p. 11 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 25. (6/28/1910)

The Bible and Religious Liberty

By Editor

1. How did God's faithful servant Job regard classes of men before the Lord?

"If I did despise the cause of my man servant or of my maid servant, when they contended with me; what then shall I do when God riseth up? and when He visiteth, what shall I answer Him? Did not He that MADE ME . . . MAKE HIM?" Job 31: 13-15.

2. How does the apostle Paul express the same truth?

"GOD THAT MADE THE WORLD and all things therein, . . . hath MADE OF ONE BLOOD ALL NATIONS OF MEN for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Acts 17: 24-26.

3. What does our Lord say regarding equality in His own church?

"For ONE IS YOUR MASTER, even Christ; and ALL YE ARE BRETHREN." Matt. 23: 8.

4. What does His apostle teach regarding lordship in His church?

"The elders which are among you I exhort, who are also an elder, . . . Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; NEITHER AS BEING LORDS OVER GOD'S HERITAGE, but being ensamples to the flock." 1 Peter 5: 1-3.

5. Why should they not use lordship or compulsion?

"Not for that we have DOMINION OVER YOUR FAITH, but are helpers of your joy: for BY FAITH YE STAND." 2 Cor. 1: 24.

6. Can the kingdom of Christ be enforced by civil rule?

"Jesus answered, MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD: if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My kingdom not from hence." John 18: 36.

7. What is the Lord's demand upon all His subjects?

"Thou shalt LOVE THE LORD THY GOD with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." See Luke 10: 27; Matt. 22: 37-40.

8. By what power only can the ambassador of Christ win the sinful and rebellious?

"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, WE PERSUADE MEN." "For the LOVE OF CHRIST constraineth us." 2 Cor. 5: 11, 14.

9. By what words does our Lord define our duty toward God and earthly powers?

"Render therefore unto CAESAR the THINGS which be CAESAR'S, and unto GOD the THINGS which be GOD'S." Luke 20: 25.

10. To whom then should we render custom, taxes, tribute, etc.?

"Render therefore to ALL THEIR DUES: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Owe no man anything, but to love one another." Rom. 13: 7, 8.

"Submit yourselves to EVERY ORDINANCE of MAN for the LORD'S SAKE." 1 Peter 2: 13.

11. What should be our course when the ordinances of men conflict with the ordinances of God?

"WE OUGHT TO OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN." Acts 5: 29.

"Whether it be right in the sight of God to harken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." Acts 4: 19.

12. To whom does the Sabbath belong, and therefore to whom should it be rendered?

"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."

13. Does not God advise compulsion upon those who reject His truth?

"And if ANY MAN hear My words, and believe NOT, I judge him NOT: for I came not to JUDGE the world, but to SAVE the world. He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: THE WORD THAT I HAVE SPOKEN, the same shall judge him IN THE LAST DAY."

NOTE.—We do not know how any Bible believer can read the above scriptures and then permit himself to be used inferentially, directly, or otherwise to obtain, approve, or enforce Sunday laws or any other religious legislation. The only true service which can be rendered to God, the only service acceptable to Him, is the service of love; is the service of simple faith and truth. But faith can not be compelled; neither can love. These are begotten within the heart of the child of God by a power from above which does not lie in the purview of human legislation. The only power which God has given to His servants is the power of persuasion through love by His Spirit.

It is a striking and awful contrast between those who profess to be the followers of St. Peter, those who profess to believe that Peter stands at their very head, and that his successors have been with them ever since, and the simple words which Peter has given us as quoted above. Among his professed followers are "lord popes" and "lord bishops," and other great prelates. Peter simply counted himself an elder among the other elders, and declared that there should be neither lord bishops nor prelates, "not as being lords over God's heritage." It is the duty for conscience' sake, for the Lord's sake, for the child of God to submit himself to every ordinance of men, unless mistaken men take that ordinance from the place assigned it of God, and exalt it to the throne of Deity, where it presumes to command conscience. Then the child of God can say as did the apostles of old, "We ought to obey God rather than men." Christ has given us the rule by which we may judge as to our duty. Whose image and superscription has that which presents itself to us? If it is the money of this world, the tribute is to be paid to the government. If it bears the stamp of heaven, as does the Sabbath, it is our duty to render it to God alone; but if we do not, how should mortal man assume to put himself above the Lord Jesus Christ, who leaves all these things to the last day, and declares that "if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not"?

