Sunday, December 18, was what is called “Peace Sunday,” and we were greeted with the astonishing information in the papers that ministers were requested “to advocate the cause of peace from their pulpits,” on that day. If it had not been for that request we might have supposed that the ministers were always advocating the cause of peace. We are very certain that no minister has any business to advocate anything else at any time. He serves the Prince of peace, who Himself “is our peace,” and is sent to preach only the Gospel of peace. The word which he is to preach is the word that speaks peace. Whatever efforts are put forth in hopes of peace, aside from the simple Gospel, are sure to end in failure.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.1

“Afraid of Moses” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Afraid of Moses.-Most people seem to have a special antipathy to Moses, and to anything that pertains to him. Let anything be quoted from the first books of the Bible, and they will cry out, “Oh, that’s in the law of Moses,” or “Moses wrote that.” Well, what if he did? Does that diminish its value? Why not as well say, when the Psalms are quoted, “Oh, David wrote that,” or object to other prophecies because Isaiah or Jeremiah wrote them? Why is there not as much reason in objecting to things quoted from the epistles of the New Testament, because they were written by Paul, or Peter, or James, or John? Was Moses inferior to these men? Was he less favoured of God? Hear what the Lord said, “If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known to him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold.” Numbers 12:8. “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” Deuteronomy 34:10. Christ testified that to disbelieve Moses was to disbelieve in Him. See John 5:46, 47. Moses wrote of Christ. He wrote of the sacrifice of Christ, justification through faith in His blood, of the coming of the Lord, of the resurrection of the dead, of the eternal life, and of the glorious reign of the saints and the kingdom of God, let us beware lest in speaking disparagingly of Moses, we be found rejecting the Master, of whom he testified, and whose reproach he suffered.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.2

“Christ the Life-Giver” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The one object for which the Lord Jesus came to this earth was to bring life to lost mankind. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.” John 6:33. And again Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.3

“Why,” says one, “I thought that He came to save people from sin.” So He did. The words of the angel were, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15. And yet it is true that the sole purpose for which He came was to save people from death.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.4

How is this? The apostle tells us: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12. Sin brought death into the world. It is not merely that death followed in the train of sin, but that sin is itself death. “The sting of death is sin.” 1 Corinthians 15:56. “To be carnally minded is death.” Romans 8:6. Sin came in with death, because sin always carries death with it. Sin itself is nothing but a “body of death.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.5

Therefore it is that Christ gives life by cleansing from sin. He saves from death by giving life, and so He saves from sin by giving righteousness. And both are one and the same act. For as sin is death, so is righteousness life. “To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:6. Christ came to give life, not merely as a consequence of righteousness that men might attain to, but He came to give life in righteousness. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Romans 5:10. “Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Verse 18.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.6

In Christ there is life. John 1:4. He is “our life.” Colossians 3:4. Outside of Him there is no life. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:12. Nay, more, “he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” John 3:36. It seems strange that any who profess to honour the Lord Jesus Christ should, by claiming that men have life in themselves, frustrate the grace of God in giving His Son that they might have life.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.7

The origin of the doctrine that men have life in themselves, was in the idea that they can of themselves do acts of righteousness. This is shown by the Bible. The Pharisees “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” Their very name signified that they were separate from the rest of the people, because they thought themselves more holy. And of all the Jews it was true that they rested in the law. It was to them that Jesus said, “Ye search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and these are they that bear witness of Me; and ye will not come to Me, that ye may have life.” John 5:39, 40, R.V. And why would they not come to Christ for life? Was it because they did not want life?-Not by any means, because they thought that they had it themselves. They thought that they of themselves kept all the commandments of God, and of course if that were true, they had no need of anything from any one else.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 401.8

Now almost all who profess belief in Christ acknowledge that righteousness can come only from Him. This is true. And why?-Simply because the life of Christ is the only life ever lived on this earth that was free from sin. No other righteous life ever appeared on earth, and no other than He ever could live a life of righteousness. Moreover, there is no righteousness in the universe except the righteousness of God in Christ. Among all the hosts of the redeemed there will be only one righteousness. It will be the righteousness of one, and not of many, that will be manifested in heaven. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.1

