Fellowservants.-When John was about to fall down and worship the angel who had been sent to him with important messages, the angel said, “See thou do it not; for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book; worship God.” Revelation 22:9.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.1

The angel did not say, “I am thy fellowservant, and one of thy brethren the prophets,” but that he was the fellowservant of John and also of his brethren the prophets, as well as the fellowservant of all who should keep the sayings of the book. He was not a prophet, but was a servant of God, a fellow-worker with all other servants of God.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.2

It is a wonderful thought that the angels in heaven, “who excel in strength,” who were created before man was, and who were present and “shouted for joy” at the foundation of the earth, are willing to associate themselves with men as fellowservants of one common Lord and Master. Such humility does not lower them, but does infinitely exalt man.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.3

The disposition that some servants of the Lord have to worship those whom they think their superiors, and who may be far above them in capacity and in power, but who are nevertheless only fellowservants, is not by any means extinct. But unfortunately the disposition of the angel who refused worship is not so common. Human nature loves admiration, and it is most easy for one who is sent on God’s message, to receive homage that is due to God alone. It requires much of the grace of God and the mind of Christ to enable a man to whom God has entrusted a great work to remember that he is only a fellowservant with the humblest soul who loves and fears the Lord.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.4

“Misunderstanding” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Misunderstanding.-Very often when a verse of the Bible is read someone will say, “I understand that so and so,” giving an idea which is not found in the words of the text. It is quite common for people to think that they are warranted in treating the Bible in that way,—reading it, and then putting their own construction upon it, regardless of what it says. In such a case it is a mistake to say, “I understand.” They should say “I misunderstand.” Much of that which is called an understanding of the Bible is only a misunderstanding of it; and very often when a man proceeds to tell his “ideas” upon a certain Bible subject, he simply gives expression to his lack of ideas upon the matter.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.5

“Love Waxing Cold” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Love Waxing Cold.-The Bishop of London stated in a pastoral concerning “Hospital Sunday” that 200 years ago the hospitals in London could take in one of every 133 residents, but that “the proportion is now one out of every 600.” Archdeacon Farrar contrasts these figures with the thousands of pounds spent in “brainless excitement” on a Derby Day, and the “superfluous thousands spent in mere luxuries of ostentation.” He adds that of the 122 hospitals, and fifty-five dispensaries in London, which last year sheltered 104,000 in-patients, tended 3,900,000 out-patients, and dealt with 244,000 cases of accident, nearly all are “struggling with debt, or wildly endeavouring to raise funds by the spurious and spasmodic means of dinners, dances, and bazaars.” People who are wont to dilate upon how much better and more charitable the world is getting, do not seem to bring these items into the account. The Bishop of London is constrained to say that “men’s hearts are colder, and we are put to shame by our own forefathers.” Is not this illustrative of the words of the Saviour, concerning the last days? “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.6

“‘Depart from Me’” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

These words were addressed by Simon Peter to the Lord on one occasion when the Saviour had manifested His Divinity by causing a miraculous draught of fishes. See Luke 5:1-8. Peter said, when he saw the miracle, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” It was the expression of the natural feeling of the human heart, when made by the presence of God to realise its sinfulness. It is the feeling in the hearts of many to-day who are touched by the Spirit of God, and convicted of sin, and know not what to say.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.7

But the Saviour did not depart from Peter, and in this there is encouragement for all sinners who feel their unworthiness in the sight of God. The fact that Peter realised that he was a sinful man, so far from being a reason for Christ’s leaving him, was the very reason why Christ could not leave him. He had come all the way from heaven to earth, at the sacrifice of all that He had, to be with sinners and to take them by the hand and lift them out of their fallen state. And therefore He could not then, and He cannot now, leave a man because he realises that he is a sinner. When we feel and acknowledge our unworthiness in His sight, so far from doing anything to drive Him from us, we are presenting to Him His own all-powerful reason for not leaving us to ourselves.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 385.8

The Saviour does not stay where He is not wanted; but there is a vast difference between this petition of Peter’s and that of the inhabitants of the country of the Gergesenes, who came and besought Him to depart out of their coasts. There was no enmity in Peter’s heart towards the Lord, no aversion to the Divine principles which shone out in Jesus’ life. His aversion was all for himself. He asked the Lord to depart because he felt himself to be sinful and the Lord good-a state of mind exactly opposite to that of those who wish the Lord to depart because they feel themselves to be good and the Lord evil. It is this latter class of sinners from whom the Saviour departs, because they feel not their need of Him, and His grace cannot reach their hearts.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 386.1

So when we feel our sinfulness and our need of Divine aid, we may come boldly to the throne of grace, presenting before God the reason He Himself has furnished us, namely, our need of Him. Instead of feeling that the Lord will turn us away because of our wickedness, and destroy us with His judgments, we may feel the assurance of His own words, that “the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Luke 9:51-56. And we may gather assurance from the fact, which the inspired word reveals, that it is for the glory of God that He should receive sinners; and that therefore in asking God to receive and pardon us, we are really asking Him to work for His own great glory.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 386.2

We may read this thought in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. The apostle says, “But God, who is rich in mercy for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7. And so now, in receiving the vilest sinners, the great Father is but preparing the way to manifest to the universe the exceeding riches of His grace through the ages of eternity,—that grace which reaches the lowest depths of sin, and lifts up from thence the helpless sinner to a place at His own right hand.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 386.3

The great God has no word of discouragement for the sinner who feels his sinfulness. To all such He says, as He did to Peter, “Fear not.” “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 386.4

