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VOL. XIV. AUGUST 1, 1893. NO. 15

ZION’S WATCH TOWER

AND

HERALD OF CHRIST’S PRESENCE.

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PUBLISHED TWICE A MONTH.

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TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY,
“BIBLE HOUSE”
ARCH STREET, ALLEGHENY, PA., U.S.A.

C. T. RUSSELL, EDITOR; MRS. C. T. RUSSELL, ASSOCIATE.

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SUBSCRIPTION PRICE, $1.00 A YEAR, IN ADVANCE, INCLUDES ALSO A SUBSCRIPTION, FOR ONE YEAR, TO “THE OLD THEOLOGY” (TRACTS), QUARTERLY,

By Express Order, Postal Money Order, Bank Draft, or Registered Letter. Foreign only by Foreign Money Order.

FREE TO THE LORD’S POOR

N.B.—Those of the interested, who by reason of old age or accidents, or other adversity, are unable to pay, will be supplied FREE, if they will send a Postal Card each December, stating their case and requesting the paper.

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OUR CHICAGO CONVENTION:—

Full particulars (so far as yet arranged) were given in our last issue, except to note that the entertainment offered includes pure water from artesian wells.

Responses so far received indicate that we will have a good attendance. Colporteurs, and those proposing to enter that work, should sacrifice something in order to attend. We expect a blessing and a fresh impetus to the general work. Let all the consecrated pray for themselves, and especially for all who shall attend the Convention, that selfishness and pride may be swallowed up in love and humility—that the blessing may be general.

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BROTHER RABINOWITCH IN ALLEGHENY

Joseph Rabinowitch, of Kishenev, Russia, is well known to our readers as by birth a Hebrew, but a convert to our Lord Jesus, who is laboring for the conversion of the Jews. He is stopping with the editor for a couple of days, resting. Mr. Moody was instrumental in bringing him to Chicago, with a view of having him aid in work for the Jews in that city.

Brother Rabinowitch addressed a meeting of about 500 Jews at Warszawiak’s Mission in New York. (Hermann Warszawiak is a converted Russian Jew who is preaching Jesus to his country-men here.) In Chicago he several times addressed above 200 Jews, and on his way back he is to address about 600 Jews at Gaebelein’s Mission in New York. We were agreeably surprised to learn of so many Hebrews in this country interested in Jesus as the Messiah—even though all are not converted to him.

When asked his opinion of the work being done for the Hebrews in the United States, Brother Rabinowitch said: “I am pleased with what I have seen; but it is rather raw yet. It needs more system, and a better system. My theory and plan are somewhat different; and I think better for reaching the heart of the Jew. I do not introduce the Jews into any denomination of Christians, nor to any creed of Christendom. Rather I introduce them to Jesus as the King of the Jews—their own brother, their own lineage. I show the fulfilment of prophecy in him; and seek to have them accept him as Redeemer and Messiah. I leave out all those special doctrinal features which separate the denominations of Christendom, and preach Christ Jesus the Jew, crucified as our Redeemer and resurrected to be our King, our Deliverer from sin and death, in God’s due time.”

We were forcibly struck with the fact that Bro. Rabinowitch’s gospel to the Jews is so much in correspondence with our message to Christians.

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PROSPERITY IN JERUSALEM

The price of land about Jerusalem is something surprising when we consider that the place has almost no manufactures, very little foreign commerce, and that the city contains a multitude of poor people. Two acres that were sold in 1890 for $250 per acre sold in 1891 for $750; twelve acres sold in 1890 for $435 per acre sold in 1892 for $2,178; seven acres sold in 1886 for $363 per acre sold in 1892 for $6,534; two acres sold in 1886 for $1,200 per acre sold in 1892 for $3,000; half an acre sold in 1871 for $200 sold in 1892 for $3,700, that is, for the half acre; one acre sold in 1872 for $40 sold in 1892 for $12,000; two-thirds of an acre sold in 1886 for $100 sold in 1891 for $3,600; one acre sold in 1865 for $1,000 sold in 1891 for $24,000. These are not in one section or locality, but in different directions about the city, varying from one-fourth of a mile to one mile distant from the town.—Scribner’s.

“A correspondent in Jerusalem informs us that the Sultan’s government has again licensed Jewish real estate brokers and purchasers to acquire landed property in Palestine without being Mussulmen, and secures to all settlers the protection of the high porte and equal rights with the natives of the land. This opens that country to foreign immigration and will attract thousands from Roumania, Russia and Morocco.” —American Israelite.

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SPECIAL DIVINE PROVIDENCE

“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”—Psa. 73:24

ON the subject of divine providence there are many widely diverging views. Even among Christians some are quite skeptical with reference to it, while others view it in a light so extreme as to destroy in their minds the idea of human free-agency and accountability. But, to rightly understand the subject, we must carefully observe the Scripturally marked metes and bounds within the limits of which divine providence can be and is exercised. First, we observe that, since God is good, all his providences must be with a view to wise and benevolent ends, either near or remote: Secondly, that since he made man in his own image—morally free—and with the alternatives of good and evil before him, it would be contrary to his purpose, thus manifested, to so hedge him about with his providences as to interfere with his moral free-agency, which is the crowning glory of humanity, and the right exercise of which gives to virtue all its worth: Thirdly, we see that, since God is working all things after the counsel of his own will according to a plan of the ages, which he purposed in himself before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:9-11; 3:11), and since he changes not (Mal. 3:6), but all his purposes shall be accomplished (Isa. 55:11), it is manifest that he cannot exercise his providence in any way which would be detrimental to the ultimate ends of his perfect plan.

If these three principles—viz., the divine goodness, the inviolability of human free-agency, and the necessary consistency of the divine providences with the divine purposes—be always borne in mind, they will save, both from skepticism on the one hand, and from fanaticism on the other, as well as greatly assist the believer to a clearer understanding and fuller appreciation of God’s dealings, both in general and in particular.

