The Watchtower, November 1, 1885

VOL. VII. PITTSBURGH, PA., NOVEMBER, 1885. NO. 3.

ZION'S

Watch Tower

AND

HERALD OF CHRIST'S PRESENCE.

PUBLISHED MONTHLY.

C. T. RUSSELL, Editor and Publisher.

BUSINESS OFFICE:

NO. 40 FEDERAL ST. ALLEGHENY, PA.

The Editor recognizes a responsibility to the Master, relative to what shall appear in these columns, which he cannot and does not cast aside; yet he should not be understood as endorsing every expression of correspondents, or of articles selected from other periodicals.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

TERMS:--Fifty cents a year, postage prepaid. You may send by Draft, P.O. Money Order, or Registered Letter, payable to C. T. RUSSELL.

FOREIGN TERMS.

Three shillings per year. Remit by Foreign Postal Money Order.

TAKE NOTICE.

This paper will be sent free to any of the Lord's poor who will send a card yearly requesting it. Freely we have received and freely we would give the truth. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat--yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." And you that have it-- "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently--and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness."-- `ISAIAH 55:1,2`.

FORTUNATELY we have come across another small lot of "YOUNG'S ANALYTICAL GREEK, HEBREW AND ENGLISH CONCORDANCES"--the best--the "Author's Edition," at much below the previous price of the work. We desire many might avail themselves of the opportunity for obtaining a work so valuable, indeed almost indispensable to Bible study. This great book is cheap at the regular price, five dollars, but we have secured this lot so as to offer them to you at just half the price. They are new and perfect. See last page, last column.

This book is too heavy to go by mail to Europe, and too expensive by express; but we have recently sent some to the very city of the author in Scotland, by mail, so cut in two, that it can be easily repaired and they thus cost our subscribers about one-third of what the book sells for there. We will gladly accommodate any of our foreign subscribers thus, that they may have the benefit of this valuable work at so low a price.

VIEW FROM THE TOWER.

Very encouraging is the outlook from this point of observation. The "Plan for harvest work" suggested in the September TOWER, put into operation, is yielding fruit. It is undoubtedly proving a blessing to those engaged in the service, and it cannot fail to do some good to others. In either or both cases it is encouraging to remember Paul's assurance: "Ye know that your labor is not in vain;" good results are surely flowing from these sacrificings and self-denials. The isolated workers should know for their encouragement, that hundreds of earnest disciples in the various States of this country, and in several in Europe, are preaching the gospel by word and by the printed page seeking out the "meek" (`Isa. 61:1`,) who only have "an ear to hear" at present.

And the truth is breaking through the clouds of tradition and error which so long have hindered many from beholding the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord. (`2 Cor. 4:6`.) Pulpit utterances are being moderated and many are beginning to see dim outlines, as did the physically blind one whom Jesus anointed (`Mark 8:24`). Almost unconsciously to themselves the light of the now dawning Millennial Day is breaking into all reasoning minds.

And if we can see a little of the success from the lower plane of this TOWER of observation, what must be the view from the Tower on high, where the great King of Kings notes the progress of "the battle of the great day," between truth and error, light and darkness, God's Word and human traditions. Ah! he sees as we cannot, how fully his grand glorious purposes are being accomplished. Error shall fall while truth shall rise triumphant. Satan and all the delusions wherewith he has blinded men and defrauded Jehovah, shall give place to the knowledge of the Lord, which spread abroad at the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, shall fill and bless the whole earth.

And the FAITHFUL ONES who despite the sneers and scoffs and the allurements of the world, the flesh, and Satan are OVERCOMING these, saying, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business"-- what of these, are they seen by the eye of the Chief Captain? Will their tremblings and difficulties and sacrifices endured from love of the Father and a desire to please him and honor him--will these be forgotten? I tell you, nay! He knoweth each one and by these difficulties he is but permitting your testing to see whether you can safely be entrusted with the great honor and glory he has to bestow. As he sees your spirit of self sacrifice overcoming obstacles, he looks lovingly upon you and says, Ah! there is one who loves me more than self; I can trust him--"They shall be mine in that day when I make up MY JEWELS." (`Mal. 3:17`.) He shall sit with Christ in the throne. He is an OVERCOMER who loved me more than the things of this world, and my approval more than the approval of men. He shall not merely enter into joys but shall share the joys of his Lord. (`Matt. 25:21`.)

How refreshing to us is the spirit manifested in the extracts below from a few of the many letters received, and the master who knoweth the heart, sees many others of his faithful, laboring more obscurely than some of these, from whom we seldom hear, and to him their efforts are just as pleasing though the result be smaller, perhaps scarcely perceptible.

EXTRACTS FROM INTERESTING LETTERS.

Chicago, Ill., Oct. 24th, 1885.

DEAR FRIEND AND BROTHER: The WATCH TOWER came duly to hand in good time. I had business at Illinois, where I was detained one week trying a suit against a coal company that had undermined and taken my client's coal, amounting to three thousand tons, and while there I made it my business to make acquaintances and introduce the "Herald of Christ's presence," as shown in ZION'S WATCH TOWER." It was welcomed by some, and some it astonished. I was careful in distributing it, having taken notice of your remarks as to how distribution should be made, and I have every reason to hope that you will hear from that quarter sooner or later.

