August 19, 1897
The Present Truth, vol. 13
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August 19, 1897
“Do You See the Glory?” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
“In the year that King Uzziah died,“ says the prophet Isaiah, “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.1
The attendant seraphim veiled their faces with their wings before the glory of the Throne; it is not surprising therefore that the prophet should cry, “Woe is me ... I am a man of unclean lips ... for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.2
The angels cried one to another in praise of the Divine Lord “lifted up” for fallen man to see. The theme of their song was not that the heavenly temple was filled with glory ineffable. “One cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.3
This is not something afar off. The whole earth-this earth where we live, over which the curse has spread, with sorrow and sin in its train-is full of the glory of God, and the angels glorify God because of it. Do you see what the angels saw? So thrilling was their cry that the thresholds of the temple moved at the voice of praise. Yet men live and die in the very presence of the glory of God, with hearts unmoved by it. Often they wonder where God is, and wish that they could see His glory, when it is manifested all about them in the things that God has made. God's power and life are made manifest in everything, even in man himself (Romans 1:19, 20), and all creation declares His glory,-all save unbelieving men whose eyes are darkened.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.4
At the time when Isaiah heard the angels’ cry the Lord gave him the commission, “Go, and tell this people, ... See ye indeed, but perceive not.” Isaiah 6:9. And the blindness is blindness of heart. “Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed.” Seeing God's glory in the earth means that the heart must confess its sins, as lsaiah confessed his undone condition. It is possible for the holiday-maker to revel in the beauties of rural scenery, and the lover of floral and landscape beauty to drink in of nature's loveliness without really getting a view of God's glory. The external beauty is an appeal to men, it is true, but unless the heart yields to it and allows the works of God's hands to teach of His love and power, the lesson is not learned. The scientist observer may delight us with his descriptions of the structure and manner of life of the created thing; but unless he goes further than that the simplest believer may see in it more than he in all his powers of observation.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.5
It was because Jesus, the Lord, was “high and lifted up” that earth was full of His glory. The glory of God is not only His brightness and power, but first of all His character, His goodness, and mercy, and truth, and patience. This character He proclaimed before Moses whenhe asked of the Lord, “Show me Thy glory.” The things of creation declaring God's glory testify to His love and care for His creatures. Away in the innermost glades of the forest, or in mountain solitudes, where men perhaps have never set foot, the flowers are strewn in profusion, and the springs run in the valleys, and the birds sing, and God gives life to the least. The whole earth is full of His glory, and He wants men to see it and trust His care, confessing their sinfulness and helplessness.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.6
“Such pledge of love in the heart of the woods!
For the Maker of all things keeps the least,
And over the tiny floweret broods
With care that for ages has never ceased.
If He cares for this, will He not for thee-
Thee, wherever thou art to-day?
Child of an infinite Father, see;
And safe in such gentlest keeping stay.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.7
He only is “near to nature's heart” whose heart is open to the shining of the, glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 513.8
“Lessons From the Book of Hebrews. ‘We See Jesus’” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
Our last lesson was upon “the world to come,“ and its relation to the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel is not committed to angels, because unto them God has not put in subjection the world to come. The Gospel is the power of God to salvation, to every one who believes; the power of God is seen in the things that He has made, for creation is the measure of God's power; the object of the Gospel is to restore what has been lost;-to create anew;-therefore its power is the same as that which created the world in the beginning. The earth was given to man in the beginning, and therefore to man is committed the work that will restore it; but as the power that restores it is the same power that was given man over it in the beginning, it follows that its power is the power of the world to come; for the world to come is the world that was in the beginning.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.1
We considered the extent of the dominion that God gave men when He created him. All the power of God, so far as it concerned this earth, was to be exhibited through man. The birds, the beasts, the fishes, the very earth itself, all were subject to man. The dominion was complete.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.2
“For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:8, 9.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.3
