No other has ever been so overburdened with work as was Christ when he was here among men. The hours of the day, from early morning until the shades of night darkened the earth, were spent in healing and teaching the multitudes. Yet our Saviour found time to commune with his heavenly Father. It was through the channel of prayer that he was enabled to accomplish so much.
Christ might have retired after the day's work was done, and excused himself from spending in prayer the hours needed for rest; but often his burden for souls robbed him of the hours that nature required for sleep. He well knew that without his Father he could do nothing. John 5:30. Before he began his day's work, and long after its close, he communed with God, that he might be a blessing to the poor and afflicted. While those he healed were sleeping soundly, he was pleading with God that their hearts might be melted in gratitude, and that they might accept him as their Saviour.
The Jewish nation had so long and so sedulously followed the traditions of their fathers that their hearts were not prepared to appreciate the Saviour's efforts for the salvation of their souls. Is it not largely so among God's professed people today? Have not theories of human invention taken the place of Bible truth? Preconceived ideas and pride and prejudice are holding many in the bondage of sin. So little time is spent in communion with God that the evil propensities hold sway, and real piety is on the decline.
Some Seventh-day Adventist families have abandoned the family altar. Others have family prayer now and then, as time will permit. The many daily cares and duties that crowd upon the occupants of the home and the farm shut out the angel of peace, and there seems to be no connection with heaven. Of course such do not think that they can accomplish more by rushing to their day's labor without God, but being hurried and overpressed, they seem to forget that much more would be accomplished by spending a little time each morning in the study of God's Word, and in asking his presence to lighten the burdens of the day.
Nothing else is so strengthening as the Spirit of God. It enlightens the mind and imparts physical power, and can be had for the asking. Why should we rush away to the field to save time, and accomplish less by not having God with us? Why should one deny his faith by saying, 'Without Christ I can do nothing,' and then hasten to the plow without him? Why declare to the world that we are followers of him who had not where to lay his head, and then live a prayerless, world-grasping life? If such would candidly reflect on their prayerless, barren life, they would not claim to be Christians.
Trying scenes are just before the people of God. The prophecy recorded in Revelation 12 and 13 is soon to be fulfilled. A universal Sunday law will be enacted and enforced through the union of the religious element with the civil power. The prayerless families that encroach upon the early hours of God's holy Sabbath will yield their faith unless a change is wrought in their lives. Some excuse themselves by saying, 'We have so much to do that we cannot begin or end the Sabbath as we know we ought.' This excuse will never stand in the test before us. We are living in a time when the Saviour's words, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with . . . cares of this life,” have specific application. The Lord through the Spirit of prophecy has said:— “In whatever occupation you may be, whether physicians, merchants, ministers, or men in other walks of life, you have no right to load yourselves down with heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, to be pressed under many and varied responsibilities, until you feel that you have no time to pray, and excuse yourself on the plea that you have so much to do. If you have so much to do, how essential it is that you have the Lord God of Israel to stand by your side, that you may bear the yoke evenly with him who was meek and lowly in heart.”—“Special Testimonies for Our Ministers,” No. 1, p. 59.
When the cares of life are allowed to crowd out family prayer at the beginning or close of the Sabbath, 'you may well be alarmed for your soul.' Sabbath keepers who have large dairies, herds of young stock, sheep and fowls to feed and care for until the sun that marks the beginning of the sacred day has long sunk to rest, are certainly being overcharged with the cares of this life. This can be avoided without pecuniary loss and with great spiritual gain.
“Whenever it is possible, employers should give their workers the hours from Friday noon until the beginning of the Sabbath. Give them time for preparation, that they may welcome the Lord's day with quietness of mind. By such a course you will suffer no loss, even in temporal things.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, p. 356.
Again we read:—
“Before the setting of the sun, let the members of the family assemble to read God's Word, to sing and pray. There is need of reform here, for many have been remiss. We need to confess to God and to one another. We should begin anew to make special arrangements that every member of the family may be prepared to honor the day which God has blessed and sanctified.”—Ib., pp. 356, 357.
Why not heed this good instruction? Will any of us allow ourselves to be overburdened with the cares of this life to the loss of the soul? 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?'
St. Paul, Minn.
The Divine Guide
By Allen Moon
ALLEN MOON
Jesus the Son of God said of himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He was the exemplification of the way that had been provided,—the way brought to light through Moses and the prophets, whose words the Son had inspired. He was the truth regarding the way of life; he was the fountain of truth. To all mankind he was the life, and by following the way of life revealed by him and in him, all might attain to the life that was in him. He was an infallible guide in all that pertained to the realm of divine truth.
