Publication date
4/1/07
Volume
28
Number
7
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1907/7/1907-7-1.html
 
 
ZION'S 
WATCH 
TOWER 
ALLEGHENY, 
PA. 
(2) 
He 
gave 
the 
place 
a 
name, 
calling 
it 
Beth-el, 
the 
house 
of 
God, 
in 
commemoration 
of 
the 
blessing. 
But 
this 
was 
not 
enough: 
he 
said 
to 
himself, 
Although 
I 
have 
been 
a 
follower 
of 
the 
Lord, 
and 
am 
even 
now 
here 
because 
of 
my 
faith 
in 
the 
divine 
promise 
to 
Abraham, 
yet 
now 
that 
God 
has 
personally 
favored 
me 
with 
these 
assur­ 
ances 
of 
his 
presence 
with 
me, 
and 
his 
assistance 
along 
the 
journey 
of 
life 
and 
his 
ultimate 
fulfilment 
in 
me 
of 
all 
these 
promises, 
what 
should 
I 
render 
unto 
the 
Lord 
for 
all 
his 
bene­ 
fits? 
He 
resolved 
that 
he 
would 
(3) 
make 
a 
vow, 
a 
covenant 
of 
fidelity 
to 
the 
Lord. 
It 
was 
this: 
Since 
God 
will 
be 
with 
me 
and 
will 
keep 
me 
in 
this 
way 
which 
I 
go, 
and 
provide 
me 
bread 
to 
eat 
and 
raiment 
to 
wear, 
so 
that 
I 
shall 
return 
hither 
again 
in 
peace, 
and 
in 
view 
of 
this 
promise 
he 
shall 
be 
my 
Lord, 
my 
God, 
which 
signifies 
that 
I 
shall 
be 
his 
servant, 
his 
creature. 
The 
stone 
set 
up 
as 
a 
monument 
served 
as 
a 
cor­ 
roboration, 
a 
witness 
to 
the 
vow, 
and 
additionally 
Jacob 
vowed 
that 
of 
all 
that 
God 
gave 
him 
he 
would 
surely 
give 
a 
tenth 
I 
art 
to 
the 
d, 
vine 
serVlCe. 
We 
consider 
such 
a 
consecration 
of 
himself 
and 
of 
his 
income 
as 
the 
reasonable 
proper 
course 
on 
Jacob's 
part. 
The 
man 
or 
woman 
who 
receives 
blessings 
from 
the 
Lord 
or 
from 
anyone 
without 
thought, 
desire 
and 
wish 
to 
make 
returns 
ac­ 
cording 
to 
his 
ability, 
:ahows 
thereby 
his 
degradation, 
because 
surely 
every 
noble-minded 
person 
would 
be 
prompted 
to 
con­ 
secration 
by 
a 
realization 
of 
the 
Lord's 
favors 
and 
privileges. 
So 
the 
Apostle 
declares 
respecting 
the 
spiritual 
Israelite, 
that 
we 
have 
received 
of 
the 
Lord 
exceedingly 
great 
and 
precious 
promises. 
Having 
come 
to 
this 
place 
where 
we 
are 
at 
the 
foot 
of 
the 
ladder 
and 
in 
touch 
therewith, 
and 
recipients 
of 
the 
blessings 
from 
heaven 
and 
the 
privilege 
of 
this 
associa­ 
tion, 
we 
should 
consider 
it, 
he 
tells 
us, 
a 
reasonable 
service 
to 
present 
our 
bodies 
living 
sacrifices 
to 
him.-Rom. 
12: 
1. 
We 
should 
esteem 
it 
a 
great 
joy, 
a 
great 
privilege, 
to 
be 
the 
Lord's 
servants. 
We 
do 
not 
become 
his 
servants 
in 
order 
to 
get 
his 
blessings, 
but 
his 
blessings 
have 
been 
conferred 
upon 
us 
conditionally: 
we 
are 
pleased 
to 
present 
our 
bodies 
living 
sacrifices 
to 
his 
service. 
Jacob 
vowed 
one-tenth 
of 
his 
income 
to 
the 
Lord's 
service, 
and 
this 
proportion 
seems 
to 
have 
been 
in 
general 
recognized 
at 
that 
time 
and 
probably 
previously, 
as 
we 
know 
it 
was 
subsequently 
incorporated 
in 
the 
Mosiac 
Law. 
Abraham 
gave 
a 
tithe, 
one-tenth, 
of 
the 
spoils 
to 
Melchisedec, 
and 
the 
king 
of 
Sodom 
made 
a 
similar 
offering 
to 
Abraham, 
which 
the 
latter 
rejected, 
preferring 
to 
teceive 
gifts 
from 
the 
Lord 
only. 
