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ZIONJS
WATCH
TOWER
ALL:£GH:£NY,
PA.
ents
are
pleased
to
give
good
gifts
to
their
children,
so
our
Heavenly
Father
is
pleased
to
gl1'e
the
holy
spint
to
those
who
ask
him
(Luke
11:
13)
If
the
Lord's
consecrated
people
could
all
be
brought
to
the
point
where
the
chief
aim
in
life,
the
burden
of
all
their
prayers,
would
be
that
they
might
have
a
larger
measure
of
the
spirit
of
the
Lord,
the
spirit
of
holiness,
the
spirit
of
the
truth,
the
Spirit
of
Christ,
that
spirit
of
a
sound
mind,
what
a
blessing
it
would
mean!
If,
tnen,
they
should
wrestle
with
the
Lord
until
the
breaking
of
the
daJ
their
hold
upon
him
would
be
sure
to
bring
the
desired
bless
ing.
The
Lord
has
revealed
himself
to
his
people
for
the
very
purpose
of
giving
them
this
blessing;
nevertheless,
he
with
holds
it
untIl
they
learn
to
appreciate
and
earnestly
desire
it.
.Jacob
got
the
blessing
and
with
it
a
change
of
name.
He
was
thencdorth
called
Israel,
which
signifies
"Mighty
with
God."
This
new
name
would
thenceforth
be
continually
a.
source
of
encouragement
to
him,
an
incentive
to
fresh
zeal
and
trust
in
the
one
whose
blessing
he
had
secured.
All
of
Jacob's
posterity
adopted
this
name.
They
were
all
known
as
children
of
Israel,
or
Israelites;
for
God
acknowledged
the
name
as
applicable
to
all
of
the
nation.
Similarly,
in
a.ntitype,
we
have
Christ
Jesus
our
Lord,
the
true,
the
antitypical
Israel,
the
onp
who,
through
faith
and
obedience
to
the
Father,
has
prevailed,
has
overcome
the
world
and
the
flesh
and
the
Adversary,
and
has
received
the
divine
blessmg'
as
the
result
of
his
struggle.
He
lIas
been
highly
exalted
and
is
declared
now
to
be
princp
or
ruler
of
the
kings
of
the
earth.
He
has
sat
down
with
the
Father
in
his
throne.-Rev.
1
:5.
Nor
does
the
analogy
end
here;
for,
as
Jacob
had
twelve
sons,
so
our
Lord
,Jesus
had
twelve
apostles:
and
these,
and
all
who
come
into
Christ
through
their
ministry
of
the
Gospel,
are
accepted
as
the
true,
the
spiritual,
Israel.
The
same
name
belongs
to
all
of
these
that
belongs
to
the
Head.
As
with
fleshly
Israel
there
were
some
who
were
"Israelites
indeed,"
and
others
who
were
not,
but
of
the
synagogue
of
Satan,
in
the
spiritual
Israel
there
are
nominal
and
real
Israelites;
and
only
thp
latter
wIll
llltllnatcly
obtam
the
ble..,..,ing
and
be
Jomt
IICinl
with
Jesus
Christ
their
Lord.
And
the
name,
"Victor,"
or
"Mighty
with
God,"
will
be
a
name
which
will
apply
to
everyone
of
the
Lord's
faithful
ones
in
the
same
manner
that
it
applied
to
Jesus
himself.
Each
one
will
be
required
to
mani
fest
his
loyalty
to
the
Lord,
his
faith,
his
trust,
and
only
those
who
love
the
Lord
and
the
promise
lIe
has
made
that
they
wIll
hold
on
to
his
promise,
and
wiII
not
let
him
go
without
a
blpssing-only
such
will
receive
the
great
blessing,
only
such
WIll
hp
able
to
overcome
the
world,
the
flesh
and
the
Adversary.
"This
is
the
victory
that
overcometh
the
world,
even
your
faith"-m
GOfl
and
in
hIS
promises.