“Christ’s Courteous Forbearance” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Christ’s Courteous Forbearance.-What an insight into the character of Jesus we get from His conduct when the people of this Samaritan village refused to receive Him. After telling how He rebuked the intolerant zeal of His disciples, the record closes with the simple statement, “And they went to another village.” He came to save men’s lives, and He had a burning desire to save them, yet He would not force His presence upon them.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 386.5

What a comment on Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice; and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” He is anxious to come in, for His presence can give life. He begs to come in, yet He will not intrude His presence where it is not desired. Every man is left perfectly free. What infinite tact and courtesy! It would do no good to try to compel men to receive Him, for that would be an impossibility. He is the personification of freedom, and comes to give freedom; and to attempt to force men to be free would be a contradiction. It would be to deny Himself, and to defeat the very object for which He came.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 386.6

So when men reject His advances, and refuse to receive Him, He sadly turns away to another place. Still is He knocking at every door, and still the Spirit pleads, “To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.1

“The Definite Seventh Day” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

When God said, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work,” He designated a definite day to be observed alike by all men. To suppose, as some claim, that the Sabbath of the Lord has not a particular, specified place in the succession of days which make up the months and years of time, but is any one day out of seven which men may chance to select for rest and worship, is to charge God foolishly. “God is not the author of confusion;” nor has He left it to the caprice or self-interest of man to determine the day upon which His Sabbath shall be kept. Of this He has given us abundant evidence in His word.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.2

The Sabbath is God’s rest-day. It was instituted at creation; for, “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” From the creation, therefore, each recurring seventh day has been the day upon which God rested, and therefore the Sabbath day; for any day upon which God did not rest could not be His Sabbath. While any day can be one day out of seven, only one day can be the one on which He rested; and that day, as He tells us, is the seventh day.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.3

Notice also the language of the Sabbath commandment: “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.” God rested on the seventh day, and thus pointed out and fixed the seventh day in the calendar of our first parents, Adam and Eve. The children of Adam and Eve did not inaugurate a new reckoning, but learned from them which day was the seventh day, and thus it has been with all the people of God from that day to this, for each parent would, in obeying the Sabbath commandment, be obliged to instruct both son and daughter, manservant and maidservant, in their duty to refrain from work on the Sabbath day. So long as the commandment was observed by parents, there could be no question about which day was the Sabbath in the minds of the children; and had the commandment not been violated, no question of that nature could ever have arisen. But God has always had at least a few faithful followers in all ages of the world, and through these the definite Sabbath day has come down to us, which God pointed out at creation.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.4

During the forty years’ wandering of the children of Israel in the wilderness, God designated by miracles the day which was His Sabbath; for on the sixth day He sent a double portion of manna from heaven, and withheld all manna on the seventh day, and preserved what was kept over from the sixth day to the seventh, so that it was not corrupt, as it would have been on other days. If there had been any disposition on the part of the Israelites to select their own Sabbath day,—to choose any one day in seven, as some people claim the right to do now, it must have been effectually corrected by this emphatic testimony from the Lord. And that testimony has lost none of its force at the present time. If the Sabbath was a particular, definite day then, not left to be determined by the choice of man, it must be so now. God does not change, His law does not change, and the obligation of man to His law does not change with the lapse of years.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.5

The seventh day has never lost its identity from creation down to the present time. The day, marked by the unchanging revolution of the earth, and the week, marked by the six days of creation and the seventh day Sabbath, are divisions of time marked off by God Himself; and they have continued unchanged through all the ages. The seventh day of the week in the days of Adam, is the seventh day of the week at the present time, as it ever has been. “The Sabbath day according to the commandment,” which followed the “preparation” day and immediately preceded the first day of the week at the time of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (Luke 23:54-56; 24:1), is the Sabbath day according to the commandment now. And happy is he who is willing to accept and observe the day God has designated, rather than a day that has been chosen by man.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.6

His commandments are not grievous.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.7

“Our Shield” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The best shield in the world is not Herr Dowe’s new bullet-proof cuirass. One might suppose, from the great interest this invention has excited throughout the military world, that something had been discovered in this line far superior to anything that was known before. But this is not so. Thousands of men have been far better shielded in battle, though openly exposed to the enemy’s fire, than they would have been if clad in Herr Dowe’s cuirass. Nor is there any secret about this. Every Christian will understand it. It is the shield which David had when he went forth to meet Goliath, and said to him, “I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” 1 Samuel 17:45. That is a shield which can protect against cannon-balls as well as bullets, and against every weapon that man has ever invented; and the protection that it affords is just as real as that which any person ever enjoyed.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.8

God said to Abram, “Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Genesis 15:1. And the Psalmist testifies, “The Lord God is a sun and shield.” Psalm 89:11. See also Psalm 3:3; 119:114. And of His children God has said, “In righteousness shalt thou be established, thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come nigh thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me; whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.” Isaiah 49:14-17. It is God who “breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder, and burneth the chariot in the fire.” With His protection about us, we are safe indeed.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.9

All may have the shield who will take it; and it is very much easier to get than one of the bullet-proof coats of Herr Dowe. The poorest can afford it just as well as the rich; for it costs nothing, except that which every man has in abundance, and can well afford to give. It costs only the giving up of self,—the surrender of our will for the will of God. Then so long as He sees it to be best for us to have life and health and strength, we shall have them, in spite of all the military weapons of all the armies of the world. And when He sees it to be best that we should die, a protection against death would be a very unfortunate thing for us to have.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 387.10

