p. 345 | Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 22. (5/29/1900)

STUDIES IN GALATIANS.

The Two Covenants.

Gal. 4:21–31.

“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that barest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”

“These are the two covenants.” These what, are the two covenants?—These two women; because, since the covenant from mount Sinai is represented by Hagar, the other covenant is represented by Sarah. The Revised Version of verse 24 reads: “For these women are two covenants.”

These two women were the mothers of the two sons of Abraham. One son was by a bondwoman: the other was by a freewoman. Hagar was the bondwoman: Sarah was the freewoman. The two sons of these two women represent the children of the two covenants.

“These are the two covenants.” It is then settled that the subject of the Two Covenants began in the family of Abraham.

“These are the two covenants.” Whoever, therefore, would study the Two Covenants, must study these.

“These are the two covenants.” Any study, therefore, of the Two Covenants, that is not a study

of these, is not truly a study of the Two Covenants.

“These are the two covenants.” With these the subject of the Two Covenants begins; and whoever would study the Two Covenants, must begin where the subject begins. Therefore, this is where we shall begin the study of the Two Covenants.

And that we may all begin it together to the best advantage, we ask that all will read, between now and this time next week, Genesis 15, 16, 17, and 21: 1–21—at least seven times.

ASSAULTED WITH AN “IF.”

By Uriah Smith

This is the weapon with which the archenemy made war upon our Lord. He has no better. It is the one, therefore, with which he will make his assaults upon us. “If thou be the Son of God,” he said to Christ, “command that these stones be made bread.” Matt. 4:3. That little word “if” is more potent for evil than any other word of its size in the English language. It forms the well-framed introduction to the subtlest and most malignant temptations which the devil can plan and spring upon mankind.

This great foe is too shrewd to openly denounce as false, the plain declarations of Scripture, or the positive experiences of our own natures, as a general thing. He can conceal himself, and cover his tracks much better, by seeking to insinuate into some crevice of our minds, the evil seed of doubt, of distrust and unbelief, with the intention that it may take root, and with its powerful fibers of destruction may work ruin,—like the seed which has taken root in the roof of one of the Buddhist temples of India, and by its growth, is so prying the stones apart that it threatens to bring down the whole structure in ruins. So doubt and distrust will disintegrate and destroy every structure of faith in the heart, if it is allowed to get a foothold there.

God had said of Christ, and to Christ, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” It would not do for Satan to come to Christ with a flat denial of that assurance, and say outright, You are not the Son of God, and that voice was all a cheat and falsehood. No; but, “If thou be the Son of God,” let us consider this matter, and reason about it a little, and see if it is really so.

But our Lord gave the enemy no foothold here. He recognized no pretext for reasoning about the question. As soon as we begin to reason with the enemy, we have given up half the battle. But our Lord gave him no advantage here. And he once said of him: “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” John 14:30. But, “If thou be the Son of God,” do so and so. What he was asked to do, was only something which he could easily do, if occasion required, and which there was quite an apparent necessity that he should do; for he was greatly an hungered. There could be no doubt as to his power; and was he not weary and faint with fasting? But he refrained from performing that miracle; and this leads Archbishop Trench to say that “the miracles which Christ refrained from doing are as wonderful as those which he performed.” So Christ did not ask that a miracle be performed then, in his behalf; and God will not work a miracle now to rescue us from the temptations of the enemy, when we will not avail ourselves of the defense he has already provided.

And what is our defense?—It is to have the word of God so fixed in our hearts that we can meet the enemy, as Christ met him on this occasion, by a direct appeal to its testimony: “It is written.” God had plainly declared, “Thou art my Son.” There was therefore no occasion to raise the inquiry, “If thou be the Son of God.” “Oh, this word ‘If,’” exclaims Robinson; “oh, that I could tear it out of my heart. O, thou poison of all my pleasure. Thou cold icy hand that touchest me so often, and freezest me with thy touch: If! If!”

