Earlier text: Our Publishing WorkOutward Display
By Ellen G. White
Lessons From the Life of Solomon—No. 18
One sad feature of Solomon's experience was his supposition that massive buildings and magnificent furnishings give character to the work of God. He endeavored to pattern after, and to compete with, the world. He lost sight of the foundation principle underlying the influence that is ever to be exerted by the people of God,—obedience to every precept of Holy Writ. The real power of God's people lies not in numbers, nor in the wealth and worldly prosperity that may be displayed, but in steadfast adherence to his Word. The truth, obeyed, is made the power of God unto salvation. Solomon became ambitious of excelling all other nations in power and grandeur. It was his desire to attain greater political power, that led him to form alliances with idolatrous nations, and to seal these alliances by marriages with heathen princesses. In conformity with the customs of surrounding nations, he maintained a luxurious court, in many respects surpassing in splendor the courts of the rulers of other kingdoms. Luxury was followed by wanton extravagance. Vast riches were squandered . This led to the levying of a grievous tax upon the poor people. “I made me great works,” Solomon declares. Among these were “Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.” “And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars; and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion.” So engrossed was Solomon with thoughts of vanity, that perfection and beauty of character were overlooked in his attempt to surpass other nations in outward display. He sold his honor and his integrity in seeking to glorify himself before the world, and he finally became a despot. The power and the riches obtained at a sacrifice of right principles, proved to him a terrible curse. How striking is the contrast between Solomon's ambitious desire to exalt himself, and the life that the Son of God lived upon this earth! The Saviour of mankind was born of humble parentage in a sin-cursed, wicked world. He was brought up in obscurity at Nazareth, a small town of Galilee. He began his work in poverty and without worldly rank. He sought not the admiration or the applause of the world. He dwelt among the lowly. To all appearance he was merely a humble man, with few friends. Thus God introduced the gospel in a way altogether different from the way in which many deem it wise to proclaim the same gospel in this age. At the very beginning of the gospel dispensation he taught his church to rely, not on worldly rank and splendor, but on the power of faith and obedience. “The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show.” The gospel of the grace of God, with its spirit of self-abnegation, can never be in harmony with the spirit of the world. The two principles are antagonistic. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” It is not the largeness or the grandeur of an edifice that impresses hearts, but the principles of righteousness, of justice and equity, practised within. Our institutions will give character to the work of God just according to the consecrated devotion of the workers,—by revealing the power of the grace of Christ to transform the life. Never are we to rely upon worldly recognition and rank. Never are we, in the establishment of institutions, to try to compete with worldly institutions in size or splendor. We shall gain the victory, not by erecting massive buildings in rivalry with our enemies, but by cherishing a Christlike spirit of meekness and lowliness. We are to be distinguished from the world because God has placed his seal upon us, because he manifests in us his own character of love. Our Redeemer covers us with his righteousness. As Solomon continued to conform to the customs of the world, his pride greatly increased. And the worldly prosperity that attended his apostasy, was regarded by him as a token of God's favor. So fully had he yielded himself to evil influences, that his spiritual discernment was well-nigh destroyed. He could not see the terrible losses that were sustained by the nation spiritually because he brought into the kingdom an abundance of the gold of Ophir and the silver of Tarshish. To-day there exists the same danger of mistaking prosperity for the favor of heaven. The prosperity that often for a time attends those who turn from a plain “Thus saith the Lord” to follow a way of their own choosing, is not an assurance of divine approval. Men may interpret it thus, but it is no sign that God's prospering hand is with them. Let all learn a lesson from Solomon's experience. Notwithstanding his violation of a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” riches and worldly honor poured in upon him, and seemingly he was greatly blessed. This is in harmony with Job's declaration that the wicked spend their days in prosperity. And the psalmist testifies:— “As for me, my feet were almost gone;
My steps had well-nigh slipped.
For I was envious at the arrogant,
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. . . .
Pride is as a chain about their neck;
Violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness:
They have more than heart could wish.
They scoff, and in wickedness utter oppression:
They speak loftily.”
