[From time to time we will reply under this head, if deemed advisable, to such candid inquiries as may be sent us. Correspondents wishing a reply to their questions must give their full name and address, not for publication unless they wish, but as an evidence of good faith on their part, and to give us opportunity to reply by letter if deemed best. It is always well to inclose stamp. Let the questions be short and pointed, and such as may be answered in limited space. The questions will be numbered continuously.]
875. Not God but Doubt.
If a Christian feels called of God to take up a certain work, and has not the spiritual strength to do so, and is buffeted by doubts and fears, will God forsake him in his weakness? W. O.
(1) God never forsakes us; it is we that forsake God. “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful.” 2 Tim. 2:13. And yet “if we deny Him, He will deny us.” Verse 12. He can not, in the very nature of the case, admit as a part of Himself those who are not in harmony with Him. It is not our God whom we need to fear, but our doubts. If God has called you to a work, do it. No man has spiritual strength of himself to do God’s work. Jesus did not have; but He did not look to Himself, but to God. He said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30, 19. “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” John 14:10. The thing for a weak man to do is to trust the strong. Give yourself to do the work, and God will do it through you. But if you continually refuse, your doubts will separate you from God. God will not forsake you; you will be continually forsaking God. O, believe God! (2) Read Apples of Gold Library, No. 2, “The Christian’s Privilege,” also Nos. 1, 3, and 23; and Bible Students’ Library, Nos. 64, 67, and 73. Cost of all by mail, 7 cents.
“AND THE EARTH WAS FILLED WITH VIOLENCE.”
By T.
The Master says, “As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24:37.
In the “days of Noe” “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Gen. 6:11.
The foregoing statements are simply the plain words of Scripture. It is the Bible itself, expressing some great facts. And from these scriptures we learn that in Noah’s day “the earth was filled with violence,” and, further, so shall it also be at the coming of the Son of man.
The old world that existed in the days of Noah grew to be so corrupt that it became necessary for God to destroy it. The violence, the vices, and crimes of every sort became so great that destruction was the only thing, either from the standpoint of justice or mercy, that could be visited upon the people of Noah’s time.
But the fearful sinfulness of the Old World is to be reproduced again just before “the coming of the Son of man.” Satan has been laying his plans. He has prepared cunning devices to lure men into sin. And in these last days the arch-deceiver is again to fill the earth with violence. No one needs to be led into these sins. No one need be deceived. God is faithful in pointing out the satanic deceptions of these times. But there are multitudes who will not regard the warnings of the heavenly Father, and so they plunge headlong into the ruin.
Perhaps one of the most subtle snares of Satan is to get us so absorbed in pleasure or business that we seldom take time for serious reflection. We read of the killing of the president of France, but are too busy to think about it. A Spanish prime minister is murdered, but we are so absorbed that we give it only a passing thought. The empress of Austria is killed; the attempt is made to take the life of the czar, the emperor of Germany, and one after another of the rulers of the world, but we only stop to say, “That is a subject for kings, emperors, and presidents to worry over; it does not concern me.”
We read of the foul murders every day, but we are madly and hotly rushing to our business or intoxicating pleasures, so we drop it out of mind at once. In the conflict between capital and labor mobs are stirred up and the most violent deeds are committed. Only a few days ago a lot of men who were frenzied in a strike set upon a fellow-man, shot at him, clubbed him, chased him, kicked and stoned him, until he fell senseless. He was stretched upon the grass for dead, but he moved his head a little, and a bystander, perceiving that life was still in him, jumped upon the helpless creature and stamped and kicked him with all the cruelty of savage revenge and furious hate.
All this violence is going on in the world continually. It is breaking out somewhere every day. And yet men are so stupid as to try to make themselves believe that this wicked old world is getting better. Why, they would have us think that the gray dawn of an era of peace and brotherly love is already lighting up the social horizon. But where are our senses? Are they so blunted that we can no longer see facts, even tho their grim visage break in upon us and stare us right in the face?
Do not be deceived. We are indeed in the last days. Yes, the very last of the last days are here. Time is hastening to its close. God can not much longer suffer this intensifying violence that is filling our world. His Son must soon come and destroy it. This world’s measure of iniquity is fast filling up. And the same violence that made it necessary for the old world to be drowned in a flood is fast bringing about the necessity of sweeping away the sins of this time in a deluge of fire.
