June 2, 1898

“Notes” American Sentinel 13, 22, pp. 337, 338.

ATJ

MIGHT does not make right, but right makes might.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.1

TO have faith means to stand alone against a multitude.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.2

MIGHT does not make right, but right makes might.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.3

TO have faith means to stand alone against a multitude.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.4

IN Christian warfare the soldiers daily rations are drawn from the Word of God.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.5

NOT legislation, but faith, is the lever which lifts fallen men to the plane of righteousness.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.6

THE true Protestant is not he who opposes Roman Catholics, but he who opposes Romish principles.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.7

THE real battles of the world are not fought with armies and navies, but with principles of good and of evil.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.8

THE Christian religion looks so high for its sustaining and energizing power that it does not behold the state at all.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.9

AN alliance with one another may suffice for the nations; but nothing will answer for the interests of the individual but an alliance with the Lord of hosts.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.10

THE first things human that were established on earth were the individual, and individual rights. These are, therefore, the most venerable of all things human.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.11

TO deny the rights of the non-believer in Christianity—as for instance by a law forbidding him to work or seek amusement on Sunday—is to put a barrier across the way of his possible conversion.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.12

THE question whether war is a proper means of accomplishing Christian work, is but the question whether carnal weapons are more effective than spiritual weapons. Christians believe the latter are more effective, always.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.13

THE only army that Christ ever commissioned is that to which he said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature;” and “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.14

IT is not always safe in this world to be on the side of the majority.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.15

It was not safe in Noah’s time, or in Abraham’s time, or in Elijah’s time. There is no evidence that it was safe in anybody’s time. The Word of God expressly cautions the Christian that he shall “not follow a multitude to do evil.”AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.16

The history of the cause of truth and righteousness is but a history of the minority who have stood for God against the spirit and will of the majority. It presents many a picture in which an individual stands alone against a multitude.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.17

Christianity does not rest upon the decisions of majorities. It cannot recognize their authority in religious things.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.18

The last view, prophetically given, of the majority, in the history of human events, is an interesting one. It is given in the 20th chapter of Revelation. The prophetic description is:—AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.19

“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison; and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarter of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.AMS June 2, 1898, page 337.20

“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.1

In the beginning the majority were destroyed by a flood of water; and in the end they are found overwhelmed in a flood of fire.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.2

There should be in this sufficient warning to Christians against building their hopes upon what may be done in this world by the majority.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.3

RELIGION—the Christian religion—is a law. It is “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” So the Apostle Paul speaks of it; and he says that by its power he was made “free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.4

Being a law itself, it must be obvious that Christianity does not need a law to give it support. One law is not made to support another. A law that could not support itself would be useless altogether.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.5

Any law that is passed for the support of Christianity, therefore, is but a declaration that Christianity is, in itself, a powerless and useless thing. It is a reflection upon God himself.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.6

But this “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” has power to deliver men from the “law of sin and death.” This is power vastly superior to any that ever was or can be exercised by any legislature or government on the earth.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.7

To be certain of this, it is only necessary that the individual should experience the deliverance of which the apostle writes. Try it, if you have not already, and be convined.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.8

IT may be truthfully said of the present that it is an age of federations and fortifications.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.9

There is federation everywhere among men and among the nations; and there are vast armies and navies created by the nations in the hope of securing a defense behind which they will be impregnable against attack.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.10

These represent the greatest power of which the world knows. In them the world is obliged to put its trust. But will they be sufficient for the test of the day that is coming?AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.11

The world hopes that they will, but it feels no assurance. Its statesmen look to the future with forebodings. What is there that will really prove a safe defense when the forces of destruction that have so long been gathering are unloosed?AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.12

He will be safe in that day who is behind the Lord of hosts. The winds of the final commotion are held by the angels in the “four corners of the earth” until the final choice of the people in the earth is made. Revelation 7:1-3.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.13

There is a choice for every person to make in this matter. There is a choice to be made by you. Will you choose the means of safety that are being provided by the world? Will you be secure behind the defense of an international alliance, with the resources at its command? Will you be secure behind anything less than the shield of Omnipotence? And can you afford to place yourself behind any other defense than this to-day?AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.14

“Washington’s Advice” American Sentinel 13, 22, pp. 338, 339.

ATJ

IN view of the favor with which the suggestion of an alliance between England and the United States has been received, and the readiness with which it is advocated in influential circles in the United States, it is of real interest to every American to know just what Washington said on that subject. We therefore present in full that part of Washington’s famous and solemn address to his countrymen:—AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.1

“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial, else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive dislike for another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil, and even second, the arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.2

“The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.3

“Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.4

“Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance, when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected—when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation—when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall counsel.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.5

“Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.6

“It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are not at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold that the maxim is no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary, and would be unwise, to extend them.AMS June 2, 1898, page 338.7

“Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.AMS June 2, 1898, page 339.1

“Harmony and a liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand; neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying, by gentle means, the streams of commerce, but forcing nothing; establishing, with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinions will permit, but temporary, and liable to be, from time to time, abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it must pay, with a proportion of its independence, for whatever it may accept under that character; that by such acceptance it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate upon, real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard.AMS June 2, 1898, page 339.2

“In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish—that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations; but if I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good, that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigues, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism—this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have been dictated.”AMS June 2, 1898, page 339.3

A. T. J.