“Our Reward” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Our Reward.-If we are the children of Abraham, our reward will be his reward. What his reward was we learn from Genesis 6:1: “Fear not, Abram; I am thy Shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” These were the words of God; and in harmony with them are the words of Christ to His followers: “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:11, 12. The universe can afford no higher reward than that promised to Abraham, which was God Himself. And we, if we are his children, are heirs with him of the promise. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.1

“‘Fierce’” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

“Fierce”.—The Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:1-4), mentions that men in the last days will display very many evil traits of character, one of which is expressed by the word “fierce.” Coupling this declaration with the fact of the mob rule spirit which is becoming such a prominent feature of national life in some, if not all, civilised countries, we see before us to-day a striking fulfilment of the apostle’s words. We have been hearing much recently about lynch law in America, and the statements made are abundantly borne out by facts. In 1882, fifty-two negroes suffered death at the hands of mobs in that country; in 1892, the number had increased to one hundred and sixty, and some of these had been put to death with a display of cruelty that was fiendish.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.2

And all over the world, the spirit of unrest characteristic of our times,—of seeking some short road to wealth or power,—is making men less humane and less considerate of the welfare of their fellows. Now, as never before, men are “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud... without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.3

These traits of character come naturally to the surface and the individual who throws himself into the fierce human current that is struggling toward worldly wealth and fame. But the Gospel will do for men to-day all that it has ever done in the past, if they will but turn their eyes away from these things, and “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.4

“Studies in Romans. The Salutation.—Romans 1:1-7” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Under this heading it is proposed to conduct, as nearly as can be done in writing, a class study of the epistle to the Romans. It is designed to be literally a study, and it is hoped that the “study” will not be all on the part of the writer, but that the readers of PRESENT TRUTH will be encouraged to acquire for themselves an acquaintance with an epistle that is doubtless the greatest treatise ever written.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.5

In each number the text for the week will be quoted, in order to facilitate the study. The reader, however, should use his Bible freely. Read the verses to be studied very frequently, and form the habit of questioning each verse, after the manner indicated below, only more closely. In this way the force of the words used by the apostle will stand out clearly, and the thought will be fixed in the mind, in the exact words of Scripture. This is far better than trying to “commit to memory.” In the latter case you get the words without always getting the thought; in the former, you hold the words in mind only because close attention has enabled you to grasp the thought.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.6

Inspiration assures us that in all of the epistles of Paul there are “some things hard to be understood.” 2 Peter 3:16. Perhaps this is the case with the Epistle to the Romans in a greater degree than with any other epistle. But they are not impossible to be understood, it is only the “unlearned and unstable” who wrest them unto their own destruction. The Bible student should note for his own encouragement that it is only those who wrest “the other scriptures” to their own destruction, who thus miss the point of Paul’s writings. They who have a desire to understand, and who read the simple promises of the Bible with profit, will not be among that number.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.7

In beginning this study it will be an encouragement to the reader if he will remember that it is simply a letter written to the church in Rome. We cannot suppose that the congregation in Rome differed from the great body of Christians in general, and of them we read that “not many wise men after the flesh, not many might, not many noble are called.” 1 Corinthians 1:26. The truest followers of Jesus have always been among “the common people.” So in the church in Rome there were doubtless shopkeepers, artisans, day labourers, carpenters, gardeners, ect., and many servants in the families of wealthy citizens, together with a few who might hold some position of rank. When we consider that it was confidently expected that people of this sort would understand the letter, we may be encouraged to believe that the same class of people can understand it now.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.8

Paul’s exhortation and assurance in Timothy form the best guide to the study of all his epistles, and the whole Bible as well: “Consider what I say; for the Lord shall give thee understanding in all things.” God is His own interpreter. The words of the Bible explain the Bible. This is why you should closely question the text so as to get at exactly what is said, in connection with what precedes and follows. Nothing can take the place of prayerful meditation upon the exact words of the Bible. By this means the most unlearned in this world’s wisdom may become mighty in the Scriptures. The Lord has said just what He means; and the only way to find out just what He means is to become thoroughly familiar with just what He says, just as He says it.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.9

The notes that accompany the text in this study are designed to fix the student’s attention more closely upon the word, and for the benefit of the casual reader. That the study of this epistle may be greatly blessed to those who pursue it, and that the word may become more highly esteemed by all, because of the increased light that the Holy Spirit may cause to flash from it, is the earnest prayer of the writer.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.10

THE SALUTATION.—Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God (which he had promised afore, by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures), concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name; among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 388.11

QUESTIONING THE TEXT

What did Paul declare himself to be?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.1

“A servant of Jesus Christ.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.2

To what was he called?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.3

“Called to be an apostle.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.4

To what was he separated?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.5

“Separated unto the Gospel of God.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.6

Was this Gospel first announced in Paul’s day?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.7

“Which He had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scripture.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.8

Whose Gospel is it?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.9

“The Gospel of God.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.10

What is this Gospel, or good news, about?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.11

“Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.12

Who is this Jesus?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.13

He “was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.14

What is His power as the Son of God?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.15

“According to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.16

For what purpose did Paul receive grace and apostleship from Christ?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.17

“For the obedience of faith among all nations for His name.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.18

In what blessed condition were the people in Rome?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.19

“Beloved of God.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.20

What were they called?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.21

“Called saints.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.22

What was the request of the Spirit for them?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.23

