p. 14 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 31, No. 24. (6/14/1905)

Earlier text: WE ARE MADE A SPECTACLE UNTO THE WORLD, AND TO ANGELS, AND TO MEN

A FATHER'S LOVE.

MUCH is said and written in glorification of mother-love. Father-love is less in evidence, but one little girl's opinion of it appears in the following story:

A young rector was in charge of a large church in the west end of London. His wife died, leaving a motherless child. The people hoped that some aunt, sister, or niece would come to look after the child, but none such appeared.

Gradually it came to be known in the parish that their scholarly and eloquent rector was as much at home amid the mysteries of the nursery, the warming of a child's mug of milk, the washing of "baby's" face, etc., as he was familiar with the mazes of theology and the changing phases of Biblical questions.

Four years slipped by, and one Sunday, when the church was adorned with wreaths and lilies of sweet perfume, the child was placed, as usual, in the corner of a front pew, and the service went on until the sermon began.

He spoke of the agony of the mother of Christ at the cross, her wonder at the news of the resurrection; and from this he turned to tell of the sadness and misery of those who feel the mother-want in this world.

The face of his motherless child inspired unusual earnestness as he pictured that wonderful mother-love.

In conclusion he said: "Think what a child's life is without a mother's love! Who can tend, who cherish, who can love—who—but a mother?"

And in the depth of his feeling the rector's strong voice halted, as if for an answer.

In the hush of the great congregation a little voice spoke out very sweetly from that front pew:

"A faver [father] would do ev'y bit as well, papa dear!"

The rector closed the service somewhat abruptly, his voice trembling as he gave the benediction.

The little child ran into the vestry, and the rector clasped her to his heart, as the little one, in a half-frightened tone, asked: "You aren't angry wif me, are you, papa dear? I forgot ev'ybody was a-lis'ning.—Cleveland Plain-Dealer.

THE MAN BORN BLIND.

By Augustus Wight Bomberger

[Augustus Wight Bomberger, in Sunday-School Times.]

Say what ye will of Him, one thing I know— Know by the witness of these eyes of mine, That this same Christ ye would belittle so, His healing—is divine!

Nor care I aught His toil-worn hands may be Proof of the carpenter and Nazarene; The blessed touch of them hath brought to me Heaven—beautiful, serene.

And shall I now gainsay the voice I heard, And call it blasphemous, for such as you? No, but the rather glorify His word Who found it wondrous true.

Aye, cast me from among you, if you will; Ye gave not, nor can take the light of day That came to me—outcast, indeed, until This Jesus passed my way.

Nor go I forth alone—for He hath made The whole wide earth sweet company and fair; And e'en His presence, like a sunlit shade, Attends me everywhere.

Ah, Lord! 'tis but a moment since I thought— Banished of all—to seek Thy face again; And Thou, behold, hast found me, ere I sought— My King, my Man of men!

HELEN KELLER'S PRIVATE SCIENCE.

MISS KELLER'S article on "The Human Hand" in the Century Magazine reveals the blind girl's exquisite sensibility. She says:

"The handshake of some people makes you think of accident and sudden death. Contrast this ill-boding hand with the quick, skilful, quiet hand of a nurse whom I remember with affection, because she took the best care of my teacher. I have clasped the hands of some rich people that spin not and toil not, and yet are not beautiful. Beneath their soft, smooth roundness what a chaos of undeveloped character!

"All this is my private science of palmistry, and, when I tell your fortune, it is by no mysterious intuition or gypsy witchcraft, but by natural, explicable recognition of the embossed character in your hand. Not only is the hand as easy to recognize as the face, but it reveals its secrets more openly and unconsciously. People control their countenances, but the hand is under no such restraint. It relaxes and becomes listless, when the spirit is low and dejected; the muscles tighten, when the mind is excited or the heart glad; and permanent qualities stand written on it all the time.