Theoretically 
the 
Christian 
gives 
his 
all 
to 
the 
Lord, 
and 
theoretically 
the 
Lord 
accepts 
our 
all 
of 
time, 
talent, 
in­ 
fluence, 
money, 
all. 
But 
actually, 
when 
we 
consider 
the 
time 
necessary 
for 
rest 
and 
for 
the 
reasonable 
care 
of 
our 
earthly 
interests, 
we 
are 
fortunate 
indeed 
if 
we 
are 
able 
to 
give 
directly 
to 
the 
Lord 
one-tenth 
of 
our 
time. 
Similarly 
with 
all 
of 
our 
gifts, 
privileges 
and 
opportunities-so 
many 
of 
them 
are 
necessary 
to 
ourselves, 
our 
reasonable 
well 
being, 
the 
pro­ 
viding 
of 
things 
honest 
in 
the 
sight 
of 
all 
men, 
it 
is 
doubtful 
if 
very 
many, 
therefore, 
give 
to 
the 
Lord 
much 
more 
than 
one­ 
tenth 
of 
all 
their 
substance. 
And 
surely 
if 
this 
was 
a 
com­ 
mand 
to 
natural 
men, 
we, 
as 
new 
creatures, 
would 
feel 
ashamed 
to 
proffer 
the 
Lord 
less. 
We 
certainly 
should 
set 
apart 
at 
least 
one-tenth 
for 
the 
Lord, 
and 
then 
add 
thereto 
as 
much 
as 
possible 
according 
to 
the 
Lord's 
blessing 
and 
the 
possi­ 
bilities 
of 
the 
case. 
We, 
too, 
should 
set 
up 
pillars 
or 
memor­ 
ials 
as 
marking 
this 
special 
blessing 
received 
of 
the 
Lord. 
A 
provision 
has 
been 
made 
for 
us 
along 
this 
line 
by 
our 
Lord. 
Has 
he 
not 
provided 
the 
Memorial 
season, 
in 
which 
annually 
we 
are 
privileged 
to 
celebrate 
our 
Bethel 
'-that 
we 
are 
the 
house 
of 
God 
because 
with 
us 
is 
the 
Son 
of 
man, 
the 
ladder, 
the 
connecting 
way 
between 
earth 
and 
heaven, 
be­ 
tween 
us 
and 
the 
heavenly 
Father. 
How 
earnest 
we 
should 
be 
to 
rerpetuate 
this 
Memorial, 
and 
how 
we 
should 
appre­ 
ciate 
the 
fact 
that 
its 
recurring 
lessons 
are 
amongst 
the 
most 
helpful 
that 
could 
possibly 
be 
our 
experience. 
And 
did 
not 
our 
Lord 
provide 
for 
us 
another 
Memorial, 
and 
set 
us 
the 
example 
in 
the 
use 
of 
it, 
too, 
when 
he 
symbolized 
his 
con­ 
secration 
to 
death 
by 
baptism 
into 
water' 
How 
glad 
we 
are 
that 
we 
can 
set 
up 
this 
Memorial 
also. 
that 
it 
is 
our 
privilege 
to 
be 
symbolically 
buried 
and 
symbolically 
raised 
as 
a 
mani­ 
festation 
and 
expression 
of 
our 
faith 
and 
our 
hope 
and 
our 
joy. 
Whoever 
neglects 
the 
vow 
of 
conserration, 
and 
who­ 
ever 
neglects 
to 
set 
up 
this 
Memorial, 
is 
thereby 
to 
this 
ex­ 
tent 
evidencing 
a 
carelessness 
and 
a 
deficiency 
in 
the 
spirit 
that 
is 
pleasing 
to 
the 
Lord; 
and 
in 
the 
same 
degree 
he 
fails 
to 
have 
the 
witness 
that 
he 
pleases 
the 
Lord 
and 
is 
making 
his 
calling 
and 
election 
sure. 
Let 
us, 
then, 
like 
Jacob, 
arise 
early. 
We 
may 
set 
up 
these 
memorials 
and 
make 
these 
vows 
of 
consecration. 
Those 
who 
have 
done 
these 
things 
early 
in 
their 
Christian 
experience-early 
after 
coming 
to 
the 
foot 
of 
the 
cross, 
the 
foot 
of 
the 
ladder-have 
received 
propor­ 
tionately 
the 
greater 
blessing 
as 
they 
have 
gone 
on 
in 
life's 
pathway. 
