"And he said, A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry. . . . Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends; but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found."
It was to answer the accusation of the scribes and Pharisees to the effect that Jesus chose the companionship of sinners that he spake the parables concerning the lost sheep, the lost silver, and the prodigal son, and in these presentations showed that his mission to the world was not to make miserable, not to condemn and destroy, but to recover that which was lost. This was the reason he did not exclude himself from those who were sinful. These were the very ones that needed a Saviour. The Pharisees felt that they had need of nothing to make them spiritually perfect. They were just in their own eyes, and felt no need of repentance, and they condemned Christ in his work of seeking to save those who felt themselves lost and undone.
The prodigal son was not a dutiful son, not one who would please his father, but one who desired his own way. He wished to follow the dictates of his own inclination, and was tired of counsel and advice from the father who loved him, and who only wished him to act in such a way that his happiness would be insured. The tender sympathy and love of his father were misinterpreted, and the more patient, kind, and benevolent the father acted, the more restless the son became. He thought his liberty was restricted, for his idea of liberty was wild license, and as he craved to be independent of all authority, he broke loose from all the restraint of his father's house, and soon spent his fortune in riotous living. A great famine arose in the country in which he sojourned, and in his hunger he would fain have filled himself with the husks that the swine did eat.
This was the result that followed this youth's impetuous course. He did not know that the best place in the world is home; for the home atmosphere had become disagreeable to him, because he could not be as independent as he desired. Any place looked better to him than home. Evil companions helped to plunge him deeper and deeper into sin, and a false excitement was kept up, and he imagined that he was happy in being free from all restraint. He had no one now to say: "Do not do that; for you will do injury to yourself. Do this, because it is right." But when his means failed, and he was obliged to take time to consider, he found himself without the bare necessities of life; and, to make his situation more trying, a famine had come upon the land.
Starvation stared him in the face, and he joined himself to a citizen of the place. He was sent to do the most menial of work,—to feed the swine. Although this to a Jew was the most disreputable of callings, yet he was willing to do anything, so great was his need. Miserable and suffering, he sat in the fields doing his task. Because he had been unwilling to submit to the restraint of home, he now had the place of the lowest of servants. He had left home for liberty, but his liberty had been turned into the lowest of drudgery.
Where now is his riotous joy? Stilling his conscience, benumbing his sensibilities, he had thought himself happy in scenes of revelry; but now, with money spent, with pride humbled, with his moral nature dwarfed, with his will weak and unreliable, with his finer feelings seemingly dead, he is the most wretched of mortals. He is suffering keen hunger, and cannot fill his want, and, under these circumstances, he remembers that his father has bread enough and to spare, and resolves to go to his father. He says: "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son."
Having made this decision, he does not wait to make himself more respectable. It seems that the only way to save his life is to return; for there is bread in his father's house, and he is perishing with hunger. "And when he was a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." The father sees before him one who is on the verge of starvation, and with the marks of dissipation upon him; but this does not make him hesitate. He covers him with his own robe. And the son says, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son;" but the father brings him into the house, and says to the servants, "Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."
The home looks just as it did when he left it; but what a difference there is in himself. How could he have abused his father's love, and have chosen his own way? The father has no words of upbraiding to offer, and, though the son wept out his repentance, the father thought only of rejoicing, weeping with joy on the neck of his son. The father does not give him a chance to say, "Make me as one of thy hired servants." The welcome he receives assures him that he is reinstated to the place of son.
Is not the reception of the prodigal son a representation of the way in which the Lord receives the repenting sinner? In the cross of Calvary mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Every penitent feels himself enfolded in the arms of the Heavenly Father. There is no taunting, no casting up of his evil course. He realizes that he is met by the Lord—"the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."
"Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends; but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found."