The Psalmist says, “The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.” (Psa. 145:9.) This sweeping statement takes in the utmost bounds of the material universe and also the humblest, as well as the most exalted, sentient being. The whole creation is his care. Jehovah, our God, is the great Emperor of the whole universe, and his wisdom, power, goodness and benevolence are abundantly equal to all the responsibilities of so exalted an office. The human mind staggers in its efforts to comprehend the mental resources of a being who is able to assume and to bear such responsibility. Think for a moment of the memory that never fails; of the judgment that never errs; of the wisdom that plans for eternity without the possibility of failure, and that times that plan with unerring precision for the ages to come; of the power and skill which can harness even every opposing element, animate or inanimate, and make them all work together for the accomplishment of his grand designs; of the tireless vigilance that never ceases, nor seeks relief from the pressing cares of universal dominion—whose eye never sleeps, whose ear is ever open, and who is ever cognizant of all the necessities, and

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active in all the interests, of his broad domains.

Well has the Psalmist said, in consideration of the immensity and the minutiae of God’s providence over all his works—”Such knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” (Psa. 139:6.) No, we cannot; but Oh, what a thrilling sense of mingled reverence, love and adoration fills the heart, when thus we catch a glimpse of the intellectual and moral glory and majesty of our God! As we thus contemplate him, all nature becomes eloquent with his praise: the heavens truly declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handiwork: day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge. (Psa. 19:1,2.) They tell of the order and harmony of the circling spheres, and the benevolent purpose of their great Creator and Controller, as the changing seasons and the alternating days and nights fill up the copious horn of plenty and refresh and invigorate the animate creation.

Since we are distinctly told that his tender mercies—his kind providences—are over all his works, that all his wise purposes shall be accomplished, and that the ultimate design in all his works is the firm establishment of universal harmony and peace, and the eternal happiness of all his subjects (Psa. 145:9; Isa. 55:8-13; 1 Cor. 15:24,25), whatever inharmonies we now see in nature must be viewed as incidental to the preparations for the perfection of all things, which is not due until “the dispensation of the fulness of times,” following the Millennial reign of Christ. (1 Cor. 15:24,25; Eph. 1:10; 3:11,15.) And since we are enlightened by a knowledge of the divine plan of the ages, we see, further, in the introduction of the human race upon the earth before the physical perfection of nature has been attained, a wonderful display of wisdom. This measure has furnished the necessary condition for the experience and trial of the human family, and has made use of the labor of the race, while under condemnation, to urge forward the work of preparing the earth for its final glorious condition, as prefigured in Eden, by the time the race will be fully recovered from the fall and established in righteousness.

If we keep this thought in mind, and do not lose sight of the ultimate purpose of God, and of the fact that the present is only a preparatory state, progressing toward final completeness, we need never be skeptical about an overruling providence which now permits a cyclone, a tornado, an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, or any other of nature’s throes and distresses. They are all means working toward the grand ends of eternal peace and glory and beauty. Even that widespread calamity of Noah’s day, which deluged the world and wiped out the whole mongrel race with which sin had peopled the earth (Jude 6; 2 Pet. 2:5), sparing only righteous Noah (who “was perfect in his generation”—Gen. 6:8,9—and not of the mixed or hybrid race), and his family, was probably part of the natural process of preparation of the earth also for the new dispensation which began, with Noah and his family, after the flood.

But while God’s tender mercies are over all his works, and the whole creation is his care, we must not overlook the fact that man, by sin, has forfeited all claims upon the divine providence. As a son of God, Adam had a son’s claim upon his heavenly Father’s benevolent providence; but when God condemned him to death on account of sin he thereby rightfully repudiated all human claims upon his fatherhood. The creature was thenceforth unworthy of life, and of the divine providence which alone could sustain it. Therefore the condemned world has no right to question why God permits one calamity after another to overtake them and to sweep them into oblivion. They have no right to expect anything else; and if calamities do not hurry them off, they are perishing just as surely by more gradual processes, in consequence of the curse pronounced on account of sin.

The condemned world is thus left to its fate—to reach the tomb by gradual or by hurried processes. Sometimes the death-penalty is executed by the disturbances of the elements of nature incident to its yet imperfect condition;—such, for instance, as tempests, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, lightning shocks, etc.;—sometimes by the aggravated results of

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sin entailed by inheritance; sometimes by the sinful war of angry human passions, resulting in wars and in private and domestic feuds and revenges; and sometimes through lack of good judgment in discerning and avoiding danger, such as fires, railway and ocean disasters, etc. All of these are the executioners of the just penalty for sin, pronounced against the whole race.

Then why should any expect God to interfere and interrupt the course of justice?—especially in the case of those who still continue unrepentant and utterly regardless of his holy law, and who have no desire to return to his favor and control? True he might, and sometimes does, temporarily interfere with the present course of evil in order to facilitate his own wise plans; but man has no right to expect such interference in his behalf, nor would it be an evidence of divine favor toward the sinner. Sometimes, but not always, sudden calamities are the servants of some special purpose of God—as, for instance, the deluge, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the fall of the tower of Siloam (Luke 13:4), etc.; but usually they are only serving his general purpose as executors of the death-penalty upon the condemned.

While the condemned world of mankind is thus left to its fate, men are permitted largely to pursue their own course in the management of their affairs. They may take such advantage as they can of the elements of nature, or of their own medical and surgical skill and ingenuity, to prolong their days and to ameliorate their condition under the curse; they may control their evil passions for their advantage, or give them loose rein, to their individual and mutual detriment; they may institute and maintain such forms of civil jurisprudence as they can agree upon, subject to the secret and cunning intrigue of the wily and powerful, but unrecognized, prince of this world, Satan. But their course is their own course, and God is not in it. Hence God has no responsibility with reference to it; nor can he in any sense be held

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accountable for the misery that men bring upon themselves and each other in pursuance of their own godless and evil way. Yet God could, and undoubtedly would, put a sudden end to the sin and misery that is in the world, were it not that his far-seeing judgment counsels its temporary permission for a benevolent ultimate purpose, toward which even the wrath of men is unconsciously ministering.

But the case is quite different with those who have renounced their own way and turned to the Lord, who have accepted of his forgiveness through Christ, and who have thus been restored to their original standing (as in Adam before sin) as sons of God. All so recognized of God are again the heirs of his favor through Christ—”If a son, then an heir.” (Gal. 4:7.) And it is to such, and such only, that the promise of divine guidance, referred to in our text, belongs:—”Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”

What advantages, then, should be looked for in the cases of these sons of God, who have separated themselves from the world and its spirit? By natural inference, we should expect the return of God’s favor to restore again the blessings lost by the fall—the blessings of lasting life, health, peace, prosperity and happiness. Yet what do we see? We see these justified ones suffer and die just like other men. Evils befall them; disease lays hold of them; poverty hampers them; friends desert them; and death overtakes them, as well as other men; and, the whole course of the present evil world being against them, their pursuit of righteousness is attended with great difficulty and privation. Wherein, then, are they profited?