On my way out I attempted to distribute some among the passengers, and some few were glad to receive a TOWER; and when they got home and a little time to study its contents, I advised them to sit down and, with their Bible at their elbow, to prove every passage of Scripture it refers to, and if the Bible sustained the TOWER to accept it, but if not to reject it. But my efforts in this direction were soon interrupted by a News Man who politely informed me that I was interfering sadly with his business and requested me to discontinue my distributions, which I did, being careful to avoid anything like contention or trouble aboard the cars; notwithstanding, like Paul, being a free citizen, I knew the rights the law accorded me in such case. I landed at Lacon Saturday evening, and after tea I spoke in a private house and had a pleasant time reading, explaining the scriptures and answering questions. Sunday I was welcomed to the M.E. Church and spoke there at the Sunday School, and spoke somewhere every night I was there except one. One evening I spoke in the

Baptist Church. When I went in there was to appearance an indescribable coldness about the people, a want of vitality, mere matter of form. I spoke from `Ephesians 1,4,7,9,13 and 14`, and here it seemed as if the people had been waking out of a stupor in the short time I addressed them. Really it is true, the people are starving for the truth. I just wish I could have stayed there for a few months, but I could not on account of my court business here.

Yours in the Lord, __________.

Senecaville, Ohio, Oct. 19, 1885.

DEAR BRO. RUSSELL:--It is one year today since I heard the "good tidings," and from the dreary ways of skepticism and indifference turned to God and found light, and rest and peace.

Though the year has been full of the things which long had brought care, and grief, and bitterness of heart, I have looked upon them as trifles compared with "the joy now set before me." I have found that "the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation" from the besetments of the world, the flesh and the devil.

The doctrine, in accord with both reason and revelation, which I first heard proclaimed by Bro. Adamson, I have tried to present to others in the form of "Food" and the TOWER, in written letters, in conversation, and in public speaking, both indoors and on the streets.

"I love to tell the story--

It did so much for me."

Yet I fear I have not done enough though, I have seen a little fruit, I think, and some buds which promise fruit "in due time." And on this very anniversary of the "happy day that fixed my choice," comes the October "View from the TOWER," with its encouragement to us when we do not see the result of our labor.

In this year I have learned more about the word of God than in all my life before. He has "opened my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of his law." And what once seemed doubtful history, strange legends, and wonder stories that could not be accepted, has all become "Wonderful words of life." My daily prayer is: "O God, teach me thy will, and give me grace and strength to do it." Yours in the faith, __________.

HOW HELPS MAY BECOME HINDRANCES IN BIBLE STUDY.

We are not disposed to undervalue means of grace, as they are ordinarily termed. In many cases the amount of blessing thus imparted is greater than human arithmetic can calculate; in others, it may be doubtful whether the apparent benefit is as real as it seems to be; and in some the influence is unquestionably bad. But as a whole, there can be little doubt that sermonizing, with all its weakness, is a public benefit, and a mainstay of the religion of our land, such as it is.

Our object is not to depreciate the value of either books or men, regarded as teachers of Divine Truth; it is simply to show how easily those "helps"--for such they certainly are when rightly used--may become "hindrances" if trusted in without discrimination,--substituted for personal responsibilities,--or merely leaned upon as pillows of indolence.

Even of books specially intended to facilitate Scripture investigation, it may be asserted, without paradox, that they are sometimes at once both helps and hindrances; helps in one direction, hindrances in another.

Such we believe to be the case, notwithstanding their acknowledged excellencies, with many "critical introductions" to the Bible. They help by the information they impart; they hinder, by the impression they leave that Holy Scripture can scarcely be understood

without a prolonged course of preparatory acquisition.

We are not to be supposed, for a single moment, to look with contempt on any branch of inquiry. They all have their place in the course of a students preparation for life, and form part of that mental discipline by which the human mind is enlarged and strengthened. But, just as "critical analyses of the English language,"--which have little to do with a plain man's comprehension of his mother tongue--often create an impression on the mind of the untaught that some mysterious light is by such processes developed, so ordinary readers of Scripture are apt to conclude that, apart from critical investigations of the kind referred to, the Bible can never be properly understood. The eminent scholar, Dr. Maitland, thus wrote:

"I must add my belief that the cumbersome apparatus of systematic interpretation ought to be placed among the impediments to the right understanding of the word of God. The learning and labor which have been bestowed on it seems to me to have been worse than wasted; and so far from its helping towards the understanding of the Word of God, it appears more calculated to puzzle and perplex the student, and to supply, to those who may desire it, the means of confounding common sense and perverting the plain text of Scripture.

"These systematic schemes," he says, "are probably unknown to most readers of the Bible, and therefore, do not directly form an impediment to them; but it is obvious, that complex machinery which they never saw, and could not understand, may have a great effect on the manufactured article of which they are the consumers.

Some persons, I believe, have thought that they put honor on the Word of God, and the language in which it is written, by telling us that there is something 'in the original' which no translation can reach,--something not transfusible, expressible. No doubt this is true as regards every language, and every book in every language, unless it is confined to the most common subjects, and written in the lowest style.

In most cases the curious felicity of one language cannot be transferred to another without using such paraphrases or making such nonsense as is peculiarly infelicitous; but so far as regards meaning, where meaning is of importance, and the mode of expression of secondary consideration, or none at all, any theme written in one language may be made intelligible in another, provided the things spoken of are known to the translator and the person for whom he translates."

For recent testimony in the same direction we turn to the University of Oxford, and there we find one of no mean eminence thus expressing himself:--

"Who would write a bulky treatise about the method to be pursued in interpreting Plato or Sophocles? No man, assuredly, who did not wish to create the impression that the meaning of these writers was beyond the comprehension of ordinary readers. And this is precisely what has been done in relation to Scripture. People have come to believe that without a formidable critical apparatus it is not possible to arrive at the meaning of God's Word; whereas, the reverse is nearer the truth. The plain and unsophisticated reader is more likely to get at the true interpretation than the learned student; for the true use of interpretation is to get rid of interpretations, and to leave us alone in company with the Author.

"When the meaning of Greek words is once known, the young student has all the real materials, which are possessed by the greatest Biblical scholars, in the Book itself. The great thing, after all, is to perceive the meaning of words in reference to their context. Less weight should be given to Lexicons,--that is, to the authority of other Greek writers,-- and more to the context. It is no exaggeration to say that he who, in the present state of knowledge, will confine himself to the plain meaning of words, and the study of their context, may know more of the original spirit and intention of the authors of the New Testament than all the controversial writers of former ages put together."