VOL. 
XXVIII 
ALLEGHENY, 
P 
A., 
APRIL 
1, 
1907 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No.7 
WILL 
BAPTISTS 
AND 
OlmISTIANS 
UNITE? 
With 
a 
proposition 
before 
it 
looking 
towards 
the 
merger 
of 
two 
great 
religious 
denominations, 
the 
ninth 
annual 
congress 
of 
the 
Disciples 
of 
Christ, 
which 
will 
meet 
at 
the 
Central 
Chris­ 
tian 
Church 
in 
Cincinnati 
the 
first 
week 
of 
April, 
will 
be 
of 
national 
importance 
and 
of 
great 
significance 
III 
the 
religious 
world. 
At 
the 
1906 
congress, 
held 
in 
Indianapolis, 
a 
committee 
of 
ten 
was 
appointed 
to 
make 
overtures 
and 
formulate 
a 
plan 
for 
"closer 
relations 
between 
the 
Baptists 
and 
the 
Disciples 
of 
Christ." 
This 
committee 
will 
report 
at 
the 
conclusion 
of 
the 
three-days' 
session 
of 
the 
congress 
in 
Cincinnati. 
Its 
report 
will 
advocate 
the 
mergrr 
of 
the 
two 
churches, 
and 
it 
is 
prob­ 
able 
that 
an 
agreement 
will 
follow, 
which, 
within 
the 
next 
few 
years, 
will 
bring 
about 
consolidation.-Cincinnati 
Times­ 
Star. 
The 
chance 
of 
young 
men 
becoming 
independent 
producers 
and 
traders, 
when 
business 
is 
conducted 
on 
the 
scale 
of 
mil­ 
lions, 
instead 
of 
thousands 
or 
hundreds 
of 
dollars, 
is 
vastly 
less 
than 
it 
was 
in 
the 
time 
of 
our 
fathers. 
"The 
wage-earner, 
feeling 
himself 
and 
his 
children 
doomed 
to 
poverty, 
rises 
in 
rebellion 
against 
the 
economic 
system 
which 
makes 
such 
things 
possible. 
He 
protests 
that 
capital 
gets 
too 
large 
a 
share 
of 
the 
product 
which 
laboring 
men 
create. 
His 
remedy, 
when 
he 
has 
a 
remedy, 
is 
confiscation 
of 
prh-ate 
capital 
in 
the 
public 
interests 
and 
the 
establishment 
of 
a 
socialistic 
State, 
in 
which 
all 
such 
workers 
shall 
receive 
com­ 
pensation 
in 
proportion 
to 
their 
deserts. 
"Somehow-I 
know 
not 
how, 
but 
somehow-the 
organizers 
and 
financiers 
and 
managers 
of 
our 
modern 
establishments 
of 
production 
and 
transportation 
must 
devise 
a 
method 
* 
* 
* 
whereby 
the 
men 
whose 
labor 
builds 
them 
up 
shall 
become 
These 
two 
great 
denominations 
claim 
to 
have 
"no 
creed 
shareholders 
in 
the 
enterprises. 
The 
present 
discontent 
and 
but 
the 
Bible." 
They, 
however, 
advocate 
very 
different 
views 
rankling 
sense 
of 
injustice 
must 
be 
got 
rid 
of, 
if 
our 
eco­ 
of 
baptism, 
which 
is 
one 
of 
the 
cardinal 
doctrinal 
tests 
of 
nomic 
and 
industrial 
system 
is 
to 
survive." 
both. 
Nevertheless, 
if 
the 
preachers 
can 
unite, 
undoubtedly 
* 
* 
* 
their 
flocks 
will 
follow 
them, 
for 
they 
generally 
do 
not 
com- 
Thus 
we 
note 
from 
timg 
to 
time 
that 
some 
see 
what 
is 
prehend 
the 
doctrinal 
difference. 
The 
people 
of 
both 
would 
coming, 
even 
though 
they 
follow 
not 
with 
us 
and 
are 
ignorant 
be 
quite 
ready 
for 
the 
clearer 
Bible 
teachings 
presented 
in 
of 
the 
Bible's 
teaching- 
on 
this 
subject. 
They" 
fear 
for 
ZION'S 
WATCH 
TOWER 
were 
it 
not 
for 
the 
power 
of 
their 
looking 
after 
those 
things 
coming 
upon 
the 
earth." 
