Earlier text: Jehovah Will ProvideTRADITION TRADUCED.
By The Examiner
FEW persons in this country who read the brief statement in the daily press of last week, that the Canadian Government had paid the Jesuits' claims, understood the significance of the act. In fact there has been little interest in the great popular upheaval that has been going on in the Dominion for the past half year discoverable in the United States, and yet events of grave importance have been taking place. The initiation in the new order of things was taken two years ago, when the Legislature of Quebec passed an act incorporating the Society of Jesus in the Province. This action made little disturbance in Quebec, for the Province was so thoroughly Catholic in sentiment that any measure to promote the interests of the Romish Church would meet with little opposition and heavy support. But although Quebec did not become dangerously factious over the passage of the act, the Dominion at large was fired with indignation. The Province of Ontario took the lead in the fierce opposition to the act. The liberal and independent press clamored for a subversion of the act by the Dominion Parliament, and the Orange Order showed signs of resorting to violence unless the odious claims were canceled. In due course of time the question came up in Parliament. According to rule the act was to lie before the chief Dominion Government for one year before final action was taken upon it. But popular feeling was so intense that efforts were made to hurry things on. These efforts were successful, and discussion of the act was put upon the order of the day. The issue was a constitutional one, involving the decision of the character of the Quebec act as to whether it affected the whole Dominion or only the special Province. On this the Parliament was divided. Those in favor of disallowance based their argument on the fact that any recognition of the pope's authority in Canada was anti-national; furthermore, the payment of the claims was a violation of the national policy, inasmuch as it placed one religious body in an inequality relation to other denominations. On the other hand, those favoring allowance maintained that the act was purely local, it did not recognize the authority of the pope, reference being only made to him, as it were, for 'politeness' sake; he "was simply called upon to act as an arbitrator between the disputants in a matter in which the interests of the church were involved." A question of this kind coming up under our government would have been referred to the Supreme Court; but Canada having no such institution, the matter must be settled by a "parliamentary division." The division was taken, and out of a total vote of 201 only 13 voted for disallowance. The Quebec act was thus sustained, and the sum of $400,000 was to be paid to the Jesuits, and the Laprarie Common restored to them, upon the condition, however, that the Order abandon totally and perpetually all claims to the estates which became in 1791 the property of the crown when the Order was suppressed. Sixty thousand dollars were paid to the Protestants as a "sop." The confiscation by George III. was made just eighteen years after the suppression of the Order by Clement XIV., in 1773. In 1804 Pius VII. re-established the Order. Upon this act the Canadian Jesuits based their present claims. The Parliament's action can be explained on no other than on party grounds. The ruling consideration in the minds of the supporters of the act was the acquisition of political patronage from the French Catholics, whose numbers and influence are not to be treated lightly. The Prime Minister's observation that the government did not recognize any civil obligation for the payment of the claims, but simply a "moral obligation," will not bear close examination. The facts viewed impartially show that the Parliament has acted at variance to the traditional Constitution under which it exists, and has given a weapon into the hands of the Canadian Catholics that may at no late day be turned against it.—The Examiner. Truth Will Ultimately Appear
By Tillotson
It is hard to personate and act a part long, for where truth is not at the bottom, nature will always be endeavoring to return, and will peep out and betray herself one time or other. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE OF THE MAN IN THE WORLD.