What does this show?-Simply this, that the life of Christ will be manifested in everyone who is saved. The life of Jesus manifested in mortal flesh is the mystery of God. Whoever has that life has righteousness; and whoever has righteousness has life. So it is that they who do not have Christ have no life. The sting of death is in them, and if they die in their sins, there is no hope of life for them. Eternal death will be their portion.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.2

We read that Christ “hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:10. He who seeks for life elsewhere than in the Gospel, will not find it. As we have seen, this life is manifested in mortal flesh. That is a mystery which we may know but cannot understand. It is the life of Christ, the same life which He lived in Judea and Galilee, and the same life which He now lives in heaven. It is that life which triumphed over death and the grave. It is that life which He could give up, and still retain. When He lay in the grave, it was impossible that He should be held by death (Acts 2:24), because there was no unrighteousness in Him. This life is ours by faith. He who dies having kept the faith, dies in the possession of that life, and it is impossible for the grave to hold Him as it was for it to hold Christ. That life is “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3), and therefore Satan cannot touch it. Therefore when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall the saints appear with Him in glory.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.3

At that time immortality will be conferred. “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, R.V. Then will the life of Christ be manifested in immortal flesh. But that mystery is but the continuation of the present mystery of the Gospel,-the life of Christ manifest in mortal flesh, as a life of righteousness.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.4

“The Power of the Resurrection” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

From the above brief statements of the Scripture, it will be seen that the power by which the dead will be raised incorruptible at the coming of Christ, is identical with the power by which they are converted from sin. Whoever therefore receives the life of God in Christ, as salvation from sin, experiences the power of the resurrection. See Philippians 3:10. This is further shown in the epistle to the Ephesians. The prayer of the apostle is that God will give unto was “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:17-20. We are to know the working of the same power that raised Christ from the dead. How this is we learn from the opening of the next chapter.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.5

“And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; ... but God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:1-6. The same thing is stated in Colossians 2:10-14:-PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.6

“And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power; in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation [working] of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened [made alive] together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.7

The power which thus raises the dead to life, is the word of God, both in the raising of those who are dead in sins, and in the resurrection of the dead at the coming of the Lord. The word of the Lord is alive (Hebrews 4:12), it is life itself (John 6:63), and it has power to give life. David said, “This is my comfort in my affliction; for Thy word hath quickened me.” Psalm 119:50. And Christ said, “Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and it shall come forth.” John 5:28, 29. And just before He said, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.8

Note the wonderful power of that word. The dead shall hear it, and shall live as a consequence of hearing it. So instantaneous is its action that its first sound gives life to the dead, so that they hear the voice which wakes them from the dead. And this “word of life” is that which is spoken to every one who believes, and which they are to hold forth in their lives.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.9

The raising of the son of the widow of Nain, and of the daughter of Jairus, are instances of the life-giving power of the word of Christ. To the first Jesus said, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.” Luke 7:15. To the other He said, “Maid, Arise.” Luke 8:54. In both instances life was instantaneous. The signs were done that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing we might have life through His name. John 20:31. They were done that we might see how easily Jesus can raise us from the deadness of sin to the life of righteousness.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.10

But some will say that theirs is no ordinary case. They are worse than others, and while they can believe that Jesus might save others who are not so sinful, they think that He cannot save them. They forget that sin is death, whether it be great or small, and that to raise one dead person is just the same as to raise another. In every case it is by the giving of His own life. It is no more difficult for the Lord to give His life to a very wicked person than it is to give it to one who has not sinned so greatly. But He has given us proof of this as well.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.11

We have seen how easily Jesus raised the ruler’s daughter and the son of the widow of Nain. They had been dead but a short time. The ruler’s daughter died while Jesus was on the way to heal her and could have been dead but a few moments when He arrived. The breath had but just left the body. But now look at the case of Lazarus. He had been dead for days, and had begun to decay. Yet it took no more words from the Lord to bring him from the tomb than it did to raise the others. Jesus said, “Lazarus, come forth,” and instantly Lazarus came forth alive. So there is no opportunity for one to say that God cannot save any sinner.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 402.12

