seed, and heirs according to the promise.
My dear brother, my dear sister, if you
or I have the ineffably glorious privilege
of being one of the one hundred and
forty-four thousand, having the Father's
name written in our foreheads, sealed
with the seal of the living God, keeping
his blessed Sabbath holy, it is because we
are Israelites indeed; and God, who 1s
the God of order, will give us our place
in one of the tribes of Israel. In which
tribe vou will be enrolled, or I, God
knows. We cannot say. But unless we
are Israelites, we have no part or lot in
this matter.
Let us be faithful, and therefore blessed
with faithful Abraham, and it may be
God’s will that we shall be among the
one hundred and forty-four thousand of
the twelve tribes of the true spiritual
Israel, princes of God, overcomers, con-
querors in the conflict, that we may enter
in through the gates into the city, and
eat of the tree of life, and rejoice in the
deathless land, in the victory over death
and the grave. Are you to-day, my
brother, my sister, an Israelite indeed?
EI
THE LORD’S DAY
Frank Peabody
Jesus Curist is the one who created
all things. John 1:1-3, 10, 14; Col. I:
14-16; Heb. 1:1, 2; Eph. 3:9. God
the Father corresponds to the architect,
Jesus Christ to the one who does the
work, carrving out the plans laid.
But at creation he was not yet known
as either Jesus or Christ, but as God.
He was God the Son. This name he ob-
tained by inheritance from his Father.
Heb. 1:4. He was called “Lord” at
the creation. Verses 8 - 10. He became
Jesus (Saviour) at his birth. Matt. 1:
21 and Christ (the anointed) at his bap-
tism. Compare Luke 3:22 with Acts
10: 38.
It is God the Son of whom it is writ-
ten: “In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth;” for it has been
shown that he is the creator of all things.
As it was the Son who did the work, it
must have been the Son who rested,
sanctified, and blessed the Sabbath day
of Gen. 2:2, 3. Therefore he could
say with peculiar force, “The Son of
man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”
And the Sabbath, the seventh day, is the
Lord’s day, because he rested on that day,
THE WATCHMAN
blessed that day, set that day apart for
a holy use and claimed it as his own.
And when Eusebius said, in the fourth
century, “All things whatsoever it was
181
duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have
transferred to the Lords day” (Sun-
day), he spoke for those who “ stole the
livery of heaven to serve the devil in.”
5
30
AF RA I
b
THOUGHTS FOR THE TEMPTED
G. W. Stilson
READER, do you meet with temptation
and trouble along life's pathway? Are
you sometimes discouraged at the diffi-
culties before you? Do you become
weary of meeting the perplexities of life,
and possibly feel that it is useless to keep
up the struggle?
Do not lose sight of the fact that these
experiences, though not “ for the present
joyous, but grievous,” if you endure them
patiently, and stand firm and true, will
be the means of developing in you a
strength of character which will some
day cause you to thank God for them.
These trials may be the very thing God
knows vou need. In fact, if you love
God, they surely will work for your good ;
for “we know that all things work to-
gether for good to them that love God.”
Rom. 8:28.
““ But,” some one may say, “I have en-
dured bitter experiences, and have done
that which I believe to be in harmony
with the character Jesus manifested; yet
the result has been worse, seemingly,
than if I had not endeavored so care-
fully to exemplify his principles in my
life, and it seems to weaken me instead
of making me stronger.”
Yes, dear brother, dear sister, this may
be your experience; it has been that of
others. But, nevertheless, God is faith-
ful. Do not give up to these feelings.
Cling to God in faith. Say in your heart,
as did Job, “ Though he slay me, yet will
I trust in him.” “ When he hath tried
me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job
13:15; 23: I0.
Even though experience seems to
weaken your faith, do not be discouraged.
“ Cast not away therefore your confi-
dence, which hath great recompense of
reward; for ye have need of patience,
that, after ye have done the will of God,
ye might receive the promise.” Heb.
10:35, 36. Notice that, even after you
have done the will of God, you have need
of patience; and do not be discouraged if
vou find trial still permitted to develop
Remember, too, the prom-
that grace.
ise that your confidence will receive great
recompense of reward. If faithful, you
will find that, even when you felt that
you were weakening under the trial, God
was working to strengthen you, and to
prepare you for usefulness here and a
home with him hereafter.
Then let the very trials through which
you pass be a source of encouragement
to you. Let them be stepping-stones to
lift you heavenward. ‘God never tries
a soul unless there is gold in him.” If
you have trials, let them be to you as-
surances that God loves you, and that
he sees in you enough of the true gold of
character so that he wishes to save you.
Leave yourself in his hands, and be as-
sured that he will not fail to accomplish
his blessed purpose.
I
DOING KIND THINGS
Have you ever noticed how much of
Christ's life was spent in doing kind
things — in merely doing kind things?
Run over it with that in view, and you
will find that he spent a great proportion
of his time simply in making people
happy, in doing good turns to people.
There is only one thing greater than hap-
piness in the world, and that is holiness;
and it is not in our keeping. But what
God has put in our power is the happi-
ness of those about us, and that is largely
to be secured by our being kind to them.
“The greatest thing,” says some one,
“ 2 man can do for his heavenly Father
is to be kind to some of his other chil-
dren.” 1 wonder why it is that we are
not all kinder than we are? How much
the world needs it! How easily it is
done! How instantaneously it acts!
How infallibly it is remembered! How
superabundantly it pays itself back!
For there is no debt in the world so hon-
orable, so superbly honorable, as love.—
Henry Drummond.
SE SF SP
““ Gop accepts faith at the cross, but he
will demand character at the judgment.”