In the same way the enemy will attack us. He will try to make us doubt our sonship, as he endeavored to make the Lord doubt his. If thou be the Son of God, if thou art a child of God, if you have been converted, why are you so troubled with doubts and fears? Why are you so often cast down? Why are you beset with so many troubles and afflictions? “If,” but if you have joined yourself to him in the everlasting covenant, you are his; and that settles it. “Him that cometh to me,” he declares, “I will in no wise cast out.” “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This is the text with which Luther once summarily, as the report goes, dismissed the devil, when he was arraying before the reformer a long chapter of his transgressions. Having given him the text, Luther said to him, “That disposes of my sins. Now begone with all your black catalogue.” We can tell the tempter the same thing.

Again the tempter will say to us, If the seventh day be the Sabbath, why has the whole religious world, almost, turned from it to the keeping of the first day of the week? and why is it that we have to keep a day on a world where time differs east and west, and north and south? and why do you have so much trouble in adjusting the matter? The answer is that there is no trouble; but that is not the question. The Lord has declared positively, that the seventh day is the Sabbath; and all the “ifs” of all the doubters in the world can never overthrow that.

This experience of our Lord, in breaking through the ranks of the devil’s “ifs,” contains important lessons for us. It teaches us that temptation is not sin. The sin is in dallying with it, parleying with the enemy, and at length yielding to his snare. Our Lord was tempted in all points like as we are, and yet the record is that he was “without sin.” As the hymn says,—

“He knows what sore temptations mean; For he hath felt the same.”

Temptations are often permitted for our good. If properly borne, they put to a profitable test our faith, love, and patience. They develop and increase our spiritual strength and Christian graces; they make us able to comfort others by our own progress, and warn others by the dangers we have met. God secures glory through us, by them; for he shows how Satan can be vanquished by feeble man.

It teaches us that we can not avoid temptation by following the course of the misguided votaries of Romish asceticism, and plunging into retirement and solitude; for Christ, in this time of his most severe temptation, was off by himself, away from the busy world, in the wilderness. Nor should we be surprised if temptation follows right on after the most rigid performance of Christian duties, and after great spiritual victories; for this trial of our Lord immediately succeeded his baptism, when the Spirit descended like a dove upon him, and the voice from heaven declared that he was God’s beloved Son, with whom he was well pleased.

A talented author knows how to preface his books; so Satan knows how to preface his temptations. The whole series with which he made his assaults upon Christ was prefaced by casting a subtle doubt upon his sonship, through a crafty quotation from the Scriptures. He seldom comes with point-blank denials. That would be too startling, and arouse the fears of his victim. A sly doubt suggested is much better for his purpose; and it does not make any difference where he tries to graft in his “if.” By this means he makes the doubt look like a holy anxiety to be just right. He will place his “if” in such a way as to contradict the plainest scripture. He will make it antagonize a former, and even recent, manifestation of divine communion, as in the case of Christ. At Christ’s baptism, God had said, plainly, “Thou art my beloved Son;” and yet the devil had the impudence to suggest, “If thou be the Son of God.” And if the tempter could thus unblushingly assail the perfect character of Christ, with his insinuations, how much more will he make his attacks upon us, with all our weaknesses, imperfections, and shortcomings.

To make his “ifs” more potent, he supports them with all the collateral evidence of our environment; brings up all the circumstances which seem to support his contention. Note how he worked this plan in reference to Christ: “If thou be the Son of God;” but you are out here alone in the wilderness. If you are his Son, would he desert you thus? And here you are in a desert; is this a proper place to bring one who has such a mission to perform, as you claim to have? And you are with the wild beasts; is that a proper companionship for the Son of God? And you are greatly an hungered; would a loving Father permit his beloved Son to hunger in this manner?—No; you can not, thus situated, be the Son of God. Thus the temptation comes home with tremendous force, as in the case of Esau, who, in like circumstances, sold his birthright for a mess of pottage.

