Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 15.
ARISE YE, AND DEPART; FOR THIS IS NOT YOUR RESTPage 1
Earlier text: A Letter to a Condemned MurdererTHE “RETURN OF THE JEWS.”
In Jer. 11:16 it is written: “The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.” This is the tree of Israel. The word in Jeremiah leaves the tree only where the branches of it are broken. In Romans 11 Inspiration takes up the subject, and carries it to completion. There it is shown that when the natural branches of the tame olive tree—the Jews—were broken off, in the place of these there are grafted in branches from “a wild olive tree”—the Gentiles. In Romans 11 it is also shown that these natural branches of the tame olive tree were broken off “because of unbelief;” and the branches of the wild olive tree are grafted in and remain “by faith.” It is also shown that if the Jews, the natural branches, “abide not still in unbelief,” they too shall be grafted in; “for God is able to graft them in again.” This settles it beyond all possibility of legitimate controversy that no Jew will ever return, or shall ever be counted among the children of God, except by faith: precisely as any Gentile comes to God and is counted among the children of God. This again demonstrates the truth that “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.” The Gentile, from the wild olive tree, who is grafted in, is warned not to become exalted in his own merit and begin to boast against the branches that were broken off, and to say: “The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” And the caution to all such in this is: “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, IF THEY ABIDE NOT STILL IN UNBELIEF, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” Rom. 11:20–24.233 That tells the whole story, and in such a way that no one who will consider what it says can possibly fail to see that there is, indeed, no difference between the Jew and the Greek; but that when the Jews, because of their unbelief, rejected God, and, so, as dead and withered olive branches, were broken off, branches are taken from the wild olive tree of the Gentiles and grafted into the good olive tree in their places: so that, in the economy of God and the plan of his tree of Israel, the believing Gentile takes the place of the unbelieving Jew. Just as he has said in another place: “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: 8. Those who are of the flesh have no claims upon the Lord; for the minding of the flesh is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. They which be of faith, these only are the children of Abraham, and so the children of God. In the plan of God, there is the tree of Israel. As written, because of unbelief its branches withered, died, and were broken off. That left the tree incomplete. But he sends his husbandmen to the wild olive tree; and from that branches are gathered and grafted into the good olive tree—his own tree of Israel. And that work will continue until the branches gathered from the wild olive tree and grafted into the good one, shall fill all the places of the branches broken off—till these branches from the wild olive tree, by being grafted in and partaking of the root and fatness of the good olive tree, become live, fruitful branches of that good tree. And thus the good olive tree shall be caused to stand full and complete in its symmetry, as originally conceived in the mind of God. Thus the fullness of that broken olive tree is made up from the wild olive tree—the Gentiles. And this is the significance of that expression, “Till the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” This “fullness of the Gentiles” is the fullness of that broken, good olive tree which is made up from the Gentiles as the wild olive tree. That good olive tree, with its branches all broken, is marred and incomplete: it in no sense represents the idea of God concerning it. But when all those broken branches are replaced from the wild olive tree, and that tree stands, full and flourishing, as originally planned in the mind of God, then the “fullness” of the tree is there, as originally designed: it is a complete tree. And this “fullness” of that tree—that which makes it a complete tree, after it was all marred and broken—comes from the Gentiles, from the wild olive tree. This is the “fullness of the Gentiles,” and this is how that “fullness” comes in. And upon all this, as the conclusion of all, it is written: “And so all Israel shall be saved.” “So” signifies “in this way,” “by this means,” “after this manner.” There it is written: “In this way, by this means, after this manner, shall all Israel be saved.” And that is the only return of the Jews, and the only salvation of Israel. True, as already noted, from this the original branches are not arbitrarily excluded: any one of these will gladly be grafted in again, “if they abide not still in unbelief.” The Philippine Commission’s Absolute Authority
