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Signs of the Times, Vol. 8, No. 46.

Importance of Right Associations

Signs of the Times

Dec 7, 1882

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 7, 1882

Importance of Right Associations.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
EVERY association we form, however limited, exerts some influence upon us. The extent to which we yield to that influence will be determined by the degree of intimacy, the constancy of the intercourse, and our love and veneration for the one with whom we associate. It is only by acquaintance and association with Christ, that we can become like him, the one faultless example.
Communion with Christ—how unspeakably precious! Such communion it is our privilege to enjoy, if we will seek it, if we will make any sacrifice to secure it. When the early disciples heard the words of Christ, they felt their need of him. They sought, they found, they followed him. They were with him in the house, at the table, in the closet, in the field. They were with him as pupils with a teacher, daily receiving from his lips lessons of holy truth. They looked to him as servants to their master, to learn their duty. They served him cheerfully, gladly. They followed him, as soldiers follow their commander, fighting the good fight of faith. "And they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."
Let all put the question to their own hearts, Have we been seeking the friendship and applause of the world, rather than the presence of Christ and a deeper knowledge of his will? Examine your own hearts, judge your own course. Consider what associates you are choosing. Do you seek the company of the wise, or are you willing to choose worldly associates, companions who fear not God, and obey not the gospel? Are your recreations such as to impart moral and spiritual vigor? Will they lead to purity of thought and action?
Many parents are disregarding the most sacred claims of God, by their neglect to consecrate themselves and their children to him. Many are reposing in false security, absorbed in selfish interests, and attracted by earthly treasures. They fear no evil. Danger seems a great way off. They will be deceived, deluded, to their eternal ruin, unless they arouse, and with penitence and deep humiliation, return unto the Lord.
The pride, self-indulgence, impiety, and iniquity that surround us, have an evil influence upon us. Few realize the importance of shunning, so far as possible, all associations unfriendly to religious life. In choosing their surroundings, few make their spiritual prosperity the first consideration.
Parents flock with their families to the cities, because they fancy it easier to obtain a livelihood there than in the country. The children, having nothing to do when not in school, obtain a street education. From evil associates, they acquire habits of vice and dissipation. The parents see this, but because it will require a sacrifice to correct their error, they stay where they are, until Satan gains full control of their children. Better sacrifice any and every worldly consideration than to imperil the precious souls committed to your care. They will be assailed by temptations, and should be taught to meet them; but it is your duty to cut off every influence, to break up every habit, to sunder every tie, that keeps you from the most free, open, and hearty committal of yourselves and your family to God.
Instead of the crowded city, seek some retired situation where your children will be, so far as possible, shielded from temptation, and there train and educate them for usefulness. The prophet Ezekiel thus enumerates the causes that led to Sodom's sin and destruction: "Pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." All who would escape the doom of Sodom, must shun the course that brought God's judgments upon that wicked city.
Who will heed the counsel of the True Witness, to seek the gold tried in the fire, the white raiment, and the eye-salve? The gold is faith and love, the white raiment is the righteousness of Christ, the eye-salve is that spiritual discernment which will enable us to see the wiles of Satan and shun them, to detect sin and abhor it, to see truth and obey it.
The deadly lethargy of the world is paralyzing the senses. Sin does not appear repulsive to those who are blinded by Satan. The judgments of God are soon to be poured out upon the earth. "Escape for thy life," is the warning from the angels of God. Other voices are heard saying, "Do not become excited; there is no cause for special alarm." Those who are at ease in Zion cry peace and safety, while Heaven declares that swift destruction is about to come upon the transgressor. The young, the frivolous, the pleasure-loving, consider these warnings as idle tales, and turn from them with a jest. Parents are inclined to think their children about right in the matter, and all sleep on at ease. Thus it was at the destruction of the old world, and when Sodom and Gomorrah were consumed by fire. On the night prior to their destruction, the cities of the plain rioted in pleasure. Lot was derided for his fears and warnings. But these scoffers perished in the flames. That very night the door of mercy was forever closed to the wicked, careless inhabitants of Sodom.
It is God who holds in his hands the destiny of souls. He will not always be mocked; he will not always be trifled with. Already his judgments are in the land. Fierce and awful tempests leave destruction and death in their wake. The devouring fire lays low the desolate forest and the crowded city. Storm and shipwreck await those who journey upon the deep. Accident and calamity threaten all who travel upon the land. Hurricanes, earthquakes, sword and famine, follow in quick succession. Yet the hearts of men are hardened. They recognize not the warning voice of God. They will not flee to the only refuge from the gathering storm.
Many who have been placed upon the walls of Zion, to watch with eagle eye for the approach of danger, and lift the voice of warning, are themselves asleep. The very ones who should be most active and vigilant in this hour of peril are neglecting their duty, and bringing upon themselves the blood of souls.
Let no one put aside the warning, and say, "It does not mean me. I will not be disturbed by this excitable message." It is the evil servant who says in his heart, "My Lord delayeth his coming." Professedly a servant of Christ, he may not, in words, deny that the Lord is soon to come; but his actions show that he puts off that day to a distant period. He guiltily presumes on the supposed delay; he becomes careless, and his works testify his unbelief. He adopts the maxims and conforms to the practices of the world.
As soon as the evil servant begins to lose the spirit and power of the message, he manifests his unbelief. He smites his fellow-servants. He is ready to pass censure on those who are better than himself. "The poison of asps is under their lips." His course is downward. Ere long he may be found "eating and drinking with the drunken"—uniting with worldlings in their gatherings for pleasure, and, to all intents and purposes, one with them. Such is the condition of very many among us to-day.
In the instruction given by our Saviour to his disciples are words of admonition especially applicable to us: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." Watch, pray, work—this is the true life of faith. "Pray always;" that is, be ever in the spirit of prayer, and then you will be in readiness for your Lord's coming.
The Christian life is a warfare. The apostle Paul speaks of wrestling against principalities and powers as he fought the good fight of faith. Again, he declares, "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." Ah, no. To-day sin is cherished and excused. The sharp sword of the Spirit, the word of God, does not cut to the soul. Has religion changed? Has Satan's enmity to God abated? A religious life once presented difficulties, and demanded self-denial. All is made very easy now. And why is this? The professed people of God have compromised with the powers of darkness.
The path to Heaven is no smoother now than in the days of our Saviour. All our sins must be put away. Every darling indulgence that hinders our religious life must be cut off. The right eye or the right hand must be sacrificed, if it cause us to offend. Are we willing to renounce our own wisdom, and to receive the kingdom of Heaven as a little child? Are we willing to part with self-righteousness? Are we willing to give up our chosen worldly associates? Are we willing to sacrifice the approbation of men? The prize of eternal life is of infinite value. Will we put forth efforts and make sacrifices proportionate to the worth of the object to be attained?

