While visiting an elder of one of our churches, I inquired of him if he had read certain important articles in the last week's REVIEW. The reply was, “No, I have not read those things yet.” Then I asked, “Did you read Sister White's article and those written by the editors? They are right to the point, just what all our churches need now.” The elder then confessed that he had not seen the last week's REVIEW. Though it had been several days in the house, it had not been looked at, nor even opened; and so he was ignorant of all that it contained. The Sabbath had come, and had gone; but the very message that God had sent for that day was unknown to him, and was therefore unheeded.
Some of our people do not take the REVIEW, and so do not have an opportunity to see what is in it. This is a great loss; but when those, even church elders, who do take it, do not care enough for it and for the flock to read it, this is a greater loss. Unless our elders are wide awake to receive the light that the Lord is sending week by week, and to give it to the flock, they are in darkness. “Walk while ye have the light,” said Christ. “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.”
Several years ago the Lord told the ministers to go to “regions beyond,” but it seemed impossible for any considerable number to do so, because of the cry for help among the churches. Many were without the REVIEW AND HERALD, and others were not paying tithe and offerings, so it was thought best to hold institutes among the churches. But the Lord has said to the churches that they must not expect the ministers to come. We quote the following from the Home Missionary of December, 1897, pages 224, 225, 227: “But you can not depend upon ministers to come and help you; for they must go to places where the word of God has never been heard.”
“Thousands are groping in darkness who ought to have had light long ago. Time and money have been consumed unnecessarily, and voices that could speak have been silent when they should have been giving the last message of mercy to the world. Oh, how much the people of God have to learn before they will realize that it is not those who know the truth who are to be forever favored with the work of the ministers; but the ministers should work with their God-given ability to erect the standard of truth among those who have not even heard that there is such a people as Seventh-day Adventists.”
Now, if this counsel of the Lord is heeded, will he leave the churches to themselves to grope in darkness?—No; for he has said, “I will never leave thee.”
He was with the church in the wilderness, and he is still with his people, though they wander as did Israel of old. The Bible is for the church, and in every REVIEW we hear the Lord speaking. There should be no need of the coming of a minister to wake up the church.
If the instruction God is sending through the REVIEW is not read and heeded as it comes to us, how can our churches keep alive? The voice of God may be heard if the words he speaks are read and reread with prayer.
If the minister comes, he must go away; but not so with the REVIEW; it comes to stay, and will do faithful work in the hearts of all who love its instruction.
THERE IS NO SUNDAY-KEEPING RIGHTEOUSNESS.
By H. W. Reed
H. W. REED.
(Portage, Wis.)
The law of God is to witness to your righteousness; and if you have the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that law will witness to it. The law contains, as it were, ten witnesses. The fourth one will witness concerning the Sabbath we have kept. If we have kept the same one Christ did by faith in him, and have his righteousness on this point,—the Sabbath-keeping righteousness that he wrought out every Sabbath of his life,—I say, if we have this imputed to us, then the fourth commandment will witness to that righteousness as being just what the law demands.
No one can receive any Sunday-keeping righteousness from Christ. This for the best reason in the world; and that is that the law did not demand it, and Christ did not work out any such thing. He wove no Sunday threads into the robe of his righteousness. Sunday-keeping is of man-made origin; and Christ weaves no such threads into the garment with which he will clothe his saints.
No one can have Christ’s righteousness to cover points that Christ did not work out as righteousness. Righteousness works out right-doing; and as Christ did not observe Sunday, that is not a part of his right-doing; it is not a part of his righteousness, and the law can not witness to it. If, then, you desire a righteousness to which the law can witness, take the righteousness of Christ, and you will certainly be safe.
He met the demands of a perfect law. That law demanded then, as it does now, perfect righteousness. But man can not render this of himself. His own righteousness is filthy rags compared with the spotless garment of Christ’s righteousness. Then as Christ never observed Sunday, that does not enter into his righteousness. And if we present Sunday-keeping as righteousness, whose righteousness is it?—Certainly it is not Christ’s; for he never observed it: neither is it of the law; for the law does not demand it.
Then of whose righteousness is Sunday-keeping, Christ’s or man’s?—It is of man’s only. And as that righteousness is filthy rags, and as the law can not witness to it, the law must witness against it.
So we appeal to all Sunday-keepers to repent of this sin of Sunday-keeping; for it is a violation of the law of God. Throw away your own righteousness; for your own is all you have on this point. And then by faith in Christ’s power keep the Sabbath that Christ kept, and let the righteousness of Christ thus be imputed unto you, that the law of God may witness to your imputed righteousness as meeting the demands of the holy law. Who will not do it?