An administration dispatch from Washington says that the New Philippine Commission “will sail from San Francisco, April 18,” with “plenary powers. President Taft of the commission will be the personal representative of President McKinley in the Philippine Group; and he and his colleagues will fully represent American sovereignty. The army is to be wholly subordinate to their orders. . . . The new commission is to be the government, just as if the President himself were to go to the Philippines with his cabinet, and exercise control under military law. It is necessary, therefore, that it have absolute authority over all civil government that may be established, and over the army, too.” But if even the President himself were to go there, he would not have absolute authority, unless he went without the Constitution. And if he went without the Constitution, he would have no authority at all; because it is only by the Constitution that he is president at all. And then all the authority he could possibly exercise would be merely personal authority. Consequently the president of the commission in possession of absolute authority, being the “personal representative of the President,” can be only the representative of the person of him who is president, and not of him as president; for as president he has not and never can have absolute authority. The Greek word translated in verse 23 “shut up,” and in verse 22 and Rom. 11: 32 “concluded,” is συνέκλεισαν, sunekleisan, and signifies “to shut or coop up, hem in, inclose.” In Luke 5: 6 it is translated “inclosed,” in the statement that “when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes.” Now, since this is the law by which is the knowledge of sin,—for by no other law is it possible to conclude, shut up, men under sin,—the question comes. How does the law of God, the ten commandments, shut men up? Bear in mind that mankind “have all gone out of the way;” “there is none that doeth good, no, not one;” and “there is none that seeketh after God.” Rom. 3: 10–18. Therefore if any of them ever get into the way, it can be only by God’s seeking them. And when God seeks them, it is to bring them to himself. And since they are all under sin, in order to bring them to himself he brings them to righteousness. Since the character of men is altogether bad, the Lord, in bringing them to the knowledge of himself, brings them to the knowledge of a character that is altogether good. Since man is sold under sin, is the slave of sin, possessed of a mind that is enmity against God, and “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be,” everything that he does is, in its very nature, wrong. How, then, can the Lord get him into the right way when he is out of the way, and under a power, and possessed of a nature, by which he does only wrong? That he might reach man where he is, the Lord formulated for man a transcript of his own character, in such a form as to be particularly adapted to the condition and needs of man altogether as he is. And this transcript of the character of God is formulated in the law of God—the ten commandments in written form, as given at Sinai on tables of stone, and in the Bible. It was necessary for the Lord to present his law, the transcript of his character, in this form, because of the essential sinfulness of mankind. For “from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.” Mark 7: 21, 22. Since such is the nature and confirmed condition of all men, this is why it is that the law of God as it entered in written form “is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for manstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.” 1 Tim. 1: 9, 10. Here is included the principle of each one of the ten commandments, and the violation of it. Thus the law of God, entering, comes to every man, telling him not to do the very thing which it is natural and inherent in him to do. He has it in his heart to kill; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt not kill.” He has it in his heart to commit adultery; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” He has it in his heart to steal; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt not steal.” He has it in his heart to bear false witness; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” He has it in his heart to covet; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt not covet.” He has it in his heart to dishonor father and mother; but there stands the word, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” He has it in his heart to go on using all the time there is, the Lord’s day as well as all others, in disregard of God; but there stands the word, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.” He has it in his heart to take the name of God in vain; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” He has it in his heart to have other gods than the Lord; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” He has it in the evil imagination of his heart to formulate in an image his idea of God; but there stands the word, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” And thus the law of God meets every man in the world just where he is, and by its emphatic “Thou shalt not,” shuts him off from doing everything that is natural for him to do. Thus he is shut in with himself, and is “cooped up” with his sins, “kept under the law, shut up.” Thus there is revealed to the man the knowledge of himself, which is the knowledge of sin: he sees himself to be altogether wrong. There is awakened in him the desire for something better, and the longing to get away from his exceeding sinful self. He is stripped of every resource in himself; and, in his desperation, he cries out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” And the answer is: “I thank God through Jesus Christ,” there is deliverance. In his longing to do something that is not forbidden by the