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    July 28, 1898

    “The Light of Life” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” 1 John i. 1.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 465.1

    All the light that men have is the life of God. “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” God's life shines. “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John i. 3. “God hath shined in our hearts to give the light.” 1 Cor. iv. 6.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 465.2

    Men, unconsciously to themselves, recognise that the light of the world is the life of God, by avoiding the light when they do evil deeds. There is something about the light that makes the daytime out of harmony with the spirit, of wrong-doing. Impure thoughts and motives feel, in the light, as in the presence of a strong, repressing influence. Speaking of evil-doers, murderers, thieves, adulterers, despoilers of the poor, Job says, “They are of those that rebel against the light.” Job xxiv. 13. “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light.” John iii. 20.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 465.3

    The light is life. The life comes to all men from God as freely as the light does. If a man allows the life of God to control him, his deeds will be good. Only as God's life is allowed to appear are the deeds such as not to he ashamed of. Wicked men do good deeds sometimes. That is due to the fact that all those particular instances they do not resist the life of God; whereas, in many other things they do resist it. When a good deed is done, it will bear bringing to the light. “He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” John iii. 21.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 465.4

    “The life was the light. Sometimes men get fresh light, and it calls them to new experiences. They question with themselves whether they call obey the light or not, and often decide that it requires too much of them. This is because they forget that the light is the life. The light that reveals now truth is the life and power of the thing revealed. Whenever one sees a new duty to be performed, that which reveals it is the strength and life required to discharge it. Some people have questioned for years whether they should keep the Sabbath of the Lord, hoping some day to receive power to do so, but the light that brought the knowledge of the truth to them was the life that would have made them able had they received it. Said Christ, “I know that His commandment is life everlasting.” John xii. 50.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 465.5

    We need not look to the future with forebodings of failure, questioning in our hearts if we will be able to walk in the light unto the perfect day. We shall never receive any light that is not life. God is light, and as we receive more light it will only be receiving “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of our understanding being enlightened that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will have fellowship with Him, and our path will shine more and more with the light of life, for it is His will that we should have life, and have it more abundantly.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 465.6

    Although the light condemns evil, it is never sent for condemnation, but, that men might be saved. God does not use His knowledge to condemn us, but “by His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many.” Without the light we should see nothing of God's works, but the more light we get on them, the more we see “His everlasting power and divinity,” and recognise the love that is expressed in the work of creation. So the more the light of life shines in our own hearts, the further will be removed from any thought of condemnation or fear. Our prayer will be, “O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me.” Ps. xliii. 3. “The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Num. vi. 25, 26.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 465.7

    “Notes on the International Sunday-School Lessons. Elijah's Spirit on Elisha. 2 Kings ii. 6-15” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    AUGUST 7

    Only two instances are recorded of men who have passed from mortality to immortality without going through the grave. They are Enoch and Elijah. Others have gone to heaven, but they have been raised from the tomb, among them being Moses (Jude 9, Matt. xvii. 3) and the saints which arose from their graves at the resurrection of Christ (Matt. xxvii. 53, 53), the multitude of captives whom He led with Him, “when He ascended up on high.” Eph. iv. 8.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.1

    TRANSLATION OF THE SAINTS

    We have noted in the work of Elijah several points of similarity with the message which is to prepare the world in these days for the second coming of Christ. The call is to be given in the spirit and power of Elijah, but the likeness does not end there. Those who “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” will be on this earth “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.” “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be c;aubht up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.2

    In Rev. xiv. 1-5, we read of 114,000 who were redeemed from among men. These are the ones “prepared for the Lord,” on whom the seal of the living God is placed (Rev. vii. 2), who are without fault before the throne of God. Thus the people in whom the message of Elijah is fulfilled will share his experience in being translated without seeing death.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.3

    IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

    It was revealed to Elijah that he was to be taken up into heaven by a whirlwind, and the fact became known also to Elisha and the sons of the prophets. How Elijah's heart must have thrilled with rapture at the thought that the last day of earth had dawned, and ere its close he should see the face of Him in whose presence he had lived. God was to him the living God, “before whom I stand,” and this consciousness of His presence had been the source of all Elijah's power, and the preparation for his translation. Enoch, also, who was translated, had walked with God. Concerning Jesus the Scripture says, “I foresaw the Lord always before My face, for He is on My right hand, that I should not be moved, therefore did My heart rejoice, and My tongue was glad; moreover also My flesh shall rest in hope: because Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell.... Thou shalt make Me full of joy with Thy countenance.” Acts ii. 25-28.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.4