Be Humble

DR. FRANKLIN, writing to a friend, says: "The last time I saw your father he received me in his study, and, at my departure, showed me a shorter way out of his house, through a narrow passage, crossed by a beam overhead. We were talking as we withdrew, and, I turning partly toward him, he suddenly cried, 'Stoop, stoop!' I did not know what he meant till I felt my head hit against the beam.

"He was a man that never failed to impart instruction, and on this occasion said, 'You are young, and have to go through the world; stoop as you go through it, and you will miss many hard thumps.' This advice, thus beat into my head, has been of singular service to me, and I have often thought of it when I have seen pride mortified and men brought low by carrying their heads too high."—S. S. Times.

Direct Your Prayers to the Redeemer

By Matthew Henry

WHEN you send your prayers, be sure to direct them to the Redeemer, and then they will never miscarry.—Matthew Henry.

The Leper's Longing

SOME rude children in Madagascar were one day calling out, "A leper, a leper," to a poor woman who had lost all her fingers and toes by the dread disease. A missionary lady who was near by put her hand on the woman's shoulder and asked her to sit down on the grass by her. The woman fell sobbing, overcome by emotion, and cried out: "A human hand has touched me. For seven years no one has touched me." The missionary says that at that moment it flashed across her mind why it is recorded in the Gospels that Jesus touched the leper. That is just what others would not do. It was the touch of sympathy as well as of healing power.—Mission Workers.

Righteousness Exalteth a Nation

By Solomon

Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.—Solomon.

A Heart Without Words

By John Bunyan

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.—John Bunyan.

The World's Sunday-School Convention

By Mrs. L. Flora Plummer

From Our Own Correspondent

THE world's Sunday-school Association is twenty-one years old. It is inter-denominational in character, and is pledged to work especially to extend the influence of the Bible, through the medium of the Sunday-school, in those regions of the world most in need of help.

The first World's Sunday-school Convention was held in London in 1889; the second, at St. Louis, Mo., in 1893; the third, in London in 1898; the fourth, at Jerusalem in 1904; the fifth, in Rome in 1907; and the sixth, in Washington, D. C., May 19-24, 1910.

The Seventh-day Adventist denomination had been courteously invited to send representatives to this convention, and your correspondent felt it to be a great privilege to be in attendance at a meeting representing such world-wide missionary interests. Twenty-five hundred delegates were in attendance from North America, and five hundred others wore badges indicating their connection as missionaries with about fifty different nations. Seven thousand visitors, or unofficial delegates, were present. This convention stands unequaled in the magnitude of its constituency.

The convention sat with a gigantic map of the world before its eyes. The official button showed the globe with a red cross superimposed thereon. Part of each day was given to a "roll-call of nations." In this meeting the ends of the earth came together at Washington.

It is claimed that this is the world's largest organization. The latest reports give 27,888,000 members, of whom 16,000,000 are in the United States and Canada. The number of Sunday-schools is 285,842.

The strength of this movement in non-Christian countries is well indicated by the following items: China has 1,800 Sunday-schools with a total enrolment of 73,000 members; Japan, 1,500 schools with an enrolment of 104,000; Korea, 1,847 schools with a total of 142,000.

We should be narrow indeed did we not appreciate the tremendous influence for good which the World's Sunday-school Association, and all that it represents, is having upon the world at large. Self-sacrificing, faithful, tireless efforts are being made by the representatives of this organization in all parts of the world to place the Bible in the hands of those whose minds are clouded with the darkness of heathenism. A great army of workers are battering against the walls of superstition and ignorance which have made impossible the entrance of the light of the Gospel into the hearts of millions of people.

The convention in Washington was distinctively missionary in spirit. It was repeatedly set forth that the agency which deals with childhood is the most potent evangelizing force in the world. The experience of these workers confirms the wisdom of our own denominational efforts to establish schools for the training and education of the children in heathen lands as the only possible way by which the establishment of the truth can be made possible and permanent. There is no question but what this Sunday-school organization is doing to circulate the Bible in all languages throughout the non-Christian world, will hasten the footsteps of the coming King.

