SUCH is the caption of an article in the Christian Statesman of February 18, 1893. In beginning his lecture Mr. Cook read the fourth commandment and Christ's injunction to keep the commandments. Mr. Cook says:—
The week seems to be as old as the human family. It existed in the old Acadian civilization long before Abraham.
The fourth commandment is echoed by Christian practice in regard to the Lord's day. The history of the Sabbath through the ages should make us look to see what is in the Sabbath.
"What is the Decalogue?" said a cultured Frenchman, and it is to be feared that some in this land are nearly as ignorant.
A person would naturally think that this language has reference to the genuine Sabbath, but, alas! it only has reference to a counterfeit called Sunday. Thus wonderfully inconsistent, strange, and illogical it is for a learned theologian to attempt to find a law for Sunday keeping in the fourth commandment, when the truth of the matter is there is no divine law for it. As Mr. Cook's lecture is upon Sabbath law, let us look a little into this "Sabbath law" in which he finds his so-called sabbath. The Sabbath, then, according to this highly educated lecturer, is a legal institution. (Of course he means Sunday.) What kind of a legal institution is it? Is it one making a day, any day, or no day in particular, the Sabbath, or is it one making the seventh, or rest day, the Sabbath? The law is, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." It would be just the same if it read, Remember the rest day, as the word "Sabbath" signifies rest. God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, or set it apart to a holy or sacred use (Gen. 2:3), "because that in it he had rested." Then how is it possible for weak, finite man to transfer this sanctity to another day. The "Sabbath law" of Mr. Cook will not apply to Sunday unless he can prove that the first day of the week is the seventh. So far as the transfer is concerned, God only could do the work, and that he has done it we have not the least shadow of proof. Furthermore, the Lord says (Ps. 89:34), "My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Yet man attempts to alter the very words which God spoke with his own voice, and wrote with his own finger on tables of stone. It could be clearly demonstrated that the "Sabbath law" makes the Sabbath (not Sunday) a moral institution, in that Sabbath observance is a moral precept, and morality is unchangeable.
The Sabbath is one of the "ten words," and the Psalmist says (Ps. 119:89), "Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." In this age of light and knowledge it is about time for expounders of the law to cease reading the fourth commandment to find a law for Sunday.
Again, Mr. Cook daubs with untempered mortar when he speaks of Christ's injunction to keep the commandments as having reference to Sunday keeping. Instead of this, in that greatest sermon that was ever preached on earth, he plainly includes the Sabbath when he says (Matt. 5:19), "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments [of the law], and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven."
We agree with the words that "the week is as old as the human family." This is a strong argument in favor of the Sabbath, for that is also as old as the human family, or as old as creation; and, as Alexander Campbell well said, "You might as well talk of going through creation again as to talk of a change of the day."
Mr. Cook's argument is lame again in calling Sunday the Lord's day. The prophet says (Isa. 58:13), "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day," etc. The seventh day, or the Sabbath, is the only day which is called the Lord's in the Bible. Christ says (Mark 2:28) that he is Lord of the Sabbath, and how appropriate and forcible is his language, as he made the Sabbath (John 1:3; Heb. 1:2)!
If learned men would look into their Bibles a little more instead of to the traditions of the ages, they would "see what is in the Sabbath," and see that Christ made it. We pity the cultured Frenchman who did not know what the Decalogue means, and we pity the highly cultured "doctors" much more in being ignorant, or at least seeming to be, of what a part of the Decalogue teaches.
THE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH.
By Clarence Lathbury
BY CLARENCE LATHBURY.
THIS simple Hebrew incident is at once the most pathetic and helpful lesson in the Old Testament. Away back in those far days we are let into the death struggles of a soul with human ambition and worldliness. Abraham seemed to have been a fully consecrated child of God when, at the divine command, he forsook his home and native land. And that consecration seemed to be ratified in the covenant Jehovah made with him afterwards, closing with the promise that a nation should spring from his loins that would outnumber the stars. Yet there were other lessons for him to learn.
We often deem ourselves in complete accord with the Lord's plans regarding us, this idea springing from inexperience. We feel that we would answer to the divine wishes as the good ship responds to the wheel. Sincere people often challenge God's providence, inviting trial, declaring that nothing can move them. In the prayer and testimony meetings they profess before men their entire unworldliness. They sing, "Oh, to be nothing, nothing!" and cry, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." This is usually the exuberance and confidence of inexperience. They have not yet felt the crushing darkness and woe of riven hopes. Their choicest ideal has not been shattered into fragments, their inmost and sweetest expectation has not felt the rod of death. When it comes, they may be as brave as Abraham or Job; it is best to wait and see before many expressions of confidence.
