“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city.” Hebrews 11:8-16.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 465.1

ALL HEIRS

The first thing that we note in this scripture is that all these were heirs. We have already learned that Abraham himself was to be no more than an heir in his lifetime, because he was to die before His seed returned from captivity. But Isaac and Jacob, his immediate descendants, were likewise heirs. The children were heirs with their father of the same promised inheritance.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 465.2

Not only this, but there sprang from Abraham “so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea-shore innumerable.” These were also heirs of the same promise, for these also “all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Mark this, the vast host of Abraham’s descendants “died in faith, not having received the promises.” Note that it says “promises.” It was not simply a part that they did not receive, but the whole. All the promises are in Christ only, who is the seed, and they could not be fulfilled to those who are His before they are to Him; and even He yet waits for His foes to be made His footstool.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 465.3

In harmony with these words, that they died in faith, not having received the promises, but confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, we have the words of King David hundreds of years after the deliverance from Egypt, “I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.” Psalm 39:12. And when at the height of his power he delivered the kingdom to his son Solomon, in the presence of all the people, he said, “For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.” 1 Chronicles 29:15.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 465.4

The reason why this innumerable company did not receive the promised inheritance, is stated in these words: “God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” The further particulars will be considered when we come to their times.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 465.5

A CITY AND COUNTRY

Abraham looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The city with foundations is thus described in Revelation 21:10-14, 19:-“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God; and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon; which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” “And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 465.6

That is a partial description of the city for which Abraham looked. His descendants also looked for the same city, for we read descriptions of it in the ancient prophets. They might have had a home on this earth, if they had desired. The land of the Chaldees was as fertile as the land of Palestine, and it would have sufficed for a temporal home for them as well as any other land. But neither one would satisfy them, for “now they desire a better country, that is an heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He hath prepared for them a city.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.1

This scripture kept in mind will guide us in all our subsequent study of the children of Israel. The true children of Abraham never looked for the fulfillment of the promise on this present earth, but in the earth made new.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.2

ISAAC AN ILLUSTRATION

This desire for a heavenly country made the true heirs very easy to get along with in temporal affairs, as is illustrated in the life of Isaac. He went to sojourn in the land of the Philistines, and sowed in that land, “and received in the same year an hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great; for he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants; and the Philistines envied him.... And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.” Genesis 26:12-17.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.3

Although Isaac was mightier than the people in whose land he dwelt, he went from them at their request, even when he was prospering abundantly. He would not strive for the possession of an earthly estate.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.4

The same spirit was manifested after he went to dwell in Gerar. The servants of Isaac dug anew the wells that had belonged to Abraham, and also dug in the valley and found living water. But the herdmen of Gerar strove with them, saying, “The water is ours.” So they went and dug another well; but the herdmen of Gerar claimed that also. “And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not; and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” Genesis 26:18-22.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.5

“And the Lord appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for My servant Abraham’s sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there.” Verses 24, 25.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.6

Isaac had the promise of a better country, that is, an heavenly, and therefore he would not strive for the possession of a few square miles of land on this sin-cursed earth. Why should he? It was not the inheritance that the Lord had promised him; and why should he fight for a part in the land wherein he was only a so-journer? True, he had to live, but he allowed the Lord to manage that for him. When driven from one place, he went to another, until at last he found quiet, and then he said, “The Lord hath made room for us.” In this he showed the true spirit of Christ, “who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself (His cause) to Him that judgeth righteously.” 1 Peter 2:23.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.7

In this we have an example. If we are Christ’s, then are we Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Therefore we shall follow the precepts of Christ. Here is one: “I say unto you, That ye resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right check, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law,^{1The thoughtful reader will see in this an exhortation to avoid lawsuits. If one would sue you for your coat, it is better to settle it by giving him both your coat and your cloak than to go to law. This is practical wisdom. Lawsuits are like lotteries; a great deal of money is spent on them, and very little gained. Of course it will be said, “If we don't defend our rights people will take away everything we have.” And so it would be if God had no care for His people. But defending one’s rights does not by any means always preserve them, as many a man has proved to his cost.} and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also” (Matthew 5:39, 40), are thought by many professed Christians to be fanciful, and altogether impractical. But they are designed for daily use. Christ practiced them, and we have an example in the case of Isaac.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.8