The new Brazilian Dreadnought, "Minas Geraes," with her mighty armament, as seen from the bow looking aft. The view shows eight 12-inch and four 4.7-inch guns trained directly ahead. This is the first ship to carry 12-inch guns, and is the most powerful vessel in commission at the present time. (From the "Scientific American" of March 19, 1910.)

MRS. L. FLORA PLUMMER.

— ★ ★ —

The New Dreadnought.

The middle of last month the latest of the super-Dreadnoughts of the United States navy was launched from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The New York Herald remarks that "if in the days of the Invincible Armada the Florida had been turned loose, she could have eaten her way through all the navies of the world from that day until the development of the steel-clad ship, even if all had been massed against her in one Titanic battle."

The fleet of Nelson, we are told, would have melted away under her secondary battery of 16 5-inch guns, while a single broadside from her main battery of 10 12-inch rifles would have "carried away any single battle fleet ever gathered together in the days of wooden fighting ships." The Herald further points out that in one broadside the Florida hurls a heavier mass of metal than all the ships of the United States fleet that battled under Dewey at Manila twelve years ago. Her length is 520 feet; displacement, 21,825 tons; equipment, 10 12-inch and 16 5-inch guns; speed, 21 knots; horse-power, 28,000; cost, $10,000,000.

The Florida is not quite as large as the British Colossus, which has a length of 545 feet and a displacement of 23,000 tons. Compared with the North Dakota, the Florida will exceed that ship by 1,825 tons. The belt armor will be 12 to 8 inches; the battery armor, 6½ inches; the smoke-stack protection, 9½ inches. The Navy Department maintains that no battle-ships hitherto built for any navy are as well protected from projectiles and torpedoes as the Florida and her sister the Utah.

One of the most important factors entering into the building of these ships is the awful cost. It is pointed out and admitted by naval officials that the building of such ships as the Florida renders obsolete the types of ten years ago, and relegates them to the junk heap. As a Socialist paper expresses it, "As soon as a vessel costing millions of dollars leaves the docks she enters into active competition with her sister vessels for a place on the junk pile." A daily paper declares that this is a potent and convincing argument for peace; but all this is illogical, for the power that builds a little bigger battle-ship than the Florida is very sure to feel that it has the superior ship, and if occasion offers will be willing to meet the Florida in battle.

Drug Victims.

According to the Literary Digest of May 21, which quotes a Government authority, there are more drug fiends in the United States in proportion to population than there are in China. Those addicted in the United States to drugs are estimated from one million to four million. The drug fiends of China are supposed to be about four million, or one per cent of its four hundred million population; while in this country they are estimated to be from one to four.

Prof. Irving Fisher, in his report on national vitality, declares that the use of harmful drugs in the United States is on the increase. It has also developed that in the United States, besides the use of opium, there is a wide-spread use of cocaine, a drug even more disintegrating and debauching than opium, and practically unknown in China. In Philadelphia a recent revelation shows that it has been peddled among school children. Dr. Kebler, the Government official referred to above, declares that notwithstanding the fact that legislation, federal, state, and territorial, has been adverse to the indiscriminate sale and use of opium, yet it has doubled within the last forty years, besides large quantities of other drugs which are deleterious and pernicious. Many learn to use them in medicated soft drinks and various patent medicines. In some cases these ruinous nostrums claim to cure the taste for the very drugs which they contain. Among these medicines are soothing sirups, catarrh and asthma cures, cough remedies, and headache mixtures.

The Farmer's Bulletin No. 393, issued by the Government, urges that very strict laws should be passed prohibiting and regulating the use of these poisons.

Ubiquitous Graft

By Editor

Who Is Responsible?

CHARLES EDWARD RUSSELL has a telling article in the July "Cosmopolitan" on "Legislative Graft and the Albany Scandal." We will not review the article or its characters. Needless to say the revelations are painful. It is a sad picture to see public men, trusted representatives of the people, convicted of crime, and pilloried in dishonor. Great trusts and companies control men who control the legislature. The sad thing is that the bribes and the bribers are considered among the "good men," men who would not be suspected only as suspicion is compelled by guilt proved. Mr. Russell remarks that these "types of the worst conditions that threaten us . . . do not lie in low brows and 'ignorant' or foreign voters, but in the corruption of politics by Big Business and THE MOST RESPECTABLE PERSONS; corruption that is bribery, and corruption that is only personal or partisan or political advantage, but corruption none the less. Moreover, we can see from these examples exactly how this process goes on in almost every legislature in America. THAT IS WHAT HURTS, ALMOST EVERY LEGISLATURE IN AMERICA."