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.24

A Bondservant.—“Paul, a servant of Jesus.” It is thus that the apostle introduces himself to the Romans. In several other epistles the same expression is used. Some people would be ashamed to acknowledge themselves servants; the apostles were not. It makes a vast difference whom one serves. The servant derives his importance from the dignity of the one served. Paul served the Lord Jesus Christ. Everybody may serve the same Master. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?” Romans 6:16. Even the ordinary house servant who yields to the Lord is the servant of the Lord, and not of man. “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God; and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ.” Colossians 3:22-24. Such a consideration as this can not fail to glorify the most menial drudgery.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.25

Our version does not give us the full force of the term which the apostle uses when he calls himself a servant. It is really “bond servant.” He used the ordinary Greek word for slave. If we are really the Lord’s servants, we are servants bound to him for life. It is a bondage that is itself freedom, “for he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman; likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.” 1 Corinthians 7:22.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.26

Separated.-The apostle Paul was “separated unto the Gospel.” So is every one who is really the servant of the Lord. “No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye can not serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24. No man can serve the Lord and have other service besides that. “Do you mean to say that a merchant or other business man can not be a Christian?” By no means. What I said was that a man cannot serve the Lord and at the same time have other service. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:17. If the man is not serving the Lord in his business, then he is not serving the Lord at all. The true servant of Christ is truly separated.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.27

But this does not mean that he separates himself from personal contact with the world. The Bible gives no countenance to monkery. The most hopeless sinner is he who thinks himself too good to associate with sinners. How then are we to be separated unto the Gospel? By the presence of God in the heart. Moses said to the Lord: “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up thence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” Exodus 33:15, 16.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.28

But the one who is separated to the public ministry of the Gospel as the apostle Paul was, is separated in a special sense in that he may not engage in any other business for personal gain. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:4. He can not take any position, however high under earthly governments. To do so is to dishonor his Master, and to belittle his service. The minister of the gospel is the ambassador of Christ, and there is no other position that can approach it in honor.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.29

The Gospel of God.-The apostle declared that he was “separated unto the Gospel of God.” It is the Gospel of God “concerning his Son Jesus Christ.” Christ is God and therefore the Gospel of God, of which the apostle speaks in the first verse of the chapter, is identical with “the Gospel of Christ” of which he speaks in the sixteenth verse. Too many people separate the Father and the Son in the work of the gospel. Many do so unconsciously. God, the Father, as well as the Son, is our Saviour. “God so loved the world, that He gave his only-begotten son.” John 3:6. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19. “The council of peace” is “between them both.” Zechariah 6:13. Christ came to the earth only as the representative of the Father. Whoever saw Christ, saw the Father also. John 14:9. The works which Christ did, were the works of the Father, who dwelt in him. Verse 10. Even the words which he spoke, were the words of the Father. Verse 24. When we hear Christ saying, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” we are listening to the gracious invitation of God the Father. When we see Christ taking the little children up in His arms, and blessing them, we are witnessing the tenderness of the Father. When we see Christ receiving sinners, mingling with them, and eating with them, forgiving their sins, and cleansing the hideous lepers with a touch, we are looking upon the condescension and compassion of the Father. Even when we see our Lord upon the cross, with the blood streaming from His side, that blood by which we are reconciled to God, we must not forget that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,” so that the apostle Paul said, “the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.30

The Gospel in the Old Testament.-The Gospel of God to which the apostle Paul declared himself to be separated, was the Gospel “which He had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures” (Romans 1:2); literally, the Gospel which He had before announced or preached. This shows us that the Old Testament contains the Gospel, and also that the Gospel in the Old Testament is the same Gospel that is in the New. It is the only Gospel that the apostle preached. That being the case, it should not be thought strange for people to believe the Old Testament, and to refer to it as of equal authority with the New Testament. We read that God “preached before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” Galatians 3:8. The Gospel preached to the people when Paul lived was the same Gospel that was preached unto the ancient Israelites. See Hebrews 4:2. Moses wrote of Christ, and so much of the Gospel is to be found in his writings that a man who does not believe what Moses wrote, can not believe in Christ. John 5:46, 47. “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.” Acts 10:43.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.31

Paul had only the Old Testament when he went to Thessalonica, “and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead.” Acts 17:2, 3. Timothy had nothing in his childhood and youth but the Old Testament writings, and the apostle wrote to him: “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:14, 15. Then go to the Old Testament with the expectation of finding Christ and His righteousness there, and you will be made wiser unto salvation. Do not discriminate between Moses and Paul, between David and Peter, between Jeremiah and James, between Isaiah and John.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.32

The Seed of David.-The Gospel of God is “concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.” Romans 1:3. Read the history of David, and of the kings who descended from him, and who became the ancestors of Jesus, and you will see that on the human side the Lord was handicapped by His ancestry as badly as anybody can ever be. Many of them were licentious and cruel idolaters. Although Jesus was thus compassed with infirmity, He “did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” 1 Peter 2:22. This is to give courage to men in the lowest condition of life. It is to show that the power of the Gospel of the grace of God can triumph over heredity.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.33

The fact that Jesus was made of the seed of David means that He is heir to the throne of David. Of David’s throne the Lord said, “Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever.” 2 Samuel 7:16. David’s kingdom is therefore coextensive with the inheritance promised to Abraham, which is the whole world. See Romans 4:13. The angel said of Jesus, “The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32, 33. But all this involved His bearing the curse of the inheritance, and suffering death. “For the joy that was set before Him” He “endured the cross, despising the shame.” Hebrews 12:2. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.” Philippians 2:9. As with Christ, so with us; it is through much tribulation that we enter the kingdom. He who fears reproach, or who makes His lowly birth, or His inherited traits, an excuse for his shortcomings, will fail of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus Christ went to the lowest depths of humiliation in order that all who are in those depths might, if they would, ascend with Him to the utmost heights of exaltation.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.34