The world cannot see that they are profited at all; for the profit is discerned only by the eye of faith in the counsel of God’s Word. That counsel, all the sons of God take for their guidance. It describes the present life as a preparatory state, which, if rightly used, prepares for the truly glorious condition designed for sons of God hereafter. It is in view of this instruction of the Word of God, that the Psalmist, in the words of our text, expresses his confident realization of present guidance and of the eternal glory to follow. The present life, being preparatory, is a time for the schooling and discipline of the sons of God; and their subjection to the present ills,

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while it is often painful, is recognized by them as necessary, in the providence of God, to work out for them an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. (2 Cor. 4:17.) In this confident realization they have peace, and even joy, in the midst of present tribulation. And this present peace and joy in a realization of the divine forgiveness and favor, and the privilege of present experience, discipline and instruction under the divine tutorship, is the present advantage of the sons of God, while an eternal weight of glory is in store for all who prove faithful under it.

The providence of God over these, his sons, is a very particular providence:—All their steps are ordered of the Lord (Psa. 37:23); and the very hairs of their head are all numbered (Luke 12:7.) His eyes are ever upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers. (1 Pet. 3:12.) All the angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to these heirs of salvation. (Heb. 1:14.) All things are made to work together for good to these, who love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28); and no good thing is withheld from them. (Psa. 84:11.) How wonderful and particular is this care; and they have the promise of it to the end of their trial state. God is indeed a Father to all that put their trust in him; but there is a wide difference between those who are his sons, and those who remain aliens, and even enemies.

While we thus view the present providence of God and his opposite attitude toward the world and toward those who are now recognized as his sons, we may rise to a still higher altitude. Here we observe the breadth and scope of the divine plan, and see that even now, while God does not and cannot treat the world as sons and grant them his fatherly grace and blessing, he is nevertheless preparing to bless them with his favor as soon as they come to the proper attitude of sons.

He has devised, and already partly executed, a plan for the redemption and restitution of all who will by and by repent fully and submit themselves to his righteous requirements; and, in their present alien and outcast condition, he is giving them such experiences as will in time bring them to realize their own helplessness and to desire and seek the favor of God. In the working out of his grand general plan, which has for its ultimate end the blessing of all the families of the earth, all the bitterness of sin and evil that men have experienced have had a part. To this end God has also been over-ruling the affairs of men for the past six thousand years. That is, while he has been permitting men to rule themselves according to their own ideas, he has been, unknown to them, so over-ruling as to make even their blind and evil course bring to pass circumstances and events which they did not foresee nor contemplate, but which in the long run of his plan ministers to his purpose. Thus, for instance, the world’s present blind and wrong course is bringing about a great time of trouble, which God foresaw and will permit, whose final outcome under the overruling of God, will be the overthrow of human governments and the establishment of the divine. In the past men have had their affairs their own way to the extent that they could agree among themselves, to the extent that the unseen prince of this world, Satan, did not interfere and overpower them, and to the extent that their plans were not interfering with the purpose and plan of God.

Thus, though men have not been aware of it, and have conducted their affairs regardless of both God and Satan, God has all the while been overruling both man’s and Satan’s designs in the affairs and destinies of nations, so as to give to men the largest possible experience with sin and its consequences, thus to prepare them eventually for willing submission to the righteous reign of the Prince of peace. They have had experience with every shade and form of government; and now, as the end of Gentile times approaches, the world is preparing to express its complete dissatisfaction with all, in general and world-wide anarchy. The crisis is fast approaching and the end is nearing when the wayward, prodigal world will come to its last extremity. But man’s extremity will be God’s opportunity; and to this extremity he is therefore permitting them blindly to drift. But when, with broken and contrite hearts, they turn to the Lord, they will

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prove the joys of his forgiving love, and mark how, even before they called upon him, he was preparing to answer (Isa. 65:24)—first, in the redemption provided; and secondly, in the necessary, hard experiences which shall have brought them to repentance and to a full realization of their need of God’s fatherly providence, and to humble, grateful dependence.

These overrulings of God among the nations are not to be regarded as providences over, and favors to, sinners, but rather as measures preparatory to the blessing of future repentant and obedient sons, who will profit by contrasting the coming good with the present evil; and also as measures necessary for the present welfare of those who are now his sons.

With these thoughts in mind, mark the stately steppings of our God along the aisles of history—how even the wrath of man has been made to further the interests of the divine plan. The rise and fall of empires and the wars and revolutions that have unsettled and disturbed the world, while they were great evils in themselves, nevertheless saved men from sinking lower and lower in lethargy and vice: they roused ambitions; they kept the human mind awake, and set men to thinking and planning to improve their conditions. They brought men of different tribes and nations together, sharpened intellectuality, stimulated ambition, led to discoveries and inventions, and thus helped to keep the race above the level of the brute creation. Even the infamous slave trade, which brought thousands of black men from Africa to this favored land, was, as viewed in the light of God’s overruling providence, a blessing in disguise; for the black man in America has enjoyed advantages of civilization here that he would never have known in his native land. And similar providences we can also mark in the great persecutions and distresses of the old world, which drove the lovers of liberty to our shores, here to establish a free government and conditions of society specially favorable to the consummation of God’s great purpose to gather a people for his name. The subject is too large for extended discourse here, but with this brief suggestion the reader will mark thousands of instances where God’s overruling providence can be seen in history working together to the predetermined end; and yet in it all the world is still pursuing its own wilful and wayward course, and will continue to do so until the judgments of the Lord overtake and subdue them.

No nation on the face of the earth can now be said to have God’s special fatherly providence over it; for there is no nation even claiming to be the sons of God. Consequently, no nation can claim his care and protection. All are alike exposed to the fortunes or misfortunes of the course they pursue; and God will not interfere, except in so far as to shape the end toward the final accomplishment of his great work; and that shaping, we are informed, will soon require the overthrow of all the thrones of earth and a great time of unprecedented trouble.—Jer. 25:15,16,26,27; Dan. 2:44; 12:1; Hag. 2:21,22; Heb. 12:26,27; Rev. 11:15.

