For months I have had a very clear conviction as to what the officers of our churches can do to help raise the $150,000 so greatly needed just now to advance our cause. I have had a great desire to tell you my conviction, and how it came to me. I would have done so long ago if we could have had a personal interview. As this is impossible, I have decided to tell you through the columns of the REVIEW.
When the decision was made to raise this large fund, it was also decided to adopt the plan for securing the means that was carried out in raising the $100,000 fund. In that arrangement the main burden and responsibility of the undertaking was placed upon one person, known as the Financial Secretary, who carried on his work from the General Conference Office. The person to undertake this work of raising the $150,000 was selected by the officers of the General Conference Committee, but he did not feel free to accept the responsibility. This threw us into great perplexity, as we did not know whom to select in his place. As precious time kept slipping away without any selection being made, I became greatly troubled and somewhat disheartened.
I was obliged to leave the office on a camp-meeting tour in this state of mind. As my train pulled out of the station into the darkness of the night, I seemed plunged into as great darkness regarding the raising of this large fund. I could do nothing but cry to the Lord for help. In this state of perplexity I fell asleep. When I awoke, my perplexity was gone, and there was fixed in my mind a simple, yet well-defined plan for raising this fund. It was not at all like the plan we had agreed upon, and were trying to get started. It was this:—
Instead of placing the great burden and work of raising this large sum on one person, distribute it among the many that the Lord has provided for just such great things for his cause. Lay it upon the shoulders of General, union, and local conference committeemen, ministers, and church officers, according to the strength and opportunities of each one to carry the burden. When this large sum is spread over all the churches according to their membership and ability, the burden of each will be so light that there will be very few who will be unable to lift a proportionate share. And with this outline there was a very clear, strong conviction that the officers of our churches were in a position to be the men and women of influence and strength in this great effort.
It is now eight months since this outline came to me. The perplexity and anxiety that left me then has never returned. In their place there is a clear, settled conviction that the Lord wants to teach his people how all are to place their shoulders under the burdens he wants carried, and lift together.
Now what can our church officers do to aid in raising this fund? I do not hesitate to say that they can raise every dollar without the presence of a single minister. With a clear understanding of why this sum is called for, and the exact use to be made of it in different parts of the world, the elders, deacons, treasurer, and clerk of almost any church of which they are officers, can raise the proportionate share of their church.
Equally distributed among our people in North America, the sum to be raised is only $2.53 for each church-member. Can not the officers of a church of ten members raise $25.30? And can not the officers of a church of twenty members raise $50.60? A church of fifty members would have only $126.50 to raise. The church of one hundred would have to raise but $253. What group of officers over any one of the churches of this size will admit that they can not raise their proportionate share? Surely not many.
And this is the way you can raise it: Meet together for counsel and planning. Ascertain the exact membership of the church. Multiply this by $2.53. This will give the total amount to be raised. Consider the financial condition of the members, and determine whether it is reasonable to ask the church to raise its share. In nearly every case it will be clear that it is. When you have agreed on the amount your church can raise, then plan how to help the members to do it. Set a time to present the matter to the church. Arrange for each officer to take part in presenting the subject. Fix a reasonable but definite time for the whole amount to be paid in. Lead out in taking your share. Endeavor to persuade every member to take his share, and in case one is really not able to do so, get another to take a double portion. Visit those who may not be at the service when the subject is presented, and solicit their co-operation. When the total amount is promised, make arrangements for collecting frequently and regularly until it is all paid. And with all your efforts from first to last pray earnestly for divine help to succeed in this good and noble work.
Now all this may seem simple,—too simple and ordinary to print,—but it is just this kind of simple, painstaking, prayerful effort that accomplishes something for the Master. Precisely this kind of effort has enabled the officers of the churches in the District of Columbia to raise the full amount apportioned to the District. It will work everywhere.
I carry the profound conviction that it is the sacred duty of the officers of every Seventh-day Adventist church in the United States to bestir themselves, and in the name of Israel's God take hold of this work. Do not let this task, so small when taken hold of by all, drag on month after month. Now is the time for action. The spring will soon be here with its expense and labor of putting in crops. The summer will quickly follow, and then the pressing work of the fall. What is not done during the next three months will probably not be done for a year.