Mark the points in the parable: The elder brother coming from the field, hearing the sound of rejoicing, inquires what it all means, and is told of the return of his brother, and how the fatted calf has been killed to provide for the feast. Then is revealed in the elder brother selfishness, pride, envy, and malignity. He feels that favor to the prodigal is an insult to himself, and the father remonstrates with him, but he will not look upon the matter in the right light, nor will he unite with the father in rejoicing that the lost is found. He gives the father to understand that, had he been in the father's place, he would not have received the son back, and forgets that the poor prodigal is his own197brother. He speaks with disrespect to his father, charging him with injustice to himself, while he shows favor to one who has wasted his living. He speaks of the prodigal to his father as "this thy son." Yet, notwithstanding all this unfilial conduct, his expressions of contempt and arrogance, the father deals patiently and tenderly with him. He presents before the elder son the facts of the case, and vindicates his course of action toward the returned wanderer, and seeks to awaken tenderness in the heart of the brother.
Did the elder son finally come to see his unworthiness of so kind and considerate a father? Did he come to see that, though his brother had done wickedly, he was his brother still, that their relationship had not altered? and did he repent of his jealousy, and ask his father's forgiveness for so misrepresenting him to his face?
How true a representation was the action of this elder son of unrepenting and unbelieving Israel, who refused to acknowledge that the publicans and sinners were their brethren, who should be forgiven, and should be sought for, labored for, and not left to perish, but led to have everlasting life! How beautiful is this parable as it illustrates the welcome that every repentant soul will receive from the Heavenly Father! With what joy will the heavenly intelligences rejoice to see souls returning to their Father's house! The sinners will meet with no reproach, no taunt, no reminder of their unworthiness. All that is required is penitence. The Psalmist says, "For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."
"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? 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?"
GOD IS GOOD.
By D. E. W.
BY D. E. W.
List! the brooklet by the wayside,
Rippling on toward ocean's flood,
Tells us, in melodious murmurs,
God is ever good.
List! the leaflets in the sunshine
Clothe with beauty all the wood,
Whisper low in softest music,
God is ever good.
List! the birds do sing His praises
Who prepares their daily food,
Telling us in joyful bird songs,
God is ever good.
List! all nature shouts with gladness,
Bird and flower and stream and wood,
Telling us in tuneful measures,
God is ever good.
Little children, join the chorus;
Let thy joy be understood;
Help to swell the mighty anthem,
God is ever good.
THE CONTRITE HEART.
By George C. Tenney
BY ELDER G. C. TENNEY.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." David, who wrote these words, knew whereof he spoke. The primary meaning of our word "contrition" is act of grinding or reducing to a powder. In its ordinary use it means deep humiliation, sorrow, and grief for sin. It is brokenness and poverty of spirit. The idea conveyed is certainly not one which the natural heart greets with pleasure, but God has made it an essential part of genuine religious experience.
It used to be so regarded; but is it so now? The carnal heart answers: It is not now necessary. Judging by what we see, nominal Christianity is quite inclined to ignore it. There appears to be but little in modern religious experience or teaching to lead one to think that deep, genuine contrition is any necessary part of such experience. The Christian world has turned its back on this and other truths of God's word which in their practice involve the humbling of self and the crucifixion of the flesh. Religion is now dressed in gayer colors. The sackcloth of repentance and confession are laid away. The cross is obscured with roses. The pathway is turned upon an easy grade and planted with the pleasing flowers of earth. The conditions are made so easy that no one can object to them; rough places are smoothed over, and obstructions reduced, so that there is but little jar to the natural feelings, nothing to disturb the comfort of the worldling. Under these circumstances it may be expected that the work will be superficial rather than thorough and deep.
What, then, should be our experience in relation to the cross of Christ? Ought Christians still to deny self daily, still to take up the cross? Is it still necessary to be meek and lowly in heart? Must the heart still break for sins? Must we still "agonize" to enter in at the strait gate? Or may we cast away these somber features of old-time religion as being well enough for superstitious ages, but wholly inappropriate to our joyous age?
In undertaking to answer these questions we ask not to be considered as opposed to cheerfulness and joy in God's service. We do not sympathize with that lugubrious and downcast demeanor with which some are wont to disfigure their countenances and dishonor God. At the same time we would urge that a clear distinction be made between the joy and peace which are the fruits of the Spirit and that self-complacency and frothy feeling which are engendered of self-deception and presumption. An individual who has never made his peace with God may work himself into an ecstasy of joy and then take this as an undoubted evidence of divine blessing. Of the genuineness of these demonstrations in others it is not always safe to enter into judgment; nor is it our purpose to lead anyone to sit in judgment upon what he sees in others; rather let us by self-examination test the reliability of our own hope.