If your hopes and prospects and pleasures center in this old sin-besotted earth, break up the ties that bind you here just as soon as possible. Give yourself without delay to the world’s Redeemer, that He may snatch you away from the impending destruction, and place you in the ark of His safety and power.
T.
CATERING TO ROMANISM.
By W. N. G.
The Literary Digest credits the Michigan Christian Advocate with expressing gladness to hear that “in Fernando, Cal., the Methodist Church adjourned its services to attend the dedication of a Roman Catholic Church.” What would Wesley or Whitefield say of the professed Protestantism of such a Methodist Church or such a Methodist paper? But here is an utterance from another Methodist paper which still further flatters the Roman institution, or at least indicates a marvelous misconception of Protestant principle in this most numerous of all nominally Protestant denominations. The Western Christian Advocate says:—
“Protestantism has no louder call than to Roman Catholic countries. Its influence there is not to destroy the Roman Church, but to quicken it. None better than Protestants understand the greatness of that organization, and none more sincerely pray that it may become a purely spiritual power, quickened into a new and mightier activity for the renewal of mankind in righteousness and true holiness.”
There is a strange inconsistency between the claim that the influence of Protestantism “is not to destroy the Roman Church, but to quicken it,” and the prayer that “it may become a purely spiritual power,” etc. For if the Roman Church, that is, the people composing that church, were to become “quickened into a new and mightier activity for the renewal of mankind in righteousness and true holiness,” then the Roman Church institution would cease to exist. The consummation of the thing prayed for would be practically the destruction of that institution. While the quickening of the people composing that church in the way of “righteousness and true holiness” is not an impossibility, if they will but surrender themselves to God, it is impossible to so quicken the church as such, for it is founded in its own infallibility—in self-righteousness. If it should be so “transmogrified” as to be a channel for the “renewal of mankind,” it would no longer be a Roman Church. We agree that “Protestantism has no louder call than to Roman Catholic countries,” but that call is not to flatter the Roman Church, or to deceive the people of those countries, with the idea that that organization is or can be in any sense an instrument of “righteousness and true holiness.”
Another misrepresentation of Protestant principle is found in the same paper, in connection with the sentiment last noted. The Advocate further says:—
“Protestantism will follow the flag into Cuba and Porto Rico and the Philippines, and to the ends of the earth.”
Now Protestantism has lost its way when it begins to follow earthly flags. It started out to follow the Word of God, and any attempt on its part to follow any other ensign than that of King Immanuel is to depart from the principles that gave it its original prestige. Had Protestantism gone forward in the way marked out for it by divine Providence, instead of leaning on the arm of flesh, it would have encompassed the “ends of the earth” long ago, without waiting to follow any earthly flag. Jesus says, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Again He commands, “Follow Me.” What then have Protestants to do with following any other standard, when the God of heaven says, “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward;” when He who has “all power” has promised that “the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward”?
All this dependence upon the governments of earth to go before, and the arm of human flesh to sustain, in the spread of the Gospel is just so much catering to Romanism; for it was the entrance and encouragement of that principle in the church that made Romanism and the Roman Church possible.
W. N. G.
A Soul Reflecting the Spirit
By George H. Hepworth
A POOL of water is a thing of beauty when the moon shines on it, and the smallest soul that ever breathed is a miracle when the Spirit of God is reflected therein.—Rev. George H. Hepworth.
THE INSATIABLE WAR SPIRIT.
By W. N. G.
The war spirit became heated to such a degree during the summer months that it seems difficult to cool it down. No sooner was peace declared with the common enemy than the rivalry for honors and the placing of responsibility for blunders begat a rather heated contest between dignitaries of the army and of the navy, and between their various friends and admirers. But the “patriotism” was emphasized in the regret of those who did not get a chance to go to the front and demonstrate to their countrymen that they were heroes indeed. From the patriotic standpoint it was really too bad that a war for the liberation of Cuba should close while Spain had a foot of colonial territory to be conquered, and while there was a single company of volunteers who did not have an opportunity to spill some Spanish blood.
It is said that Alexander the Great, after conquering the world as far as it presented any opposition to his ambition, sat down and wept because there were not other worlds for him to conquer. Such was the spirit manifested by many of our volunteers who got no further into the fray than the camps of rendezvous. A considerable expedition was being embarked at San Francisco for Manila when the news of peace came, and the disappointment was indescribable. The writer ventured the remark to two of the men, “So you didn’t get off to the war after all,” when he was met with the sad-hearted reply, “Don’t mention it to us; the disappointment is bad enough without being reminded of it.” And it is safe to say that the majority of the army (excepting the fever patients and those who were dissatisfied with their rank and positions), and many politicians and speculators, were sorry that the war ended so soon. The opportunities for gore, and booty, and glory were all too greatly straitened to satisfy the superabundant patriotism of those who went out to set Cuba free, and to “remember the Maine,” and to gather the harvest.