How differently does our Lord make use of this little monosyllable “if.” Satan uses it to cast doubt and discouragement; our Lord uses it to inspire faith and hope and courage. Take two examples: “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [and we do believe this], even so them also, which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.” Again: “If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven [we know that this is so], shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” What a contrast between this challenge to faith and confidence in God, and the malicious insinuations of the enemy against him!

But if overcome, all these efforts to prostrate us with an “if,” become so many sources of help, encouragement, and comfort. For Satan would not try to make anyone believe he is not a Son of God, if that were not, already, really the case; for Satan makes his assaults only upon the truth. His work is to promote and cultivate lies, of which he is the father. This, then, becomes good testimony to our real relation with God. God had one Son without corruption, but he has none without temptation; and the more nearly we live to God, the more the enemy will attempt to harass us with his evil suggestions, doubts, and insinuations.

Are we in such relation to God, and making such advancement in spiritual things, that Satan would feel it to be worth his while to try to raise a question about our sonship, our regeneration, and connection with God, and so try to cast us down and destroy us? If so, let us take courage, and press bravely onward; for our Lord has left us this word: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

U. S.

WOMEN PHYSICIANS: MEDICAL MISSIONARIES—AN OFFICIAL CALL TO CHINA.

At the graduating exercises of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, May 16, the Chinese minister to the United States made a speech in which he presented the opportunities and advantages of medical missionaries, and especially women physicians, in China. For the information of all, and especially of our medical and nurses’ classes, we are glad to present here that part of the minister’s speech:—

The question of professional training for women is different from that of higher education. In China it is generally believed that there is one sphere of action for women and another for men in the social economy. The physiological differences of the sexes seem to bear out this view. At any rate the world has acted upon it for ages.

I am glad that women in this country have gained such a strong position in the medical profession that they can hardly now be dislodged. In many respects, medicine, of all the professions, seems to be most suited for women, especially certain branches of it, such as obstetrics, gynecology, and the like. Throughout the length and breadth of the Chinese Empire, midwifery is practised only by women. You observe from this that the men in China recognize the principle that some things can be much better done by women, and have the good sense to yield to the necessities of the situation. I wish I could say this much of the men in America, for I am not a little surprised to learn that for all the boast of Anglo-Saxon fairness and chivalry, medical women have had a hard time in fighting their way against strong opposition at every step to public recognition and professional standing. I am sure they would receive a better treatment in China. Anyone who has sufficient skill and knowledge in the art of healing is freely allowed to practise, irrespective of nationality, sex, or creed, so long as he or she can get patients.

If the good people of this and other countries had confined themselves to sending only medical missionaries to China, I should think missionary troubles in my country would rarely happen; for this is a kind of philanthropy that even the masses can appreciate. A physician carries with him his own recommendation.

Horace Greeley, one of your noted men in journalism, used to advise young men to go west to seek their fortunes. If you were to ask my advice to-day I would say with Horace Greeley, “Go west, young women, and stop not on this side of the Pacific, but rather push on till you gain the further shore.” China has, it is generally estimated, a population of four hundred million, and at least half that number are women. While men physicians are numerous, and the male portion of the community is thus well taken care of, the number of women doctors with the requisite medical training is very small. If, therefore, you should find the profession too crowded in this country, my advice to you is, go to China. There is room enough and work enough in my country for you all.

Christianity More Christianized

AT one evening session of the recent Ecumenical Conference in New York, Dr. T. L. Cuyler said, “It is time our Christianity was more Christianized.” He said that “American and English missionaries have gone forth with the Bible in one hand and the rum bottle in the other. The bottle has sent ten souls to perdition where the Bible has brought one to Jesus. What a shame to-night that Old Glory waves over forty drinking dens in the city of Manila!”

THE WINE OF BABYLON IN THE VESSELS FROM THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.

By W. W. P.

Dan. 5:1-4.

