A KNOWLEDGE of the Word of God depends not so much upon strength of intellect as upon pureness of purpose, the simplicity of an earnest, dependent faith. To those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance, angels of God draw near. The Holy Spirit is given to open to them the rich treasures of truth.
God bids us fill our minds with great thoughts, pure thoughts. He desires us to meditate upon His love and mercy, to study His wonderful work in the great plan of redemption.
The Bible contains all the principles that men need in order to be fitted either for this life or for the life to come. And these principles may be understood by all. No one with a spirit to appreciate its teachings can read a single passage from the Bible without gaining from it some helpful thought. But the most valuable teaching of the Bible is not gained by occasional or disconnected study. Its great system of truth is not so presented as to be discerned by the careless or hasty reader. Many of its treasures lie far beneath the surface, and can be obtained only by diligent research and continuous effort. The truths that go to make up a great whole must be searched out and gathered up 'here a little and there a little.'
A Means of Intellectual Growth.
When thus searched out and brought together, they will be found to be perfectly fitted to one another. Each Gospel is a supplement to the others, every prophecy an explanation of another, every truth a development of some other truth. The types of the Jewish economy are made plain by the Gospel. Every principle in the Word of God has its place, every fact its bearing. And the complete structure, in design and execution, bears testimony to its Author. Such a structure no mind but the Infinite could conceive or fashion.
Not alone in searching out truth and bringing it together does the mental value of Bible study consist. It consists also in the effort required to grasp the themes presented. The mind occupied with commonplace matters only becomes dwarfed and enfeebled. If never taxed to comprehend grand and far-reaching truths, it after a time loses the power of growth. As a safeguard against this degeneracy, and a stimulus to development, nothing can equal the study of God's Word. As a means for intellectual training, the Bible is more effective than any other book, or all other books combined. The greatness of its themes, the dignified simplicity of its utterances, the beauty of its imagery, quicken and uplift the thoughts as nothing else can. No other study can impart such mental power as does the effort to grasp the stupendous truths of revelation. The mind thus brought in contact with the thoughts of the Infinite can not but expand and strengthen.
A Means of Spiritual Growth.
And even greater is the power of the Bible in the development of the spiritual nature. Man, created for fellowship with God, can only in such fellowship find his real life and development. Created to find in God his highest joy, he can find in nothing else that which can quiet the cravings of the heart, or satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul. He who with sincere and teachable spirit studies God's Word, seeking to comprehend its truths, will be brought into touch with its Author, and, except by his own choice, there is no limit to the possibilities of his development.
In childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus studied the Scriptures. As a little child, He was daily, at His mother's knee, taught from the scrolls of the prophets. In His youth the early morning and evening twilight often found Him alone on the mountainside or among the trees of the forest, spending a quiet hour in prayer and in the study of God's Word. During His ministry His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures testified to His diligence in their study. And since He gained knowledge as we may gain it, His wonderful power, both mental and spiritual, is a testimony to the value of the Bible as a means of education.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
By F. D. Starr.
First Timothy.
THE thought of Scripture research is inseparably connected with the name of the person addressed in this epistle. Our motto, "Search the Scriptures," is here drawn out in living characters. If the youth of to-day would imitate this pious young Grecian, none of the superficiality displayed in the following incident could have any existence:
The writer was teaching a class of nearly a dozen youth in a Sabbath-school. Some of them had about reached the state of manhood and womanhood. In the lesson was a reference to First Timothy. The question was asked, "Who wrote this epistle?" After considerable hesitation, one of the members ventured to reply, "Timothy." Farther on in the lesson was a reference to a verse in the book of Hebrews. "Who wrote the book of Hebrews?" was the question. Of course those who had studied the lesson had not found this query in the lesson sheet, and so this question met with no response, till finally one of the younger scholars answered, "Hebrews."
No embellishment of exclamation points could adequately express the surprise elicited by this reply. The printer's art does not furnish punctuation marks that meet the demands of the case in this instance.
