Earlier text: Keep Sweet!A NATIVE Korean, Yee Kee Poung, who sixteen years ago took part in the stoning of a missionary at Pyeng Yang, has been ordained to the ministry, and has been appointed as a missionary to the island of Quelpart, where there are one hundred thousand native people who have not heard the gospel. This is only one instance among many showing the great transformation which has been wrought in recent years in Korea. Discrediting the Scriptures
The influence of the conclusions of a false science upon the question of obedience to the plain commandment of God, and the license granted by the higher criticism to use one statement of the Scriptures with which to discredit another, are both plainly shown in dealing with the question of the present obligation to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. The following paragraph illustrates this:— For the observance of Sunday we must look to different sanctions from those of the Sabbath. Even if the Hebrew sanctions did apply to our Sunday, they are too remote from our experience to have any great power. The first of these sanctions, as given in the Exodus edition of the decalogue, was that God labored six days in creating the world, and rested the seventh. This does not apply, partly because science has modified our understanding of the, “creative week;” and more, because Jesus defended his Sabbath activity by announcing, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work;” that is to say, God never has rested, but puts forth his energy and power all the days of all the weeks. And the second of these sanctions, as given in the Deuteronomic edition of the decalogue, was that, in remembrance of their slavery in Egypt, from which Jehovah brought them out, they were to give their servants and beasts of burden rest. But this is too remote, because our immediate ancestors were not in bondage to the Egyptians. In other words, the reasons given in the commandments as recorded in Exodus are not true, as proved by the conclusions of science and the testimony of Jesus himself, while the additional reason given in Deuteronomy has no force. And yet such writers as this claim to believe the Bible, and claim to interpret it to the people. This shows to what an extent infidelity is gaining ground, and how the Word of the living God is being supplanted by a merely human philosophy. I Pray for You
By Emily Stuart Lawrence
I KNOW not what the pain that lies—
The hidden pain so hard to bear—
Deep in your heart, and through your eyes
Asks me for sympathy and prayer;
But deepest sympathy I feel
In answer to its mute appeal. It may be God has given you
Some task that to the utmost tries
Strength, courage, patience, true love, too,
Until your fainting spirit cries
Beneath its load, and One draws near
Who waits the feeblest prayer to hear. Perhaps the friend that most you loved
And trusted as a friend indeed,
In time of sorest stress has proved
Untrue, a wind-tossed, broken reed;
And all the confidence of years
Has passed away in burning tears. It may be Death has passed your door,
On cruel mission bent, and left
A loneliness that evermore
Remains with those by him bereft.
The shadow of a grave may lie
Upon your heart, across your sky. Some living trouble, worse to bear
Than those with dead forms laid away,
May dwell with you, and ever share
Your sweetest hour, your brightest day;
Laying its hand on every joy,
Touching all gladness, to destroy. Whate’er it be, this grief that lies
Deep in your heart, its presence there
Can not be hid, but through your eyes
It asks for sympathy and prayer;
And so this one thing, dear, I do,—
With earnest heart I pray for you. I do not pray that God will take
This sorrow from your life; ah, no!
I only pray that he will make
It work for good to you, and so
Bring you rich gain in coming years
For all your losses, grief, and tears. MRS. E. G. WHITE
By Ellen G. White
Circulate the Publications — NO. 2
The work of book-making is a grand and good work; but it has not always stood in the high and holy position that God designed it should occupy, because self has been interwoven with the work of some who have engaged in it. The book work should be the means of quickly giving the sacred light of present truth to the world. The publications that come forth from our presses to-day are to be of such a character as to strengthen every pin and pillar of the faith that was established by the Word of God and by the revelations of his Spirit. The truth that God has given for his people in these last days should keep them firm when there come into the church those who present false theories. The truth that has stood firm against the attacks of the enemy for more than half a century must still be the confidence and comfort of God's people. Our evidence to non-professors that we have the truth of the Word of God will be given in a life of strict self-denial. We must not make a mockery of our faith, but ever keep before us the example of him who, though he was the Prince of heaven, stooped to a life of self-denial and sacrifice to vindicate the righteousness of his Father's word. Let us each resolve to do our best, that the light of our good works may shine forth to the world. Perfect agreement should exist in the plans laid for the publication of our books and periodicals, that the light which they contain may be quickly carried everywhere, to the nominal churches and to the world. Much more should have been accomplished in the sale of our books than we see accomplished to-day. Our ministers should call upon the church-members to let the truth triumph. “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Unity and love will accomplish wonderful things for the believers. Will not our churches arouse, and give the last warning message to the world? “Christ's Object Lessons” is a book that speaks for itself, and it has accomplished a good work. As it has been sold, and the object of its sale related, money has been received that has relieved the indebtedness of our schools. But more than this, many by reading the book have been blessed by its lessons of truth, and many more will be