"As there are many beauties of the face, so the beauties of the hand are many. Touch has its ecstasies. The hands of people of strong individuality and sensitiveness are wonderfully mobile. In a glance of their finger-tips they express many shades of thought. Now and again I touch a fine, graceful, supple-wristed hand which spells with the same beauty and distinction that you must see in the hand-writing of some highly cultivated people. I wish you could see how prettily little children spell in my hand. They are wild flowers of humanity, and their finger-motions wild flowers of speech.

"In all my experiences and thoughts I am conscious of a hand. Whatever touches me, whatever thrills me, is as a hand that touches me in the dark, and that touch is my reality. You might as well say that a sight which makes you glad, or a blow which brings the stinging tears to your eyes, is unreal, as to say that those impressions are unreal which I have accumulated by means of touch. The delicate tremble of a butterfly's wings in my hand, the soft petals of violets curling in the cool folds of their leaves or lifting sweetly out of the meadow grass, the clear, firm outline of face and limb, the smooth arch of a horse's neck and the velvety touch of his nose—all these, and a thousand resultant combinations, which take shape in my mind, constitute my world."

Neglecting Children’s Clothing

It is odd to consider with what solicitude a woman will watch the growth of a box of plants in her window, detecting and striving to correct almost microscopical ailments in root or branch, while she fails entirely to observe the most conspicuous evidences of decay along the warp and woof of her children's stockings.

LESSON 13.—JUNE 25.—REVIEW OF THE QUARTER'S LESSONS.

Golden Text.—"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John 20:31.

LESSON I.—Jesus the Good Shepherd. John 10:7-18. Golden Text: "I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep." Verse 11. All true disciples are such because they have faith to obey the voice of Christ. "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:14. Christ's "one fold" is the true "Israel." They were not all of the natural seed, as the Jews supposed (Rom. 2:28, 29). They would be gathered from both Jews and Gentiles.

LESSON II.—The Raising of Lazarus. John 11:32-45. Golden Text: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life." John 11:25. In this miracle the creative power of Christ was manifested, as from a corrupted dead body He was enabled to produce living tissue, as well as to restore the breath of life. Note the faith of Christ, as shown in His thanking God for hearing Him before He called upon the dead man to come forth.

LESSON III.—The Supper at Bethany. John 12:1-11. Golden Text: "She hath done what she could." Mark 14:8. Mary bestowed her honor on the living Christ, thus expressing her gratitude for His great blessing to her. How much better than to withhold her expression of love, and put flowers on His tomb. Her offering did not hinder her ministering to the poor after He was gone.

LESSON IV.—The Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. John 12:12-26. Golden Text: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Matt. 21:9. Notwithstanding this prophetic token of the victory that He would one day achieve gloriously and permanently, it was necessary that the Seed should die before producing fruit. The prophecy must also be fulfilled: "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt." Verse 15; Zech. 9:9.

LESSON V.—Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet. John 13:1-14. Golden Text: "By love serve one another." Gal. 5:13. No ordinance of the Lord's house has behind it a more distinct command or a more striking example than that of feet-washing. Yet it is quite generally rejected. Why?—Evidently because it is an ordinance of humility, which meets so little response in the human heart. The ordinance is not merely a commemoration of Christ's act of washing the disciples' feet, but of His whole humble life, as the Lord's Supper commemorates His death, and baptism His burial and resurrection.

LESSON VI.—The Vine and the Branches. John 15:1-12. Golden Text: "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." Verse 8. The fruit that Christ wants His followers to bear is the fruit of the Spirit—"love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Gal. 5:22, 23. If this fruit is manifested in the lives of professed Christians, sinners will be attracted to Christ.

LESSON VII.—Jesus Prays for His Followers. John 17:15-26. Golden Text: "I pray for them." John 17:9. We could have no greater reason for encouragement than the fact that Christ prayed for us. He is an Intercessor whose petitions are always honored of the Father (John 11:41, 42). Then let us "come boldly to the throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16) when we need help. Note, also, the condition, "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." John 15:7.