And then he recites the proved records of the festering mass of corruption, much of which has been told with circumstantial detail in the daily press.

The worst feature, however, of the situation is the proposed cure by Mr. Russell, which is but an echo of many other physicians of the public ills. He says:

"Obviously the source of all this evil in our legislative bodies is not Bad Men nor any other kind of men, but simply and solely Privilege. Privilege requires more Privilege, that it may make more profits. By only one way in this world can it attain its desire, and that is by the corruption of public servants and the perversion of government. . . . Men are corrupted, government is perverted, we are betrayed.

"Do we really wish to stop these evils? Then we shall have to cease to waste our time on individuals whose deeds are but the product of the system, and proceed to deal with causes instead of results."

Mr. Russell's remedy is a pitiable apology of human nature, isn't it? Privilege is a great argus-eyed, hydra-headed, multiform monster which is out for prey! He has spread his nets, reached out his thousand sucking tentacles, and has swept within his power his creators, so that they are POWERLESS to do right! They are not "bad men," they MUST do wrong! The Big Corporation MUST offer bribes and corrupt legislators; the legislators MUST accept these bribes; men MUST be sold and bought like so many sheep!! They are not responsible; O no, they are good men, benevolent, generous, respectable men, church-members perhaps, but for their crimes colossal, and their paralyzing examples, they must not be held responsible! It is Privilege, it is the System, the impersonal things, which are at fault; squelch them, and men will be honest!

Do you believe it, reader? Who made the System? Who demand the Privilege? Who plan the buying of more Privilege? Who are laboring to extend the System in the few fields where its grasping, prehensile tentacles have not reached? The only answer is, Men, men, men, and more and more men, as they are educated in the school of high finance.

Mr. Russell truly says that we should "deal with causes." But we can assure him that he will not find the causes in the things which grasping greed has builded, in the system which covetous men have devised. Tear down the system to-day, and the selfish heart of men will devise and erect another to-morrow. Shut every door of graft and special privilege to-day, demonstrate all its wickedness in figures of livid flame, and men will immediately begin to corner it once more, and to pocket its emoluments with complacent smiles; to be lauded by the public when a portion of the ill-gotten gains are used for some public purpose.

THE CAUSE LIES IN THE UNREGENERATE HUMAN HEART. Take just one testimony, the words of Christ Jesus, who "knew what was in man:"

"For from within, out of the heart of MEN, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man." Mark 7:21-23.

These Things Predicted

This very time and these evil things which Mr. Russell's article so graphically shows, are predicted by God's prophet:

"They hunt every man his brother with a net [the system?]. Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul: thus they weave it together. The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of Thy [God's] watchmen, even Thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity." Micah 7:2-4.

But is there a remedy for this? — There is; it is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is found in a return to God's law, the divine standard of holiness and righteousness and equity. Why should we expect men to heed human laws when they utterly ignore God's law? The primal cause of it all is the unregenerate heart of man, unrestrained by the fear of God, and by right religious teaching, which bring home to men's consciences their responsibility to God and to their fellows.

But human legislation will never cure the leprosy of sin. Exposure will not do it; for too many are involved; it is fast getting to be no longer a disgrace; "they all do it." Jesus Christ only can make men honest and keep them so despite all systems. Refuse, reject His remedy, and the end is certain death. Neglect His warnings, and the rocks of destruction await the drifting vessel. This is what men are doing to-day; and the destruction predicted by the "more sure word of prophecy" awaits.

But some will accept the remedy. Some will stand as men despite machines, nets, Privilege, and System. Some will be loyal to God and vindicate His truth, His remedy. Will you?

How Protestants Are Regarded.

