tihvaty of Che t:heolo0ical ^eminarjp 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Richard E. Mercer, Jr. 
 
 3S5'30 
 .945 
 
yCicnara <JV. >^rLercei, j 
 
f AUG 27 19 
 
 SERVICE ^ — 
 
 UNDER THE COVENANT 
 
 By SIDNEY PERLEY 
 
 O Salem, let your children live 
 In peace the world can never give; 
 The peace of those who do God's will 
 And see his kingdom coming still. 
 Alice O. Atwood 
 
 salem, mass. 
 
 The Eleanor Press 
 
 1921 
 
Newcomb & Gauss 
 Printers 
 Salem, Mass. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This little book is the result of an examination of the 
 Bible to learn, if possible, the purpose of the whole book, 
 as it appeared that the New Testament must be a con- 
 tinuation of and related to the Old Testament. 
 
 Unaffected by sectarianism and conventional influences, 
 incidents and statements and apparent teaching which 
 might shed light upon the purpose of the Supreme Being 
 in his treatment of mankind were noted; and it soon 
 appeared that it was to bring men into harmony with 
 himself by means of human instruments, which would 
 culminate in a nation whose object is to bless the world. 
 Race counts for little in its constituency, although the 
 promise was made to Abraham, then limited to Isaac, 
 then to Jacob, and finally to Ephraim and Manasseh. 
 The citizenship of the new nation is based upon spir- 
 itual fitness. 
 
 The history of post-Bible times was not contemplated 
 until the examination of the Bible was completed, and 
 then the development of Christianity in subsequent centu- 
 ries naturally followed. Local pride must not be charged 
 to the writer as having prejudiced his thought or pur- 
 pose. The facts of history can be readily ascertained. 
 
 The main reason for issuing this little book is to cause 
 men to think, as to themselves and others personally, and 
 to their Father, and to America. The subject is the 
 greatest in the world. 
 
 Salem. Mass., Oct. 28, ig2i. 
 
SERVICE UNDER THE COVENANT 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Despite the illimitation that we give to the range of 
 thought, there is one direction at least where it is power- 
 less to penetrate the wall of the unknown and, at least 
 in this life, the unknowable, and learn from whence 
 originated all things. System after system of universes 
 were revealed to the naked eyes of the ancients, and 
 telescopes have multiplied their number, and increasingly 
 powerful instruments add to them so many more distant 
 constellations that man despairs of ever learning even 
 their number or whether there is any limitation to the 
 grand system, or what are the boundaries of space. 
 
 Thought and imagination fail to comprehend the pos- 
 sibilities and probabilities as well as the known facts 
 as to stellar worlds. It is apparent that they are not 
 accidents, but for innumerable ages have been pursuing 
 their courses in obedience to fixed laws. The system is 
 so great and grand that it is a question whether we 
 wonder most at the origin of the universes or the perfect 
 laws that govern them. 
 
 There must have been a beginning, and from what did 
 this matter come? There is never a suggestion even that 
 there was any other material thing, and in this again is 
 met the unknowable idea of creation. The thought of 
 such production cannot be grasped. Even biology must 
 have a germ. 
 
The power or being that thus brought such great aiul 
 wonderful things into existence is beyond our compre- 
 hension. Whatever it was, it was at least supreme, not 
 only in its power over what was but over what was not, 
 bringing out of what seems to be not existing the great 
 universes that are. 
 
 Calling that being what we will, thinking of it as we 
 will, we cannot get away from the conclusion that it 
 was not only powerful but conscious, possessed of such 
 a vast comprehension, judgment and knowledge that 
 those great creations were not cast adrift without course 
 or rudder, but were endued within themselves with natu- 
 ral laws and orders and movements that would suffice 
 forever, — not only giving them longevity but enabling 
 them to accomplish the purpose for which they were 
 created. It is useless to consider for a moment that 
 the being that could produce such things was simply 
 capricious and had no purpose in doing so. 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 The book, or collection of books, we call The Bible, 
 or The Holy Bible, treats of creation, and especially of 
 our solar system, and of man on our planet. Whether 
 life in any form exists or ever did exist on any other 
 sphere is not suggested : it is confined strictly to the earth 
 and to man. 
 
 Whatever we may think, rightly or wrongly, about the 
 existence of a supreme being, call it what we may, any- 
 one who has studied The Bible must be convinced that 
 the volume is a unit, and that the history and suggestions 
 it purports to convey indicate a master mind and powder. 
 It reveals to the untrammelled student a plan of eternal 
 significance, covering all time and including all peoples, 
 and relating to the broadest physical, intellectual and 
 spiritual interests. 
 
 The Bible is a wonderful collection of records and 
 
letters, sometimes evidencing the fallibility of the human 
 hand and head which committed it to writing ; but under 
 and through it all is manifested a plain and godlike pur- 
 pose. 
 
 The authorship of mAich of it is in doubt, and the dates 
 of writing are only approximate, but there is no ques- 
 tion that it purports to give history, of the kind and extent 
 that is limited to its general subject. In several places 
 in The Bible the authors give reasons for writing their 
 portions of it, which are simply these, that man should 
 have not only the spiritual admonitions within him, but 
 its ocular reminder^ through written history, of the atti- 
 tude of the supreme being toward man, and of man to 
 man in the past. 
 
 god's early dealings with man. 
 
 The first chapter of Genesis purports to be a brief 
 sketch of the creation of the earth and of its vegetable 
 and animal life, including man. Man is shown here to 
 be an animal, but of a distinctive kind. God, the su- 
 preme being, it is alleged, made man in his "image," 
 after his "likeness," out of the dust of the ground, and 
 breathed into his nostrils the breath of "life." Man 
 thus became a "living soul" ; and was given dominion 
 over earth's living things. 
 
 Adam, as man is there called, is represented as an 
 earth-man, and yet with such a nature that he can intel- 
 ligently associate and commune with his maker. The 
 meaning is apparent that when we read that God breathed 
 into him the breath of "life," man was made, not onlv 
 "a living soul," but one in the image or likeness of God. 
 It is not the purpose of the writer to pursue the subject 
 of the resemblances between God and man, but merely to 
 say that the suggestion is that man, the animal, became 
 endowed with the attributes, knowledge and power of 
 
God, not only lite him, but an actual part of himself. 
 It was God's life that made man a living soul. The 
 significance seems to be that every one descended from 
 Adam, as well as himself, is a living soul, having the 
 life and attributes of God, in a degree that even the 
 author of the Pentateuch hardly apprehended, — a rela- 
 tionship that can never be destroyed any more than a 
 natural son can lose that relationship to his natural 
 father. The son may refuse to acknowledge or heed 
 the relationship of the father, but the fact of the rela- 
 tionship and duty remains. 
 
 The author of the book of Genesis describes how God 
 gave to Adam everything that was needful to continue 
 his perfection. The writer does not suggest or consider 
 what might have followed if this innocent life in the 
 garden of Eden had continued ; his duty was to record 
 facts as to him they seemed to have occurred. Specula- 
 tion never appears in The Bible ; and the statements are 
 brief and direct, and rarely explanatory. 
 
 THE BREACH. 
 
 There came, oh, how soon, the slight breach of a 
 command which seemed of little consequence to the 
 pair, but the knowledge that they had been disobedient 
 estranged them from their great and loving benefactor. 
 When the hour came that Adam was wont to be at ser- 
 vice in the garden, in the cool of the day, he knew that 
 God could be depended upon to be there, and instead 
 of coming into his presence gladly both Adam and Eve 
 hid themselves. God knew the estrangement, and in a 
 moment the idea of Eden then and there had already 
 vanished. From that time on, man has tried to hide 
 himself from the omniscient one. Thus is the meaning 
 of the fall expressed in Genesis. Any thing, — word or 
 deed or even thought, — that is not adjusted to that of 
 God produces estrangement and is sin. 
 
Thenceforth, men would not toil in love, but nature 
 even would seem to put obstacles in their way, as might 
 be imagined, to make their lot harder. Ah ! the briars 
 and the weeds were there before, — but what were such 
 things to hearts attuned to the Infinite ! 
 
 WITHOUT LAW. 
 
 Adam and Eve had failed to keep from the breach 
 of the one little prohibition, of which they would not 
 have thought for a moment until suggestion came, and 
 uncertain knowledge and ocular demonstration produced 
 an effect that God and men have ever since been trying 
 to counteract. The purpose of the Scriptures and of 
 the New Testament is apparently confined to the plans 
 and attempts to overcome the great error of that day. 
 
 Adam and Eve found themselves without Eden and 
 without law. They had offended him who was every- 
 thing to them; and trouble seemed to loom up in every 
 direction. Henceforth, life was a burden, and sorrow 
 its daily companion. Why, it may be asked, did God 
 make such prohibition and allow such temptation? The 
 Scriptures give no explanation, and why should any one 
 now vouchsafe any opinion, unless from the perspective 
 that the lapse of time has given and the increase of 
 knowledge of spiritual life and methods he may be better 
 qualified to answer? And that answer must be, if any 
 dare be made, that if God desired to have an innocent 
 race without the experience of temptation, he would 
 have simply duplicated the hosts of angels that do always 
 behold his face ; and hints throughout The Bible suggest 
 that whatever the original purpose of man upon earth, 
 the end of it all points to a certain consummation, — 
 a race of those who have been tried and finally have 
 overcome. 
 
 Without the conscious personal presence of God and 
 without given law, Adam and Eve entered a new kind 
 
of life, feeling now responsibilities and limitations and 
 natural tendencies which had been theretofore unreal- 
 ized, if indeed existent. The birth of children, and the 
 jealousy of Cain, and finally the murder of Abel, were 
 followed by flight and the great change in human char- 
 acter that occurred in Cain, — the ability to conceal his 
 thoughts and assume an innocence he did not possess. 
 
 Without law, except that within their hearts, men 
 ruled who could rule, "the earth was filled with violence," 
 the stronger destroj^ed the weaker, until it was a case of 
 the survival of the brute. "There were giants in the 
 earth in those days. . . . God saw that the wickedness 
 of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination 
 of his heart was only evil continually." 
 
 According to the given ages of the patriarchs, this 
 continued for sixteen hundred and fifty-six years, until 
 Noah, whom God had favored in making him an instru- 
 ment of the world's physical salvation, prepared the ark 
 in which he was saved with his family and the animals, 
 when the flood came and swept the people away.^ 
 
 NOAHIC PERIOD. 
 
 After the flood had receded from the earth, still with- 
 out given law for their own government, Noah and his 
 children lived on, but now under a promise that a flood 
 should never again overspread the earth. Noah lived 
 three hundred and fifty years after the flood ; and he had 
 scarcely been laid to rest when his people agreed to make 
 "a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven," 
 and a name for themselves. They were scattered abroad 
 through the confusion of their language, and the partly- 
 
 1 Noah's father had been dead five years, but his grandfather, 
 Methuselah, was apparently drowned in the flood, at the age 
 of nine hundred and sixty-nine years, refusing to believe the 
 message of his grandson that rain would descend and cover 
 the hills. He had never known rain, apparently, as mist had 
 hitherto watered the earth. 
 
built tower of Babel remained as a monument to their 
 selfishness and unbelief in the promise that ''the waters 
 shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." 
 
 For several generations the people were scattered 
 abroad without any law or order of life or government 
 given by God, save that implanted in the himian breast. 
 Up to this time, the redemption of the race seemed hope- 
 less and its attempt apparently abandoned. 
 
THE GREAT PLAN OF REDEMPTION 
 
 The one ultimate and sure plan of elevating the 
 human race, not to its original condition, but to the 
 strength and character of victors over self, is first revealed 
 in the beginning of the twelfth chapter of Genesis, and 
 gradually unfolded throughout the old Scriptures and the 
 New Testament. It is wonderful in its conception, and 
 contains within itself the elements of success. 
 
 The first eleven chapters of Genesis cover more years 
 of historical chronology than all the rest of The Bible. 
 These chapters are generally superficial in statement, and 
 are merely introductory to the great plan of redemption. 
 
 From the first, it is apparent that salvation must come 
 through human instrumentality. Men must be used to 
 affect their fellows, by their lives and teachings. Law 
 and orders from an unknown source can never touch the 
 heart as personal human influence and sympathy. 
 
 THE CALL TO ABRAM. 
 
 Terah, of the ninth generation from Noah, lived in 
 Ur of the Chaldees, and among his sons was one named 
 Abram, The family removed to Haran, in Mesopotamia,^ 
 and while there this eventful message came from God 
 to Abram: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy 
 kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I 
 will shew thee; And I will make of thee a great nation, 
 and I will bless thee and make thy name great ; and thou 
 shalt be a blessing; And I will bless them that bless 
 thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall 
 all families of the earth be blessed."^ 
 
 1 Acts vii:2. 
 
 - Genesis xii:l-3. 
 
Abraham did not even know whither he was going, ^ but 
 went as he was led, by some way not mentioned in the 
 records. Probably only so much of the plan was revealed 
 to him at a time as was necessary for his guidance. So 
 God's plan has been always to unfold only so much of 
 the future as is necessary, as it is infinitely better to 
 trust than to know. Abram was only told that his de- 
 scendants would become a great nation, that his name 
 w^ould be great, and that he would be the means of 
 blessing to all the families of the earth. How, or when, 
 or where, he was not informed. The orders were sealed, 
 and could only be opened when the time came for each 
 to be known. 
 
 To no other person in all history has God made such a 
 promise, — a promise, like that of the rainbow, without 
 condition. Nations had never existed to be blessings to 
 other nations or families of the earth. The promise 
 involved a wonderful and unique existence and purpose. 
 Abram may have tried to think how this could be, but 
 he could not have understood or fully sympathized with 
 such a result if he had been told. Nevertheless, he 
 started out, and was led to the land of Canaan. 
 
 This school of God, thus originated, — this normal 
 school, if it may be so called, — had for its first pupil 
 this untrained Abram, not such a person as many would 
 have selected for the work before him, but the infinite 
 mind knew the material needed. He was human, indeed, 
 and from the first failed to obey. Avaricious Lot, his 
 nephew, undoubtedly knew of the promise and wished 
 to share in the great fortune of his uncle Abram. Abram 
 permitted Lot to go with him. This initial disobedience 
 soon bore bitter fruit ; and Abram's life w^as ever tending 
 southward until he had fully entered into Egypt. By 
 degrees, he had departed from the mountains and drifted 
 
 ^ Hebrews xi:8. 
 
10 
 
 into the low region of the Nile; and when he was there 
 Abram's deceit caused Pharaoh to expel him from the 
 land. Back to Canaan, Abram came, from this first 
 great lesson, and Lot clung to his flocks and herds until 
 the separation had to come. Lot became a part of Sodom, 
 but Abram remained in Canaan, and thus ended the 
 second lesson, which he must frequently have recalled 
 during the several troubles he suffered subsequently on 
 account of his association with Lot. 
 
 THE PROMISE OF THE CHILD. 
 
 At this period, and not before, the Lord said to Abram, 
 "Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where 
 thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and 
 westward : For all the land which thou seest, to thee will 
 I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy 
 seed as the dust of the earth : so that if a man can num- 
 ber the dust of the earth, shall thy seed also be num- 
 bered."^ Sarah, the wife of Abram, had passed the age 
 of motherhood, but Abram was repeatedly reminded, by 
 the Lord, that it was the natural son of Sarah and him- 
 self through whom the blessing was to come, and at last 
 confirmed the promise of the son by changing his name 
 from Abram, "the high-father," to Abraham, "the father 
 of a multitude." 
 
 The promise was also increased, "for a father of many 
 nations have I made thee."^ Abraham could see no way 
 for the fulfilment of this promise, except through Ish- 
 mael, his child by the bond- woman Hagar; and Abraham 
 said to God, " 'O that Ishmael might live before thee !' 
 And God said, 'Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son 
 indeed ; and thou shalt call his name Isaac : and I will 
 establish my covenant with him for an everlasting cove- 
 
 > Genesis, xiii:14-16. 
 ^ Genesis xvii:5. 
 
II 
 
 nant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, 
 I have heard thee : Behold, I have blessed him, and will 
 make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; 
 twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a 
 great nation. But my covenant will I establish with 
 Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time 
 in the next year.' "^ Isaac was born. 
 
 Ishmael was separated from the freeborn, "For in 
 Isaac shall thy seed be called." 
 
 THE OFFERING OF ISAAC. 
 
 In God's school, the greatest lesson is faith. Abraham 
 had learned his early lessons, but a harder one was at 
 hand. The child of the promise had been born, but now 
 came a command that, if obeyed, would annul all that 
 the promise implied : "Take now thy son, thine only son 
 Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of 
 Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon 
 one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."^ This 
 was the only oft'spring of his beloved Sarah, the child of 
 their old age, and the one through whom the promised 
 seed must come. The order was so irreconciliable with 
 the events that had just occurred, — it would rob Abra- 
 ham and Sarah of the comfort of the lad, be opposed 
 to all human instincts and affection, and the promise, so 
 beneficent and grand and wonderful, would never be 
 fulfilled. Nevertheless, Abraham did not waver. Faith 
 in the promise and goodness and righteousness of God 
 rose triumphant over selfishness, affection and doubt. 
 And at the crucial moment, when Abraham had made 
 full proof of his faith, he was excused from further trial 
 at that time. Then followed the increased promise, 
 always without condition, "By myself have I sworn, saith 
 
 ^ Genesis xvii:18-21. 
 2 Genesis xxii:2. 
 