Like Solomon, those who esteem their own wisdom above the wisdom of the Lord will surely feel the sad result of their course. For a time they may seemingly be prospered, but their work will not abide. The Lord will let them pass through bitter experiences, in order that they may have an opportunity to learn that real prosperity comes not by outward display, but only by conformity to his will and purpose. God's way is always the right and prudent way. It always brings honor to his name. Man's only security against rash, ambitious movements is to keep the heart in harmony with Christ Jesus. Man's wisdom is untrustworthy. Man is fickle, filled with self-esteem, pride, and selfishness. Let the workers in God's service trust wholly in the Lord. Then they will reveal that they are willing to be led, not by human wisdom, which is as useless to lean upon as is a broken reed, but by the wisdom of the Lord, who has said, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But8 let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Fellow Christian, keep your religion pure and untainted. Worldly interests may tempt you to yield your principles, but “what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Worldly greatness is no equivalent for integrity, honesty, a pure heart, and a noble, unwavering purpose to do right. Even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like him who possesses the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, untouched by the tinsel and show of the world. SAY, brother, are you ready for the
coming of the King?
Do the signs of his appearing to your
soul sweet comfort bring?
Are you of the few and faithful who
believe the time is near?
Does your heart beat high with gladness, or sink with dread and fear? Are you halting and discouraged? are
you tempted now to say,
As the evil servant said, “My Lord his
coming doth delay”?
Because the Bridegroom tarries, do you
think you've been deceived?
Is the “blessed hope” less precious than
when you first believed? My brother, are you watching through
the dark and sinful night
For the glory of the morning? Do your
eyes behold the light?
Or are they dull with slumber, or dazzled
by the glare
Of the world and its attractions, which
will prove a fatal snare? Then arouse, and gird your armor! for
the Master bravely toil;
See that your lamp is burning, and well
filled with heavenly oil;
Be not like the foolish virgins, who
awoke to woe and shame,
With their vessels dry and empty when
the midnight summons came. A Condition and a Result
By C. MC REYNOLDS
THAT we are living in the time for the “latter rain” no true Seventh-day Adventist will question. The Lord has told us to pray for rain in the time of the latter rain. The former rain was given when a certain condition was reached by the Lord’s followers — when they were all “of one accord.” Those who succeeded in coming into accord with Christ, “the head of the church” and “the head of every man,” found themselves in perfect accord with one another, because they were of one accord with him. It was an individual work. We are desiring the refreshing, the latter rain. The condition upon which the reception of it depends is clearly set forth by the spirit of prophecy. It is that same condition of perfect accord with Christ. “Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble, must reflect the image of Jesus fully.” “I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful, and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ and the ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord. . . . They had neglected the needful preparation, therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. . . . I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action.” — “Early Writings,” pages 60, 61. How clearly is here stated the only condition upon which we can ever receive the “refreshing.” This is in the article entitled, “Preparation for the End.” It is further stated in this same connection: “Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets, and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building.” The obtaining of the “victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action,” is the condition; the result is the “refreshing,” “the latter rain.” In the article on “The Shaking,” (and we are in it now) a view was given of those who obtained this victory — who reached the condition required for receiving the “refreshing.” Their voices were heard, “sweet and harmonious,” “full of mercy, compassion, and elevating, holy joy. . . . They were clothed with an armor [the “whole armor of God.” Eph. 6:13], from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers. . . . They had obtained the victory, and it called forth from them the deepest gratitude, and holy, sacred joy. . . . Evil angels still pressed around them, but could have no power over them.” “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” Rom. 6:14. “Wherefore he is able also to save them evermore who come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7:25, margin. “We shall be saved by his life.” Rom. 5:10. “Unto him that is able to keep you from falling.” Jude 24. These receive the “refreshing” because they have obtained the victory. What is the result? “I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. . . . I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, ‘It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.’” — “Early Writings,” pages 131-133. In this same connection is this statement: “The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness.” “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ.” The repentance is an individual work. The faith must be exercised individually for entire victory. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” The victory is individual victory. The refreshing is an individual refreshing received by every one who is brought into accord with Christ our Captain. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me. . . . unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8. As long as we walk in blindness and darkness, and through a lack of repentance and faith fail to obtain the victory over every besetment, over every wrong word and action, we can not receive the refreshing — the latter rain — the source of power. Hence, the power to become witnesses for him is not received, and thus the coming of Jesus is delayed. Let us do the repenting, the confessing, the restoring, the believing. Let him do the living in us, let him get the victory for us, pour upon us the refreshing, fill our hearts with gratitude and gladness, our voices with music sweet and harmonious, clothe us with the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness, bestow upon us the power of the Holy Spirit which will make us witnesses of the power of the living Christ within, and hasten the coming of our Redeemer and glorious King. “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” A Significant Sign of the Age
By John S. Wightman
The apostle James, in the fifth chapter of his remarkable letter to “the twelve tribes” scattered abroad, gives a remarkably clear and concise description of the time we call “to-day” and of a condition of affairs everywhere prevalent, when the rich, impelled by insatiable greed, shall gather treasures into such vast “heaps” as shall be universally regarded as phenomenal. It is obvious to every candid observer that we are living in an age in which the affairs of men are as never before controlled by an oligarchy of wealth to that extent that the situation is appalling. The apostle declares that it is “for the last days” that individuals are vainly heaping treasures together, just before “the coming of the Lord,” in the solemn time when “the Judge standeth at the door.” James Bryce, in the American Commonwealth, observes that up to 1840 there were no large fortunes in the United States. But writing in the later eighties, he says: “Now there is some poverty, many large fortunes, and a greater number of gigantic fortunes than in any other country in the world.” In New York City alone there are more than two thousand millionaires. The Rockefeller family, of which John D. is the head, possesses wealth of an estimated value of a thousand millions. The human mind quite fails to grasp so huge a sum. If the wealth of this one family could be converted into gold coin, and carried upon the backs of porters into Canada or Mexico, it would require twenty-three thousand strong men, for it would weigh one thousand seven hundred and fifty tons. To carry a single day’s interest on this sum would require seven strong men, for it would weigh a thousand pounds in gold. Ten men—J. D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Marshall Field, W. K. Vanderbilt, John Jacob Astor, J. P. Morgan, Russell Sage, J. J. Hill, Wm. H. Clark, and Wm. Rockefeller—control an estimated aggregate of two thousand million dollars. Note the figures, $2,000,000,000. Byron W. Holt, editor of Moody’s Magazine, and the statistical expert of R. G. Dun & Co., offer us a conservative estimate of the total value of the wealth of America’s five thousand multimillionaires, as follows:—| No. of fortunes |
Amount |
|---|
| 10 aggregating |
$2,000,000,000 |
| 490 aggregating |
3,000,000,000 |
| 4,500 aggregating |
10,000,000,000 |
| 5,000 aggregating |
15,000,000,000 |
So five thousand men in this country actually own, as declared by Mr. Cleveland Moffett “(without counting what they9 control), nearly one sixth of our entire national wealth,” which, if put into gold coin, would give them all the gold in the world, and leave more than one thousand million dollars ($1,000,000,000) still due them! The land is literally full of wealth, for the controller of the currency shows that the stock of gold in the United States is greater than that of any other land, while our banking power aggregates fourteen billions, as against twenty billions for all the rest of the world. Our national wealth is increasing, too, at a prodigious rate; and yet, in spite of phenomenal natural prosperity, what are the conditions of the masses?—Precisely what James, with prophetic vision, saw would come to pass in “these last days.” “The hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth.” “One eighth of the families in America receive more than one half of the aggregate income, and the richest one per cent receives a larger income than the poorest fifty per cent. In fact, this small class of property owners receives from property alone as large an income as half of our people receive from property and labor.”