November 24, 1898

“Everlasting Power” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

According to the Shastras, or religious code, of the Hindoos, the sanctity of the Ganges is shortly to cease. They are not clear as to the precise date, but it will be somewhere about six months from the present time. It is to be hoped that many who now worship the river, will be led to consider what kind of a god it can be whose power and sacredness depart with the lapse of time, and that the Gospel of a Saviour who, because He continueth ever, is able to save unto the uttermost, will gain new value in their eyes by contrast with their own decaying deities.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 737.1

Why is it that men all over the world have come to worship the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever? The answer is given: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.” Rom. i. 31. If thankfulness is involved in glorifying the Creator, it is evident that to know Him as God is to know Him as giving occasion for thankfulness. Nor is the thankfulness to be on a small scale, but on a divinely infinite one. Therefore to know Him as God is to know Him as blessing men to an infinite extent.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 737.2

This must be true still of God, or men would now be justified in not glorifying Him as God; but all who do not “are without excuse.” Therefore God is still giving infinitely to every man. If He were not, ingratitude would cease to be a sin. “That which may be known of God is manifest in them.” Rom. i. 19.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 737.3

The creation reveals eternal power and divinity. These may be clearly seen. Take the Ganges for instance. Why does it flow on and on for centuries, carrying down to the ocean a vast volume of water without cessation. Why does the sun pour out unreservedly every moment the fulness of its light and heat, yet have as much to-day as it had ages ago? These things reveal the everlasting power of God. Men who think more of the creature than the Creator predict a distant time when the sun will have parted with all its light, because they do not recognise in the working of all nature the everlasting power of God.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 737.4

It is this power which keeps the heathen alive, and which keeps up the uninterrupted flow of the Ganges. But does not God know that His precious gifts will be perverted, that the Ganges will get the honour due to Himself, and that the men whom He has made will pervert His life, and change the truth of God into a lie? Yes, He knows it perfectly, and it grieves Him at His heart, as did the wickedness of the world before the flood. Yet the current of blessing given in His life flows with unabated volume, because not only is His power everlasting, but His mercy also endureth for ever.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 737.5

In God's hand is the soul of every living thing. Job xii. 10. No one can go anywhere in the universe out of the presence of God. No matter where he may be,” even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” Ps. cxxxix. 10. So God is trying to lead the heathen. They will not be guided by Him, but He does not therefore give them up. “Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself.” Because He loves them with an everlasting love, He draws them everlastingly to Himself with loving-kindness. Jer. xxxi. 3. The more determinedly a man resists this love, the more wonderful it is seen to be. Truly it is love that hopeth all things, endureth all things; and thus, even where God is rejected by men, they cannot hinder that which may be known of God being manifested in them. The more they do despite to the Spirit of grace, the more they bring out its wonderful long-suffering, its patient, God-like endurance. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Rom. v. 20.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 737.6

Every man who does not recognise that he receives his life and breath and all things direct from God, and that God's hand is leading and upholding him every moment, is in the same condition as the Hindoo worshippers of the Ganges. Indeed he is worse, for to the extent that he has more light than they, his ingratitude is the baser. He is serving the creature rather than the Creator. What is the way out of this deplorable condition? Be thankful. Glorify Him as God. We may not see very much to be thankful for at first, but if we give thanks for that, the righteousness of God will be revealed from faith to faith, and the occasion for gratitude will be seen to greatly increase. We will not then glorify ourselves as God but Him, and know that He has all things while we in ourselves have nothing.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.1

In this humility lies the only hope of our exaltation. While we glorify ourselves we will trust in self for everything, and having no power in ourselves will never make any advancement. When we know ourselves helpless, and know that God has all power, we will look to Him for help, and He will not leave us helpless. “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory.” 1 Sam. ii. 8. God's princes dwell in His palaces, and in those palaces God is known. He is known as what He is, a refuge. So knowing Him as God, and glorifying Him as God, His people find infinite occasion for thankfulness. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God.” Ps. xlviii. 1-3.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.2

“Notes on the International Sunday-School Lessons. The Book of the Law Found. 2 Kings xxii. 8-20” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

DECEMBER 4

After the death of Manasseh, his son Amon reigned for two years. He was only twenty-two years old, but he walked in all the evil of his father's earlier life. A conspiracy was organised against Amon which resulted in his murder, but the people of the land slew the conspirators, and put Josiah, the son of Amon, on the throne at the age of eight years. He reigned for thirty-one years, and was one of the best kings that Judah ever had. He “walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.” This disposition became especially marked in him when he was sixteen years old, and during the rest of his life it was steadfastly maintained. “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.3

A DISCOVERED TREASURE

In his eighteenth year, Josiah instructed Hilkiah, the high priest, who was father to Jeremiah the prophet, to apply the temple contributions to restoration of the sacred building. This work was put in hand and, in the course of it, an important discovery was made. The book of the law, which God had directed should be kept with the ark of the covenant, was brought to light. Hilkiah showed the book to Shaphan, the scribe, who read it himself, and then took it to Josiah. “And Shaphan read it before the king.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.4

A GRIEVOUS FAMINE

It is impossible for us to conceive now the feelings with which this recovered treasure would be regarded. The Word of God is so easy of access that men have come to regard it as a common thing, and often show it scant reverence. But no greater calamity could befall the world than to be deprived of the Bible. Because we are so accustomed to it, and to enjoying the results of its influence, we seldom think how everything that makes life worth living, yea, even life itself, we owe to this Word. The prophet Amos tells how the loss of the Word will affect men: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, and shall not find it. In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.” Amos viii. 11-13.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.5

CHOOSING DARKNESS

The Lord is not to blame for such a famine. Men will not endure sound doctrine, “but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4. Having rejected the counsel of God against themselves, and chosen pleasing error rather than sanctifying truth, they have only themselves to blame when false Christs and false prophets ensnare their souls. Rejecting the Word that would save them, there is no other way of escape.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.6