By Charles F. Thwing
CHARACTER, not greatness, is God's measuring line. Men saw in Moses a disappointed pioneer. God saw in Moses the deliverer of his people. Men saw in Tyndale and Huss and Cranmer misguided enthusiasts. God saw in Tyndale and Huss and Cranmer strong pillars in his church. Men saw in Newell, Hall, Not, and Judson, blind enthusiasts. God saw in them the calm, mighty piety that crosses the globe to save a soul. Seen from the stars, the palace and the hut are equally splendid and humble. Seen from heaven's battlements, the shining pile of gold, the result of strife and labor, may seem a dull and trivial pile of stone. The judgment-day is to reverse many decisions of the lower courts. Therefore look upon life as God looks upon it,—as an opportunity of Christian influence, in the formation of your own character and aid in forming other men's character. Let not, therefore, the applause of the multitudes nor their hisses move you. Let not obscurity give despair, nor eminence elation. Measure things not by the yard-stick, but by celestial diameters. Weigh things not in scales, but in divine balances. When you feel keenly the difference between your daily work and the Sabbath worship, when you see your aspirations soaring and your attainments trailing in the dust, look to Jesus Christ. He made the ideal real. He transfigured the work of the carpenter into a school for himself, the world's Saviour. He lifted common duties by the might of divine motives. He made heavenly callings real and steady by common duties. He looked upon life and work as God looks upon them. Love him, serve him, be one with him. Hide your life in his life as a baby hides his face in his mother's bosom. Stay in this world, into which he came, in which he stayed, as long as God wills. Pray not to go, pray to stay, pray to be a faithful son, pray to be kept from the evil.—Rev. Chas. F. Thwing, D.D., in Homiletic Review. WHO IS TO BLAME?
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THERE are very many people who want peace, but they want it after their own ideas. It is quite common for people who have taken a wrong course to lay the blame of the trouble that inevitably follows upon someone who, so far from following in the wrong, has endeavored to set things right. They say, “If you will let us alone, there will be no trouble.” Many children are very patterns of propriety so long as everything goes to suit them, but when their tracks are crossed, there is trouble. Then the trouble is charged, not to their own perverseness, but to their parents, or those who try to check their wrong-doing. It is a painful fact that these children do not always lose this trait when they grow up. It is not easy to live under condemnation, and, therefore, the natural mind seeks an excuse for sin, and an excuse is not very hard to find. An instance in point is seen in the case of Ahab. His course is briefly stated in the following scripture: “And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. . . . And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.” 1 Kings 16:30-33. Elijah was a man of God, who dared to stand boldly for the worship of the true God, even though he were the only one in the nation who was not an idolater. His life alone was a constant rebuke to the wicked king, and his testimony was plain. Through him the Lord spoke, and said that on account of the wickedness of Israel there should be no rain throughout the land. This came to pass, and great suffering necessarily followed. But did Ahab acknowledge that he himself was the cause of all this? Hear him: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” 1 Kings 18:17. Like a petulant child, he blamed the one who was trying to save him. But Elijah stated the case in its true light when he answered: “I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father’s house [have], in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” Verse 18. But human nature is the same now as in the days of Ahab. The following paragraph is from a report of labor, which a first-day preacher sent to the organ of his denomination, and which will serve to illustrate this fact:— “Our next was at Battle Creek. This is the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventists. As Saturday is one of the busiest days of a city, and Sabbath [Sunday] the great working-day of the Adventists, and as the ungodly are embolden to respect neither, it is hard to tell in Battle Creek whether it is Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Thus the seventh-day system spreads infidelity.” Note the parallel. Ahab led Israel into idolatry; Elijah fearlessly preached and practiced the religion of the true God. The result of this was that many of the people halted “between two opinions.” 1 Kings 18:21. They did not believe anything. In the modern instance, the Seventh-day Adventists teach, and try to conscientiously live out, the commandments of God. This includes the observance of God’s Sabbath, the day which he rested upon, blessed, sanctified, called his own, and commanded all men to observe. See Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:8-11; Isa. 58:13, and many other texts. The great mass of mankind, following in the wake of papal lawlessness and assumption, trample upon God’s holy day, and exalt a rival in its place. In consequence of this, some people accept neither. They do not take the trouble to examine for themselves to see which is right, and reject both as of no consequence. Now who is to blame for their infidelity? Is it those who are walking according to God’s rule, or those who walk in a way of their own devising? In the case of Ahab and Elijah all will agree Elijah did right. He is looked upon by all Bible readers as a model of integrity; and such he was. All the trouble and unbelief that existed is chargeable solely to Ahab’s wicked course, and to those who followed him. Would it not, then, be more in accordance with the facts to say that first-day keeping, or at least Sabbath-breaking, leads to infidelity? If God’s word remains the same now that it was four thousand years ago, it would. He gave the Sabbath as a sign, that men might know that he was the true God. Ex. 31:13; Eze. 20:20. If men had always kept the Sabbath of the Lord, remembering that it is the memorial of his creative power, there would never have been any idolatry or infidelity. The question to be decided is simply this: Does it make a wrong thing right for a majority to practice it? Is it better to disobey God with the many, or to obey him with the few? Will God alter his laws, and make wrong right, because the majority do wrong? His word says, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Ex. 22:2); and, “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished.” Prov. 11:21. It is safe to believe these statements, in spite of the assertions of men to the contrary. Although the gospel of Christ is a gospel of peace, it does not contemplate a peace purchased by a sacrifice of right-doing. Christ foresaw that men would be shaken when they saw divisions on account of his doctrine, and he forewarned his disciples in Luke 12:51-53. Let men deplore divisions, and let them endeavor to promote harmony; but let them labor only for Bible union, and not fear to say, with Joshua, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; . . . but as for me, and my house, we will serve the Lord.” GOVERNMENTS OF THE FUTURE.
