| VOL. XXIX | JULY 1 | No. 13 |
"I will stand upon my watch, and set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He shall say unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me." Hab. 2:1
Upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity: the sea and the waves (the restless, discontented) roaring: men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking forward to the things coming upon the earth (society): for the powers of the heavens (ecclestiasticism) shall be shaken. . . .When ye see these things come to pass, then know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Look up, lift up your heads, rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:25-28, 32.
Our "Berean Lessons" are topical rehearsals or reviews of our Society's published "Studies," most entertainingly arranged, and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the Society accords, viz., Verbi Dei Minister (V.D.M.), which translated into English is, Minister of the Divine Word. Our treatment of the International S.S. Lessons is specially for the older Bible Students and Teachers. By some this feature is considered indispensable.
This Journal stands firmly for the defence of the only true foundation of the Christian's hope now being so generally repudiated, – Redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all." (I Pet. 1:19; I Tim. 2:6.) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, silver and precious stones (I Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to – "Make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which...has been hid in God,...to the intent that now might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" – "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed." – Eph. 3:5-9,10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of God in Christ, as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken; – according to the divine wisdom granted unto us, to understand. Its attitude is not dogmatical, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith upon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in his service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made, to facilitate such testing.
All Bible Students who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for this Journal, will be supplied FREE if they send a Postal Card each June stating their case and requesting its continuance. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually and in touch with the Studies, etc.
Arrangements have been made for the Convention to be held in Put-in-Bay Island (Lake Erie), Ohio; headquarters at Hotel Victory, where exceptionally low rates for rooms and meals have been arranged. The prospects are that this will be the largest and best convention we have ever held.
Immersion service 10 a.m., at Bible House Chapel, N.S., 610 Arch St. Friends desiring to be immersed would confer a favor by signifying their intention. Afternoon session in Alvin Theatre, Sixth St., Pittsburgh: Subject, "Where are the Dead?" Evening session, Question Meeting, 7:30 o'clock, Bible House Chapel, N.S.
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SECRETARY Taft made an address before the Order of Railway Conductors in which he said: –
"Men who control capital, as well as men who work for wages, must combine," said Secretary Taft to the conductors. "Combinations of capital within the bounds of the law are necessary for business expediency and for cost reduction. And because of these combinations among employers, the laboring men must combine also in order to obtain that independence to which they are entitled.
LOOKS FOR GIANTS' STRUGGLE"Every man who understands welcomes the lawful combination of capital and the combinations of the laboring men. Yet there is no denying the fact that we must look forward to a gigantic controversy between labor and capital, hoping and trusting that it will be settled peaceably. That controversy, when it comes, will decide once for all how capital and labor shall share the joint-profits which they create.
"For the past three years we have been doing some house-cleaning. We needed it. President Roosevelt was the chief of those who called a halt and convinced the people that no one in this country is above the law. I do not say that all rich men are wicked. We take pride in those who by energy, intelligence, and honesty have accumulated wealth. But there are men in this country who by means devious and contrary to law have become multi-millionaires. These must be made to know that their lawless methods cannot be successful in the future."
How evidently our Lord's teachings and those of his apostles were not to the world, but to "the called according to his purpose." To those he said, "Ye are not of the world, for I have chosen you out of the world."
The purpose of their call is also made clear: That they should be holy, and, as his consecrated "little flock," learn important lessons and be developed to the full in love and loyalty to God and to each other and to all the principles of righteousness to the intent that being thus qualified for the service they may be made members of the Royal Family, the Kingdom class, which shall rule the nations with a rod of iron, wielded by a hand of love, during the Millennium.
Surely no other explanation fits the facts of history and the records of the Bible. Blessed are the eyes of all who see these things and still more blessed are those whose hearts respond fully and who thus by the Lord's assisting grace make their calling and election sure to a place in that Kingdom.
The London correspondent of the Toronto Globe says: "Mayfair's great army of clairvoyants, soothsayers, table-rappers and seventh-day sisters have been greatly encouraged by Sir Oliver Lodge's declarations concerning communications received from beyond the grave by the Psychical Research Society. The police prosecutions of a few years ago caused a genuine stampede from the luxuriously-appointed temples of mystery in the fashionable streets of the West End, but most of those who ran away have returned or are returning – bolder and more mysterious than ever.
"It is declared on good authority that dabblers in the occult among fashionable society are numerically greater than ever before, and this statement is borne out by the rushing business being done by the men and women of mystery. In Oxford Circus and Piccadilly are daily to be seen sandwich men in large numbers bearing advertisement boards telling of the wonderfully accurate predictions made by Mme. X., and how Mme. Z., by timely warning to a lady of high title, prevented a dreadful domestic catastrophe.
"Quite a separate division of the futurity-reading industry is that of the sporting 'prophets,' who are doing so well financially that they are able to spend large sums for advertisements in the newspapers. A special crusade against this form of clairvoyance has been started by the Bishop of Hereford. He has used his influence to have a committee of the Upper House of the Convocation of Canterbury appointed to deal with the subject, and wholesale prosecutions, both of newspapers printing the advertisements and of those placing them, are threatened."
Presbyterians are having great comfort from their restatement of their Faith for the public. They claim that it is just the same in meaning as their Westminster Confession. The new creed states so little and so vaguely that it mates well with the "new theology," which denies the Atonement, the pre-existence [R4195 : page 196] of Jesus, etc. But now Methodists are feeling their need of a similarly colorless creed, as is shown by the following from the Portland Evening Telegram:
At the meeting of the Methodist Episcopal ministers today at Taylor Street Church, Rev. C. E. Cline read a paper on "Restating the Articles of Our Religion," which was in line with the general movement of that Church to restate the present articles, which were originally taken from the Episcopal creed.
Rev. Clarence True Wilson, D.D., said he found the articles needed restating, as he had often been embarrassed by the inadequacy of the present Discipline.
"Why, the other day," he said, "a Unitarian wrote me for information about our belief, and do you think I could send our Discipline? No, indeed not. Had I done so every minister present today would have criticised me. I happened to meet a Presbyterian minister who was in receipt of a letter from this same Unitarian and I asked him what he was going to do about it. 'Why, send him our Articles,' said he. I then said, 'Sign my name to it, too.'
"We don't believe in the idea of Christ's atonement, yet we have it in our Discipline, and several other things, such as Original Sin being inherited. There can be no such thing, and no minister of our Church believes there is."
The Rev. Dr. Day, Chancellor of the Syracuse University, recently, in an address to the Y.M.C.A., is reported by the public press to have voiced sentiments [R4196 : page 196] which we have reason to believe are shared by vast numbers of humanity, though seldom expressed. We quote from the New York Press:
"Wouldn't you rather live in America than in heaven? I would. I'd like to go to heaven when I can't be here. In fact, I think I'd be rather discontented in heaven till I got adjusted. You can get anything you want here. You can live under forty odd governments, meet all the nations of the world, eat all the fruits of the world and get any kind of climate that you choose. So America is the best place to live; but I think when a man can't stay here any longer he ought to steer for heaven.
"For my part, I've never been much fascinated with the idea of corner-lots and mansions in the skies, and songs and harps and such things. I like a place because it's busy, and the more business there is the better I like it. Give me lots of work and lots of people to oppose me and then I'm happy.
"The business of the country isn't going to stagnate, or wither. It is going on. There's too much wealth in the interior, too much property on the surface, too much harvest on its broad acres, too many factories, too much money that's got to be invested to be safe for us to halt long. We've had a little scare, it's true, but nothing more."
Such a truthful expression will doubtless do good. Hypocrisy is never advantageous nor commendable. If all spoke out their true sentiments, Christianity would be rudely shaken and surprised, but the result would be good; the few really energized by the heavenly promises would be manifested and separated from the nominal mass to their great advantage.
The Apostle Paul spoke of such as "loved the present world" (2 Tim. 4:10), as thus giving evidence that they had departed from the faith and departed from all relationship to Christ as his disciples. We remember also the inspired Word, "Love not the world, neither the things of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." – I John 2:15.
Those who have really "tasted of the heavenly gift and the powers of the world (age) to come, and been made partakers of the holy Spirit," possessing this illumination of the eyes of their understanding, can never be satisfied with present conditions under the rule of the Prince of Darkness, can never be satisfied by the present "reign of sin and death," under which "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain."
Dissatisfied with all that the present evil world can offer, they are content, nevertheless, because of their faith in God's promises of future blessings to the Church and the world; content because of God's assurance that the present evils will ultimately work out blessings under divine guidance – helpful both to the Church and the world. We will be satisfied when our polishing as the Lord's jewels is completed – when we awake in his likeness in the resurrection. And the groaning creation – the poor as well as the rich – will be satisfied when the Millennium shall have blessed and uplifted all from sin and degradation and selfishness and shall have established amongst men equity and love, the fulfilling of the divine law. And all not then satisfied will be utterly destroyed. – Acts 3:23.
Many of our readers know that for years we have been waiting for a fulfilment of the symbolic statement about the two-horned beast of Revelation 13:15. Our expectation has been that the Church of England, represented in the two-horned beast, would give life to the Protestant Image of Papacy, viz., the Protestant Evangelical Alliance. Just what we have been waiting for may yet occur – Episcopal ordination may be granted to the "clergy" of other denominations; but possibly the action of the Episcopal House of Bishops some months ago is all that we should expect. By opening Episcopal pulpits to other Orthodox Protestant ministers it tacitly acknowledged their ordination and thus gave them sanction, acknowledgment, validity – life. This, at least, is the view taken by some of their own "clergy," as the following will show: –
Dramatic scenes marked the departure of the Rev. William McGarvey and his three assistants from St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, Philadelphia.
The four clergymen of the Church decided they could no longer remain in the Episcopal Church when the "open pulpit" canon was adopted.
They distributed a circular letter in part as follows: –
"It is due to you that we should tell you plainly why we are leaving you and going forth to begin our lives anew. When we were ordained we were persuaded that the Catholic religion in its fulness was the faith of the Episcopal Church. Animated by this persuasion, we gave ourselves freely to her ministry and would gladly have laid down our lives in her service. Misgivings with regard to the legitimacy of our position were first aroused when certain of the bishops a year or two ago began to invite non-Episcopal ministers into the pulpits.
"Such action was not, of course, the action of the Episcopal Church, although its proceeding from bishops gives it a serious import. But when the whole house of bishops, without a dissenting vote, indorsed this practice by incorporating [R4196 : page 197] into the discipline of the Episcopal Church explicit provision for an open pulpit, it was manifest that either the non-Episcopal ministers had already the same ministerial status as ministers of the word with those ordained by bishops of the Episcopal Church, or that the Episcopal Church had by her enactment of the open pulpit canon seriously compromised the doctrine of holy order which we had supposed that she held in its integrity.
"Had such a canon been enacted prior to our ordination our consciences would never for a moment have allowed us to receive ordination in the Episcopal Church. And now that the canon was enacted it was plain that we must, as honest men, reconsider our whole position. We set a time for prayer and thought that we might know God's will and might do nothing hastily.
"That time has now expired, and it has been made abundantly clear to us that the Episcopal Church, in making possible the admission of all sorts of Protestant ministers as teachers of her people, has rightly interpreted her own essential spirit. She now stands forth before the world in the character which belongs to her, and by which she desires to be known. She is as she calls herself, as in the last general convention she has demonstrated herself to be, and as most of her members regard her – a Protestant Church."
"Sheol and Hades are respectively the Old and the New Testament words for the place of the dead – all dead, whether saved or lost. Gehenna is the name of the place of the dead who are lost."
"A streak of fire passing rapidly through the air would precipitate nitric acid. So would a bolt of lightning. A bolt of lightning moving for a distance of 200 feet without the zigzag breaks in its course would throw down nitric acid out of the air, for a territory a mile in diameter.
"Now, suppose a bolt of lightning did dart through the air in the immediate vicinity of what is now the Dead Sea. Suppose that bolt to have traversed a long distance, with its course unbroken by a common zigzag movement of lightning. Enough nitric acid would be thrown down to change all the surface of the earth for miles around to nitrates. And, in my opinion, that is exactly what did happen, causing not only the transformation of Lot's wife into a pillar of salt, but also causing the Dead Sea to become 'dead.'"
– Lyell M. Rider, professor of chemistry.
BERLIN – The police today discovered guns, ammunition and other material supposed to belong to Russian Terrorists in the house of the Socialist Municipal Councilor (member of the city council), Kerfien.
There were many pistols with so called dumdum bullets, and an electric apparatus for the igniting of explosives at a distance, double shirt bosoms for the smuggling of forbidden literature into Russia, etc. A whole dray load of such articles was being removed. – Translated from the German.
The correspondent of the Jewish Daily News reports that the Hungarian Minister of the Interior ordered a thorough investigation of the status of Russian Jews who live in Budapest. Those who are unable to show that they have certain means of livelihood should be expelled from the capital. This order affects the fate of nearly 10,000 Jews, for the Galician Jews living in Budapest will be included in that edict, and most of these belong to the poorest classes. A cable dispatch received by the above journal announces that 1500 Jews have already been expelled from Budapest.
A well-to-do farmer named Kish, residing not far from the present site of Jerusalem, had a son named Saul; tall, manly, well-balanced mentally, but not specially religious. This son was God's choice for Israel's king. In the carrying out of the divine programme, a herd of asses, under Saul's care, was lost, and, after vainly searching for them, he finally bethought him to consult God's prophet, Samuel, who lived not a great distance away. We can see how this lesson itself would be helpful to the young man – drawing out his thought to the fact that all things are known to God, and that the prophet was God's special representative. Samuel's ability to locate the asses gave Saul an increased faith in him as a man of God, and in the message which he gave him, when later the prophet told Saul that he was God's choice for king over Israel, and poured upon him the oil anointing him to that office. It was, doubtless, in harmony with the prophet's advice, that Saul kept the matter of his anointing secret, and went about his business until such time as the Lord's providence should make him known to Israel as the divinely chosen king.
Saul was well suited to the office in various respects. First, he belonged to the small tribe of Benjamin, whose territory lay between that of the two principal tribes, Judah and Ephraim; he would, consequently, be more likely to have the sympathy and cooperation of the people of the most influential tribes, who would have been more likely to have feelings of opposition and jealousy toward any man from an important tribe. We read that he stood head and shoulders above his fellows, and the intimation is that he was quite muscular. In olden times, when physical force had so much to do with military fighting, we can readily see that such a type of man appealed strongly to the sentiments of the people.
Various Scripture lessons convey to us the thought that God's foreknowledge has much to do with many things that to men may appear accidental. Thus, for instance, with Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul. The Scriptures inform us that he was chosen of God to be a special vessel, or servant, from his mother's womb, implying a divine supervision of the prenatal conditions, which affected the general caliber and balance both of his mind and of his body. We think it not unreasonable to assume similarly in respect to King Saul; that his noble stature and physique may have been the result of divine foreordination. However, this divine foreordination and interposition did not affect the free agency of either of these men, of the same name and the same tribe and born more than a thousand years apart. With the conditions favorable in both cases, the free will, free agency [R4197 : page 198] was untrammeled; as, for instance, King Saul, later in life, chose an evil way and was not hindered by the Lord from taking it; while Saul of Tarsus, when shown the right way, manifested his loyalty of heart most remarkably. The latter states, however, that notwithstanding the blessing conferred upon him from his mother's womb and the honor that later came to him as an Apostle, he might still, by rejecting the Lord, become a castaway as respects a share in the coming Kingdom.
Another suggestion that may appeal to all the Lord's people is that, while known unto the Lord are all his works from the foundation of the world, these are not known to us, and hence all of us should reverence the Lord and recognize his supervision in the affairs of his consecrated people; specially should they be on the lookout for divine providences and be prompt to follow them. A constant temptation is to view matters from the worldly standpoint and to conclude that our destiny is entirely in our own hands and to forget divine providence in our affairs. Every day this lesson should become more deeply impressed upon us. With each year of Christian experience we should learn to look into the facts and circumstances of life from the standpoint of faith, seeking to note the will of the Lord concerning us in things small as well as great. True, the Lord is not now selecting from amongst his saints a king for Israel, but he is making selections for the Body of the Great King, the Messiah, whose Head is the Lord Jesus Christ and whose members are the "more than conquerors" of this Gospel Age.
