Earlier text: LESSONS FROM THE CHRIST-LIFEHOW CAN I SUCCEED IN MY BUSINESS?
By W. J. Stone
W. J. Stone, in Tennessee Watchman Brother A has started on the right track. Day by day he is joyous in the Lord; for the Lord has given him “the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;” and the Lord now calls him a tree of righteousness. Isa. 61: 3. “And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Ps. 1: 3. God’s infinite power is exercised day and night in his behalf. He sends the showers of rain to moisten the thirsty fields; the sun to impart the needed heat; the electrical current to quicken the buried seed. The seed grows and the plants develop by the power of God, and bring forth a bountiful harvest. “As the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth.” Isa. 61: 11.197 Brother A seems to have had a new conversion. His testimonies in the meetings are much more hopeful. He talks faith in God and His promises. The change is apparent to all. He has taken God at His word: “Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Mal. 3: 10. Never before have his crops looked so thrifty, the orchard and vines been laden with such an abundant crop of luscious fruit, free from the sting of the destroying insect. Verse 11. The stock never thrived so well. The housewife’s chickens seem to be outdoing themselves, and even the garden puts on an air of pageantry. All nature seems to be smiling upon his home. Deut. 28: 1-8. Brother A keeps his vow to the Lord faithfully. He harvests his crops, and his barns are filled to overflowing. Read Prov. 3: 9, 10; also Mal. 3: 10. Brother and Sister A have been keeping strict account of how many eggs the hens have laid; how much milk and butter have been produced; how much the bountiful garden has lessened their expense from that of city life; and they faithfully bring to the Lord His own, and thus fulfill the instruction of the Saviour. Matt. 23: 23. What a grand experience is that of Brother A. “But,” says one, “this is a fictitious narrative.” But it is not. This is what God promises, and He can not lie. And it is the experience of thousands who have proved the Lord by faithfulness. What a comforting thought that we need have no worriment over the cares of this life. The Lord says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter 5: 7. When we do our part faithfully, working the works of righteousness by faith in Christ and God, our Heavenly Father is bound by His oath to support us. The burden of support rests upon Him. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; . . . in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Prov. 3: 5, 6. What a precious promise is this! Oh that we could all learn the blessedness of trusting in our Heavenly Father! Much of the worriment, much of the anxious care, many of our failures in business, would be things of the past. God is longing graciously to bestow His blessing where His curse is resting, and in loving kindness is endeavoring to woo us into His confidence, and to loving obedience. Isa. 48: 18. My brethren and sisters, shall we heed the loving entreaties, and be honest with our God? Many of our brethren fail in bringing to the Lord that which is His due on little things. This opens the way to be careless about greater things. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16: 10. The Lord would have us tithe even the garden stuff, eggs, butter, etc., and estimate the things we use to live upon. The Lord would render double to all such for their faithfulness. I am acquainted with a brother living in this Conference who bought nine chickens, and kept them three months. He kept strict account of all the eggs laid, tithing them, as is his custom in everything, and in the three months the nine hens laid seventy-two eggs each, or a total of six hundred and forty-eight eggs. This is only one case, but it shows how God rewards faithful souls. Do not, however, make a covenant with God through selfishness, but rather through a principle of righteousness. THE RELATION OF THE BELIEVER TO THE LAW OF GOD
By M. L. Leach
The servants of God have had the same character and experiences in all ages of the world. Enoch of old, who walked with God, and was not, for God took him, came into his relation of nearness to God by the same path by which the sinner comes to God to-day—the path of repentance, faith, regeneration, and consecration. The law of God, in its essence and in its application to man, is the same as the gospel; the gospel, in its essence and in its application to man, is the same as the law. The gospel is in the law, and the law is in the gospel. The relation of the Christian to God under the gospel, is exactly the same as was that of the ancient servant of God under the law. You and I, my brother, shall be judged by the same rule that Enoch, and Moses, and the Israelites were judged by. The gospel does not give us liberty to do any act prohibited by the law; it does not release us from the obligation to do every act commanded by the law. Let there be no misapprehension of what the law is. It is not the law of Moses, given for the regulation of the civil affairs of the Israelites, nor the ceremonial law, given for the regulation of the tabernacle worship, but the law of God as formulated in the Ten Commandments. It is called by different names,—law, commandments, testimonies, precepts, word, judgments, statutes, and ordinances. All these names are used by David in the one hundred and nineteenth psalm. The Ten Commandments are as binding upon Christians to-day as they