    So, too, those who meet the Lord at His appearing are made ready. The message of preparation, given in Isaiah xl. is to “Behold your God.” The studies which are followed every week in THE PRESENT TRUTH call on us to behold God, and point to the revelation of Him that is made in all His works. To receive this message and to behold God is to know that we are always in His presence, and the acknowledgment of this fact, that “in Him we live and move and have our being,” will prepare us to meet Him in peace at His appearing.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.5

    A DOUBLE PORTION

    Elisha desired a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, and this he might have if he should see the angels that bore Elijah from the earth. The fact that he did so was evidence that his eyes were opened, that there was done for him the work that he asked God to do for the young man at Dothan, who beheld “the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (2 Kings vi. 15-17). The very seeing of spiritual things was the receiving of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Isa. xi. 2), and of “revelation in the knowledge of Him.” Eph. i. 17.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.6

    Elisha's request for a double portion of Elijah's spirit was not dictated by any desire to outshine his predecessor in exploits and fame. Had there been any thought of this, he would not have received his petition. The man who prays for the Spirit with any thought of self-exaltation knows not for what he is asking. Elisha knew that he was called to succeed Elijah. He knew the work was infinitely beyond his strength. He was anxious that it should still be carried out aright, and he felt that if Elijah needed so much of the Spirit of God, his own need was doubly great. Some regard the outpouring of the Spirit as not absolutely necessary to the Christian life, but as being a very distinguishing addition. Such need to learn that at their best state they are altogether vanity, and then they will seek for the Spirit as the very essence and beginning of the Divine life.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.7

    A HARD THING

    Elijah could say nothing as to whether this request for a double portion of his spirit would be granted. It was not under his control, be was subject to it. He warned Elisha, however, that he was not asking for something that was all ease and prosperity. To some it might seem that Elijah's lot was one to be coveted, awing kings by his word, bringing rain and fire from heaven at his call, and enjoying communion with the Creator, but he himself knew the other, inner side of a prophet's life. He whose eyes were opened to behold God could feel, as others could not, the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Like Moses and Paul, he had great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart. “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren.” To the nation it seemed a light thing to go on carelessly in wrong-doing, putting on one aide the tender entreaties of a loving Father, but to Elijah's enlightened understanding, the sight of their wilful ingratitude brought something of the anguish that wrung the Infinite Heart. To those who receive the Spirit of God there comes a new, appalling sense of the guilt of turning from the Lord, and despising the riches of His grace.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.8

    ASK AND RECEIVE

    No one can tell the motives that are in the heart of another, but God looketh on the heart. He knew that Elisha's desire for a double portion of the Spirit was that the Divine life might be abundantly revealed, and so, though the request was a great one, it was granted. There is no promise in the Scripture more plain or more emphasised than that relating to the bestowal of the Spirit. God is most anxious to give it to us, far more so than the most earnest seeker is to receive it. If men would submit to the teaching of the Spirit they would learn that often, when they felt especially tried and discouraged, the Spirit was working to convince them of sin that it might also bring the comfort of righteousness.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 466.9

    “And it came to pass as they still went on and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder.” As Elijah's mantle fell from him, Elisha took it for his own, and it was a sign that the spirit of Elijah rested upon him. That God was with him was seen in the parting of the Jordan at his word.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 467.1

    NO RESPECT OF PERSONS

    God is no respecter of persons. “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are,” and whatever God did for him, He will gladly repeat to others. Moses was honoured above many, but it was not a special honour for him alone. To his successor, and to us, the promise was given, “As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 467.2

    Elijah's history gives encouragement to all. Although but a man, God wrought great things through him, so that be was more to Israel than the chariots and horsemen thereof. Who now will come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty, receive the spirit and power of Elijah, stand faithfully for truth, count not his life dear for the excellency of the knowledge of the living God, and have the privilege of being redeemed from among men to follow the Lamb whithereoever He goeth?PTUK July 28, 1898, page 467.3