holy law of God, he exclaims: What shall I do, that I might work the works of God? And the answer is: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” With the stings of sin pricking him to the heart on all sides, he cries out: “What must I do to be saved?” The answer is: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” And thus it is that the law of God is an essential aid to men in bringing them unto the promises of God. Thus it is that by the law by which “is the knowledge of sin,” “the scripture hath concluded [shut up] all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” And thus it is that before faith comes to men, they are “kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which,” if they will only rightly use the law, and meet the true principle of the law, shall “afterwards be revealed.” And thus in Gal. 3: 21–23 there is preached the same gospel precisely as is preached in Leviticus 4 and in Rom. 3: 10—and everywhere else where the true gospel is preached. All men have sinned in doing somewhat against the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty. An offering must be brought, an atonement made, so that the sin may be forgiven, and the guilt be removed. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” And “when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.” “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Isa. 53: 5, 6, 10; Gal. 3: 29. The Regeneration of Rural New England
A writer in the Outlook, on “The Regeneration of Rural New England,” says that the intimation of the governor of New Hampshire some time ago that the Christian religion is dying out in New Hampshire, “is lamentably true in fact,” and “applies with more or less pertinence to nearly all the farming districts of New England. Maine, for instance, has two hundred and eighty-two pastorless churches. Not a few of those once-sacred edifices now serve as cheese factories, dance halls, and road houses. Other States show somewhat analogous conditions. Through large sections of the agricultural regions,—regions renowned for their piety and godliness,—the common attitude toward religion is one of stolid indifference. The people are lapsing toward heathenism.” God’s Fatherly Care in Nature
“All things in nature testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God, and to his desire to make his children happy. . . . In all that he does, he has the well-being of his children in view.” ENDURING HARDNESS.
By Uriah Smith
“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2 Tim. 2:3. These were the words of Paul to Timothy, his beloved son in the gospel. They open before us a wide field of Christian obligation and Christian duty. There stands out sharply on the foreground of the declaration, the idea that there is a warfare being waged, and that we all have a part therein, as soldiers of Jesus Christ. Then the mind instinctively turns to a consideration of the qualifications a soldier should possess, and the duties in which he should show himself true to his calling. The language is an exhortation to a definite course of conduct, based upon a distinct statement of position. The position he states to be that of a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and the duty to be that of enduring hardness. Many considerations naturally cluster about this subject: First of all, a soldier must possess a brave and courageous heart. What is it to be brave? Many a one has been accounted brave, and his deeds have been lauded to the skies as the great achievements of a hero, when he felt confident that he could safely trust in his own strength; and the circumstances were such as to make him feel sure of the victory, or at least of a way of escape. To be apparently bold under such circumstances is not bravery. To go forward with an enterprise when one feels that there is little or no danger—this is not heroism. This was not the bravery that Paul displayed. He was a tent-maker, not a sailor; yet he tells us that he was thrice shipwrecked, and a night and a day was in the deep. Here were dangers which, from a human point of view, superseded all his powers; but he was ready to face these over and over again, for the sake of the principles for which he contended. This was the bravery of a good soldier of Jesus Christ; but he made no boast of it. It dwells on his mind only long enough for him to make a bare mention of it, for the sake of the lesson it might contain for others. But some will dare dangerous and hazardous things, if multitudes are looking on, ready to greet any apparent heroism with shouts of applause. Their thirst for glory inspires them to deeds of apparent valor. This was not Paul’s kind. For the sake of Christ he could take pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, weaknesses, and shame. He could be beaten with stripes, stoned, imprisoned, and counted the filth and offscouring of all things, and yet swerve not one hair from the path of duty. That is the bravery of a good soldier of Jesus Christ; and that is some of the hardship he is called to endure. Christ’s army has no room for cowards. The ranks are not numerous enough to cover and conceal the timid. One can not skulk into obscurity in the ranks of the great army. Every one has his blow to strike, his post to maintain. We are to “stand like the brave, with our face to the foe.” “Whatever thy danger, take heed and beware.
And turn not thy back; for no armor is there.”