12 
 
 the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and 
 hast not withheld thy son, thine only son : That in bless- 
 ing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply 
 thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which 
 is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the 
 gate of his enemies ; And in thy seed shall all the nations 
 of the earth be blessed ; because thou hast obeyed my 
 voice, "^ In this promise appears the first reference to 
 the promised possession of "the gate of his enemies." 
 
 It is interesting and important to observe here, that 
 when the servant of Abraham went to Nahor, in Meso- 
 potamia, where he met Rebecca, whom he sought as a 
 wife for Isaac, at her departure with the servant her 
 brother and mother refreshed her memory concerning 
 this promise, saying; "Thou art our sister, be thou the 
 mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess 
 the gate of those which hate them."^ The servant may 
 have rehearsed to Rebecca's family the history of Isaac, 
 and of the promises of Jehovah, concerning the vastness 
 of the number of his descendants and of the ultimate 
 triumph, in whatever form it might appear, of the loss 
 of opportunities and advantages of those who were op- 
 posed to them, and the possession of the same by this 
 seed of Abraham. How ready Rebecca was to share in 
 the glory of her mission as the wife of Isaac and the 
 mother of the promised people ; and her nearest of kin 
 wished her Godspeed in her new career. 
 
 ISAAC. 
 
 Abraham died and Isaac came into possession of his 
 father's place as head of the promised multitude. Isaac 
 and Rebecca dwelt in Canaan, and twins were born to 
 them. There came a famine in the land ; and the Lord 
 said to Isaac: " 'Go not down into Egypt: dwell in the 
 
 ^ Genesis xxiil5-18. 
 ^ Genesis xxiv:60. 
 
13 
 
 land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and 
 I will be with thee, and will bless thee ; for unto thee, 
 and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I 
 will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy 
 father ; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars 
 of heaven, and. will give unto thy seed all these coun- 
 tries : and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth 
 be blessed ; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and 
 kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my 
 laws.' And Isaac dwelt in Gerar."^ The twin sons of 
 Isaac and Rebecca were Esau and Jacob. Esau was the 
 first born. Caring for the free life of the woods, he 
 underestimated the preeminence of birth and property 
 values. On one occasion, when Esau returned from the 
 field, hungry and tired, Jacob had a mess of pottage, and 
 Jacob offered to give him the greens for his birthright. 
 The bargain was quickly closed, and Jacob received the 
 birthright that had belonged to Esau as the first born. 
 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim Jacob deceived 
 him, with the assistance of his mother, by palming him- 
 self off as Esau, and by so doing received the blessing 
 which Isaac had intended for the first born, 
 
 JACOB. 
 
 When Jacob was about to go to Padan-aram, Isaac 
 bestowed upon him the blessing that God gave to Abra- 
 ham, who gave it to Isaac, and now Isaac to Jacob, say- 
 ing, "God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, 
 and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of 
 people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, 
 and to thy seed with thee: that thou mayest inherit the 
 land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto 
 Abraham."^ On his way to Padan-aram, Jacob spent the 
 night at the place he named Bethel, because there God 
 
 1 Genesis, xxvi:2-6. 
 
 2 Genesis xxvii:3-4. 
 
14 
 
 Spoke to him, in a dream, and repeated to him the cove- 
 nant and promise made to Abraham and to Isaac. With 
 a stone for his pillow, he lay down and slept. God said 
 to him: "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, 
 and the God of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to 
 thee will I give it, and to thy seed ; And thy seed shall be 
 as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to 
 the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the 
 south : and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families 
 of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, 
 and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and 
 will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave 
 thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to 
 thee of."^ Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone^ 
 which he had used for a pillow and set it up for a pillar, 
 pouring oil upon the top of it. 
 
 The long story of the winning and getting of Rachel 
 for his wife shows what a lesson Jacob received, but, 
 apparently, he profited little by it in character, as he by 
 deceitful tricks matched the wiles of her father relative 
 to property. 
 
 Then came the angel who wrestled with Jacob and 
 was defeated. The angel asked to be allowed to depart. 
 Jacob believed the wrestler to be God and said, " 'I will 
 not let thee go, except thou bless me.' . . . And he said 
 unto him, 'What is thy name?' And he said, 'J^-cob.' 
 And he said, 'Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, 
 but Israel : for as a prince hast thou power with God and 
 with men, and hast prevailed.' " 
 
 After Jacob had finally left Padan-aram with his 
 family and servants and cattle, and pacified Esau, he 
 entered Canaan. There, God appeared to him, and 
 
 ^Genesis, xxviii:13-15. 
 
 2 This stone is said to be the veritable stone which, later, 
 Solomon carried to Jerusalem, and is now under the coronation 
 chair of England. 
 
15 
 
 changed his name as the wrestler had done and repeated 
 the promise made to Abraham and Isaac, " 'Thy name 
 shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be 
 thy name' : and he called his name Israel. And God said 
 mito him, *I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; 
 a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and 
 kings shall come out of thy loins ; And the land which I 
 gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to 
 thy seed after thee will I give the land.' "^ A new 
 element appears in this promise, namely, that "a nation 
 and a company of nations shall be of thee." 
 
 Jacob came unto Mamre, where his father dwelt; and 
 the reconciliation of Esau and Jacob is beautifully sug- 
 gested in the account of the death of Isaac, which says : 
 "and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him." 
 
 Rachel, the wife of Jacob, was the mother of only 
 two of Jacob's twelve sons, Joseph and Benjamin, who 
 were, of course, the peculiar objects of their parents' 
 affection. 
 
 SLAVERY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Another famine was severe in Canaan, and Israel with 
 his family went down into Egypt for bread. The fact 
 that there was no objection offered by God signifies that 
 a purpose was to be accomplished by this plan. The 
 story is well known, — ^how Joseph was next to Pharoah 
 in authority in Egypt, and identified his brothers, and 
 demanded the visit of his younger brother Benjamin, 
 and how subsequently his father and the rest of the family 
 had gone into Egypt. All went well in the new asso- 
 ciations for seventeen years, when Israel was taken with 
 his last sickness. Joseph took his sons, Manasseh and 
 Ephraim, and went to his father's bedside. Israel sat 
 upon the bed, and said to Joseph : " 'God Almighty ap- 
 
 1 GenesiSp xxxv:10-12. 
 
i6 
 
 peared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed 
 me, And said unto me. Behold, I will make thee fruitful, 
 and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude 
 of people ; and will give this land to thy seed after thee 
 for an everlasting possession. And now thy two sons, 
 Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in 
 the land of Egypt before I came unto thee in Egypt, are 
 mine ; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And 
 thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, 
 and shall be called after the name of their brethren in 
 their inheritance. And as for me, when I came from 
 Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the 
 way, when yet but a little way to come unto Ephrath : 
 and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath ; the same 
 is Bethlehem.' And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and 
 said, 'Who are these?' And Joseph said unto his father, 
 'They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this 
 place.' And he said, 'Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, 
 and I will bless them.' Now the eyes of Israel were dim 
 for age, he could not see. And he brought them near 
 unto him ; and he kissed them, and embraced them. And 
 Israel said unto Joseph, 'I had not thought to see thy 
 face : and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.' And 
 Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and 
 he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph 
 took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Is- 
 rael's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward 
 Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 
 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon 
 Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand 
 upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for 
 Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and 
 said, 'God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac 
 did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto 
 this day. The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, 
 
17 
 
 bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and 
 the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let 
 them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.' 
 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand 
 upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him : and he 
 held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's 
 head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his 
 father, 'Not so, my father : for this is the firstborn ; put 
 thy right hand upon his head.' And his father refused, 
 and said, 'I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall 
 become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly 
 his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his 
 seed shall become a multitude of nations.' And he blessed 
 them that day, saying, 'In thee shall Israel bless, saying, 
 God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh : and he 
 set Ephraim before Manasseh. And Israel said unto 
 Joseph, 'Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and 
 bring you again unto the land of your fathers. More- 
 over I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, 
 which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my 
 sword and with my bow.' "^ 
 
 Then, Joseph's brethren came, and their father said 
 to them, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you 
 that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather 
 yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob ; and 
 hearken unto Israel your father." Israel then told them 
 of the future of each one. Of Joseph he said : "Joseph 
 is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well ; 
 whose branches run over the wall : The archers have 
 sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him : 
 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands 
 were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of 
 Jacob; (from whence is the shepherd, the stone of 
 Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help 
 
 * Genesis, xlviii:3-22. 
 
thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with 
 blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth 
 under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb : The 
 blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings 
 of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the ever- 
 lasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and 
 on the crown of the head of him that was separate from 
 his brethren."^ 
 
 Israel died. Later, Joseph died, and his brethren and 
 their families continued to live in Egypt. The children 
 of Israel increased in such numbers that the new pha- 
 raoh, who knew not Joseph, nor cared for his family, 
 was alarmed lest the people of Israel would become mas- 
 ters of Egypt, and a system of slavery was instituted. 
 He adopted various measures to retard or wholly stop 
 their increase. 
 
 THE RELEASE. 
 
 To accomplish this result, Pharoah ordered that every 
 son that should be born be cast into the river. While 
 this edict was in force, Moses was born. His mother, 
 in order to save him, made a little ark of reeds, laid the 
 babe in it, and placed it in the river where and when 
 the daughter of Pharaoh was wont to bathe. The prin- 
 cess found the infant, and was so pleased with the charm 
 of the boy that she took him to the palace and reared 
 him as if he were her own, although she knew he was a 
 Hebrew. 
 
 Moses knew the slavery and suffering of his people; 
 he knew their history and the promises of God to Abra- 
 ham, to Isaac and to Jacob. Despite the fact that he 
 dwelt in the palace of the pharaoh, his heart was with 
 his people; and when he came to maturity, at the age of 
 forty, "he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their 
 
 1 Genesis, xlix:22-26. 
 
19 
 
 burdens." His endeavor to help them failed in his first 
 attempt to examine into their condition even. He was 
 wise with the learning of Egypt, but lacked patience and 
 other preparation necessary to achieve great results. 
 At the first act of injustice he saw done to a Hebrew, he 
 lost his temper and murdered an Egyptian. He fled for 
 his life to the land of Midian. This would-be leader of 
 a great people had, after his first small and futile attempt 
 to relieve his race, become a vagabond. He became, 
 finally, a shepherd in the wilderness. 
 
 The Hebrews knew not that the four hundred and 
 thirty years they had spent in slavery in Egypt was a 
 course of training in God's school. Moses learned how 
 useless was his education in the schools of Egypt to 
 accomplish great things, — to give release to the captive 
 and be a leader to his people. He was now prosecuting, 
 for another forty years, a course of preparation for his 
 great work, not by the learning of Egypt, but by years 
 spent with his sheep, near the desert and on the moun- 
 tains, alone with God and the stars above him, with time 
 to think and to grow patient. 
 
 This course of lessons was at last ended. What had 
 all this training produced? Was the seed of Abra- 
 ham, of Isaac and of Jacob progressing in the school of 
 preparation ; was Moses now capable of leading the peo- 
 ple of Israel into the promised land? God prepared the 
 test. One day, when Moses had led his flock to Mount 
 Horeb, God spoke to him, and appointed him to be the 
 instrument of the deliverance of his race. Moses showed 
 much modesty, probably remembering his utter failure in 
 a similar attempt forty years before; but God told him 
 that he would be with him. He was willing to go, but 
 he was sure that he could not deliver the messages re- 
 quired of him, because he was not eloquent, but slow of 
 speech, although God told him that he would be his 
 
20 
 
 mouth and would teach him what to say. Moses thus 
 lost much of the prestige he would have had with Pha- 
 raoh as well as with his own people. God said to him, 
 "Your brother Aaron can speak well, and I will send him 
 to you to be your spokesman." 
 
 Aaron was probably in the land of Goshen, and God 
 had already said to him, *'Go into the wilderness to meet 
 Moses." It is doubtful if Aaron knew what had become 
 of his brother Moses, or why he was to go to meet him. 
 While God was speaking with Moses, Aaron was not 
 only on the way to the wilderness, but he forthwith came 
 in sight, and God said, ''Behold, he cometh forth to meet 
 thee : and when he seeth thee he will be glad in his heart." 
 Aaron was glad to see again his younger brother, and 
 kissed him. Moses told him all the message that God 
 had given him. With the permission of Jethro, his 
 father-in-law, and owner of the sheep he tended, Moses 
 returned to Egypt with Aaron. They gathered the elders 
 of Israel, and Aaron told the people everything that had 
 occurred and did the signs, and they believed. Then 
 Moses and Aaron had an audience with the pharaoh, de- 
 manding that the Hebrews be permitted to go a three- 
 days journey into the wilderness to worship. The de- 
 mand was refused and followed by a plague, in which 
 all waters of the Egyptians became blood. But the 
 serious consequence of this condition, which continued for 
 seven days, was insufficient to secure permission, and a 
 plague of frogs followed. This was so alarming and 
 disagreeable that finally the pharaoh acceded to their 
 request, and the plague was accordingly stayed. When 
 he saw that it was over, Pharaoh repented his coerced 
 consent, and would not let them go. Plague followed 
 plague, — of lice, flies, murrain, boils, hail, locusts and 
 darkness, — until nine of them had tormented the land. 
 None of them troubled the land of Goshen, where the 
 
21 
 
 Hebrews lived. The consenting and repenting and dila- 
 tory tactics of the pharoah were repeated until finally the 
 tenth and last plague came. Pharaoh told Moses that he 
 did not wish to see his face again; and the latter said, 
 "Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no 
 more." The tenth plague was the death of the firstborn 
 in Egypt, — not only of the people, but of the animals. 
 Each family of the Hebrews was required to take a lamb, 
 and "strike" its blood upon the doorposts of the houses 
 and eat its flesh roasted on the evening of the fourteenth 
 day of the first month, for in that night the Lord slew 
 the firstborn in Egypt, except those of the households 
 where the blood was found, which were passed over. 
 This originated the sacrament or feast of the passover, 
 which has ever since been celebrated by the Hebrew race. 
 This terrible calamity upon the Egyptians caused the 
 pharaoh, not only to give his consent to the release of 
 the slaves, but the Egyptians were so glad to get rid of 
 this cause of so much trouble and sorrow and loss, that 
 they "loaned" to the Hebrews jewels of silver and of gold, 
 and permitted them to carry away with them their flocks 
 and herds, — in fact, they were privileged to take so much 
 property that "they spoiled the Egyptians." After eating 
 of unleavened bread for seven days, the Israelites, being 
 about six hundred thousand, together with their flocks 
 and herds of cattle, journeyed to Succoth. The whole 
 movement was consummated so quickly that scant prepa- 
 rations for a food supply had been made; yet Moses de- 
 liberately took with them the body of Joseph, which was 
 embalmed. God led them in a circuitous way, by the 
 Red sea and the wilderness, with a cloud by day and a 
 pillar of fire by night. As soon as the last plague was 
 ended, the pharaoh repented that he had permitted the 
 Hebrews to go, causing the loss of this vast munber of 
 valuable slaves, and he pursued them with all the chariots 
 
22 
 
 of Egypt and with his army unto the Red Sea, where 
 they were encamped. Ah, it seemed that the Egyptians 
 would surely recover their property. The waters stretched 
 before the Hebrews, and they had no boats. The great 
 host of the enemy was closing up to them. The strange 
 cry of "Forward !" came from God, who commanded 
 Moses to lift up his hand and stretch it over the waters, 
 which divided, and while the cloud, which had removed 
 from the front to the rear of the Hebrews, enshrouded 
 the Egyptians, the Hebrews passed over dry shod. The 
 cloud then passed over the sea and resumed its place at 
 the head of the column. Pharaoh and his army came 
 up to the sea and was half way across when the waters 
 came together, and all were drowned. It is no wonder 
 that such an exhibition caused the subjects of its favor 
 to believe in the Lord and his servant Moses, and they 
 burst into song and music. 
 
 WILDERNESS LESSONS. 
 
 Now began a series of lessons in the wilderness school, 
 which continued for forty years. Tests came period- 
 ically, and some of the people passed them successfully, 
 but most failed, so sadly. First, thirst came and God 
 proved them; next came hunger and the people longed 
 for the flesh-pots of Egypt, and again God tested them. 
 Judges were appointed, and God gave them written law 
 to prove them. The ark was made to contain the stones 
 on which the law was written, and a tabernacle, etc., 
 were made and the priesthood and an order of sacrifices 
 were established. 
 
 The people were proved again by Moses' absence from 
 their sight for forty days, and they failed in the test. 
 While Moses was gone upon the mountain, the people 
 thought he had surely left them, and they followed the 
 custom of the nations about them and made an idol — a 
 
23 
 
 golden calf — ^and worshipped it. And Aaron, himself, 
 made the calf ! 
 
 THE GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED. 
 