By Editor

The Western Watchman of June 2 declares that the Protestant "preachers of the North are careful not to say anything in their sermons lest their people come to regard them as behind the time. Catholicism needs no defense in the Northern States. And in the majority of the states of the South the people are sufficiently enlightened to see in the Catholic Church the strongest bulwark of law and order and the most successful exponent of Christianity among the masses of the people. But the preachers of the South have not been educated on these broad and liberal lines."

The editor then refers to a sermon by a Presbyterian who declares that Roman Catholicism and Roman Catholic immigrants are a menace to the country. On this the Western Watchman remarks: "Foreign immigration is a menace, because the vast majority of the people who land on our shores are Catholics. As well complain that all the waters that lave our thousands of miles of coast are salt. All the seas and oceans are salt. All the peoples of the world are Catholic except the few millions who dwell in the neighborhood of the North Sea. All the immigrants are Catholic because there are no other kind to come to us. Protestantism is more dead in Europe than it is in this country; and the good Protestants are the dead Protestants."

It might be remarked that Rome claims her own kinship when she declares that the idolatrous of the world are Catholics. But it would seem that she might respond in a better compliment to the Northern preachers.

Proposed Renaming of the Episcopal Church

According to the Oswego, New York, "Daily Palladium" of May 26 the diocesan convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Central New York at Syracuse, which adjourned May 25, adopted a resolution urging legislation for the renaming of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The resolution declares that "this convention desires to place itself on record as favoring such legislation as will lead to the adoption of a title of our church that will adequately set forth to the world her claim to be a true branch of the Holy Catholic Church." This was decidedly opposed by some. One clergyman declared that it would place them in a wrong position, because they had already been accused of standing between the Roman Catholic Church on the one side and the great Protestant body on the other. Former Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, Charles Andrews, moved that it be laid on the table, but this was lost by a large majority. An effort was then made to refer the matter to a committee, but this was lost, and the resolution carried unanimously, as the opposition did not vote. It will come up at the general convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. It will be worth while to see how the general convention will consider it.

Railway Safety

Railway Safety.—Of the 368 railway companies reporting to the Bureau of Railway News and Statistics, 347, operating 159,657 miles of road, and carrying over 570,000,000 passengers, did not have a single fatality to a passenger in a train accident. This is a remarkable showing. Of the 400 killed, eleven roads bear most of the burden.

Wanted—Men

"God give us men! A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; Men whom the lust of lucre does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office can not buy; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Men who can stand before a demagog And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking; Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty and in private thinking; For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, Their large profession, and their little deeds, Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps, Wrong rules the land, and waiting Justice sleeps."

Shiloh: the Man of Sorrows

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

Chapter XVII.—The Bold Reformer—The Craven King

'Thou art a proselyte, and knowest the law,' replied the prophet mildly, as the tetrarch turned and angrily strode away.

'In a moment, however, the mood of the king changed,' continued Lazarus, 'the anger died out of his face, and a look of deep sadness and conviction settled upon it as he slowly retraced his steps with eyes bent upon the ground.

'Again he addressed the prophet:

'Thou knowest not the woman Herodias,' he began almost pitifully, as he gazed imploringly into the stern, sad eyes of the Baptizer. 'Verily,' he continued, 'her anger is terrible when aroused, and she hath me in her power. I dare refuse her nothing. Surely when she heareth of these thy words, I may come no more to thee. Her eyes are beautiful, but her heart is like the vulture's, and knoweth no pity. And now, behold, mine own spouse, even the daughter of Aretas, hath already departed into Arabia. Thou knowest I have it in my power to make thee great with riches, if thou wilt favor me. I remember that my sin is great; but is there not forgiveness with Jehovah?' and again the deep, craven eyes of the king sought the eyes of the Baptizer.

'Verily there is forgiveness with Jehovah,' he answered firmly, 'for so saith the prophet David, 'There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.' But wherefore should the Almighty forgive the sin which thou dost not put away from thee? Is it not also written, O Antipas, 'Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thought, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon'?'

'I have told thee,' exclaimed the tetrarch, with rising anger, 'that I can not put away my sin. Behold, I am bound as with bands of iron. Now, O thou man of God, answer me,—for verily I come to thee no more,—wilt thou not receive me—even Herod the tetrarch—as thy disciple except I put away the woman Herodias? Forget not, O son of Zacharias, that if thou dost answer me peaceably, well; if not, blame not King Herod for that which happeneth unto thee; for verily the heart of the woman Herodias submitteth not to reproof,—and vengeance will be sweet unto her.'

