April 22, 1889

“Front Page” The Signs of the Times, 15, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

The California Christian Advocate is authority for the statement “that at some church socials in this State wine is used by young men and women until they are too drunk to walk home.” The Prohibitionist thinks that the devil has a pretty heavy mortgage on such churches.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.27

A leading religious paper refers to the fact that there are in the so-called evangelical churches of this country 12,132,651 communicants, as something that should fill every heart with gratitude. But is there not another side to the question, namely, the fact that a very large proportion of those communicants are Christians only in name?SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.28

The fact that police captains and police generally are subsidized by the saloons is offered by a correspondent of the Sabbath Recorder as a solution to the question as to why a Jew is fined $5.00 in New York for selling a piece of meat on Sunday, while a saloon keeper who sells liquor all day Sunday gets off for nothing. The solution is reasonable.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.29

Those who die the second death, die not because of the individual sins they commit, but because their probation passes with their sinful nature unchanged. Whether they commit ten sins or ten thousand, if their probation closes while unregenerate they die just the same. The tribulation and anguish, however, will be greater to the one than to the other, but death will come alike to all; for “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;” therefore all are in a state of condemnation. Their very nature is subject to death, in harmony with the divine original sentence. The blessed boon and privilege of life in and through the gospel of Christ is set before them. They are not condemned because they reject the gospel; for they are condemned before. Rejecting the gospel does not condemn men, it only leaves them in condemnation. “He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.30

The Chinese Recorder for January, 1889, gives the following statistics of missions in China: “The total of foreign missionaries-men, wives, and unmarried women-is 1,123, an increase of 93; native ordained ministers, 162; and ordained native helpers, 1,278; communicants, 34,555, an increase of 2,265; pupils in schools, 14,817, an increase of 1,140; contributions by native churches, $44,173, an increase of $5,936.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.31

Some time since Gov. Larrabee addressed to all the district and superior judges of Iowa a circular inquiring in regard to the working of the prohibitory law of that State, and asking for suggestions concerning it. Out of forty judges who replied, twenty-nine approved the law, eight had not the courage of their convictions, and so expressed no opinion, while three expressed themselves in favor of the repeal of the law.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.32

“The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7. But when the sinner enters into covenant relation with God, and submits, according to the terms of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) to have the law written upon his heart, he is transformed by the renewing of his mind (Romans 12:2); he becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17), and he can say with the psalmist: “I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right.” And, “My tongue shall speak of thy word; for all thy commandments are righteousness.” Psalm 119:127, 128, 172.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.33

Italy’s penal code as it now stands is far from pleasing to the friends of temporal power for the Pope. According to its provisions it is a misdemeanor for the Roman Catholic clergy to advocate either in or out of the pulpit the restoration of temporal power. The state of affairs is not at all to the liking of the ambitious Leo; indeed, the situation is well-nigh unendurable to him, and it is stated that he will shortly formally appeal to the powers of Europe to interfere in behalf of his temporal sovereignty. It seems scarcely probable that such an appeal would be heeded just at present, but it is not difficult to imagine a state of affairs which would make a majority of the great powers willing to favor the Pope in return for such favors as the Papacy could really bestow upon them.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.34

Such interference on the part of some of the powers is no more improbable now than was the repeal of the May laws by Germany only a few months before they were wiped from the statute book of that empire in deference to the wishes of Leo XIII.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.35

“Without Excuse. Romans 1:18-20” The Signs of the Times, 15, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

Romans 1:18-20.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.36

We have already seen how men “hold the truth in unrighteousness.” By their own wicked lives they hinder the progress of the truth in themselves and others. For their unrighteousness the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against them. That God will punish the ungodly is as evident from Scripture as that there is a God. “The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.” Nahum 1:2, 3.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.37

But God does nothing rashly. He will not punish men for the commission of deeds which they had no means of knowing were wrong. He is righteous, and never will this be more manifest than when his judgments shall have been executed upon the heads of the wicked. Then will the redeemed be constrained to say: “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15:3, 4.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.38

