HARVEST GLEANINGS I [HG457]
Volume 2, Number 10B GOD'S MESSAGE OF COMFORT TO THE JEWS See Bible Students Monthly, Volume 2, No. 10A
PASTOR RUSSELL CHEERED BY AUDIENCE OF HEBREWS See Bible Students Monthly, Volume 2, No. 10 A.
THE MESSAGE OF THE HOUR "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; -make straight in the desert a highway for our God . . . And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." Isa. 40:3-7
The same voice that speaks to the Jews words of comfort warns Christians that we are on the eve of strenuous times, in which Christendom will be called upon to render up its account amidst a time of worldwide trouble and revolution. Not that Christian people are called upon to be revolutionists. Quite to the contrary; they are to be lovers of peace-peacemakers, so far as possible. But the Scriptures show that there is a limit to peace-possibility; that the growing intelligence of the world is not making for peace. Worldly prosperity and increased knowledge in unsanctified hearts are breeding greater discontent day by day. The great changes to be expected will come as the natural outworking of this discontent, which affects both rich and poor, reamed and unlearned.
"THE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS" The message of John the Baptist eighteen centuries ago to Israel was typical of the message of God through all of his consecrated people to nominal Churchianity and the world-nominal Spiritual Israel. The voice declares that the great Kingdom of Messiah, offered typically to the Jews eighteen centuries ago, is now about to be inaugurated in power and great glory. If the coming King and his Kingdom are to be received with appropriate honors and loyalty of heart, the message must be heard and his highway of holiness must be prepared. If the King were thus received, happy would it be for the world of mankind. If the kings of earth and the financial and ecclesiastical princes were to gladly hearken to his message and promptly and thoroughly establish righteousness in the earth, Messiah’s Kingdom would be introduced peacefully, gloriously, and begin its work of blessing, uplifting Israel and all the families of the earth. But the Scriptures clearly indicate that no such peaceful advent of the Great King is to be expected.
Quite to the contrary, the Prophet Daniel, after picturing the course of the "times of the Gentiles," after showing the expiration of these times, after pointing to the coming of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven in glorious majesty and power (invisible to men because spiritual), then tells us, "At that time shall Michael stand up [come into power-assume his authority], the Great Prince, that standeth for the children of thy people [Daniel’s people, the Jews, and with them all desiring to be God’s people]. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there has been a nation." Dan. 12:1
SOCIAL LEVELLING COMING The time impending is described in the context, "Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain shall be brought low" (verse 4). This means the humbling, the levelling of the great princes of religion, of finance and of politics to a democratic level. Similarly the exalting of every valley means the lifting up of the poor, the submerged, the degraded. This work of levelling will not be done in a moment.
But the very beginning of that levelling process will mean trouble. And every step of the way will mean more trouble, until the Divine purpose here expressed shall be [HG458] realized. The severe trouble in Russia which preceded the acceptance of the Douma will probably be followed by more trouble before the high ones of the Russians will be humbled and the poor of the people will come into their rights.
In Great Britain the levelling processes have been going on for many years. Law and government are respected and esteemed, but here there is no autocratic rule.
The people through their representatives are their own law-makers. The valleys have been to a considerable extent exalted and the higher powers have to a considerable extent come down to a democratic level. And the levelling process is still operating in Great Britain. The Income Tax is a part of it. In consequence of this gradual levelling of Society the final adjustment to the requirements of the Messianic Kingdom will be proportionately less than in an autocracy.
GLORY OF THE LORD REVEALED The great time of trouble that will level the mountains and valleys of society and make the path of righteousness in the world a straight one and an easy one, will doubtless be short and sharp. Quickly the glorious results will follow. Mankind will come to a realization of the fact that the due time for Messiah’s reign has come. In our text this is spoken of as the glory of Jehovah which is to be revealed and which all flesh shall recognize together.
There is no conflict in this because, as in olden times, David and Solomon were declared to sit upon the throne of the Kingdom of Jehovah; so with propriety it can be said that Messiah will sit upon the Throne or Kingdom of Jehovah. In other words, although Messiah’s Kingdom will be a mediatorial one, separate from that of Jehovah, for the purpose of putting down sin and of uplifting the sinner, nevertheless throughout the thousand years of his glorious reign he will represent Jehovah in that his entire work will have the full approval of Jehovah and be conducted along the lines of the Divine Law.
Thus, gradually, as sin will go down and sinners will be rescued from it and its degradation and death penalty, the prayer will be fulfilled which says, "Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." In other words, Messiah’s reign will be a period of reconstruction, restitution and resurrection.
And when its work shall have been accomplished it will cease.
THE TIME OF TROUBLE DESCRIBED In verses six and seven there is a brief description of the great time of trouble and its influence upon humanity. As the scorching sun and great heat would wither a field of grass, so the breath of the Lord, the spirit of righteousness, sent forth will cause the day of trouble, in which all humanity will wither as the grass. We may thank God for the assurances of the "times of refreshing" speedily to follow, and remind the saintly of the promise that although they have trials now they will escape by the resurrection change many of those troubles, coming upon the world. Acts 3:19-21; Luke 21:36
JACOB AND ESAU IN A NEW LIGHT This article was republished in Reprint 4722-December 1, 1910, entziled, "Jacob and Esau in a New Light."
Volume 2, Number 11 IMMORTAL WORMS AND UNQUENCHABLE FIRE This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "Immortal Worms and Unquenchable Fire.
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WHICH IS THE TRUE GOSPEL? This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "Which is the True Gospel?"
THE SEAS IN THE HOLLOW OF GOD’S HAND This article was republished in Pastor Russell ‘s Sermons, pages SM467-74, entitled, "The Seas in the Hollow of God’s Hand."
JESUS A WONDERFUL MAN "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him." Matt. 8:27
We have always sympathized deeply with the Apostles in their experience with the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The storm was so violent that even the experienced fishermen were in terror and wakened their Master Jesus. The latter, weary with travel and preaching, was sound asleep in a little cabin at the stern of the vessel. They appealed to him, "Master, caress thou not that we perish?" Then Jesus arose and, at his command, the storm ceased and a great calm prevailed.