When about to depart from earth, the Son of God made it known that provision had been made for a substitute, in the person of the Holy Spirit, who was to come from heaven to earth, and to remain. Although the Spirit is invisible, yet to those who receive him “as seeing him who is invisible,” he becomes all that the Son himself would be.
Jesus said, “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13. Like the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is not limited in knowledge; “for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” 1 Cor. 2:10.
In the very nature of things, the Saviour’s promise of the guidance of the Spirit cannot be of universal application, for not all men love truth. Not all are going the way of truth, not all can realize the need of a guide; even as it is written, “The Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.” John 14:17. They cannot receive, neither can they know, the divine Spirit, because he is not perceived by the natural senses. Not even the princely among them ever11knew him, and therefore they were ignorant of all the deep things he had power to make them know. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.” 1 Cor. 2:9, 10.
The Spirit of truth, in revealing truth to man, is not dependent on man’s natural senses, but reaches him through the inner man by his own means. But so effective is his work that Paul, one who was under the guidance of the Spirit, said: “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.” 1 Cor. 2:7. God ordained, or appointed, the Spirit’s office work. This resulted in glory to the apostles and prophets, who consecrated themselves to God for service so completely that the Spirit could put them in possession of this hidden wisdom, and enable them to speak it in accordance with the Spirit’s revealing.
The work of the Holy Spirit in revealing truth is performed for the individual, and not for families or churches collectively. All God’s effort on man’s behalf is for the individual. So the Lord said: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life.” John 3:36. God’s promises are to the believers. His Spirit will guide his believing children. He cannot guide the unwilling, even though they may be identified with his people.
God has provided only one sure guide for his children. That guide is the Spirit of truth, and the Word of truth, which is the Word of God. These two agree in one. The Saviour said of the Spirit which he would send: “He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:13, 14. The Son of God is the word, or expression, of God. The Spirit searches for the deep things of God at the mouth of the Son; hence the words of the Saviour, “He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.” The things to come which he shows to his children, are first spoken by the Son. Thus the Spirit of truth continues the work begun by the Son of God for his children on earth.
The early church of Christ relied only upon this sure and safe guide. Since that time the church has been beset by many would-be guides in human form. Some of these have claimed infallibility, and others have claimed the possession of various gifts of the Spirit; but all were in conflict with the word of truth, which is a sure evidence that they themselves were not following the divine Guide.
The Holy Spirit uses agencies in the accomplishment of his work. He makes use of human agents, and we are admonished to esteem them highly for their works’ sake. But though used by the heavenly Guide, these servants are only human.
David, one of the most famous of the Spirit’s agents, said, “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” 2 Sam. 23:2. David did not claim to have spoken for God, but the Spirit of the Lord spoke, using lips of clay. David’s will had been surrendered, and he was in the Spirit’s hands for service. He was the instrument for the Spirit’s work.
Other men of note, as Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Solomon, were instruments through whom an infallible and enduring work was accomplished by the Spirit of Christ, which was in them. But no infallibility attached to the instrument used. He might fall away and become false, as was the case with Solomon, who, although honored by the Lord, turned aside from following the true Guide. Paul said: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ,” but nowhere in the Word of God does he instruct his children to look to any man as a guide in divine truth.
Takoma Park, D. C.
R. D. QUINN
By R. D. Quinn
Practical Lessons from the Life of Elisha — No. 2
R. D. QUINN
ELISHA had stood the test of fire. When Elijah was swept from his side by the chariot of God, he was able to stand unharmed amid that devouring fire. He had submitted to God's refining and purifying process, and could therefore endure the revelation of his actual presence. The following lesson drawn from nature illustrates this spiritual truth:—
There is a certain rock, called bitumen, used in Dalmatia for building purposes. It is said to be porous and filled with pitch. When the natives have constructed their homes with this material, they set them on fire, and all the inflammable substance is quickly burned up, leaving a beautiful white structure that ever afterward is fireproof.
Elisha had passed through the ordeal, and having complied with the conditions, he claimed the promised blessing, in these words: “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” “And he saw him no more.” Elisha had fulfilled the condition; he had seen Elijah taken up to heaven. That was enough: the blessing was his. As Elijah swept heavenward, his mantle fell from him, and Elisha took hold of his own clothes and rent them asunder. Then he took the mantle of Elijah and went back to the Jordan, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” “When he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.”