Once more we return to Dr. Maitland: "The Bible," he says, "has long been the subject of discussion by the learned and the unlearned; and some of each class have left no stone unturned to make it appear that certain parts mean what they certainly do not mean. 'Biblical Criticism' has been heaped upon the Word of God, and explanation after explanation too often only makes the matter darker than it was before.

"Truth is single; and therefore one is right and the rest, how many soever they may be, are wrong. A good deal of the evil of this arises, I imagine, from vanity, coupled with the affectation of modesty. The commentator frequently knows not what to say, but is unwilling to confess this without showing that he knows what others have said. His own mind is altogether dissatisfied with their explanations, yet he recounts them, and without saying of some (as he really ought, if he mentions them at all), that they are mere nonsense, not worth a moment's notice, he effects to leave it to the reader to choose what explanation he pleases. A simple mind is thus bewildered, and perhaps almost led to a vague idea, that what has so many interpretations, all thought worthy of record has not, in fact, any very certain or definite meaning at all."

And all this folly and confusion arises from attempts which have been too successfully made, to raise an opinion that the Bible is not to be judged of by the rules of common sense; forgetting the fact that learning can obscure as well as illustrate, and heap up chaff when it can find no wheat.

The readings and the findings of the private Christian are often in advance of the expositions and instructions of the public teacher. When once this fact is fully recognized, the false notion--now all but universally held--that the one divinely appointed means of Christian edification is sacred oratory delivered from the pulpit, will be shaken to its foundation. It will then be seen that while popular speaking, when effective, is admirably adapted to awaken the attention of the careless, to interest the young and uninformed, to kindle the affections, and to move to action, it is altogether unsuited to advanced Christians; is incapable of leading them on to deep personal acquaintance with divine truths; and, after a season, all but certain to become a hindrance to spiritual growth. This happens because it is commonly abused by the indolent; because it occupies in the esteem of multitudes, the place of personal investigation, and because, being associated with united worship, it almost inevitably becomes the only living channel of religious impression.

Nothing is more certain than this,--that whatever wants seem to be supplied to a man while in a passive condition, he will never seek to satisfy by active service. Yet it is quite as true in religious matters, as it is in everything else, that without labor and discipline, all direct instruction must be unavailing and useless. The most elaborate and manifold apparatus can impart nothing of importance to the passive and inert mind. It is almost as unavailing as the warmth and light of the sun, and all the sweet influences of the heavens when shed upon the desert sands. Such a mind, even if it be filled with the results of other men's labors, can only be compared to a well filled granary; it bears no resemblance to the fruitful field, which multiplies that which is cast into its lap a thousand fold.

Hitherto we have proceeded on the supposition that the teaching thus imparted, although too oratorical, is on the whole, sound and sensible, but that it is not always so, is but too well known. An ingenious twist is often valued more than a true explanation. The words of

the text in such cases merely supply a theme, neither preacher nor hearers ever troubling themselves about its meaning. The reason for this course is, that the text is wanted merely for the purpose of communicating some moral or religious lesson, determined upon beforehand; or for the support of some cause which the preacher may be pleading, or to condemn some error which he has to combat.

This sort of perversion is bad enough when united, as it often is, with deep earnestness, solid learning, and much oratorical power; but how intolerable it becomes, when combined with ignorance and folly, vanity and conceit, will be fully admitted by all who have been obliged to listen, as too many have, to expositions of Scripture, which from their astounding stupidity, are only calculated to excite men to laughter or scorn.

Who has not heard sermons in which the entire teaching has been made to turn altogether upon mere emphasis, applied in the most arbitrary manner to a single verse of Scripture? Sermons, which remind one only of the sentence, dear to every school boy,--"Do you ride to town today?" Since it is one which, according as this or that word is made emphatic, admits of five different meanings, and is capable of being considered in five distinct relations, viz.: to fact, to person, to mode, to place, and to time. Seriously, such is the treatment the Word of God too frequently receives at the hands of men who, themselves wanting common sense, are quite unconscious that others possess that divine gift.

--H. Dunn.

PRIVATE JUDGMENT IN THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE.

Private judgment, properly understood, simply means Personal Responsibility.

In the exercise of this responsibility, a man may, if he think fit, accept, with or without question, the decisions of Rome,--the conclusions of the Fathers, --the dogmas of the Puritan,--the Speculations of Rationalists, or the current opinions which belong to the religious circle in which he has been educated, or may, at any given time, happen to move. But, in each and every case, his conduct is an act of private judgment, for the wisdom or folly of which, with all its attendant consequences, he is alone and individually answerable.

Private judgment, thus viewed, implies a two-fold obligation, viz., first, that of a patient and diligent use of all the means placed within our reach for ascertaining truth; and secondly, the cultivation of those dispositions of heart which are favorable to spiritual discernment, and apart from which no man can rightly discriminate between truth and error.

The former will include in the case of those who have an opportunity to investigate, a thankful appreciation of the labors of scholars, in relation both to the text and to the translation of Holy Scripture, and an examination of the commentaries of pious and learned men, so far as they may seem to us to be truthful and unprejudiced expositions of Holy Writ: the latter, as graces of the Spirit, must be sought, where alone they can be obtained, at the footstool of him who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift.

To those we would add, a reverent listening to the voice of the Church which expresses itself in the lives and labors of holy men in all ages; a voice which is not the voice of the Priest, or the voice of a party, or the voice of the schoolmen, or the voice of the fathers, whether Greek or Latin, or the voice of England or Scotland,--Evangelical or Armenian, high or low, broad or exclusive; but that great silent testimony which issues from Apostles and Prophets, from martyrs and confessors, from poor and rich, from the palace and the peasant's cot, from the ignorant and the learned, from the living and the dead;--witnessing evermore to the truth of Christ's Holy Gospel,--to its influence over mankind, to its triumphs over the world, to its sole and exclusive power to enlighten, to solace, to sustain, and to save. Wretched indeed is the sophistry which would confound this sublime echo of the human heart responding to the Divine, with the decisions of a council or the dicta of a sect.