He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him, because He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25. His life is everlasting and without limit. It is a light, which is not diminished by shining. He can give life to the whole world, and still have as much left as at the first.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.1

The knowledge and the actual appropriation of this is the hope of the resurrection. In that day those who have been dead for thousands of years will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will come forth. But the power that will bring them forth is the very same power that now saves men from the corruption of sin. Thus His Divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and Godliness.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.2

“Knowing the Truth” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The blessedness of the religion of Christ is the positiveness of the knowledge which it gives. There is no conjecture, no uncertainty, but full assurance. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31, 32. Some people think that it is a presumption for anyone to say that he knows the truth. They may allow the claim in a general way, but when it comes to a particular thing, they think that the most that any one can safely say is that he thinks he knows. But the Lord has not left us to any such uncertainty as that. He wants a man to know the truth, and to know that he knows it.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.3

Who will know? Those who are humble, and submissive to His will. Jesus said, “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” John 7:17. “By faith we understand.” Hebrews 11:3. It is the Spirit of God that gives certainty in knowledge. Jesus said, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He shall guide you into all the truth; for He shall not speak from Himself; but what things soever He shall hear, these shall He speak; and He shall declare unto you the things that are to come.” John 16:13.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.4

Again, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things which are freely given to us of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12. The promise to the people of God is, “They shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” Jeremiah 31:34. And that this knowledge is to be obtained in this life is evident from the words of the apostle, “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things.” “But the anointing which ye have of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.” 1 John 2:20, 27.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.5

All Christians are to be the light of the world. This they are to be not alone by their lives, but by their word; for even though it may not be the lot of many to teach publicly, they are to be ready to give an answer to every man that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them, with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15. Now positive knowledge is an absolute necessity on the part of everyone who teaches. He who does not know has no right to attempt to teach. It is not enough for one to think that he knows; he must know that he knows, or else keep silence. Suppose I meet a man on the road, and he ask me the way to a neighbouring village. I am not sure of the way, but I do not like to appear ignorant, and so I point to the east. The man starts in that direction, but it happens that the village lies to the west. I have started him on the wrong road. If I did not know, it was my duty to tell him so, and he could have asked another man.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.6

It will readily be seen that in such a case positive knowledge is necessary. How much more so must it be when the case is one of eternal life or death? For a professed Christian not to know for a certainty what he believes is a sin. If he does know he is but a false light, leading people to destruction, whither he himself must also go. If the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into the ditch.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.7

But the positive knowledge of these things that have been already learned, is not all that is embraced in knowing the truth. He who knows the truth indeed, has the Spirit of truth, and therefore he recognizes truth when he sees it, although it may be a point that has never before been brought to his attention. Jesus says, “My sheep know My voice.” Truth is the voice of Christ. He who knows the truth will not have to stand hesitating and doubting and arguing a long time before he knows whether or not to believe the point that is presented to him for the first time. He knows the truth, and so as soon as the point is presented, he knows if it is true, or if it is error. He may not at once perceive all that there is in it, either of truth or error, but he knows if it is truth.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.8

The certainly is not the special privilege of a few, but it is given to all who know the Lord, for He is the truth. He who has it not may know that there is a great deal that he lacks. But he need not go along in that uncertainty, for the promise is, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.” James 1:5.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 403.9

“Obstacles to the Gospel” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

There are very many good people who are solicitous for the progress of the Gospel, and who show their interest by attempts to remove the “obstacles that are in the way of its progress.” One great obstacle is intemperance, and therefore these good people are using all the means in their power to make people temperate, so that the Gospel may have a fair chance with them. Now there is not the least question that intemperance is a gigantic evil, but it is not the only evil in the world. It is true that no drunkard shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but it is just as true that no covetous man, no railer, no blasphemer, no deceiver, nor an impure person, no envious person, no thinker of evil, shall have any inheritance therein. Impatience will shut a person out of heaven as surely as intemperance, and it is very certain that there are many more impatient people than there are drunkards. Pride is an abomination in the sight of the Lord, and will shut one out of heaven as surely as intemperance, and while the number of drinkers is legion, the number of those who are filled with pride is vastly greater. These are obstacles to the spread of the Gospel, as well as is intemperance.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 406.1