With the death of Nebuchadnezzar the greatness of Babylon began to wane, and at the end of only a quarter of a century the armies of Medo-Persia under Cyrus were before the city. Foreseeing this rapid decline of Babylon’s glory, the God of heaven had said through the prophet Jeremiah, “And all nations shall serve him [Nebuchadnezzar], and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.” The history of Babylon under the immediate successors of Nebuchadnezzar plainly shows to what an extent the character of the king determines the greatness and the permanency of the dominion. Although it had been revealed in the experiences of Nebuchadnezzar that “the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will,” and that he is “the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment,” and these great truths had been proclaimed to all the world, so that all men “might put their confidence in God, and not forget God’s doings, and keep his commands,” yet “they soon forgat his works.” The gospel of the kingdom, which had been made known to Nebuchadnezzar in the great threefold experience of the dream of the image, the deliverance of the three Hebrews from the furnace, and the dream of the tree, had been declared to all by a royal proclamation, and thus the lesson was just as personal as if each one had passed through the experiences for himself. But the message had been disregarded, and the living God had not been glorified, and now the armies of the conqueror were at the gates.

It is no wonder that Belshazzar the king regarded the city of Babylon as impregnable. Its wall was about three hundred and fifty feet high, and about eighty-five feet thick at the top. There were one hundred gates “of solid brass, with brazen lintels and posts, and fastened with bars of iron.” The river Euphrates flowed diagonally through the city, with strong walls built on each bank. A good proportion of the land inclosed within the walls was cultivated, so that it was able to produce enough to supply the actual needs of the people in the city. Thus with gates closed the inhabitants could endure a siege of indefinite duration. But the sequel showed that walls lofty and thick, and gates of brass, are no protection against the enemy, when the men within the walls and gates refuse the God of heaven as their Rock and their Fortress. “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

In order to show his utter contempt for the besieging army, and his perfect confidence in the protection afforded by the walls and gates and the resources of Babylon, Belshazzar the king determined to celebrate with unusual abandon the annual feast of the god Tammuz.

“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.”

What a picture of reckless and impious debauchery is here given! Wives, concubines, princes, and a thousand lords all joined in drunkenness and licentious revelry, led on by the king himself, while a powerful and determined foe were besieging the city. And not only was the enemy outside the walls thus mocked at, but the “King of heaven” was himself insulted in the most studied and public manner by the king of Babylon. The wine of Babylon was drunk in the vessels from the temple of the true God as an act of worship of the idols, and praise was given at the same time to the gods which were “graven by art and man’s device.” It was a public and formal repudiation on the part of Belshazzar the king, of that gospel of the kingdom which had been received and proclaimed by his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. Under the influence of the same messages, the one glorified him that liveth forever, while the other praised the work of men’s hands. As an inevitable consequence, one was established in his kingdom, the other lost both his life and his kingdom. Each one made his choice, and the result indicated the nature of the choice. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

From our study as to what the Lord includes under the name of Babylon, we are prepared to see that this account of the fall of Babylon is both a history and a prophecy, and that in the circumstances and causes which led to the fall of Babylon of the Chaldees is to be found a prophecy of the circumstances and the causes which lead to the fall of Babylon in our own time. We ought therefore to study in this connection some of the scriptures which deal with these things. Of the woman described in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, upon whose forehead was the name “Babylon the great,” it is said that “the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” Verse 2. And the message of the second of the three angels, who has “the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth,” to prepare a people for the coming of the Son of man, is given in these words: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, which hath made all the nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Rev. 14:8, R. V.

The connection between these statements and the account of the idolatrous feast of Belshazzar and the fall of Babylon is certainly very clear. It was “whiles he tasted the wine,” or “through the counsel of the wine,” that Belshazzar gave the command to use the vessels from the house of God in the worship of the idols. Thus the vessels were from the city of God, having been made according to the Lord’s own instruction to be used in his worship, but in them was put the wine of Babylon, and as a result of this “confusion” of Jerusalem and Babylon the praise which was due to the living God was given to the false gods. But these idols were “the work of men’s hands,” the visible expression of their own ideas, and were therefore simply a deification of their own thoughts concerning religion, which they put in the place of the revelation which the high God had made of himself and the gospel of his kingdom in his dealing with Nebuchadnezzar. Thus in rejecting the gospel of the kingdom and the authority of the Most High, and in teaching the heathen rites, Belshazzar was exalting himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, and was blinding the minds of all the people to the true teaching of the kingship of God.

