The Literary Digest, referring to the passage of the Canadian Sunday law, makes the following comment:—
It was opposed by the great railway corporations, the Jews, and the Seventh-day Adventists, the two latter factions opposing the measure on the ground that the proper rest day was the seventh and not the first.
The Seventh-day Adventists of Canada differ in no way from the Seventh-day Adventists of any other part of the world in their opposition to religious legislation of any class. The ground of their opposition to Sunday laws is not “that the proper day of rest is the seventh and not the first;” but rather that the civil power has no legitimate jurisdiction in religious matters; that religion and religious observances are matters solely between man and his God. The Seventh-day Adventists of Canada, as also the Seventh-day Adventists of the United States, would oppose a human law compelling the observance of the seventh day just as energetically as they do the enactment of laws compelling the observance of the first day. They would do it upon the ground that no human power has a right to lay its hand upon the law of God, to alter, to repeal, or to enforce.
The Catholic Mirror has found the solution of the labor problem. The editor of that journal, in its issue of October 5, says:—
Is it too much to say that the labor question will find its solution in the teachings and doctrines of the Catholic Church? Perhaps it is—now. But the time is coming—the time is coming. Every evil the world is heir to, at least every political, social, economic evil, is a more or less direct outgrowth of the primal conflict between the two great forces, labor and capital. . . .
There is only one solution to these difficulties, and that is one that will bring about a friendly relation between the two. . . . The organization of the church itself is the greatest human exponent of how all men may work together for the common good, in a practical and productive way. And the organization of the church is built upon nothing but its own teachings and rules of human conduct. Sooner or later (sooner, indeed, we believe) mankind will come to realize that the church, through the gift of God, has grasped the great secret of all progress, and that this secret, which is really no secret at all, is, through her teachings and example, within the reach of every employer, and of every man who works.
This is in perfect harmony with the claim that church has always made, that she is the arbiter of human destinies, the ultimate authority in all things temporal and spiritual.
Note and Comment
The Roman Church is making much at the present time of missions to non-Catholics. Such a mission was held recently at New Bedford, Mass., presided over by “Father” Bradley. A portion of the time of each service was taken up in answering questions. One of the questions answered on the evening of September 30 was this:—
Is it not paganism under a new name, to worship statues, relics, and similar articles? And yet the Catholics are doing this very thing.
To this question “Father” Bradley replied as follows:—
Never forget that Catholics worship, adore, only the one, true God. They do not adore images; they do not adore relics. They adore no being but God himself. Catholics venerate relics, statues, and such like. They show them great respect. And why?—For the same reason, precisely, that you and all appreciative persons, erect in the public square, and honor and respect statues of your great men, of your heroes and scholars. Do you worship those statues when you decorate them on special occasions, such as Decoration day? does your honor and respect, your veneration, stop with the statues themselves? Decidedly not. So then, when a Catholic kneels before the image of a saint, his devotion does not stop with the image, but rises to that holy person whom God especially loves, and whom the image represents, and recalls to the Catholic’s mind and inspires him to imitate. A Catholic bows before the cross. Why?—Because immediately his heart is filled with love and devotion for his crucified God, and he is urged to follow in his Master’s sorrowful footsteps. But he does not worship it; he adores nothing but God himself. The worship of images, saints, or anything outside of God, is offensive and blasphemous to the most uncultured Catholic.
But did “Father” Bradley forget the command which reads: “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them”? Did he not know that this same command sets forth such an act as “iniquity,” and contains the specific declaration of punishment therefor? He admits does that his people bow down—“kneel”—before the images of saints; but this act is just as much prohibited as is the worship of another being in place of God. In fact, the making of the image for the purpose of worship is as strongly forbidden as is the worshiping of another god. Kneeling before an image is looked upon by the Lord as an act of worship. They who did it in ancient times the Lord did not count as his. We read in 1 Kings 19: 17, 18: “And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” He who knelt to the image of Baal performed an act which God condemned and punished; and yet they did not profess to be worshiping that image. No heathen to-day will admit that he worships the image before which he bows. He worships the thing or principle the image represents. But God calls that idolatry, condemns it, and forbids it. The psalmist says, “Let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker.” Ps. 95: 6. The apostle says, “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father.” Eph. 3:14. But nowhere in the sacred Book is man instructed or given permission to bow the knees before images of anything in heaven or on earth, animate or inanimate.
