Through the ages Jesus has claimed only the true “remnant,” those loyal to the principles and government of God. “Yes,” insinuates the tempter through the skeptic, “Catholics say they are the only true church; each of the other denominations claims the same for itself; and how is any one going to know?” Notice these words: “There is but one church in the world who are at the present time standing in the breach, and making up the hedge, building up the old waste places [in God’s law]; and for any man to call the attention of the world and of other churches to this church, denouncing her as Babylon, is to do a work in harmony with him who is the accuser of the brethren.”—Mrs. E. G. White, in Review and Herald, Sept. 5, 1893. Again: “God has a people [definite, one] in which all heaven is interested, and they are the one object dear to the heart of God.” This one people, this one object on earth, dear to the heart of God, he says is that one church on earth that is standing in the breach, building up its old waste and torn-down places. Will God own both the churches engaged in tearing down the wall and the one engaged in repairing it?—Nay, verily.
Again: obedience is enjoined upon, and observed by, the true wife: “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” Eph. 5:23, 24. The true church, owned by Christ, therefore, is “subject” unto him in everything; that is, she is obedient. This is a proof from Christ’s standpoint that she loves him. “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my565words;” and Christ spoke his Father’s ten words on Mt. Sinai. “He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings.” John 14:23, 24. True companionship does not exist long between husband and wife when love is gone; and when the spirit of joyful obedience to the wishes of each other is gone, it is a sure sign that love has gone, and that which soon follows when both these are gone is, usually, divorce.
It is plain, then, that Christ’s church will be an obedient church; not because she must, but because she delights to, do his will. To illustrate: he has expressed his will, saying: “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.” Now the church that loves her Lord, after having determined this to be her Lord’s expressed will, and also the day he so definitely specifies as his, will lay aside her own work, and observe it according to his directions, because she loves him. To do differently would be to despise her Lord, to take the first step toward the ultimate divorce.
In view of these divine utterances, shall we say that Christ owns, loves, cherishes, and supports all the so-called churches of the land alike? To admit that is to admit that he sanctions and sustains confusion. To claim such a thing is to admit that the principle of Mormonism, one man claiming to love a plurality of wives alike, is a principle of the kingdom of Christ.
As churches, Christ owns but one, and that one is composed only of individuals who “keep the commandments of God,” and who “have the testimony of Jesus.” “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” And the spirit of prophecy is the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost; for holy men wrote the Word as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Those who “have not the Spirit of Christ,” the Holy Ghost, are “none of his.”
This is not saying that there are not individuals who have the Spirit of Christ, scattered among the churches which are the falsely claimed churches of Christ. Although as bodies they have been rejected of the Lord because they rejected his commandments, every individual in them whose heart is perfect toward his God will be called out: he will take his stand firmly upon all his Master’s commandments, because he loves them, and in that very act will unite with the one remnant company, which Christ is not ashamed to claim as his.
Let us study carefully these clear distinctions made by Christ between his true followers and those who are following him only in name.
MISSING THE MARK.
New York Observer.
SIN is the translation of a New Testament word signifying literally the missing of a mark. This suggests that other familiar word, of Latin derivation, transgression, which denotes a stepping over a bound, or limit, somewhat in the manner of a trespasser.
It is perfectly evident that there is in the world a great deal of missing of the mark. The marks are of all kinds, and they are set by various hands, and for very various purposes.
Man has his little marks everywhere. Many of these are the mere arbitrary chalk lines drawn here or there at the instance of an arbitrary whim, but some are goals and bounds set at the further end of life’s race-courses to incite the ardent runner to utmost efforts to obtain the coveted prizes there to be bestowed. Many, alas! quite miss the mark in life, stumble and fall in the race, or wander off from the arena altogether. Failures are numerous, misfits are observable everywhere. Humanity finds difficulty in keeping itself up to regulation standard, even when the norm is simply that of a social etiquette, a conventional morality, or of current ethics.
There is a mark which vastly transcends these petty by-laws and “Do’s” and “Don’t’s” of men, though it may include some of them, and that is the law of a Sinaitic holiness, the pure prescription of the absolutely righteous commandment of Jehovah. When now it is man’s little mark that is missed, we call it “bad form,” or a “great mistake,” or perhaps a misdemeanor, which is the word of the statute books. But when it is God’s great mark of holiness that is missed, there is no term for it but that little, awful monosyllable, “sin,” compact with infinite terrors, fraught with endless consequences, which is the word of the Bible. Sin brings in the idea of a wrong committed against God, of an offense which is not a contempt of court in the earthly sense, but which strikes at Heaven, a crime against the Creator, a failure to attain the goal of that perfection on which God rightfully insists.