By M. C. W.
It was suggested by an editor of a prominent English religious journal, some years ago, that the "miry [tempered] clay" of the image of Daniel 2, symbolized the democracy, or principle of government, by the people, while the iron was a symbol of imperialism. However correct or erroneous the application may be, this certainly is true, there never was a time when the trend of earth’s millions was so strong toward popular government, or mis-government, as at present. June 23, 1889, W. R. Huntington, D.D., LL.D., in a baccalaureate sermon, preached at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., thus spoke concerning this tendency among the people of the earth, and unconsciously forecasting events of which he probably did not then dream:— "We might imagine a principle that, so strongly entrenched as this one [that of monarchy] seems to be, so powerfully buttressed by authorities divine and human, would hold its own to the end of time. And yet the keenest observers assure us that the drift is everywhere among enlightened people in the direction of democracy; that it is ebb-tide with monarchy the world over; that the days of kings and thrones are numbered. Among the English-speaking people of the earth, the movement toward democracy has acquired a force and volume that fill some minds with thankful joy and some with undisguised alarm, but all with awe. To stand and watch the onward roll of it is as if one looked up helpless at the great wall of water that issued from the broken dam at Conemaugh." Following close upon this, the emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro, a liberal ruler whose government was thought to be among the securest, was forced to yield up his empire, and a republic was proclaimed. The best-informed predict similar revolutions in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Germany is honeycombed with Socialism; so is Austria; and year by year shows less respect for royalty in almost republican England! It is confidently expected that in a very few years the crumbling towers and palaces of imperialism and monarchism will have given place to the legislative halls of republics. Will it result in good?—It is a difficult question. Were the peoples of earth prepared for self-government, it undoubtedly would. But the great mass of them are but little better than slaves, either to titled aristocracy or a proud hierarchy. And the principle is just as true now as when written by the wise man, that among the things which disquiet the earth, and which it cannot bear, is "a servant when he reigneth." Prov. 30:22. The impulsive, reactive, revolutionary spirit already manifest, even in Old World republics, is not assuring as regards peace for the future. A free people must be an intelligent, temperate, sober, thinking people. But such are not the masses of the present; and an overthrow of existing governments would mean the enthronement of fiery, unscrupulous demagogues, and a worse enslavement of the people than exists under monarchy. We believe in the principles of a democracy for civil government, but we do not believe that it will be a wise, just, and stable government among the ignorant mass, which would exercise the autonomy and kingship of independent suffragists, who know so little of liberty as to be unable to distinguish it from license. There is one power which foresees this trend of the people, and as in the past she has trimmed her sails to profit by every wind, she is repeating the same thing now. We speak of Papal Rome. There was a time when she could curse free and representative governments with a relish. That day is past; it is policy not to do so any longer. And the poor blind world, like children ever amused or interested in something new, forgets her utterances and acts of the past, and accepts with fulsome flattery her benedictions of the republic of Brazil; and her laudations of American freedom. Rome boasts of her loyalty at the time of the Revolution. We have a right to inquire if it would have been as great, if her zeal would have been as unflagging, if England, the mother country from which the Eagle rebelled, had been thoroughly and only Catholic. What would have been Rome’s attitude then? Would it have been favorable to Catholic England or free America? There can be but one answer,—Rome’s blessing would have been placed upon England and her curse upon this country, even as she curses Italy to-day. But republics are now becoming popular, and as Rome has ever used the dominant natural tendencies of the carnal masses to her profit, so will she do again. And two of the principal things she is now using is the clamor for religious instruction in public schools, and the movement for a legal civil Sunday, raised by so-called Protestants. Both are institutions of Rome. Of course she will use all her power in making them a success, in her way. We now see the beginning of the end. Rome will triumph, perhaps, and then a revolution which will make pale into insignificance the French Revolution of 1789; then the battle of the great day; beyond it all the reign, not of Leo XIII., but the Lion of the tribe of Judah. M. C. W. BIBLE ELECTION. NO. 4.