A MODERN INCONSISTENCY

Occasionally some fragment of ancient manuscript is brought to light, purporting to bear some mutilated portion of the “Sayings of Jesus,” but it is strange that while these discoveries cause great excitement, men can calmly ignore the authentic sayings that all possess in the Scriptures. The high estimation in which the fragments are held should be much more bestowed on the Word which God's goodness has preserved for us in such perfect form. When we remember that it is the Word of the Creator of the universe to us, bringing infinite treasures of wisdom and knowledge, manifesting unsearchable love in an everlasting salvation, we will honour the precious revelation by implicit confidence and unquestioning obedience.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.7

SLOW TO ANGER

When the book of the law was read before Josiah, he rent his clothes. He knew that the nation had pursued a course very different from the one commanded by God in the discovered document, and had justly incurred the judgments therein denounced against the disobedient. Josiah sent messengers to enquire of the Lord by Huldah the prophetess, whether the evils of which Moses wrote were indeed to fall upon Judah. The answer was returned that the Lord would certainly fulfil His word, but in that reply evidence was given that the judgments of God were only directed against the stubbornly impenitent. To Josiah, because his heart was tender and he had humbled himself before the Lord, the promise was given that his eyes should not see the evil, but that he should end his days in peace. The same heart-felt repentance on the part of others would have secured the same degree of favour. It was because the people would not be turned from their own ways that the judgment could not be averted. The Lord was trying to purify His people by suffering, but they were so joined to their sins that the people were melted entirely away before they would allow themselves to be separated from their iniquities. “They are all grievous revolters, they are all corrupters. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.” Jer. vi. 28, 29.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 738.8

READY TO FORGIVE

The compassionate Judge of all the earth, who had inspired Abraham's pleading for the cities of the plain, and Himself wept over Jerusalem, was not at this time less desirous of finding some reason to spare the guilty nation. Before the city was finally destroyed He proclaimed, “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.” Jer. v. 1. Long after Josiah enquired of the Lord, a promise was given that if the people would fear God and give glory to Him, by keeping the Sabbath which He had sanctified, the city should stand for ever. Jer. xvii. 20-27. So in the last days, the test of the fourth commandment reveals who will follow the Lord and be saved, and who will choose his own way and be destroyed.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.1

A TRANSIENT REFORMATION

For a time after the discovery of the Book of the Law, the people returned to the Lord. Many of those who were left in the cities of Israel joined Judah in observing the Passover. Never before since the days of Samuel bad there been such a gathering. It was in his time that Israel rejected the Lord from being King over them, and the evil effects of kingly rule upon the nation may be judged from the fact that the sacred historian has to go back before the time of the kings to find a parallel to the Passover which was kept in Josiah's eighteenth year. Before the Passover, there was a thorough destruction of all idols throughout the land. In the country of Israel, where the fast decaying power of Assyria no longer bore sway, the altars set up by Jeroboam were now destroyed. In Bethel for three hundred and fifty years there had been preserved the prophecy uttered in Jeroboam's day, that a king named Josiah should defile the altar and offer upon it the dead bodies of its priests. Josiah saw the tomb of the prophet who had uttered this prediction, and gave orders for its preservation, after the prophecy had been repeated to him by the men of the city.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.2

JOSIAH’S DEATH

The iniquity of Assyria was now filled up, and the mighty empire was tottering to the fall which its pride had provoked. Egypt, Babylon and Media, were encompassing it with their armies, and Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt, came through the land of Judah to attack the Assyrian stronghold, Carchemish. It was in God's plan that the king of Egypt should do this, and when Josiah thought to arrest the progress of his army, Pharaoh-Necho sent him a warning message from God, saying that he was not come against Josiah, and had no desire to meet him in battle; “for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that He destroy thee not.” Notwithstanding this warning, Josiah persisted in his attempt to stop the king of Egypt, and was fatally wounded in the battle that followed. There was great lamentation at his death in all Judah and Jerusalem. Yet he was taken away from the evil to come, and the words of Christ to the weeping women of Judea were indeed applicable to those whom Josiah left behind him: “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.3

“The Sabbath and the Changed Calendar” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

A friend sends us the following communication:—PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.4

“As the change in the calendar is sometimes urged as an objection to the observance of the seventh day of the week, I shall be glad if you will kindly find time to insert an article in the next issue of Present Truth, in order that any doubt that may still exist in the minds of your readers and others may be removed.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.5

This we gladly do. The thing is so simple that it is easily disposed of. Let us begin with the commandment, which says: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” Ex. xx. 8-10. These are the words of the Lord. Now it can hardly be claimed that any change made in the calendar by man, can nullify the command of the Lord. The change in the calendar has certainly not abolished the law of the Lord. This being the case, it follows that the only real objection anybody can have to keeping the seventh day according to the commandment is that he doesn't want to do so.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.6

In the question under consideration, however, the claim is that since the calendar has been changed, it cannot be known with certainty which day is the Sabbath. To this it is only necessary to say that no change that man may make in the calendar can affect the revolution of the earth on its axis, which alone governs the division of time into days. A brief statement of what has been done will make this appear.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.7

Without going into lengthy details it is sufficient to say that the calendar was reformed by Julius C?sar in the year 46, B.C., when it was arranged substantially as we have it now. But too much time, by eleven minutes, was allowed to the year, and in the course of centuries there was a marked discrepancy between the actual year and the calendar year. Accordingly, in the year 1583, Pope Gregory XVI. ordered the fifth day of October to be called the fifteenth, and that the years which are not multiples of 400 should not be called leap years, so as to correct the discrepancy. The change in the calendar was therefore simply this, that the fifth day of a certain month was called the fifteenth, and had no more effect on the days of the week than would the changing of the date of the Lord Mayor's show from the ninth to the nineteenth of November.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.8