There are many earthly marks and standards of which, if a man fail, no great harm is done. There are more “necessary” things in the world which, after all, could be dispensed with, than men think. . . . The emphasis, after all, is not on man’s mark and man’s prize, but on God’s high, shining mark of holiness. None can afford to miss that mark. To miss that mark is sin. To continue to miss it is eternal condemnation. No life can be a failure that meets the demands of the divine law through the merits and grace of the Son of God, but human speech can not describe the terror of disappointment and remorse which is certain to pursue those who, in the presence of all God’s pleas and promises, deliberately and steadily miss the mark of his will.
Moreover, this terror deepens into keenest anguish as he who misses the mark of the divine will realizes that not only does God not will his failure, but, rather, desires his success in reaching the mark. Does God not, indeed, stand ready to give him power to become a child of God? While it is true that God warned Israel that the sinning soul must die, he also told Israel, when he persisted in sinning, that he was self-destroyed.
Inspirational Church Versus Institutional Church
The association of organized religion with the economic interests of the present day is a great deal better than the combination of the priest and the politician, but it partakes of the same fallacy, and in the end must fall into the same pit. On the face of it, nothing could be more commendable than the entrance of the church into all the interests of men. Will it not purify politics? Will it not better the ways of business? The answer is the plain fact that it does not. Of religion there can not possibly be too much anywhere, but the organized phases of religion are another thing. The function of the church is to teach men to be religious; it is to set hearts open, and direct men’s ideals thitherward. It is to be in the community as the leaven is in the bread. When the bread tastes of the leaven, it is spoiled; when the church appears too prominently in the work of reformation, the success of the whole matter is endangered. This is the trouble with the institutional church. What is really wanted is an inspirational church.—The Churchman.
Through the Truth
“THROUGH the truth we become partakers of the peace that passeth all understanding.”
REPENTANCE
By Francis Quarles
LORD, I have lain
Barren too long, and fain
I would redeem the time, that I may be
Fruitful to thee;
Faithful in knowledge, faith, obedience,
Ere I go hence,
That when I come
At harvest to be reaped, and brought home,
Thine angels may
My soul in thy celestial garner lay,
Where perfect joy and bliss
Eternal is.
If to entreat
A crop of purest wheat,
A blessing too transcendent should appear
For me to bear,
Lord, make me what thou wilt, so thou wilt take
What thou dost make,
And not disdain
To house me, though among thy coarsest grain.
So I may be
Laid with the gleanings gathered by thee,
When the full sheaves are spent,
I am content.
—Francis Quarles.
SEEK THE LIGHT.
By Erastus Sampson
ERASTUS SAMPSON.(Port Antonio, Jamaica.)
“WHEN thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” I sought and have found.
There are to-day over four hundred denominations in the world, all claiming that they are right, and that their teachings are based solely on the Bible. One, having a desire to seek the Lord and to worship him in spirit and in truth, would be at a loss to find, with his finite mind, the one that is right. How can they all be right? There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Is Christ divided? — No!
Thy face, Lord, thy truth, will I seek through the channels of thy words. “Search the scriptures;” for they testify of me. “All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:15. These are the words of Christ.
He has revealed in his word how we may be able to distinguish the one denomination, the one class of people, yes, the only one true church of God in these last days: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:20. The word “if” decides, it makes the condition. If they speak not in accordance with the law of God and the testimony, there is no light in them.
Who is the Light of the world? — The Lord. He is our light and our salvation. Ps. 27:1. Then if they teach contrary to the law, and seek to put by the prophecies, what is the cause? Christ, who is the Light, is not with them, and where he is not, is utter darkness. The law includes the ten commandments, and the revelation of Christ shows us the character of those that will be saved at his coming (Rev. 14:12), and also distinguishes beyond a doubt his true church. Rev. 12:17. They take counsel together to establish their church, but it shall come to naught; they speak lying fables, but it shall not stand. Why? — For God is with us.
Oh, be wise, investigate the Word; come out of the worldly churches, and be sanctified by the truth. John 17:17. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”
Divine Help for Heavy Responsibilities
“It may be argued that the Lord gives special wisdom to those intrusted with important responsibilities. True, if they walk humbly with him, he will give them help for their work; and he will give you help for yours, if you seek it in the same spirit. If the Lord in his providence has placed important responsibilities upon you, he will fit you to bear these burdens, if you go to him in faith for strength to do this.”