Late in life, in the serene days when the "Father of the Faithful," it would seem, should have entered into rest of spirit, the severest trial of his career arrived. He was nearly a hundred years of age when Isaac was born, and now he was much older. His testing came when he was at the closing of his pilgrimage, preceding his glorification. The Saviour's trial, you will remember, in the garden and on Calvary, antedated the transfiguration of soul and body forever. Isaac was Abraham's only son, his long-looked-for and divinely promised. Above his lands, his flocks, his gold, his health, yes, his love for his son eclipsed the love of his own life. Occasionally we adore our friends and relatives more than our God, making idols of them. It is likely that Abraham had questioned his soul in this regard, and wondered if it were true in his case. He could only learn from experience, for experience is the only teacher. We do not know what we can carry till the weight is laid upon us. It is never safe to either boast or lament. Await the heavenly providences in prayerful desire for strength that shall stand the storm of sorrow.
We never hear of Abraham lauding or asserting his power to stand in the hour of trouble, yet when it came he was found faithful. The keen sword penetrated to the center of his affections. Like his Saviour, perfection was won on the summit of Calvary. Only One stood deeper in his love than Isaac—Jehovah God, and he sometimes questioned that. But listen to the melody of the story. No such faith is recorded in finite history. We see God's command flashing like lightning out of a blue sky. If the world had melted with fervent heat, it could not have been so terrible to Abraham. Yet there is not a murmur. There is the command, and the very next sentence sees him making ready. We hear the grind of the knife blade upon the stone. We hear the crash of the kindling wood beneath the stroke of the ax. All is ready, the start is made, and in three days he beholds the place afar off where his only child is to expire by his own hand. Resolute with unflinching courage, he rears the altar, places Isaac upon it, and lifts the gleaming knife toward the tender sky that hovers over him. A surprise awaits him when the angel stays his arm. God requires not sacrifice, but consecration. When that is given, the sacrifice is withheld. Following the obedience of Abraham came the rush of glory, and joyful promise, with which the chapter closes.
My reader, this is what you and I must meet before the death of self is succeeded by the rapture of entire redemption. Our cherished Isaac must be laid upon the altar. The anguish of putting base ambitions beneath our feet and subordinating everything to progress of character, will crown our later days. Then heaven dawns upon the weary spirit.—S. S. Lesson Illustrator.
EXPENSES AT THE VATICAN.
"The pope is allowed for his personal wants about $100,000 annually. A regular allowance is also made for the other dignitaries of the Vatican. The cardinals receive $140,000. Other expenses are: For poor dioceses, $80,000; Secretary of State, $200,000; employes and ablegates, $300,000; support of schools and the poor, $240,000; administration of the Vatican, $360,000. The total expenditures for all purposes amount yearly to more than $1,400,000. The income is received from many sources. Strange to say, Italy contributes the smallest part of the revenue. The United States sends among the largest amounts of money. The pope receives from time to time rich presents from the crowned heads. The last jubilee of Pope Leo XIII. brought to the Vatican $600,000."
The Power of Kind Words
"Kind words produce their own image in men's souls, and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use them in such abundance as they ought to be used."
WILD ANIMALS IN WINTER QUARTERS.
By Edmund Collins
BY EDMUND COLLINS.
AS SOON as the leaves begin to turn in the woods, several animals and insects busy themselves gathering food for the winter, when snow covers the ground and no food is to be obtained. But there are some animals which make no provision for the season of frost and snow, but remain in holes in the ground or in hollow trees for three or four months—scarcely moving. It was long actually believed that the bear sucked his paws all winter, and in some unaccountable way lived on the fat that he had accumulated through the summer. This is not so. The truth is that, where there is little motion, there is small waste of tissue; the heart beat is barely strong enough to keep the blood moving, the breathing is nearly suspended, and the animal comes forth in the spring, when the snow begins to drip from the boughs, very lean and hungry, but in no other way the worse for the long fast.
THE BEAR AT HOME.
