Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 37. (7/27/1916)

Review and Herald

Jul 27, 1916

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 27, 1916

A Practical Illustration of the Value of Tithing

A WRITER in the Pacific Christian Advocate of May 24, 1916, writes on the subject of tithing. After giving some of the Bible arguments in favor of this practice, he cites the work of Seventh-day Adventists as a practical illustration of the value of this system:—

“A much fairer, as well as more relevant illustration of what tithing will accomplish in and for a denomination, is afforded by the Seventh-day Adventists. There is nothing specially attractive, no special drawing power, in observing the seventh instead of the first day of the week as the Sabbath of rest and worship. The Adventists are neither alone nor singular in their belief in the second coming of Christ. Mr. Moody and the late Dr. Gordon of Boston devoutly believed that Christ would come again. So do thousands of Christians in all our churches. Except by their faith in and practice of tithing, how can we account for the remarkable showing made by the Seventh-day Adventists as a denomination? They regard the law of the tithe, the tenth of income, as equally binding with the law of the Sabbath, the seventh of time.”

“Their official reports state that in 1870 they had a membership of 5,440. In 1910 it was 104,526. Their annual tithe in 1870 was $2,182.46; in 1910 $1,338,698.65; in 1913 it was $1,771,989.60. In 1870 the church controlled one sanitarium with 35 employees. In 1910 they had 74 sanitariums with 1,989 employees, with assets of $3,368,000. In 1880 their total contributions to missions and other benevolent causes was $5.39 per capita; in 1910 it was $21.27; in 1913 $23.42. This includes the membership in foreign countries. In North America alone it was $28.93 per capita for 71,863 communicants. These figures certainly do not show that they had grown poor by tithing during thirty-three years, from 1880 to 1913.”

The Catholic Controversy in New York City

For several weeks there has been waged in New York City a spirited controversy between Mayor Mitchel and some of the representatives of the Roman Catholic Church. The Christian Advocate of June 8, 1916, presents this statement of the conditions leading up to the difficulty :—

“The city’s method of providing for a large proportion of its poor and unfortunate is by paying for their care in private institutions, many of them under the control of religious organizations, and the larger number conducted by the Roman Catholic Church. Questions having arisen as to this expenditure of the tax money, Governor Whitman appointed an able lawyer of this city, Mr. Charles H. Strong, a man of unusual fairness of mind and of incorruptible integrity, to take testimony as to the manner in which the institutions receiving the city’s money were performing their services. The commissioner soon had the town about his ears. Evidence of scandalous conditions was brought before him, and published in the newspapers. Catholic homes were among those involved. That was enough to precipitate a storm of priestly abuse upon the commissioner. Anonymous pamphlets began to circulate. The Holy Name Societies were stirred up to petition the governor to call off the inquiry. Open threats were made that the Catholics would remember at the polls what was taking place in the commissioner’s room.”

“At this stage the mayor authorized the police to ‘tap the telephone wires’ in order to ‘listen in’ at conversations with certain officials of the Catholic charities, who were suspected of conspiring to obstruct the work of the governor’s commission. As soon as this was known, the Catholic forces turned their streams of liquid fire upon the mayor, who is of that communion. His action was bitterly denounced, and the governor has even been asked to depose him from his office.”

Note and Comment

The Value of Church Papers

Does it pay to support the church journals of the denomination, even when those journals suffer loss in publication? This question was answered in the affirmative by the last General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held at Saratoga Springs, N. Y. In the last war four years the Advocates of that church have experienced a loss of $378,000. It was considered that their service to the church was worth the making up of this deficit, and the conference refused to economize in their publication. It was believed, however, that the price of these papers must soon be increased from $1.50 to $2 a year.

Of what value, think you, is the REVIEW AND HERALD to our church work? Is it worth the effort to place it in every English-speaking Seventh-day Adventist home? What are you doing to effect this? Do you know how many families there are in your church who are without its weekly visits? Please consider, What is the REVIEW worth to me? and then, What would it be worth to my brother who does not read it?

What War Has Wrought

No one who lives outside of the great war zone of Europe, and probably but comparatively few within this stricken area, can realize the terrible damage which has been wrought by the great conflict in the desolation which has been visited upon some of the garden spots of Europe. A dispatch from Paris, published in the Washington Star of July 4, 1916, gives this picture of the havoc which has been wrought in northern France:—

“Seven hundred and fifty-three communes, or townships, have been partly or totally destroyed through military operations in France since the beginning of the war, according to statistics gathered by the ministry of the interior, with a view to ascertaining the total damage caused by the hostilities. These communes are distributed over eleven of the departments of France, including those in Ardennes still occupied wholly by the Germans, who are in possession of 2,554 towns, of the total of 36,247 in all France, or 7 per cent.

