[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the Signs of the Times has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.]
CXCIV.
I WAS brought up in the Episcopal Church, and was early taught the Ten Commandments. I had to repeat them once every week, besides hearing them read every Sunday in church. I believed them all, just as they were written by the finger of God on stone.
I was reading my Bible one Sunday, and came to Isa. 58:13, 14, when I was impressed that the seventh day is the true Sabbath. The thought came to me that I could not claim these promises, because I could find nothing here about Sunday. Still, I reasoned that men who studied God's Word, and taught the people, would not disobey God; they would certainly know what they were doing. But I said that I would much prefer keeping the day Jesus kept; if the Jews believed in a Saviour, I would worship with them.
I then commenced visiting all the other churches, which I continued for a year. I felt a great want of the Spirit in them all, and I never heard the commandments in any of them. I even went to the Swedenborgian Church, and got mixed up with Spiritism. The Lord allowed me to see how Satan is working with those that seek Him, but He will preserve them that put their trust in Him.
I asked the Lord if He did not have some one to warn the people of these fearful delusions, which are taking the world captive in these last days. Matt. 24:24.
Soon after this our family left San Francisco and came to Alameda. One day, in passing a drug store, I saw a card in the window, which gave notice that lectures would be given on the books, Daniel and The Revelation. I had often wished that I could understand the Revelation, a blessing being promised to those who would read and understand (Chapter 1:1-3). So I went to hear Brother H. H. Dexter; and, later on, when he asked me what I thought of the seventh-day Sabbath, I said I knew it was the right day, and, as I had found some keeping it, I would worship with them. He said, "Praise the Lord!"
Altho I had lived in different parts of the United States for twenty-four years, I had never heard of Seventh-day Adventists; and my surprise was great when I was told how many there were who were keeping the commandments of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:17). I pray that, with them, I may walk in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless, until His appearing. MRS. MARGARET S. WILLIAMS.
BRITISH WEST INDIES—TRINIDAD AND GRENADA.
By W. A. Sweany
EDITOR SIGNS OF THE TIMES: I am sending you some views of our new church building in Arima, Trinidad, which we dedicated just before leaving there. It is 20 x 44 feet, and contains two rooms—one, 20 x 32 for public services, seats 125 persons; the other, 12 x 20, is for school and other purposes. In addition to this, a six-foot "gallery," or porch, runs the full length of the building on either side. The lot, 70 x 90 feet, in an ideal location, and worth $150, was given to us by friends not of our faith.
The building, finished and furnished with seats, lamps, ordinance utensils (including individual communion service), cost $470. About a hundred days' work was donated by some thirty persons, no money being paid for labor. About $60 was received from friends in the states; the rest was raised in this conference, by far the greater part of it being given by the conference laborers, as is the case in all church-building enterprises in these fields. A full set of the "Testimonies" and a number of other books were secured as the nucleus of a library, to which other books will be added from time to time.
A church of twenty-five members was organized, eight being added by baptism just before we left. The others had been previously baptized, or joined by letter. The Sabbath-school and missionary society are flourishing and active. The interest in the community is good, and we expect that the Lord will add to the church such as shall be saved. Several more are already candidates for baptism and membership.
Pastor W. A. Sweany and Family.
We left Arima January 25, just one year from the day we moved there. A little more than half of this time I was away from Arima, in the interests of the work in other places. Yet, by the aid of the mighty Helper, we were enabled to hold a ten-weeks' tent-meeting, organize the work, and finish and dedicate a neat, comfortable church building. A very large amount of our literature was circulated—more than $200 worth, at wholesale rates.
I attended the council meeting of our conference committee at Barbados, January 13-15, at which time it was decided for us to move to Grenada, to take the place of Brother W. G. Kneeland, who was transferred to British Guiana, to succeed Brother D. C. Babcock, who will soon return to the States. We are now settled in Grenada, having reached here a week ago, and are ready to take up the work begun by Brother Kneeland nearly a year ago.
Grenada is the most beautiful and picturesque place we have yet seen. It is a healthful place, having an abundance of good water, with plenty of all kinds of tropical fruit and other produce. Imported supplies are higher than in Barbados and Trinidad. Conditions are about the same as in the other islands of the West Indies. Being a part of the British Empire, of course freedom and liberty are enjoyed, and one meets many kind, courteous people. But truth compels the admission that among the masses immorality, superstition, and ignorance of the Word of God abounds, altho almost every one belongs to some church—the Catholic and Anglican being the strongest, with the Wesleyan and Presbyterian next.