“But we should lose everything that we have in the world, if we should do as the text says,” we hear it said. Well, even then we should be in no worse circumstances than Christ the Lord was here on earth. But we are to remember that “your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” He who cares for the sparrows, is able to care for those who commit their case to Him. We see that Isaac was prospered even though he did not “fight for his rights.” The promise which was made to the fathers is also made to us, by very same God. “When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers” in the land; “when they went from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another people, He suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, He reproved kings for their sakes; saying, Touch not Mine anointed and do My prophets no harm.” Psalm 105:12-15. That same God still cares for those who put their trust in Him.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.9

The inheritance which the Lord has promised to His people, the seed of Abraham, is not to be obtained by fighting, except with spiritual weapons-the armour of Christ-against the hosts of Satan. They who seek the country which God has promised, declare that they are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. They cannot use the sword, even in self-defence, much less for conquest. The Lord is their defender. He says: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green.” Jeremiah 17:5-8. He has not promised that all our wrongs shall be righted at once, or even in this life; but He doth not forget the cry of the poor, and He has said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.” Romans 12:19. “Therefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:19. We may do this in full confidence that “the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.” Psalm 140:12.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 466.10

ESAU’S INFIDELITY

The case of Esau furnishes another incidental proof that the inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed was not a temporal one, to be enjoyed in this life, but eternal, to be shared in the life to come. The story is told in these words:-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.1

“And Jacob sod pottage; and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint; therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold I am at the point to die; and what profit shall this birthright do me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swear unto him; and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way; thus Esau despised his birthright.” Genesis 25:29-34.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.2

In the Epistle to the Hebrews Esau is called a “profane person,” because he sold his birthright. This shows that there was something besides mere foolishness in the transaction. One would say that it was childish to sell a birthright for a meal of victuals; but it was worse than childish; it was wicked. It showed that he was an infidel, feeling nothing but contempt for the promise of God to his father.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.3

Notice these words of Esau’s, when Jacob asked him to sell his birthright: “Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall this birthright do me?” He had no hope beyond this present life, and looked no further. He did not feel sure of anything that he did not actually possess in this present time. No doubt he was very hungry. It is probable that he felt as if he were really at the point of death; but even the prospect of death made no difference with Abraham and many others. They died in faith, not having received the promises, but were persuaded of them, and embraced them. Esau, however, had no such faith. He had no belief in an inheritance beyond the grave. Whatever he was to have he wanted now. Thus it was that he sold his birthright.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.4

The course of Jacob is not by any means to be commended. He acted the part of a supplanter, which was his natural disposition. His case is an illustration of a crude unintelligent faith. He believed that there was something to the promise of God, and he respected his father’s faith, although as yet he really possessed none of it. He believed that the inheritance promised to the fathers would be bestowed, but he had so little spiritual knowledge that he supposed the gift of God might be purchased with money. We know that even Abraham thought at one time that he himself must fulfill the promise of God. So Jacob doubtless thought, as many do still, that “God helps those who help themselves.” Afterwards he learned better, and was truly converted, and exercised as sincere faith as Abraham and Isaac. His case should be an encouragement to us, in that it shows what God can do with one who has a very unlovely disposition, provided he yields to Him.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.5

The case of Esau is set thus forth before us as a warning:-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.6

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” Hebrews 12:14-17.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.7