THOUSANDS TO ONE.
By W. H. Gosmer
W. H. GOSMER.
(Butte, Mont.)
“If the followers of Christ were awake to duty, there would be thousands, where there is one to-day, proclaiming the gospel in heathen lands. And all who could not personally engage in the work would yet sustain it with their means, their sympathy, and their prayers.”
What fearful significance attaches to these words! Thousands might be proclaiming the gospel to millions in heathen lands, where one is now proclaiming it to hundreds. Millions are going down into eternal night unwarned, unsaved, without God and without hope—and why?—Because the followers of Christ are not awake to duty.
Then is it not time that every soul should inquire, earnestly and prayerfully: Lord is it I? Is it I upon whose garments is found the blood of those who have perished without hope? Is it I who am squandering money in self-gratification, which should go to send the light to those in darkness? Am I “making a covenant with God by sacrifice” by doing what I am able to do?
Having done all I can, do I then lay the burden upon the Lord, and ask him in faith to bless what I have done? do I ask him to give power to those faithful ones who have forsaken all to carry the message, that many may come to the light, and that the messengers may triumph over disease and death, and over the many obstacles placed in their path by the enemy? And is my own heart clean in his sight, so that the power of God may rest upon his people, that the message may go with mighty power?
Those going to foreign fields yield their lives by faith into the hands of the Author of the great commission; and shall we who remain at home think ourselves free from the duty to exercise faith, by helping to send out new laborers, and by supporting those already sent?
“But having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you . . . to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.” 2 Cor. 10:15, 16. Paul hoped that the Corinthians would so increase in faith that they would be enabled to give more than they could “see their way clear” to give, at the time, in order to carry the gospel to regions beyond. That was giving by faith. “That which is seen is not faith.”
“The scenes of conflict are hastening on, and the day of days is just upon us.” Seeing, then, that we are on the very borders of the heavenly rest, let us take heed lest we come short of it through unbelief, as Israel did in days gone by. “We walk by faith, not by sight.” And let us “pray . . . the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest,” and then earnestly set about answering our own petition. “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem.” “He that winneth souls is wise,” and “they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.”
The Name Smith in Ancient Egypt
Professor Mahaffy, of Dublin University, reports that, among the Greek and Egyptian names in the list of manufacturers of beer, 227 B. C., found among papyri lately unearthed in Egypt, there “occurs a number of times unmistakably and very curiously the name of Smith.”
BABY CORN.
A HAPPY mother stalk of corn
Held close a baby ear,
And whispered: “Cuddle up to me;
I’ll keep you warm, my dear;
I’ll give you petticoats of green,
With many a tuck and fold,
To let out daily as you grow,
For you will soon be old.”
A funny little baby that,
For, though it had no eye,
It had a hundred mouths; ’t was well
It did not want to cry.
The mother put in each small mouth
A hollow thread of silk,
Through which the sun and rain and air
Provided baby’s milk.
The petticoats were gathered close
Where all the threadlets hung,
And still, as summer days went on,
To mother stalk it clung;
And all the time it grew and grew—
Each kernel drank the milk
By day, by night, in shade, in sun,
From its own thread of silk.
And each grew strong and full and round,
And each was shining white;
The gores and seams were all let out,
The green skirts fitted tight,
The ear stood straight and large and tall,
And when it saw the sun,
Held up its emerald satin gown
To say, “Your work is done.”
“You’re large enough,” said Mother Stalk,
“And now there’s no more room
For you to grow.” She tied the threads
Into a soft brown plume—
It floated out upon the breeze
To greet the dewy morn,
And then the baby said, “Now I’m
A full-grown ear of corn!”
— The Independent.
CLEANLINESS AND TIME FOR STUDY.
By Mrs. H. W. Pierce
MRS. H. W. PIERCE.
(Columbus, Mich.)
While reading the article “No Time,” which was printed some time ago in the Review, my heart responded: It is truth. There is danger that I for one shall become so “absorbed in the active duties of life that prayer and the study of God’s word and the Testimonies of his Spirit” shall be neglected. Many, without doubt, have become “so accustomed to work, work, from morning till night, digging out some corner, scrubbing, cleaning, and polishing,” that they do not know where to stop; and it is not an easy matter to cease this daily routine. But, praise the Lord, there is a remedy. Dear sisters, shall we not search for it and apply it?
We may not cease to scrub and clean; for the same God who so many times directed his people to wash their clothes is our God to-day, and loves cleanliness and order as well as in ancient times; and he will bless and strengthen those who are physically weak, to perform much of the washing and cleaning necessary in every home. I am sure many will testify to this.
