Earlier text: WORDS TO MINISTERS(Kimball, Minn.)
By Wm. Brickey
NOTES ON THE BOOK OF GALATIANS.—NO. I.
It is not my purpose to give a full exposition of this book, but simply to note a few points which I have learned by personal study. First, and the best of all, I have learned that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, . . . that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Gal. 3:13, 14. This redemption from the law is the same as that of chapter 4:5: “To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Notice, this is “when the fullness of the time was come,” when “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.” Verse 4. Then it is plain that the blessing of Abraham is this: that we may be adopted as sons. And the promise of the Spirit does not mean the promise given by the Spirit, as some say; but is, without doubt, the promise of God to send His Holy Spirit into our hearts when we are adopted. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Chapter 4:6. This Spirit and adoption come through faith in Jesus Christ. Before this faith came, they “were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed.” Chapter 3:23. Now it is true that men had the Holy Spirit, and faith, for they go together, before Christ came in the flesh. See Hebrews 11 and Num. 11:24–29. But will any man of sound faith take the position that they had the same degree and kind of faith in the old dispensation as in the new? They had faith in God, but their knowledge of Jesus Christ was limited. “For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.” 2 Cor. 3:10. The ministration of the Spirit is certainly more glorious than the ministration of the law. It must be perfectly plain to all that they did not believe in the resurrection of Christ before it took place, as they did afterward. “He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” John 7:38, 39. This scripture needs no comment. It is perfectly plain that faith had not yet come according to the gospel standard, else the Spirit would have been given; for it states plainly that when they would believe on Him, rivers of living water should flow. It is perfectly evident to every Bible student that faith as a distinct doctrine was never preached before Christ came, as it was afterward. But they were kept shut up under the law, living under their ceremonies, which pointed forward to that faith which should afterward be revealed, and which was revealed when the fullness of the time was come (chapter 4:4), the times of reformation. Heb. 9:10. And Paul now declared that Christ had brought the blessing to the Gentiles, and that “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed.” This faith had not been preached before; therefore they had not received the Spirit by faith. But now the fullness of the time was come, and God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. And when the resurrection began to be preached, the faith in all its fullness was revealed. God “hath given assurance [‘offered faith,’ margin] unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31. The greatest infidels can readily believe that there was such a man as Jesus, and they can easily believe that He died, for that is the common lot of all. But “if thou shalt . . . believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Rom. 10:9. This, and nothing less than this, is faith according to the gospel. He “hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3. This faith was never preached as a distinct doctrine before the times of reformation. “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin [all—Jews and Gentiles], that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe, both Jews and Gentiles. Gal. 3:22; see also Rom. 11:32. But now that faith had come they were redeemed from the law; were free from their cumbersome ceremonies, and received the promise of the Spirit by faith, and the adoption of sons. Therefore circumcision was no longer a sign of sonship, but a yoke of bondage. Gal. 5:2; Acts 15:1, 10, 5. HEALTH BY FAITH.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
Every Christian is familiar with the statement that “the just shall live by faith,” but very few have any idea that it is more than a statement of a theological dogma. They imagine that the life which the Lord Jesus gives us is something apart from eating, and drinking, and the daily round of duties. In fact, there is unconsciously in the minds of many people a great deal of the notion that religion is chiefly an affair of going to meeting, and observing certain forms and ceremonies, and of professing belief in certain “points of doctrine.” If they would remember that Jesus Christ was Saviour from His birth, just as much when a child at play, and a young man working at the carpenter’s bench in Nazareth, as when preaching to the multitudes, they would learn differently. Every manifestation of life is proof of the presence of God. The blood is the life; and we receive the blood of Christ by every means by which He conveys to us our daily life. We must exercise ourselves to discern the Lord’s body; we must learn to know the Lord in whatever form He reveals himself, and to accept Him, and give Him a welcome. The Holy Spirit is invisible, but He affects us through the medium of our senses. It is true that God has much more life for us than our minds can ever comprehend, or than we can ever consciously grasp; but if we do not appreciate the least, we can never expect the greatest. It is God who has given us our senses, in order that we may comprehend Him; and if we do not use them for that purpose, we can never expect any greater manifestation of himself. God is one, and so all life is one. There is only one life, although there are multitudinous forms of it. Christ is not divided, and He does not deal out His life in sections. When we receive His life, we have it for everything, if we