Earlier text: How Others Regard ItTHE assertion made by a writer in the London Times that American civilization is shaped by the schools of the country, arouses a Roman Catholic paper to make very strong charges against the national school system, especially as represented by the State universities. With characteristic modesty this paper then makes this statement:— There is a school that will save the nation, and it only is capable of doing so—the Catholic school, whether the same be an academy, college, or university.
We are heartily in accord with the principle that a proper education should include religious instruction, but there must not be mingled with such instruction any idea of saving the nation. The salvation of Christ is for individuals rather than for nations as such. The Call to This Generation
THERE are some men whose souls are stirred with a sense of the responsibility resting upon the people of this generation, and they are seeking to arouse all professed Christians to earnest action in proclaiming the gospel to the world. Mr. John R. Mott is well known for his zealous efforts in behalf of “the evangelization of the world in this generation.” In a recent address at the Men’s Missionary Convention in Philadelphia he said:— God help us to work, and so to plan, not as though we had two or more generations in which to do the work, but as though we had but one; or, it may be, but part of one. This appeal ought to quicken the blood of every one who believes that this is the last generation, the last opportunity for carrying the gospel to the unsaved. May the Holy Spirit, whose power alone is sufficient for the work, lay hold upon hearts, and may more abundant offerings testify to the rising temperature of missionary feeling, until an army of witnesses shall be found in every land to be the voice saying, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” This message must be given, will be given. Let no one miss his opportunity. Overspreading Lawlessness
FROM all parts of the world come the reports of both organized and individual lawlessness. The latest developments are in India. Referring to this, the London Daily News says:— That an anarchist conspiracy, after the South-European model, should be added to all the grievous complications already existing in the Indian problem,—this is indeed a horrible, and would yesterday have been deemed an inconceivable, thing. This new outcropping of the revolutionary spirit in an unexpected quarter causes astonishment and inquiry. A writer in the London Daily Mail asks:— Whence comes this wave of pessimism, manifesting itself in nihilism, that is moving among the peoples of the East? There is no cause for wonder, and there is no occasion for misunderstanding the meaning of these exhibitions of the anarchistic spirit. In the light of God's Word we may rightly interpret these things, and may know that they mark the crisis of the world's apostasy from God, and indicate the near coming of him whose right it is to reign. In the face of ominous events the believer may take courage. Rest the bier, comrades. Drop to the earth your burden:
Hands that the King has touched are devoted to other deeds.
He has raised gladness up from the leaden couch of sorrow:
He has passed on his way to the finding of others’ needs,
And he bids you follow him. Time there was when he looked on your tears with pity,
Fashioned his way to meet you as you sought the grave.
Now,—hear his calm voice as he questions in gentle wonder,
“Know ye not, friends, that I came? that my hand was stretched to save?
Why are your eyes still dim?” Glowing with love is the path that stretches toward Judah,
The path that lies thick with stones, and scarred by the autumn rains.
Feet there must be upheld by the spirit of that strong Master,
Pressing on to the Bethanys, leaving behind the Nains:
The cup has yet to brim. Lazarus sleeps, but his sleep shall find an awakening;
Cometh the day of the visitation on Olivet’s height.