were upon the Israelites in the days of Moses and of David. They are as binding upon Christians as are the commandments and precepts of Christ. Christians can keep them as perfectly as could the patriarchs of old; they can not keep them any more perfectly than could the patriarchs. In his fallen state, no man can keep them perfectly. No man ever did keep them perfectly, except He of whom it is recorded that He magnified the law and made it honorable. Hence there is no salvation by the works of the law. Paul says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight.” Rom. 3:20. But here comes in the great fact of salvation through faith. Paul further says, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Does the way seem hard, my brother? Yet you sincerely desire to live a true life in the sight of God. What yearning there is in your heart for the perfection of the life that was manifested in Christ! Yet you are painfully conscious of coming short of the standard which your judgment and conscience approve. Look up, my brother. The robe of the imputed righteousness of Christ shall cover you as a garment. Patient continuance in well-doing shall bring eternal life. Dwell not on your mistakes and your failures. The great question is, Is your spirit right? David says, “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” Ps. 32:2. Is your spirit without guile? Is it true that deep down in your heart you desire and intend, above all things else, to live a holy life before God? Then upon you is the blessing that David pronounces upon the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, “in whose spirit there is no guile;” and “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ,” is unto you and upon you as one who believes. He who enters upon the Christian way expecting to tread all the way a flowery path, where there are no obstacles to be overcome, no unpleasant sights and sounds, and odors to be endured, no burdens to be borne, where there is no toil nor weariness nor longing for rest, will meet disappointment. Happy will he be if he ceases not to press forward. There is no standing still in this journey. One must either go forward or go backward. It is like rowing a boat up a rapid and turbulent stream. Unremitting toil at the oars carries one slowly upward. There can be no rest, except with the certainty of being carried downward, slowly, it may be, at first, but later with ever-increasing and dangerous velocity. It is the duty of every Christian to keep the commandments of God, as it has been the duty of all men to keep them, everywhere and all the time. Let no one draw the dangerous inference that because the imputed righteousness of Christ covers the faults and failures of the sincere and earnest disciple, in whose spirit there is no guile, therefore he can with impunity neglect to square his life by the requirements of God’s law. Antinomianism, or the doctrine that the moral law is no longer binding upon men, is one of the worst delusions of Satan. The carnal heart desires it to be so, hence men are easily persuaded by the arch-deceiver that it is so. The most astonishing thing about it is that ministers of the gospel, having a reputable standing in Christian churches, teach it, when it suits their convenience to do so. It usually suits their convenience when the Fourth Commandment is under consideration. Urge the binding force of the First Commandment, and they have no dissent to offer. Quote the second, and you have their unqualified approval. Present the third, and they will join you in earnest exhortation to the profane swearer to leave off his habitual violation of the law of God. You come to the fourth, and read, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and they fly the track at once, and bluntly tell you that we are not under the law, but under grace. The law of God, they say, has been repealed, abrogated, and done away. It is not necessary and would not be profitable at this time to enter into an argument on the law of the Sabbath. You, brethren and sisters, are content to take the commandment as it reads, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.” One thought more in this connection. John, in his vision of the threefold message, saw a peculiar company of believers, separate from all the rest, whose patience, and faith, and regard for God’s law lifted them above their unholy and turbulent surroundings; and of them he wrote: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. We are living amid the scenes that John saw. We have heard the cry of the message. Do we see that peculiar company that drew his special attention? Are we among those patient ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? It is not enough that we keep the faith of Jesus only, as those profess to do who say the law of God has been done away. His children are required to keep His commandments also. Kind Acts Recorded by the Angels
“ NEVER are kind acts done
To wipe the weeping eyes,
But, like the flashes of the sun,
They signal to the skies;
And up above, the angels read
How we have helped the sorer need.” EASTER REVERIE
By Hattie Horner
We buried a grain in the darksome earth,
And the time dragged slowly by,
When lo! from the death there was joyous birth,
A passing mystery—
From death and darkness and sad decay,
Leaf and flower and fruit of May! They buried Him deep in the sealed tomb,
Three days passed slowly by,
Then from the gloom broke the sudden bloom
Of immortality—
From death and darkness and deep despair,
Life and Promise and Hope most fair.
