“Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:3.
I. ST. JOHN speaks of knowing Christ and of keeping His commandments as the two great departments of religious duty and blessedness. To know Christ is to discern the Father of all as manifested through His only-begotten Son incarnate. Turning from Him to ourselves, we find a short rule given us: “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” This is all that is put upon us, difficult indeed to perform, but easy to understand, all that is put upon us,4and for this plain reason: that Christ has done everything else. He has freely chosen us, died for us, regenerated us, and now ever liveth in us; and what remains?—Simply that we should do as He has done to us, showing forth His glory by good works.
II. Our duty lies in acts; it does not lie directly in moods or feelings. The office of self-examination lies rather in detecting what is bad in us than in ascertaining what is good. No harm can follow from contemplating our sins, so that we keep Christ before us and attempt to overcome them; such a review of self will but lead to repentance and faith. And while it does this, it will undoubtedly be molding our hearts into a higher and more heavenly state.—J. H. Newman, “Parochial and Plain Sermons,” vol. ii, p. 151.
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT.
By E. J. Hibbard
“Thou shalt not kill.” To every living being, the dearest treasure, the one upon which depend all others, is the life which God has given. Even Satan, the arch-enemy of the race, has discovered that “all that a man hath will he give for his life.”
Not alone in the beginning did the Creator give life to man. Not alone at birth is that life imparted; for “God that made the world and all things therein,” even now, at this present time, “giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” God’s creatures are not detached fragments. He has not measured out to them a certain quantity of life, placed it within their bodies, and set them adrift from His own existence. No; that is not the way. He g-i-v-e-t-h a present continuous flow of the life of God to each created being. Who has a right to cut off that flow of life? Who knows when it ought to be withheld from the one receiving it?—Only the Giver. “Thou,” O man, “shalt not kill.”
This commandment being the safeguard to our most sacred treasure, its violation is accompanied here, in this life, by the severest possible penalty: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man.”
That this penalty is meant only for wilful, premeditated murder, and not for accidental destruction of life, may be seen in the provision made for cities of refuge, in the government which God established in Canaan for those who bore His name. Also, “The powers that be are ordained of God.” “He is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Therefore the execution of a murderer, of one who has, beyond all question, been convicted of the deed, is not, as some have thought, a violation of the sixth commandment; but is the penalty provided in this world for its violation. It is meant also to check its future transgression; for the executed man can not repeat the crime, and those who would do so are in a measure restrained.
But where is the permission for mob violence and lynching? Is not this in itself the most flagrant, the most cruel, the most startling, of all the violations of this command? Is it not an unmistakable evidence of degeneration on the part of the people, and of decay and disintegration on the part of the government? Just before the deluge, this state of affairs existed; and the story is told in one sentence: “The earth was filled with violence.” From the report of passing events, one can easily think these days a counterpart of those.
But what of wars of conquest and extermination? When the taking of one life is a sin and a crime, by whose decree is wholesale slaughter counted righteous? What of suicide? What of murder in so-called self-defense? What of infanticide and abortion? It is said that “the hand which to-day drops an offering into the contribution box at church, may have, but yesterday, been guilty of taking the life of her own offspring.” Verily it will take a mind superior to that of man, and a tribunal superior to any on earth, to adequately weigh and requite for all this. “As many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.” When?—“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.”
This is but a brief survey of the letter of the command. Now what of its spirit?—“Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” Startling announcement, when even the extreme meaning of the word “hatred” is taken. But far less than this may come within the meaning of the text. “Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah.” “And . . . the Lord saw that Leah was hated.” A failure to warn a fellow-being who is in danger, constitutes hatred for him: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him.” Since “the wages of sin is death,” is it not equivalent to murder, when we allow one to continue in sin without warning him of its results? “I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also.”
The Gospel is the antidote for sin. He who has received the Gospel is debtor to every man who has not received it; and that to the extent that it dwells in himself. Having been rescued from a watery grave, from among a large company of shipwrecked fellows, what would be thought of the man, who, having been made comfortable himself, would deliberately sit and see the balance of his company perish for want of assistance which he could easily render? What must be registered in the books of heaven, against that priest and that Levite who “passed by on the other side,” and left to perish the man who had “fallen among thieves?” You and I never kill anybody. O, no. But are we leaving any to perish, temporally or eternally, for the lack of that of which we have an abundance?