 A theocratic government was at once instituted. It 
 had the elements of a written constitution, contained in 
 the "ten commandments." The first is that God is its 
 supreme and exclusive ruler. Then follows a statement 
 of duties to God and to self and to each other. It was 
 great in its simplicity, and sufficient for the government 
 of any people.^ 
 
 Promises were made of what would immediately result 
 if they became efficient in the school of preparation for 
 the service that would bless the whole world. God has 
 never wished to wait, but is ever ready to distribute his 
 choicest blessings upon those fit to receive them. In the 
 
 1 "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy 
 God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out 
 of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before 
 me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any 
 likeness of any thing tliat is in heaven above, or that is in the 
 earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou 
 shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I 
 the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the 
 fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation 
 of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of 
 them tliat love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt 
 not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord 
 will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Re- 
 member the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou 
 labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sab- 
 bath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, 
 thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy 
 maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within 
 thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
 the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: 
 wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 
 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long 
 upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt 
 not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. 
 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 
 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet 
 thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, 
 nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." 
 — Exodus xx:l-17. 
 
24 
 
 meantime, the training must continue, in suffering and 
 loss. "If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my command- 
 ments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due 
 season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the 
 trees of the field shall yield their fruit. . . . And five 
 of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you 
 shall put ten thousand to flight and your enemies shall 
 fall before you by the sword. For I will have respect 
 unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and 
 establish my covenant with you. ... I am the Lord 
 your God, which brought you forth out of the land of 
 Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen ; and I have 
 broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. 
 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all 
 these commandments, ... I will bring a sword upon 
 you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant : . . . 
 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also 
 my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with 
 Abraham will I remember ; and I will remember the 
 land. . . . And yet for all that, when they be in the 
 land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither 
 will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break 
 my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God. 
 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their 
 ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of 
 Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their 
 God."^ 
 
 THE TRAINING. 
 
 There were lessons and tests all along the line. The 
 people were unwilling to eat the God- given manna, and 
 longed for the food which they had had in the time of 
 their slavery in Egypt. They remembered the fish, the 
 cucumbers and melons and leeks and the onions and 
 
 1 Leviticus xxvi:3, 4, 8, 9, 13-15, 25, 42, 44, 45. 
 
25 
 
 garlic. God yielded to their desire, and gave them quails 
 for a month, A multitude died. 
 
 When they neared the land of Canaan spies were sent 
 therein to learn its conditions, — the head one in each tribe 
 except the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Manasseh (by 
 Gaddi, the son of Susi) represented Joseph; Caleb, 
 Judah ; and Joshua, Ephraim. The spies were ordered 
 to go into a mountain, and learn the nature of the land, 
 the number and strength of the people, and whether they 
 dwelt in tents or strongholds. They were required to 
 bring back some of the fruit of the land. The twelve 
 went to Hebron. They returned after forty days from 
 the brook which they named Eschol (because of the ripe 
 grapes they found there in abundance) with great clus- 
 ters of grapes, pomegranates and figs. They showed the 
 samples of fruit they had brought and reported that the 
 land surely flowed with milk and honey; but that the 
 people were strong and the cities walled and very great 
 and everywhere, and they "saw the children of Anak 
 there." Caleb stilled the people and said, "Let us go up 
 at once, and possess it ; for we are well able to overcome 
 it." The others at once emphasized the giants, "the sons 
 of Anak," saying that the people they saw there were of 
 great stature. The multitude exclaimed, "Would God 
 that we had died in the land of Egypt ! or would God 
 we had died in this wilderness ! And wherefore hath 
 the Lord brought us into this land, to fall by the sword, 
 that our wives and our children should be a prey? were 
 it not better for us to return into Egypt?' And they 
 said to one another, 'Let us make a captain, and let us 
 return into Egypt.' " Then Joshua and Caleb rent their 
 clothes, and encouraged the people not to fear the Ca- 
 naanites, for "their defence is departed from them, and 
 the Lord is with us: fear them not." But the response 
 to Joshua and Caleb was, "Stone them !" 
 
26 
 
 "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'How long will this 
 people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they 
 believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among 
 them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and dis- 
 inherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and 
 mightier than they.' And Moses said unto the Lord, 
 'Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest 
 up this people in thy might from among them;) And 
 they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land : for they 
 have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that 
 thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud stand- 
 eth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day 
 time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. 
 But if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then 
 the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, 
 saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this 
 people into the land which he sware unto them, there- 
 fore he hath slain them in the wilderness. And now, I 
 beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, accord- 
 ing as thou hast spoken, saying, 'The Lord is long-suffer- 
 ing, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgres- 
 sion, and by no means clearing the guilty.' . . . Pardon, 
 I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according to 
 the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven 
 this people, from Egypt even until now.' And the Lord 
 said, 'I have pardoned according to thy word: But as 
 truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the 
 glory of the Lord. Because all those men which have 
 seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt 
 and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these 
 ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely 
 they shall not see the land which I sware unto their 
 fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me 
 see it: But my beloved servant Caleb, because he had 
 another spirit within him, and hath followed me fully, 
 
27 
 
 him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and 
 his seed shall possess it. . . . Tomorrow turn you, and 
 get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. 
 . . . Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and 
 all that were numbered of you, according to your whole 
 number, from twenty years old and upward, which have 
 murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into 
 the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell 
 therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua 
 the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said 
 should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall 
 know the land which ye have despised. . . . After the 
 number of the days in which ye searched the land, even 
 forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniqui- 
 ties, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of 
 promise. I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it unto 
 all this evil congregation, that are gathered together 
 against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, 
 and there they shall die.' . . . But Joshua the son of 
 Ntm, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of 
 the men that went to search the land, lived still." 
 
 Moses undertook a truce with the king of Edom, asking 
 for the privilege of passing through his land, and promis- 
 ing to pay him for all damages that might ensue thereby. 
 But the king of Edom replied that he could not grant 
 the request, and further stated that if the Israelites came 
 that way he would smite them with the sword. So, the 
 Hebrews journeyed to Mount Hor. Thus, through fear 
 and want of faith in Jehovah, they went around the 
 obstacle instead of possessing the land. 
 
 Compassing the land of Edom, by way of the Red 
 Sea, they came back to the place where they entered the 
 wilderness when they fled from the Egyptians and from 
 slavery, thirty-eight years before. The people were much 
 discouraged because of the way. 
 
28 
 
 To the king of the Amorites the Hebrews made a 
 request similar to that made to the king of Edom, for the 
 privilege of passing through his country; but the king 
 refused and smote the Hebrews. The Israelites fought 
 valiantly and captured all the land of the Amorites. 
 The conquerors possessed the land and dwelt there. And 
 they were also victorious over the land of the king of 
 Bashan. The Israelites then went into Moab, and the 
 people of the land knew of the destruction of the Amo- 
 rites and feared the presence of the conquering hosts that 
 threatened them. So King Balak sent messengers to 
 Balaam, saying, "Behold, they cover the face of the earth, 
 and they abide over against me : Come now, therefore, I 
 pray thee, curse me this people ; for they are too mighty 
 for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite 
 them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for 
 I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom 
 thou cursest is cursed." God said to Balaam, **Thou 
 shalt not go with them ; thou shalt not curse the people ; 
 for they are blessed." Balak promised to pay heavily for 
 the cursing upon the adversary multitude, but Balaam 
 said, "If Balak would give me his house full of silver 
 and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my 
 God, to do less or more. . . . How shall I curse, whom 
 God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the 
 Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I 
 see him, and from the hills I behold him : lo, the people 
 shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the 
 nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the num- 
 ber of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death 
 of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!"^ 
 
 God repeatedly impressed upon the people that they 
 must drive out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan; 
 otherwise the Canaanites would cause them to sin and be 
 thorns in their sides, etc. 
 
 ^Numbers, xxiii:8-10. 
 
29 
 
 MOSES ADDRESSED THE HEBREWS. 
 
 Just before his death, Moses reviewed to the nation the 
 history of their doings during the last two or three years. 
 As they were a special people of God, he exhorted them 
 to fear God, and have nothing to do with the inhabitants 
 of the land, but to destroy them and their altars, etc., 
 because they would lead them away from God. "This 
 day," said the Lord, "will I begin to put the dread of 
 thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under 
 the whole heaven," etc. Nothing shall resist them suc- 
 cessfully. Moses continued : "For thou art an holy people 
 unto the Lord thy God : the Lord thy God hath chosen 
 thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people 
 that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not 
 set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were 
 more in number than any people ; for ye were the fewest 
 of all people : But because the Lord loved you, and be- 
 cause he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto 
 your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a 
 mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of 
 bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 
 Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the 
 faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with 
 them that love him and keep his commandments to a 
 thousand generations.^ . . . And thou shalt remember 
 all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty 
 years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, 
 to know what was in thine heart. . . . And he humbled 
 thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with 
 manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers 
 know ; that he might make thee know that man doth not 
 live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth 
 out of the mouth of the Lord. . . . Thou shalt also 
 
 ^Deut., vii:6-9. 
 
30 
 
 consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his 
 son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.''^ They must 
 be true to God. 
 
 In all the wilderness life, the people were reminded 
 that it was God that humbled them and proved them, to 
 do them good at the latter end ; "that he may establish 
 his covenant which he sware unto" their "fathers, as it is 
 this day." 
 
 God preinformed the people, as they were about to 
 enter Canaan to possess it, that they shall conquer the 
 nations, not for their righteousness, but that God "may 
 perform the word which the Lord sware unto" their 
 "fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" ; and Moses re- 
 hearsed the rebellions of his people ; what God had done 
 for them, his chosen race ; and exhorted them to be 
 obedient to the will of God ; then "no man shall be able 
 to stand before you." 
 
 The people were not to disfigure themselves, "For thou 
 art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord 
 hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, 
 above all the nations that are upon the earth. "^ God 
 told them that they should, for their sin, become sub- 
 ordinate to a nation whom they neither knew nor under- 
 stood. "And ye shall be left few in mmiber, whereas 
 ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because 
 thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God. 
 . . . And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, 
 from one end of the earth even unto the other ; and there 
 thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy 
 fathers have known, even wood and stone. . . . These 
 are the words gf the covenant, which the Lord com- 
 manded Moses to make with the children of Isreal in the 
 
 ^ Deut. viii:l-5. 
 2 Deut. xiv:2. 
 
31 
 
 land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with 
 them in Horeb."^ Moses said to Israel, "Ye stand this 
 day, all of you, before the Lord your God ; . . . That 
 thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy 
 God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh 
 with thee this day: That he may establish thee to day 
 for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee 
 a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn 
 unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. "^ 
 
 But, afterward, when all these sayings are come to 
 pass, **and thou shall call them to mind among all the 
 nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee. And 
 shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his 
 voice according to all that I command thee this da}', thou 
 and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy 
 soul ; That then the Lord thy God will turn thy cap- 
 tivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return 
 and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord 
 thy God hath scattered thee." 
 
 Moses took farewell of the people, reciting to them 
 that the Lord had not permitted him to enter Canaan, 
 and exhorted them to be strong and courageous and God 
 would not forsake them. He then charged Joshua, his 
 successor, in the presence of the people, in language 
 similar to that in which he had charged Israel. Upon 
 this occasion Moses wrote a song ; and he died on Mount 
 Nebo. Before his departure, however, he blessed the 
 people and mentioned the several tribes prophetically. 
 "And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, 
 for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for 
 the deep that coucheth beneath. And for the precious 
 fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious 
 things put forth by the moon. And for the chief things 
 
 iDeut., xxviii:33, 34, 36, 37, 43-45, 47-51, 62, 64; xxix:l. 
 2Deut., xxix:10, 12, 13. 
 
32 
 
 of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of 
 the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the 
 earth and the fulness thereof, and for the good will of 
 him that dwelt in the bush : let the blessing come upon 
 the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him 
 that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like 
 the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the 
 horns of unicorns : with them he shall push the people 
 together to the ends of the earth : and they are the ten 
 thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of 
 Manasseh."^ 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 After the death of Moses, God said to Joshua, "There 
 shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the 
 days of thy life : as I was with Moses, so I will be with 
 thee : I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." 
 
 The Israelites then went over Jordan, and passed into 
 Canaan, the waters of Jordan dividing. The manna 
 ceased when the land of Canaan was entered, as there 
 was no longer need of its continuance. 
 
 Joshua made a league with the nations of Canaan 
 which had allied themselves to fight Israel, and the 
 messengers from the nations, being found out, were made 
 bondmen, hewers of wood, etc. 
 
 The land included in Canaan, which had not been 
 conveyed, was now divided, Manasseh and Ephraim being 
 accounted two tribes, and Caleb asked for and received 
 Hebron, a stronghold of the Anakins. "There failed not 
 ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken 
 unto the house of Israel ; all came to pass." 
 
 Joshua took his leave of the people just before his 
 death, and spoke of the great favor of God to them in 
 the past, and concluded, "Therefore it shall come to pass, 
 
 1 Deut, xxxiii:13-17. 
 
33 
 
 that as all good things are come upon you, which the 
 Lord your God promised you: so shall the Lord bring 
 upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you 
 from off this good land which the Lord your God hath 
 given you." He then exhorted them to serve God. 
 
 The book of Judges continues the history of conten- 
 tions with the Canaanites and Judah was called to be 
 the leader of the people. Judah took Jerusalem, but 
 failed to drive out the Canaanites. "And an angel of 
 the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, 'I 
 made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you 
 unto the land which I sware unto your fathers ; and I 
 said, 'I will never break my covenant with you. And 
 ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this 
 land ; ye shall throw down their altars :' but ye have 
 not obeyed my voice : why have ye done this ? Where- 
 fore I also said,, 'I will not drive them out before you ; 
 but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods 
 shall be a snare unto you.' "^ 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 After the death of Joshua, the Hebrews were governed 
 by judges. Still, God did not drive out the Canaanites, 
 but left them to prove Israel. 
 
 The next forty years were years of freedom from strife, 
 but for the evil the people did they were delivered into 
 the hand of Midian. The great destruction of men and 
 cattle brought the nation very low. The fifth judge of 
 Israel was Gideon, a man of valor, but of an obscure 
 family. He was threshing grain when an angel came 
 to him and commanded him to save Israel from Midian. 
 "And he said unto him, 'Oh, my Lord, wherewith shall 
 I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, 
 and I am the least in my father's house.' " Nevertheless, 
 
 * Judges, Ii:l-3. 
 
34 
 
 he obeyed. The three hundred men who fought for 
 Gideon were of Manasseh ; and the men of Ephraim were 
 offended because they had no part in the proceedings. 
 One hundred and twenty thousand of the enemy were 
 slain. Gideon was requested by the people to become 
 their king, but he refused on the ground that the Lord 
 was their king, saying, "I will not rule over you, neither 
 shall my son rule over you : the Lord shall rule over you." 
 Samuel, one of the judges and a prophet, was an 
 Ephraimite. His mother rejoiced in a song of thanks- 
 giving for his birth. There had been a dearth of prophets 
 and of prophecy for a long time. 
 
 KINGS. 
 
 The conditions of government under Samuel and his 
 sons were deplorable, and the people sought this occasion 
 to improve authority by changing from judges to kings, 
 and especially that they might be like the neighboring 
 nations. God permitted it, although they had rejected 
 him as their ruler, through judges. Saul, a Benjaminite, 
 and a large tall man, was appointed king by Samuel ; 
 all the people shouted, "God save the king!" and, in 
 a speech, Samuel relinquished his judgeship. Saul was 
 rejected as king; and David, a small shepherd boy and 
 musician, was chosen and anointed in his stead. David 
 was reanointed king of Judah only, and Saul's son Ish- 
 bosheth was made king of all the other tribes. After 
 reigning two years, Ishbosheth was slain, and David 
 became king over all Israel. 
 
 A division of the Hebrews became more and more 
 decided, until it was distinct in both fact and name, the 
 three tribes of Judah, Levi and Benjamin were called 
 Judah and the other ten tribes were called Israel. Israel 
 refused to follow David and followed Sheba instead, and 
 David caused Sheba to be beheaded. 
 
 Success in his battles with the Philistines brought out 
 
35 
 
 David's song of victory. The people were then num- 
 bered, Israel having eight hundred thousand soldiers and 
 Judah five hundred thousand, and David was sorry that 
 he had had the census taken. 
 
 After the ark of the covenant was brought into the tent 
 prepared for it, a sacrifice and festival were held, and 
 David delivered a psalm, in which he said : "Remember 
 his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and 
 the judgments of his mouth ; O ye seed of Israel his ser- 
 vant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the 
 Lord our God ; his judgments are in all the earth. Be 
 ye mindful always of his covenant ; the word which he 
 commanded to a thousand generations ; Even of the cove- 
 nant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto 
 Isaac; And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, 
 and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto 
 thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your 
 inheritance ; when ye were but few, even a few, and 
 strangers in it, and when they went from nation to 
 nation, and from one kingdom to another people; he 
 suffered no man to do them wrong : yea, he reproved kings 
 for their sakes, saying. Touch not mine anointed, and do 
 my prophets no harm."^ 
 
 Just before David's death, he authorized the procla- 
 mation in favor of his son Solomon as king over Israel 
 and Judah, and Solomon was anointed by Nathan, the 
 prophet. 
 
 Because of the constancy of his wars, David could not 
 build a temple for God, but Solomon's reign was peaceful 
 and he reared the temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. 
 Solomon spoke and prayed at its dedication, referring to 
 the separateness of the nation, "For thou didst separate 
 them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine 
 
 1 1 Chron., xvi:12-22. 
 
