Earlier text: God Made the Lilies: A Children's VerseNonconformist Resistance to the English Education Bill
FOR a considerable time a religious tempest has been gathering in England, in the form of antagonism on the part of the nonconformist churches to the new educational bill, which gives the Church of England an ecclesiastical monopoly in the public schools. The bill is now seemingly on the point of being passed by Parliament, and feeling throughout the country is at a high tension, there being talk of open resistance to the enforcement of the statute. The old conflict between state and nonconformist churches is being reopened, and the ancient volcano, which was thought to be extinct, seems on the eve of a new eruption. The following from the British Weekly represents the sentiment that is felt and expressed on the side of the nonconformists:— We can truly say that we desire no controversy with the Church of England, no revival of the old, angry, sloughing sore. But it may be well that the matter is brought at last to a definitive issue. Unfortunately, the one attitude which we can now maintain to the Church of England is that of armed watchfulness. . . . The authors of the bill knew very well what they were doing. We shall give them clear and unmistakable proof that they have been detected, that they will be checked, and that in due time they will be punished. When we find Guy Fawkes among the powder barrels, when the train is laid before our eyes on the ground, when the lighted match is in his hands, it is nonsense to say that we do not know what he is about. We do know. We shall act according to our knowledge. We shall never capitulate to this vile conspiracy. There seems to be no opposition to the bill on the part of English Catholics. Opening Your Heart to Christ Each Morning
“OPEN your heart every morning to Christ.” A Call to Service
By Ellen G. White
“SAY not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.” True, indeed, are these words. Everywhere there are hearts crying out for the living God. The Lord has his representatives in all the churches. These persons have not had the special, testing truths for the last days presented to them under circumstances that brought conviction to heart and mind; therefore they have not, by rejecting light, severed their connection with God. There are those who have faithfully walked in all the light that has shone upon their pathway. They hunger to know more of the ways and works of God. All over the world, men and women are looking wistfully to heaven. Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace, for the Holy Spirit. Many are on the very verge of the kingdom, waiting to be gathered in. These demand the service of those to whom God has intrusted his truth. And those also who are dead in trespasses and sins demand our service. The man who is wholly absorbed in his counting-room, the man who finds pleasure at the gaming table, the man who loves to indulge perverted appetite, the frequenter of the theater and the ballroom, put eternity out of their reckoning. The whole burden of their life is, What shall we eat? what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed? They are not in the procession that is moving heavenward. They are led by the great apostate, and if they continue in this path, they will with him be destroyed. All around us are souls perishing in their sins. Every year thousands upon thousands are dying without God and without hope of eternal life. The plagues and judgments of God are in the earth, and souls are going to ruin because the light of truth has not been flashed upon their pathway. The heart of God is moved. Souls are very precious in his sight. It was for this world that Christ wept in agony; for this world that he was crucified. God gave his only begotten Son to save sinners, and he desires us to love others as he has loved us. He desires those who have a knowledge of the truth to impart this knowledge to their fellow men. Now is the time for the last warning to be given. There is a special power in the presentation of truth at the present time; but how long will it continue?—Only a little while. If ever there was a crisis, it is now. The proclamation of the third angel’s message is our work. We are to present the truth in regard to the Sabbath of the Lord. God’s memorial of creation has been torn down, and in its place there stands a false sabbath. Satan has led men to declare that this is the true Sabbath, and in the belief of this delusion millions are passing into eternity. And the people to whom God has given his truth are hiding their light under a bushel, allowing the cares of this world to engross the time and attention that should be given to the Lord’s work. The Christian’s Privilege and Responsibility
It is an eternal law of Jehovah that he who accepts truth which the world needs is to make it his first work to proclaim this truth. But where are those who make the burden of perishing sinners their own? As I look upon the professed people of God, and see their unwillingness to serve him, my heart is filled with a pain that I cannot express. How few are heart to heart with God in his solemn, closing work. There are thousands to be warned, yet how few consecrate themselves wholly to the work, willing to be or to do anything if only they may win sinners to righteousness. Jesus died to save the world. In humility, in lowliness, in unselfishness, he worked and is working for sinners. But many of those who ought to co-operate with him are self-sufficient and indifferent. Who can sympathize with Christ in his distress and anguish, as with quivering lips he exclaimed, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not”? Who can say with Jeremiah, “Oh that mine head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people”? Among