That this is really so is proved by the fact that Great Britain did not adopt the calendar as changed by Pope Gregory until the year 1753, in which year the third of September was called the fourteenth. But although for seventy years two reckonings had been in use, there was no difference whatever in the count of the days of the week.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 739.9

Still further, Until this day the change in the calendar has never been adopted by Russia, which reckons according to what is called Old Style, yet the days of the week are just the same in Russia as they are over the border in Germany, where the New Style is in use. Anybody can see that it makes no difference with the order of the days of the week, and their relation to each other, whether Sunday be called the eighth or the twentieth of November.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.1

This is the whole of the matter. When we say that the changing of the calendar has had no more effect on the numbering of the days of the week than the changing of one's clothes, we are talking on the basis of existing facts, and not theory. One thing more may be said in conclusion, and that is that the bringing forward of such an objection against Sabbath-keeping emphasises the utter absence of any ground for the observance of Sunday as nothing else could.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.2

“The Everlasting Gospel: God's Saving Power in the Things That Are Made” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

FOOD OUT OF THE EARTH

Gen. i. 29, 30: “And the Lord God said, Behold, I have given you every green herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every boost of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.3

Gen. ii. 9: “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.4

Ps. civ. 11: “He causeth the grass to grow fur the cattle, and herb for the service of man; that He may bring forth food out of the earth.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.5

Ex. xvi. 3, 4: “And the children of Israel said unto them, would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we eat by the flesh pots and when we did eat bread to the full, for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven unto you; and ye shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I way prove them, whether they will walk in My law or no.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.6

Deut. viii. 2, 3: “Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led then those forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knowest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every ward that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.7

John vi. 31-33, 48-50: “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then said Jesus unto them, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cameth down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” “I am that Bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.8

1 Cor. x. 1-5: “Our fathers ... did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not wall pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.9

1 Cor. x. 6: “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.10

1 Cor. x. 9: “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.11

Ps. Ixxviii. 18: “And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.12

Heb. iii. 19: “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.13

Rom. xiv. 23: “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.14

1 Cor. xi. 23-30: “I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take eat; this is My body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Ale. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; this do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death, till He come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily; shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.15

Ps. ciii. 2-5: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.16

Isa. Iv. 2: “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labaur for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.17

Prov. iv. 20-22: “My son, attend to My words; incline thine ear unto My sayings; Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.18

Matt. v. 6: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; far they shall be filled.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.19

Rom. i. 17: “The just shall live by faith.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.20

It is out of the ground that God makes the food grow that should be eaten by every living creature. It is true that many animals, since the fall, subsist largely or wholly on the flesh of other animals; and man has also been allowed to do the same thing; “but from the beginning it was not so.” Since the work of Christ is to restore all things, it is evident that the food which God gave man in the beginning is the best for him, and should be adopted by all who wish the perfect image of God to be restored in them, as in the beginning.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.21

Plants, and plants only, can assimilate unorganised matter. They can take the ultimate elements, and transform them into living substance. Then these elements are in a condition to be assimilated by animals. But this food does not undergo any change in the bodies of the lower animals that it does not undergo in the bodies of men. No new food substance is formed in the bodies of animals. They simply use that which has already been prepared in the plant for both man and the other animals. Therefore when men eat the flesh of animals, they are simply taking their food second and; and food that has once been used loses strength and value just the same as any other article does through use. Thus it is that the flesh of animals is not so nourishing as grains. More than that, the degenerate characteristics of the animal are necessarily imparted to the food that it has formed into its own flesh; and if the animal is diseased, which is very commonly the case, this evil is intensified.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 740.22

When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, to fulfil to them the promise made to Abraham, He gave them the purest food possible-bread direct from heaven. Is it not consistent that when He sets His hand the second time to deliver His people, He will expect them to come as nearly as possible to the same style of living?PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.1

In those days the people tempted God, by asking meat for their lust, and as a consequence they were destroyed. “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.2

The bread which they had was from heaven, given not by Moses, but by God. It was daily bread, for the nourishment of their bodies, and was their living for forty years. Yet it was “spiritual meat.” It was by giving them this bread that God undertook to teach them that man doth not live by bread only, but by the Word of God. Therefore we see that in eating of it they were eating the Word of God. By the giving of the manna, God would have us learn that in the daily bread which He gives us, He is giving us Himself. Christ is the living bread that came down from heaven, and it was upon His body that the children of Israel were fed; in refusing that food, they were rejecting Christ.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.3

But they did not discern the Lord's body, and so, although the food which they had was the very best that could be given them, they died. They ate and drank condemnation to themselves. Men may do this, we learn from the eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians, even while eating the body of Christ. And yet, if we do not eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, we have no life in us. John vi. 53. Only the perfect body and blood of Christ can give life, but that life must be received in faith, else even it will be of no avail.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.4

The Lord's Supper, consisting of the very purest materials that can be obtained,-unleavened bread and unfermented juice of the grape, “the fruit of the vine,”—is the best possible exhibition of the body and blood of Christ,”—a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter i. 19. Christ said of it, “This is My body,” and, “This is My blood.” It is to teach us the same lesson that was given in the manna,-that in the food which He gives us, He gives us Himself; that that which nourishes our bodies is at the same time to be to us “spiritual meat.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.5

It follows therefore that the Lord's Supper is the model meal. Christ is the bread of God which cometh down from heaven and giveth life to the world. John vi. 33. Whoever does not eat of Him by faith, has no life. So then we should eat of nothing else but Him, if we would have perfect life. If in our daily meals we ate only of that food in which the perfect life of Christ is clearly exhibited, and ate in recognition of that life, we would he constantly living in Him. Such a life would be a life of faith, and would therefore be a life of righteousness.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.6