will, but accept it. The life of Christ—the blood—which cleanses from all sin, is the very same life that keeps us alive and in health from day to day. He did not live two lives on this earth. The life with which He healed the poor paralytic, was the very same life with which He cleansed him from his sins. The life which He gave on Calvary, is the very same life by which we are supplied with “life, and breath, and all things.” When the Scripture tells us that we are to live by faith, the word “life” is to be taken in its natural meaning. There is nothing secret about it. Life is life. The teaching is that we are to eat, drink, sleep, move, and have our being, by faith. Everything that goes to make up life is to be done by faith. In short, we are to live by faith. All the difference between the Christian and the sinner is that one lives in the right way, and the other lives in a perverted way; the one has perfect life, while the other has only partial life, in fact, has not real life at all. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” The life of faith has to do with our flesh, our body. Read the words of the apostle Paul: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. Read again: “If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Rom. 8:13. Again: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1. Still further: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Cor. 9:24–27. It is plain upon the face of this scripture, that the Christian is to give his body the same kind of discipline that the athlete does when he is in training for a race, only from a far higher motive. Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things: very good; but while they do it for a corruptible crown, we do it for an incorruptible crown. What is it that we do? Why, we are temperate in all things, keeping our body under, and bringing it into subjection, disciplining it, so that it will obey the mind of the Spirit. Our bodies are the temples of God, and as such are to be under the direct control of the Spirit of God. God himself is to quicken (make alive) our mortal bodies by His indwelling Spirit. See Rom. 8:11. The Spirit is to supply all the life that we have. The life of Jesus is to be manifested in our mortal flesh. This means health, for we read: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.” Prov. 4:20–22. With this agree the words of the Lord to Israel of old: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, and provoke Him not. . . . If thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. . . . Ye shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” Ex. 25:20–25. Nothing could be more explicit than this. But it throws upon us the duty of seeking to learn the ways of the Lord. This is not a difficult matter, if we are sincere, for “if any man willeth to do His will, he shall know.” He will show us the way of life, for He will reveal himself unto us, and He is the life. Jesus bore our sicknesses, in order that we might be freed from them, just as He bore our sins, in order that we might be saved from sin. The sins of the world were upon Him, yet nobody ever saw a single sin in His life. So all the diseases of mankind were upon Him, yet no one ever saw Him unfitted by them for daily labor. The life that was in Him, which He continually received from the Father of all, swallowed up both sin and sickness. It is, to say the least, as easy for Him to give us health in His life as to give us righteousness. In fact, that is what He does, since His life is undivided, and comprehends everything; but many fail to take it for health, just as many fail to take it for righteousness. When the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus, He said, “I perceive that power is gone forth from me.” As great a demand was made upon His life, as would supply the woman’s lack of life. That is to say, the vacancy in the woman’s life was transferred to Him. He took her disease upon himself, yet He did not die, because He was constantly in touch with the Source of life, and allowed it to flow through Him unhindered; and by her faith the woman put herself in touch with the same Source. When Jesus said to her, “Thy faith hath made thee whole,” He really said, “Thy faith hath saved thee.” He used the same words that He did to the sinner who washed the Saviour’s feet and anointed them. See Luke 7:50. So likewise, when the blind man believed to the receiving of his sight, Jesus said the same words to him: “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” Luke 18:42. With forgiveness of sins, He gave healing of the body, or in the healing of the body He imparted righteousness. In short, He makes the recipient of His grace “every whit whole,” giving him “perfect soundness.” The only argument that any one can bring against this is that he has not experienced it. That proves nothing. Many lepers were in Israel in the days of Elisha, and none of them were healed, but only Naaman, the Syrian; but that, instead of proving that there was no healing for lepers in Israel, showed that every leper in Israel might have been cleansed if he had only appreciated the presence of the Lord in his accredited prophet. In this article we have not tried to point out how to apply this truth in our lives; we must first see that there is indeed something real to grasp, before we lay hold of it. What we are first anxious for all to see is that Jesus has one life, a life filled with the fullness of God, to give to us; that with Him God freely gives us all things, since all things are in Him. In His earth-life He was superior to disease, just as He was to sin, although the flesh that He took was our human flesh, and He was made in all things like unto His brethren. He has “power over all flesh,” and therefore He can in our sinful, mortal flesh, exercise the same control over sin and disease that He did in His own. THE TEMPLE OF GOD.