DON'T LET THE SONG GO OUT OF YOUR LIFE.
By Kate B. Stiles
Don't let the song go out of your life;
Though it chance sometimes to flow
In a minor strain, it will blend again
With the major-tone, you know.
What though shadows rise to obscure life's skies,
And hide for a time the sun;
They sooner will lift, and reveal the rift,
If you let the melody run.
Don't let the song go out of your life;
Though your voice may have lost its trill,
Though the tremulous note should die in the throat
Let it sing in your spirit still.
There is never a pain that hides not some gain,
And never a cup of rue
So bitter to sup but what in the cup
Lurks a measure of sweetness, too.
Don't let the song go out of your life;
Ah! it never would need to go
If with thought more true and a broader view
We looked at this life below.
Oh, why should we moan that life's springtime has
flown,
Or sigh for the fair summer-time?
The autumn has days filled with pæans of praise,
And the winter has bells that chime.
Don't let the song go out of your life,
Let it ring in your soul while here,
And when you go hence, let it follow you thence,
And sing on in another sphere.
Then do not despond, and say that the fond,
Sweet songs of your life have flown;
For if ever you knew a song that was true,
Its music is still your own.
— Kate B. Stiles, in the Transcript.
“BE NOT FORGETFUL TO ENTERTAIN STRANGERS.”
By Mrs. B. J. Cady
MRS. B. J. CADY.
(Tahiti, Society Islands.)
PETER admonishes us to “use hospitality one to another without grudging.” This does not require that we be either visiting or entertaining company all the time, but that when we are called upon to entertain, we should treat our visitor with kindness and generosity. It is true that there are persons who impose upon the hospitality of others, and yet do not think of exercising hospitality themselves. But, while some are of this kind, there are many worthy ones whose work calls them so far from home that they can not return for food and shelter, but must be dependent upon the generosity of others.
You should never force a brother to go to a hotel or restaurant for food or lodging, if you are able to take him into your own home and care for him. You may fear that you can not properly entertain him, as your house is small and poorly furnished, and your bill of fare very plain. But almost any brother would prefer to lodge with you rather than at a hotel, provided your house is neat and tidy, and your food prepared in a palatable and cleanly manner. So never mind if your home is poor and your food simple; no matter how poor you are in this world's goods, you can have your home neat and inviting. If you do the best you can to make your visitor comfortable and at ease, and do it without grudging, I assure you that your efforts will be appreciated by any Christian. Your hospitality may not always be appreciated, but your duty is to be hospitable, no matter what others do.
There are some who have large houses and every convenience, with many luxuries, and yet are loath to take in strangers and entertain them. Usually these are persons who have not known what it is to depend upon the hospitality of strangers. If such could only pass through some of the experiences of our workers who spend most of their time laboring away from home, and who often have to spend the night in the open air, they would then know better how to do unto others as they would have others do unto them. We all appreciate kindness and hospitality, and therefore we should endeavor to be kind and hospitable toward others.
It is not necessary to tire yourself out preparing an elaborate bill of fare for your company. If your everyday diet is wholesome, and all that is required for your own family, then that ought to be good enough for your visitors. No matter how much you simplify your work, visitors necessarily bring added care and responsibility, so you need to save your strength as far as possible that you may be able to perform cheerfully and faithfully your necessary work.
Why is it that the saying, “There is no place like home,” expresses the sentiment of so many hearts? Is it not because one is generally happier and more comfortable in his own home? There, he has things arranged to suit his pleasure and convenience. He has peculiarities of taste and habit, and in his own home he is free to please himself as far as he is able. True, there are some who seem to enjoy themselves better away from home, but that is because there is something wrong with them, or else with their home.
So, if you wish your visitor to enjoy your hospitality, you should make him feel as much at home as possible. If you have a room that you can conveniently spare exclusively to him while he is with you, let him have it. He will greatly appreciate having a quiet place, where he can go to read and commune with God alone. Have the room neat and properly ventilated, and the bed clean and well aired. Be sure to provide sufficient covering for the bed, if you have it. Some persons feel the cold more than others, and to those with a weak constitution it is very injurious to have the body become chilled. I have known persons to suffer considerably with the cold, rather than ask for more bedclothes.