Our work is not yet established here. We find about half a dozen persons beginning to obey the message, and others are interested.
The New Church at Arima, Trinidad.
We desire and request that the prayers and interest of our friends may accompany us in our new field of labor. We have sent an order through our conference office for the SIGNS and Little Friend to be renewed, and sent here. We could not do without them. Your recent "Specials" were the best yet. May God bless the SIGNS, and continue to make it the effective messenger of truth it has ever been. We are well, and of good courage to prosecute the work till it is done.
Yours in the faith of Jesus,
W. A. SWEANY.
Box 118, St. George, Grenada.
MORAVIAN MISSIONS IN LABRADOR.
REV. CHAS. SCHMITT in the Christian Herald gives the following interesting account of the establishment and conduct of Moravian mission work in the ice-bound regions of Labrador. Mr. Schmitt is now laboring in that mission field. He says:
Our Labrador mission was founded in 1771. The Eskimos at that time were savages and heathen, and the first missionary, Johannes Erhardt, was murdered on an island which he visited to preach the Gospel. This happened in the year 1752, and some years afterward others volunteered to take Mr. Erhardt's place, and thus the first mission station, Nain, was founded. Since then the mission has spread north and south, so that at present we have seven fully established mission stations here, with a staff of sixteen missionaries, and through their agency every Eskimo on the Labrador coast has been brought under Gospel influences.
One may ask, What induced the Moravian brotherhood to start missions among the poorest of mankind, in these out-of-the-way Arctic regions? Count Zinzendorf was the instrument destined in God's hand to re-establish and mould the Moravian church. The poorest and most despised nations were thought of first, and these simple but zealous Moravians were willing to undergo any hardships in13order to reach the heathen and bring to them the Gospel of Christ, the Friend of all the needy. From Saxony, their home, they worked their way to the coast, in the hope that they might find a ship and a captain who would engage them as common sailors, so as to enable them to cross the ocean. By these means, quite a number of these undaunted Moravians reached the West Indies in 1731, Greenland in 1733, and also Labrador. They were willing even to become slaves for Christ's sake, in order that they might be a blessing to that poor and degraded class of people.
God's blessing was on their work, and soon friends and means were forthcoming, which enabled them to make use of existing facilities. In after years they were enabled to buy and send out their own mission ships. Labrador needed, above all, a mission vessel, as no ship navigated this lonely, unknown, and, for the most part of the year, ice-bound coast. The mission ship, Harmony, has plied these waters now annually for many years. To some of our Eskimos, it is the only vessel they have ever seen. God has most graciously protected our ship from any serious harm for over fifty years.
Our Eskimo of the present day is much more civilized than his forefathers were a hundred years ago. He still retains the same way of securing a livelihood, namely, by hunting and fishing. The polar bear, the walrus, various kinds of seals, reindeer, black bears, wolves, foxes, etc., are secured, and much skill and judgment is exercised by hunters in killing the larger game. It is an incessant and hard life-struggle with the ofttimes severe forces of the elements of wind, ice, snow, and waves. Many a brave hunter, far out at sea in his frail kaiak, harpoon in hand, while hunting the walrus or seal, has found an untimely and watery grave.
The Gospel of Christ and Him crucified has brought to many of these simple homes comfort and happiness, in times of severe trial and bereavement. All the Eskimos in our care can read and write.
The whole Bible, printed and published almost free of charge by the noble British and Foreign Bible Society, is greatly valued and continually in use among them.
As our Eskimos have no literature of their own, we have a small press here, which has done good work. Our Labrador newspaper, probably the smallest of its kind, is published monthly, from January till June.
OPPORTUNITY.
By Clement L. Pollock
Look for the light!
No day nor deed there is so dark
That does not somewhere hold the spark
That may be coaxed with loving breath
To glow where fell the shade of death,
A flame of light.
Race for the right!
The epitaphs of endless years,
Gloomed with sorrows, glint with tears,
Proclaim that every end on earth
Attained by man of any worth,
Was reached through right.
Head for the height!
Esteem the bauble far from loss
That in life's crucible proves dross;
Nor falter in the sharp, short strife,
Until you've gained the goal of life—
Home on the height.