Although Saul was tall and athletic, a wonderful man in his way, he was humble withal, as the Lord testified: "Thou wast little in thine own sight." (1 Sam. 15:17.) This is another characteristic which belongs to those whom the Lord is now choosing to be kings and priests unto God under their Lord in the Millennium. They must really be taller than their fellows in respect to character as New Creatures, even if not according to the flesh; but they must be humble, "little in their own sight." They must realize that they are not worthy of such honor, that it is only of God's grace, and that the honor thus conferred upon them is not merely for themselves, but that they may be used of the Lord in connection with the blessing which he intends to confer upon humanity in and through the Kingdom of his dear Son.
Respecting Saul's homeward journey we read: "And it was so that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him." (1 Sam. 10:9,10.) Verse 6 declares that he "was turned into another man." Forthwith he joined himself to one of the schools of the prophets, which Samuel had established, through which the better education of Israel might be accomplished, especially with respect to religious truths and influences. We may be in doubt as to just what is meant by this statement of Saul's change, but we can have no doubt that it would not signify that God's holy Spirit came upon him as it came upon the Church at Pentecost and as it is with all of the consecrated from that time to the present; because this Pentecostal blessing is a seal of sonship and grants an enlightenment of the mind respecting the deep things of God's Word and plan, such as was not granted to any previous to our Lord's anointing with the Spirit. Respecting this Pentecostal sealing we are informed that the holy Spirit was not yet given, even to the disciples, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Not until Jesus' glorification was the holy Spirit sent forth, because the penalty for sin being upon the race none could be fully accepted of God to the begetting of the holy Spirit to the heavenly nature until after the ransom price for sinners had been paid by our Lord's sacrifice.
The Spirit of God upon Saul was more physical in its manifestation, controlling his words and actions rather than enlightening his mind in respect to the deep things of God. This was true of all the prophets who spake and wrote as they were moved by the holy Spirit, but who did not understand in full degree the things which they uttered. – 1 Pet. 1:10; 2 Pet. 1:21.
Saul's experience gave him practical demonstration of a divine power outside of himself, and thus tended to fix his mind upon the more sober things of life and God's relationship to these. The result was that, returning to his duties as a farmer, he was thereafter a changed man, or had a new heart, a new purpose. The experiences through which he had passed led his mind out into new channels, new ambitions. The sports of life in which he had previously spent considerable time were unworthy of his attention now, because he had been lifted to a higher plane and had his mind full of conjectures and resolutions respecting the Kingdom; wondering, perhaps, how the Lord would bring it to pass that one so obscure as himself should come to a place of such political prominence in the nation.
Similarly we may suggest that those who believe God's message and accept the anointing of the holy Spirit, typified by the oil poured upon Saul, also find new aims, new impulses, new hopes, new desires, and are also disposed to join themselves to a school of the prophets, to associate with those who are studying the divine Word and will. And similarly these in all of life's affairs are changed men. Yet not similarly either, because the change to these is much greater and of a different kind, as we have already suggested. The Scriptures explain to us that the Lord's people, now being selected for joint-heirship in his Millennial Kingdom, are changed in a most remarkable manner. All things become new to them, and things which they once loved now they hate, and things which once they hated now they love. The ambitions of these are too high to permit of waste of time and energy in the follies of life, which engage the attention of the worldly. The thoughts of the Kingdom fill their hearts and they study to make their calling and their election sure, requiring their time and attention to such a degree that previous pleasures are dead and unsatisfactory in comparison. [R4198 : page 198]
When we read that Samuel called all the people together at Mizpeh, we should understand that it signifies that according to their national organization all the people were represented, not only as twelve tribes, but by persons representing the different tribes proportionate to the number of persons in the tribe. The proper persons to represent the tribes, we are informed, were chosen by lot; but no matter how, all the tribes were represented, and not all the people were expected to go to Mizpeh.
At the proper time the prophet Samuel stood forth and explained to the people afresh, that they had not done wisely in appealing for a king instead of continuing the Lord's arrangement, but that the Lord was willing to give them an experience along the line which they had preferred, and that they were now come together to ascertain from the Lord who of the hosts of Israel should occupy the important position of king. Accordingly they first inquired of the Lord respecting the tribe in which was the person of his choice. The testing of the twelve rods, representing the twelve tribes, gave the answer that the expected one should be from the tribe of [R4198 : page 199] Benjamin. Next the testing as to the different families of the chosen tribe, and next as to which member of the chosen family, the choice falling upon Saul, the son of Kish, as Samuel already knew it would, and as Saul also knew because of Samuel's words and the anointing oil. Thus the Lord dealt with the minds of the people to show them his choice and to teach them to look for divine direction in their various interests.
There is a lesson here for the Lord's people in respect to the choosing of elders and deacons in the various ecclesias. Each of the consecrated should recognize that in doing his part in the election he should merely act as the Lord's agent and that the Lord's will should be done fully, completely. Personal preference should be ignored, wire-pulling and attempting to influence the minds of those who would vote should be merely along Scriptural lines in respect to character, and nothing should be done for strife or vain-glory, but all to the glory of God. Earthly relationships should have no influence in this question, as his people should speak as the oracles of God, recognizing that the matter is in their hands to be decided according to the directions of the holy Word and Spirit.
The record shows that when the announcement was made that Saul, the son of Kish, was to be the king, there was a general search and none knew his whereabouts. Inquiry of the Lord revealed the fact that he was hidden amongst the stuff, the baggage of these tribes. The modesty of Saul is commendable. He knew that he would be the choice on this occasion, for the Lord had indicated this by his anointing, but he modestly withdrew. As much modesty of heart, even though differently expressed, should be found amongst all the Lord's dear people, specially amongst those who are chosen to serve the Lord's flock in any capacity. The man should be hiding himself rather than aspiring to the position of service, however much he may appreciate the honor of being a servant of the Lord and of his flock.
Saul's modesty is further evidenced by the fact that after being chosen he did not assume a dictatorial spirit and authority, but reasonably, properly went to his own farm to attend to its interest until such time as the Lord would indicate some forward movement on his part – until the Lord would bless him with the kingdom. And it is so with us; we are to do as the Apostle tells us: "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called," not necessarily forever, but until such time as the Lord's providence should open the door and call him forth to service for the Lord and his people. If the matter is of the Lord at all, he will give the opportunity and the wisdom to use it properly. If it is not of the Lord, the service would better never be entered upon in any degree.
Verse 26 tells us that a band of men accompanied Saul to his home – men whose hearts God had touched. And on the other hand the following verse tells us that there were other "sons of Belial," who despised him, brought him no present, but said: "How shall this man save us?" Apparently the latter class were more numerous than the band who accompanied Saul. The whole account reminds us of our Lord after his anointing, when a band of the people were drawn to him, "Those whose hearts God had touched." These became his disciples and followers, and the Apostle tells us that the number of them was about five hundred. There were certain sons of Belial who withstood Jesus, of whom the prophet tells us saying, "We hid, as it were, our faces from him; there was no beauty that we should desire him." They said in effect, "How can this man save us?" There was nothing desirable in him in their estimation.
The same thing is true of the Lord's people and cause ever since, and particularly true of those who occupy any place of prominence in his service. Some approve God's dealings, recognizing his providences, and act in harmony with their faith. These are the ones whose hearts God has touched. God's directings and touchings in the present time are mainly through the truth, "Thy Word is truth;" "Sanctify them through thy truth." The sanctified are looking for the Lord's leadings, and they are assisted in discerning them. On the other hand, as there were in Saul's day and in our Lord's time, so there have been since, sons of Belial, contentious, unwilling to be guided by the Lord's providences and the words of his prophet. These sons of strife are not always dissolute either; as, for instance, in our Lord's time they included scribes, Pharisees and doctors of the Law, who were moved, we are told, with envy and jealousy; those Satanic qualities which trouble the entire human family so much. The lesson to us is that we should never forget the Lord in our personal affairs, and specially in the affairs of his Kingdom. And the recognition of this should make us very careful respecting every step we take "Lest haply we be found even to fight against God." – Acts 5:39.
In the Lord's providence an opportunity came to Saul, and his promptness in seizing it endeared him to the hearts of the majority of the people. An enemy, the Moabites, made an attack upon the city of Jabesh, overpowering it. They then sent a message to the people offering to spare their lives, but on condition that their eyes should be put out. Saul promptly sent a message to all of the tribes to come to the help of their brethren, and with the recruits thus gathered drove off the enemy and delivered the people. May we not draw an illustration from this also as respects those whom the Lord anointed with the holy Spirit, with a view to their becoming ultimately joint-heirs with Jesus in the Kingdom. After being anointed of the Spirit we should expect some opportunity for divine service, and should be on the lookout for the same, even while, as the Apostle urges, we abide in the same calling wherein we were called. We also know of an enemy who has blinded some of the Lord's people and who is threatening others with blindness. The circumstance should become to us a call, and we should go forth in the name and the strength of the Lord, and with all the assistance we can command in harmony with his arrangement for the delivering of our brethren from the power of the blinding forces. Whoever sees such an opportunity and fails to avail himself of it, gives evidence that he is not in a proper condition of heart for one of the royal priesthood; he needs more love for God and for his people.
After Saul had been indicated as the king the prophet "Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord" – probably in the ark. The book probably set forth the rights and prerogatives of the king and the rights and duties of the people with a view to having each recognize the responsibility. Nevertheless, this was merely a statement of how matters should be; and, as a matter of fact, we find that neither Saul's kingdom nor any other kingdom was free from imperfection. God, however, in his book, the Bible, has set before us the laws of his kingdom, the laws which will be in force when the Millennial Kingdom shall be established and [R4198 : page 200] which, when rightly enforced, will bless all the families of the earth, instructing and uplifting them.
Our Golden Text is in harmony with this thought, declaring that "he that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." This is the meaning of the Lord's careful selection and instruction, and disciplining and judging and proving his people whom he is now calling to a position in the Millennial Kingdom. They must judge justly and they must rule in the fear of the Lord, and none will be selected or elected who are of a different disposition. The Lord makes this clear when he tells us through the Apostle that all of these who will have a share in the Kingdom must be copies of God's dear Son. – Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:13.
However, while justice will be the rule of the Kingdom it is not the rule of those who are under instruction and preparation for the Kingdom. Justice is not the Lord's rule for his people in the present time when they themselves are weak and imperfect and when their judgment of others would necessarily be imperfect also. He therefore tells us to "Judge no man before the time." The time will come when we shall judge the world (1 Cor. 6:2), but by that time we shall be qualified by our glorious First Resurrection change, which will make us like our dear Redeemer and Lord. On [R4199 : page 200] the other hand, we must remember that the force of this Scripture is that we must do no judging in the present time; instead of seeking to execute judgment upon others we may strive to exercise it upon ourselves; but toward others we must exercise love, sympathy, compassion. This is one of the great lessons to be learned and whoever fails to learn it will fail to get into the Kingdom. Whoever does learn this lesson may understand that in proportion as he himself is forgiving in that measure shall he be forgiven, for, "If ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses," "Neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." As we prove every matter of doctrine by the touchstone of the ransom, so let us learn to prove every word and act and thought by the touchstone of love. Whatsoever is not of love is sin; will prove injurious to ourselves and possibly to others.
Concerning the attitude of the world toward the new Kingdom of Messiah when established, we remember the declaration of the Scriptures, "Many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths." "The desire of all nations shall come." (Micah 4:2; Hag. 2:7.) All nations have been desiring the very blessing that God has in store for them during the Millennium; but the enemies of truth and righteousness have deceived them, putting light for darkness and darkness for light. When once they see clearly out of obscurity, the effects will be magical. Eventually every knee shall bow and every tongue confess Immanuel.
Samuel chose the occasion of Saul's coronation for a public rendering up of his own accounts. As God's servant, he had occupied the place of a Chief Justice to the nation, but the choice of a king relieved the prophet of political influence and responsibility. He called upon them as a whole people to declare whether or not he had ever taken from them aught that could be construed as a bribe, aught that in any sense of the word could be said to influence his judgment or decision of their matters. With one voice, the people declared that he had been faithful; and he in turn called upon the king and upon the Almighty Sovereign to witness this declaration of the people as a safeguard against anything that could ever be said against him in the future.
The statesmanship of Moses and Samuel stand out upon the pages of history as noble examples of courage and faithfulness to God and to the people. While it is true that few if any of the saints of God of this Gospel Age have occupied or are occupying positions of special political influence, nevertheless, the principle here set forth should be appreciated by all of God's saints under all conditions. Similar principles apply in the home, in the family. Every father ought to be able to make a similar appeal to his family as respects his nobility of purpose and honorableness in dealing with them. They should be able to witness that he had not been self-seeking in any sense of the word; that he had been faithful to his responsibility as a husband and as a father, seeking to use wisely the opportunities and responsibilities which were his by divine arrangement, caring for those under his charge, spending his life in considerable degree in their interest and certainly never against their interests. Every mother, every son, every daughter, in the family ought similarly to be able to call the fellow-members of the family to witness their faithfulness, their loyalty. The person who would be loyal in the family would be loyal to his nation, which is merely a larger family. Although Samuel had sons, he had not sought to put them forward for political preferment. His faithfulness to the interests of Israel meant primarily his faithfulness to God. So it is always with God's people. They are not to trust in their own judgment merely in serving their family. They are to seek the wisdom from above; and this implies prayer and the study of the teachings of the Scriptures.
In verses 6-12, the prophet recounted God's faithfulness to the people of Israel, and their ingratitude in return. He reminded them that Moses and Aaron, those noble characters [R4199 : page 201] who had served them so faithfully, were of divine appointment; and that their success was because of their faithfulness to the Lord. He said, "Now, therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers." He rehearsed to them their sins of idolatry, forgetfulness of the Lord's favor, and reminded them that chastisements were sent upon them not in anger, but in love, because the Lord desired to have them as his people, and because the chastisements were necessary for their good. He mentioned the names of a number of the prominent judges under whom the Lord had blessed them in recovering them from the power of their enemies. This is in full accord with the subsequent statements of the Lord on this subject. Through Isaiah the prophet, the Lord reminds the people that he used these enemies as "The rod of his anger" (Isa. 10:5); and through the Psalmist he reminds them of how he had cleansed them from their defilements and brought them back to himself, saying, "Moab is my washpot." (Psa. 108:9.) Thus for several centuries Israel had been under divine supervision, blessed according to the Covenant which God had made with them through Moses, when between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim he caused to be pronounced upon them the blessing that would be theirs if they would be faithful to him, and the evil that would befall them if they forsook the Lord – evil that would be not only retributive but also purgative, intended to retrieve them from their evil tendencies.
The Israelites had not been rightly appreciative of the favor they enjoyed, rather they forgot, ignored the Lord in their affairs; and taking worldly wisdom on the subject, they concluded that their disasters had not been punishments from the Lord and blessings in disguise, but merely the result of their failure to be organized as a kingdom under an earthly head. This, Samuel related to them, saying, "When ye saw that Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us; when the Lord your God was your King."