God’s people to-day there is a fearful lack of the sympathy that should be felt for souls unsaved. Unless our hearts beat in union with the heart of Christ, how can we understand the sacredness and importance of the work to which we are called by the words, “Watch for souls as they that must give an account”? We talk of Christian missions. The sound of our voices is heard; but do we feel Christ’s tender heart-longing for souls? Church members are trifling with their responsibilities, unfitting themselves for service. What shall we say, what can we say, to arouse those who know the truth, both ministers and lay members, to a sense of their responsibility? How can they be led to feel the need of imparting to others the truth that God has given them? O that they were awake to the purposes of God and to their individual accountability! Then would they use every gift, every talent, in the work of giving to the world the truth for this time. The number of laborers would greatly increase, and the work would grow in influence and extent. God’s people would be lights, shining amid the darkness of this degenerate age. The work has extended so that it now covers a large territory, and the number of believers has increased. But there is still a great deficiency. A much larger work might have been done had the missionary spirit been shown that was shown in the earlier days. Our present numbers, the present extent of our work, are not to be compared with what they were in the beginning. We should think of what the work might have been had every worker consecrated himself, body, soul, and spirit, to God as he should have done. A Forward Movement Called For
God has given all something to do. Those who are willing to work in self-denial and self-sacrifice will find their place. But those who seek only a safe and easy place need to be converted. Until their hearts are renewed, their purposes changed, God has no use for them in his work. By an unreserved consecration we are to prepare ourselves for service. Our General, who never makes a mistake, says to us, Advance. Enter new territory. Lift up the standard, establish memorials in every place. Let it be known that God has a people on the earth who have not forgotten that he has a law, binding upon all human beings. In all the churches there are those who know not that the seventh day, and not the first day, is the Sabbath. These are to hear the message of present truth. We need now to train men, and set them to work, giving them every facility for the impartation of truth. There is at this time a sad dearth of laborers. Scores of men and women might be set to work. This need should have been foreseen. Our faith is not proportionate8 to the light God has given us. When our hearts are emptied of selfishness, and cleansed by the Spirit of Christ, we shall be vessels meet for the Master’s use. God is waiting for men and women to awake to their responsibilities. He is waiting for them to link themselves with him. Let them mark the signals for advance, and no longer be laggards in working out the will of the Lord. Do we realize how large a number in the world are watching our movements? From quarters where we least expect will come voices urging us forward in the work of giving to the world the last message of mercy. Ministers and people, wake up! Be quick to recognize and seize every opportunity and advantage offered in the turning of the wheel of providence. God and Christ and the heavenly angels are working with intense activity to hold in check the fierceness of Satan’s wrath, that God’s plans may not be thwarted. God lives and reigns. He is conducting the affairs of the universe. Let his soldiers move forward to victory. Let there be perfect unity in their ranks. Let them press the battle to the gates. As a mighty Conqueror, the Lord will work for them. Let the gospel message ring through our churches, summoning them to universal action. Let the members of the churches have increased faith, gaining zeal from their unseen, heavenly allies, from a knowledge of their exhaustless resources, from the greatness of the enterprise in which they are engaged, and from the power of their Leader. Those who place themselves under God’s control, to be led and guided by him, will catch the steady trend of the events ordained by him to take place. Inspired with the spirit of him who gave his life for the life of the world, they will no longer stand still in impotency, pointing to what they cannot do. Putting on the armor of heaven, they will go forth into the warfare, willing to do and dare for God, knowing that his omnipotence will supply their need. God and the Right
By Dr. Norman Macleod
COURAGE, brother, do not stumble,
Though thy path is dark as night;
There's a star to guide the humble—
“Trust in God, and do the right.” Let the road be long and dreary,
And its ending out of sight,
Foot it bravely, strong or weary;
“Trust in God, and do the right.” Perish “policy” and cunning,
Perish all that fears the light—
Whether losing, whether winning,
“Trust in God, and do the right.” Trust no forms of guilty passion—
Friends can look like angels bright;
Trust no custom, school, or fashion—
“Trust in God, and do the right.” Some will hate thee; some will love thee;
Some will flatter, some will slight;
Cease from man, and look above thee—
“Trust in God, and do the right.” Simple rule and safest guiding,
Inward peace and inward light,
Star upon our path abiding—