It is by taking the words of Christ, which are Spirit and life, that we eat His flesh and drink His blood. But we must remember that Christ gives us His words in a tangible form. Remember that the manna was given to show that man must live by the Word of the Lord. But the words of the Lord “are life unto those who find them, and health to all their flesh.” So this living by faith,-the conscious taking of the Lord's life, and that only, in the food which He gives us,-will be physical health. It does not mean self-punishment or the mortification of the body by denying one's self of any good thing, but on the contrary the eating of that which is good, having the mouth satisfied with good things, and delighting in fatness. It is as much more enjoyable a way of living as righteousness and health are more enjoyable than sin and disease.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.7

“Life is fullest or content
Where delight is innocent.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.8

“Eating Life or Death” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Matt. v. 6.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.9

These words teach us that righteousness may be obtained by eating and drinking; that we are to eat it and drink it. For when one is hungry and thirsty, and then is filled, it is only because he has eaten and drank that for which he hungered and thirsted.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.10

PLAIN LANGUAGE

There is not nearly so much figurative language in the Bible as most people suppose. Some one reads a text that is beyond his experience, and because it seems impossible to him he says, “O that is figurative language.” Of what it may he figurative he cannot tell, but it eases his mind to think that it does not mean exactly what it says; for if it does not mean what it says, and he does not know what else it means, it is evident that he is freed from any obligation in the matter. This is the way the Word of God is made of none effect.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.11

We shall get along much better if we settle it in our minds that God knows His own mind; that He knows exactly what He wishes to say, and just how to say what He means; and that when He says a thing He means it. Surely we cannot go wrong when we take the Lord at His word. Suppose it should happen on some occasion that He did not wean just what He said, and we should take His words as though He did mean them as He said them, do you not see that He could not condemn us for believing what He Himself said? “He that believeth is not condemned.” If a father jokingly tells his child something, and the child confidingly takes the father at his word, and mischief follows, it is clear that it is the father that is to blame, and not the child. It is an honour to the father, that the child didn't think he could mean anything different from what he said; and a disgrace to him, that he abused the child's confidence. But God does not joke with His children. He says to us, “Let your Yea be yea, and your Nay, nay;” and He does not ask anything of us that He is not Himself. Therefore we may believe that “every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.” Prov. xxx. 5.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.12

So when we read, “O taste, and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. xxxiv. 8) we may believe that His flesh is true meat, and His blood is true drink. John vi. 55. When we read that the children of Israel in the desert ate spiritual meat, even Christ Himself, we are to believe the fact. In believing the statement we shall find knowledge of the utmost value. We do not believe the words of the Lord because we understand them, but we believe them in order to get understanding. “For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 741.13

EATING THE BODY OF CHRIST

The Lord said to the children of Israel, “I will rain bread from heaven for you;” and Jesus said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” What else can we believe, therefore, but that it was the body of Christ that they ate? We may doubt, and say, “How can this be?” just as the unbelieving Pharisees did; but we shall find that doubt means death.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 742.1

“But,” some one may exclaim, “Jesus Himself shows us that He does not mean that we are actually to eat His flesh and drink His blood, because He says, ‘The flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.’” You should read more carefully than that. It is true that Jesus used the words just quoted, and meant just what He said; but it is not true that He said that we were not really to eat His body and drink His blood. He said that if we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood we have no life in us; and He would not immediately deny what He had said. We should see in these words of Christ, not a denial of His former words, but an evidence that in His words we find His body and His blood. The words of the Lord are not merely empty sound, but they are real things. They are good food, and may he eaten. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” Jer. xv. 16.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 742.2

Read with great care Deut. viii. 2, 3. “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep His commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” Too often the words, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” are taken as though they meant that bread is in opposition to the Word of God. But the texts tell us that God gave the children of Israel bread in order that they might know that man lives only by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. That is to say, God would teach us that in the bread which He gives us, He gives us His Word.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 742.3

BREAD FROM HEAVEN

If we but think of the origin of bread, we shall see that this is so. Bread comes from corn, and corn is grass. God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass,” “and it was so.” There was nothing in the earth until God spoke, so that the grass came forth from His word. His word was the seed that was sown. Nothing grows but from the word of the Lord. The grain that the farmer sows contains the word of life, else it would never spring up. So when we eat the bread that is made from the grain, we are really and truly eating the word of the Lord. But the word is life, and Christ is the life; so in the bread which God gives us, He gives us the life of Christ. It was therefore no figure of speech, but an actual truth that Christ uttered, when He said to His disciples as He handed them the bread, “This is My body.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 742.4

Think what would happen if men recognised every mouthful of food that they ate as being the very body of Christ. Would they not eat with reverence? They would constantly remember and acknowledge that their life comes from God, and that it is His life that they are using, and not their own. This would teach them that they are not their own. Consequently they would be continually passive in His hands, for Him to live His own life in His own way. But this would be righteousness, for His life is only righteousness. So by eating and drinking they would be filled with righteousness. We can have only one life at a time, and the life which God expects us to live is the Christian life. But we get our daily life only by eating the daily bread that God gives us. So we see that God expects that by the food which He gives us we are to receive strength to live the Christian life. Of course it is understood that when we say that we are to live the Christian life, we mean that we are to let Him live it in us; for He alone is our life.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 742.5

SATISFIED WITH GOOD

But we are to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Our desires are to be only for that which is good. The Lord gives that which is good. He does not withhold any good thing from His children. Ps. lxxxiv. 11. From above He sends down every good gift and every perfect gift. James i. 17. He says, “Eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Our natures are corrupt, and our appetites perverted, so that we desire things that are not good. This has been so ever since the fall. The woman “saw” that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and that it was to be desired to make one wise. But it was not so. The tree was not good for food. It brought death. We are therefore to learn that not what we may naturally desire, but what God gives us, is good. This does not mean that our whole life is to be one continual longing after things that we like, but dare not take. No; the lesson that we should learn from our first parents as well as from the children of Israel is that “we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” Thank the Lord, He satisfies our mouth with good things. He teaches us to desire the good, and to find delight in it. The way of life is not one of unsatisfied longing. The good Father opens His hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing. Ps. cxlv. 16.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 742.6