The Price of Funeral Sermons
By Editor
We have it on the authority of the editor of the Independent, of Liberal, Kan. (September 20), that—the preachers at Coffeyville, Kan., held a meeting recently, and organized a union for the purpose of fixing a uniform price for preaching funeral sermons. The charge will hereafter be five dollars for all who are not members of any one of the churches of the town, in which case it is presumed that his particular pastor will be allowed to take the job for whatever he can get.
It is hardly supposable that any of these ministers would refuse to preach the funeral sermon of one who could not pay the price, though the editor of the Independent professes to believe they would. Nevertheless, the organization and the setting of a definite price for performing the last services for the dead smacks strongly of the spirit of commercialism that is characteristic of this generation, and has given occasion to the enemies of the gospel to blaspheme. Christ sent out his disciples without purse or scrip, and gave them no authority to levy a tax upon any class, living or dead. They were to take no anxious thought concerning their living, much less to make definite provision for adding to their “purse” through the death of their parishioners. There is a very long step between the two attitudes. The Christian is sure of his way and his influence only when he is following Christ closely—very closely.
One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar Fund
By Arthur G. Daniells
For Special Work at Home and Abroad
The Closing of the Fund
IN last week's REVIEW regarding the $150,000 fund I raised the question as to why we should not have this whole fund raised before Jan. 1, 1908.
For the sake of the enterprises which are to receive this money it should be raised without delay. The most of them need the sums apportioned to them very much. They are very important enterprises, and are greatly needed where they are located to advance the interest of the cause.
Our brethren who are placed in charge of them are carrying heavy responsibilities, and would be terribly perplexed to know what to do for means were it not for the promise of help from this fund. They have made all their financial arrangements with the expectation of getting this help, and are thus depending upon it. They are watching the growth of the fund with deep interest as it is reported in the REVIEW from week to week.
Now the question is, Shall we all take hold and finish the raising of this fund at once, and not let it run into next year? There is not a question but that it can be done. It can be done easily without hardship to any union or local conference, to any church, or to any individual. Then why not do it? If every member who can contribute toward this fund, and who intends to do so, will think for a moment of how much more these enterprises need the whole amount they are to receive than any member needs the fraction he is to contribute to it, he will surely decide to do his part at once.
As pointed out in last week's article, it has been less than a year since the raising of this magnificent sum for our worthy and needy enterprises was launched. We have received nearly two thirds at the General Conference Office. About one half of the remainder has been provided for in pledges which are now being paid. The last twenty-five thousand is distributed among such a large number of conferences, churches, and individuals that it can easily be raised before this year closes.
One union conference has less than a thousand dollars to raise, and will do this before December 31. Another has only five thousand to obtain to finish its quota. The president and vice-president are making an earnest effort to secure the last dollar of this amount before the middle of November. I believe they will succeed. The Lake Union had the largest total amount to raise of any union This conference has already sent in considerably more than half its quota, and has all the rest promised by the brethren and sisters in the conference. These pledges are now being collected, and the money is coming in.
Why should not every union and local conference set its stakes to finish its part of this fund before the new year dawns upon us? The officers would like to do so, but they depend on the help and co-operation of the churches. Then let every elder, deacon, clerk, and treasurer join in a supreme effort to close this fund before December 31. And let all the people join us. Brethren, the remainder of this fund can all be raised before this year closes. What can be done should be done. Then let us say, “What should be done will be done by the grace of God.” A. G. DANIELLS.