But let the surges of trouble rise: God’s people—his sons and daughters—can still claim the precious promises of guidance with his

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counsel. They are his “peculiar people,” “a holy nation,” unrecognized by the world, as yet, but soon to be manifested in power and great glory. Previous to the Gospel age the Lord had a special holy nation, and his special providence over that nation was illustrative of a similar providence over the antitype, the Gospel Church. But let us not overlook the fact that the providences of God over typical Israel were of a disciplinary character, as are those of the Church, the spiritual Israel, now. They were led, instructed, chastened and encouraged according to the necessities for their development and perfecting as children of God. And those of that age who meekly submitted to the Lord’s providential care and leading, walking by faith as we do now, though they received not the reward of their faithfulness then (Acts 7:5; Heb. 11:39,40), were laid away to rest until God’s set time to recall them, and were marked by him as the precious heirs of his loving favor to be granted in due time.

A similar course has been pursued all through the Gospel age, wherein consecrated believers

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have experienced the favor of God’s providential leading, teaching, chastening and encouragement; and, having received the seal of sonship, they too have one by one been laid away to rest until the day of his appearing and kingdom—and “Precious in the sight of the Lord has been the death of his saints.” (Psa. 116:15.) They have been guided by his counsel, and shall in due time be received into glory—those of the Jewish age into the glory of the earthly phase of his kingdom; and those of the Gospel age into the glory of its heavenly phase. (See MILLENNIAL DAWN, Vol. I., Chap. xiv.) In our treatment of the S.S. Lesson for July 2nd, attention is further called to the special providences of God in the general direction and course of the work of the Gospel Church, which on that account we omit here.

In this reasonable and Scriptural view of divine providence, the humble and believing children of God will realize that, while they may not be able at all times to understand the Lord’s ways in all his dealings, they can know of his wisdom, love and care, and that they can therefore trust him where they cannot trace him. We should not expect to be able always to comprehend the divine wisdom, which is so much beyond our own; yet we can often see it afterward. Sometimes his discipline may be severe, and by no means easy to bear, yet “afterwards, it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness.” After the bitter comes the sweet; so let us take the bitter patiently, and rejoice in hope of the sure fulfilment of all the exceeding great and precious promises to be realized in due time by those who patiently continue in well doing—in submitting without reserve to the providence of God, to the guidance with his counsel.

The Psalmist represents a large class of the immature, inexperienced and only partially instructed children of God, when he says (Psa. 73:2-12), “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped: for I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. … Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt and they speak in the wickedness of oppression. From on high [from the chief places of power and control] they speak. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh [their influence hath free course] through the earth. Therefore do his [God’s] people turn away hither [into the wilderness condition of separation from the world] and waters of a full cup [of affliction and persecution] are wrung out to them. And they [the ungodly] say, ‘How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?’ Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.”

The picture is a true one of the present reign of evil. (See also Mal. 3:15.) It is those who selfishly seek their own present aggrandizement, regardless of the interests of others, that are most prosperous now, and that occupy the chief places of control—political, financial, and even religious; while the godly, who despise oppression and love righteousness, and who, therefore, live contrary to the course of the present evil world, become the subjects of oppression.

Taking a narrow or merely human view of the matter, we might well question why God permits the wicked so to triumph at the expense of the righteous. The Psalmist says (verses 16,17), again speaking for the same class of God’s children, that the problem was too difficult for him to solve until he went into the sanctuary of God (into the Holy Place of entire consecration to God, typified in “the holy” of the Tabernacle. See Tabernacle Shadows of Better Sacrifices.) There, being specially taught of God through his Word and his providences, we are made to understand the reason for the present perverse order of things—that for a wise purpose it is permitted for a time; but that by and by there will be a great change, when the righteous, now being tested and tried under the reign of oppression, will come forth to honor and glory and power.

It is indeed impossible to understand this—to rightly appreciate the deep philosophy of God’s plan of the ages and our privilege of trial and discipline under the present reign of evil—until we come into the sanctuary condition of entire consecration to the will of God,

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where the meat of the Word and the light of the holy Spirit are granted to us. Then, like the Psalmist (verse 22), we see how ignorant and foolish we were in being envious of the prosperous wicked. And though, in our former ignorance and foolishness, our feet were almost gone, and our steps had well nigh slipped, we have reason to thank God that he held us by the right hand and did not suffer us to fall. And in view of such care in the past, we joyfully and confidently trust him, not only in the midst of the present trial state, but also for the future outworking of his plan with reference to ourselves and all mankind. The Psalmist has well expressed the present confidence thus acquired, and the grateful adoration of all the consecrated or sanctuary class, saying, (verses 24-26), “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart faileth [the flesh is too weak and the heart too faint to pursue the course marked out for the righteous in this present evil day, except as strengthened and upheld by power from on high]; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

When God’s wonderful plan of the ages is understood, every thing in nature and in experience bears testimony to the overruling of his providence. The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth showeth his handiwork; all speak of an intelligent Designer, wisely adapting means to good and benevolent ends, and ministering to the necessities of his intelligent creatures. Every leaf and every sunbeam bears a loving message of divine providence to the thoughtful. And every inharmony of nature, when viewed in the light of God’s plan, is seen to be but a part of that great process whereby God is preparing for the perfect order of things which shall continue forever, when sin and its entailments shall have been banished under the successful reign of Christ; and even the long permitted wrath of man and Satan will eventually be to God’s praise.

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“KEEP THY HEART”

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”—Prov. 4:23

THE heart, which is the center and mainspring of physical life, is here used as a symbol of the affections—which are the center and mainspring of the moral nature. Keep the center of the affections right, true and pure, and the words and deeds and looks and plans emanating therefrom will be good, true and pure, even though not always perfect. On the contrary, unless the heart is thus fixed, all attempts to otherwise regulate the life will be measurably fruitless and, at best, only spasmodic. How necessary, then, if we would live consistent Christian lives, moving steadily on in the way of righteousness, that our affections should be centered in God, that our hearts should be as true to him as the mariner’s needle to the pole.

The apostle wrote, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” A man whose affections are not centered in God, but which are divided with others, or centered on self and its varied whims, cannot be otherwise than vacillating in his course through life, just as a ship’s course would be irregular had it two rudders, one before and the other behind, and operated by two masters whose ideas as to course were generally different. They never could accomplish results satisfactory to either.