ACKNOWLEDGING
DIVINE
FAVORS
.Tnco!>
Ilfl(l
a
method
of
marking
the
special
manifestations
of
divinf'
provirlence,-as
when
he
called
the
place
in
which
he
wre-,tled
with
the
angel
PPlllel:
as
a
reminder
that
there
he
had
been
privileged
to
see,
representatively,
the
Lord's
face,
to
receive
the
Lord's
blessing,
the
light
of
his
countenance.
Sim
ilarly,
it
is
profitable
to
the
spiritual
Israelites
that
we
should
make
note
in
some
special
manner
of
all
the
Lord's
mercies
and
providences
toward
us.
Many
feel
poor
as
respects
the
Lord's
favor
and
blessing,
simply
because
they
have
failed
to
let
them
make
a
proper
impression
upon
their
hearts
at
the
time
they
were
received.
Divine
favors
are
soon
lost
from
our
leaky
earthen
vessels
unless
special
notation
is
made
at
the
time,
either
upon
the
tablets
of
memory,
or
in
some
other
manner
to
refresh
memory.
Doubtless
we
would
all
have
more
Bethels
and
more
Peniels
did
we
but
follow
the
course
of
set
ting
up
some
kind
of
monuments,
and
there
entering
into
some
special
covenant
or
vow
with
the
Lord
in
return
for
his
mer
cies.
Quite
in
line
with
this
thought,
that
Christians
generally
have
multitudinous
blessings,
and
favors
more
than
they
fully
recognize,
the
Allegheny
Church
has
for
some
years
held
"Cot
tage
Meetings"
in
various
quarters
every
Wednesday
evening,
for
prayer,
praise
and
testimony.
And
the
testimonies
called
for
are
not
the
"years
ago"
sort,
however
good,
but
the
fresh
living
experience
of
the
week.
And
as
each
seeks
for
fresh
evidences
of
dIvine
love
and
watch-care
daily,
each
finds
that
hI'
has
far
more
cause
for
rejoicing
and
thanksgiving
and
encour
agement
than
he
would
have
been
aware
of
without
such
watch.
fulness
and
notation.
Let
us
daily
and
weekly
as
well
as
yearly
rear
to
God
our
Ebenezers,
if
we
would
increase
our
faith
and
joy
and
love.
As
Saul
of
Tarsus,
in
receiving
his
blessing
of
the
Lord,
received
also
a
thorn
in
the
flesh,
which
buffeted
him
continu
ally
through
the
remainder
of
his
experiences,
but
which
he
learned
ultimately
to
appreciate
as
a
channel
of
divine
bless
ing,
as
a
reminder
of
divine
favor,
so
it
was
with
Jacob.
At
the
very
time
that
he
was
wrestling
with
the
angel
and
get
ting
the
blessing,
he
received
a
wound,
a
troublesome
reminder
of
the
blessing,
which
continued
with
him
probably
through
th('
remainder
of
his
days,
causing
him
to
limp.
The
record
is
that
the
angel
touched
him
in
the
hollow
of
his
thigh,
probably
touched
the
sciatic
nerve,
causing
the
sinew
to
shrink
and
:\
slight
dislocation
of
the
joint.
The
lesson
not
onlv
was
one
for
Jacob
himself
to
the
remainder
of
his
days,
leading
him
to
remember
his
dependence
upon
the
Lord,
and
that
he
owed
everything
he
possessed
to
the
divine
blessing,
but
it
served
af
terward
with
his
posterity
as
a
continual
reminder
of
the
same
thing;
for
the
record
is
that
thenceforth
tlw
T
sraelites
would
not
eat
of
this
sinew
from
any
animal.
Jacob's
"thorn
in
the
flesh,"
no
doubt,
served
to
keep
him
humble,
even
as
Paul's
served
to
remind
him
that
he
was
what
he
was
by
the
grace
of
God,
and
not
in
any
wiiSe
of
himself.
Simlarly,
the
Lord
permits
certain
weaknesses
of
the
flE>sh
to
affect
his
spir
itual
children
in
the
present
time
faL·orably.