Atlantic Union Conference
By I. H. Evans
Received on the $150,000 Fund up to Oct. 8, 1907
Atlantic Union Conference
Central New England ........$ 2,635.61
Chesapeake .................. 504.04
Eastern Pennsylvania ........ 1,888.18
Greater New York ............ 469.83
Maine ....................... 563.78
New Jersey .................. 552.63
New York .................... 1,626.50
Southern New England ...... 1,138.50
Vermont ..................... 922.83
Virginia ..................... 468.58
West Pennsylvania ........... 1,377.84
West Virginia ............... 351.86
Western New York ............ 1,675.50
Total ....................... 14,175.68
East Michigan .............. 1,873.66
Indiana .................. 5,177.27
North Michigan ............. 422.57
Northern Illinois .......... 2,569.91
Ohio ........................ 4,002.50
Southern Illinois .......... 1,080.08
West Michigan .............. 3,579.84
Wisconsin .................. 3,238.07
Total ....................... 22,843.90
North Pacific Union Conference
Conference not specified ... 429.66
British Columbia ........... 122.80
Montana .................... 452.48
Upper Columbia ............. 2,286.53
Western Washington ........ 1,807.37
Idaho ...................... 863.40
Western Oregon ............. 2,025.35
Total ....................... 7,987.59
Northern Union Conference
Alberta ..................... 156.10
Manitoba .................... 239.70
Saskatchewan Mission Field .. 37.60
Minnesota ................... 5,129.95
South Dakota ............ 2,645.47
North Dakota ............. 1,768.66
Conference not specified .... 73.82
Total ....................... 10,051.30
Pacific Union Conference
Arizona .................. 387.74
California-Nevada .......... 7,764.09
Southern California ........ 1,179.61
Utah ........................ 395.08
Total ....................... 9,726.52
Southern Union Conference
South Carolina ............. 135.69
Alabama ..................... 264.05
Tennessee River ............ 723.55
Florida ..................... 551.77
North Carolina ............. 455.50
Kentucky .................... 30.36
Cumberland .................. 732.74
Louisiana ................... 390.61
Mississippi ................. 252.76
Georgia .................. 357.89
Total ....................... 3,894.92
Southwestern Union Conference
Not specified ............... 20.18
Arkansas .................... 374.86
Oklahoma .................... 2,562.23
Texas ....................... 1,200.41
Total ....................... 4,157.68
Unknown
Unknown ..................... 158.20
Foreign
Total ....................... 1,088.52
Grand Total ................. $93,008.58
I. H. EVANS, Treasurer.
THROUGH a misunderstanding in this Office, and not through any fault of the officers of the General Conference, incorrect statements have been made in the REVIEW concerning the $150,000 fund, and conferences have been listed among those that had completed their quota when they had only secured pledges to cover the required amount. Beginning with this issue of the REVIEW, those conferences which have actually sent to the treasurer of the General Conference the amount assigned to them in the apportionment of this fund will be designated by an asterisk, and thus the standing of each conference will be readily understood. We regret the mistake which has been made, and hope this note of explanation will now make the matter clear to all.
Missions
By W. S. Whitacre
There are many desert places,
Far away beyond the sea,
Where the unenlightened races
Hunger for the gospel plea.
To those far-off wildernesses,
Long with vices overgrown,
God the Father sends, and blesses,
Ministers to save his own.
If we can not go there, preaching
Jesus who was crucified,
We can send a message, teaching
That for them a Saviour died.
We can help to lift the sorrow
From some brother in despair;
We can help to make the morrow
Of some sister bright and fair.
There are souls, in many regions
Round about us, famishing
For the Bread of Life, and legions
Know not Jesus as their King.
If we can not go and feed them,
We can lend a helping hand,
Send a messenger to lead them,
And fulfil the Lord's command.