Then it was that his fishermen disciples exclaimed, "What manner of man is this, that even the winds and waves obey him?"
Although more than eighteen centuries have since passed, the same question is going the rounds of most civilized peoples of the world-" What manner of man is this?" Some of the best thinkers and noblest hearts of all nationalities, Jew and Gentile, agree that Jesus of Nazareth was a most wonderful man. It is still agreed as in the days of his presence, that "never man spake like this maul" Some, indeed, called him a deceiver. Others said that he was under the control of evil spirits. Others, going to the opposite extreme, declared that this great Jew was Jehovah himself, who, for the time, was masquerading as a man.
"WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE" A man should be judged by his own words and not by the words of others, whether friends or foes. As we promptly reject the testimony of his enemies as contradictory to the facts, so, when the friends of Jesus contradict his words in their endeavor to honor him, they should not be followed. Their counsels respecting what they do not know should be as thoroughly rejected as those of his enemies, when they contradict his own testimonies. Pastor Russell contends that the greatest of all Jews told the truth about himself, as well as about other matters in his "wonderful words of life." He declared, "My Father is greater than I." (John 14:28) He declared that he delighted to do his Father’s will and that he had come into the world to do it, even at the cost of self-sacrifice and every self-denial even unto death (Heb. 12:2). When he prayed to the Father with strong cryings and tears in Gethsemane (Heb. 5:7), he was not shamming. He was not perpetuating fraud and deceiving his disciples then and since.
Jesus declared that the Father sent him and that he delighted to come in obedience to Jehovah’s will, to be his agent and servant in the outworking of a great plan for human redemption. Those who deny all of this, and who have awakened so much confusion amongst Christians, and have made the Gospel of Christ impossible to the Jew, should give an account of themselves and explain by what authority they contradicted the Great Teacher- "The Father is greater than I." And when they claim that the death of Jesus was merely a farce, and that he as Jehovah merely stepped out of the Body of Jesus and perpetrated a fraud and pretended to be dead and aroused his disciples so to think and so to teach, and pretended later to be raised from the dead-those who thus teach [HG460] and who thus confuse the minds of all Christendom end Jewry, should explain away, if they can, the plain statement of the Apostle that God raised up Jesus from the dead by his own power on the third day.
"GOD MANIFEST IN FLESH" "Adam was created in the image and likeness of God," hence God was manifested in Adam’s flesh. Still more so was he manifested in ‘The man Christ Jesus." (1 Tim. 2:5)
The Scriptures declare most positively that Jesus had a previous existence on the spirit plane and that he voluntarily consented to be made flesh for the outworking of Jehovah’s plan. He was not a sinner like others. His life was directly transferred at his birth from the spirit to the human plane. Thus he was a partaker of human nature on his mother’s side only, and his life was unimpaired- "holy, harmless, separate from sinners." Thus as a perfect man he was the corresponding price for Father Adam at thirty years of age. And he was "God manifest in the flesh" in the same manner that Adam was before he sinned.
But more than this, he obtained a special blessing which Adam never knew. At the time of his consecration to death at his baptism he received the anointing of the holy Spirit and begetting again to the spirit plane as the Anointed One-the Anointed Priest and King of Israel and through Israel for the world. By virtue of that anointing he became the special ambassador of Jehovah-his special representative amongst men. Thereafter he was God manifest in the flesh in a far higher sense than was Adam. Thus was this Wonderful One The Son of The Man, and, by the begetting of the holy Spirit, specially also the Son of God.
MICHAEL ONE LIKE GOD The Hebrew prophets had foretold this greatness of the Messiah, who at the Divinely-appointed hour will assume the dominion of earth, setting up by Divine authority his Mediatorial Kingdom, which, for a thousand years, will reign triumphantly, binding Satan and sin in its every form and setting at liberty every good principle of righteousness for the blessing of Israel under the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31), and through Israel the blessing of every nation. "Unto him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, when the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the earth." (Hab 2:14)
Jehovah, through the Prophet Daniel, called this great Messiah Michael, and tells that when he shall stand up, when he shall take his authority and begin his rule, there will be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, incidental to the inauguration of the Empire of Righteousness, for the purpose of bringing peace on earth and good will amongst men.
Michael, the arch-angel, signifies One like God-a god-like one. Whoever, therefore, believes in Messiah from this standpoint must not expect a human Messiah of flesh and blood. He must expect just such an One as the Scriptures declare Jesus now to be-the glorified Son of the Highest. Moreover, the New Testament, after telling that this Great Messiah must reign until he shall have put all enemies under his feet, in subjection, tells also that then he will in turn, at the close of his Mediatorial reign, deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, that Jehovah may be all in all. There is no suggestion, therefore, on the part of Jesus or his Apostles that at all corresponds with the absurd suggestion and contradictions of those who claim that Jesus was his own Father-that the Father and the Son are the same person under two names.
MISCELLANEOUS COLUMN
SAN FRANCISCO TO NEW YORK IN THREE DAYS AND A HALF The acceleration of transcontinental railway travel during the past two years has been made so quietly that not many people are aware that the time from ocean to ocean has been reduced to less than three and a half days. The fact was recently brought into prominence by daily press notices of a trip made by an Australian passenger who left San Francisco at 10:40 P. M., March 2, and reached New York March 6, in time to catch the steamship sailing at noon the same day for Europe, the total time from San Francisco to New York being three days and eleven hours.- Scientific American
7 WONDERS OF MODERN WORLD A scientific magazine made a request to the Physical Department at Cornell to name seven wonders of the modern world selected from a list of fifty-seven outstanding inventions and structures submitted.
The faculty, graduates, and seniors in the physics seminary balloted, the award of the voting going to wireless telegraphy, synthetic chemistry, radium, antitoxins, aviation, the Panama Canal, and the telephone. -New York Times
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WHEN GOD WAS ALONE From Only One Standpoint can Divine Wisdom and Love be Discerned in Connection with Mankind
The Scriptures declare a "beginning of the creation of God," and this evidences the fact that God was previously alone-the self-existent One. His qualities and attributes then were the same as they are now, for the Scriptures declare his unchangeableness-" the same yesterday, today and forever."
