(303-307) “I am proceeding to put in shape my affairs in order to enage in this latest Lord’s work as the way may open to me. shall truly be very sorry and ashamed if I] miss the chariot when it ascends.”—-Sr. S., N. J THE WATCH TOWER Brooxiyn, N. Y. "The testimony meeting last Sunday afternoon was about 75% Seventh Volume testimony. If any one present then could not see it is the Seventh Volume, he was dumb as well as blind.’—E. H. T., D.C. INTERESTING LETTERS CONVINCED THE LORD MADE NO MISTAKE Sept. 9th, 1917. DEAR BRETHREN :— Greetings in our dear Lord! Just a few lines to tell you of my full heart sympathy and loyal support in these times of stress upon the church in general, and particularly upon our dear President, who is so nobly and faith*ully standing for truth and right. The kindly way in which he has spoken of the opposing brethren during each and all of the series of conventions this year has been a grand inspiration to me and a wonderful lesson in brotherly love. Of him I can now truthfully say in the words of St. Paul te the Philippian church, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” I was so glad to receive Harvest SirTines and to know exactly how conditions are. One little thing was cleared up which has been rather a mystery to me for over a year. I wondered why, when one of the now opposing brethren was in Vancouver on a pilgrim visit in 1916, he should have spoken so strangely about Brother Rutherford and Brother Van Amburgh. He stated at my table that whenever Brother Russell was away for any length of time, he invariably, upon his return, would be called upon to straighten out tangles at Bethel, doctrinally or otherwise, caused by Brothers Rutherford and Van Amburgh. I believed it then, coming as it did from one of the Socrery’s officers. How could I reasonably doubt it? But now, with Harvest Srrrines in my hand, I see plainly the motive behind these remarka. It appears the brother was here doing what he had been engaged in doing all through Canada—commonly known by the world as “knocking.” Of course when the election took place last January I was greatly surprised that without any effort on Brother Rutherford’s part he was placed in the position of honor and trust which he now holds under the Lord—that of President of the WaTcu Towrrk Biste Anp Tract Society, which the Lord loves as the apple of his eye. I now see the wisdom of the Lord in the whole matter, and am convinced that He made no mistake. I notice in the new pamphlet gotten out by the opposition they charge that the Bethel Family and Pilgrims are staying by our President because they have been bribed. What an insult to the dear faithful friends at Bethel whom these brethren pretended to love! As one of the traveling brethren I positively deny being bought or bribed. I should think it a very dangerous position to take—to freely charge any of God’s elect with such a crime! Dear Brother Rutherford is personally the target for Satan’s darts at this time, but he has the prayers of all true saints that he may “be strong and very courageous.” By divine favor, I am, . Your brother in the truth, C, E. Hearp, Pilgrim. SOME WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT Dear BRETHREN IN CHRIST :— THe Towers continue to be beautiful and inspiring; they seem just as stimulating and helpful as when our beloved Brother Russell was with us. There is one thing which has impressed me, one thing which marks this periodical ag being of the Lord, namely, the absence of the ego, that personal element which is likely to engender sectarianism and pride. The dear Lord will surely continue this “meat in due season” till the spiritual Israel] are sealed and made meet for the glorious inheritance. Much love and best wishes. Yours in our dear Redeemer’s name, FREDERICK LARDENT.—England. Vou. XXXVIII BROOKLYN, N. Y., OCTOBER 15, 1917 No. 20 PROPER AND IMPROPER JUDGMENT OF OURSELVES AND OTHERS “Tf we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.’’—-1 Corinthians 11:31, 32. In this text the Apostle seems to be saying that if we as Christians would properly criticise, examine and correct ourselves, it would not be necessary for the Lord to take us in hand and give us disciplinary judgments, or criticisms, But if we fail to do this judging of ourselves, then the heavenly Father must do it; for he has taken us into his family, under his parental care. The object of this chastening would not be to injure us, however, but to prevent our being condemned with the world. We judge ourselves when we criticise our own conduct, our own words, our own actions, and try them by the principles which are found in the Bible—justice, mercy, and truth. As our Lord has taught us, if we find that we have done wrong to another, we should leave our sacrifice on the altar, and first go to make apologies to our brother. (Matthew 5:23) Thus we would be judging ourselves, obligating ourselves to do the right thing. When we have done wrong, it is not enough to say, “Yes I am wrong; but then, no one is perfect.” To do so would not be to act in harmony with the spirit of our text. That spirit is that if we find ourselves to be in the wrong, then we have a sacred duty to perform—we must make the matter right, to the best of our ability. If the wrong has been along the lines of unchariteble thoughts toward anybody, it is not necessary that we go to that person and tell him about the matter. But we should remind ourselves of all the circumstances, and then judge ourselves, give ourselves a good setting-down. We are obligated to give ourselves a lesson along this line. Thus we should manifest that our heart’s intentions are right, and that we are, therefore, right at heart. We understand that the will of God concerning us is, that we should judge ourselves. Jf we find that we have injured another with our tongue, or in any other way, we should go to that person and make proper apologies, thus setting matters right. Then we should put upon ourselves a penalty that we shall not easily forget. If the paying of that penalty requires considerable humility, so much thé better. But if we neglect to punish ourselves, we would thus demonstrate that we are not in proper heart condition; and in that case the best thing that could happen to us would be for the Lord to give us a severe chastisement. This might not come on the same day or week or month, however, as the wrong-doing. But we may be sure that if we fail to do right in the matter, the Lord will take us in hand and give us some kind of trying experience which will teach us the needed lesson. He may permit somebody to do something to us or to say something about us that will show us wherein we have failed to do right. Or he may permit us to come into such a position that it will bring upon us some kind of disciplinary suffering. The object of this arrangement—that if we do not judge or criticise ourselves, the Lord will do so—is that we shall not come into condemnation with the world. During the next age the race of mankind will be on trial, on judgment. (Acts 17:31) If we were of the world, our judgment would come then instead of now. But we are not of the world; for the Lord has ealled us out of it. We are new creatures in Christ, begotten of the holy Spirit of God. In our case it may be the same now that it will be with the world in the future; that is, we might be making marks upon our character which must be removed. If this ig true, the Lord will discipline us for their removal, unless we come to realize the situation and remove the marks ourselves. Otherwise we should not be fit for the kingdom. In other words, if we belong to the church of Christ, we must receive our judgments and punishments now, during the present age. If we fail thus to chastise ourselves, then the Lord will do so for our growth in holiness. JUDGMENT NOT NECESSARILY CONDEMNATION We very frequently use the words judgment and opinion as synonyms, as expressing the same sentiment. A man’s opinion of a matter is his judgment upon the subject, Whether he expresses it to another or whether he keeps it to himself, his judgment is his opinion. There may be times when it would be proper for us to have an opinion, or judgment, that we would not think it wise to express. For instance, our Lord said to his disciples, “I have many things to tell you, but ye cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12) There were certain reasons why he withheld knowledge from them. So it might be with us, In the Scriptures the word judgment ia sometimes used, in a special sense; namely in the sense of condemnation. This [6152}
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