Fallen human nature is considerably the same at all times and in all places; and so we find that amongst those who have named the name of the Lord during this Gospel Age, there have been similar tendencies to overlook the Lord as the great Head of the Church, the great protector of its interests, the great Governor of its affairs. Two centuries of the Gospel Age had not passed when the worldly spirit called out for more organization than the Lord had established through Jesus and the apostles. First it was the partizan spirit, whereby the people in various parts sought headship for their bishops, contrary to the arrangement which the Lord had made for them. This was the very spirit which the Apostle had reproved, saying, While ye say, I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, and I of Peter, are ye not carnal? Is not this sectarian spirit an evidence that you are not in the proper relationship to the Lord? Paul did not die for you; neither did Peter; neither did Apollos. (1 Cor. 1:11-13.) Your Redeemer is the only Head which should be recognized in this particular way. Though Paul and Apollos and Peter, and all of the Lord's faithful ones may be recognized and appreciated for their work's sake, it must be remembered that they are nothing more than the Lord's mouth-pieces and representatives, and that he alone is to be considered the Head of the Church. Such are to be appreciated only as they are faithful and loyal to him. Repeatedly during the last thirty years we have reminded the Lord's faithful of the [R4200 : page 201] experience of John on the Isle of Patmos. When receiving revelation of divine things, he fell down before the angel that showed him these things, to worship him. The Apostle John in a measure represented the faithful of the Lord's people in the end of this age. The more wonderful things of the divine plan are being revealed; and some might be in danger of worshiping the angel through whom the enlightenment was sent. It is well that all should remember the lesson given in that connection, in which the angel of the Lord rebuked anything that would be in the nature of personal idolatry, saying, "See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, ...worship God." – Rev. 19:10.
This same spirit of forsaking God as the real ruler and protector of all the interests of his people was further emphasized in the third century, when the rivalry of the bishops became pronounced, ultimately leading to the recognition of one of these as Primate or Pope. The Lord did not interfere to hinder the establishment of the papal views in the Church, even as he did not interfere to hinder natural Israel from choosing a king. Although they had chosen unwisely and contrary to divine instruction, the Lord would still be gracious to such as would seek to keep his way even under the new arrangement. He would be faithful, even though his people were not faithful. He would still do them all the good possible, but they would find that those conditions which they had made for themselves were injurious to their better interests, and thus might ultimately learn a lesson as respects the wisdom of God and its superiority to the wisdom and desires of their own fallen judgment.
In other words, as the Israelites were far better under such leaders as the Lord raised up from time to time – Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah and Samuel – he would, nevertheless, bless them as much as would be possible according to their course under the new arrangement which they desired. He would overrule the further experiences they would have under their kings, so that they might from these learn a great lesson in respect to the wisdom of God. So, too, in Spiritual Israel, the Lord has not forsaken Israelites indeed, even in the midst of spiritual Babylon; but as related in the parable which foretold present conditions, the Lord said, Let both wheat and tares grow together until the harvest; in the time of harvest shall be the separating; so now the Lord, still mindful of his true saints in Babylon, sends forth the call, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. 18:4.) Those desirous of being under the Lord's direction have constituted a little flock, for whose shepherding and care the Lord himself has always been responsible, sending assistance and messages from time to time through undershepherds who were never recognized by the great systems, but merely by those who had an ear to hear and the right condition of heart to appreciate the message of truth and grace.
From verses 13-18, the Prophet reviews the present situation of the people. They had rejected the Lord from being their King, but he had not rejected them and would not do so. They had not chosen the best, but the Lord did not cross them in this matter. He, therefore, had anointed their king as his representative, and their future blessings would depend now upon how truly they and their king would remain in accord with the Lord. Under the new arrangement, the king of their choice represented them, and a sin on his part, a deflection from obedience to the Lord would mean a national sin, for which the people as well as the king would be punishable; whereas, before, under the judges whom the Lord had raised up, if the judge was faulty, he was the Lord's agent and was punished as such; and, if the people [R4200 : page 202] were faulty, the punishment was theirs. Thus they had run a great risk in choosing a representative, in placing power in his hands, because the weakness and selfishness of humanity is such that the one thus exalted would be the more liable to transgress the divine statutes. In harmony with this, note how the sin of David was esteemed a national sin and brought a national penalty. – 1 Chron. 21:12-27.
In summing up by the Lord's direction, Samuel gave a sign to corroborate his declaration that their calling for a king was a rejection of the Lord as their king, and a sin on the part of the people. There should be a thunderstorm in the midst of their harvest-time, an occurrence said to be very rare in southern Palestine. Coming promptly as a fulfilment of Samuel's prediction, it appealed to the people, convincing them for the first time that their course was a reprehensible one and a sin of gross ingratitude. They said to Samuel, "Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not; for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king."
Of all crimes, ingratitude appears to be one of the most inexcusable, and has so been esteemed amongst all people and at all times. Lycurgus, the great law-giver and statesman of Greece, wrote, "I make no law, perhaps, punishing ingratitude; I leave that for the gods to punish." Amongst the Athenians, if a slave, being freed, was afterward convicted of ingratitude toward his liberator, he was sent back again into slavery. Someone has written, "Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul; and the heart of man knoweth none more fragrant." Shakespeare wrote:
Gratitude not only is a fragrant flower, but is indigenous to the soul of every true and noble heart. Accepting this standard, we are bound to conclude that comparatively few of the human family are noble in this respect. Even amongst the Lord's people the grateful seem to be comparatively few in number. This agrees well with the Apostle's statement that amongst the called are "not many noble" – chiefly the mean things of this world." (1 Cor. 1:26-29.) But this describes what we were when we were called. Who shall say that amongst those who have accepted the divine call and been made partakers of the divine favors granted to all the sons of God, begotten of the Spirit – who shall say that these will remain ungrateful? Who shall say that the grace of God would not have a transforming influence on their hearts, so that however ungrateful they might be by nature, they would be so changed by grace that gratitude would be one of the chief elements of their disposition?
We believe that this is true; and that the Lord's people may in considerable degree measure their spiritual growth and development in this manner. If they find in themselves a spirit of murmuring and complaining against the Lord, it is a sure sign that they are ungrateful; for we know that he is faithful, and faith tells us that it is surely true that all the experiences of life permitted to come to us are working for our good. (Rom. 8:28.) Whoever has this faith can give thanks to the Lord and can rejoice even through his trial and sorrow. And if we have gratitude to God for his blessings and favors, if we cultivate the true nobility of heart which is impulsed by love and appreciation of divine care, it will make us appreciative of all the affairs of life and of all those with whom we have contact. We shall appreciate their good qualities, even if we cannot endorse all of their course; and whoever may do us kindness in the least degree must have our gratitude, our appreciation. Yea, with the Christian the standard must be still higher than this; for this should be the world's standard; as our Lord expressed it, "For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same." (Luke 6:32.) The standard for the Lord's people is still higher than that of gratitude, though it must include this. Our standard is benevolence, a forgiveness of those who transgress against us, and who say all manner of evil against us falsely. Such as attain this degree of character-likeness to their Lord receive an extra blessing from him in proportion, and are bidden to rejoice and be exceeding glad, and to know that they will have a reward in heaven.
Gratitude is therefore a keeping power in our hearts, there to repel the suggestions of the evil one, and to stop our imperfect fleshly mind if it attempts to assert itself. Gratitude is closely akin to love; and where they dwell together in the heart, there is little room for the Adversary to get in his work. On the contrary, ingratitude signifies a blindness of the mind in respect to justice. It speaks a low standard of character, in which the fruits of the Spirit of the Lord have not been well developed. Surely in any heart in which the love of God has been "shed abroad," ingratitude to him or anybody would be an impossibility. But where ingratitude gains a foothold, it admits its relatives – selfishness, pride, anger, malice, hatred, strife, evil surmisings, slander, backbitings and other qualities which the Apostle enumerates as "works of the flesh and the devil." The Lord's consecrated people should daily search their hearts for any manifestations of selfishness or ingratitude, and should look well to the growing development therein of love and thankfulness and appreciation toward the Giver of all good, toward the brethren of the Household of Faith, yea, toward all with whom we have to do.
After assuring the Israelites that they need not fear the Lord, that he is gracious, and that if they should follow him [R4201 : page 202] faithfully under a king or otherwise, he would surely never forsake them, the prophet proceeds to answer their query respecting his praying for them. He said, "As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." What a sublime character is thus brought to our view! It is the more remarkable when we note that Samuel did not belong to the Spirit dispensation; that he therefore had not all the advantages which we, the Lord's people of this Gospel Age since Pentecost, enjoy, and yet, alas! how few of the Spirit-begotten ones manifest this spirit, this same degree of likeness to the Lord's character and Spirit! In how many would the natural mind rise up and say, You have a king now, I have foretold you that it was a sin of ingratitude against the Almighty and against me, now go your way and see if what I have told you does not come true, and that you will be worse off.
On the contrary, notice the prophet's words. They show that he felt that he had a duty toward the people of Israel as his brethren, whether they felt similarly toward him or not. Although they had rejected him after his faithful service of many years, he assured them that he would pray for them and consider their very highest welfare, and that he would consider the matter from the very best standpoint, viz.: that it was a part of his duty, if he would be in harmony with the Lord, and that he could do nothing less than pray for them and seek their every good. How is it with those who slight us? Has the new spirit, the new mind of [R4201 : page 203] Christ, gained sufficiency of foothold for us to say as Samuel did, "God forbid that I should sin against the Lord and cease to pray for you." Our Master's words instruct us even upon this, and say, "Love your enemies,...pray for them which despitefully use you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:44,45.) Oh, yes! Those whose hearts are loving to their enemies, and loving to the Household of Faith, and above all, loving to the Lord, these would indeed be exceedingly sensitive if their hearts got into any attitude in which they would not be seeking the welfare of others, and praying for them. In such hearts there would be no room for anger, bitterness, strife, envying. In such hearts the love of God is shed abroad as represented by the holy anointing oil, the unction from the Holy One, which lubricates all of the sensibilities, smoothing not only the countenance, but also the tongue and the heart; for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh," and bitter water cannot come from a pure fountain. – Luke 6:45; James 3:11.
After assuring them of his prayers on their behalf, Samuel told that he would continue to instruct them in the good and right way, and that he would do all of his duty toward them so far as their attitude of heart would permit. Then he urges the words of our Golden Text, "Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he hath done for you." It is well that we note the distinction between the outward service and that of the heart, the mind, the affections. Outward service that does not spring from the heart will soon wither away, whether under adversity or prosperity. Hence the Lord always appeals to our hearts, "Give me thine heart." (Prov. 23:26.) So long as our heart is loyal to the Lord, it will control all of the products of life, because it will lead us to seek to know the Lord's will in everything. This will take us to the Lord in prayer. It will take us to the Word for instruction, and it will assist us in understanding the Word, giving us more and more the spirit of a sound mind.
The prophet gives us a lesson in the statement, "Consider how great things he hath done for you." Oh, yes! The difficulty generally is that consideration of these favors of God are crowded out of our hearts by other considerations, often selfish ones. The Israelites had passed through several centuries of divine guidance under the judges, and we have comparatively little knowledge of their progress during that time, the history of that period being much less ample than that which followed their organization as a kingdom; but we may be sure, nevertheless, that their spiritual interests were really forwarded more under the judges than under the kings. Centralization of government does not always mean greater blessing and progress. It usually means less in individuality and personal progress. A similar condition of things is noticed in the history of the Church. We have no history whatever of that period which followed the days of the apostles for more than a century, for the same reason that we have no history regarding the real Church, which is unrecognized of men. "The world knoweth us not." That the rule of the judges was superior to that of the kings is evident from the Lord's promise to Israel, "I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning." (Isa. 1:26.) The lawgivers as at the first will be the greater than Moses – the Christ, Head and Body. The judges as at the beginning will be the Ancient Worthies, in full authority as the prophets or teachers and judges amongst men, under the supervision of Immanuel's heavenly Kingdom.
Samuel appealed to fleshly Israel to remember the great things that God had done for them, as a ground for thankfulness and faithfulness – their delivery from Egypt, their guidance through the wilderness and their entrance into the land of Israel; but if we apply these words to Spiritual Israel, with what greater force do they come to us! The Lord has delivered us from Egyptian bondage, the bondage of sin and death. He has led us out of darkness into his marvelous light. He not only lifted our feet from the horrible pit and the miry clay, but he placed them upon the Rock, Christ Jesus; yea, more! he has put a new song into our mouths, even the loving kindness of our God. He not only forgave our sins, but accepted us in Jesus, and invited us to joint-heirship with Christ. He not only gave us exceeding great and precious promises to cheer our hearts in the wilderness journey, but has in reservation for us things exceeding great and precious, of which he has given us a glimpse or foretaste through the holy Spirit, an earnest of our inheritance.
Who that has gratitude of heart to the Lord for these blessings, who that is appreciative and thankful, would not be indeed seeking to serve the Lord in truth with all his heart! Who that is of this attitude of mind would fail to remember the Lord's Word and to seek divine assistance in complying with its requirements, remembering the statement, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." To such daily the commandments of the Lord amplify, enlarge. Daily he sees new forces, new meanings in these commandments. If he be thankful, if he be appreciative of the Lord's providence toward him in the past, the depths of meaning to God's commands would not be grievous to him; but he will still rejoice to go on day by day in sympathy with our Lord's words, "I delight to do thy will, O my God; Thy law is written in my heart." So it will be with us. As the Apostle says, We shall do his commandments, and they will not be grievous unto us, and this will be the evidence to us that we love God and that we are loved of him, and being sealed, impressed more and more by his Spirit, the spirit of truth. – 1 John 5:2,3.
Of course there is an alternative. Those who do not enter into the Lord's service of a truth, with all their heart, those who do not continually and repeatedly consider how great things God has done for them, those who lack appreciation of his kindness and are resentful of his arrangement and leading, will be esteemed of him as wicked and as unfit for the glorious things which he has in reservation for the faithful. The Lord has made provision for the forgiveness of all of our inherited imperfections and weaknesses, and he has also made provision for our growth in grace and knowledge and love. While he is willing to cover our blemishes from his sight through the merit of the precious blood, he insists that we under that covenant shall develop the character which he has delineated and exemplified, the character of which love is the essence, and he rejects those who refuse to come to this standard of perfect love, or refuse all the provisions of divine grace; for it is not the Father's proposition to associate with his Son in glory any except those who shall be copies of his character. This he has predestinated. – Rom. 8:29.
The Convention just closed has been one of the most helpful seasons of refreshing we have been permitted to enjoy. From the first meeting to the last there was a deep and calm feeling of sweet communion, and the consciousness that we were to meet with the Lord as we met with each other; and already there are many evidences that the windows of heaven have been opened and the abundant blessings received. Besides the quickening of those who have long been consecrated to the Lord, there has been in the hearts of several who attended a decision to consecration, and we rejoice in having new brothers and sisters walking with us in the Narrow Way. The Psalmist said, "O taste and see that the Lord is good," but here we have had such abundance out of the storehouse of heavenly grace, that we have been feasting at the Divinely provided table, and surely our Lord has been fulfilling Luke 12:37. We thought that your recent visit to the various centers might cause a diminution as to the attendance, but though we know [R4202 : page 204] some were prevented through local activities the Convention came up to the general average. Indeed, owing to growth of interest in London there was a rather better average attendance than last year – so, at least, it seemed to us. About 650 were in attendance, though some meetings had many more than that number.
The Convention was opened by a word of welcome from Brother Hemery, representing the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. He expressed the hope that all would look out for one of the best times we could expect to have; that each should prepare his heart and mind to receive much from the Lord, and to be as ready to seek the good of each as he was to get good for himself. Brother F. W. Williamson also spoke briefly, carrying a message of love from yourself, and making us long for a renewal of the sweet fellowship we had with you so recently. Brothers Bull and Bilsbrough led us away into thoughts of the fulness of the Divine Plan – Brother Bull by a talk on the "Oneness" which is desired now and to which God is working, when all things shall be brought into subjection to Christ; Brother Bilsbrough by reminding us of the "Glory-Filled Earth" soon to be. In the evening Brother Hemery spoke on "Perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord," and surely the Lord helped us to see the need of the work yet to be done in each heart. Sunday was a happy day, spent in Testimony and Praise and meditation upon the Word. Brother Edgar gave a helpful address on "Humility," and in the evening Brother Williamson spoke to a crowded house on "Which is the True Gospel." On Monday there was an immersion service in a fine chapel kindly lent to us for the occasion. We rejoiced with 72 brothers and sisters who symbolized their consecration to the Lord, in this manner testifying to their death and resurrection as New Creatures in Christ Jesus. There were many wet eyes in the meeting, though the tears were mostly those which came from joy rather than sorrow; though we know tears were shed by some because they had not then given themselves to the Lord and could not share in the immersion. How gladly we would wipe these tears away by helping the weepers into the Kingdom, and into the joy of the Lord!