If, then, the scrubbing and cleaning must go on, what is the remedy, or how shall we obtain time for study? I think it is largely found in seeking God first before we are so weary that we can not. Everything we do should be done “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” But is it not a common mistake in the family circle to fail to divide the work? Never should it rest on the wife and mother alone. To share it will prove a blessing to the boys and girls, and, if necessary, to the husband and father, especially if he is engaged in sedentary employment. Spurgeon’s “three d’s”—dirt, debt, and the devil—are enemies that must be fought till this mortal life is ended. But God giveth the victory. Praise his blessed name.
Let the love of neatness and order be cherished in our home by all the family, so shall the angel whom God has commissioned to watch over us smell a sweet savor when he comes to join the morning or evening worship. Should we not prepare for the presence of angels in our homes as truly as if we could discern them with our natural eyes? Let us try to be as neat in our personal appearance and in our household arrangements each day as if we were looking for some distinguished friend to dine with us.
Through weakness we shall often fall short of the mark, yet we must aim at nothing less than perfection in all our work. Much difficulty arises from the liability to confound necessary cleanliness with the false pride of the world, which would place the standard of good housekeeping beyond the reach of many, and so would rob us of all the time and strength we should devote to the study of heavenly things. In the vain attempt to keep our houses like “other folks,” who, it may be, are dwellers here, instead of strangers and pilgrims, our hearts may become overcharged with the cares of this life. But we should not permit this; for the dear Saviour has called us to follow him in self-denial, and to go about doing good.
If indeed “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us,” we shall be taught of the Lord to study the precious truths of the last message, and also how to devote time and strength to the household, that in it all things may be done “decently and in order.” God has committed to Christian women a great work, both in their own homes and in branching out to wider bounds. And for both fields he will qualify us by his word and the unction of his Spirit if we set God before us, as first, last, and best in everything.
HOW BLIND CHILDREN PLAY.
MANY young persons who have good eyesight of their own will be interested to learn how little folks who have no sight at all can get on. A writer in Little Folks gives a very interesting account of their doings:—
“At the place called Swiss cottage,—in the northern part of London, there is a large and beautiful building called Blind school. Many of the blind boys and girls of London are sent to this school to be taught to read and write, and to learn some kind of work, so that when they grow up, they may be able to earn their own living. A visit to this blind school is a very interesting and wonderful experience. When the author of this article went with his friend, the photographer, they were shown into a large play-ground. A number of girls were playing together, and at first it was impossible to believe that they were blind. Most of them were romping about just like ordinary children with eyesight. They never ran into one another, nor stumbled against corners, seeming to see exactly where they were going. Several of them were playing with skipping-ropes, laughing and shouting with great enjoyment. Two girls would wind the rope slowly and steadily, until another girl would run in and begin to skip, while the rope turned faster and faster, and at last the skipper was out of breath. And yet these girls were blind! How did they manage to run toward the rope just at the right time, and not get entangled, or jump at the wrong moment? That is a puzzle for little folks who can see when they skip.”
God Gives Us Some Small Sweet Way
There's never a rose in all the world
But makes some green spray sweeter;
There's never a wind in all the sky
But makes some bird wing fleeter;
There's never a star but brings to heaven
Some silver radiance tender;
And never a rosy cloud but helps
To crown the sunset splendor;
No robin but may thrill some heart
His dawnlight gladness voicing.
God gives us all some small sweet way
To set the world rejoicing.
— Anonymous.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS ON HEALTH.
Life Boat.
Fiery spices create a thirst that the town pump can not supply; thus the kitchen becomes a vestibule to the public house, and the cook goes in partnership with the undertaker.
The man who is cultivating wrong physical habits is in that very process sending out invitation cards for disease to call upon him, and it certainly would be remarkable if some disease did not accept his invitation.
Just as watermelons often grow as large in poor soil as in good, so a man may, while living on totally unsuitable diet, develop an apparently good physique, but, as in the case of the watermelon, there will be an inferior flavor about his moral and spiritual nature.
The faith which appropriates physical righteousness, instead of being an opiate leading a man to indifference concerning his physical habits, acts as a stimulant and tonic, and prompts him to the highest and most complete obedience to physical law.
Would you not be very much surprised to find a boy going to bed at night ignorant and waking up in the morning as a college professor? It is likewise inconsistent to entertain the notion that there is some way in which humanity can secure health without sowing for it.