    “The Reproach of Christ” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” Isa. xl. 9.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.1

    Those who give this message are to lift up their voices with strength. It is to be a loud cry. It is a Gospel message, for Gospel means good tidings.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.2

    What is it to “Behold your God”? The words are very simple and can hear no other meaning than that people are to see their God. Where shall we look to behold Him? We cannot expect to see Him where He is not present, but wherever He is, there we are to sea Him, and there is no place where He is not present.” Whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” “If I ascend up into heaven Thou art there.” “Thou hast beset me behind and before.” Ps. cxxxix.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.3

    Since it is impossible to get from the presence of God, it is equally impossible to avoid beholding Him. No matter where we may be, in city or field, in darkness or light, upon whatever we look we see God.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.4

    Some will say, That cannot be, for surely when we look upon poverty and wretchedness we do not behold God. Yes, even there, we see God suffering the poverty and wretchedness, and if we help the suffering one, He says, “Ye have done it unto Me.” It is literally true that he that giveth to the poor lendeth unto the Lord.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.5

    Even the sinner is living by the life of God. God gives to all life and breath and all things, so that His own life is revealed in every living thing. When a man uses the life to commit sin with, he is woefully perverting it, but God does not withdraw it on that account. He “is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish [lose the life], but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter iii. 9. “That which maybe known of God is manifest in them.” Rom. i. 19. So to Belshazzar the Lord was declared as “The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways.” Dan. v. 23. “For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” Eph. v. 30.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.6

    It is a wonderful thought that man should thus have power over the Divine life, even to misrepresenting and perverting it. In the beginning man was given dominion over the works of God's hands, which were but the various manifestations of the Divine life filling all things, and in this way God placed His life at the command of man. When man sinned, the curse of death which came upon him, fell, for his sake, upon the earth also, so that it was God's life in man and all creation which bore the curse. Wherever the curse has marred the life, “Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you,” and in the perversion of His life by sinful men He is put “to an open shame.” Gal. iii. 13.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.7

    Still God has not withdrawn His life from men. “I am among you,” said Christ, “as He that serveth.” Luke xxii. 27. “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands command ye Me.” Isa. xlv. 11.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.8

    It is inconceivable to finite minds that He who is “of purer eyes than to behold iniquity” should allow Himself to be associated with the workers of iniquity; but He so loved the world that He could not see it perish. The accusation, “This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them,” meant salvation for the sinners and but faintly expressed the closeness of His connection with them. “Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” Isa. liii. 4. God says, “Thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied Me with thine iniquities. I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake.” Isa. xliii. 34, 25. “For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto Me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord.” Jer. xiii. 11.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.9

    When we realise and confess that God is come in the flesh, that He is our life, instead of compelling Him to serve with our iniquities we will let Him manifest His own life, and make us “partakers of the Divine nature.” “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Rom. v. 10. We will repent sincerely of the hateful sins which we forced upon His life, when we “hid as it were our faces from Him,” and our earnest prayer will be, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts: and see if there be any way of pain or grief in me.” Ps. cxxxix. 23, 31, margin.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.10

    Not only in the lives of men but in all creation it is God that bears the curse. This is why Paul could say that the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Rom. viii. 19, 22.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.11

    “How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein?” Jer. xii. 4.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.12

    Thus everywhere we behold God, dishonoured, it is true, bearing shame and reproach, crucified, but it is for us that He is made a curse, and the remembrance of this fact will reveal unspeakable glory in the cross, the reproach of Christ. Then the one ambition will be to be crucified with Him, to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, and to turn men from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, that they may “cease from perverting the right ways of the Lord.” Nothing will cause us such distress as to behold our God and see where the glory should be revealed, the loathsomeness of sin. We shall be among those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done,” and learn to “sorrow a little for the burden of the King of princes.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 468.13

    When men see God indeed, they will lift up their voice with strength that others may behold, “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Isa. xl. 5. Then “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke [reproach, R.V.] of His people shall He take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isa. xxv. 8. “He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.” 2 Thess. i. 10. “And there shall be no more curse.” “And His servants shall serve Him; and they shall see His face.” Rev. xxii. 3, 4.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.1