To the one who has been set apart as a Gospel minister, the Lord has spoken: “If when he seeth the sword upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. . . . But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel.” “Fearful are the responsibilities in the Gospel ministry.” “They [the true ones] watch for your souls, as they that must give account.” And yet there are those occupying pulpits who openly confess that they dare not warn their flocks against the sins which they are indulging. When those flocks perish, as perish they must, at whose hand will God require their blood? Does such a pastor (?) confess himself a murderer?
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. . . . Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. . . . But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” But if love is not there, what is?
Is it possible that He from whom all blessings flow, has made me only a steward of the temporal things in my possession? Can it be that he allows some to have an abundance while others suffer need, that He may test those who have through them that have not? I wonder if the Heavenly Father regards the children of men as one great family? and if it grieves Him when those who have abundance lavish upon themselves until all their wants are surfeited, while others, at their very doors, are pinched, poverty-stricken, dying? Such a state would wring the heart of a human parent, if it existed in his own family circle. Is the heart of the Holy One less tender?
“And the people asked him [John the Baptist], saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat [food of any kind], let him do likewise.” This shows the amount of surplus we need to have before we are expected to divide with them that have nothing. “Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these My brethren, even these least, ye did it unto Me.” “Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto Me.” “And these [last] shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.”
But gifts to the poor do not purchase righteousness; for is it not written: “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, . . . and have not charity [love], it profiteth me nothing.” It is love, then, which restrains the hand from violence and the heart from plotting evil. It is love which saves from that neglect of a fellow-being which would allow him to perish or suffer need. “The love of Christ constraineth us.” Love compels, not from without, but from within. With the love of God flooding the heart, all His requirements are a delight; without that love, they are a yoke of bondage.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.” But how can I love my enemies? I can not love my enemies. God’s love includes enemies. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Love can not hate. Love can not kill. Therefore, only the love of God can enable one to keep the sixth commandment. That love is found only in the heart of him who is born of the Spirit. These are the sons of God. “As many as received Him [Christ], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
E. J. HIBBARD.
AFTER THIS MANNER SING YE.
By Thomas Robert Williamson
“O COME, let us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; and the strength of the hills is His also. . . . O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” Who does not recognize the voice of inspiration in the majestic swing of a psalm like that? How easy to see that when Isaiah or David or Habakkuk sweeps the praiseful lyre, the matter of rhyme is of small account.
When holy men sing by the promptings of the Holy Spirit, how the souls of God’s people rise with them in glorious adulation of the Creator. And no doubt the songs and lyrics of the Bible, from the victory paean of Moses clear through, wherever they occur, to where John hears the shout of the unbroken universe, with the full diapason of all resonant and sonorous things,—thunders, voices, atoms, harpers harping with their harps, ringing, singing together, “The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth,”—no doubt they are all intended for us of the lower world to fashion after in our attempts at the praise of God. To fashion after, but not necessarily to copy literally. The disciples asked to be taught to pray, and Jesus answered, “After this manner pray ye,” and then gave them what has been called ever since the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus never said use just these words and this form alone. O, no. He left it to the fervent heat of thankful hearts throughout the world to send to the throne of grace warm and tender orisons that should clothe the feet of our Father with petitions of urgency or songs of jubilation. God never intended that praise or prayer should have a stereotyped form never to change. No matter how varied the style of expression may be in the Scripture hymns and addresses to the Deity, it is still left to human souls to voice there own needs in their own chosen way. Only “after this manner pray ye,” and sing ye.
The worshipers of idols pray sometimes by simply repeating a word innumerable times. A missionary asked a heathen, “What are you doing?”
“I am praying.”
“To whom?”
“To no one.”
“And for what?”
“For nothing.”