That God is righteous in executing judgment upon the ungodly, is shown by the apostle in the statement that he has revealed himself to all men. This has been done independently of written revelation, so that none can make lack of education an excuse of not knowing God. In nature God is seen. Romans 1:20 may be paraphrased thus, to make the meaning more apparent: “For ever since the creation of the earth, the invisible things of God, that is, his eternal power and Godhead, are clearly manifest, being revealed in the things which he has made; so that men who do not acknowledge him are without excuse.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.39

The psalmist says: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, without these their voice is heard.” Psalm 19:1-3, margin. Here is evidence that is open to everybody. “There is no speech nor language,” therefore their silent yet powerful testimony is borne alike to all nations. Even the poor IndianSITI April 22, 1889, page 231.40

“Sees God in clouds and hears him in the wind.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.41

Everybody who sees the heavens must know that they were created by some power, and that that power must be greater and more glorious than the things created, so that the possession of the natural senses should be sufficient to show anyone the folly of worshiping inanimate nature.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.42

In the forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah the prophet shows the folly and blindness of those who worship graven images. Read verses 9-20. A very similar idea is conveyed by the tradition concerning Abraham when he was at home among his heathen relatives. It is told that Abraham’s father was a maker of images, and that one day when he was absent Abraham destroyed all that were made, with the exception of the largest one, and in the hands of that one he placed a large stick. Of course Abraham was taxed with having destroyed the gods, but he said that the largest god had done the mischief in a fit of anger. “‘How can you mock me?’ retorted Terah. ‘Have idols reason?’ Then Abraham answered, ‘Do not your hearts hear what your mouth speaks?’ But Terah, infuriated at him, took him to Nimrod, that he might be punished. ‘If you will not worship the gods of your father,’ said the king, ‘then worship fire.’ ‘Why not water,’ replied Abraham, ‘which puts out fire?’ ‘Well, then, worship water.’ ‘Why not, rather, the clouds which hold the water?’ ‘Very well, worship the clouds as well.’ ‘But why not, rather, the wind which blows the clouds away?’ ‘Well, worship the wind.’ ‘Why not, rather, men, who can resist the wind?’ But now Nimrod lost patience, and told him that he spoke only folly. Fire was his god, and he would throw him into it-‘and,’ added he, ‘may your God come and save you from it.’”-Hours with the Bible.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.43

Of course this is simply tradition, and may never have taken place; but the same ideas must have presented themselves to more than one thoughtful mind among the heathen. Everyone who, like Abraham, turned from his father’s idols to serve the Maker of heaven and earth, must have first seen the folly of worshiping objects which had no power of will.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.44

It was to the visible creation that the apostle first directed the minds of the heathen when attempting to teach them the way of life. When the men of Lystra were about to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, the apostles cried out: “Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein; who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” Acts 14:15-17.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.45

This appeal to the things that are made, was the only way that the heathen could be convicted of the folly of idolatry. But how could they from nature learn righteousness? They could not; but when their minds were awakened to the fact that there is a God above all things that are made, the next thought would naturally be, “What must we do in order to please him?” And when a soul in sincerity asks that question, God will not leave him in ignorance. As Paul said to the Athenians, “He is not far from every one of us.” God will send a messenger with the revealed word to those who accept all that is taught them by the revelation of nature. Or he can work independent of human agency, by his Holy Spirit, applied to them directly, as in the case of Abraham. This much we may be sure of, that God is not cramped for means to carry on a work that he has begun. And since he has given a revelation of himself that speaks a universal language, he can easily bring the one who heeds that silent voice into circumstances where he can learn the way of God more perfectly.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.46

The first chapter of Romans should of itself be sufficient to show all those professed Christians who teach what they call the “larger hope,” the baselessness of their scheme of probation after death. They say that such a probation is necessary in order that the heathen who have not had a chance in this life, may have a fair chance, not realizing that in so saying they are charging God with injustice. God has given all men a chance. He has made a revelation of himself in language that can be understood by the most ignorant of the heathen; and the fact that some among the heathen have turned to God simply from the force of this evidence, shows that all might if they would. God did not arbitrarily choose Abraham from among the heathen, to make him the father of the faithful, but he chose him because he already acknowledged God, and in the midst of idolatry was faithful to all the light and knowledge that he had. “To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.” The truth of the first part of this statement is attested by many instances recorded in the Bible, from Abraham down; the last part will be more apparent as we consider the next verses in the book of Romans.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.47

