Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 27. (7/17/1884)

Signs of the Times

Jul 17, 1884

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 17, 1884

“Walk in the Light.”

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

“THERE is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Ignorance is no excuse for error or sin, when there is every opportunity to know the will of God. A man is traveling, and comes to a place where there are several roads, and a guide-board indicating where each one leads. If he disregards the guide-board, and takes whichever road seems to him to be right, he may be ever so sincere, but will in all probability find himself on the wrong road.

God’s word is given us that we may become acquainted with its teachings. We there read that if we do his will, we shall know of the doctrine. Ignorance will not excuse young or old, or release them from the punishment due for the transgression of God’s law, because there is in their hands a faithful presentation of that law and of its principles and its claims. It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not enough to do what a man thinks is right, or what the minister tells him is right. His soul’s salvation is at stake, and he should search the Scriptures for himself. However strong may be his convictions, however confident he may be that the minister knows what is truth, this is not his foundation. He has a chart pointing out every waymark on the heavenward journey, and he ought not to guess at anything, but to know what is truth. He should search the Scriptures on bended knees; morning, noon, and night, prayer should ascend from secret places, and a continual prayer should arise from his heart that God will guide him into all truth.

The word of God gives men no liberty to set up a standard of righteousness of their own, as many do who claim to be without sin. They do not compare their characters with the great standard, the law of Jehovah. While they are holy, judged by their own imperfect standard, the Scriptures present them as sinful Pharisees, under the condemnation of the law of God, which they transgress daily. They walk after the imagination of their own heart, and follow their own devices. Yet many of these persons are sincere. They think they are right; for “there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Feeling is no criterion for any one; the assertions of men are no evidence of truth. “To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”

Men present many theories and doctrines, and this is the reason that so many claim to be sinless while they are transgressors of the law. Should they look into God’s great mirror, they would start back with horror. They would say with Paul, “I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” Oh, how many forsake the “Fountain of living waters,” and hew them out “cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” This is a correct representation of the spurious holiness so prevalent in the world to-day. But God’s way is the humble way of penitence, faith, and obedience, and no human substitute will be accepted. “Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it; thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” But all this vain boasting of holiness is not of God.

The Lord declared to ancient Israel, “Ye shall not do . . . every man what is right in his own eyes,” but ye shall “observe and hear all these words which I command thee.” And he promised them, “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments,” he “shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers,” and “thou shalt be blessed above all people.”

Will you, dear reader, examine critically the reasons of your faith by the law and the testimony? Satan has many by-paths strewn with tempting flowers, that lead directly to the broad way to death and hell. Our only safety is in the path of obedience. Men cannot follow their own desires, and be right. They not only involve their own souls in ruin, but by their example they imperil others also.

God is exact to mark iniquity. Sins of thoughtlessness, negligence, forgetfulness, and even ignorance, have been visited by some of the most wonderfully marked manifestations of his displeasure. Many who have suffered terrible punishment for their sins, might have pleaded as plausibly as do those of to-day who fall into similar errors, that they meant no harm, and some would even say that they thought they were doing God service; but the light shone on them, and they disregarded it.

Let us look at some of the examples found in sacred history. Assisted by his sons, Aaron had offered the sacrifices that God required; and he lifted up his hands and blessed the people. All had been done as God commanded, and he accepted the sacrifice, and revealed his glory in a most remarkable manner; for fire came from the Lord, and consumed the offering upon the altar. The people looked upon this wonderful manifestation of divine power with awe and intense interest. They saw in it a token of his glory and his favor, and they raised a universal shout of praise and adoration, and fell on their faces, as if in the immediate presence of Jehovah.

As the prayers and praise of the people were ascending before God, two of the sons of Aaron took each his censer, and burned fragrant incense thereon, to arise as a sweet odor before God. But they had partaken too freely of wine, and used strange fire, contrary to the Lord’s commandment. And the wrath of God was kindled against Nadab and Abihu for their disobedience, and a fire went out from the Lord, and devoured them in the sight of the people. By this judgment God designed to teach the people that they must approach him with reverence and awe, and in his own appointed manner. He is not pleased with partial obedience. It was not enough that in this solemn season of worship nearly everything was done as he commanded.