Hawaiians believe that if they can gain possession of the garment of an enemy, kneel upon it and pray, they can pray that enemy’s life away. Hindu praises are only repeated and reiterated shouts of “Ram” or “Swami,” or “Om mani padmi om.” Many Roman Catholic prayers are mere repetitions of the names of saints beaded on the rosary.
After the Bible manner pray ye, and after the Bible manner sing ye.
God is our Father, kind and true,
His stars, His flowrets, light and strew
All pleasant paths below.
The noblest deeds our life affords,
The purest thoughts, the kindest words,
Should to His service go.
And so it will be if our prayer and praise are after the Bible manner.
Some have taught and advocated, and a denomination holds, that our praises to God should be voiced only in the sacred psalms; but there are continual swellings of the heart that spill over into felicitous and happy verse; that wing the ardent, earnest thought heavenward in the very spirit and harmony of Bible utterance. Would it be right to throw aside as worthless, and ignore, the helpful hymns of Watts, of Wesley, and of many before and since their time, upon whose words, as chariots, the souls of great assemblies have gone soaring and singing upward to the very gates of pearl?—No; it is enough if we observe the injunction to pray and sing not in the same phrases always, but in the manner of Bible bards and Bible teachers.
THOMAS ROBERT WILLIAMSON.
Oakland, Cal.
SATAN A PERSON OR AN INFLUENCE, WHICH?
While in the business world practicability is the watchword, the realm of religion seems to be tending toward abstractions. Those religious systems that deal largely in abstract reasonings seem to have had the most phenomenal growth. Christian science, that attempts to explain away everything of a material nature, and Theosophy, that deals in oriental mysticisms, are gathering around them an ever-increasing multitude, composed to a great extent of the wealthy and educated classes. The “adept” of India, shrouded in mysticism and dreamingly endeavoring to transport himself from this mortal sphere to the realm of immateriality, is the nearest approach, it seems, to the ideal state in religion as viewed from the standpoint of Theosophy and its associate “isms.” There is an impression gaining ground which is by no means confined to these modern cults, that God is simply a shorter way of spelling good, and that the term Satan is only another name for evil. It is not the aim here to enter into the realm of abstract reasoning to determine whether these deductions are correct or not; for, believing that the Bible is the revelation of God, we accept its testimony as conclusive in all matters of which it treats.
The belief that Satan is simply a personification of evil, and not in any wise a person, seems to be gaining a place among the unwritten texts of almost every denomination. But that the Bible teaches the personality of Satan will be plainly seen by considering a few of the many passages that bear on the subject. In the twelfth chapter of Revelation we read in the seventh verse that there was war in heaven. Michael and His angels fought with the devil and his angels, with the result that Satan and his followers were cast out. Such language could not be employed in speaking of Satan, if Satan were simply a term used to designate evil. For how could one cast out evil in the abstract? It must of necessity be associated with some object in order to be cast out. To speak of casting out evil in the abstract would be like trying to carry the sunlight out of a room with a basket. Furthermore Christ says, in Luke 10:18, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” This statement comparing Satan in his fall to lightning is an argument against the impersonality of Satan; for one can not see an evil influence apart from some object.
Again, in Matt. 25:41, we read, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” To speak of preparing a fire to burn up an evil influence, or evil in the abstract, would be absurd. Not only is the fire prepared for Satan, but he will be cast into it, as we read in Rev. 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, . . . and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” The very fact that the devil is spoken of as being tormented is a conclusive point in favor of a belief in a personal devil; for how could an evil influence be said to be tormented?
But there is another text that is still more conclusive, found in John 8:44. It reads: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it.” The word here translated “abode” is the same Greek word that in Acts 26:22 is translated “continue,” in the clause, “I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great.” We can therefore read the clause in John 8:44 thus, “Continued not in the truth.” This plainly indicates that Satan was in the truth at one time, but did not continue in it. To speak of an evil influence or evil in the abstract as having been in the truth, is absurd in the extreme.