One thought more. If the heathen are without excuse for their wickedness, what shall be said of those who dwell in a land where the gospel is preached, and where the Bible is within reach of everyone? They cannot say that they have not been called, for on every side there is the voice of God calling, “Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?” When at last they stand before God, not having on the wedding garment of his righteousness, which he offers freely to all, they can utter no word of excuse; they will be speechless. W.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.48

“The Divinity of Christ. Christ as Lawgiver” The Signs of the Times, 15, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

Since all must honor the Son even as they honor the Father, they must honor him not only as Creator, but as Lawgiver. Says Isaiah: “The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us.” Isaiah 33:22. The statement of Christ, that “the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honor the Son, even as they honour the Father” (John 5:22, 23), is in itself evidence that Christ is lawgiver. Only the power that makes the laws can provide for their execution. We shall now proceed to give proof that the law was given by Christ, even as it is his righteousness.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.49

Christ was the leader of the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. Perhaps there is no one who does not believe this in a general way; but it is susceptible of very clear proof. We quote first 1 Corinthians 10:4, which says that the fathers “did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that went with them [margin]; and that Rock was Christ.” This of itself is sufficient to settle the matter. Christ is the Rock upon which the church of God is built, and the Rock that shall grind the enemies of God to powder. Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Luke 20:17, 18. He is the Rock upon which those who are lifted from the horrible pit of sin have their goings established. Psalm 40:1, 2; 1 Corinthians 3:11. It was he whom Israel rejected when he “lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.” Deuteronomy 32:15.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.50

This is still more clearly shown by a comparison of Numbers 21:5, 6 and 1 Corinthians 10:10. The first text tells that “the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” Here we see that the people spoke not only against Moses, their visible leader, but also against God, their invisible leader. Now in 1 Corinthians 10:9 Paul tells plainly against whom they were murmuring. He says: “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.” So it was Christ who, with the name of God, was leading Israel, and it was against him that they murmured.SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.51

Hebrews 3:5-11 also teaches the same thing very plainly. One has only to read it with care to see that Christ is the one whose voice the Holy Ghost warns us not to reject as did the fathers who tempted him forty years in the wilderness. We quote:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 231.52

“And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.1

Since Christ was the leader of ancient Israel from Egypt to Canaan, it follows that Christ was the Angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and said:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.2

“I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.” Exodus 3:6-8.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.3

If any should object to this most natural conclusion, on the ground that the one here speaking calls himself “I AM THAT I AM,” the self-existent One-Jehovah-we have only to remind him that the Father hath given to the Son to have life in himself (John 5:26), that Christ asserted the same thing of himself when he said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:5, 6); for which supposed blasphemy the Jews attempted to stone him; and that by the prophet he is most plainly called Jehovah, in the following passage:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.4

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS;” literally, “Jehovah our righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:5, 6.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.5

But to return to the main point, which is that Jesus was the leader of Israel from Egypt, the Redeemer of his people from bondage, as shown by the texts cited. Now connect the introductory words of the Decalogue: “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:1-3. This scripture positively identifies the leader of the children of Israel from Egypt, as the giver of the law from Sinai. If it is said that in the transaction we cannot separate the Father and the Son, we reply that that is just the point we are making. The Father and the Son cannot be separated in any transaction, for they are one. But just as the Son was the one by whom all things were created, so was he the one who declared to the people the law of Jehovah. Thus he is the divine Word. The Son declares the will of the Father, which is also his own will.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.6

The fact that it was the voice of Christ that declared the law from Sinai, may be demonstrated in another way, as follows: “After speaking of the giving of the law, in Hebrews 12:18-21, the apostle says: “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven; whose voice then shook the earth; but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” Hebrews 12:25, 26.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.7

This tells us that the same voice which shook the earth at the giving of the law from Sinai will once again shake the earth, and the heavens also. Now note the following texts, which show what takes place in connection with the second advent:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.8

1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.9

That it is Christ’s voice that is then heard is shown by John 5:26-29:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.10