SOME OTHER DAY.

By Anna F. Burnham

COME, follow me! I know thy voice is calling, But oh, so fair appears my childish way! I hear thy accents low, Thy love divine I know, And sometime, ere the evening dews are falling, I'll leave the lilies fair, And offerings most rare And precious shall thy patient love repay Some day—some other day.
Wilt follow me? O patient voice and pleading! The lilies now have lost their power to stay; But I have seen afar The glimmer of a star, That seems to tempt me with its coy receding; And is its fair renown The jewel in my crown Yet to be won? Ah, then I will obey— Some day—some other day.
Come unto me, all ye so heavy laden! O heart of mine! and canst thou yet delay? But cares press thick and fast; Oh for my careless past, For my lost youth and childhood's vanished Aidenn! Not 'mid this ceaseless fret; I'll come—but, oh, not yet! There comes a quiet hour at close of life, they say. Some day—some other day.
Come unto me! Alas! too late I linger, And solemn ghosts of vanished yesterdays Throng from their graves, tear-wet With passionate regret, And point at last a sad, accusing finger. God's love still lingering? Alas! how can I bring From all my prayerless years, this one for praise? This day—of all my days!
—Anna F. Burnham, in Christian Union.

The Limits of Human Reason

THE highest perfection of human reason is to know that there is an infinity of truth beyond its reach.

Jeroboam and the Man of God;