The Lord sent Samuel to King Saul with a special message. “Go,” he said, “and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” Saul was faithful and zealous in performing a part of his commission. He smote the Amalekites with a great slaughter; but he took the proposition of the people before the command of God, and spared Agag, the king, and “the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good.”

The Lord commanded Saul to “utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.” The Lord knew that this wicked nation would, if it were possible, blot out his people and his worship from the earth; and for this reason he had commanded that even the little children should be cut off. But Saul had spared the king, the most wicked and merciless of them all; one who had hated and destroyed the people of God, and whose influence had been strongest to promote idolatry.

Saul thought he had done all that was essential of that which the Lord commanded him to do. Perhaps he even flattered himself that he was more merciful than his Maker, as do some unbelievers in our day. He met Samuel with the salutation, “Blessed be thou of the Lord; I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” But when the prophet asked what meant the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen which he heard, Saul was obliged to confess that the people had taken of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord in Gilgal.

Did the Lord accept this justification of Saul’s conduct? Was he pleased with this partial obedience, and willing to pass over the trifle that had been neglected out of so good a motive? Saul did what he thought was best, and would not the Lord commend such excellent judgment? No. Said Samuel, “Hath the

Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

These instances show how God looks upon his professed people when they obey part of his commandments while in other respects they follow a course of their own choosing. Let no one flatter himself that a part of God’s requirements are nonessential. He has placed no command in his word that men may obey or disobey at will, and not suffer the consequences. If men choose any other path than that of strict obedience, they will find that “the end thereof are the ways of death.”

THE LAST VERDICT.

By Charlotte M. Packard

"Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." Matt. 25: 23.

"NAY," she said, with her drooping face, "I have done nought to deserve thy grace, Nought but the simple duties at hand; Give to another thy large command."

Answered her Lord, "Who guards the few, Is faithful unto the many too. The perfect measure of large and small Lies in the Hand that incloses all."

"I have been maiden and wife and mother, A very woman! like any other; Giving love and patience and care, Sweetening my toil with the breath of prayer."

"Hast thou not ministered to the saints? Quelled the murmur of harsh complaints? Craved for the erring a larger scope? Chided with meekness, and cheered with hope?"

"Have I?" she thrilled with the deep surprise, "Have I so wrought in the Master's eyes?" And lo! to the vision no longer dim, All things look noble if done to him! —Charlotte M. Packard.

The Unspeakable Gift.

By Prof. J. H. Pettingell

THERE are many and various divine gifts spoken of in the Scripture; as the gift of prophecy, the gift of faith, the gift of Jesus Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, etc. Indeed, all favors are the gifts of God. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above." But among all these gifts is there not one so pre-eminently great and precious as to be properly designated "the gift of God?" Is not this what the apostle Paul meant when he exclaimed, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift?" If so, what is this gift? The many gifts of God contributing to our salvation may, in one sense, be regarded as one gift, for they all are connected with each other, and any one of them, when regarded by itself, may well be considered as great and unspeakable. But looking at them in their order, there seems to be one that is chief among them all, and around which all others cluster in subordination, and to which they are tributary. It is this, we think, to which the apostle refers. What is it? Or rather is it not the gift of eternal life?

We know it is quite common to call the gospel the gift. We have heard eloquent discourses preached from this text, in which the excellency and glory of the gospel were set forth as the special theme suggested by it. But the gospel is only the proclamation of the gift. It is not the gift itself. The word "gospel" means good news. What is the good news which the gospel proclaims? It is this that makes it so excellent and precious. It is nothing at all apart from its theme.