RECEIVING IT FRESH FROM GOD

The sum of all this is that we are to hunger only for those things that convey to us the life of God in its freshness and fulness. We are to train our appetites to desire only the things that God says are best for us. There are plants in which the life of God has been so perverted through the curse that they are only death to those who eat. These we should not touch. There are plants, such as tea and coffee, which, while they do not, as ordinarily taken, cause immediate death, yet have no life-giving power. They excite, but do not strengthen. The only power they have is in the line of death. It is evident that such things cannot be taken to the glory of God, for it is not to the glory of God that His children should be slaves to that which destroys. In taking these things, not to mention tobacco, which is wholly poisonous, and altogether filthy, one is not taking the pure life of the Lord. Consequently they are against the Christian life, for everything that is not of the Lord is against Him. There are other things that are food, but not the best food. The flesh of animals is food, that is, it will give strength to the body, but it is not perfect food. At the best, it is one degree removed from the food as God prepares it for us. In eating the flesh of animals, we get our food secondhand, to say nothing of the defilement from the evil dispositions and the diseases of the animals themselves. But out of the ground the Lord God makes to grow food that has no taint of evil about it, and when He gives us the best things, it is, to say the least, very ungrateful to pass them by, and take that which is inferior. Not only is it ungrateful, but it shows disregard for His life. It shows that we would rather gratify our desires than receive the fulness of His life.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 742.7

LIFE ONLY BY FAITH

Therefore since God gives us food in order that we may have life, and the life which He wishes us to live is His own perfect life of righteousness, it is evident that if we eat only the food which He tells us is the best, and eat it in faith, as coming from Him, and bringing Him to us, we shall have that perfect life from day to day. But we must remember that the best things taken without recognition of Him are not life, but death. The children of Israel ate food direct from heaven, and yet they died, because they did not eat in faith. So whoever does not discern the Lord's body in his eating and drinking eats and drinks damnation to himself, and not righteousness. It is evident that no one can discern the Lord's body where it is not, so that it is impossible to eat and drink righteousness in that which is not food nor to get it perfectly in that which is not perfect food; but the mere eating of the best things is not sufficient; we must take them in humble and thankful recognition of God. When this is done, life and righteousness must follow as surely as the word of God is life.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 743.1

“He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” This is true without any qualification. The Lord's Supper is the model meal, to show us that in eating and drinking pure food we are eating the Lord's body and drinking His blood. It is thus that we get His life. But if we do not take those things in which His life is clearly to be discerned, or do not recognise Him in the good things that we do eat, we eat and drink to no purpose. Our eating and drinking in such case is only to death. A little thought must make this apparent to everybody. What will be the end of those who know not God? It will be destruction. See 2 Thess. i. 8, 9, and Ps. ix. 17. What does it profit a man to have lived threescore years, if at last he sinks into perdition? Would it not have been better for that man if he had not been born? To what end was all his eating aud drinking? To nothing but destruction. If he had recognised the Lord in all his ways, he would have been eating and drinking to life, but since he does not recognise the Lord, he is taking only death, instead of life. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Because of sin disease and death are in the world. So sickness and death come from rejecting or ignoring the Lord, who is life.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 743.2

NOT A TRIVIAL MATTER

Is it not evident that the matter of proper eating and drinking is not a mere fad? It is not a matter of no consequence, for God has not spoken about things that are useless. And let no one imagine that this means that we are to go into “Jewish bondage.” Far from it. The bondage of the Jews did not consist in their obedience to the ward of the Lord, but in their disobedience. The Lord would have us free from bondage; but when we do not have the life of His word, we have nothing but bondage. He would have us eat that which is good, and delight in fatness. He would have us delivered from every evil thing that tends to enslave and destroy life. He would have us enjoy the absolutely perfect freedom of His own life. “O taste, and see that the Lord is good.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 743.3

“Modern Jerusalem” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

The Daily Mail's correspondent who accompanied the German Emperor on his trip to Palestine, gives a vivid picture of the squalor of Jerusalem, and of the transparent frauds concerning the so-called holy places, together with the unblushing beggary of priests and monks, and says:—PTUK November 24, 1898, page 745.1

Jerusalem, in fact, is not a place for pilgrims to visit. The ancient streets and the eternal hills and valleys are there. There is no denying the Mount of Olives and the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the steep hill-side upon which our Lord walked and taught, and from which He sorrowfully surveyed Jerusalem, the roads to Bethany, and the pleasant but beggar-ridden village of Bethlehem. The rocks and the landscape are the same, and the blue sky and the clear bright light. But as regards its monuments and its sites of Holy Places, it is a city of painful disillusionments.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 745.2

More than eighteen hundred years ago Jesus declared that Jerusalem was left desolate, abandoned by the One whom she thrust without her gates, and crucified. Jerusalem that now is, is in bondage with her children; but Jerusalem which is above, is free, and to that God's people look. It has foundations that cannot be covered with rubbish. Let every one who wishes to go on pilgrimage, look up, for there is our shrine.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 745.3

“The Children. Our Food” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

All the lessons that we have had on the creation have taught us that all God's works, and especially man, whom He made in His own image, are the temple or dwelling-place for His own Holy Spirit. And we have found, too, that all God's works in this earth are made of the dust of the earth itself, and what gives form, beauty, wisdom, and power to anything, is God's own Spirit of life, for when this is taken away the dust returns to the earth “as it was.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.1

Have you ever thought how God is still carrying on His great creative work? Let us see how He is still taking the dust of the earth, and forming from it beautiful temples for Himself to dwell in.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.2