By William Henry Littlejohn

Or, the Necessity of Exact Obedience to What God Requires.
BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.
In the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of first Kings is found a most graphic account of the circumstances under which the ten tribes of Israel were separated from those of Judah and Benjamin, and the events which contributed to the election of Jeroboam as king of the former tribes. From it we learn that Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, instead of hearing to the reasonable complaints of the men of Israel, who felt that they had been overtaxed and oppressed by his father, haughtily replied to them, that his little finger should become greater than his father's loins, and that whereas his father had chastised them with whips, he would chastise them with scorpions. Indignant at such usage, the ten tribes lifted the standard of revolt, elected Jeroboam king, agreeably to the prophecy of Elijah, and so completely severed the connection between the houses of Judah and Israel that they were never united again under the same government. Everything goes to show that Jeroboam was a man of genius. In his character, however, it is manifest that there was a very important defect in the matter of reverence for God. Notwithstanding the fact that Jehovah had given him the kingdom through the prophesying of Elijah, he no sooner found himself firmly seated upon his throne, than he commenced deliberately to set at naught the behests of that God who had given him his empire.
Like most monarchs, he was ambitious for the promulgation of his reign, and shrewdly perceiving that the triennial return of the people to the temple at Jerusalem would naturally tend to wean them from his government, and draw them into affiliation with Judah and Benjamin, he sought to prevent this result by erecting golden calves in Bethel and Dan, which the people were to worship in the places where they were located. Acting as high priest himself, he elected men of the baser sort to perform the office of the common priests. While officiating one day as Pontifex Maximus, God, offended at the blasphemy of his course, sent a prophet to predict, in the presence of Jeroboam, the overthrow of the altar on which he sacrificed, and the burning thereupon of the bones of his priests at some future time, which prophecy was fulfilled about 340 years later, in the reign of Josiah. Jeroboam, haughty as ever, reached out his hand in the act of arresting or commanding to be arrested the prophet of God. Suddenly that arm and hand became so fully withered that he could not draw them back again to their original position, until the prophet had prayed for his deliverance.
But it was not to the more salient points of his blasphemous course that we wished at this time to call attention. The subject which we wish to consider at present is found in the matter of the appointment of the annual feast recorded in verses 32, 33, chap. 12. These verses read as follows: "And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel; and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense."
From the foregoing it is manifest that it was the deliberate design of the king to institute a feast bearing a close resemblance in character to the autumnal feast, or feast of tabernacles, annually celebrated at Jerusalem, and yet varying from it in point of time, about a month. When considering this departure it will be observed that the inspired penman speaks of it as a feast which took place in a month, which he, i. e., the king, "had devised of his own heart." This language is significant in a very high degree. From it it becomes manifest that there is a wide difference between doing what God tells us to do in his own appointed time, and doing it at another period selected the better to suit our convenience or taste. When the latter course is pursued, the individual so doing would be guilty, like Jeroboam, of the devising of the month (i. e., of the time), of his own heart. On this subject Adam Clarke offers some suggestive remarks which we append. "The Jews held their feast of tabernacles on the 15th day of the seventh month; Jeroboam, who would meet the prejudices of the people as far as he could, appointed a similar feast on the 15th day of the eighth month; thus appearing to hold the thing, while he subverted the ordinance." Note on 1 Kings 12:32. We think that all will, in common with Mr. Clarke, unite in reprehending the course of the king of Israel in the matter of changing the time of the occurrence of the autumnal feast, as well as in the other irreligious acts to which he became a party.
Right here, however, we wish to point a moral, and set home an argument. If it was wicked for Jeroboam to tamper with the celebration of God's appointed feasts, would it not be equally so to tamper in the matter of the time of the celebration of any other institution which by divine appointment is fixed upon a given day? If so, then we inquire what justification our orthodox friends, who admit that the seventh day was originally ordained by God to be a Sabbath of rest, can offer before his judgment-bar for attempting to change the same by substituting for the observance of the seventh day of the week that of the first? It seems to us that there is little if any difference between the guilt of refusing altogether to obey God's commandments and venturing to try to obey them at a different time, or in a different manner from that specified.
That we are right in this, and that God is a God who insists upon exact obedience in every particular, we wish to prove by calling attention right here to an illustration of that point found in the immediate connection with the record of the transaction of Jeroboam. In the following chapter, i. e., the 13th, we have an extended account of the manner in which the prophet of God fulfilled the mission devolving upon him in the matter of condemning the apostasy and sacrilege of the king of Israel. God commissioned him to go to Bethel, and, in the presence of the people, while Jeroboam in his capacity of high priest was making an offering upon the altar, to utter these words: "O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee." 1 Kings 13:2. With a courage almost unequaled, the man of God, in the presence of thousands, of his enemies, declared his solemn message of warning.
Had the record ended there, his course would have commanded our most profound admiration. But let us see how the affair came out. Before entering upon his journey, God had strictly enjoined upon him that he should not eat bread nor drink water at Bethel, nor return by the way by which he had gone to the place. See chap. 13, verse 17. After the king's hand had been restored fully, through motives of gratitude or curiosity he invited the seer to go home with him and refresh himself, promising him that he would give him a reward. Verse 17. Now hear the response: "If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place." Verse 8. This was a noble response indeed. Well would it have been for the prophet if he had ever afterward acted with the same courage. Alas for human nature, however! This man, who could neither be cajoled nor intimidated by an outspoken enemy of the Lord, was at last allured into sin by one who came to him in the name of a servant of the most high God.