After the baptismal service we had a long afternoon and evening; more testimonies were given. That was a short but particularly blessed part of the day, for we were just a large family talking of the common love for our Head. Profitable and helpful talks by Brother Guard and again by Brother Williamson brought the afternoon to a close. In the evening Brother Hemery talked on our present privilege of "Fellowship with God" – our fellowship is (now) with the Father and with the Son. We parted with a love-feast of hand-shaking, bidding one another "good-bye" and wishing each other a real "fare-well," of which, indeed, we are confident, since our Father's hand provides for us! and since we are under his special care. Some present had never before attended such meetings, and the loving interest which the brethren showed in each other's welfare, and the fulness of experience in the Lord which so many had, were sources of surprise; but these soon proved to be of the best helps of the Convention.
We were very glad to have dear Brother F. W. Williamson and Sister Williamson with us, and they go on their visit to other friends with many prayers that they may be used of the Lord and that they may be fitted in all ways for the Master's use.
This year we had only three days of Convention, but many of the visiting friends have spent some days in getting a closer acquaintance with the London brethren, and such times have been spent in helping each other to a closer walk with God. All the evidences seem to show that there is a great work for the Lord waiting to be done; many are asking after the Truth, and of this "Way." A Christian brother unknown by sight to us, writes asking how he and others with him can cooperate in the work of Harvest, for they are interested in this clearer knowledge of the Christian's hope. Since the beginning of May we have sent out from here over 700,000 of the 1908 Volunteer matter and already many inquiries are coming in. Surely there are thousands of hearts waiting for the cheer of the only "hopeful" message. Continue to pray for us, dear brother, as we pray for you, that we may be faithful to our calling and to our opportunities of service.
With loving remembrances and good wishes, I am, dear brother, yours affectionately, in the Lord,
As already expressed, we have great expectations respecting the harvest-work in Great Britain. The fact that the Colporteur work there is less successful than we had hoped must not deter us. We must look for other doors also. We rejoice to learn that the Volunteer Tract distribution progresses so well and is yielding results. This should lead to increasing zeal in that department of service. The Society is prepared to supply all the tracts you can use – FREE and freight paid. Let us by word and example double the output.
We fancy that Sharp-shooting would do much good to all of the dear friends, as well as do much to spread the Truth. "Sharp-shooting" is the circulating of DAWNS and booklets amongst your friends and neighbors, accompanying the introduction with a word of testimony respecting their effect upon your own head, heart and daily living. The effect will be beneficial to yourself as well as to your friends. – EDITOR.
I had in mind for some time to unburden to you some of my experience with some of our friends in the Nominal Churches in dispensing Tracts, TOWERS and DAWNS to them; that we often meet with the remarks that they cannot observe any changes in the general conditions, everything going on as usual. We say to them, we agree with you in this; but how about the worship to God, and walking in his precepts; the faith in general of Jesus Christ, who said, "When the Son of Man cometh will he find faith on the earth?" and we call their attention back to about twenty years or more, when in the Christian home we would hear the singing of hymns or reading a Psalm, or expounding the Gospel or the apostles' letters; how the evening and the morning worship was regularly conducted, and how Saturday evening was the beginning of the rest day, to give thanks unto God for blessings received during the past week, and that this was a custom since Reformation times, to which books and periodicals attest. And further, a visit to the same homes now, and what do we observe in the majority of them? Is it not card playing, dancing, and beer drinking and other worldly affairs, of which the Christians in former years kept aloof?
To these existing conditions all older people agree with me, that a very great change has taken place, that the sowing time is past, and the harvest far advanced. The churches receive almost anyone for membership, with almost any kind of baggage. Recently a Baptist minister returned from a heathen land, where he had been doing missionary work for over twenty years, and, preaching one of his old-fashioned sermons to a flock of his believers, he was requested to remain with them and start a new church, to which he assented, with the remark, that he had observed since coming back that they were more in need of the Gospel than were the heathen.
Let us pray to the Lord to send more servants into the field, and give thanks for the Light we have received.
I will close my few remarks, as my letter may become too lengthy, although much more could be said in regard to these changes.
DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL: –
I am sending herewith an order for WATCH TOWER and Diaglott for Mrs.__________, to whom I delivered a set of Studies in the Scriptures three weeks ago today. She has fairly devoured the first three volumes, and said to me last night on our way home from the meeting, "You cannot comprehend what those books have been to me, for I was utterly without faith of any kind, but now I have committed all to the Lord and am trusting him entirely and worry about nothing, for I possess nothing to worry about any more. All belongs to him." She had never professed Christianity but attended Christian Science meetings, and thought that belief more reasonable than anything she had ever heard, as her husband had been healed by it. She says she wonders now how she could ever have thought there was anything in Christian Science.
My heart overflows with gratitude to our heavenly Father for having used me as his humble messenger to bring such joy into the life of this dear sister and I pray that I may prove faithful even unto death, that he may use me in like manner in the coming age to assist in bringing joy to the whole "groaning creation."
Praying the Great Chief Reaper's richest blessing to continue to rest upon you, and asking your prayers that I may prove faithful, I am, your humble sister in our Redeemer,
A CORRECTION: – Several earnest friends of the Truth, residing in or near Birmingham, Eng., have written us that they think we were misinformed respecting Bro. B. C. Hughes; that in their opinion he was a most exemplary Elder. We are glad to make note of their testimony in his favor. However, nothing in our report was intended unkindly; we have always thought of him as conscientious. – EDITOR.
I am just in receipt of June 15th TOWER, and so far as read have been much edified by it. It is my pleasure to inform you promptly that the "Vow to the Lord" which you suggest, is very earnestly and readily made to him; in fact, it is but a renewal under different language of a vow very understandingly (on my part) made some years ago, and in which I have been very abundantly blessed. No doubt a fervent recalling and renewal will bring further blessing, and I am rejoiced at the opportunity of so doing and in a more open and public manner. I shall make a similar statement to our Waukesha and Milwaukee classes, to both of which I expect to minister the coming Sunday.
Surely the article was very timely, and may it, and the blessed vow, be but "stepping-stones" to all. We know they will prove only so to the "very elect." The truth, and complete information as to how to serve it in detail, are always a "savor of life unto life, or death unto death." Those who "stumble at the Word, being disobedient," are "appointed thereunto," and while we for a time may be in sorrow through such and other "manifold" trials, we remember that they are for the testing of our faith, which is of much more value than gold that perisheth, even though it be tried by fire, and which will "be found unto praise, and honor and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." So let us "endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ."
Since the topic is up, the occasion seems to be appropriate for a suggestion that I want to make, knowing you will accept it in the spirit of love in which it is made, and use it so far as wisdom indicates to be proper. The dear Colporteurs are going out in groups of mixed sexes and unmarried. Owing to inexperience, ardentness of spirit, inherent fleshly defects, and unfeigned brotherly love, it is easy for these – in fact, almost impossible for them not to overstep the bounds of prudence in apparent or surface fleshly relations – which the sound judgment of the world on this subject has established – while every thought and word and deed is pure. To the pure all this will be pure; but the world is not pure, and readily speaks and imputes evil. Therefore, the Church of God must avoid all appearance of evil, and do nothing, make no arrangements that seem to abet evil. The point is, cannot these groups or camps when arranged, be wholly male and wholly female; no groups of both sexes being sent to the same places?
A little incident occurred at Madison, Wis., at the time of your recent visit there which I believe will interest you.
Sister Hanson, of Kansas City, writing Sister Rutherford, who is summering here, makes statement as follows:
"I wrote my nephew, who was a student in Madison, about Brother Russell's being there; he attended both services and thought them fine. He believes the Truth. He tells me that some of the students that were there, and had intended to jeer and make fun, said that if the Bible is true, that is the truth."
Knowing the quality of the students at the large Universities, and recognizing that they would be more or less stirred up to mischief by the title of your discourse, I had rather anticipated that a united attempt would be made to interrupt your address. It seems that the Great One who is overruling our affairs, is able also on occasions like this to overrule for benefits, and I know that you as well as we, who already know of this instance, will be cheered and edified by the outcome.
I rejoice, dear brother, to attest again to you my full appreciation of your labor in the Lord, my fullest confidence and my earnest, warm and unfeigned brotherly love. I hope ere long to see you again face to face. Give all the Bible House household our warm love and greeting. Yours in him,
[IN REPLY: – The Society has similarly advised the dear Colporteurs, and at the risk of being misunderstood, has adhered to its rule of not making mixed assignments. However, we consider that our duty on this subject ceases there. Where the dear friends, for reasons of their own, work on each other's assignment we do not feel it incumbent to object further, knowing well that their heart-desires are of the very best.]
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MY DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL: –
I am thankful for the privilege of informing you that the vow published in the last TOWER has been registered with our Father as my vow. It already has impressed me as being necessary to this evil hour, especially as we are convinced of the increasing necessity for "circumcision of the heart."
The Lord has dealt graciously with me, and I do love him and want to please him in carrying out my consecration, of which I consider this vow now a part. I ask your prayers on my behalf.
May our Father continue his blessing upon you, dear brother, and upon us through your willing service. Praise to him. With much love,
MY DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL: –
In accordance with your request, I drop you a line in reference to vow of June 15 TOWER.
I made the vow to the Lord, dear brother, then, and rejoice in the privilege, for it has been along these lines that I have had to keep a constant guard since I have come to a knowledge of the Truth – nearly seven years ago. In my petitions to the Lord, I appealed for strength constantly, and in due time I received the strength needed, which I consider a miracle.
Dear brother, you probably do not know how much good and how needful those articles in the TOWER are! But surely the Lord saw the need. May the dear Lord continue his favored blessings with you, and all associated with you in the harvest work.
Your brother in the dear Redeemer,
R. H. Bricker, J. H. Blackmore, C. E. Reed, John G. Kuehn, S. J. Arnold, W. E. Page, Henry Hoskins, Sr., R. E. Streeter, Paul S. L. Johnson and wife, Sister H. O. Henderson, Dr. S. N. Wiley, Dr. W. D. Pelle, Ray Domer and wife, C. D. Welborne, Mrs. J. M. White, Emil H. Herrscher, F. Brown, Bernice McNaught, W. H. Spring, W. W. Black and wife, J. F. Emmerson and wife, C. E. Myers, Mrs. E. M. Detwiler, Mrs. F. P. Van Amburgh, Mrs. A. M. Weber, Ed. H. Wilhelm, Samuel S. Jacobs, M. H. Myers, C. M. Utzler, Virgil C. Haviland, C. H. Dickinson, J. W. Watts, H. E. Whitenut, J. A. Seip, Ethel Halstead, J. O. Faulk, Wm. Lowry, Mrs. M. McGinnis, B. F. Boyer, Springtown, Pa.; Mrs. C. C. Stone, Worcester, Mass.; L. M. DeLaMater, Catskill, N.Y.; G. M. Hunt, Colorado Springs, Col.; Geo. W. Harner, Veedersburg, Ind.; J. F. White, Chelsea, Mass.; Brother and Sister Merrow, Kittery, Me.; Granville Houchins, Huntington, W.Va.; W. E. Richards, Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. Carrie Beatty, Kansas City, Mo.; A. O. Ogston, Everett, Mass.; E. S. Mason, Bloomington, Ill.; H. P. Gleason, Hyde Park, Mass.; Viola E. Imhoff, Mrs. A. Hamilton, Brother Moran, Beth Wikof, Ella V. Dyer, J. A. Hodges, Brother and Sister Woodley, C. E. Fellow, Lydia A. McMier, John M. Lathwell, B. F. Payen, H. S. Blankenship, Roy G. Ratcliff, J. Marriot, Alex. M. Graham, Mrs. Alex. M. Graham, Carl F. Hammerle, D. V. Haymes, C. E. Frost, J. E. Starks. page 207
DEAR BROTHER IN CHRIST: –
It is now about five years since I came into the light of Present Truth, and the Lord has blessed me with the privilege of having the six volumes of DAWN, and the TOWERS from 1890, all of which I have carefully gone through, and from which I have received a course of Bible Study, a knowledge of our heavenly Father, and our dear Lord, and the plans and purposes and my relation thereto, sufficient thanks for which would indeed be hard for me to put in words. But I have the privilege of thanking you for the service rendered unto me, for I knew nothing of the Bible, although a reader of it from boyhood, until the Lord in his own due time placed in my hands the "meat in due season" from your hands.
I have in these past years learned to go to these helps (TOWERS and DAWNS) for all points that have perplexed me, and with very few exceptions have always received a reasonable Scriptural explanation that made things plain to my mind. Until now if a point comes up that I do not grasp I go for help, using the assistance the Lord has provided in them for me and for all the watching ones. The exceptions I have written to you about, and you know they have been few, and in thanking you I am thanking our dear Lord and Head, who "has girded himself" and is "now serving the table." Our heavenly Father I also thank.
I have practised medicine here since 1889 and had quite an extensive practice up to the present time, and since coming into the Truth Sister Senor and I have used up in the Truth, one way or another, as we thought the Lord would have us use it, all above our living expenses (and a provision for those dependent upon us, a reasonable one we hope, until 1914), by sending TOWERS, DAWNS, etc., over the counties near by.
Your brother in Christ,
THE TEXT-BOOK USED FOR THIS COURSE IS SCRIPTURE STUDIES, SERIES V. (E)*
(78) Is it the Father or the Son that is styled the King of kings and Lord of lords? P.78.
(79) Does this refer to the Father or how otherwise shall we understand it? P.78, last par.
(80) Cite and explain other similar passages. I Cor. 15:27; Col. 2:10. P.79, par. 1.
(81) Would the passage "thought it not robbery to be equal with God" prove the trinity doctrine? If both were one how could one think of robbing himself? P.79, par. 2.
(82) What did our Lord Jesus testify respecting his equality with the Father? And did he not tell the truth? P.79, par. 2.
(83) What appears to be the Apostle's argument – what point is he proving in Phil. 2:6? P.79, last par.
(84) Is there any evidence that this verse is improperly translated? If so, what? P.80, par. 1.
(85) Give, in order, different translations of the verse: By Clarke, Wakefield, Stewart, Rotherham, Revised Version, American Revision Committee, Sharpe, Neeland, Dickenson, Turnbull, and the Emphatic Diaglott. Pp.80, 81.
(86) In view of all this array of scholarship, what must we conclude that the passage teaches? P.81, last par.
(87) What great spirit being took a very different course? Give proof-text. P.81, last par.
(88) What quality in Jesus shines out preeminently in contrast with what quality in Satan? P.81, last par.
(89) What reward was bestowed on the Son by the Father? and on what account? Cite the Scriptures. P.82, top.
(90) Can such rewarding be harmonized with the idea of oneness of person or with original equality between the Father and the Son? Page 82, par. 1.
(91) Are we enjoined nevertheless to honor the Son whom the Father exalted, even as we honor the Father who exalted him? P.82, par. 2.
(92) Quote a Scripture passage showing the distinct separateness of the Father and the Son as persons, and also the relationship of their work. P.82, par. 2.
(93) Does the Scripture, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," favor the thought that Father and Son are one in person? Note the entire passage. Ephesians 1:2-18. P.82, par. 3.
(1) Who is the Great One whom Jehovah has exalted to so high honor? What has he done to merit it? What is he yet to do in his high exaltation? P.83.
(2) Did our Lord Jesus have a preexistence? What was he before he was "made flesh"? P.84, par. 1.
(3) Was he then "a good" or mighty one? And if so, what was his name? P.84, par. 2.
(4) In that pre-human existence, was the Son in some sense "before" all creatures in time as well as in rank? P.84, par. 3.
(5) Why did the Son stoop to human conditions? Was it of compulsion? P.84, par. 4.
