1889 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
1889 Watch Tower - A2Z.org 1889 Watch Tower - A2Z.org
IS EARLY DEATH A BLESSING?On last Sunday I was one of a crowd of over four thousandpeople who listened to a sermon by the noted Brooklynpreacher, De Witt Talmage. The whole discourse was apessimistic view of this present life, and an effort to prove thatthe more brief the life the greater the blessing, because of thestruggle, the labors and heart-aches that are escaped, as well asthe temptations that are avoided.To quote his own expressive language: "If one die at thirty-five,he gets through work at noon;" and speaking of the child thatdies in infancy, "That child touched the earth and glanced intoheaven."I could not interpret the thoughts of the throng who appeared toreceive his bold unproven assertions as the words of onespeaking with authority, but I know that many thoughts coursedthrough my brain. The following are a few of them:--I thought--You profess to be a minister of God, why don't youteach the people God's word instead of giving so many of yourown words; for since bidding good-bye to your text you havenot quoted a word of Scripture to support your assertions. Ithought--If it is such a blessing to die young, what a greatmistake our Creator has made. If he had taken counsel ofmodern theologians he would have arranged to have had thebulk of humanity "just touch the earth and glance into heaven,"reserving only the "real good," who could not be corrupted, toperpetuate the race, and thus furnish more inhabitants forheaven.I thought--My dear sir! I wonder were you taken seriously ill, ifyou would not send post-haste for a physician, and if necessaryfor a council of them, for fear that by some mistake you mightbe taken away to the "warmth and sunshine and beauteouslandscapes" of heaven before you were quite ready to quit this"outer circle."I thought--Had you been God's counselor on Mt. Sinai youwould have advised Him not to add the promise of long life tothe fifth commandment; and you could have corrected Paulwhen he quoted the commandment, so that he would not haveadded as a blessing: "That thou mayest live long on the earth."Then again, how ignorant was Hezekiah. What a splendidopportunity he had to go directly through the pearly gates intoglory; but he prayed and he wept to remain "in this cheerlessworld;" and God humored him, and as a special privilegeallowed him to remain "outside in the cold and the wet" forfifteen long years. If Hezekiah could have listened to his sermonhe would never have written as he did: "Behold for peace I hadgreat bitterness, but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered itfrom the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast all my sins behindmy back. For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot
celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope forThy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee even as Ido this day."--Isa. 38:1,5,17-19.I thought--Solomon was a very wise man; but if you, Mr.Talmage, are correct, he made one great mistake when he gavecounsel to the young man, "My son, forget not my law; but letthine heart keep my commandments; for length of days, andlong life, and peace shall they add to thee;" Talmage would havegiven as the reward, "For you shall die young and go to glory."Again David ought never to have said, in enumerating theblessings of a perfect man, "With long life will I satisfy him," ifas you say, the dead "are more alive than we are--we are thedead."I thought--"What fools we mortals be" to struggle and labor insearch of knowledge as we do, if it be true that, "in five minutesafter death we will know more than by studying one hundredyears;" and "a child six months old knows more than all thewisdom of Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Oxford, and all otheruniversities combined;" and then, how strange it is that theinspired Psalmist did not know this, as he would not then havewritten that "the dead know not anything," that "in death there isno remembrance of Thee;" and concerning man that "His breathgoeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day histhoughts perish."--Psa. 6:5; 146:4."If any man speak let him speak as the oracle of God."--Selected.====================R1118 : page 7THE REST OF THE DEAD.DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:--I have read with great interestMr. Brewer's letter to you and your reply, on the resurrection of"the rest of the dead," published in ZION'S WATCH TOWERfor March '89.I have given the subject deep thought and cannot helpconcluding that to any logical mind it should be clear that thepassage in question was a comment or note made by a reader,and was not in the original text. I give you my thoughts as theycame to me while studying the subject: Christ is Lord both ofthe dead and of the living (Rom. 14:9), hence, I conclude thatthe second resurrection will be his work and will take placeduring his Millennial reign, i.e., the first resurrection will be thatof the saints immediately at Christ's coming, and the second thatof the "rest of the dead;" because to restore, or raise up, or givelife will be his special work during his reign.