Sin debars us from God, and will do so as long as it is cherished. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." In order to come to God, sin must be put away. The sinner who in the Mosaic dispensation came to God brought a sacrifice. No less must be done now. The broken, contrite heart must still be presented to God in pledge of the sincerity of repentance. Whence shall we obtain it? What will produce it?—A sense of the sinfulness of sin. Look to Gethsemane. What causes those sweat drops of blood?—Your sins. What causes that agonizing prayer?—Your sins. What causes the mortal groaning cry, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death"?—Oh, it was your sins and mine! How may I see myself as such a sinner?—Look at the sinless One. Behold the Lamb of God. Consider Christ Jesus in his matchless life, and then see where you stand.
The poor publican presented an acceptable sacrifice, for he had seen Jesus, and, with humble contrition, he abhorred himself, and longed for the cleansing touch of divine compassion. "God be merciful to me, a sinner." He could do no more, but it was a precious offering, acceptable to God. Oppressed with a sense of his lost condition, he cast himself upon divine mercy and was justified. But we see too little of such deep conviction to-day; we hear too little preaching that is calculated to awaken it.
Acceptable confession does not always consist in saying, on general principles, "I have been a great sinner, and I want to do better." Contrition comes from an acute and definite sense of sin. And it is not enough that the Christian life should be inaugurated by a season of contrition. Sin becomes even more sinful as we proceed in our experiences. There is less excuse for it in those who know a Saviour's love. Shall we daily grieve our Saviour and have no grief ourselves? Our thoughtlessness and indifference cause the wound of Christ to flow afresh; and shall we feel no pang of regret? In that depth of compassion which suffers anew in our every transgression, and fills heaven with sorrow at our waywardness, shall we have no share? Daniel was a man "greatly beloved," but his petitions were presented with tears of contrition. Such experiences are not incompatible with true joy and peace. Thus the joy of salvation is restored to us. The heart that is purged from sin will be filled with the peace of God. To walk with God, we must walk humbly. And when we truly deplore sin, he will help us to get rid of it.
As we examine our hearts, it will not bring us self-satisfaction, but deep repentance and bitter pain. But—God can heal the broken heart; the humble spirit he can exalt; the thirsty soul he can satisfy.
Discretion and Repeated Mistakes
"A sound discretion is not so much indicated by never making a mistake as by never repeating it."
HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN.
By Elder H. J. Farman
BY ELDER H. J. FARMAN.
"BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." "But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he [God] is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is simply to rely on his promises as an accomplished work for us, as did the nobleman when he came to have Christ come and heal his child. "Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth." John 4:49–51. By this we see that the child was healed as soon as the man believed. So it is with us; when Jesus says, "Thy sins be forgiven thee," that moment it is done, if we believe and have confessed our sins. For he says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Reader, do you believe this promise? and have you experienced its fulfillment in your case? If not, why not now? "Behold," says Jesus, "I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Reader, will you do this? Jesus is soon coming to take his children to himself; and all who have accepted him by faith and are looking for him, to them will he appear the second time without sin unto salvation, saying, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
THE PAPAL CHURCH AND THE SARACENS
By Percy T. Magan
A REVIEW OF SUNDAY LEGISLATION IN CENTURY NINETEEN. NO. 10.
BY PERCY T. MAGAN.
THE PAPAL CHURCH AND THE SARACENS.
I HAVE already written upon the rise and prosperity of the Jews in Spain. I have reviewed the treatment which this fragment of Israel received at the hands of Rome and the Inquisition. I have spoken of the Saracen invasion of Spain, and traced in a brief sketch their civilization and splendor. I have proved from her own lips that the motive of Rome, in the persecution of these Jews, was base, sordid, and, in a preponderant degree, mercenary. It will be the object of this paper to expose Rome's treatment of the Saracens till every believer in the Koran had been extirpated from Spain, and then to conclude that America is destined to receive similar treatment at her hand, and, consequently, like ruin.