“But it is easier to get rid of these things than it is to get rid of intemperance.” Then why are they not diminishing? It is very common to hear of the ineffectual attempts of the drunkard to overcome his appetite for drink. Broken temperance pledges are so numerous that some people are even beginning to have doubts about the power of the pledge to save a man. The idea quite generally obtains that there is a peculiar untrustworthiness about a drunkard. It is thought that his word is not so good as that of other men. Suppose the matter be tested. Let it become as popular to sign pledges to abstain from impatient speech, from talking about one’s neighbours, or from thinking evil, and it would be seen that the promises of other people besides the drunkards are not good for much. There would be such a host of broken pledges as was never dreamed of in all the efforts to reclaim drunkards.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 406.2

It is also quite common to speak of the slavery of drink. The drunkard is pitied or despised as a slave, by those who never in their lives had any desire to use strong drink, but who had been bound as with fetters of steel by pride, selfishness, lust, impatience, covetousness, deceit, envy, evil speaking, or evil thinking. These people will make the same excuses for themselves that the drunkard does. They have tried many times to overcome their evil habits, but in vain. They have never put a pledge upon paper, but they have promised themselves and others times without number, that they will reform. Yet they never have. And so they have fallen back upon the old excuse that some allowance must be made for their peculiar natures. No; all the slaves are not found in the public-houses.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 406.3

We are not by any means seeking to belittle the evil of intemperance. But we are trying to help somebody to look at things with a better sense of their proportion. It seems as though anyone who stops to think over the matter will be convinced that it is just as easy for the drunkard to stop his drinking as it is for the covetous man to overcome his love for money, or for the impatient man to master his temper. Therefore these, and other things that have been mentioned, are as much obstacles in the way of the Gospel as intemperance is.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 406.4

The trouble is that some things show off more than others, and look worse. Fashion, which in such matters is denominated “public sentiment,” regard some kinds of sin as much worse than others. A man could not be admitted into the “best society” if he were a common drunkard, whereas impatience at home and with his employés, such love of money as would lead him through his agent to win the last penny from a widow; ambition, lust, and pride, would none of them affect his standing in the least. Indeed, pride is quite generally counted as a virtue, although there is no other sin that finds such hearty condemnation in the Bible. A person may even be a church member “in good and regular standing,” who is impatient, covetous, lustful, envious, given somewhat to gossip, and very much to evil thinking; but not if he is a drunkard, because drunkenness “brings a reproach upon the church.” We do not say this to apologize for the drunkard, but to set sharply before the reader the unequal way which people have at looking at things.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 406.5

Well, what shall be done? How shall all these obstacles be removed from the way of the Gospel? Just give the Gospel a chance, and it will show you how to remove obstacles. Quit trying to remove obstacles from the way of the Gospel, and turn your attention to the Gospel itself. Preach the Word without apology or compromise, and see what it can do. The only thing that the Gospel is in the world for us is to remove obstacles. Drunkenness is a sin, just the same as hosts of other things, and the Gospel is for the purpose of saving men from sin. Moreover, it is the power of God unto salvation. And it does thorough work upon a man. It saves him from intemperance, but it does more. It makes him an entirely new man. It does not save him from drinking habits, to let him go to perdition through pride. It makes him complete, after the image of Him who created him.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 407.1

Christ is able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him. There is no soul so low that Christ will not stop to touch him, and He is able to raise up every one whom He reaches. Then let Him work. Hold Him up before the world. Do not think to accomplish with the power of man, that which can be accomplished only with the power of God. Remember that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual, and that they are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 407.2