Brethren, have you the conscience and the heart to treat the most sacred and important responsibilities committed to men in this life so indifferently as this? May the Spirit of the living God greatly arouse all our church officers, and help them to do their work for the Lord with great zeal. A. G. DANIELLS.
Thanks from a Far Country
The news that the fund was to provide two thousand dollars for the printing-office and school in Chile had just reached Elder Thomann, editor of the Valparaiso paper, when he wrote us:—
I am thankful that the General Conference decided to call for two thousand dollars for our printing plant and school. It will enable us to build a little barrack to put the press in, and will thus save us the heavy rent, and the frequent moving from one place to another.
We may also be able to buy some things that are much needed in our little printing plant. The brethren have not yet decided as to the division of the fund, but I think likely about fifteen hundred dollars will be allotted to the printing plant, and five hundred dollars to the school.
The earthquake that laid Valparaiso in ruins gave us occasion to publish the message. We printed thirty thousand copies of our paper in September, twenty-six thousand in October, and ten thousand in November. Many of our brethren took a new interest in selling the paper. The Lord blessed greatly.
Our work is prospering here. The Lord is adding souls to this church in many places. Calls come in faster than we can respond to them. All are happy in the Lord for his protection. None of our brethren suffered physical injury in the earthquake.
MRS. E. G. WHITE
By Ellen G. White
The Work in Oakland and San Francisco—No. 5
MRS. E. G. WHITE
On Sabbath, November 3, and again on Sabbath, November 10, and on the following day, the Lord gave me strength to speak to his people in San Francisco. The meeting for Sunday afternoon was well advertised, and there was a good outside attendance from the city.
I was much pleased to have the privilege of speaking in the church at San Francisco. My husband and I and a few others worked together to obtain the means to erect this building, over thirty years ago. It would have been a heavy loss if this church had been destroyed; but it was not seriously injured by the earthquake.
The ventilation in the San Francisco church is not good, and after my return home, I suffered from the effects of breathing the impure air. The influenza was upon me. For over a month I felt unable to travel. However, my general health was good, and I was able to do considerable writing. And when, the second week in December, I received an invitation from Elder W. W. Simpson to come to Oakland and speak to the people on Sabbath, I had so far recovered from the influenza that I ventured to go.
Elder Simpson held meetings in Oakland for about two months. His labors were greatly blessed. For a few weeks after his meetings began, we were favored with remarkably good weather. The days were clear and mild, and the rainfall was very light. But the workers in Oakland had to meet difficulties; for the tent was blown down twice by severe wind-storms, and badly torn; and toward the close of the series of meetings it rained for several days, and the workers found it necessary to take down the tent for a few days, and temporarily discontinue the meetings.
The manner of Elder Simpson’s work reminds me of the efforts that were put forth in 1843 and 1844. He does not make prominent his own words, but reads much from the Bible, explaining one scripture by another. He dwells largely on the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, and uses many illustrations and suitable figures to impress the truth. To represent the beasts of Daniel and Revelation, he has prepared lifelike images of papier-mache.
Elder Simpson endeavors to avoid entering into controversy with opponents. He presents the Bible so clearly that it is evident that any one who differs, must do so in opposition to the Word of God.
Friday evening and Sabbath forenoon, December 15 and 16, Elder Simpson spoke upon the subject of Spiritual Gifts, dwelling especially upon the spirit of prophecy. Those who were present at these discourses say that he treated the subject in a clear, forceful manner.
Sabbath afternoon I filled my appointment in the large Congregational church that is now being used by our people. The room was filled, and the doors at one side were thrown up, that many might be accommodated in an adjoining room. I am told that between five and six hundred were present. It was with fear and trembling that I went to the service; for on Friday I was very poorly—so ill, in fact, that I hardly had strength sufficient to enable me to sit up. Sabbath afternoon I feared that it would be impossible for me to stand before the congregation for over half an hour. But as I spoke, the invigorating power of the Spirit of God came upon me, and I was enabled to continue speaking for one hour and fifteen minutes. Such experiences remind me of what I passed through frequently in the earlier days of the message.
For about a year after my husband died, I suffered greatly from sorrow. At that time, when I seemed to be hovering between life and death, my son Willie persuaded me to go a short distance in a phaeton to a camp-meeting in Healdsburg. A sofa had been placed on the platform in the large tent. Here I lay down, thinking I would deliver my farewell address. My face was as the face of one dead, without a particle of color.