—“Distribution of Wealth,” by Chas. B. Spahr. While Mr. James Hazen Hyde has been traveling over the country in a private car worth fifty thousand dollars, and giving fancy balls and garden parties like those prior to French Revolutionary times, at almost fabulous cost, more than four million families get along on incomes less than four hundred dollars per annum, more than one half of America’s families on less than six hundred, and two thirds on less than nine hundred. So says “Waldron’s Hand-Book of Wealth.” Think what it means to bring up a family in a city on four hundred dollars per annum. For food, for clothes, for medicines, for furniture, for house furnishings—four hundred dollars a year! And these are not the poorest. Robert Hunter estimates that there are ten million even a little worse off than this! And he is corroborated by the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor. Then what about a vast army of unemployed vagrants and tramps—the broken-hearted wrecks of humanity? Surely, a cry is ascending to heaven, as Holy Writ declared, not alone the “cry” of the weary and despairing, crushed and hopeless, dying in foul, dark rooms of tainted tenement-houses, but alike the “cry,” the hoarse, discordant notes of the maddened hosts of affiliated labor organizations. The rich becoming richer; the poor can not become much poorer, else annihilation, and a repetition of the last scenes of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Egypt, and Rome. Without the great fortunes that have so amazingly sprung up during recent decades, there would be no reign of luxury, no flaunting of feasts, no riots of extravagance, such as are daily chronicled in the public press. Again, the prophet sees this “wanton” condition, this effeminate, riotous, mad intoxication of the fleeting pleasures of life, and he connects it with “the coming of the Lord.” Great fortunes are as much of an evil to-day, and a menace to government and society, as in the days of Rome, when wealth gained supreme control. Civilization is besmirched with the corrupting influences of the money-mad Molochs of finance and commercialism. As a sure result we have the astounding iniquity and high-handed corruption of the insurance corporations, as revealed by the Armstrong Investigative Committee and the astute inquisitor, Charles C. Hughes; the corruption in politics, as shown by Mr. Lincoln J. Steffens; legislative corruption, as revealed by such men as Joseph Folk and Senator La Follette; the mailed fist of the railway trust, and the insatiable maw of its ingenious competitor, the beef trust, as disclosed by Ray Stannard Baker and Charles E. Russell. The public is amazed and dumbfounded with the astounding details of “graft,” corruption, and bribery on every hand—and all because of “the love of money.” Speaking of the iniquitous beef conspiracy, Mr. Charles E. Russell says: “No more extraordinary figure than J. Ogden Armour has ever appeared in the world’s commercial affairs, nor has any man, not even Mr. Rockefeller, conceived a commercial empire so dazzling.” The corrupting power of wealth and its combinations may be seen everywhere; ’tis a cancer, national in scope, and whose power is not to be measured, eating into the vitals of the nation, and threatening the destruction of the republic. The nation sees the difficulty and realizes the danger; it longs for a remedy, seeks for a deliverer. “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.” So writes the apostle. Then what must be the result—the sure result? Vast resources in the hands of unscrupulous plutocrats will work the undoing of the nation. “A triumphant plutocracy,” writes E. J. Shriver, “has enslaved the vast body of our people; and unless there is some relief, its weight will crush the bearers of the burden, or in the uprising of the latter will wreck the republic and bring such chaos as France saw in 1789.” Russell Sage recently denounced further consolidation of industry, and predicted that if it continues, “the result will be wide-spread revolt of the people, and subsequent financial ruin unequaled in the history of the world;” while Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, to a Buffalo Express reporter declared that in the event of the laboring classes failing to secure their rights by fair means we “should see a revolution in magnitude far surpassing the French Revolution of 1789.” This insatiable greed, the universal struggle for wealth, resulting in these colossal fortunes and industrial combinations of amazing magnitude, is, to the student of prophecy, a stupendous and significant sign upon the prophetic horizon, of the “end of the age” and the coming of Him “whose right it is” to reign, “the chiefest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely.” These things mean that the King is coming; coming in all the glory of the Father and the glory of the angels; coming, in the clouds of heaven; coming, startling fact, to separate the chaff from the wheat, and to gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff will be burn with unquenchable fire. Reader, do you ponder these solemn matters? Are you ready for the issue? Have you made your peace with God? If not, why not make haste to make “your calling and election sure” and the righteousness of Prince Immanuel your very own by faith? For the signs of our times declare that Jesus is coming again. Behold, “the Judge standeth at the door.” The Canon of St. Augustine (353-430 A. D.)