By M. C. W.
WE have in past articles shown something of what the Scriptures reveal concerning God's purpose in election. Upon some of the features of this purpose the Scriptures are very clear, and those features which are so clearly established by holy Scripture make necessary those concerning which the Bible reveals less. Let us note what the Bible has revealed once more. God's election (choosing) and predestination (marking out) are according to the purpose which he has made known in his word. Eph. 1:9-11. He has revealed by explicit statement and necessary implication and inference, (1) that he has created the earth for the home of man, and that this purpose is not in vain; (2) that he designed it to be inhabited by a certain number; (3) that this definite number of intelligences should have a certain character, one in harmony with God's holy law; (4) that each one would also have distinct individuality, each being alike loyal and righteous to God, but different from each other; (5) that the name of each character was written in the book of life from the beginning; (6) that to each character would be given the crown of life and glory, indicating a conqueror; (7) that to each one would be given a portion of the eternal inheritance. We wish the reader to distinctly keep these points in mind. They may seem like too much detail, but God deals with details, and we will find as we pursue this study that nothing is more precious to the weary saint than some of the precious details which are included in the great and wondrously wise plan of God. If man had never sinned, God would, by his loving care, wise instruction, his holy law, and the perfect exemplification of that law,—the Son of God, who walked with sinless man in Eden of old,—have led man to develop a character fitted for the eternal home. But with that we have not to deal. Man fell. Shall the perfect plan and wise purpose of God be thwarted?—God forbid. His perfect wisdom began no work to fail, but to accomplish. That his purpose might be consummated, the Son of God "gave himself;" God "gave his only begotten Son." Man was chosen in him, the Creator, before the foundation of the world; he is chosen in him, the Redeemer mighty to save, now that the world has fallen. It is in accordance with the above purpose that God calls us, not as companies, but as individuals. As the stones of the temple were quarried and fitted as individual stones for that edifice, as every piece of timber for a building is fitted as an individual part, so people are called as individuals. The great company which man cannot number will all be made up of individuals. The wise carpenter who goes out into the forest to seek for suitable timber for the edifice he is building, has in mind the very sticks of timber he wishes. And when he chooses a tree he chooses it for a certain place. To use the Scripture term, he "calls" it for a plate, another one for a post, another for a beam, another for a sill, another for a brace, and so on for cross-beams, girts, sleepers, rafters, purlines, etc. They are cut down and predestinated, or marked out (for that is what "pre-destinate" means), for the particular use to which they were called. The rule is laid upon the tree, the line is struck, and scorers and hewers are set to work to bring it to the required shape and size, or to justify it, make it in harmony with the rule. The workmen proceed. As they lop off a superfluous end they find it rotten at the heart, and it is rejected; or it is found to be of equal quality all through, and the work goes on. It is hewed to the line; it may perhaps be planed and polished before it is placed in the building. It undergoes tests in its removal from one place to the other, is tested by heavy weights, and by various methods tried, that it may not be a failure when placed in the building. This is a partial illustration of how God deals with men. He gave his Son for all; he calls all. Eze. 33:11; Isa. 45:22; 55:6, 7; Luke 5:32. He chooses everyone who will heed the call. "Call" is sometimes used in the sense of simple inviting, sometimes of a call which is accepted, and sometimes of effectual calling. It precedes election or choosing. The term comes from different words in the original, and we need not take time to discuss the varied shades of meaning. The general truth will be admitted by all. He calls them not as nations but as individuals. He chooses each one for some particular place in that great spiritual temple. First of all he would see in us the character of Christ. He calls us not to uncleanness, but to sanctification and cleansing. 1 Thess. 4:7, 3. He calls us to peace (1 Cor. 7:15), out of darkness into light (1 Peter 2:9), to his eternal kingdom and glory (1 Thess. 