After a few testimonies had been borne, I asked Willie to help me to arise to my feet, and let me lean on him. There I stood, and began to tell the people that this was probably the last time they would ever hear my voice in camp-meeting. But after speaking a few words, I felt the Spirit and power of God thrilling through every nerve of my body. Those who saw me said that the blood could be seen as it put color in my lips and reached my forehead. My flesh took on its natural appearance. One of the citizens of Healdsburg, in great surprise, turned to one of his neighbors, and exclaimed, “A miracle is being wrought in sight of this whole congregation!” I could not understand why all were looking so intently at me, some even rising to their feet. The Spirit of the Lord had rested upon me, and I had been healed in the presence of a large congregation. During the remainder of the camp-meeting, I spoke several times.
These special impartations of strength in times of great physical weakness, give me courage. The Lord is my helper. I praise him with heart and voice for his wonderful mercies and his sustaining power.
The efforts put forth in Oakland have borne fruit in the salvation of precious souls. Sunday morning, December 16, I attended a baptismal service at the Piedmont Baths. Thirty-two candidates were buried with their Lord in baptism, and arose to walk in newness of life. This was a scene that angels of God witnessed with joy. Several children were baptized first, and then the older ones. Occasionally a stanza of some hymn of praise was sung. There was no confusion. The entire service was impressive.
The Establishment of the Roman Catholic Church
By B. G. Wilkinson
B. G. WILKINSON
THE question has been asked, When, where, and by whom was the Roman Catholic Church established? There is no doubt that an answer to the question would be interesting to the readers of the REVIEW.
To come directly to the point, I would say that the Roman Catholic Church, as we know it now, was never, at any place, established by a divine authority. Its present form was developed by the political party which captured its organization after the great victory of the early Christians over the persecutions of pagan Rome. “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried” (Rev. 2:10), said Jesus to the early Christian church. Through long years of severe suffering, the church came up to great victory—to gain what? To seize worldly power?—No! but to continue spreading the kingdom.
Such, however, was not the result. The persecution ended 312 A. D. By 325 the organization of the church had been captured by the worldly and political forces within it, which had long sought the mastery. I can no better relate this than by the famous report of Mr. Briand, whose bill in the French House of Congress became the law separating church and state:—
“The adoption of Christian ideas by Constantine (Roman emperor) inaugurated a new era in the history of Christianity. Since the day when Constantine presided over the Council of Nice (325 A. D.), since the moment when, after having been sovereign pontiff of the pagan religion, he proclaimed himself to have become Christian ‘emperor and doctor, king and priest,’ the tendencies of the religion of Jesus found themselves profoundly modified. The word of the Galilean, ‘Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s,’ was9henceforth without application. Confusion was established between the spiritual and the temporal; the church borrowed for its organization the administrative frame of the empire, and the church was led by a succession of circumstances, to take into her hands a considerable part of temporal power.”
Here was the beginning of the change in the church, the result, not of divine authority, but of human invention. In this change, the now worldly church had before her two models,—an empire of absolute sovereignty and a visible absolute head. When the Roman empire fell, about one hundred and fifty years later, the church continued its organization among its own followers; while the Bishop of Rome became its absolute head, bearing the title of “pope.” Also along these lines the Roman Church has developed ever since.
Takoma Park, D. C.
A Prayer
By Worthie Harris Holden
WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN
JEHOVAH, God of light and life,
We lift our thoughts to thee,
And fain through mists of sin and strife
Would view thy majesty.
We dwell too near the lowland plain,
Too nigh Despond and Doubt;
Ope thou our eyes to see again
Thy chariots round the mount.
Too oft, O God, our sordid mind
Unknowing doth profane;
We view thee as we do mankind,
And take thy name in vain.
Let, Holy, holy! be our cry,
Thy glory stand revealed,
Till e'en in mortals such as I
Thy character is sealed.
Portland, Ore.
The Last Message to a Dying World
By Henry Shultz
HENRY SHULTZ
The last message to all people is the threefold message of Rev. 14: 6-15, with its kindred truths. To say that the time has come for these truths to be given to the world is true, but that would hardly express the facts as they are. As we examine the prophecies, we are forced to the conclusion that these messages must be given to this generation now living upon the earth, and by a more careful study of the Word we find ourselves a long way down in the generation to whom these messages are due, and that but a short time remains to finish the work. This being true, we are forced to the conclusion that the time has come when every member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church should be a working member somewhere in the Master's service. The world is to be warned. Every nation, kindred, tongue, and people is to hear the glad tidings of the soon-coming Saviour. The world in its blindness does not seek after this salvation. It must be brought to the people. In this our blessed Lord set us the example. He left the courts of glory, came down to this sinful world, to bring to man salvation, and he asks every son and daughter of his to follow in his steps.