Therefore let no one who loves his fellow-men, and who would do them good, waste his time in anything less than making known to them “the riches of the glory of this mystery,” which is “Christ in you the hope of glory,” and let us preach Him, “warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Colossians 1:27, 28.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 407.3

“Filled with Knowledge” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Filled with Knowledge.-The apostle Paul’s prayer for the Colossians, and for us as well, was that they might be filled with the knowledge of the will of God, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Colossians 1:9. It is a wonderful prayer, but it was written by inspiration, and therefore it is possible for one to have that amount of knowledge. How many mistakes it would save us. How may we acquire it? Well, one of the first requisites is patience. We are usually in too great a hurry to learn from the Lord. It takes a little time to go and ask the Lord for wisdom, or if we do go and ask, it takes a little time for us to receive it, sometimes. The Lord does not always tell us things in a minute. But we must have the thing settled at once, as though we do not wait for the wisdom that comes from above, and which would guide us right, but we dash ahead, acting, as we say, “according to the best light that we have.” But as that “light” is what we derived from ourselves, it is only darkness. God has promised wisdom to all who ask Him. If we come to a difficult place, and the matter seems urgent, and we ask the Lord for wisdom and do not see the answer at once, that should be an indication that the Lord is not in so great a hurry as we are. He sees that it will be better for us to wait awhile. If we could but learn how to “wait on the Lord,” we should know much more of His will.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 407.4

Increasing in Knowledge.-Although we may be filled with the knowledge of the will of God, that does not mean that there will ever come a time when we may not learn more. In the very next verse to the one in which the apostle prays that we may be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” He also prays that we may “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, and being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:9, 10. How can we be filled with knowledge, and at the same time be increasing in knowledge. We could not, if it were our own wisdom with which we were filled. When one is filled with his own wisdom, that effectually shuts him off from learning anymore. But the wisdom of God, like His love, “is broader than the measure of man’s mind.” While a man may be filled with that wisdom, he never exhausts the measure of it. He may know nothing but the wisdom of God, but yet there will be infinite depths of Divine wisdom of which he is ignorant. When God gave wisdom and understanding to Solomon, He also gave him largeness of heart. The mind will expand, as it receives the wisdom that comes from God, so it can increase in knowledge. This keeps the man whom God instructs from becoming vain and haughty. The balance keeps even all the time. He who has become acquainted with God, knows that to all the eternity He will be infinitely inferior to God, and so the knowledge of God produces humility.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 407.5

“Are You Happy?” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

Another beautiful new year has come. Brothers and sisters, schoolmates and friends have wished you a “Happy New Year.” But I want you just to stop a minute and think, while I ask you a question, “Are you happy fully happy?” Perhaps you will know better what I mean if I tell you about eight gentleman who once were asked that same question.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.1

They were old friends travelling together. Suddenly they asked one another, “Are you happy-fully happy?”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.2

The banker was the first to reply. He said: “I have earned a large fortune. I have all the money that I possibly can need during my whole lifetime. I have a charming family. My wife and children do all that they possibly can to make home pleasant for me. Yet I am not happy. There is one thing which troubles me so much that it poisons all my joy; that one thing is the thought that all these goods, these riches, this dear family, are not lasting and that soon very I shall lose them for ever.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.3

Then colonel, who had been the commander of many soldiers said: “I have known the joys of a soldier, and the triumphs of war. How proud I have felt, when, at the head of my soldiers, I have overcome the enemy; or when, after the victory, I saw my name honourably mentioned by the commander-in-chief. But one day, seeing an officer lying on the battle-field dying, I tried to lift him up. ‘Thank you,’ said the dying one, ‘but it is too late! We must all die: think about it!’ And with his last breath, he said again, ‘We must all die!’ I never, never can forget it. These terrible words follow me day and night I have some moments of joy; but, alas! my friends, I am not fully happy.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.4

The next gentleman who answered the question was a very learned man who had done business for his country among other nations. He said: “Honours have been heaped upon me. Public gratitude has met me at every step. Yet I want something I know not what; my heart is empty. All my honours do not cure the secret longings of my heart.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.5