Undoubtedly
some
of
our
difficulties
and
trials,
physical
as
well
as
others,
are
amongst
our
greatest
blessings,
working
out
for
us
a
better
portion
in
the
future,
by
working
in
Ull
faith,
patience,
true
reliance
upon
the
Lord.
ALLEGHENY,
P
A.,
SEPTEMBER
1.
1901
VIEWS
FROM
THE
WATCH
TO\VER
No.
17
RIGHT
AND
WRONG
VIEWS
OF
THE
PRESENT
SITUATION
If
we
but
remember
that
nothing
in
the
world's
history
ofrers
~n~'
rompari~on
to
present
social
and
financial
condi
tlOnq.
WI'
m~~'
\\'ell
regara
WIth
a
great
deal
of
charity
the
conflictIng
View"
of
able
and
conscientious
men
respecting
the
C:luse
q
,
the
disadvfllltnges,
the
proper
remedies,
and
the
nutcome,
of
the
movementR
now
on
foot
throughout
the
civ
1hZi'd
worln
God's
people,
Justified
and
sanctified
and
sepa
rflte
hnm
thr
worl,I,
with
new
aims
and
spiritual
ambitions
hefore
tllpm,
nn,l
\\
ith
tlw
instruction
and
enlightenment
of
the
,hvine
reyelahon-the
Bible-should
he
able
to
take
a
calmer,
a
clearer,
a
more
comprphensive,
and
therefore
a
more
true,
view
of
affairs,
past,
present
and
to
come,
than
others;
for
we
arc
j"
renwmber
that
it
is
prejuaice
and
self-interest
\I
hif'h
generally
haR
much
to
do
with
the
blinding
of
those
who
see
not
from
the
dIvine
standpoint.
From
this
standpoint
We
sec
that
neither
the
rights
nor
the
wlOngs
of
motive
or
of
action
lie
all
on
one
side
of
these
fJllPstion-,;
nnfl,
seeing
this,
we
arc
better
able
to
take
a
sym
pa
i!wtic
positIOn,
and
to
e,ercise
our
influenre
amongst
those
with
whom
we
come
in
contact,
in
thl:
interests
of
peace.
All
of
the
Lord's
people
Rhould
be
peace-makers;
none
of
them
should
he
strife-makf'rR.
Thcr£'
are
generally
a
sufficient
numlH'r
of
selfish
forceR
at
work
in
and
about
every
indi
vidual
to
stir
up
his
mina,
to
breea
in
him
discontent,
and
to
arou~e
the
passions
of
anger
and
malice
and
hatred;
there
are
few
influences,
at
work,
on
behalf
of
gentleneR~,
meek·
neSIl,
patience.
brotherly
kindness,
love.
Hence
there
is
the
more
neces"ity
that
the
Lord's
people
continue
pouring
oil
upon
the
troubled
waters-the
oil
of
th£'
holy
Spirit,
with
which
their
cup
is
to
overflow;
the
oil
of
joy
as
opposed
to
the
Ilpirit
of
heaviness
and
discontent;
the
oil
of
hope,
which
illumines
the
future
gloriously,
aud
thus
offsets
and
counter
acts
the
darkness
of
present
discouragements.
As
an
illustration
of
how
good
and
wise
men
sometimee
fail
to
get
a
correct
view
of
matters,
take
the
following
ex
tract
from
a
Philadelphia
journal:-
A
SPECIES
OF
INSANITY
"A
terrible
trouble
is
disturbing
the
earth
at
the
present
time.
It
more
resembles
a
species
of
insanity
than
any
thing
else.
As
we
know,
among
members
of
an
undeveloped
society
the
maniacal
tendency
IS
not
common;
that
tendency
is
an
accompaniment
of
civilization.
All
must
have
noted
the
fact
that
the
possession
of
extraordinary
endowments
and
a
facile
loss
of
mental
balance,
or
great
wits
and
madness,
as
the
poet
has
told
us,
are
somehow
near
allied.
They
have
a
way
of
going
together.
