SEPTEMBER 15, 1901 mately bring him to the throne of earth, and to the place of power, and give him control over all the food, the “bread of life,” and thus indirectly make him the life-giver, not only to the world of mankind, represented by the Egyptians, but also to his brethren, the Jews—to as many as will receive the bread of life upon the generous terms and conditions then laid down And “as he was, so are we in this world”—-as members of his body—as his fleshly representatives now, and, if faithful, to be his joint-heirs in the throne by and by, and with him to dispense life to the dying world. We are not to be surprised, therefore, if we find ourselves hated of the world; for, as the Master said, they shall say all manner of evil against us falsely for his sake. Let us remember his words, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”—John 15:18, 19. As our Master was hated without a cause, so let it be with us, so far as possible, that the hatred, malice, envy and murder which may be poured out against us may be wholly unmerited by us-—that our lives shall be as nearly pure as possible; that so far as possible our thoughts and words and deeds may show forth the praises of our Lord, and speak of our love for all men, especially for the household of faith. By and by, when the church shall have been glorified, and a new dispensation inaugurated, those who hated us now, largely because they are blinded by the adversary and misled, will how before us, as the Lord’s anointed, and we shall have the great pleasure of lifting them up, blessing them, encouraging them and forgiving them, and assisting them back to the full image and hkeness of God. In om Golden Text let us note the significant statement,— “But God was with him.” Suecess in life may be viewed from different standpoints. To some the successful lives are those ZION’S WATCH TOWER (300-307) represented by Alexander the Great, and Cesar, and notable kings, emperors and generals; or by its money accumulators— Croesus, Carnegie, et al. But we write for such as have different conceptions of greatness from these;—to those who, without disdaining the merits and charities of any, have accepted the divine standard of greatness as delineated in the Bible;—Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Job, David, the holy prophets and apostles, and above all our Lord Jesus. And the secret of the success of each of these was,—“God was with him.” The same principle holds true today, in all matters connected with the divine service-—‘“Without me ye can do nothing.” God’s favor during the Jewish age was manifested in earthly prosperities; but not so in this age, when spiritual prosperity alone indicates God’s favor, and when not many rich or great are called, but chiefly the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom. And, 1f God be with us and for us, who can be against us? What will their opposition amount to? They may indeed cause us pain or inconvenience, but they cannot harm us or injure our highest interests; because the Almighty has given assurance that “All things shall work for good to those who love him, to the called ones in his purpose.” But what must be the character of this class whom God is with and for; and for whose blessing he intervenes in all of life’s affairs? Ah! they are a peculiar people—zealous of good works— zealous for righteousness—zealous for God and his favor— zealous for his service and the smile of his face—faithful, trustful, meek. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God’; now we have these assurances of God’s favors which will surely continue with us if we seek earnestly to follow the footsteps of our dear Redeemer—walking not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Let us, therefore, remember to purge ourselves of envy, malice, selfishness, including self-conceit; that we may be vessels unto honor and meet for our Master’s service. PASS UNDER THE ROD You said to your heart on life’s golden morning: “How bright is the sky and how happy the hours!” The rich blood of youth through your pulses was throbbing, The path at your feet was all 1adiant with flowers: And life’s golden chalice that brimmed with joy’s wine, Sparkled bright in the sunshine most temptingly sweet; You 1aised it to qualf with delight from its depths, But at fell! and its fragments lay strewn at your feet. It. red wine was spilled and it stained all the flowers, Like blood drops that ooze from a bosom of snow; And the sun that so brightly had shone o’er thy pathway Seemed suddenly robbed of its brightness and glow. And night’s gloomy shades seemed to gather about thee, And through the deep shadows, the dark form of Pain Loomed up. and his gaunt fingers clutched at thy heart-strings And laid their cold grasp on thy shivering brain. Ah, then did despair like the billows of ocean Sweep over thy soul, oh, poor heart, sore distressed? Did you cry out in anguish with tears and with sobbing, With quivering hands o’er thy bleeding heart pressed? Ah, ves. and the days dragged so weary along Till they grew into months and at last into years,— Till vou learned to look up to the Father above, And at last see the rainbow of hope through your tears. And you learned that the truest and best of life’s lessons Are gained through the travail and pain of the soul; That the rarest of graces bestowed on God’s children Oft grow where life’s billows tumultuously roll. And you saw that the stars in the blue vault of Heaven Shine only when night’s sable curtains enfold; You learned that the fierce furnace heat of affliction Is needful to sever from dross the heart’s gold. *Twas a wonderful lesson borne into thy spirit,— This grand truth to know, though a fruit of thy pain; It taught thee to soar where before thou hadst grovelled, And the heart that had broken learned a heavenly strain. O, thrice blessed sorrow that drives us to Jesus, To find in his love a continuous peace— A joy, that abides though all earthly hopes wither, And brings from the nights of despair full release. O, Heavenly Shepherd, how wise are thy dealings— Thy thoughts—far beyond human wisdom to know; Thy rod and thy staff sure will guide and sustain us, Held close in thy love while we tarry below. So we patiently wait while we bide in the shadows, Our eyes looking up through the gloom of the night, °Till the shadows shall lift, and the dawn of the morning Of heaven’s full glory shall burst on our sight. —A G. JAMES. Vou. XXII ALLEGHENY, PA., OCTOBER 1, 1901 No. 19 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER ECCLESIASTICAL FEDERATION The evidences looking toward a federation of the various Christian sects are multiplying ;—city federations, county federations, and state federations are announced from time to time in the daily press, and thus the way is being prepared, the idea is being hatched. In England the movement seems fully as far advanced as here: there the church of England is the preponderating power, and, as the Scriptures indicate, will have much to do with effecting the union whenever it comes. The Protestant Episcopal church has always held aloof from other Protestant bodies; claiming (as do the Catholics) that there can be no true and authorized ministers com petent and authorized to preach the Gospel without Episcopal ordination ;—that all others are fraudulent pretenders. They are willing to fellowship as “clergymen” any Protestant ministers of good character who will submit to re-ordination at the hands of an Episcopal bishop, but no others. In the light of these facts the following cablegram will be read with interest :— ‘“‘WAITS ON ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBUEY’’ English Archbishop Hesitates in Sending Delegates “London, August 29.—Will the Archbishop of Canterbury, officially or otherwise, send a representative to the Ecumenical Methodist conference which opens Wednesday? This question, according to Bishop J. W. Hartzell, is attracting the [2881]
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