Lift up your heads, and voice not a bitter and weary sorrow;
Behold, the captives shall burst through the gates of the hadean night,
In the arms of the cherubim. Disseminating Temperance Principles
By Ellen G. White
God bids his people blend harmoniously in their service for him, that they may work in Christ's lines. This last message of warning must be brought to the world, and there are continual calls for those who will go forth and carry the message to the missionary fields that are calling for help. There are some who can not themselves go to these fields, but they can help with their means in support of the work. Many can engage in the work of selling our periodicals. Thus they can earn means for the work in foreign fields while sowing seeds of truth in the byways and hedges in the home field. Such labor will be blessed of God, and it will not be done in vain. Wherever you are, let your light shine forth. Hand our papers and pamphlets to those with whom you associate, when you are riding on the cars, visiting, conversing with your neighbors; and improve every opportunity to speak a word in season. The Holy Spirit will make the seed productive in some hearts. As a people we should cultivate kindness and courtesy in our association with those whom we meet. Let us avoid any abruptness of manner, and strive always to present the truth in an easy way. This truth means life, eternal life to the receiver. Study therefore to pass easily and courteously from subjects of a temporal nature to the spiritual and eternal. A most courteous manner characterized the work of the Saviour. Seek in the most gentle way to introduce your mission. While walking by the way, or seated by the wayside, you may drop into some heart the seed of truth. I have words of encouragement to speak in regard to the special number of the Watchman, which the Southern Publishing House is soon to bring out. I shall rejoice to see our conferences help in this work by taking a large number of this issue for circulation. Let there be no forbiddings placed upon the effort, but let all take hold to give this temperance number a wide circulation. There could be no better time than now for a movement of this kind, when the temperance question is creating such wide-spread interest. Let our people everywhere take hold decidedly to let it be seen where we stand on the temperance question. Let everything possible be done to circulate strong, stirring appeals for the closing of the saloon. Let this paper be made a power for good. Our work for temperance is to be more spirited, more decided. Precious light will be given in the publications you scatter through the towns and cities. Your humble prayers, your unselfish activity, will be blessed of God, and the truth as it is in Jesus will come to those who need it. The words that Christ spoke to men while he was in the world, he will speak again through his humble faithful followers. Through them he will give to men the bread of life and the waters of salvation. Brethren, take up this work in humility of heart. The simplicity of true godliness will cause you to be respected, and will lead men and women to seek the source of your power. Believe, and you will receive the things you ask for. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is an organization with whose efforts for the spread of temperance principles we can heartily unite. The light has been given me that we are not to stand aloof from them, but, while there is to be no sacrifice of principle on our part, as far as possible we are to unite with them in laboring for temperance reforms. My husband and I in our labors, united with these temperance workers, and we had the joy of seeing several unite with us in the observance of the true Sabbath. Among them there is a strong prejudice against us, but we shall not remove this prejudice by standing aloof. God is testing us. We are to work with them when we can, and we can assuredly do this on the question of utterly closing the saloon. As the human agent submits his will to the will of God, the Holy Spirit will make the impression upon the hearts of those to whom he ministers. I have been shown that we are not to shun the W. C. T. U. workers. By uniting with them in behalf of total abstinence, we do not change our position regarding the observance of the seventh day, and we can show our appreciation of their position regarding the subject of temperance. By opening the door, and inviting them to unite with us on the temperance question, we secure their help along temperance lines; and they, by uniting with us, will hear new truths which the Holy Spirit is waiting to impress upon hearts. My brethren, be workers together with Christ. Make every possible effort in season and out of season to spread the light of present truth. The Lord has taught us how safe is the cable that anchors us to the living Rock. Here is an opportunity to labor for those who have truth on some points, but who on other points are not safely anchored. Keep in touch with the people wherever you can. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” “Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, and waiting at the posts of my doors.” “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” “In that day that I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” I entreat every soul to seek for true conversion of heart, and then labor for the salvation of precious souls. A Call of the Eleventh Hour
By F. E. Fairchild
“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed: but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” 1 Peter 4: 16-18. This solemn text is confronting every Seventh-day Adventist in the world. Not only does it speak in thunder tones to the faithful minister, Bible worker, and canvasser, but to every one for whom the precious blood of Jesus was shed on Calvary’s cross. This scripture says that “if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed: but let him glorify God on this behalf.” Now, the faithful canvassers are certainly included in this class. And when persecution and sore trials come in like a9 deluge to drive them from their post of duty, should they not stand as true as the needle to the pole, thanking God for the “light affliction, which . . . worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”? It is clear, from a study of the foregoing texts, that every worker will be brought into judgment, and will have to give an account for each misspent opportunity, and for unimproved talents. I tremble when I think of these things, and my soul cries out, “O God, have mercy on me a sinner!” If those who obey the call to come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty, are brought into judgment for neglected opportunities and unimproved talents, how will it fare with those whom the Lord has long been calling to take up the work of circulating our literature? How many there are to-day who are saying, “Suffer me first to go and bury my father,” which may mean, Let me stay at home and take care of father and mother as long as they live, and then I will obey the Lord’s call. To be sure it is a God-given duty, and should ever be our cherished privilege, tenderly to care for those who cared for us during our infancy, childhood, and youth; but we should not, for an excuse for not following our Lord and Master, say “Suffer me first to go and bury my father.” How many there are, who, when a call comes to enter the Lord’s service, begin with one accord to make excuses, which are of no more worth than was the man’s who had married a wife, and therefore could not come. My prayer to God is that he may help us to redeem the time, for the days are evil. Soon the work will be finished, the sheaves will all be gathered, the stars will all be set in the crowns, and the Lord of glory will come in the clouds of heaven. How good it will be then to hear the “Welcome” and the “Well done,” said unto us; and to enter with our dear Saviour through the gates of the city of God, to dwell with sinless beings throughout eternity.