36 
 
 inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy 
 servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt." ^ 
 
 THE KINGDOM DIVIDED. 
 
 Enemies arose against Solomon, and among them was 
 Jeroboam, "a mighty man of valor : and Solomon seeing 
 the young man that he was industrious, he made him 
 ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph,"^ 
 Ahijah, the prophet, met Jeroboam, and rent the latter's 
 new garment into twelve pieces, and said to him, "Take 
 thee ten pieces : for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, 
 Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of 
 Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee : ( But he shall 
 have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for 
 Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of 
 all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken 
 me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the 
 Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom 
 the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked 
 in my ways, to do right in mine eyes, and my statutes and 
 my judgments, as David his father. Howbeit I will not 
 take the whole kingdom out of his hand : but I will make 
 him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's 
 sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments 
 and my statutes : But I will take the kingdom out of his 
 son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. 
 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my 
 servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, 
 the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. 
 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to 
 all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. 
 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I com- 
 mand thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do right in my 
 sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as 
 
 ^ IKings viii:53. 
 2 IKings xi:28. 
 
37 
 
 David my servant did : that I will be with thee, and build 
 thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give , 
 Israel unto thee."^ Thereupon, Solomon sought the life 
 of Jeroboam, who fled to Egypt, where he remained until 
 the death of Solomon. 
 
 At the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam came to 
 the throne, and Jeroboam was sent for by the oppressed 
 of the people, who made an address to Rehoboam, say- 
 ing, "Thy father made our yoke grievous : now there- 
 fore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and 
 his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we 
 will serve thee." Before replying, the young king con- 
 sulted with his father's aged advisers, and they said to 
 him, 'Tf thou wilt be a servant unto this people this 
 day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak 
 good words to them, then they will be thy servants for 
 ever." He also consulted with his young men friends, 
 who advised him to show his authority and so to reply 
 to the people, saying, "My little iinger shall be thicker 
 than my father's loins. And now whereas my father 
 did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke : 
 my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will 
 chastise you with scorpions." At the time appointed, 
 Jeroboam and the people came to Rehoboam to receive 
 the answer to their request. Rehoboam spoke to the 
 people roughly, saying, "My father made your yoke 
 heavy, and I will add to your yoke : my father chastised 
 you with whips, but I will chastise yow with scorpions." 
 The people then said to him, "What portion have we in 
 David? neither inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your 
 tents, O Israel : now see to thine own house, David ;" 
 and the ten tribes removed from Judea under the leader- 
 ship of Jeroboam, whom they constituted their king. 
 Rehoboam continued to reign over the tribes of Judah 
 and Levi and Benjamin. 
 
 »1 Kings xi:31-38. 
 
38 
 
 ISRAEL. 
 
 Henceforth, the Hebrew race was frequently called 
 Israel; but more often Judah was applied to the tribes 
 that remained in Jerusalem under Rehoboam, and Israel 
 to the ten tribes under Jeroboam. 
 
 Rehoboam gathered a great army to fight Israel, but 
 went no further, as the Lord through the prophet She- 
 maiah delivered to him this message, "Thus saith the 
 Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren 
 the children of Israel : return every man to his house : 
 for this thing is from me." 
 
 Jeroboam built Shechem and Penuel ; and, for fear 
 that his people would go to the temple in Jerusalem to 
 sacrifice, and he lose his control over them, he made two 
 golden calves to be worshipped. He set up one at Bethel 
 and the other at Dan, and said to the people, "It is too 
 much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O 
 Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 
 . . . And he made an house of high places, and made 
 priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the 
 sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the 
 eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like 
 unto the feast that is in Judah, and he oifered upon the 
 altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves 
 that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests 
 of the high places which he had made. So he offered 
 upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el, the fifteenth 
 day of the eighth month, even in the month which he 
 had devised of his own heart : and ordained a feast unto 
 the children of Israel : and he offered upon the altar, 
 and burned incense." The people worshipped, and the 
 worship was a sin. 
 
 A prophet cried against the idolatry and the altar and 
 the disobedience of the priest, but "Jeroboam returned 
 not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of 
 
39 
 
 the people priests of the high places : whosoever would, 
 he consecrated hini, and he became one of the priests of 
 the high places. And this thing became sin unto the 
 house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and destroy it 
 from off the face of the earth." 
 
 Judah also relapsed into idolatry, etc., under Reho- 
 boam; and the Egyptians came and took away all the 
 treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's 
 house. Rehoboam was also constantly at war with Jero- 
 boam and war often existed between their successors. 
 Idol worship was not eradicated from either kingdom. 
 
 Jezebel became the wife of Ahab, king over Israel, and 
 idol worship was promoted thereby. She caused, as she 
 supposed, all the prophets of the Lord to be put to 
 death; but Elijah appeared to Ahab and ordered him 
 to assemble the people at Mount Carmel, where the great 
 idol of Baal was worshipped. There, the prophet made 
 the supreme test of the power of Baal and of God by 
 fire in consuming the sacrifice. At the threat of Jezebel 
 to take his life, he subsequently fled to the wilderness. 
 He was taken to heaven in a chariot, and his mantle fell 
 on Elisha, who succeeded him as the prophet, and the 
 fifty sons of the prophets who were at Jericho bowed 
 before Elisha and requested that search be made for Eli- 
 jah among the mountains. Elisha forbade it, but at last 
 consented, and after three days the party making the 
 search returned, having been unsuccessful. 
 
 Syria oppressed Israel, but "the Lord was gracious 
 unto them, and had compassion on them, because of his 
 covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and would 
 not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence 
 as yet."^ Finally, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, be- 
 sieged Samaria, and, at the end of three years, took it. 
 "And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto 
 
 »2 Kings, xiii:23. 
 
40 
 
 Assyria." Some forty years later, Jerusalem was taken, 
 its principal buildings destroyed, and the people carried 
 to Babylon. 
 
 PROPHETS AND PROPHECIES. 
 
 A prophet was a person who had received a message 
 from God, and was so impressed by it that he felt com- 
 pelled to tell it. It came forth naturally from him, — 
 he could not keep it to himself. Communications might 
 be by visions or dreams, naturally as being visual or 
 heard, an impression so strong and forceful that the 
 recipient was compelled to formulate and announce it, 
 though he was not aware of a particular impartation of 
 any communication, — physical, mental or spiritual. It 
 might be to command action, or inaction, declare admon- 
 itions or to foretell events. 
 
 Schools of the prophets, which were established by 
 Samuel, first at Ramah, and afterwards at Bethel, Jericho 
 and Gilgal, were a kind of theological institution. The 
 students became proficient in the interpretation of the 
 law, and performed pastoral and patriotic duties. 
 
 Though the schools of the prophets furnished most 
 of the prophets mentioned in the Old Testament, mes- 
 sages from God and prophecies were not confined to 
 them. God used various instruments as well as many 
 ways to communicate his mind to the people. 
 
 Most of the prophetical writings were confined to 
 warnings to the people of the time of the writers of 
 the disastrous effect of wrong-doing, and the blessings 
 that would follow righteousness, and were often spoken 
 on particular occasions or in relation to some expressed 
 desire on the part of the people. 
 
 By the prophet Zechariah God said : "As ye were a 
 curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house 
 of Israel ; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing : 
 fear not, let your hands be strong." 
 
41 
 
 "I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save 
 the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place 
 them ; for I will have mercy upon them : and they shall 
 be as though I had not cast them off; for I am the 
 Lord their God, and will hear them. And they of Eph- 
 raim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall 
 rejoice as through wine : yea, thine children shall see it, 
 and be glad ; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. I 
 will hiss for them, and gather them ; for I have redeemed 
 them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 
 And I will sow them among the people : and they shall 
 remember me in far countries ; and they shall live with 
 their children, and turn again. "■'^ 
 
 The prophecy of Amos concerns all Israel, its destruc- 
 tion and its restoration. "Hear this word that the Lord 
 hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against 
 the whole family which I brought up from the land of 
 Egypt, saying, 'You only have I known of all the fami- 
 lies of the earth : therefore I will punish you for all your 
 iniquities/' "Hate the evil, and love the good, and 
 establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord 
 God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of 
 Joseph." "Behold, the eyes of the Lord God upon the 
 sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face 
 of the earth; saying that I will not utterly destroy the 
 house of Jacob, saith the Lord. For, lo, I will com- 
 mand, and I will sift the house of Israel among all 
 nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not 
 the least grain fall upon the earth. "^ This prophecy of 
 Amos is not only apparently fulfilled in the later life 
 of the Jews, but is probably specially applicable to the 
 house of Israel, that is of Ephraim and Manasseh, as 
 
 iZech., x:6-9. 
 - Amos ix:8, 9. 
 
42 
 
 Jesus, in his time even, sought here and there for scat- 
 tered ones of the house of Israel, saying, "I am not sent 
 but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."^ This 
 prophecy promises that they shall be preserved. Some- 
 where, this scattered people of Israel are in existence, 
 and shall, when duly prepared by suffering, trial and 
 self-abnegnation in the school of God, accomplish the 
 work of salvation and blessing to all the nations of the 
 earth. It may be that some who, for instance, are called 
 Germans are really the children of Ephraim and Manas- 
 seh, and they will become the instruments of salvation 
 to the German race ; that others who are apparently 
 French, or Italian, or Spanish, or English, or others of 
 the countries in which they dwell and of whose nation- 
 ality they seem to be a part, are really of the descendants 
 of Ephraim or Manasseh. Gods knows; we do not. 
 It must not be forgotten in this connection that when the 
 early Christians were scattered abroad by persecution, 
 they went everywhere preaching the Word. So this scat- 
 tering of the individuals of the house of Israel was done 
 for two purposes : first, to humble them individually, 
 nationally and racially, and, second, to involuntarily sow 
 the seed of their personality and the truth which they 
 possessed throughout the entire world. 
 
 God declared that he would cause to cease the king- 
 dom of the house of Israel ; and said, "I will no more 
 have mercy upon the house of Israel ; but I will utterly 
 take them away. . . . Yet the number of the children 
 of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot 
 be measured nor numbered ; and it shall come to pass, in 
 the place where it was said unto them, *Ye are not my 
 people,' it shall be said of them, *Ye are the sons of the 
 living God.' Then shall the children of Judah and the 
 children of Israel be gathered together and appoint them- 
 
 ^ Matthew xv:24. 
 
43 
 
 selves one head," Eventually, "I will sow her unto me 
 in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had 
 not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were 
 not my people, 'Thou art my people' : and they shall say, 
 'Thou art my God.' " 
 
 "Therefore will I be unto Ephriam as a moth, and 
 to the house of Judah as rottenness." "O Ephraim, what 
 shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto 
 thee? for your goodness is as a moving cloud, and as 
 the early dew it goeth away." 
 
 "Ephraim also is like a silly dove without a heart : 
 they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria." Looking not to 
 God, but to Egypt, the type of the world, they go directly 
 into captivity. 
 
 "Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto 
 himself." Selfishness is not an element of preparation 
 for being a blessing to others. 
 
 "Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall 
 bear no fruit : yea, though they bring forth, yet will I 
 slay even the beloved fruit of their womb. My God 
 will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto 
 him : and they shall be wanderers amongst the nations." 
 
 God made a covenant with all Israel that all blessings 
 would follow the race if they were obedient to him, and 
 they should dwell securely in Judea. But they wor- 
 shipped idols and ignored his exclusiveness. This could 
 not be allowed to continue, as it was incompatible with 
 the training prepared for the children of Ephraim and 
 Manasseh under the covenant made with Abraham. Is- 
 rael utterly rejected the prescribed religious service of 
 God in the temple, and Judah continued to follow it 
 profunctorily, while her heart was away from God with 
 the worshippers of Baal, in spirit if not in fact. 
 
 The prophet Jeremiah said: "The Lord said also unto 
 me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that 
 
44 
 
 which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up on 
 every high mountain and under every green tree, and 
 there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had 
 done all these things, 'Turn thou unto me.' But she 
 returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 
 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding 
 Israel had committed adultery I had put her away, and 
 given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister 
 Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 
 . . . And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah 
 hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feign- 
 edly, saith the Lord. . . . The backsliding Israel hath 
 justified herself more than treacherous Judah. Go and 
 proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return 
 thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not 
 cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, 
 saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger forever. . . 
 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the 
 house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the 
 land of the north to the land that I have given for an 
 inheritance unto their fathers." 
 
 "The house of Israel and the house of Judah have 
 dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. . . . 
 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from afar, O house 
 of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an 
 ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest 
 not, neither understandest what they say. . . . And it 
 shall come to pass, when ye shall say. 'Wherefore doeth 
 the Lord our God all these things unto us?' then shalt 
 thou answer them, 'Like as ye have forsaken me, and 
 served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve 
 strangers in a land that is not yours.' Declare this in 
 the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah." "And I 
 will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your 
 brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim." 
 
45 
 
 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall thoroughly 
 glean the remnant of Israel as a vme. . . . Behold, a 
 people Cometh from the north country, and a great na- 
 tion shall be raised from the sides of the earth." 
 
 "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, 
 that it shall no more be said. The Lord liveth, that 
 brought up the children of Israel out of the land of 
 Egypt ; But, the Lord liveth, that brought up the chil- 
 dren of Israel from the land of the north, and from all 
 the lands whither he had driven them : and I will bring 
 them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 
 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, 
 and they shall fish them ; and after will send for many 
 hunters, and they shall hunt from every mountain, and 
 from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." 
 
 "In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall 
 dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be 
 called. The Lord our Righteousness. . . . But, The Lord 
 liveth, w^hich brought up and which led the seed of the 
 house of Israel out of the north country, and from all 
 countries whither I had driven them; and they shall 
 dwell in their own land." 
 
 The prophet then wrote of the restoration of Israel : 
 "Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the 
 chief of the nations : publish ye, praise ye, and say, O 
 Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, 
 I will bring them from the north country, and gather 
 them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the 
 blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that 
 travaileth with child together : a great company shall 
 return thither. ... I am a father to Israel, and 
 Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, 
 O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, 
 He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, 
 as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath re- 
 
46 
 
 deemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him 
 that was stronger than he. . . .1 have surely heard 
 Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised 
 me, and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to 
 the yoke : turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; for thou 
 surely art the Lord my God. ... Is Ephraim my dear 
 son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against 
 him, I do earnestly remember him still : therefore my 
 bowels are troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy 
 upon him, saith the Lord. . . . Behold, the days come, 
 saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with 
 the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not 
 according to the covenant that I made with their fathers 
 in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them 
 out of the land of Egypt ; which my covenant they brake, 
 although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord : 
 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with 
 the house of Israel ; After those days, saith the Lord, 
 I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in 
 their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be 
 my people." 
 
 The people of the house of Israel shall, through their 
 slavery and privation and loss, for many centuries, be 
 prepared for the service they were called unto. How 
 long a time must elapse before this is accomplished de- 
 pends, not upon God, but upon the learners. They could 
 not fulfil their mission under the covenant made with 
 Abraham until they were duly fitted for the great work 
 when that time should come. 
 
 "In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the 
 children of Israel shall come, they and the children of 
 Judah together, . . . saying, Come, and let us join 
 ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall 
 not be forgotten. My people hath been lost sheep : their 
 shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have 
 
47 
 
 turned them away on the mountains : they have gone 
 from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting 
 place. . . . Israel is a scattered sheep ; the lions have 
 driven him away : first the king of Assyria hath devoured 
 him ; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon 
 hath broken his bones. ... I will bring Israel again 
 to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, 
 and his soul shall be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim 
 and Gilead." 
 
 The prophet Isaiah recognizes that out of the multi- 
 tude " a very small remnant" of the faithful is left, 
 however, having been through the fire of preparation 
 with success. "I will turn my hand upon thee, and 
 thoroughly purge away thy dross, and will take away 
 thy alloy," until at last "thou shalt be called 'The city 
 of righteousness, the faithful city.' " 
 
 Isaiah is the prophet who, seven hundred years before, 
 gave in detail the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. 
 He said to Ahaz : "The Lord himself shall give you a 
 sign ; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, 
 and shall call his name Immanuel." "And it shall come 
 to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such 
 as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more 
 again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay 
 upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. The 
 remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto 
 the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the 
 sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: 
 the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 "There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, 
 and a Branch shall grow out of his roots : And the spirit 
 of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and 
 understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the 
 spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And 
 
48 
 
 shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the 
 Lord : and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, 
 neither reprove after the hearing of his ears : But with 
 righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with 
 equity for the meek of the earth : . . . For the earth 
 shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters 
 cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root 
 of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people ; 
 to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glo- 
 rious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the 
 Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover 
 the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from 
 Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from 
 Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from 
 Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall 
 set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the 
 outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of 
 Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also 
 of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah 
 shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and 
 Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon 
 the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west : they 
 shall spoil them of the east together; they shall lay 
 their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of 
 Ammon shall obey them. . . . And there shall be a 
 highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be 
 left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day 
 that he came up out of the land of Egypt." This 
 prophesies the coming of Jesus, and his mission and 
 accomplishments. Spirit and its works, through him 
 largely, is the new and powerful element that shall per- 
 fect the human instruments and make them the means 
 of producing these great and beneficent and wonderful 
 things and conditions. 
 