— Hattie Horner. EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE
THE Lord is answering my prayers and healing me in a most wonderful manner. I do thank and praise Him. I have experienced great blessing in really talking with the Lord. I think it is so good to take Him into all our affairs. I have tried to be a Christian ever since I was a little girl, but only within a few years have I known how to go to Christ with my trials and troubles, and get comfort. I no longer tell my troubles to my friends, only to Jesus. I get comfort, sweet comfort, from Him, and it is not a seldom thing to get direct answers to my prayers. I am thankful to say that my husband has recovered, and is now canvassing for “Great Controversy.” Through sickness and discouragements he had given up the work, but has now taken it up again, to stay in it until the Lord comes, he says. He thinks he has learned that if the Lord can care for him months at a time while he is sick and helpless, He can certainly care for him while engaged in His cause. I am glad our people are beginning to take a more active interest in the temperance work; for I believe much good can be accomplished by it. Some who were using tobacco and liquor two years ago, have given up both, and are rejoicing in present truth. First they signed the anti-liquor pledge, then the anti-tobacco, and so were led on step by step into the principles of health reform. These principles have worked wonders for the people here. The following is an extract from a letter written by an isolated Sabbath-keeper. If we remember rightly, Elder Shireman visited her once, by our request, and aside from this she has not seen a Sabbath-keeper’s face for twenty years:— I send two dollars for which I worked with my own hands, for the relief of the schools. I want to give it to the Lord, and I want to get it in before it is too late. To-day, while looking over some old REVIEWS, I opened one dated Nov. 20, 1900, and on the Woman’s page I found a letter written by a sister in a Western State who was then in almost destitute circumstances, having to provide for a baby niece, and a mother who was very ill with cancer. She herself was not strong, but walked seven miles a day to obtain work so that she might get money for their sustenance. I wish you would send me her address; for I can at least write to her. If more of such cases were published, it might take some of the selfishness out of our hearts, and set us to work. I think I am only one of many who would be glad to hear through the REVIEW how this dear sister is prospering. It has been a severely cold winter here, and my heart aches for those in destitute circumstances. I intend to send the Woman’s Gospel Work a small sum of money through our tract society next month; for I am deeply interested in this movement among our sisters. The noontide hour of prayer is sweet to me as I think of so many of our dear family upon their knees at that time. Surely, in union there is strength. Will the amount received from the sale of the book, “My Mother’s Life,” be printed in the REVIEW. The sister referred to in the preceding letter was cared for by those in her own Conference. The amount received from Mrs. Rossiter for “My Mother’s Life,” was eleven dollars. Our attention is called to a sad case—a widow whose husband has been dead two years, leaving her with a family of three children to support, and no means whatever. The oldest son, a boy of sixteen years, has obtained work in the mines at a dollar a day, but his employer says he must work on Saturday, or he can not work at all. As the support of the whole family is dependent upon him, he works on the Sabbath. The mother writes, requesting prayers that the way may be opened so that they can obtain a living and yet keep the Sabbath. I am a widow. I have a son on whom I depend for support, as I have no means. For some time he has been drinking and gambling, and some weeks has wasted all his earnings. I have talked to him about it, and he always says he knows that it is wrong, and over and over again has promised not to do so again. I think he honestly desires to quit, but Satan has him so bound that he leads him nearly all the time. I have told him that he can not overcome in his own strength, that the Lord is his only help. I have always treated him kindly, but sometimes I feel like giving up the battle; then the thought comes to me: “Be not weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” I ask prayer in my own behalf, that I may always deal with him as the Saviour would, and that my life may be such as to lead him nearer the Saviour; pray also that the Lord will help my dear boy to overcome all these evil habits. I have two other children who are unconverted; pray also for them. I have been observing the noontide hour of prayer, and feel encouraged by the blessings others have experienced in seeing dear ones brought to Christ. Loved ones, ye whose tender pity Soothes and comforts all my pain, You are wondering why your praying Seems an asking all in vain; You are wondering why I suffer, In the springtime of the year, When e’en to the plants and flowers Blessed springtime brings its cheer. Loved ones, I am with our Father, With a loving, trusting heart; He has called me from the great world To a little room apart; And, with looks of love so tender That my soul can ask no more, ’Twixt the world and all its gladness And myself, He’s shut the door; For He has such words to whisper As must be in quiet heart; For His sweet voice is so low-toned Noise might make me lose a word. Sickness means so close to press me, In a little room apart, With a shut door, that each whisper Through the ear glides to the heart. Loved ones, the shut door will open When the whispering is done, And I leave the darkened chamber, Not a sad and weary one, Not a soul that has been smitten By a cruel, stinging rod, But a mortal blest and strengthened By an interview with God. Opportunity in the Prayer Life