The Bible testimony therefore is very conclusive to the effect that Satan is a personal being. It teaches the personality of Satan, and also that he was once “in the truth,” but fell away from it and became the originator of evil. For the text last referred to says that “he is a liar, and the father of it.” The father of lies would also be the originator of all evil; for evil is a unity, as we read in James 2:10 that he who offendeth “in one point,” “is guilty of all.” Satan is the great enemy of our souls. He has no mercy in his heart, and is untiring and relentless in his endeavors to destroy us. He takes the happy baby boy from its mother’s bosom, and finally buries him in a drunkard’s grave. He takes the beautiful little girl, and buries her in a life of shame.
If he can convince us that there is no Satan, and therefore no cause for alarm, how much more easily he can take us off our guard. To fight against an abstraction causes one to lose that zeal which is necessary to overcome our wily foe. The doctrine of the impersonality of Satan originated with the devil himself. For centuries he has inspired men to treat
INVOCATION
By Hart Hall
The days allotted me are passing by,
And, O, how barren they of worthy deeds!
How this bleak world doth need them too; and I,
My God! and I can show it but my needs.
“Thine the power” I read, and faith returns;
Thy mighty arm in my behalf I see.
I can not do good deeds, dear Lord, or learn
Thy righteous ways, until Thou teachest me.
Then make my life as passive clay, and mold
It even as Thou wilt; it is not mine.
Renew Thine image now as ’twas of old,
A transcript of Thy character divine.
Fresno, Cal. HART HALL.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
The brethren at Drywood, Minn., have erected a new school-house.
The Southern Union Conference will hold a session at Nashville, Tenn., from the 3d to the 12th inst.
The first annual meeting of the Pacific Union Conference will be held at Portland, Oregon, February 27 to March 8.
A church was organized October 27, at Waterford, Ohio, with seventeen members, and the work of erecting a house of worship is progressing.
Brother J. W. Bagby reports an unorganized company of eight adults at Laton, Fresno County, Cal., and the baptism of one candidate at Tulare.
The Recorder notes an interesting harvest ingathering at Aledo, Ill., with a varied program. The church was appropriately decorated and well filled with people.
Since the meeting of the General Conference in April last, 104 missionaries have left America for foreign lands. This number includes the wives of missionaries.
There are now over thirty church-schools in the California and Southern California Conferences, besides several family schools conducted on the same principle.
Brother J. N. Loughborough is now at College Place, Wash., giving a special course of instruction in the college on the rise and progress of the Third Angel’s Message.
At Cumberland, B. C., November 17, a church of eight members was organized. The Sabbath-school has an attendance of over twenty. This is the result of labor by Brother J. L. Wilson.
On the 4th inst., Professor J. N. Anderson, of Battle Creek, Mich., accompanied by his wife and sister-in-law, are to sail from San Francisco for China, which is to be their field of labor.
December 4, Sister Georgia Burrus sailed from New York on her return to India, to resume zenana work. She is accompanied by Sisters Anna Orr and Grace Kellogg. Sister Orr goes under support of the sisters of the Southwestern Union Conference.
“Marvel of Nations” is to be published in the Danish-Norwegian, Swedish, and German languages. These books will be ready for delivery about May 1, 1902. This is a revised edition of a work that has already had a large circulation in the United States.
From the Bulletin we learn that considerable enthusiasm is manifested among the younger pupils of the Des Moines, Iowa, church-school in the circulation of the Signs and Life Boat. One little boy has sold 170 papers during the past two weeks.
In reporting a tour of several churches in South Dakota, to the Dakota Worker, Brother F. A. Westphal mentions the addition of five young persons to the church at Milltown, two to the church at Bowdle, and two to the church at Eureka. All but two were received by baptism.
A canvassers’ institute is now in session in San Francisco, to continue until the 30th inst. It is conducted by Brother S. C. Osborne, traveling missionary of Pacific Union Conference. It is expected that this institute will add materially to the canvassing force in California Conference.
The Sabbath-school of the Alameda, Cal., church held an interesting convention on the 14th ult. The exercises were interesting and instructive, and several important topics were freely discussed. This young church has shown commendable enterprise, as is manifest in their neat house of worship and the church-school room that has just been completed.