“Houses to the number of 16,669 have been totally destroyed and 29,594 partly destroyed in these communes. In 148 communes the proportion of houses destroyed exceeds 50 per cent, while it is 80 per cent in seventy-four towns, and less than 50 per cent in the remainder.

“Public buildings destroyed in 428 communes were 331 churches, 379 schools, 221 town halls, 300 other public buildings of various sorts, and 60 bridges. Of these buildings fifty-six had been classed as historic monuments, including the town hall of Arras, and the cathedral and town hall at Rheims. Three hundred and thirty factories, which supported 57,000 persons, were destroyed.”

This picture, we doubt not, could be duplicated several times in other sections of Europe, particularly on the eastern battle front where the surging and resurging of opposing forces has left prosperous towns and smiling country places scenes of destitution and desolation. Well may every Christian of every nationality pray God to bring to a speedy conclusion this fearful combat.

The Spirit of Commercialism

By F. M. W.

THE present time is unparalleled in the history of the world in the opportunities it affords for money-making. It is proper that these opportunities should be improved by the followers of the Master. There is no sin in making money by honest and legitimate methods. The apostle declares, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” The evil is not in the money itself, but in the love of it, in its use for selfish pleasure and aggrandizement, its accumulation, its hoarding. Money earned to be expended in advancing the gospel of Christ, in relieving the sick and suffering, in ministering to those in need, finds its legitimate use. Used to enrich its possessor and gratify selfish desires it will prove a curse.

It is not alone the possessor of great wealth who is in danger of being swallowed up with the spirit of commercialism. The one laboring for the merest pittance may possess the spirit. The spirit of worldly commercialism may invade even the church of God. It may become the predominating motive in the operation of institutions and conferences. It may become the controlling factor in the lives of those engaged in selling missionary literature and of ministers of the gospel. We were forcibly impressed with this in a camp meeting several years ago when two workers, one a canvasser and another an ordained minister, acknowledged that the spirit of commercialism had in a large measure been the actuating motive in their service.

Let us take heed that this spirit does not control our lives, and does not control the operation of our institutions. When a sanitarium seeks patronage only that it may increase its earnings, and not for the good it can do suffering humanity, the spirit of commercialism has become the ruling factor in its operation. When a denominational publishing house sells its literature for the primary object of securing money, even though the money may be used in the liquidation of its debts, rather than from a desire to advance the gospel of Christ, it is operating with mercenary motives the same as do worldly concerns.

And this principle is true as applied to every laborer in this cause. The preacher may work for his weekly wage rather than for the love of souls; the canvasser may sell books to earn money to support his family rather than because the books may prove a savor of life to those who buy them. These are precisely the same motives which actuate those who know nothing of the saving power of the gospel. The work of every follower of the Master, whether he be the manager of a publishing house or of a sanitarium, a minister of the gospel, a Bible worker, or a canvasser, should be to build up and advance the interests of the kingdom of God in the earth. He should labor because the love of Christ constrains him. Money that comes into his hands he will regard only as means whereby this great business of his life may be achieved. And this should be true of every disciple.

As the chief business of William Carey was to serve the Lord, and he followed the trade of cobbling shoes only to pay expenses, so let every true disciple of the Master operate his business, whether it be farming, mechanical trade, or a profession, with the same grand object in mind. It is only as we keep before us this high and holy purpose that our efforts are raised from the selfish, sordid level of the money-loving world to the high plane of those who use the things of this world as not abusing them, and of counting everything they possess as dedicated to the service of the Master.

F. M. W.

The Divine Principle of Organization

By W. A. S.

The Lord is a God of order. All his works reveal the perfection and simplicity of divine organization. “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” 1 Cor. 14: 33.

The church of Christ is to reveal on earth the order and harmony of the kingdom of heaven. The “Great Shepherd of the sheep” leads the flock of God. The closer the members of the flock press to the Shepherd, the closer do they press together. And the counsel of the Lord through the Spirit of prophecy to all believers just now is, “Press together, press together.”

The Lord led the church of the exodus out of Egypt, and by the gift of prophecy organized it as one body to represent the unity of his work. He led forth the church of apostolic days, as one body, its organization being developed according to the need, under the instructions of the gift of prophecy placed in the

church. In this advent movement he has raised up a church to bear the final gospel message to the world. He has organized the movement as one united body, giving instruction by the gift of prophecy placed in the church.