Just
so
here.
Today
it
is
not
the
dull
nations,
but
the
bright
ones,
the
most
advanced
in
re
finement
and
everything
of
that
sort,
that
seem
craziest
in
the
cra7e
flt
tIllS
moment
sweepIng
the
world.
The
dementia
i~
practically
an
exclusive
possession
of
the
Great
Powers
of
Europe,
troubling
England
worst,
but
reaching
out
and
af-
[2866]
(271-275) ents are pleased to give good gifts to their children, so our Heavenly Father is pleased to give the holy spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13) If the Lord’s consecrated people could all be brought to the point where the chief aim in life, the burden of all their prayers, would be that they might have a larger measure of the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of holiness, the spirit of the truth, the Spirit of Christ, that spirit of a sound mind, what a blessing it would mean! If, then, they should wrestle with the Lord until the breaking of the day their hold upon him would be sure to bring the desired blessing. The Lord has revealed himself to his people for the very purpose of giving them this blessing; nevertheless, he withholds it until they learn to appreciate and earnestly desire it. Jacob got the blessing and with it a change of name. He was thenceforth called Israel, which signifies “Mighty with God.” This new name would thenceforth be continually a source of encouragement to him, an incentive to fresh zeal and trust in the one whose blessing he had secured. All of Jacoh’s posterity adopted this name. They were all known as children of Israel, or Israelites; for God acknowledged the name as applicable to all of the nation. Similarly, in antitype, we have Christ Jesus our Lord, the true, the antitypical Israel, the one who, through faith and obedience to the Father, has prevailed, has overcome the world and the flesh and the Adversary, and has received the divine blessing as the result of his struggle. He has been highly exalted and is declared now to be prince or ruler of the kings of the earth. He has sat down with the Father in his throne—Rev. 1:5. Nor does the analogy end here; for, as Jacob had twelve sons, so our Lord Jesus had twelve apostles; and these, and all who come into Christ through their ministry of the Gospel, are accepted as the true, the spiritual, Israel, The same name belongs to all of these that belongs to the Head. As with fleshly Israel there were some who were “Israelites indeed,” and others who were not, but of the synagogue of Satan, in the spiritual Israel there are nominal and real Israelites; and only the latter will ultimately obtain the blessing and be jointheirs with Jesus Christ their Lord. And the name, “Victor,” or “Mighty with God,” will be a name which will apply to everyone of the Lord’s faithful ones in the same manner that it applied to Jesus himself. Each one will be required to manifest his lovalty to the Lord, his faith, his trust, and only those who love the Lord and the promise he has made that they will hold on to his promise, and will not let him go without a blessing—only such will receive the great blessing, only such will be able to overcome the world, the flesh and the Adversary. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith”—in God and in his promises. ACKNOWLEDGING DIVINE FAVORS Jacob had a method of marking the special manifestations of divine providence,—as when he called the place in which he wrestled with the angel Peniel; as a reminder that there he ZION’S WATCH TOWER Vou. XXII ALLEGHENY, PA., SEPTEMBER 1, 1901 ALLECGHENY, Pa, had been privileged to see, representatively, the Lord’s face, tc receive the Lord’s blessing, the light of his countenance. Similarly, it is profitable to the spiritual Israelites that we should make note in some special manner of all] the Lord’s mercies and providences toward us. Many feel poor as respects the Lord’s favor and blessing, simply because they have failed to let them make a proper impression upon their hearts at the time they were received. Divine favors are soon lost from our leaky earthen vessels unless special notation is made at the time, either upon the tablets of memory, or in some other manner to refresh memory. Doubtless we would all have more Bethels and more Peniels did we but follow the course of setting up some kind of monuments, and there entering into some special covenant or vow with the Lord in return for his mercies. Quite in line with this thought, that Christians generally have multitudinous blessings, and favors more than they fully recognize, the Allegheny Church has for some years held ‘Cottage Meetings” in various quarters every Wednesday evening, for prayer, praise and testimony. And the testimonies called for are not the “years ago” sort, however good, but the fresh living experience of the week. And as each seeks for fresh evidences of divine love and watch-care daily, each finds that he has far more cause for rejoicing