But the gift spoken of is more generally understood to be Jesus Christ himself. Commentators have quite commonly assumed this to be so, without any question. Preachers have almost universally made this text the foundation of their discourses on the glory of Christ. It is so customary among Christian people to take this view, that they are hardly prepared for any other. But after carefully considering the passage in its connection, and especially in comparison with other similar expressions, we are strongly inclined to think he had something beyond this in view; that it was not so much the person of Christ, as what God has given us through Christ, that he denominated as the unspeakable gift.

In one sense, and an important one, Christ may be said to be the gift of God, for he came by the will of God. He came also of his own will, and "gave himself for us." But whether we consider him as given by the Father or by himself, it was for a purpose. It is to his errand in coming, and not simply to his coming, that our attention is directed. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son"—our thoughts do not rest here, but on what follows—"that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." This, then, is the gift through Christ, everlasting life. Or, if we consider the gift as from Christ himself, it is the same. He gave himself to redeem us from death. He laid down his life for us—not to save us from the punishment of never-ending misery, but to redeem us from death. He came to die that we might live, and live forevermore. He came to lift us out of the perishing condition into which sin had brought us, and to make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance that is "incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away"—to impart to us his own life, a spiritual life which is infinitely higher and better and more enduring than the life received by natural birth. He came not as the ultimate gift of God's love, but rather as the medium by which that gift—the gift of eternal life—is communicated to us.

To illustrate: When some years ago the people of Ireland were perishing by famine, we generously sent them, as a gift, a whole shipload of provisions in a Government vessel. The good news of our bounty sounded in the ears of perishing men, like the gospel message of salvation. The stately ship by which the gift was sent, bearing the flag of our Union, and accompanied by our Government officers, appeared beautiful and glorious in their eyes. But the good news was not the gift itself, nor the good ship that bore it, for that comes back, but rather what was brought by the ship. And while, in thanking us for our munificent bounty, they could not be unmindful of the kindly disposition that prompted it, and the illustrious manner of its bestowment, it was for the gift itself, and the relief and salvation it brought them, that they were especially grateful. Had they not really needed it, or had it been a meager gift, no matter what the splendor of its accompaniments, it would have failed to receive so hearty and grateful a recognition. So it is with God's "unspeakable gift" to perishing men. We deem it the more important to insist on this view of the passage, from the fact that it is so common to cover up its real significance, while descanting upon the excellency of the gospel and the love and mercy of the Saviour; to overlook the gift itself, in the splendor of its accompaniments; to deny, in part, man's perishing condition, and so to construe the gospel and the works of Christ in his behalf, as greatly to depreciate their value, and even to render the gift itself a ground of offense to those for whom it was intended. If man already possesses immortality as an indefeasible inheritance from Adam, then surely he needed no such "gift of God through Jesus Christ." If man never forfeited his life by sin, then surely Christ did not die, or need not to have died, to redeem him from death. If all men are already immortal, it is but mockery to urge them to seek for immortality under the promise of eternal life through Christ.

If the glorious gospel is construed to mean nothing more than the proclamation of a way of escape from a doom that is absolutely incredible; if it be offered with an alternative which no right-minded man can accept or ought to accept as the just desert of the whole human race at the hands of their Creator, it will be as it, alas, too often is, brought into contempt and made of none effect. If men be told that Christ, the Son of God, died to save them from what they believe to be a fictitious and imaginary peril, however much they may praise the self-sacrificing kindness of the Son, when contrasted with the infinite injustice of the Father, they will turn away from his overtures with indifference and unbelief. The high-sounding phrases in which Christ as the gift of God is set forth by those who are sent to offer eternal life to dying men through a crucified Saviour will pass for idle words in the ears of those who have been taught to discredit their perishing condition, and to depreciate the work of him who died that they might live.