LESSON VIII.—Jesus before Pilate. John 18:28-40. Golden Text: "Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice." Verse 37. Jesus was falsely accused before Pilate of designing to set up a rival kingdom. While not denying that He was born an heir to a throne, He plainly declared that His kingdom was not of this world. He had evaded the attempt to make Him a king (John 6:15). And all the talk about His being recognized as king of any of the present earthly governments is equally futile. He is now on the "throne of grace," and will set up His glorious kingdom in the earth in His own good time. Then it will supersede all others. See Dan. 2:31-35, 44, 45; Matt. 25:31-34.

LESSON IX.—The Crucifixion. John 19:17-30. Golden Text: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." 1 Cor. 15:3. Jesus made the sacrifice for the whole world (Heb. 2:9), but only those who believe in Him, and obey the Gospel, can derive any benefit from the offering. See John 3:16, 36; 2 Thess. 1:7-10.

LESSON X.—The Resurrection. John 20:11-23. Golden Text: "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept." 1 Cor. 15:20. No fact of history is better attested than the resurrection of Christ. See 1 Cor. 15:1-8. This was necessary from the fact that our salvation depends upon His resurrection (verses 14-18), and the infallibility of His Word is also thereby tested and substantiated (Matt. 20:17-19).

LESSON XI.—The Message of the Risen Christ. Rev. 1:10-20. Golden Text: "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." Verse 18. The fact that this book is a "revelation," and that John was especially commanded not to seal it (chapter 22:10), together with the fact that blessing is for those who "read" and "hear" and "keep" what is written (chapter 1:3), is evidence that the book is to be understood. It is not a sealed book, but may be understood, through the Spirit, in the light of other scriptures and of authentic history.

LESSON XII.—The Heavenly Home. Rev. 22:1-11. Golden Text: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne." Rev. 3:21. This text shows that Christ has not yet taken His own throne, which will be given Him when His mediatorial work is done. See Dan. 7:13, 14; Matt. 25:31-34; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Revelation 20. It is after the thousand years of reign in heaven, that the scene presented in Revelation 21 and 22 actually comes to pass. Note John 13:1-3. The home of the redeemed will eventually be on the new earth (2 Peter 3:10-14), and the New Jerusalem, brought to view in this lesson, will be its capital.

Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly

By Editor

The Sabbath-school lessons have been discontinued. The Lesson Quarterly may be obtained, containing three months' lessons and notes, for five cents. Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal. The Sunday-school lessons will continue.

THE NORTHWESTERN LINE RUSSIA-JAPAN ATLAS.

Send ten cents in stamps to R. R. Ritchie, No. 617 Market Street, San Francisco, for Russo-Japanese War Atlas, issued by the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, three fine colored maps each 14x20, bound in convenient form for reference. The Eastern Situation shown in detail with tables showing relative military and naval strength and financial resources of Russia and Japan.

QUALITY COUNTS

Medal awarded at St. Louis to

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PEANUT BUTTER.

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SUNSET MAGAZINE

By Editor

describes

California

Not only California, but all the great West, is truthfully described in the beautifully illustrated pages of this virile Western monthly. Its fine half-tones make you SEE the country, while its descriptive and industrial articles TELL YOU EXACTLY what is to be found there. It is

"Opportunity"

in visible form, for it shows the wonderful chances for success now open in the new West for wide-awake people.

If your news dealer doesn't carry SUNSET, send us his name and address and write for sample copy.

HOME OFFICE: 431 California St. San Francisco, California.

WANTED

By M. E. Eastman

A LANDSCAPE gardener, acquainted with California soil and plants, to take charge of about twenty acres to be plotted and put in first-class condition. Must be a conscientious Seventh-day-Adventist.

Dr. M. E. Eastman, Route 2. Santa Barbara, Cal.

Friend in the Kitchen

FRIEND IN THE KITCHEN.—This is an educational cook book. Its object is to educate the people away from flesh-eating by presenting to them a far better way. This "better way" consists of 400 thoroughly-tested recipes for the preparation of good, wholesome dishes, none of which include meat of any kind. The book gives the nutritive value of foods, time required to digest various foods, rules for dyspeptics, best food for infants, substitutes for meats, and, in fact, about everything a person wishing to reform his dietary needs to study. Durably bound in flexible cloth.....................25c. Oilcloth..........................................................50c. Address PUBLISHERS OF THIS PAPER.