Human nature craves for infallibility in religious matters, and it is a happiness, we doubt not, even to think that we have secured it. This craving is the fruitful source both of superstition and atheism; but it is incessant in some minds. God has, however, not chosen to gratify it. And because he has not, because he has thought fit to make our apprehension of divine truth to depend mainly on a right state of heart, men of all classes quarrel with his method.

The mode in which this dissatisfaction manifests itself is various. Sometimes it is in the way of restlessness, and sometimes it finds expression in a reckless skepticism, followed by a predisposition to listen to any Church which professes to be infallible; and sometimes it carefully bars the door against all inquiry, and refuses, under any pretext, to be disturbed.

Hence the timidity and terror which is so often manifested when any new form of religious thought is first broached in Christian circles. That which is stated may indeed be true, but whether it is so or not matters little. It seems to introduce an element of uncertainty in quarters where neither doubt nor question has ever been allowed to enter and therefore it must be disallowed.

To all such we can only say, that for intelligent men to shrink from the investigation of truth of any kind, is, in fact, to evade the most important part of their moral discipline; that he who desires truth as the supreme good, cannot fail eventually to enjoy the blessedness it brings in its train; and that he who subordinates truth to what he calls peace, may in the end lose both truth and peace.

--H. Dunn.

THE EARTHEN VESSEL.

"It is but an earthen vessel,

But it lay so close to me;

It is small, but it is empty,

And that's all it needs to be.

"So to the fountain he took it,

And filled it full to the brim;

How glad was the earthen vessel,

To be of some use to him.

"His own hand had drawn the water,

Which refreshed the thirsty flowers;

But he used the earthen vessel,

To convey the living showers.

"And of itself it whispered,

As he laid it down once more;

Still will I lie in his pathway,

Just where I did before.

"Close would I keep to the Master,

Empty would I remain;

And, perhaps, some day he may use me

To water his flowers again."

--Selected.

THE PROVINCE OF PRAYER.

This article is suggested by a letter at hand in which the Brother says: "I have read the articles, 'Our Mediator,' 'Our Access to God through the one Mediator,' 'An Advocate with the Father,' in the last TOWER. I was much pleased, both with the logical reasoning and the Scriptural evidence adduced," but he adds, "that he is at a loss how to harmonize those teachings with the command to 'Pray for your enemies,' 'Pray ye--Thy kingdom come,' and Paul's exhortation to 'Pray for all men --for kings,' etc." The Brother asks: "Is not the principle the same in all prayer--'Imperfect human beings attempting to direct the All-wise Jehovah?'" We answer:

There can be no doubt that for the ignorant and weak finite beings to attempt to use prayer or any other agency to thwart the plans and change the arrangements of the Almighty, and to attempt to instruct the All-wise, would be improper. Such cannot be the province of prayer. This we hold to be an axiom. But if this be beyond its scope, what is the purpose and intent of prayer; what are its privileges and its limits?

The privilege of praying to God, of holding communion with him, is a great privilege and an evidence of his favor. God permits and arranged to grant us this privilege, not that he might be informed of our desires, for we being imperfect our desires are not perfect, so that "we know not what things to ask for as we ought," and he does for us better than we know how to ask or think. Nor does God permit us to pray to him that we may inform him regarding matters here; for he knoweth the end from the beginning as well as every intervening step. But he has instituted prayer for our benefit and comfort and instruction.

The OBJECT of prayer is to bring the heart and mind of the child of God, whether in joy or sorrow, into contact with the heart of God, that he may be enabled thus most fully to realize the fatherhood of God, his love and care and his deep interest in every item of our welfare; that in deep affliction we may unburden our hearts to God and thus have forcibly brought to our attention his love and care and wisdom--for our encouragement, not his; for our strengthening, not his, and for our joy. This opportunity is not for us to instruct Jehovah how to arrange matters for the best, but it is to bring our hearts to realize him as the centre of wisdom and power, that having unburdened our hearts, we may be prepared to listen for his answer and advice through his word. And he whose knowledge of prayer is confined to the meagre information he has imparted to God with "much speaking," and who has never learned to listen for the answer to his prayer at the word of God, has as yet measurably failed to appreciate the object of prayer.

Earnestness in God's service will bring his children to him frequently, to

realize at his feet his sympathy with them in the difficulties, discouragements and trials of life, as well as to ask his guidance and overruling of every affair of life, through his word, and to hearken to his wisdom, which will enable us to serve him acceptably.

The PROVINCE of prayer is to ask for such, and only such things, as God has already declared himself well pleased to grant. And while we may freely speak to him as a Father, and tell him how we understand his word, and the confidence and trust we have in its ultimate fulfilment, yet we must not only avoid telling the Lord of our will and our plan, and what we would like; but we must avoid and put far from us any such spirit, and must recognize and bring ourselves into full accord with his will and his plan of accomplishing it. If this thought were appreciated, it would cut short some of the "long prayers," "much speaking," and "vain repetitions" by which some endeavor to instruct the Lord in their wishes regarding every matter under heaven. It would send them speedily to the word of God to search diligently the plan of God that they might labor as well as pray in harmony with it. While assuring us that the Father careth for us, and is well pleased to have us come to him with sincere hearts, the Master informs us of the conditions upon which we may expect an answer. He says: "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." (`John 15:7`.) These are the conditions for sure answers to our prayers. What is it to abide in Christ? It implies first that our WILL has been wholly consecrated-- swallowed up in the will of Christ. And more, that the will is in this condition at the time of the prayer, abiding in Christ. And if the suppliant's own will is gone and he is now controlled entirely by the will of Christ, he surely would consult the words of Christ and there seek information as to what his will is before framing a petition to the Father in Christ's name. And if this be his case, if the will of Christ is governing him, and the words of Christ are abiding in him, such an one is prepared to ask any and everything he may WILL to ask.