Such replies demonstrate the great lack of thought and investigation put upon the Scriptures, especially by the rising generation. We are very glad, however, to be able to say that there are noble exceptions to this condition of things, and this fact is the basis of our hope for the future.
Upon the noble youth of the church of Christ, who are making the Bible the foundation of all education, and who, like Timothy of old, have from childhood known the Holy Scriptures, and are continuing in the study of the same, depends the success of the work of God in the earth to-day.
Concerning the favorable and unfavorable surroundings of young Timothy, we read in Acts 16. We here learn that his mother was a believer. This was indeed very favorable for this young Christian. The context seems very plainly to imply that the father was not a believer. This circumstance would not seem so favorable, yet in this Timothy is doubtless set forth as an example to all youth in like circumstances. How many there are who are brought up under parental roofs where the house is divided, as was the case in Timothy's home. Either the father or the mother is often bitterly opposed to the godly practise of the other parent. But even in spite of such opposition the youth may become firmly rooted and grounded in the truth for this time, and become, like Timothy of old, stanch defenders of the faith.
This letter to Timothy was written by Paul near the close of his ministerial career. More than thirty years had elapsed since Paul's wonderful conversion. It seems that Timothy was stationed at Ephesus (see 1 Tim. 1:3). This would be another advantage, among many, that was afforded the church at Ephesus.
While the book abounds in points of special interest and importance, particularly that concerning the duties and qualifications of church officers, as found in chapter 3, yet a prophetic utterance found in chapter 4:1 is particularly to be noticed, because it refers to the latter, and tells us what would be the condition of society at that time. Departure from the faith is the characteristic of the times as brought out in this text. Our Saviour once asked this significant question, "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" Evidently the implied answer is that there would be a very marked lack of faith among professors. Faith will not entirely disappear, for it is stated in Rev. 14:12 concerning the people of God prepared for translation when Jesus comes, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." The lack of faith is manifested in the growing popular disbelief of the Holy Scriptures.
The blessed lesson of contentment found in the closing chapter of this book is presented in contrast with the covetousness now becoming so prevalent. It seems from this chapter, as well as from Heb. 13:5, that between covetousness and contentment there is no neutral ground. Let us ask ourselves the question,8"Which am I? Am I contented with such things as I have, or am I coveting the wealth of this world?"
Never in the history of our world was the admonition and the charge to the rich more applicable than now. Read carefully 1 Tim. 6:6-11, 16-19, and set about the work in earnest to lay up in store for eternity the riches which will never decrease, never vanish away. "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." 1 Tim. 6:7.
F. D. STARR.
THE HOUSEHOLDER'S RETURN
By Max Hill
The Signs of His Coming.
TELL us,” the disciples asked, “when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?” It is still a living question. The world asks it, demanding an answer. It is well to consider the first words of the Saviour’s reply: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matt. 24: 4, 5.
Then follows a series of views of future history. Verses 6 to 14 of Matthew 24 carry us down to the time when the Gospel has been preached to all the world; “and then shall the end come.” Verses 15 to 20 come back to what lay just before the Jewish nation, the destruction of Jerusalem, followed by a very brief history of the persecutions of the church during the early centuries and the Dark Ages, mercifully cut short by the Reformation. Verses 21, 22. Then note the warnings against false Christs and false prophets. Never in the past were there so many false Christs as there have been since the Reformation, and the number increases. This in itself is a sign of the nearness of the end, else why should Christ make mention of it so often, and always when speaking of that event? Verses 23 to 28 are devoted to the manner of Christ’s coming, which we have already noted, bringing us to the time when the vultures of plague shall feed on the carcasses of sin.
Signs in the Heavens.