blessed by reading it. The book “Ministry of Healing” may do the same work for our sanitariums and health institutions that “Christ's Object Lessons” has done for our schools. This book contains the wisdom of the Great Physician. To me it has been a great privilege to donate my work on these books to the cause of God. In the future there should be a much greater effort made to increase their sale. God designs that we shall learn lessons from the failures of the past. It is not pleasing to him to have debts rest upon his institutions. We have reached the time when we must give character to the work by refusing to erect large and costly buildings. We are not to copy the mistakes of the past, and become more and more involved in debt. We are rather to endeavor to clear off the indebtedness that still remains on our institutions. Our churches can help in this matter if they will. Those members to whom the Lord has given means can invest their money in the cause without interest or at a low rate of interest, and by their free-will offerings they can help to support the work. The Lord asks you to return cheerfully to him a portion of the goods he has lent you, and thus become his almoners. Another View of the Book Work
Afterward we were in camp-meetings and in large meetings in our churches, where the ministers presented clearly the perils of the times in which we live, and the great importance of making haste in the circulation of our literature. In response to these appeals, the brethren and sisters came forward and purchased many books. Some took a few, and some purchased large quantities. Most of the purchasers paid for the books they took. A few arranged to pay afterward. Because books were being sold at low prices, some being specially reduced for the occasion, many were purchased, and some by persons not of our faith. They said, “It must be that these books contain a message for us. These people are willing to make sacrifices in order that we may have them, and we will secure them for ourselves and our friends.” But dissatisfaction was expressed by some of our own people. “A stop must be put to this work,” one said, “or our business will be spoiled.” As one brother was carrying away an armful of books, a canvasser laid his hand upon his arm, and said, “My brother, what are you doing with so many books?” Then I heard the voice of our Counselor saying, “Forbid them not.” This is a work that should be done. The end is near. Already much time has been lost, when these books should have been in circulation. Sell them far and near. Scatter them like the leaves of autumn. This work is to continue without the forbiddings of any one. Souls are perishing out of Christ. Let them be warned of his soon appearing in the clouds of heaven. Some of the workers continued to appear much cast down. One was weeping, and said, “These are doing the publishing work an injustice by purchasing these books at so low a price; besides, this work is depriving us of some of the revenue by which our work is sustained.” The Voice replied, “You are meeting with no loss. These workers who take the books at reduced prices could not obtain so ready sale for them except it be at this so-called sacrifice. Many are now purchasing for their friends and for themselves who otherwise would not think of buying.” Then instruction was given to Elder Haskell that in his anxiety to supply the people with the precious truth contained in his books, in his desire that all should feel that the books are worth more than they cost, and that all should be encouraged to give them a wide circulation, he was selling his books too cheap, and9 thus making his own burden too heavy. Our Counselor said, “The books should be sold in such a way that the author will not be left bare-handed, and that the publishing-house shall have a proper margin so that it will have means to carry on its work.” “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder,” Christ declared, “which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market-place, and said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. “Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. “But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” The value of service to God is measured by the Spirit in which it is rendered, rather than by the length of time spent in labor. I am very desirous that the light contained in my books shall come to every soul possible; for God has sent the message for all. These books contain precious lessons in Christian experience. I would not dare forbid that these books be sold on special occasions at a low price, lest I should hinder the reading of the book, and thus withhold the light from some soul who might be converted to the truth. I have no forbiddings to place on the work of circulation of our books. Let the light be placed on the candlestick, that it may give light to all that are in the house. A Lesson in Commercialism
“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. “And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?” The Gospel in the Sanctuary
By L. A. HOOPES
There is a way by which all may come to the Father. That way is Christ. “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” The “veil,” the “door,” and the “hangings of the court,” were all of “fine twined linen, of blue, and purple, and scarlet.” What a beautiful illustration of “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” The fine linen, the blue, the purple, and the scarlet, are all fit emblems of the various experiences in the triumphal march of the Man of Calvary from the cross to the throne. In this object-lesson of the Pentateuch are wonderful revelations of the One who has undertaken our salvation. As one meditates upon the plan, the first thing one sees in the sanctuary service, is the scarlet color. What does the crimson tide—the blood of millions of innocent creatures—signify? Only one answer can be given. The blood which has been poured out by the altar for so many centuries meets its great antitype in the One who, “with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” What an unfolding of the love of God is here represented! What a depth of meaning every part of the sanctuary service has! “And I, if I be lifted up, . . . will draw all men unto me.” The dreadful curse of sin, with all its direful results, is seen in its true setting as the mystery of the great sacrifice is studied. The symbols of the curse are on the four corners of the altar of sacrifice. And they indicate that the victims daily sacrificed thereon were for the whole world. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.” The crown of thorns, the pierced hands, and the riven side are for the world. 2 Cor. 5: 18, 19. “He had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.” Hab. 3: 4. The next article of furniture is the laver. It stands just outside the door of the tabernacle. Just inside is the “table of the bread of his presence.” “The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper are two monumental pillars, one without and one within the church. Upon these ordinances Christ has inscribed the name of the true God. Christ has made baptism the sign of entrance to his spiritual kingdom.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 91. In entering the sanctuary, we are attracted by the steady glow of the seven lamps of the seven golden candlesticks. The first thought is, “Jesus the light of the world;” then, “Ye the the light of the world;” then, “Command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.” Ex. 27: 20. How interwoven this symbol is in all the teachings of both the Old and the New Testament. We must get the oil of grace that flows from these “two olive-trees,” the Old and the New Testament, else our lights will go out. Another symbolic service aids us in this very thing. It is at the golden table of the bread of his presence. Christ, the bountiful supplier of every temporal and spiritual need, is here typified. “I am the bread of life.” “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” And this word is the light of the world. Thus the table of the bread of his presence and the seven lamps have a wonderfully close application in gospel work. But what a debt of gratitude we owe to God for making such wondrous provisions for our salvation! How shall we pay the debt we owe? We can at least tell him that we love him, and adore him for every provision of his grace. Where shall we do this?—At the golden altar. Thank God it is a golden altar. “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which can not be uttered.” Rom. 8: 26. It is our Advocate who is represented by this altar. And while there may be a definite and a distinct altar in heaven, yet the service at the golden altar in a most peculiar sense, represents the mysterious union of Christ and his followers before the throne of God. “It was the work of the priest in the daily ministration to present before God the blood of the sin-offering, also the incense which ascended with the prayers of Israel. So did Christ plead his blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and present before him also, with the precious fragrance of his own righteousness, the prayers of penitent believers.”—“Great Controversy,” page 421. The fire on this altar was kept constantly burning. It was “gold tried in the fire,” “the love of God with abiding faith.” A heart purified by faith, and that works by love, will always desire to be near this altar. The secret of our power, and of our success, lies in the fact that we keep close to this altar. It is here that we learn the mysteries of his will.10 It is here that we learn to meet the attacks of the enemy of our souls. It is here that we receive the command to go forward. Like one of old, it is here that we learn how to wrestle with God and prevail. It is here that “the latter rain,” “the refreshing,” becomes a very definite factor in our gospel work. It is here that the thousands of promises in God’s Word become a blessed reality in our very lives. The great difficulty with us is that we live at too great a distance from the Father. He will not rest satisfied until his ransomed ones are seated by his side. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne.” We must enter within the veil. What a clearing of ourselves must take place before we can enter. Only “he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart,” can enter there. What unspeakable glory fills that place! Who can stand in his presence?—Only One. Jesus is that One. We are complete in him. Well has the psalmist said, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps. 19: 7. This law—“God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative”—constitutes the very foundation of his government of love. It is the very transcript of his character, and the stability of the universe. What a depth of meaning every feature of the sanctuary has! “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum; We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” God’s Plan for His Work in the Earth
By A. T. ROBINSON
“As for God, his way is perfect.” “He is the rock, his work is perfect.” Our God is a perfect being. His work is perfect. His way for the accomplishment of his work is perfect. Therefore the only guaranty of success in any department of the Lord’s work in this world is to find out his way, and then follow in that way, even though it leads contrary to cherished plans and human ideas that may have been followed. The idea is God’s plan to save a lost world. To say that this plan does not provide for every part of the work, would be to say that the plan falls short of being perfect; and this, in turn, would be charging imperfection to the One who made the plan. The apostle Paul speaks thus concerning God’s plan for the support of the ministry, in both the former and Christian dispensations. “Know ye not that they that minister about sacred things, eat of the things of the temple, and they that wait upon the altar have their portion with the altar? Even so did the Lord ordain that they that preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” 1 Cor. 9:13, 14, R. V. Men have tried to improve upon this plan, by establishing a supper room in connection with