Moreover, the completeness of the Divine perfection is such that companionship was not necessary to the happiness of Jehovah. The only one who inhabiteth eternity is self-centered. The creation of angels and of men was indeed his pleasure, because, benevolently, he desires to do good, to give capacity for pleasure and to afford it opportunity for gratification. Furthermore, the highest good of his creatures called for an exhibition to the full of all the elements of the Divine character-Divine Justice, Love, Power and Wisdom. The scope of the exercise of Divine power is the Universe, but it is difficult for our finite minds to comprehend the meaning of this word-Universe.
Astronomers tell us that by the aid of photoastronomy they can see nearly 125,000,000 suns-solar systems like our own, with supposedly more than a billion of worlds more or less like our earth. These, we may assume, are in process of development, are in preparation for inhabitants whom the great Creator will in due time provide. From the Scriptural standpoint, however, the great work of Creation began with our earth. What a boundless thought we have in the bare suggestion that the billion worlds are to be peopled, and that the lessons of righteousness and sin, of life and death eternal, now being taught to humanity, will never need to be repeated.
THE PERMISSION OF EVIL From only one standpoint can Divine Wisdom and Love be discerned in connection with the history of mankind. It must include the Age about to be ushered in-the period of Messiah’s reign of righteousness; the time in which every member of Adam’s race, sharing the penalty of sin and death because inheriting his weaknesses, will be set free from these; the time when the full knowledge of the glory of God shall be granted to every human being; and when a full opportunity will come to each by obedience to gain life everlasting.
The lesson thus far taught is the goodness and the severity of God-his goodness in bringing us into being, and his severity in the punishment of father Adam’s wilful transgression; also, to both men and angels, Justice, unswerving Justice. The next lesson will be that God is love. The foundation for these lessons is already laid in the Ransom sacrifice of Jesus, through and on account of which he becomes the world’s Redeemer and Restorer. A few can believe this message by faith; but not many have the ear of faith nor the eye of faith. Only the saints are able to appreciate this great fact at the present time.
That which is now secret and understood only by the few is shortly to be made manifest to every creature in heaven and in earth. All will then see and be able to appreciate the great fact that the redemption accomplished by the sacrifice of Jesus is world wide and means a full deliverance from the sin-and-death condemnation, which passed upon Adam and all of his race, to all who will accept the same as a gift from God. The remainder will he destroy in the "Second Death."
THE SCROLL WITH SEVEN SEALS The Divine purpose, originally known only to Jehovah himself, was indeed declared through the prophets and in the Law, but those who declared it understood not their own visions and prophecies. Not until Jesus appeared and received the anointing of the holy Spirit at his baptism did the Divine Plan begin to be unfolded; and then it was unfolded to Jesus through the holy Spirit which came upon him, witnessing his consecration to death and begetting him to a new life, beyond the vail.
This is shown symbolically in the picture of Revelation. During the time preceding the undertaking of the work by Jesus the announcement was made everywhere. "Who is worthy to take the scroll and to unloose the seals thereof?"
None was found worthy. Many were found perfect, but something more was required-the testing and demonstration of loyalty to God, even unto death, even the death of the cross. Until Jesus came into the world and vowed his consecration to death, no one had been found worthy even to understand the great Plan of the Ages which Jehovah God had purposed in himself before the foundation of the world. As soon as Jesus made his consecration and began his work, to him the scroll of the Divine Purpose was committed and the announcement was made, "Worthy is the Lamb that was [HG462] slain to receive honor and dominion and might and power." (Rev. 5:9) And to him was given the scroll with full authority to read, to understand and to fulfill its glorious prophecies, which specially related to the blessing of our race.
In the opening of this scroll, in the revealment of the Divine purpose, God’s love would be manifested both to angels and to men-the love which he had before he began his creative work, but which there was no intelligent creature to understand; the love which God had even when he permitted sin and death to mar the happiness of Eden-the love which neither angels nor men could fully see and appreciate during all the centuries of the reign of sin and death.
WORRY WILL SURELY KILL Worry injures beyond repair certain cells of the brain, and the brain being the nutritive center of the body, the other organs become gradually injured, and when some diseases of these organs or a combination of them arise death finally ensues.
Thus worry kills. Insidiously, like many other diseases, it creeps upon the brain in the form of a single, constant, never lost idea, and, as a dropping of water over a period of years will wear a groove in the stone, so does worry gradually, imperceptibly and no less surely destroy the brain cells that lead all the rest, which are, so to speak, the commanding officers of mental power, health and motion.
Worry, to make the theory still stronger, is an irritant at certain points which produces little harm if it comes at intervals or irregularly. Occasional worriment the brain can cope with, but the iteration and the reiteration of one idea of a disquieting sort the cells of the brain are not proof against.
It is as if the skull were laid bare and the surface of the brain struck lightly with a hammer every few seconds with mechanical precision, with never a sign of a stop or the failure of a stroke. Just in this way does the annoying idea, the maddening thought that will not be done away with, strike or fall upon certain nerve cells, never ceasing, diminishing the vitality of the delicate organisms that are so minute that they can be seen only under the microscope. Journal of Physiological Therapeutics
Volume 2, Number 12 THE MOST PRECIOUS TEXT This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "The Most Precious Gift."
THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "The Prophetic Song of the Angels."
EARTH TO BE FILLED WITH GOD’S GLORY This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "Earth to be Filled with God’s Glory."
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PICTURES OF THE KINGDOM This article was republished in Reprints 4636-37-June 15, 1910, entitled, "Pictures of the Kingdom."
WITHOUT A PARABLE HE SPAKE NOT This article was republished in Reprints 4644-July 1, 1910, entitled, "Without a Parable He Spake Not."