In the thirteenth chapter of Proverbs it is said: “There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.” Verses 15, 16. Had Agur, the son of Jakeh, lived in our day, he might have added, “And the patriotic war spirit of this professed ‘Christian nation,’ as long as it is victorious, saith not, It is enough.”
W. N. G.
China’s Possibilities.—
Since China’s war with Japan almost everybody who has had anything to say upon the subject has reckoned China among those nations as of no account, too disorganized, feeble, and unpatriotic to offer effectual resistance to any invader. Hon. George F. Seward, a former United States Minister to China, tells us that the Chinese do not lack in patriotism; that when “Li Hung Chang was told by Gordon that he ought to seize the throne, and that if he would enter upon the enterprise Gordon would stand at his back,” the prime minister was faithful to his trust. After referring to events following Germany’s recent action, Mr. Seward (N. Y. Independent, October 6) says:—
“All that has happened has not as yet touched the strength of China. Her four hundred millions of people, occupying as fertile a territory as lies under the sun, are intact. If she desires to open mines and build railways, establish schools and arsenals and shipyards, and set on foot an army, she can carry the work forward in all these directions without extreme difficulty. It is not too much to say that a strong man at the head of Chinese affairs within ten years could place the empire in such a position that she could defy the world in arms. It is a people of great capacity in all directions. Her statesmen for natural ability will bear comparison with those of any nation. Her people are frugal, and capable of sustaining hardships. There have been fields on which Chinese soldiers, trained by Ward and Gordon, have done remarkable things. No one can afford to underrate the high qualities of the Chinese.”
Deaths from Intolerable Heat
In seven days of hot weather in the East there were over 200 deaths in New York City alone from the intolerable heat. Two years ago in a like period 657 died from sunstroke.
The Latest Development of the X-Ray
The latest development of the X-ray by Professors Crookes and Roentgen is to show the veins and arteries in the hand, as well as the bones.
Bethel to Jerusalem
By H. P. H.
JOTTINGS FROM PALESTINE. NO. II.
Bethel to Jerusalem.
Shortly after leaving Bethel we pass a spring and a large reservoir hewn from the native rock, to preserve the water for irrigation purposes. It is needless to say that the reservoir is now in ruins and the land not irrigated. About two hours from Bethel, and the same distance from Jerusalem, we pass Ramah. When within an hour’s ride of Jerusalem, we were opposite Mizpeh, situated on quite a high eminence to the west of us; but a short distance north of Mizpeh is Gibeon, whose inhabitants by deception obtained an alliance with Joshua, and in consequence were doomed to be hewers of wood and carriers of water.
At Gibeon, while Israel battled with the five kings, the Lord discomfited the enemy with hailstones, and at the command of Joshua caused the sun and moon to stand still. Hither Abner resorted with his forces when he attempted to make Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, king, and was met by Joab, when hostilities were opened by twelve chosen young men from each side; it was near Gibeon that Joab treacherously killed Amasa; here Solomon had the vision in which he made the novel choice of wisdom in preference to riches; and it was here that he offered a thousand burnt-offerings. It seems also that Gibeon was one of the “high places,” and that for a time the tabernacle was here, while the ark was in Jerusalem.
A short distance west of Mizpeh lies Emmaus, tho it was not visible from our route. Soon after passing Mizpeh, we were opposite Gibeah of Benjamin, on our right. Here occurred the disgraceful murder of the concubine of the Levite, which nearly resulted in the extermination of the tribe of Benjamin. After Saul was anointed king, he dwelt here; it was at Gibeah that he hewed the oxen in pieces, and sent them to the tribes as a call to arms; from here, Jonathan gained his noted victory over the Philistines; and it was at Gibeah that seven of the sons of Saul were hanged. This was all within an hour’s walk from Jerusalem.