Then follows a series of literal events of striking interest and importance to the student. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days [the days which were shortened by the Reformation. Mark 13:24 reads, “in those days, after that tribulation”] shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” The “days” of the Dark Ages of the papal supremacy were not ended until 1798 when the temporal power of the pope was taken away by the French, the pope being taken prisoner, soon to die in exile; but the “tribulation of those days” was shortened, by the decree of toleration by Maria Theresa in 1776, and the opening of this country to the oppressed of all nations.
The sun was darkened May 19, 1780, “immediately after the tribulation of those days” of papal persecution, and the moon failed to give her light on the night following, tho it was full at the time, and the weather was clear, there being neither clouds nor smoke in the air. History has given such definite and accurate descriptions of these events that the mere mention of them is sufficient here. On the night of November 13, 1833, occurred the greatest meteoric shower on record, when the stars fell “as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” This has also been recorded in history, and almost every neighborhood has those who witnessed the wonderful nocturnal sign the Lord displayed in the heavens to show His coming near.
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Tho we know not the day nor the hour of His coming, we may know from His own words that it is near, even at the door. Added to the Saviour’s words we have also the testimony of other prophets. James tells of the financial and social conditions in the last days,—conditions seen in the world at the present time as never before,—treasure heaped together, the hire of the laborers kept back by fraud, living for pleasure and idleness; but through it all the “brethren” are exhorted to be patient, with stablished hearts, “for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
Paul wrote to Timothy: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” Little wonder it is that the apostle closes with the admonition, “From such turn away.”
Comment is unnecessary. The daily papers demonstrate that all these conditions are in the world to-day as never before, and to such an alarming extent that vigorous attempts are being made along lines of reform, attempts that seem to be accomplishing little when the magnitude of the task is considered. The fact is there never will be a complete reform until that wakening shout is heard, the faithful ones gathered on the eternal shore, when our Lord shall say: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” May it be our happy lot to hear these words and enter in.
MAX HILL.
IRRIGATION.
By George O. States
PEOPLE living where it rains have no conception of the experience we have who live in an irrigating country. Water is the all-important consideration. The laws are such in some sections that the man first using water from a creek by getting a decree from the court has the first claim; the second man, the second claim; and so on. It is only once in a number of years that the court makes a specialty of granting decrees, and those having rights are supposed to attend to them on that occasion, otherwise it is quite expensive to get a decree between times. On account of being sick and in California when decrees were granted, and not understanding the matter, I was recently brought into perplexity. A man who had recently taken a claim some distance above me, took advantage of my absence, and got a decree, taking water rightfully mine. I consulted the judge, and he told me that the law was that every one taking water from the creek had to be notified on making application for a decree, and as I was not notified I could get this decree set aside. He also told me of the expense.
My son and I talked the matter over and decided, rather than go to law and make enemies, we would let the matter go. The latter part of July and through August is usually the time of scarcity of water. We had abundance of water this year until the 20th of July, when Friday before the Sabbath I took out all the water from the creek to run on the crops during the Sabbath. On going out the next day and seeing so little water that it had not run through the rows, and our fruit at the time when it needed water the most in order to insure a good crop, I was getting somewhat nervous; but my son said, “Father, don't worry, for in a day or two there may be plenty.”
Monday morning as I arose I heard the water in the creek, and said to the folks, “There is a good head of water.” As I went down to the creek, sure enough, there was a big head rushing down.
As I stood and looked at the water, tears came to my eyes, and I just knelt down and thanked the Lord for it. While I was irrigating the trees, I thought how good the Lord was to cause it to rain up in the mountains and fill the creeks to help us out in our emergency, and then I thought of the great plan of human redemption, and how this earth that has been groaning under the curse so long will be restored to its Eden beauty. I thought of the many promises our heavenly Father has given to encourage us here amid our perplexities. Ps. 37:9 tells us that “evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” Isaiah, in speaking of that glad day, tells us that, “they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Peter tells us, “Nevertheless we, according to His9promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” As I think of these things, it seems to me it is enough to buoy us up amid the trials and perplexities here, and that it is worth living for. O, that will be a good country, and I do want to be there. There will be no lack of water there, and nothing to molest or make afraid. In this life we may build and lay up, and soon it is lost to us, but there will be nothing of that kind there, for the earth will be full of the glory of God.