Let us not begin to make excuses and say, “I am not fit to preach,” “I never will make a preacher,” or “I can not do anything.” It is true God has not called every man and woman to be a preacher by word of mouth; and yet no one is excused from doing his part in carrying this last message to all people. If you can not go forth and preach the word, get a good supply of papers, books, pamphlets, and tracts and scatter them among the people like the autumn leaves which fall from the trees after the frost has nipped them. They will do the preaching for you in a quiet way, and if any one gets angry at what they teach, and throws them away, they will take the abuse without retaliating, and when they are picked up again, in a quiet way they will preach the same thing over again. And so men and women will be brought to a knowledge of the truth for this generation.
America is a country made up of all nations. There are in the United States alone nearly thirty-one million people speaking a foreign tongue, and nearly one half of these can not speak the English language. They must hear the truth in their own tongue, and as our brethren and sisters speaking a foreign language are anxious to have their American neighbors hear the glad message of a soon-coming Saviour and provide them with English reading-matter, will not our American brethren and sisters everywhere look about them and see if they do not have neighbors speaking a language different from their own, and provide them with reading-matter that they are able to read? But, you may ask, Where can we get the reading-matter in the different languages? This may be obtained from the State tract societies. In ordering, state plainly in what language the books, pamphlets, tracts, or papers are wanted, and if the tract society from which you order does not have them in stock, they will order them sent direct to you from the International Publishing Association, College View, Neb.
After the burning of the Review and Herald Office at Battle Creek, Mich., this Association was established to print our literature in the German, Swedish, and Danish-Norwegian languages. This work they are doing to the best of their ability, but the truths for these times in which we live being printed and laid upon the shelves of the publishing houses can do no good; they will not win a single soul for the Master. Brethren, shall we not arouse, wake up, and go to work as in former days, when we never went anywhere without our pockets full of tracts and papers, and handed them out to every one we met? In this way we sowed the seed so that when the living preacher came along and watered the seed sown, it sprang up and grew, and churches were multiplied everywhere. If this kind of work was necessary in the beginning of the message, how much more so now when the message is about to close. Truly the time has come when we should arise and go to work as never before.
The powers of darkness are marshaling their forces all over the world. Sunday laws and persecutions threaten on all sides. These things alone should stir us to action, for we know that this last war against those who keep the commandments of God will take place just before the coming of the Master in the clouds of heaven. Hence we see that we have but a very short time in which to work, and we should work as we never worked, scattering tracts and papers among the people as we never did before.
The joy of our Lord is to see many souls saved in the kingdom of God through his labor and sufferings, and if we would enter into his joy (Matt. 25: 21-23), we must do something for others to win them for the kingdom of our God. Then shall we enter into the same joy that fills the Master's heart.
The Book of the Decree
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
S. N. HASKELL
The prophet Daniel, in speaking of the opening of the long period of the twenty-three hundred days, says: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” Dan. 9: 25.
The angel spoke these words to Daniel two years before the first part of the wonderful decree to restore and build Jerusalem had been given. God admonishes all to both know and understand in regard to it. We know about many things that we do not understand; but God designs that we should both know and understand in regard to this wonderful decree.
Ezra seemed especially impressed with this thought, and he was inspired by the Lord to write out the history of the decree. The book of Ezra is devoted wholly to the history of that decree, as the following outline of the ten chapters of the book will show:—
Chapter one contains the decree of Cyrus. Chapter two gives a list of those who responded to the decree of Cyrus and went up to Jerusalem. Chapter three tells of the work of establishing the religious services and laying the foundations of the temple. Chapter four tells of the trouble with the Samaritans, and records the fact that the work of rebuilding was stopped by Artaxerxes, or Smerdis the Impostor. Chapter five tells of the resumption of the work on the temple, and also of Tatnai’s letter and reply. In chapter six is recorded the second portion of the great decree of Darius the Persian.