But let them be assured, as God's word plainly teaches, that they are born of a mortal race, and are hastening to death; that it is not in the power of morality nor of good works to translate them into the kingdom of God, which is the only everlasting kingdom, nor to give them that spiritual life which is necessary to enter it, and which is the only life that is eternal; that it was the special mission of the Son of God to bring this kingdom down to earth, and to introduce mortal man into it by a new spiritual birth, and, as the One "who only hath immortality," to give them his own eternal life, that they might live and reign with him forever; that this is the gift which God's love provided, and which he himself came to bring us; and that he even gave his life to ransom us from the power of death—our common inheritance—and to make us "heirs according to the hope of eternal life;" and that now this heavenly boon is offered freely in the gospel to every man, without money and without price; and who can fail to be touched by such wonderful love and grace, and to exclaim with the apostle, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift"—the gift of eternal life to perishing mortals.

This would seem to be the meaning of Paul's explanation. He is endeavoring to stir up the Corinthian Christians to a liberal contribution in aid of their suffering brethren. What more natural than that he should call to mind God's amazing love in translating them from the power of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son, and in making them, who were born of a mortal race, heirs together with him of everlasting life? And what more appropriate than that he should enforce his appeal by the remembrance of this unspeakable gift!

But we need not, surely, hesitate to accept this view, when we see how repeatedly Christ himself designates this eternal life, which he came to impart, as "the gift of God." In his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, he says: "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given thee living water." "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

To the unbelieving Jews who were hoping for salvation as God's special favorites, through obedience to the law, and who spurned the gift at his hands, he said: "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life." (But they encourage no such hope excepting through me as your Saviour.) "They are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Again, referring to this gift, in his intercessory prayer, he says: "Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." But why is it needful to cite the many other passages bearing on this point, when it is expressly declared, in words that can hardly be misconstrued, that the gift of God, which is pre-eminent among all his other gifts, and which includes them all, is the gift of eternal life? "For the wages of sin is death, but THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD." Rom. 6: 23.

The True Worth of a Man

"WHAT is he worth?" is a question often asked,—How much is he worth in dollars and cents? This is the way that men estimate one another. The Lord has a different standard of estimating the worth of men. What is he worth to my church? What is he worth to my cause in Christian example and service? What is he worth in doing good, and in labors to bless and save the world? How much better will the world be for his having lived in it? These are questions of serious import, and should be carefully and prayerfully considered. Seek to be rich towards God, and your worth to God and his cause cannot be estimated on earth.—Zion's Herald.

The Half, or the Whole?

By Theodore Ledyard Cuyler

AMONG my half-dozen favorite characters in the Old Testament is Caleb, the grand old Puritan of the Hebrew commonwealth. Noah and Lot fell into sensualities; Moses lost his temper sometimes, and David came very near losing his soul. But the splendid eulogy of Caleb is repeated three times—“He hath followed me faithfully,” “he followed me wholly,” and “he hath followed me wholly.” While the murmurers and the cowards perished in the desert, steady and loyal old Caleb lived to reach Canaan, and became the possessor of the verdant acres around Hebron. After the long wars were over, he tasted of the grapes of victory.

Caleb is a type of the out-and-out Christian. Periodical piety is plenty and cheap. A sensational announcement of some novelty, or “extra attraction,” calls such spasmodic professors out in swarms; but when the sensation is over, they subside. Such sheet lightning never strikes; such vapors bring no rains. What the churches of Christ need to give them vigor and solid success is not bustle, but business; not parade and pious puffery, but steady patience, prayer, and persevering work. The tendency to transient “spurts” of enthusiasm is a weakness of the American character, and it is painfully apparent often in our moral and religious enterprises. We need more thorough-going service of Christ—that never surrenders or sleeps on its arms. We want the full following of Jesus, with the whole heart and for the whole campaign. Christ inaugurated his church on the principle of entire consecration. “He that is not with me is against me.” Over the doorway of admission to the kingdom he inscribed—“Whosoever will follow me, let him leave all!” It was out-and-out discipleship or nothing. “Sell all that thou hast and come and follow me,” frightened the poor rich young ruler back to his farm and to his fate. Jesus allowed no compromise. He sifted his followers by severe tests, and out of the whole number there remained about one hundred and twenty of the Caleb stamp, who went up into the upper room and organized Christianity.