The necessity of the conduct we are to maintain, is seen when we look at the character of the foes with which we have to contend. These foes are described as the world, the flesh, and the devil. But when we speak of fighting against Satan, there is this always to be remembered, that the war to be waged is against one possessed of the three chief faculties which go to make any malignant spirit oppressive to a struggling heart; for Satan is possessed of natural capacities of wide-reaching science, and of large experience. Besides all this, he is seconded by the power within us, which, from its intimate connection with our animal organism, and the groveling direction of all its tendencies, can best be epitomized in its character, as the flesh. The flesh is a traitor that makes a concordat with Satan. The world is an enemy fierce and subtle. It accumulates the force of the principles that enter into the natural heart, which tend to undermine the spiritual life. The character of these enemies with which, as soldiers of Jesus Christ, we have to contend, is marked by three features: (1) Craft or deceitful cunning; (2) patient persistence in recurrent and well-timed attacks upon our weakest points; (3) seductiveness, or deception, in order to overcome suspicions or fear of evil. This is to disguise from ourselves the reality, or minimize the strength, of the forces opposed to us. This will lead us to become careless and confident of victory, or to fall into an error equally dangerous; that is, to lose sight of the fact that as the attacks are renewed again and again, there is a promise of renewed assistance to meet them; and not seeing that, we yield to a craven fear of ultimate defeat. And how are we to meet an enemy of so formidable a kind?—Paul says, as good soldiers. And how are we to act the part of good soldiers?—By faith. The illuminating power and the dominating strength of faith must rule. This, coupled with the honest simplicity of the gospel and with Christian patience, will sustain us in the conflict. Patience has been described as “love exerting itself to resistance.” “Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Faith enables us to believe that by standing our ground, in the strength of Christ, we shall eventually win. These considerations amount to just this: That we should endure hardness as good soldiers; not that we should be callous, but that we should cultivate all the Christian virtues, with unbending resolution and persistent determination in crushing pride and passion. God himself has entered the arena, and is ready with his help; and we have the example of a jubilant company of good soldiers who have preceded us in this blessed warfare, for our encouragement. Taking, then, a general view of the situation, we find ourselves held by these conclusions: That if we are Christians, we are every one of us soldiers, carrying on a deadly warfare with enemies watchful and alert, who never lose sight of us. It is a life-long contest. The battle ground is our own soul. The foe we have to beat down is sin in its ever-varying forms. We are alone to fight and conquer, seen only, perhaps, and aided and guided only, by the great Captain of our salvation, who watches all the circumstances, and guides all the movements of his mighty hosts. And very useful advice is set before us in these words of Paul to Timothy. We are to remember that it is not an easy thing, as the sluggard counts ease, to be a Christian, any more than it is a listless, holiday affair to be a soldier. The cross is a nobler thing to fight for than any of the causes for which men take up carnal weapons. It calls for effort, self-denial, and unrelaxed endurance. “Endure hardness” might be paraphrased like this: “Take thy share of labor and sufferings as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” The army of the Lord has behind it the noblest of traditions. Through the exertions of those early warriors it is that we have possession of all the blessings that we enjoy, in the privileges of the gospel. To their courage, zeal, and love for souls we owe the treasures which Christianity has brought to us. Let us emulate their zeal and courage, not forgetting that we belong to a victorious army. We are on the prevailing side. Other reasons why we should heed the injunctions the apostle lays upon us, are many and obvious. It is due to the character of the great Master whom we serve. We look up to the great Captain of our salvation, and every motive that can nerve the human heart combines to inspire us with dauntless courage and fortitude. The necessities of the work demand the same qualities,—time shortening, wickedness increasing, souls perishing, the end coming. We must conquer or be conquered; there is no other alternative; sink or swim; live or die. And the endurance of hardness; the practice of self-denial, watchfulness, devotion, and earnestness, are not only conditions of the victory, but they are themselves a part of the victory. Again: the abundance of the reward calls us to all these efforts. It is the free, sovereign grace and love of God that first calls the soul to the new life. But when the soul once enlists in the ranks of the soldiers of the cross, then God holds out before it the recompense of the reward. Again, we are prompted to the virtues of a soldier, because fearfulness and cowardice are under a curse. “Curse ye Meroz, . . . curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” Judges 5:23. A soldier who is not brave, and who can not endure the conditions of a campaign, would be regarded no soldier at all. Bravery, endurance, victory—these stand together. Fearfulness, flight, captivity—these