Let us give in fullest measure
As the Lord has prospered each;
Let us open heart and treasure
As the Holy Scriptures teach.
Let us send the proclamation
That the Word of Life is free
To the sons of God's creation,
Both at home and o'er the sea.
—W. S. Whitacre, in Christian Standard.
The Two Covenants
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
As the Bible presents two laws, one changeless and eternal, the other provisional and temporary, so there are two covenants. The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden, when, after the fall, there was given a divine promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head. To all men this covenant offered pardon, and the assisting grace of God for future obedience through faith in Christ. It also promised them eternal life on condition of fidelity to God’s law. Thus the patriarchs received the hope of salvation.
This same covenant was renewed to Abraham in the promise, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Gen. 22: 18. This promise pointed to Christ. So Abraham understood it (see Gal. 3: 8, 16), and he trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. It was this faith that was accounted unto him for righteousness. The covenant with Abraham also maintained the authority of God’s law. The Lord appeared unto Abraham, and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Gen. 17: 1. The testimony of God concerning his faithful servant was, “Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments my statutes, and my laws.” Gen. 26: 5. And the Lord declared to him, “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Gen. 17: 7.
Though this covenant was made with Adam and renewed to Abraham, it could not be ratified until the death of Christ. It had existed by the promise of God since the first intimation of redemption had been given; it had been accepted by faith; yet when ratified by Christ, it is called a new covenant. The law of God was the basis of this covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God’s law.
Another compact—called in Scripture the “old” covenant—was formed between God and Israel at Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a sacrifice. The Abrahamic covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ, and it is called the “second,” or “new” covenant, because the blood by which it was sealed was shed after the blood of the first covenant. That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham, is evident from the fact that it was then confirmed both by the promise and by the oath of God,—the “two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie.” Heb. 6: 18.
But if the Abrahamic covenant contained the promise of redemption, why was another covenant formed at Sinai?—In their bondage the people had to a great extent lost the knowledge of God and of the principles of the Abrahamic covenant. In delivering them from Egypt, God sought to reveal to them his power and his mercy, that they might be led to love and trust him. He brought them down to the Red Sea—where, pursued by the Egyptians, escape seemed impossible—that they might realize their utter helplessness, their need of divine aid; and then he wrought deliverance for them. Thus they were filled with love and gratitude to God, and with confidence in his power to help them. He had bound them to himself as their deliverer from temporal bondage.
But there was a still greater truth to be impressed upon their minds. Living in the midst of idolatry and corruption, they had no true conception of the holiness of God, of the exceeding sinfulness of their own hearts, their utter inability, in themselves, to render obedience to God’s law, and their need of a Saviour. All this they must be taught.
God brought them to Sinai; he manifested his glory; he gave them his law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then . . . ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” Ex. 19: 5, 6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God’s law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, “All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.” Ex. 24: 7. They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant, and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now by faith and love they were bound to God as their deliverer from the bondage of sin. Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new covenant.
The terms of the “old covenant” were, Obey and live: “If a man do, he shall even live in them” (Eze. 20: 11; Lev. 18: 5); but “cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.” Deut. 27: 26. The “new covenant” was established upon “better promises,”—the promise of forgiveness of sins, and of the grace of God to renew the heart, and bring it into harmony with the principles of God’s law. “This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. . . . I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jer. 31: 33, 34.
The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone, is written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart. Instead of going about to establish our own righteousness, we accept the righteousness of Christ. His blood atones for our sins: His obedience is accepted for us. Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring forth “the fruits of the Spirit.” Through the grace of Christ we shall live in obedience to the law of God written upon our hearts. Having the Spirit of Christ, we shall walk even as he walked. Through the prophet he declared of himself, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Ps. 40: 8. And when among men he said, “The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” John 8: 29.
The apostle Paul clearly presents the relation between faith and the law under the new covenant. He says, “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.” “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,”—it could not justify man, because in his sinful nature he could not keep the law,—“God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but9after the Spirit.” Rom. 5: 1; 3: 31; 8: 3, 4.