“Trust in God, and do the right.” If Christ had come to the high priest in pomp and royal majesty, like an earthly king, the priest would probably have recognized him. No; he could not have recognized him except by the Holy Spirit, no matter in what form he came; but he would at any rate have bowed before him. But he did not know that the weakness of God is stronger than men, and that God chooses the weak things, and even things which are not, to bring to naught things that are. The infant Jesus, borne in the arms of that poor woman, whose extreme poverty was indicated by the birds that she brought as an offering, instead of a lamb, was “the power of God.” Yea, he was “the salvation of God.” Nothing is weaker than a babe. The young of humankind are more helpless than those of any of the lower orders of creation. Never can we be more helpless and dependent than Christ was at that moment; yet When he was the power of God; for God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. This is to teach us that at our lowest and weakest state we may be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. We are to recognize and confess Christ in our own bodies, even in our weak and sinful flesh. As surely as any man does this, he will be victor over all the power of the enemy; for the Word is indeed nigh us, in our mouth and in our heart, so that “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” — Selected. Our study for to-night is the same subject that we have had in the two previous studies—self-government; because that subject embraces fully one half of all the third angel’s message and its work. To-night it will be particularly a study of the financial situation of the denomination, and the relationship of the ministry to it. There is one thing that not one of us should ever forget, and that is that we are always in school. And when this is borne in mind, it will be easy to remember what goes with it,—that everything that comes before us in the work of God is worthy of our study; and that we are to put ourselves to school to God, in that situation, to see what lesson he has for us to learn. For as certainly as we ever find ourselves in a situation that is not right, that ought not to be, there is room for a study of how we got there. We got there by some wrong management, some way, somewhere. But we should not remain there. We should get out as soon as possible. But the only safe way, the only true way, to get out is to find out how we got in, and then refuse to follow those evil principles any longer. The foundation of all our study in this school is found in the principle and the philosophy of the forgiveness of sins and the life of righteousness. If you want to know the true principle of financial success, study to find out the true principle of the success of the human soul in escaping from sin and keeping clear of it. And if you want to know the basis and the philosophy of recovery from disease, and the life of health, find out for yourself the philosophy of the forgiveness of sin, and the life of righteousness. The gospel of the salvation of the soul—escaping from sin, and abiding in the life of righteousness—that is the basis of all true philosophy in whatever connection. Last night I asked you not to think that I was saying extravagant, unbelievable things. And I ask you that same thing to-night. I am telling you the truth. If it seems new and strange, please do not think that I am indulging in mere extravagance or falsehood. You have no doubt heard that the denomination has had some financial difficulties ; that the denomination is somewhat in debt. This being true, it is the truth that every one of us who will deliberately put himself to school in this financial condition in which we are, and will make the financial situation of the Seventh-day Adventists a problem for study, will learn the philosophy of financial success. It will be found to be simply a part of the way of our getting round to the fulfillment of that promise which I read last night: “Thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail.” And I want you to put yourself to school now for an hour, the time we shall study here, and let us find some of the lessons that are for us in this financial situation. And first of all, please do not count it a cause of groaning and complaining; do not think of it as an awful thing and a great burden, and inquire, “How shall we ever get out from under this awful burden?” Just put that all away, and thank God that his love and kindness are over all yet; and that we can get out of it just as easily as we can do right? Some mistakes have been made in getting into this, that is true; but we are to profit by these. One that we can easily notice, and that is plain on the face of it, is that it is neither religion nor business for a missionary association to borrow money to give away; and I mean particularly a missionary association or corporation. An individual can, if he wants to, borrow money, and give it away; because when the money is to be paid back, he will expect to draw on his energies and his exertions to make the money, so as to have it ready to pay back when due to the person from whom he borrowed it. If an association or corporation be one that has means of making money, and so of controlling an income, and that association or corporation wants to borrow money to give away, and then make extra exertions of its machinery, or whatever its facilities may be, to increase its income, so that when that money must be paid back, they will have made enough money extra to pay it back, that can be done. But for an association or corporation that is missionary only, that has no way of making money,—for that kind of association or corporation to borrow money to give away,—how is it going to pay back what it borrowed?—Borrow more money, of course, to pay that back. But how is it going to pay back what it borrowed to pay back?—Borrow more money, of course, to pay back what it borrowed to pay back what it borrowed to give away. How long at that rate, could a Christian denomination proceed before it would come to the place of the fulfillment of the promise that ye shall lend to many nations, and shall not borrow?