 The prophet foresees great changes in the earth, and 
 the futility of human action, because of its misdirection. 
 
49 
 
 Isaiah returned again to what he had seen in prophetic 
 vision relative to the chosen instruments. "But thou, 
 Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the 
 seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken 
 from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the 
 chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my ser- 
 vant ; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away." 
 "Behold my servant, whom I uphold: mine elect, in whom 
 my soul delighteth ; I have put my spirit upon him : 
 he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall 
 not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in 
 the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the 
 smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth 
 judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be dis- 
 couraged, till he have set judgment in the earth : and the 
 isles shall wait for his law." "Ye are my witnesses, 
 saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: 
 that ye may know and believe me, and understand that 
 I am he. . . . This people have I formed for myself; 
 they shall shew forth my praise." "For Jacob my ser- 
 vant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee 
 by thy name : I have surnamed thee, though thou hast 
 not known me." 
 
 The prophet refreshes the memory of the divinely 
 appointed instruments of his will, giving the message of 
 God : "Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the 
 remnant of the house of Israel. . . . Remember the 
 former things of old : for I am God. . . . Declaring 
 the end from the beginning, and from ancient times 
 the things that are not yet done, saying. My counsel 
 shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." 
 
 The servant of the Lord is awakened to his mission. 
 "Listen, O isles, unto me ; and hearken, ye people, from 
 afar; ... in his quiver hath he hid me; And said 
 unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will 
 be glorified. . . . And now, saith the Lord that formed 
 
so 
 
 me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob 
 again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall 
 I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall 
 be my strength. And he said, 'It is a light thing that 
 thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of 
 Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel : I will also 
 give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest 
 be my salvation unto the end of the earth.' "^ 
 
 "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth 
 into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail 
 with child : for more are the children of the desolate 
 than of the married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the 
 place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains 
 of thine habitations : spare not, lengthen thy cords, and 
 strengthen thy stakes: For thou shalt break forth on 
 the right hand and on the left ; and thy seed shall inherit 
 the Gentiles. . . . For a small moment have I forsaken 
 thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a 
 little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment : but 
 with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, 
 saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters 
 of Noah unto me : for as I have sworn that the waters 
 of Noah should no more go over the earth ; so have I 
 sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke 
 thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be 
 removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, 
 neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith 
 the Lord that hath mercy on thee." 
 
 * Isaiah xlix:l-6. 
 
REVELATION OF GOD IN JESUS 
 
 Man was made innocent, and with every reason to 
 remain so. Personally associated with God, with the 
 companionship of Eve and dominion over all things, his 
 only employment was the keeping of his home in order. 
 Through the influence of imperfect knowledge of God's 
 commands, producing the power of sight over faith, they 
 became estranged from God. 
 
 Second, God removed every law from them, but con- 
 science and the natural law of cause and eifect. This 
 resulted in a condition of absolute anarchy. Brute force 
 controlled, and only the physically fit survived. 
 
 Third, under Noah a sort of theocracy was established, 
 and this very soon ended in Babel, the confusion of 
 tongues and total disregard of God's promises. 
 
 Fourth, innocence, freedom and theocratic government 
 having failed, a deeper, broader and more comprehensive 
 plan was begun in the call of Abram. The idea was 
 that a human instrument must be employed to reach man- 
 kind, and bring the estranged children of God back to the 
 Father's house and the consciousness of the Father's affec- 
 tion and care. This peculiar people were to be prepared 
 for their assigned service, by course of training, — in 
 revelation through the prophets, in suffering, slavery and 
 privation. Nevertheless, the purpose was not wholly 
 accomplished, as indeed from the beginning it is apparent 
 that it would not be without another power and influence 
 which, in the fullness of time, would appear to complete 
 the work which Abram began under the promises. All 
 through the Scriptures, references are made to one who 
 shall come in the future, to be, as they assumed from the 
 language of the prophecies, the king of the Hebrews, and 
 to be all in all to them, the earthly redeemer of their race. 
 
 SI 
 
52 
 
 Fifth, not only was such a ruler promised, but before 
 his advent a herald or annunciator would come to prepare 
 the way for his appearance. 
 
 The Hebrews and all other peoples of the centuries 
 before the advent of the Messiah, with isolated individ- 
 ual exceptions, were materialistic, and earthly ambition 
 their goal. The people of the promise, this peculiar 
 people of God, were by various means brought into a 
 higher state of knowledge and consciousness of himself; 
 but still with the attitude that he was distant, austere and 
 just, and with very little discernment of his fatherliness, 
 affection, mercy and care. Though many believed right- 
 ly, they felt that they were simply like potter's clay in 
 God's hands, and their inferiority to him made it im- 
 possible to contemplate communion or a close and endear- 
 ing friendship with him. Enoch was the rare exception 
 to this state of mind, and he was known as the friend of 
 God. This feeling must be removed before man, like 
 the prodigal, would feel free to approach his Father's 
 house. God must be revealed to every heart and mind 
 as he really is. Jesus came to instruct a few teachers 
 by person, words, acts and life, in the love, knowledge and 
 power of God.^ He came to bear witness to the truth,^ 
 and to "preach the gospel to the poor; . . to heal the 
 brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
 recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that 
 are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord."^ 
 
 JESUS. 
 
 The promises of God had apparently utterly failed. 
 The entire Hebrew race had now lost its identity in 
 other countries and in the midst of other peoples. Only 
 the promises of a captain of salvation remained. They 
 longed for and their eyes were strained to discover an 
 
 ^ John xvii:9. 
 2 John xviii:37. 
 •Luke iv:18. 19. 
 
53 
 
 "ensign of the people."^ So, in the fullness of time, 
 the voice of John was heard, "Prepare ye the way of the 
 Lord;" and the multitude went unto this strange preach- 
 er, who took up his work not where men congregated in 
 the city, but in the wilderness. The priests in Jeru- 
 salem were greatly interested in him and his message, and 
 sent messengers to him to inquire who he was. At last 
 they secured from him the answer that he was only a 
 Voice (the phone in the Greek) — only a sound, — his 
 message was all there was to him. Such abnegation ! — 
 that he might be forgotten and only the name of him 
 whom he announced should be remembered. At length, 
 about B. C. 4, the Messiah was born, and was baptized 
 by John. The greatest fact in the evolution of this 
 school of preparation for service is the advent of Jesus. 
 He is spokesman of God to "us." "At sundry times 
 and in divers manners" God "spake unto the fathers by 
 the prophets;" but now "unto us by his Son."- Now 
 "the kindness and love of God our saviour toward man 
 appeared."^ 
 
 Matthew gives the descent of Joseph, the reputed 
 father of Jesus, from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but 
 the ancestry of Mary, the mother, is not mentioned. 
 
 Under a decree of Caesar Augustus that every one 
 should be taxed in the city to which each belonged, Joseph 
 and Mary went to Bethlehem for that purpose; and 
 during the few days that they remained there Jesus 
 was born. So many people had come for the same pur- 
 pose there were no lodgings that could be secured; 
 therefore, it happened that their shelter was a stable, 
 and in that place the Saviour was born with a manger for 
 his crib. 
 
 "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding 
 in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 
 
 ^ Isaiah xi:10. 
 2 Hebrews i:li 2. 
 ' Titus iii:4. 
 
54 
 
 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the 
 glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they 
 were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear 
 not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, 
 which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this 
 day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the 
 Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find 
 the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a man- 
 ger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multi- 
 tude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 
 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good 
 will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels 
 were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds 
 said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, 
 and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord 
 hath made known unto us.' And they came with haste, 
 and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a 
 manger. And when they had seen it, they made known 
 abroad the saying which was told them concerning this 
 child. And all they that heard it wondered at those 
 things which were told them by the shepherds. But 
 Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her 
 heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and prais- 
 ing God for all the things that they had heard and seen, 
 as it was told unto them."^ 
 
 For hundreds of years the prophecy of the coming of 
 the Messiah was known by nations other than the 
 Hebrews, and when the magi or astrologers of the far east 
 saw a new star exceedingly bright, they believed it must 
 portend some great event. How these astrologers knew 
 it was a star sent to guide them to the place of the 
 birth of the promised king of the Jews can hardly be 
 imagined, if they were gentiles; or, were they of the 
 dispersed of Israel? It has been said that the wise men 
 were three in number, and that each, independently 
 
 » Luke ii:8-20. . _ . 
 
55 
 
 of the others, noticed the star and followed it until they 
 came together. From that time on, they apparently 
 disregarded the star, and talked of the birth of the king. 
 They argued that Jerusalem must be their objective place 
 as of course he would be born in the Holy City. On 
 arriving there, they found no evidence that anything 
 extraordinary had occurred. These rich men of the east 
 easily had audience with Herod and asked "Where is 
 he that is born king of the Jews, for we have seen his 
 star in the east, and are come to worship him." Herod 
 gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people 
 together and asked them about the prophecy of the 
 place of the birth of the Messiah. They informed him 
 that Bethlehem should be his birthplace. "Then Herod, 
 when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of 
 them diligently what time the star appeared. And he 
 sent them to Bethlehem, and said, 'Go and search dili- 
 gently for the young child; and when ye have found 
 him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship 
 him also.' When they had heard the king, they de- 
 parted; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, 
 went before them, till it came and stood over where the 
 young child was. When they saw the star, they re- 
 joiced with exceeding great joy."^ 
 
 It will be noticed that the first course of the star was 
 westerly, the course of all stars; and if the magi had 
 followed the course of the star instead of being led by 
 their knowledge, they would not have gone to Jerusalem, 
 but directly to Bethlehem. By following their own 
 knowledge instead of the star they placed the life of 
 Jesus immediately in danger by informing Herod of his 
 birth. However, when they started from Jerusalem for 
 Bethlehem, the star appeared and led them an unnatural 
 southern course. With what "exceeding great joy" they 
 rejoiced when they saw the star upon leaving Jerusalem, 
 
 iMatt. ii:7-10. 
 
56 
 
 is emphasized by their knowledge of the courses of stars. 
 Still more ,God intervened, and in a dream warned them 
 not to return to Herod to give him particulars of the 
 birth, but to return to the east in another way; and 
 Joseph also was similarly warned to flee into Egypt with 
 the young child and his mother, for their lives. Their 
 immediate compliance with the dream caused the child 
 to be saved from the awful slaughter of the babes of 
 Bethlehem, which followed by order of Herod. 
 
 After the death of Herod, Joseph and his family re- 
 turned, settling at Nazareth, in Galilee. 
 
 At the age of twelve, the time of confirmation, Jesus 
 went with his parents to Jerusalem to celebrate the pass- 
 over and apparently to be confirmed. He astonished 
 the learned examiners by his insight into truth and 
 spiritual things. At length, in his eagerness, he ques- 
 tioned them. 
 
 In his twenties, he had all classes of temptations that 
 fall to man, — that of the world, the flesh and the devil ; 
 and became victor in each struggle. 
 
 At thirty, he commenced preaching the gospel, at 
 first in the synagogue on the sabbath; and from his dis- 
 ciples chose twelve apostles to be his special class of 
 learners. 
 
 Coincident with his preaching, healing was exercised. 
 Popular favor was soon bestowed upon him immeasur- 
 ably, and after the feeding of the five thousand he per- 
 ceived the wish of the multitude that he might be their 
 king, which the disciples themselves believed he would 
 become; and James and John requested that they might 
 sit on either side of him in his glory. 
 
 Ah, the awakening ! The first lesson must be given 
 now to his disciples ; the success and notoriety of Jesus 
 was something that was not good for them to glory in. 
 Seeing the multitudes, he slipped away into the mountain, 
 — the disciples followed him, the multitude did not. 
 
57 
 
 The first lesson was long and broad, and related to what 
 they were to be and do. He "taught them, saying, 
 Blessed are the poor in spirit : for their's is the kingdom 
 of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall 
 be comforted. Blessed are the meek : for they shall 
 inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and 
 thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled. Blessed 
 are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed 
 are the poor in heart : for they shall see God. Blessed 
 are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the children 
 of God. Blessed are they w^hich are persecuted for 
 righteousness' sake : for their's is the kingdom of heaven. 
 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute 
 you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for 
 my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is 
 your reward in heaven : for so persecuted they the proph- 
 ets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the 
 earth: but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith 
 shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, 
 but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 
 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a 
 hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and 
 put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth 
 light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so 
 shine before men, that they may see your good works, 
 and glorify your father which is in heaven'."^ 
 
 The multitude waited until his return, and he con- 
 tinued healing many of the people, including the servant 
 of the centurion, and then w^ent into Peter's house. The 
 multitude remained ; and with his disciples he then went 
 into a ship to cross the sea. 
 
 The healed naturally wished to be with Jesus ; but that 
 was not the purpose of their healing. They must wit- 
 ness to the beneficence of God among their own people. 
 
 When he saw the multitudes, Jesus was moved with 
 
 1 Matthew v:2-16. 
 
58 
 
 compassion, as they appeared to have no shepherd, and 
 he was led to say, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but 
 the labourers are few." He therefore sent forth the 
 twelve apostles, saying to them, "Go not into the way of 
 the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter 
 ye not : But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel."^ "For the son of man is come to save that 
 which was lost."^ He said to them on another occasion, 
 when a woman of Canaan beseeched him to heal her 
 daughter, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the 
 house of Israel."^ Was Zaccheus one of the lost sheep 
 of Israel?^ This idea seems to have been known to 
 Caiaphas, the high priest, as he said to the people, in an 
 astonishing speech, that Jesus "should gather together in 
 one the children of God that were scattered abroad."^ 
 
 The twelve apostles were sent out two by two ; and 
 Jesus "gave them power over unclean spirits; And com- 
 manded them that they should take nothing for their 
 journey, save a staflE only; no scrip, no bread, no money 
 in their purse. They reported success; and were called 
 to rest. 
 
 Later, he sent out seventy disciples, two by two, under 
 similar instructions; and they duly reported success. 
 
 Not to expect either great or immediate returns from 
 their service, Jesus impressed upon his disciples the 
 method and character of seed sowing ; and that that 
 which is apparently the least of all seeds will germinate 
 and grow into great things. 
 
 Love is the true impulse and strength of service. 
 Jesus said : "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
 thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, 
 and with all thy strength : this is the first commandment. 
 
 iMatt. x:5, 6. 
 
 2 Matt. xviii:ll; Luke xix:10. 
 
 »Matt. xv:24. 
 
 4 Luke xix:9, 10. 
 
 "John xi:52. 
 
59 
 
 And the second is like unto it, namely, Thou shalt love 
 thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other command- 
 ment greater than these." 
 
 The prime purpose of the coming of Jesus is shown 
 in his statement made to his disciples : "In that hour 
 Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, 
 Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things 
 from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto 
 babes : even so. Father ; for so it seemed good in thy 
 sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father : and 
 no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and 
 who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the 
 Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his dis- 
 ciples, and said privately. Blessed are the eyes which 
 see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many 
 prophets and kings have desired to see those things which 
 ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things 
 which ye hear, and have not heard them." "In him 
 was life; and the life was the light of men." "The 
 law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by 
 Jesus Christ." Again he said, "I am the light of the 
 world; he that foUoweth me shall not walk in darkness, 
 but shall have the light of life." "I am come a light 
 into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should 
 not abide in darkness." 
 
 Service is the criterion of the standing of all people 
 before God. "Whosoever shall do the will of God, the 
 same is my brother, my sister, and mother." Jesus 
 said to his apostles, "Ye know that the princes of the 
 Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are 
 great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be 
 so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, 
 let him be your minister ; And whosoever will be chief 
 among you, let him be your servant : Even as the Son of 
 man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and 
 to give his life a ransom for many." He "that is greatest 
 among you shall be your servant." 
 
6o 
 
 The kinds of service are mentioned in the statements 
 following the parable of the talents. 
 
 The servant that is occupied when the Lord cometh 
 is the one who receives the blessing. 
 
 Jesus said to his disciples, "My meat is to do the will 
 of him that sent me, and to finish his work." "For I 
 came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, 
 but the will of him that sent me." The disciple is not 
 above his Lord, and his life and interest is to do and 
 finish the same work. 
 
 *T am come that they might have life, and that they 
 might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd : 
 the good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. . . I lay 
 down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, 
 which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and 
 they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one fold, and 
 one shepherd." 
 
 He said unto his disciples, "Therefore I say unto you. 
 Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat ; neither 
 for your body, what ye shall put on. The life is more 
 than meat, and body is more than raiment. Consider the 
 ravens : for they neither sow nor reap ; which neither 
 have storehouse nor barn ; and God f eedeth them : how 
 much more are ye better than the fowls? And which 
 of you with taking thought can add to his stature one 
 cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is 
 least, why take ye thought for ye rest? Consider the 
 lilies how they grow : they toil not, they spin not ; and 
 yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not 
 arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the 
 grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast 
 into the oven : how much more will he clothe you, O ye 
 of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or 
 what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For 
 all these things do the nations of the world seek after: 
 and your father knoweth that ye have need of these 
 
6. , 
 
 things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and 
 all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, 
 little flock: for it is your Father's good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom."^ 
 
 He taught them that suffering lay before them; but 
 that affliction was not given as a punishment for sin com- 
 mitted. It is a most important asset in the preparation 
 of the heart for sympathetic service. 
 