God’s work is the same in all time, although there are different degrees of development, and different manifestations of his power, to meet the wants of men in the different ages. Beginning with the first gospel promise, and coming down through the patriarchal and Jewish ages, and even to the present time, there has been a gradual unfolding of the purposes of God in the plan of redemption. The Saviour typified in the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law is the very same that is revealed in the gospel. The clouds that enveloped his divine form have rolled back; the mists and shades have disappeared; and Jesus, the world’s Redeemer, stands revealed. He who proclaimed the law from Sinai, and delivered to Moses the precepts of the ritual law, is the same that spoke the sermon on the mount. The great principles of love to God, which he set forth as the foundation of the law and the prophets, are only a reiteration of what he had spoken through Moses to the Hebrew people: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Deut. 6: 4, 5; Lev. 19: 18. The teacher is the same in both dispensations. God’s claims are the same. The principles of his government are the same. For all proceed from him “with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1: 17.—“Patriarchs and Prophets.”
“Whose Shall These Things Be?”
By Washington Morse
WASHINGTON MORSE
“So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. . . . Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not. . . . Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding.” Luke 12:20, 21, 32-36.
Now we understand that at the end of the twenty-three hundred years of Dan. 8:13, 14, our Saviour went in to the wedding (meant to be illustrated in the parable of Matthew 25) and into the investigative judgment. It is also certain that he will soon return from the wedding, and we are admonished not only to be ready, but to be waiting. The people of these days are the people who are passing through the time of the investigative judgment.
In Luke 12:43, 45, 46, there is a blessing pronounced upon those servants who are giving meat in due season to the household. The servant who is doing that is preaching the Lord’s coming at the same time that the evil servant is saying, “My Lord delayeth his coming.”
How are we to provide for ourselves “bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not”? It is by selling, and giving alms, and by employing our time and talents in the Lord’s work. If we have this world’s goods, we can not transfer our treasure to heaven and hold it still in our possession. Shall we give that which the Lord has committed to our trust, or shall we still cling to our property to be consumed with it by the fires of the last day? There can be no doubt that we are nearing the brink of eternity. “Then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”
Sauk Center, Minn.
“Thy Kingdom Come”
By John M. Hopkins
JOHN M. HOPKINS
In a little while all earthly kingdoms will have passed away. The world's mightiest empires, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, are all matters of history, object-lessons along the great highway of time, showing that that which is apparently the most enduring in this world must eventually be humbled in the dust.
All these kingdoms have successively risen and fallen. Each has acted its respective part in making up this world's history, along with the many more petty states and nations that have flourished for a time and then ceased to exist.
All these empires and states were built up of people more or less ambitious for earthly wealth, fame, and position. But how true the words—
“Beneath our feet and o’er our head
Is equal warning given;
Beneath us lie the countless dead,
Above us is the heaven.
Death rides on every passing breeze,
And lurks in every flower;
Each season has its own disease,
Its peril every hour.”
What has been true of the great nations of the past will, ere long, be true of the nations of the present; for soon the Lord of heaven will vindicate his authority and manifest his power by the overthrow, simultaneously, of all kingdoms, and the destruction of all who do not then accept the great atoning Sacrifice, and yield loyal obedience to his holy law, the ten commandments.
There will be no refuge then for those outside of Christ (2 Thess. 1:7-10), for probation will have ended, and every case will have been decided. Then the decree, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still,” will be the truth of the hour. There will be mercy no longer for the persistently rebellious; for God will pour out the wine of his wrath (the seven last plagues) “without mixture.” Rev. 14:10, and chapter 16.
The next great and everlasting kingdom will be the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of glory. “And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion [the dominion first given to Adam. Gen. 1:28]; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.” Micah 4:8. “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days [the eternal Father], and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Dan. 7:13, 14, 27. “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15.