—Clement L. Pollock.
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MEETING IN EASTERN POLYNESIA.
By George F. Jones
[G. F. Jones, in Union Conference Record.]
ON the Island of Raiatea, and up one of its lovely valleys hidden between high, picturesque mountains, and on the banks of a crystal mountain torrent, fed by many high cascades not far distant,—a fit place indeed to remind us of God's righteousness, which is like the great mountains,—was the place chosen for our Conference of the Eastern Polynesian Mission.
Here is the school farm which Brother Cady has begun with Sister Anna Nelson as teacher. One of our many considerations was that this ideal spot should be a missionary training home for native laborers, and it seemed to us no better place could be found for such a work.
All our discussions were directed to the one supreme end of speedily carrying the message to all places in this generation, and God witnessed to His approval of the meeting by blessing us abundantly with His Holy Spirit. It was felt by us to be the best we ever attended.
Brother Gates gave us most opportune lessons. The first Sabbath we met together, a tender feeling of repentance and weeping came upon all. It was remarked by an old resident that Raiatea had never before seen such a meeting. The same tender Spirit was present all through, and a hearty praise meeting closed the conference. The following Sabbath five young people were baptized, one of whom was a little native boy from our Rarotongan school, and whom we left at Raiatea with Sister Nelson. We then separated to our respective fields of labor, feeling thankful for the spiritual blessings we received, and renewed with strength to "press the battle to the gate."
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OLIVES.
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WANTED
By Editor
A FRIEND desires to purchase the old four-volume edition of "Great Controversy." If any of our readers have these books and would like to dispose of them, we would be glad to hear from you, stating the condition of the books, what you would be willing to take for them, etc. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Mountain View, Cal.
THE SPRING TERM AT UNION COLLEGE.
By Editor
The Spring term at Union College begins March 1, and lasts twelve weeks. It is the best time in the year for study, being especially favorable for those who have been teaching during the fall and winter.
Besides the regular classes running through the year, all of which are open to those who may find any of them adapted to their needs, classes will be organized in the following subjects to continue during the term: "Botany, Modern Church History, Biology, Advanced Algebra, Geology, Bible-Nature, Church School Methods, Teachers' Review, School Management, Church School Drawing, Elementary Algebra, and Commercial Law. All our industrial classes and trades are also open, and will be at their best during this term. For further information address, President Union College, College View, Neb.
neighbors. Each family has the SIGNS, and, with one exception, the Review visits each member, which I am pleased to report. Life and Health has but lately begun to visit our home, but I can heartily recommend it to every Bulletin reader."
WE copy the following testimonials from the Bulletin, of Des Moines, Iowa: (1) A sister writes: "I wouldn't have missed what I learned while selling the SIGNS for anything. I always had a feeling something like I imagine a drowning person has, whenever I thought of canvassing. But I determined to try to sell the SIGNS, and I know the Lord blessed me in trying."
(2) In noting his success with other literature, Brother C. R. Spencer says: "I find the SIGNS, too, occupying a position in the front rank as a Gospel preacher, and am using a club of ten in my visiting work and mailing list. I find people are eager for it. One lady who once refused me admittance to her house is now eager for the paper. She said to me two weeks ago: 'The SIGNS is such a grand paper, so full of good things.'"
WANTED FOR MISSIONARY WORK.
(Always prepay postage.)
SIGNS, Life Boat, and Southern Watchman. Address, W. C. Wales, 210 Caswell Street, Knoxville, Tenn.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
By Editor
A CANVASSERS' institute of two weeks' duration is announced to begin March 27, at Gentry, Ark.
THREE new Sabbath-keepers at Bass Lake, Ind., are noted in the Reporter by Brethren B. Hagle and J. E. Dunn.
AT Meno, O. T., January 28, Brother J. R. Bagby baptized two candidates, "altho the weather was cold and the ice thick."
WRITING from Luana, Iowa, to the Workers' Bulletin, Brethren J. W. Crouse and John Manuel report three converts to the faith.
THE free use of the Christian church at Fair Oaks, Ind., has been granted to Brother F. M. Roberts and E. C. Swartz for a series of meetings.
AT Ussery, Ark., four adults have recently begun keeping the Sabbath, and a Sabbath-school has been organized, with a membership of twelve.