(6) Was his humiliation to human conditions intended to be eternal? Explain fully. P.84, par. 5.
(7) Did Jesus' resurrection restore him to the spirit plane? P.84, par. 6.
(8) Of what station is our Lord Jesus now? P.85, par. 1.
(9) Why was our Lord in his prehuman existence known as The Word or The Logos? P.85, par. 2.
(10) What does Dr. Alex Clarke say of this word Logos? P.85, par. 2.
(11) Show the fitness of the name to the Son, and give an illustration of a King's Logos? P.85, par. 3.
(12) Does the Greek text of John 1:1 show two persons and refer to both as God? P.86, par. 1.
(13) Is there anything in the Greek text to differentiate these two persons who are both styled God? What and how should the verse be translated to show its Greek value? P.86, par. 1,2.
(14) What beginning is here referred to? P.86, par. 3.
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July 1st
| VOL. XXIX. | JULY 15 | No. 14 |
"I will stand upon my watch, and set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He shall say unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me." Hab. 2:1
Upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity: the sea and the waves (the restless, discontented) roaring: men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking forward to the things coming upon the earth (society): for the powers of the heavens (ecclestiasticism) shall be shaken. . . .When ye see these things come to pass, then know that the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Look up, lift up your heads, rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:25-28, 32.
Our "Berean Lessons" are topical rehearsals or reviews of our Society's published "Studies," most entertainingly arranged, and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the Society accords, viz., Verbi Dei Minister (V.D.M.), which translated into English is, Minister of the Divine Word. Our treatment of the International S.S. Lessons is specially for the older Bible Students and Teachers. By some this feature is considered indispensable.
This Journal stands firmly for the defence of the only true foundation of the Christian's hope now being so generally repudiated, – Redemption through the precious blood of "the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all." (I Pet. 1:19; I Tim. 2:6.) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, silver and precious stones (I Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to – "Make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which...has been hid in God,...to the intent that now might be made known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" – "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed." – Eph. 3:5-9,10.
It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring its every utterance into fullest subjection to the will of God in Christ, as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken; – according to the divine wisdom granted unto us, to understand. Its attitude is not dogmatical, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith upon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in his service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear in its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge. And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made, to facilitate such testing.
All Bible Students who, by reason of old age, or other infirmity or adversity, are unable to pay for this Journal, will be supplied FREE if they send a Postal Card each June stating their case and requesting its continuance. We are not only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually and in touch with the Studies, etc.
THIS JOURNAL IS PUBLISHED IN THE FRENCH, GERMAN, SWEDISH, DANISH AND ITALIAN LANGUAGES. SAMPLE COPIES FREE.
Please do not send money for the new edition of WATCH TOWER BIBLES until you see announcement that they are ready and the price stated. We have been disappointed considerably in getting the extra matter prepared, and cannot hope to announce the Bibles ready before October.
We supply these now in all six volumes, but volume five has run ahead of the others in sales and is exhausted. It will take several months to get the India paper for a new lot. Prices of Vols. I., II., III., 75 cents each; Vols. IV., V., VI., 85 cents each, postpaid.
It will be remembered that we had a special edition of Vol. I. DAWN-STUDIES, in India Paper, not quite up to the best standard, bound in imitation leather at low price. These were taken quickly. Now we have a new lot, Vol. I. only, with Tabernacle Shadows bound in, at 35 cents each, postpaid.
We have printed nearly five millions of this year's Volunteer Matter – four tracts in each one. Evidently some of the dear friends are awake to the privilege of harvest work along this line. Order all you can and will use faithfully; they are furnished without money or price. Freight prepaid.
BRETHREN, I say to you this morning that the American Church is dying. It is dying! It is dying! Don't forget it! Ten years from now if I lie in my grave I would be willing to have you confront me at the judgment seat of God with that statement. By that statement I mean that Protestant Christianity is dying with marvelous rapidity."
So spoke Rev. Charles A. Eaton at the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church, Cleveland. This was his seventh anniversary sermon before this congregation and with passionate earnestness he strove to bring vividly before his hearers the effects of commercialism which he contends is sapping the religious life in the United States. He showed that churches, instead of gaining, were losing throughout the world.
Dr. Eaton's sermon on "The Impending Crisis in American Christianity" is, in part, as follows:
"Throughout the entire Christian world we are swiftly passing into a period of profound religious depression, amounting to almost complete failure on the part of the Church.
"In Italy the headquarters of the great Roman Catholic Church, one-third of the people at the very outside, are more or less nominal followers of the Church of Rome; another third, possibly, are more or less sympathetic toward the Church, because it is politically useful; while another third are out and out continually and completely antagonistic, apparently not only to the Church of Rome, but to all forms of Christianity. This is the land where the Church of St. Peter has had an unbroken existence for nineteen centuries.
[R4204 : page 211]BRITAIN'S GREAT LOSSES"You enter France – the same story is true, only aggravated and multiplied a thousand fold.
"You enter Great Britain, which I consider to be the last citadel of Christianity in the world, with a people more robust and sane in their religious interests and sympathies than any other people. And what is the condition there? The other day Mr. Shakespeare, the great leader of our Baptist Church in England, appeared before the Baptist convention and delivered an address upon the arrested progress of British Christianity. That, he said, covered the whole field of all the churches, but especially, of course, with reference to the Baptists.
"He pointed out that the nonconformist churches of Great Britain last year not only made no progress, but met, according to their statistics, with an absolute loss of 18,000; that the Baptist Church of Great Britain last year not only made no progress but according to their published statistics lost 5,000 people.
AMERICAN CHURCH DWINDLING"You cross to America. We have one man in this country who I believe is doing more to educate the American Church, to arouse us to a realization of our condition, than any other – I refer to Josiah Strong. Dr. Strong tells that if eighty represents the gain of our churches on the population during the first half of the nineteenth century, twenty represents that gain during the last half. Four represents that gain during the last twenty years, and one represents that gain during the last ten years.
"In the year 1905 there were nearly 7,000 Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Methodist churches that had not one single member unite with them in twelve months. In a recent year in New York city, according to the statement of Dr. Aked, of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, 335 Protestant churches reported a net gain that year of 386 members. That is to say 335 churches gained one member apiece and fifty of them gained two in twelve months. In a city of 4,000,000 people, those churches comprise in their membership the mightiest men in finance, in commerce, in politics, that this nation has – which means that there is heaped up a fund of potential power, the like of which can be found in no other organization of that great city.
CAMPAIGN OF FAILURE"And they stood there in the midst of 4,000,000 people pouring out their money like water, following the leadership of the great preachers of the American continent, following them week in and week out, for twelve long months, and all that they could do was to get one person out of four million in each church to accept the Lord Jesus Christ. These are facts.
[R4204 : page 212]"The American people for the last generation have seized that marvelous instrument furnished them by science, and have gone out to give themselves unreservedly to the material development of their nation. We are proud of the fact that we are a commercial and business people. Our art is now made the servant of our commerce. No longer do we build the glorious churches and cathedrals, except in certain instances, in our great cities, to express the artistic sense of our people. We build banks in this present age, decorate them with a lavish splendor worthy of God Almighty himself. We have turned the intelligence of our people, as keen and resourceful as any in the world, to this one question, 'How shall we produce material gain?'
RICHES HIGHEST GOOD"To-day we are not in the midst of a religious epidemic. We have not enough thought on the subject to create even a revival, let alone an epidemic. But we have to-day a financial epidemic. That is to-day the thing we think most of – the thing that we place at the bottom of our life, the thing that we hail as our highest good.
"That is the thing that men have gone made over to-day, and so, sweeping over our land like a gigantic shadow, is this awful fear of financial ruin, which constitutes a commercial epidemic in our midst.
"The hope of the Church today lies in a rediscovery of Jesus. It does not lie in more organization. We have too much now. It does not lie in more wealth. We have all the wealth we need, if we had the head to use it. It does not lie in more culture. We have all the gifts that any group of people could possibly ask for. It does not lie in any lack of consciousness of need. We know the needs of the people as perhaps we never knew them before. It lies in a new acquaintance with Jesus.
THE CHURCH DYING"Brethren, I say to you this morning, that the American Church is dying – it is dying! It is dying! Don't forget it.
"Now, in closing, I sound the note of experience. I want to say to my members here, that the next seven years upon which this church is entering are going to be twice as hard as the seven years just gone by. I want to say to you men, that it will be harder for you to be a Christian to-morrow than it is today. I want to say to you, young men and middle-aged, whose hearts are stirring in response to the appeal of Christ, ponder well your step because you cannot follow Jesus unless you break in your hands the box of precious ointment.
"I want to say to you who have meditated about surrendering your lives to the age, that that is the common tendency of all, and if you do it, no matter what your name may be, you have ceased to be Christians. I want to say to you Christians who are looking for the place that is easier than what you have now, that there is no longer any easier place. The next thirty years will be harder. They will stir the evil tendencies of this nation completely from center to circumference."
Socialism, according to Mr. Richard Whiteing, does not, at present, seem to "want a religion of its own," but it is his belief that it will sooner or later come to want one. The Socialist movement everywhere, and especially that in England, he avers, will find that its foundation-principle "as a mere economic theory is absolutely inadequate. To get its full driving force it must have a faith of its own." At the present moment, as he sees the matter, "Socialists are content with the discovery that all existing creeds may, and even must, lead to their platform." This is the deduction derived from the fact that at a Socialist gathering almost every profession of faith is represented – "ardent Anglicans and Roman Catholics, Freethinkers, Moral Persuasionists, Ethical Theorists, and the rest of them." Mr. Whiteing, who is the author of "No. 5 John Street" and "Ring Out the New," is an ardent Socialist, and gives his views here quoted in the London Daily Mail. He looks upon the Rev. R. J. Campbell as typifying the tendency he here sketches. Mr. Campbell, he says, "has long been engaged in a process which might be not irreverently described as the cleaning of a picture – the picture being that of the Founder of the Christian faith. It is an attempt to remove all the incrustations of dogma and traditional belief, and to reach the great original beneath." This pure image, he asserts, "will prove to be that of the first Socialist." The faith which Socialism will ultimately accept as its own is visioned by Mr. Whiteing as the following:
"As I have tried to express it elsewhere, 'There must come to men the Appointed One, who will show them by his shining example what the religion is to be. We may only guess at his message, but surely it will be the purified conscience as the Word of God, no more no less, and never a line of text. Then saints, hierarchies, and choirs celestial will seem but poets' playthings. Taken seriously, they have given us the whole of that unhappy fakir tribe who are capable of thinking of their Maker to the total exclusion of the thing he has made. Will not the Appointed One bid us leave that Maker – Jehovah, God or Lord, First Cause or Universal Soul – to contemplations of his own nature more within the measure of his own powers, and listen merely for the voice of him in the purified breast, especially for the undertones in which the sweetness of its message lies? Then, when, haply, the voice says charity, in its larger rendering of love, brotherhood, self-sacrifice, obey it, and leave the metaphysics of the question to take care of itself. Above all, without waiting for any behest, burn the later doctors of the church (not by any means the earlier), as the madman's housekeeper burned his books. So will come the great change, and the democracy will step forth armed and equipped for its conquest of the world. The old mystery of regeneration is true as ever as a principle, in spite of its fantastic setting in the creeds of the hour.
"'Democracy must get rid of the natural man of each for himself, and have a new birth into the spiritual man, the ideal self of each for all. This is its great lesson. The monstrous heresy of self-worship, self-absorption, whether as capitalist, artist, bonze, or merely greedy fellow with storage for one and an appetite for two, is the essentially irreligious idea.
"'Democracy is a religion, or nothing, with its doctrine, its form, its ritual, its ceremonies, its cenobites, its government as a church – above all, its organized sacrifice of the altar, the sacrifice of self. This is the deepest craving of human nature. All attempts to reconcile man's heroism to his interests have ever failed. His goodness must make him smart.'
"This is what is coming because this must come. Meantime I think many of us are trying to reduce all religions to their common denominator of liberty, equality, and fraternity, otherwise brotherly love. It is perfectly certain that the masses are growing more and more indifferent to the image of the Founder of Christianity in his present setting. If he is to appeal to them he must lay aside his crown of jewels of modern symbolism and resume his crown of thorns."
The mass of humble believers interpret the conception of the "Son of God – the Man of Sorrows" – says Mr. Whiteing, [R4205 : page 212] as "the great comrade who tried to get lowly and foolish and baffled people righted, and died for it – worse luck." But such a one, he maintains, "they don't find in the existing systems." The composite personality of the Son of God – the Second Person of the Trinity – "all that 'the church' holds most dear, leaves them quite mystified and, I must say it, quite cold." Mr. Whiteing goes on:
"One day I ventured to call a Hyde Park orator a Christian Socialist by way of compliment, but he flew into a great rage. 'Nothing of the sort, if you please – a Socialist Christian, at best. Don't put the cart before the horse.' He meant that the Socialism was the touchstone, not the Christianity, as they understand it in the churches now. You could not be a Socialist without being a Christian, whether you knew it or not. You might easily think yourself a Christian without being the other thing, and the Socialism was the root of the matter. Just that and nothing more.
"The image of the Christ in the popular mind is that of one who came to bring more happiness in this world to poor men and women beaten in the struggle – material happiness. Do not be in any doubt about that – a more equal distribution of right-down pounds, shillings, and pence, the second loaf in the cupboard, good shoes and stockings for all the children, and the Sunday suit for all.
"What they think, what they say, when they are able to say it, is that the rich people and the theologians between them, [R4205 : page 213] often working hand in hand, have 'nobbled' the churches, and made their symbolic cup a mere opiate for hard luck, instead of the healing draft. The parsons are paid to keep people quiet, that is the ruling idea. They cannot get their money for current expenses without the rich, and so getting it, of course, they preach the rich man's creed.
"The attempt to substitute feasts, fasts, and festivals of the church for all this, with elaborate processions, will, historically, I feel convinced, mark the end of the present religious system. Let our Anglican revivalists just try to recognize how a poor, dim creature, born into everlasting short-commons, without volition or vocation, stands apart from all that, and sees nothing in it but embroidered garments and futile excitements about Quinquagesima Sunday and other functions with long names that touch him no more than a birthday at court!
"Believe me, as I once ventured to say, people in West Ham look on your ecclesiastical anchorites as mere 'ammytures' in the artistry of privation, with the sacred institution ever behind them as an ark of refuge to save them from the worst. Be out of work for six weeks, and out of earnings that never rise to more than the docker's tanner, and see what you'll think of St. Francis and his flirtation with the lady of poverty then.
"No, no, 'Here and now.' That is how the church began. The clever fellows got hold of it as a going concern, 'imperialized' it, and so started to make it pretty much what it is to-day. Charity is still its abortive message; justice is what the others want."
– Literary Digest.
Among Socialists Jesus has frequently been claimed as one of themselves. "One would like to say that he was," observes a writer in The Interior (Chicago), for he was "social in the largest sense because he sacrificed himself for the welfare of other men." But since "socialist" in the modern world has come to mean (the writer interprets) "the adherent of an economic cult that would reorganize society on the public ownership of property," he does not allow the ranking of Jesus among them. Against what he calls the "rash assertions of agitators," he places this "proposition" as capable of being established from the gospels: "Neither socialism nor any other economic doctrine ever entered into the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
"He simply paid no attention to the economic phases of life. He treated industrial questions exactly as he treated political questions; he let them alone.
"There were doubtless two reasons for this. Jesus didn't come into the world to meddle with the clock of human progress. Some day the world would learn that democracy is better government than despotism, free labor a better industrial system than slavery, and would get hold of the facts all the stronger for having had to dig them out. Jesus had no time to stop to teach the world what it would eventually come at on its own account.
"The second and positive reason why he did not concern himself with social questions was because it was part of his mission to throw temporal considerations into the background. "His principal teaching business was to spread a doctrine of life that made a man's economic condition a secondary matter.