—Eternally. Then don’t you see that it is not sound financial management for an association that has no way of making money, to borrow money to give away. That association9 may get money to give away; that is all right; but it cannot borrow money to give away. It can receive money that is given, and give it away, all right. Now that thing has been done among Seventh-day Adventists. Money has been borrowed to do missionary work with, borrowed by the denomination to give away. The money has been well spent; that part of it is all right. The money is in missionary work, and is doing only good. But now you see that in order to pay that back, we must make the money, and pay it back. Then don’t you see that one of the first things, yes, the first thing, that stands before Seventh-day Adventists, the whole denomination, is that we simply will not get into debt any more. Now there is an arrangement that will have to be made, but that can be made without going into debt. We cannot take the position just yet that we will not borrow money. That cannot be done; for we are in a vise, and we have got to stay there until we get out. The denomination has the money of a great many people. Some persons have loaned money for a certain length of time, and now they need their money. They may be in a hardship by which they actually need and must have their money. Now it is not going into debt, you see, to borrow that same sum from some one who does not need it, in order to pay this person who does need it. That is not going into debt. That is simply holding our own, by changing the obligation from the one who needs his money, and must have it, to one who does not need his money, and is willing that the denomination shall use it until we gather to ourselves resources by which to settle the obligation without borrowing to do it. So I say, Under the circumstances, we are not at the place yet where we can say that we will not borrow; for in order to meet the needs, actual needs, of some people who have money in the denomination, they must have it, and sometimes they must have it on short order, because they are actually in distress. The association has not time to devise means to get the money as an income; and so it may borrow an equal sum to pay this sum that is needed by the person to whom it belongs. And to borrow the same sum, at the same or even a less rate of interest, is not increasing the debt. Thus, though the time has not yet come when we can say that we will not borrow, the time has come for us all to say decidedly and forever that we will not go into debt, and that we will not allow an increase of the debt that we are already in. That is the first thing. And that is an important thing; for I have found in my experience occasions in which it seemed to be an actual struggle with some Seventh-day Adventist organizations not to go into debt. It seemed necessary fairly to rally them, almost to take them by their shoulders and whirl them around as by a mighty lever, to get them to stand where they would actually refuse to go into debt. Now, if you are going to put yourself on that platform, that as conference committees, associations, etc., you will not go into debt, then you will find yourself tested. Have you the courage to refuse to go into debt when you have a good chance to go into debt? You should begin just now to gather to yourselves that kind of courage individually, because it is just as much a school for the individual, and just as much the concern of the individual man or woman, as it is of the conference committee, or the printing house, or the college; because it is no credit to a Seventh-day Adventist individual to be in debt, and to conduct things in such a way that he does not get out of debt. Another thing that goes along with that determined refusal to go into debt, is the courage to get along with inconveniences, if need be,—the courage to do without a great many things that it might be pleasant to have. And you will have to decide whether you will have the Christianity and the courage to do without a great many things that it would be pleasant to have, rather than to go into debt. You will have to make your choice, and it is Christianity to make your choice, not only to do without things that would be nice, but actually to do without things that it would be proper to have, and even things that are needed, rather than to go into debt. You must have the Christianity and the courage to pinch down to the lowest notch, hold steadily there, and do with the least that can possibly be gotten along with, and stick to that, rather than incur a debt. That is the way that you and I must do as individuals, to get out of debt; and that is the only way that we can do as committees and boards, to get out of debt. When that is done, when that experience is gained, and our lesson learned, the other thing that goes with the refusal to go into debt is that we shall maintain Christian sense enough to use money carefully when we get it. If we will discipline ourselves as individuals and as committees and boards, to do with the least possible, to do with inconveniences, to do with hardships even, in self-denial of what would be right and proper, and perhaps of what is needed, then when we do get money, we shall have learned enough not to be extravagant just because we have money. And unless Seventh-day Adventist committees, boards, etc., do learn that lesson while paying the debt,—if we do not learn the discipline that will spend money most wisely and most economically when we have abundance, then there will be no special benefit in getting out of debt. The whole story of economy, of finance and financial success, lies in just these two things—refusal to make debts, and true economy, frugality, in the use of money. And I