This is that for which Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:10. It is for the upbuilding of that kingdom in the hearts of men, that every follower of Christ should now most earnestly pray and work. To him who has been turned “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God” (Acts 26:18), there can be nothing so precious as the advancement of gospel truth. No interest will lie so near the heart as the interests of Christ’s kingdom. Everything that will be a hindrance to this will be cheerfully laid aside. However dear the idol of the heart, however cherished the hope, the joy, the ambition, the earthly friend, it will be all cheerfully put away. Jesus said, If thine “eye” offend thee, or the “right hand,” meaning the dearest and most serviceable of all earthly possessions, “pluck it out,” “cut it off,” and “cast it from thee.”
Often this will require a struggle, a mighty effort; but if the soul is true to Christ, it will be done. By his grace it can be done. There is not one desire, one appetite, one practise, however strongly entrenched in the flesh, that the grace and power of Christ can not overcome. “There is help in God.” The Word of God declares it. As I write, my mind recalls an experience with which I was acquainted forty-nine years ago. My father, a Baptist minister, was conducting a revival meeting in the village where he was pastor. There lived outside the village a very profane man, who appropriated to his own use various articles not belonging to him. One evening he was converted. The next morning he took his team and sleighs, loaded up the stolen property, and drove from place to place, delivering to its rightful owner each stolen article, begging forgiveness, and desiring to make any restitution required. Some twenty-five years later I met this man, and he was still trying to lead a consistent Christian life. My heart blessed God for such a salvation as this.10
Such is the blessed work of preparing subjects for Christ’s kingdom—that kingdom where there will be no stealing, no murder, no adultery, no lying, no swearing, no tears, no cemeteries, no jails, no hospitals, no infirmaries. “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing, . . . and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isa. 35:3-10.
For this glorious day let us toil, let us pray, nor falter till the work is done. Go, wearing the helmet of salvation, bearing the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, till the glorious victory is won.
“Then with Christ in his kingdom forever at rest,
We shall bask in the smiles of his face;
We shall join in the song of the saved and the blest,
Saved through infinite mercy and grace.”
Bowerville, Minn.
G. B. THOMPSON
By G. B. Thompson
Prayer — No. 1
G. B. THOMPSON
“PRAYER is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to him.”—“Steps to Christ.”
In beginning these articles, I wish to ask this personal question, “How much time do you take to pray?” Will you take this question home to your own heart, and answer it to God? How much time do you take daily to pray? How much time did you take last week, or last month? How much time have you taken to pray to-day? What is your daily practise in this matter? Do you take one hour a day? Half an hour? Ten minutes? Five minutes? Or do you sometimes altogether neglect to pray?
These are not idle questions. They mean much to Christians. I am convinced that there is a terrible lack of real prayer among Christians. Some say their prayers. When weary, tired, and sleepy, they go through a form. To ease their conscience they spend a few brief minutes in prayer, but often there is not much heart in it.
We have fallen upon evil times. Sin is on every hand; the very atmosphere seems to be polluted with evil at times. A power from beneath is seizing hold of Satan’s agencies, and it is an awful thing to forget or neglect to pray. Can you not look back since you have been a Christian and see many defeats you have experienced because you did not pray? Call up the time you fell into the mire of sin, and see if you had not been neglecting to pray. Neglect of prayer explains many a fall. Have you struggled for victory over some besetting sin, and almost grown discouraged because of repeated failures? Did you pray as earnestly about it as you ought? Note the following statements from the spirit of prophecy concerning prayer:—
“Satan well knows that all whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the searching of the Scriptures, will be overcome by his attacks. Therefore he invents every possible device to engross the mind.”
“Temptations often appear irresistible because through neglect of prayer and the study of the Bible the tempted one can not readily remember God’s promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons.”
Again and again in the Bible we are admonished to pray. “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” Luke 18:1. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Phil. 4:6.