Power by the Resurrection.-Although Jesus Christ was of lowly birth, He was “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” Romans 1:4. Was He not the Son of God before the resurrection? and was He not so declared to be? Certainly; and the power of the resurrection was manifested in all His life. To speak of nothing else, the power of the resurrection was shown in His raising the dead, which He did by the power dwelling in Him. But it was the resurrection from the dead that settled the matter beyond all doubt for men. After His resurrection He met the disciples, and said unto them, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Matthew 28:18. The death of Christ shattered all the hopes that they had centered in Him; but when He “showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days” (Acts 1:3), they had ample proof of His power. Their sole work thenceforth was to be witnesses of His resurrection and of its power. The power of the resurrection is according to the Spirit of holiness, for it was by the Spirit that He was raised. The power given to make men holy is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. “His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.35

The Obedience of Faith.-Paul said that through Christ he had received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all nations. True faith is obedience. “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29. Christ said, “Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46. That is, a profession of faith in Christ which is not accompanied by obedience, is worthless. “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead.” James 2:17. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” Verse 26. A man does not breathe in order to show that he lives, but because he is alive. He lives by breathing. His breath is his life. So a man cannot do good works in order to demonstrate that he has faith, but he does good works because the works are the necessary result of faith. Even Abraham was justified by works, because “faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect. And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.36

“Beloved of God.”—“That was a most comforting assurance that was given “to all that are in Rome.” How many people have wished that they could hear an angel direct from glory say to them what Gabriel said to Daniel, “Thou art greatly beloved”! The apostle Paul wrote by direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and so the message of love came as directly from heaven to the Romans as it did to Daniel. The Lord did not single out a few favorites by name, but declared that all in Rome were beloved of God. Well, there is no respect of persons with God, and that message of love to the Romans is ours as well. They were “beloved of God” simply because “God so loved the world, that He gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3. And this everlasting love to men is not shaken, although they forget it; for to those who have turned away, and fallen by their iniquity, He says, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.” Hosea 14:4. “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful; He can not deny Himself.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.37

“Called Saints.”-The reader will notice that the words “to be” in Romans 1:7 are indicated as supplied, so that instead of “called to be saints,” we may read literally, “called saints.” God calls all men to be saints, but all those who accept Him He calls saints. That is their title. When God calls people saints, they are saints. These words were addressed to the church in Rome, and not to the Church of Rome. The Church of Rome has always been apostate and pagan. It has abused the word “saint” until in its calendar it is almost a term of reproach. No greater sin has ever been committed by Rome than the distinction it has made between “saints” and ordinary Christians, making practically two standards of goodness. It has led people to think that laboring men and housewives were not and could not be saints, and has thus discounted true, everyday piety, and has put a premium on pious laziness and self-righteous deeds. But God has not two standards of piety, and all the faithful people in Rome, poor and unknown as many of them were, He called saints. It is the same to-day with God, although men may reckon differently.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 389.38

“The Necessaries of Life” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

From the standpoint of tradition and custom, the “necessaries of life” include some very strange articles. A member of Parliament from Cambridge, in a speech touching the relation of the Budget bill to the liquor traffic, is reported as saying that “the increased taxation of the rich will relieve the taxation on such necessaries of life as sugar and tobacco.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 391.1

A very large proportion of the Anglo-Saxon race seem to regard tobacco as one of the necessaries of life, although it was not known to the civilised world until the time of Sir Walter Raleigh. Another very large class regard intoxicating liquor,—beer, stout, wine, and whisky,—as among these “necessaries;” at least they will hold on to one or more of these drinks until the very last penny is gone, and sacrifice many of the real necessaries to obtain them. Still others think that tea and coffee are among the necessaries. They feel a craving for these articles which leads them to think they could not do without them. Another class believes they are unable to get along without opium and morphine. In a locality in the Southern United States there is a class of people who regard clay as an essential article of diet. And if we were to consider all the different races and nations and classes throughout the world, we could increase this list almost indefinitely.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 391.2

Such facts only point to the conclusion that men are wont to take their ideas of what constitutes the necessaries of life more from the customs of depraved human nature than from the declarations of either science or revelation. Though the latter two speak with a positive voice against these customs, they are not regarded by the devotees to popular vices and fashions. Science-which in this case may be taken as almost synonymous with common sense-declares plainly and emphatically that such articles as those mentioned above contribute little or nothing to the building up and strengthening of the human body, and on the other hand do it an immense amount of harm.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 391.3

None of these things came into use by man until after he had fallen from his uprightness and “sought out many inventions.” Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were strangers to all such “indispensable” customs. The Saviour indulged in no such practices during His life on earth. Imagine Him, the Redeemer of men, whose life is to be our example,—smoking a cigar, like an individual who indulges in this modern “necessary” of life! Could such a case be supposed, the most dissipated beholder would know instinctively that He had fallen below even the human ideal of perfect uprightness and purity. And if men would not stifle the voice of conscience which the Creator has put within them, and would exercise their minds to discern and know the pathway of holiness, with the aid of the light God has given, they would know better than to class an article whose use constitutes a harmful and vicious indulgence, as among the necessaries of life.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 391.4

