"Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" asks the prophet Isaiah concerning the judgments that were about to fall upon the enemies round about Immanuel's land, after Israel has been dealt with in unsparing judgments. And we may well ask the same at this present time concerning what the Holy Spirit has declared would come upon the Gentile grafted in upon the olive tree of blessing and testimony, when the natural branches (Israel) were broken off this favored place, because of unbelief.
Every one knows, who has the light of truth, with what blessing, and at what cost, the Word of God was restored to the people at the time of the Reformation ; and what the Lord's warning to Sardis is (prophetically covering the period of Protestantism), "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee" (Rev. 3 :3). But as it was said of obdurate Israel, "The Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all the prophets and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways . . . Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks " (2 Kings 17:13, 14); thus also, favored Protestantism, brought out of the degradation and superstition of Romanism, is become more guilty than Romanism, having fallen into sacrilege and blasphemy against God and His Word. Is this too strong, my readers? Here are proofs.
In a circular, sent out by "The Great Commission Prayer League," sounding an alarm as to the present conditions and apostasy in Protestantism, it is stated:
" There are over a quarter of a million Protestant congregations in the world, and it is safe to say that at least four out of every five have become tainted with evil doctrine, and that thousands of these congregations have gone almost bodily into apostasy.
"This is why we say that the whole world is fast becoming one vast missionary field. It will soon be as necessary to send orthodox missionaries to a heterodox Protestantism as to send missionaries to Romanism or Mohammedanism or paganism. If you don't believe this, read the following utterances quoted recently in the Alliance Weekly, of New York, the organ of the Christian and Missionary Alliance -remembering that these are the utterances of ministers ' cradled and ordained in evangelical churches, and that there are multitudes of preachers who profess to believe and who talk as blatantly as these men :
"Says one minister:'I no longer preach the entire acceptance of the Bible. I do not preach the heaven and hell of the Bible, and I do not know any worthwhile preachers who do.'
"Says a second :' I do not believe in the doctrine of salvation by blood. Thank God, I am not saved by the blood of any one. Salvation by blood is the gospel of the butcher-shop.'
"Says a third:'Heaven is an antiquated theory that has long been exploded. The Holy Spirit is but a shadowy, impersonal influence of negligible value, and the doctrine of a returning Christ is a foolish and forlorn hope.'
"We shudder to reproduce such blasphemies as the foregoing, and would not do it except to show how far the professing Christian world is getting from the cross of Christ, and how infinitely urgent is the need of a kind of prayer different from that which most Christians offer . . . Thousands of Christians are discarding God's substitution and accepting that of the devil . . . Thousands in the pulpit have 'departed from the faith,' and millions in the pew have become 'lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.'
"A few weeks ago a despairing Christian father, a reputable business man, connected with one of the great financial institutions of the United States, wrote as follows to the Great Commission Prayer League :
" ' It is certainly hard to raise children now when there is so much worldliness in the churches. Sunday-school teachers give dances to their classes and take them to picture-shows Sunday evenings; ministers' children dance and play cards, so our children feel that they are almost ostracized if they do not do the same things. Pray that we may have grace and wisdom to meet the occasion.' "
Recently, in a large New York City congregation it was voted, and carried, to eliminate what hindered a wider circle of fellowship; so the name "Church of the Messiah" was changed to " Community Church," and they congratulated themselves of having "got rid, not only of the Old and New Testaments, but of every vestige of Christianity!!"
In view of such things, one can hardly wonder that the Episcopalian Bishop of Delaware has just severed his connection with the Episcopalian body, with the probable outcome of entering Romanism, where a profession of faith in the great cardinal truths is outwardly maintained, with a pompous ritual, which appeals to the flesh.
After all the foregoing, it is sweet to read of the work of God's grace in the very center of "Dark Africa," as follows:
From a Medical Missionary in Rhodesia, Central Africa :"My dear Mr. B–, I have much pleasure in sending you £2. 5s., money we have in hand from our offerings.
" Our little assembly (which more than doubled its number last year-we have over fifty in fellowship) still devotes the offerings of the first Lord's Day in every month for work amongst the Jews. On the second Sunday their offerings are set apart for local evangelistic effort in our rather large parish of several thousand square miles. On the third Lord's Day every month we have begun setting apart gifts for the poor and sick; and the fourth, towards incidental expenses connected with the upkeep of our school-house, and building of a larger place for the numbers who attend our mid-day meetings, daily, and our Sunday meetings.
" Medical work ties me mostly to this hill, but my son last year was very diligent in evangelistic effort, spending over three months trying to evangelize every Lunda-speaking village south of us.
" This year several Christians in outlying districts will be baptized, God willing, and gathered into assemblies. We have one little gathering of four, on the Lunge River. I spent one Lord's Day with them recently, and we had such a happy time together in a small hut built by them voluntarily for meetings, with small logs as seats, and a bigger square log as a table, on which was spread a clean white cloth, and a plate with manioc-mush for bread, and a cup of wild red-plum juice for wine. Eight others were present who did not partake of the bread and wine, but have been won through the testimony of these four last years, and will shortly be baptized. I have today received 3s. 6d. from them in sums of 3d. and 1d.-their offerings towards evangelistic and other work.
"I know we have your prayers, as you have ours. The night surely is far spent; the glorious day for us and Israel will soon dawn, and we shall see our blessed Lord Jesus, no longer the rejected One, but crowned with glory and honor.
" That this year may prove the richest and best for you and all your co-workers, is the wish of
"Yours affectionately in Christ Jesus, W. F.
''THIS SAME JESUS"-IN HEAVEN