Shortly after passing Gibeah, we were opposite Anathoth, situated three miles from Jerusalem. This was the home of Jeremiah, and is now a small place called Anata. About a mile on the way from Anathoth toward Jerusalem is Nob, the city of the priests, to which David fled from Saul, and where he took the showbread and sword of Goliath. Nob is but a little more than a mile from Gibeah, where Saul dwelt. Gibeah, which means “high,” is 2,690 feet above the sea, or about 200 feet higher than Jerusalem, and hence commands a fine view of the country even beyond the Dead sea, far into the mountains of Moab. We halted here some time, to enjoy the fine view; all in this vicinity is desolation and ruins, yet there are more evidences of ancient building operations than farther north.
A VIEW OF MODERN JERUSALEM.
About a mile from Gibeah, we were on Mount Scopus, where the Roman army was located during the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, A.D. 70. From this point, the view of the city is excellent; we could see nearly the entire surface of the city and surrounding walls; just in front of us was the Damascus Gate; to the left, the large space where Solomon’s temple stood; and to the right, the Joppa Gate and the Tower of David. A little to the east of the city, and considerably higher, rises Mount Olivet; and between it and the city is the valley of the brook Kidron, or the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Descending from Mount Scopus and crossing the valley of Jehoshaphat, we entered Jerusalem by the Damascus Gate and took up quarters near the center of the city in the hospice of the Knights of St. John. Here I took leave of my Arab companion, who proved to be an honest man, fulfilling his agreement perfectly, and making no efforts at extortion. I was afterwards informed that few such men are to be found; and from my own experience in the Orient, it is not hard to believe this assertion.
What a delight it was to be in this place! How thronged is this city and surroundings with sacred memories! How much of the Bible history was here enacted! And now I could walk about, and behold the many places mentioned in the Bible narrative, and, above all else, the places visited by the Saviour just before His crucifixion. I wanted to walk about alone, and not be disturbed by the chatter of a guide who is more familiar with uncertain tradition than with the Bible. My pocket Bible was a more satisfactory guide than any man. Many guide-books have been written about Jerusalem and the Holy Land, but none are equal to the inspired Guide-book.
I will not in my account attempt to give an exhaustive description of Jerusalem and surroundings, and the many institutions located here, but will give a simple account of the places which I could visit during my brief stay, and speak of them as I saw them. Leaving the hospice, I made my way westward towards the Joppa Gate. There are many grades in the city, some of them quite steep; the streets are all narrow, averaging from ten to twenty feet wide, and are unusually well paved for an eastern city; most of them are crooked, and, generally, they are crowded with all sorts of people, animals, and wares. Nearly every nationality is represented here. Many of the shops and stores are but alcoves opening to the street, with the wares displayed where the sidewalk should be; this leaves only a narrow space in the center for the passage for people and animals; and the animals, mostly donkeys, have great loads of wares in huge baskets hanging like saddle-bags on both sides, one is obliged to dodge to the right or to the left, and often wait some time, to avoid a collision. For the most part, the wares exposed for sale are not very inviting in appearance. The Eastern idea of cleanliness prevails in Jerusalem.
In less than ten minutes, we have reached the Joppa Gate; just before reaching it, we pass a tower in the wall on our left, called the Tower of David, situated in that part of the city called Mount Zion. It is on the opposite side of the city from the temple, and is nearly the highest part. Just without the Joppa Gate are many stores in modern style, and several hotels for the accommodation of tourists. As a rule, pilgrims, who sometimes come in large numbers, lodge in the hospices of their respective churches. From the Joppa Gate to the10north, quite a large quarter, containing many good buildings, has recently sprung up; and the building still continues. One of the large hotels stands on the site occupied by the Tower of Hananeel.
From the Joppa Gate, we walked down a steep grade, by a well-made road, to the south, reaching the Valley of Hinnom, below the south-west corner of the city wall. Between the Valley of Hinnom, which is on the south of Jerusalem, and the valley on the west, which unites with the Valley of Hinnom, we cross by a bridge, and continuing south about half a mile, we reach the station of the only railway in Palestine, that running between Joppa and Jerusalem. Just beyond this station, on the west, is the German Temple Colony of 48 families, founded by the same movement as the colony at Haifa. Here we find the various industries as carried on in a village of Germany, including a steam flouring-mill and a beer brewery. Surely Jerusalem is being civilized! We here stop to visit the families of this colony, and will continue our walk in another number.
H. P. H.
REJOICING TOGETHER.
A SOWER, with weeping, went forth to sow— Went bearing the precious seed; He passed where the wayside vines drooped low, Passed over the dewy mead. From early dawn till the stars came out, He scattered the golden grain, Alike on the hillside parched with drought, Alike on the fertile plain.
