Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 13, 1881
General Articles.
By Ellen G. White
ON THE BORDERS OF CANAAN.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
THE Lord announced to Moses that the appointed time to deliver Israel was at hand, and as the aged prophet stood upon the heights overlooking the river Jordan and the promised land, he gazed with deep interest upon the inheritance of his people. That vast, garden-like plain, with its deep verdure and feathery palm-trees, spread out invitingly before him, and he felt an intense longing to share with Israel in the possession of that land which had been the object of their efforts, the goal of their hopes, for so many years.
Would it be possible that the sentence pronounced against him for his sin at Meribah,—the one defect that marred a life of faithful, devoted service,—might be revoked? With deep earnestness he pleaded, "O Lord God, thou hast began to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand; for what God is there in Heaven or on earth that can do according to thy works and according to thy might! I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain and Lebanon."
The answer was, "Let it suffice thee; speak to me no more of this matter, lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward and behold it with thine eyes, for thou shalt not go over this Jordan."
Without a murmur or complaint, Moses humbly submitted to the decree of God; and now his great anxiety was for Israel. Who will feel the interest for their welfare that he has felt? Who will manifest the same untiring, unselfish, devotion? From a full heart, Moses pours forth the prayer, "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep that have no shepherd."
Here were exhibited the same spirit of unselfishness, the same zeal for the honor of God, and the same interest in the welfare of the people of his care, that had characterized the life of Moses. The aged leader had not lived for himself, but for Israel. There is not to be found in the history of the great men of earth,—of kings, statesmen, or philosophers,—a parallel to this self-sacrifice and devotion.
The Lord hearkened to the prayer of his servant, and the answer came, "Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of their honor upon him, that all the congregation of Israel may be obedient." Joshua had long attended Moses, and being a man of wisdom and ability, of faith and piety, he was chosen to succeed him. Moses was to instruct Joshua concerning the responsibilities of his position as the visible leader of Israel, and to assure him that if he would be faithful to his sacred trust the Lord would ever be his counselor and support.
By the laying on of Moses' hands, and a most impressive charge, Joshua was solemnly set apart as the leader of Israel. He was also admitted to a present share in the government as an evidence to the people that no jealousy stirred the heart of Moses at the thought that another was to take his place and lead Israel to the promised land. Moses instructed the people to respect Joshua, and inspired them with confidence in him as the man divinely appointed as his successor. The word of the Lord came through Moses to the congregation, "He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim, before the Lord. At his word shall they go out, and at his word shall they come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation."
The position of Joshua differed in some respects from that of Moses. Not only was the latter a prophet and a ruler in Israel, but he officiated in the capacity of high priest, and asked counsel directly of God himself. But after Moses, neither Joshua nor any other of the rulers of Israel was permitted to come to the Lord except through the high priest.
At the command of God, Moses assembled the people, and proceeded to instruct them concerning the course which they should pursue upon their entrance into the promised land: "When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places. And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein; for I have given you the land to possess it."
The triumph of the wicked is short. The pleasures of sin are ever purchased at a tremendous cost; for the wrath of God is continually hanging over the sinner, and in the end, he will learn indeed that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Every corrupt passion, every wrong feeling, or sinful act, not only honors God, but brings guilt and misery upon ourselves. Only in the strength of God can we succeed in subduing the enemies of our souls. While the foes of Christ are continually at work as Satan's agents to entice us into sin, we must firmly resist their advances, looking to God for counsel and assistance. Every sinful desire must be repressed, every wrong trait overcome, or they will prove our ruin.
God requires his people to separate themselves from sin and sinners, choosing their society only when there is an opportunity to do them good. We cannot be too decided in shunning the company of all who have in any way exerted an influence to draw into sin. None will be punished with greater severity than those who have enticed God's people from their integrity.