 The transfiguration of Jesus is especially important 
 as it indicates the unity of interests and of purpose of 
 Moses, Elias and Jesus, as they talked. It is easy to 
 imagine what would be the subject of their conversation. 
 With what intense interest they must have discussed 
 the various stages and phases of preparation and service 
 of each and all from the call of Abram to the consum- 
 mation of the plan of salvation. 
 
 The end of the mortal life of Jesus was drawing nigh, 
 At the time of the passover, when the multitudes were 
 there, he made an exhibition of his kingly right before the 
 Jews by a formal processional entry into Jerusalem. He 
 entered into the temple, and thrust out all that made it a 
 place of trade. 
 
 The events of this last week of his life came crowding 
 in their order. He returned to Bethany each night and 
 came into Jerusalem each morning until Thursday. 
 
 Thursday dawned. It was the first day of eating the 
 unleavened bread of the passover, and in the evening Jesus 
 and the apostles gathered about a table in a chamber in 
 Jerusalem, and ate their last supper together in the recog- 
 nition of the passover. During the meal, Jesus opened 
 his heart and mind to his disciples as he had never done 
 before ; bringing them to the expiatory idea of the feast. 
 He said : "The hour is come, that the Son of man should 
 be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except a 
 corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth 
 
 ^Luke xii:22-32. 
 
62 
 
 alone : but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." The 
 right kind of fruit is that which springs from self-abnega- 
 tion only. At the close of the supper, he rose from 
 the table and washed the feet of the disciples for an 
 example for them to follow. Judas Iscariot then went 
 out. Jesus then prayed to God in the wonderful words 
 of the seventeenth chapter of John. The subject is prep- 
 aration for service; the necessity of unity among them- 
 selves being the leading thought. "I have manifested 
 thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the 
 world : thine they were, and thou gavest them me ; and <^ 
 they have kept thy word. . . I pray for them : I pray not v 
 for the world, but for them which thou hast given me : for ^ 
 they are mine. . . Neither pray I for these alone, but for ^ 
 them also which shall believe on me through their word ; ,;** 
 That they all may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and 
 I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world 
 may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which 
 thou gavest me I have given them ; that they may be one, 
 even as we are one : I in them, and thou in me, that they 
 may be made perfect in one; and that the world may 
 know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou 
 hast loved me." 
 
 It was late when the supper ended; but Judas knew 
 that Jesus and his disciples would pass over the brook 
 Cedron to a garden of olive trees, called Gethsemane, 
 which was on the Mount of Olives on the road to Beth- 
 any. Judas went to the Roman camp, and notified them 
 to be at the garden a little later to carry out the plot of 
 taking Jesus into custody. It is said that from the gar- 
 den Jesus could look over the stream and watch, by the 
 flickering but quickly moving lights, the preparations 
 that were being made for his arrest. 
 
 When he and his disciples entered the garden, Jesus 
 said to eight of them, "Sit ye here, while I go to pray 
 yonder." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee 
 
63 
 
 (James and John), and went farther into the garden; 
 and a little later went away by himself to fight his bat- 
 tle alone. He knew that he was to give his life for 
 the purpose for which he had come into the world. It 
 was hard for him to give it up and to suffer the awful 
 agonies of dissolution upon the cross; but others had 
 done it without a murmur, even those of a sensitive 
 nature. What was it that made the struggle so intense 
 and awful? He knew that he came as the lamb slain for 
 the salvation of the world ; but he had not the ignorance 
 of the lamb. He knew far more than any other human 
 being what his atonement for sin meant. He knew that 
 he must not only take the place of the sinner, but of 
 sin. He must become sin and all that the transition 
 involved.^ 
 
 Alone, in the deep shadows of the olive trees, in the 
 bright moonlight, he fought the battle of self-abnega- 
 tion. In the bosom of his Father from the beginning, 
 with the fullest knowledge of his perfect and exquisite 
 love, God was now to turn his back upon him, to have 
 no communion with him, to treat him as he would sin. 
 As God and sin, they could not exist together. The 
 sonship and love between them must end forever. It 
 will be suggested that he knew that this separation would 
 only be temporary. But it must be remembered that 
 the sacrifice was that of a human and not of a divine. ^ 
 It is difficult and probably impossible for us to realize 
 how he could give himself as a sacrifice and not have 
 the knowledge of his future glory lessen the force of the 
 thought upon his mind and heart of the everlasting expul- 
 sion from the presence of God. We cannot appreciate 
 or understand the dual nature of Jesus. The truth is, 
 however, that he suffered as sin, which is eternal separa- 
 tion from God. He could not desert the cause for 
 
 ^2 Cor. v:22; Gal. iii:13. 
 2 Phil. ii:8. 
 
64 
 
 which he had come and which was nearest to his heart 
 and the heart of God, and return to his place in heaven. 
 He must give to it the full measure of his devotion. But 
 at what a cost ! As the fateful hour drew near, his 
 human nature became more and more affected by it. He 
 must go on and manifest to his followers and the world 
 the measure of supreme love. How could he be will- 
 ing to become sin and never again see the face and smile 
 of the Father, whose presence was greater bliss than 
 men or angels ever knew. So severe did the struggle be- 
 come that great drops of blood oozed from the pores of 
 his body, and he fell upon his face and prayed, "O my 
 Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me : 
 nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." He re- 
 turned to Peter and his companions, and, finding them 
 asleep, he went away by himself again, and again 
 prayed, "O my Father, if this cup may not pass away 
 from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." He 
 returned to them a second time, and finding them 
 asleep went away again and prayed, using the same 
 words. He became calm, and was ready for the sub- 
 sequent events. He came to his disciples and said to 
 them, ''Rise, let us be going: behold he is at hand that 
 doth betray me." 
 
 The soldiers approached, and with a kiss Judas 
 pointed out Jesus. He was taken and led away to Caia- 
 phas, the high priest, before whom the scribes and 
 elders were assembled. There was no resistance, except 
 from Peter, who drew his sword and cut off an ear of 
 a servant of the high priest. "Then said Jesus unto 
 him. Put up again thy sword into his place : for all they 
 that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 
 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 
 and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions 
 of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be ful- 
 filled, that thus it must be?" They spat in his face 
 
65 
 
 and smote him with the palms of their hands. He was 
 calm through it all. The night was spent in accusa- 
 tions and false witnessing. They sought his life, but 
 had not the power to take it; the Roman government 
 only could decree death. So, when morning was come 
 they led Jesus away to Pontius Pilate, the governor. 
 In his colloquy with Pilate, the latter asked him, "Art 
 thou a king then? Jesus answered, "Thou sayest that I 
 am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause 
 came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto 
 the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my 
 voice." After hearing the accusations and evidence, 
 Pilate declared that he found no fault in him ; but the 
 Jews cried for his death. Pilate therefore released the 
 robber Barabbas and permitted Jesus to be crucified. 
 After he was scourged, the soldiers put a scarlet robe 
 upon him, a reed in his hand and a crown of 
 thorns upon his head, and spat upon and smote him. 
 He was calm. They took off the fancy clothes, and in 
 his own raiment led him to the place of execution. 
 There they nailed him to the cross and raised it; but 
 no murmur came from him. They offered him a stu- 
 pifying drink, but he would have none of it. From 
 the sixth to the ninth hour darkness was upon the land. 
 Then the fateful moment arrived, when God and sin 
 must eternally part ; and in utter despair Jesus twice 
 cried, with a loud voice, "My God, my God, why hast 
 thou forsaken me !" He died instantly, and it is said 
 that death undoubtedly came from a broken heart. "And, 
 behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from 
 the top to the bottom ; and the earth did quake, and 
 the rocks rent. . . . Now when the centurion and they 
 that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, 
 and those things that were done, they feared greatly, 
 saying, "Truly this was the Son of God !" 
 
 Joseph, a rich man of Aramathea, had a new tomb, 
 
66 
 
 hewn out of the rock, and he begged of Pilate the body 
 of Jesus. It was delivered to him, and he laid it in 
 the tomb and rolled the door into its place. Jesus 
 had said: "After three days I will rise again;" and, 
 therefore, at the request of the Jews Pilate sealed the 
 tomb and placed a military guard before it, that the 
 disciples could not come and take his body away, and 
 say that he had risen from the dead. 
 
 After his resurrection, ''Jesus said to Simon Peter, 
 Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? 
 He saith unto him. Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I 
 love thee. He saith unto him. Feed my lambs. He 
 saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, 
 lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou 
 knowest that I love thee. He said unto him. Feed my 
 sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of 
 Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he 
 said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he 
 said unto him. Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou 
 knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him. Feed 
 my sheep. "^ 
 
 Peter asked Jesus what John should do, and Jesus 
 replied, "What is that to thee, . . . follow thou me."^ 
 
 Jesus had been obedient unto the death of the cross 
 for sin, and after being on the earth forty days after 
 his resurrection, he ascended into heaven, from Mount 
 Olivet. 
 
 PENTECOSTAL DAYS- 
 
 Jesus had promised his disciples that the Comforter, 
 the Holy Spirit, would be sent by the Father in his 
 name, to teach them all things and bring to their 
 remembrance all things he had said to them. At the 
 time of his ascension, Jesus commanded them to remain 
 in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, and he promised 
 
 * John xxi:15-17. 
 'John xxi:21, 22. 
 
67 
 
 to send them the spirit that they might be endued with 
 power from on high. "Ye shall receive power, after 
 that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall 
 be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all 
 Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part 
 of the earth." 
 
 The day of Pentecost arrived, the spirit descended, 
 and the apostles began to speak in foreign languages 
 as well as their own, so that each of the many nation- 
 alities assembled there heard the gospel preached in 
 his own tongue. Though an ignorant fisherman, Peter 
 delivered a powerful discourse and three thousand per- 
 sons were converted. "And they continued steadfastly 
 in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in break- 
 ing of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon 
 every soul : and many wonders and signs were done by 
 the apostles. And all that believed were together, and 
 had all things common." 
 
 Peter healed a lame man, and spoke to the people, 
 closing with reference to the prophets, "Ye are the 
 children of the prophets, and of the covenant which 
 God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, 
 And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be 
 blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son 
 Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning every one of 
 you from his iniquities." 
 
 The chief priests and elders were strongly opposed 
 to any reference to Jesus or of his or any resurrection 
 from the dead, and commanded the disciples to speak 
 in that name no more. Peter and John replied, "We 
 cannot but speak the things which we have seen and 
 heard." They reported to their companions all that 
 the officials of the Jews had said to them. Then they 
 prayed for boldness of speech, and further power of 
 healing, etc. ; and were filled with the spirit. From 
 henceforth greater power was given to them. 
 
68 
 
 Finally, several of the apostles were arrested and 
 put in prison; but the same night the angel of the Lord 
 opened the prison doors and brought them forth, saying, 
 "Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all 
 the words of this life." The next morning the prisoners 
 v/ere sent for, the doors were found safely shut, and the 
 keepers standing without before the doors, but no person 
 was found within. Then a messenger came and told 
 the chief priest and associates that the prisoners were 
 standing in the temple and teaching the people. The 
 apostles were again brought before the high priest 
 and the others ; but because of the argument of Gamaliel, 
 thy were beaten and again freed, being commanded 
 to speak no more in the name of Jesus. They departed, 
 "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame 
 for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every 
 house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." 
 
 The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased 
 greatly. One of them named Stephen, a young man full 
 of faith and spirit, did great wonders among the people, 
 and he was brought before the Jewish council, being 
 accused of blasphemy. His face appeared as "the face 
 of an angel," and his long and wonderful address, 
 covering the history of redemption from the call to 
 Abraham to that present moment, cut them to the heart, 
 and they gnashed on him with their teeth. They ran 
 upon him, cast him out of the city and stoned him to 
 death. 
 
 A great persecution against the disciples followed, 
 and they were scattered abroa,d, going everywhere and 
 preaching the word. 
 
 PAUL. 
 
 A young man named Saul was the apparent leader 
 of the persecution. Once, as he journeyed, near Damas- 
 cus, a light from heaven suddenly shone around him; 
 
69 
 
 and he fell to the earth. A voice said to him, "Saul, 
 Saul, why persecutist thou me?" The story of his won- 
 derful conversion follows. The Jews then sought his 
 life. He was afterwards known as Paul, and became 
 famous as the great apostle to the Gentiles. He said to 
 the Jews : "It was necessary that the word of God 
 should first have been spoken to you." He became sub- 
 sequently one of those "that have turned the world up- 
 side down." His final parting from the church at 
 Ephesus is tender and noble. Several lof the later 
 chapters of Acts are devoted to an account of the 
 work of Paul and other apostles, all or nearly all of 
 whom suffered death for the name of Jesus. 
 
 Paul is the author of many of the Epistles, as Romans, 
 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, Thes- 
 salonians, Timothy, Titus and Philemon. The larger 
 part of these, especially the earlier ones, are made up 
 principally of arguments to sustain doctrines of their 
 belief. Paul had been brought up at the feet of 
 Gamaliel, who was learned in the law, and this was 
 the natural as well as the acquired bent of his mind. 
 From that early time, even, the church, or the assem- 
 blies of Christian disciples, became theological and; .., 
 doctrinal, rather than possessing the simplicity of the jS ' 
 teachings of Jesus of being good and doing good.* ^ 
 Religious differences, in fine distinctions of doctrines, Aji ^ 
 have been the curse of the church ever since. Instead 
 of allowing it to be a means. Christians regard it as 
 an end, and are willing to give their lives and fortunes 
 for its perpetuity. In the end, they may save the 
 church organization, but have not advanced the cause 
 of Christianity. It is the last step in the plan of sal- 
 vation for the world. Jesus came to finish the work. 
 
 In his epistle to the Christians at Rome, Paul takes 
 up the question, "Who are Israelites; to whom per- 
 taineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, 
 
70 
 
 and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and 
 the promises ; Whose are the fathers, and of whom 
 as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, 
 God blessed forever. Amen. Not as though the word 
 of God hath taken none eifect, for they are not all 
 Israel, which are of Israel : Neither, because they are 
 the seed of Abraham, are they all children : but in Isaac 
 shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the 
 children of the flesh, these are not the children of 
 God : but the children of the promise are counted for 
 the seed."^ 
 
 He argues for the efficacy of faith alone, but con- 
 cludes : *'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies 
 of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
 holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
 service."^ 
 
 The book of Revelation shows in prophetic language 
 the purpose of salvation. Many writers and speakers 
 have explained the interpretation of these statements in 
 great detail ; saying that much of their fulfillment has 
 already come to pass. Like prophecies generally, the 
 best time to interpret them is after they have been ful- 
 filled, because their setting and the terms used to describe 
 and define them are of another time and of other condi- 
 tions, which are not known until the time of such ful- 
 fillment. 
 
 ^ Rom. ix:4-10. See Matt. iii:9; Rom. iii:l 2. 
 2 Rom. xii:l. 
 
POST^BIBLE DAYS 
 
 The Bible stops here. Secular history must continue 
 the story of the service established through Abraham. 
 Human imperfections and frailty mark all the way. 
 In spite of persecution, ignorance and schism, — in spite 
 of slavery and apparent racial extinction, the truth and 
 its effect upon humanity has been preserved in more 
 ways than we are yet aware. 
 
 Returning to the history of Ephraim and Manasseh, 
 many scholars follow the ten lost tribes of Israel out 
 of Assyria, identifying them in many ways as the people 
 who seemed to be distinct and separate from others 
 with whom they came in contact. Crossing Teutonic 
 lands westerly, they were eventually found in the islands ^^^' 
 of the West (the British islands) at the beginning "^ 
 of the Christian Era. It is interesting and astonishing to 
 know how many ideas and practices of the Anglo-Saxons 
 and their successors are similar to those of the Hebrews. 
 The great English nation was the outcome of this coloni- 
 zation. It became mistress of the sea, and in the 
 eleventh century the authority of the monarch was 
 limited, and the people began to govern themselves. 
 
