them, that in a short time John would be beheaded; but he sent them back with words that would rejoice his heart while in his prison cell. This was Christ! He left John to hope on that some day he might be released from prison, and enjoy that to which he so ardently looked forward; but instead of this came the executioner, and he was beheaded. But in the resurrection, to him the next instant, more than his brightest hopes will be realized.
But this was not all. After the disciples of John had departed, Jesus turned to the multitudes that thronged him, and said concerning John: "What went ye out in the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken by the wind?" Did you expect to find a person that, like a reed in the wind, swayed first one way and then another? "But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?" Did you expect to find a person seeking his ease, desiring a position of honor? Did you expect to find a man that was seeking for some position that would release him from the responsibilities and burdens that God had placed upon him? "Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses." Then come the words of Christ, far more wonderful in this respect than any words spoken by him concerning any other person mentioned by inspiration. "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and MORE than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thee." These words under these circumstances are peculiarly significant. They were not spoken to the followers of John; they had been sent back with a message of joy; but they were spoken to the multitude. He said further: "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Matt. 11:7-11.
These are most wonderful words. No man ever born of woman greater than John the Baptist—"more than a prophet"—and, notwithstanding all this, he that had followed Christ, that had had the least joy in beholding his miracles and his wonderful works, had greater joy than John the Baptist. Are there not lessons here for our most serious thought? John had sacrificed every selfish consideration of ease, personal pleasure, waiting for the time when Christ should take the kingdom, and he with others would share the blessing and honor of reigning with him. Would it not be well for the reader to study the lessons here brought out, meditate upon them, and then imitate in life and character not only John the Baptist as it relates to his work, but the greater and more perfect light—our Lord Jesus Christ?
GO FORWARD.
THE Lord never builds a bridge of faith except under the feet of the faith-filled traveler. If he built the bridge a rod ahead, it wouldn't be a bridge of faith. That which is of sight is not of faith.
There is a self-opening gate which is sometimes used in country roads. It stands fast and firm across the road as a traveler approaches it. If he stops before he gets to it, it won't open. But if he will drive right at it, his wagon wheels press the springs below the roadway, and the gate swings back to let88him through. He must push right on at the closed gate, or it will continue closed. This illustrates the way to pass every barrier on the road of duty. Whether it is a river, a gate, or a mountain, all the child of God has to do is to go for it. If it is a river, it will dry up when you put your feet in its waters. If it is a gate, it will fly open when you are near enough to it and are still pushing on. If it is a mountain, it will be lifted up and cast into the sea when you have come squarely up to where you thought it was. Is there a great barrier across your path of duty just now? Just go for it, in the name of God, and it won't be there.—The Manna.
SHALL ROME RULE AMERICA?
SHALL Rome rule America? To a great many Protestants of our country this question has no interest, because they believe there is not the remotest possibility of such a thing. This confidence and complacency is the result of ignorance rather than knowledge. Those who know the purposes and methods of the Papacy say there is need of watchfulness; those who are familiar with the history of Rome in America during the last fifty years tell us we may well be alarmed.
In certain regions of our country Rome rules America to-day. In many places she dictates the policy of government, though it is so silently, and with so little show, that the people at large do not know that they are thus ruled. She works under cover; and only those who are on the alert are aware what is going on. She is thoroughly Jesuitical in her movements, and so is the more dangerous. In her fundamental principles she is opposed to our American institutions. A subject of Rome owes allegiance first to the pope, and afterwards to the civil government. This was well illustrated by a recent occurrence in Newark, N. J. At a public meeting arrangements were making for the Columbus celebration. It had been moved that all national flags be permitted in the parade, provided the Stars and Stripes should lead. An ex-alderman, John Bruder, arose, and, taking his place in the central aisle, said with great earnestness:
"We should have the papal flag first. We are Catholics first and Americans afterwards."
Straws show which way the wind blows. John Bruder simply said what every loyal Papist thinks and is taught to think. It is a fundamental principle of Romanism that the pope is supreme.
If any have an idea that the motto of Catholicism here is not "Rome first and America afterwards," then remember that the most sacred guarantee of the Constitution of the United States is liberty of conscience. Then, in the light of this fundamental truth, let them read the utterance of Pope Pius IX. in an encyclical letter, in which he says:—
"The absurd and erroneous doctrines or ravings in defense of liberty of conscience are of most pestilential error—a pest of all others most to be dreaded in a State."
In 1864 the same pope anathematized "those who assert the liberty of conscience and of religious worship."
That the Catholic Church in America is in accord with these views is abundantly proved by such utterances as the following:
"Religious liberty is merely endured; until the opposite can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world," says Bishop O'Connor.
The Catholic Review says: "Protestantism, of every form, has not and never can have any right where Catholicity is triumphant."
"No good government can exist without religion," says the Boston Pilot, "and there can be no religion without an Inquisition."
While the Rambler, another Catholic journal, declares: "No man has a right to choose his religion. None but an atheist can uphold the principles of religious liberty."
Thus does Catholicism plant itself in direct and positive antagonism to that Magna Charta of our liberties, the Constitution.