THE hour of opportunity lies near the hour of prayer; and the life that loves prayer is the life that gets the opportunities to do good. To live near to God is the true secret of living near to man. It keeps the heart open and the eyes open for every hour of helpful opportunity. And then the praying life has always something to give. It may not be silver and gold: the praying life is not always the life that has money to spare; but every life that knows the rich communion with God will always have something to give that other souls need. Blessed thought! Our lives need never be poor. We need never feel that circumstances have limited us so that we can not do for others; because “of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” Peter and John had something better than silver and gold to give: and filled with the fullness of God through the constant intercourse of our souls with Him, we shall always have a wealth of strength to spare for others. As we pass through each “Beautiful Gate” of life, some soul at our side that has lived a crippled life, not knowing the joy of progress, shall leap up and join us, and go with us into the temple of service. PRAY for my husband, who I fear is going insane. Satan is working diligently to make his life one of misery, by an unbalanced mind. Please make no delay; my husband must be saved, and the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous availeth much. A sister who lives one hundred and fifty miles from any others of like faith, writes: “I ask that my husband may be remembered at the noontide hour of prayer. He has never made any profession. He reads our books and publications, but he never expresses his opinion. But I am sure he believes the truth. I am trying to bring up my four boys in the way they should go. Pray for me, that I may not bring a reproach upon the cause, and that the time may soon come when my husband will be with me in the truth.” “I am almost in despair about our family. We were once quite happy, but Satan seems determined to destroy our happiness here and make us lose our souls. My health is poor, and also my husband’s. We are both very impatient, and are not entirely united in the government of the children. My husband was brought up to use the rod, and is very exacting and faultfinding, and whips when he is angry. I have done wrong in interfering; but I ask prayer that he may be more gentle with the children, and correct with pity and love, as our Heavenly Father deals with us; and also that I may be more patient with my husband, and do my duty as a wife and mother. I have read the requests and answers to prayer, and have been impressed from time to time to ask an interest in prayer for my family.” FOR each quart of soup required, cook a pint of sliced potatoes in sufficient water to cover. When tender, rub through a colander. Return to the fire and add enough rich milk, or part cream, to make a quart in all, and a little salt. Let the soup come to a boil, and add a teaspoonful of flour or corn starch rubbed to a paste with a little water; boil a few minutes, and serve. One and one-half cups of cold mashed potato, or a pint of sliced baked potato, may be used instead of fresh material, in which case add the milk, and heat before rubbing through the colander. A slice of onion or a stalk of celery may be simmered in the soup for a few minutes to flavor it, and then removed. A good mixed potato soup is made by using one-third sweet and two-thirds Irish potatoes, in the same manner. The first verse of this chapter shows the interest of the angels of God in helping His people to understand His dealings with them. One of the seven angels which had the seven vials of God’s wrath came to the prophet, and explained to him the judgment of the great whore. In doing this he explained her character and the result of her sins. There is mentioned in the Bible but one beast having ten horns. That was pagan Rome in its two forms. The papal form is “the man of sin” fully developed. “The mystery of iniquity” is manifested in its fullness. “Antichrist” is perfectly developed. And the agency by which this is accomplished is the union of Church and State. The same principle is illustrated when individuals unite with the world. The course of this world is according to the prince of the power of the air, which worketh in the children of disobedience. Eph. 2:2. Rome therefore becomes the object lesson of all the past and future. No nation sinned against greater light, or because of this, plunged into greater darkness, or represented Satan’s character more fully. The apostate