Another prophet, an aged man, hearing of the wonders performed by the seer whom the Lord had sent to Jeroboam, saddled his ass, and, pursuing him on the highway, at last found him sitting under an oak. He, too, extended to him an invitation similar to that offered by Jeroboam. But, No, the man of God, "I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place; for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest." Verses 16, 17. The other prophet, not to be thwarted in his design, now frames a lie in his own heart, and tells the man of God to Jeroboam, that he, too, is a prophet of the Lord, and that an angel had spoken to him on the subject. Here are his words: "I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring back with thee thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water." Verse 18. The context states that this was a sheer fabrication. No angel of God had said aught to him on the subject. Nevertheless, the courageous prophet who so stoutly refused the extended hospitality of Jeroboam, at last yielded to the overtures of one who came to him with a lie in his mouth, though claiming to be a prophet of the Lord, and returned to his house and took up his lodging there.
But how did the Lord regard this transaction? Let the inspired record declare: "And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back; and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come unto the sepulcher of thy fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him; and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him." Verses 20-26.
In the foregoing we have the record of God's condemnation of the course of the man whom he had commissioned to go to Bethel, and that of the visitation of his wrath upon him for his disobedience. Do you say that the Lord was harsh, unreasonable, and unjust? Would you then impeach the God of the Bible? Certain it is that he did visit the judgments recorded here in the manner laid down and for the cause assigned, upon the man who was slain by the lion. Do you reply that the man was deceived by the falsehood of one who came to him in the name of a prophet? I answer, Very true; but add, that men are sometimes responsible for having been deceived. God had told the man whom he sent to Jeroboam that he was in no wise to take up his lodging in that place. The command was just as explicit as words could make it. It was therefore the business of him to whom the command was given to carry it out to the letter until the same God who gave him the command had, with equal explicitness and emphasis, revoked the same. Had he done this, he would have been safe. Unhappily for him, however, instead of waiting for an explicit "Thus saith the Lord" from God himself, he allowed himself to be deceived by the utterances of an irresponsible party, whom God had never commanded him to listen to, and whom the devil undoubtedly controlled in the matter under consideration.
The remarks of Adam Clarke upon this subject are so sound that we cannot refrain from giving them below. Comparing the case of the prophet with that of Abraham when required to offer up his only son Isaac, and his subsequent release from this duty, Mr. Clarke goes on to say:—
"Thus much may be said in vindication of the man of God. But if this be so, why should he be punished with death, for doing what he had reason and precedent to believe might be the will of God? I answer, He should not have taken a step back, till he had remission of the clause from the same authority which gave him the general message. He should have had it from the word of the Lord himself, in both cases, as Abraham had, and not taken an apparent contradiction of what was before delivered unto him, from the mouth of a stranger, who only professed to have it from an angel, who pretended to speak unto him by the word of the Lord. In this, and in this alone, lay the sinfulness of the act of the man of God who came out of Judah." Note on 1 Kings 13:19.
Here we must bring our remarks to a close. Before doing so we wish to appeal once more to that numerous class of observers of the Sunday Sabbath, who hallow that day while admitting that God has positively commanded the observance of another, thereby proving either that they claim the ability to change for themselves the time for the observance of the Sabbath of the Lord to another day, which better suits their convenience, or else that they hold that God is such an one that he will tolerate in them a disregard of what he commanded in point of time, if only they will obey him in regard to the manner in which they shall hallow the Sabbath which they have selected for themselves. Where, we inquire, have they obtained their conceptions of the authority of Him who sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and taketh up the isles as a very little thing. It is said in the statute book which he hath given us, that we should "tremble at his word." It is, on the contrary, nowhere said that we should treat that word with contempt. To attempt to change the statute of an earthly ruler, in the particular of the time at which the requirements are to be carried out, would be to offer a palpable affront to the dignity of that ruler. It would be difficult indeed to reconcile him to such a disregard of his sovereignty. But will the Great Ruler of the universe be less jealous of his right to prescribe respecting the time at which certain things are to be done or not to be done? To those who think that it will be safe to conclude that he would, at least in the matter of the Sabbath, we say, Remember Jeroboam, and the month of which it is said "he devised of his own heart." Again; we suggest to them that it would be well to remember the case of the man of God who was sent to Bethel; for if the Lord did not excuse him, he surely will not excuse them, since the man of God at least had for his action the authority of one who once had been a prophet of the Lord, while they cannot show a single word which ever fell from the lips of any man who was either inspired at the time or ever had been inspired, favoring the idea either that the first day of the week is the Sabbath, or that its substitution for the seventh day would be justified under any circumstances by Jehovah. The nearest approach they can make to it will be found in the decrees of the "Man of Sin," or the pope of Rome, who both claims that he has the power to change the Sabbath, and that he has done so by transferring it from the last to the first day of the week.*
Allegan, Mich.