“For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.11

So it is the voice of the Son of God that opens the graves. Now we will compare a few more scriptures. In Psalm 2:6-8 we learn that Christ is to rule the heathen with a rod of iron, and to dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Isaiah says that “he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” Isaiah 11:4. In Revelation 19:11-21 we have a description of the going forth of Christ with the armies of Heaven to contend with and destroy the wicked nations of earth; and in Jeremiah 25:30, 31 this battle is thus described:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.12

“The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.13

Compare with this Revelation 19:15 and Isaiah 63:1-6, and read Joel 3:16: “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” These texts are sufficient to show that the shaking of the heavens and the earth is done by the voice of the One who has the controversy with the nations, and who is to destroy them and deliver his people. We have already seen that the voice that is to shake the heavens and the earth is the same voice that shook the earth at the giving of the law. But it is Christ who is to dash the nations in pieces, and so it is his voice that will shake the earth and also heaven. Therefore it was the voice of Jesus that spoke the ten commandments from the top of Sinai. The law is the truth (Psalm 119:142), and Christ says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6. The ten commandments are God’s righteousness (Isaiah 51:4-7), and his will (Romans 2:17, 18); but they represent the righteous will of Christ as much as they do that of the Father; for he and the Father are one. W.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.14

“J. H. Waggoner, Death Notice” The Signs of the Times, 15, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

A cable dispatch from Basel, Switzerland, received the morning of the 17th brings, in the briefest possible terms, the sad news of the death of my father, Elder J. H. Waggoner, formerly editor of this paper, and for the last two years editor of Les Signes des Temps, at Basel. He lacked but little more than two months of being sixty-nine years of age, and for over thirty-seven years he was an active worker I the cause of Sabbath reform and in the advocacy of the soon coming of Christ. As a minister he labored in the United States from Maine to California, and was from the first intimately connected with the publishing work. We have no particulars concerning his death, but know that he must have labored almost, if not quite, to the last, because at the writing of the last letter received from him, only a few days ago, he was in his usual health. In his death the cause has lost a faithful worker, and we have lost a most kind and loving parent. But we know that he rests in the blessed hope, which he loved so long. We stop the presses to make this brief announcement. We are anxiously waiting more definite news, and hope to be able to give a more detailed notice in the next issue. E. J. WAGGONER.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.15

“Back Page” The Signs of the Times, 15, 16.

E. J. Waggoner

On account of the regular annual meeting of the Pacific Press Publishing Co. and the other meetings in connection therewith, we will issue no paper next week. No. 17 of the SIGNS will bear date of May 6. However, as the volume consists volume fifty numbers, our subscribers will lose nothing by this omission, while printers and editors will obtain a much-needed rest, and be afforded an opportunity to attend the meetings.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.16

It was stated that the Fresno camp-meeting that the missionary contributions from the Sabbath-schools the present quarter are to go to the establishment of a city mission in Hamburg, Germany. This was a mistake. According to the vote of the International Association, the Russian mission is to be the recipient of the Sabbath-school missionary contributions for the present quarter. We hope that it may be bountifully remembered.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.17

The religious press of the country is wont to advocate Sunday laws as a temperance measure, but the fact that two of the leading religious weeklies of the country, namely, the Congregationalist and the Christian Union, are opposed to prohibition in Massachusetts should open the eyes of the people the fact that with very many the exaltation of Sunday as a religious institution is the first, and, indeed, the only, object of Sunday legislation. The only effectual prohibition is that which closes all saloons 365 days every year, and that is the kind which the SIGNS advocates.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.18

The Young Men’s Christian Associations “prayer-meeting topic” for April 22 is one worthy of more than an evening’s consideration. It is, “If Christ were not risen, what? 1 Corinthians 15:13-19.” We earnestly hope that this scripture may be considered apart from dogmatic, man-made creeds. It will throw some light on the source of immortality, and when this boon is given; it will show that men will utterly perish without the resurrection, even those who sleep in Jesus. Power to overcome sin and death, and everlasting life in the kingdom of God depend on the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection through him. Why should the glorious doctrine and fact of the resurrection be hidden by the unscriptural doctrine of the inherent immortality of the soul? Is not the Bible view worthy of serious regard? But if dead men now live, why the resurrection? why so much in the Bible concerning it?SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.19