Your body is made up of the food that you eat. If you were kept without food for a time, you would not only stop growing, but you would become thin and wasted. So you see that besides the food you need to build up your body and make you grow, there is a certain amount of waste which has to be made up by the food that you take.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.3

But did you know that no matter what kind of food you are eating you are really feeding upon the dust of the ground, and your body is being made up of just that out of which God formed man in the beginning? God “maketh grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth ” from which he comes.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.4

The plants and trees, which spring out of the ground, take the dust of the ground, and prepare it for food for us and the animals. What we call the “vegetable kingdom” makes all the food that is necessary for the “animal kingdom,” to which we ourselves belong. Different animals require different kinds of food, but each one can find growing out of the ground just the food that it needs.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.5

As you take the food that God has provided, His creative power works in you, taking this material and building up your body from it. Learn what you can of the different organs of your wonderful body through which He works to do this, and see how “fearfully and wonderfully” He has made you.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.6

Even what are called beasts of prey,-carnivorous animals-those which like lions and tigers feed upon the flesh of other animals, do not really get any food but what these animals have got from the plants. It was not God's plan that the animals should feed upon each other, for in the beginning He said to man,PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.7

“Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed.... and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree bearing seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so.” The animals fed only upon that which God meant for their food, and man eat the grains, fruit, and nuts which his Heavenly Father had provided for him.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.8

And as it was in the beginning, so it will be again when everything in the earth is brought back to purity and perfection. For then, God's Word tells us, “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” And men shall “plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them,” and eat of the fruit of “the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.9

“Jesus in His temple holy,
Where sweet angel anthems ring,
Dwelleth, too, in temples lowly,
Heareth, too, when children sing.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.10

“God's Temple” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

When God had given to King David the kingdom of Israel, he wanted to honour God and show his love for Him by building Him a house. He was so anxious about it that he said, “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.11

Then the prophet of God came to him with this message from the Lord: “Thou shalt not build Me an house,” “but a son shall be born to thee;” “he shall build an house for My name.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.12

But although David was not able to build the house, he was allowed to select all the materials for it, and he made the most careful preparation, for he said, “The work is great; for the palace is not for man, but for the Lord God.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.13

We have just been learning of how the Most High, who “dwelleth not in temples made with hands,” is still making for Himself living, moving, growing temples, where He may live and show forth His glory. He says, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.14

The great work of building His own house can be done only by the Creator Himself, but He lets us be co-workers with Him in this. I think you will see already what is your part of the work, for we have found that our bodies, which are His temple, are made up of the food that we eat.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.15

So the work that God gives to you is like that which David had, to select the materials out of which His house is to be built. God provides he very best, and He tells us just what is good, and what is harmful, and then He allows us to choose just what material we will for His house to be made up of.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.16

If we love and honour Him as David did, shall we not be very careful only to furnish the very best material for His house, and not to take into our bodies anything that is not good, just to satisfy our own appetite, or please our taste? Shall we not find out from God's Word just what is the food that He has provided for us, and take that which will make good, pure, blood, strong muscles, and clear brains, so that our bodies may be in the best possible condition for His service?PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.17

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.” “Whether therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 746.18

“The King of Birds” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

The eagle is among birds what the lion is among the animals. You know he is called the “king of the forest,” or “king of beasts,” and the eagle is the king of birds. It soars higher than any other bird, and is lose to sight as it “flies away toward heaven.” Because of this it was called in ancient times “the Bird of Heaven.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.1

“Bird of the broad and sweeping wing,
Thy home is high in heaven,
Where wide the storms their banners fling
And the tempest's clouds are driven.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.2

Have you noticed how often the eagle is spoken of in the Bible? Solomon, the wisest man, who spake of birds, as well as of all the other works of God (see 1 Kings iv. 33), said that “the way of an eagle in the air” was one of the things which he knew not, which were too wonderful for him.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.3

From the Lord's words to Job in the 27th verse of the 39th chapter we learn that it is at the command of God that the eagle “mounts up,” and also that it “makes its nest on high.” It does not build a nest in the trees or bushes, as most birds do, but chooses usually the peak of a very high rock, which can scarcely be reached by men or animals.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.4

“Thy throne is on the mountain top,
Thy fields the boundless air,
And hoary peaks, which proudly prop
The skies, thy dwellings are.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.5

The eagle makes its nest of strong sticks, leaving a hollow in the middle which it lines with grass, and here it lays its eggs, and keeps the young ones until they are old enough to fly. When the eaglets are hatched, the father and mother spend all their time and strength getting food for them. They are very fierce towards anything which they think would harm them. An Irish peasant once robbed an eagles’ nest while the parent birds were away, and started off with the young eaglets. But when the old eagles came back and missed their family, they attacked the robber with such fury that they killed him.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.6

It is God's own life in all His works that gives to His creatures such love and tender care for their offspring. And from this we may learn of His great love and care for us, “for we are also His offspring.” It is because of His great love for His children that His anger burns so against sin, which hurts and destroys them and against Satan who is seeking to steal them away from Him.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.7

How safe we are if we make Him our refuge, and let Him defend us against all the attacks of the enemy. He says that no one is able to pluck us out of His hand, for He is greater and stronger than all.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.8

In Deuteronomy xxxii. 11, we are told what the mother eagle does when the time comes for the eaglets to leave the nest and learn to fly. First she “stirreth up her nest,” and makes it so uncomfortable that the young ones will want to leave it. Then she “fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.9

When the young birds get so tired that they cannot fly any higher, nor even hold themselves up in the air, the mother flies down underneath them, and catching them on her own strong wings bears them up in safety between her shoulders.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.10

In this way our Heavenly Father is teaching us how carefully and tenderly He is watching His children to see when they are tired, and to keep them from falling He says of His people that He “bare them on eagles’ wings,” and brought them unto Himself. So let us never be afraid, but always remember that “underneath are the everlasting arms” upon which we may rest in peace and safety. And “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 747.11