2:12; 1 Peter 5:10). The sanctification of the people of God is the result of the sanctification of Christ, and it comes through Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life. John 17:17; 14:6. But they are not only called to a righteous character in Christ, but to an individual character belonging to each one alone, which will glorify God throughout all eternity. God elects each to a name indicative of the individual character, to a fitting crown of victory, to an eternal inheritance. These are in God's purpose, and we are chosen and marked out in harmony with the perfect plan devised of God; that particular character to which we are called and chosen, which not only reflects the righteousness of Christ, but some one or more of his exceeding beauties. We are called to that. Unlike the timber which, when it comes short, is rejected, the fullness of Christ will make up all defects, if the soul will but trust in him. The sinner yields, he is accepted, justified from past sins, a new heart is placed within him, and the battle begins. Trials sore and many come to him, but they are all permitted of God, are all necessary, in order to develop those graces which make up the perfect character. Finally the loyal soldier of Christ has fought his last battle, endured the last conflict, won the last victory, faithful to the One who had chosen him to be a soldier. He has won "the crown" and "the name." He knew not the name before, he was not prepared to understand it. But now it is his. He is the child of God and of Christ; he bears their names, the family name. Rev. 3:12. Through the grace of Christ he meets his individual trials, and he is called by a "new name," "which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Rev. 2:17. As none could learn the new song but the 144,000 (Rev. 14:1-3), because none had had their experiences, so none will know the new name but he who receives it, because no one else has passed triumphant through those trials which he has passed through. They may be able to pronounce the word; but its import can only be understood by the Giver and the receiver. He receives (for he has been tried), not any crown, but the crown of life and glory to which he has been called. James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4, Revised Version. Like Daniel, he shall stand in his "lot" or portion "of the inheritance of the saints in light." Dan. 12:13; Col. 1:12. The inheritance has been a part of God's plan and purpose, the crown has been waiting, the character marked out, the name written from the beginning in the book of life. Many have been called to it, but have rejected the call. Many run well for a season, but fainted in time of trial. God's promises failed not, but trust in them failed. The confidence was not held fast, and somebody else has been called to the crown, and the name, and the inheritance. The victorious ones may have failed many times, but the trial has come again and again, the grace of Christ always assured, till the victory is gained and the character perfected. The repeated trial may harden the heart, but it need not. God's grace is sufficient. This revelation of God's purpose concerning election may be very profitable to the child of God in the following respects:— 1. We learn that it is not the individual regarded as a mere organized being which is of such value in God's sight, but it is the possibilities of that being manifested in the holy and beautiful character to which he is called. It is character which is of value in God's sight. And so wherever election is brought to view character is presented or implied as necessary. "That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love" (Eph. 1:4), "chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13), "through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:2), are expressions to which we have before referred, and which will serve as instances to show that the prominent thing in God's purpose is character. 2. The love of God is shown in giving to all an opportunity to develop a character pleasing to him, and to win the crown of life belonging to that character. 3. His love is still further revealed in giving his Son to die when man had forfeited all right to God's favor. 4. In that Son he has given all things to all who will believe and trust to the end. So that while man may be defective in every way compared with the measurement of the character to which he is called, God will supply all his need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, if man will but submit, believe, and hold fast his confidence to the end. 5. For it is not men who are elected from the beginning, but characters. Therefore he who believes in election according to God's purpose will never fall into the erroneous ideas of ultra-Calvinism, or "once-in-grace-always-in-grace" theory. He will know that it is only he who "endures to the end" (Matt. 24:13; 1 Cor. 15:1, 2; Heb. 3:14) who will be saved; that it is necessary to "hold fast" that no man take his crown (Rev. 3:11); that it is necessary to "give diligence" to make his "calling and election sure." 2 Peter 1:10. 