MISCELLANEOUS COLUMN MAY SIN AGAIN INVADE THE EARTH WHEN ONCE ROOTED OUT? Will there be any danger that at some future time sin may again invade the world, again degrade God’s human representatives and obscure the glory of the Divine creation? We answer, no, never. The guarantee of this is in the Lord’s words that there shall be no more death. So surely as there will be sin, the penalty of sin must follow it, hence the guarantee that there will be no more dying, is the guarantee that there will be no more sin. But how can this be guaranteed and at the same time man’s free moral agency be preserved? The Scriptures give the explanation, telling us that at the close of the Mediatorial Kingdom, when Messiah shall have accomplished his work of putting down all opposition and bringing all the willing and obedient up to perfection of human nature, then he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father. The next step in the Divine program as outlined in the Revelation is that the world, no longer under the Mediatorial covering of the Redeemer and no longer needing such a covering because perfect, will be subjected by the Father to severe tests of their love and loyalty, their obedience, similar to the test which came upon father Adam in Eden, when he was perfect.
The description of Revelation is that Satan will be loosed to tempt and deceive all the people whose number will then be as the sands of the seashore. What proportion he will succeed in deceiving is not intimated, but the general statement is made that all those who are deceived by him in that crucial test will be utterly destroyed with Satan in the Second Death, which, symbolically, is represented by the "lake of fire." This will leave a clean Universe as represented in the Scriptures, and "every voice in heaven and in earth and under the earth will be proclaiming praise, honor, dominion, might and power to him that sitteth on the throne and to the Lamb." Blessed are our eyes and our ears and our understanding hearts which are already enlightened in advance of the world, that have already learned of the glory of God. We with the seraphim proclaim, "holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty," and we rejoice that the time is near at hand when the whole earth shall be filled with his glory.
Volume 3, Number 1 CREED SMASHINGS NECESSARY FOR FEDERATION Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Scrrnons, entitled, "The Cost of Church Federation to Congregationalzsts, Presbyterians and Methodists."
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CHANGES OF CREEDS NECESSARY For Baptists, Adventists and Disciples In Order to Federation This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "The Cost of Church Federation to Baptists, Adventists and Disciples."
EPISCOPALIANS, CATHOLICS, LUTHERANS WHAT THESE CREEDS SURRENDER To Enter the Church Federation Proposed This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "The Cost of Church Federation to Episcopalians, Catholics and Lutherans."
THE CHURCH MILITANT’S SURRENDER TO THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT This article can be found in its entirety in the Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "The Church Militant’s Surrender to the Church Triumphant."
Volume 3, Number 2 CARDINAL GIBBONS’ SERMON A Plea for United Christendom
Recently at Baltimore (Md.) Cathedral Cardinal Gibbons preached a great sermon, a report of which is furnished by the Cardinal himself. It certainly contains a great many good thoughts. All reading it will be interested; also in reading the article which follows it, in which the same subject is examined from a Protestant standpoint by the most prominent minister of our day, whose sermons are estimated to reach more than ten millions of people every week. The Cardinal’s sermon follows: "The Episcopal Church, in its recent triennial convention, is reported to have advocated in strong and earnest language the reunion of the various Christian Churches. I am grateful to the members of the convention for the praiseworthy sentiments which they express, and which reflect honor on their heads and hearts.
And I pray, with them, that the day may be hastened when the words of our common Redeemer, Jesus Christ, may be fulfilled, when there ‘will be one fold and one Shepherd’! However, this consummation can be attained only when all Christians shall recognize one Chief Pastor. For we might as well expect to have a united commonwealth under several independent presidents as to have a united church under the various conflicting spiritual rulers.
"It was manifestly the desire of Christ that all his disciples should be united in the profession of one faith. In his admirable prayer before his passion he says: ‘I pray for them also who through their word shall believe in me, that they all be one, as Thou, Father, in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me; ‘because the unity of the Church is the most luminous evidence of the divine mission of Christ.
"Unity of government is not less essential to the [HG465] Church of Christ than unity of doctrine. Our divine Saviour never speaks of his churches, but his Church. He does not say, ‘Upon this rock will I build my churches, ‘from which words we must conclude that it never was his intention to establish or to sanction various conflicting denominations, but one corporate body, with all the members united under one visible head; for as the church is a visible body, it must have a visible head.
THINKS CATHOLIC CHURCH EMBRACES EVERYTHING ESSENTIAL TO UNITY OF FAITH AND GOVERNMENT "Our Saviour calls his Church a sheepfold. ‘And there shall be made one fold and one Shepherd. ‘What more beautiful or fitting illustration of unity can we have than that which is suggested by a sheepfold? All the sheep of a flock cling together. If they are momentarily separated, they are impatient till reunited. They follow in the same path. They feed on the same pastures. They obey the same shepherd, and fly from the voice of strangers. So did our Lord intend that all the sheep of his fold should be nourished by the same sacraments and the same bread of life; that they should follow the same rule of faith as their Nude to heaven; that they should listen to the voice of one Chief Pastor, and that they should carefully shun false teachers.
"His Church is compared to a human body. ‘As in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office; so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of the other. ‘In one body there are many members, all inseparably connected with the head. The head commands, and the foot instantly moves; the hand is raised and the lips open. Even so our Lord ordained that his Church, composed of many members, should be all united in one supreme visible Head, whom they are bound to obey.
"The Church is composed of a vine, all of whose branches, though spreading far and wide, are necessarily connected with the main stem, and from its sap they are nourished. In like manner, our Saviour will have all the saplings of his vineyard connected with the main stem, all draw their nourishment from the parent stock.
In fact, our common sense alone, apart from the revelation, is sufficient to convince us that God could not be the author of various opposing systems of religion. God is essentially one. He is Truth itself. ‘God is not the God of dissension, but of peace. ‘I see perfect harmony in the laws which govern the physical world we inhabit. I see a marvelous unity in our planetary system. Each planet moves in its own sphere, and all are controlled by the central sun. Why should there not also be harmony and concord in that spiritual world, the Church of God, the grandest conception of his omnipotence, and the most bounteous manifestation of his goodness and love for mankind!
"Hence, it is clear thatJesus Christ intended that his Church should have one common doctrine, which all Christians are bound to believe, and one uniform government to which all should be loyally attached. Where, then, shall we find this essential unity of faith and government? I answer, confidently, nowhere save in the Catholic Church.