Cedaredge, Colo. GEO. O. STATES.
Cruelty
Cruelty, if we consider it as a crime, is the greatest of all; if we consider it as a madness, we are equally justifiable in applying to it the readiest and surest means of suppression.—Landor.
MAKING SURE OF TO-MORROW.
No man has any right to expect to live differently to-morrow from the way in which he is living to-day. What he chooses to-day he chooses for to-morrow. What he overcomes to-day he is overcoming for to-morrow. What he yields to-day he is still more likely to yield to to-morrow. Yet most of us live as tho we did not believe this, and we try hard to persuade ourselves that we are safe in so living. The devil encourages us mightily in this self-deception.
If he can persuade us to sin for to-day only, he is well content to let us pledge ourselves to ourselves that to-morrow we will defeat him. There may be no to-morrow for us in this life; to-day is all we have, and to-day is our only hope for to-morrow if to-morrow does come. If we are unable to conquer to-day, we shall be still less able to do so later. The man who sins to-day because he expects to give it all up later is planning with fatal certainty to give up, later, everything but his sin.—S. S. Times.
THE WORLD'S "FAST PACE."
THE people of this "fast" age, to express it in the current parlance, are truly going "the pace that kills." This is literally true in almost every phase of modern life. Through contest, competition, and rivalry, men are rushing on to gain championship, supremacy, monopoly, regardless of cost or consequence. For this reason, men in political contests are willing to ruin the reputation of rivals, men of business ambition care not how many competitors are ruined, and in races for advanced time schedules thousands of lives are sacrificed every year in accidents by railroads, ships, automobiles, etc.
Referring to this common tendency, the San Francisco News Letter says that more than half the wrecks on the Pacific Coast can be attributed to risking ships in order to save time. Owners demand quick trips, and captains make them by running too fast through fogs or by hugging the shore to shorten distance. It ought to be remembered, but will soon be forgotten, that the recent disaster of the steamer Sirio, off the coast of Spain, was caused by "hugging the shore" to save time. The consequence, aside from financial loss, was the destruction of over three hundred lives. The News Letter truthfully says, "It may be that the time gained makes up for the occasional loss of a ship, when insurance is taken into consideration; but it doesn't compensate for the lives lost."
The moral "fast pace" of our day is equally noticeable. The dissipation and fall of the "prodigal son" have many counterparts in this "fast age"—so many that they have almost ceased to be remarkable. It would be well if men, in their haste to get rich, to "make records," and to dominate their fellowmen, would remember that the great day of the Lord also "hasteth greatly."
And "that day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers."
To this the Lord adds: "And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy; for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." See Zeph. 1:14-18.
If men would remember and reflect on these warnings, they would slacken their speed and consider the end of their mad rush for temporary gain. For "who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth?" We have the answer through the prophet David: "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." Ps. 24:4, 5.
In the end it will be found that the time saved by the world's "fast pace" has been time lost.
G.
SIGNS OF THE END.
By Laura Gerly
“As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank,” etc. Luke 17:26, 27. The idea is not that it is wrong to eat and drink, but how were they eating and drinking?—They were banqueting, becoming gluttonous; drinking, and becoming drunkards. Giving no thought to the things of God, they were pleasing themselves with high living. I have just read of a man who gave to some friends a dinner which cost ten thousand dollars.
In the days of Noah “the earth was filled with violence.” Gen. 6:11. Now the man must be blind who, in the face of wars, strikes, murders, and suicides, can say that the world is growing better?—to say nothing of political and financial troubles. Noah warned the people, and they scoffed at his message just as they do to-day. The Bible tells again of the condition of the world just before the second coming of Christ, the disasters shall increase, and men’s hearts will fail them as they wonder what will come next. Luke 21:25, 27.