CONTEMPORANEOUS with Jerome in Bethlehem, lived Augustine in North Africa. He was the Bishop of Hippo; and is renowned as thinker, theologian, administrator, controversialist, mystic, ecclesiastic, saint; at once the father of the papacy and the forerunner of Protestantism. In the three great Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397 and 419), of which he was the leading spirit, he closed, as it were, the great debate of the previous generations on the subject of how large shall be the Bible. In his essay on “Christian Doctrine,” he catalogues the books of Scripture, which had been transmitted by the Fathers for public reading in the church, giving their number as forty-four, with which he says the authority of the Old Testament is closed. These probably correspond exactly to the present canon of Catholics. But it is not to be supposed that Augustine made no distinction between the proto- and deutero-canonical books. On the contrary, he limited the term “canonical” in its strict sense to the books which were inspired and received by the Jews; and denied that in the support of doctrine the books of Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus were of unquestioned authority, though long custom had entitled them to respect. And when a passage from Second Maccabees was urged by his opponents in defense of suicide, he rejected their proof by showing that the book was not received into the Hebrew canon to which Christ bore witness. At the third Council of Carthage (397), however, a decree was ratified, most probably with his approval, which, in effect, placed all the canonical and deutero-canonical books on the same level, and in the course of time they actually became considered by some as of equal authority. A few years later, another council at Carthage (419) took the additional step of voting that their10 own decision concerning the canon should be confirmed by Boniface, the Bishop of Rome; accordingly, thereafter, the question of how large the Bible should be became a matter to be settled by authority rather than by criticism. This was the beginning of the papacy. The Canon of the Western Church From the Fourth to the Sixteenth Century A. D.
The formal closing of the canon in the West seems to have been legally accomplished when Pope Gelasius (492-96) issued a decretal or list which included the Old Testament Apocrypha, and excluded the Gospel of Peter, the Shepherd of Hermas, the so-called Apostolic Constitutions, and other books of the New Testament Apocrypha. Yet, subsequent to even this official act of the papacy, the sentiment in the Western Church seems to have been divided, some following the strict canon of Jerome, while others the larger canon of Augustine, without noting his cautions and the distinctions he made between inspired and uninspired writings. For, during all this period of nearly twelve hundred years, there are few genuine catalogues which include the Apocrypha. Popular usage, however, was indiscriminate. Outside the Jews there was no sound Hebrew tradition. There was constantly a strong inclination to let Christian usage rather than scholarly theory determine the place of the Apocrypha in the canon. Nevertheless, down to the Council of Trent (1546), the apocryphal books possessed only inferior authority; and when men spoke of canonical Scripture in the strict sense, these were not included. In the Oriental churches, of course, through the influence of the LXX, the distinction between the canonical and uncanonical was obliterated much more rapidly. The Canon of Luther and of the Early Reformers in the Sixteenth Century
The great Saxon Reformer marks an epoch in the history of the Bible canon. Shortly before the process of the full canonization of the Apocrypha was completed by the church, Luther translated the Scriptures into German, and did not hesitate to give the deutero-canonical books an intermediate position between the Old and New Testaments. He even went so far as to question the right of Esther to be in the canon; and as for the Epistle to the Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation in the New Testament, he placed them last, in order to indicate thereby that they were of inferior character. He denied their apostolic authority. The Lutheran Church, while it does not expressly define the limits of the canon, yet places the apocryphal writings by themselves as distinct and separate from Holy Scripture. This, indeed, was the attitude of all the early reformers, German and French. In the Zurich Bible of 1529, as in the Genevan Bible of 1560, the apocryphal books were placed apart with special headings by themselves. Thus the early reformers did not entirely reject the apocryphal writings, for it was not an easy task to do so in view of the usage and traditions of centuries. They simply compromised, assigning the apocryphal books an intermediate position, as was practically done during the first centuries of the Christian church. The Canon of Trent (1546) and of Modern Catholics