Thousands of persons are sowing for the thorns and thistles of ill health. Because they do not have a bountiful harvest of disease the next day, they foolishly imagine that transgression does not hurt them. Men go on using liquor, tobacco, and fiery condiments, which blister the inside of their stomachs even more successfully than if they were put on the outside. They bury the carcasses of dead animals in their stomachs instead of in the graveyard. Others overeat, and neglect necessary ventilation in their rooms, and even speculate on how soon automobiles will become cheap enough to enable them to dodge the blessing of taking exercise; and then, because they do not become physical wrecks at once, as a result of all these vicious habits, it is hard to impress them with the fact that they are doing themselves any harm.
Manual Occupation for the Youth Is Essential
“MANUAL occupation for the youth is essential,”
DEBT
By Mrs. Geo. A. Irwin
MRS. GEO. A. IRWIN.
It is an old saying that a woman can throw out of the window with a spoon faster than a man can shovel in at the door; and we sisters know that there is truth in this, for much can be wasted in cooking. If we have the knack of warming over what is left from each meal, we shall often succeed in making such food taste better than it did when first cooked; and in a year such a course will be the saving of many dollars. By careful planning all food can be utilized.
Care should also be taken to save as much labor as possible. Linen doilies, or side pieces, which can be easily washed, are a great saving to a white tablecloth; and to my mind, they add to the appearance of a table. In this way I can use a white tablecloth six weeks without washing. Pieces of huckaback-toweling, nicely hemstitched, are convenient for this purpose. I wish that we all could realize how near the coming of the Lord is, and that all our time should be spent in helping others to prepare for that event.
Perhaps the greatest leak in the finances comes in the wearing apparel. I know there are many pretty little toilet articles that women and girls would like to have; but, though each costs only a small sum, by the end of the year they amount to considerable, and we could get along without them a great deal better than without the money. Many times we are led to get things because some other sister in the church has them, whether we really need them or not. But this savors too much of the world to be followed by the peculiar people of God. I quote from Sister White's book, “Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene:” “Some try to appear like the wealthy by trimming goods of an inferior quality in imitation of more costly apparel. Poor girls, receiving but small wages, often spend their last cent in order to dress like those who are not obliged to earn their own living. In consequence, they have nothing laid by for sickness, nothing to put into the treasury of God, no time to improve the mind or to study God’s word, no time for secret prayer or the prayer-meeting.”
Many girls think that they can not save anything from their income. They perhaps get five, six, or eight dollars a week for their services; and if they would only count the cost of their expenses, and get a cheaper room, or board where the meals are not served in such an expensive way, and yet where the food is just as nourishing, they would soon be the proud possessors of a small sum of money for an emergency. Watch the little expenses—the candy, the sodas, the nuts, etc. A great many think nothing of spending a nickle for a car fare, when there is no special reason for it, and when it would be much better for health to walk.
A great many of our people who would receive untold benefit from such occasions are not able to attend the annual camp-meetings because of the lack of money. When my husband and I were on the farm, we began several months in advance to plan for the camp-meeting. We never missed one of them; and they are green spots in the history of our Christian experience.
In buying clothing, be sure to get good material, and do not buy anything of a flashy color. Black, dark gray, and blue are the most serviceable colors. Women who have but few dresses, and Seventh-day Adventist women should have but few, should select a color that will not attract attention. Heptonette is the most serviceable dress material that I know of. It is light in weight, and thoroughly waterproof. It is quite expensive, but it is wide, and will wear as long as three or four ordinary dresses. I have worn a dress of that material in the very roughest manner for six years, and it is still a respectable-looking garment.
About the housework, it is always best to wear dresses of wash material. Avoid having clothing that is to be laundered much, especially if you are not able to do your own laundering; and even then your time can be spent much more profitably in other work.
Some women switch out an underskirt in the course of a few weeks; and as they usually cost, when ready made, from two to five dollars each, they are quite an expense. Worn outside skirts can be made into good underskirts, and will last longer, and be much cheaper.
In regard to hats, I wish to say that there is no hat so pretty, and so becoming to most girls, as the sailor hat, and it is very inexpensive. A sister has written asking if it would not be well to have a uniform style of head wear—something that would be light in weight, and broad enough to protect from the sun. Others have suggested a uniform style of dress; but I think that each one must be left to choose that which is most becoming to her, and that there never can be a set rule for these things. The following, from an unpublished Testimony, is very definite in regard to this: “No precise style has been given me as the exact rule to guide all in their dress. Let our sisters dress plainly, as many do, having the dress of good material, durable, modest, appropriate for this age; and let not the dress question fill the mind.”
