August 15, 1895

“Using the Breath” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Using the Breath.-The Psalmist closes the book of Psalms with the words, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” This is the right use of breath.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.1

Cause for Praise.-Sometimes we find discouraged souls who think they have nothing to praise the Lord for. But they can praise Him for breath; they have that. And when men use the breath God gives them to thank Him for it they will find sufficient causes for praising the Lord. The breath is the breath of life, the breath of the Lord given to all men, just as truly as when God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life in the beginning.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.2

Anxiety.-Anxious thought about the future wears out more people physically and spiritually than present distresses. Another name for this anxiety is unbelief, and a cure for it is to read Christ’s words in Matthew 6:27-34, and believe them. Faith knows that God who has all power will do all the caring for the one who seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.3

Thank Him.-Whether we thank the Lord for bearing our sin or not, He bears it; for upon Him is laid “the iniquity of us all.” If we do not thank Him for it, it makes no difference to them; He bears it just the same, only by our ingratitude we cling to the burden of it also. But to thank Him is to confess the sin, and to confess it is to give Him the joy of forgiving the sin, and to give ourselves the peace and joy of forgiveness.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.4

“On Trial” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

In last week’s issue of PRESENT TRUTH we gave a very brief account of the appearance of the Managing Director of the International Tract Society-the missionary agency of the Seventh-day Adventists-before the Clerkenwell Police Court, to answer for Sunday work. In that article the bare facts were given; in this we desire to show what is really involved in the case.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.5

In the first place, let it be clearly understood that these facts and statements are not published for the sake of eliciting sympathy for the Society. Much less is it for the purpose of arousing any feeling against the authorities, who are so courteous in the performance of what they conceive to be their duty. We would ask our readers to leave us and the amount of the fine entirely out of the question, and think only of the truth involved, and their own relation to it. It is not the International Tract Society, but the Truth of God, that is called in question. But when truth is put upon trial, if it be indeed the truth it becomes the judge, before whom even judges and kings, in common with the people, are called to render account.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.6

When Jesus Christ, who is the Truth, was before Pontius Pilate, that question which that governor asked was, “What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ?” Matthew 27:22. The people cried out, “Let Him be crucified.” Thus the people, as well as Pilate, acted as judges in the case. Against Jesus, “both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.” Acts 4:27.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.7

Truth is the final judge of all. It is a trite saying that nothing is ever settled until it is settled right: but nothing is ever settled right until it is settled according to truth. Every judgment, therefore, which is contrary to the truth will at last be reversed. In this life truth is on trial, not simply before civil courts, but before all the people. Each one for himself is called upon to decide what shall be done with the truth. But while the truth is thus on trial, it is in reality the people themselves who are on trial; for as they judge the truth, so will the truth judge them. The day of Judgment will simply be the announcement of the judgment which people have in this life pronounced upon themselves in their dealing with the truth.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.8

This case, therefore, instead of being the International Tract Society before the Clerkenwell Police Court, is the Truth before the People, and it is before this court that the truth appears to plead. What then is the truth in the case?PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.9

CLEARING THE WAY

In order to get at the exact truth, it is necessary to clear away any mistaken ideas that may exist. Therefore let it be emphasised that there is no question of “sweating” employés, or in any way whatever infringing upon their rights. In making the charge before the Court, the Factory Inspector said that the persons who were mentioned in the charges were “protected persons,” and that it was forbidden to employ them on Sunday. But the fact is, that in this case at least, it is Sunday alone that is sought to be protected.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 513.10

The young women in question do work that is ordinarily done by women in a printing house. They work at their own desire. Like the women who followed Jesus to the cross and the tomb, they rest the Sabbath day according to the commandment (Luke 23:55, 56), and in harmony with that same commandment they labour on the first day of the week. If the Society should refuse to employ them on that day, they would work upon it just the same, wherever they could find proper work to do. It is evident, therefore, that it is ridiculous to speak of such persons as being “protected” by the Factory Act.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.1

WHAT IS THE TRUE REST DAY

The real question at issue is incidently stated in the Chronicle’s comments upon the case. We quote from its issue of August 3:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.2