The seed sprung up which the sower cast, It grew by night and by day; And, lo, ere the harvest-time had passed, A reaper strayed that way! He reaped the grain with a happy song; His sickle was keen and bright; Heavy laden with sheaves he passed along In the rosy sunset light.
When the “Lord of the harvest” shall come to receive And garner His ripened wheat, The sower and reaper together their sheaves With rejoicing shall lay at His feet; Together shall enter the heavenly rest, To sow and to reap no more; Together shall join in the song of the blest, For the weeping time will be o’er.
—Selected.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
BROTHER J. B. Wilson reports the baptism of four candidates at Sterling, Colo.
SABBATH, October 29, has been set as the date for dedicating the new church at Atlantic, Iowa.
BROTHER G. W. Anglebarger reports the baptism of three candidates at Cañon City, Colo.
AT the last quarterly meeting of the church at Hollandville, Del., four names were added to the roll.
FOUR persons were baptized at the local camp-meeting held at Creston, Iowa, September 27 to October 2.
FROM the Indiana Reporter we learn that thirteen members were recently added to the church at Frankton, in that State.
BROTHER R. S. Donnell, president of Indiana Conference, expresses a hope to soon open a Helping Hand Mission in Indianapolis.
GENERAL meetings are appointed in Wisconsin as follows: Granton, October 21-30; Debello, October 31 to November 6; Plainfield, December 5-12.
BROTHER D. T. Jones, of Guadalajara (Mexico) Medical Mission, who had been on a short trip to Battle Creek, Mich., was in Kansas City on the 9th and 10th of this month, on his return.
BROTHER Swin Swinson, who has been holding tent-meetings at Spring Valley, Wis., reports five additions to our ranks, and also that an interest has been aroused in a district a few miles from that place.
IN the report of Brother R. A. Underwood, superintendent of General Conference district No. 1, in the Review, we notice the statement that fifteen persons were baptized at the camp-meeting at Grafton, W. Va.
BROTHER C. P. Bollman, formerly of the editorial staff of the SIGNS, and for several years of the American Sentinel, has been elected vice-president of Tennessee River Conference. Brother F. D. Starr is president, and B. W. Parker is secretary.
FROM a report of Brother J. M. Rees in Echoes from the Field, concerning the camp-meeting at Olathe, Colo., we take these significant words: “Eleven were baptized, and almost every one who came on the ground unconverted went home converted.”
BROTHER J. N. Loughborough, accompanied by his wife, arrived in this city on the 13th inst., and is now attending the camp-meeting at Hanford, Kings County, Cal. Brother Loughborough is not only a pioneer in the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, but he is the pioneer minister of that faith in California, having arrived here in 1868. His first labors extended over a period of about twelve years. Then, after an absence of a few years, part of which was spent in England, he returned to this State for another brief period. Since his last departure from the State he has occupied various leading positions, including a tour of the conferences and mission fields of Europe. He has also written a valuable work, entitled, “The Rise and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists.”
THE last report of the home for little children in Paterson, N. J., states that there were in the home eighteen children, ranging in age from three weeks to fourteen years. The managers appeal for clothing, etc., suitable for winter. Address, John Fischer, Temple and Fourth Streets, Paterson, N. J.
BROTHER R. M. Kilgore, superintendent of General Conference district No. 5, reporting to the Review, says: “Prosperity is attending the medical mission in Denver. Its large building, with eighty rooms filled every night, and the running expenses all met, gives evidence of the prospering hand of God.”
AT the recent session of the Kansas Conference Brother J. W. Westphal, president, and all of the Conference Committee were re-elected to their respective offices. The camp-meeting in connection with the conference session was held at Ottawa, and on the last day of the meeting thirty-one persons were baptized. The conference starts the new year with 52 regular laborers—ordained ministers and licentiates, 24; missionary licentiates, 28.
HEALING OF A MAGDALEN.
S. S. Davis, chaplain and manager of the Evansville, Indiana, Helping Hand Mission, was recently interviewed by a representative of the Logansport Reporter concerning his work. The newspaper man introduced the subject by asking, “Do you work among the fallen women of the city? Please give us an example of how you work.”