I also quote the following from printed Testimonies: “The outside appearance is an index to the heart. True refinement does not find satisfaction in the adorning of the body for display. A modest, godly woman will dress modestly. Simplicity of apparel always makes a sensible woman appear to the best advantage. A refined, cultured mind will be revealed in the choice of a simple and appropriate attire. In the sanctified heart there is no place for thoughts of needless adornment. Christ requires none of his followers to lift so heavy a burden as that to which they subject themselves as slaves of fashion. If Christian women would lead out in the good work, and set the example of dressing with neatness and simplicity, and with regard to health, there would be a universal reform. If they would work from an elevated standpoint, they could bring their habits of life into conformity with the laws of their being, and live in obedience to both the physical and the moral requirements of God. Then there would be less money, less nerves, less physical strength, squandered for artificial decorations, to the sacrifice of natural beauty. We should have more practical wives and mothers; and in many families that are now wretched because of their incorrect ideas of life, there would be a happy change.”
The personal appearance is an index to the condition of the home. Make your dresses in the most becoming and neat way, and take the best care of them, and your wardrobe will not need to cost you so very much. The strictest economy is called for in dress. In my early married life, when we were trying to pay for our farm, there was a time when for fourteen years I did not have a good new dress. During all this time I had to keep my place in society, which demanded that I look well; but by making over and caring for the clothes that I had, I succeeded well; and if a woman can economize like that for the sake of a farm, surely she can do as much for the advancement of this precious truth.
GARMENTS
By Mrs. S. N. Haskell
MRS. S. N. HASKELL.
Who made the first attempt at dressmaking? Gen. 3 : 7.
Was it a success? — No; for they were naked after they had the aprons. Gen. 3 : 10.
Who made the first real garments? Gen. 3 : 21. Were these complete garments? — Yes, they “clothed them.” Is the Lord interested in the work of making garments? Does he sympathize with one employed in this kind of work? Heb. 4 : 15.
What were the children of Israel forbidden to do? Deut. 22 : 11. This was to firmly fix upon their minds the fact that there should be no mixing with the world in any way. Christ's perfect garment of righteousness, which he gives his people, can never be mixed with evil in any respect. “It will not contain one single thread of selfishness.”
What miracle was wrought on the garments? Deut. 8 : 4. Will the blessing of the Lord affect even our garments?
Should we tithe our garments when we have simply food and raiment? Gen. 28 : 20–22.
What was a woman forbidden to wear? Deut. 22 : 5. What was a man forbidden to wear? Id. Did the Lord make any exception when it happened to be the fashion to dress like the opposite sex in any respect? If we should follow fashion and break this command, would we become “an abomination to the Lord”?
REQUESTS FOR PRAYER.
A SISTER writes: “Please request prayer for the husband of a sister in Christ, who loves the truth, but has become a little discouraged because he can not overcome his habits, and consequently is sliding back into sin. Pray for his return. I know that the prayers of the faithful avail much, and God does answer prayer.”
“I have read in the REVIEW of so many sending in requests for their dear ones to be prayed for that I wish to ask the sisters if they will pray for my husband and my father. They used to keep the Sabbath, but they have both given it up, because, they say, they can not live the right kind of lives, and they will not be a disgrace to the truth. My husband is very tender on the subject of religion, and will stand in defense of the truth when it is opposed.”
“My heart is heavy and sad because of the condition of my husband. I wrote before, requesting the prayers of our dear sisters in his behalf, and the week of Sister Henry’s death he stopped drinking, abstaining for three weeks—the longest period for years. I had hoped that he had stopped forever, but it was just for my sake. He said that he did not stop because he thought it wrong to drink. He still used tobacco while he was abstaining from liquor, and I tried to get him to see that its use would stimulate a desire for liquor. I also told him that if he would adopt a plainer diet, it would help him, and that he could not hope to succeed without the help of the Lord. But he would not listen, and soon went back to the old way. I know that the fervent effectual prayers of the righteous avail much. Please continue to pray for him, and for me that I may have wisdom in helping him.”
“I have a neighbor who is also in distress about her husband’s condition. He did not drink for eight years or more, until last winter he took to it again. He and his wife pray together, and he is willing to abstain from condiments, or do anything that will relieve him from the appetite. Pray for him also,”
WOMAN'S GOSPEL WORK
“The Lord giveth the word: the women that publish the tidings are a great host.” Ps. 68: 11, R. V.
“Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.” Ezek. 7: 23.
☞ Do not forget the 12 M. hour of prayer for one another, our work, and for those for whom special requests are made.