Bozeman, Mont. “My Kinsmen”
By M. C. STRACHAN
“I SAY the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Rom. 9: 1-3. In these verses we have an expression of Paul's anxiety for the salvation of his own people, the Jews. His concern for Israel is remarkable in many particulars. First, it stands out in strong contrast with the fact that he was an apostle to the gentiles, and he took special pride and glory in the commission given him; so much so, that he said, “I magnify mine office” as a preacher to the gentiles. Notwithstanding the fact that he was appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the gentiles, he never forgot that he was a Jew by birth; and he ever felt the debt of love he owed to his own race; and in language most strong and positive he declares, “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” It may seem a dreadful wish; but so much does Paul value the salvation of the many thousand souls of his own kin above that of his own soul, so greatly does he desire the glorifying of Christ and his grace in the salvation of these souls. O what love is here expressed for one's own race! This concern of Paul for his race is not only remarkable in this respect, but the sincerity of the expression stands out in the most emphatic language. He says, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.” In other words, he wishes it understood that the testimony of the Holy Ghost enlightened and confirmed his conscience as to the honesty and truthfulness of his statement. And when a man is honest and true in an expression that comes from an unbiased conscience, he needs no other witness to attest his statement save the witness of the Holy Ghost. But there is one feature in connection with Paul's remarkable concern for the salvation of his own race, which seems most characteristic of the text, and that is the intensity of his anxiety. “I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen in the flesh. His burning desire for the saving of his own countrymen is expressed again in Rom. 10: 1. “Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.” And note that this language is addressed to another nation. But he tells this foreign nation to whom he is sent as a preacher that the burning desire and zeal of his heart is toward his own race, the Jews. In view of the foregoing, is it not a true virtue for a worker who enters the cause of truth, and goes forth to preach the gospel of the kingdom, to be interested in the saving of his own race? True the Saviour's commission is, “To all the world,” and, “To every nation;” but, the man who goes forth into this spiritual warfare, carrying with him no special burden for his own race, surely lacks the element of apostolic patriotism. What kind of man is he who is not zealous for the highest good of his own countrymen? We have the warning given through the spirit of prophecy in regard to the misdirected efforts of some workers in this particular: While we are to bear in mind the fact that the harvest-field embraces every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, and all these, more or less, have no small claim upon our labor and service, still we must not avoid the conclusion that each worker should carry a special burden for his own people. The Fourth of July
By G. B. THOMPSON
PATRIOTISM has taken on strange forms of expression in this land. On July 4 will be celebrated again this nation's natal day—of its independence the one hundred thirty-second. Once the Declaration of Independence was read upon this day, and the great constitutional principles upon which the republic is founded, were considered; but this is a thing of the past. This country has grown great in material things, and they seem almost to have hidden from view that which has made it truly great. That it will be a day of feasting, and of slaughter, and of destruction of property, there is no doubt. The instruments of death are already prepared; and in every city and hamlet these implements of destruction are being displayed. In giving expression to the pent-up patriotism of the millions of this nation, the usual number of victims will be injured, maimed, and killed. Last year there were reported from the large cities alone, says The Era, “over three hundred deaths from lockjaw, following injury to hands; four hundred forty persons lost one eye; and over a hundred children were reported as having both eyes blown out by explosions on this one day.” Should this same record of mortality be kept up this year in celebrating the nation's independence, as it probably will, it will vastly outdo, in the destruction of the children alone, the Collinwood, Ohio, disaster, which so shocked the nation a few months ago. When the smoke of the celebration of the “glorious Fourth” shall have died away, and so-called “patriotism” exhausted itself, thumbless, armless, and sightless victims will be left as a sad reminder in the land. That such revels are no expression of true patriotism, everybody knows. There is a question we must each settle: Shall we imbibe the prevailing spirit, and if not wholly, then in part, go with the multitude in the way of the world? Shall we use some of the means lent us of the Lord to purchase for the children giant fire-crackers, toy pistols, and in going sight-seeing? The fourth of July falls this year on the Sabbath—God's memorial of creation. It is a religious liberty day. A program has been prepared for the study of the great principles of civil and religious liberty, and for considering the omens which stand as warning signals along the highway of time announcing that the foundations of our republic have been undermined, and the structure is tottering. The torch of liberty is slowly but surely being extinguished, and an image to the beast is being formed. Such things mean much to this people. It speaks of a time of trouble such as never was, of the end of sin, and the ushering in of the reign of righteousness on the earth. On this day our annual midsummer offering is to be taken, and from every point of view it should be the most liberal we have ever made. The rapid expansion10 of the work has drained the treasury, and it must be replenished. Nearly all our conferences are behind in making up the sum equal to ten cents a week per member. A liberal offering on this day will help us in making up this fund. Let us consecrate ourselves anew to God, and liberally remember our needy missions at this time. Instead of spending money for vain amusements, shall we not turn all into the Lord's treasury, to be used to glorify his holy name?