Perhaps your visitor is in the habit of taking a sponge bath upon arising in the morning, and would be much pleased if you would furnish him with water in his room. And remember that he needs soap with which properly to clean his hands, and a towel to dry them with. It is not always good form to ask a visitor to wipe his face and hands on the family towel. In furnishing your guest with conveniences, just think of what you would like yourself, and try to provide him with those things.
While visiting away from home, many often suffer from lack of sleep. Especially is this so with our laborers. They usually sleep at a different house almost every night, and are often kept awake, talking with their host, until a late hour. We should not suppose that because they are only preaching and visiting, they do not require much sleep. Their work is mental, and more taxing to the system than is physical labor, so they need more sleep in order to keep well and strong. Now, if you treat your visitor well, you must permit him to retire early, if he wishes to do so. Keeping him up till after midnight is a poor way of showing your appreciation of him. You will generally find that he is weary with travel and loss of sleep, and will be very thankful for an opportunity to get a full night's rest.
Irregularity of meals is another inconvenience that many guests have to endure. At one place they may eat breakfast at nine o'clock, and then be called upon to eat dinner at eleven o'clock at the next house they visit. Their next meal may happen to be at eight o'clock in the evening. For the good of your own family, you should have your meals at regular hours, and they should be at least five hours apart. Six hours would be better than five. The stranger is expected to eat when the food is prepared, and to find no fault, no matter how inconvenient it may be for him.
It is plainly the duty of every Christian to learn the laws of health, and put them into practice in the home. Then the food will be wholesome and palatable, and the meals regular. You will not tempt the appetite with unhealthful viands to weaken the stomach and becloud the mind. The home will be neat and orderly, and you may provide for the health and comfort of your family and guests, even if you are not able to provide them with luxuries.
HOME
King’s Messenger.
HOME is delightful if the Comforter dwells therein. Here is where he delights to abide. We try to make him fit into the church, but he is more at home in the home. We neglect the home for the church, for the society, for the saloon, and we lose and miss the Holy Spirit. We may go to church too much, may neglect home for social and charitable life, but there is little danger of paying too much attention to the home, or of spending too much time at home.
A Holy Ghost home has the atmosphere of heaven,—no faultfinding, no complaining, no contention, but joy, peace, love, in honor preferring one another. Home is unappreciated because it is not the resting place of the Holy Dove. It may be a dovecote, a sweet place of rest; it should be the sweetest, dearest place on earth to us and ours: and so it is, if the blessed Spirit has control. He is never harsh, nor hard, nor heavy. He breathes only gentleness and love. What affection between husband and wife, between parents and children, between employers and employees—the very atmosphere of the better life! As in home, so in store and shop, so in church and society—the precious presence of the Paraclete takes away all pharisaism, and brings in heaven.
Horse Flesh and Better Foods
COMMENTING upon the eating of horse flesh, the Christian Work says: “In France the meat of both horses and donkeys is openly sold in the butchers’ shops, duly labeled as such in large letters. Horse flesh is also largely consumed in Paris restaurants without any label, and passes easily for beef. We eat readily the flesh of swine, who wallow in filth and feed on anything, and we regard ducks as a delicacy; yet the flesh of the horse, which is one of the cleanest and most dainty feeding of animals, is eschewed.” But why not get our grains, fruits, and vegetables first-hand?
EXPERIENCES
“I DELIGHT to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart: I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation.” This scripture implies that we are to make known the Lord’s doings among his people. This does not mean that when the Lord gives us a marked experience, we are to keep it to ourselves. We all shrink from publicity. It is not a pleasant thing for us; but when it is for the glory of God, when he has told us to make known his acts among the people, to tell all his wondrous works, we should feel free to do it.
When I consider what the Woman’s Work means, I find I have never before realized the work of the Lord to be so sacred, to mean so much to me. When the Lord invites us to be co-laborers with him, it is not because we are perfect. He connects us with his work, even though we are unworthy. Peter and John were not connected with the Lord’s work because they were worthy, but that they might learn more of the things of God. They learned by communing with him and following his instruction. Judas was a hearer, but not a doer, of the word. The others were hearers and doers. There was a difference between these disciples of Jesus, and there is a difference between the people of God to-day. As I look back over my experience, I can see where I have been a hearer and not a doer. I wish to tell you of a personal experience.