People who live along the banks of the Ohio River know how the floods have increased during the last few years. It left its banks and swept out entire towns, something never having been known in former years. This is only one illustration of many. Are men’s hearts failing them? I was in West Virginia some time since and heard a prosperous gentleman, a senator, say, “I feel that a crash is coming.” A Standard Oil man said, “The world is so bad that I can not trust one man out of ten. I believe the end is near.” This man does not read the Bible, or heed God’s Word, still he sees from the condition of things that the world can not stand much longer. Surely we are living in the days of the Son of Man. Are men’s hearts failing them? And yet the refuge of the righteous is in Christ’s coming.
LAURA GERLY.
CATHOLIC NEWS AND THE DAILIES.
THE Catholic Mirror, of August 4, has the following:
At the closing meeting of the Catholic Education Congress, recently held in Cleveland, Rev. Francis T. Moran, local chairman, in his address to the assembled audience of three thousand or more, took occasion to protest against the attitude of the daily press, as quoted in the Catholic Standard and Times. The Catholic Educational Association, said Father Moran, was a national movement. Its sessions had been of the deepest and most general interest. Yet it had been most inadequately reported by the local papers in a city of 150,000 Catholics. He declared that this discrimination in regard to Catholic events, far from being singular in this instance, seemed to be the settled policy of the secular newspapers.
The Editor of the Mirror, admitting that this may be true of the Cleveland papers, suggests that the statement is "a little broad" in general, "is a little bit too sweeping," and continues:
It is well to give credit where credit is due, and to certain of our great dailies Father Moran's declarations can not apply at all. We make this statement without reservation, and in extenuation of our standpoint we cite the conduct of the Baltimore papers on the occasion of the centenary of our Cathedral. With possibly one exception the newspapers of Baltimore took a livelier interest in that great affair, than in any other one occurrence in this city. For many days in advance of the celebration they gave careful accounts of the preparations under way; cuts and sketches of the different prelates who were to be in attendance lent almost a Catholic appearance to their pages, and, apparently no effort was spared to be up-to-date and accurate in this regard. Few who were in Baltimore at that time can forget the appearance of the Sun paper the day after the ceremonies. Page after page was devoted entirely to the magnificent sermons of those famous prelates who spoke to the assembled thousands. Photographs of the leading dignitaries were reproduced with lavish carelessness as to space consumed, and every little detail was given a position of prominence. In fact the news of the outside world was subservient to the interests and the doings of Catholic Baltimore and her visitors. Indeed, this desire to report everything in any way connected with the celebration continued until the last prelate was well on his homeward way, and even then the echoes of the great gathering, in the form of anecdotes, pleasant tales of the visitors, and "sidelights" of the whole affair appeared from time to time. Had they been Protestants, or a strictly non-sectarian body, more space and attention could not have been given them—perhaps not quite so much.
And what the Mirror says of Baltimore papers is generally true. Catholic doings, so far as we have observed, get more notice in description and illustration than all the Protestant doings combined. The daily press is under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
PLAIN TALK TO PROTESTANTS.
A FEW years since Archbishop Hennessy, of Dubuque, said:
"There is no Sabbath except the seventh day taught in the Protestant or Catholic Bibles. The Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation enforce the religious observance of Saturday. Only those who follow the teachings of the Catholic church and apostolic tradition can consistently keep Sunday; for there is not a line of Bible proof for the observance of any other than the seventh day as a Sabbath. Every Protestant who keeps Sunday has imbibed just that much of Roman Catholic tradition."
Of the union of the churches and Romanism, he said:
"We are praying every day for the return of the prodigal children, and we have not much longer to wait; for they are all coming home. The Catholic Church always remains the same. She has not changed an iota in all the ages of her history. She will never go to Protestantism as much as the least shaving from your finger-nail. The Catholics are apparently doing nothing to hasten this union, for this reason: If you have several chairs in a row, it would be much easier to pull them around if they were all fastened together than if you had a cord to each chair and had to pull each one separately. So when the Protestants all become united, it will be easier to unite them to the mother church than to bring them one at a time."