There were in “the church in the wilderness” those who rebelled against the organization that maintained unity and order. There were those in apostolic days who worked against the order and harmony of the church. There have now and then appeared among us those who have opposed the order and organization established in the church in harmony with the Word of God and the counsel of the Spirit of prophecy. But all along—in the wilderness, in apostolic days, in these last days—it has been God’s order and God’s leadership in the church that have been set aside.

“God is not the author of confusion.” He is the author of order. Every thought in divine organization is to secure to his children the greatest liberty to develop a godly character. Harmony with God’s order is Christian liberty. “So long as all created beings acknowledged the allegiance of love,” says the Spirit of prophecy, “there was perfect harmony throughout the universe of God.”

Lucifer is the author of confusion. Coveting the supremacy that belonged to Christ, he charged that the order and harmony of heaven imposed a restraint upon the liberty of the angels. So came rebellion in heaven. “It was pride and ambition that prompted Lucifer to complain of the government of God, and to seek the overthrow of the order which had been established in heaven. Since his fall it has been his object to infuse the same spirit . . . into the minds of men.”—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” p. 403. His principles make for separation and disorder.

If it be but secular work in which numbers of people are engaged together, the value of system and organization is universally recognized by the thoughtful and successful. Much more is organization to be valued in God’s work, in which “all things” are to be “done decently and in order.” 1 Cor. 14:40.

The organization of believers is no arbitrary or mechanical arrangement, but the natural and spiritual expression of Christian fellowship in service, a means of personal strength and blessing to the individual, and a sign of the “unity of the Spirit” among the members making up the “one body.” The Spirit of prophecy says:—

“Angels work harmoniously. Perfect order characterizes all their movements. The more closely we imitate the harmony and order of the angelic host, the more successful will be the efforts of these heavenly agents in our behalf. . . . Those who have the unction from on high, will in all their efforts encourage order, discipline, and union of action, and then the angels of God can co-operate with them. But never will these heavenly messengers indorse irregularity, disorganization, and disorder. All these evils are the result of Satan’s efforts to weaken our forces, to destroy courage, and prevent successful action. . . . It is his studied effort to lead professed Christians just as far from heaven’s arrangement as he can; therefore he deceives even the professed people of God, and makes them believe that order and discipline are enemies to spirituality. . . . All the efforts made to establish order are considered dangerous, a restriction of rightful liberty, and hence are feared as popery.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 1, p. 649.

But all the Bible history shows that thorough organization is one of the heavenly appointed safeguards against popery. This is why those who have risen in rebellion against the truth, to lead away disciples after themselves, have always struck at organization. This has been as a hedge round about the people of God, securing the protection of the angelic host.

The details of organization may vary according to conditions and work, but ever as God has called his church together there has appeared in it the spiritual gift of order and of government, the spirit that rules in heaven. Harmony with God’s truth and work for the time has been shown by orderly and harmonious cooperation with the body of believers. And all along the enemy who began his attack on organization in heaven, in order to detach the angels from the ranks and lead them astray, has worked against the organization of the body of believers on earth, in order to divide and scatter.

W. A. S.

Home Religion

No man’s religion can be justly estimated by his public life or service. The best judges are the members of his own household. They know him as he is in life’s practical experiences. Within the confines of his own home, where reserve is laid aside, where he is shut out from the prying gaze of the public, he acts his own natural self. His wife, his children, his servants, have the truest measure of the genuineness of his profession.

If a man is not a Christian in his home, he is not a Christian at all. He may make a profession as high as heaven itself. He may even minister in the sacred things of God. He may labor as zealously as did the apostle Paul and speak with the eloquence of Apollos, but the measure of his Christianity in the courts of heaven is determined not by his profession, but by his heart relationship to God; by his own personal life. There are too many men who, as they go in and out before their fellows, live double lives,—one life for the public and another life in their own home. Too many times the former is a life of pretense, a hollow mockery, a hypocritical profession. The latter constitutes the true measure of what the man really is.

Let us pray God to take pretense and sham out of our lives; to reveal to us by his Holy Spirit what we really are, and to lead us to seek that heart relationship to him which will make us truly representative of his character whether it be before the gaze of man or within the secret consciousness of our own souls. Let us live today as we shall wish we had lived when we appear before the great Judge, and every secret thing is revealed in the light of heaven.