By Ellen G. White
“Know ye not,” Paul asks, “that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” Man is God’s workmanship, His masterpiece, created for a high and holy purpose; and on every part of the human tabernacle God desires to write His law. Every nerve and muscle, every mental and physical endowment, is to be kept pure. God designs that the body shall be a temple for His Spirit. How solemn then is the responsibility resting on every soul. If we defile our bodies, we are doing harm not only to ourselves, but to many others. Christians are under obligation to God to keep soul, body, and spirit free from all that defiles; for they have been bought with a price. No man or woman has any right to form habits which lessen the healthful action of one organ of mind or body. He who perverts his powers is defiling the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Lord will not work a miracle to restore to soundness those who continue to use drugs which so degrade soul, mind, and body that sacred things are not appreciated. Those who give themselves up to the use of tobacco and liquor do not appreciate their intellect. They do not realize the value of the faculties God has given them. They allow their powers to wither and decay. God desires all who believe in Him to feel the necessity of improvement. Every intrusted faculty is to be improved. Not one is to be neglected. As God’s husbandry and building, man is under His supervision in every sense of the word; and the better he becomes acquainted with his Maker, the more sacred will his life become in his estimation. He will not place tobacco in his mouth, knowing that it defiles God’s temple. He will not drink wine or liquor, knowing that, like tobacco, it degrades the whole being. With His own life Christ has bought man, and given him a probation in which to work out his own salvation. God asks His children to live a pure, holy life. Christ died that the moral image of God might be restored in humanity, that men and women might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We are to use no power of our being for selfish gratification; for all our powers belong to Him, and are to be used to His glory. The physical penalty of disregarding the laws of nature will appear in the form of sickness, ruined constitutions, and even death itself. But a settlement is also to be made by and by with God. Every transgression of the laws of physical life is a transgression of the laws of God; and punishment must and will follow every such transgression. The human house, God’s building, requires close, watchful guardianship. With David we can exclaim, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God’s workmanship is to be preserved, that the heavenly universe and the apostate race may see that men and women are temples of the living God. The perfection of character which God requires is the fitting up of the whole being as a temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Lord requires the service of the entire being. He desires men and women to become all that He has made it possible for them to be. It is not enough for certain parts of the human machinery to be used. All parts must be brought into action, or the service is deficient. The physical life is to be carefully educated, cultivated, and developed, that through men and women the divine nature may be revealed in its fullness. God expects men to use the intellect He has given them. He expects them to use every reasoning power for Him. They are to give the conscience the place of supremacy that has been assigned to it. The mental and physical powers, with the affections, are to be so cultivated that they can reach the highest efficiency. Thus Christ is represented to the world. By this painstaking effort man is qualified to co-operate with the great Master Workman in saving souls unto life eternal. This is why God intrusted us with talents,—that we might have life, eternal life, in the kingdom of heaven. God is not pleased to see any of the organs or faculties He has given man neglected, misused, or deprived of the health and efficiency it is possible for them to have. Then cultivate the gift of faith. Be brave, and overcome every practice which mars the soul-temple. We are wholly dependent on God, and our faith is strengthened by believing, though we cannot see God’s purpose in His dealing with us, or the consequence of this dealing. Faith points forward and upward to things to come, laying hold of the only power that can make us complete in Him. A Revival of the Study and Practical Application of the Physical Side of Spiritual Truth in its Relation to the Second Advent of Our Lord. “PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD.” “WHETHER therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” Heb. 11:6. THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN.