- Page 71 and 72: sacrifice) for divine nature, it me
- Page 73 and 74: torture, the case would be differen
- Page 75 and 76: obedience to his commands, if he wo
- Page 77 and 78: --IN REPLY--There are but two known
- Page 79 and 80: we can get them out in large quanti
- Page 81 and 82: not permitted to know sooner? Your
- Page 83 and 84: I have enlisted in the service of t
- Page 85 and 86: DEAR BRO. PATCHEN:--Your welcome le
- Page 87 and 88: page 1DO NOT send us Foreign or Can
- Page 89 and 90: The number present from abroad was
- Page 91 and 92: Gethsemane and the inestimable valu
- Page 93 and 94: EXTRACTS FROMINTERESTING LETTERS.pa
- Page 95 and 96: E. C. LEIGH.Indianapolis, Ind., May
- Page 97 and 98: people were much displeased with th
- Page 99 and 100: who promise to read. Generally I pr
- Page 101 and 102: The class to receive the prize is n
- Page 103 and 104: of the human will into the will of
- Page 105 and 106: purer tastes, until finally he give
- Page 107 and 108: Brotherly kindness,Temperateness,Ch
- Page 109 and 110: "If these things be in you and abou
- Page 111 and 112: Of all this mass of "Stuff," but tw
- Page 113 and 114: plan is so broad and comprehensive,
- Page 115 and 116: how the new conditions, into which
- Page 117 and 118: every matter, whether in our shorts
- Page 119 and 120: elationships. Those whose ambitions
- Page 121: of my pilgrimage have been few and
- Page 125 and 126: shown, water is a symbol of truth;
- Page 127 and 128: poor starved sheep of Christ and th
- Page 129 and 130: CREDIT FOR THE POOR.Those unable to
- Page 131 and 132: page 1DAMAGED DAWNS.Our supply was
- Page 133 and 134: torment, either of themselves or th
- Page 135 and 136: living faith in the true Word of Go
- Page 137 and 138: his cause before an astonished worl
- Page 139 and 140: Sometimes we look into a face which
- Page 141 and 142: that the God-like element of sympat
- Page 143 and 144: change in his attitude toward his c
- Page 145 and 146: any continuance of life, in any oth
- Page 147 and 148: knowledge of God; as it is written:
- Page 149 and 150: upon all, will be released from the
- Page 151 and 152: shall be selected and given this ve
- Page 153 and 154: provided our ransom price; yea, he
- Page 155 and 156: Till thus relieved of this duty of
- Page 157 and 158: THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, NO. I.That
- Page 159 and 160: The world, then, being the portion
- Page 161 and 162: world admitted into any system of p
- Page 163 and 164: you; but that ye be perfectly joine
- Page 165 and 166: It follows that conceit springs fro
- Page 167 and 168: in order that he may thereby indire
- Page 169 and 170: VIEW FROM THE TOWER.Old readers wil
- Page 171 and 172: This conclusion, which we consider
celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope forThy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee even as Ido this day."--Isa. 38:1,5,17-19.I thought--Solomon was a very wise man; but if you, Mr.Talmage, are correct, he made one great mistake when he gavecounsel to the young man, "My son, f<strong>org</strong>et not my law; but letthine heart keep my commandments; for length of days, andlong life, and peace shall they add to thee;" Talmage would havegiven as the reward, "For you shall die young and go to glory."Again David ought never to have said, in enumerating theblessings of a perfect man, "With long life will I satisfy him," ifas you say, the dead "are more alive than we are--we are thedead."I thought--"What fools we mortals be" to struggle and labor insearch of knowledge as we do, if it be true that, "in five minutesafter death we will know more than by studying one hundredyears;" and "a child six months old knows more than all thewisdom of Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Oxford, and all otheruniversities combined;" and then, how strange it is that theinspired Psalmist did not know this, as he would not then havewritten that "the dead know not anything," that "in death there isno remembrance of Thee;" and concerning man that "His breathgoeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day histhoughts perish."--Psa. 6:5; 146:4."If any man speak let him speak as the oracle of God."--Selected.====================R1118 : page 7THE REST OF THE DEAD.DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:--I have read with great interestMr. Brewer's letter to you and your reply, on the resurrection of"the rest of the dead," published in ZION'S WATCH TOWERfor March '89.I have given the subject deep thought and cannot helpconcluding that to any logical mind it should be clear that thepassage in question was a comment or note made by a reader,and was not in the original text. I give you my thoughts as theycame to me while studying the subject: Christ is Lord both ofthe dead and of the living (Rom. 14:9), hence, I conclude thatthe second resurrection will be his work and will take placeduring his Millennial reign, i.e., the first resurrection will be thatof the saints immediately at Christ's coming, and the second thatof the "rest of the dead;" because to restore, or raise up, or givelife will be his special work during his reign.
Change language