Church rode upon the Beast, implying that she guided and directed it. This is what the Church always does when it unites with civil power. It is for this purpose she seeks its influence. Christ said, “Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Matt. 22:21. It is by distinct separation that the Church is kept pure. The Beast is the civil power, and the harlot woman is said to be the one “which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. The cities of Rome and Constantinople answer to this description, but the dragon gave to this apostate Church “his power, and his seat, and great authority.” Rev. 13:2. This defines what Church it is, and where its headquarters are. When their own testimony, to a man, claims this, there can be no question as to the application of this prophecy. It is definitely shown by the Spirit of God, historical facts prove it, and it is corroborated by every one of the papal adherents. The power that so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom is Rome. The purple and scarlet color, the gold and the precious stones and pearls, represent the magnificence and more than kingly pomp affected by the haughty city of Rome. The scarlet has a double significance, also referring to its true character. Isa. 1:18. Rome is charged with the sin of unlawful connection with the kings of the earth. It was by departing from the Lord, and making alliance with the heathen, that the Jewish Church became a harlot; and Rome, corrupting herself in like manner by seeking the support of worldly powers, receives a like condemnation. In this chapter God gives her three names—“MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” John marveled to see the professed churches of Christ guilty of the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. In the principles of the union of Church and State are “found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” Rev. 18:24. The origin of such union is the bottomless pit. Every one whose name is not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will be taken in this snare; for it is a union with the world and with worldly governments that enforce religious dogmas by civil authority. She is the mother of harlots. She has daughters—the churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God to form the unlawful alliance with the world. No Church can retain her purity, and look to the civil authority to fight her battles and to enforce her dogmas. When this course is followed by individuals or by any body of people, it severs their connection with God. God is jealous over His people; for they are espoused unto one husband, that they may be presented as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Cor. 11:2, 3. The relationship of a godly husband to his wife is a figure of Christ and His Church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. Eph. 5:23–33. Another important feature is brought out in this chapter. Babylon makes war with the Lamb, and the world is marshaled to the battle of the great day by this union of Church and State. “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the Beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” During the last century there has been a manifestation of hate toward the principles of freedom of conscience, upon which the government of this country was founded. It was a State without a king, and a Church without a pope. But the dragonic voice betrays its inheritance, and Protestant Churches show their relation to their mother by seeking the aid of the State to enforce their religious institutions, such as Sunday-keeping, whose pedigree is bad. It is a cherished child of Protestant churches, christened by their mother, cradled by paganism; and we leave the reader to judge who is its father. God will put it into the hearts of the kings to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdoms unto the Beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled. DAILY READING FOR MARCH 31 TO APRIL 6
Sunday, “Thoughts on the Revelation,” pages 657–662. Monday, The Great Apostasy, “Early Writings” (last part), pages 76–79. Tuesday, The Mystery of Iniquity, “Early Writings” (last part), pages 79–83. Wednesday, “Great Controversy,” chap. 35, Character and Aims of the Papacy. 1. Who explained to the prophet the mysteries of this chapter? Whose judgment was revealed? What is indicated by the phrase “sitteth upon many waters”? 2. What is the corrupt power brought to view? What is meant by the kings committing fornication with her? Identify the Beast. 3. Describe the woman. What is the significance of her riding the Beast? What is represented by the contents of the cup? 4. Who is the mother? Who are the daughters? What power fulfilled verse 6? Where will this power go? Who will escape? 5. What is represented by the seven heads? Give explanation of verse 10. What is the eighth beast? 