HONEY TO HIS LIPS AND MUSIC TO HIS EARS "The number of Catholics in the world is computed at two hundred and fifty millions. They have all one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one creed. They receive the same sacraments, they worship at the same altar, and pay spiritual allegiance to one common head. Should a Catholic be so unfortunate as contumaciously to deny a single article of faith, or withdraw from the communion of his legitimate pastors, he ceases to be a member of the church, and is cut off like a withered branch. The church had rather sever her right hand than any member to corrode her vitals. It was thus she excommunicated a powerful king, because he persisted in violating the sacred law of marriage, although she foresaw that the lustful monarch would involve a nation in his spiritual ruin.
"How sublime and consoling is the thought that withersoever a Catholic goes over the broad world, whether he enters his church in Peking, Melbourne, in London, or Dublin, or Paris, or Rome, or New York, or San Francisco, he is sure to hear the self-same doctrine preached, to assist in the same sacrifice, and to partake of the same sacraments.
"This is not all. Her creed is now identical with what it was in past ages. The same gospel of peace that Jesus Christ preached on the mount; the same doctrine that St. Peter preached at Antioch and Rome, St. Paul at Ephesus; St. Chrysostom at Constantinople; St. Augustine in Hippo; St. Ambrose in Milan; St. Remigius in France; St. Boniface in Germany; St. Athanasius in Alexandria; the same doctrine that St. Patrick introduced into Ireland; that St. Augustine brought into England, and St. Pelagius into Scotland, and which Columbus took with him into the New World, is ever preached in the Catholic Church throughout the globe, from January till December-'Jesus Christ, yesterday, today and the same forever.' "At the recent Eucharistic Congress of Montreal, a 466 great multitude of worshippers was assembled from various parts of Europe and America. Even Australia and Africa were represented. Let us suppose that a pilgrim from Germany or Switzerland, ignorant of the language of the country, is walking the streets, when he hears the sound of the cathedral bell. What hallowed associations it arouses in his memoryl He accepts its voice as an invitation to prayer. He sees the cross-crowned spire, and the cross speaks to his heart. And entering the cathedral, while tears run down his sun-burned cheeks, he exclaims: ‘How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hostel My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord. For the sparrow hath found her nest, and the turtle-dove a home. Thy altars are my home, my King and my Godl’ "I believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church. Oh, my brethren, what a charm there is in these wordsl They are honey to my lips, music to my ears and sweet jubilation to my heart. They send an indescribable thrill through my inmost soul. I believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic church. This profession of faith is a sacred bond of union between us. It binds us to our brethren in ages past, down the centuries to apostolic times. It unites us to them in ages yet to come, till time shall be no more.
HOW SOME PROTESTANTS VIEW CARDINAL GIBBONS' SERMON This article was republished in Reprints 4753-55-February 1, 1911, entitled, "Reply to Cardinal Gibbons' Sermon."
GOD LOVES YOU The Divine Plan Outshines All Evangelistic and Missionary Efforts This article can be found in its entirety in Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "God Loves You."
THE VALUE OF TOIL This article was republished in Convention Report Sermons, pages 65-67, entitled, "The Value of Toil."
RELIGIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC GLEANINGS AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY’S REPORT The following item of news is going the rounds of the public press. We confess surprise that so wealthy an organization and one which receives so many large legacies should not furnish a more interesting report: "An interesting meeting of the American Tract Society, which was organized in 1825, was held in the Congregational Church in Greenwich, Conn., the home of the president, William Phillips Hall, last week. A review was given of the work of the society, now in better condition than for some years past, although its accomplishments have always been notable. The eighty-fifth annual report, made by the Rev. Dr. Judson Swift, general secretary, has just been issued in neat pamphlet form. The balance sheet for the year shows assets of $2,403,515; liabilities, $1,552,422.47; excess of assets over liabilities, $851,092.53. Three life directors and fourteen life members were constituted during the year covered in the report. The cash appropriations made for the year in Europe, Africa and Asia were $5,300. The totals of these appropriations in the society’s history have been $774,012.43." [HG467]
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY’S REPORT This Society is probably the most active organization ever known in the world along the lines of Tract distribution and home and foreign missionary work. It apparently has no capital, but merely uses as received monies voluntarily donated to its work. While other societies are continually soliciting assistance, both in public and from Church pulpits and through both in public and from Church pulpits and through private solicitations, this Society avers that it never solicits money either publicly or privately. Donations to its treasury must come voluntarily or not at all. Its officers receive no salary. Its numerous missionaries receive no salaries-merely their expenses are paid, and these on a very moderate scale. Their printing is done in great quantities and at the lowest prices. Nothing is ever bought on credit. Only in proportion as the Lord supplies the means is the work pushed forward.
This Society’s annual report, briefly summarized, is as follows: It has about seventy missionaries, home and foreign. They traveled over 500,000 miles last year. They visited more than 3,500 cities. They held more than 11,000 meetings. This Society expended in the proclamation of the Gospel in foreign countries $20,935.24. It expended in the United States and Canada $139,743.80.
It put into circulation more than 600,000 copies of "Studies in the Scriptures," otherwise called Bible Keys-books for the assistance of Bible Students to a proper understanding of God’s Word. In the United States it circulated tons of free literature in defense of the Bible and to assist people to a proper study and knowledge thereof. This amounted in the English language to more than 350,000,000 of tract pages, and in the foreign languages it circulated in this country more than 6,000,000 of tract pages. These almost inconceivable totals bewilder the average mind. Besides all this is the considerable work which the Society did in India, South Africa, Australia and Europe.
We congratulate the Society on its immense work and the accomplishment of it so economically. One is quite reminded of the feeding of the multitudes with the five barley loaves and two small fishes.
FIFTY-SEVEN METHODIST PREACHERS RESIGN The September number of the Upper Iowa Methodist Conference this year faced the fact that fifty-seven "charges" in the Conference have been vacated.
Newspapers say:" Fifty-seven men, the greater number of them young and in the prime of life, will quit the ministry at this time to engage in secular lines of work.