The Managing Director of the eccentric body known as the Seventh-day Adventists was again before Mr. Haden Corser yesterday for putting the peculiar principles of the body into practice by employing women on Sunday. It is the established faith of this particular sect that it is sinful to work on Saturday, and accordingly its employés make holiday on that day. This, of course, is purely a matter for the Adventists themselves; but when they seek to restore a balance which they conceive to be wrong by making Sunday an ordinary working day, Her Majesty’s Inspectors would be neglecting their duty if they did not take note of the circumstance.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.3

We have emphasised the words in the Chronicle’s statement which indicate the real question at issue. It is not primarily a question of whether or not certain individuals shall be employed at a given work, but it is whether or not Sunday shall be made “an ordinary working day.” This is the real case, and we will now proceed with evidence, which is all upon one side.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.4

THE COMMANDMENTS

God came down upon Mount Sinai “with ten thousands of saints,” and “Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.” “Out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness,” God spoke the ten commandments “with a great voice.” Here is the fourth:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.5

“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, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; 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.” Exodus 20:8-11.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.6

SANCTIFYING THE SABBATH

God blessed the Sabbath day, the seventh day, and sanctified it. He made it holy, and He calls upon men to keep it holy. Not that men can by any act of their’s diminish its holiness, but by profaning it they bring sin upon themselves.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.7

To sanctify is to set apart for a sacred use, and to distinguish the thing sanctified from everything else. By His own Word God has distinguished the seventh day of the week from every other day of the week, and has said that cessation from secular labour on that day is to be the mark by which its sanctity is recognised.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.8

It is evident, therefore, that the seventh day cannot be kept holy according to God’s command, unless it is regularly observed as a rest day, and every other day of the week is habitually used as a working day. Work on Sunday is not for the purpose of restoring the balance conceived to be wrong, but in simple recognition of the explicit command of the God of the universe.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.9

TO WHOM GIVEN

“The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. The Sabbath commandment, therefore, is for every man, no matter what his position in this world.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.10

Moreover it was made at the creation, and given to the head of the human family. It is the memorial of the creation of the heavens and the earth, and consequently a mark of the power of the Creator, calling to mind His power to create men anew in Christ Jesus. The fourth commandment therefore demands the obedience of every soul on earth.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.11

A MATTER OF FACT

It should be noted that the question of the Sabbath is not one of somebody’s belief or interpretation, but of fact. Those who have the matter of the day of rest before them, whether they be law-makers, judges, or working men, have not to take account of men’s opinions or beliefs, but of hard and plain facts. They have not to deal with what people may think, but with what God says. The commandment is so explicit that there is no chance for misunderstanding it. That this is so may be shown by somePTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.12

ADMISSIONS

made by people of widely differing profession. None of them, however, observe the seventh day, which makes their statements all the more forcible.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.13

THE “STANDARD’

To begin with the latest that has come to our notice, we quote from the Evening Standard of August 3. In speaking of the case in question it said:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.14

The magistrate who has to deal with cases of this sort is not to be envied. It is indisputable that the seventh day, not the first, was set apart for rest and worship. There is nothing more than tradition to explain how or when or why the early Christians exchanged the seventh day for the first. Mr. Haden Croser did wisely to refuse all argument, insisting upon the law;-so did Pilate, his victim might explain.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.15

MR. GLADSTONE

In his article on “The Lord’s Day,” in the March number of the Church Monthly, Mr. Gladstone said:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.16

The seventh day of the week has been deposed from its title to obligatory religious observance, and its prerogative has been carried over to the first; under no direct precept of Scripture.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.17

THOMAS SCOTT

In commenting on Acts 20:7, concerning the rest day, Mr. Scott wrote:PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.18

The change from the seventh day to the first appears to have been gradually and silently introduced, by example rather than by express precept.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.19

CANON EYTON

In a series of sermons on “The Ten Commandments,” preached at Holy Trinity Chelsea, and published in 1894 by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubuer & Co., Mr. Eyton, after having stated that “the Sabbath was the solemn recalling of God to the mind of the people,” said:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.20

The observance of Sunday in the Christian Church comes to us with quite a different sanction, based on different grounds, from that of the Jewish Sabbath. It rests upon no direct Divine command; no word is said about it in the New Testament.... There is no word, no hint in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday.-pages 61, 62.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.21

Again:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 514.22

Into the rest of Sunday no Divine law enters. page 63.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.1