Takoma Park, D. C. A Modern Tale — and Its Moral
It was in the heart of a heathen land. For several days the tom-toms had been beating by day and night in connection with some heathen festival. During the day the fierce rays of the sun beat pitilessly down. At night the air was stiflingly still, and one lay and tossed in fitful sleep, awaking in the morning without that rested, refreshed feeling enjoyed by friends on the other side of the world,—for it was winter there. Patiently enduring this, was a tired wife and mother, not long since arrived in the midst of all to her so new and strange. Her heart was bravely trying to bear it with resignation for the sole purpose of telling these people of the love of Jesus as revealed in the third angel’s message. But it was a struggle, for a sensitive heart always recoils from that which is strange and new and degraded. Then the heat had made the children cross and fretful, and husband was not able to enter fully into her feelings. As afterward proved, the germs of tropical malaria, with their peculiar depressing power, were beginning a battle with her system. Do you wonder that the heavens above seemed almost like brass, and the parched, blistered earth beneath like iron? But lo, suddenly, unexpectedly, there come in through the door, in the early morning, two messages from girl friends across the seas. Just simple, breezy, chatty letters full of good cheer, news of loved ones, and the folk of former days. “As cold refreshing water,” indeed, did those letters come to that thirsty soul in this far country. The depression lifts. The nervous system relaxes. The sky is no longer brass. The struggle with the malaria germs is taken up with a cheerfulness that ends in their utter defeat. The arm of usefulness of one family in a dark and heathen land is strengthened. And all because of two letters written, perhaps, with but little thought of the good cheer they would bring. The positive side of the lesson that this true tale conveys is not hard to interpret. But there is a negative side that needs emphasis. It has to do with the letters that have never been written. In a land of prosperity, surrounded by all material comforts, is your time so fully occupied with the many things that seem so important to you that you have not spared time to write such letters? If so that lonely warrior may have fainted under the stress of the struggle in the heat and burden of the day, for the want of the cool, refreshing draught your message of sympathy and love might have brought. “It isn’t the thing you do, dear,
It’s the thing you leave undone,
Which gives you the bit of heartache
At the setting of the sun.