    “The Everlasting Gospel: God's Saving Power in the Things That Are Made” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    THE POWER THAT DRAWS

    Gen. 1. 2: “The earth was without form, and void; ... and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.2

    Ps. cxxxix. 7, 9: “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flea from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.3

    Jer. xxiii. 23, 24: “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret place that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.4

    Isa. xl. 26: “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one is lacking.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.5

    Job xxvi. 7: “He stretcheth out the North over empty space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.6

    Ps. xlviii. 1-3: “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the North [or, more literally, is Mount Zion, the extremest North), the city of the great King. God hath made Himself known in her palaces for a refuge.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.7

    Isa. xiv. 12-14: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O day star, son of the morning I how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst lay low the nations I And thou saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: and I will sit upon the Mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.8

    John vi. 93: “Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to Me except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.9

    John xxxi. 82: “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto Me.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.10

    Jer. xxxi. 9: “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.11

    Read these texts until you can see the following facts clearly stated:—PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.12

    It was the Spirit of God, brooding over the face of the waters in the beginning, that brought order out of chaos.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.13

    God's presence by the same Spirit is still in every part of the universe. He fills heaven and earth. Hell, that is, the inmost recess of the earth beneath, “is naked before Him.” Job xxvi. 6.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.14

    “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness.” Lam. iii. 22, 23. The present continual working of the Spirit in every place, even in each individual particle of matter that compose the earth, is what still makes it a sate place to dwell on. That power causes the atoms to cohere (“in Him all things hold together,” Col. i. 17), so that the earth is a solid body, instead of a vast number of scattered particles.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.15

    God is not only near at hand, but He is “afar off.” It is His power that is doing the work which men call “gravitation.” It holds the innumerable heavenly bodies in their places, so that not one is lacking.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.16

    It is a fact that there is an attractive force, a power that draws, in everything. Suspend two ivory balls from a height, and it will be seen that the distance between their centres is not so great as the distance of the two points from which they are suspended. If a ball be suspended a few inches from the face of a high cliff which ascends perpendicularly, it will be found that the ball is drawn toward the rock. In every solid there is a strong force at work holding the particles together. The particles of water are not held together so closely. This drawing power is seen most clearly in what is called a magnet, and in the needle of the compass, which always, in the most mysterious manner, points toward the north.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.17

    There is something mysterious in this attraction to the north. The word in the Hebrew Bible, which is always used for “the north,” signifies, “hidden, secret, concealed.” God stretches out the north,-the hidden, secret place,-over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing. That mysterious power emanating from the north, holds it in its appointed place, and likewise holds all the other heavenly bodies.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.18

    This mysterious power is the power of God, whose dwelling place is “in the uttermost parts of the north.” “Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.” Jer. i. 14. It is from the temple of God that the plagues of the wrath of God are sent forth. Rev. xv. 1, 6-8; xvi. 1. Only those who dwell “in the secret place” of the Most High, will be kept safe from the plagues. Ps. xci. 1-11.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.19

    “Power belongeth unto God.” His everlasting power is seen in the things that are made. Christ is the power of God, and the Spirit is His Representative everywhere. All power in heaven and in earth is in His hands. The power that directs all the heavenly bodies in their orbits, leading them forth and drawing them back again, so that there is not the slightest contusion, is the power of the Spirit of God. The attractive power of God's own personality everywhere present, is that which holds the universe in order.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.20

    The cross of Christ is the power of God, for Christ, the power of God, is set forth only as the crucified One. Christ cannot truly be preached except as “Christ crucified.” Therefore every manifestation of power in the universe is but the manifestation of the power of the cross. The cross is the centre of salvation because the crucified Christ, the power of God, is the centre of the universe. So the power which is actively working in every particle of matter, and which is so visibly at work everywhere, is the power of the cross, by which God is working to draw all men to Himself.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 469.21