Possibly Elisha did not realize that any particular change had come over him, yet the sons of the prophets immediately recognized it, and said, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.” “And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”
From that time, Elisha's miracles were twofold those of his predecessor. God had sent one chariot of fire and horses of fire to take Elijah home; but later, when Elisha and his servant were shut up in the little town of Dothan, which was surrounded by the Assyrian armies bent on destroying Elisha, at the prophet's request God opened the eyes of the young man, “and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6: 17.
The Bible is essentially the book of life. Its pages teem with the sayings and doings of men while they lived, but contain very meager details of their death. Elijah and Elisha, however, did not take their departure from among men without leaving in their parting testimony the secret of their wondrous lives. We have already noted how Elisha sought and obtained the mighty anointing of the Spirit at Elijah's translation. Now we come to the close of the long and eventful career of Elisha. Surely his farewell words will likewise have in them a message for us.
“Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof”—the very same words that Elisha had uttered nearly sixty years before, and with which he had claimed and secured the promised blessing. The obvious mission of Joash to the side of Elisha at his death was that he might receive through the intercessions of Elisha the very same blessing that Elisha had obtained at the time of Elijah's departure. And forthwith Elisha brings his test to bear upon the king.
“Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldst have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.”
Elisha had asked for great things, and received them, but Joash “smote thrice, and stayed.” His vision was small, and his deliverance and blessing were in proportion to his faith. Alas, that there should be so many more Joashes than Elishas! We are too easily satisfied. It would be pleasing to God if we made the very highest demands upon him. We dishonor the Lord when we show a lack of faith in his power and willingness to help us.
South Lancaster, Mass.
A Living Witness
By N. H. Pool
N. H. POOL
UPON a former visit to British Guiana, there was an interest reported among the Indians far up the Berbice River, at a place called Kimbia. On my first visit to that place, I found a church so far completed that we held our meetings in it. Then the Indians began to talk about a mission house and a school and a teacher, and promised to build a mission home. At present they have the material all on the ground, and with the assistance of Brother Henry Beck, have a fine house well under way.
On my last visit to Kimbia, I learned how the interest started. The accompanying picture is a photograph of the mother of several of the members. Catherine Daniels has been blind for many years. She does not know her age. While she has the appearance of being quite old, yet with the exception of her sight, she retains all her faculties, and gets about and assists herself very well. She remembers many things of the past, but the one event that made the most lasting impression on her mind was the falling of the stars. She does not remember how old she was at that time, but when I questioned her, this is the story she told me:—
“I had a baby boy about two years old. My husband and I were out on the river fishing. A little after midnight the sky began to appear strange, and it seemed to us that all the stars began to fall to the earth. We were much frightened, and hurried home to tell the others. We thought the end of the world had come. We dared not go to bed, but sat and watched them till the scene all faded away in the morning light.
“Since I heard at the Bootooba Mission that it was a sign that God had given the people to let them know that Christ was soon coming back to the earth, I have had a desire to see him.”
As I sat and talked with that dear old sister, I found a secret desire stealing into my own heart, and I prayed that those blind eyes might be opened to see the Lord come in glory.
As we were about to leave Georgetown recently, it was again our privilege to meet our self-supporting missionary, Brother Fred Hope, who for some time has been following the opening providences of God, and doing what he can to carry the message into the interior among the gold diggers.
God has blessed his work in many ways, and this time he reports a new church building, completed and dedicated, at a place called Pigeon Island. The men began to say among themselves: “It is not right to let Brother Hope live the way he does. We should build him a church and a place in which to live.” And as they talked, they also planned and gave, and in a short time they had money and material enough for the church. Then all lent a hand and began to build, and in a few days they had a place of worship, and a room adjoining for Brother Hope to live in.
Now we are praying that the Lord will give wisdom and grace that a strong company may be raised up there to form another way station for messengers to the great interior.
First Impressions
The friends here at home will be glad to read a few lines from the large party of new recruits who have arrived in the Orient. The following are some of the expressions called forth as this our largest band of missionaries yet sent out reached the populous East:—
Catherine Daniels, of British Guiana, who saw the falling stars
“The size, character, and strength of the headquarters [at Shanghai] deepens the impression that our work has taken substantial root in these lands. We see no reason why we shall not enjoy making our home in this land, and working for and among these people for whom our Saviour died.