 Rome was the centre of the early church ; and by the 
 easy means of communication throughout the Roman 
 empire and the close and constant relation the dispersed 
 Jews maintained with Jerusalem the spread of the gospel 
 was chiefly aided. The first preachers passed rapidly 
 over the country publishing the good tidings. The 
 apostle Paul must be accorded the first place in carrying 
 the message to the countries about the Holy Land, in 
 Europe and in Asia, and he was followed by Bartholo- 
 mew and Origen. Churches were formed in many 
 places during the first century of the Christian Era; and 
 
 71 
 
72 
 
 persecution of the Christians only intensified their zeal and 
 willingness to suffer for their loved Lord and the cause. 
 Corruptions were introduced into the church even in 
 the first century. The simplicity of the faith and prac- 
 tices were departed from and futile and useless cere- 
 monies to affect the ignorant multitude became com- 
 mon. Indeed the church has never been free from 
 them since that time. A mysterious meaning was given 
 to the simple passages of the Bible, and believers be- 
 came enthralled. The clergy proclaimed that they were 
 reverend and possessed of certain power and authority, 
 and that they must be accorded all they claimed. Thus 
 the laymen were compelled to acknowledge that their 
 pastors and teachers were superior to them by special 
 endowment of God, by the laying on of hands, ordina- 
 ation, etc. This investment included the interpretation ^ 
 of the Scriptures and gospel writings. -^-^ 
 
 At first individually independent, the churches of a ^ 
 certain section or province became united in an ecclesias- ^ 
 tical government. By this system, the ancient privileges ^p'^ 
 of the people were diminished, and the power of those ^« 
 in authority greatly augmented. -* S 
 
 Discussions in the synods of the hierarchy evoked 
 the idea that religion consists more in prayers, medi- 
 tations and practice of certain declared rites than in 
 the purity and correctness of actual life. Ceremonies 
 appeal to human desires and are readily adopted. They 
 cause divisions, and therefore sects. Universality will 
 ensue when the life of the individual is the only element 
 of Christian practices. Among the things which tend 
 away from real experiences are the celibacy of the clergy, 
 the manner of baptism, the dim religious light, burning 
 of candles, the method of observance of the Lord's 
 supper, wearing of certain vestments, the eucharist, 
 penances, alleged human remission of sins, the mon- 
 astery system, fastings, efficacy of the sign of the cross, 
 worship of Mary, etc. 
 
73 
 
 In the fourth century Christianity was established 
 by law in the Roman Empire. Fearing the downfall 
 of pagan superstitions, a bloody persecution followed, 
 continuing for several years. 
 
 The completion of St. Peter's church at Rome re- 
 quired such enormous sums of money that Pope Leo X 
 published a general indulgence for forgiveness of sins ; 
 and in Germany the people were informed that they 
 might thus obtain releases for future sins as well as those 
 already committed. This caused Martin Luther to be- 
 come more and more impressed with the seriousness of 
 the circumstances. 
 
 In the Roman church, the see assumed and held 
 tremendous preeminence and authority in civil and po- 
 litical matters. Those whom pontiff or bishop excluded 
 from the communion of the church not only forfeited 
 their civil rights and advantages as citizens, but the com- 
 mon claims and privileges of humanity, degrading them 
 to a level with beasts. The powers of those highest in 
 authority increased by the exercise of their assumed 
 power until, in the eleventh century, the popes pro- 
 claimed themselves masters of the world and affirmed 
 that the whole earth was their property. Ignorance 
 and superstition correspondingly increased. The clergy 
 were concerned in the greatest crimes, and the laity, also, 
 believing that they could purchase pardon with money, 
 followed the example of their pastors without remorse. 
 While this was true of the mass, there were numerous 
 exceptions. It was a time that proved men who still 
 believed in Jesus Christ and the truth as it is in him. 
 
 THE REFORMATION. 
 
 Century followed century, and martyrs made the 
 supreme sacrifice for the simplicity of faith in the truth 
 of the gospel. The greatest of these, probably, was John 
 Huss, a professor of the University of Prague. He had 
 
74 
 
 read Wycliffe's writings and as early as 1401 proclaimed 
 various truths against the bishops. He was burned alive 
 at the stake in 1415. The rulers of the church believed 
 that his name even passed into oblivion when his ashes 
 were thrown into the Rhine,; but his teaching had spread 
 throughout Bohemia, and the Bohemian states protested 
 against the monstrous acts of the council. The pope 
 excommunicated the followers of Huss, and they declared 
 war against the powers and wrongs and errors of the 
 church. This conflict continued several years and shows 
 that there were thousands in Europe whose faith in the 
 gospel had been tried by fire and many had given their 
 lives for it. The boldness and steadfastness of purpose 
 of the Hussites prepared the way for the Reformation. 
 The spirit of truth grew steadily from that time, and 
 was more and more openly declared. 
 
 Peter Walden, a wealthy merchant of Lyons, France, 
 eager for the advancement of real Christianity and 
 Christian knowledge, secured a translation in French of 
 the gospels and some other books of the Bible. He dis- 
 covered the glaring differences of these writings and the 
 doctrines of the pontiffs. He, thereupon, gave all his 
 estate to the poor and, joining with some other men who 
 had adopted his devotion to the truth, began to teach the 
 new views of Christianity. The clergy soon opposed him, 
 but his revelations were so satisfying and plain and 
 attractive that his followers were readily and contantly 
 increased. Assemblies for religious worship were formed 
 in France and Lombardy, and the new faith spread 
 throughout Europe, Neither fire nor sword, nor the 
 cruel inventions of merciless persecution swayed them 
 from their fortitude. They maintained that the clergy 
 should imitate the poverty of the apostles and that every 
 Christian was qualified and authorized to instruct and 
 exhort each other. They believed that confession could 
 be made to any believer, denied that expiation for sins 
 
75 
 
 could be secured by paying or doing penance, and that 
 indulgences were introduced and practised simply be- 
 cause of the avarice of the clergy. Rigorous persecutions 
 of the Waldenses continued for more than four hundred 
 years, until about 1700, when, through the inter- 
 cession of the English and Dutch governments, the 
 scenes of violence and bloodshed ceased. 
 
 In England, the first reformer was John Wycliffe, of 
 the University of Oxford, who, in 1365, took a position 
 against the abuses of the papacy. His most important 
 work was the translation of the Bible into English. 
 
AMERICA 
 
 Europe was in this condition when there was born in 
 Genoa, Italy, a man of religious fervor of soul (shall we 
 say inspiration?), who became possessed of the idea that 
 the earth was round and that by sailing westward he 
 could reach the eastern shores of Asia and Europe. 
 Being a son of a woolcomber, he possessed no power by 
 which he could persuade a government to assist him 
 in getting a vessel, crew and equipment. After eighteen 
 years spent in such vain attempts, Queen Isabella of 
 Spain learned of him, and hearing the statements of his 
 belief became interested in them. Her government, how- 
 ever, would not consent to support the scheme, and she 
 obtained the means for procuring three small vessels and 
 manning and supplying them for this purpose by dis- 
 posing of her private jewels. Christopher Columbus 
 sailed from the little port of Palos in 1492. It was only 
 through his great faith that he persevered in proceeding 
 westward against threatened mutiny and death, and suc- 
 ceeded in the discovery of America, which was as much 
 a new world to Europeans as if it had just been created. 
 Columbus never saw the continent, and probably died 
 ignorant that he had discovered one. 
 
 THE REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 
 
 The discovery of this new western world was followed 
 by the great reformation of the sixteenth century, which 
 was begun by Martin Luther, in Germany, in 1517. 
 The pope had assumed the supremacy in both spiritual 
 and temporal affairs. Against the anathemas from the 
 heads of the church, Luther made great advances in 
 France and England. With Melancthon, he had trans- 
 lated part of the New Testament in 1522, and thereby the 
 
 76 
 
11 
 
 people learned the true laws of Christ, as opposed to the 
 practice of the church. They openly renounced the papal 
 supremacy and entered a solemn protest against a decree 
 of the diet of 1529. After several years spent in attempts 
 by the emperors to reconcile the Protestants to the doc- 
 trines and practices of the Roman church, in 1555, the 
 diet of Augsburg decreed that Protestants in Germany 
 should be entirely free from the Roman pontiff and 
 bishops, and allowed to decide for themselves in religious 
 matters, joining the church they might choose. In 
 France the Reformation gained headway in spite of burn- 
 ings at the stake. The Protestants there were called 
 Huguenots by their enemies and they suffered more than 
 those in any other country. 
 
 The Protestant cause made great progess in England ; 
 and especially during the reign of Edward VI by the 
 zeal of Archbishop Cranmer. King Edward's sister, 
 "Bloody Mary," succeeded him on the throne in 1553; 
 and she bent all her energies to restore Catholicism. She 
 hesitated at no measures to effect it. She consigned 
 Cranmer, Latimer, Rogers and others to the flames ; 
 and in consequence of her cruelties a powerful prejudice 
 arose against the Catholics. Their cause sank and that 
 of the Protestants rose, causing a great extension of the 
 Reformation. The martyrs were indeed the seed of the 
 church. 
 
 Queen Mary died in 1558, and she was succeeded by 
 her sister Elizabeth ("Good Queen Bess"), who became 
 the most respected and powerful sovereign in Europe. 
 She fostered the Protestant religion, and delivered the 
 people from the bondage of Rome and established the 
 Church of England in its present form. She was 
 desirous, however, of preserving in the Protestant 
 service the ornaments and habits worn by the clergy in 
 Queen Mary's reign, when the Romish religion and rites 
 were triumphant. This caused great discontent among 
 
78 
 
 a large number of her subjects; and multitudes refused 
 to attend services where they were used. Separate 
 congregations were established and prohibited. They 
 then assembled in private houses for worship, and the 
 suppression of such services was also attempted. Impris- 
 onment was suffered by those who would worship God 
 as their consciences dictated. 
 
 Puritanism became so strong in England that a 
 simpler form of worship was generally desired, but 
 Archbishop Laud repeatedly added to the liturgy of the 
 church and introduced new ceremonies, to which multi- 
 tudes refused to conform. 
 
 AMERICAN COLONIZATION. 
 
 America had been discovered and adventurers had 
 learned a little about it, but no attempt at colonization 
 had been made until 1562, when a settlement by the 
 French was attempted at Port Royal on the coast of 
 Florida. The next, in 1564, was near St. John's river, 
 and the third at St. Augustine the following year. None 
 of these colonists found the gold they sought, and almost 
 immediately perished by hunger or the Spanish sword. 
 In 1585, the first English colony was attempted at 
 Roanoke, on the Carolina coast. These colonists, also, 
 spent their time in hunting for gold; and no one knows 
 what finally became of them. 
 
 In 1605, some Englishmen made a settlement at what 
 is now Woolwich, on the coast of Maine, but they decided 
 that the cold was too great to permit Englishmen to live 
 so far north, and abandoned the project. The first per- 
 manent settlement was made by Englishmen at James- 
 town on the coast of Virginia, in 1607. At first the 
 colonists spent their time in searching for gold, but they 
 finally became tobacco producers for the European mar- 
 kets. There were so many gentlemen among them that 
 slave labor was established. Next came the Pilgrims, 
 who had fled from England to Holland, where they were 
 
79 
 
 permitted to enjoy their religion. But, when the Dutch 
 entered upon a war and all inhabitants, whether citizens 
 or aliens, were to be drafted into military service, they 
 sought another hospitable land. Friends in England in- 
 terested some merchants of the congregation of Rev. 
 John White, in Dorchester, and two or three merchants 
 agreed to fit out two vessels immediately with crews 
 and all needful supplies, providing that the Pilgrims 
 w^ould return the vessels in the spring with a cargo of 
 such articles as could be procured, as fish, furs, etc. 
 While the drums beat in the streets of Leyden, calling 
 the men to arms, the Pilgrims speedily left Holland and 
 went to England, where they embarked for America. 
 They settled in Massachusetts Bay at a place they 
 named Plymouth. There they enjoyed their religion. 
 The Mayflower society embraces most of their posterity. 
 
 SALEM. 
 
 English merchants were interested in the cod fish- 
 eries along the New England coast at that period and 
 recognized the fact that it would be more advantageous 
 and profitable if the fishermen did not have to be trans- 
 ported to and from England with the fish, and the vessel 
 not to have to remain in American waters while the 
 cargo was being secured. Also that it would be better 
 in every way to have the fishermen remain in New 
 England and fish while the vessels were sailing back 
 and forth, across the ocean. So a fishing stage was 
 established at Cape Ann in 1623-4. Two years trial 
 caused the scheme to be pronounced a failure. At 
 the time it was discontinued, Roger Conant was the 
 overseer and Rev. John Lyford the religious teacher. 
 There was a considerable number of fishermen and 
 landsmen. The merchants offered the men and their 
 families free passage to England or Virginia, and most 
 of them embraced the privilege. Rev. Mr. Lyford urged 
 
8o 
 
 Conant and others to go to Virginia with him, but they 
 refused. 
 
 Rev. John White, of the church in Dorchester, upon 
 being informed of the determination of Conant and a 
 number of his companions to remain in New England 
 promised to send over a colony to join them. The men 
 were unanimous in their determination to become the 
 nucleus of a permanent settlement that the Chris- 
 tians in England might have a new home and new free- 
 dom and the oppressed an asylum. These men were 
 the wheat which remained after the sifting of the fish- 
 ing plantation. Those having a narrow visioti and' 
 desirous of an easier time, took advantage of the offer 
 and are forgotten. Those that remained for a noble 
 purpose have their names enrolled on the foundation 
 stones of the Republic, of which they were the meagre 
 beginning. They appear to have had a vision of the 
 future, and certainly there was ever manifest the desire 
 and the purpose of establishing a community which 
 would be a blessing to others. Their spokesman, Roger 
 Conant, declared that it was for posterity, for those 
 that would come after, and for the future. He builded 
 better than he even dreamed, — not for profit nor per- 
 sonal advancement. The whole of his long life shows 
 his superior Christian life. Thoughtful, peaceful, pa- 
 tient, broad, far-seeing and unselfish, he ever sought 
 the advancement and good of the people who were with 
 him and those who came to join them in the great work 
 which was always in their thought and has ever since 
 been the controlling inspiration of their successors. The 
 associates of Conant were of a similar mould. 
 
 The fishing station at Cape Ann was exposed to the 
 easterly storms and the buccaneers of the ocean, and the 
 soil was unsuitable for cultivation. They therefore re- 
 moved into the Bay, and at Naumkeag, now Salem, con- 
 structed their several small houses. 
 
8i 
 
 Their faith was tried by two years of waiting, but 
 they remained steadfast. At last, in 1628, the ships with 
 the colonists arrived, but Roger Conant was supplanted 
 by John Endecott as the head of the company. Conant 
 apparently did not complain and ever manifested a 
 beautiful spirit in doing all he could to advance the 
 settlement. Endecott was a man of great executive 
 ability, as well as of Christian spirit. 
 
 A year later, the charter came. This was granted 
 by King Charles I, and upon the receipt of a large 
 sum of money, which he needed at that time, he 
 yielded to the patentees of the Massachusetts Bay 
 Colony the right of political government. Endecott 
 was the first governor. A year later, John Winthrop 
 came as a new governor, and the steady influx of col- 
 onists expanded the settlement, Boston and other places 
 being built and occupied. 
 
 To the year 1616, Massachusetts Bay was thickly 
 populated with the aboriginees. In that year began 
 a series of epidemics, which, before 1619, had taken 
 away nine-tenths of the natives. When Conant came to 
 Naumkeag, for fifty miles north and south along the 
 coast and for a score of miles inland there were only a 
 few and scattering red men left. These welcomed the 
 white settlers, whom they sought for protection in their 
 weakened state. English and Indians planted fields 
 side by side, and the latter instructed the English in 
 the fertilization and cultivation of the important maize. 
 This condition was providential in offering the oppor- 
 tunity to found a colony, and to reach the natives in a 
 friendly and useful as well as Christian way. History 
 shows the weakness of humanity in the dealings with 
 the red man as the domain and power of the white man 
 increased. 
 
 Salem was so named because it meant peace — the con- 
 dition that the world has always desired, but sought 
 
82 
 
 in erroneous ways and methods. "The New English 
 Canaan," the title of Thomas Morton's book, published 
 in 1637, shows what was in the minds of the people 
 as to the aim and purpose of the new settlement. The 
 Puritans were people of education, property and ability 
 and of the best families in England. 
 
 The Pilgrims left England with bitter thoughts of the 
 established church, but the Puritans, who had not 
 wholly separated from it, left with regret, loving it 
 and the Christians who constituted it, but unable 
 to conscientously practise some of its requirements. 
 These Nonconformists left England as nonconforming 
 Episcopalians, but landed in America as thorough Con- 
 gregationalists. Somewhere on the ocean the transition 
 had involuntarily taken place. The cause was the 
 necessity for simplicity of worship and the equality of 
 the emigrants. Complete democracy in every relation 
 arose from the exigency of circumstances. The Congre- 
 gational form of church government and worship has 
 never been departed from by the people of this country, 
 though other forms, through freedom of worship granted 
 to all, exist in all sections. 
 
 The town meeting, where every man took part in 
 the conduct of material affairs of government was 
 immediately established, not because a set form of 
 government had been adopted in its inception, but 
 because it was the natural and necessary outcome of con- 
 ditions. All were equal and of the same power and 
 authority in all things until a majority ordered other- 
 wise. The town meeting has never been abandoned 
 in New England nor in the other states. 
 
 The schoolhouse has accompanied the Congregational 
 church and town meeting from the beginning. To be 
 intelligent and able citizens, each must be educated, 
 and this is so vital to democracy that the common 
 school is a necessity and therefore came into existence 
 
«3 
 
 in the beginning. The first college (Harvard) was 
 estblished in 1636. A large tract of land was given 
 for its site in Marblehead, but Cambridge was deemed 
 more central and there it was located. This institu- 
 tion has always been a most potent factor in the pro- 
 gress and development of the Puritan colonies. The 
 institution of a college so early indicates that the col- 
 onists were building for futurity. 
 