    God is real, and His salvation is real. When He tells us about the power of His salvation, He does not leave us to our imagination, nor does He refer to something vague and indefinite and intangible, but shows the power actually working before our eyes, and even in our own bodies. The Word which is preached unto us, and which we are to proclaim to others, is “that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes.” 1 John i. 1. Therefore “unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Eph. iii. 20, 21.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 470.1

    “Rome and Ritualism” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    Roman Catholics are watching with unconcealed interest the progress of Ritualism in the Church of England. They recognise that every step made in advance by the “High Church” party is so much gain to the principles for which they stand themselves. The Catholic Times of July 1, while pointing out that the Ritualist party has yet much to learn, goes on to say:—PTUK July 28, 1898, page 470.2

    She maintains dogmas which the nation could ill afford to lose, end which it is well it should not lose, not only because more doctrine is always better than less, but also because we shall thereby be saved the trouble of teaching them, when the Church has grown to the fuller measure of strength for which we all work and pray. She is with us far more then she Is against us. In thousands of churches throughout the country her ministers are teaching our doctrines with less suspicion and more acceptance than our own clergy could hope to do. Ritualism may retard, but it will not prevent conversions. And we can only rejoice to hear from Canon Gore that the Ritualist's movement is beginning, rather than at an end. May it go on and prosper!PTUK July 28, 1898, page 470.3

    A later issue of the same paper says that “What the end of the present agitation will be it is impossible to foretell, but that it will advance the growth of Catholicity we have no manner of doubt.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 470.4

    In a recent sermon Cardinal Vaughan said that the number of conversions to the Catholic Faith in this country, shown by statistics carefully prepared two years ago, were at that time 700 per month and last year-the end of December, in the diocese of Westminster only, there were registered on the baptismal register between 1,300 and 1,000-the names of persons who had submitted to the Catholic religion.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 470.5

    While it is undoubtedly true that the forces of evil are gaining strength, according to the words, “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Tim. iii. 13), it is also true that “the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Prov. iv. 19. For every one “it is high time to awake out of sleep. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” Rom. xiii. 11, 12.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 470.6

    “For the Children. The Breath of Life” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Do you remember what we learned last week-why it was that God formed man from the dust? It was that he might he “the temple of God,” with the Spirit of God dwelling in him.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.1

    When one has the privilege of making his own house, he thinks and plans carefully to have everything as perfect and convenient as possible for his own use. He is careful about the doors and windows, and all the entrances to the house, and every room is made just suitable for the use for which he wants it.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.2

    And so in making man for His own formed him just what dwelling place, God formed him just what He needed for this purpose. Every part of his body was planned for the special use of the Spirit of God, to do the work that He wanted to do in and through him. Think of this often, and “yield your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Remember thatPTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.3

    “I am His house, for Him to go in and out;
    He builds me now, and if I cannot see
    At any time what He Is doing with me
    'Tis He that makes the house, for me too grand.
    The house Is not for me, It is for Him;
    His royal thoughts require many a stair,
    Many a tower, many an outlook fair,
    Of which I have no thought, and need no
    care.”
    PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.4

    Now think again how God enters into the temple of the human body; for what He did for the first man, He has done for every child of Adam who has since come into the world,-first formed him from the dust of the ground, and then “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” We learned last week that all the organs of our body are useless, until the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, takes possession of it and fills it. So we will think of this a little while, before we talk any more of those wonderful powers that the Spirit brings to the body in which He dwells.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.5

    Jesus said, “I am ... the Life,” and with Him is “the fountain of life.” Not a fountain, but the fountain; the only fountain of life is Jesus. All the life that there is in God's great universe comes from God through Jesus Christ. Then when the breath of life is breathed into us, it is the spirit of Jesus, who is “the Life.” Every moment of our lives we are receiving, in the breath that keeps our bodies alive, life from the fountain of life.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.6

    Sit still a little while and think of this, as you draw in the life-giving breath,-that the great God, your Creator and Father, is still breathing into your nostrils the breath of life, and that it He should stop doing this for a single moment you would die, for remember that you have no life of your own. While you are at your work and play, and not thinking of Him at all, and when you are asleep, and have forgotten all about breathing, He is thinking of you every moment, and gently breathing His life into you.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.7