6. The blessing of God will not therefore be taken as an evidence of eternal safety and favor in present attainments, but as an incentive to press on toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 7. He who looks upon this in God's way will find a key to the problem which often presents itself: Why these trials? Why am I tried so much worse or so differently than other people? Bible election answers, God permitted the trials; he overruled that they might come. They are necessary to fit us for that particular place to which we are called. The calling and choosing are of God; will we submit to the necessary process, to the scoring, the hewing, the planing, the testing of every form? If we do this, all is ours. The calling and the election are sure. Eternal righteousness is ours; "for there shall be no more falling away." Rev. 22:3 (Syriac translation by Etheridge). As eternal righteousness is ours, eternal life is also ours. We belong absolutely and eternally to the family of God, the offspring of Christ, bearing their names. We enter upon our inheritance, never to give place to another. Our calling and election are made sure; we have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. EAST AND EAST-CENTRAL AFRICA.
By S. N. H.
SOUTH of the Barbary States, and to the west of Egypt, lies the great Sahara Desert, and it is in the region directly south of this, on the west coast, and on the Congo, that God has so greatly blessed the missionary efforts that have been put forth by those who have sacrificed the pleasures of home and friends, and gone to this unhealthy clime to labor to uprear the cross of Calvary. Abyssinia, in East Africa, has a population of between three and four million. The prevailing religion is a corrupted form of Christianity. The Abyssinians are a fine, strong race, of a copper hue, more or less dark, and altogether different from the negroes, with whom, however, they have frequently been confounded, because they are called a black people. Their noses are nearly straight, their eyes clear, yet languishing, and their hair is black and crisp, but not woolly. They are, on the whole, a barbarous people, addicted to the grossest sensual pleasures; and their priests, among whom marriage is customary, are little better than the common herd of the people. They live in huts, a large assemblage of which forms a so-called town. Notwithstanding the low state of their religion, the Christians in Abyssinia are not allowed to keep slaves, although they may purchase them for the purpose of selling them again. Sensuality is characteristic of nearly all the barbarous tribes. Their characters are faithfully delineated in the first chapter of Romans. In the early centuries they have had the light of the gospel, and the legitimate fruit of its rejection is now made manifest. Slave dealing is common. Commander Cammaron, in "African Traveler," states that there are about half a million on the continent that are taken and sold every year. Certain tribes among the Arabs make it a business to hunt and trade in them. Captives taken in war, and their children, are slaves. Such are some of the evils found with these tribes, with which the missionary is obliged to contend. They are also superstitious to a degree, believing in witchcraft. There are missions in the countries south of the equator, such as Zanzibar and Mozambique on the east coast, bordering on the Indian Ocean, southward from the Gulf of Aden. Some of these tribes are more tractable than others. Many schools are established among them, and many converts to Christianity are claimed. The University Mission has been chiefly educational, and has rendered efficient aid in the suppression of the slave trade. Their principal stations are on the island of Zanzibar, and on the bordering coast of the mainland. They have a bishop, archbishop, priests, and European and native deacons; in all, their staff consists of eighty workers. The English Church Missionary Society commenced labor at the Eastern Equatorial African Mission, at Mobassain, 1844, and they have since increased their stations. The United Methodist Free Church of Great Britain, the London Missionary Society, the Established Churches of Scotland, the Free Church of Scotland, and the American Board, have missions at different points in all these countries, with a large staff of ministers, teachers, and European artisans. With some of the schools an industrial department is connected. The English Church Missionary Society began their mission in Eastern Equatorial Africa in 1844, and have increased their stations at different places in 1846, 1875, 1879, 1883, 1885, and 1887. This shows the rapid increase of the