Every natural trait of character should be brought under the control of the will, and this must itself be kept in harmony with the will of God. It is one of the greatest deceptions that can come upon the mind to imagine ourselves more merciful or just than God. Man is impulsive and changeable. Even the best acts prompted by the natural heart are faulty. And how true is the testimony of the Sacred Record, that "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." Our only safe course is to condemn what God condemns, and cherish what he cherishes.
Had the Lord spared the inhabitants of Canaan, the Israelites would have been in constant danger of contamination. The outward tokens of heathen worship would have had an influence to pervert the senses, and lead the servants of God into idolatry. Hence the repeated command addressed to them, to dispossess the Canaanites, by every means in their power, and as fast as they were able to subdue them. The Israelites were not to yield to cowardice, sloth, or self-indulgence, nor to set up their ideas of clemency in opposition to the command of God. They were not to conform to the customs of the heathen, nor to preserve the monuments of their abominable idolatries. However precious the material, or exquisite the workmanship, all that pertained to the heathen worship must be destroyed.
God knew the dangers to which his people would be exposed. Satan would work through those corrupt idolaters to destroy Israel, and the temptation would address them with all the grace of manner and fascination of art. Few realize the power of Satan to ensnare and lead astray. Even in the days of Israel it had been for thousands of years his constant study to make the way to destruction easy and inviting. In this hellish work the great adversary employs numberless colaborers to attract unwary feet away from God, away from Heaven. In view of all these allurements in the wrong direction, the Lord carefully instructed his people how to conduct themselves in order to resist temptation.
The apparent severity of God's dealings with the Canaanites did not, as many suppose, proceed from harshness or cruelty. The love of God is beyond our comprehension; it is high as the heavens, and broad as the universe. Every soul whom he has created is precious in his sight,—so precious that he gave his only begotten Son to die for that lost, perishing sinner. When men shall manifest toward their fellow-creatures a love superior to this, then they may talk of compassion where God has exercised severity.
The children of Israel had learned by their own bitter experience that the first step taken in departing from God makes the next step more easy, while the way to return becomes as difficult as are the ice-clad mountain steeps to the benumbed traveler. It seemed a small matter to our first parents to do only one little act which God had forbidden,—to take from the forbidden tree the fruit so attractive to the eye and pleasant to the taste; but by this one act they forfeited their allegiance to God, the great lawgiver, and opened the flood-gates of misery to the world. God alone can measure the evils which may result from one wrong step,—evils which at the critical moment the tempted soul does not consider. The only safeguard for frail, erring man is to obey, without hesitation or argument, the expressed will of God, regardless of all promise of pleasure or profit as the reward of sin. When God speaks, it is enough.14
The Lord mercifully set before his people the terrible results that would follow association with the idolatrous Canaanites: "But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come to pass that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover, it shall come to pass that I shall do unto you as I thought to do unto them." By mingling with the heathen, Israel would become estranged from God, and would finally pursue the same course which had provoked his wrath against the Canaanites.
The after-history of God's chosen people shows that these warnings were real prophecies, which have been most strikingly fulfilled. The Israelites yielded only a partial obedience to the command of God, and for many generations they were afflicted by a remnant of the idolatrous nation, who were spared as the prophets had foretold, as "pricks in their eyes, and as thorns in their side."
Additional warning and instruction on this point was afterward given to Israel by the Lord through his servant Joshua: "Take good heed, therefore, unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of those nations, even those that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them and they to you; know for a certainty that the Lord will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you."
Should they enter into any friendly relation with those nations standing under the curse of God, the Hebrews would be infatuated and beguiled by the arts of idolatrous women, and would be led to form marriages with them. All the influence of these heathen women would be exerted to lead God's people into idolatry, and thus the devices of Satan would prove successful. The Lord would have his people regard the Canaanites as enemies to Israel and to God,—enemies who would be constantly on the watch for some occasion to avenge their own defeat. On condition that Israel be true to God, his power would be manifested in their behalf, and the gracious promise was, "One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you." But if they provoked the Lord by separating from he, he would withdraw his protection, and make these nations instruments to chastise and bring them back to their allegiance. Should they still continue to withdraw from God, he would not restrain the cruelties of these wicked nations, and they would grievously torment Israel, and at length drive them from their possessions.