“Difference Between Food and Stimulants” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

In the article on eating righteousness, in another part of this paper, it is stated that tea and coffee are not foods, but stimulants, and are poisonous, instead of helpful to the body. This will without doubt meet with a strong protest from many, who will say, “I positively know that tea is nourishing and strengthening. Why, I couldn't get through my morning's work without my tea. I must have a cup of tea before I can do anything in the morning, and then in the middle of the forenoon my strength is gone, and I am so faint that I should give out entirely if it were not for the tea; but directly I have had my tea I am fresh and strong for work again.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 748.1

Exactly, and that statement is in itself the best of evidence that tea does not give strength, but rather deprives one of it. It simply satisfies a craving which it has created for itself, and not any natural desire of the body. In reality it does not satisfy anything, since the more one uses it, the more the desire for it increases.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 748.2

The difference between food and stimulants may be briefly stated thus: Food supplies a real want of the system. The body is continually using up substances which must be replaced by food, or else the strength will be utterly lost. When this substance is replaced with food, the longing of the system is satisfied. But the point to he specially noted is that any kind of good food will satisfy this desire. It is true that a hungry person may at a particular time have a preference for a certain kind of food, yet if that is not at hand, any other wholesome food will do as well. When the waste has been repaired, the system does not bother itself about what particular food it was that did the work. But it is not so with the unnatural appetite that exists for a stimulant. Nothing but the stimulant will answer the demand. If it were a real desire for food, a piece of bread would fully satisfy the desire, but nothing but tea will do. That shows that the tea does not satisfy a legitimate desire of the body, but a fictitious desire which it has created for itself. It is the supply that has created the demand.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 748.3

Suppose that there were a big strong ruffian who should make a regular practice of picking up a small boy and throwing him into the water, and then plunging in and pulling the lad out just as he was drowning; would you praise that fellow's bravery and humanity? Would you recommend him for a medal on account of his activity in saving life? Of course you would not. You would on the contrary report him to the police, that he might be punished for his brutality.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 748.4

Now tea is just such a conscienceless ruffian as that. It throws its victim into the ditch, and then pulls him out, and the poor, deluded victim embraces it, and says, “Noble fellow! you have saved my life.” And the more the thing is done, the more the victim falls in love with his tormentor. The trouble is, he does not know that the one who lifts him up temporarily is the one who has pushed him down. Do you not think that we can get along better without such a “benefactor”?PTUK November 24, 1898, page 748.5

A food is a servant, while stimulants are tyrants. Let the woman who now thinks herself wholly dependent on tea for strength, make a desperate struggle and free herself from its clutches, and it will not be long before she will find that when she depends solely on food she can dispatch her morning's work without that terrible feeling of faintness that she before experienced. Then she will see for herself that her tea was not a food, serving the needs of the body, but a tyrant stimulant, producing a feeling of weakness in order that it might get credit for seeming to undo its own mischief. Tea and coffee are thieves and robbers, and lying ones at that.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 748.6

“Jottings” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

-Gooseberry fool is a corruption of gooseberry foulé-milled or press to gooseberries.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.1

-One horse-power is calculated to be sufficient to raise 33,000 pound to the height of one foot in a minute.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.2

-The proposed military reforms in Germany will make an addition of about 25,000 men to the imperial force.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.3

-Magato, the chief whose tribe is now at war with the Boers, has been defeated and his stronghold captured.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.4

-The decision to re-try his case is to be communicated to Captain Dreyfus, and he will be asked to prepare his defence.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.5

-To encourage the cultivation of flowers in the East-end, a Society is planning to supply school children with plants at a nominal cost of one penny each.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.6

-At an inquest held on a hospital patient, who died from the effects of an overdose of opium, it transpired that the nurse misread the doctors signed and administered an ounce of opium instead of a drachm.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.7

-Representatives of the Powers at Constantinople having called attention to the dangerous disturbances in Macedonia, the Sultan replied that he was contemplating extensive reforms and all the European provinces.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.8

-St. Petersburg is built on what was formerly a swamp. To the present day strong west winds, combined with high water in the river, forces water into the cellars.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.9

-An alderman at Lydd after returning home from a mayoral banquet fell on to the fire in his drawing-room, and being unable to rise without assistance was burned fatally.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.10

-An expedition has set out from Aden to discover the exact locality of the Garden of Eden, and is making for the Palaeolithic settlement in Somaliland, which is sought by the leaders to cover the supposed site.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.11

-The crew of the flagship of the Channel Fleet having had some of their privileges curtailed for littering the decks with orange-pips, etc., some of them retaliated by cutting ropes and throwing gear overboard. All leave has been stopped.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.12

-It is reported from St. Petersburg that great progress is being made with the new fortifications at Port Arthur. The batteries destroyed by the Japanese have been replaced, and new batteries are being built. Six Russian warships are in the harbour.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.13

-The Norwegian Parliament has decided, with but one dissentient vote, to introduce a purely Norwegian flag without the emblem of union with Sweden. This is the latest development of a movement which may lead to trouble between the two countries.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.14

-A railway collision is reported from America and which a number of deaths were caused. A heavy wind had caused the falling leaves from the forest by the side of the line to accumulate on the track, and the brake apparatus of the two trains had thus become clogged.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.15

-On the march to Jerusalem, the Kaiser wore a thin white silk dust-cloak, “which floated on the breeze as the Emperor rode along on his well-trained charger.” One correspondent who describes the scene, says “nearly all the members of his staff who rode behind him wore like mantles which, whatever their intention, undoubtedly looked as though they were deliberate invitations of crusaders’ attire.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.16

-An extraordinary scene was witness the other week at Feltwell, Norfolk, where the tower of the church has been under repair, and girt round with scaffolding. Sadly, while the work men were at breakfast, the tower swayed, and then fell with a tremendous crash into the churchyard, wrecking gravestones, filling the place with rubbish, and sending up clouds of dust. The belfry contained a fine peal of bells, which were scattered in all directions.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.17