Still further:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.2

The observance of ash Wednesday or Lent stands on exactly the same footing as the observance of Sunday.-page 65.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.3

REV. ISAAC WILLIAMS, B.D

In a book entitled “Plain Sermons on the Catechism,” published by Longman’s, Green & Co., 1894, the above-named Churchman makes the following statements:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.4

Where are we told in Scripture that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day.-page 334.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.5

The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the Church, has enjoined it.-page 336.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.6

CANON KNOX-LITTLE

This eminent Churchman, in his book on “Sacerdotalism,” in which he pleads for certain customs not warranted by the example of Christ, says:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.7

It is certain that our Lord when on earth did observe Saturday, and did not observe Sunday; had no use, as far as I know, has ever been called a “sacerdotalist” for departing from His undoubted habit of “resting the seventh day.”—page 75.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.8

And again, referring to those who urged the example of Christ against the rites which the Canon upholds, he says:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.9

Their effort strictly to adhere to our Lord’s example to the letter, in spite of the usage of the Church, implies that they know better what our Lord desired than His Church. If they are consistent, as I have said, they must keep Saturday, and not Sunday, as the day of rest.-page 93.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.10

THE LATE DR. R. W. DALE

In 1871 a book entitled “The Ten Commandments,” written by this eminent Congregationalist, was published by Hodder & Stoughton, of whom it has been said that their imprint is a certificate of orthodoxy. In that we read:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.11

It is quite clear that however rightly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping Sabbath.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.12

The Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday.-page 106.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.13

There is no reason to believe that the apostles required their converts to keep the first day of the week as a day of rest.-page 112.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.14

As it is difficult to determine the exact time when Jewish Christians ceased to rest on the Sabbath, it is also difficult to determine the exact time when Christians generally began to rest on Sunday.-page 110.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.15

“ECCENTRICITY’

Time and space do not permit us to quote all the admissions of a similar nature which we have in hand. What is the evidence?—Simply this, that the Scriptures of God enjoined the observance of the seventh day of the week as a sacred day of rest, and the use of Sunday as an “ordinary working day.” And yet a body of Christians who follow the Word of God and the example of Jesus Christ, are styled “eccentric” for so doing. Well, it is better to be eccentric than disobedient. Why these men from whom we have quoted do not observe the Sabbath of the Bible instead of a day for which there is no Divine authority whatever, is for them to settle with the Lord. But the fact that they excuse themselves from obeying His plain command is no warrant for others to do likewise.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.16

THE HUMAN AGAINST THE DIVINE

From what has preceded, it is very evident that the question to be settled is one of authority; it is a question of whether God or man is a source of authority.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.17

It is as true as God’s Word, that the seventh day of the week is the only rest day God ever appointed, and that by His command all other days of the week are ordinary working days.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.18

It is also a fact that men, solely on their own motion, have presumed to substitute another day for the Sabbath of the Lord. It is not necessary just now to inquire into the origin of this change; it is enough to know that it was done by men, without any Divine authority, and in the face of God’s commandment.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.19

The magistrate said that Parliament had made the Factory Act, which requires the recognition of Sunday as a rest day and that he would not be doing his duty if he did not impose a penalty for the violation of it. The inspectors also say that they would not be doing their duty if they did not prosecute for the neglect to regard it. Now those men would be perfectly right, if Parliament were supreme; but there is another side to the question.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 515.20

God has sanctified the seventh day as the Sabbath, distinguishing it from all other days by making them ordinary working days. Now we say that we, including magistrate, officers, and people with ourselves, are not doing our duty if we do not obey the Lord. Parliament itself is composed only of men. They are not God, but are subject to Him. It is as much the duty of members of Parliament to obey the Lord as it is that of the humblest man. And no man is absolved from his duty to God because members of Parliament have been so unmindful of their duty to God, as to enact laws in direct opposition to His law. With all respect to Parliament, we are bound to consider it as infinitely inferior to God, and its authority as nothing as compared with His. We say therefore, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” And this duty rests upon magistrates and other officers of the law as much as it does upon us.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.1

DEFIANCE OF THE LAW

It has been said that the International Tract Society in continuing Sunday work notwithstanding the prohibition of the Factory Act is defying the law. This comes from taking a very superficial and narrow view of the case. Let us look farther and deeper.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.2