If we attempt to steer our course acceptably both to the world and to God, we will fail to please either. And, further, the Lord will be a party to no such contract; and, when he steps out, the influence of the other master, the world, will increase, and the result will be slavery to the world. This is the mistake which so many make after coming to recognize the Lord’s goodness. Being justified by faith in Christ’s redemptive work and realizing peace with God through the merit of the precious blood, they do not make a covenant with the Lord, giving up to him their little all of both the present and the future. Feeling their freedom from the slavery of sin, the temptation is to stand free from God as well as free from Satan, and to do their own pleasure—serving either

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God or self, or, to some extent, both God and self.

Such generally agree that obedience to God, even to the extent of sacrifice, would be a reasonable

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service in view of his favor in their redemption; yet somehow they feel a disinclination to so fully surrender all to God, lest this should imply too great a sacrifice of self-convenience and self-will. But let no one so minded conclude that he has given his heart to God. To give the heart to God is to surrender the whole being to his will at any cost, even of self-sacrifice, if his will and his work should require it. To give the heart to God is, therefore, to meet and measurably overcome all the coming temptations at once, by a complete surrender of the affections, and consequently of the will, to God. It will settle every question of right and privilege, and make no attempt to distinguish between God’s positive commands and his intimated wishes, finding its meat and drink to be the doing of his will, whether pleasant or unpleasant to the flesh, and whether the outcome can be fully seen or not.

This giving of the heart to God, this full complete consecration of every interest, hope and aim, present and future, is sanctification. And those thus fully sanctified may implicitly trust divine wisdom, love and power, and hold fast the exceeding great and precious promises. God will never leave them nor forsake them, nor suffer them to be tempted above what they are able to bear and withstand. All things shall work together for good to such. Only those thus consecrated can and do have the deep peace and joy of heart which the passing storms and difficulties and tribulations of the present time cannot disturb.

Though but few take this step of entire consecration to God’s will, still fewer live it out practically, keeping their hearts constantly submissive to the Lord’s will only; hence few keep their hearts fully in the love of God (Jude 21); and hence it is that so few enjoy the full measure of the joy and peace and communion with God, which is the privilege of all the fully consecrated and faithful. To maintain our hold upon our new relationship as consecrated sons, to maintain the spirit of adoption now, and to realize in due time our promised joint-heirship with our Lord Jesus in the divine glory, we must let, permit, and not oppose the Lord’s plan and leading—let our wills remain dead to self and subservient to God’s will, and let God’s will direct and rule all our course of action according to his plan. It is thus that we are to fulfil the apostolic instructions—”Let the peace of God rule in your hearts;” “Let this mind [this disposition of heart and consecration of will] be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Col. 3:15; Phil. 2:5.

And it is in anticipation of our joint-heirship with Christ in glory, that the fully consecrated rejoice to partake of his affliction, as the Apostle exhorts, saying, “Rejoice, inasmuch as [or to the extent that] ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”—1 Pet. 4:13.

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LEAD ME

I do not ask, dear Lord, that life may be
A pleasant road;
I do not ask that thou wouldst take from me
Aught of its load;
I do not ask that flowers should always spring
Beneath my feet;
I know too well the poison and the sting
Of things too sweet.
For one thing only, Lord, dear Lord, I plead:
Lead me aright,
Tho’ strength should falter, and tho’ heart should bleed,
Through peace to light.

I do not ask, dear Lord, that thou shouldst shed
Full radiance here;
Give but a ray of peace, that I may tread
Without a fear;
I do not ask my cross to understand,
My way to see;
Better, in darkness, just to feel thy hand,
And follow thee.
Joy is like restless day, but peace divine
Like quiet night;
Lead me, O Lord, till perfect day shall shine,
Through peace to light.

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QUESTIONS ABOUT POLITICS, VOTING, ETC

DEAR SIR:—I am endeavoring to “walk in the light, as He is in the light,” believing myself fully consecrated, and solicitous to understand his will concerning us. I read the TOWER with pleasure and profit, and quite approve of most of its utterances. Here is one, however, I wish you would further explain and justify:

“As concerns voting, the case is somewhat different, and we fully agree with you in the view expressed—that our covenant with the Lord, and our fidelity to him, practically make us aliens in our relations to all human governments, and that, therefore, we would best take no part in the election of officers or in the management of the affairs of this world.”—Z.W. TOWER, May 15, 1893.

I am far from taking any particular interest in political affairs, and, indeed, rarely vote: but I have not refrained from voting through any sense of duty so to do.

Cannot, and does not, God sometimes use his people to accomplish some good even through the much abused ballot box?

Whatever is his will concerning me I desire cheerfully to do.

With best wishes for success to your earnest efforts, and prayers that his “will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” I am, dear brother,

Yours sincerely, DR. S. L.__________.

Another brother writes urging that the Prohibition Party should have our votes and influence. He claims that the reform that it is attempting to bring about is in perfect accord with our teachings relative to the character of the Millennium; and that it is, therefore, evident that the Prohibition Party is of the Lord’s institution, and that to fail to support it is to fail in that degree to serve the Lord.

IN REPLY

These two brethren present their side of this question in its best form—pure patriotism—the welfare of the people. And we confess that, if we considered it possible to bring in the blessings of the Millennium by political reform, there would be a great temptation to help it on by voting.

But we see no reason for supposing that a majority of the people, of this or of any other country inhabited by the fallen race of Adam, will join in the interest of righteousness and establish it. Some of the vast majority are wicked; more are blind and stupid and easily misled in judgment; and nearly all are ruled by selfishness, which is the very spirit of Satan.

Hence we have no confidence in the flesh, nor that any government that the majority of fallen men could institute would be anything more than relatively good—and that in comparison with the terribly bad institutions, which have for centuries more or less abused power and oppressed the masses, especially the meek.

Not only is this our judgment based upon the history of centuries, but the infallible Word of God more than corroborates this view. It declares that present governmental institutions are simply human efforts and not of God; and that because mankind in general are sold under sin and blinded by Satan, and thus his dupes, therefore, Satan is really “the prince of this world” or age. It pictures present governments as beastly, and bids God’s saints rejoice in the promise that soon Christ will overthrow all these, and on their ruins establish the long promised and prayed for Kingdom of God.—Dan. 2:44.