The poet said: “Even in my youth I had a wonderful gift for writing poetry. It was received with world-wide praise. Very many told me that my glory was immortal. But what is such an immortality? The flattery of men does not satisfy me. I desire a better immortality. And as I have no surety of ever receiving that, I am not fully happy.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.6

The man of the world said: “I have no such bitter complaints to make. It is true I feel rather weary sometimes, but what of that? I try still to be gay. I go to the theatre, to balls, to concerts, and to all sorts of amusements.” “But,” said one of his friends, “when old age, sickness, and poverty come upon you, what will become of your amusements?” “Then,” replied the worlding, “I suppose I shall have to give them up.” “But,” continued his friend, “when you think that you may sometimes lose your pleasures, are you fully happy?” “No,” replied the man of the world, in a low tone, “I am not truly happy.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.7

The old lawyer said: “I am now seventy years old. I have health, fortune, a good name, and a pleasant home. I used to fret and look anxiously forward to this time of leisure and rest. But now that I have it, the hours seem too long. I get tired of my newspapers and books, and do not know what to do with myself. I am not fully happy.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.8

Then the gentlemen who professed to be a Christian, but really was not, said, “I believe in God. Every day I read my Bible, and pray. On the Sabbath my place is never empty in the house of God. But my conscience is not easy; I do not get any peace and happiness out of it. Death, which is stealing on, fills me with fright. I always see in God a severe and angry Judge; and the thought of appearing before Him with my many sins, fills me with dread. No, I am not happy at all.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.9

The eighth gentleman was a true Christian physician. He said: “My dear to friends, I am not surprised to hear you say what you do. The Bible teaches, and we have proved it true, that neither money, glory, honours, knowledge, or anything else in this world, can make us fully happy. God has created us for Himself; and, so long as we do not give ourselves to Him, we are filled with uneasiness and longing. In my youth I did not know how to be a Christian, and although I did well in my business, I tasted no happiness. But, by the goodness of God, I have been shown a better way. The reading of the Bible showed me that I was a sinner, and that unless I received help, I certainly would be lost. Then I read about how Christ came and suffered and died to be my Saviour. Since then I have turned my eyes to Him, in sorrow for the sins that caused Him to suffer. I believed that He would forgive, because He said so. And He has washed my sins all away, and has given me peace and joy more than words can tell. I trust Jesus, take Him for my best Friend, and with the strength He gives me, try daily to live as He would if He were in my place.” “You, then, are fully happy?” Said one of the company. “Yes, my friend, I trust in Him who gave His own Son that I might be happy in this world and in the world to come.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.10

Now, my dear child, are you fully happy? The Bible alone points out the way to true happiness. Do you read your Bible? Have you given yourself to Jesus? Are you every day trying to be like Him? Do you earnestly ask Him to help you? and do you believe that He does? If so, you then have the happiness which man cannot give, and man cannot take away. It begins on this earth, and is perfected on the new earth, where there is fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.11

Please learn this little verse, and repeat it every day during the new year: “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” Psalm 146:5.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 413.12

“Grooming” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

A thorough and faithful use of the brush is the best medicine for the hair, always remembering that it is the hair, not the scalp, which is to receive the vigorous treatment. The brush should be immediately clean, with fine soft bristles that go through the hair, taking with them every particle of dust.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.1

“Interesting Items” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

-A fire in a colliery near Wigan, December 15, resulted in the loss of about twenty lives.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.2

-California has the largest fig orchards in the world. It is said occupy 460 acres of land.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.3

-No less than sixty tons of turkeys from Canada were landed from one steamer last week.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.4

-More land lies non-productive in Great Britain and Ireland than is comprised in the entire kingdom of Belgium.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.5

-The Swedish Government intends to levy a tax on malt in order to meet the increased expenditure for military purposes.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.6

-During the last Parliament 12,261 petitions, with 1,421,800 signatures were presented in favour of Sunday closing.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.7