 In the very infancy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
 at Salem was begun the wonderful series of records 
 which manifests the purpose of the settlers. They were 
 not ephemeral memoranda, but fashioned and ordered 
 as the beginning of a long and continuing system. 
 Nothing like it was ever known anywhere in the world 
 before nor since that time. The doings of the church 
 and state were recorded in great detail. The birth, 
 marriage and death of every person was written 
 in books prepared and kept for that purpose by proper 
 officials and no distinction was made because of educa- 
 tion, property, race or condition. The actions taken in 
 town meetings were recorded in the same detail, some- 
 times even to announced "dissents" of individual voters 
 on the passage of particular orders ; and in the courts, 
 the evidence was reduced to writing. Pure democracy 
 never before existed. The country's history has been 
 frequently written and so has that of each state. Nearly 
 every town has its published history in utmost detail, 
 containing the private lives of the citizens as well as 
 public affairs, and most families have their complete and 
 voluminous genealogical and biographical histories. To 
 preserve these records large amounts of money are 
 spent every year throughout the nation in copying and 
 printing them. 
 
 The settlement of Salem and of the other places in the 
 Massachusetts Bay Colony have expanded and are still 
 developing in every section of the land. To Salem, 
 
84 
 
 millions of people in the nation trace their families, 
 and go to it in ever-increasing numbers to get acquainted 
 with ancestral homes and localities and early incidents 
 of history. 
 
 DEMOCRACY OF AMERICA. 
 
 The Puritan colony originated as a collection of in- 
 dividuals, never having a power other or higher than 
 the expression of themselves collectively. They made 
 their own laws, which were based on their necessity. 
 
 They lived together in the simpliest form of a 
 neighborly agreement. When any question of expediency 
 or principle arose, they consulted and agreed upon what 
 action should guide them then and in the future. This 
 simple means of settling questions resulted in the formal 
 town meeting. Thus, from the very beginning, by the 
 old planters living together in Salem this pure demo- 
 cracy was practised. When the General Court was 
 formed, all the freemen of the settlements met together 
 in the same way as the town meeting was held in the 
 individual towns until the number became very large, 
 and it was agreed that the town meetings should con- 
 tinue and retain all their initiative and authority for 
 their own government, and their representatives chosen 
 by themselves should meet together in the General Court. 
 This rule has never been changed. 
 
 For the first time in history man's individuality was 
 normally established. 
 
 The interdependence of the first settlers cemented 
 them together in sympathy and mutual helpfulness, and 
 their identical convictions, aims and purposes solidified 
 their society. Service became their habit and very 
 existence. 
 
 Democracy which thus germinated in secluded and 
 quiet domesticity acquired a new clearness, simplicity 
 and vastness. 
 
85 
 
 Radical recognition of equality of rights inspire 
 individuals with self-consciousness and respect and 
 opens before them a bright horizon of nobler purposes 
 and aims which is at once development and consum- 
 mation. All these things produce the deepest enthusiasm 
 for all that is grand, generous and noble. Being a col- 
 lection of such individual convictions the same public 
 manifestation follows. 
 
 Out of the fathomless depths of human nature, these 
 agencies evoked new life and activity and new charac- 
 teristics. Being in the possession of the highest good, 
 no sacrifice could be too great for its defence and pres- 
 ervation; and so here freedom has reached its highest 
 expression. 
 
 It was not the aspiration of a race. All races became 
 fused by freedom and the equal social organization. By 
 religious and political liberty and equal rights, by com- 
 bined action of climate, new necessities, new hardships, 
 new and more intense intellectual activity, the Puritans 
 became unlike any race. The Yankee result is of a 
 peculiar type. He impresses his ideas voluntarily and 
 involuntarily, and freedom necessarily follows him. 
 
 Salem, and no less the people of the settlements into 
 which it expanded, have been the leaders in freedom. 
 From the time of Roger Williams to 1686, when King 
 James II undertook to withdraw the original charters 
 of the New England colonies, in public and in private, 
 the citizens constantly declared their right to govern them- 
 selves, and eventually sent the royal governor to his home 
 across the waters. The new government in England 
 which followed the abdication of James II, included 
 Plymouth colony in the new Province of Massachusetts 
 Bay. The governor was appointed by the crown. The 
 people were not pleased with this change, which the 
 English government had no right to make, and chafed 
 under royal governors. Through the French wars, the 
 
86 
 
 American troops principally fought the battles for the 
 English and paid for the expenses of them by heavy taxes, 
 which the colonists opposed as far as possible. They felt 
 that they were paying too dearly in lives and money for 
 something in which they had no interest ; and when Eng- 
 land did all she could to stop manufactures in America 
 and ordered the raw material to be exported to that coun- 
 try that it might be manufactured there with great profit, 
 this unfair dealing with them by the mother country was 
 openly opposed publicly and privately. Finally, in 1761, 
 parliament provided for writs of assistance, which was in 
 violation of the dearest principles of the Magna Charta. 
 The first application for suCli a writ was made to the 
 superior court then sitting in Salem, by deputy-collector 
 Cockle of the Salem port. James Otis, then advocate- 
 general of the province, was requested by the royal au- 
 thorities in Boston to appear for the writs. He refused, 
 and resigned his office. The merchants of Salem and 
 Boston, thereupon engaged him to make their defence. 
 The trial occurred in Boston ; and, without fear or fee, he 
 addressed the court for four or five hours declaring the 
 position and rights of the province. 
 
 Otis rose, and great in patriot fame, 
 To listening crowds resislance dared proclaim. 
 From soul to soul the bright idea ran, 
 The fire of freedom flew from man to man : 
 His pen, like Sydney's, made the doctrine known, 
 His tongue, like Tully's, shook a tyrant's throne ; 
 Then men grew bold — and in the public eye, 
 The right divine of monarchs dared to try; 
 Light shone on all, despotic darkness fled — 
 And for a sentiment a nation bled.* 
 
 John Adams was present at the trial, and he wrote: 
 "Then and there was the first scene of the first act of 
 
 1 Hon. Thomas Dawes, in 1783. 
 
87 
 
 opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great Britain. 
 Then and there the child Independence was bom." 
 
 Practically every town in the Province of Massachu- 
 setts Bay passed votes, objecting to the tyranny of Great 
 Britain and declaring that the people would not comply 
 with them, for years before the storm of open rebellion 
 broke into actual war. In these votes or resolutions it 
 was stated that for the sake of the future these over-bear- 
 ing acts could not be submitted to, but would be opposed 
 by the lives and fortunes of the colonists. 
 
 Parliament continued to pass obnoxious laws, as the 
 stamp tax of 1765 and the subsequent acts levying duties 
 on imports. Finding it difficult to collect the customs, 
 troops were sent to Boston to enforce their collection. 
 
 In the spring of 1774, the port of Boston was closed, 
 and the customs officers were removed to Salem and Mar- 
 blehead. Four regiments of British troops were quar- 
 tered in Boston ; and the royal governor took up his resi- 
 dence in, and the administration offices were removed to, 
 Danvers, formerly a part of Salem. A part of the 
 troops were quartered near the house of the governor. 
 The General Court convened at Salem June 7th. Massa- 
 chusetts being the principal maritime provmce, took the 
 lead in all opposition to English commercial despotism, 
 and had requested the other colonies to send delegates 
 to a general congress to be held at Philadelphia the next 
 September, to consult upon the restoration of harmony 
 between the colonies and Great Britain. At this meeting 
 of the General Court in Salem, delegates were appointed 
 to attend the congress. The governor was thoroughly 
 aroused and prepared to arrest a number of Salem men 
 and send them to England for trial for various violations 
 of the laws of parliament. More important infractions 
 diverted his attention. He ordered the general court to 
 convene in Salem October 5, but withdrew the command. 
 Maine was then a part of Massachusetts, and, in spite 
 
88 
 
 of the withdrawal order of convention, the members came 
 to Salem, and, according to the vote of their constituent 
 towns, resolved themselves into a provincial congress, 
 electing John Hancock of Boston, chairman, and Ben- 
 jamin Lincoln of Hingham, secretary. Resolutions were 
 passed which practically renounced the authority of par- 
 liament. 
 
 The first repulse of the British troops occurred at 
 Salem February 26, 1775 ; the next at Lexington and Con- 
 cord April 19th; and the third at Charlestown June 17th. 
 
 The war was now on. John Hancock became presi- 
 dent of the Continental Congress, and his name was 
 written first on the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 Great Britain was the greatest maritime nation in the 
 world, and its fleet of frigates was large and formidable. 
 The American colonies had no armed vessel, and its 
 soldiers were almost entirely the awkward farmers and 
 backwoodsmen, but the latter valiantly withstood the 
 British regulars and gave them ball for ball. As to a 
 navy, the merchants of Salem and Newburyport princi- 
 pally armed and manned the vessels they had and as 
 privateers sent them out to harrass the English commerce. 
 They built larger vessels and made them serviceable as 
 far as possible as war vessels. Salem had one hundred 
 and fifty-eight of these vessels on the ocean so equipped; 
 and they took four hundred and fifty prizes from the 
 enemy. Some of the wealthy merchants consumed their 
 entire property in this way. Each patriot made the cause 
 his own. Every one was on the initiative and practically 
 a volunteer. 
 
 The participation of Salem and associated towns is most 
 prominent in the story of the War of the Revolution. 
 Washington leaned greatly upon the people of this sec- 
 tion and gave many tributes of praise to them. One of 
 the major generals was born here, and another was the 
 commissionary-general of the Northern army. A large 
 
89 
 
 volume could not contain the history of support in lives 
 and fortunes given here to the cause of independence. 
 Benjamin Lincoln became a major general, and it was he 
 who was selected by Washington to have the honor of 
 receiving the sword of Comwallis upon his surrender at 
 Yorktown, in 1781, thus ending the long conflict and 
 bringing into national life the United States of America. 
 
 The snow-white sails of the merchant ships of Salem 
 were soon seen in every water of the known world, and 
 became famous in the uttermost parts. Arabia, India, 
 China, Japan, The Philippine Islands, Sumatra, Batavia, 
 Feejee Islands, Australia, Madagascar and Africa thus 
 became introduced to commerce and Western civilization. 
 
 The influence of the new nation immediately became 
 manifest on every hand, and its ideas and institutions 
 long ago permeated all the nations. None have contrib- 
 uted so much directly for the advancement of the 
 material welfare of the human race, and its missionaries 
 in all parts of the globe are beyond comparison with any 
 other country. The establishment and endowment of 
 hospitals and colleges in all lands is notable. The Eng- 
 lish language and dress and customs throughout the world 
 are more common than any other. 
 
 What is the destiny of this country of upward a hun- 
 dred million people? Is it indeed the company of 
 peoples that were promised to the patriarchs, and is this 
 the fulness of time, as some say, when there would come 
 out of the east and north, from every nation, the people 
 who should inhabit the promised land and live not to 
 themselves, but be the means of salvation to a long suffer- 
 ing world? 
 
 No other nation has had such a beginning, no other 
 had a definite purpose in its inception to exist for others 
 and not for itself alone. No other nation in its begin- 
 ning, nor at any time, has had the pure democracy of 
 America. 
 
90 
 
 The prevalence of the desire for freedom and demo- 
 cracy in America has always existed, and its late mani- 
 festation in the World War is typical of it. Not con- 
 quest, nor revenge, nor selfish aggrandisement of any 
 sort or degree actuated the people to give money, sons and 
 husbands and brothers, to eat undesirable food, to put up 
 with inconveniences and losses. The inducement on 
 every hand was to save civilization, to promote democ- 
 racy, and to save those countries which had been most 
 shamelessly entered, pillaged and almost ruined by a 
 nation whose whole interest was destruction of everything 
 worth while. To this call the people rallied as never 
 before in the history of any nation. Every able-bodied 
 man was called into service, and millions of young men 
 were sent, in wonderful brevity of time, three thousand 
 miles. Hundreds of thousands of these made the 
 supreme sacrifice, turned back the German hordes, and 
 ended the catastrophe. America opened its purse and 
 loaned to the allied nations of Europe the billions 
 of dollars necessary to continue the awful struggle. In 
 return, America asks no benefits, no part in the territory 
 which Germany and Austria has had to relinquish, being 
 satisfied with ending the terrible conflict in that distant 
 land. More than that, as the war left millions of families 
 in Europe destitute, and their children in imminent dan- 
 ger of starvation, an appeal to the people of America to 
 save them brought sufficient money to feed and clothe 
 them until a new harvest, and these children were of the 
 enemy countries as well as of the allies. The world 
 never before witnessed such nation-wide generosity and 
 magnanimity. 
 
 President Wilson sought to induce America to enter 
 the league of nations, but the people refused to do so. 
 The prophecy is that the promised nation would dwell 
 alone, and surely America occupies that position, follow- 
 
91 
 
 ing the declaration and advice of Washington to avoid 
 European entanglements. 
 
 Again, America has always won in war. The promise 
 made to the nation of prophecy is that no weapon that 
 is formed against it shall prosper. 
 
 Again, the promised nation shall possess the gates of 
 its enemies. The United States now controls the Panama 
 Canal, the Philippine Islands, Hawaian Islands, Guam, 
 and Yap. 
 
 The greatest error that was committed by the English 
 settlers of New England was the driving of the Indians 
 from their homes and fertile lands and taking possession 
 of them for themselves. But it is to the credit of the 
 people that such a thing was never repeated. The nation 
 has always paid for the lands that have been added to 
 its domain, — ^as Louisiana, the Northwest Territory, 
 Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and Dutch Guiana. When, by 
 the fortunes of war, territory has been secured, as in the 
 case of the Philippine Islands, America has paid for it 
 in cash. 
 
 The intolerance of the Puritans in religion was mani- 
 fested in the two extremes, — the Episcopalians and the 
 Quakers, — one the extreme of ceremony and ritual, and 
 the other of simplicity. The second, however, had 
 seemed the greater heresy, strange as it may be, and 
 intolerance was overcome only after a number of excel- 
 lent Christian lives had been sacrificed. 
 
 Superstition was firmly entrenched in the belief of the 
 people, and in the awfulness of Salem witchcraft nine- 
 teen lives purchased freedom from the power of demon- 
 ology. The old-time errors had to be overthrown, and 
 the battle ground was in Salem, where the people awoke 
 to sanity. 
 
 The country has done much to purify and redeem it- 
 self. Slavery was practically abolished in the North 
 before the Revolution; but in the South it continued 
 
9J 
 
 until, at great cost of money and blood, the proclama- 
 tion of Lincoln emancipated the colored race January 1, 
 1863. 
 
 Salem and its near towns had a greater share in the 
 rise of abolition than is ordinarily known. In this neigh- 
 borhood was born William Lloyd Garrison and John G. 
 Whittier, and Charles Torrey was of Salem, and Harriet 
 Beecher Stowe lived in Andover. 
 
 Prohibition came next being made a provision of the 
 constitution of the country; and women received their 
 political emancipation, also, by a constitutional amend- 
 ment. 
 
 DESTINY OF AMERICA. 
 
 A company of immigrants from its inception, the por- 
 tals of the government have always swung wide open to 
 the oppressed of the world, and millions from out of every 
 land of every tongue and race have come to receive of 
 its beneiicence. America is indeed a non-racial nation. 
 The work of Americans is to assimilate these strangers, — 
 Americanize them, — that they may understand and appre- 
 ciate our government and institutions and ideas, and be 
 desirous of being an integral part of the nation. America 
 is not only a melting pot, but a smelting pot, where the 
 dross of former times and conditions shall be eliminated. 
 
 There are mobs and violence, strikes and murders, and 
 bribery and corruption. Investigations are made, and 
 courts and legislatures are correcting these errors. In 
 other countries similiar occurrences exist, but the know- 
 ledge of them is kept from the people. In the process of 
 purification only, the scum rises on the living boiling 
 water. Dead waters remain quiet and evils sink out of 
 sight, because there is no life or activity to stir them to 
 the surface. 
 
 Learning here the principles of true liberty and right- 
 eousness and magnanimity, many of the foreign born 
 
93 
 
 have spread the news to their kindred and friends across 
 the sea in their various fatherlands, and others have 
 returned to the homelands and carried the message of all 
 that America stands for with an influence that no 
 stranger could ever possess. Thus the service assigned to 
 Abraham and the promised land is being performed in a 
 wondrous way and to a mighty extent. How little we 
 know of the methods by which great and enduring things 
 are accomplished by the hand of God ! 
 
 The manifest destiny of America is to be a blessing 
 in every way and everywhere throughout the world. Its 
 natural method lies in development as individuals and as 
 a social organism, and upon those whom it can reach its 
 effect is like leaven till all be leavened. 
 
 If this be true, the privileges and duties are such that 
 in them every American has a peculiar interest and share. 
 The inherent principle lies in the exemplication of the 
 deep faith of Abraham and his successors and the pure 
 life and teachings of Christ in the life of each. When 
 the generous and magnanimous nation puts on the whole 
 of the Christian life, strikes, mobs, violence, bribery, will 
 lapse and the world will be redeemed. 
 
 The sabbath Millenium, the seventh thousand years, 
 according to Bible chronology, is said to be dawning. 
 If this be also true, we are living in a wonderful period, 
 — the most interesting, most important, most active time 
 in all the ages. A closer study of the Bible will give a 
 more lively and direct interest in God and his work in 
 the world in past, present and future and the most patent 
 direction in relation to service.