His requests would probably be as simple as was the Master's petition when he prayed, "Not my will, but thine be done. (`Luke 22:42`.) In such a condition prayers are always answered; but in such a condition the prayers would be very modest. Our prayers under such circumstances would be more a thanksgiving for our blessings, an expression of confidence and trust, and the committal of our way unto the Lord, confidently realizing the promise that to us under such conditions, ALL THINGS [even seeming disasters and troubles] shall work together FOR GOOD. Hence whatever came, such an one could realize his prayer answered. He could rejoice evermore because he is prepared to rejoice in tribulation as well as in prosperity, in the path of service. He has no will to oppose whatever God permits, knowing that it will work out good.

Such could not pray for anything of their own will, for they have no will except God's; then abiding in Christ, and his words in them, would prevent any other petition. They could not pray for the immediate conversion of the world, for though they know that "God will have all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth," they also know that the present age is not in God's plan devoted to this work, but solely to the selection, under SEVERER trial, of those who shall be God's instruments for blessing all the families of the earth in God's arranged time.

We cannot single out an ungodly friend and request God to work a miracle on him, and bring him into the "Church of the first-born," though we may pray for wisdom to "rightly divide the word of truth," that if possible the light of the knowledge of the glory of God might thus shine into the understanding of that friend. This would be in harmony with the Word. Jesus said, "Be ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves," and instructs that "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask [it] of God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth not."

We may not ask for riches and honor; nor for fine food and fine clothing. To seek or pray for these is contrary to the Spirit of the Master. But we may ask, "Give us this day our daily BREAD," assured that the Father knoweth best what kind is best, and what things are needful to us as seen from his standpoint which embraces our interests spiritual as well as temporal, future as well as present.

We may not pray for the increase in numbers of any of the many sects of today, well knowing that Jesus would not approve of thus fettering with human tradition those whom he calls to liberty; and that he does not approve, but would condemn the sects of today as he did those of eighteen centuries ago, saying, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees," and declaring to them, "Ye do make void [useless and ineffective] the law of God by your traditions."

We can neither labor nor pray for the advancement and growth in power, wealth, influence and numbers of any of these sects, knowing their very existence to be contrary to God's Word, and their advancement a hindrance to the light of truth.

Nor can we today either labor or pray for the perpetuation of the governments of this world, for the word of Christ abides in us, and we are therefore not in darkness, but we know that "the times of the Gentiles" are about fulfilled; and the time for the establishment of God's kingdom is at hand. For that new kingdom we may pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth," patiently awaiting the fullness of God's due time. So surely as we are children of the light, not left in darkness that that day should come upon us unawares, we know that the success of the heavenly kingdom for which we pray, means the destruction of all these kingdoms of earth. (`Dan. 2:44`.)

We cannot pray our Father to grant abundant harvests, send rains, prevent famines, drouths, wars and pestilences, for we find no example in the Master of such presumption, and realize from his words (`Luke 21:9`) that God will permit these things until the reign of Christ is inaugurated. And further, we are informed by the Master that the present day will be one of trouble caused by the new Prince binding the strong ruler of earth and spoiling his house. (`Matt. 12:29`) Hence we pray for none of these things, but with trust and peace look with patience into the future, praying, "Our Father--thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven." In all things "Thy will be done,"--and even in the midst of the present necessary unrest and trouble we rejoice in confident hope, knowing that all things are so overruled as to work out the accomplishment of our Father's grand designs, revealed to us in his Word.

Instructed by the abiding words of Christ, and realizing the covenant of sacrifice to be even unto death we cannot ask release from pain and trouble and death, but with Jesus we can only ask that if it be possible, the cup of shame and misrepresentation might pass, that we suffer not as evil doers; and yet with him we must say: "Not my will but thine be done!" "Father, glorify thy name!"

These may pray for the healing of others, but not for themselves. It was truly said of the Master, that he saved others, but he could not save himself and be a sacrifice too. Yet, in requests for the healing of others we must remember that the time for full restitution of life and health to the world has not yet fully come. Jesus did not heal all the blind and impotent in Judea, and what healing he did was merely to show forth the glorious power and blessing of his coming glorious reign which has not yet fully dawned. Hence our prayers for the sick should be with full confidence in God's ability to heal, yet not demanding it, always letting the words of our Lord abide in us--"Thy will be done."

To pray in other than this spirit is to "ask amiss," to ask for things to be consumed upon our own lusts [desires] (`Jas. 4:3`.) Desires for ease, for earthly prosperity, for a sect and its growth and honor; all these are earthly lusts contrary to the Spirit and Word of Christ. Thus the word lusts is used by the Apostle in the above instance. Most prayers seemingly are of this sort, and therefore amiss.

Those who abide in Christ, and in whom his word abides, can pray for their enemies and those who despitefully use and persecute them, though they cannot pray God to open their blinded eyes at once, or in their way; but realizing from the indwelling word of God's promise, that the blinded eyes shall all be opened to the truth, they can abide his time, but going to God in prayer they may express their forgiveness of the persecutor, their interest in him, and their patient waiting for the day when "the knowledge of the Lord shall fill the whole earth," and his will be done on earth.

When in harmony with Paul's exhortation (`1 Tim. 2:1,2`) these pray--"For all men; for kings and all that are in authority," their prayers will not be that those kings may be continued in power and control; for they well know that this would be in direct opposition to God's expressed plan, which is to break in pieces and consume all these.