“I Will if You Will”

By G. B. T.

I CLIPPED the following from a railroad magazine:—

“I will, if you will, not believe evil of any person until I know it surely.

“I will, if you will, never repeat any disparaging remark I hear of anybody.

“I will, if you will, never look for slights, think any one has meant to offend me, or be sensitive or suspicious. This is always a sign of weakness, of an anemic personality.

“I will, if you will, go away and lock myself up while I have the glooms, and not afflict my depressing mood upon others.

“I will, if you will, be cheerful when I meet the other members of the family; and if I am not cheerful, and can’t be, I will put on cheerfulness and act the part as well as I can.

“I will, if you will, be as polite and charming to my children, my parents, and my brothers and sisters as I am to strangers.

“I will, if you will, practice how to be a good fellow without profligacy, funny without coarseness, strong without cruelty, successful without boasting, entertaining without being a bore, and moral without trying to make other people be as good as I think I am, or as I should like to be thought.

“I will, if you will, be strict as I can myself, and lenient as I can to other people.

“I will, if you will, do nothing to any soul which may become a bitter memory.

“I will, if you will, be tenacious of my convictions, and recognize that other folks may have different convictions and be just as honest as I am.

“I will, if you will, do nothing that shall disgust an honest man, offend or soil the soul of a good woman, or causelessly make a child weep.

“I will, if you will, forgive everybody every night before I go to sleep.

“I will, if you will, be as decent as I can, as true as I can, as happy as I can, as brave as I can, as clean as I can, as patient as I can, as unselfish as I can, and as strong as I can.

“Come! I will if you will.”—Dr. Frank Crane.

These resolutions are printed in a magazine published by a great railroad corporation, and are put forth, not necessarily in the interest of religion, but of good railroading. But they will bear study. They contain principles of righteousness. As Christians we should of course do these things whether others do or not. This, I understand, is the point in the mind of Dr. Crane. It is a challenge to unite with him in believing no evil rumor against another, and in repeating no disparaging remark; in not being offended by imaginary slights; in not looking all the time as if we were attending a funeral or were about to be consigned to penal servitude for life, but in being cheerful and happy. Why not?

It is a challenge to be polite and kind in the house. Surely of all places the home is the place to be kind and courteous. You have perhaps heard of the boy who came into the house, and hearing voices in the kitchen, said, “Pa, who is out in the kitchen with ma?” Father said, “No one, I guess, but some of the family.” “O, yes, there is,” said the boy, “for ma has her company voice.” There are a good many homes where father and mother have a company voice, kind and nice, but when the stranger departs, there are angry, sullen glances, and coarse, snappy words, that bruise and wound.

It is a challenge to regard the convictions and feelings of others, and to think that they are as honest and conscientious as we, although they may not see just as we see. It is a challenge to all to unite in forgiving every human soul before closing the eyes in sleep each night. Surely no Christian can lie down at night with hatred in his heart against a single human being. You may not awake this side the grave. It would be awful to awaken on the other side of the grave with malice or envy in the heart. There will be no chance then to be cleansed, for there will be no Intercessor.

“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matt. 24:44. G. B. T.

The Number of Bible Promises

By John Norton Loughborough

J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH

Several years ago a statement like this went the round of religious journals: “There are in the Bible thirty-six thousand promises.” I said to myself, “That is a pretty big statement. I do not believe there are as many verses as that in the Bible, and surely every verse is not a promise, for there are some threatenings.” I counted the verses, and found in the Old Testament 23,556, and in the New Testament 7,357, or a total of 31,513 verses. Of these verses, in genealogies, etc., more than 1,000 are wholly names; in the description of the sanctuary, its services and order, about 1,000 verses are used; in bare mention of actions, warfare, etc., several thousand are used; and about 3,000 threatenings of present and future wrath are noted. Even these numbers would cut down the verses, if all the rest were promises, to less than 25,000. But they are not all thus used.

When I saw the above-quoted statement, as I was about to begin my yearly reading of the Bible by course, I said, “I will make a count as I go along of how many of these verses contain promises.” I counted in the Old Testament 976, and in the New Testament 318, or a total in both Testaments of 1,294. Of these, 963 relate to the present life, and 331 relate to the future life. This number, 1,294, is much less than 36,000. As I started the next yearly reading, I said, “It may be those making that big statement, if they made any count, took the number of items mentioned instead of each complete promise, for sometimes a single promise speaks of several things; so I will watch this time for items.” My count came out this time thus: Items containing promises in the Old Testament, 3,044; in the New Testament, 529; total, 3,573. This still came far short of 36,000.