Bruin does not retire from the open till he is compelled to do so by frost and snow. He lives through the summer on berries, buds, insects of every kind, grass mice, or any other small animal that he can get. I may say, for the benefit of the gentlemen who publish so many terrifying bear stories in the daily newspapers, that bruin is as harmless as a cow, during the summer, and will take to his heels in fright on sight of a human being. It is only when he leaves his lair too early in the spring, and he is not able to find anything to eat, that he will attack man; but he prefers a calf or a sheep, and the farmer's tale is often short at sundown. But, as I have said, when winter overtakes him, he sets about to find a winter home. He has very likely during the summer, when poking his nose into hollow trees looking for the honey of wild bees, seen some place that will suit him, and to this he goes straightway. The tree must be a large one, and he will not select it unless there is a space with plenty of room where the snow or rain cannot reach him. This secured, he bundles himself together, his head on his paws, closes his eyes, and remains in this posture till "those blind motions of the spring" tell that "the year has turned." Then he drags himself out and once more begins his struggle for an existence. Sometimes, however, when lying in this stupor, loud sounds startle him, and his tree castle shakes; this is when the lumbermen have found him and are assailing the tree with their axes. He seldom escapes, and if he does, he will surely die in the snowy forest unless he can find another home.
MR. SQUIRREL OUT OF THE COLD.
The squirrel gads the woods in great glee, garnering through the hazy days of Indian summer, after the destroyer has come and breathed upon the leaves, changing their green, as if by magic, into yellow, purple, crimson, and gold. He always lays in an ample store for the ruthless season, and when the fairy who held the midsummer party called her subjects about her to ask what each would contribute to the feast—
"There rose a squirrel pert. 'What,' he cried, 'about dessert?
I can bring you hither, from my winter larder,
Nuts and little berries red that I stowed beneath my bed
For the season when the tempest whistles harder.'",
He is a very industrious berry picker, and he can find a score of nuts where the brightest schoolboy that ever ranged the woods might scarcely find one, because he knows not alone the beech, chestnut, or hazel they grow upon, but the branch; and if a storm comes and shakes them off while he is in a hollow tree, he comes out when the sun begins to shine, and goes to the spot where the fruit has fallen. His little castle is almost invariably in a hollow tree in a dense part of the wood, and he usually enters it some distance up through a knothole. While the tempest howls outside, the squirrels remain warm and contented indoors, not romping and chattering as they do in summer. When they thirst, there is always snow to be had.
HOW OTHER ANIMALS SPEND THE WINTER.
The porcupine prefers a hole in a tree for its winter house. The muskrat tunnels far under a mud bank, and mines out a dwelling with many chambers for the season of dark and cold. The innumerable lizards and snakes that abound almost all over creation creep away as soon as frosty winds begin to whistle. Some of them crawl into holes in trees; they also hide under stones, dead leaves, fallen trees, or masses of boughs. These reptiles like to spend the winter in large companies, and are often found in midwinter tangled and interlaced, but apparently without any life. Respiration is almost suspended, and it requires the most careful and delicate tests to detect traces of any vitality. A hunter, a very good naturalist, who spent the winter in the wooded region known as the Tobique, in New Brunswick, Canada, told me the following interesting story:—
"About the first of February, when the mercury dropped every night to zero, and sometimes many degrees below it, I, accompanied by two Milicite Indians, found a sheltered spot in the heart of a spruce forest. I at once put the Indians at work cutting down logs for a shanty, and I went among the logs gathering moss to stop the chinks. I selected a spot where a mass of boughs had been stripped from a log some time before, and when our timber was ready, I directed the Indians to remove the pile and build there. It was heavy work, as the snow was pretty deep. Presently one of my Indians, as he drew a large bough from the bottom, gave a yell, and, going over, I saw on the ground about three score of black snakes all twisted and twined together. There was not a sign of life in any of them, still they were only comatose. We should have had a nice surprise had we built our shanty on top of the boughs, for the heat would have brought the reptiles back to animation. The snakes came, evidently, from the stretches of wild grass lying near."