Between the sixth and seventh chapters there is a period of more than half a century; during this time the Jews were seeking their own pleasure, and intermarrying with the heathen. Ezra’s burden seems to be to follow the history of the decree; and as there was nothing being done to forward the decree during this period, it is not mentioned in Ezra’s record. The book of Esther is the only inspired history we have that gives us any account of what befell the Jews during this period.
The seventh year of Artaxerxes marks a revival in the work of forwarding the decree. Chapter seven of the book of Ezra contains a record of the going forth of the third and last portion of the great decree. Chapter eight gives an account of the journey of Ezra and his company as they went from Babylon to Jerusalem with the decree of Artaxerxes. Chapters nine and ten give an interesting account of Ezra’s efforts to separate the people from the heathen, and get them in such10a spiritual condition that they could realize the importance of rebuilding Jerusalem.
The book of Ezra covers the seventy-nine years of the decree, from the first year of Cyrus, 536 B. C., to the seventh year of Artaxerxes, 457 B. C. The book ends with the last portion of the decree, although Ezra’s work continued for many years. For thirteen years he labored faithfully alone in Jerusalem, then Nehemiah went up to hasten the work, and Ezra united with him in spiritual work for the people. Nehemiah, not Ezra, gives the record of this work. Ezra has not written a history of his own work; he wrote of the great decree, and mentioned himself only as he is connected with carrying out the decree. Ezra personally had no part in the work until the last of the seventy-nine years. He had the honor of carrying up to Jerusalem the last portion of the decree.
The book of Ezra has truthfully been styled “The history of the decree.” It contains most valuable information. Those who study it carefully will find it full of present truth. The three portions of the great decree were really three loud calls to come out of Babylon. When Cyrus issued his decree, every provision was made to take all of Israel from Babylon; and had the millions of Jews in the kingdom of Babylon responded and arose in a body and left Babylon, the whole world would have heard of the true God; for the decree commanded the neighbors of the Jews everywhere to give them financial help. It would have been a far greater object-lesson to the whole world than when Israel came out of Egypt. Twice through the prophet Jeremiah the Lord had sent the comforting promise to Israel before they went into Babylonian captivity: “The days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I have driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.” Jer. 23: 7, 8; 16: 14, 15.
The Lord longed to do a great work for Israel that would magnify his name in all the earth. God was ready; the heathen were ready; but the people of Israel were sleeping in Babylon.
Israel did not leave Egypt empty handed. Neither did those who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem in response to Cyrus’s decree go without treasure. Ezra 1: 4. Out of the millions of Jews in Babylon hardly fifty thousand responded to the call. While Israel was unmindful of God’s wonderful providence that opened the way before them, the heathen fulfilled their part, and wherever a Jew arose to return to Jerusalem, his neighbors gave him treasures of silver, gold, etc. Ezra 1: 6. A wonderful opportunity was lost because God’s people lingered in Babylon at this time.
The decree of Darius the Persian was a second call to come out of Babylon, and notwithstanding the fact that Zechariah sent special messages to Babylon, urging them to flee from Babylon (Zech. 2: 6, 7), there is no mention of any leaving Babylon in response to this call. But the Jews at Jerusalem were aroused to new activity, and finished building the temple.
The decree of Artaxerxes was a third call to come out of Babylon. After the Jews had passed through the experiences recorded in the book of Esther, one would suppose they would be glad to escape from Babylon; but when the third and last call came, only about fifteen hundred men with their families responded to the call.
God wanted to make Jerusalem a wonder in the earth: “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.” Zech. 2: 5. When Israel had been in Babylonian captivity only twenty-five years, Ezekiel, in vision, was shown the city as it would doubtless have been built if all Israel had responded to the three calls and gone out of Babylon. (See the last nine chapters of Ezekiel.) Jer. 17: 24, 25. But Babylon was dearer to Israel than the Jerusalem that they professed to love. Jerusalem was destroyed. The city shown to Ezekiel was never built, not because God’s mind changed, but because Israel failed to do their part; in order to have a holy city God had to prepare it in heaven. That city is prepared, and will descend upon the earth. The last call to come out of Babylon is now sounding through the earth. The ancient calls were an object-lesson of the present time.
“Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.” Utter destruction awaits those who linger in Babylon to-day. Rev. 18: 4-8.
“Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.” Ps. 107: 43.
Oakland, Cal.
The Use of Intoxicating Liquors by Christians.