By L. A. S.
THE problem of training children is, from the standpoint of Christianity, a simple one, so far at least as concerns a knowledge of the general principles of procedure. Christianity sets up before parents a perfect pattern, and they have only to follow it to attain the highest possible degree of success. We should train our children just as God trains His children. To young children, parents stand in the place of God. And only as they truly represent God in their dealings with their children in the years of infancy, will they prepare them to accept and love the ways of God when the years of understanding shall have been reached. How does God deal with His children? The whole Bible gives the answer to this question. Parents who would train their children aright must be students of the word of God. God sets before His children, first, the fact that He loves them. He gives them every evidence that He does nothing to them that is not done in love; that He has in view, in all His dealings with them, no selfish end to be attained, but their own prosperity and happiness. Parents should do the same with their children. The child must be impressed with the fact that discipline is administered in love, and should be trained to look beyond the momentary hardships of the present to the great good that is to be realized in the years to come. God is patient with us, and gives us “line upon line, precept upon precept,” of instruction. So must we be patient with our children, and cease not to instruct them in the way of truth and righteousness. But do not teach them about evil, with the idea that thus they will be led to avoid it. God does not teach us about evil; He would not have our minds dwell for a moment upon evil topics. But He says, “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Phil. 4:8. These are the things to set before our children. These things they must be trained to love; and the love of such things will save them from the inclination to evil. God is slow to wrath. He never flies into a passion; never throws aside the dictates of reason, nor takes pleasure in inflicting punishment. Parents must not chastise their children in the heat of passion, nor be arbitrary or unreasonable in discipline, nor punish to gratify feelings of anger. Children must be made to realize that parental discipline is a necessity for their own good. God does not love His children so much that He never corrects them; in other words, His love is not shown by the withholding of punishment from the transgressor. Parents who love their children so much that they will not punish them for wrong doing, do not love their children enough. True love will spare no pains to keep their feet in the pathway of life; and the idea that children should never be chastised finds no warrant in the example set for us by the Omniscient. God lets us know that He means exactly what He says; and children cannot too early or too thoroughly learn that the parental word is not to be taken at a discount. The parent who does not teach his child that he means what he says, leaves no foundation upon which a proper training can be based. Confidence in the parent is everything to the child, just as confidence in God is everything to the one who looks to God as a parent. Destroy the child’s confidence in the word of its parent, and you have destroyed the foundation for future confidence in the word of God. Teach the child that the parent’s word does not need to be followed strictly, and you have provided for a laxness in following the word of God which will lead to error and trouble in later years. Parental training must precede God’s training, and should be preparatory to it. God knows exactly how to train His children, and His example is the perfect pattern for every parent. No parent need waste time considering theories of child training; we have before us not an abstract theory of child training, but an example—the example of the Almighty. Our success as parents will depend entirely upon the extent to which we put in practice the plain principles approved by God in this respect. LITTLE THINGS.