When certain Greeks ones came to Philip, saying, “Sir, we would see Jesus,“ and Philip brought them to Him, Jesus said, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:23, 34. This is the subject that we have before us in our present lesson, for in few words it shows us Jesus giving all and gaining all.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.4
Our attention has been directed to man in his original glory and honour, with all things under him. But as we look at his estate we suddenly seePTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.5
The Dominion Lost .—For “now we see not yet all things put under him.” As we look, we see him fall, and instead of having the world under him, he has it all upon him. Instead of ruling the world, the world rules him. From the highest place, he sinks to the lowest place. We are now talking of man; whatever low place any person has been known to be in, and whatever baseness an individual descended to, is only an exhibition of how low man has fallen. It is only lack of opportunity, or better circumstances that, aside from the grace of God, hold any individuals in the world back from exhibiting the same disgusting vileness that is seen in the lowest specimens. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. The dominion was one of glory and honour, because man was “crowned with glory and honour.” Therefore it is plain to see that the loss of the glory, on account of sin, was in itself the loss of the dominion. From being above all, man has fallen lower than all, for men have fallen lower than the beasts.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.6
Not Now Under Him .—The common idea is that man began with no dominion, and that he has gradually been acquiring dominion, until he has now nearly come to the fulfilment of the promise, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” But this is directly contrary to the plain teaching of the Bible. The perfect dominion was in the beginning, but has been lost, and there was never a time in the history of the world when men had so little of the original dominion as now. “See how vast territories have been opened up by explorers, and how the wild beasts have been exterminated so that the people can dwell there in safety, says one, as proof that man is gaining dominion. Ah, but the fact that the beasts are wild, and that man must arm himself against them, and destroy them before he can live in a land, shows that he has not dominion. The king who is obliged to be always on the defence against those whom he calls his subjects, and who can rule them only by killing them off, has not much to boast of in the matter of authority. Even the domestic animals must be tied, or held in with bit and bridle. They are not obedient to the word of man, as they are to God's rule as was the case in the beginning. The few wonderful instances of the obedience of animals to the word of man only serve to indicate how far man is from the first dominion.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.7
Where We See Jesus .—Our attention has been directed to man in his first dominion, crowned with glory and honour. As we look, we see him fall, and as we continue to gaze, with our eyes fixed on the place where he fell, “we see Jesus.” Where do we see Him?—Just where man fell. Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 14:10), and the only way to find a thing that is lost, is to go where it is; the only way to pick up one who he has fallen, and who cannot help himself, is to go to the very place where he fell. This is what the text tells us. If we would see Jesus, we must go where there are fallen men. In this there is an exhortation, an indication of how we should labour; but there is also comfort, and the comfort comes first. Wherever there are fallen men, there we may see Jesus; but we are fallen men; therefore we may see Jesus in us. “The Word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the Word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:8, 9. The knowledge that Christ dwells in us, sinful men, is the only thing that can enable us to carry the blessed assurance of the Gospel to others.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 514.8
The Curse and the Cross .—Because of sin came the curse, and the curse is death. But inasmuch as man has not life in himself, it is impossible that of himself he could endure the curse, for once having received it, that is, having died, he would have no more existence. It is not possible for man to endure death. But Christ has life in Himself (John 5:26), and can lay His life down and take it again; therefore He hath redeemed us from the curse, being made a curse for us; as it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Galatians 3:13. On the cross Christ bears the curse; not only man's curse, but the curse of the earth as well; for He bore our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:224), and He also bore the thorns, with which the earth was cursed. Compare John 19:3; Genesis 3:17, 13. But man lives, and the earth yields fruit, notwithstanding the curse; nothing is perfect, yet there is existence. Why?