To become an out-and-out Christian, requires a thorough regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. We must not only work with the Spirit but let the Spirit work in us. Half-way converts make half-way Christians. Too many professors hang their boughs over on the church side of the wall, but their roots are on the world’s side. Such yield nothing but leaves. Unless conversion be radical and thorough, unless the surrender of the soul to the Saviour be unconditional and uncompromising, there will be half-heartedness and halting to the last. It takes a great many of such half-Christians to make a single whole Christian. Caleb followed his God wholly, because “he had another spirit within him.” He loved his God with all his heart and all his mind and might.

There is a prodigious power in this single-eyed love of Jesus. A man of very moderate talents soon becomes a leader in every good work when Christ gets complete hold upon him. In calling over the roll of my church I can point to more than one plain, modest, unselfish Christian who has attained to a great propelling power simply from the momentum of his piety. He follows the Master in such projective and whole-souled fashion that he moves others by his sheer momentum. Brain power and purse power have their place, but heart power reaches God through prayer, and reaches men through sympathy, and outweighs all the rest.

The first requisite for the pulpit, for the Sunday-school teacher, for the leadership in any good work, is thorough-going godliness. When a certain young minister was lauded for his brilliant eloquence, etc., a thoughtful lady asked very significantly, “Is he Christ’s man?” If not, all else was a sounding cymbal.

Thorough-going piety never whimpers, “I pray thee, have me excused,” never commutes with the Master for half-fare; never puts off God with half a Sabbath; never interprets the Bible in the loose latitudinarian sense; and on all doubtful questions gives conscience the casting vote. This sort of Christian can stand both pressure and pinch; he “loves duty, even in all the wholesome severities of it.” There are quite too many imitators of Peter Pindar’s pilgrim, who, having been commanded to make a long journey with peas in his shoes, took the sly precaution to boil his peas before he started. These self-indulgers are very willing to go heavenward provided they can have a cushioned seat in the parlor car. Their attendance upon God’s house often depends upon the state of the barometer, and upon the two vital questions, “Who is to preach?” and “How is the music?” Caleb’s little finger outweighs a regiment of them.

The best Christians are those who are as good in ordinary times as they are in the warm, stimulating atmosphere of a revival. It is easy to catch fire and sparkle then; wet wood will burn in a great bonfire. It was easy for Caleb to exercise faith when he was feasting on the vineyards and ripe fruits of Canaan; but to keep his faith alive amid an army of mutineers, and through forty years of desert marches, demanded both pluck and principle. Half a heart would soon have made him a whole coward.

Revivals are precious blessings; God send us more of them! But they also exhibit in a sad light the indolence and worldliness of those church members who never lift an ounce at any other time. Revivals fill up a church; but ordinary seasons sift them. We pastors find out who are our Calebs in the seasons of dryness and drouth; they are the men and women who keep up a strong and steady pull in all weathers, without any need of a bribe or the stimulus of an excitement. Their lamps never go out; their salt never loses its savor.

To which of these classes belongest thou, my friend? Does Christ own but half of thee? Then look out lest Satan does not get all of thee. A whole heart for Jesus here, will ensure a whole Heaven with him hereafter.—Rev. T. L. Cuyler.

“Nothing Wavering.”