The Roman Catholic Church in Great Britain is well organized. In England and Wales there is 1 cardinal archbishop, 16 bishops with 2 suffragans, and one cardinal (Newman); there are 2,380 priests, serving 1,306 chapels, churches, and stations, with a considerable number privately employed. In Scotland there are 2 archbishops, 4 bishops, and 341 priests. Ireland has 4 archbishops, with 28 bishops. And, as is generally the case, Rome is making its influence felt not only in religious but also in political circles.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.20

The article in the new constitution guaranteeing religious liberty in Japan is to the effect that “Japanese subjects shall, within limits not prejudicial to peace and order, and not antagonistic to their duties as subjects, enjoy freedom of religious belief,” which means that the subjects of that empire shall believe just as they please provided the Government is willing. The provision is, of course, about as valuable as an exemption clause in a Sunday law allowing Sabbath-keepers to do ordinary work on the first day of the week, provided it does not disturb others, and leaving the “others” the judges of what constitutes disturbance.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.21

It is announced that Wilbur F. Crafts, the Secretary of the American Sunday Union, will visit this State in June next to labor and lecture in the interest of that association. Referring to Mr. Crafts and his proposed visit, the California Voice says: “He should receive here every possible help and encouragement, or, rather, we should of them ourselves to the utmost of his valuable services to rid our State of its unprofitable, demoralizing, and indecent [liquor traffic, we would naturally expect a temperance paper to say, but the Voice says] desecration of the Sabbath.” It is beginning to look very much as though the whole strength of the so-called Prohibition party was to be given, not to the suppression of liquor selling, but to the securing of Sunday laws.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.22

Are not the words of the psalmist, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me,” the solution of unanswered prayers? “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18), but “he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” Proverbs 28:9. To turn away from hearing the law is to cling to those things which the law condemns, and that is to regard iniquity in the heart. The precious promises of God are for the broken of heart, those who are penitent, who loathe their sins, and desire to turn away from them; such have the blessed assurance: “Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.” Psalm 68:13.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.23

The Roman Catholic archbishop, the “Most Rev. Dr. Riordan,” of San Francisco, is on his way back from Rome. While passing through England, he spend several days at Liverpool, during which time he gave his views on the American public school system, as reported in the Catholic Times of that city, of February 8. Below we give some quotations which show what this American prelate says of our public schools:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.24

“Of course the battle is a serious and a difficult one. The public schools are thoroughly equipped for the work of instructing youth, and it is a strain upon us to find resources to enable us to compete with them.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.25

After complaining that no religious instruction is given in the schools, he says: “Of course, the result is deplorable...In our country there is an atmosphere not favorable to the growth of religious sentiment amongst the young, and, as a matter of fact, a good many Catholics are impregnated by it.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.26

But if religious instruction were given, the archbishop would be still more dissatisfied than he is now, unless that instruction was Roman Catholic. That is the secret of it all. Rome is a foe to our public schools because they teach the youth to think, and thinking is not favorable to Roman Catholicism. The result of no religious instruction in our public schools is deplorable from a Catholic standpoint only, whether that standpoint is held by Catholic or Protestant.SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.27

A leading London clergyman recently asked the question, “Why do the working-people not attend church?” and, according to the Christian World, received, among others, the following replies:-SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.28

“You ministers despise the workingman, and side with the robber landlords and capitalists.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.29

“The workingman is quite willing to go to places of worship, and to take his wife and family, if the minister will go to him. The workingman don’t want controversy. Let the churches be open every night, the same as the public-houses, for singing, lectures, and similar meetings.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.30

“The workingman sees that his interests are neglected in the churches, and he therefore goes to the halls, clubs, societies, the open arch, the park-the workman’s chapel. The school-master is abroad-but not in broadcloth. We have learned that we must go to men of our own class if we want to better ourselves.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.31

“We workers are beginning to understand some of the past history of the country, and we find that the representatives of the churches and chapels have always been against the workmen.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.32

“We work such long hours that we don’t care to go to church on Sundays. We go into the country.”SITI April 22, 1889, page 247.33