The tender word forgotten,
The letter you did not write,
The flower you might have sent, dear,
Are your haunting ghosts to-night.” The Book of Daniel
By Editor
Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. And at the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm. And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. Dan. 1: 17-21. The Testimony of Josephus
The experience of Daniel and his companions in refusing to partake of the dainties and the wine from the king’s table, and the result of their temperate manner of life in their marked attainments in knowledge, are mentioned by Josephus, the well-known Jewish historian. The following extract deals with this subject:— “Now Daniel and his kinsmen had resolved to use a severe diet, and to abstain from those kinds of food which came from the king’s table; and entirely to forbear to eat of all living creatures. So he came to Ashpenaz, who was that eunuch to whom the care of them was committed, and desired him to take and spend what was brought for them from the king, ‘but to give them pulse and dates for their food, and anything else, besides the flesh of living creatures, that he pleased; for that their inclinations were to that sort of food, and that they disliked the other. He replied, that he was ready to serve them in what they desired; but he suspected that they would be discovered by the king, from their meager bodies, and the alteration of their countenances; because it could not be avoided, but their bodies and complexions must be changed with their diet; especially while they would be clearly discovered by the finer appearance of the other children, who would fare better; and thus they should bring him into danger. However, they persuaded Arioch to give them what they desired for ten days, by the way of trial; and, in case their habits of bodies were not altered, to go on in the same way; as expecting that they should not be hurt thereby afterward; but that if he saw them look worse than the rest, he should reduce them to their former diet. “Now it appeared that they were so far from becoming worse, by the use of this food, that they grew plumper, and fuller in body than the rest; insomuch that he thought those who fed upon what came from the king’s table seemed less plump and full; while those that were with Daniel looked as if they had lived in plenty, and in all sorts of luxury. Arioch, therefore, from that time, securely took himself what the king sent every day from his supper, according to custom, to the children; but gave them the afore-mentioned diet; while they had their souls in some measure more pure, and less burdened, and so fitter for learning; and had their bodies better adapted for labor. For they neither had the former oppressed and heavy with variety of meats; nor were the other effeminate on the same account. So they readily understood all the learning that was among the Hebrews, and among the Chaldeans. As especially did Daniel, who, being already sufficiently skilled in wisdom, was very busy about the interpretation of dreams. And God manifested himself to him.”—“Antiquities of the Jews,” book 10, chapter 10, par. 2. It is the purpose of God that humanity shall co-operate with divinity in carrying out the divine will. The experience of Daniel and his companions is a good example of the application of this principle. They refused the food which clogs the system and beclouds the mind, and chose that simple diet which would supply the needed nourishment in a form best adapted to student life, leaving the mind in the best possible condition for acquiring knowledge. When they had thus recognized their obligation to follow the light which God had given concerning the building up of the body, and the proper treatment of it as designed to be the temple of God, then special gifts were imparted to them, and “God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.” There is an important lesson to be learned in this connection. Submission to the will and way of the Lord is not a substitute for the faithful application of all the mental powers in acquiring knowledge. A proper diet is a good preparation for study but does not take the place of study. That faith in God which is revealed in obedience to all the divine requirements is the key of knowledge, and with it the treasure-house may be unlocked, but the mere possession of the key does not put one in possession of the knowledge. The treasure-house must be unlocked, and its contents appropriated, or a person of great faith may still remain in ignorance. Every faculty of the mind must be brought into action, all the powers must be marshaled for the best effort, and all the dormant energies must be aroused.11 Furthermore a distinction should be made between the acquisition of facts together with the deductions drawn therefrom by human reasoning and the possession of wisdom and understanding. An encyclopedia is not a man, and there is “knowledge which is falsely so called.” There are some who have devoted themselves assiduously to study without placing themselves under divine control, and who are led on to conclusions which deny the true God and the gospel of his grace, and which exalt man above God. Looking at the question from God’s standpoint we must conclude that, however great the literary distinction attained in the eyes of the world, they have not acquired wisdom and understanding. “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness: and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain. Wherefore let no one glory in men.” “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” The wise man glories in the value of true wisdom in these words:—
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.
And the man that getteth understanding.
For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver,
And the profit thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies:
And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand;
In her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:
And happy is every one that retaineth her.
Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth;
By understanding he established the heavens.
By his knowledge the depths were broken up,
And the skies drop down the dew.