While counting the promises I also numbered the threatenings, and found 2,936, of which only 353 relate to the future. I conclude it is better to give force to the exceeding magnitude even of one infallible promise to us poor mortals than to try to flood minds with uncertain numbers.

Lodi, Cal.

Forgiveness

By D. E. HUFFMAN

D. E. HUFFMAN

The two commands, to hate evil and to love your enemy, are very difficult for many to understand. Some have struggled with them for years before learning how to obey both at once.

We have the hope that when Christ shall appear “we shall be like him.” 1 John 3:2. To be “like him” is to be willing and anxious to forgive and forget a wrong, just as he did.

To forgive is to forget the wrong and love freely, as if the wrong had not been done. “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Heb. 8:12.

“If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?” Matt. 5:46. Yet “we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” 1 John 3:14. Since love of the brethren is not natural, but is evidence of regeneration, it follows that such love is possible only by the power of God through faith.

God refuses to cancel my sin debts unless I let him cancel all the sin debts of others which I hold against them. Matt. 5:7; 6:12, 15; 7:1, 2. Thus in accepting his sacrifice to pay my sin debts I have also accepted full payment and have receipted him in full for all the sin debts of my brethren against me. If I cherish a memory of any wrong thus canceled, I hinder his promise to remember my sin no more.

So long as I cannot forgive, sin has dominion over me; but the promise is “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” Rom. 6:14. “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Gal. 5:17. “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.” 2 Cor. 2:14. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John 5:4.

My faith is the victory, because it takes away my sin accounts, both debits and credits, and gives me the righteousness of Christ instead. Phil. 3:9. All my sin is forgiven and forgotten, and all the wrongs of my brother I have forgiven and forgotten. As I stand clear in my Saviour’s love, as if I had never sinned, so my brother stands clear in my love, as if he had done me no wrong. I am free. I have the victory by faith. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Yes, thus free in Christ you cannot take offense, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” Ps. 119:165.

Joseph’s brothers “thought evil” against him, but he saw God’s hand in it for good. Gen. 50:20. Paul found joy in forgetting those things that were behind, and in pressing toward the mark. “The Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends.” Job 42:10. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.” Matt. 5:11, 12. “The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” John 15:20. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Tim. 3:12. “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” 2 Cor. 4:8-10.

It may help us sometimes to remember that even the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering (Heb. 2:10); and if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him. Therefore “we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Rom. 5:3-5.

Centerville, Kans.

Recognized by Patriarchs

By J. O. CORLISS

The Atonement — No. 6

Recognized by Patriarchs

J. O. CORLISS

HAD sin never entered the world and estranged man from his Maker, the work of atonement would have found no place in God's economy: for having created man in his own image for the joy of fellowship, his eternal purpose would have been fulfilled without any redemptory act on his part. But the everlasting love which lay at the foundation of his eternal purpose was not abated by man's forfeiture of his infinite privilege; therefore

the plan for the atonement was laid.

As to just how the knowledge of this rescue plan became known at first among men there is no direct information. But it may be surmised, as Abel, the son of Adam, offered a lamb sacrifice, in token of his acceptance of its provision, that in Eden, after the fall, when the glad news was given to the unhappy first pair that the Seed of the woman would finally bruise the serpent's head, somehow the truth must have been made known that Christ had already agreed to give his life for their redemption. Rev. 13: 8.

When Abraham was called to go from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan, one of the first acts in that new country was to erect an altar, and to worship the Lord. Gen. 12: 8. Then when the promise was made to him that he and his seed should inherit that land forever, sacrifices were made in acknowledgment of faith in that promise. Gen. 15: 9, 10. In this promise, and in the sacrifice offered at its announcement, Abraham saw Christ, who made the promise, and his heart was gladdened by the sight. John 8: 56.

When the descendants of Abraham went to Egypt and became associated with the heathen worship of that country, they must largely have forgotten the significance of those early offerings, and so lost their knowledge of God and Christ. But true to his promise of love to Abraham (Gen. 15: 13-16), God redeemed that people from their agony of bondage, and at once proceeded to re-establish the service of offerings which would propagate faith in the atonement work of Christ. Among the first commands issued to that people in their wilderness journey to the Land of Promise was to prepare material with which to build a sanctuary for God, that he might dwell among them. Ex. 25: 2-8.