'Then,' continued Lazarus, 'the prophet made answer; and I shall not soon forget his words, or the flashing of his terrible eye, while his massive frame seemed to reach higher as he spake: 'Thinkest thou either to bribe or to terrify the messenger of the Most High, O Antipas? Bring forth, therefore, fruits meet for repentance!'

'The face of the king turned livid with rage, and I saw his jeweled hand tremble as he fastened his purple cloak about him, and with his chariot and attendants hastened again toward Jericho; and I suppose as soon as he reacheth Tiberias, he will assuredly make known, to the cruel princess, even Herodias, the words of the prophet.'

The speaker paused and fixed his troubled eyes upon Simon: 'What thinkest thou? Will the life of the Baptizer be endangered?'

'Verily, I know not, O Lazarus,' he replied scornfully: 'but wherefore spake the Baptist so sternly unto the king? Of a truth it may be that he taketh his life in his hands; for surely this preacher goeth too far with his foolish tongue—prating of morality in the face of the king himself. Thinkest thou, O Lazarus, that the prophet remembereth that Malthace the mother of Antipas was a Samaritan? Now verily a man with so great a message as hath this prophet, should put aside the prejudices of our nation. Moreover, the king's father had many wives, and no man forbade him; and shall the royal son, King Antipas, receive the anathema of this rash prophet because he hath two wives?'

Lazarus of Bethany cast a look of indignation and astonishment at the speaker, while Martha impulsively answered:

'What wouldst thou, Simon? shall the wilderness prophet rebuke the sins of the publicans and of the harlots, while he excuseth those of the tetrarch? Of a truth thou art an offense unto me!'

'Verily, O Simon,' began Magdalene mildly, 'thou wouldst not that the grievous sin of Herod Antipas be unrebuked, and that the Baptist allow him publicly to profess himself his disciple, while yet his sin remaineth with him? Then would other men behold, and turn not from their iniquity. Surely Lazarus,' she continued, glancing at her brother, 'surely our friend Simon would not that iniquity prosper,—he only feareth for the life of the prophet. What sayest thou, Simon?'

'Thou sayest well, my Magdalene,' replied Simon, as he tossed his reckless head, 'but that which is sin to one man, is innocent pleasure to another. Let each man, therefore, judge what is right. If, as the Sadducees teach, there be no resurrection from the dead, it mattereth little.'

Mary Magdalene did not reply; but in her innocent heart she questioned to what length such a doctrine might lead. And perhaps for the first time in her life, a feeling of distrust and uneasiness came over her,—a kind of fear toward this man, her betrothed, and he a Pharisee, who could so easily, so carelessly, give expression to such thoughts as these.

Adah, the hostess, was just about to turn the conversation into another channel, for she was gifted with true Eastern tact and hospitality, and she feared that some misunderstanding or unpleasantness might arise between her guests; when suddenly the little maid announced the coming of Matthias, the servant of Machbor the ruler.

'Ho, Matthias, comest thou this day from Jericho?' questioned Adah, cordially. 'And how are Machbor and his wife Zilpha, and their household?'

'They are in good health; and they have sent me that I might tell you that the Man of Nazareth, the Messiah of the prophets, hath returned from the wilderness of Judea, and hath been seen by Machbor this day, and Machbor reckoneth that He will be at the camp of the Baptizer on the morrow.'

This announcement was received most joyfully by all, unless it may have been Simon; but Matthias continued:

'My master hath also received a letter from his friend Jairus, the ruler of Capernaum, and he cometh up to the Jordan to-morrow, with his wife and little daughter. Hast thou heard the prophet to-day?' he questioned, addressing Lazarus.

'We have just returned,' was the reply, 'and verily King Herod hath also been down, from Tiberias.'

'Sawest thou the cohort of Roman soldiers? They arrived from Jerusalem about the tenth hour. It hath already been told me,' continued Matthias, 'that many of the common soldiers and even some of the captains and centurions have confessed themselves disciples of the prophet, and have been baptized of him. Didst thou know the centurion Marcus?' questioned Matthias, turning toward Simon.