have said to Seventh-day Adventists in other places, and I will say it now to you: If the Seventh-day Adventists of this land would to-night unitedly—institutions, individuals, and all—put themselves right there, where they would not make a cent’s further debt , and would economically, wisely, frugally, handle the money that would come in, I would just as cheerfully take the whole burden of indebtedness of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination as I would take my breakfast. It is perfectly easy not to go into debt when you have no chance. It is easy to quit then. But when you have the best chance in the world to go into debt, when all the prospects are promising, and the step seems to be “perfectly safe,” then is the time when you can prove whether you are really going to quit going into debt or not. Because, you know, brethren, that the great majority of times when persons go into debt, and the way they go into debt, is when there is some wonderfully prosperous-looking project; when by actual figures it can be made plain that it is all “perfectly safe.” But by actual experience it does not turn out profitably, and the person finds himself in debt. And you and I, as Seventh-day Adventists, will meet occasions when that same thing will appear, when it will appear to be a perfectly proper thing to incur an indebtedness; because, “Just see what is coming! just see what is in prospect for us!” But what are you going to do?—that is the question. Are you going to set yourself firmly upon the principle of self-government and self-support,—self-government first of all, that you can govern yourself enough to keep yourself from going into debt; then also wed yourself to the principle of self-support, that you will depend upon your divine resources in God to make prosperity for the cause of God, rather than to depend upon speculation? Whether you will depend upon sound principles rather than upon a bright, alluring prospect,—that is the thing that you must settle. And when we have it settled that we will not go into debt, then there will be met the temptation to use for other purposes than the payment of debts, the money that is saved, made, or received. And we must have the Christianity—the self-government—to resist that temptation. And I have seen those who did not have it. I have seen those who acted, “Now we have money. We can have this thing, and that thing, and the other thing,” which were not really needed at all. But no matter; it was, “Can’t get along without it!” And yet they always had got along without it, and could have got along well without it. But no, they had the money, and thought that a good use to put it to. The only good use that a man or an association can put money to—except only actual running necessities—when debts are to be paid, and obligations to be met, is to pay those debts and meet those obligations. “THE patient heart,
That bears its heavy cross apart,
And still makes known
Its burden unto Christ alone,—
To this one his sweet Spirit brings
Most dear and gracious comfortings.” JESUS Christ in the flesh was the representative of the human family, a sample of what all humanity might become through union with him. All that he did as man, he did for us, as our representative, and each individual may by faith receive the full virtue of every act of his life, just as though he himself had wrought it. Take, for example, his baptism. “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,” that he, the Lamb of God, might take away “the sin of the world.” So when the multitudes came to be baptized in Jordan, confessing their sins, “then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.” And as by faith he witnessed in this act to the power of his sacrifice to cleanse the whole world of sin, the Spirit also bore witness to the acceptance of that cleansed humanity with God. Jesus was baptized as our representative, confessing our sins; therefore the words, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” are for us, who are “accepted in the Beloved.” The opened heavens, the descending Spirit, the approval of the Father, all are ours in him who “by himself purged our sins,” and justified humanity. This glorious fact even the apostles were slow to accept, and a special vision was given to Peter in which the truth that in Christ all men are justified and cleansed was most emphatically taught. “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common,” were the words thrice repeated in the vision; and in relating it Peter said, “God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean,” thereby showing that in Christ God hath cleansed every man. Hence the yearning call to those who have not experienced the blessedness of the man “whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,” because they are ignorant of that blessed fact: “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” “Whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” At his baptism Christ revealed man justified and accepted. Later, toward the close of his life on earth, he revealed man glorified. For a little while the veil was removed, and the beauty and glory of the divine image shone forth and proclaimed him the Son of God. A chosen few of his disciples were “eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory.” And this he received as man for men; he was still our representative. Therefore, seeing Jesus crowned with glory and honor, the whole creation waits in hope for the manifestation of all the sons of God, when all whom he has justified shall be likewise glorified, when the righteousness wrought for them and in them by the divine Son of man, shall clothe them with raiment white and glistening, fine linen clean and bright; and crown them with unfading glory. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Then he shall change our vile body, and fashion it like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.—Present Truth. “Giving the Tenth”