By G. P. Eckman
HENRY WARD BEECHER was asked to explain his position on this matter, one Sunday morning, at a great hotel in the White Mountains, and very earnestly did he reply in these words: “It is just like this. Suppose there is a precipice out by a schoolhouse, where many children are assembled. Suppose that halfway down the precipice there is a spring that I specially enjoy, and, strong man that I am, I can go down there safely, by a narrow path, dangerous to many, but not to me. Suppose that the children are determined to go down there after me, and will not believe that the path is dangerous, since they see that I tread it with impunity. Some of them that try it fall and break their necks, and others are lamed for life. Now, what sort of man, much more, what sort of Christian, should I be, if under these circumstances I persisted in going down that dangerous path? Nay, verily, if I have one particle of magnanimity of soul, if I have been at all taught of Christ, I shall put a good, strong fence across that path, and never tread it any more. That is my position on the total abstinence question. That is why I am myself a total abstainer, and shall be always unless I take alcoholic drinks by a physician’s prescription. For why should I insist on drinking wine, even if I am fond of it, as I am not? It would do me no special good, and what I gain in character by the habit of studying the good of others is an incalculable and an eternal gain.”
But I have a right to drink, if I choose, says some professedly Christian man, who loves his tipple, and does not accept Christ’s plan of self-denial for the benefit of others. Certainly you have the right if you mean personal privilege. There is nothing in the constitution of things which denies you that right. You can even defend it by recourse to the Scriptures, if you take isolated passages in place of the consensus of Christian teaching. Of course you are free to do as you please, and take the consequences. But remember, “love seeketh not her own.” We are to have in respect another’s wealth, and not our own. The question for the Christian is, “Shall I not abate my rights in the interest of another’s safety?” Would not the genuine Christian—that is, one who has the spirit of Christ—rather abstain all his life from wine and other intoxicants than to be an occasion of just one fall through the subtle power of his careless example? O, one does not expect this plea to be effective with those who are not Christians! But with you, Christian, it ought to have weight, for “ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price.”—G. P. Eckman, D. D., in The Communicant.
His Goodness
NOTHING is so winsome as goodness. Some men sneer at goodness. They think it an element of weakness. They sneer at the man who has a reputation for goodness. But they know not what they do. They are like the people who crucified our Lord. Smartness may charm us for a season. Power, statesmanship, scholarship, intelligence, and genius compel our admiration. But they may be, and often are, cold, selfish, and unlovely. Even when found in connection with weakness and ignorance, goodness commands the confidence and respect of sensible men.
But goodness joined with infinite power and wisdom is infinitely lovely. And this is the character of our Heavenly Father. He is all-mighty and all-wise, but his goodness is equal to his power and wisdom. And this goodness he has poured out on you and me. O my soul, what shall I do to repay him for all he has done for me? “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits unto me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto him now in the presence of all his people.” — Selected.
MRS. S. N. HASKELL
By Mrs. S. N. Haskell
How to Enjoy Old Age—No. 2
MRS. S. N. HASKELL
There is one thing more valuable in old age than good health, and that is a clear, active mind. All the world admires such a man as Gladstone, who in his eightieth year could serve as prime minister of England. Why not admire the course he pursued to preserve his mind?
The Bible says of man: “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Prov. 23:7. The person who begins to think of himself as being old as soon as he passes the prime of life, and, when any work that would tax the mind is proposed, replies, “O, I am too old for that!” will be just as he thinks. He will be old long before he ought to be.
The majority of people become mental drones after they pass the prime of life. Many have heavy family cares for ten or fifteen years after they reach manhood and womanhood, and, while pressed with household or business cares, they do not have as much time for study and general reading as they had in their younger days, and they cease to use their minds except in the immediate line of their own work.
As he passes the prime of life, the man finds he has acquired sufficient to live upon, and does not need to work so hard. The busy mother finds the home empty, the children married and gone. Now is the time to prepare for old age. When they find their minds are less active, and they are liable to forget, then is the time to exercise their minds.
I remember a well-preserved old lady, who, when she found that she was becoming forgetful, began committing portions of Scripture to memory—not simply scattered verses, but whole chapters, and not only was she brought nearer God by this study, but her mind was strengthened by keeping the connection of the verses in the chapter.