—Because Christ bears the curse, and has borne it from the beginning. If the curse had come upon man, apart from Christ, he would have died instantly, and there would have been no second generation. But the Word, which was made flesh in the beginning, continued with man when he fell. When man went down to the lowest depths, the Lord went with him. The fact that men live, proves the presence of the life of Christ. Nothing in nature is perfect; yet the fact that there is growth in spite of the curse, shows the presence of Him who alone is able to bear the curse. Wherever there is any curse, any sin, or any of the effects of sin, there is the Lord Jesus, for He hears the sins of the world. But it is Christ crucified that bears the curse; therefore we find the cross of Christ just where man fell. “We see Jesus”—where?—where man fell. How do we see Him?—Crucified, enduring fallen man's suffering. We see Him suffering death for every man. And wherever we see sin and the curse, there, if we have our eyes open, we see Jesus Christ crucified. The curse is upon all creation; Christ bears all the curse upon the cross; therefore it is true that “the cross of Christ is stamped upon every leaf of the forest.” Everything proclaims the Gospel of Christ. Even ungodly men, who use their God-given strength to fight against God, and who even deny His existence, are in spite of themselves witnesses to His mercy and longsuffering.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 515.1
Casting the Burden on the Lord .—In this thought there is blessed hope and courage. “How can I lay my sin, on the Lord?” Ah, that is already done; for “the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:8. Because Christ “is come in the flesh” (1 John 4:3), He bears the sins of all flesh. Not that He will take them, but He has them. They are on Him as soon as they are committed. Our part is simply to confess Him,-to confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus,-that is, confess that He is come in the flesh-in our flesh. Thus He bears our sins. But He bears the curse on the cross; therefore when we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus, we confess Him crucified in the flesh,-in our flesh,-and so that we are crucified with Him. And then we have only to believe in our heart-and to continue believing-that God hath raised Him from the dead, to know that He dwells in us with the resurrection power. What a blessed Gospel to believe unto salvation, and how blessed to be permitted to proclaim it to fallen men!PTUK August 19, 1897, page 515.2
“A Little Lower than the Angels.” -It is true that the test says that we see Jesus crowned with glory and honour, but we must not forget that it was “because of the suffering of death” (R.V.) that He was crowned with glory and honour. So that before we see Him crowned with glory and honour we must see Him “a little lower than the angels,“ that is, as a man, for man was made a little lower than the angels. It is as “the Son of man” that we are to see Jesus. That is the name by which He always designated Himself. Christ has identified Himself with humanity, never to be separated. It was as the Son of man that lie was crucified and buried; it was the Son of man who arose from the grave and ascended to heaven and the Son of man, now at the right hand of the Father is He whom we expect to see coming in the clouds of heaven.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 515.3
“For Every Man.” -By the grace of God Jesus tasted death forevery man. It was not necessary that He should come to earth for His own sake. He died, not for His own sins,-for He “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21),-but for the sins of others. Whatever He suffered was for every man, and whatever He has gained is for every man, or, more strictly, for every one. Christ's sacrifice has to do with the individual, even as Christianity is an individual matter. “God so loved the world,“ it is true, but He loved them as individuals, because He gave His Son that whosoever believeth in Him should he saved.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 515.4
“Crowned with Glory and Honour.” -Note the suggestion. When God made man, He crowned him with glory and honour, and set him over the works of His hands. As already seen, the glory and the dominion were inseparable. Remember that it was man-mankind-that was thus crowned king over what God had made. But he lost the glory and the dominion. Is everything therefore eternally lost?—Not by any means. Now we see Jesus, not standing afar off, not standing where man was, and looking down at the place where he fell, and giving him counsel as to how to get up,-but we see Jesus right down where man fell, bearing him and his sin. And it is as the Son of man that we see Him crowned with glory and honour. Satan thought to overthrow God's work. He thought he would demonstrate that God could not rule His dominion through man, even when the man was free from all taint of sin and the curse; but Satan's onslaught simply gave God all opportunity to show His power in still greater measure, in that now He takes man in the lowest possible position, and exalts him to glory and honour.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 515.5
How Highly Exalted .—Because Jesus “emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,“ and became obedient unto death, even “the death of the cross;” therefore “God highly exalted Him, and gave unto Him the name which is above every name.” Philippians 2:7-9, R.V. Yea, when God raised Him from the dead, He “set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:40, 41. Think of the highest power, not merely in this world, but also in that which is to come, and Jesus as the Son of man is far above them all. Notice that God “hath put all things under His feet.” Verse 22. So as the Son of man He has all that Adam had. The second Adam has all the dominion that the first Adam had. But as where sin abounds God's grace superabounds, and Satan's attack called out a greater manifestation of God's love and power, so the second Adam, in that He began the struggle from a lower plane than that on which the first Adam stood, has won a much higher place. Christ, the Son of man, has the highest place in the universe, nest to God the Father. See 1 Corinthians 15:27, 28.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 515.6