FROM the Caribbean Watchman we learn that fourteen persons have accepted the faith in Bermuda, where Brother J. A. Morrow has been laboring.
THE old Review and Herald Publishing Company, of Battle Creek, Mich., has been legally closed up, and the corporation is now out of existence. Its legal successor is the Review and Herald Publishing Association, of Washington, D. C.
AS FRUIT of meetings held at Frisco, Ark., Brother H. Clay Griffin reports that fourteen adults are now keeping the Sabbath, and more are deeply interested. A Sabbath-school had been organized, with a membership of eighteen at the beginning.
FROM Beaman, Iowa, Sister Hattie M. Bowles writes to the Bulletin: "Our little village was thoroughly canvassed with the special SIGNS, and it would do you good to hear those who engaged in this campaign relate the blessed experiences they had in carrying this precious 'seed basket' to their
HIS BROTHER'S KEEPER.
By Marion Brier
[Marion Brier, in Ram's Horn.]
"THERE goes Frank Evans down the street. How dissipated he is getting to look!" exclaimed Mrs. Harding from her seat by the window.
Mr. Harding glanced up from the sermon he was writing to look at the young man who was swaggering by, his hands in his pockets, his cap set jauntily on the side of his head, and a cigaret between his lips. A cloud passed over the minister's face at the sight, and he answered thoughtfully, "Yes, I know he is. It's a shame, too, for Frank has the making of a fine man in him. If he had to work for his living he might amount to something. This having nothing to do but to loaf around the streets all day is enough to ruin any character."
"Carroll is getting to be just like him, too. Just look at him now!" Mrs. Harding nodded her head toward a younger boy several rods behind Frank, who was swaggering along in exact imitation of the young man, his cap perched at just the same angle on the curly head, his hands thrust in his pockets in the same manner, and the same brand of cigaret between his boyish lips. "Carroll idolizes Frank," she went on, "and he tries to imitate him in everything he does. It's a pity the boy hasn't a better example to follow. He used to be such a nice little fellow."
The minister's eyes followed the two boys as they disappeared down the street. There was a troubled expression on his face, and he sighed as he turned back to the unfinished sermon.
Meanwhile, Frank had reached Front Street and had disappeared within the door of a saloon there. He was noisily welcomed by the crowd gathered there, and invitations to "have something" were pressed upon him, for the jolly, light-hearted young man was a great favorite among them.
Only a few minutes later Carroll's boyish face appeared at the same door. Frank frowned in displeasure at the sight. With all his faults he was very fond of his young brother, and he did not want him in the atmosphere of the saloon.
Carroll walked up to the bar, and, with a glance at Frank's half-empty glass, ordered the same for himself.
Frank noticed the glance, and it stung him with the sudden knowledge that Carroll was drinking because he himself was drinking, and that Carroll was in the saloon because he himself was there, and more than that, it told him that the boy would follow him in whatever he did, right or wrong.
He suddenly pushed back his glass and strode out of the door. He did some hard thinking as he went down the street. The face of his mother came before him as she looked that day ten years ago when she called the two boys to her bedside and told them that she must leave them. He remembered how she had put her hand upon his head and had looked lovingly and earnestly into his face as she said, "I trust you, Frank, to take care of Carroll and help him to grow up into a true, noble man." He had promised through his tears, and he had tried to be true to that trust in the years since then.
In those earlier years he had spent much time amusing the lonely child, and Carroll had repaid him by a loving devotion that had grown stronger and stronger as the years went by. Frank was his hero; his ideal of all that was wise and good.
For the first time Frank understood that Carroll's ambition was to become like himself. And the conviction grew stronger and stronger within him that he did not want Carroll to grow into the kind of a man that he himself was fast becoming.
Carroll must stop his wild ways; he would give the boy a good talking to, he decided. But in his heart of hearts he knew that it would be of no use. If he tried to point Carroll to one path while he followed the opposite path himself, he knew the loyal little fellow would choose to go with him. The only way to make Carroll into the true, noble man that his mother had desired him to be was to become true and noble himself.
Frank fought a hard fight with himself that day, but the echo of those words in his ears, "I trust you, Frank," decided the victory, and he never faltered after it was once decided. Not that he never made mistakes and failures, but they only seemed to urge him on to greater effort. His aimless life had found a purpose.