Esau was not the only foolish and profane person there has been in the world. Thousands have done the same thing that he did, even while blaming him for his folly. The Lord has called us all to share the glory of the inheritance which he promised to Abraham. By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead He has begotten us again to a living hope, “to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5. This inheritance of righteousness we are to have through the obedience of faith-obedience to God’s holy law, the ten commandments. But when men learn that it requires the observance of the seventh day, the Sabbath kept by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all Israel, they shake their heads. “No,” say they, “I cannot do that; I should like to, and I see that it is a duty; but if I should keep it I could not make a living. I should be thrown out of employment, and should starve together with my family.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.8

That is just the way Esau reasoned. He was about to starve, or, at least, he thought that he was, and so he deliberately parted with his birthright for something to eat. But most men do not even wait until they are apparently at the point of death, before they sell their right to the inheritance for something to eat. They imagine dangers that do not exist. Men do not starve to death for serving the Lord. We are entirely dependent upon Him for our life under all circumstances, and if He keeps us when we are trampling on His law, He surely is as able to keep us when we are serving Him. The Saviour says that to worry over the future, fearing lest we should starve, is a characteristic of heathenism, and gives us this positive assurance, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:21-33. The Psalmist says, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.” Even though we should lose our lives for the sake of the truth of God, we should be in good company. See Hebrews 11:32-38. Let us beware of so lightly esteeming the rich promises of God that we shall part with an eternal inheritance for a morsel of bread, and when it is too late find that there is no place for repentance.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.9

ldquo;My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands;
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full-He has riches untold.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.10

“I'm the child of a King, the child of a King;
With Jesus, my Saviour, I'm the child of a King.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.11

“My Father’s own Son, the Saviour of men,
Once wandered o' er earth as the poorest of them;
But now He is reigning for ever on high,
And will give me a home in heaven by and by.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.12

“I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth;
But I've been adopted, my name’s written down-
An heir to a mansion, robe, and a crown.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.13

“A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They're building a palace for me over there!
Though exiled from home, yet still I may sing,
All glory to God, I'm the child of a King!”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.14

“Borrowed from Paganism” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

Borrowed from Paganism .-In the Month, a Catholic magazine, a writer says: “No intelligent student of antiquity, Catholic or non-Catholic, would never hesitate to avow that many Christian ceremonies and observances have had their origin in pagan customs. We say ceremonies and observances, because such things do not touch in the least the essence of the Christian faith. It is one thing to admit that the Christians borrowed the liturgical use of incense and flowers, let us say, from the ideas of the pagan world in which they lived, and quite another to assert that they derived the doctrine of the blessed Eucharist, which is the foundation-stone of all Catholic worship, from some vague folk tradition about African priests and the corn spirit. How far this influence of paganism upon Christian ritual extended is a very obscure and difficult question, much too intricate to be treated here. But there are few facts for which such abundant evidence is forthcoming as the almost universal prevalence of the cross symbol in pre-Christian ages.” Notwithstanding the writer’s reservation, it is perfectly plain that the mysteries of the mass in Catholic doctrine are also borrowed from the ancient mysteries, associated with the sensuous sun-worship of the East.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 467.15

“Forgive Us Our Debts” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

One million eight hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds is a large sum,-and yet that is the amount owed by the servant who was called upon for his accounting in our Lord’s parable in the latter part of the eighteenth chapter of Matthew. Suspicion must attach to such an enormous arrearage. Either there was dishonesty in his transactions or at least extreme negligence and unfaithfulness. The discrepancy in his accounts was so great that not even the sale of all his property, and of himself and family into slavery, could suffice to return to his master anything more than a small moiety of the great sum he owed.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.1

Yet when, at last, in hopeless contrition, he pleaded in anguish at the feet of his master, he was forgiven. The immense debt he owed was freely and entirely forgiven him. The account was balanced. It was hopeless that it could ever be expected that he could repay it, indeed that was impossible. He was not asked to repay it. He went out a free man, relieved of any necessity of ever paying his debt, and still in possession of the property which he had acquired and retained,-went out a free man to wife and children at home which he had forfeited and but for the gracious mercy of his master had lost beyond the possibility of recovery.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.2