An Unfortunate Citation.

By Editor

In defending the proposition to add specific religious doctrine to the public school curriculum in the District of Columbia, Gen. Henry V. Boynton cites Chicago as a precedent. The reference just at this time is unfortunate for the cause he would sustain. The people of the District of Columbia would hardly be convinced that the morals of Chicago are so much superior to theirs, as to warrant patterning after her educational system for the purpose of emulation.

Well Said

By Editor

Well Said.—The following timely words are from a recent address by Governor Hanly, of Indiana:

In great cities we have almost forgotten honesty in administration of public affairs. We may enforce the law against one man and let another go immune, but if we do, there is a price that we will pay for it after awhile. An office can not be administered with corruption long without damage. . . . It is greed that is the foundation of all vice. Saloon-keepers do not prey on men to make them drunk; they want the money; they cast off the drunkard, and look for fresh prey. It is greed that moves the railroads over the country to combine for the purpose of usurping the rights of the people. The people at this age are money-mad in America—absolutely money-mad.

Come Down

By Editor

Come Down.—It is not for the discouragement of those who hold themselves above the common people that we say it, but because it is true: The kingdom of heaven will be made up of the common people. The divine record of the earthly ministry of Christ says that "the common people heard Him gladly." And, with here and there an exception, the true disciples of Christ are from the ranks of the common people. And such as truly come to Him from the nominally higher classes always humble themselves, and are not ashamed to fraternize with the lowly. In order to come to Jesus the proud heart must come down, for He is "meek and lowly in heart." Turn the little children of the rich and the poor out in the playground together, and they know nothing of class lines. These things have to be taught to the children of aristocratic people by their parents or tutors. But Christ says: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven."

A Doubtful Victory.

An alleged "victory for the Sabbath" has been won in Georgia. The Sunday law of that state forbids the running of freight trains on that day, with a few exceptions. It also provides that the superintendent of transportation may be prosecuted in any county where any freight trains of his road violate the law. Under this law, the superintendent of transportation of the Southern Railroad Company was convicted and fined $1,000 by the court of Habersham County, and on appeal to the Supreme Court the sentence was affirmed. A correspondent of the Christian Statesman alludes to this incident as "a notable victory in favor of a quiet Sabbath," and says:

Under the laws of Georgia, the larger part of all fines collected goes to the solicitor as prosecuting attorney, and, in the light of this recent decision, solicitors all over the state will doubtless discover that their own interests will be best served by rigidly enforcing this law.

From this it would seem that the decision is more of "a victory in favor" of prosecuting attorneys than of the Sabbath. That class of people who desire to have their religious doctrines enforced by law upon their neighbors, will also deem the decision a victory in their favor. But inasmuch as there is no law of God for the Sunday-sabbath, the friends of the institution will rejoice to find themselves in possession of even human authority for its enforcement. However, the Lord of the true Sabbath (the seventh day) says, "Every plant which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." And in that day no state law or human court decision will avail against the law of God.

Without Natural Affection

agree to live together, can agree to jointly contest the obligation to support their afflicted offspring. Is it possible to go any lower? Does humanity need to go any farther down the scale before reaching the condition of being "without natural affection" prophetically noted as characteristic of the "last days?" See 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

A Shameful Child Support Case

Human depravity seems to have reached the bottom of the cup and drained the dregs in the case of a divorced couple who, after two years of separation, join interests in a suit brought against them for support of their two children—a blind son and an invalid daughter. The father is married again, and is a bank president, said to be worth $100,000.

The case has been in a San Francisco court for some time. The husband and wife who could not

The Reformers and Sunday.