And We Also .—When Christ was raised from the dead, He was raised to the right hand of God in the heavenly places, “far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion,“ “not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” “And you hath He quickened” made alive. Ephesians 3:1. For if we are “buried with Him in baptism,“ we are also “risen with Him through faith in the operation of God who hath raised Him from the dead.” Colossians 2:13. “So many of its as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death.” Romans 6:3. So being raised with Him, is to share the power and glory of His resurrection. So we read that God has quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ, “and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:5, 6. That is, as we see Christ in the flesh, suffering our curse, so we see Him crowned with glory, and ourselves with Him, provided we really see Him. For Christ said of His disciples, “The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them.” John 17:22. So as Christ is set over the world to come, we in Him also have in subjection to us the world to come. How much more, then, this present world. To be a Christian, although the poorest and most insignificant person in the world, is to occupy a position higher than any earthly king. The true Christian, no matter how humble and despised, is raised in Christ “far above all principality and power and might and dominion.” Earthly rulers can add nothing to him, they cannot confer any favours on him, for they have nothing that he needs, and therefore he has no requests to make of them. On the contrary lie is sent with a message to them, and can offer them riches of which the world has no knowledge, even “the unsearchable riches of Christ.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 516.1
“Rome on Protestant Inconsistency” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
Ever since the Reformation raised the question of the Bible vs. Tradition, Rome has charged Protestants with inconsistency in claiming to follow the Bible, while yet keeping Sunday, which both the Bible and history show to have been introduced after Bible times and to have no authority in the Word, of late this has been pressed by Roman controversialists with increasing frequency.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 518.1
The Catholic Mirror, the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, recently printed a sermon in which Mr. O'Keefe, a Catholic priest of prominence, carefully went through the texts referring to the Sabbath and the first day of the week, showing, as any reader who looks will see, that they give not a hint of Sunday sacredness nor-of Sunday observance, while on the contrary the Bible declares the seventh day to be the Sabbath, kept by Jesus as our example. He thus, in the name of Rome, calls Protestants to the bar for inconsistency, and we hope his words may have the effect, not of drawing any still further toward Rome, but of showing many that it is only the authority of the apostate Church of Rome, that was to “think” to change God's law (Daniel 7:25), that has set Sunday in the place of God's holy Sabbath, and deprived the world of the blessing of Sabbath rest in the Lord:—PTUK August 19, 1897, page 518.2
“Christ, as their Teacher, informs them, ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments,’ and the chief and most emphatic of these is, “Remember the Sabbath day.’PTUK August 19, 1897, page 518.3
“Viewing the situation from a commonsense standpoint, it is almost incredible that men endowed with average intelligence could consent to occupy before the world, for an hour, such a self-stultifying, self-contradictory position as this. Professing to adore God, professing to obey His commands, yet they stand to-day before heaven and earth, with His written Word clasped to their breast, and which they profess to obey, the most pronounced Sabbath-breakers on earth.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 518.4
“The Jew is rational, he obeys his teacher, the Bible, pointing to the command, Keep holy the Sabbath; the Catholic is ever rational, he obeys the teacher [the Church] appointed him by Christ; but the Protestant obeys neither God nor his teacher, the Bible. Thus I have in this sermon shown his utter abandonment of his professed teacher, the Bible, and his public apostasy from the positive injunctions of God, speaking to him through it; but he has descended to a still lower depth of degradation. Having abandoned the teachings of his Bible, and having poured out the vials of his apparently honest indignation against the Catholic Church, all his life, he is found to-day, after having consummated his apostasy from his own religious principles and teacher, knocking at the door of the Catholic Church to notify her that he is about to borrow her day; thus this traitor to his professed teacher and guide throws open the doors of his meeting-house on each Sunday with a notice overhead.