And though these may labor toward it they cannot expect and pray for the conversion of "all men," "kings," etc., well remembering the Master's prayer-- "I pray not for the world but for THEM which thou hast given me,...that they all may be one, that [then] the world may believe" in its due season. (`John 17:9,21`.) In none of Jesus' prayers did he ever pray for Caesar, or Pilate, or Herod; nor did he make any special effort to reach these, with the gospel message,

remembering how it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the MEEK." (`Isa. 61:1`, and `Luke 4:18`.) And when he gave the disciples a formula of prayer it contained no prayer for kings and rulers of this age, nor for "all men" except

as this is implied in the expressions of forgiveness of debtors, and the prayer for the coming kingdom which will bless all men.

What then could we pray for "as we ought," and not ask "amiss," for all men and for kings? Very little, indeed, other than the prayer for the blessing of all, implied, when we pray, "Thy kingdom come." Our prayer to God for kings, etc., must be merely that he would so overrule and direct by raising up or casting down among the nations, as would be most in harmony with his wise plans, for the blessing and development of the Church now being selected. For though God has given over the world to the rule of the Prince of this world and his faithful agents until the full end of Gentile Times, when he shall come whose right the dominion is and shall take the dominion under the whole heaven, associating with him his faithful followers according to his many promises (`Dan. 7:14,18,22`), YET God has not given present rulers unlimited power. He will suffer them to take their course only so far as it does not interfere with his plans--there it must stop. The wrath of man shall not work ruin to the plan of God, for God will cause the wrath of man to work to his praise, and all that will not so work he will restrain. (`Psa. 76:10`.) And this is what the Apostle has in view: Pray God's guidance and direction over all the affairs of life and over rulers TO THE END THAT the piety and sobriety and growth of the Church may be conserved. `Verse 2`.

Thus considered, not merely as a begging arrangement, nor yet as an occasion for instructing the Lord as to our wills; but considered as a season of union and communion of heart with our Father in which we may relieve our burdened or perplexed hearts by there realizing divine sympathy, calling to mind divine promises, reviewing divine care, and expressing our confidence in God's many promises, thus bringing those promises afresh and closely to our hearts, as though God now audibly uttered them in our hearing--thus considered, how proper, yea, how necessary, is prayer to the true child of God. He cannot live without it. To break off this communion would be like stripping a tree of its leaves: it would stunt and hinder its development.

But to suppose that Christian life depends solely upon prayer without earnest study of God's word, is like supposing that a tree could flourish from its leaves only, without roots and soil. Both are needful: good soil and roots will produce leaves and fruitage, and, likewise, the promises of God's word absorbed by us will naturally lead to good works and to communion with God in prayer, without which our fruits would soon wither and disappear.

No wonder, then, that Jesus both by precept and example said, "Watch and pray" (`Matt. 26:41`), uniting the two conditions needful in our development. Some pray and neglect to watch; others watch and neglect to pray; both these errors are serious, and it is not possible for us to decide which is the most serious neglect, since either would work disastrous loss of the great prize for which we are running.

PRAYER NOT A CEREMONY.

No where is prayer defined as a duty, though its necessity is stated. The Father desireth such to worship him as worship in spirit and in truth (`Jno. 4:23`); and it would be contrary to this principle to define prayer as a duty, and stipulate a set time or place or formal manner. The earnestness of the service and the peculiarity of the circumstance, will regulate the frequency and the matter.

But though "Family Prayer," "Morning Prayer," "Evening Prayer," nor any other stated time of praying is not specified in Scripture, who among God's children has not experienced the blessedness of communion with the Lord in the morning of each day asking his guidance of its affairs, and realizing and expressing to him our confidence in and reliance upon his promises. This does not remind the Lord of his obligation contained in these promises, but it does remind us of those promises and thus strengthen and prepare us for the events of the day. Likewise, how impossible it is for a child of God, remembering and impressed by the events of the day, as to the Lord's wisdom and care and the surety that all things shall work for good--how impossible, we say, for such an one to retire to rest without thankfulness of heart to him upon whose power and promises they have leaned throughout the day: and how appropriate to bow the knee as well as the heart to render homage as well as thanks.

Hence no form of prayer is furnished in the Scripture. Even the Master, when asked by the disciples for instruction on this subject, gave them not a form to repeat, but merely an idea or example of how to arrange their prayers to God. He did not say, Pray this prayer; but "after this manner pray ye." Our prayers, then, should be after this manner-- not an assortment of extravagant demands, but the simple expression of the earnest heart. First acknowledging and paying homage to God as our Father the Almighty and hallowed One. Secondly, expressing our expectations and trust that his kingdom according to promise is coming, and our eagerness for it, and the time when his will shall be done as in heaven. Thirdly, our reliance upon him, for "daily bread," which he has promised us. Fourthly our acknowledgment that our ways are not perfect and our reliance upon his favor [granted through Christ Jesus] for forgiveness; and our willingness to exercise forgiveness toward our debtors.

FAMILY PRAYER.

Though not enjoined specifically, how appropriate that husband and wife should blend their hearts and bow their knees in divine worship, and in submission to the divine will. How much this must tend to unify those hearts and lives. How blessed must such an example be to the children. How appropriate that the little "olive branches" be trained to look to their Creator in the days of their youth, not with formal and long prayers, but with the evidence before them of parental trust in and love for the giver of every good, as expressed in a simple, earnest, trustful prayer after the MANNER of the Lord's illustration. As children see their parents recognizing and bowing to the superior will and wisdom of their heavenly Father, they learn from the example the lesson of obedience and submission to parental authority while learning to know and reverence their Creator.

As soon as children come to reasoning age, their attention to the daily family prayer, whether it be morning or evening, should be placed on the same plane that God places it before us: not of CONSTRAINT, but of a willing mind, out of thankful and loving hearts. Such an influence and example will make home and parents and sacred things dear to children in after life. The true worship of God is profitable both for the present and future life.

UNCEASING PRAYER.