    The life that comes into our lunge in the air, is taken up by the blood as it passes through the tiny blood vessels that cover the lungs, and then the life of God is carried by the blood to every part of our bodies.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.8

    You know that what makes the difference between a living and a dead body, is that the dead body does not breathe. God's life no more enters into it, and what very soon takes place? Just what God said: “Unto dust shalt thou return.” Strange and wonderful as it may seem to us that these bodies of ours are really formed from the little particles of the dust of the ground, just like that over which we walk every day, this is very clearly seen when the breath of life is taken from them; for they soon fall to pieces, and drop back into the dust out of which they were taken.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.9

    What is it then that holds our bodies together in their beautiful and wonderful form? Perhaps you will answer, “The breath of life,” but remember that the breath is God's Spirit, and the life is Jesus. So it is the Spirit of Jesus that knits together all the tiny particles of matter that form our bodies, and holds them in their shape, and fills them with His life. And this is just what the Word of God tells us; “In Him all things hold together.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.10

    His Spirit holds together not only our bodies, but all the dust of the ground, and so makes the solid earth for us to live upon, and keeps it also in its shape. And not only in its shape, but in its place, for He “hangeth the earth upon nothing.” And what He does in this world, He is doing in all the worlds that He has made, “upholding all things by the Word of His power,” “the Word” that “was made flesh and dwelt among us,”—“Christ, the power of God.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.11

    “The Air We Breathe” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    You know that we keep on breathing every moment of our lives, and if we should stop we should die. But not only is it so important that we should breathe, but also that we should have pure, fresh air to breath. We have inside us something called lungs, made up of a lot of little cells or bags, which swell out when the air is drawn into them. This is why our bosoms are rising and falling all the time.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.12

    When we take the air into our lungs we poison and spoil it. The poison from every part of our bodies is carried by the blood to the lungs, where it passes off into the air that fills the lungs, and the good air passes into our blood and is carried all through our bodies.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 474.13

    So the air that we breathe out is full of poison, and this is why it is so important that we should have our rooms well supplied with the fresh, pure air of heaven, especially when there are many people in them. For if we keep on breathing the same poisoned air over and over, our blood cannot be purified by it, and the poison stays in our bodies and makes us ill.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.1

    You will perhaps wonder why it is that if men and animals are poisoning the air in this way all the time, it does not all become spoiled, and the life in it used up. Just see what wonderful provision God has made for this. Did you know that the trees and plants are breathing the air in and out all the time just as we are? The leaves are the lungs of the plants, and they breathe in the poisoned air which comes from men and animals, and breathe out again the fresh, pure air that we need to keep us alive.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.2

    Man is not the only “temple of God,” but all created things are His dwelling place. He is “the Life,” not of men only, but of all living things. So it is God who through the plant is taking away the poison from the air, and breathing out His pure, sweet life for us. He has made the plans not only to delight our eyes with His beauty, but that through them He may give life to us continually.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.3

    “Nature itself as a parable, showing for the law of love. There is nothing, save the selfish heart of man, that lives unto itself. Every leaf of the forest, and every lowly blade of grass, has its ministry of beauty and refreshing. Every tree, and shrub, and leave pours forth that element of life, without which neither man nor animal could live.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.4

    Can we not, then, read in the plants “the Gospel of our salvation”? Does not this teach us how God takes upon Himself The curse and poison of our sin, and destroying it, pours out His life for us instead, that we may be saved by it?PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.5

    The crowded cities do not have many trees and plants to purify the air for the great number of people who poison it. But God sends the wind to carry the poisoned air to the country, where it is made pure, and carried back by the wind to the cities again.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.6

    It was in to man's nostrils that God breathed. We can learn from this the proper way to breathe,-not through the mouth, but through the nose. In this way the air is warmed and freed from bus before it reaches our lungs. If we breathe the air out through the mouth, we are likely did take the poisoned air in again, as it is right before us. But the nostrils, when we breathe in the proper way, send the poisoned air down out of our way, so that we can take fresh air at each breath.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.7

    Think of the wonderful love and wisdom shown in all the works of God, and you will love and praise Him who “have done all things well.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 475.8

    “The Way to the Highest” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    Lucifer said: “I will ascend into heaven; I will be like the Most High,” and saying so, he fell to the lowest depths.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.1