and thanksgiving and encouragement than he would have been aware of without such watchfulness and notation. Let us daily and weekly as well as yearly rear to God our Ebenezers, if we would increase our faith and joy and love. As Saul of Tarsus, in receiving his blessing of the Lord, received also a thorn in the flesh, which buffeted him continually through the remainder of his experiences, but which he learned ultimately to appreciate as a channel of divine blessing, a8 a reminder of divine favor, so it was with Jacob. At the very time that he was wrestling with the angel and getting the blessing, he received a wound, a troublesome reminder of the blessing, which continued with him probably through the remainder of his days, causing him to limp. The record is that the angel touched him in the hollow of his thigh, probably touched the sciatic nerve, causing the sinew to shrink and a slight dislocation of the joint. The lesson not only was one for Jacob himself to the remainder of his days, leading him to remember his dependence upon the Lord, and that he owed everything he possessed to the divine blessing, but it served afterward with his posterity as a continual reminder of the same thing; for the record is that thenceforth the Israelites would not eat of this sinew from any animal. Jacob’s “thorn in the flesh,” no doubt, served to keep him humble, even as Paul’s served to remind him that he was what he was by the grace of God, and not in any wise of himself. Simlarly, the Lord permits certain weaknesses of the flesh to affect his spiritual children in the present time favorably. Undoubtedly some of our difficulties and trials, physical as well as others, are amongst our greatest blessings, working out for us a better portion in the future, by working in us faith, patience, true reliance upon the Lord. No. 17 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER RIGHT AND WRONG VIEWS OF THE PRESENT SITUATION If we but remember that nothing in the world’s history offers any comparison to present social and financial conditions. we may well regard with a great deal of charity the conflicting views of able and conscientious men respecting the causes, the disadvantages, the proper remedies, and the outcome, of the movements nuw on foot throughout the civized world God’s people, justified and sanctified and separate from the world, with new aims and spiritual ambitions before them, and with the instruction and enlightenment of the divine revelation—the Bible—should be able to take a calmer, a clearer, a more comprehensive, and therefore a more true, view of affairs, past, present and to come, than others; for Wwe are to remember that it is prejudice and_ self-interest which generally has much to do with the blinding of those who see not from the divine standpoint. From this standpoint we see that neither the rights nor the wrongs of motive or of action lie all on one side of these questions; and, seeing this, we are better able to take a sympathetic position, and to exercise our influence amongst those with whom we come in contact, in the interests of peace. All of the Lord’s people should be peace-makers; none of them should he strife-makers. There are generally a sufficient number of selfish forces at work in and about every individual to stir up his mind, to breed in him discontent, and to arouse the passions of anger and malice and hatred; there are few influences, at work, on behalf of gentleness, meekness, patience. brotherly kindness, love. Hence there is the more necessity that the Lord’s people continue pouring oil upon the troubled waters—the oil of the holy Spirit, with which their cup is to overflow; the oil of joy as opposed to the spirit of heaviness and discontent; the oil of hope, which illumines the future gloriously, aud thus offsets and counteracts the darkness of present discouragements. As an illustration of how good and wise men sometimes fail to get a correct view of matters, take the following extract from a Philadelphia journal:— A SPECIES OF INSANITY “A terrible trouble is disturbing the earth at the present time. It more resembles a species of insanity than anything else. As we know, among members of an undeveloped society the maniacal tendency 18 not common; that tendency is an accompaniment of civilization. All must have noted the fact that the possession of extraordinary endowments and a facile loss of mental balance, or great wits and madness, as the poet has told us, are somehow near allied. They have a way of going together. Just so here. Today it is not the dull nations, but the bright ones, the most advanced in refinement and everything of that sort, that seem craziest in the craze at this moment sweeping the world. The dementia is practically an exclusive possession of the Great Powers of Europe, troubling England worst, but reaching out and af [2866]
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