God is supreme. He is the Creator. His law existed before there was a man or a nation. It is the law for all mankind and the universe. Now if it seems to the magistrate and to others that a simple failure to comply with a human law that prohibits labour on Sunday is defiance of that law, what will they say of the making of that law in open opposition to the law of God? Is not that where the defiance of the law comes in? The very existence of Sunday laws on the statute books is an open insult to God, and a defiance of His authority.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.3

Let us make this matter clear by an illustration. Here is a family of a dozen children. The father sets them all at work, giving express directions as to how the work shall be done. In order that no mistake may be made he writes out directions very plainly.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.4

Very soon they become careless, and almost before they are aware of it they find themselves doing exactly contrary to the directions. Only one has been faithful. The rest say, “Well, our way is just as good, and we will continue it.” But this is not all. Not content with disobeying orders, they pass a formal vote that their way shall be followed by all, and then because the one still clings to the original instructions they accuse him of defying them. Anyone can see that the fact is that he is not defying them, because they have no authority in the matter, but that they are guilty of a most daring act of defiance.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.5

The application is easy, and the parallel perfect. God has made of one blood all nations of men. He is the Father of all, both high and low. All men, no matter what their birth or station, are all alike subject to His authority. His law says that the seventh day is the Sabbath, and that the other days are labouring days. But certain men have taken it upon themselves (that is Mr. Gladstone’s language) to alter His ordinance, and to say to their fellows, “You must recognise another day as the Sabbath.” Some, however, continue quietly to obey the law of the Lord, and they are charged with defying the law!PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.6

But what are the facts? Simply this, that the law which thrust itself into the face of God’s law has no jurisdiction whatever. To disregard it is not to defy a law, but is the only way in which one can be truly law-abiding.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.7

When our fellow-mortals forget or despise the claims which God has upon them in common with us, and enact laws contrary to His, they are simply presuming to act where they have no jurisdiction. It is no one’s duty to obey such a law, and much less to enforce it upon others. On the contrary, it is the duty of all to obey God rather than men. When human law opposes the law of God, it is the solemn duty of every man to break that human law, since only by doing can they obey God. Not England, but the God of the universe, expects every man to do his duty.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.8

GUILTY OR NOT GUILTY

It was stated in the papers that the Managing Director in behalf of the Society pleaded guilty. Perhaps the Court took it so, but it was not the case. He was not asked to state whether he was guilty or not. He was simply asked if he admitted the charges that certain persons had been allowed to work on Sunday, and as an honest man he could do no other than to say that he did. But that was not an admission of guilt. He could not by any possibility have pleaded guilty, since no manner of guilt attaches to Sunday work, or to the employment of willing labourers on Sunday.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.9

But the great court day is fast approaching, when the Judge of all shall sit, and all men “small and great” shall stand before Him, to hear the decision of their cases. In that day no allowance will be made for the fact that a man held an office in civil government; for God, “without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.10

The law of God will be the sole standard in that Judgment. As the result of what it says, every mouth is stopped, and all the world stand guilty before God. All have broken that holy law. Legislators, in passing laws, have simply been doing in a formal way what every man has done in his heart, for all have rebelled against God’s authority. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” “Who then can be saved?”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.11

With men it would be impossible, but God’s infinite love and wisdom make it possible for “whosoever will.” The case is thus: We are guilty. If we, whether kings, judges, officers, or common people, continue until the Judgment day to put human will and human authority above God’s will and authority, we shall have no power to plead, for our mouths will be stopped. “Guilty” will be stamped upon our faces.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.12

But if now we plead guilty, acknowledging our wicked rebellion against God, and our usurpation of His authority, we shall be guiltless in that day, for “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” “If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” for the sins of rulers and judges as well as for those of the most obscure in this world.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.13

The invitation, therefore, which we extend to all in this time when men are being tried to see on whose side they will elect to stand at last, is to come to Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath day, and find in Him true Sabbath rest, the sanctification from sin.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 516.14

“Sin and Death” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Sin and death are inseparable. “Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James 1:15. “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. Wages are a just claim, and must always be allowed in a universe where justice prevails.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.1

Man has identified himself with sin, and must therefore experience death. The life that is identified with sin must pass away. But there is another life, which has been brought to man by Jesus Christ. He “hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:10. And this life is given to man now in Christ, so that in losing the life which is identified with sin, he still has life, and a life of which death has no power.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.2