-A coloured editor at Wilmington, U.S.A., who had published an offensive article in his paper was given a few hours’ notice to remove his press, seize the publication of his newspaper, and leave the town. As he did not comply with this notice, 600 armed whites, including some of the best known citizens of the place, and some ministers of religion, marched to the office and destroyed a printing material. The building afterwards caught fire, and was burned down.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.18

-Tesla, the celebrated electrician, has patented a new submarine torpedo-boat, possessing undreamed-of powers of destruction. It carries no crew, can be operated at any distance with the aid of a telescope, and is full of delicate electrical and compressed air machinery. No wires are necessary to connect the boat with the operator. M. Tesla uses earth and atmosphere as his double wire, and thus secure as a complete electrical circuit. The steering gear and firing mechanism are attuned to a certain electro-magnetic synchronism. A similar set of synchronisitc instruments are all connected to one small switchboard in the hands of the operator. By simply turning a lever on the switchboard, the boat is steered, submerged, raised, and the torpedoes fired.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 749.19

“Back Page” The Present Truth 14, 47.

E. J. Waggoner

“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?” Isa. ii. 33.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.1

“Thus saith the Lord: Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” Jer xvii. 5.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.2

Why this curse? Is it an arbitrary punishment from the Lord, pronounced upon the one who trusts in man? Not at all; it is simply a statement of fact. The man who trusts in man, whether it be himself or some other man, is under a curse, because he is putting his trust in that which cannot deliver.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.3

How little is man “to be accounted of”? The Lord tells us in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. He has “weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance,” but all the nations of men who dwell on the earth “are counted as the small dust of the balance.” That is, the dust that goes to make all nations of men is so small an amount in comparison with all the dust even of this earth alone, that it makes no appreciable difference in the balance. If all the men were off, the weight of the earth would not be sensibly lightened, so that in weighing the mountains and hills the men upon them are not taken into account.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.4

So much for man in comparison with the earth alone. But look up now to the heavens, and see the shining suns that light up an infinite number of worlds, the number of which is known only to the infinite God. When we consider these wondrous works of God's fingers, then must we exclaim, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him?”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.5

Plainly, then, to trust in man for help, is to trust in nothing. Help would utterly fail, if it were not for the fact that the God who made the heavens and the earth, upholds all things by the Word of His power. Think how easily He can do it. “He taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” Then the burden of all mankind is as nothing to Him to carry all men in His arms makes no additional tax upon His strength.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.6

Yet, insignificant a part of creation as man is, he is not despised, nor forgotten, nor neglected of the Lord. “All nations are before Him as nothing” in comparison with the great universe, yet He knows the number of hairs upon the head of every single individual. So we have at once evidence of God's thoughtfulness for us, and of His ability to carry into effect the thoughts of peace which He thinks toward us.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.7

The only thing that burdens the Lord is sin. The weight of all nations is nothing to Him, but sin makes Him weary. This, however, is no reason why any sinner should hesitate to come to Him. Quite the contrary; for whether we trust Him or not, He has us all, and the burden of all our sins, upon Him. The Lord bears the sin of the world. Then since sin is a burden to Him, and He has all our sins upon Him, the thing that we should haste to do is to let Him take the sins away from us, so that He may be relieved of that burden. He can easily bury the sins in the depths of the sea; but He does not wish to cast men there also; therefore He asks us to let Him separate the sin from us, in order that, in casting off that burden, He may not be obliged to fling us off with it.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.8

What marvellous long-suffering and compassion God exhibits for man! For our sake He endures the heavy load of sin which we compel Him to carry. He is compelled to carry it, simply because His love for us will not allow Him to throw us aside. If we would but yield to Him, He would remove the sin from us, and from Himself also, and then it would be unalloyed joy for Him to continue to carry us. And this removal of the sin would be our salvation, for sin is death. With what confidence can we trust the Lord to save us from sin, when we know that He wishes to do it in order to relieve Himself of the one thing that burdens Him. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.9

A Nonconformist Political Council has lately been organised for the purpose of securing the representation in Parliament of Nonconformist interests. The first National Conference of the Council was held last week. In view of the fact that Unitarians and Jews are welcomed, it was considered inexpedient to open the proceedings with prayer. One of the speakers, who so stirred the audience that hundreds stood up and frantically cheered when he concluded, said of the Nonconformists:—PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.10

They needed more self-confidence, for they were overdone with modesty. They were more than a half of the religious people of this land, and more than four-fifths of the English-speaking peoples of the world, and they should realise their strength, and catch a little of the spirit of their brethren across the sea who were born free. They had been called the “backbone of the Liberal Party.” A most appropriate title, for their position had generally been at the back! It was time they gave up their role of being political “hewers of wood and drawers of water.”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.11

It is time, indeed. It is not the Lord's will that His servants should be in bondage to any political organisation. The Son makes men free, but how can the Nonconformist ministers declare freedom for the oppressed if they have to go “across the sea” for it themselves? Moses said of the life that he set before the people, “Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it unto us?” Deut. xxx. 13.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.12

No man can serve two masters. Jesus claims the undivided allegiance of His followers, and if they believe His statement that all power is given to Him in heaven and earth, they will not degrade themselves by becoming “hewers of wood and drawers of water” for any other master. “Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?”PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.13

The retiring mayor of a town in Wiltshire, instead of providing the usual mayoral banquet, with champagne toasts, for the town officials and local dignitaries, has carried out the instruction of Christ by inviting to a feast the poor and the lame. His action has excited some comment as being unusual in a mayor.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.14

The Minister for War said last week that the Government were carefully revising the whole of their schemes of defence before asking the country to make the larger sacrifices which would be necessary, but gave warning that the new armaments would be a very expensive luxury.PTUK November 24, 1898, page 750.15