the church, in which festivals, fashionable suppers, lotteries, grab-bags, kissing parties, and many other questionable means are resorted to in raising the preacher’s salary. These efforts to do the Lord’s work in man’s way are admitted on all sides to be miserable failures and a vexation of spirit. The adoption by a portion of the membership of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination of the Lord’s own plan for the support of the ministry, the payment of the first tithe, has demonstrated to the whole world that it is the only plan that will succeed. So far as this plan is adopted, it results in more than an abundance for the support of the ministry in what is called the home land, while many thousands of dollars of the surplus is passed on, through the Foreign Mission Board, for the support of the workers in mission fields. I verily believe,—in fact it is a living certainty,—that if those in this denomination who do not pay their tithes were doing so as faithfully and as conscientiously as are a large number of this people, there would be an abundant supply of means from this one source alone for the liberal support of every Seventh-day Adventist minister in the world, and of their families as well. No more, then, would the agonizing cry be passed down the line from the Foreign Mission Board to the presidents of conferences, as was done a few weeks ago, to the effect that the Mission treasury was empty. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Somebody is responsible before God for this state of things. My brother, my sister, you who have been selfishly withholding that which the Giver says is his (“It is holy unto the Lord”), I charge you before God with a personal, individual responsibility for this cry that comes from the reapers in the whitening harvest-fields of the world. “Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” A few weeks ago the writer received a letter from a brother, saying that while the Lord had been greatly prospering him in his business he had not been paying his tithe for a long time. As evidence of the genuineness of his confession and repentance he inclosed a check for fifteen hundred dollars back tithe. May God bless this dear brother as richly in spiritual things as he has been blessing him in the things of this world. O that the good Spirit of God may knock and find admittance at the door of a thousand hearts of those who ought to do as this brother has done. I tell you, brethren and sisters, God is in earnest with this people, and it is high time that we were getting in earnest with ourselves. God means what he says in the third chapter of Malachi, when he charges his people with having robbed him in tithes and offerings. The windows of blessing are closed and barred on our side. Heaven is appealing to those who have been thus robbing God: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, . . . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” The Book of Daniel
By Editor
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said unto them, Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that ye serve not my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Dan. 3: 13-18. Nebuchadnezzar Appointed King
By divine appointment Nebuchadnezzar was ruler over the nations. Through the prophet Jeremiah, Jehovah had sent this message to the various kings: “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say unto your masters: I have made the earth, the men and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give it unto whom it seemeth right unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him. . . . And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.” Not only were the heathen nations made subject to Nebuchadnezzar, but the chosen people were also brought under his rule. If therefore it were ever true of any monarch that he ruled by divine right, it would be emphatically so in the case of Nebuchadnezzar. But in the face of all this, the three captives from Jerusalem dared to assert the rights of conscience as superior to the authority of the king. Inasmuch as the course of the three Hebrews received the approval of heaven in a very singular manner, it is plain that11 Nebuchadnezzar attempted the exercise of a power which was not granted to him by Jehovah, and the lesson is clearly taught that there is a limit to the authority of rulers. The Origin of Civil Government
The necessity for civil government is one of the results of sin. Because men do not love their neighbors as themselves, it is necessary that there should be some means for protecting each man in the exercise of his rights and of preventing some from trespassing upon the rights of others. The principle of government was therefore established by God as a means through which he would prevent the exercise of that selfishness which unrestrained would soon enslave the whole human family. Concerning this it is written: “Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained of God. Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God; and they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same: for he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For for this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are ministers of God’s service, attending continually upon this very thing. Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.” Interpreting this instruction in the light of God’s providential dealings with the nations and with individuals, it is evident that no particular form of government was divinely ordained, and that upon no particular class was conferred the right to rule, but that the genius of government was ordained for the purpose of restraining those who would not recognize the authority of God. The purpose, then, of civil government is to protect men in their God-given rights, rather than to confer any rights, and the sphere of civil government is limited to the relations between man and man. This principle has been well expressed in these words: “The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He can not rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so; because it will make him happier; because, in the opinion of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him, or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil in case he do otherwise. To justify that, the conduct from which it is desired to deter him, must be calculated to produce evil to some one else. The only part of the conduct of any one, for which he is amenable to society, is that which concerns others. In the part which merely concerns himself, his independence is, of right, absolute. Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” It is a principle of the divine government not to force the consciences of men, and what God himself does not do, he has never authorized men to do. Every being is left perfectly free to serve or not to serve, to worship or not to worship, the Creator; but if any man chooses to serve or to worship, the King of heaven has never authorized any earthly ruler to interfere with the operation of that choice. This is the lesson so clearly taught in the experience of the three Hebrews. The fact that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been appointed “over the affairs of the province of Babylon” did not prevent their being summoned into the royal presence as transgressors of his command, when their refusal to worship the image had been reported to the king. With a forbearance which was hardly to be expected after the announcement made by the herald that “whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace,” these three men are given one more opportunity to show their loyalty to the king of Babylon, with the assurance that if they persist in their disregard of the royal mandate the original decree will be carried out; and said the king, “Who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?” This boastful inquiry sounds like the echo of the words of Sennacherib when he threatened the destruction of Jerusalem: “Hath any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah? have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that Jehovah should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” To this question the three accused men made a fitting reply, leaving the responsibility with Him whose servants they were. “We have no need to answer thee in this matter.” Jehovah had answered Sennacherib’s blasphemous claims by sending his angel to destroy the army of the invader. If it be to his glory, he can make a similar answer to Nebuchadnezzar’s inquiry by delivering his servants from the burning fiery furnace. But the decision of the three Hebrews does not depend upon any assurance of miraculous deliverance, and in the face of threatened death they declare: “We will not serve thy gods, not worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” The Liberty of the Gospel
This expression of the right of the individual conscience as against the abuse of civil power is a most remarkable one. Such a thing was unheard of among the pagan nations, among whom religion and the state were closely identified, and the authority of government over the conscience was unquestioned. But the liberty of the gospel was to be proclaimed in Babylon,—the liberty conferred by the God of heaven upon all his subjects,—the liberty to refuse him, and also the liberty of the individual to serve him under all circumstances,—a liberty with which even King Nebuchadnezzar, whom God had already owned as his servant, would not be permitted to interfere. It should be noted that the royal command did not forbid the Hebrews from worshiping their own God, but only required that they should also acknowledge the gods of Babylon. Reasoning on grounds of expediency, these captives might have concluded that they would be justified in a mere outward form of worship, a mere formal acknowledgment of the gods of Babylon, while still maintaining the worship of the God of their fathers. Thus did the Romans seek to persuade the early Christians that the mere casting of a pinch of incense to one of their deities was a slight matter, an easy way to purchase freedom for Christianity; but the true Christian recognizes that it is with the mind that he serves the law of God, and that a decision once made to acknowledge other gods is a denial of the true God and a forfeiture of his liberty. Although “all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up,” yet the three Hebrews did not recognize the right even of this great majority to control them in the matter of conscience. By this course, to which divine approval was afterward given, they established that principle which has been thus formulated: “The rights of conscience are individual and personal, and are not to be settled by the arithmetic of putting many consciences on the one side, against a few on the other. The conscience of a single man, peaceably exercised, is for him good against the right of the whole race to invade it by any compulsory process, when religion is the matter to which it refers. . . . God has established no visible authority among men, either in any single man or any number of men, whose decisions in matters of religious faith are a final law to every individual.” These principles are the glory of Christianity, the essential features of the gospel; and the testimony borne to them by the three Hebrew captives was in fulfilment of the divine purpose that the gospel of the kingdom should be proclaimed in Babylon. “Don’t You Mind”
By Will F. Griffin
TROUBLE? Don’t you mind it, and don’t you mind the care;
Push them all behind you, and dream of heavens fair.
The sorrows and the shadows that fall across the way
Will fade before the sunbeams and the blossomings of May. Don’t you mind the thunder, and the clouds that threaten low;
Don’t you mind the wind-sighs that keep a-wailing so;
For every sigh we hear, dear, there’ll come a lilting tune
For every bit of trouble there’ll come the smiles of June. Don’t you mind the grieving, for grief must play its part;
Tears must blind the sight, dear, e’er joy creeps in the heart.
Don’t you mind the thistles that wound the weary feet;
We e’en must taste the bitter, that we may know the sweet.