When God's people should be placed in a condition of outward security and ease, and surrounded with every earthly blessing, they would be in the greatest danger of forgetting their constant Benefactor. This is the special danger of all whom God has blessed with means or with influence. All our powers should ever be diligently employed in the service of our Maker; yet how many allow themselves to be diverted from this object by worldly associations. The Lord has repeatedly warned his people not to mingle with those who have not the fear of God before them. While we pray, "Lead us not into temptation," we are to shun temptation as far as possible. We must obey the divine word on every point, if we would have the strength of Israel's God as our support and our defense.
THINK OF JESUS.
By Mattie N. Brown
ART thou His follower? Dost thou embrace
His doctrine of fellowship, kindness and grace?
Seest thou his footsteps? Then follow therein;
How sweet to walk only where Jesus hath been.
Hath Satan tempted thee? In such an hour
Look thou unto Jesus, he only hath power.
He, like you, was tempted; list to his replies,
As he stands all alone, with the father of lies.
Has fortune been cruel? have friends been unkind?
Have prospects and riches, all left thee behind?
Oh think of your Master, forsaken, despised,
For enemies smitten, for sinners chastised.
Art thou now afflicted, with maladies sore?
Think of his sufferings, the crown that he wore.
Hast thou a burden, a sorrow, a care?
Hath duty shown thee a cross thou shouldst bear?
Turn, turn you to Gethsemane, over the brook,
And see Jesus praying, with agonizing look.
Then follow him onward to Calvary's hill,
And see him die there, all the law to fulfill.
Dost thou fear, Christian, to cross Jordan's wave?
Jesus hath passed through the gloom of the grave.
Think only of Jesus, look upward, and say
With David, "I'll trust him, he knoweth the way."
Shelbyville, Ky. MATTIE N. BROWN.
A SEVENTH PART OF TIME.
By W. H. Littlejohn
BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.
"The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work." Ex. 20 : 10.
PERHAPS there is no view more generally entertained by those who are arrayed against the Sabbath of the Lord than that which is commonly called the "seventh-part-of-time theory." Its friends, while denouncing Antinomianism, and insisting upon the universal and perpetual obligation of the law of God, so construe the fourth commandment as to make it simply require the observance of one day in seven, leaving the individual to determine which this shall be.
It is a matter of no little surprise that they, while loud in their condemnation of all who, as they claim, seek to abridge their liberty by compelling them to observe the last day of the week to the exclusion of all others, do, nevertheless, without exception, unite in keeping the first. The query naturally arises, Why is this so? why no greater diversity in practice? And when inquired of respecting this matter, the invariable reply is that, for the sake of the common good, they have concluded to forego their personal right of choice, and conform to an excellent custom resting upon the necessity of a uniform day of rest, and designating Sunday as the same.
It never seems to have occurred to their minds that, the moment they assume this position, they virtually abandon their own exposition of the Sabbath law. Nevertheless, this is undeniably true; for, by their own confession, there is in society a necessity for a uniform day of rest. Now, therefore, if they are right in this, as they unquestionably are, one of two things is certain: Either God did comprehend the necessities of the race and provide for them by instituting a definite Sabbath day, to be kept by all, or else his law is imperfect, in that it does not meet the requirements of those for whom it was made.
Leaving these, therefore, to determine for themselves which horn of the dilemma they will take, i. e., whether they will still insist upon holding on to an explanation of the commandment which involves the dishonor of God; or, conclude that he who knows the end from the beginning has, in his law, exactly met the necessities of his creatures, and that the whole difficulty has arisen, and their part, through a misconception of the meaning of the statute which he has given, we turn to examine it for ourselves. While doing so, as this is a matter of no small moment, since it is one upon which eternal interests hang, we invite the prayerful attention of all who are earnestly seeking for truth, while we offer what seems to us to be a few conclusive arguments that the opinion in question is utterly unsound.