Many of our readers will rejoice to hear that the veteran laborer in the cause of truth, Brother George I. Butler, is once more in official position. At the recent session of Florida Conference he was elected president. He was not present at the time, but was immediately notified, and spent the last two days on the ground. He accepted the responsibility, and indicated his purpose, as soon as he could arrange his private affairs, to enter upon a vigorous campaign. Mrs. Edith Stephenson was elected secretary, and C. B. Stephenson, treasurer.
In a letter to the Workers’ Record (Mo.), Dr. and Mrs. H. A. Green, of Rhodesia, South Africa, say: “They who are but heathen to-day will soon be preaching the Gospel to their benighted brethren in the darkest regions. There are some preaching the Gospel to-day who were but heathen three years ago, when we first entered Africa.”
Under date of Jericho, November 25, Brother L. R. Conradi writes: “Arrived at Jaffa November 10, and after stopping at our medical mission there, went on the 14th to Jerusalem. Yesterday I went to the Dead Sea, then to the Jordan, where I baptized a sister. By the end of the week I expect to proceed to Egypt. In Nicomedia I baptized eight, and one at Smyrna. There is a lack of workers here.”
The addition of five new members to the church at Tucson, A. T., is reported by Brother W. L. Black to the Pacific Union Recorder. Also a prosperous Chinese mission school of twenty members. These are taught English from 8 to 9 o’clock every evening, the Bible being the text-book. Some have shown their interest in the truth by closing their small stores or stopping their work in order to attend the Sabbath-school.
The church in Des Moines, Iowa, says the Bulletin, has a well-organized branch Sabbath-school in South Des Moines, with an attendance of from thirty-five to forty. One sister pays the rent of a small store building, and others have furnished a stove, organ, several seats and chairs, blackboard, etc. So they have a comfortable place of meeting. The young people of the church are the teachers, and they canvass the neighborhood for pupils each Sabbath.
In the Watchman of December 11, is a report of an interesting beginning of labor at National Hill, Tenn., by Brother B. Hagle and wife. They had secured a school-house in the forest for their meetings, and give this account of their introduction:—
It was a query in our minds where we would get a congregation, but to our surprise the house was nearly full the first night. The people came every night on horseback for miles around. One would think, to see the many horses coming down the road, that a regiment of soldiers was coming. The school-house will not hold the people. The speaker has scarcely standing-room. The aisles are full. The doors and windows are left open, and the people crowd all around the house, and listen with the greatest interest that we ever witnessed in all our experience in this message. We find more than we can do. The teacher of the school invited us to hold a meeting with the children every day, so Mrs. Hagle occupies the eleven o’clock hour each day, and many of the parents come and listen. The teacher told us that the children are a great deal better since the meetings began, and he says he would like to learn how to teach from the Bible. Sunday and Sunday night we had three ministers to listen to the discourses; and as soon as the meetings closed, two of them came forward and asked what would be the cost of a set of the charts and an instruction book. They were asked what they wanted to do with them, and they said they wanted to learn how to teach the whole truth. They were then asked if they would keep the Sabbath, and they said they would. Last Sabbath was the first Sabbath meeting we held here, and we had forty in attendance. Many have asked when we were going to organize, as they wanted to unite with us. We told them we were not ready to take members in yet, as we wanted to present some more truths, and if they would follow all the Bible, they would be members with us.
A PROHIBITION KING.
HOW AN AFRICAN KING made a prohibition law and enforced it in his dominions, is described by Dr. A. T. Pierson in the Missionary Review.
It appears that Sekhome, the chief of the Bamangwato, the father of Khama, had no faith in Christianity, and when Khama became a Christian, Sekhome tried to prevent his succeeding him. After some trouble, however, Khama did succeed, and set about governing according to his Christian principles.