Yet notwithstanding this, almost immediately, apparently, as he went out from the presence of his master, he met with his fellow-servant who owed him but little more than three pounds, and, treating him with personal violence, refused to listen to his appeals for merciful extension of time in which to pay his debt, and cast him into the debtor’s prison to remain there until payment should be made. This was in strong contrast to the treatment which he had received from the Lord. And how insignificant was the sum which is fellow-servant owed him, compared with the amount in which he was indebted,-nearly two millions of pounds as against a little more than three pounds!PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.3

No wonder his fellow-servants were sorry and came and told what he had done. No doubt they concurred in the justice of the punishment which then fell upon him. So, unquestionably, at the last day will all agree as to the justice of the penalties which will be meted out when the last words of this parable shall be fulfilled. “So likewise shall My Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Will that not be just? Who can say it will not, when they remember the words of the daily prayer,-“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”!PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.4

“When There Will Be No More War” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

The futility of the hope of universal peace, or any assurance of continued peace between the more civilised and enlightened nations even, to be secured by arbitration, is well shown by an article in the Atlantic Review, on the limits of arbitration, which is now being referred to and quoted by the reviewers. The writer of this article concludes that,-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.5

It cannot be expected that any controversy whatever which involves national honour will be submitted to arbitration by any nation capable of self-vindication. The same consideration will likewise prevent the reference to such a tribunal of any dispute involving the integrity of the territory of a nation, which has been occupied by its subjects under a claim of right for any considerable period of time on the faith of their country’s protection. And finally, it is obvious that in no case whatever can that remedy be successfully proposed, where popular feeling on one side or the other has reached fighting heat, and has passed beyond the control of representative government. A casual review of the wars that have occurred in modern times between countries so governed, and of the conditions that preceded them, will show how utterly futile in such emergencies would have been, or would be likely to be hereafter, the attempt at the lingering and uncertain process of submitting the quarrel that had set men’s minds on fire to the decision of foreign jurists. It will probably be apparent, therefore, to those who will reflect upon these suggestions, that it is a mistake to suppose that international arbitration can ever become, as has been fondly hoped, a substitute for war. On no such artificial and cumbrous contrivance can peace on earth and good will among men be made to depend. These reside in the temper of nations, not in the decision of courts.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.6

This is unquestionably a sure result of the logic of nations. While human nature remains as it is no permanent and universal substitute for the trial by battle will ever be found. The character of a nation cannot rise above the characteristics of those who constitute that nation. So long as men are selfish, violent, and headstong, governments will possess and show the same traits. Indeed the only necessity for civil government arises out of these very facts, and when the time comes that there will be no more war and no fear of war for evermore, then there will be no need of human government, and there will be none, but His kingdom will have come.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.7

“The Rising Tide of Sunday Legislation” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

One of the most noteworthy signs of the times is the sudden springing up within a few years of a world-wide movement for securing stricter Sunday laws. In countries widely separated from one another, having no direct contact or mutual agreement in the matter, the same tendency is seen, showing that behind it all there is one mind, and that the governments and people are merely agents through which that mind or power works.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.8

What power is it? There are only two sources of power by which work is done in the world-God, working in the interests of His kingdom, and Satan, in the interests of his. Whenever we find the powers of this world seeking to enforce religious observances it need not take long to decide which power is moving. “The Gospel is the power of God,” said Paul, and the kingdom of God is advanced by the preaching of the Word. The only power that the enemy of God can use is the power of which he obtained possession when he enticed men to join his rebellion-the power which the elements of earth afford him. The “god of this world” has always used the powers of this world in his fight against the truth. Having come down in great wrath, “because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12), it is not strange that all the governments of this world are being constrained at this time to specially legislate along lines which make void the commandments of God. The Sunday law strikes straight at the Sabbath of the Lord, which is the sign of God’s power, and it is against that power that Satan has been warring ever since the creation of the world and of man.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 468.9