stand over against them on the other side. The first are the necessities of a Christian life; the second are not merely pardonable weaknesses, but, in a soldier of the cross, are a deadly sin, which must be overcome like any other sin. The command to endure hardness is a call to more service in the complex system of life of which we are all members. The individuals of the church of Christ form a union together, not for themselves alone, but to benefit others. We do not unite to get, but to give. We do not come together merely for spiritual fellowship, but for practical work. The church is not to choose her own work; that is chosen, and laid out for her, by the Lord of the harvest. Each age brings a new task; and her work never was more clear than now. It is to erect a barrier against the deadly assaults of unbelief, and to promote and revive the crowning graces of Christian faith and Christian love. Paul’s language calls the Christian soldier to more sacrifice. Let us have faith enough in eternity to be willing to take our share of labor and hardness necessary to secure a satisfying portion in the inheritance to be given. The great truth, then, that we are soldiers, carries with it three inevitable duties: (1) The will of the soldier should be wholly absorbed in the will of his captain. What progress would a soldier make, and what would he accomplish, to strike out on a little enterprise of his own, entirely independent of the plan of the campaign, the will of the commander, and the co-operative efforts of his companions in arms? (2) He must cultivate and exhibit true bravery, meeting every danger without the least symptom of hesitation, compromise, or retreat; (3) He is to endure hardness, pressing the battle to the gate, till all opposition is laid low, knowing that our Leader has not called us to anything we can not perform, and that he has not undertaken any enterprise which he can not, and will not, bring to a successful termination. THE KINGDOM WHICH WILL STAND FOREVER.
By William W. Prescott
It is also declared of this fourth kingdom that it “shall be divided.” This reveals the fact that it will not be an everlasting kingdom; for “every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” The effort to impart strength and stability to this kingdom by royal alliances, as “they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men,” is no more successful than the effort to mix iron and clay. Strength is not found in cleaving to men. That union which is merely outward, and is dictated simply by self-interest, will not stand the strain of changed and trying circumstances. It is only that love which “endureth all things,” love as the life, binding hearts together, which will bring permanent union and strength. This is the experience of the kingdom of God within, and the law of the kingdom is the life of love, and the love which is life. By this means divisions are either prevented or are healed, and those who are far off “are made nigh by the blood [the life] of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both [or two] one.” But the interpretation is not completed yet. It has been shown that neither of these four kingdoms will endure; what is to happen next?235 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” The secret is now made known to Nebuchadnezzar. His false view of the course of history has been corrected. The kingdom of Babylon will not endure forever. “The things which are seen are temporal.” “There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,” and he who is thus making himself known to Nebuchadnezzar is the only King whose kingdom “shall stand forever.” And this kingdom is not set up by a gradual process of absorbing the fourth kingdom; for “it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms.” The stone “smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.” “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Ps. 2:6–9. It is “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,” rather than the men themselves, against which “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.” Through the working of the power of the gospel, God is able to set up his kingdom within man, separating this “ungodliness and unrighteousness” from him, so that when “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven” against the ungodliness and the unrighteousness, the man is not destroyed. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” But those who reject the gospel of the kingdom reject “the law of the Spirit of life,” and make themselves the objects of the wrath. “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” We are living “in the days of these kings,” in the divided state of the fourth kingdom; and from the fulfillment of many signs and prophecies we know that the time is just at hand when all earthly kingdoms will pass away, and the God of heaven shall set up his kingdom in their place. This will be consummated “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe . . . in that day.” 2 Thess 1: 7–10. The preparation for that greatest event of the ages, is to receive the gospel of the kingdom of God, to recognize and accept in our own lives the truth that God is “above all, and through all, and in all,” and that “all flesh is grass: . . . but the word of our God shall stand forever.” Being thus identified with “the eternal God,” and becoming “heirs of God,” “children of the kingdom,” when “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,” and when “the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up,” we “shall dwell with the devouring fire,” we “shall dwell with everlasting