'Of a truth; and were all the army of Cæsar as soft hearted as this Marcus, verily the seed of Abraham might free themselves within a twelve-month. But what of Marcus the centurion?'

'I had heard of him from Jericho,' replied Matthias, 'but until to-day I had never seen or spoken unto him. There had been some discontent among the soldiers as to their wages, and so they came down to the prophet that he might point out to them that which was right in the sight of the one God. 'And what shall we do, master?' asked one of them, approaching the prophet.

'Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages,' he replied. The centurion Marcus heard the question and the reply, and turning to me, said: 'I believe it is indeed the will of Jehovah that we do violence to no man. My soul hath revolted against this life of violence, since in my young manhood, about thirty years ago, I was commissioned by King Herod the Great, together with the centurion Varro, who was indeed a bloody man, to go down to Bethlehem, and put all the male infants to the sword. But my hand saved some lives that night, from the sword of Varro.'

'Didst thou tell him, O Matthias, the story of thine own escape that night?' questioned Simon.

'Truly; and he declared that he himself remembered saving a mother and her babe from the sword of one of the soldiers. I also asked him concerning the centurion Varro, whom he had called the 'bloody man;' and he replied that long time ago he had become a shrieking madman, and that he dwelt among the tombs of Gadara,' and Matthias sighed as he thought of his own brother, poor Heber, and wondered, sadly, as to his fate.

At mention of the massacre at Bethlehem, the face of Adah, the hostess, took on a look of deep interest; and at her request, the young man Matthias repeated the story of the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem; of the shining star which guided the magi of the East; of the vision of the angels which appeared to the astonished shepherds; and of the massacre of the babes at Bethlehem. Matthias had often heard these stories from the lips of his father and his brother-in-law, Bar-jona, who still dwelt at Bethsaida, and had already been baptized by the prophet. He also told of the prophecy of the aged Simeon, and of the flight of the divine Babe and His parents into Egypt.

'Verily, it is the same—the same!' exclaimed Adah joyfully; 'and truly it is about thirty years since the mother of my Lord came unto us, bringing her Babe with her, when we were yet in Beersheba in the land of Simeon; for I said unto them, 'Whence came ye?' and they answered, 'Even from the land of Egypt, whither we fled with the Babe, from the wrath of King Herod.' But we understood not their words.'

'It is He! it is He!' exclaimed young Reuben. 'Said I not even thus unto you?'

Devotion to the Bible

MATTHEW HALE SMITH, in his book, "Marvels of Prayer," tells of a shipwreck, and rescue by Captain Judkins and the crew of the Scotia. Among the rescued was a lad, about twelve years, who had lost everything. "Who are you, my boy?" said Captain Judkins.

"I am a little Scotch boy; my father and mother are dead, and I am going to America to find my uncle, who lives in Illinois."

"What is this?" said the captain, as he took hold of a rope that was tied around the boy's breast.

"It is a piece of cord, sir."

"What is that tied under your arm?"

"My mother's Bible; she told me never to lose it."

"That's all you saved?"

"Yes, sir."

"Couldn't you have saved something else?"

"Not and save that."

"Didn't you expect to be lost?"

"I meant, if I went down, to take my mother's Bible down with me."

"All right," said the captain, "I'll take care of you."

Having reached the port of New York, Captain Judkins took the boy to a Christian merchant to whom he told this story. "I'll take the lad," said the merchant; "I want no other recommendation; the boy that holds on to his mother's Bible in such perils will give a good account of himself."

Morn at Nazareth

By Joaquin Miller

I THINK I see Him now at morn, Before the sudden burst of day, Above the silver fields of corn, Where He has gone apart to pray; I think I see Him looking thoughtful down, Beyond the corn, beyond the waking town,

Beyond the silvered mists that rise, From all night toiling in the corn; The mists have duties up the skies; The skies have duties up the morn; Whilst all the world is wondrous fair, To make the fair world still more wondrous fair,

More lordly fair, the stately morn Moves down her walks of golden wheat; Her guards of honor gild the corn In golden pathway for God's feet; Her purple hills she crowns with crowns of gold, And majesty before the Lord is rolled.

— The California Weekly.

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