The following summary, clipped from a contemporary, shows the progress the Sunday-law crusade is making on the Continent:-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.1

“The International Federation of Lord’s Day Societies has made a report as to work done in the year. Among the items of interest are the following: In France the Paris League for Sunday Rest has enrolled over 4,000 members. Many shops are closed on Sunday, including the great Magazin de Louvre. In the army Sunday is a day of rest, and contractors are not now obliged to work on that day. In Lyons there are more than 1,000 shops and stores closed entirely on Sunday. A commission has been sent to England from Germany to inquire into the laws applying the Sunday labour in factories and workshops. There has been a marked advance also in Austria, owing to an enactment in December, 1895, that on Sunday all work, industrial and commercial, shall cease, except such as is absolutely necessary. In Switzerland Sunday laws have been passed in nearly all the cantons. The post and telegraphic service are reduced one-half. No goods trains are run, and the goods depots are closed. Each employé on railways, steamboats, street road-cars, and the post office is allowed fifty-two days of rest, and seventeen of these must be on Sundays.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.2

“In Belgium, on account of the anti-religious feeling, the Sunday as a day of rest is not named in the law which guarantees one rest day in each week for women and children; but in practice it is thus observed to a very great degree, and in many departments of labour Sunday work has been reduced. In Holland there are no Sunday newspapers, the railway traffic is reduced, and Sunday hours of rest are given to public servants, though a whole day on each Sunday is an exception, not the rule. In Denmark shops are closed at 9:00 A.M., and also factories, except where work is essential. In such cases the employés alternate Sundays. In Norway and Sweden factories and workshops close on Sundays, and no intoxicating liquors are sold from 5 o'clock Saturday afternoon until 8 o'clock Monday morning. There is not even bread-making on Sunday, and street railways are closed until afternoon. In the cities there is only one postal delivery at 8 o'clock in the morning, and railway servants get every third Sunday. The movement has extended to Russia, where a new law as to Sunday is in preparation, and where the post offices are open only from 12 to 2, and public-houses are closed until 11 o'clock in the morning. In Spain the Sunday work of young persons under eighteen years of age in factories is prohibited. In Japan, of the 600 newspapers and periodicals not one is published on Sunday. In India the Christian Literature Society is active and has accomplished considerable.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.3

“Who Cannot Help” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

Much discussion goes on as to the extent to which professed Christians can engage in amusements such as dancing, card-playing, theatre-going, all of which are outside the life of Jesus Christ. No one who seeks to defend these things would have the temerity to seriously argue that he could follow Jesus Christ into such circles. The sin and misery in the world are the same as when Christ walked in the flesh amongst men, and it is not to those who follow these pleasures that the lost turn when they want help to break away from the power of sin. Speaking of these forms of amusement a noted evangelist says:-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.4

“I have some quite one hundred thousand people publicly avow their faith in Jesus, the Saviour Divine, in meetings which I have had the pleasure of labouring in. But I have never yet met a person who was not a Christian who, brought under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, wanted anyone, even his most intimate friend, that was engaged in these worldly pastimes and pleasures, to point out to him the way of salvation. Such persons have no confidence in the religious professions of the man or the woman who is given over to worldliness.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.5

“‘Except Ye Become as Little Children’” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

When Jesus went away from Galilee into the borders of Judea, beyond Jordan, as related in the first verses of the nineteenth chapter of Matthew, a great multitude followed Him. It is evident that they were influenced by greatly varying motives. Many came to be healed. They presented their infirmities, and were healed. The Pharisees came tempting Him. They seemed fond of bringing before Him questions concerning the relationship of man and woman, and they drew from Him, this time, a clear, though far from flattering, explanation of the divorce regulations instituted by Moses, and an unequivocal statement of the original law of God on this subject. In this, as in every other similar instance, their mouths were stopped by His reply, and they had nothing more to say.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.6