-A rapid-firing gun recently tested at New Haven, U.S.A., by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, fired 900 shots a minute. Richard Owen, the anatomist and zoologist, died at his residence in Surrey, December 18, at the age of eighty-eight.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.8

-At the last meeting of Great Wakering School Board it was decided that the Apostles’ Creed should not be taught in the Board schools.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.9

-It is said that the police have discovered a plot to poison in a wholesale manner the non-union workmen at the Homestead Mills, in Pennsylvania.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.10

-The Lutheran Church is making active efforts to bring all the German sectaries in the South of Russia within its fold. As the Lutheran Church is recognized by the Russian Government, it has official support in the proselyting campaign.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.11

-According to official statistics just issued there have been since the outbreak of the cholera epidemic 550,000 cases in the whole of Russia, of which 200,000 proved fatal.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.12

-Since 1887 upwards of 300 Salvation Army officers have been landed in India, and of these 100 have returned home or join other societies, and 20 have died in the work.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.13

-Last month 12,741 tons of fish were delivered at Billingsgate Market, and of this quantity the officers of the Fishmongers’ Company condemned as unfit for food 178 tons.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.14

-A Japanese paper discusses the question of the degeneration a Buddhist priests. It does not hesitate to denounce the whole order of priesthood as being sunk in the depths of immoralities.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.15

-The roof of Arundel church is so honeycombed by the ravages of an insect as to be dangerous, and will have to be removed. The church, one of the finest in Sussex, dates back to the year 1380.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.16

-Thousands of Coreans it is reported, have become believers in Christ without ever having seen or heard a missionary. This is the fruit of the circulation of copies of the New Testament by a Scottish missionary in Manchuria.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.17

-A Polish nobleman, who some years ago had his estates confiscated and was himself exiled for participation in rebellion, has recently had his estates restored to him. At the time of his restoration to favour at home, he was an obscure resident of Cleveland, Ohio. His property in Poland is valued at about $2,700,000.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.18

-The Chronicle’s Moscow correspondent declares that as a result of the persecution of Jews in Russia, 18,000 of them have embraced the “Orthodox faith” during the past two years. It is also stated that many Baptist and Stundists have renounced their “heresy” as the easiest way to escape cruel persecutions.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.19

-A census of church attendance has just been taken in Birmingham, by which it appears that with a population of 429,000, the total church accommodation is 160,000, and the average attendance at morning and evening service on Sunday is 81,960. There is evidently plenty of room there for gospel missionary work.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.20

-The committee that was appointed at “General” Booth’s request, to investigate the charges of fraud and misappropriation that had been made against his “Darkest England” scheme, has reported, fully acquitting the “General,” and stating that all the money subscribed to the scheme has been honestly spent in rescue work.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.21

-Of the fifty-one provinces of Russia formerly affected by the cholera fifteen are now completely free, but the disease continues to claim a considerable number of victims in the provinces of Podolia (864 during last week), Kiev (508), Bessarabia (498), Tamboff (297), Kherson (205), Volhynia (70), Saratoff (50), and Samara (35). A certain number of cases are still reported weekly from twenty-nine other provinces.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.22

-The highest recorded speed now made by a railway engine has just been reported from the United States, where, on the line of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway-the New York division-a mile was covered in 37 seconds, or at the rate of 971/4 miles an hour. Nor was this one mile run the only remarkable part of the performance, for the next mile was made in 38 seconds, the third in 39, the fourth in 40, fifth in 41; five consecutive miles were later on made in 205 seconds, an average of 87.8 miles an hour. The train was a regular express, consisting of ordinary and Pullman carriages. No special preparation had been made for the run, and it was achieved in face of a heavy wind. The prophecy of 100 miles an hour, made a few years ago, and laughed at by the world at large, may yet come within the range of “practical railroading.”-Chronicle.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 414.23

“Back Page” The Present Truth 8, 26.

