DECEMBER I, 1902 “wolves,” and misled by “goats” into various sectarian pens, where the wolf and goat influences are very unfavorable and trying to them; but they still remain sheep and still listen for the Shepherd’s voice. We are living now in the day of the Shepherd’s return ;— he is calling his sheep not into a different pen and bondage, but to Christian freedom, with himself. And they are hearing his voice, “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) Ag at his first advent he gathered the Israelites indeed out of the fleshly house, so now he will gather the same class out of the nominal spiritual house. Then will his kingdom come and his faithful have a share in it with their Lord. Then, the social and moral and religious and political and financial standards of the world will be in their hands (1 Cor. 6-2); with full power and authority to execute justice and judgment, and to lift up the poor and the needy, and him that hath no helper under the present regime of selfishness. But now, the true church does not rule the world, but is an insignificant minority, charged by their Master to learn lessons in meekness, patience, faith and character-likeness to himself and merely to let their “light” shine before men whom they are forewarned they will be unable to influence to any appreciable extent ;—because the darkness hateth the light and will refuse to be scattered by their tiny lamps, and will flee only when the Lord and his glorious kingdom shall shine forth as the Sun of Righteousness. The church indeed is to have as correct standards as possible now, and to display these before the world. They have already modified and do continually modify the world’s conscience and standards; but they cannot transform them. The few who are transformed become soldiers of the cross ;—‘“not of the world” even as their Master was not of the world. * * * As for the world, it is probably no worse at heart than it has ever been, but it has greater opportunities than ever for exercising its selfishness: moreover the world is probably more sincere, more candid, less hypocritical than of yore, and with a greater freedom each encourages the other to speak and act more neaily out of the abundance of the heart than formerly. This, however, it cannot be denied is dangerous under present conditions. Full liberty is sure to be more or less dangerous to all except saints,—the true church—and even they must keep constant guard, and realize that they are not their own —that they have given up their liberty to the Lord and become his bond-servants, at liberty only to do what he approves. OURS A HIGHER STANDARD The Lord’s people are not to forget that while they should live up to the spirit of the world’s best laws, they may go much farther than these in many respects. These laws represent the world’s ideals ag respects justice and generosity and kindness and unkindness; and frequently fall far short of the Lord’s standards. It is not enough, therefore, that we keep within the laws of man: it is for the true members of Christ to “lift up a standard for the people”’—God’s standard, the Golden ule, ZION’S WATCH TOWER (356-358) In morals, too, the Lord’s people are not to measure themselves by the world’s standards; but to remember that it is their duty as exponents of the divine standards to discern sin and meanness and selfishness in the bright light of the spirit of the Truth and to measure up to that as nearly as their impeifect bodies and their environment, with the Lord’s grace assisting, will permit. SEES INDUSTRIAL WAR JUST AHEAD Dr. E. G. Hirsch sees in the struggle between the rich and powerful of America and the dependent classes the same conditions that existed in France just prior to the French Revolution. In a sermon delivered last night at Temple Israel. treating on the situation in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania, he sounded a note of warning to the “men who so audaciously declare that the treasures of the earth are by unquesponable right their own, to have and to hold against all mancin ed Today he reiterated the statements of the sermon. “Our religion teaches,” he said, “that a man’s property is not his own, but is merely held by him in trust for the benefit of all The powerful of earth should realize that we are in the midst of the same conditions that existed in France and which brought on the Revolution. “The rich and powerful classes in France refused to take warning from what was going on about them and relied upon the power which thev fancied they had. The Revolution came hike the eruption of 9 voleano, and we in America should take warning. “The earth belongs to God and not to individual men. Therefore whatever man produces should be administered to the benefit of all and not for that of the selfish few. “The proper social condition is not one where men crush down the multitudes and disregard their claims upon their consideration, but where wealth is so distributed and organized that social well-being is within the reach of all honest and virtuous men. “Right now we are standing over a volcano which may burst forth with all the fury of Pelee. The security of the men who despise the downtrodden burden-bearers is a fancied security. “In times past the police and military forces of the country have been willing to protect them. They forget that these forces are drawn from the very ranks of the people they are oppressing, and that thei: sympathies are naturally with their own people. Therefore if they continue to disregard the wishes of the people and to fling insults at them the time will come when their calls for protection will fall upon unheeding ears “It is a saddening thought that a ‘captain of industry’ could become so inflated with his own arrogance as to lay Godgiven claim to his holdings upon the earth. Such a man is but fanning the smoldering embers of hate, discontent and unrest, so that the prosperity for which he hopes will pay the penalty. If they are temporarily successful in their oppression they must expect the discontent and hatred of the conquered to continue to rankle and to burst forth anew as soon as the oppressed have rested and recruited their strength.”—Chicago American, THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOUSE “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or arho shall stand He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up seas and established it upon the floods. tn his holy place? For he hath founded it upon the his soul unto vanity, nor sworn dceceitfully.’—Psalm 24:1-4. In this Psalm the prophet David takes the standpoint of the dawn of the Millenmal age, when, after the great time of trouble, the kingdoms of this world will have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ (Rev. 11:15),—when the ‘times of the Gentiles” will have been fulfilled, and “the whose right it is” will have taken unto him his great power and begun his glorious reign. Those who have studied the plan of the ages and its times and seasons know that this is due to be accomplished by the year 1915,—only 12 or 13 years from the present time Then will the words of this prophecy be fulfilled—“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein; for he hath founded it upon [instead of] the ses, and established it upon [in place of] the floods.’—Verses 1, 2. The earth, the world, the seas and the floods, the hills and the mountains are all used here, as in numerous other instances, in a symbolic, and not in a literal sense, which would be absurd in this connection. The earth and the world represent the present social order of things, cr human society as at present organized, The seas and the floods represent an increasingly large class of mankind which restlessly recoils against the restraints of the present social order, and at times grows turbulent and threatening. The hills and mountains represent governments. When the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, it will not be because all the kingdoms of this world will have been converted to God and purified, and their kings permitted to reign by the grace of God, as they now claim to do, and because all the now restless masses of men will have become docile and submissive to the present governing powers, but it will be as the prophet declares, because God will have “founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods” That is, the present earth, or social organization, and the present heavens. or ruling powers, will have passed away, and the new earth will be established upon the ruins of the old. When the waves of the restless sea-element of society shall have arisen in their might and overwhelmed the whole present social order, so that the wild and stormy sea of anarchy shall prevail everywhere, then, amidst the wreck and ruin, the desolation and universal despondency and despair, the voice of Jehovah will be heard, saying, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the [3113]
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