Many of these men are only a few years out of the university and seminary. The general complaint is that the salary paid is not suff cient." Such a condition of things should not cause astonishment. Nearly all of the ministers that have been graduated from all colleges and seminaries within the last fifteen years left the Alma Mater Higher Critics-unbelievers in the Bible-and many of them skeptical as respects a personal God. This is the general teaching of all the colleges and seminaries, male and female-not openly and avowedly ometimes, but really and truly, nevertheless. If there are exceptions, they are rare.
What incentive is there for the preaching of a message, which the preacher does not believe, from a text which he considers uninspired and believes he could improve upon himself? The motives must be either pride, money, approbativeness or ease. The world is holding out greater inducements today along all these lines, for clericalism is growing in disesteem and it is becoming more and more difficult to squeeze money out of unconsecrated pockets. How much ministers and people both need the true Gospel, which shows the harmony of Divine Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power, and mankind the Divine inspiration of the Bible, showing its complete harmony with itself and with the true principles of godliness!
BAPTIST D. D. ‘S DISAGREE We clip the following from the daily press. Comment is unnecessary: "A declaration by the Rev. Dr. Charles E. McClellan, pastor of the Fairhill Baptist Church, that ‘Protestantism in the United States is fast decaying and will soon be a thing of the past, ‘aroused a storm of protest at the fifty-third session of the North Philadelphia Baptist Association, in the Fiftieth Baptist Church, at Seventh street and Susquchanna Avenue.
"Other ministers were on their feet in an instant, declaring that Doctor McClellan must be mistaken. Instead of dying out, they said, Protestantism is now at its zenith, with unbounded opportunities for advancement.
"Doctor McClellan spoke on what he called the decline of Protestantism while making his report as chairman of the missionary committee. ‘The spirit of Protestantism is dying in the United States, and it will soon be a thing of the past, ‘he said, ‘Philadelphia, both denominationally and religiously, is going to perdition at a rapid rate.
"’Recently I attended the services in one of our [HG468] churches, at which I had been invited to speak. I found in attendance nineteen adults and one child. The same condition exists all over the city. We have large magnificent churches, but small congregations, showing that it is easy to get money, but hard to get men. ‘ "
ELECTRICAL ENERGY DISCOVERED A scientific gentleman in England startles the world with the declaration that he has discovered a certain electric ray that can be focused like light and be used to paralyze armies as easily and as quickly as though lightning had desolated their ranks. This new weapon of destruction, it is said, has been tendered to the British War Department. It is called an "attribute of high-frequency electric current," which can be separated and, by mechanical contrivance, be deflected and aimed in much the same way as a stream of water from a hose pipe. The "Scientist" says: "The most striking experiment of all had a horse for its subject. By a mechanical device, which is, of course, a secret invention, it was brought to bear upon the horse at a range of four miles. The results could not have been more rapid or more destructive had the range been four yards. The brute staggered as though dazed by a blow from some unseen hand, then fell stone dead. The same thing would have happened had the range been doubled or trebled, and the fate of a horse might have been the fate of an army corps."
Surely the increase of knowledge of our day can be safely entrusted only to perfect beings controlled by the Law of Love, or by a higher power.
Volume 3, Number 4 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL This article was republished in Reprints 4773-75-March 1, 1911, entitled, "The Immortality of the Soul."
CHOOSE YE THIS DAY BETWEEN TRUTH AND ERROR This article can be found in its entirety in Newspaper Sermons, entitled, "Choose Ye This Day Between Truth and Error."
SOLOMON’S WISDOM "Wisdom is the principal thong, therefore get Wisdom." Prov. 4:7
Wisdom is properly defined to be
(1) the power of discerning what is true and right, what is conducive to the highest interests.
(2) Conformity, so far as one’s own conduct is concerned, to the course of action dictated by such discernment.
The world-famed Gough summed up wisdom in these words, "Wisdom is knowledge made our own and properly applied."
The best-intentioned people find continually, under the pressure of their own weaknesses and the temptations which surround mankind, that they are inclined to slip away from the noble standards and sentiments of their hearts. Experience demonstrates, too, that all need frequently to look about them and to compare present attainments with the past to find their bearings, to note whether or not they are making progress or retrograding. Our advice to all consecrated Christians is that such introspection be taken nightly before we retire to rest-that each day’s progress be noted and that fresh resolutions be presented evening and morning at the Throne of Grace to be practiced to the extent of our ability daily.
WISDOM OUR WATCHWORD But while (the eyes of our understanding opening wider daily and hourly) we discern the Divine character in clearer lines and discern our own [HG469] blemishes more perspicuously, nevertheless the eye of faith sees with the greater clearness also that a full atonement was made by our Redeemer, not only for our share in the original sin, but also for our unintentional weaknesses, which result from our relationship to Adam and the fall. Thus the Lord’s people may have a hope and joy and confidence toward Him which others cannot realize-which is not applicable to others-which they can obtain only by coming to the Heavenly Father in the appointed way, through faith in the redemptive work of the Son.
The word wisdom takes on a variety of shades as it passes through the lenses of different minds and hence it behooves us as the Lord’s people to make no mistake-to get the right kind of wisdom-to find the wisdom which cometh from above and to clearly distinguish between it and other wisdom, which the Scriptures tell us is only foolishness. It is the Apostle Paul who explains that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God and that likewise the wisdom which God inculcates is often esteemed foolishness by the worldly wise.
THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD To illustrate: One class of these worldly wise men say to us by their actions, which speak louder than words-" Money is the principal thing, therefore with all your getting get money, for with it you can have all things and without it you can have nothing." Of course, there is a certain amount of worldly logic in this, else it would not appeal to so large a number of people as being the voice of wisdom directing to the proper course in life. Nevertheless many of those thus taught have, after a few years, demonstrated by their own course the fallacy, the unwisdom of this proposition. There are things which money cannot buy and which the pursuit of money is almost sure to drive away. One of these is health; another, peace of mind; another, joy; another, a restful conscience; another, the knowledge of God; another, growth in grace; another, fellowship with the Father, the Lord Jesus and the brethren; another, hope toward God in respect to the Heavenly inheritance which He has promised to those who love Him supremely-better than they love houses or lands or money or any other thing or being.