"Here Jesus differs from Socialism the whole length of the diameter. The thorough-going Socialist thinks poverty the worst thing that can happen to a man. His great plea is to abolish poverty. Jesus didn't think being poor mattered much – not at all if the man was the right sort. He was poor himself, and didn't care in the least.
"The overmastering principle that decides how Jesus looks at any or all human circumstances on this earth is this: "If a man does the will of the Father in heaven, nothing in his earthly circumstances can be wrong.
"This confidence is half a faith that the Father will compel circumstances to turn out favorably; half a faith that a man who lives for the Father can be happy in any circumstances."
The nearest Jesus ever came to an economic question, the writer points out, was "when he saw that some certain man's economic condition was hindering his development in unselfish, God-loving and man-loving character." He goes on:
"Modern social philosophers say it is the poor who don't have a fair chance at fine character, but Jesus thought different – he considered the rich the most handicapped.
"When with his marvelous inlook into the heart the Master understood that the rich young ruler thought so much about his wealth that he couldn't think much about his neighbors, the prescription for cure was instantaneous and unsparing: 'Sell that which thou hast and give to the poor.' Jesus didn't speak so out of hate for the property but out of yearning for the man. If he could in this way give the youth a big heart full of spontaneous impulse to help people, he knew it would be worth the price.
"But where he didn't find worldly possessions hindering the growth of a man's nobler character, he simply ignored them. Giving half delivered Zaccheus from the bondage of avarice, and Jesus asked no more. He was equally at home with the poor and with the rich. He loved both for common qualities which are counted in no coin of earth. "Jesus taught neighbor-love absolutely, not as an incident but as an essential of religion, but he never so much as hinted at a social programme for demonstrating that aspect of religion.
"Jesus was no programme-builder. This is one of the very hardest things for the modern age to comprehend in the Master. The latter day must have an organization at work or it thinks it has nothing. But Jesus had an unbounded faith in the power of a spirit at work in and through the lives of individual men. He did not organize even his church; he simply put the motive of it in a few lives, and trusted that motive to make an organism.
"Likewise, when he said, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' he did not deposit the dynamic of that love in some artificial social body, either then existent or afterward to be created, but he imparted it by contact to the affections and wills of his friends, and left them to extend it in the same manner.
"Their first expression of it – the communism of the Jerusalem church – was economically faulty; it wouldn't work. Taught by their experience, the early church leaders did not attempt the same system elsewhere. But the spirit which their initial communism crudely manifested did not disappear with that experiment. In that generation and in all generations after, adjusting itself more and more to the laws of society as they are continually better known, the manward love of Jesus Christ has found, and is yet to find, an ever larger and more adequate demonstration."
– Literary Digest.
Adolph Sterner writing from Jerusalem to a friend in this country says:
[R4206 : page 214]"People here are not goaded on by competition and their surroundings make for indolence and stagnation. Nevertheless a spirit of progress has developed which commands respect. If you lived here you would know what a new house in Jerusalem means and you would stand aghast. I did when I was told that two hundred had been completed in the last three months. At Jaffa the improvements have been more extensive. An art school under the direction of Boris Schatz, who was at the head of the Bulgarian Academy of Fine Arts at Sofia, is flourishing, and carpet and rug-weaving, carving, modeling and metal working are taught to boys and girls who are of the same class as children who years ago were taught to beg from the tourists. Jerusalem is shaking off its garb of antiquity – a new Jerusalem is building."
– The American Hebrew.
Wheat with stalks like sugar cane and yielding 277 bushels of highly nutritious kernels to the acre has been produced as a result of experiments made in Idaho by Allen Adams of Minneapolis.
The new wheat has been named "Alaska" because of its hardiness. It is either spring or winter wheat, just as the farmer desires to sow. It is so sturdy that storms that ruin other stock affect its giant stems but little, and the heads remain upright through ordinary hailstorms.
The yield shows that Adams has been able to obtain an increase of 222 fold. One head of the giant wheat was planted in the fall of 1904. The seeds from that head were planted the next year and seven pounds of seed obtained. This was sown in the spring of 1906, and from the seven pounds were harvested 1,554 pounds that fall. In the fall of the same year he sowed it as winter wheat, but conditions were adverse. Almost all the "blue stem" and "club" were destroyed, and only a third of the crop of experimental wheat came to maturity, yet there was a yield of 50,000 pounds. A heavy hailstorm in July was the cause of the ruined wheat crop, which left scarcely any of the ordinary wheat standing.
Further experiments brought forth a yield of 277 bushels to an acre. The Idaho College of Agriculture has made a laboratory test of the wheat and reports the grain plump and sound and that it should make better bread than the ordinary wheat.
– Beloit Free Press.
What we have been hearing rumored, now seems to be certain, namely, that the Czar is being counciled into the snare of spiritists. This hard-pressed and unfortunate man gets his future foretold by spiritualistic mediums. His judicious premier, Herr Stolypin, has called his attention to the danger and it appears that he was warned repeatedly, but without success. The spirit mediums have earnestly warned the Czar against Stolypin, wherefore the latter has to guard himself from saying anything further. The physician advised the Czarina to leave the country for her health, but a spirit medium communicated to her that her youngest son will die if she leaves Russia. Thereupon she decided to remain at home. The mother of the Czar sought to drive away the mediums, but in doing this she only succeeded in falling into the Czar's disfavor. It is a repetition, in the case of Nicholas II., of the story of Saul, who, in the time of need, betook himself to the Witch of Endor.
The Philistines exercised a kind of overlordship in Palestine, presumably collecting taxes as the consideration for permitting the people to have a measure of peace and possession of the country. Apparently they had fortified cities in various parts of Israel's territory, and from their representatives in these the word came that the Israelites had anointed Saul to be their king, a circumstance which was understood to imply the throwing off of the Philistine yoke, a declaration of independence. At once the Philistines assembled an army wherewith to overthrow the new kingdom. The record that they had thirty thousand chariots is supposed to have been a copyist's error for three thousand; for the number of horsemen, two to each chariot, is given as six thousand. This considerable army marched into Palestine; and a battle ensued between them and the Israelites. King Saul evidently desired to be in harmony with the Lord, and realized still that without divine interposition he would be powerless to repel an invader of such strength. The prophet Samuel was communicated with, and he promised to come within seven days to offer sacrifice to God on Israel's behalf, that the Lord's blessing might attend his people and bring them the victory, in harmony with the divine covenant.
King Saul waited for six days, and meantime saw his army melting from desertion, for the Israelites were poorly armed and greatly in fear. They had practically no weapons, merely their agricultural implements for weapons of war. Apparently the Philistines had previously deprived them of fighting weapons, and in some manner had hindered the Kenites, who were the smiths of the time, from serving them in the manufacture of swords and spears. When the seventh day had come, King Saul, wearied of waiting for Samuel, offered the sacrifice himself, contrary to the divine order. Immediately Samuel appeared, and, pointing out to Saul his failure, stated that obedience to God would have been more appreciated by the Almighty than were the sacrifices. Samuel also pointed out that the sacrifice under the circumstances was a sin, and that the result of this disobedience was that God would not permit Saul and his kingdom to be perpetuated, though he promised that the battle immediately before them would be successful for Israel's sake and for the furtherance of God's own cause.
The difficulty was Saul's failure to respect the divine arrangement, his presumption in undertaking to do what had not been committed to his care, but was under the charge of another. The Lord's cause was not hindered; but King Saul's own prosperity was interfered with by his neglect of the divine arrangement.
What lesson may we draw from this incident? If for the moment we think of Saul as representing those [R4206 : page 215] who have been favored of God, and called to joint-heirship with Jesus in his Kingdom and anointed with the holy Spirit, we may see in his early victories a picture of our good beginning, when we trusted God implicitly, and sought to do merely as he directed, and to wait patiently and trustfully for him to guide in all of our affairs. As Saul should have made progress and become stronger in his faith and patience and obedience, so should our earliest experiences as the Lord's servants bring to us increasing patience, perseverance, faith, confidence, implicit obedience. But as this was not the case with King Saul, so it is not the case with many of those who have been anointed for joint-heirship with the Lord in his Kingdom. Many of these have similar experiences to that of Saul. Instead of their growing more dependent upon the Lord, the favors received at his hand make them less particular to know and to do his will. They still reverence the Lord; they still recognize that without him they could do nothing; but they are not sufficiently careful to note just what he would have them to do. Sometimes they undertake to do the work of others, and to that extent are "busybodies in other men's matters," as King Saul busybodied and sinned in attempting to do the work that belonged to the prophet.
We should see that in the divine mind obedience is one of the most important elements of character. The Lord has us in training in the school of Christ for a great work in the future; and the first prerequisite for future honors and opportunities very properly must be our obedience to the opportunities and directions of the Lord in the present time. This our Lord explained clearly in his parables, saying that to some of his servants he had entrusted more talents than to others; that each would be called upon to give an account for the proper exercise of the talents, responsibilities and commands that had been put upon him, and that each would be rewarded in proportion as he used the talents given to him. Our Lord's expression on the subject is, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." – Luke 16:10.
Here, then, is our lesson, "Obedience is better than sacrifice" in God's sight. He will not either approve or reward carelessness on our part in this matter. On the contrary, inattention to his direct will would mark us as proportionately unfit for his direct service, either here or hereafter. This implies on our part such a loyalty to the Lord, such a carefulness in respect to his service, such a recognition of each other in respect to the Lord and his service, that we would go about very carefully in our endeavors to serve his cause. So the Apostle exhorts, "Let us walk circumspectly," carefully, scrutinizingly. – Eph. 5:15.
As the mariner guides the course of his ship by certain charts which show hidden rocks and shoals, and by the stars in their courses, so the Christian is furnished with a chart which shows him the course which he should pursue, and the things which would be displeasing to God and injurious to himself. That chart [R4207 : page 215] is the Bible, and whoever would be in harmony with God must not only hearken for his message but keep track also of the hidden dangers which beset his course. Each one of us is on trial. This Gospel Age is our Day of Judgment, of testing. The Lord himself is scrutinizing the course we are taking. It is not sufficient to him that we shall have zeal. The zeal which he will approve is that which operates from love and along the lines of his instruction. The zeal which disregards the divine instruction is not approved; it leads to shipwreck.
The Apostle gives some suggestions along this line, saying that every member of the Body of Christ is necessary (I Cor. 12:12-26); none is to be despised or hindered from having his part in the general work of building up the Body in the most holy faith. The Apostle illustrates that the eye cannot say to the hand or the foot, "I have no need of you;" and contrariwise the hand or the foot cannot say that it has no need of the eye nor of the ear. Every member is necessary; and above all every member of the Body is to move only in accord with the will of the Head. And that will is to be sought for in every incident of life, great or small. We are not to think of the Lord's cause as being wholly dependent upon us. We are to remember the mistake which Uzzah made – When he saw the ark of the Lord jostled in the road, he put forth his hand to steady it, and died because of his disobedience. It was not in his province to steady the ark. The Lord had that matter under his own supervision, and only the priest might even touch it. Let us all then be zealous, not only to serve the Lord, but also to know the way in which he would have us render that service. Let us be sure that service rendered in any other way than as divinely directed will not be acceptable and will not bring blessing upon us, but on the contrary bring us the Lord's proportionate disfavor. Obedience is better than sacrifice.
Evidently quite a number of years intervened between the incidents to which we have just referred and those which constitute the main part of today's lesson – King Saul's second test. In the interim Israel had grown strong as a nation; and the time had come for the carrying out of a divine declaration made long before; namely, that the Amalekites should be utterly destroyed. As one branch of Esau's family, they were related to the Israelites and to the Arabs of today. Like the latter they were horsemen, and a kind of brigand, who flourished by pillaging their neighbors. Not strong enough themselves to injure the Israelites they associated themselves with others of the enemies of Israel, either directly participating in war or indirectly, following after battles to gather up the spoils. It will be remembered that they fought against the Israelites in the wilderness when on their way toward Canaan. (Exod. 17:8-16.) It will be remembered also that they again opposed the Israelites in conquering the land of promise; and that the Lord had declared through Moses that these should be utterly destroyed, and had given Israel this command. – Deut. 25:17-19. [R4207 : page 216]
The fulfilling of these commands was deferred, probably for two reasons. First, the Israelites had no cavalry and would have found it difficult to cope with these marauders, who would swoop down upon them and be off. Secondly, it is probable that the Lord permitted the Amalekites to continue as a thorn in the side of the Israelites for their chastening. But now in Samuel's day the message came to King Saul to destroy utterly the Amalekites, not only all the people, great and small, but all of their belongings – sheep, cattle, horses – everything. The Israelites were to do this as the sword of the Lord, as inflicting the judgment which God had decreed. It must not be said of them that they had turned brigands and thieves, to war against their neighbors and to profit by their pelf. This must be a witness not only to the nations round about, but to the Israelites themselves; it must be a lesson. They must not get the impression that warfare against their neighbors would be undertaken for any selfish, mercenary motives. They were God's scourge in this instance. We are not to draw the inference that today God gives any command to any nation to blot out another people. We are to remember, on the contrary, that Israel was a picture-nation, a type nation; and that through their experience and history the Lord dealt peculiarly to illustrate principles; that he used Israel as his sword, as his pen, as his mouthpiece.
Infidels hold this experience of the Israelites with the Amalekites as an awful picture of cruelty, entirely opposed to justice; and earnest, honest minds have stumbled through a misapprehension of the principles involved. Many would be inclined to say, "Why did not God send Saul and the Israelites with the Gospel to preach to the Amalekites? Why did he send Israel to destroy their lives, and thus to end their probation and thrust them into eternal torment?"
We answer that eternal torment had nothing whatever to do with their case; for God has made no such threat and inflicts no such penalty for their sin, nor for any sin. According to the Scriptures, "The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23.) And death was the wage which God authorized Israel to inflict upon the Amalekites, a death penalty. Their execution was along exactly the same lines as courts of justice today command the execution of murderers, except that in this case the Lord himself acted as judge of the court, read the decision and imposed the penalty.
The Israelites preached the Gospel to nobody, because no Gospel could be preached until first of all Christ had come and had paid the penalty for Adam's sin. On the basis of that work of Christ, God commands all men everywhere to repent, because he has appointed a day of trial, a day of judgment. (Acts 17:31.) God did not end their day of trial; for it had not yet come to them. Like all the remainder of the race they were under death sentence for Adam's sin, and it matters not to justice how they die, whether of pestilence or of general decay or by the sword. The fact that their death was a divine punishment, was better shown by their execution in harmony with the divine command, than had it come upon them in some other manner. The incident furnished a lesson to typical Israel, as it still furnishes a lesson to Spiritual Israel. Those Amalekites, let us remember, were all redeemed by the provision of God's love, by the death of Jesus. In due time they are all to have the testimony that Christ died for their sins, and to have the opportunity during the Millennial Age day, the world's judgment day, to return to full harmony with God and to live.
That a good many years had passed, and that King Saul had made good use of his opportunities as an organizer of the kingdom, is evidenced by the fact that a large army was assembled in harmony with the Lord's command to the prophet: "Two hundred thousand footmen and ten thousand men of Judah." This army was evidently so disposed of as to intercept any of the Amalekites who might flee. Meantime word was sent to the Kenites, who dwelt amongst the Amalekites, advising them to leave that they might not suffer in the punishment of the Amalekites; and the explanation made was that as the Kenites had favored the Lord's people, they were spared in recognition of this fact; for the destruction of the Amalekites was in harmony with the divine decree, because of their opposition to Israel.
The people were all slaughtered except the king, whom King Saul spared, keeping him as a kind of trophy. The animals also were all destroyed, except the choicest of the flocks and herds, which additionally was contrary to the divine command.