But this life was secured to men only by the death of Christ. Christ took upon Himself the nature of the seed of Abraham, and thus identified Himself with sinful flesh. Hebrews 2:16. Though sinless, He felt our weaknesses and temptations, being “in all points tempted like as we are.” He was numbered among the transgressors, and “died unto sin.” In the garden of Gethsemane, as the sins of the world were rolled upon Him, He sweat “as it were great drops of blood.” That blood was His life, and in that terrible struggle He was yielding up His life. Even so must we yield up our sinful lives, and reckon ourselves to be “dead indeed unto sin.” Romans 6:11.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.3

Christ identified Himself with the seed of Abraham, that that seed might be identified with Him. And in this we must be identified with Him in the struggle of giving up His life, and in His crucifixion. Then we shall also be identified with Him in His resurrection and eternal life of glory. He might have held onto His life, which was sinless, and gone back to His Father; and it was in refusing to do this that He experienced the struggle in Gethsemane. And so we may hold on to our life, which is sinful, and will bring us to eternal death; and in yielding it up comes our struggle. But that life must go, for it is identified with sin; we must either have that death, or the death that will blot us out eternally. There is no separating death from sin.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.4

This striving against sin, which is the struggle of giving up our sinful life, that it may be crucified and destroyed, is not so great a struggle as that which our Lord experienced in Gethsemane. “Ye,” says Paul, “have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:4. We do not in the struggle yield up our physical lives, as He yielded His life. Jesus had no sinful life; the life that He gave was sinless. We have by nature only a life that is identified with sin; but the power of God takes away that life and puts in its place the life of Jesus. The physical life continues as before, but now God is manifested in the flesh, as He was in Jesus of Nazareth, living the life of righteousness. “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.5

Now we may die unto sin, and still live unto God. Romans 6:11. Now we may lose our life, and yet find it unto life eternal. Then let us die now, yielding up our life of sin, that we may not finally, with the wicked, cut off from God and His eternal life, yield up our lives in the lake of fire which is to blot out the life of sin, and so terminate without hope our existence.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.6

“‘Give Ye Them to Eat’” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Jesus and His disciples had gone away by themselves into an uninhabited portion of the country, but the people, hearing of it, flocked to Him out of the cities by thousands. The day had been spent in healing the sick, “and when it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now passed; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.7

“But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.8

“And they say unto Him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.9

We can easily picture the astonishment of the disciples when Jesus said to them, “Give ye them to eat.” They never had a day’s provision ahead for themselves, and here were five thousand hungry men, besides women and children equally hungry. The food that they then had in their possession was not sufficient to provide each one of that multitude with a very small taste; and yet the disciples did give them food so that “they did all eat and were filled.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.10

How was it accomplished?—Just in this way: Jesus “took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake and gave the loaves and two fishes to His disciples and the disciples to the multitude.” See Matthew 14:13-21.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.11

There are greater multitudes to-day who are hungering for the bread of life. Few of them are conscious of the fact that it is the bread of life that they are longing for, but they do not know what will supply that need. And though they are out of the fold, the Lord has not cast them off, and they are among those to whom He refers when He says, “Feed My sheep,” and, “Feed My lambs.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 517.12

The Lord says to His disciples, “Give ye them to eat.” If we cry, “Who is sufficient for these things.” The answer comes, “Our sufficiency is of God.” We are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, and “the words which man’s wisdom teacheth” are empty and vain; but Christ has “The words of eternal life,” and “He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God.” Receiving the bread of life fresh from His hands, we may give them to the hungry people, who, eating them, will find them to the joy and rejoicing of their hearts.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.1

“‘In the Faith’” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

We are exhorted, “Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith.” 2 Corinthians 13:5. Much depends upon how we shall make this examination. It does not mean that we are to turn our eyes inward upon ourselves, and endeavour to take an inventory of our faults and virtues, and so to discover whether we are in the pathway to eternal life. No true reckoning can be taken anywhere by looking downward. Self cannot see its own faults. It can make no comparison between sin and righteousness, for of the latter it knows nothing. It has no view of the field of faith. Its favourite method of examination is to compare itself with its fellows,—a method which is always much more favourable to self than the truth of the case would justify.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.2