EARLY in our Saviour’s ministry occurred a marked instance of perfect faith in making request of the Lord of Mercy. It was just after the delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, and as he reached Capernaum. There was residing in that city a centurion—a Roman army officer, answering nearly to a captain in a modern army. He, like Cornelius, of whom we read in the book of Acts, had been deeply impressed by the superiority of the Jewish religion, as consisting of the worship of one God without the use of images. He seems to have become a believer in Judaism, and an admirer of the moral superiority of the nation which the Roman army had conquered. Being a man of wealth, he built their synagogue at his own expense—possibly the very one whose ornate remains have lately been discovered at Tell Hum, which many suppose to be the site of ancient Capernaum. At this time he had a servant, to whom he was much attached, lying at the point of death with the palsy. Hearing of the coming of the wonderful Teacher and Miracle-worker, this Roman, who had been brought up an idolater, sent the Jewish elders of the city to Jesus, to intercede in his behalf, and to pray that he would exert his power and heal his servant. He had such humility that he felt unworthy to go in person. Luke 7:1-10. As Jesus was approaching the house, the centurion sent other friends, to say that it was not necessary for the Master to come in, nor was he himself worthy of the honor of receiving him under his roof. It would be quite sufficient for Jesus to speak the word of power, where he was, and the servant should be healed; as when he bade one of his own soldiers go or come, and was instantly obeyed. This was a faith quite unparalleled by anything which Jesus had before met. It was faith, moreover, on the part of a Gentile; so that Jesus exclaimed, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” He then announced that this man was but the representative of a great multitude beyond the boundaries of Judaism, who should enter the kingdom; and he said: “Go thy way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” And at the same moment the servant was healed.

Such was (and still is) the power of combined faith and humility. The instance is specially instructive, as showing the quick response which God makes to the soul’s perfect trust in his love, and as proving that true humility, instead of discouraging a believing applicant, leads to a complete reliance on divine grace and the use of appropriate intercession. As the centurion, with a sense of personal unworthiness, used the advocacy of the Jewish elders, so we, with a far greater certainty, may, in our appeals to God, use the advocacy of the Son of God himself.—Prayer and Its Remarkable Answers.

Prophesying Smooth Things.

THERE is a temptation which besets both pulpit and pen and tongue to "prophesy smooth things" and shirk unpopular truths. Paul did not make himself popular on that corn ship by predicting storm and opposing a venture before a treacherous south wind. Yet before the gale was over he was the most trusted and respected man on board. There is a theology of south wind and smooth sea that is becoming very current, and it "takes" prodigiously in these days. It suits human nature exceedingly. It sets a low estimate on the exceeding sinfulness of sin and its desert of retribution. It treats very gingerly the primitive justice of God. It hoists no storm signal in the direction whither so many souls are leading; it practically ignores hell! Even if the voyage here be with some "loss of lading" it holds out the hope of a possible second probation in the unseen world. However seductive or popular this un-Pauline theology may be, I do not discover it on God's charts, or in his weather-tables. If I deceive a soul with any such delusions, may not God hold me to a fearful account? Love demands fidelity. However smooth the sea, and however fair the wind before any and every soul yet out of Christ, let such be lovingly warned that the voyage will be with terrible loss, both to lading and to life. In the penitent acceptance of Jesus Christ is the only absolute, complete, perfect, and everlasting salvation. Run no risks when your soul is at stake.—Sel.

Beginning Life.

CONVERSION is the beginning, under inspiration’s teaching, of the voluntary reconstruction of one’s life. It is the beginning of the work of rebuilding character and conduct, on the basis of love. It is the beginning. It is no more than the beginning. Of course all the morality counts. All that he has received from the morality of reflex Christianity; all that comes down to him through the hereditary influences of his foregoers, parents, and ancestors—all that counts; that is to say, he begins on a higher level, higher and higher. But in every individual instance the love of God is the supreme motive of life; the love of our fellowmen, that is the foundation, and a man that has been living on any other foundation than that, when he is converted, comes back to that as the rule and law of his life. He is a beginner, or, as newspapers often say, “a new beginner,” as if there could be an old beginner; as if beginning was not new always.—Sel.

Recreation.

By W. N. Glenn

It is a common plea, in extenuation of worldliness on the part of young Christians, that "young people must have some recreation." Now no one will deny the necessity for recreation in a legitimate manner; but it would be well for young folks, and old ones too, to inquire, What is recreation? and whether there be not a limit to Christian indulgence.