Another class of the worldly wise, and these are usually the children of wealth-though sometimes merely "spongers," who, like parasites, live off the energy of others-tell us that true wisdom is the pursuit of pleasure, in field games, theatricals, cards, checkers, chess, dominoes, etc., or mental revelries in novel reading. The gratification found in these they tell us is their happiness, their joy, and that they know of no greater wisdom than to daily endeavor to gratify these tastes and appetites. We answer that they are making a mistake, that they are deceiving themselves; that if they will analyze their own feelings they will perceive that they are not really enjoying life, but are using their mental activities in the endeavor to find enjoyment in life.
Still another class of worldly wise tell us that from their viewpoint all the world is a stage and men and women are but actors on it, and that life is a show, a mere play, and to a considerable degree a farce, a make-believe. Acting upon their theory of wisdom the principal thing in life is to make a good show in dress, in equipage, in the home-everywhere to put on a gloss, to the intent that their real heart condition and their real financial condition may not be discerned by their neighbors. This pride of life, this living for show, this "stage" life in which tinsel is worn as a make believe for gold, is not true wisdom. Not only will it end in bitter disappointment at the close of life, when all the masks will come off, but it is not a satisfying portion even when most successful. The heart requires something more than this. Man, made in the image and likeness of God, has retained a measure of that likeness, notwithstanding the fall and the incidental degeneracy, so that shams, hypocrisies and make believes cannot bring true happiness or contentment of heart.
SCIENTIFIC WISDOM LACKING Another class of worldly wise tell us that science and philosophy are the only things worthy of the noblest minds and intellects. They tell us that the word science signifies that which is true and that the special aim of scientists is to help their fellow men by uncovering the truth, by getting rid of all the ignorance and deceptions that surround various matters and things and thus bring Truth to the front. They tell us that thus the scientists are the real teachers of the world. They tell us that philosophy teaches the love of wisdom, which leads to search for it, and that in the last analysis they are really the wise men of the world who make it their business to help other men to wisdom along all the pathways of life, in matters of financial and social, mental, moral and natural science.
At last we seem to find in this profession what we are seeking, true wisdom with noble objects before it. We commend their love of truth and their desire to rid themselves of all superstition and error and we pause to examine the practical working of this wisdom and to note the blessings it brings to these philosophers. [HG470] Our examination disappoints us; the philosophers are not happy.
The geologist with his hammer, his tubes, his glasses, etc., chips and examines the rocks and philosophizes as to how long ago they were formed, the method of their formation, the probable conditions of the earth at that time, etc. etc. etc. He reaches a fanciful conclusion and takes a degree of pleasure in presenting his deductions to fellow scientists, but they all know that he does not know, that he is merely guessing and his findings neither satisfy his own heart nor can give satisfaction on such a subject to his fellow scientists.
The biologist studies the human anatomy and the anatomy of the largest animals with a view to tracing how men came from a monkey, and how the monkey came from some lower order of creature, and what arguments can be set forth to demonstrate that the lowest form of living creature was originally the highest form and how all others had been evolved therefrom. As a Darwinian he presents his arguments and theories to his associates and to the world. He plumes himself on the logic of his theory, and for a few short years has a place among his worldly wise associates, a little later on to be branded as a back number in the light of some other theories and facts which some other biologist shall have conceived and set forth.
THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE Let us now turn from these worldly wise men and their instructions that we may hearken to the voice of the Lord our God, which tells us that true wisdom comes from Above. And what is more reasonable than this? Knowing so little, of ourselves, why should we not expect to be informed, to be taught, to be instructed in the true wisdom by our Creator. As the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, our Lord is the foundation of Wisdom, and we should anticipate that from this foundation alone could come the sweet satisfaction and blessing which all hearts crave.
The Bible has a very terse manner of presenting Divine instruction on this subject; its information is given in no uncertain terms; it declares that much of the earthly wisdom is merely bitter jealousy and strife-" earthly, animal, devilish." If we apply these words to the various kinds of wisdom set before us by the world we may know their appropriateness. For instance, the wisdom which commends wealth as the goal: does it not involve its votaries in bitter jealousies, envyings, strife, along the lines of commercial conflict and piracy? And does not this in turn destroy for the money-hunter the pleasure which he anticipated in it and to a considerable degree have a depraving and demoralizing effect upon his heart?
Take the second class of wise men mentioned-those who pursue pleasure: Is there not in their course that which continually tends toward jealousy and strife? Is not their wisdom at very most earthly and animal, and is not the tendency of it in many instances to the depraving of the mind and heart and thus to devilishness?
Take the third class-those who deem it wisdom to make of life a vain show without any other particular aim or object. Is not such a course demoralizing?
Does not such love of display lead to envyings, bitterness and strife, and frequently to dishonorable means and methods for gratifying their pride? Are not their hearts empty of the good and likely to be filled with greater or lesser evils according to their circumstances, conditions and environments?
Take the fourth class, scientists and philosophers. We have already acknowledged that in many respects this class would be attractive to those who are well born and mentally well equipped, and that in many respects their aims are laudable. Let us apply the Apostle’s words to them. We find among them the very conditions he describes, bitter envyings, jealousy and strife. True, these are kept in considerable measure under cover, though frequently we can read these sentiments between the lines of polished language, and frequently the Apostle’s assurance that their wisdom is purely earthly is corroborated by themselves. As a rule, whatever respect they have had in youth for the Bible and its God is sure to be lost unless they go beyond the wisdom of earthly sciences. The Apostle Paul pays his respects to many of these gentlemen, saying that their presentations are "science falsely so called" and that their philosophies are "vain philosophies." (1 Tim. 6:20; Col 2:8)
"DEVILISH" WISDOM It may be doubted by some if the Apostle’s word "devilish" could be applied to this class of earthly wisdom, but in our judgment these scientists have done more injury to the Lord’s cause than any of the others. Usually well educated, their philosophies carry an undeserved weight to the minds of the common people, including Christians. Their guesses are taken for scientific truths, and as these are frequently in conflict with the Bible it follows that they, more than any others of the worldly wise, are opponents of the Lord and of His revelation, the Bible. Nor do they by such opposition gain any real blessing to their own hearts, for their philosophical errors blind and deceive themselves as well as others. Indeed, it has been a source of constant surprise to us to find that even [HG471] scientists who turn their attention to astronomy are very generally infidels as respects the Bible’s being Cod’s revelation, and many of them out-and-out atheists who deny that there is any living and true God, holding that nature is her own creator, developer, evolutionizer, etc.