To this Brother Davis replied as follows:—
“The first instance of a reclaimed woman was a peculiar one. It was during a cottage prayer-meeting, and we were engaged in prayer, when a woman came into our meeting. We continued to pray, and she wept piteously. At the close of the prayer I asked her why she wept. She said a woman of the same character as herself lay dying a short distance away, and having heard us singing, sent this companion in sin to ask some of us to come over and pray for her, saying that she was paralyzed and dying, and that she had sent to several ministers to come and pray for her, but none came. We took the entire company at the meeting and went to the house. We found ourselves in a regular den of prostitutes, a room full of them, who had come in to see the poor woman die. I began to converse with her about her spiritual welfare and the Saviour. She listened attentively, and requested prayer, saying she had sent for different ministers to visit her, but they would not come. As we talked of Jesus’ love, and willingness to hear, and power to save, she wept. There followed a general breaking down and weeping among all the women present.
“Then the woman asked me, after telling me something of her history and the causes of her being in that place of shame, if I thought the Lord would heal her. This was a strange question for one in her position to ask. I told her I did not know, but asked her why she was solicitous to regain her health, and whether she would resume the old life of sin. She most emphatically said, ‘No.’ I told her we would leave it with the Lord, and if it was His will to heal her, well; if not, we would be resigned to His will, and to this end we prayed. In a short time she grew better and began to improve, and the next day was up. . . . She is now well, a Christian, and lives in Princeton, Ind.
“Those fallen women pleaded with me to return and hold prayer-meetings with them. And so our work goes on, with the Lord’s blessing, and each day brings its rich experiences.”
A WORKINGMEN'S HOME IN TACOMA.
BROTHER W. C. THOMPSON informs us that a commodious building in a suitable place has been secured in Tacoma, Wash., for the purpose of opening a Workingmen's Home. In addition to the ordinary needs of such an institution, it is expected that there will be many disappointed gold-seekers returning from the north in destitute circumstances, who will greatly need both temporal aid and spiritual encouragement. This is an important undertaking, and help is needed. Donations of cash, bedding, fruit, and other things that can be utilized in the work, will be thankfully received. Call at or address, Workingmen's Home, No. 101 Tenth Street, Tacoma, Wash.
PERIODICALS WANTED.
BROTHER F. GUSH, of Tacoma, Wash., returns thanks for past favors, and asks for more donations of our periodicals (or books) for ship and other missionary work and free reading-room. Please send post-paid to Workingmen’s Home, 101 Tenth Street, Tacoma, Wash.
MRS. LUCY B. POST desires clean copies of the SIGNS for missionary work. Address, post-paid, care of Sociedad de Tratados de Argentina, Casilla del Correo 481, Buenos Ayres, Argentina, South America.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1898.
EDITIONS of the “Desire of Ages” will be published in the United States and England on the above date.
The “Desire of Ages” is a large volume of nearly 900 royal octavo pages.
It is written by Mrs. E. G. White, author of several well-known and valuable works, as well as a regular contributor to this paper.
In one sense her book is a Life of Christ and His apostles, but it is far more than any mere biographical sketch—it is a use of the incidents in these lives to illustrate the principles of true Christianity.
Its whole object is to show that in Christ the love of the Father is revealed, and that we may live the life He lived if we rightly connect with the same Source of power.
The early life of Christ, His surroundings in Nazareth, His example in the home, His persecution by would-be teachers, His first experience in the temple, His gradual conception of His mission to this world, etc., etc., are described in a way that will not only deeply interest children and youth but arouse in their minds a desire to follow in His steps.
Parents and teachers will find in other chapters that which will be invaluable to them. Christ was the greatest teacher the world ever knew, and the author shows that “the children of our hearths are as much the purchase of His blood as were the children of long ago.”
Are you sick and suffering? or poor and discouraged? If so, you will find the “Desire of Ages” a “volume of comfort.”
The illustrations number about 300 in all, and are nearly all original. They represent two years’ study and supervision on the part of our art director, Mr. W. A. Reaser, of New York City, and are beautiful and appropriate. They must be seen to be appreciated.
The paper on which this volume is printed has been made to order, and is especially adapted to the printing of fine engravings.
The sewing is done on tapes the same as an office ledger, and is therefore just as strong, and at the same time flat-opening.
The bindings are attractive and very durable.
“Desire of Ages” will be sold by subscription, but if there is no agent in your vicinity, and you want a copy, write to us and we will see that you are supplied.
Advance orders received to date (October 13) amount to 2,500 copies.
Prices:—
Cloth, marbled edges . . . . . $3 50Cloth, gilt edges . . . . . . 4 25Library, marbled edges . . . . 5 00Full morocco, gilt edges, in a box 7 00
Pacific Press Publishing Company,Oakland, California,New York City,Kansas City, Mo.