burnings,” we “shall see the king, in his beauty.” Oh that all might listen to “the voice” that is now sounding throughout all the earth, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” By this message a people is to be gathered out from “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, whose citizenship is in heaven,” who are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” who “declare plainly that they seek a country,” and who will be citizens of that kingdom which “shall stand forever.” “And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” “Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” Although Daniel was a captive, and Nebuchadnezzar sat upon the throne, yet Nebuchadnezzar recognized Daniel as a greater man than was himself. It was Daniel’s acquaintance with God that made him great. It was his acceptance of the principles of the kingdom of God that had made him ruler over himself and over Babylon within, and now these kingly qualities were recognized. His ability to tell the dream and the interpretation showed that he was chief “over all the wise men of Babylon,” and the king simply gave to him the position that belonged to him. Faithfulness to principle and loyalty to the King of heaven have made Daniel and his companions truly great. They did and taught the commandments of God, and so they were “called great in the kingdom of heaven.” And now, in order that the gospel of true greatness may be preached to all the people, they were given the place that really belonged to them “over the affairs of the province,” and “in the gate of the king.” And as Babylon was then a universal kingdom, so the experiences of these Hebrew captives preached the gospel of the kingdom “in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” And in these last days the same devotion to principle is needed in order that the same work may be accomplished, and the setting up of the kingdom of God may be hastened. “Dare to be a Daniel! dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm! dare to make it known.” “THE DESIRE OF AGES” AND THE TESTIMONIES.
By R. M. Kilgore
A CANVASSER writes as follows: “The Testimonies did not speak very favorably about “The Desire of Ages,” so some of us have given up canvassing for it.” Why any canvasser should cease to canvass for “The Desire of Ages” because of what the author utters in the Testimonies is a mystery indeed. Surely the Spirit of Prophecy could not condemn that book which itself is written by the Spirit of Prophecy. No word that Sister White has written since that book was published can be construed as casting the least reflection upon its merits, or that should cause any canvasser to cease his efforts to put it in the homes of the people. All that the Testimony corrects in the book is the superabundance of its illustrations, and the great expenditure of time and money used in securing them. But in the making of the book, this was all done within Sister White’s knowledge. A letter just received from the Pacific Press says: “She wrote to this house and exonerated us from blame in the matter of ‘The Desire of Ages,’ as the illustrations were planned by W. C. [White] himself, and they were submitted to Sister White herself, and she approved of them. But since then she has been instructed that such profusion of illustrations is not necessary.” The publishers were led, by a desire to meet a popular demand, both on the part of the public and the canvassers themselves, to make a first-class selling book of “The Desire of Ages.” In this they have certainly succeeded, and those who have canvassed for it can bear testimony to this fact. The theme of the book is worthy of all the effort they have made; and its workmanship and make-up, with the high order of its numerous appropriate illustrations, render it a book of art, and the finest of any that our presses have ever issued. The publishers set their mark high when the excellent matter was placed in their hands, and they have certainly produced a book of which neither they nor we are ashamed. Now that the Lord has corrected the use of so great a number of illustrations in any one book, we are not to lay the book aside, as condemned and rejected by the Lord. No, no! The reform called for will be seen in future books. Our canvassers can go forth with confidence that God will bless them in selling this good book. In the same Testimony already referred to, are these words: “Canvassers should be secured to handle the books, ‘Great Controversy,’ ‘Patriarchs and Prophets,’ ‘The Desire of Ages,’ ‘Daniel and the Revelation,’ and other books of like character, who have a real sense of the value of the matter those books contain, and a realization of the work to be done to interest people in the truth.” “Those selected as canvassers should be men and women who feel the burden of service, who do not work merely for wages, who seek to do the very work that needs to be done to enlighten the world.” Here we see a high estimate placed upon “The Desire of Ages;” and while a profuse use of illustrations is made in it, the matter it contains is not injured thereby, and the illustrations will not, in the least, interfere with the sale of it. With many persons the excellent and appropriate gallery of pictures found in it increases its value in their sight, and renders it more acceptable to them. When the good Christian canvasser presents the grand truths the book contains, and holds up to view Christ’s precious life, in words and actions, as presented in the book, he will have done his duty, and God will bless him, and he will not be held responsible for the illustrations. R. M. KILGORE.