It was late in century fifteen, that is, in 1492, that Granada, the capital of the last Moorish kingdom in Spain, after a two years' siege, fell into the hands of Ferdinand, the great Catholic sovereign of Spain, and the husband of the famous Isabella. The fall of Granada the capital was also the fall of Granada the State. In 756 the Saracens had controlled nearly the whole of Spain; Cordova was then their headquarters. But in 1031 this caliphate was broken up into several smaller governments. One by one these fell into the hands of the Catholics, the last of them to go, as already related, being Granada.
Although all the Mohammedan kingdoms were conquered by 1492, and although Rome held complete sway over them, she did not immediately endeavor to exterminate them. First she attempted to convert them to her own religious dogmas and doctrines. Exhortations and arguments were the first weapons; but when these means failed, she had recourse to other means, viz., she persecuted those whom she was unable to persuade. This methods seemed to be more successful, since we are told by good authority that after the year 1526 "there was no Mohammedan in Spain who had not been converted to Christianity." That is to say, in other language, that every Mohammedan in Spain professed to be a Papist.
Some, however, were difficult subjects for conversion. They would not willingly submit to be baptized. The water might be holy, but, holy or unholy, they wanted none of it. Nevertheless, be baptized they must, so they were forcibly seized, and the ordinance was forcibly administered. This was done in an immense number of cases. Now appears the most diabolical chapter in the whole of this atrocious proceeding. Says Buckle, quoting Circourt, whose "Histoire des Arabs d'Espagne" is everywhere recognized as standard:
Being baptized, it was held that they belonged to the church, and were amenable to her discipline.
Nothing was said about the manner in which they had been baptized. The church was not persecuting heretics. Oh, no! we must not accuse her of that in this instance. She was merely regulating church matters, looking after the welfare of her own communicants, and who could take exceptions to that? Had not the church dignitaries a right to look after the flock? She was not going outside her own domain!!! This is a sophism worthy of the genius of the arch-fiend himself. It was all right, she said, to compel her own members to obey the dictates of the hierarchy, for that was an infallible Catholic law, to the effect that—
whoever has been baptized shall be compelled to continue the observances of the church.
The "discipline" was administered by the Inquisition, "which, during the rest of the sixteenth century, subjected these new Christians, or Moriscos, as they are now called, to the most barbarous treatment." "The genuineness of their forced conversion was doubted; it therefore became the business of the church to inquire into their sincerity." They were ordered to relinquish everything that might have the remotest tendency to remind them of their former religion. They were forced, under severe penalties, to learn Spanish, and to deliver over to their persecutors all their Arabic books. They were forbidden to read Arabic, they were forbidden to write it, they were forbidden to converse in it, in the sanctuary of the home. The ceremonies and games in which their ancestors had delighted were forbidden them. They were prohibited from wearing clothes of the same pattern as those worn by their fathers. "Their women were to go unveiled; and, as bathing was a heathenish custom, all public baths were to be destroyed, and even all baths in private houses."
All of this was more than Saracen flesh and blood could stand. In 1563 they rose in rebellion, and so desperately did their arms maintain the unequal contest that it was 1571 ere the insurrection was quelled. By this rising their numbers were greatly reduced, and the remnant appeared to have lapsed back into the quiet, everyday walks of life. But Rome was not satisfied yet. The unoffending Morisco must be pursued to the grave with torture and civil disability, and even beyond that portal of darkness as far as her unrelenting hand could reach.
A favorite papal argument of pagan extraction was next waged.
The archbishop of Valentia . . . assured the king that all the disasters which had befallen the monarchy had been caused by the presence of these unbelievers [the Moriscos], whom it was now necessary to root out, even as David had done to the Philistines, and Saul to the Amalekites. He declared that the Armada, which Philip II. sent against England in 1588, had been destroyed because God would not allow even that pious enterprise to succeed while those who undertook it left heretics undisturbed at home. For the same reason the late expedition against Algiers had failed, it being evidently the will of Heaven that nothing should prosper while Spain was inhabited by apostates.
For these reasons it was urged that "the whole of them, men, women, and children, [be] at once put to the sword."