By Luella B. Priddy
It is but human to desire to do some wonderful thing at a single stroke, and thus achieve greatness or goodness. Many would be willing to make such an effort, even at considerable sacrifice. But the true test of character comes in little things. Faithfully to perform homely duties, with a cheerful, hopeful spirit, even if the work is sometimes disagreeable, requires a consecration that many lack. Some make a serious mistake in their Christian experience by looking for a great blessing which they hope will carry them into the kingdom on “flowery beds of ease.” But temptations must be met one at a time, and we must receive the grace of Christ moment by moment. The mother, with her babe in the cradle, hopes that when her child is older, her cares will be less. But while life lasts, the true mother never drops the burden. Every mother should consider the matter in its true light, and arouse every faculty of her mind, and by study and prayer, keep pace with the expanding mind and growing body, that the child may be kept in the way of life everlasting. Missionary work does not all consist in the holding of vast audiences spell-bound with the eloquence of the minister. The Lord requires all of His children—men, women, and children—to labor faithfully for those whom they meet daily. Every one of us is to watch for opportunities to speak a word for Jesus and His truth, and to give literature to those within the circle of our influence. The little sins and shortcomings will be noted by our neighbors as evidences of our unfaithfulness to the cause we profess, and will turn away their ears from the truth. We may never be called upon to startle the world by any great deed. But the smallest details of every-day life—our words; the way we make our clothes; the food we eat, and the manner in which it is prepared; the way we keep our houses; the thoughtful judgment manifested in selecting the right tract or paper for the neighbor who calls; the persistent faithfulness that leads us so to plan our work that we shall have time to study God’s word every day; the spirit we show to the loved ones in the family circle,— are indexes of character, and determine whether our lives shall win souls to Christ or scatter abroad. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” Luke 16:10. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord; and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Col. 3:23, 24. AIR, THE LIFE-GIVING PRINCIPLE.
By H. E. Sawyer-Hopkins
H. E. SAWYER-HOPKINS. (Battle Creek, Mich.) Pure, fresh air is a health-giving principle, imparting vitality and strength, invigorating and enlivening the whole human system as nothing else can. It is a free gift, one within the reach of all—the rich and the poor. But do we prize health enough to procure it at any cost? If a carpet, curtains, or furniture are needed to make home pleasant and comfortable, every effort is made to secure them, but frequently the most necessary thing to health seems to be given the least attention. “Many in this enlightened age seem to be content to live in close, ill-ventilated rooms, breathing the same air over and over again, until it becomes impregnated with the poisonous impurities and waste matter thrown off from their bodies through the lungs and the pores of the skin.” How few realize that this carbonic acid gas which they are constantly inhaling is a slow poison, and one cause of pneumonia, diphtheria, and other diseases, which frequently end in death. To maintain health, we must have that which will impart life. If ventilators cannot be had, open the windows, and let in the life-giving element. To open a window on one side and let in the cold air is not sufficient; the pure oxygen mixes with the carbonic acid, and the room still retains the impure air; for this reason there should be an opening on the opposite side, that the impure air may be driven out. It is of the utmost importance to secure an outlet, thus giving the lifeless atmosphere a chance to be cleansed. Gas arising from stoves, lamps, decayed wood, etc., etc., and steam escaping from cooking and washing, help to form carbonic acid. Water for drinking and cooking purposes in an uncovered pitcher or pail, perhaps standing overnight, is unfit for use. Air in a room or house39 that has been closed for some time, becomes dead. Heated air is low in vitality, and weakens the lungs. Those who thus abuse the health must suffer with disease. We are told that the surface of the skin has many million little mouths through which it should breathe. But how can it breathe when these mouths are clogged with the impurities of the system? Air must be kept in constant circulation to be kept pure. If we take a daily bath to keep the outside clean, and wash our hands with scrupulous care, why not use as much precaution with the inside structure? Professor Kedzie once said: “If the housewife washes her hands in water, she does not say: ‘The water does not look dirty, and I can use it again.’ No; the water was used to remove dirt, and she throws it away. Shall she wash her hands five or six times a day with clean water, and wash her lungs twenty-eight thousand times a day with dirty air?” From the pen of a well-known writer we quote the following: “The air we breathe is of more importance than the food we eat. To deprive the lungs of air, is like depriving the stomach of food. Air is the food that God has provided for the lungs. Welcome it, cultivate a love for it. Pure air and water, cleanliness and a proper diet, purity of life, and a firm trust in God are remedies for the want of which thousands are dying. Yet these remedies are going out of date, because their skilled use requires work that people do not appreciate. Fresh air, exercise, pure water, and clean, sweet premises are within the reach of all, with but little expense.” An able physician said, “It is a sin to be sick.” In the words of the apostle, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body. . . . For the wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:12, 23. Paul adds, “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh.” And John says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” 3 John 2. Sin is the transgression of the law; and “it is just as much a sin to violate the laws of our being as to break one of the Ten Commandments; for we cannot do either without breaking God’s law.” “The transgression of physical law is transgression of God’s law.” “God’s law is written by His own finger upon every nerve, every muscle, every faculty, which has been intrusted to man.” “Disease of almost every description will be caused by inhaling the atmosphere affected by decaying substances lying about the premises.” If we cut off our life forces, or disable the wonderful structure of our bodies in any way, we deprive God of our service. He says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6. Said a voice to ancient Israel, “Be ye clean.” Does not that voice speak the same to Israel to-day? I THANK thee, Lord, that thou dost lay
These near horizons on my way.