Progressing—Which Way?

By G. D. Ballou

BY ELD. G. D. BALLOU.
"The soul that is heaven-born hardly knows that it has a conscience." "When I became a Christian I lost my conscience." "A good conscience is one that we do not feel—one that does not trouble us." Such were the remarks recently made in connection by a popular minister, as he was describing the holy condition of those who are sanctified.
These sentiments are not repeated simply for the purpose of criticism, but as an index of the "progress" which modern theological teachers are making. Reader, glance at these statements and then reflect. Here we have a key to the course of action which we may reasonably expect the masses of professing Christians will pursue in the near future. Those whose consciences have been drowned in their wild endeavors to follow every whim of their emotional natures, will have very little to stand in the way of their working zealously for any church movement that they may "feel" is essential to their denominational prosperity. Surely those who have lost their consciences will not scruple to use any means to accomplish the ends they desire. When the masses of Protestants become sanctified to their own notion of things, they will not be long in adopting the sentiment of the mother church, that "The end justifies the means."
We have the trite saying now, that "Corporations have no souls;" how long ere it will be said that churches have no consciences? Already it is evident that conscience is an unimportant factor in church work. Scheming policy is supplanting godly principle, and the world is fast ripening for the most subtle deceptions of Satan. When a large class of ministers, all the way from H. W. Beecher down to the backwoods preacher, vie with one another in making extravagant, unseemly, and sensational assertions for the purpose of tickling the public ear and loosening the public purse-string, what may we expect, only that the public mind shall become vitiated, and the public conscience calloused?
Consciences which cannot feel and do not trouble the possessor are near of kin to the seared conscience to which Paul alludes in 1 Tim. 4:2. All such need toning up to healthy action, by a thorough application of the principles of the moral law as embodied in the life of Christ. But alas for the world! we need not expect this work to be done by the teachers of popular theology. Such teaching is a thing of the past and there is too much of a cross connected with it to expect much in that line from those who have lost their consciences. Any pointed mention of the ten commandments or denunciation of popular sins is sure "to bring a coldness over the meeting."
Reader, we point you to the word of God. To the law and the testimony, and the life of Christ. If you wish to have a healthy conscience, one that will warn you of danger, one which the Holy Spirit can convict of sin, one which will be painfully sensitive to the approaches of evil, submit yourself daily to self-examination in the light of the Bible, looking into God's great mirror—the ten commandments—that you may see the defects in your character. Avoid the moral opiates so freely administered. They will lull you into carnal security, and you will fail to appreciate the work Jesus has done in opening a way for your salvation; and failing to live a humble, penitent child of God, you will lose the life everlasting, and the eternal weight of glory. You will find a keen moral perception of greater worth in the end than a passive conscience which allows you to cherish a false hope based upon false ideas of sanctification. Self-sanctified souls will have great opinions of themselves and of what wonderful things they are doing for Christ, and they will at last be heard saying, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful works?" The reply will come back with appalling power, "I never knew you; depart from me ye that work iniquity." Conscience, no longer dethroned and cast out, will rend their souls with bitter anguish. If never before, conscience will now trouble them; but it will be too late.
The nearer you approach the perfect Pattern in the work of overcoming, the more keenly will you sense the sinfulness of your own nature, and the more you will feel like humbling self and exalting Jesus. If you lose sight of the sinless Pattern and shut your eyes to your own wretchedness, it will be easy for you to imagine that you are very holy. A little self-righteousness will aid greatly in establishing a false hope. May God keep you from the fatal deceptions of these days. In humility of soul lay up in store a good foundation against the time to come. Never slight or dismiss your conscience, but rather train it to appreciate and discriminate in regard to the relations which you sustain to God and your fellow-man, remembering that only with a conscience thus trained and disciplined by the work of God, will you be permitted to at last enter in through the gates into the city.