Our 
preachers, 
exercised 
to 
suppress 
thought 
and 
Bible 
study 
and 
Lori!. 
says 
that 
his 
followers, 
better 
instructed, 
may 
lift 
up 
liberty. 
their 
beads 
and 
rejoice, 
knowing 
that 
their 
redemption 
draweth 
nigh. 
SOCIAL 
SYSTEM 
DOOMED 
UNLESS 
IT 
IS 
REFORMED 
INSANITY 
IN 
CHICAGO 
Dr. 
Jacob 
Gould 
Schurman, 
president 
of""CornellUn1versity, 
A 
newsraper.._dispatch 
from 
Chicago 
says:-CtThe 
State 
in 
:m 
anclress 
(kliYE'l'ed 
recentlv 
in 
Old 
Trinity 
Church, 
New 
Board 
of 
Charities, 
in 
an 
official 
report 
to 
the 
Governor, 
de­ 
York, 
attacked 
the 
present 
innustrial 
system 
and 
declared 
that, 
clares 
one 
in 
every 
ninety 
Chicagoans 
is 
insane 
and 
needs 
unless 
something 
was 
done 
for 
the 
wage-earner 
by 
the 
big 
watching. 
and 
that 
58,000 
persons 
in 
the 
State 
are 
unfit 
to 
be 
capitalists, 
the 
end 
would 
be 
social 
revolution. 
Dr. 
Schur- 
at 
large." 
man's 
remarks 
created 
a 
sensation. 
He 
said 
in 
part: 
* 
* 
* 
"Steam, 
electricity 
and 
eonsolidated 
capital 
are 
in 
our 
Insanit!, 
is 
greatly 
on 
the 
increase, 
proving 
that 
this 
is 
own 
days 
eliminating 
the 
small 
producer 
and 
the 
small 
trader. 
not 
the 
' 
brain 
age," 
in 
a 
good 
sense 
of 
the 
term. 
New 
[3966] 
(95-99) (2) He gave the place a name, calling it Beth-el, the house of God, in commemoration of the blessing. But this was not enough: he said to himself, Although I have been a follower of the Lord, and am even now here because of my faith in the divine promise to Abraham, yet now that God has personally favored me with these assurances of his presence with me, and his assistance along the journey of life and his ultimate fulfilment in me of all these promises, what should I render unto the Lord for all his benefits? He resolved that he would (3) make a vow, a covenant of fidelity to the Lord. It was this: Since God will be with me and will keep me in this way which I go, and provide me bread to eat and raiment to wear, so that I shall return hither again in peace, and in view of this promise he shall be my Lord, my God, which signifies that I shall be his servant, his creature. The stone set up as a monument served as a corroboration, a witness to the vow, and additionally Jacob vowed that of all that God gave him he would surely give a tenth ;art to the d.vine service. We consider such a consecration of himself and of his income as the reasonable proper course on Jacob’s part. The man or woman who receives blessings from the Lord or from anyone without thought, desire and wish to make returns according to his ability, shows thereby his degradation, because surely every noble-minded person would be prompted to consecration by a realization of the Lord’s favors and privileges. So the Apostle declares respecting the spiritual Israelite, that we have received of the Lord exceedingly great and precious promises. Having come to this place where we are at the foot of the ladder and in touch therewith, and recipients of the blessings from heaven and the privilege of this association, we should consider it, he tells us, a reasonable service to present our bodies living sacrifices to him.—Rom. 12:1. ‘We should estcem it a great joy, a great privilege, to be the Lord’s servants, We do not become his servants in order to get his blessings, but his blessings have been conferred upon us conditionally: we are pleased to present our bodies living sacrifices to his service. Jacob vowed one-tenth of his income to the Lord’s service, and this proportion seems to have been in general recognized at that time and probably previously, as we know it was subsequently incorporated in the Mosiac Law. Abraham gave a tithe, one-tenth, of the spoils to Melchisedec, and the king of Sodom made a similar offering to Abraham, which the latter rejected, preferring to receive gifts from the Lord only. ZION’S WATCH TOWER ALLEGHENY, Pa. Theoretically the Christian gives his all to the Lord, and theoretically the Lord accepts our all of time, talent, influence, money, all. But actually, when we consider the time necessary for rest and for the reasonable care of our earthly interests, we are fortunate indeed if we are able to give directly to the Lord one-tenth of our time. Similarly with all of our gifts, privileges and opportunities—so many of them are necessary to ourselves, our reasonable well being, the providing of things honest in the sight of all men, it is doubtful if very many, therefore, give to the Lord much more than onetenth of all their substance. And surely if this was a command to natural men, we, as new creatures, would feel ashamed to proffer the Lord less. We certainly should set apart at least one-tenth for the Lord, and then add thereto as much as possible according to the Lord’s blessing and the possibilities of the case. We, too, should set up pillars or memorials as marking this special blessing received of the Lord. A provision has been made for us along this line by our Lord. Has he not provided the Memorial season, in which annually we are privileged to celebrate our Bethel?