Webster's definition of recreation is: "The act of recreating, or the state of being recreated; refreshment of the strength and spirits after toil; amusements; diversion; sport." The points in this definition would seem of themselves to mark the limit of the application to Christian life. The first point, or primary meaning, is supplied in Christ: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." Here is recreation, with unlimited exercise, of the highest type. The second point, it must be conceded, expresses a necessity of the human frame and mind, even when renewed in Christ. But is this necessity confined to young folks? No one, after a moment's thought, will deny that old folks need rest from toil more than the young do. But they do not need folly; neither do the young. A change of employment is rest; excess of any change is not rest. Cheerfulness is a necessity of old or young, as much of one as of the other; but it does not demand the hours designed by nature for quiet. Carried to this degree, it becomes the opposite of recreation, and this plea fails to be an excuse for late hour enjoyments.

The remaining three points in the definition denote the gradual tendency toward utter abandonment, as though more had been added to supply a growing popular demand in the use of the word recreation, till it ends in "sport." This latter term includes all the extremes of depraved pastime. The "sporting" journals, and the sporting columns of the ordinary newspapers, comprise all the brutal contests in the catalogue, and drag into notoriety the very dregs of humanity.

When we come to the "amusement" point in the definition, we strike the ground where a line must be drawn between the Christian and the world. Here is a prominent battleground of the overcomer. Nor do the Scriptures make any difference between old and young. It is nowhere intimated that the old must overcome, but the young may continue in amusement, in diversion, in sport, until they become old. The Saviour did not set up a little child as a pattern because of its natural desire for amusement, but because of its innocence and its teachableness. Says the apostle John, "I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one." And again, "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." How different is the situation to-day. The old folks may do the overcoming, but young men and women must needs be amused. What amusement, or diversion, or sport, ever made a young man "strong," or enabled him to "overcome the wicked one?"

The tendency of the human mind to-day is toward amusement. There never was a time when the theater was so popular as in this generation. There never was such a demand in the social world for light and trivial entertainment as at the present time—even the church feeling obliged to cater to the craving appetite in order to sustain its much-desired popularity. The mind thus pampered naturally becomes averse to solid things—solid reading, solid thought, solid employment—and seeks "diversion." To such extent has this tendency been encouraged, that we are constrained to believe that much recreation, in the primary sense, is needed to divert the minds of professed Christians toward the solemn responsibilities of the present hour.

But says one, "It is easy to be good when you get old." Now, dear, deluded one, you could not make a greater mistake than to indulge that idea. You never heard an old person say so, nor do you admit the principle when applied to other things. When an article of clothing has become soiled, and you wish to cleanse it, you do not say, I will wear it a week longer, and it will be easier to cleanse; and at the end of that week say, I will wear it still longer, and by-and-by it will require no effort at all to get it clean and keep it so. You admit that such a course would be the height of folly. Well, it is a fact patent to all serious observers, that inordinate desires—"the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life"—gather more rapidly, and cling more tenaciously to the unrestrained mind and heart, than do material impurities to the most delicate fabric. Then it appears that spots on the character would be more readily erased in youth than if allowed to remain until firmly set by age; and every one of any experience whatever knows that it is easier to refrain from untoward habits than to break them off after long indulgence.

We have a pattern in Jesus. It is said "he was tempted in all points like as we are." And we believe it, for "it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." He overcame, although the sins of the world rested upon him; but there is no record in all his pattern life, that he was aided by amusement or sport. He was once a child, and no doubt a lively, cheerful one; but at the age of twelve years he realized that he must be about his Father's business, and his Father's business with this fallen world was a solemn business. He indulged in nocturnal recreation too, but this recreation consisted in nights of prayer for help to overcome the world. When his disciples begged him to eat because of his weariness, his reply was, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of."

It is not expected that children, even when converted, will be men and women; nor do we here refer to such amusements as are ordinarily engaged in by children. But when they have grown to such age as to no longer desire to be called children, it is but reasonable to expect them to begin to "put away childish things." The work of overcoming the world can only be done in Christ, who as a help has given us his example, and has promised further assistance only to those who follow him. We must all, old and young, get beyond that desire for amusement that "counts pleasure for a day," before we can hope to be reckoned as perfect overcomers.

Continue reading: Getting "Stirred Up."