First, we submit that it is not in accordance with the obvious meaning of the commandment. In proof of this, we might advert to the fact that the history of the Jews from Sinai to the cross not only fails to furnish a single act in the performance of which they proceeded upon the hypothesis that the day of the Sabbath of the decalogue was variable at pleasure; but, on the contrary, it is full of the most convincing proof that they ever regarded it as fixed and immovable.
As an evidence of this, from many others of like nature which might be adduced, take, if you please, those sieges of Jerusalem in which they persisted in their customary regard for their holy day so far as to refuse to employ its sacred hours in preventing their enemies from advancing their works against the place, thereby enabling them to destroy both it and them; a calamity which might have been altogether averted, had it occurred to them that the Sabbath law was so accommodative that while one portion of them were fulfilling its requirements by resting on one day, another might be fighting in the field at the same time, providing only that they should meet its requirements by resting on some other one of the seven days of the week.
We conclude, therefore, that inasmuch as the history of the Jews, covering a range of fifteen hundred years, and characterized by all the vicissitudes of war and peace, fails to furnish a single instance in which one of their number ventured, either by word or deed, to question the fact that the last day of the week, and it alone, was the one which Jehovah claimed as his own, we shall be safe in deciding that this was the judgment of the whole, without exception; a fact by no means insignificant, when we consider that to them were committed the sacred oracles, after having been written out upon tables of stone, in their own tongue, with which they must have been more familiar than we can be. And, strange as it may appear, the verdict which they have given in the premises has received the unqualified approval of the Christian world from the commencement of this dispensation down to within two hundred and seventy-five years of our time.
For it was not until the year 1595, and more than three thousand years this side the giving of the law, that, when pressed to the wall by Papists, on the charge that Protestants were observing Sunday in obedience to the decree of the Catholic church, and in contravention of the commandment of the Lord, Nicholas Bound made the first successful effort to bring into favorable notice the doctrine that all which its phraseology demands is the keeping of any one of the seven days of the week. This being true, we find, after all, that those who have prided themselves so much upon the idea that their version meets with the approval of the majority, are, nevertheless, when we take into account the opinions of those who have lived in the past, vastly in the minority.
Turning, then, from the opinions of men, and the bearing which they have upon this subject, after having seen that there has ever been a wonderful concurrence among them in the belief that the commandment is so worded as to leave no reasonable doubt in the mind of the unprejudiced, that it pointed unavoidably to one day, and only one, as the Sabbath, the observance of which it was given to enforce, let us seek elsewhere for additional proof that this modern view finds no warrant in the word of God, and never could have gained credence had it not been for the necessity that something of the kind should be invented to defend a practice which could not be justified in any other manner.
We naturally recur to the commandment itself, in the hope that it will afford all the light which is necessary to enable us to reach a correct conclusion. It reads as follows:—
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, 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."
A glance reveals the fact that the whole discussion must turn upon the meaning of the expression, "the seventh day;" for that is plainly called "the Sabbath," and in it we are forbidden to do any work. In the opinion of our opponents, this is applied indiscriminately to any twenty-four hours in the cycle of the week which we may see fit to call the Sabbath, and devote to the worship of God.
But the question with which we have to deal is not what they now understand this language to mean, but what was the impression which it then conveyed to the minds of those to whom it was given; for, as language is variable in its meaning, it is universally conceded that laws must be interpreted in accordance with the signification of their phraseology when they were enacted. How did the men who stood at the base of Sinai view the question? Was the idea imparted to them by the words in controversy the same as that held by our friends? or was the language as determinate to them as it would be to us should the Lord declare in so many words that Saturday is the Sabbath?