Then there were among those who followed Him loving parents who brought their little children to Him, and besought Him that He would lay His hands on them and pray for them and bless them. But a short time before the disciples had seen evidence of His tender love for the little ones, yet now they rebuked the parents for bringing their children, and would have sent them away only that Christ saw their action and was displeased and reproved them, saying, “Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” Then He took them in His arms and put His hands on them and blessed them,-and repeated, as Mark tells us, the warning counsel which He had given His disciples previously, when they sought to know who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.7

Mark says not only that Christ was displeased that His disciples would have sent the little children away, but that He was “Much displeased.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.8

The feeble and infirm, and helpless infancy, Christ accepted as His special charge. They could come to Him with their personal needs, and desire for loving care and protection or expression of affection and regard, and have their wants satisfied fully. But they who came attempting were thwarted and sent away humbled.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.9

So, multitudes come to the Word of God; whether they go away filled with spiritual health and joy and blessing, or thwarted and shamed like the Pharisees, depends on whether they come in the spirit of the sick and the helpless and the little children, or in the spirit of the Pharisees.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.10

“As the Dervishes Phrase It” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

As the Dervishes Phrase It .-The correspondence captured after the defeat of the Dervishes at Ferkeh shows how strong a religious sentiment animates them. The Mahdist cause is, of course, one of religious fanaticism, and under the self-deception which leads them to think they are fighting for God they fight just as any other warriors, for themselves, as lust or covetousness drives them on. One chief reported to another after a raid:-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.11

After salutations. I beg to inform you that God has given victory to His faith, and brought His enemies to naught. On Tuesday, the 22nd inst., we raided the village of Adendam, and God has destroyed all His enemies who were in that village.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.12

After all, it differs little from that travesty of Christianity which leads professedly Christian powers to talk piously of thanks to God after a bloody victory over their fellows, one in the interests of commercial or other purely national affairs. Mohammedanism bears the sword, but Christianity has none of it, nor, as Christians get in touch with the Word, will they be found partaking of that world-spirit which glorifies deeds of arms and leads to the recurrence of war.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 469.13

“‘There Am I’” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

“There Am I.” -Among the comforting assurances of His continued personal care for His disciples, that in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew is one of the most definite and positive, where Christ says: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” There was no limit of time, place, or persons, attached to this promise. It is just as good, and is to be counted upon as fulfilled, just as much to-day as the hour it was spoken. That this should be so is something which the scoffer rarely considers. “Thou God seest me” seems more than ordinarily applicable when one considers that wherever two or three are gathered together in His name He is actually there, though unseen. If this fact were only realised the seat of the scornful would be empty. The knowledge that He is present will cause every believer to respect all gatherings, however humble, where the name of the Lord is called upon.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 471.1

“An Indian Incident” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

The following interesting paragraph shows the influence of Christian example on the progress of religious truth in India:-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 472.1

“Pundita Ramabai and her home for Hindu widows, near Bombay, has just had a peculiar experience. While she herself is a pronounced Christian, in starting her institution she preferred to place it upon a foundation such as would not antagonise the Hindus. This aroused considerable criticism when she started her work. The result has been that while making no effort for direct Christian conversion, the general influence of her own life and of the home has been such that twelve of the child widows have announced their acceptance of Christianity. This aroused a great deal of opposition, and the student class is reported as particularly vehement in its denunciation.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 472.2

“She resolved then to go straight to them and make her defence. In front of the hall a mob of these young men gathered, and there was fear of a disturbance. She addressed the audience with boldness and faithfulness, affirmed that the degradation of the community was due to Hinduism, and that Christianity alone was able to lift them out of moral degradation and helplessness. She declared that she had kept her promise; she had not sought to bring undue influence, but that the results were due to the power of the truth of God. There was much excitement, but no manifestation of disturbance. Apparently, her firm, heroic bearing over-powered those who would have been glad to oppose her.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 472.3

Certainly the foundations of paganism, of caste, and the enslavement of woman, in India, are breaking up when such an incident as this can be recorded. That a woman should have the ability, the opportunity, and the will, to do such a thing as this, and should do it, means much in that land.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 472.4