A few months later the minister remarked to his wife one day. "Have you noticed what a change there is in Frank Evans? He is fast becoming one of the finest young men in town. I used to be afraid that his money would be his ruin, but he certainly is taking life earnestly at last, and is making the most and best of himself. I have no fear now but that he will make good use of his wealth."
"Yes," answered Mrs. Harding, "I had noticed the change for some time. He certainly doesn't seem like the same young man at all. And have you noticed what a different boy Carroll is, too? He is in my Sunday-school class, you know, so I see a good deal of him, and I do not believe you will find a more earnest and manly boy in town."
CHOOSING AN OCCUPATION.
By Martha Clark Rankin
[Martha Clark Rankin, in Christian Work.]
To MOST boys and some girls comes the necessity for choosing an occupation, a life-work. The importance of such a choice can hardly be over-estimated, since it often shapes and colors the whole life.
If we were to see a man building a boat, and were to ask him what use he expected to make of it, and he should answer: "I don't know. I may use it for a ferryboat, or a pleasure boat, or a fishing boat, or I may cross the ocean in it," we would at once see his folly. We would know that a wise man would not expect the same boat to answer all these purposes equally well. He would first make up his mind what he was going to do with his boat, and then he would build the style of boat best fitted for that purpose. Yet such a boat-builder would not be more foolish than is the boy who chooses his life's occupation without stopping to consider for what he is best fitted, of what he is capable, or toward what he is aiming as the chief object of his life.
In every community there are men whom everybody looks upon as miserable failures. They were bright boys, they gave promise of ability, but somehow they have never amounted to much. In some cases, the explanation is not far to seek. Bad habits have undermined the constitution, weakened the will, and clouded the intellect, and no one wonders that they are failures. But others have led exemplary lives, and their lack of success seems to be almost wholly due to a wrong choice of occupation. They are not fitted for the work which they have undertaken, and they do it in a poor, half-hearted fashion. Too late, they regret the careless, thoughtless manner in which the choice was made.
Some boys have so strong a natural inclination or talent for some one kind of work that the choice is virtually made for them; but where this is not the case, a little experimenting will usually show what one can do to the best advantage. The first question that he should ask himself is: "What do I want to make of my life? what is my chief aim and ambition?" If it be a worthy one, the next step is to find whether he is fitted for such a career. If he suffers from physical weakness or deformity, he sees at once that he is debarred from certain forms of activity; if he has no ear for music or15rhythm, he will hardly try to be a musician or a poet; if he is built for a blacksmith, it would be unwise to try to be a bookkeeper.
When the choice has been once decided upon, then earnest, painstaking work must follow, with eyes and ears open to discover the best way of doing things, and an enthusiasm which makes labor a delight. With such a careful choice and such firm determination, a young man need have little fear of failure.
The Sabbath-school lessons have been discontinued. The Lesson Quarterly may be obtained, containing three months' lessons and notes, for five cents. Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal. The Sunday-school lessons will continue.
GOD CHOOSES.
He chose this path for thee;
No feeble chance, or hard, relentless fate,
But love, His love, hath placed thy footsteps here.
He knew the way was desolate,
Knew how thy heart would often sink with fear;
Yet tenderly He whispered, "Child, I see
This path is best for thee."
He chose this path for thee,
Tho well He knew sharp thorns would pierce thy feet,
Knew how the bramble would obstruct thy way;
Knew all the hidden dangers thou wouldst meet;
Knew how thy faith would falter day by day;
And still the whisper echoed: "Yes, I see,
This path is best for thee."
He chose this path for thee,
And well He knew that thou must tread alone
Its gloomy vales, and ford each flowing stream;
Knew how thy bleeding heart would sobbing moan:
"Dear Lord, to wake and find it all a dream."
Love scanned it all, yet still could say: "I see
This path is best for thee."
He chose this path for thee,
E'en while He knew the fearful midnight gloom
Thy timid, shrinking soul must travel through;
How towering rocks would oft before thee loom,
And phantoms grim would meet thy frightened
view.
Still came the whisper, "My beloved, I see
This path is best for thee."
He chose this path for thee;
What needst thou more? This sweeter truth to know
That all along these strange, bewildering ways,
O'er rocky steeps and where dark rivers flow,
His loving arms will bear thee "all the days."
A few steps more, and thou thyself shalt see
This path is best for thee.