The testimony is that it will not be by a bloodless revolution at the ballot box, but by “a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation;” in which the Lord will dash the Kingdoms of this world to pieces, as pottery is shivered before the blows of an iron rod.—Dan. 12:1; Rev. 2:26,27.

True, all who love righteousness should feel, and do feel, a sympathy for every moral reform which gives the slightest promise of helping roll away the curse which now rests upon the world by reason of the reign of sin and death. But those who get into the Lord’s confidence, and are granted an insight into His Word, are there informed regarding the divine plan; for the “secret of the Lord is with them that reverence him.” And thus getting the spirit or mind of the Lord—”the spirit of a sound mind”—they are saved from following the various delusions, which swallow up the time and energies of many well-meaning people; and are enabled to give their time and energy in harmony with the great plan which God is out-working, viz., the call and “perfecting of

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the saints,” thus making ready the kings and priests who, under Christ, their “head,” shall soon rule and bless all the families of the earth.

It is therefore a mistake to suppose that the Prohibition Party is God’s Party, laboring under his direction, and that he will bring to its efforts success. While it is less selfish than other parties, and while it probably contains proportionately a larger number of good people than do other parties, yet it is only man’s

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party carrying on man’s idea. It is going about to establish righteousness, etc., on its own lines, and has not submitted itself to the divine plan for establishing righteousness, presented in God’s Word.

Let us not forget to look to the Lord and the apostles as our patterns in this as in every matter: There were many moral, social and political reforms possible in the days of our Lord and his apostles, but we do not read of any effort on their part either to inaugurate or to assist in such movements. Why? Because they knew that such was not God’s plan; and they desired to be and were co-workers with God in his plan. If God had seen fit to give the four great empires, pictured in Daniel, the control of the world “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,” why should they attempt to take it from them sooner. If God saw fit to permit the groaning creation as a whole to continue to groan and to gain experience for a few years longer, until the Kingdom Church has been selected and set up in power and great glory, cannot his children acknowledge the wisdom of his plan and co-operate in it by giving their energies, as he directed, to the selecting and polishing of each other as members of that Kingdom Church? “Trust in the Lord, and wait patiently for him;” for all his purposes shall be accomplished in his own due time. Let us work with him as much as we can, and follow in the footsteps of our Lord and the apostles by preaching God’s Kingdom (and not moral reforms) as the hope of the world, and let us seek to perfect the members of that Kingdom.

Furthermore, looking at the subject from another stand-point, we remark that, He who votes at an election is morally bound to sustain the government he has participated in making—even to the giving of his life in its defense. On the contrary, soldiers of the cross are not to battle with carnal weapons, but have consecrated their lives even unto death in the service of another kingdom, whose interests are often against those of all the kingdoms of this world.

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STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

—INTERNATIONAL S.S. LESSONS—

SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS DESIGNED TO ASSIST THOSE OF OUR READERS WHO ATTEND BIBLE CLASSES WHERE THESE LESSONS ARE USED; THAT THEY MAY BE ENABLED TO LEAD OTHERS INTO THE FULNESS OF THE GOSPEL. PUBLISHED IN ADVANCE, AT THE REQUEST OF FOREIGN READERS.

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PAUL BEFORE FELIX

III. QUAR., LESSON VIII., AUG. 20, ACTS 24:10-25

Golden Text—”Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”—1 Cor. 16:13

The clamor against Paul, started at Jerusalem, was a determined one, and his enemies persistently sought his life. This lesson finds him in Caesarea (Acts 23:23,24) before Felix, the governor of the province; and Paul, in the presence of his accusers—the high priest Ananias, with a deputation from the Sanhedrin and a professional advocate, Tertullus—was permitted to speak for himself. The charges brought against him were, (1) that he was guilty of sedition, and so of disloyalty to the Roman government; (2) that he was guilty of heresy; (3) that he was guilty of profaning the temple, and thus of affronting a religion which was under the protection of the Roman government.

VERSES 10-13. The first and last charges Paul positively denies, and challenges them for proof of their impious assertions.

VERSE 14. To the charge of what they call heresy he freely pleads guilty; but intimates that their calling it heresy does not prove it to be such. In those days, as well as to-day, the truth is generally classed as heresy. The truth never was, and never will be, popular, until the Kingdom of God is established in the earth. And yet all that is termed heresy is not truth. For instance,

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while the so-called orthodoxy of to-day, with all its confusion and contradicting testimony, its unscriptural and unreasonable claims, and its poor human philosophies, however popular, is manifestly untrue, there are other vain philosophies and human speculations called heresies, as truly they are, which go even farther astray from the Truth. The Briggs doctrine is one of these, and their number is constantly increasing.

But Paul’s kind of heresy is the kind that all the saints should have—the kind which worships the one true God, believing “all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” The teachings of the Lord and the apostles never conflict with these; but together they form one harmonious system of divine truth worthy of all acceptation.

VERSE 15. The doctrine of the resurrection, both of the just and the unjust, at the second coming of Christ, was the Apostle’s special theme. He defined it, showed it to be the legitimate result of the ransom paid for all mankind, and held it forth as the blessed hope for the Church and for the world, and bade the Church rejoice in the special privilege of the first resurrection. See our treatment of this subject in our issue of April 1st.

VERSES 17-21. With reference to the last charge, Paul brought forth the clearest proof of innocence. He was found in the temple purified, according to the Jewish ceremonial, which symbolized full consecration to God. And also in the presence of the Jewish council he had showed no disrespect, and this whole tumult had been excited by the strife of the two parties—the Pharisees and the Sadducees which composed it—when he declared his faith in the resurrection, which the Pharisees believe, but which the Sadducees deny.

VERSES 22-26. Paul improved his opportunity when brought before Felix, the governor—who was notoriously avaricious, cruel and licentious, and who, Josephus says, was one of the most corrupt and oppressive governors ever despatched from Rome to Judea—to reason of righteousness, self-control and judgment to come. And his reasoning was such as commended itself to the hardened sinner before him. Felix trembled with fear before his own self-accusations and in view of the judgment to come, although there was no repentance in his heart. The reasonable inference of a judgment to come is most manifest from the established truth of a just and holy and powerful God; but the world sees no reasonableness in the false doctrine of eternal torment, which Antichrist has invented to scare men into a profession of godliness and an assumption of its forms. But the true doctrine of a coming judgment, which will require men to render an account for all their sins against any measure of light, may well cause men to tremble when forced to consider their crimes, and the reasonable inference that God will not always permit sin to go unpunished, neither will he allow virtue to lose its reward.