Father Toomey, of Dubuque, in an interview said much the same concerning the Sabbath, adding that "Seventh-day Adventists are the only consistent Protestants in the world, because they are the only ones who do not accept some of the tradition of the Catholic Church."—Workers' Bulletin.
PURPOSE AND POWER OF LIFE.
The future is yours, my ambitious boy,
It has waited long for your day,
Like the upward reach of the mountains high,
As with eager look of the parched sky,
It has urged you often to pray.
From a million lives it has taken the best;
From a million more it will take the rest;
With these it will mould your life-time plan,
It would make of each boy a noble man,
And a grander task was never given
To any one outside of heaven.
Be this your purpose, my earnest boy,
May this your every hour employ,
A noble man, God's hope and aim,
No guile or sinful craft or shame!
'Twere well that such a life begun,
For now both worlds will say, "WELL DONE."
THE SOURCE OF HEALTH
By W. S. Sadler
By W. S. SADLER, M. D.
II. HEALING POWER IS DIVINE POWER.
"And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that . . . the power of the Lord was present to heal them." Luke 5:17.
THE power of God is always a healing power, when untrammeled by doubt and not counter-worked by transgression. The "all power in heaven and earth" which was given unto Christ, is keeping power for soul, and healing power for body, divine healing, like divine forgiveness, is for all who will comply with the conditions of receiving it—repentance, faith, and obedience.
Whether you scratch the bark of a tree, or the skin upon your hand, God has made provision for His mysterious healing power to immediately begin its wonderful work of repair. The moment physical injury is inflicted upon any part of the body, an instantaneous summons is sent to the minute, white blood corpuscles to marshal their numbers at the seat of injury, where they at once begin the work of destroying disease germs and otherwise aiding in the repair and protection of the tissues.
By what means did these little workers, so small that millions may live in a single drop of blood, secure information as to where their services were needed? How are these microscopic defenders of life and health directed in their work of healing? When trouble is reported anywhere throughout the physical being, these messengers of health, these guardians of the purity of the blood, rush in large numbers to the scene of trouble, and there, if necessary, sacrifice their own lives in the healing struggle. Sometimes the injury may be so extensive, or the irritation so intense, that this ordinary healing effort of nature is unsuccessful, and then health can only be secured by some work of co-operation on our part, or by a manifestation of extraordinary and miraculous healing.
To a limited extent, and within the operation of physical laws, certain healing possibilities are placed within every man, and it remains for the individual either to antagonize or co-operate with this life-maintaining, life-protecting power within.
"Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him." Matt. 8:6, 7.
How quickly Jesus answers the request of the afflicted. He is just as willing to-day to hear every call of suffering and sorrow. And to-day, if for the best, He will answer as of old, "I will come and heal him."
Whether secured through the ordinary channel of physical law, or through the extraordinary means of miraculous working, true healing power must come from God. Healing is re-creation, and only divine power can create. Whether we be sick with palsy, or suffering from any other one of the thousand afflictions to which human flesh is heir, we must look for relief and healing through either the reward of obedience to the God-ordained laws regulating our being, or to the gracious working of the mighty and miraculous power of God.
"The whole multitude sought to touch Him; for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all." Luke 6:19.
On one occasion the multitudes who but touched the Master were healed; even the one who touched the hem of His garment was made whole, for there went out from Him "virtue,"—a healing power,—which restored every believing soul.
It requires the power of the same Christ that made men to heal them when diseased. On the occasion above noted, the Master declared that demand had been made upon His power. So it is with every case of healing: it is possible only because of the divine willingness to supply the constant demand which erring man makes upon God's power.
HANDKERCHIEFS AND DISEASE.
By M. A. T.
The dainty bit of cambric that is carried more for show than for use is very harmless, but in the hands of one who is troubled with a cold or influenza, this dainty article may become charged with elements of infection. One person may impart the trouble to other members of the family unless the handkerchiefs of the individual who is affected are kept to themselves and great care taken in their cleansing.