Bleda, the celebrated Dominican, one of the most influential men of his time, wished this to be done, and to be done thoroughly. He said that, for the sake of example, every Morisco in Spain should have his throat cut, because it was impossible to tell which of them were Christians at heart, and it was enough to leave the matter to God, who knew his own, and who would reward in the next world those who were really Catholics.
In the year 1609, when Philip III. was king, Lerma, his minister, at the instigation of the clergy—
announced to the king that the expulsion of the Moriscos had become necessary. "The resolution," replied Philip, "is a great one; let it be executed." And executed it was, with unflinching barbarity. About one million of the most industrious inhabitants of Spain were hunted out like wild beasts, because the sincerity of their religious opinions was doubted. Many were slain as they approached the coast; others were beaten and plundered; and the majority, in the most wretched plight, sailed for Africa. During the passage the crew, in many of the ships, rose upon them, butchered the men, ravished the women, and threw the children into the sea. Those who escaped this fate landed on the coast of Barbary, when they were attacked by the Bedouins, and many of them put to the sword. Others made their way into the desert, and perished from famine. Of the number of lives actually sacrificed we have no authentic account; but it is said on very good authority that in one expedition in which one hundred and forty thousand were carried to Africa, upwards of one hundred thousand suffered death in its most frightful forms, within a few months after their expulsion from Spain.199From what has been related in this and in previous numbers of this paper, it is clear:
That, where Rome has the power, she will confiscate all property belonging to all men, who except against her doctrines, dogmas, and practices.
That, where Rome has the power, she will confiscate in one way or another a large share, at least, of the property of those who acknowledge her as their mistress.
That, where Rome has the power, the lives of those who except against her doctrines are not safe for a moment.
That, where Rome has the power, the lives of those who profess to be proselytes to her creed, are not, by any means, always secure.
It therefore follows from these four statements of fact that the PARAMOUNT SUCCESS OF ROMAN CATHOLICISM WOULD PROVE THE MISERY AND ULTIMATE DESTRUCTION OF THE HUMAN RACE.
Moreover, it follows that, since the United States has been sold to the Papacy, or, at least, to papal principles, every man who reads this that we have written, and believes it, will do well to sell all that he has, and lay the price upon the altar of God, to aid in carrying forward the work of Christ in opposition to this, the work of antichrist; for if he keeps aught that he possesses but little longer, whether he believes in Rome or hates her, she will get it in spite of him.
In the next issue I will demonstrate the truthfulness of what I said above, from Holy Writ.
THE HOME OF THE SAVED.
By J. P. Lorenz
BY J. P. LORENZ.
"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isa. 35: 10.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Rev. 21: 4.
THERE is a home prepared for the meek,
With walls of jasper and gold,
For those who through Jesus salvation do seek,
Most precious and fair to behold.
There is a home for the weary to rest
In yonder bright mansions of love;
God's people will there be for evermore blest,
In that beautiful city above.
There's a beautiful home on yonder bright shore,
Where Jesus in glory doth reign;
God's people will there be free evermore
From sorrow, affliction, and pain.
There is evermore day, with no need of light;
There night is turned into the day;
For Jesus, the Lamb, is their glorious light;
He scatters all darkness away.
Oh, ever blest home where God's people shall be,
To rest from earth's sorrow and care;
There they their Saviour in glory will see!
I long, oh, I long to be there!
THE SCRIPTURES ARE PERFECT.
By Elder S. N. Haskell
BY ELDER S. N. HASKELL.
FOR the first twenty-five hundred years there was no written word. God's great textbook was nature. Through his works men learned of him. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard." Ps. 19:1-3.
But what is the glory of God that is taught by the heavens? When Moses prayed, "I beseech thee show me thy glory," God said, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." Ex. 33:18, 19. Then Christ, angels, and God's Holy Spirit, who were man's instructors for the first two thousand years, from the heavens, taught man God's character as a forgiving, merciful, and loving Redeemer. This was the gospel of Jesus Christ. In nature, both before and after the fall, in the curse brought on the earth, and by the curse itself, God revealed the plan of redemption.