We cannot get a correct view of ourselves or of the standard of righteousness, by our own understandings, darkened and perverted as they are by sin. But God has provided a mirror into which we may look, and see ourselves as we are. “If any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer,” says James, “he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:23-25. The “forgetful hearer” is he who forgets the Word of God, and he who forgets the word does not know what manner of person he is. It is the Word that shows us, as we look into it, what we are.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.3

This is so because in looking into the Word we see Christ; and seeing Christ, we see the light of the glory of God reflected in His face. 2 Corinthians 4:6. And this is the light that reveals things as they are, and not the feeble light of our own understandings,—the “sparks” of our own kindling. In this light, and this only, are we able to obtain a correct estimate of ourselves. Only by this light can we know whether we are in the faith.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.4

Looking unto Jesus, and seeing Him with the eye of faith, we lose sight of earthly things. Self is lost in Him and becomes as nothing,—crucified with Him, while we still live by the power of His endless life. Galatians 2:20. So in ascertaining whether we are in the faith, we look not to ourselves, to try to make a comparison between our lives and our own ideas of the standard of righteousness; but we look to that light which reveals the standard God has set up; and that light shines from His throne and is reflected in the face of Jesus. We simply look unto Him; and we do this by simply looking into the Word of God, where He is revealed. But we must look in faith, or we shall see nothing. If then self sinks out of sight, lost in Him, together with all our former confidence in the flesh, we are in the faith. But if there is aught visible between our eyes and Him-either self or some other person-so that we do not see Jesus only, we are not in the faith, and shall not be there until whatever obscures His face is put away.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.5

“A Pledge of Universal War” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The chaplain of one of the war vessels that assembled at Kiel to assist in the ceremonies of the opening of the ship canal, wrote an account of the affair to a religious paper, and after telling of the Emperor’s review of the vast line of ironclads, he said:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.6

No wonder he declared this assemblage of navies “the pledged guarantee of universal peace;” for out of this appalling enginary of destruction science has wrought the most impressive and effectual shield to the world’s safety and happiness.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.7

This is not merely the opinion of one man, but is the expression of a common sentiment, and shows how readily people shut their eyes to impending dangers. When the multiplication of breweries, distilleries, and public-houses becomes the guarantee of universal abstinence; when the training of professional burglars and the increased manufacture of burglars’ tools become a pledge of the safety of our property; when schools of vice, and the widespread circulation of obscene literature becomes the assurance of universal purity;-then, and not till then, may we look upon engines of destruction and the education of men in the art of war, as a pledge of universal peace.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.8

“Only a Voice” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

When Moses was recounting to the children of Israel the dealings of the Lord with them, and especially the circumstances under which the law of God, that perfect revelation of God’s character, was given to them, he said, “The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.” Deuteronomy 4:12.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.9

The reason why they saw no form, but heard a voice only, is given in the following words: “Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire; lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female.” Verses 15, 16.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.10

We have an instance of this in the case of John the Baptist. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who art thou?” He replied, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” John 1:22. In the case of the giving of the law we have the voice of God from His own mouth; in the case of John the Baptist we have the voice of God by the mouth of His prophet. The word that John spoke was as truly the word of God as was that spoken from Sinai. It is true that John was a man, whose form could be seen; but it is none the less true that he was only a voice,—the voice of God. And the explanation of this is that John was so humble and unassuming, and was moreover so filled with the message that he bore, that no attention was attracted to his person. Those who went out into the wilderness did not go out to see a man clothed in soft raiment. It was his message that drew them.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 518.11

In like manner God’s truth is to be presented to the people in this time, when the ransomed of the Lord are about to return and come to Zion with everlasting joy upon their heads. God says to His servants, “I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared; the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people.” Isaiah 51:15, 16.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 519.1

It is not pleasing to the natural heart to be hidden under the hand of God. Many think that it is a calamity to have God’s hand upon them. They read, “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5), and imagine that such treatment must be exceedingly severe, not knowing that the hand is the hand of a tender Father, and that it means protection. We have the choice of keeping ourselves out from under the hand of God, so that we may be seen, and thus be exposed to fearful dangers, or to be hidden under that hand, and be protected from every real ill. Ought there to be any hesitation in the choice?PTUK August 15, 1895, page 519.2