If I could all my journey see,
There were no charm of mystery,
No veiled grief, no changes sweet,
No restful sense of tasks complete.
I thank thee for the hills, the night,
For every barrier to my sight;
For every turn that blinds my eyes
To coming pain or glad surprise;
For every bound thou settest nigh,
To make me look more near, more high;
For mysteries too great to know;
For everything thou dost not show.
Upon thy limits rests my heart;
Its safe horizon, Lord, thou art. — Quoted in the Ministry of Comfort. LOST BATTLES.
By The Vanguard
WHEN Xerxes with his army of two million five hundred thousand fighting men marched down upon ancient Greece, did those brave Spartans with their fellow countrymen who rose to meet them, know how much depended upon their battles lost or gained? Did they realize that “the preservation of Grecian independence meant the preservation of the civilization of Europe?” We, perhaps, do not readily realize what the civilized nations of to-day owe to the valiant efforts of those people to prevent their rising country from coming under the sway of Eastern monarchy. So, how few comprehend the vast concerns that are pending in these individual life-battles of ours. Perhaps it is only a small test that comes to you; some little matter in daily home life. But by it you become sorely tested and pressed. The Spirit draws you to prayer, but you wait, or let something hinder altogether. Your strength begins to grow small, and you do not triumph. This is a beginning—faith is weakened. Perhaps your children are unsaved, or are exposed to countless pitfalls and to fiery temptations. How they need your most ardent prayers and the shelter of strong, unyielding arms of faith and love! But yours have been crippled. You may see and feel the need, but find yourself measurably paralyzed, and unable to meet it. For lack of this help that they require of you, and that God demands at your hands in their behalf, they fall an easy prey to the enemy and destroyer of their souls and bodies. Other battles come, and additional defeats add to your loss. Time rolls on, and you mourn the sight of your loved ones who are carried by the current to swell the number of wrecks that strew the shores of time and eternity. The effects of these defeats do not stop within the limits of the home circle. Reaching forth, they extend to the utmost limits of your influence among neighbors and friends, and embrace every judgment-bound soul with whom you come in contact. This influence is most surely sowing, though perhaps imperceptibly to you, the seeds for eternal harvest. A RECIPE FOR SIMPLE LIVING.
I CAME across the following excellent morsels of advice by an American writer, who calls them four rules of sincerity. It will not hurt any of my readers to commit them to memory. We can all mark, read, and inwardly digest them with profit. The rules, in brief, are these: We should never buy things that we do not need; we should never willingly, or through mere indifference, buy things that are not genuine; we should never try to do things that we know we cannot do, or have not time to do; and we should never do things that we do not want to do, just because other people do them and ask us to do them. If we all observed these four rules of sincerity, we should discover that simplicity of life is, after all, an attainable ideal.—English Exchange. We’ve read how we ought to keep healthy,
Enough a large volume to fill;
I now will present a new subject,
By telling you how to be ill;
Never bathe in a drop of cold water,
For fear it may make you take cold
By loosening the shell which incrusts you,
And make you feel stiffened and old. Eat plenty of pork in hot weather,
And vegetables swimming with grease;
Of soda and biscuits and pastry
Eat freely as much as you please.