But Rome is as much opposed to free speech and a free press as she is to a free religious conscience. Liberty of the press and liberty of speech the pope already justly calls "the liberty of perdition." It was no less a man than Lafayette who said, "If the liberties of the American people are ever destroyed, they will fall by the hands of the Roman clergy."
There is every reason to believe that the pope has recently taken a forward step in his war upon American institutions. The present point of attack is the public school system. To lead the campaign and to give us lessons as to the management of our schools, an envoy from Rome has recently arrived. One of his special qualifications for his duties is inability to speak the English language. If Uncle Sam does not kick him out of the country as an impertinent dog (to speak in mild metaphor), it will be because he has learned the lesson of self-control to an unprofitable degree. Says the Christian Inquirer:
"If such an insult should be offered us by England, or France, or Germany, it would be instantly and properly resisted."
Yet the pope sends his envoy to assist us in managing our educational affairs, as though it were his special prerogative. We must say that we consider it the height of meddlesome impudence, deserving sharp and prompt rebuke.
But this insult from the pope is not the only one that has been offered us as a people. The following came under our eye the other day. "In November, 1889, in Baltimore, at a great Roman banquet, President Harrison was insulted, assigned a place inferior to the seat of honor at the right, which was given to a Canadian cardinal. They drank the first toast in honor of the pope, and the second to the President." Now we have no quarrel with the President on this matter. If he is pleased with such company and such treatment, he is at liberty to enjoy it. But we decidedly object to our chief executive being relegated to the second place with respect to the old man of the Vatican. What was evidently intended to be taught by the proceeding was, Rome first, America afterwards. In 1891, at the funeral of his daughter at a mass-house in Washington, Secretary Blaine was hissed by the congregation because he did not bend his knee to the wafer. This insult passed unrebuked by Cardinal Gibbons.
The greatest barrier to the advance of Romanism in our land to-day is education. Rome can never become triumphant where the masses are equipped with even a common school training. None know this better than the pope and his corps of cardinals and bishops. Their chief point of attack, therefore, is the public school. If she can destroy our public school system, she may hope for success. Till this is done, her hope for supremacy is vain. Every patriotic American should rise to the defense of the public school, as the mightiest barrier against Romanism.
Figures given by Dr. Josiah Strong in his invaluable little volume, "Our Country," indicate a growth on the part of the Catholic Church that may well startle the most indifferent. He says: "From 1800 to 1880 the population increased nine-fold, the membership of our evangelical churches twenty-seven fold, and the Catholic population sixty-three fold. . . . From 1850 to 1880 the population increased 116 per cent.; the communicants of evangelical churches, 185 per cent., and the Catholic population, 294 per cent." Dr. J. H. Warren wrote ten years ago what is more apparent than ever to-day:
"The Roman Catholic power is fast becoming an overwhelming evil. . . . They blow no trumpets, are sparing with statistics, but are at work night and day to break down the institutions of the country, beginning with the public schools. As surely as we live, so surely will the conflict come, and it will be a hard one." —The Leader (Baptist).
DR. PORTER ON THE LAW.
By Elder George B. Thompson
BY ELDER GEORGE B. THOMPSON.
DR. PORTER, of the M. E. Church, in his work entitled "Hints to Self-educated Ministers," among other good practical suggestions to the shepherds of his denomination, speaks as follows concerning the Decalogue:—
Suppose they come to a congregation that is dead in trespasses and sins, it is easy to see that they must awaken them to thought and feeling. The natural way of doing this is to present the law, showing what God requires, and what will be the result of persistent rebellion. By holding up this glass before them, they will be likely to see their defects and dangers, and become interested in knowing how they may be saved. . . . And here is one point where we think modern preaching is defective. It leaves the law of God, with its terrible penalties, largely out of sight, and offers the benefits of the gospel on inadequate terms, amounting often to little more than an intellectual acceptance of the atonement, without proper repentance or reformation. Jesus and his apostles preached the terrors of the law, and so do all successful ministers.—Pp. 79, 80.
These are truthful words, and we commend them to the prayerful consideration of our Methodist brethren, and ask them to remember the fact that it is impossible to proclaim the law fully without teaching that the seventh day is the Sabbath, for it plainly declares that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:8-11. It is true, as the doctor says, that "Jesus and his apostles preached the terror of the law." It was written in their hearts; they kept it (John 15:10; Rom. 7:7; Heb. 8:8-12); and the keeping of the law led them to keep the Sabbath (Luke 4:16; Acts 16:1-3). It will lead us the same. This fact has led many professed ministers of Christ to fight the law, or to leave it, "with its terrible penalties, largely out of sight."
James represents the law as a mirror (James 1:23-25), in which all may look and see what manner of person they are. The fourth precept is as much of a mirror as either of the other nine. It reveals the fact that those who do work on the seventh day, when God has commanded us to "do no work," are violating one precept, and are condemned as law breakers. James 2:8-11. When Jesus comes in all his glory, he will find a people who are keeping all the law of God. Rev. 12:17. Reader, will you be one of the number? In keeping the commandments there is great reward. Ps. 19:11.