He began to fight rum systematically. He called the white men together and told them his mind. They pleaded to be allowed to bring in small cases of brandy as medicine. He gave consent, but he must see no drunkenness. Of course the drunkenness came. Then there was a new summons for the white men, and this time they were forbidden even to bring in drink for their private table use. ‘Bring none! I will allow none! There's an end of it!’ He had to resort to fines, threats, and even to banishment from the country; but he stood firm. When, after many provocations, the crisis came, and notwithstanding oft-repeated warnings, there was drunken violence and uproar, the good Khama wore a stern face, which always meant fixed purpose. He went and saw with his own eyes how his laws were trampled on, and then he said:—
“You despise my laws because I am a black man. Well, if I am black, I am chief of my own country, and I rule here and shall maintain my laws. Go back to your own country. Take all that is yours, and go. If there is any other white man who does not like my laws, let him go, too. I am trying to lead my people to act according to the Word of God, which we have received from you white people, and you, white people, show them an example of wickedness such as we never knew. You know that some of my own brothers have learned to like the drink, and that I do not want them even to see it, that they may forget the habit; and yet you not only bring it and offer it to them, but try to tempt me with it. I make an end of it to-day. Go, leave my town, and never come back.
The effect of such talk from an African chief was like a thunderclap; everybody was stunned. One man at last ventured to plead for exemption from the stern law of banishment on the ground that he had grown up in the country, and he and Khama were old friends. “Surely, for old friendship’s sake you will pity me!”
“Friendship!” said the indignant Khama, “you call yourself my friend, do you? You are the ring-leader among those who insult and despise my laws.” Then, with withering words of rebuke, he answered his plea for pity, by reminding him that there was a plea for “pity” which he owed to his own people. His answer was worthy of Chief Justice Hale, who used similar words of the “mercy” due to his own country, which he would endanger if he was unduly merciful to criminals. Khama flamed with righteous anger, but he cleaned his town that day of the white man’s drink-curse, and then he also forbade the use and sale and manufacture of native beer. At one time death seemed to threaten him if he carried on his holy crusade; but he only answered, “You may kill, but you can not conquer me.”—Family Herald and Montreal Weekly Star.
MISSION WORK OF THE AMERICAN BOARD.
At the recent annual meeting of this oldest of American missionary societies, it was reported that the income for the year just closed was $697,371. Its representatives are found in twenty missions at strategic centers, amid a population exceeding six million souls and using twenty-seven different languages; 544 missionaries, assisted by 3,483 native laborers, are engaged in preaching the Gospel, directing schools, translating the Bible, creating a Christian literature, and healing the sick. In these missions are 505 churches, having 50,892 members, 4,551 having been received on confession of faith this year; 929 Sunday-schools, with 66,601 pupils, and giving $147,879 annually to the support of the Christian work around them; 13 colleges, with 2,132 students; 17 theological seminaries, with 228 students in direct training for the ministry; 103 boarding and high schools for girls and boys, with 10,226 students, besides 1,135 day-schools, with 49,375 pupils.—Missionary Review.
God Employeth Everything
Do THY little; God has made
Million leaves for forest shade;
Smallest stars their glory bring,
God employeth everything.
INFLUENCE
By Miss A. E. Hamilton
This learned I from the shadow of a tree
That to and fro did sway upon a wall,
Our shadow-selves, our influence, may fall
Where we can never be.
—Miss A. E. Hamilton.
PERIODICALS WANTED.
SIGNS, Review, Sentinel, and Life Boat, for use in connection with meetings. Address, postpaid, E. Max Trummer, Kingston, Ill.
Late clean copies of any of our denominational publications, for missionary work. Address, postpaid, E. J. Harvey, San Diego, Cal.
SIGNS, Sentinel, Review, and tracts for distribution in Thomasville, Monticello, and Tallahassee. Can use thousands. Address, postpaid, Mrs. Lulu Wightman, 222 Monroe Street, Thomasville, Ga.
Wonders OF THE 19TH CENTURY
Is a 32-page tract. Its object is to recount and describe some of the principal inventions of this closing century, and to show their significance. It contains fifteen illustrations. Is an easy seller.
Price, 5c each or $2.00 per 100.
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO., Oakland, Cal. New York City. Kansas City, Mo.
The Winning of Margaret
How Margaret and her skeptical friend Ralph were converted. A well-told story.