We have seen how the church, during the Middle Ages, vacillated between the strict canon of Jerome and the larger one of Augustine. The early reformers had now sided with those who stood by Jerome. Rome, therefore, felt compelled to settle the matter in an ecclesiastical and dogmatic manner; and she did so by demanding assent to her decree on the penalty of salvation. Only thus could she hope to stay the tide against her. Accordingly, the Council of Trent, more celebrated for its boldness than for its erudition, composed of only fifty-three prelates, after a prolonged discussion decreed at their fourth sitting (April 8, 1546) that the apocryphal books were equal, in authority and canonical value, to the other books of Sacred Scripture; and to make the decree effective they added: “If, however, any one receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts, and as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin Vulgate edition . . . let him be anathema.” The decree was the logical outcome of the ever-accumulating, snowball tendency in the Western Church; but, at the same time, it was a huge mistake. It is vain to attempt to justify the action on the ground that “the Fathers simply wished to affirm solemnly against the errors of the time the ancient faith of the church;” that “the deutero-canonical books were never treated by the Christian church as mere human compositions;” and that, therefore, the council innovated nothing, but simply followed the decisions of the Council of Florence (1442); for Florence declared only concerning the inspiration of the deutero-canonical books. And even after the Council of Trent adjourned, two of its leading spirits, Catherinus and Sixtus of Sienna, and other Catholics, especially Bernard Lamy (d. 1714), openly refuted the decree of the council by saying, “Nevertheless, they are not of the same authority,” and a similar view was indorsed by Jahn (d. 1816). Not long after the decree was published, Martin Chemnitz also made the very sage remark, that “the later church could never by decree make certain that of which the early church upon historical evidence had remained uncertain.” The historical effect of the decree upon the church is obvious. It closed definitely the field of Biblical study against all free research. Naturally, therefore, the Vatican Council reiterated the decree in 1870, and found it easy to take still another step in the wrong direction, canonizing tradition in the face of modern scientific investigation. But it should never be forgotten that neither the decree of Trent nor that of the Vatican was the result of fresh and thorough-going study.—Prof. George L. Robinson, Ph. D., in The Bible Record for October, 1905. SOME people invite persecution by their own unwise course. God does not desire that his people should suffer hardship and persecution. However, ever since the fall of man, the coming of Christ has not been to send peace, but a sword; not that God is looking for trouble, but that it is the studied purpose of Satan to challenge every wise plan of God. God’s people, directed by infinite wisdom, are to so live in the world that the people (not the leaders of the people, who are determined on forcing their own selfish ambitions, but “the common people [who] heard him gladly,”) will be compelled to admire them and their manner of living. And yet there are many of our people who very unwisely do many things which make for strife and discord. For instance, some very zealous Sabbatarians, in order to show their utter disregard for the day dedicated to the worship of the sun, manage to do their most demonstrative work on that day. But rather than go to this extreme and thus incur the consequent unnecessary disapproval of their neighbors, it would be far better did they rearrange their work, even to the extent of discommoding themselves, and respect the civil and religious rights of those with whom they chance to differ in matters of conscience. Again, some, not seeing in the other churches, in secret societies, and even in the government itself, all the good that other men see in them, lose no opportunity of airing their unqualified disapproval of the weaknesses and evils that are to be found in these institutions, and thus incur the displeasure of those who see in them all that is desirable, and unconsciously pave the way for unnecessary persecution. Immensely better would it be did they say nothing about those things which they can not help, and zealously say everything about the thing they can help—the third angel’s message to the world in this generation. In all things we ought to study carefully how we may make for peace until the very last moment, until the time when men shall have passed probationary time and completely turned against the elect of God; not in a spirit of compromise with worldly men, but in a spirit of love for their souls and for peace so long as God shall see fit to compel its continuance in the earth: only too soon at best will the winds blow; why, then, sally forth and tempt our adversaries “to torment us before the time”? “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”—The Worker’s Bulletin. Meat Eating and Temperance
THE following confession made by the editor of the London Clarion is an interesting contribution to the literature on the subject of the relation of meat eating to temperance:— “I have just turned vegetarian. The change was sudden. I felt one day that I could not eat flesh any more. And I have not the least intention of ever eating flesh again. “My friends are surprised; so am I. But whereas they are surprised that I have adopted a vegetable diet, I am surprised that I did not do it years ago. “I have known for quite forty years that flesh eating was horrible. I could tell you things about the slaughtering of animals that would make your blood curdle. I have known for more than twenty years that flesh eating was unhealthy. I have all my life loved animals, and hated the idea of taking life. Yet I have gone on eating meat until a few weeks ago. And now I am wondering why I did it. And the strange thing about it all is that the sudden revulsion of feeling is so strong that I do not believe I could eat flesh now if I tried. “What turned me?