When the prophet Samuel came to the king, the latter saluted him as God's representative and reported that he had done according to the divine command. Then came the inquiry, "If so, what means the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the cattle?" Saul's answer was probably a prevarication; that these were kept in order to be offered to the Lord in sacrifice. Then Samuel reproved him, pointing out that he had violated the command of the Lord in preserving any of them. The king, however, protested that the people had kept them; that Israel had desired them; and we can readily suppose that there would have been amongst the Israelites quite an opposition to the waste of the good things of the Amalekites, so accustomed were people of that time, as well as of today, to desire valuables. Saul might have indeed complied with the divine decree by rendering obedience to the Lord and thus put himself in disfavor with the people; but he would have maintained the divine approval thereby. As it was, the prophet expressed the divine disapproval, saying, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken (better) than the fat of rams."
Let us see if there are not corresponding tests upon the royal priesthood. Frequently tests come to this class after they have been a long while in the school of Christ. Speaking to some such, the Apostle says, [R4208 : page 217] "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers ye have need that one teach you again what be the first principles of the oracles of God," the doctrines (teachings) of Christ. (Heb. 5:12.) We are sometimes surprised at others, sometimes at ourselves, that we have been so slow in making progress; that we have apparently gained so little victory in character building and appreciation of the principles which should govern amongst those who are the Lord's anointed and in preparation for the throne. Saul's difficulty and tests may represent some of ours.
(1) A selfish spirit, a desire for some of the best of the things which the Lord has condemned; a willingness to spare these because they appeal to us from a selfish viewpoint, the fleshly viewpoint.
(2) A man-fearing spirit. As Saul feared to bring upon himself the reproaches of the people, fearing to be thought too narrow on the one hand and too wasteful on the other, so a temptation comes to the Lord's people to guide their course not entirely by the Word of the Lord, but with a deference to the sentiments of others. This is the fear of man that brings a snare. (Prov. 29:25.) We are ensnared by the spirit of the world. Of such the Lord says, "How can ye believe [continue in proper discipleship] which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only?" – John 5:44.
(3) Saul's third difficulty was that he had too slack an appreciation of the Lord's Word; and this is the difficulty which specially besets nearly every one of the Lord's followers who stray away into error of doctrine or of conduct. With what care ought we to guard ourselves, lest having become partakers of so great a blessing as our anointing implies, any of us should seem to come short of its glorious realization in the Kingdom. Let us see to it that we put away all love of sin in its every form, and that we esteem the Lord's favor so highly that the consideration of human friendships would not have a particle of weight or influence with us, except as the same should be in full accord with the divine programme; and in order to the maintenance of these proper relationships, let us take heed to his Word.
Let us remember the Apostle's words that we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with wicked spirits in high positions. (Eph. 6:12.) Let us remember that these wicked spirits have the power in some degree to favor in us wrong sentiments; that in proportion as we would give our minds into any selfish, sinful or ignoble channel, in that same proportion these unseen adversaries of the saints would have power over them. Let us remember, on the contrary, that in proportion as our hearts are loyal to the Lord and his Word and to the spirit of the truth, the spirit of love, in that same proportion we are surrounded by a halo of influence which would protect us, so that of such it may be written, "The wicked one toucheth him not." – John 5:18.
The Scriptures clearly indicate a great trial and testing for the Church in the next few years. It will determine with very many what Saul's testing determined for him, whether or not God's favor will continue, with its Kingdom privileges and opportunities. To the faithful the Lord says, "Fear not, little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom." The others will be answered as was Saul, "Obedience is better than sacrifice;" thou art rejected. Through the Revelator the Lord tells us how the Philadelphian stage of the Church would be saved from the great "hour of trial that is come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." (Rev. 3:10.) There are trials coming upon the Laodicean Church, living at the time of the presence of the Son of Man, when he stands at the door and knocks. (Rev. 3:20.) In that trial, we are told, that a thousand shall fall at the side and ten thousand at the right hand of the one Body, the true Church, of which Jesus is the Head. The Apostle Peter, in figurative language, describes the heavens as being on fire (2 Pet. 3:12), symbolically picturing the ecclesiastical influence of our day; and St. Paul tells of the "fire that shall try every man's work of what sort it is." (I Cor. 3:13.) We are assured that only the gold, silver and precious stones of the divine character and doctrine will abide the fiery ordeal. Surely none of the Lord's people can afford to ignore such testings as these; particularly none of those who with us believe that we are now in that trial period; and that the next seven years will be preeminently a testing time.
If the test of character approved of God, is love – perfect love for God, for the brethren, yea, also for our enemies – then let that thought be continually before all of our minds to the intent that we be not overtaken, that we be not deceived by the great Adversary, who still would fain put darkness for light and light for darkness, on this as upon every other subject. Our anticipation is that the great conflict which will ultimately reach the world, and eventuate in the anarchy which will overthrow all law and order, will begin with the Church; begin with the consecrated, the sanctified, the enlightened. Does not the Lord forewarn us, that in all things judgment must begin at the house of God. (I Pet. 4:17.) Necessarily it must begin with those who are highest up in that house as respects light, knowledge and privileges.
Are we prepared for these tests, of which we read that they would deceive, if it were possible, the very elect? We still believe that these tests will be along the lines of perfect love. Love and selfishness are the two great powers that are moving the world and each individual therein. We have already seen that the selfishness, which will overwhelm the world shortly, will mean lovelessness to the extent that the Scriptures declare, "Every man's hand shall be against his neighbor, and no peace to him that goeth out nor to him that cometh in." (Zech. 8:10; 11:6.) Is that same condition of things to be expected in the Church – every man's hand against his neighbor, the tongue of every brother against every other brother in the Lord? Are anger, malice, hatred, envy and strife to be permitted to overwhelm the Church of Christ? Could such things have [R4208 : page 218] any place or power of influence against those who have knowledge of the truth? We are of the opinion that this is just what we are to expect.
We are in the habit of supposing that our Lord's words, "Brother shall deliver up brother to death," applied merely to our Lord's time and during the dark ages. Do we forget that similar conditions may be expected in the end of this age? The delivering up may not be physical, however; the crucifying, the scourging and the roasting may not be literal; but we believe that very much the same things may be expected with only such limits as our civilization will compel. Apparently it is not enough of a test to us to be "hated of all men for my name's sake." We must be tested by the hatred, the malice, the evil speaking and evil surmising of those who dipped with us in the dish, of those who partook with us of the present things of divine bounty at the table of the Lord, the spiritual food. Ah! If this be so then we may indeed expect for the closing days of the Church, the Body of Christ, experiences not dissimilar to those which came to the Master in Gethsemane, one of the most trying of which must have been the Judas kiss.
When some of those who heard the Apostles on Pentecost day came to an understanding of what was the real situation of affairs, and that they and their rulers had crucified the Prince of Life – some of them actually and some of them by failing to protest – those who were right-minded were cut to the heart and cried out, "What must we do?" The Apostle assured them of forgiveness because they did it ignorantly. And so with us. If any of us find that under any snare, or delusion of the Adversary, we have been entrapped into wrong-doing toward a brother, we should immediately feel cut to the heart, and should go to the Lord for divine forgiveness and to those whom we have wronged, for their part of it, that thus we might turn defeat in the hands of the Adversary to victory.
Undoubtedly just such a storm is coming; and as the prophet expresses it, the question is not, Who shall fall, but "Who shall be able to stand?" (Mal. 3:2.) A thousand shall fall to one who will stand. The very Elect will not be deceived, but the question is, Are we of the very Elect? and our answer must be that the Lord will decide this matter according to the manner in which we decide when under the test. It is impossible for us to surmise what may be the various apparent grounds for unbrotherliness, for the loss of a brother's love. If we give heed to the Adversary, he will make us think it proper to break away from the regular rule of procedure, and, if we are willing, make us to feel that we are fully justified in violating all the various directions which the Lord our God has given us. It will require of all of us loving faithfulness to the Lord and to the brethren to enable us to withstand the trials of this day; and we cannot at this point refrain from reminding the dear followers of the Lord afresh of what we have already amplified in DAWN-STUDIES, Vol. VI, Chap. 9, the course which the new creature should take in every matter in which he feels that a brother has offended him, outlined by our Lord in Matt. 18:15-17.
Let us be sure that the Adversary will use every means to turn us aside from this plainly stated rule of love; that he will endeavor to make us think that it cannot be applicable to the difficulty which troubles us. Let our answer to all such suggestions of Satan be, "Get thee behind me." We write thus pointedly, because in various parts we have intimations from the brethren of misunderstandings and in some instances the manifestation of a loveless spirit, a hypercritical spirit, an unbrotherly spirit, a spirit in direct opposition to the Golden Rule and to the Lord's instructions, [R4209 : page 218] to go to him alone, to seek to win thy brother, and not to cast him off nor excommunicate him. On the contrary, be ready to die for him. "We ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren." – I John 3:16.
Let us remember, also, that this loveless condition of the heart, this hypercritical spirit, does not come in suddenly; it develops gradually. Hence every day each of the Lord's people should have a searching of his heart to see whether or not he can find there toward anybody, saint or sinner, any of the spirit of malice which the Lord figuratively represented as leaven, contaminating in its influence. "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." (I Cor. 5:6.) A little envy, a little malice, a little anger, a little hatred, and a little strife, may leaven our hearts completely, and in a comparatively short time turn the sweets of our new nature, the spirit of love, into acid bitterness. Moreover, the leaven is not likely to be confined to one, but spreads to others; and thus many may be defiled. The poet has said: –
It is not remarkable that the Adversary and the deceitfulness of our own flesh should conspire to hinder every work of grace, and of course present arguments, and if possible Scripture proofs. Let us not be deceived thereby, but take our stand firmly for truth and righteousness, and for everything which would protect the brethren and honor the Lord's cause. We state and answer the objections to the Vow as follows: –
(1) To take a vow is to swear, and we are cautioned, "Swear not at all."
This is a mistake; a vow is not an oath, but a solemn affirmation. It is suggested to be made not to man but to God. It is in full accord with the Scripture, which says, "Pay thy vows unto the Lord." How could one pay his vows if he never made any, or if it were wrong to make such vows?
(2) To make such a vow is to put one's self under the Law; and the Apostle says, "If ye be under the Law Christ shall profit you nothing."
This is also an error. Christians are under God's [R4211 : page 219] law in the sense that they have agreed to do his will in all things to the extent of their ability. "The righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us who are walking not after the flesh but after the Spirit." The vow proposed is merely to assist in this walk, and is in full accord with St. Paul's exhortation, "Make straight paths for your feet lest that which is lame be turned out of the way." We have pointed out that the world's path will be very crooked indeed during the next few years, and hence the greater need of such a vow to help those in the narrow way. The Apostle reproved those who sought to justify themselves by keeping the Law, ignoring Christ. This vow acknowledging Christ and our justification through faith in the blood of Christ, is to assist us in following in his steps.
(3) The vow I took in consecration includes all that this proposed vow sets forth.
This is true in a certain sense; and to that extent it surely is not objectionable. Our vow of consecration really meant the doing of anything that would honor our Lord or assist the brethren – even to the extent of laying down life itself. It equally meant the avoidance of anything which would injure the Lord's cause or possibly stumble the brethren. Hence our consecration vow indirectly covers all that the proposed vow includes and excludes, and those who see it thus need not hesitate to take the proposed vow.
The Word of God forbids adultery, fornication, lasciviousness or uncleanness in thought, word and act, and all this we clearly understood when we made our consecration vow. But the Scriptures nowhere forbid a pure, "holy kiss," nor stipulate other items of the proposed vow; hence we had not these in mind when we made the consecration. But as that vow included our all, even unto death, it really included the new vow, which is really another item of our self-sacrifice, made in the interest of the general cause, and likely to prove beneficial to ourselves also.
Our space permits the publication of only a few of the many encouraging letters received on this subject from both brothers and sisters. We continue our list of those who have notified us that they have made the vow published in our issue of June 15th – the sisters, of course, altering the vow to apply it to the opposite sex.
L. S. Ward, Vincent C. Rice, A. N. Marchant, B. F. Coley, G. W. LaFerry, Brother and Sister Spietz, John Kumpf, J. E. Miller, Mrs. Emilie Bruce Abbe, Brother and Sister Wiltison, E. Z. Johnson, Benj. Fisk, Alice L. Darlington, E. J. Coward, Paul E. Thomson, Edmund Bodeutsch, Geo. W. Faulk, J. W. Hosfield, Chas. Strand, G. M. Brown, T. E. Fogan, W. H. Moore, Geo. W. Whiteus, C. P. Powley, A. Johnson, Anson G. Wilbor, Walter J. Thorn, F. L. Hall, O. R. Amick, G. G. DeFrese, Jas. O. Conner, Jas. Shermer, C. C. Coleman, H. S. Cox, Albert Berry, Brother and Sister F. A. Kaufman, J. D. Gould, Thomas Cox, Mrs. H. B. Ackley, M. M. Sanders, Rena Fulton, D. Gossadge, Chas. Murdock, Thos. Heald, Sis. H. B. Simmons, R. H. Schmardebeck, R. H. Goss, Leonie E. Walker, Robt. Ingle, Frank Bradt, C. Greaves, J. B. McGee, John Kurzen, Ida Kurzen, Evelyn Sutherland, Eben A. Keller, J. H. Coyle, A. Johnson, T. R. Leedy, R. L. Jones, Eastman Douglass, M. L. Wolf, Alfred W. Gleason, J. M. Easley, M. L. Staples, Mrs. Rosa Townsend, Mrs. Isanre A. Watson, D. A. Mackey, Wesley Hawley, M. L. Cobb, D. V. Berlage, Benj. J. Haytree, T. McNaught, Brother and Sister L. F. Hall, Sydney Stokes, F. A. Acheson, Fred Bright, R. L. Smith, F. L. Hickson, Mrs. G. W. DePriest, E. Whelpton, Mrs. C. W. Stiver, P. Crippen, H. L. Hauerwas, Mrs. F. H. Parmelee, Carrie Otteson, F. G. Giddings, A. H. Dooley and wife, J. McCarthy, R. H. Goza, Ed. O. Loe, S. W. Williams, H. J. Black, Nellie Hall, A. Z. Becker, Charles Toepfer, Lela E. McGee, J. A. Browne, T. C. Weaver, Eliza Breary, R. H. Barber, W. H. Jackson, A. J. Gibson, M. O. Field, Joe Ganson, Emma Shull, A. I. Ritchie, S. J. Fleming, C. R. Pitner, Mrs. W. H. Warren, J. W. Bell, Alma Swenson, Mrs. S. J. Fleming, Charlotte White, A. Cleveland, D. W. Loree, Elmer G. Berry, Chas. Ockerman, Benj. Hershey, Mrs. M. Gardner, Mrs. M. R. Land, Alice G. James, Alice E. Bourquin, E. Louise Hamilton, M. Almeta Nation, Edith Hoskins, Mrs. Isaac Hoskins, Laura M. Whitehouse, Charlotte Gillberg, Ora Lee Sullivan, J. Violet Meyer, Mrs. M. Hartzell, Mrs. M. L. Roberts, Mrs. B. C. Stark.
MY DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL: –
It seems to me the most timely article that has ever appeared in the WATCH TOWER is the one in the June 15th number, under the caption, "Pay thy vows unto the Lord." I have wondered at times where this fleshly manifestation of love between opposite sexes would end, but I thank the Lord now that I believe nearly all, if not all, will end in all who are truly his taking the proposed vow. I am positive the dear friends have had not the least evil motive, and rejoice that the Lord has moved you to present the matter in so loving a manner, together with the suggestion of the vow, which should prove an impregnable barrier against further besetments along this line.
This is to advise you that I have with much appreciation made this vow to the Lord. I have taken it in the name of Christ our Lord, whose strength is sufficient in every time of need. The Lord bless thee and keep thee and all thy house. With fervent love, yours faithfully in Christ,
DEARLY BELOVED PASTOR: –
The contents of June 15th TOWER have brought great joy to my heart, and I believe it pleasing to the Lord to express my appreciation of the same to you personally.
In Louisville, last April, Brother Rutherford so kindly told me of the "Pilgrim vow," which by the Lord's favor came to me at the "due time," when he had prepared my heart to receive it as the blessed privilege which it is.