No necessary of life creates in the human system an unnatural craving for its use. Hunger itself is not a craving for one particular thing, but for anything which will supply nourishment to the failing tissues of the body. And when the body is nourished and built up, the result is not a craving for something, but a feeling of comfort and ease, which is the natural feeling of health. The very fact, therefore, that the use of an article creates a strong craving for it, is the best of evidence from a physiological standpoint that it is not conducive to health, and therefore very far from belonging to the necessaries of life.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 391.5

“Wonderfully Fashioned” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

It was no fable of Evolution that caused the Psalmist to exclaim by inspiration: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” “Thine eyes did see my imperfect substance, and in Thy book were all my members written.” When he contemplated the infinite power and wisdom by which the Lord entered into the minutest detail of the life of His creatures, he said, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” The following words from a foreign journal suggest some interesting thoughts:—PTUK June 21, 1894, page 392.1

We are accustomed to regard the statement that “the hairs of our heads are numbered,” as a highly figurative way of making us believe that nothing is too small for the attention of the Divine Artificer, and the more one studies, and the further one looks into the marvellous structure of the body, the more does he perceive that this minute uniformity is a literal reality.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 392.2

Exactly such or such anatomical elements go to the production of a single hair, and one arrangement of these elements makes the hairs that pass out through the cutical of the scalp, keep up an uninterrupted growth, so that a man in full vigour must visit his barber at stated intervals, or be very uncomfortable; while the hairs that pass through the apertures of the skin of the arm remain of about the same length constantly.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 392.3

No human ingenuity can change this order of nature; but one of the most interesting order of applications of this persistent uniformity is found in the recording of thumb-and-finger prints, for the identification of recruits, prisoners and other large classes of men. The ends of the nerves of touch, technically called the papill?, are arranged in orderly rows on the bulbs of the thumbs and fingers, and each papilla is placed at a certain determinate distance from its adjacent fellow, and can easily be “made out,” with a good glass on many hands.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 392.4

The result of the arrangement is, that a “pattern” is produced, for these nerve tips are not placed in any two of the millions of us exactly similarly, so that if a man blackens his finger with a suitable pigment, and presses it upon a properly prepared paper, he leaves an impression that is “his mark,” and not another’s. it is said that the Chinese practised this method of detecting criminals a thousand years ago. Perhaps they did; and very likely they’ll claim Edison next; but it has remained for a scientific Englishman to collect hundreds of these impressions-compel them to disclose their individuality by enlarged photographs, so that he has them classified and described and named and indexed-and prove the superiority of this means of identification to measurements of other methods now in vogue.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 392.5

Sir Francis Galton has produced a novel, interesting, and entertaining book; of course, the subject is treated in a scientific spirit, and has added another interesting testimony to the truth, that not only the hairs of the head, but the tiny mounds made by the tips of the nerves are under the governance of the Divine law, unchanging, and the fiat of Him with whom “there is no variableness neither shadow of turning.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 393.1

“Tobacco and the Blood” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

When taken in any form, tobacco very readily finds its way into the blood, and, according to Sir B. W. Richardson, it produces in the vital fluid serious changes. He describes these changes in the following words:—PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.1

“On the blood the prolonged inhalation of tobacco produces changes which are very marked in character. The fluid is thinner than is natural, and in extreme cases paler. In some instances the deficient colour of the blood is communicated to the body altogether, rendering the external surface yellowish white and puffy. The blood, being thin, also exudes too freely, and a cut surface bleeds for a long time, and may continue to bleed inconveniently even in opposition to remedies. But the most important influence is exerted over those little bodies which float in myriads in the blood and are known as the red corpuscles. These bodies have naturally a double concave surface, and at their edges a perfectly smooth outline. The absorption of fumes of tobacco necessarily leads to rapid changes in them; they lose their round shape, becoming oval and irregular, and instead of having a mutual attraction for each other and running together, a good sign of physical health, they lie loosely scattered before the eye, and indicate to the learned observer as clearly as though they spoke to him and said the words, that the man from whom they were taken is physically depressed, and deplorably deficient both in muscular and mental power.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.2

“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

-The death of the Sultan of Morocco is announced, and it is supposed that be was poisoned.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.3

-The judicial statistics of Great Britain pros the existence of over 70,000 known professional thieves.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.4

-Lord Coleridge, Lord Chief Justice of England died at his London residence, 1, Sussex-square Hyde-park, June 14.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.5

-A German has constructed a tricycle to run on either land or water, with which he propose crowing the Channel to Folkestone.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.6

-Joan of Arc is to have an annual féte day in France, and a national memorial is to be created on the spot where she suffered martyrdom.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.7

-The volcano on the island of Stromboli is showing great activity. The eruption is increasing in violence, and there are frequent earthquakes.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.8

-Italy is struggling with a ministerial crisis owing to the refusal of Signor Crispi to moderate his demands for military expenditure in the coming year.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.9

-Intelligence has reached Shanghai that Japer has sent large forces to protect her interests in Cores. The King of Corea is reported to have fled to Japan.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.10

-The expulsion of Danish actors from Schleswig, under a law prohibiting Danish performances in that country, is causing much comment in Copenhagen.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.11

-There is a prospect of a general federation of the Australian colonies, a scheme for that purpose having been proposed by the premier of New South Wales.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.12

-A Scotchman is launching a new form of vegetarianism in Paris. Its members eat and drink nothing but uncooked vegetable foods and natural liquids.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.13