6. To whom will the nations give their strength and power? When they give strength to the Beast, what will then be done? 7. What does the water represent? How extensive is the power of the woman? What will be the final end of these powers? THE Lord frequently taught His disciples that they must pray, and how; but seldom what to pray. This He left to their sense of need, and the leading of the Spirit. But here we have one thing He expressly enjoins them to remember: in view of the plenteous harvest, and the need of reapers, they must cry to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers. The Lord, who intrusted them with His work, and made it to so large an extent dependent on them, gives them authority to apply to Him for laborers to help, and makes the supply dependent on their prayer. Solemn thought! Oh, why is it that we do not obey the injunction of the Master more heartily, and cry more earnestly for laborers? There are two reasons for this. The one is: we miss the compassion of Jesus, which gave rise to this request for prayer. When believers learn that to love their neighbors as themselves, that to live entirely for God’s glory in their fellow men, is the Father’s commandment to His redeemed ones, . . . it will not be long before compassion toward the hopelessly perishing will touch their hearts, and the cry ascend with an earnestness till then unknown: Lord, send laborers! The other reason for the neglect of the command, the want of faith, will then make itself felt, but will be overcome as our pity pleads for help. We believe too little in the power of prayer to bring about definite results. We do not live close enough to God, and are not enough given up to His service, to be capable of the confidence that He will give it in answer to our prayer. Oh, let us pray for a life so one with Christ that His compassion may stream into us, and His Spirit be able to assure us that our prayer avails! Such prayer will ask and obtain a twofold blessing. There will first be the desire for the increase of men entirely given up to the service of God. It is a terrible blot upon the Church of Christ that there are times when actually men can not be found for the service of the Master as missionaries, or teachers of God’s word. As God’s children make this a matter of supplication, it will be given. Prayer will lead to the co-operation of the Head and members; the believing suppliants will be stirred to find the men and means for the work. The other blessing to be asked will not be less. Every believer is a laborer; not one of God’s children who has not been redeemed for service, and has not his work waiting. It must be our prayer that the Lord would so fill all His people with the spirit of devotion, that not one may be found standing idle in the vineyard. Wherever there is a complaint of the want of helpers, or of fit helpers, in God’s work, prayer has the promise of a supply. It may take time and importunity, but the command of Christ to ask the Lord of the harvest is the pledge that the prayer will be heard. Let us set apart time and give ourselves to this part of our intercessory work. It will lead us into the fellowship of that compassionate heart of His that led Him to call for our prayers. It will make us feel how really we are God’s fellow workers on earth, to whom a share in His work has in downright earnest been intrusted. It will make us partakers in the soul travail, but also in the soul satisfaction, of Jesus, as we know how, in answer to our prayer, blessing has been given that otherwise would not have come.—Condensed from “With Christ in the School of Prayer.” THE KEEPING OF THE COMMANDMENTS
“I AM the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Last week we noticed that phase of idolatry manifested in the worship of Mammon, in the getting of money. A further method of manifesting idolatry in the worship of Mammon is in giving away the money that has been so obtained. There is just as much idolatry in giving away money that is obtained by idolatry, as there is in getting it by idolatry. Not all Mammon worshipers are misers: only a very few of them. Many of them are abundant givers; and these have just as much satisfaction in giving away the money as they had in getting it, because it is further indulgence of the same idolatry. Last week we cited how the laboring man is oppressed and robbed in his wages; the poor man is oppressed and robbed in the increased prices; small dealers are oppressed and robbed or driven entirely out of business in order that a few in the great combinations may draw to themselves the tribute of all the people. And when that is done, they will make gifts of millions to colleges and universities, hundreds of thousands to hospitals, thousands to churches, etc., etc.; and then further pride themselves upon the world’s idolatry of their “great benevolence.” But there is not a particle of benevolence in any gift that is thus made: it is sheer idolatry. By the Lord, in perfect justice and righteousness, all our gifts are measured, and stand, altogether upon the basis upon which we get the money. We say it again; for it is applicable to people who are not millionaires, as truly as to those who are: All the value of our giving as measured by the Lord, in perfect justice and righteousness, rests altogether upon the basis upon which we make our money. If my money is not made honestly, not a cent that I ever gave away will stand to my credit: it can not in righteousness: it can not in justice. I robbed another man to get it; it is his still, and when I give it away, it is his money that I give away. And this is another reason why the two mites of the poor