    Is it not a good thing to desire to ascend into heaven? and should not men long to be like God?—Certainly; God created man in His own image, to be like Him, and to be with Him as His companion.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.2

    Where then was the trouble with Lucifer?—Simply this: He said: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north [the uttermost north]; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” He assumed the task which only the Most High can accomplish, and failure was inevitable.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.3

    God wishes all to be with Him and like Himself; but if all could make themselves like God, then were all God. None can come to God except He draws them. God is no respecter of persons, and so He draws all impartially; but the power with which He draws is love; whoever rejects love, refuses to be drawn. In rivalry and emulation there is no love; consequently the spirit that Lucifer manifested was calculated to take him away from God, instead of toward Him.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.4

    Moreover, Lucifer's attempt to be like God was based on an utter misconception of the character of God, and for this reason also failure was inevitable. “Thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is, Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa. lvii. 15. “Before honour is humility.” God is great because He is “meek and lowly in heart.”PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.5

    Men do not and cannot lift themselves to the height of God's throne; but in Christ God is working to lift all men to “His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Eph. i. 19, 30; ii. 4-6. “Whosoever humbleth himself shall be exalted.” This is not an arbitrary regulation, but a necessary condition; for contrary to all mere human thought and practice, the way to the heights is through the depths. God Himself, who is on high, is also in the deep. It we would attain to the Highest, we must begin at the lowest.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.6

    “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; who being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself; taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Wherefore also God hath highly exalted Him.” Phil. ii. 5-9, R.V. “We behold Him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour.” Heb. ii. 9.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.7

    Jesus Christ was on earth as the perfect Representative of God. He was God's perfect Representative, not because He put Himself in God's place, but because God was in Him in His fulness. It is God whom we see in Christ, not some one acting like God. He occupies the very place that Lucifer thought to occupy “in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come;” but it was God, not He Himself, who placed Him there. He is indeed “ascended up far above all heavens,” and why?—“Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth!” Eph. iv. 8, 9.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.8

    Christ is “the power of God,” and consequently it is through Him that we have access unto the Father. So we get there in the same way that He did. There was no way for Him to get to heaven but by the cross. This was not an arbitrary requirement on the part of the Father, but the only way to be like the One whose very Being is expressed in the cross-who gives Himself, His life, that others may live. Whoever thinks to be like God by exalting himself, is bound to fail, because God humbles Himself. He comes down, that others may come up.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.9

    That God, who dwells on high, is to be found only in the depths, is shown by the fact that Jesus died and went into the depths, “that He might bring us to God.” We are in the depths already, and therefore God is “not far from everyone of us.” If we will acknowledge and keep in mind our lowly condition, we shall find no difficulty in ascending to heaven; for God fills heaven and earth, and whoever abides in Him has the freedom of the universe.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.10

    It is in death that we are united with Jesus. “Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?” Rom. vi. 3. That is the lowest possible place. So when self dies, since we cannot get any lower, and by our death we get Christ's life, to ascend with Him is inevitable. But we ascend with Him by keeping humble, for the Most High God is in the depths at the same time that He is on high.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.11

    “Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts; we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, even of Thy holy temple.” Ps. Ixv. 4.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.12

    “A Natural Sequence” The Present Truth 14, 30.

    E. J. Waggoner

    The following item is from the New York Independent:—PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.13

    One of the most extraordinary events in the history of American colleges is the acknowledgment by George H. Stephens, formerly Professor of Ethics and Logic at Lafayette College, that he was the incendiary who destroyed Pardee Hall, the scientific building which cost a quarter of a million dollars. It was done out of spite and revenge after he had been dismissed from the faculty.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.14

    It is not an uncommon thing for a man to set fire to a building because of spite; but this case is noteworthy, in that the wicked deed was done by a Professor of Ethics, or morals. The case is not so astonishing, however, when we remember that in the teaching of “ethics” in colleges, the Bible, which is the only book on morals, is ignored. No one need be surprised that, a heathen act is committed by a teacher or a student of pagan morality; for the so-called teaching of morals, without the Bible, is nothing but the teaching of paganism.PTUK July 28, 1898, page 480.15

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