—I do not know. One day I looked at some roast lamb, and I thought, exactly as I had thought a hundred times before, that it was a horrible thing to eat a lamb. But this time I felt that I could not eat it. I have seen lambs killed. I saw it all—forty years ago. “In one way the effects of a vegetable diet have surprised me. I have been a heavy smoker for more than thirty years. I have often smoked as much as two ounces of tobacco in a day. I do not suppose that I have smoked less than eight ounces a week for a quarter of a century. I have some old meerschaum pipes as black as crime and as rank as sin. If there was one thing in life which I feared my will was too weak to conquer, it was the habit of smoking. Well, I have been a vegetarian for eight weeks, and I find my passion for tobacco is weakening. “It is astonishing. I can not smoke those black pipes now. I have had to get new pipes and milder tobacco, and I am not smoking half an ounce a day. It does not taste the same; I am not nearly so fond of it. I am told that this is quite common. “Again: I have found that I can not drink wine. Several times I have tried a glass of hock or burgundy; it is no use. It tastes like physic. It makes me stupid and sleepy. “Why do I write these confessions?—Because these things have come upon me as a revelation; because I begin to see that the great cure for the evil of national intemperance is not teetotal propaganda, but vegetarianism. Let our temperance friends consider this. It is most important. If we can get people to give up eating meat, the drink problem will solve itself.” How a Beautiful Hymn Was Written
One day Mr. Wesley was sitting by an open window, looking out over the bright and beautiful fields. Presently a little bird, flitting about in the sunshine, attracted his attention. Just then a hawk came sweeping down toward the little bird. The poor thing, very much frightened, was darting here and there, trying to find some place of refuge. In the bright sunny air, in the leafy trees of the green fields, there was no hiding place from the fierce grasp of the hawk; but seeing an open window and a man sitting by it, the bird flew, in its extremity, toward it, and with a beating heart and quivering wing, found refuge in Mr. Wesley’s bosom. He sheltered it from the threatening danger, and saved it from a cruel death. Mr. Wesley was at that time suffering from severe trials, and was feeling the need of refuge in his own time of trouble, as much as did the trembling little bird that nestled so safely in his bosom. So he took up his pen and wrote that sweet hymn:— “Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the waves of trouble roll,
While the tempest still is high.” That prayer grew into one of the most beautiful hymns in our language, and multitudes of people, when in sorrow and danger, have found comfort while they have said or sung the last lines of that hymn.—Selected. A Child's Evening Prayer
By J. H. Lant.
FATHER in heaven, hear my humble prayer,
Accept my thanks for thy protecting care,
Receive and bless the worship I now bring
To thee, divine Redeemer, Saviour, King. Thou hast redeemed me with thy precious blood,
Cleansed me from guilt, and brought me to my God;
For the atonement made on Calvary
Canceled the debt of sin and made me free. Grant unto me each day my daily bread.
My soul with manna from thy throne be fed;
Clothe me, O Lord, in robes of righteous dress,
The blood-washed garment of thy holiness. Teach me to trust thee, and each day to raise
My heart and soul in gratitude and praise;
Shield me from danger through each passing hour,
Keep me from evil by thy saving power. Exalt me with thy grace in faith and love,
Till thou dost call me to thyself above,
To glorious mansions in the kingdom won
Through vict'ry over death by Christ, thy Son. SMILE once in a while;
’Twill make your heart seem lighter.
Smile once in a while;
’Twill make your pathway brighter. Life’s a mirror; if we smile,
Smiles come back to greet us;
If we’re frowning all the while,
Frowns forever meet us. THE following opinion on the danger of contracting this fatal disease from the use of infected milk, was expressed recently by the governor of Illinois, after he had seen twenty out of twenty-eight cows slaughtered under his inspection, relegated to the rendering tank because they were full of tuberculosis:— “I am convinced that tuberculosis has made a more general invasion of live stock than is generally believed, and I also am confident that such a condition, if not remedied, will have results more serious than the loss of cattle. My observation leads me to believe that it is unsafe to drink milk which is not known positively to be non-tubercular. The cattle which I have seen slaughtered and dissected to-day saturated with tuberculosis, ten days ago were furnishing milk for my family. I had no reason to believe that the milk sold me was otherwise than pure.”
In a case of simple earache in its initial stage, there is no better remedy than a hot foot-bath. Promptly and thoroughly applied, this treatment will never fail. The foot-bath draws the blood to the feet, and thus relieves the congestion which is the cause of the pain. Earache is a simple thing at the start, but if not checked, may speedily develop into a serious and often a dangerous disorder. Long-continued inflammation in the delicate mechanism of the ear is sure to work serious mischief. The timely application of a pail of water will prevent the little blaze from becoming a conflagration.