A short time ago I was failing in health. I was suffering intensely with nervousness, and was so run down physically that I was on the verge of prostration. At this time my mother was taken sick, and the indications were that she would have a long siege of illness. My daughter was away from home, and I was left alone with the housework. In the morning when I got up, I did not realize how sick I was. Shortly after breakfast I hastened away to my mother upstairs, and found her much worse. I came down, and told my husband that he must call a physician at once. Then I became conscious that I was very sick myself, thoroughly sick through and through; but I kept about the duties of the house, feeling worse and worse. I felt impressed that I was going to have a long run of fever, and realized what it would mean at such a time.
I went to the privacy of my own apartment, knelt, and told the Lord all about it—there was mother ill, and my little family to care for, and I could not be sick. I asked the Lord to make me well for just that day. I was heartbroken and discouraged, but I knew that the Lord would help me. As I knelt, the following text of Scripture came to my mind: “To them that have no might he increaseth strength.” I did not know that text before, but the Holy Spirit brought it forcibly to me. I arose and went to work. Satan tried to make me give up, but I determined that I would not. I repeated aloud several times, “To them that have no might he increaseth strength.” Satan suggested, “Just see how you look!” But I stood up boldly against him, and conquered in the name of Christ. I went about my work all that day, waiting on my mother and giving her treatment. No one but the Lord and I knew how I felt. But about dusk every pain was removed, and that night I slept as sweetly as a babe. The next day I was as well as ever. The thought then came to me like this: Do you believe in the power of the Lord to-day? If it is good for you one day, why is it not good for you every day? And now that thought comes to me every morning, and the Lord gives me a text every day.
The words of the Lord are more to me than my necessary food. We must have the divine word to help us day by day, and then our lives will be filled with power. We should ask the Lord for a text to begin the day with, and to bring to the family at the breakfast table. I know that that is a blessing in our home. When we get to the place where we can make such use of some text every day, we shall have such a strong hold upon God that all the hosts of hell can not prevail against us.
We often think, I will, at a certain time to-day, take time for prayer; but so many things come up, the hours slip away, and the day goes by, the night falls, and we have not communed with God. Each day we should be shut in alone with Jesus; then we shall have no time for unkind thoughts, no time for worry, and the oil of the grace of Christ will smooth every rough place. We need the word of God woven into our everyday lives. We are to let our families know that we are Christians, and then our neighbors will know it, our friends will know it, and all with whom we come in contact will know it. The devil himself will know it. When our hearts condemn us, he gets the victory over us. From recent experience I know that when I am filled with the Spirit of the Lord, the devil can not accomplish his purpose with me. The Lord does not wish our experience of victory to be simply for one day, but for every day. The Lord wishes his people, his women, to have an intimate, constant acquaintance with him.
We can not see the Saviour, but by believing his words we are blessed. 1 John 20:29.
When Christ comes, the change will be complete.1 John 3:1, 2.
Throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity, Christ will through his church show to heavenly places that believing his word could transform the nature of sinful man.Eph. 2:6, 7; Eph. 3:9, 10.
A German sister writes:—
We have a mission box in the post-office, which I fill from time to time with German and English papers, and sometimes it is emptied in half a day. I have feared that the papers were destroyed, but I have heard that they have been taken from friend to friend, from neighbor to neighbor, and read and talked about. I can do nothing but sow the seed, like the husbandman; the rest the Lord must do.
The last time I came to our woman's meeting, there were about eighty present, and I felt as if we might as well go home. But then I thought, That would please the enemy. He would like to have it appear that the Woman's Work has gone to the bottom.
My heart aches as I realize the condition of our people in so many ways. We catch a wave of interest sometimes, but soon it is gone. The Lord has given us a part in this work of the Third Angel's Message—the last message to the world.
The Lord has always presented to his people in times past a work to do; and if they would not accept it, he gave it to some one else. We can not afford to fail to meet the responsibilities of this work. Our hearts must be knit together in Christian love. The woman who sits by your side may be so bound that she has not the peace of God, which you have. God alone knows the heart.
I appeal to you, my sisters, to arise and be doing. The responsibilities that are laid upon us as Seventh-day Adventist women are great. With the cares of this life, and the multiplicity of things to be done, we drift along aimlessly, and darkness settles down upon us. God has made us the depositaries of a wonderful message; and unless we understand our privileges and responsibilities, the Lord will accomplish his work by women of some other name.