With the climax of Christian growth, the climax of worship is reached, and the earnest child of God will presently experience the meaning of the Apostle's words: "Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks." `1 Thes. 5:17,18`. Communion with God and the feeling of continual trust in his goodness and care, will become interwoven with all the affairs of life, so that to thus pray without ceasing, and be continually thankful, will become as natural as breathing. But this continual prayer and thanksgiving can never take the place of the formal recognition of worship of God, either to our own hearts or to our families.

PRAYER IN THE CHURCH.

What is true of our families is not less true of God's family, of which we are members--the body of Christ. To bind us together in love, God has arranged to make the various members more or less dependent on each other for the blessings he is willing and ready to bestow. Thus he would unify the body of Christ in his method of providing spiritual food, as the human body is dependent as a whole upon its various members for the natural "daily bread" which God thus supplies.

This being true, we should not only neglect not the assembling of ourselves with those of like precious faith, personally when we can; and at least through the medium of the printed page, but when assembled how sweet and refreshing, and how appropriate, to ask our Father's blessing upon the meeting; that the spirit of love may pervade the members of Christ's body there assembled, and that the truth might be discerned by sincere and truth-hungry souls, so that all might be more and more filled with the self-sacrificing spirit of that truth, and thus be built up in the most holy faith and love, and made meet for the Master's service both now and hereafter. Can it be doubted that to the extent that such prayer is the expression of the sentiment of all, it will bring an answer at the moment of its utterance, by impressing upon all solemnly the object of the meeting and the blessings to be expected and enjoyed? It is ever thus; as we draw nigh to God in prayer we bring the blessings promised nigh to ourselves by bringing our hearts into a condition of readiness to enjoy the blessings promised the seeker.

While the offered prayer is to God it should not be forgotten that in harmony with the foregoing statement (that the prayer influences of all who join in it) that Jesus and the Apostle indicate that it should be uttered in such a voice and manner as to enable those about to appreciate and intelligently join it. Jesus said, in connection with one of the few of his recorded sayings, "Because of them that stood by I said it." (`John 11:42`.) Paul exhorts those who lead the company in prayer to seek to do so in such a manner that all may be able to hear and acquiesce in it. (`1 Cor. 14:14-17`.) And in all things whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

ROMAN CATHOLICS REBEL.

So complete is the submission of Roman Catholics to their priests, that such a thing as a Roman Catholic congregation asserting any rights, is almost unheard of. But contact with freemen and the exercise of liberty on other subjects is having an effect, and the indications are that the church of Rome must ere long bend or break under the weight of this influence. She will undoubtedly do both, bend a little first then break and lose her power over her faithful as her daughters are doing.

The following clip from a Chicago daily explains itself in harmony with the foregoing remarks:

"A movement of unusual character has taken place in the large and wealthy Roman Catholic parish of St. Mary's, at Aurora, Ill. Some time ago the parish revolted against the Rev. Father Welby, its pastor, giving as a reason the fact that the priest would not permit the congregation to superintend its own financial affairs, but collected all the money and spent it at his own pleasure, without so much as making a report to those who contributed. At that time the congregation appealed to the Archbishop to remove Father Welby and replace him by a pastor who would accept a stipulated salary, "as other preachers do," and permit the congregation to manage its own affairs. The Archbishop referred the matter to the Vicar General, and that gentleman visited this city and from the pulpit soundly berated the congregation as a lot of ignoramuses and concluded by saying that Father Welby would be kept here until the congregation bowed in submission to his authority. The Vicar General subsequently said in Chicago that Father Welby would be kept in Aurora until the congregation accepted his word as law, if it took until his dying day. Notwithstanding these promises Father Welby was removed from Aurora in two weeks and the congregation was left for a time without a priest. Last Sunday, Father Leyden, of Woodstock, occupied the pulpit and announced his intention to control, not only the spiritual but the temporal affairs of the church. The result of this announcement was a meeting of the congregation at which a more compact organization was effected, and a resolution unanimously adopted by a rising vote, asserting the right of the congregation to control its own temporal affairs, and demanding that Father Leyden either accept a stipulated salary, or withdraw from the pastorate. The case is attracting unusual attention.

IS FAITH IN CHRIST ESSENTIAL?--FAITH OR WORKS?

THE OPINIONS OF EMINENT PRESBYTERIAN AND METHODIST THEOLOGIANS AS TO THE FATE OF THE HEBREW PHILANTHROPIST, SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE, DECEASED.

The death of the eminent Jewish philanthropist has raised a question among some of the religious journals concerning his future. All agree that he was a godly man as well as benevolent. Nor were his kind deeds done solely to his own people. His heart was large enough to sympathize with all classes of his fellow-men in need. And many Christians shared in his bounty. Moreover, he died like a man at peace with God. The Christian Register (Unitarian) refers to this case in this way: "Judging the tree by its fruits, how few professed Christians might dare to compare their life with his! Yet, according to the doctrine which still holds the mind of Christendom in bondage and darkness, this great, pure, faithful soul was fatally self-deceived, and has passed to endless sorrow. When will so-called believers dare to interpret all narrower Scriptures in the light of Peter's great discovery-- that 'he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of him'?"

In the Independent, of September 17th, A.A. Hodge, D.D., for the Presbyterian Church, and Daniel Curry, D.D., for the Methodists, endeavor to free their respective systems from the narrow view which would exclude such a man from salvation. Dr. Hodge concedes that while participation in the benefits of Christ's redemption is "generally conditioned upon personal recognition and confession" of Christ, and while this is essential whenever intellectually possible, it "is not absolutely essential, as is proved in the case of infants and of idiots. On like grounds of principle, it might hold true in the case of some exceptionally enlightened heathen. The charitable formula of 'invincible ignorance,' used and greatly abused by Romanists, rests ultimately upon a true principle, and has always been practically, more or less, recognized by orthodox Christians." He then goes on to argue for a favorable judgment in Sir Moses Montefiore's case because, either through intellectual bias, or through national Jewish prejudice, the true Christ was never apprehended by him, only a distorted image, and therefore never consciously rejected. "Or, very probably, loving and embracing the real Jesus in his heart, his intellectual bias and national and social position may have so modified his expression of Christian faith, as to render it unrecognizable to us."