By G. D. Watson
SOME may say that giving of a tenth was only a Mosaic law, but this is a mistake; it was in practice by the saints of God five hundred years before the giving of the law. Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils to the priest of God (Heb. 7:4); and Jacob gave a tenth of his income to the Lord; and, so far as we know, it was the practice of Noah and the saints of the earliest ages. When the Holy Spirit gets possession of a soul, he writes this principle of giving a tenth upon the heart, showing it is not merely a Mosaic but a Holy Ghost law. There are marvelous blessings connected with giving a tenth to the Lord; it is a wonderful stimulant to faith; it strengthens obedience on all other points; it brings light into the mind on other subjects; it is a safeguard against greed and stinginess; it makes benevolence a fixed affection in the soul, and not a spasmodic action; it makes us appreciate our nine tenths far more; it makes God’s special providence more real to us; it makes the conscience tender, and gives sweet access to God in prayer. It is a great blessing financially to give constantly a tenth of all you receive to the Lord. The living God keeps his financial promises just as absolutely as he does his salvation promises. “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty.” How few Christians positively believe this word, and steadily act upon it! I have never yet met a person who gave regularly a tenth to the Lord who ever regretted it. All uniformly testify that since they have done so, they have prospered far better in all their temporal affairs. I am absolutely sure, with Müller, that God does not want any of his children in debt or destitute; and if all of us who are in debt will repent of the sin of getting in debt, and promise God never them to go in debt again, and to give him one tenth of all that we receive, and stick to the covenant with a loving heart, he will begin to work financial mercies for us, and soon have us free from debt. See Rom. 13:8. God will not do wonders for us till we get away from our slipshod faith and partial obedience. A great many will say they keep no regular account; they think that they give about a tenth, etc. That is the way I used to give, but I see now that it is a shilly-shally obedience. It will please God to give him the tenth, and not a guess about the tenth. Then some aim to give a tenth at the end of the month or at the end of the year. This is degrading our Lord by putting self first and him last. Honor God by putting him and his kingdom always first, and then he will honor you. Just as soon as you receive any money, be it ever so small, take out the tenth for the Lord; do not wait till you spend the nine tenths; do not use it all up, and promise to pay the Lord’s tenth out of the next money you get; that is a slovenly, shabby way of dealing with the Lord. Treat your Lord in all these matters with the respect and honor with which you would treat him if he stood visibly by your side; don’t be mean and stingy in your treatment of him, but generous and prompt and free-hearted, and God will treat you like a prince, and ever and anon will astonish you with some great favor. Be you ever so poor, old or young, parent or child, even if you have only an occasional sixpence to call your own, give a tenth of it to God; do it religiously, lovingly, rigidly, and, as sure as you live, Omnipotence will find some way to bless you in your temporal affairs. Will you believe this? Will you begin at once to do it? Ask the Holy Ghost to help you keep it as a holy covenant.— G. D. Watson, D. D. LORD, send the light
Not only in the darkest night,
But in the shadowy, dim twilight,
Wherein my strained and aching sight
Can scarce distinguish wrong from right—
Then send thy light. Teach me to pray,
Not only in the morning gray,
Or when the moonbeam’s silver ray
Falls on me, but at high noonday,
When pleasure beckons me away,
Teach me to pray.
— Selected. The Independence of Complete Dependence on God
“THE most independent person in the world is the little child that is absolutely and confidently dependent upon its father for everything. It has no care, and knows no fear, and is under no obligation to anybody. It has everything it wants, and has it as its own by right. Even so it is with the man who knows and implicitly trusts his Heavenly Father. The man most completely independent of this world and all in it, is the man who is consciously the most helplessly dependent on God.” “God wills but ill,” the doubter said,
“Lo time doth evil only bear;
Give me a sign his love to prove—
His vaunted goodness to declare!” The poet paused by where a flower,
A simple daisy starred the sod,
And answered, “Proof of love and
power;
Behold! behold a smile of God!” Just to recollect His love,
Always true,
Always shining from above,
Always new;
Just to recognize its light,
All enfolding;
Just to claim its present might,
All upholding;
Just to know it as thine own,
That no power can take away,—
Is not this enough alone
For the gladness of the day? Just to trust and yet to ask
Guidance still,
Take the training or the task
As he will;
Just to take the loss or gain
As he sends it;
Just to take the joy or pain
As he lends it.
He who formed thee for his praise,
Will not miss the gracious aim;
So to-day and all thy days
Shall be molded for the same. Just to leave in his dear hand
Little things,
All we cannot understand,
All that stings;
Just to let him take the care
Sorely pressing,
Finding all we let him bear
Changed to blessing,—
This is all! and yet the way
Marked by him who loves thee
best,—
Secret of a happy day,—
Secret of his promised rest.