“‘OPEN EVERY ROMAN SABBATH,’
‘CLOSED EVERY BIBLE SABBATH.’”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 519.1
“Needy Mission Fields” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
The offerings in the Seventh day Adventist Sabbath schools in all countries are devoted to various mission fields. During the last six months of this year the contributions go to evangelistic work in countries along the Mediterranean. Brother H. P. Holser, general superintendent of our Society's work in these parts, says in a recent appeal:—PTUK August 19, 1897, page 519.2
“These fields, so long the centre of the learning, riches, and power of the world, are now among the poorest nations. But this need not discourage us about sending the message to them; on the contrary it should encourage us, for it is to this class especially that the closing message of the Gospel is to go. First, in the parable of the wedding feast, the guests, the professed friends, are invited; but when they prove indifferent to the invitation, the call goes to the poorest. The message has long been sounding among the professed friends of the Lord, until many are tired of hearing about it; now the tide is turning toward the heathen, the neglected and hitherto forgotten.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 519.3
“When these poor outcasts come in contact with the pure Gospel, and witness its saving power, they will heartily respond, and appreciate it the more for having been poor and oppressed. They have known little of the joys of true liberty. Many of them have been in a terrible servitude all their lives, under a sort of triple alliance of sin, an oppressive state, and a false religion. How sweet will be the joys of salvation and the perfect liberty of the Gospel to such! And it is the Lord's delight to free just such neglected, oppressed captives.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 519.4
“Wherever the message has been preached in Turkey, it has been appreciated as in few other fields. Those that have received it manifest a degree of joy and devotion not often seen in more favoured lands; the people are begotten unto a lively hope; they are indeed born again, manifesting a life. But the little which has been done in Turkey is only a beginning. One or two of brethren in Turkey have gone to Egypt, and are doing what they can to spread the truth. We trust that as a result of the Sabbath-school donations, more may soon be done in this field.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 519.5
“Birds as Surgeons” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
Last “twelfth” the shooting of grouse began, and thousands of well-dressed men (and women too) who consider themselves gentle and cultured, began the wholesale slaughter over the moors and hills of the North. The grouse sell in the markets, it is said, for about two shillings, but the cost of killing them is estimated at a guinea, so that it is a lordly “sport.” Saddest of all is the thought of the thousands of birds which will crawl away in the grass and thickets to die lingering and agonising deaths. Some time ago a Frenchman made some interesting observations before the Physical Society of Geneva, showing the surgical skill of birds in their efforts to repair the injuries wrought by men who consider it sport to kill them:—PTUK August 19, 1897, page 524.1
“It was established that the snipe had often been observed in repairing damages. With its beak and feathers it makes a very creditable dressing, and has even been known to secure a broken limb by means of a stout ligature. On one occasion M. Patio killed a snipe which had on its chest a large dressing composed of down from other parts of the body, and securely fixed to the body by coagulated blood. Twice he had snipe with interwoven feathers strapped on to the site of a fracture of one or other limb. The most interesting example was that of a snipe both of whose legs he had unfortunately broken by a misdirected shot. He only recovered it on the following day, when be found that the wounded bird had contrived to apply dressings and a sort of splint to both limbs. In carrying out this operation some feathers had become entangled round the beak, and, not being able to use its claws to get rid of them, the poor creature was almost dead from hunger when found.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 524.2
“‘Vi-Cocoa’” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
The proprietors of this article, so widely advertised, have been earnestly calling attention to the evil effects of tea and coffee-drinking. They have not overstated the evils of the habit, which have been growing so apparent that we notice more frequent warnings in medical journals and from physicians than formerly. The theine of tea and the caffeine of coffee are deadly poisons, and the tannin present specially in tea is also highly injurious. But this is what the proprietors of “Vi-Cocoa” would substitute for tea and coffee, according to their advertising circular:—PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.1
“Vi-Cocoa contains a large percentage of the wonderful African kola nut, which has extraordinary sustaining properties, enabling anyone to undergo prolonged muscular or mental exertion, without undue fatigue or after exhaustion.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.2
“Vi-Cocoa is a nourishing beverage, containing four great restorers of vitality, cocoa, kola, hops, and malt.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.3
“Kola contains more caffeine than coffee, more theobromine than cocoa, more theine than tea.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.4