widow that day when she gave it, was more than all that the wealthy put in of their abundance. We know that the Mammon worshipers in Christ’s day were like the Mammon worshipers in this day: they would crowd down in the dealing when people were selling to them; and they would crowd up on the price when people were to buy of them, and thus at both ends they increased their gains. Of these it is written: “It was this spirit that was manifested by the priests and temple officials in their gatherings for the Passover. Cattle were bought by the dignitaries, the moneyed men, who oppressed those of whom they purchased. The representation was made [to these owners out in the country, who had the cattle, the sheep, and the doves, and whoever had these to sell] that these animals were to be offered as a sacrifice to God at the Passover, and thus urged, the owners sold them at a cheap price. Then these scheming men brought their purchases to the temple,—purchases which meant double robbery,— robbery of the men of whom they had purchased, and robbery of those who wished to sacrifice, to whom they were again sold at exorbitant prices.” And then they would put great offerings into the temple treasury of the Lord, and take credit to themselves because they gave so much to “the cause.” But that poor widow, who, because of these men who devoured widows’ houses and for a pretense made long prayers, was reduced to a pittance honestly gotten, but by the hardest,—that widow, who, out of her love to the Lord, gave what little she had left after she had passed through the devouring hands of these men—when she came into the temple of the Lord, giving the little that she had, she gave more than all the others together. Every particle of it was honest. Every particle of it came from honest effort. And that was a gift that measured according to righteousness in the sight of God. There is such a thing as honest dealing; and it can be practiced in this world. And whatever means is not acquired in that way, how much soever of it may be given, it can not be counted as the gift of him that gives it. It will be counted to those widows and the poor whom he has ground down to get it, to the laborers whose wages he ground down to the lowest notch to increase or to preserve his great gains. This is why God says to the laborers, Be patient unto the coming of the Lord. The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruits of the earth, and hath long patience for it. Be ye also patient; your labor is not in vain. God knows the just wages that you earn, and of just how much of it you are robbed. And in the day of reckoning He will reckon it to you in full justice and righteousness. Be ye patient. Serve God. “Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” In that day God will distribute justly all the rewards of labor. He is the righteous God. The Christian can cheerfully bear to be ground down, robbed, and oppressed: he can wait for the day of grand distribution in righteousness; for he knows that in that day he will receive all that his honest toil ever earned, and he shall have the eternal glory of it. Even though in this world some Mammon worshiper absorbed it, and made a great gift of it, and got the worldly fleeting glory of it; yet since from the beginning it belonged in righteousness to him who was defrauded of it, in righteousness it, with all the fruits of it, will be reckoned to him to whom in righteousness from the beginning it belonged. This is the word and the message of God to the robbed, oppressed, and defrauded workingmen everywhere to-day, who are clamoring for a righteous distribution of the fruits of their labor: “Fear God, and keep His commandments.” No righteous distribution can be made by force and violence. In that way, an iniquitous and bad condition can only be made more iniquitous and worse. “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” Then shall every man receive his own reward according to his own labor. “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Hazing As a Universal Form of Savagery
To outsiders the incredible feature of such incidents as the West Point hazing and the rioting among the students of the college of the city of New York a short time ago is that this savagery should prevail among young gentlemen. Yet the truth is that it is not exceptional, but universal. The West Pointers are only practicing cruelties that are repeated all the world over. In polite Paris the hazing of the “nouveaux”—or freshmen—is outrageous. In Germany it takes the form of dueling after a mild corps initiation. In England fighting and fagging and hazing are all got through with in the public schools, and rarely reappear in the universities. In this country any decrease of hazing is more than made good by the development of the initiations into the secret societies. Out of college the barbarism of hazing survives among grown men. Nearly every friendly and benevolent order has its rite of initiation based on ridiculous forms of cruelty and torture, and middle-aged, sober business men seem to take the same delight in it as do the boys. Our boasted civilization is not so deep after all. Scratch a man deep enough, and you will find a savage — and you don’t need to scratch a boy, to find one.—New York World.