In an address delivered in All Saints' Protestant Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., Justice Gaynor said, in substance, that all the Sunday laws of Europe and in England, are a continuation of the law issued by Emperor Constantine in the third century. Then he said:

There are laws against work and for the observance of Sunday in England, but decent and religious observance of Sunday has been enforced more by the good sense and the religious disposition of the English people than by any law. The church to which you belong, the Episcopal Church—the established church in England—has always been sensible and liberal about the observance of Sunday; and that applies very largely to the English people. You will find that in the time of the Reformation the principal ones who took part in it in England were very careful not to impose an excessive burden of silence on the people on Sunday. We read in the life of Calvin that when John Knox visited him on Sunday he found Calvin in the back yard playing ball with his boys.

It is a fact that one of the key-notes of the Reformation was liberty of conscience. The protest of the Protestant especially denied the right of the civil government to interfere in matters of religion, as also the right of the church to interfere in the business of the state. Luther said:

It is by the Word that we must fight; by the Word overturn and destroy what has been established by violence. I am unwilling to employ force against the superstitious or the unbelieving. Let him who believes approach; let him who believes not stand aloof. None ought to be constrained. Liberty is of the essence of faith.

Why Not All the Time?

By Editor

A Baptist journal of Kansas City, the Word and Way, says:

The results of Sunday closing in St. Louis are quite marked. The city has greater quiet than for years, and the police courts have the smallest Monday morning dockets for many decades. Mr. John H. Howard, former president of the Liquor Dealers Benevolent Association, recently stated that if Sunday closing continued, more than six hundred saloons would have to go out of business. He also said there was a net saving to every inhabitant of the city of twenty-four cents each week, or a total of $146,550 to the family purse of the city. This would mean a grand total saving per annum of $7,622,100, and a corresponding reduction to the liquor traffic income for the same period.

This is an excellent argument for closing all the time. How any community can rejoice over the closing of these vile places one day in the week, appreciating the saving to the people in money and morals, and not go further and demand further benefit, is a mystery. It would take no more votes to close the saloons every day than to close them one day. It is very doubtful about Sunday closing being the means of putting out six hundred saloons. The saloons gather their harvests the nights after pay-days; at least these are the nights on which wage workers are said to part with their money, and the pay-days are usually the day before and the day after Sunday. It remains to be seen whether the people of St. Louis will so appreciate the benefits of one day's closing that they will move for several times as much benefit in the same line; or whether they will be satisfied with having the saloons nominally observe Sunday, as in many other places.

The Meaning of War Preparations

material of soldiers and guns will burst into flames in a frightful war that will throw humanity into mourning on earth, and grieve our universal Father in heaven.

While a multitude are preaching the dawn of an era of peace and safety, Queen Alexandra declares to the world the true meaning, and the only meaning, of the mammoth war preparations that are now going on. There are a few yet in the world who see through the glamour and sophistry of the "peace and safety" delusion, and this queen is one of them.

General Conference Report

By Editor

Do not fail to read the report from the General Conference, found on pages four, five, and six of this issue.

Memorial to President Roosevelt

By Editor

A facsimile of the memorial presented to President Roosevelt by a committee of the General Conference will be found on page five.

The Story of the American Revised Version

The Story of the translation of the American Revised Version of the Bible will be sent free, on application, to those interested in the history of the production of this most excellent version of the Bible. Address Thomas Nelson and Sons, 37 East 18th Street, New York City.

Union College Calendar

By Editor

We have received one of the calendars of Union College, of College View, Neb. It is a pamphlet of 119 pages, and contains everything one could wish to know about the institution. If you are interested in obtaining an education for yourself or wish to place your children in a Christian educational institution, send to Prof. C. C. Lewis, at the above address, for a copy of the calendar.

The Opinion of a Queen

The Opinion of a Queen.—It is not often that we hear such a frank, sober expression of fact from a person in so high a position, as is contained in the following words of Queen Alexandra of England:

I was educated in the school of a king who was, before all things, just, and I have tried, like him, always to preach love and charity. I have always mistrusted warlike preparations, of which nations seem never to tire. Some day this accumulated