“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

-At Huddersfield 2,725 persons last week voted in favour of Sunday trams and 4,154 against.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.1

-It is estimated that the drought in New South Wales has caused the loss of 9,500,000 sheep.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.2

-Cholera has attacked some detachments of the Egyptian expedition in the Soudan. The military authorities expect to successfully resist it by sanitary precautions.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.3

-A proclamation promising pardon to all Matebeles who surrender before August 10 has been published at Buluwayo. It is expected that the country will not be quiet for months yet.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.4

-Spain, which has already spent ?20,000,000 in fighting the Cuban reb to, has voted another like amount to continue the campaign, which seems no nearer an end than when it began.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.5

-The largest sheep owner in the world is said to be Mr. S. McCaughey, of the Caonong station, at Jerilderie, New South Wales. He has 3,000,000 acres of land, and last season sheared 1,000,000 sheep.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.6

-Nearly every French President in recent years has been shot at with blank cartridges by some one with a grievance which he wanted to make public. Last week President Faure had the experience.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.7

-A British force captured thirty-four Arab slave raiders in British Central Africa last week. They had just begun catching slaves and had but a few, who were released to return to home and friends.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.8

-Old political lines in the United States are considerably broken by the platforms adopted in the pending presidential campaign, and it is expected that the fight between the parties will be exceptionally fierce.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.9

-An exceptionally large number of wrecks and collisions on sea and land were reported last week. Shipping is so increasing, and the rate of travel is so largely increased over speeds maintained a few years ago that accidents are more common.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.10

-Taking a recent work entitled, “Made in Germany” as a basis, one of this month’s reviews shown the effects of the revival of industrialism in Germany on British markets, and appeals for greater attention being given here at home to educating workmen in technical schools: “The fads are most alarming. In twenty-three years our population has increased by 7,000,000, but the declared value of our exports has fallen by ?30,000,000. In ten years, from 1889 to 1893, the value of German manufactured goods imported into this country went up by ?5,000,000, an increase of over 30 per cent. Samples of the results in foreign markets are the facts that Russia, which in 1893 took 78,000 tons of German iron and 59,000 tons of English, in 1895 took 168,000 tons from Germany, and only 60,000 from England; so in Italy; and in Japan in 1884 we sold 4,000,000 catties of rails, but in 1894 we sold only 3,000,000; whereas the German supply of rails to Japan increased from 2,000,000 catties to 19,000,000.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 478.11

“Back Page” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

The elections in Belgium have resulted in a victory for the Clerical party. The chamber will consist of 111 Clericals, 12 Liberals, 29 Socialists.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.1

A London newspaper says: “The false glamour of war is kept up by war correspondents, who seldom or never speak of the horrors of war, and by the Church, which prays for victory in all causes, however bad.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.2

Our friends in Cape Town are just beginning a Bible Institute, for workers and others, which will continue several months. We learn also, by friends recently from the Cape, that the sanatorium which our Society has been building in a suburb of Cape Town, is nearing completion, and will very shortly be ready for patients.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.3

The Church Association, representing the Protestant section of the Church of England, is sending vans with colporteurs into country districts to campaign against Sacerdotalism. One thing which shows the need of Protestant work is the fact that in many districts these vans have not only the local clergy but bishops against them. At any rate they seem to be doing good among the people if we may judge by the strength of all the opposition to them on the part of Ritualists.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.4

How zealously the churches in the United States are pressing the Sunday-law crusade may be seen from the following words written by a Seventh-day Adventist, who himself was recently arrested in Arkansas for not keeping Sunday. In a letter to the New York Sentinel he says: “My wife was in her house doing some hand-sewing. A woman passed and told her it was against the law to do anything on Sunday, and that you would be arrested if she did not stop.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.5