—Selected.
INTERNATIONAL SERIES THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON 12.—MARCH 19.—HEALING OF THE MAN BORN BLIND.
(1) "And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from his birth. (2) And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind? (3) Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. (4) We must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work. (5) When I am in the world, I am the Light of the world. (6) When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed his eyes with the clay, (7) and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent). He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing. (8) The neighbors therefore, and they that saw him aforetime, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? (9) Others said, It is he; others said, No, but he is like him. He said, I am he. (10) They said therefore unto him, How then were thine eyes opened? (11) He answered, The Man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam, and wash; so I went away and washed, and I received sight."
Golden Text.—"I am the Light of the world." Verse 5.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What afflicted man is mentioned in this lesson? In what place was Jesus at this time? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What did the disciples ask concerning this man? Verse 2. Note 2. (3) What did Jesus say about the sin of this family? What good did He propose to bring out of this man's affliction? Verse 3. Note 3. (4) When must the work of God for sinners be accomplished? Verse 4. Note 4. (5) What did Jesus say of His own mission in the world? Verse 5. Note 5. (6) What then did He do to the blind man? Verse 6. (7) Having anointed the man's eyes, what did Jesus tell him to do? What was the result of his washing? Verse 7. Note 6. (8) What did some of his acquaintances ask concerning the man that was healed? Verse 8. (9) What did others say? What did the man himself say? Verse 9. (10) Then what question was asked of him? Verse 10. (11) How did the man reply to this query? Verse 11. Note 7.
NOTES.
1. Jesus was still at Jerusalem, at the Feast of Tabernacles, where He was on the occasions mentioned in the last two lessons. This is the seventh blind man which is specially noted as having been healed by Jesus—two at Capernaum (Matt. 9:27-31); two at Jericho (Matt. 20:29-33; Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43); one at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26), and one at Capernaum (Matt. 12:22, 23), besides the one here mentioned at Jerusalem. But this is the only instance in which the sufferer is said to have been born blind.
2. It was an impression among the Jews, as in the days of Job, that bodily affliction is the direct result of personal or parental sin. And sometimes it is, as Jesus Himself recognized in some instances. See Mark 2:5; John 5:14; Luke 13:1-5. But the question as to the man's being born in affliction because of his own sin was quite unreasonable, and showed a desire to say something without knowing what to say, as Peter's suggestion on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:5, 6).
3. Jesus did not say that neither the blind man nor his parents were sinners, but that their sin was not the cause of the affliction. Neither did he mean that the man was afflicted on purpose to show the work of God; but that the fact of his blindness was an occasion for doing the work of God in relieving the suffering. Not only was the man's affliction made the means of bringing him to a knowledge of the Saviour, but of showing to others the mercy and power of God. So the Lord is able to overrule the consequences of Satan's work for His own glory.
4. The day of man's probation is the only time that work can be done for the salvation of souls. Not only does the day of probation in general close before the Lord's coming to execute judgment, but men's lives are passing away every day, which forever closes their day of grace. Then let us work the works of God while it is day. He has given us the light of the Gospel for this very purpose.
5. Not only is Jesus Himself the "Light of the world," lighting "every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9), but He so imparts this light to His true disciples that they also become the light of the world. See Matt. 5:14-16; John 3:12; 8:12; 12:35, 36; Eph. 5:8.
6. Jesus could have healed the man with a word, but He chose to use other means to test the man's faith. There is no reason in supposing that Jesus used the clay because there was any virtue in it; yet we are not to neglect known remedies for disease, when seeking the direct aid of divine interposition. The anointing with the clay may have encouraged the man to go and wash. Moreover, it gave him a part to act in the matter, thus uniting his effort with the word of Jesus, making him a co-laborer. The name, Siloam, means "sent;" thus the pool became a symbol of Him who was sent into the world to work the works of God.
7. The process of working out the miracle was a complete success, and may be taken as an illustration of the growth of faith—one step, or stage, leading to another (Rom. 1:16, 17). The story shows how the sinner is brought from the darkness of sin and ignorance to the light of Christian light and hope.
Good Lamp-Chimneys
By Macbeth
Good lamp-chimneys
one make
my name on 'em all.
MACBETH.
How to take care of lamps, including the getting of right-shape chimneys, is in my Index; sent free.
MACBETH, Pittsburgh.