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“OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT”

DEAR SIR AND FRIEND:—”Honest confession is good for the soul.” This maxim is an old one, and I have believed it as far back as memory can reach. I have a confession to make, and as there are none near me willing to lend a sympathizing ear, I come to you—personally a stranger—feeling that you can understand fully what my friends will not even listen to.

My parents were what may be termed strict Methodists, and in that faith I was reared. Duty to them compelled me to attend the church and Sabbath-school of that denomination, though I comprehended but little, as the teachings were too deep for my immature mind. The doctrine of eternal torment, however, was preached and taught me so persistently, and was so vividly illustrated to me, that through fear I believed or thought I believed it. These teachings were undoubtedly meant for my good; but from a retrospective glance I am forced to admit they

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have worked the opposite; for, from hearing so much of them, I made up my mind, when but a mere boy, that as soon as I became released from parental control, I would keep clear of churches in general and the Methodist one in particular. This liberty came to me more than a dozen years ago, and during the intervening period I have remembered my resolve. Until three months ago, I had attended church only about four or six times. I drifted here and there, paying attention to nothing but pleasure

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and bodily comforts, a very heathen in fact, until about three months ago. Conscience told me I was leading a wrong life, and that in duty to myself and my children I should change my mode, and give them a good example, if nothing more. I tried to hush its voice by applying myself to congenial tasks, but it would not be hushed. Finally, I made up my mind that attendance at church would satisfy this silent monitor, so to the Protestant Episcopal church I went, and I have attended it regularly ever since.

About two weeks after I had resumed church attendance and my mind had become reasonably easy, I was putting my wardrobe in order, and found two OLD THEOLOGY tracts, entitled Thy Word is Truth, and Dr. Talmage’s View of the Millennium. I read them, carelessly at first, then again with more attention. They were something new to me, and seemed to appeal to common sense and reason. I inquired of my wife where they came from, and was informed that they had been left by a Mrs. Bergner, who had promised to send a paper bearing on the same subjects. This paper came in due time and proved to be the February number of the TOWER, containing an article entitled “What say the Scriptures concerning Hell.” This article riveted my attention, and I read it over and over again, and confirmed it with the Bible. It was a wonderful new doctrine to me, and upset all former beliefs on this subject. These readings prompted me to send for the three volumes of MILLENNIAL DAWN. I have read them all very carefully, and, I believe, understandingly. I have proved them by the Bible, and my faith in their truth is as firm as the Rock of Ages; for if the plan of the ages is not true, the Bible is not; and I have always reverenced that grand old book, though previous to reading DAWN I never understood it, but persistently misapplied the grand truths it teaches, and used to take great pleasure in pointing out what I foolishly called its contradictions.

Now, how shall I attempt to describe the conflicting emotions the reading of the DAWN series has caused to arise within me, when I cannot understand their meaning myself? My earnest wish is to be able to do something in God’s service, but my will does not seem to be strong enough to put the wish into execution. Am I to persevere in trying in my weak way to grasp that prize which seems so far above my reach? Is there any hope of my ever being able to attain that blessed peace of mind possessed by so many of the TOWER readers, and breathed in every line of the correspondence column? I sincerely ask that you join your prayers with mine, in asking the Great Father above that he will give me abundant light to dispel the present darkness. As one hoping and trusting, I beg to remain,

Sincerely yours, WM. F. POTTER.

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DEAR FRIENDS:—It is with the deepest gratitude that I write, for I have to tell the same old story that others have often cheered you with before: light where there was darkness, understanding and clear sight where before there was but dim vision and uncertainty; and this through the guidance of our loving Lord in putting it into the heart of a dear friend to spread the truth he had already found. He sent three sets of the DAWNS to his friends in this far-away valley. Two have found good soil wherein to grow, and it is our prayer that the third will also be heeded and the truth diligently sought after. Pray that my life may testify to the reality of the faith that is in me, that others may be led to inquire and learn of Christ Jesus.

I have also seen a few copies of the TOWER, which is a great help to the study of the Scriptures. I enclose my subscription, and an order for DAWNS, as some are willing to read them. My whole life, with the exception of nineteen years, which have only been completed, is before me, and I am waiting for God to open the way to a life of service and witnessing for Christ. I did not like to send a bare order, without letting you know how the Truth is spreading in this part of the country.

Yours in sincerity, A. CARMICHAEL.

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MY DEAR FRIENDS:—True friends and helpers indeed! With all my heart I thank the Lord, and with my whole life I will thank him and praise him, for the light I have received from the reading of the three volumes of MILLENNIAL DAWN; and to you also, I owe a debt of gratitude. It is the Lord who thus blessed your heart, awakened your understanding and filled your hands to sow the good seed and spread the glorious truth—God’s living truth. I feel it from line to line, from sentence to sentence, that this is not the outcome of speculation, not the scheme of human intellect, not an uncertain

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grasp for truths and teachings, but a living stream of water out of the living fountain. That the Lord may guide you and strengthen and uphold you is, and will henceforth be, my daily prayer.

The Lord will guide me. I am willing to be a reaper. My heart is full. I am convinced of God’s revealing these things to you. To him be all praise.

Yours in Christ, J. C. ZIMMERMANN.

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DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:—I received the first volume of MILLENNIAL DAWN, and was well pleased with it. Before reading it, I was a Universalist; but its plain teaching of the Second Death has convinced me of my error. Since God’s plan is to save all men through the second Adam, Christ, from all that was lost in the first Adam, it follows that when every child of Adam has been brought to a full knowledge of God’s plan and a full opportunity for forgiveness and restitution to divine favor, all will have been saved from death. Then, however, their individual trial begins; and the length or brevity of salvation depends upon their own (not Adam’s) course. If, after all that, they sin wilfully, the death-penalty will be the result of their own, and not Adam’s sin—for which Christ died; and there is no authority in the Scriptures for the statement of some that our Lord’s death was for, or that it will have any effect upon, those who will die the second death.

Dear Brother and Sister, pray for me, that I may be faithful to the Lord in this work of spreading his Truth.

Your brother, J. O. HUGHES.