Every act of Christ in any and every age of the world was only a divine revealing of himself. The great apostle reasons from this standpoint when he would prove the gospel which he preached had gone to all the earth and all had heard the word of God. He first prefaces his statement with what men say: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, unless they be sent? as it is written; How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Having quoted men's arguments, he proceeds to show that all have heard this gospel. "But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." Rom. 10:14-18. The reader will notice the last expression, "Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world," is a quotation from Ps. 19:4, and has direct reference to the voice of the firmament, the sun, moon, and the stars.
But why need we the written word if the gospel was in nature? and why cannot we see it the same as was taught by God and his divine agencies, for the first one-third of the world's history? The answer is evident. This was God's first method of instructing men, but when men became so sinful that they worshiped nature, and from this nature worship sprang the whole system of idolatry, instead of the God of nature, then God revealed himself in the written word. And in the first books which God gave through his servant Moses, we find this remarkable passage: "And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven." Deut. 4:19.
The inclination of the people to worship nature, which God designed should be only a revelation of himself to them, was so great he gave the special caution, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead; so they are without excuse." Rom. 1:19, 20. It was thus that God would have taught all mankind if they had been mindful of his instruction. But as their hearts became hardened, then God gave them the law, in which was a revelation of the same gospel. Consequently, law was simply an unfolding of the same gospel that was taught in nature. The writings of the prophets were still a further unfolding of the same truths. We pass down about two thousand years more, and then the Lord takes all this perfection that was first in nature, and second in his word, and places them in humanity. So that Christ, which was the Word made flesh, appeared on this earth and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory as the only begotten of the Father. Those that were with him and beheld him testified of him, and we have their testimony. This is also the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is one and the same story only manifested in different ways. The words of God wherever they are found are Christ revealing himself to mankind.
The true character of Christ was altogether lost sight of when Christ walked this earth, and this was why he was not appreciated. It became necessary for Christ to come in humanity that the world might know God and learn his character as it is. Oh, what matchless love of God is this! Because man rejected him and lost sight of him in nature, then he revealed himself in his written word; then because men by their wickedness and wrong habits had again entirely lost sight of him, so that even his professed followers stood directly in the way of his getting at the people, Christ came representing the Father in all his perfection in humanity. He took upon himself human nature, with all its liabilities, so that men might see what it would be if they would be Christians. "For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." "For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 2:16-18; 4:15, 16.
He thus becomes the ladder that Jacob saw with its bottom on the earth and its top upon the throne of God. Man therefore through the merits of Jesus Christ can be a partaker of his divine nature, and in his worthiness may become holy. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Rom. 11:33.
Therefore to reject Christ is to reject God. It is to refuse the goodness and mercy of God that have been coming to mankind for the last six thousand years. Every act of Christ's life contained an underlying principle that taught lessons for all who would learn of him. The Bible is the greatest educator there is in the world, because it is the perfection of God. It unfolds the mystery of God. It reveals to us everything that will elevate, ennoble, and purify the character. "Every chapter and every verse in the Bible is a communication of God to man. We should bind its precepts as signs upon our hands, and as frontlets between our eyes. If studied and obeyed, it would lead God's people, as the Israelites were led, by the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night."
But we need the same Spirit which gave the word that we may understand it. Of the disciples we read, "Then He opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures." Before this opening they had understood the fulfillment of the prophecy as it related to the theory of Christ's coming, but they had not understood the spiritual meaning of what Christ had taught them. As they were to take up Christ's work, it was necessary that their minds should be opened to understand the Scriptures.
"The more we walk in the light of the truth the more we shall become like Christ in spirit and character and in manner of work, and the brighter the truth will become to us. As we behold the increasing light of revelation, it will become more precious than we first estimated from a casual reading or examination. The truth as it is in Jesus is capable of constant expansion, of new development, and like its divine Author will become more precious and beautiful. It will constantly reveal deeper significance and lead the soul to aspire for more perfect conformity to its divine standard. Such an understanding of the truth will elevate the mind and transform the character to its divine perfection."
The entire system of Jewish religion was the gospel of Christ presented in types and symbols. Surely when Christ comes man will be without excuse.