“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 519.3

“Tea and Coffee” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

It used to be thought that the introduction of tea and coffee drinking would lessen spirit drinking. But the milder stimulant only establishes a habit which calls for stronger stimulation. In every country, in recent years, there has been raised among medical scientists a cry of warning concerning the increased consumption of tea and coffee, and the results of its use, especially amongst women. The habit of washing food down with drinks is a bad one, in itself; but if it must be kept up the wise will do well to substitute something for the tea and coffee, whose active principle is a deadly poison. Hot water, hot milk, hot water and milk, or some form of the grain coffees (made from wheat or other cereal) may seem insipid to an appetite under the control of the stimulants mentioned, but they will not lead to indigestion and nervousness.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.1

“Christ fought the battle upon the point of appetite, and came off victorious; and we can also conquer through strength derived from Him.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.2

“News of the Week” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

-The Macedonians last week secured a second victory over Turkish troops.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.3

-Last year the Russian authorities banished 11,500 prisoners to Siberia.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.4

-Spain is raising a force of 30,000 men to reinforce those already in Cuba, who have thus far failed to suppress the revolutionists.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.5

-The agents of Russia, India, and Afghanistan are at last engaged in marking out the boundary lines of these Powers in the Pamir regions.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.6

-The character of the Chinese administration may be inferred from the statement that the troops sent to guard the mission station, where the first massacres occurred, looted the premises.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.7

-The De Boers Company have just entered into what is said to be the biggest diamond transaction on record. They have sold in advance to a syndicate, for the sum of ?4,000,000, the whole output of diamonds during 1800.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.8

-The French ministry is being severely ariticised owing to the slow progress of the Madagascar expedition. Maxim guns are no protection against the tropical climate during the rainy season, and bad reports come in as to the health of the troops.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.9

-The number of millionaires in the world, and their nationality, is thus estimated in a recent statistical work: Great Britain leads with 200 persons who possess a million pounds; United States, 100; Germany and Austria, 100; France, 75; Russia, 50; India, 50; all other countries 125.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.10

-While uncertainty prevails as to the next step in the effort of the Powers to liberate Armenia, it is certain that the agitation is increasing the ill feeling between Turks and Armenians. In Constantinople a spy mania is possessing the Armenians, and several suspected Armenians have been murdered.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.11

-Russia and Japan continue to disagree in the Chinese settlement, Russia insisting on the prompt evacuation of the Liaotung Peninsula, on which Port Arthur stands, and urging the reduction of Japan’s indemnity demands. The Japanese are said to be strengthening their navy and army in view of possible conflict with Russia.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.12

-The disturbances in Macedonia continue, and fresh Turkish troops are being cent into the disturbed districts. Armenia’s success in attracting the attention of the Powers has made the Macedonian’s determined that their cause shall be included in the plans of the Powers for the protection of the Sultan’s non-Mohammedan subjects.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.13

-The Chinese despatches state that there is every evidence to show that the local officials are responsible for the murder of the eight ladies and two men, near Foochow, by a sect known as “Vegetarians,” who are specially violent against missionaries. It is a part of the general agitation against foreigners. Reports from many inland stations state that the native converts are being harried and persecuted.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.14

-According to the reports from the London coroners for July it is shown that the number of inquests held were greatly in advance of the number held in July for many years. There is a vast increase in tragedies, whilst the list of suicides has never before reached the present number. On the other hand accidents have been less, but the deaths from measles, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and diarrh?a have increased in an alarming manner.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 526.15

“Back Page” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The growth of our work in Central America and amongst the West India Islands is such as to demand a small ship for use in the Gulf of Mexico and the West Atlantic, and we are glad to know that this need is speedily to be supplied.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.1

In a recent terrible murder case the jury added a rider to their verdict: “We consider that the Legislature should take some steps to put a stop to the inflammable and shocking literature that is sold, which we are of opinion leads to many a dreadful crime being carried out.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.2

The Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, speaking of the Chinese massacre, says it is contrary to the principles of the Society to demand the punishment of the enemies of the Gospel. It is greatly to be feared that the punitive measures being fiercely called for by the press will in the end react upon mission effort. Of course Governments see in it only a question of enforcing respect for their subjects, but missionaries of the Gospel, who are ready to give their lives to carry the truth to the people, have a very different mission in times of persecution.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.3