This same thing has been done during all the centuries since the time of Belshazzar, by those who have either openly rejected the true God, or else have set aside the revelation which he has made of himself and his will concerning man’s relationship to him, the laws of his kingdom, and have substituted their own ideas of God, and their own ideas as to how he should be worshiped, and their own interpretation of his law, even when professing to be his loyal servants. Thus it was in the time of Jesus, and of such he said: “Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men.”

To his people the Lord says, “I am married unto you,” and, “Thy Maker is thine husband.” Therefore when they leave him, and refuse to live any longer in right relationship with him, he speaks of such conduct as fornication or adultery; and to lead his people into such a departure from him is to cause them to commit fornication. When the church as a whole has thus separated from God, it is no longer regarded as a “chaste virgin,” but as an impure woman, a harlot. And so the papacy, which claims to be the only true church, but which has in reality put man in the place of God, and the traditions of men in the place of the commandments of God, is represented under this symbol in the seventeenth chapter of Revelation. The influence of the example and teaching of the papacy in leading others to depart from obedience to the commandments of the true God is set forth in these words: “They that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication;” “which did corrupt the earth with her fornication;” “which hath made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Rev. 17:2; 19:2; 14:8, R. V.

In the great Reformation of the sixteenth century there was a coming out from this apostate church with “the Bible only” as the watchword, and justification by faith as the platform. Those who thus received the true gospel of the kingdom protested against the complete substitution of the human for the divine in all the worship and service of God, and so were called “protestants.” Had the reform which was thus begun been consistently carried forward, it would have led to a complete return to the beliefs and experiences of the early Christian church, and a people would thus have been made ready for the coming of the Lord. But in the course of time the movement became crystallized around the reforms introduced by the leaders in this great work, and no further progress was made. And so another movement was necessary to reform the reformers, and to do the work which they might have done in preparing a people for the coming of the Lord. Thus was inaugurated in 1830-40 the great advent message which is still being proclaimed, which is simply an appeal for the acceptance of the word of God as it reads, a dis-

carding of all the traditions of men, and a living faith in the fullness of the experience of justification by faith in Jesus Christ. But alas! the successors of the reformers of the sixteenth century as a body rejected the message, clung to the traditions of the past, and became “protestants” only in name. They drank of the wine of her fornication, and while separated in name, they really went over in principle to the ground held so long by the papacy, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,” depending upon the past history of the church and upon the names of men whom God had used in the commencement of the work of reform. This has resulted in greatly increased worldliness in the church, in a loss of the old-time power, and in a general failure to recognize and to embrace the opportunity offered to preach this gospel of the kingdom. And thus have the names and the forms of the house of God been used in professedly maintaining the principles of the kingdom, but in reality in exalting man above God, in substituting the traditions of men for the plain teaching of the word of God.

All this is acted out before us in the record of Belshazzar’s feast. In the cups from the Lord’s house was the wine of Babylon drunk, and under its influence the creations of the minds of men were put in the place of the Creator of all things, and right principles became “confused.” Thus because of the fall of the men in Babylon the way was prepared for the fall of Babylon, and that too, during a time of feasting and drunkenness.

In our day this prophetic history is being repeated. The enemy of God and man is come down “having great wrath,” and “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,” but instead of watching unto prayer, many are given over to “surfeiting and drunkenness,” the wine of Babylon is drunk even in the cup of the Lord, and the true God, the King of heaven, is not glorified. And even now the darkness of the last night of the feasting is settling down upon the inhabitants of the world. Who will give the true gospel message? Who will cry, “Behold your God!” W. W. P.

The Summer School—Why Is It Needed?