-A “plague” has been raging at Hong Kong, China, which has caused 1,700 deaths, but is now said to be abating. Many thousands have fled from the place.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.14

-New Zealand is bent on preserving her remarkable wild birds and animals, and has set apart two islands on which all hunting and trapping is forbidden.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.15

-Over 25,000 natives of India have been inoculated for cholera by a Pasteur agent, and the protection afforded against the disease thus far has been considerable.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.16

-By order of the Czar an expedition has been dispatched in search of the Russian ironclad monitor Roussalka, which foundered, with all on board, some months ago.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.17

-The Great Northern Railway Company have decided to abolish third ideas fares, add all passengers will be able to travel at a parliamentary rate of one penny a mile.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.18

-According to figured published by the railways of Eastern Russia, the number of emigrants to Siberia during the past five years was a little under 220,000, an average of 44,000 per annum.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.19

-An important discovery of arms and ammunition less been made by the Russian Government in the Caucasus, where it is believed a rising is meditated, and great discontent prevails.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.20

-A “beer war” between Social Democrats and breweries is raging in Germany, and has assumed such proportions that a report is to be prepared and presented to Emperor William by his special request.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.21

-A conference held at Columbus, Ohio, between representatives of the colliery owners and miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois has resulted in an agreement on the question of wages.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.22

-A telegram from Panama reported a great conflagration in progress in that city June 14. Over 800 houses had been destroyed, and the flames, fanned by a high wind, were still spreading. The inhabitants were panic stricken.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.23

-The Russian Government is seriously contemplating the construction of a railway tunnel through that principal Caucasian mountain chain. Until this is done, Russia’s hold of the Caucasus cannot be considered an assured one.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.24

-According to a telegram from Lagos, on the west coast of Attics, the chiefs and elders of the people of Dorodu, an important trading place in the neighbourhood of Lagos, are soliciting the annexation of their country to Great Britain.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.25

-The clerical party in Hungary has been completely defeated, and the Upper House will now accept the Civil Marriage Bill. Great disappointment is expressed in Court circles, while in Hungary the rejoicings over the victory of the Liberal party are unbounded.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.26

-New regulations have recently been issued at St. Petersburg for the settlement of disputes between Russian officers. They provide for the appointment of a court of honour, consisting of officers, which will determine the question whether a duel is unavoidable or not.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.27

-An experiment in providing family meals ready for the tables of the poor is being made at Martineau Building, Christian-street, East London. A substantial hot beef-pie is sold for one shilling, a single direr, sufficient for a working-man, costing threepence.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.28

-Phra Yot, the Siamese mandarin about whom there has been a dispute between France and Siam, was sentenced at Bangkok to twenty years’ hard labour on a charge of causing the death of a French officer. The event has caused great bitterness of feeling throughout Siam.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.29

-While the increase of the population of the world is calculated at the rate of 200,000,000 in every twenty years, the growth of wheat throughout the world has fallen from 804,000,000 quarters in 1891 to 280,000,000 in 1898, and the price per quarter has fallen from 41s. in 1891 to 25s. in 1898.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.30

-The rejuvenescence of the German Army is rapidly proceeding under the vigorous supervision of the Emperor William, and soon none of his grandfather’s old officers will be left. Between thirty and forty generals and a still larger number of staff officers are to be retired in the course of the month.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.31

-The young Sultan of Morocco, Miley Abdul Aziz, has left Rabat for Fez, accompanied by his troops Disturbances continue to take place in the interior, but the representatives of European Powers at Tangier advise their Governments not to send war-vessels to Moorish ports for fear of exciting the Mussulmans.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.32

-German enterprise is going ahead in Asia Minor. A railroad extending some 309 miles from Ismid east by north to Angora has just been completed by German contractors. One remarkable feature in its construction is the almost total absence of wood. Not only are the mile and bridges of iron, but the sleepers and telegraph poles are of the same material.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.33

-A boat containing eighty harvesters from Achill Island capsized near Westport Quay, June 14. Over thirty persons, nearly all of whom were young, were drowned. Thirty corpses were recovered. The harvesters were sailing to Westport to take passages to England and Scotland by steamers leaving there the next day.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.34

-Excavations have been recently made in Sainte Marguerite cemetery, to try and discover the body of the Dauphin of France, who died a century ago and was duly buried. Several coffins were opened, but none contained remains which could have been those of a boy of ten. The object of the search is to demolish the legends of his escape put forth by pretenders from time to time.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.35

-The proposed new Constitution for Hawaii provides for the establishment of a Republic, and forbids any advocacy of the monarchical form of government. It gives the franchise to all sup-porters of the Provisional Government, and to natives and neutralised aliens who swear to support the new Constitution. It further declares the Crown lands to be the property of the Government.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.36

-At the City Dust depot in Lambeth, 42,572 loads of street sweepings were received in the last twelve months. Marketable articles were eliminated, 26,000 loads of rubbish being burned in the destructors. The old paper fetched ?590; rags, ?47; bottles, ?107; string, ?177; works and wax, ?58; and old iron, ?82. Cheques and notes were frequently discovered in the refuse, and returned to the owners when possible.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.37

-M. Nicolas de Savin, a Frenchman now living in Saratoff, is supposed to be the oldest person now living, having been born in 1768. He remembers all the events of the French Revolution. He was a soldier in the Egyptian campaign, fought at Austerlitz and Jena, and was decorated at Saragossa. He was taken prisoner at Berezina, and afterwards sent to Berate, where he has remained ever since. His daughter, who lives with him, is over eighty.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 398.38