The following paragraph appeared in the London Echo last week:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.4

The London branch of the Seventh-day Adventists is not the only section of that committee prosecuted for breaking the law. In Rhea County, Tennessee, the other day, several of the members of that branch were convicted for working on the Sabbath Day [it was on Sunday], and fined. On principle they refused to pay, but unlike the London case, no distress was issued. The offenders have had to work out their fines on the county roads. The leader of the band is E. R. Gillett, a venerable man of seventy and a native of Batavia, New York, where he volunteered as a Union soldier in the Civil War, serving three years. The members of the sect are allowed to rest on Saturday, or the seventh day, which they observe scrupulously from sunset of Friday to sunset Saturday. Sympathy is strongly enlisted in their behalf as against further persecution.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.5

One person lately tried in America for Sunday work, and sentenced to imprisonment testified in the court to the fact that while a member of the Baptist church he had worked regularly and openly every Sunday for a coal company, and did so unmolested. But having been converted, and beginning to keep the Sabbath, he is now prosecuted for Sunday labour. The significance of this-and it is not the first case of the kind-is very apparent. The real offence is Sabbath-keeping and not Sunday work.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.6

The political sky still continues to darken. One cannot fail to note by the newspapers the extreme touchiness of all the Powers, and occasions of disputes are multiplying. In addition to the old Eastern Question, which the present situation in Bulgaria brings to the fore again, there has been added the Far Eastern Question, and now all the Powers concerned have differences in Africa about which to continually threaten one another.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.7

A short time ago an Armenian colporteur in Turkey was set upon and beaten nearly to death. His assailants thought that he was an Armenian preacher who had preached in the village some months before, with the result that several persons had been converted. “When will these Turkish outrages on Christians cease?” the reader doubtless asks. Oh, this was not a Turkish outrage. The assailants were themselves Armenians-professed Christians-and the man whom they sought to kill was one whose offence consisted in teaching people the Divine command, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work.” Comment is unnecessary.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.8

Still the current moves along. A Sunday Rest Association has been formed in the city of Venice, composed of influential professional and business men, who have unanimously resolved to petition the House of Deputies and the Senate to pass a law making complete observance of Sunday compulsory. It is stated that this movement is “due to personal, although royal, example and influence, and that it promises to result in statutory enactment.”PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.9

The Berlin correspondent of the Chronicle says:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.10

Dr. Stocker, the well-known ex-Court preacher and leader of the Christian Socialist Party, expresses dissatisfaction at the bondage in which the Church in Germany is held by State officials, and gives this as a reason of the Church’s apathy and inactivity. The Vossische Zeitung in a leading article declares that Dr. Stocker’s demands for freedom from control are impracticable as long as the clergy draw their support from the State.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.11

Now, while not only in the Establishment but in Nonconformity there is a determination to use the power of the State to support religious institutions, it is well that the fact should be emphasised that whoever turns from the power of the Lord to the power of the State puts himself and his conscience into bondage to the State.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.12

“They Know What It Is Made Of” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

They Know What It Is Made Of.-A firm of Canadian distillers, the largest in America, refuses to allow their employés to drink. They have also successfully resisted every effort to establish a public-house in the place. In earlier days this rule was not in force, and the effects of intemperance were such that the present policy was adopted. They are temperate out of self-defence, in order that they may be able to manufacture the fiery poison for other communities.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.13

“In the Far North” The Present Truth 11, 33.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

In the Far North.-As an excuse for not keeping the seventh day people sometimes say the Lord cannot mean any definite day, as in the Far North the sun does not disappear for months, and then again is out of sight for months-as though the Lord had made a world and a Sabbath which could not go together, although the Sabbath is a memorial of the creation! Referring to this, Brother H. P. Holser, who has been attending the annual meetings in Norway and Sweden, says:—PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.14

This theory, accepted by so many in place of the plain Word of God, will not hold. Our brethren about North Cape have no difficulty whatever in keeping the Sabbath; they know as well as we who are farther south when the day begins and ends. The existence of Sabbatarians in the land of the midnight sun, and in Hammerfest, the city the farthest north of any in the world, will always stand as a fitting rebuke to those who try to supplant God’s Word by sophistry.PTUK August 15, 1895, page 528.15