By E. A. Sutherland

“There is earnest work to be done for the children. Before the overflowing scourge shall come upon all the dwellers upon the earth the Lord calls upon all who are Israelites indeed to serve him. Gather your children into your own houses; gather them in from the classes who are voicing the words of Satan, who are disobeying the commandments of God. Get out of the cities as soon as possible. Establish church schools. Gather in your children, and give them the word of God as the foundation of all their education. Had the churches in different localities sought counsel of God they would not need to be thus addressed on this point.”

If there is any one thing above another which the Lord is now striving to impress upon the hearts of parents, it is that they have a duty to perform in the matter of the education of their children.

For years Seventh-day Adventists have quoted Joel 2:28: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, . . . your young men shall see visions,” forgetting meanwhile that this promise is prefaced by the words, “it shall come to pass afterward.” The conditions which must exist before the young men and women are baptized with the Spirit are entirely overlooked. Children can not be entrusted with the Spirit of Prophecy until they are properly educated. At least we may say, This spirit will be given when they are educated as God says they should be. This is told in the seventeenth verse of the chapter before noticed, in the words, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them.”

Children are the Lord’s heritage (Ps. 127 : 3), and they can be said to be under heathen rule only when they are in schools where the philosophy of the heathen is daily taught. Therefore we have the instruction, “Establish church schools. Gather in your children, and give them the word of God as the foundation of all their education.”

That this should have been done years ago is evident from the words, “Had the churches in different localities sought counsel of God they would not need to be thus addressed on this point.”

The summer school is for the training of teachers who will be able to make the word of God the foundation of all education.

Success in the Christian school depends to a large degree upon the ability of the teacher and the attitude of the church toward Christian education. There is a work to be done in the churches. A move to start a school will serve to unify the members, and this will in turn assist in carrying on the school.

Bear in mind that the young men and women who attend the summer school do so in order to return to the churches bearing the truth of Christian education. Remember the work, pray for it, and thus help it forward.

E. A. SUTHERLAND.

NEED OF A TRAINED MINISTRY.

The cause of God needs more ministers and Bible workers. Other departments have absorbed an undue proportion of our young people of late, causing a dearth of well qualified laborers in these departments of the work.

“Workers are needed all over the world. The truth of God is to be carried to foreign lands, that those in darkness may be enlightened by it. God requires that a zeal be shown in this direction infinitely greater than has hitherto been manifested. Cultivated intellect is now needed in the cause of God, for novices can not do the work acceptably. God has devised our colleges as an instrumentality for developing workers of which he will not be ashamed. The height man may reach by cultivation has not hitherto been realized. We have among us more than the average of young men of ability. If their talents were brought into use, we should have twenty ministers where we now have one.”

Ministers are called of God, not made by a course of study. But the call to service is also a call to preparation for the most effective labor, and a wisely adapted course of study may become a great help to the man who is called of God. “Those who are not qualified to present the truth in a proper manner need not be perplexed in regard to their duty. Their place is that of learners, not teachers. Young men who wish to prepare for the ministry are greatly benefited by attending our colleges.”

“Some young men who enter the field are not successful in teaching the truth to others, because they have not been educated themselves.” “A great injury is often done our young men by permitting them to begin to preach when they have not sufficient knowledge of the Scriptures to present our faith in an intelligent manner.”

The anointing of the Holy Spirit is the first requisite to success in the sacred office of the ministry, and this fact may have led some to “reason that the Lord will by his Spirit qualify a man to speak as he would have him; but the Lord does not propose to do the work which he has given man to do. He has given us reasoning powers, and opportunities to educate mind and manners. And after we have done all we can for ourselves, making the best use of the advantages within our reach, then we may look to God with earnest prayer to do by his Spirit that which we can not do for ourselves, and we shall ever find in our Saviour power and efficiency.”

For a description of the Ministers’ Department in Keene Academy, write to C. C. Lewis, Keene, Tex.

EXPERIENCES EN ROUTE.