Instead of restoring vitality the ingredients of the kola nut mentioned must necessarily sap the vitality of anyone habitually using them in any quantity. A medical writer records some experiments with theine, the active principle of tea, in which five grains of it killed a cat and also a rabbit. The manner of death was almost the same as in poisoning by strychnia. It is a symptom of a drug-ridden age that the demand for narcotics and stimulants grows continually, and great businesses are built up in supplying the craving for such drinks. No wonder nervous diseases are increasing.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.5
“Items of Interest” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
-More anarchists are coming to this country, owing to police activity in Spain and France. Others go to America.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.6
-Abu Hamed, the village just captured by the advance forces on the Nile, is above the cataracts, and as soon as the gunboats are brought up to this point, the ricer is open all the way to Berber and Khartoum. The Khalifa is said to be waiting in his capital with 350,000 warrior.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.7
-In the fighting on the Indian frontier, the losses of the tribes who have risen have been very heavy. Several thousand have been killed. One shot from a cannon is said to have killed eighty. The leader of the tribe; is a Mohammedan priest called the “Mad Mullah,“ and he is continually seeking to stir the tribesmen into fanatical fury against the infidel.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.8
-A London newspaper is carrying on a crusade against low-grade lamp oils, which have caused forty deaths in London during the year, and innumerable accidents. The low grade American oils which are not allowed to be sold in the United States are sent over to this country and sold freely, and it is reasonably urged that the law should be amended to prevent it.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.9
-7,300 inquest; were held by London coroners last year, 401 being cases of suicide. Accidents caused the death of 1,149 males and 614 females. Strangest of all in the record, is the list of 279 male and 272 female children suffocated in bed by overlaying. Probably in nearly all these cases the parent suffocated the child while in drunken stupor, unable to hear its cries or struggles.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.10
-The War Office have secured a bullet for the new Lee-Metford rifle which they regard as satisfactory. The first bullet tried did not properly disable the man who was shot but the new one is thought capable of doing him so much injury that he will not be able to go on fighting. The thing is to be tested on human bodies in the next expedition, whether in India or Africa. This is war.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.11
-The Carlists, who are partisans of Don Carlos, claimant to the Spanish throne, are said to be ready for revolt, and have 60,000 volunteers armed and drilled. Don Carlos says he is restrained by patriotism from acting before the Cuban difficulty is settled. That struggle continues with the advantages now rather on the side of the Cubans, and Spain's resources are drained. With revolting colonies, anarchists, bread and tax riots, an active republican patty, and a rival claimant to the throne, Spain is indeed in a sorry predicament.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.12
-The King of Benin, who has been hiding since the punitive force sent against him took his capital, has given himself up. He was so sure of his power that he murdered an expedition and defied the whole British Empire from his stockaded palace; but a few hundred soldier, have annexed his kingdom. Gradually the natives of Africa are learning that the machine gun and disciplined troops pay little attention to numbers. The white man is taking over the African wilds and the black man is powerless to turn him back. The Benin kingdom was probably the worst in all Africa, human sacrifices being the regular feature of its religious services.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 526.13
“Back Page” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
“The increasing frequency of labour disputes is,“ says the Textile Mercury, “a feature of social life to-day to which neither the practical man nor the student can blind himself.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.1
Of the 199 bishops who attended the Pan-Anglican Conference, recently closed, about 140, it is said, represented nonestablished churches, in communion with the Established Church.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.2
In the republic of Columbia, South America, where the Roman Church influences legislation, it is a misdemeanour for anyone in a newspaper, book or tract to say anything to “annoy” any archbishop or bishops in that which relates to their duties.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.3
He who accepts Jesus becomes one “of the household of God.” It is called “the whole family in heaven and earth.” With God as the Head of it, and angels as the members of it in heaven, not the highest of earth can add dignity or honour by becoming members of the family, and yet it is a fact that pride keeps many from joining it.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.4
The Spanish authorities say that they have evidence of a widespread international revival of anarchist activity. It is fearful to contemplate the ruin which it is possible for even a few maddened men to work in society. The spirit of violence and strife is all abroad, and the perilous times of the last days have come.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.5