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DEAR BROTHER:—Permit me in a few words to tell you how I have enjoyed the “meat in due season” which the Lord has provided for me (us) through your instrumentality. I have had The Plan of the Ages on my shelves for years, but, I cannot explain why, without reading it until a few weeks ago. I know, however, that before now I have not been prepared to appreciate it, having had, last winter, a most precious, new experience of the grace and power of God through Jesus Christ. The reading of Vol. I. only sharpened my appetite for the other volumes, although on beginning to read it I remarked to my wife that I feared it was “heretical.” I read and pondered, read and wondered, all through the first volume, bought the other two, subscribed for the WATCH TOWER, and found out before long that I had either to surrender to the Truth, or else to reject the whole Bible; and I assure you it was an unspeakable pleasure to me to surrender. I have done it enthusiastically, heartily and gratefully. These things are just what I have been yearning for, unknowingly, for years. I have been praying God to lead me, teach me, and how wonderfully he has redeemed his promises. He had been drawing me slowly, but surely, out of the bonds of sectarianism. I had, so to speak withdrawn one foot from the denomination (Baptist), and was on the verge of taking the other step; and now I know I shall not be tolerated among them. But thanks to God for the Truth; how it liberates!

When in 1880, I was immersed, and joined the then (in Denmark) despised “Baptists,” I did it on conviction of truth, and meant to pursue it even unto death; and the Lord has been leading me on until I now have left most of the Baptists behind—many of whom I trust will follow in due time. When I read your article on “Baptism and its Import” in the TOWER, I thought it was the way every Baptist desired to put it, but had failed for stopping short in the progress of Truth.

I was very glad to see announced that a Dano-Norwegian translation of Vol. I. is in the type-setters’ hands, for I am anxious to have this marvelous knowledge of the Truth given to my countrymen here and in Denmark. Is any work being done among them? I could use some tracts.

Yours in the Lord, H. C. A. SAMSON.

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DEAR SIRS:—Have you any special form of application for colporteurs? If so, I would be obliged if you would send me one; and, at the same time, please give me the cost of the complete outfit for the sale of your books, tracts, etc. I have for some years been watching for an opportunity to engage in some work which would furnish me occupation, in which I might find satisfaction, which would be of actual benefit to others, and in which the gain of money should not be any incentive to work. I am an invalid, but there are many days I am able and willing to work, and would be glad to do so in such a suitable and satisfactory labor as I believe the sale of your books would give me.

I have had the three volumes of DAWN in my possession for nearly a year, and would sooner have notified you of the indescribable blessings I have experienced by their study, but I deferred any such expression until I had critically examined and studied all that is therein written. Not that my opinion is of any value, but because I did not want again to expose myself as a victim of premature enthusiasm

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over something new I had found—which I have done several times during many years. My last and most disappointing effort was with “Christian Science.” Of your DAWNS I do now boldly declare that they are not only the most wonderful exposition, but the only one I have ever found strictly and perfectly in accord with God’s revealed Word.

I have been greatly comforted in my confinement by the study of your Tabernacle Shadows. You have certainly made very clear the things to come by your excellent explanation of the types of the real. With such a model before me I can locate myself on my journey toward the celestial city or “the Most Holy.”

Very truly yours, L. M. WATERS.

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DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:—I enclose fifty cents for the WATCH TOWER for the next six months. I am a new subscriber, but I have read a few copies kindly lent me by brother T. Mitchell, and I beg to say I am much interested in them. Day by day they bring new light. It is about eighteen months since I commenced to read MILLENNIAL DAWN, and I thank God that I was brought in contact with the precious food. I have been convinced for several years that the nominal church under her present system could not be in accord with divine revelation, and that she is daily drawing nearer to the world.

I am doing all I can to bring the precious Truth to others, and I thank God that one dear friend of mine has been brought to see the Truth. He has been an agnostic for about fifty years. He told me recently that he has a sister in London who has been praying for him for years, and that he wrote her about three weeks ago that he was loving the same God as she loved, and had been converted by reading the TOWER on “Hell.”

Dear Brother, believe me to be yours in Christ, G. LEE.

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DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:—Anyone who has been led out of darkness into the marvelous light of the glorious gospel, always feels kindly toward the medium through which he was delivered. Therefore, and understanding that you are always glad to hear from the interested, I send a few lines with my order for books.

Some years ago, before I had heard of your writings, I had concluded that denominationalism was wrong and caused only strife and contention; and, failing to find in the Scriptures anything about organizing and joining churches, I determined to have nothing to do with anything of the kind. So I withdrew from the Christian church, against the protest of my friends (a very hard thing to do), and have ever since been trying to learn more truth. Brother Roberson, of Texas, obtained my address through a paper, and wrote to me persistently until he got me to studying your books; and by his help I found it was the very thing I had been so long looking for. While I can not understand all, yet I find it a grander and more sublime theme, with more harmony in all its details, than I thought was possible. I will ever feel grateful to Brother Roberson and yourself for this help in time of need.

May God’s richest blessings rest on you and Sister R. and all co-laborers.

DR. R. H. STRICKLAND.

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DEAR SIR & BROTHER:—Pardon my familiarity in thus addressing you without a formal introduction; but after reading your three volumes of MILLENNIAL DAWN, the contents of which are so near my own convictions of the present state of affairs, it seemed to me when reading them that I was receiving a long-prayed-for light upon various topics that had hitherto been quite dark, and I wish to express my appreciation of this light and joy. It seemed as if great scales were being taken from my eyes, and I began to see men as trees walking. Being very desirous to obtain more light and meat in due season, I would kindly ask you to send me your paper and such books as bear upon the subject in hand. It is my earnest desire to know just what Christ’s will is concerning me.

Yours in Christ, WM. H. HOEGEE.

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TOWER PUBLISHING CO.:—I have read, and am now re-reading, your excellent volumes, MILLENNIAL DAWN, and have been so much helped by them that I have recommended them to many friends.

I wish to ask you in regard to “particulars” concerning arrangements for those wishing to help in their distribution. I cannot afford to order many copies for free gifts; but am anxious that the works shall be read. I was so discouraged and disheartened myself, and every effort to “search the Scriptures,” on my part, was so frowned upon by ministers and church members, that I cannot but feel that your books have saved me from Infidelity.

It is among the poor and the discouraged that we find the great heart-hunger that calls for the Bread of Life; and I have in mind several who, I am sure, would be glad to be enlightened.

Earnestly your well-wisher,

MRS. H. W. McVEY.

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