Dr. Hodge's principles here are wide enough to embrace many other cases than that of this pious Jew. His article is a gratifying instance of a growth of a "wider hope" even among theological circles where it has been put under the severest ban. Certainly there is growth here away from the severe statements of the Westminster Confession, upon which the Christian Register seems to have based its cavil. For instance, it affirms (p. 212), "They who have never heard the gospel, know not Jesus Christ, and believe not in him, cannot be saved, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of Nature, or the laws of that religion which they profess; neither is there salvation in any other but in Christ alone, who is the Saviour only of his body, the Church."

It is difficult to make the above concession of Dr. Hodge, in respect to "some exceptionally enlightened heathen," accord with the statement just quoted. This proves that even he is progressing at some points beyond the "Standards." It is certain that, with the large Christian heart we know him to possess, he must seek relief somewhere.

In our view, however, this relief is found in a more consistent way than by a strained interpretation of the standards. It is better to confess that there are some lines of Scripture truth bearing upon this point which they do not include. It would be more consistent for Dr. Hodge to hold that, while the salvation of the elect proceeds within the narrow limits which the Calvinistic system has traced out from Scripture, provision is made for other and wider operations of grace, of which they are the chosen instruments, outside these limits and beyond this present age. The purpose of the choice of the Church of the first-born is that they may be kings and priests unto God in carrying out his gracious purposes towards the later born. The enigma of the future of pious Jews and heathens would not be so hard to solve on this principle. Better than the opening wide the door into the church, by such accommodating expositions of the terms of admission, is that view which regards it as a body of called and chosen and faithful ones, who enter only by the door and walk in the strait and narrow way of the cross, thus offering themselves in sacrifice, not merely to secure their own salvation, but as a means of blessing for others,-- baptized even for the dead. Whatever hope we may have for others, outside the Church, must be sought in the wide promises of God that in this chosen seed all the families of the earth are to be blessed.

There is still another principle bearing upon this subject which has been too much overlooked, and which needs now to be brought out of Scripture with fresh force and urged upon the attention of the Church and of all men. And that is that the one ultimate standard of admission to blessedness in the future, is character. The saints of this dispensation will not reach their high station except as they become holy and without blemish before him in love. And our God, who is a consuming fire, must burn against all our evils and faults of character, that we may be found "of him in peace, without spot and blameless." And so also all the Scriptures which refer to the judgments and administrations of the future are most emphatic upon this point of righteous character. On whatever level men may hereafter be brought into the Kingdom of Heaven, whether as princes or subjects, this is the standard. The Old Testament upon every page asserts that only such shall ascend into the hill of the Lord. (`Psalms 15,24`.) The Lord's judgment of the nations (`Matt. 25`.) is all upon this principle. The righteous go into life eternal. The dead, at the resurrection, are infallibly sorted in the same way. "They that have done good unto the resurrection of life; they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment." Now, while it is true that no man can merit salvation by good works, and much less a place in the Church of the first-born, it is also true that no man of unrighteous character can enter into the kingdom of God. And it must, therefore, be true that men of righteous and merciful life, whether Jew or Pagan, must go into the life to come with a character much more nearly approximating to its perfect standard than that of unrighteous men. Cornelius, who feared God and worked righteousness, was accepted before him. He was not fit for the church until Christ had been revealed to and in him. He was not even "saved" (`Acts 4:12`) until Peter came to tell him the way. But he was in that receptive condition which made Christ welcome to him, when made known, as the flowers welcome the sunshine. And so Sir Moses Montefiore, if ignorant of the true Christ, must come to the same recognition of him in order to be saved. But we are not tied down to any such arbitrary and narrow views of God's dealings as to suppose that such a receptive soul, if blind to the light in this world, could never receive it in the next, or that his future administrations proceed

upon such narrow lines as to make no room for such cases, and no account of good character developed under such circumstances. Let the case of Cornelius and the parable of the good Samaritan teach us that the eyes of the Lord are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, beholding the evil and the good, and that, if not in this world, then in the world to come, every one shall receive according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. The promised resurrection of the dead, which is the era of judgment, will furnish the amplest scope for all such righteous adjustments as seem to us to be now lacking.

In Dr. Hodge's article, above referred to, there is a distinct assent given to the view that men may be saved who may have accepted that form of truth and goodness of which Christ is the expression, who yet have never heard of the historic Christ. We have already said that he here steps outside of the Westminster standard which distinctly states that men who have never heard the gospel do not know Jesus Christ, and therefore cannot be saved. Upon this point, we must side with the Andover Review in affirming that this immediate opening of the door of heaven to devout men of every nation who strive to live up to the light they possess, is more dangerous than the theory which supposes that by the grace of God such men may be brought to a true knowledge of Christ after death. When Dr. Hodge apologizes for a conscientious Jew that "what he, through national prejudice, may have failed to appreciate was not the real Christ, but a distorted reflection cast by the so-called Christian world of the day," he admits a principle upon which conclusions may be based, which we are sure, he would not accept. There are many others failing to acknowledge Christ who may hope to be excused at last on similar grounds. A distorted image of Christ lies indeed in the minds of all men to whom the Holy Spirit has not revealed him.

Our general objection to all these views which makes the entrance into heaven more wide and easy than the straight and narrow way of the gospel is that, in order to make room for such high-minded souls to escape from everlasting torment, they lower the claims of God's holiness. This is far worse than the view that, after judgment, resurrection will open out to such another door of hope. For this view may be held without any abatement of the testimony of Scripture that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, that our God is a consuming fire, and that there is no other name given under heaven or among men whereby we must be saved.

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