Fortunately, this question can be settled beyond peradventure. The sixteenth chapter of the book of Exodus seems to have been thrown in almost for the express purpose of furnishing a commentary upon this subject. The events which it records transpired but thirty-three days before the trembling multitude stood at the base of the quaking mount, a period of time altogether too short to admit of change in the use of language, or a revolution in the customs of the nation. Whatever appellation, therefore, was given to the days of the week at the commencement of this period, would apply equally well at its close. But in the brief record under consideration, mention is made three times of the sixth day of the week, and four times of the seventh. Here, then, is an excellent opportunity for testing the merits of the rival theories.15
If, in the cases alluded to, we shall find that the terms, "sixth day" and "seventh day," there signified respectively one-sixth and one-seventh part of time, the latter was undeniably employed in that sense in the decalogue a little more than a month later. But if, on the contrary, it shall appear that they were made use of in this case because they were the titles commonly given to the last two days of the week, then they retained this signification when the Lord employed the last of them in marking his rest day. The verses in which they occur read as follows: "And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." Verse 5. "And it came to pass that, on the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses." Verse 22. "See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath; therefore, he giveth you, on the sixth day, the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." Verse 29. For the use of the term, "seventh day," see verse 29, as copied above, also the following: "Six days shall ye gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none." Verse 26. "And it came to pass that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none." Verse 27. "So the people rested on the seventh day." Verse 30.
Now, consistency demands that if the words, "the seventh day," used in the above, are to be construed as meaning one day in seven, then the kindred expression, "the sixth day," must mean one day in six. But this would make nonsense of the whole thing; because, according to the context, it was to be the preparation before the Sabbath, and on it, twice as much manna was to be gathered and prepared as on other occasions, for the reason that on the seventh day there was to be none. Who does not see, however, that, admitting the construction in question, the whole plan would have proved a failure, inasmuch as the preparation occurred as often as once in every six days, while the Sabbath transpired only once in seven days; so that at the end of the second week, they would have been separated by one whole day; at that of the third, by two; of the fourth, by three; and so on, until the cycle of the week was completed, when they would occur at one and the same time, thus representing God as so far blundering, through a misconception of a plain mathematical principle, that six out of seven of the miracles which he worked for the preservation of food for the Sabbath were rendered ineffectual by the fact that they occurred either too soon or too late to meet the requirements of the case.
It is evident, therefore, that the day spoken of in the above as the sixth was so called, not because it represented one-sixth part of time, but for the reason that it was the distinctive appellation by which it was known from the other days of the week. That this is so, is abundantly attested by the fact which is brought to view in verse 22, wherein it appears that the people, so far from having any doubt as to when the proper time had arrived for the gathering of the double portion of manna, entered upon this work, without exception, at one and the same time, since all of the rulers came and reported the same to Moses.
From this stand-point, therefore, we are enabled to construct the whole Jewish week, giving to each day its proper name; for, if the day under consideration was the sixth, it must have been preceded by five others, each following in consecutive order, and receiving its proper numerical title from its relation to the first. It was not only true that this was preceded by five others, but according to the statement found in verse 23, it was followed by the Sabbath; for Moses, from the stand-point of the sixth day, says, "To-morrow is the Sabbath." And, in verse 26, he makes the statement that it also has the additional signification of "the seventh day;" and is further characterized by the fact that in it there was to be no manna: a thing which was not true of any of the others. These facts which were familiar to the minds of all, not only serve to locate it unmistakably in the wilderness of Sin, but, as they were equally true a little farther on, when the voice of the Lord was heard in the mount, and when his finger traced upon the marble the words, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it, thou shalt not do any work," must have marked it with moral certainty as the one to which reference was made.
THE HEAVEN-SIDE.
DESPONDENCY is one of those “hindrances” which every Christian must expect to “meet” on his way heavenward. The great question is, How shall the homeward-bound pilgrim bear himself toward those distressing states of mind?