mission work of one society alone, while many others have also increased proportionately. But there is no field opened, of recent date, that presents greater advantages for the harvest of souls than the Congo Mission. The river Congo is in the western part of Africa, south of the equator; together with its tributaries it waters some 6,000 miles of territory. From the mouths of this imperial stream there is 125 miles that is navigable, and this to the largest vessels. Then come 185 miles of rapids and cataracts; but beyond this is one grand stretch of navigable water, running over 1,000 miles, with tributaries on either side, penetrating from 100 to 800 miles into the heart of a rich and beautiful country. Mr. H. M. Stanley, the explorer, estimates the area at 1,056,000 square miles, with a population of 27,000,000. The State is under the sovereignty of King Leopold II., of Belgium, who grants a liberal subsidy towards its maintenance. The exports amount to $12,500,000. It is divided into the Upper and Lower Congo, and the inhabitants of these two places differ widely in their habits. In Upper Congo cannibalism was formerly quite common, but at present it is on the decrease. In Lower Congo it is not so. The Arabs ravage the district of the Upper Congo after slaves. They were formerly sent by the Sultan to Zanzibar to conquer the country. A great deal of ivory is found in the Upper Congo. Beautiful forests abound in these lands, the rubber tree is found in abundance, and in many places the redwood, which is valued at $150 a ton in England. It is stated that in the Upper Congo Valley there are about 10,000,000 inhabitants. They are called the Balolo. These are more intelligent and more readily take to civilization than those in some other parts of the continent. Although Lower Congo is quite thickly populated, the people know nothing of morality or immorality. The mission is an extension of Livingstone's inland mission. They have many mission stations, and great hope is entertained for the people and the country. Trade and commerce are on the increase since the State came under the Universal Postal Union, in 1886. Another prosperous mission field is on the river Niger, which enters the Gulf of Guinea north of the equator. Mr. Thompson says that in all the wide range of tropical Africa there is no more promising field for commerce than this semi-civilized region, which occupies the central area of the Niger basin, not on the ground that the soil is more fertile than other portions, but on account of its dense population and good government. Life and property are almost as safe as in civilized countries. The people are more advanced in civilization, and their manufactories are famed for their excellence throughout all Northern Africa. The necessary machinery for inland traders is at hand, and the people possess much enterprise. The horse, donkey, camel, and bullock flourish by the thousands. The river presents an uninterrupted water-way into the very heart of the region. In view of all these inducements, France, Germany, and other countries are turning their attention to this country. The Niger River is one of the longest in Africa; it rises in the Congo Mountains, and its head-waters are 17,000 feet above the level of the sea. There are many large towns on the river, and they are continually increasing in size. The English have sent quite a number of persons up the river, and have now a large station and fort at Elmira. At Dixcone the English have a strong fortification, with extensive dwellings and warehouses. There are mission stations at different points along the river, and the towns are described as having a prosperous and thrifty appearance. The printing press is employed to scatter the seeds of divine truth. The Wesleyan Mission alone has 42 missionaries, 519 native preachers, with more than 13,000 membership. Other missionary societies have also prosperous missions in this district. It should be remembered that the mission work in this locality is less than twenty-five years old. No one can read an account of the work of the missions in all of these places without feeling that the providence of God has been over them. During the last half century there have been men and women who have gone to all these places, and given up their lives to the cause of spreading the gospel. And we ask, Why is this?—Is it not that God may be glorified in gathering a people from each nation, kindred, tongue, and people, to shine as stars throughout eternity to the glory of the world's Redeemer? It would seem that God designs in this, the most wicked age that has ever been, to show the triumphs of his grace as never before. He is placing his sentinels everywhere, that when the latter rain is poured out there will be no portion of the earth that will not be represented in the triumphs of the gospel. S. N. H.