"The testimonies of the Lord are sure, making wise the humble." Psalm 19:7 Having examined worldly wisdom and found it unsatisfactory to our hearts and heads the inquiry arises, where shall we seek the wisdom which the Wise Man declares is the principal thing? We reply that it is found in God’s Word, which to mankind in general is foolishness (1 Cor. 1:23-25) but to us who believe in the power of God and the wisdom of God. This wisdom is found only in this Book and that in proportion as we are enabled by His grace to rightly divide it, to understand it.
Let us examine carefully this true wisdom from Above which the Scriptures enjoin (Jas. 3:17). It is first pure-it sets purity as its highest standard, and the word pure takes in the thought of honesty, sincerity. Whatever questions arise respecting our dealings, our conduct, our thoughts, the first point to be decided would be, is it pure, is it honest, is it true? If this cannot be answered affirmatively that is enough, heavenly Wisdom says.
If the question stands the first test, the second one would be, is my motive a peaceable one? Would I thus be doing all that I properly could do to preserve peace, harmony, accord in my own heart and in my dealings with others, or would the course considered be likely to awaken strife? Only peaceable dispositions are approved by the Lord, and this thought should continually guide the Lord’s people, with a desire to be pleasing to Him. This, however, does not mean a lack of firmness of character, nor the lack of a proper combativeness to oppose the wrong in the proper manner and on suitable occasions. It merely means that our conduct should be as peaceable as loyalty to righteousness will permit. "Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory."
PURE WISDOM GENTLE Gentleness is given as the third mark of heavenly wisdom. The world in general has grown to appreciate the sentiment that gentleness is a propriety. Indeed, to declare that some people are not gentle-men would be one of the surest ways of so arousing their temper as to cause a display of feeling which would be anything but gentle. The gentleness of the world is largely on the outside-polish, good breeding; but the gentleness which the heavenly wisdom inculcates extends from the inside to the outside. The thoughts are gentle-brought under control by the various injunctions and instructions of the Word of the Lord. The whole life of the regenerated Christian is brought under control of the Spirit of holiness, which is on all proper occasions a spirit of gentleness, meekness, patience and long suffering.
There may be times when the direction of the Lord’s Word would cause His people exercised by His Spirit to seem ungentle, to seem severe even, yet it would be the result of a failure to rightly discriminate on the subject. For instance, it might become the duty of a parent to exercise discipline in his family, and the disciplined ones might consider no discipline as gentleness; whereas the Lord has directed that the parent should have his children in proper subjection, and that he who spareth the rod hateth his child. From the standpoint of the Scriptures all chastisement, however deserved, should be given in moderation, and with the gentlest of heart sentiments toward the transgressor, and with the utmost sympathy for his hereditary weaknesses and blemishes, which require such extreme correction; and no such discipline should be given except at a time when the mind is thus well poised and full of parental sympathy and love. Gentleness and firmness are not in conflict, though sometimes their combination is not rightly understood or appreciated by those who lack the wisdom from above.
GENEROUS, WARM-HEARTED The fourth point to be remembered in connection with the heavenly wisdom is that those who are exercised by it are easy of entreatment-they are not hard hearted, cold, stony; they can be touched with sympathy, and will manifest their sympathy even though they may not always allow it to rule them nor always allow it to hinder them from exercising proper disciplines. There is a difference between being easily entreated and being "soft," spineless. The wisdom from above has a firm texture of character, without coarseness, roughness, rudeness, hardness.
The fifth element of heavenly wisdom is to be full of mercy-overflowing with mercy, with generous impulses, with kindly feelings, with compassion and sympathy for those in any trouble or distress. This, however, would not mean a mercy without gauges and conditions. Mercy may fill one full and yet be limited and restrained in its course of action, because sound judgment may dictate that in some cases the restraint of mercy would be for the benefit, advantage of the offender. In a word, where the spirit of the world [HG472] would be that of vindicativeness, hatred and animosity because of some evil done, the Spirit of the Lord, the wisdom from above, would be full of mercy, compassion, sympathy, and would be restrained from full forgiveness and remission of all penalties only as sound judgment should indicate that such a generous course would be contrary to the best interests of the culprit.
"YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN" Lastly, the wisdom from above is full of good fruits, and delights in whatsoever things are true, honest, pure, lovely and of good report. Cannot we see the philosophy connected with this wisdom-that the possessor of it is sure to be blessed in his heart experience, to have happiness, joy, peace and blessing himself, as well as sure to scatter blessings wherever he may go? This is the tendency of this heavenly wisdom; this is the wisdom from above. This is the wisdom, therefore, referred to in the words, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom," the wisdom with these characteristics.
We remark, however, that there is only one way to put ourselves into relationship with the Lord so as to be able to receive this wisdom from above. The way is Christ-through faith in His blood as our sin atonement. Still more than this, it means a renunciation of our sins, an endeavor to walk in the Lord’s way, leading to a full consecration of heart and life to Him and the consequent begetting of the Spirit. Only from this last standpoint can any hope to receive the wisdom from above, the true wisdom.
RELIGIOUS AND SCIENTIFIC GLEANINGS PEACE, PEACE, YET NO PEACE! At a time when Christendom is talking about converting the world by a rush of Christian missionaries upon heathen lands-each missionary to convert thirty-two thousand heathens in a year-it is well that we try to view the situation rationally, as well as sympathetically.
We certainly have every sympathy for the heathen. We surely greatly appreciate the benevolent intentions of the so-called Laymen’s Missionary Movement, which proposes to raise millions of money and accomplish the conversion of heathendom instanter.