“It was cheering to meet so large a number of strong, earnest workers as were gathered here for counsel from widely separated fields. We felt very grateful for the comfortable rooms and good food in waiting when we arrived.
“The next thing about which we are now anxious is that we may quickly learn the language and hasten into active service. We greatly desire to live in close daily touch with God. ‘There is no limit to the usefulness of the one who, putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon the heart.’ J. G. WHITE AND FAMILY.”
“We came to China because the great need of the Orient was God’s call to us. But the real greatness of that need we little realized until we reached Japan. We sensed it a little as we gazed from a roof in Tokio upon the shops and houses stretching away for miles, and guessed at the thousands they held. A feeling of awe came over us, and we trembled as a new realization of the stupendous task set before God’s people flashed upon us. On arriving in Shanghai our comprehension of the needs of the Orient broadened. However, we know that we are still unacquainted with the Orient’s great need, and know little of the difficulties that lie before us in attempting to do our small share to help supply that need; yet we long for battle, and anxiously await the onset. We can say that we find a better country and better conditions than we expected.
“E. J. AND MRS. URQUHART.”
[Brother and Sister Urquhart were invited to go on to southern Korea, where they are now stationed, to help carry forward the work laid down by Brother and Sister Wangerin.]
“In view of the vast throngs of people in Asia without a knowledge of God, our lives had been surrendered to a field so needy. For months we had planned, studied, and prayed about our work in China, and with a good deal of interest and enthusiasm had looked forward to the time when we should actually be in the land of our adoption. As our boat ‘China’ anchored and we gazed upon the land, nothing but hope and thanks filled our hearts,—hope, because we could see in verdant nature the tokens that the Creator had been in this land before us and this seemed a pledge of his power to bring the gospel to its inhabitants; and thanks, because our trip had been so pleasant and without accident. We were filled with a deeper desire than ever to work for these bright-looking, earnest-faced people. The throngs we passed on our way to the compound, surely made us realize that we had a great work before us, and also deepened the impression that it can never be done in our own strength.
“LYMAN AND MRS. BOWERS.”
“During the short month that we have been en route to our new field of labor we have been impressed by the many wonderful sights, and with the greatness of our Creator and our own helplessness. Our feelings are well expressed in the following verses: ‘Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?’ ‘It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.’
“God does not leave us in our helpless condition, but gives us this precious promise: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:13I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’
“‘As we grasp by faith these blessed promises, we take courage, and expect great things from God.
“H. B. AND MRS. PARKER.”
“Thanks to God-fearing workers and associates who love the truth we hold so dear, the idea of being missionaries had so permeated us that when asked for definite reasons why we came to a foreign field, we had to stop and think. To be specific, we have given ourselves for missionary work because of the gospel commission of Matt. 28: 18-20. The love of Christ impels us, and all that we are or hope to be is dedicated to this work.
“The reason why we have come to China instead of remaining in the homeland is because of the great need and opportunity here. We believe that this is the time when Christianity should call out the reserves, and tap all the resources of men, money, and prayer for the evangelization of this, the largest in size and population of any heathen field. Judging from what has been accomplished, and from the many calls still unanswered, we believe that the means lavished upon China’s redemption will yield large returns.
“As we enter upon our work, we do so with a sense of our own helplessness; but our eyes are upon God, and we are trusting him to endow us with his Spirit and give us a fitting for successful service. Like one of old, we cry unto God: ‘It is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude.’
“M. G. AND MRS. CONGER.”
“The divine plan of missions which was inaugurated when God called Abraham to go into a far country, and which he tried to develop in stubborn Israel until that nation rejected the Saviour, and which was then placed in the hands of twelve men, who, faithful to their charge, laid the foundation of early Christian missionary work, gives us the assurance that this work is the greatest thing for individuals to engage in, provided they follow the example set by the Master Missionary. As surely as success attended the work of Peter, Paul, and others, so surely, we believe, will success attend the labors of those who, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, seek to save souls for Christ.
“Our first glimpse of Chinese life made us realize how much these people need the news of salvation. The fact that they are so completely in the darkness of heathenism has the encouraging prospect that the farther away from God they are, the deeper in sin and degradation we find them, the more manifest will be God’s power in their behalf, and the higher he will be able to lift them.