Good old John Bunyan, in his plain and simple way, gives us the sagest of suggestions on this point. One thing we learn from him is to look upon the phenomenon as a fact, an inevitable obstacle on the journey. Pilgrim learned from the benevolent Evangelist that ever since the creation of man efforts had been strenuously made to fill up the Slough of Despond, but all in vain. Several thousand car-loads of wholesome and pious instruction had been emptied into it, but still it remained a feature of the reign of sin, and a test to journeying disciples.
We may all of us, then, no matter how righteous our course and how ostensibly prosperous our condition, expect to meet with the trial. The matter of serious concern is how, when once we find ourselves wrapped in the cloud, shall we extricate ourselves and emerge into a better atmosphere and on to safer ground. Observe Pilgrim’s conduct here. By dint of hard wrestling and by the aid of an outstretched Hand, he struggled out on that side which was nearest the Celestial City, and found fairer ground than ever. Let us make despondency the gateway to brighter fields of Christian progress.—The Standard.
THE CHURCH WALKING WITH THE WORLD.
By Matilda C. Edwards
The church and the world walked far apart,
On the changing shore of time,
The world was singing a giddy song,
And the church a hymn sublime.
"Come, give me your hand," cried the merry world,
"And walk with me this way,"
But the good church hid her snowy hands,
And solemnly answered, "Nay,
I will not give you my hand at all,
And I will not walk with you;
Your way is the way to eternal death;
Your words are all untrue."
"Nay, walk with me but a little space,"
Said the world with a kindly air;
The road I walk is a pleasant road,
And the sun shines always there;
Your path is thorny and rough and rude,
And mine is broad and plain;
My road is paved with flowers and dews,
And yours with tears and pain;
The sky above is always blue;
No want, no toil, I know;
The sky above you is always dark;
Your lot is a lot of woe;
My path, you see, is a broad fair one,
And my gate is high and wide;
There is room enough for you and for me
To travel side by side."
Half shyly the church approached the world,
And gave him her hand of snow;
The old world grasped it and walked along,
Saying, in accents low,
"Your dress is too simple to suit my taste;
I will give you pearls to wear,
Rich velvets and silks for your graceful form,
And diamonds to deck your hair."
The church looked down at her plain white robes
And then at the dazzling world,
And blushed as she saw his handsome lip
With a smile contemptuous curled.
"I will change my dress for a costlier one,"
Said the church with a smile of grace;
Then her pure white garments drifted away,
And the world gave in their place
Beautiful satins and shining silks,
And roses and gems and pearls;
And over her forehead her bright hair fell
Crisped in a thousand curls.
"Your house is too plain," said the proud old world.
"I'll build you one like mine;
Carpets of Brussels and curtains of lace,
And furniture ever so fine."
So he built her a costly and beautiful house;
Splendid it was to behold;
Her sons and her beautiful daughters dwelt there
Gleaming in purple and gold;
And fairs and shows in the halls were held.
And the world and his children were there,
And laughter and music and feasts were heard
In the place that was meant for prayer.
She had cushioned pews for the rich and great,
To sit in their pomp and pride;
While the poor folks, clad in their shabby suits,
Sat meekly down outside.
The angel of Mercy flew over the church,
And whispered, "I know thy sin."
Then the church looked back with a sigh, and longed
To gather her children in.
But some were off at the midnight ball,
And some were off at play,
And some were drinking in gay saloons;
So she quietly went her way.
Then the sly world gallantly said to her,
"Your children mean no harm,
Merely indulging in innocent sports."
So she leaned on his proffered arm,
And smiled, and chatted, and gathered flowers,
And she walked along with the world,
While millions and millions of precious souls
To the horrible gulf were hurled.
"Your preachers are all too old and plain,"
Said the gay world with a sneer,
They frighten my children with dreadful tales,
Which I like them not to hear;
They talk of brimstone and fire and pain,
And the horrors of endless night;
They talk of a place which should not be
Mentioned to ears polite.
I will send you some of the better stamp,
Brilliant and gay and fast,
Who will tell them that people may live as they list,
And go to Heaven at last.