A Scandinavian Sister’s Gospel Work
The following encouraging report is from the secretary of the Woman's Gospel Work among the Scandinavian sisters:—
I have now sent out reading-matter to nearly eight hundred of our sisters in America, and they seem to appreciate it. A few days ago I received a good letter from a sister in Nebraska. Her husband does not keep the Sabbath, and is a merchant. She has meetings in her home on the Sabbath,—Bible reading, singing, and the reading of spiritual instruction. The neighbors are invited in. She has had these meetings for over two years, and usually from fifteen to twenty mothers attend. She writes: “There are forty children whom I help to clothe, and for half of them I make the clothes, because their mothers are either sick or are poor washerwomen who can not get the time to sew. It is a great joy to me to help these fatherless children, and to see how glad they are to receive a new dress, one for summer or one for winter; and it is remarkable to see how God is blessing the small amount I have to give. My husband gives me one dollar and a half every week to use for my clothes and other necessities. One third of that I use for myself, and two thirds I use for the glory of God in advancing the cause and helping the poor.” I wish we had many more sisters like this in our ranks. Our work here is progressing. We find more openings than we can fill. It seems as if the Lord is now working upon the hearts of the people to receive the gospel if we present it to them in the right way. Next Thursday I have an appointment for a meeting with several sisters eight miles away, to encourage them to prepare to give Bible readings to their neighbors. I praise God for his love and mercy to me, and I am glad to have a part in this work.
REQUESTS FOR PRAYER.
“I REQUEST prayer for my son. He is not religious, and is falling into the habit of smoking, which I fear will become so confirmed that he can not be reached. Pray for his conversion.”
“I beg an interest in your prayers for my son, who is unconverted. He sails to-day as mate on a vessel for a long trip. I do not think there is a Christian on the boat. Do pray that the angels may touch his heart, and guard him from danger.”
“Pray for a husband and father who is untrue to his wife and little babe, and has forsaken them. He has hardened his heart against them, and all the wife's prayers and pleadings with him are of no avail. I feel as if nothing but the prayers of the saints will avail for the restoration of my son-in-law to his family.”
“Pray for my husband, whose name has been dropped from church membership. He is so burdened, disheartened, and discouraged that he hardly looks up to the throne of grace. Oh that I had faith strong enough to buoy him up! I believe he is dear to God, but we both keep going back to the slough of despond.”
“I am much concerned about my husband. Surely he is hardening his heart and stiffening his neck. I am very anxious for him. I ask for special prayer. Oh that God would humble him so that he would cry to him for help! I would be willing to work my finger-ends off to support my little children if it would be the means of saving his soul.”
“I have a husband and five living children, and I realize that there is a great work to be done for us all in order that we may be prepared for translation. I am in extremely poor health. I would like to be remembered, with my household, at the hour of prayer. I know that my circumstances are peculiarly distressing, but I will not burden you with the details, as God knows all about them; but it will be a comfort to know that I am being prayed for.”
“I ask the prayers of the sisters in behalf of my husband and myself. Pray for him that he may be kept from following after evil women, and that God will touch his heart, and bring him into the fold. He is a good, kind husband until he gets into such evil society, and then Satan causes him to abuse his family shamefully. I have been earnestly praying for him for five years, and I believe that the Lord will answer prayer for him. I ask you all to join with me at the noon hour.”
A sister requests prayer for a husband who is not in the truth, who, while he does not oppose her going to meeting, will not aid her in church work in any way; also for a son, who has just left school, and is about to start out in the world for himself. While this son was home with his mother, he had no bad habits, and was a Christian, but since he has grown older, his father has influenced him to do differently. She also requests prayer for her eldest daughter, who has married, and given up all that she has been taught.
NOTICE!
MANY letters intended for this department are simply addressed to the Review and Herald, and so do not come direct to us. All correspondence pertaining to the Woman’s work should be addressed to Mrs. Geo. A. Irwin, 171 W. Main St., Battle Creek, Mich. Please bear this in mind, and your letters will receive prompt attention.
No Tears, No Death
Those words, “no tears,” will look so blessed
To eyes grown dim from weeping;
Those words, “no death,” will come so glad
To bodies graveward creeping;
“No sorrow” makes a thrill in hearts
Long dead to other thrilling;
“No crying” sounds so sweet to ears
Earth’s moans have long been filling.
“No night there” seems so bright to those
Whose sun sank back at dawning;
“No sea” sounds calm to those who sail
Long tempest-tossed and mourning;
“No pain” drops blessed on aching hearts,
Which fare their deepest dreading;
“That rest” falls sweet on weary feet
Unchosen pathways treading.