My son, let them not depart from thine eyes;
Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
So shall they be life unto thy soul,
And grace to thy neck.” Moreover, true wisdom in its highest sense is a personality, and can not be attained apart from the gift of the Son of God, Christ Jesus, “who was made unto us wisdom from God.” Sin is folly. The rejection of the unspeakable gift of God is the rejection of the highest good. Man was originally created in the image of God, with capacities which ally him with the source of wisdom, and the purpose of true education is to restore the image of God in the soul and to bring us again into unbroken fellowship with God. Jesus is the way to God, and apart from him likeness to God is impossible. The highest development of the human faculties, the thinking of the thoughts of God after him, is to be attained only in him who is the truth. Such was the wisdom which was sought after and obtained by the Hebrew youth in Babylon. It was the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar that they should be instructed in “the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans,” and his plan was carried out, but above and beyond this technical knowledge, necessary under the circumstances, was that wisdom and understanding which was bestowed upon them as the result of their loyalty in the service of God. That their attainments were of a practical kind, and such as were recognized by men of the world, is shown by the fact that in what we would call a competitive examination they carried off all the honors and were assigned to service in the king’s palace. The sequel justified the selection thus made, for not merely on their first appearance before the king did they display a superior wisdom, but “in every matter of wisdom and understanding,” in the administration of the affairs of the realm they were head and shoulders above the professional wise men of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar himself being the judge. In the compromise which was made with heathenism in Jerusalem, and in the surrender made to the world, there was an apparent triumph of the religion of Babylon. The temple and its services,—the pride of every Hebrew heart—whose boasted sanctity had been made to serve as a cloak for many an evil deed, had not been the hoped-for charm to repel the invader, and to bring victory to the Jewish forces. Alienated from God, deprived of that heavenly wisdom which is the heritage of God’s people, having no help but the arm of flesh, the inhabitants of the city of David became an easy prey to their foes, and the trophies of victory were taken to Babylon and deposited in the treasure-house of the god of Babylon, constant reminders of the failure of Jerusalem’s God to preserve his sovereignty above the gods of the nations. But the failure was the people’s not God’s. And now through Daniel and his companions the all-conquering might of the invisible King is to be displayed, and Babylon is to be captured by the captives who were trained at Nebuchadnezzar’s command, and the true temple service is to be maintained without visible priest or altar. In the providence of God the two systems of education were brought into competition in Babylon. The divine method is to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness through loyal submission to the divine government, and to receive wisdom as the gift of God, with every power of the being put to the stretch to reveal this fellowship with God in Christ as the attainment of the highest human ambition. The worldly method is to exalt human authority, and to dwarf the soul by confining it to paths already trodden, and to the traditional attainments of a merely human wisdom, repeating in dead formulas the best guesses of a dead past. The wise men of Babylon are the representatives of this worldly system; the superiority of the divine system in which is imparted that wisdom which is true religion, is revealed in Daniel and his companions. Thus will be reversed the verdict rendered in the downfall of Jerusalem, and the conflict between the true and the false, transferred to Babylon, will there be renewed with victory on the side of the principles which had been discarded in Jerusalem. Having God with them, the four Hebrew youths are a conquering host before whom superstition trembles and ancient errors are unable to stand. The key to the correct understanding of the philosophy of the book of Daniel is found in this first chapter which we have been considering. Both in the historical and the prophetic portions of this book the real theme is the gospel of that kingdom which will stand forever, and that loyalty to principle and that devotion to service which are revealed by Daniel and his companions in their first experiences in Babylon, and which secured for them the right to stand before the king, are the concrete proclamation of those conditions of citizenship which ensure the privileges of the everlasting kingdom. And the steadfastness of character manifested in these experiences is the demonstration of fitness to gain the victory in those supreme tests which proved to all the world the superiority of the true God and his religion over the false gods and the heathen philosophy of Babylon. The significance of the simple statement that “Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus” becomes more clear when we recall that in that very year the proclamation was made for the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem. During all the seventy years of the captivity, while the temple was in ruins, Daniel in Babylon was the living representation of the true meaning of the temple and its services, himself the temple of the living God in which the true service was preserved, a type of those who will survive the final overthrow of antitypical Babylon, and who will continue forever. REAL Christianity means constant giving, but not giving up. Yet it is hard for some people to get away from the idea that friendship with Christ means the loss of much that is desirable. It does not. One who is familiar with the beech tree knows that its dead leaves often adhere all through the autumn and winter, but that when spring comes, and the sap begins to run through every fiber, the old dead leaves fall. But this is not loss. Life banishes death. He who gives Jesus Christ the right of way in his life will not count it a loss to have his sins cast away.—Selected. Nobody knows the work it takes,
To keep the home together;
Nobody knows of the steps it takes,
Nobody knows but — mother. Nobody knows of the sleepless care,
Bestowed on baby brother;
Nobody knows of the tender prayer,
Nobody — only mother. Nobody knows of the anxious fears
Lest darling may not weather
The storm of life in after-years,
Nobody knows but — mother. Nobody kneels at the throne above
To thank the Heavenly Father
For the sweetest gift, a mother's love,
Nobody can but — mother.