EJW

E. J. Waggoner

The Echo sets off the most characteristic fashion of modern “society” in the following manner: “The British fashion of meeting for conversational purposes only when the carcases of dead animals and birds, or portions of them, are also present, deters all but the rich from the charms of society.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.1

At the Yorkshire Assizes, in summing up the evidence in the trial of Frederick Claude Vernon Harcourt for killing a man in a quarrel arising out of a dispute regarding the relative merits of the rival candidates at the Sheffield election, the judge observed: “I shall tell the jury that if one man calls another a liar, I think that a slight blow in retaliation is justifiable.” He added, “this may be new law, but it is common sense.” It is indeed new law. Unfortunately it is not altogether a new thing for judges to imagine that it is within their sphere to make law.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.2

The Lower House of the Danish Parliament has adopted the following resolution:-PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.3

“The Folkething hereby accepts the principle of Permanent Arbitration Treaties, and requests the Government to accept the invitation conveyed in the Note of the United States of America, dated the 23rd of October, 1890.” “The Folkething further invites the Government to undertake the conclusion of Permanent Arbitration Treaties with other States, and more especially to enter into communication with the other Scandinavian kingdoms for the same purposes.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.4

It is predicted that “this resolution of the Danish House of Commons will be regarded by all future generations as an historical event of the highest importance, and as a great step forward in the rule of Law, in place of that of Force, in international affairs.”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.5

Faith is not folly. It is not presumption. It is simple trust in the plain word of God. But the man in Oklahoma, U.S.A., who heard a preacher say that if a man had sufficient faith he might pick up a rattlesnake, and it would not bite him, and who, to test the matter went out and picked one up, and died from the bite that the snake inflicted, was both foolish and presumptuous. There was no faith in the act, because God had not told him to pick the snake up. Faith does not make experiments. If God sends a man to do a work which takes in throughout a region infested with snakes, then he can go with confidence that the word that sent him to be worked will keep him until the work is done, if he does not turn aside from the path marked out by the word.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.6

The Gentlewoman is dealing with “The Sin and Scandal of Tight Lacing,” and gives some extracts from letters received from some of the poor, deluded devotees of the goddess “Fashion.” Following are two of the extracts:-PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.7

“I want to ask your advice about the easiest way to reduce the size of my waist. I live with a relative who insists that I must reduce my waist to seventeen inches, as she says ‘No man will marry a girl unless she looks smart.’ What would be the best sort of corsets, or would it be a good thing to wear a leather belt strapped on underneath them; or would it be best to sleep in a corset and tighten it gradually day by day?” “Some weeks ago, for a very great dinner party, I was laced and squeezed in till I measured only sixteen inches, and everyone complimented me on my beautiful creamy whiteness, like a statue. I could not eat anything, and the pain was very considerable, but every other girl in the room was flushed and hot whilst I remained cool. Do you think a permanent steel belt would keep my complexion always like this?”PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.8

There is no doubt but a “permanent steal belt” would impart a “whiteness like a statute,” to the complexion; but it could not keep it “always like this,” because dead bodies usually decompose in a short time. It is just possible that the creatures who wrote the letters from which the above extracts were taken fancy that they are the products of the “highest type of civilization.” May the savages of Africa be saved from all such civilization.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.9

The fact that three countries, the United States, Switzerland, and Denmark, have declared in favour of arbitration, instead of war, in the settlement of international difficulties, is looked upon as quite an important step toward the times when “many people” shall go and say: “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Isaiah 2:2, 3.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.10

That just before the great day of the Lord men will say this, and will fondly think that universal peace has come, is evident from the second chapter of Isaiah. It is when men are saying “Peace and safety,” that sudden destruction will come upon them, so that they cannot escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 3. Doubtless many people think that these propositions for arbitration are evidences of the growing Christian sentiment of the nations. The result as noted in the Scriptures shows that is not. Indeed, the very proposition showed that there is no Christianity in it. Christianity does not resist evil done to it. A Christian will not fight whether anyone else does or not. But these nations have shown no disposition to disband their armies. They are making war preparations the same as before. They simply say to other nations, “we won’t fight if you will.” Self-interest, and not Christianity, is prompting these peace propositions.PTUK December 29, 1892, page 416.11

December 20, 1892