By Ludwig Richard Conradi

February 28, I left Hamburg for a seven-weeks’ trip in Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland. The first Sabbath I spent at our industrial school at Friedensau, and we organized a church of thirty members, and had the ordinances here. The students numbered twenty at the time, and we were getting ready to erect our sanitarium. From here I visited Magdeburg, Cöthen, Hannover, Bielefeld, Gütersloh, Düsseldorf, Elberfeld, Barmen, Essen, Gladbach, March 3 baptizing eleven persons at Vohwinkle. At all the places mentioned the work is onward and the workers, Brethren Mathe, Schubert, Baumann and Küller are of good courage.

A few hours’ ride from Gladbach brought me to Lüttich and Seraing, Belgium, where Brethren Augsburger and Gwin are laboring. While northern Belgium uses the Dutch, the southern uses the Vallon, a French dialect, and among these we have a company of ten members. They are miners, and while visiting their scattered homes, I was surprised to find that nearly every alternate house we passed was a saloon, or café, as they are called here. About twenty-five attended our meeting in the evening, after which we had the ordinances. While Belgium is nearly all Catholic, yet by issuing the proper publications at a cheap rate much seed can surely be sown, and to good account.

March 14, I reached Paris, where I was happy to meet Dr. Kress in improved health. Sister Kress was also here. For eight days Brother F. Roth and myself hunted over this huge city for a suitable quarter for a medical mission, and to become personally acquainted with the situation here. Finally we secured one for $280 a year, at Autueil, Rue Dangeau 5, about fifteen minutes’ walk from the exposition at Paris. The lodging is near to train, steamboat, and the ring railway. Besides Brother Roth and his wife, one colporteur is already here, and several others are to follow. Our plan is to circulate the French journal at one cent a copy, and some smaller publications. We hope that our French brethren in America will take a deep interest in both the Paris mission and also the French journal.

From here I went to Lyons, where Elder Tièche met me, spent one evening with the small company here and then proceeded to Anduze, where we had a general meeting for southern France from March 23-25. About thirty were in attendance from Nîmes, Branges, Calvisson, Valence, etc. Two brethren had walked twenty-five miles from the Department of Tarn to reach this meeting. Their church had been visited only twice in seven years, and yet it had prospered. This seems to me ample testimony that there is some stable material among these mountains and rocks where so many nobly struggled during the papal persecution. We had good meetings, and though poor, they contributed twenty-four dollars for the Paris mission.

My next stopping place was at fashionable Nice, where we had thus far four medical workers and one evangelist. Some interest is developed, but no results are obtained thus far; but our medical missionaries have established the fact that self-sustaining work can be done here, and at the same time precious seeds of truth be sown.

For the first time I crossed then into Italy, spending nearly four days at Rome in the interest of the work. Few Sabbath-keepers are here, and I hope that the day is not far distant when we shall have a worker located here also, to give the warning message at the very seat and center of the papal power. I spent two days at Turin and in the Valdensian Valleys, where Brethren Curdy and Geymet are laboring with an apparently good interest. Upward of one hundred attend their meeting. I was glad to form an acquaintance with our people here. Italy surely is more promising in many ways than other fields we occupy; but in order to reap, we must sow; without expense, no return; and without labor, no result.

After spending two days to good profit with the Central European Conference Committee and the publishing and sanitarium boards at Basel, we had a general meeting for German Switzerland at Zürich. The Lord has blessed the efforts of Elder Erzenberger here, and a church of seventy members is the result. We had excellent meetings, also celebrated the ordinances together, and four of the youth decided to attend our school at Friedensau. At Basel I met Dr. Lindsay, and together we visited our companies at Darmstadt, Frankfort, also Friedensau and Hamburg, and she told of her experiences in South Africa.

It was also my privilege to baptize one person at Cassel, and three at Magdeburg. At Kaiserslautern, where Brother Scharf labors, about fifteen have recently taken hold of the truth. April 15 I spent at Berlin, where Elder Wagner lately baptized about eighteen. I am now on my way to Russia, to attend a general meeting.

L. R. CONRADI.

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