If one should suggest that ’tis hurtful,
Treat all such advice with a sneer,
Just tell them you work for a living,
You’ll have it, too, while you stay here. If it brings on a pain in your stomach,
Procure some fine-cut and a pipe,—
Tobacco is good for dyspepsia,—
Then use it from morning till night.
And now and then drink some drugged liquor,
Nor mind if teetotalers scold,
’Twill drive out the heat in the summer,
In winter ’twill keep out the cold. Keep storming or scolding at trifles,
No matter where blame may belong;
All accidents lay onto some one,
Though no one but you may be wrong;
And never take time from your labors
To rest either body or mind,
For fear you may lose a few dollars,
Or fortune may falter behind. When nature can hold out no longer,
But sinks ’neath a pressure of ills,
Then add some more weight to her burden
By taking a potion or pills.
If then she refuses to labor,
Why, just let a doctor prescribe;
He’ll add to your system more poisons,
And charge you a round sum beside. Do this till you have to give under,
And nature is worn to the quick,
Then at kind Providence murmur,
And wonder why ’tis you are sick.
Search almanac, pamphlet, and paper,
Take every quack nostrum you find,
And thus, in the prime of your manhood,
You’ll ruin both body and mind. Your thoughts will whirl in confusion,
Your form with disease will be bowed,
And thus, e’er your days are half numbered,
You’ll need both a coffin and shroud.
Your neighbors will gather around you,
And wonder why death thus should come;
They’ll call it a “sad dispensation,”
And lay you away in the tomb.
— Selected. An exchange calls attention to a new kind of diary which requires no writing, and, being in line with the general fad for snapshots, may become popular. It is a camera diary, and the plan is to take photographs day by day, and arrange them in such order as shall make them a record of home happenings and any interesting walks and excursions abroad. Almost every one has a camera, and it is a problem what to do with the fast accumulating photographs. Here is a way to utilize them to advantage. The diary may be made simply of pieces of gray cardboard tied together. In it one may represent all sorts of homely happenings—the puppy performing a clever trick, the baby with papa’s hat on, the new sideboard, the calla in full bloom, the young people skating on the pond, the dooryard trees after an ice storm, etc. For young people this would give purpose to random snapshots, for their elders it would provide recreation, and for both it may be in after years a storehouse of pleasant memories. — Christian World. Character Is Built in Everyday Life
By Maltbie D. Babcock
GOOD habits are not made on birthdays, nor Christian character at the New Year. The workshop of character is every-day life. The uneventful and commonplace hour is where the battle is lost or won.—Maltbie D. Babcock. REQUEST FOR PRAYER.
By M. D.
I ASK special prayer for my dear husband, two grown-up daughters, son-in-law, and for myself. My husband says the Adventists are right, but he is not yet one of us. M. D., Winfred, S. D. The Locked Door Marked Walk In
By Ada D. Wellman
ON a certain door hung a card bearing the words, “Walk in;” but when any one assayed to do as thus bidden, he found the door locked. Likewise, while verbally inviting souls to Christ, one may practically shut them away from Him. Don’t do it. MRS. ADA D. WELLMAN. Judging Our Neighbor Aright
By George Macdonald
WHAT man can judge his neighbor aright save he whose love makes him refuse to judge him? — George Macdonald. The Unending Power for Good in Our Homes
By Henry Wilder Foote
No one can tell the unending power for good which each of us may have in our homes, among our fellow men, by faith in them—how far we can strengthen their feeble desire for God and all good. Care, then, for the soul of people, and for the soul of what they do, as well as of what they are.—Henry Wilder Foote.