—that we are the house of God because with us is the Son of man, the ladder, the connecting way between earth and heaven, between us and the heavenly Father. How earnest we should be to perpetuate this Memorial, and how we should appreciate the fact that its recurring lessons are amongst the most helpful that could possibly be our experience. And did not our Lord provide for us another Memorial, and set us the example in the use of it, too, when he symbolized his consecration to death by baptism into water? How glad we are that we can set up this Memorial also, that it is our privilege to be symbolically buried and symbolically raised as a manifestation and expression of our faith and our hope and our joy. Whoever neglects the vow of consecration, and whoever neglects to set up this Memorial, is thereby to this extent evidencing a carelessness and a deficiency in the spirit that is pleasing to the Lord; and in the same degree he fails to have the witness that he pleases the Lord and is making his calling and election sure. Let us, then, like Jacob, arise early. We may set up these memorials and make these vows of consecration. Those who have done these things early in their Christian experience—early after coming to the foot of the cross, the foot of the ladder—have received proportionately the greater blessing as they have gone on in life’s pathway. Vou. XXVIII ALLEGHENY, PA., APRIL 1, 1907 No. 7 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER WILL BAPTISTS AND CHRISTIANS UNITE? With a proposition before it looking towards the merger of two great religious denominations, the ninth annual congress of the Disciples of Christ, which will meet at the Central Christian Church in Cincinnati the first week of April, will be of national importance and of great significance in the religious world. At the 1906 congress, held in Indianapolis, a committee of ten was appointed to make overtures and formulate a plan for ‘‘closer relations between the Baptists and the Disciples of Christ.’? This committee will report at the conclusion of the three-days’ session of the congress in Cincinnati. Its report will advocate the merger of the two churches, and it is probable that an agreement will follow, which, within the next few years, will bring about consolidation.—Cincinnati TimesStar. * * * These two great denominations claim to have ‘‘no creed but the Bible.’’ They, however, advocate very different views of baptism, which is one of the cardinal doctrinal tests of both. Nevertheless, if the preachers can unite, undoubtedly their flocks will follow them, for they generally do not comprehend the doctrinal difference. The people of both would be quite ready for the clearer Bible teachings presented in ZION’s WatcH TowrR were it not for the power of their preachers, exercised to suppress thought and Bible study and liberty. SOCIAL SYSTEM DOOMED UNLESS IT IS REFORMED Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman, president of Cornell University, in an address delivered recently in Old Trinity Church, New York, attacked the present industrial system and declared that, unless something was done for the wage-earner by the big capitalists, the end would be social revolution. Dr, Schurman’s remarks created a sensation. He said in part: ‘¢Steam, electricity and consolidated capital are in our own days eliminating the small producer and the small trader. The chance of young men becoming independent producers and traders, when business is conducted on the scale of millions, instead of thousands or hundreds of dollars, is vastly less than it was in the time of our fathers. ‘(The wage-earner, feeling himself and his children doomed to poverty, rises in rebellion against the economic system which makes such things possible. He protests that capital gets too large a share of the product which laboring men create. His remedy, when he has a remedy, is confiscation of private capital in the public interests and the establishment of a socialistic State, in which all such workers shall receive compensation in proportion to their deserts. ‘*Somehow—I know not how, but somehow—the organizers and financiers and managers of our modern establishments of production and transportation must devise a method whereby the men whose labor builds them up shall become shareholders in the enterprises. The present discontent and rankling sense of injustice must be got rid of, if our economic and industrial system is to survive, ’’ Thus we note from time to time that some see what is eoming, even though they follow not with us and are ignorant of the Bible’s teaching on this subject. They ‘‘fear for looking after those things coming upon the earth.’’ Our Lord says that his followers, better instructed, may lift up their heads and rejoice, knowing that their redemption draweth nigh. 8 INSANITY IN CHICAGO A newspapér_ dispatch from Chicago says:—‘‘The State Board of Charities, in an official report to the Governor, declares one in every ninety Chicagoans is insane and needs watching, and that 58,000 persons in the State are unfit to be at large.’’ * * * Insanity is greatly on the inerease, proving that this is not the ‘‘brain age,’’ in a good sense of the term. New [3966]

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