“Back Page” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

It is calculated that horse racing in England involves a direct expenditure of not less than ?3,000,000 a year. This does not include the amount lost in betting, which of course cannot be estimated, nor the sums squandered in various other vices that flourish in connection with the race course.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.1

The suffering amongst the few thousands of destitute Jews who have found their way to Jerusalem is acute. The large sum of money distributed by charitable societies, which has doubtless attracted many to the city, is not sufficient to afford more than slight relief. The agent of one society says of a visit recently made:—PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.2

To call it a house-to-house visitation would be a misnomer. It was literally a hole-to-hole violation in fifteen groups of dwellings, where about 500 poor Jews are to be found in cellars and holes wholly out of sight, rarely any above ground. I have found, in courts behind houses, steps leading down to lower courts, and from there have gone down to others still lower, dark places piercing the debris, fragments of passages and chambers; solid masonry of past ages, where, among the ancient foundations, Jerusalem, of the past gives shelter to the homeless poor of the present.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.3

“And they were astonished at His doctrine; for His word was with power.” Luke 4:32. “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine; for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Matthew 7:28, 29. In like manner the officers who were sent to apprehend Him, were so captivated by His words that they forgot their errand, and returned without Him, and when asked, “Why have ye not brought Him?” replied, “Never man spake like this Man.” John 7:45, 46. And so we learn that the wonder of Christ’s teaching was not so much in the strange things that He said, as in the power with which He spoke. Therefore my prayer shall be, “Lord, help me, not that I may be able to astonish people with the vastness of my learning, but that I may tell the old, old story with words that are powerful because prompted by Thy Holy Spirit.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.4

As a sample of the conclusions men will come to when they follow the lead of the idea that Christ’s Church ought to be “established” by some one of the powers of earth, we quote the following from the Christian World:—PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.5

Chancellor Philip V. Smith was chief speaker at a Bootle Church Defence meeting. He said Parliament was, at the instigation of the Liberation Society, proposing to inflict an injustice upon the Church which, he ventured to say, no Roman Emperor in the most cruel times would have attempted to do. If the Church were disestablished in Wales, the people would be practically left from Sunday night until Saturday night in a state of heathenism, and destitute of all spiritual aid.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.6

What ideas can such men have as to the source of the Church’s spiritual aid? or of the promise of Jesus Christ to His followers, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Men who look to a worldly power to supply their spiritual aid, very soon forget their Lord.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.7

In reply to the inquiry of a correspondent, the Church Times (June 15) points out the misuse of the term Sabbath, as applied to Sunday by many people:—PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.8

The Sabbath, “Dies Sabbati” (as still in Acts of Parliament), never meant anything but Saturday. Till the sixteenth century no Christian ever called “Sunday” the Sabbath. The great Lightfoot, a Puritan says, “I have diligently searched the Fathers to find ‘Sabbath’ used in the sense of Sunday; would that I could find it!” The Presbyterians and the Puritans were the first to give this (as well as other theological words) an entirely new meaning.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.9

Of course the Bible everywhere calls the seventh day the Sabbath, and as the Bible only is the word of God, that makes the seventh day for ever the Sabbath. Even though the Fathers had called Sunday the Sabbath it would not have made it so. Shall we take the word of man or the word of God? And as the Bible tells us when the Sabbath is, and what it is, in order that we may receive the blessing that is in it, shall we not follow the ways of God rather than the way of the world?PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.10

In these days, when architecture and music are becoming the principal religious attractions, some words recently spoken by the Rev. J. Ossian Davies, of Bournemouth, ought to have wide circulation. When asked, “What is the best way to reach the masses with the Gospel?” he replied:—PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.11

Somehow or other they do not like our grand buildings. I do not exactly know why, but it is a fact, and this fact must be faced if we are ever to reach the people successfully. I have the impression that we depend too much upon our places of worship, and not enough upon the word “Go,” which is the first word in the condition that Christ gave to His apostles. It may turn out that our building churches and chapels and begging the people to come into them, is, after all, a wrong method. However, if places were built in harmony with the character of the people we wish to reach, it is probable that these houses would answer a good purpose. Still, nothing will take the place of that active seeking the people which is clearly implied in the command, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” My own experience leads me to believe that the people are not indifferent to the Gospel. I believe that when this simple message delivered by good, earnest men, will always find a hearty response from the masses.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.12

“Prophetic Lights,” noticed in our advertising page, is an excellent study of prophecies concerning the first and second advent of Christ, proceeding on the true basis that Scripture must interpret Scripture.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.13

“Delighting in Wickedness” The Present Truth 10, 25.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Delighting in Wickedness.-In the book notices of one of the best London dailies, in the review of a new novel, which is declared to be intolerably dull on account of the uniform goodness of the hero, we find the following statement:—PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.14

The possession of all the domestic virtues makes a man desirable enough from the point of view of the possible bride; from that of the novel reader it is apt to render him uninteresting, to say nothing more.PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.15

This is stated in all seriousness. It shows what novel-readers desire, and the object for which they read. They think that a writer who describes a virtuous man, has dealt unfairly with them. Why should he lead them through three volumes, and give them no spice of wickedness? The fact stated in the few lines above presents a fearful picture of the condition of society. This class also is described in Scripture, as those “who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, ... have pleasure in them that do them.”PTUK June 21, 1894, page 400.16

June 14, 1894

June 28, 1894