In this very command the essence of the atonement work was made known; namely, that God and the people might be associated together in loving fellowship. But in order that this ideal condition might be met, it was necessary to establish a round of service in preparation for it. A very brief survey of this service is set forth in the epistle to the Hebrews. In chapter nine, verses one to five, a condensed statement of the interior appointment of the wilderness sanctuary is given, and then in the briefest manner the priestly service is mentioned, together with its object.

This is the record: “Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle [apartment], accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.” Those tabernacle services pointed to the great plan of atonement work to be accomplished through the Lord Jesus, since the offering of blood there tendered was in behalf of the sinner's need.

But to see more clearly the way this was done, a closer view of the sanctuary itself will be necessary. A rather minute description of this is found in the twenty-fifth chapter of Exodus. A careful reading of this will show its walls to have been of upright boards, the lower ends of which were inserted in silver sockets placed in the ground. On the outside of each of these boards were rings at uniform distances apart perpendicularly, through which ran poles for securing the boards in an upright position. The east end of the building was an exception in the matter of construction. It was inclosed by curtains hung from upright pillars placed at proper intervals along the front. The roof was formed by stretching four curtains, one above the other, over the right beam, the ends of three of which hung to the ground, while the fourth was placed along the ridge as a protection against dampness.

Another hanging fixture, called a veil, stretched across the building inside to form two apartments. This division was made so that the front, or eastern, end of the building would occupy two thirds of its area. This was called the holy place, and the smaller apartment was known as the most holy. Ex. 26: 31-33. In the first-named apartment, just to the right of the entrance, was found the table of showbread, consisting of twelve loaves to represent the sustaining care of heaven for the twelve tribes of Israel. These were placed anew on the table each recurring Sabbath, to indicate that fresh blessings were to be had on God's holy day, to follow through the succeeding week.

Immediately opposite, at the left of the entrance, stood the seven-branched golden candlestick, to represent the seven Spirits of God. At the back end of this outer room, and just in front of the second veil or curtain, stood the altar of incense. From this structure the priest in attendance caused perfumed smoke to arise in behalf of penitent worshipers, to indicate the ascent of grateful prayers to the heavenly country. Rev. 8: 3, 4.

In the smaller apartment, known as the most holy, was placed the ark. This was a chest of wood overlaid with gold. Besides a golden pot of manna in memorial of heavenly bread received, and the generative almond rod, which would keep in mind the delegated heavenly power of the Aaronic priesthood, this ark inclosed the tables of stone on which was inscribed the law of Jehovah, written with his own hand. Deut. 10: 1-5; Ex. 31: 18. The lid of the ark was made of solid gold, with a cherub standing at each end. These cherubim had their wings distended to meet over the center of the cover, which was called the mercy seat. This name designated that place as the point from which the symbol of God's presence would be seen, and whence he would speak to his people. In short, this represented the throne of God, under which rested the ten commandments as the pillars of his government. Ex. 25: 20-22.

It is significant that the mercy seat was placed above the law. Had the law stood above the mercy seat, then its decrees of death for sin (Rom. 6: 23) would have prevailed, relentless of any plea for mercy. But as graciously arranged by decree of the Most High, the presence of the Shekinah of God's glory on the mercy seat, and between the cherubim, was assurance of an open and compassionate ear to the cries of penitence, and of hope for forgiveness for transgression of the law beneath the mercy seat.

But before the final disposition of regretted sin could be made at the mercy seat so compassionately provided, the sacrifice in its behalf must first be offered, as the sinner's contribution toward complete atonement. This was tendered before the door of the sanctuary, where the altar of burnt offerings was erected. But the process through which the final adjustment came, must necessarily be made the topic of another paper.

The Story of the King

By E. R. HOYT

E. R. HOYT

HAVE you heard, have you heard the sweet story Of Jesus the soon-coming King,— How he’s finishing mansions in glory, And his angels are now on the wing

To bring to the feast all the wretched, The halt, and the lame, and the blind; From the lanes and the highways and hedges All sinners that e’er they can find

Who are willing to go to that country That never knows death or decay, That never knows sorrow or anguish, But life in one long, blissful day?

There are beautiful, beautiful flowers That never will wither or die, And fruits never known to this country; No frosts on its borders e’er lie.

There’s a city whose walls are of jasper, Its streets are the purest of gold; But not half of this wonderful story To mortals has ever been told.

Oh, arise and prepare for the wedding, In the robe of His righteousness clean; Oh, awake, for the day dawn is breaking, And the signs of his coming are seen!

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