American Home Manners.

AMERICAN men respect women in the highest sense, and treat them with all the chivalry possible, as far as immunity from insult is concerned. The national character of the American man in this respect is above reproach. But are they at home amiable and polite? Do they treat their wives and daughters or their mothers with constant and daily and proper politeness? Are American women models in this respect? Do they remember to be grateful and polite in little matters of salutations and of compliment? Are they careful to consume their own smoke, and to bring only an amiable face to the dinner table?
We are afraid not. The national home manners need improving. The amenities of home can alone make up for the national disadvantage. It is at the home dinner-table, by the hearth-stone, the evening fireside, in the nursery, the bedroom and the sick-room, that manners must be taught. We cannot count upon outside influences for our children. Home first and home always, must be to them what the external world is to the ignorant foreigner. There every institution teaches him, by the iron bands of power and custom, to be respectful. If he dares be otherwise he is an outlaw and a criminal.—Sel.

Naming a Lake.

Years ago, it was discovered that a certain lake, which had long been considered the head of the Mississippi, had no claim to that honor. The explorers found a new and smaller lake from which the great river took its rise. A discussion arose as to what name would be appropriate for it. The story is that it was decided in this way:—
"Let's make a new name by coining a word," said an old voyageur. "Some one of you larned ones tell me what is the Latin for true."
"Veritas," answered a scholar.
"Well, now, what is the Latin for head?"
"Caput."
"Now write the two words together by syllables."
The scholar wrote on a strip of birch bark, "veritas-caput."
"Read it out."
The five syllables were read.
"Now drop the first and last syllables, and you'll have a good name for this lake." And "Itasca" it was.--Advance.

Love Rules the Family

The bustling husband, who drives the children here and there, and will have order, has nothing but disorder; while the mother who sits still and loves, rules over every child in the family, and secures perfect obedience. The silence of love is mightier than all the physical or moral force of boisterous strength.

Soft Words and Hard Arguments

The man who is in the wrong uses hard words and soft arguments, while the man who is in the right uses soft words and hard arguments.

HEAVEN OVER ALL.

How many hours of patient toil Our faithfulness to test? How many burdens yet to bear Before the hands may rest? How many crosses ere they lie Calm folded on the breast? Yet toil and burden, cross and rod, Divinest love hath blessed.
How fierce the battle ere we win The conqueror's robe and palm! How sharp the wounds before they feel The healing drops of balm! How loud the Babel sounds of strife Before the evening psalm! And yet o'er all the heaven extends Its soundless deeps of calm.

Give Until It Costs You

SAID a member of a church to another member: "I can give five dollars for this object and not feel it." "Then," said his companion, "give ten and feel it. Did not the Saviour feel what he did for you?"

Choose the Most Important.

WORK ! work ! work ! How American women do work ! said a young German girl who has come to be our neighbor. "Germans are so different. They are not lazy. They like to work ; but they rest a little. Americans never rest."
These days of house-cleaning and fall sewing, of pickling, drying, preserving, canning, etc., may well suggest a few sober thoughts. Yes, if women took more time from their work in which to think and plan, I believe life would go on far more easily and pleasantly. Sit down a minute, tired mother, and think if there are not one or two things which could be put off or even omitted entirely ; and no one the loser. You have not ceased "buzzing" since you rose from breakfast. Stop a minute, and help poor little Annie with her algebra, and let that fifteenth ruffle go which you are trying to find time for putting on her new dress. She is pretty enough without it. The children say, and you think yourself, the parlor is so much the pleasantest room in the morning ; but then you've never time to sit there mornings, and if the little folks do, the carpet and furniture will be injured. Think now, which is dearest, the carpet or the children? By and by these loving birdlings will have flown from the home nest. Which then will you most prize, the memory of those summer mornings in the cool parlor, or a set of spotless furniture, no longer in danger of injury from childish fingers? Thoughtlessness causes many of our mistakes, and when one is laboring at full speed "from dawn till dewy eve," the mind is not in a frame for calm reflection. Far better for nerves and brain and heart would be less work and more thought, and, as we cannot do everything, choose the most important. --Christian at Work.
Continue reading: The Sovereign Pontiff, and the Church of Rome