How can I express to you the joy and happiness I have experienced in the Lord's love and favor since taking this sacred vow before him on April 24th! I do thank the Lord, especially for his surpassing favor in revealing this privilege to me when he did. The intervening nine weeks up to the present time have been filled with many lessons in love and humility, revealing an unusual gentleness in his leadings and care for me. May I ever grow in love for him and all of his, never [R4211 : page 220] lacking in appreciation of his manifold blessings – always striving to please him.
Our prayers have been with you many times daily, that you may have comfort and strength to perform your vows unto him; thanking him on every remembrance of you for the rich blessings which he has used you to bring to us.
I am confident, dear Brother Russell, that we Colporteurs have had your prayers that we, too, may be faithful to our vows in letter and in spirit, even unto the end – which prayers will avail much for us and are a great comfort to our hearts. We grow more thankful each day for our share in the harvest work.
With much love and prayers, I remain, yours in the blessed harvest work,
Samuel was a wise man, and knew instinctively that while Saul had been ready enough to receive the anointing himself he would never consent to have another anointed as his successor in the kingdom, but would desire to retain the authority, the position, for the members of his own family. He therefore replied to the Lord, "How can I go?" Will not my mission be interrupted if Saul learns of my intention, and I shall not even have the opportunity to carry it out, for he will kill me, and justify his action under the plea that I was a traitor to the king. The Lord replied, "Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord."
Many of the Lord's dear people, evidently lacking a proper balance of mind on this subject, would be inclined to repudiate such an avowal as being a lie – an untruth. Their argument would be, No, Samuel's real purpose and the Lord's was that he should anoint a king, and the offering by sacrifice was merely a subterfuge and misrepresentation – a falsehood out of the whole cloth. Among such, hesitancy to brand such a course as both speaking and acting a lie, would merely be because it was the Lord who gave this direction and his inspired prophet who carried it out; but the principle involved is the same whoever may be the ones carrying it out. If such a course had been wrong for Samuel or for any other man, it would have been still more wrong for the Almighty God. But if, as we claim, it was right and proper for the Almighty, it would be an equally proper course for any one to take.
It would not have been proper to say that he was going to sacrifice if there had been no intention to sacrifice, but merely to anoint! As a matter of fact, the sacrifice was the whole purpose of the visit, so far as the people of Bethlehem were concerned, the matter of anointing being purely the Lord's business and that of Jesse and his family. As the anointing was none of the business of the people of Bethlehem, it was entirely proper that it should not be mentioned to them. Our Lord followed the same course during his ministry, telling facts only in part. Sometimes he spake in parables, that the multitude might hear and not understand the true import of his message, and this he explained to the apostles saying, "To you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God; but unto outsiders these things are done in parables, that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand." (Mark 4:11,12.) Again he said to the disciples, "I have many things to tell you, but ye cannot bear them now." (John 16:12.) It is a great mistake, therefore, to suppose that it is wrong to withhold a part of the truth, if it is withheld for the benefit of the hearer; if the whole truth would do injury, then it is the course of wisdom and love to withhold the injurious element. But if, on the contrary, we should withhold truth from selfish motives, and to the injury of other men, the course would be reprehensible, contrary to the law of love. To see this principle will be very helpful to many of the Lord's people, and will assist them in appreciating and acting upon the Master's words, "Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves." [R4209 : page 221]
In fulfilment of the Lord's will Samuel went to Bethlehem. So great was the reverence for him as the Lord's prophet and ex-judge that the elders of the city came to meet him, trembling and fearing that he had come with some message of denunciation from the Lord, to reprove some wickedness, to show up some graft, to pronounce some penalty. All this implies that the people had great confidence in the prophet as God's mouthpiece and great respect and reverence for the Lord, etc., and that the rule of God through the judges had deeply impressed certain lessons.
In reply to the query, "Comest thou peaceably?" – does your coming mean judgments of the Lord upon us or blessings – Samuel replied: I am come peaceably to sacrifice unto the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. Amongst others he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. The sacrificing represented an acknowledgment of sin and thankfulness to the Lord for his mercy in respect to it, and in general a consecration of obedience to the Lord. A certain portion of the sacrifice was usually burned unto the Lord and another portion of it was eaten by the participants, as representing the reception of the blessings. The account is evidently not a complete one. We may suppose that after all who wished to draw near unto the Lord through the sacrifice had attended, and that matter and the feast were entirely at an end, Samuel went with Jesse to his home and there looked over his sons, waiting for guidance from the Lord as to which of them should be anointed.
Apparently Jesse had been asked to send his sons one by one to the prophet and they came, the elder first. When Samuel looked upon Eliab he said within himself, Surely the Lord's anointed is before me; but the Lord answered, "Look not on his countenance, neither on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." What a wonderful lesson is here applicable to every member of the human family! The Lord Jesus used nearly similar language, saying, "That which is highly esteemed amongst men is an abomination in the sight of the Lord." (Luke 16:15.) Judge not by outward appearance. Saul in outward appearance was handsome, and head and shoulders above the majority of the people of Israel. The Lord permitted him to be chosen king, and gave an exhibition of the fact that outward [R4210 : page 221] appearance is not always a sure token of the attitude of heart pleasing to him. So seven of Jesse's sons passed before Samuel, and the Lord rejected all of them; there was some unfitness at the core, at the heart, which was not apparent to the outward observer, who like Samuel, would have concluded otherwise. Then Samuel, evidently surprised, said to Jesse, "Are here all thy children?" and he replied, "There remainest yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep." And Samuel said, "Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down until he come hither, and he sent and brought him." The youngest son was David, and we read, "He was ruddy, and withal of beautiful countenance and goodly to look upon." The description is thought to indicate that David was fair-complexioned and of auburn hair. It is supposed that he was in his eighteenth year.
The Lord said to Samuel, "Arise, and anoint him, for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren." The question properly arises here, Why did the Lord choose David instead of one of his brethren or some other man of the nation? That there was a definite, positive choice cannot be questioned; and a similar choice on the Lord's part in other cases is scripturally noted. For instance, the Apostle Paul calls attention to the fact that Isaac and not Ishmael was the promised seed of Abraham, and that Jacob and not Esau was chosen amongst his seed, and that this choice was indicated before their birth, saying, "The elder shall serve the younger." We are bound to suppose from all the information granted us, that the Lord in times past, while recognizing the free will, the free agency of every human being, has nevertheless, to some extent, interposed in some instances to grant prenatal influences helpful to the development of such characters as he desired for his service. This same thought is brought to our attention in connection with the birth of John the Baptist, and the declaration of a prenatal influence in that case. Similarly the Apostle Paul calls attention to the fact that the Lord chose him from his mother's womb. To our understanding this signifies that divine wisdom and power supervised the influences, which more or less controlled his mother's mind during the period of gestation, and which impressed a certain amount of character upon the babe. This, as we have already pointed out in (DAWN-STUDIES, Vol. VI.), should stimulate parents to give to their offspring the very best possible mental endowment – as respects justice, wisdom, love, and all the finer qualities of disposition. Were all children so born, while it would never entirely take away the taint of sin and imperfection, never produce perfect children, because none can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, it would, however, mean a great blessing for the human family, a great uplift.
Nothing in connection with what we have suggested implies an interference with the human will, but merely the preparation of a better-balanced and constituted mind. It was still possible for St. Paul to repel all the grace of God – not only that received through prenatal influences, but also that received through the varying experiences by which the Lord subsequently led him and under which the Apostle, by faith and consecration, was accepted as a prospective joint-heir with Christ in the Kingdom. As the Apostle himself declared, it would still have been possible, after preaching the Gospel to others, for himself to become a castaway. (I Cor. 9:27.) And so it is with us. The preparation, the information and the call and the subsequent supervision of our best interests, all leave our wills inviolate and permit us, if we choose, to reject the Lord's favor. [R4210 : page 222]
In no other manner than the one we have suggested could we account for some of the wonderful characters of Scriptural history – Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul and others. We may not even surely know that the Lord's providence did not affect Pharaoh by some prenatal influence, which tended to make him stubborn to the last degree, in harmony with the Scriptures which say, "For this very purpose have I raised thee up [to the throne] that I might show forth my power in thee" – in a manner that could not be shown forth had a man of different natural disposition been in the throne.
Subsequent history shows that David's brethren did not understand that he had been anointed to be king. Samuel may have let Jesse into the secret, and may subsequently have whispered something to David on the subject; but most evidently the matter was kept a profound secret, with the understanding that David's anointing would give him no authority of kingship until in the providence of God the authority should be fully taken from the hands of Saul and put into David's hands; and with the full understanding also that David himself was to have nothing whatever to do with grasping the power. His anointing was a prophecy respecting his future, and also a type of the anointing of the Christ. David's brethren may have thought of the anointing as signifying that their brother was designed eventually to become a prophet of the Lord instead of Samuel at the death of the latter; or they may have understood it as meaning some special blessing in connection with the sanctifying and sacrificing in which they themselves had participated. Certain it is that the youthful David conducted himself most modestly, most becomingly, and that the experiences through which he subsequently passed in the Lord's providence in following his vocation were very helpful to him, fitting and preparing him for the office of king, which came to him in due time.
The name David signifies beloved, and as such well represents the Christ, Head and Body. Of him it is written, "God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Psa. 45:7.) When in due time God sent forth his Son to be the world's Redeemer and anointed King and Restorer, divine Providence ordered that he should be born in the same city of David – Bethlehem. He also had a humble position amongst all those of his time; his brethren of the Jewish nation considered him one of the least fitted to be the Deliverer – "They hid, as it were, their faces from him" – in shame. He was anointed of the Lord, however, to be the Deliverer; not only were the angels of heaven passed by, but also the great ones of earth. Neither did he begin his reign immediately after being anointed with the Spirit; rather he needed first various testings, trials, provings such as came to the typical David. And the same principle obtains in respect to all of the Church, his Body. Little known, not highly esteemed amongst men, not many of them great, wise or noble, the Lord is anointing all of the David class, the beloved class in the present time. They do not at once begin to reign, but do at once enter a school of experience designed by their Father to be helpful in preparing them for the duties and privileges of the Kingdom when the due time shall come for the Kingdom to be given to them. The world knoweth us not, saith the Apostle. Very true. They know not that we are anointed. Indeed, even many of our brethren who perceived the anointing know not what it signifies; they perceive not that we are anointed to be kings and joint-heirs with our Redeemer. However, the matter is communicated to us; as the Apostle declares, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye all know it." (I John 2:20.) Under this unction, this blessing of the Lord, we are to develop more and more in preparation for our position of royalty, to which we shall attain in our change in the First Resurrection.
"And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward." We are not to understand from this that David was begotten of the holy Spirit, as are the members of the Body of Christ, the Church, during this Gospel Age. No; ours is a special and peculiar blessing from the Lord, the like of which never came before Pentecost, except in the one case of our Lord's baptism of the Spirit at Jordan, when he received the holy Spirit without measure. The Spirit, influence, power of God upon David was similar in its operation and effect to what it had been upon Samuel and the prophets. Undoubtedly it gave him wisdom, strength and courage and enabled him wisely to appropriate to himself the various opportunities for the learning of the imperfect lessons in connection with his daily experiences, all of which were a schooling or preparation for his future work as king.
Similarly, only in a higher and fuller sense and degree, the Lord's people of this Gospel Age, from the time they come under the influence of the holy Spirit of begetting, which was poured upon the Church at Pentecost – from that time onward they should be exercised by this Spirit of the Lord, and, as the Apostle expresses it, should be filled with the Spirit, "filled with all the fulness of God," filled more and more with a knowledge of God's will and with the spirit of obedience thereto. This feeling increases as we receive of the holy Spirit, and as it abounds and is shed forth in our hearts we are enlightened; our appreciation of God, our appreciation of our own privileges, our appreciation of his calling us to the high position of joint-heirship with Jesus and our appreciation of the necessity for learning the lessons which would fit us for that glorious position, is increased.
Apropos of God's choice of David rather than any of his brethren the Sunday School Times remarks: –
"Never forget for a moment that no face can be so beautiful, or any form so divine, but that a bad heart or a wicked heart may make it hateful or worthless. In such beauty there is always a cloud, a film, a veil. [R4211 : page 222] Through all its masks and shams the gaze of God goes like an X-ray, straight to the heart and soul.
"It often happens that men neglect the very person, young or poor or obscure, whom God has chosen for highest honor; but whoever men may choose to crown, the real feast cannot proceed till God's candidate has been discovered. Sometimes our stupid wits never make the discovery, and the coronation of God's saints and heroes is reserved for the day of surprises in heaven. Let us try to honor men as God honors them!"
– Dr. Bushnell.
You have clearly shown that Elijah was a type of the Church in the flesh, and that his 3½ years correspond to the 1260 years of Papacy's power (a day for a year), during which the Church was in the wilderness condition, fed as it were by ravens. (Vol. II., p. 256.) Now I want to ask whether the subsequent experiences of Elijah do not typify some of the experiences of the Church from 1799 to 1914, as follows:
(1) The rain (I Kings 18:41-45) – spread of Truth in publication and dissemination of Bibles and in the organization of Bible Societies.
(2) Slaying of false prophets – overthrow of false doctrines, etc. – I Kings 18:40.
(3) Subsequent flight to save his life – the complete separation of a class from the power of Jezebel in the interest of the new life, 1829 to 1846, corresponding to the Cleansed Sanctuary Class. – I Kings 19:1-4; Vol. III., pp. 83-119.
(4) Elijah's first awakening (19:5) corresponds to the spiritual awakening of this class, known as the "Miller Movement." Special food was now due, viz.: the Ransom, the return of our Lord, and an understanding of prophecy.
(5) "Fell asleep." "The Bridegroom tarried, and they all slumbered and slept." (Matt. 25:5.) See Vol. III., pp. 92-93. This covers the period of 1844 to 1874.
(6) Second awakening, 1874 to 1914, during which time all the Elijah class shall be reached (touched) by the angel (messenger) whom the Lord has been using since 1874. This angel is the same one referred to in Rev. 3:14 and Luke 12:42. The food offered is Present Truth. This angel mentions a definite object before us, "a journey," and so the Lord's servant has clearly shown us the hope of our calling – that is, to be joint-heirs with our Lord. Never since the apostles fell asleep has the hope of the Church been as clearly shown as in the DAWNS and TOWERS prepared by this angel. Elijah was told that the "journey is too great for thee" unless strengthened by partaking of the food. So we are assured that only those who now put on the "whole armor of God" can (or rather, shall) "stand" and make the journey to the heavenly phase of the Kingdom – "the mount of God" – Horeb. This was the same mount [R4212 : page 223] from which the Law Covenant was delivered at the hands of Moses. Paul shows that this represents the heavenly Kingdom. (Heb. 12:18-25.) The parable of the Virgins shows that only those who appreciate Present Truth enter into the marriage since 1874. They must appreciate the "Presence."
The forty days' and forty nights' journey (a day for a year, as in previous type of 1260 days) gives the length of the journey (time) from the beginning of the awakening by "that servant," angel, in 1874, until the last member of the Elijah class shall have reached the Kingdom (Mount of God, Heb. 12:22) "in [by] the strength of that food" – Present Truth. Then we shall meet our Lord and see him as he is.
The subsequent manifestation of power shows, as you have told us, the three features of the overthrow of the present kingdoms of this world: (a) The winds (wars) now held back, show that the overthrow of present institutions will not take place until after the Elijah class has reached the Mount of God – actually changed. However, the elements are being prepared for the conflict before them. (b) Earthquake (social disorder) next follows. (c) Anarchy is the fire that completes the work. God was not in them in the sense that they were not of divine institution; nevertheless they were overruled to accomplish his purposes. (d) "The still small voice" (God's Word) which now speaks only to the listening ear (he that hath an "ear to hear") will then speak with authority in the Kingdom, saying, "Peace, be still." Verse 13 – It seems that the type here changes to teach lessons regarding our present privileges and responsibilities.
Yours in the One Hope,