“When I stepped out of the ricksha in front of the houses in the mission compound in Shanghai, a friend remarked, ‘You are in China at last.’ After a glance about me, I replied, ‘It looks more like a bit of transplanted America.’ Of course I know that all China is not like the Shanghai compound, but I am sure it will not be hard to think of China as home, and of the Chinese as brethren.
“H. O. AND MRS. SWARTOUR.”
“China always seemed to be the land of greatest need. Today we are satisfied that the need of China is greater than we ever anticipated, and to have the opportunity of laboring for these people is indeed a joy. Our idea of hardships in this field has vanished. It seems that our pathway lies in pleasant places. While we expect to meet great difficulties, our help is sufficient. It is God’s work. He will not forsake it. Why should we?
“C. E. AND MRS. BLANDFORD.”
“China has been so well pictured in articles and books, that our feelings on arriving are of increased interest, rather than of surprise, at many of the conditions existing here. But there are so many things that must be seen before they can seem real,—the swarms of tired, toiling men struggling along the roads with their great burdens, to earn their pittance; the many crushed and bound feet; disease on every hand entirely neglected. And above all, the task of reaching these people with the gospel seems immensely greater than ever before.
“On the other hand, the transforming power of God seen in the earnest Christians already rescued from heathenism, is a taste of what we may expect the Lord to do in the future. We can but thank him for a connection with his work in this needy field, and reconsecrate our lives to his service.
“DR. J. N. AND MRS. ANDREWS.”
In the Marovo Lagoon
By G. F. Jones
Pioneering Experiences in the Solomon Islands — No. 9
In the Marovo Lagoon
G. F. JONES
OUR first mission in the Marovo Lagoon is located on the island of Marovo, in about the center of the lagoon. In the northern part of the island are gathered the few remaining stray tribes. Here Brother and Sister Nicholson are working. A large native schoolhouse has been built, which also serves as church. The mission house is native built, but it has an iron roof; and recently a board floor has been put in. Previously we had only the earth for a floor. The Marovo people love everything that is hope, which means sacred, or sanctified. So a holy day—the Sabbath—is very acceptable to them. They love to attend the Sabbath meetings, and will come in their canoes a distance of from two to ten miles to do so.
Some have tried to intimidate them, and prevent their joining us, by telling them that we had so many things hope in our teachings that they would not be able to eat anything they liked nor do anything they wanted to do. They replied: “And you teach us to eat everything. You are very dirty Christians. We don’t want you.” Their weapon against us was turned back against themselves.
These Marovo natives who first met Christianity a few months ago, are now as eager to follow the light as they were before to hunt heads. Most of them will compare favorably with members in the homeland. So quickly are they developing that even now in the Sabbath school one will take the review and go through the entire lesson, emphasizing interesting points, and another will offer prayer. Several are able to assist in these ways. They seem to take to the Bible as to a long-lost friend. Their aged people say that their ancestors had the Holy Book long ago. This agrees with the story from the German New Guinea natives, that over sixty years ago they were looking for the return of their holy King of ancient days who had promised that he would come back again some day. They all believed that the time had arrived, and they were waiting and looking for him. But one day they saw a strange-looking craft passing their coasts, something they had never before seen. They concluded it was their great King returning, and they hastily prepared dainties for him, and they themselves lined up on the shore. When this enormous canoe puffed out smoke, and fired a cannon, they concluded that it must belong to the evil spirit, and not to the Holy One they were expecting, and they fled back into the bush. They had no one to encourage them to hope on and to prepare to meet their King. That strange thing those natives saw for the first time was a Russian man of war, an emblem of the era of war that must precede the coming of the Just One.
We are doing all we can to train our Marovo young people, that they may be able and willing to carry the truth to these poor lost sheep in the uttermost parts of these islands. Soon there will be a rich harvest of souls. One poor native who helped us build the Marovo Mission just before he died, said: “Take my family. They belong to the mission.” All the natives say that this man never said one cross word to his wife. This testimony concerning a heathen shows us that the Holy Spirit is teaching the savage righteousness.
The Truth Reaches China’s President
FOR about a year a young man in Peking, who had become acquainted with the truth through reading the Chinese Signs, has been corresponding with the editor of that paper, asking for further light. At Peking he was language teacher for the American ambassador. A few weeks ago he came to the office at Shanghai, where he is now employed as a language teacher. He is personally acquainted with Li Yuan-hung, the president of China, and has written to him, sending him samples of the magazine, and telling him of our work here in Shanghai. Thus the chief executive of China is having his attention called to the truth.