The Father is merciful, great and good,
Tender and true and kind;
Do you think he would take one child to Heaven
And leave the rest behind?"
So he filled her house with gay divines,
Gifted and great and learned;
And the plain old men that preached the cross,
Were out of her pulpits turned.
"You give too much to the poor," said the world
"Far more than you ought to do;
If the poor need shelter and food and clothes,
Why need it trouble you?
Go take your money and buy rich robes,
And horses and carriages fine,
And pearls and jewels and dainty food,
And the rarest and costliest wine;
My children dote on all such things,
And if you their love would win,
You must do as they do and walk in the ways
That they are walking in."
Then the church held tightly the strings of her purse,
And gracefully lowered her head.
And simpered, "I've given too much away;
I'll do, sir, as you have said."
So the poor was turned from her door in scorn,
And she heard not the orphan's cry,
And she drew her beautiful robes aside,
As the widows went weeping by,
And the sons of the world and the sons of the church
Walked closely hand and heart,
And only the Master who knoweth all,
Could tell the two apart.
Then the church sat down at her ease and said,
"I am rich and in goods increased;
I have need of nothing and naught to do
But to laugh and dance and feast;
And the sly world heard her and laughed in his sleeve,
And mockingly said aside,
"The church has fallen, the beautiful church,
And her shame is her boast and pride."
The angel drew near to the mercy-seat,
And whispered in sighs her name,
And the saints their anthems of rapture hushed
And covered their heads with shame;
And a voice came down through the hush of Heaven,
From Him who sat on the throne,
"I know thy work and how thou hast said,
I am rich; and hast not known
That thou art naked, poor and blind,
And wretched before my face:
Therefore from my presence I cast thee out,
And blot thy name from its place."
—Matilda C. Edwards, in Baltimore Christian Advocate.
EVERY-DAY RELIGION.
RELIGION is good for nothing one day in the week, unless it is also good for all the seven days. Character, to amount to anything, must be shown alike in all things. There is no true manliness possible in one relation of life on the part of him who is not true and manly in every relation of life. No boy can be a good son to his parents unless he is a good pupil to his teacher and a good playfellow to his companions. No man can be a good friend unless he is a good husband and a good father. No minister can be a good pastor and a good preacher unless he is a good neighbor and a good man. Among the very many wise and timely words to boys spoken by Mr. Thomas Hughes, none are more important than those in which he has told of the teachings on this very subject by Dr. Thomas Arnold, his old teacher at Rugby. He says: "He certainly did teach us—thank God for it—that we could not cut our lives into slices, and say, ‘In this slice your actions are indifferent, and you needn’t trouble your heads about them, one way or another; but in this slice, mind what you are about; they are important’—a pretty muddle we should have been in had he so done.
He taught us that in this wonderful world no boy or man can tell which of his actions is indifferent and which not; that by a thoughtless word or look we may lead astray a brother for whom Christ died. He taught us that life is a whole, made up of actions and thoughts and longings, great and small, mean and ignoble; therefore the only wisdom for boy or man is to bring the whole life into obedience to Him whose world we live in, and who has purchased us with his blood.” Or, as Dr. Bushnell has said of the putting on of Christ as the garment of the needy soul: “There can be no choosing out here of shreds and patches from his divine beauty; you must take the whole suit, else you can not put him on. The garment is seamless, and can not be divided.” It is this great truth—rather than the duty of sinlessness—that our Lord teaches in his injunction, “Be ye therefore perfect”—complete, entire, not one-sided or partial in our Christian life and character—“even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.”—Sunday School Times.
Follow Your Honest Convictions
By Horace Bushnell
NEVER swerve in your conduct from your honest convictions. Decide, because you see reasons for decision; and then act, because you have decided. Let your actions follow the guidance of your judgment; and if between them both you go down the falls of Niagara, go! it is the only course worthy of a man.—Horace Bushnell.