We often find children who are affected with a catarrhal trouble, and they should have their own handkerchief-box where they may find a clean one at any time, and then have a nice bag hanging in a convenient place where they should be taught to put them as soon as they become soiled. A child can readily learn that the handkerchief should be used as unobtrusively as possible.
The best way to clean the handkerchiefs and free them from disease germs is to place them under water to which several tablespoonfuls of kerosene have been added and let them remain over night. The next morning pour this water off and wash them through a strong lather of white ivory soap and warm soft water, and when they seem perfectly clean, put them in a wash-bowl and pour boiling water over them, then cover the bowl and let them stand for half an hour. Rinse first through clear water and then through blue water and hang upon a line to dry, and the odor of the oil soon evaporates after they have been hung out and dried in the air and sun.
M. A. T.
"KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE INCREASED."
ONE of the best evidences of the increase of knowledge in the earth is the ever-increasing circulation of the Scriptures. The Christian Worker, of Auckland, New Zealand, is responsible for the statement that during the year ending March, 1906, 5,977,453 copies of the Scriptures were distributed, 33,000 more than the highest previous record.
The Word of God is printed in four hundred different languages, eleven having been added during the last year. It is safe to say that not one person in ten can tell where more than two or three of these languages are spoken. Here is the list:
Ladakhi, Singpho, Kuliviu, Mech (or Kachari), Zigula, Laotian, Saa, Bemba, Colloquial Arabic, East Santo, and Bri-Bri. It is interesting to note how widely distributed they are. Ladakhi is spoken on the Tibet frontier. Singpho is a language spoken by a people residing among the hills in the far east of Assam. Kuliviu is a language spoken on one of the Islands in the New Hebrides; the people will pay for these books in Arrowroot. Mech is a dialect spoken by about a quarter of a million people living on the plains of North Assam. Zigula is spoken by the Wa-Zigulas, who cover a large area in German East Africa. Laotian is spoken by the Laos tribes who live in the interior of Annam, French Indo-China; and in order to print this, special type will have to be cast, from designs that have been supplied by native scribes. Saa is spoken on the island of Mwala, one of the British Solomon Islands, which have become Christianized. Bemba is spoken by the tribes living in Central Africa to the north of Lake Bangweolo. Colloquial Arabic is being prepared for the unlearned in Egypt who do not understand classical11Arabic. East Santo is another of the many languages spoken in the New Hebrides. Bri-Bri is the language of Indians near Panama.
The Bible Society has supported 900 colporteurs, who sold during the year nearly 2¼ million volumes. It also supported 670 native Christian Bible-women employed in connection with about forty different missionary organizations in the East, and it helped to maintain 100 European Bible-women, most of whom are working in London back-streets. An excellent example of the scale on which the society conducts its business was evidenced at the last monthly meeting of the committee, when orders to be placed with various printing firms were sanctioned, amounting to no less than 653,000 volumes.
The Tea and Cigaret Question
The tea and cigaret question have been scientifically considered from the new standpoint of comparison. A press despatch says: "Dr. Friedrich, health officer of Cleveland, advises women of the smart set to smoke cigarets if they are addicted to the use of strong tea. Tea, he declares not only ruins the complexion, but causes heart disease, and he would remedy both with the cigaret. Tannin, the active principle of tea, stimulates the heart without feeding it, he says. Women are seized with heart disease without knowing the reason. It's the tea they drink. Tannin stimulates the heart; nicotine depresses it." The doctor is all right on the tea, but there are many objections to the cigaret habit which he does not mention. When a "health officer" advises women to use cigarets, one is led to wonder what "science" will do next.
GRAND CANYON
OF ARIZONA
"A whole chaotic underworld. Most sublime scene on earth. A mile deep, 13 miles wide, 217 miles long, and painted like a flower."