Our Saviour left us an example that we should follow in his footsteps. Burdened with the sins of the world, he poured out his soul in prayer that he might be strengthened and fortified for his work. “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12. In the morning he performed the responsible work of choosing the twelve apostles. Think of his agony in Gethsemane, when, falling upon the cold ground, he poured forth his soul in prayer; and sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. What an example for us! Are we following in his footsteps? Again I ask, How much time do you take to pray?
Takoma Park, D. C.
GEO. O. STATES
By Geo. O. States
Lessons from Past Experiences — No. 20
GEO. O. STATES
Over forty years ago Elders Snook and Brinkerhoof, the president and secretary of the Iowa Conference, and the only ordained ministers then in that conference, came to the General Conference at Battle Creek. They were both men of considerable talent, and appeared all through the conference to be in perfect harmony with the denomination. They preached interesting sermons, and to all appearance they were in perfect accord with the entire message. It was evident, however, that they were trying to find something against Brother and Sister White and the General Conference which they could use in Iowa to prejudice the members of that conference.
On their return they went from church to church and talked with the members privately, so no one could understand just what was being done, and prejudiced the minds of many against those who were leaders in the work. They had much to say about the “triune papacy,” by which they meant the three brethren who were officers of the General Conference.
This action on their part almost broke down the faith of five or six whole churches, and the disaffection was rapidly spreading all through the conference. About that time Brother and Sister White and Brother Loughborough went to Wisconsin to labor. Elder Ingraham, one of the old pioneers of the message and president of the Wisconsin Conference, had just received a letter from Elder Snook, saying, “Let’s strike out on the independence of the churches.” Brother Ingraham communicated at once with the brethren of the General Conference, and they immediately appointed a general meeting at Pilot Grove for all the brethren and sisters of the Iowa Conference.
Brother Geo. I. Butler was then living in the northwestern part of the State. He was not then a minister, but the brethren wrote to him, urging him to be present. Accordingly he drove down in a lumber wagon one hundred and sixty-five miles. Brethren Snook and Brinkerhoof came prepared to have a regular debate, but Brother and Sister White would not do anything else until the matter of the charges which these men had made was settled.
Elder Snook at last consented to this arrangement, and so they took up one by one the reports which these brethren had brought home with them. It was shown that they were actuated by prejudice, and that the reports were anything but the truth. This was proved so fully that some of the brethren whom they had misled took these brethren out in the woods, had a season of prayer with them, and showed them the sinfulness of their course. Some of these brethren came out squarely and made confession of what they had done that was wrong. The cause of truth grandly triumphed in that State, notwithstanding the effort of the enemy to overthrow it.
At this time Brother Geo. I. Butler was chosen president of that conference. This was the first responsibility, except as local deacon and elder, that he had ever borne in connection with this cause. Brother Butler strongly objected to taking that responsibility, but could not escape it without a positive refusal. In about two years Brother Butler began preaching, and Elder Loughborough and other leading brethren came to that conference to labor, Brother Butler standing nobly by them.
It was not over a year after the meeting at Pilot Grove that Elders Snook and Brinkerhoof left the truth and became Universalist ministers.
Cedaredge, Colo.
God’s Kingdom in Our Lives
“To pray for the coming of God’s kingdom and not to enthrone him in our own lives would be to utter vain repetitions like the heathen.”
The Fabric of Life
By Mary Vaughn
In the loom of life we weave each day
On the warp of circumstance
The colors grave and the colors gay,
However the threads may chance.
But the web is ours to make or mar,
And the pattern we may choose,
We may make the fabric strong and fair,
And blend as we will the hues.
The glint of gold from our happy days
May shine through the somber shades,
And love’s warm gleams, like the morning rays,
Add beauty that never fades.
When the Master Workman judges at last,
May he find our weaving good,
The texture fine and the colors fast,
And his purpose understood.
— Mary Vaughn.