The editor of the Investor’s Review warns investors that trouble is brewing in many quarters, and that the stock exchange will feel it one of these days. “So let the prudent men,” he says, “if any such remains alive in these times, gamble with caution and sometimes think of the morrow.” Many who give no thought to the signs of the times religiously, see that the world is whirling on toward the crisis.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.6

“Terrible Figures” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

Terrible Figures .-One of the reviews this month deals with the increase of murder in the United States. These are the facts:-PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.7

During the last six years there has been an average of twenty homicides a day, year end and year out, in the United States. The daily average of executions is two, and the average of lynchings three; but last year the number of persons killed had risen from twenty to thirty per day. Five years ago the daily average was only twelve. A community in which murder increases nearly threefold in five years is clearly retrograding towards barbarism.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.8

This has been called by a recent writer “the age of murder,” and as the United States is a composite of all nations it may represent the highest development of the natural tendencies in civilisation without Christianity. What a comment these figures are on the self-glorification which characterises boastful modern civilisation. Only this month one of our London magazines deals with the great increase of wealth, and another with the high development of the public educational system, in America, and yet all this does not prevent the country from ranking next to Italy in the murder list of the greater nations.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.9

“Blessing the Grog Shops” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

Blessing the Grog Shops .-The Russian State has taken over the sale of spirits, and so the spirit traffic becomes a State monopoly. As everything the Russian State does is “Christian” it was fitting that the new departure should be inaugurated last week by religious services in many of the drink shops now transferred to the Crown. The modern “Christian” State blesses what God abhors, and curses that which God has blessed. How could it be expected otherwise when we know that Satan is “the god of this world,” and this world is composed of all the kingdoms of men? That is why we pray, “Thy kingdom come.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.10

“And Yet Have Believed” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

And Yet Have Believed .-What a joyous satisfaction the Apostle John takes in recurring to the personal presence of the Saviour with himself and his fellow-disciples. In the fourteenth verse of the first chapter of his Gospel he says: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” In the first chapter of his first epistle he reiterate and amplifies the same thought with an added stress of feeling, born of years of meditation and experience, filled with a loving recurrence to the memories of his personal human association and fellowship with Jesus. With what joyful assurance he says, “We have seen with our eyes,” “we have looked upon, and our hands have handled” “the Word of life.” “The life was manifested and we have seen it,” it “was manifested to us.” “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.” This is “the message that we have heard of Him, and declare unto you.” To all those who read and hear these glad words of John is addressed that promise which Christ incorporated in His gentle rebuke to Thomas, “Blessed are they that have not seen; and yet have believed.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.11

“In the Pacific Islands” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

In the Pacific Islands .-Our Missionary ship Pitcairn expected to leave Pitcairn Island last month for a cruise touching Tahiti, and the Austral, Cook, Samoan, Tongan, and Fiji groups, leaving workers and literature. The medical missionary workers in the island fields are kept especially busy, and hardly less so are all the other teachers and labourers. The prophet said, “He shall not fail nor be discouraged till He have set judgment in the earth; and the isles shall wait for His law.” And our workers find many amongst these islanders who are only waiting for that “law of the Lord” which “is perfect, converting the soul.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.12

“The Eastern Question” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

The Eastern Question .-The newspapers are every day dealing with some phase of this great question which menaces the peace of Europe. The little work recently published from this office, “The Eastern Question: What Its Solution Means to all the World,” is one which we would that all might read. Those who have not read it should do so by all means in order to know the significance of events in the East. Price, 1d., by post, 1 1/2nd.PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.13

“Ever Learning, Never Knowing” The Present Truth, 12, 30.

E. J. Waggoner

Ever Learning, Never Knowing .-We read of some who are “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The trouble is that they do not make the truth a matter of life and heart knowledge. They merely learn theories, and are never anchored to the truth by heart knowledge of its principles. Therefore they are the prey of any plausible theory-monger that may come along, running here and there, following this and that, always learning, never knowing. “From such turn away.”PTUK July 23, 1896, page 480.14

July 16, 1896

July 30, 1896