Gladstone could never have been prime minister of England at eighty years of age if he had settled down in the idea that he was an old man at forty or fifty. He made a business of preserving his mental and physical powers in the best possible condition.
If we want a clear, active mind in old age, we must not let our minds lie dormant most of the time after we pass the prime of life. It is our Christian duty to preserve our minds and bodies in the best possible condition that we may honor God and do the work he would have us do.
Hundreds of people waste the best portion of their lives. After a person has lived fifty or more years, his experience is valuable, and he should cultivate his mind and keep it active, in order that he may make the best use of the experience he has gained. Old age is a treasure, and years of experience are invaluable when there is an active, clear mind with which to use the experience gained.
We can not prevent growing old; but we can grow old gracefully, and by the help of the Lord preserve our minds in as good a condition as possible as long as God gives life.
The one who considers himself old and comparatively worthless at fifty will be so; for the Lord says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he;” but, on the other hand, the person who thinks it his God-ordained duty to work faithfully and well as long as God gives life will find his richest experiences and most effective work after he passes the prime of life.
Hundreds of our sisters who have loved the truth for years and have comparatively few household cares are spending their time working for their married children and grandchildren. They think they are too old to do any active work for God; but if they would arouse themselves, study their Bibles, and go out and work for souls, they would find that the Lord would use them to win many precious souls from the powers of darkness.
Anna, at the age of eighty-four, was not too old to go about the city carrying the Lord’s message. Luke 2:36-38. Daniel, when nearly ninety years of age, was appointed prime minister of the Persian kingdom. Moses was eighty years of age when sent to lead Israel out of Egypt.
If every one believed that God had a purpose, and a work for each individual as long as he lived, no one would drop his oars and drift with the tide, thinking his work was done.
When our work is done, the Lord will make the fact known by laying us to rest. While some may be more active than others, all may accomplish much if they believe there is work for them to do, and seek God for wisdom to do the work he places in their pathway.
Oakland, Cal.
What's the Use?
By Paul L. Dunbar
WHAT’S the use o’ folks a-frownin’
When the way’s a little rough?
Frowns lay out the way for wrinkles—
You’ll be wrinkled soon enough.
What’s the use?
What’s the use o’ folks a-sighin’?
It’s an awful waste o’ breath,
An’ a body can’t stand wastin’
What he needs so much in death.
What’s the use?
— Paul L. Dunbar.
What Blackens
THERE is an old story about a Greek maiden named Eulalia; she wanted to be friends with Lucinda, a very gay and worldly woman. One day she said to her father, Sophronius: “I would like to call upon Lucinda; may I go to-day?”
“I can not allow you to do that, my daughter,” replied Sophronius.
“But, father, you must think me exceedingly weak if you suppose I should be injured by going,” said Eulalia, crossly.
Her father stooped down and picked up a piece of dirty coal and held it out.
“Take that in your hand, my child; it will not hurt you.”
She did, and her fingers became smudged. Eulalia did not understand.
“Why,” she said, “did you give me this? It blackens.”
“Yes,” came the reply. “Coal, when it does not burn, blackens.”
Do you see the lesson of the old Greek? Bad company will blacken, even if it does not burn.—Selected.
Girls Men Dislike
THERE is no greater mistake than for a woman to suppose that by affecting freedom of speech and showing a man how far she dare go, she can enhance her charms in his eyes, if she have any, or make herself attractive if she have none.
The fact is that even the worst man has, in his heart of hearts, an ideal of womanhood, as is quite easily proved by the standard he sets up for his own sister. And this is the test by which a man often tries a girl: “Should I like to have my own sister do or say so and so?”
If girls would only recognize this fact, it would save them from many follies and mistakes.—Selected.
Growing New Wood
ONE of our exchanges has this beautiful thought, and it is worth passing along: “One day when Longfellow was well along in years, his head as white as snow, an ardent admirer asked him how it was that he was able to keep so vigorous and write so beautifully. Pointing to a blossoming apple-tree near by, the poet replied: ‘That apple-tree is very old, but I never saw prettier blossoms upon it than those which it now bears. The tree grows a little new wood each year, and I suppose it is out of that new wood that those blossoms come. Like the old apple-tree, I try to grow a little new wood each year.’ And what Longfellow did we all ought to do. We can not stop the flight of time; we can not head off the one event that happeneth to all; but we can keep on ‘growing new wood,’ and in that way keep on blossoming until the end.”