At the root of anarchism is the contempt for law and order. And what is to be expected when the law of God, the supreme law of the universe is made void by society generally? Only disruption and ruin can follow. And yet instead of preaching the Gospel of Christ which puts the law of God in the heart of believers, and restrains the lawless, the religious world is coining more and more to reject God's law, and to make a religion of lawlessness toward God. To this pass the Sunday, received from the Papacy, “the mystery of lawlessness,“ is bringing the religious world. Let Christians awake and open their Bibles, and decide whether or not Jesus is a Saviour from sin, which is the “transgression of the law.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.6
The Christian very truly says. “More heroism is required to follow Christ in the whirl and temptation of social and business life than to wear hair shirts. What we want in place of the old martyrs is the spirit that can dare to apply the principles of our Lord's teachings to the actual conditions of the world, and take the risk of poverty and failure for His dear sake.”PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.7
No one can say that the doctrine of the Sabbath is a “new doctrine.” Jesus made it and blessed it at the creation, and patriarchs, prophets, and saints have kept it ever since. “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” Jeremiah 6:16. Too many make the same reply now.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.8
The Pan-Anglican Conference of Bishop expressed its tender regard for the Russian Church and the desire for closer union with it. These efforts on the part Anglican prelates to secure union with churches which are now persecuting Bible believers to the death, show very plainly what the temper of the Bishops is. The English Churchman says of these advances toward Russia:—PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.9
The approach to the Church of Russia is an offence to all lovers of the Bible and Christ liberty. The persecuted believers in that country cry aloud, but not one word of pity or compassion for them is uttered by the English Bishops. No; they join the persecutors.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.10
The Daily Mail's St. Petersburg correspondent says:—PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.11
In view of the growth of the Tolstoists, Stundists, and other Russian sects, the Holy Synod has convened a conference at Kasan, to discus the best means of checking the progress of these heterodox bodies. The Orthodox Church has fullest support of the authorities in this anti-sectarian campaign, since the members of most of these sects are considered politically dangerous. Special attention will be devoted at the Kasan conference to the Stundists and Tolstoists, who are the most dangerous from the orthodox point of view.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.12
This doubtless means harsher measures against all dissent. Even Protestants who love the Word and have nothing to with political agitation, and who could be driven into insurrection or disloyalty will feel the wrath of the ecclesiastics in power. But God's Word is not bound. It will run to and fro in Russia. The spread of our own Society's work in that country is an illustration of this truth, and the great Protestant Stundist movement under which all dissent is classed, will not stop because the dragon of persecution is wroth.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.13
“Capital and Labour” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
Capital and Labour .—“And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.” Ruth 2:4. There was no conflict there between capital and labour; nor will there ever be when such expressions can be used between employer and employés, not as a matter of form, but from the heart. When masters remember that they have a Master in heaven, who is no respecter of persons, and servants remember that they serve the Lord Christ, there can he no clashing. But only the Spirit of God in the heart can bring this about. Strikes, wars, and fightings will go on as long as evil desires reign in the human heart.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.14
“The Eastern Question” The Present Truth, 13, 33.
The Eastern Question .—The success of the Turkish arms in the Greek campaign seems to have fired the hearts of Moslems the world over. Several weeks ago the Standard called attention to a new thing in the history of Islamism, which, it suggested, might yet prove that the invention of quick means of communication was not an unmixed blessing. The lack of solidarity has been the weakness of Islam politically. But recently instructions have been sent out by cable and messengers to the Mohammedan lands,-Algiers and Egypt, across Persia and Afghanistan to India arid the East, calling upon all Moslems to assemble every Friday to hear what the priests might have to say. Following the exhibition of Turkish vitality in war, symptoms of unrest have been manifested in many widely separated districts, and the trouble along the North-western India frontier comes from the preaching of the priests and the idea of a “jehad,“ or “holy war” against the infidel. All the Moslem world of Asia is seething, and only trouble can come of it. Instead of delaying the settlement of the Eastern Question, the temporary success of Turkey is likely on to hasten the end. The Scripture shows plainly that round this problem the nations will be gathering as the coming of the Lord draws near, and the question will be settled only by the destruction of all this wicked warring world.PTUK August 19, 1897, page 528.15