The land tortoise takes good care to get out of the reach of cold. He either finds or digs a deep hole in the ground, crawls into it, and remains there till spring, without so much as moving his head. The fresh-water turtle makes a tunnel in the bank of a stream or pond, and goes well into it for the season; but if the water is deep and the mud soft, he drops to the bottom below the ice limit, and there rests till about the middle of April. It may be stated more specifically here that among the hibernating animals every gradation of slumber has been noted. Some creatures display only imperfect hibernation or repose, walking, moving, and feeding now and again during the winter; others may show signs of life a few times in three or four months, while the remainder, as I have said, appear as if they are dead. If you disturb the most venomous viper in winter, and he stings, no harm will come of it. But many of the hibernating animals perish when the weather is exceedingly cold, unless warmly housed. The animal temperature falls to that of the atmosphere, and when the cold becomes intense, the animal is wakened by it, moves about for a short time, then relapses into a torpor, which speedily ends in death. A curious fact is that the action of the heart has been known to continue frequently for a considerable time after the hibernating animal has been decapitated.—Our Animal Friends.
CONSOLATION.
And your heart, too, is sad, my friend;
Does love to your life no glamor lend?
Go, sow your sympathy far and wide,
And then, in the gladsome harvest tide,
The seeds of pain will be grains of gold,
And each tear that glistens, cold, so cold,
In your secret heart will shine a gem
On the future's starry diadem.
Peace, troubled soul! 'Tis not in vain
This bitter sorrow, this weary pain;
Each thorn of trouble, each weed of care,
Time's touch will turn to a flowret fair.
God seeth the heart; he knoweth best.
Some day thou shalt know perfect rest.
—Sacramento Bee.
COUNSEL TOGETHER.
By Editor
FATHERS and mothers, counsel together. The father is at the head of the family, if he is a true father, for God placed him there. His wife, if she be a true wife, is "an help meet for him." The children which they have should be considered God's gifts, to train for him, not only for this life, but for eternity.
Let there be union in the home government. To attain this there should be frequent counsels, not so much with respect to the details of the management and guidance of the household, but as regards the general principles to be followed. If there is complete union in these respects, praise the Lord and go on. But be careful that this union is not the result of indifference on the part of one or both to the eternal interests of your children.
If you cannot see alike, seek God together. Come without accusation or recrimination, and together seek God and study his word. Let each be willing to yield to the other everything which does not involve moral principle, and, with respect to that principle, be sure that it is in harmony with God's word both in its nature and manner of exercise. The apostle Peter gives valuable instruction on this point: "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands. . . . Whose adorning . . . let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them [the wives] according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered." Let the wife take that part of the instruction which belongs to her; let the husband take that part which belongs to him; let each consider his or her own duty, seeking God for a "knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding," and God will hear the united prayers of husband and wife, father and mother.
Now do not let the husband say: "There, Mary, there's your duty. If you will do that, there will be no trouble." No; let him attend to his own part. Do not let the wife say: "There, Henry, the SIGNS has pointed out your duty. If you will do it hereafter, we shall get along better." No; let the husband learn his own duty; let the wife learn her own duty; let Christ rule and reign in the hearts of both. But more, perhaps, hereafter.
THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA.
By Rev. A. P. Happer, D.D.
BY REV. A. P. HAPPER, D.D.
It is commonly stated in books on China that there are three religious systems among the Chinese, and they are designated Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Buddhism was brought into China from India in the first century of the Christian era. It has many adherents in China, having found entrance by accepting many of the idolatries of the native worship into the system of Buddha. Taoism is the modification of the native idolatries which was introduced by the Chinese sage, Laoutsze, who lived at the same time as Confucius.
Confucianism, as a religion, comprises the early native idolatries as they have come down from the earliest period of the nation, and as they were received and transmitted by Confucius. It is established by imperial statute as the State religion of China, with a liturgy and an official enrollment of all the objects and things and persons that must be worshiped. It is the recognized worship of the government, and the other two are spoken of and regarded as heretical. Heaven, earth, and man are spoken of as the three original divinities. All the objects of worship are classified as belonging to one of these three powers. Heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars, wind, clouds, lightning, rain, seas, mountains, rivers, hills, etc., are enrolled in the list of gods.
Of men, the persons to whom worship is to be paid, as directed in the imperial statutes, are the imperial ancestors, the emperors of former dynasties, the great teacher, Confucius, the patron of agriculture, the patron of the manufacture of silk, the first physician, deceased philanthropists, statesmen, scholars, martyrs, etc.
There are three grades of worship—the highest, the middle, and the lower. In the imperial ritual the highest worship is to be paid to heaven, earth, the imperial ancestors, and the gods of the land and of the grains. The several parts of heaven and earth, Confucius, and the patrons of agriculture, silk manufacture, and the healing art, all receive the medium worship, and all other persons and things receive the lesser worship. The emperor himself is the high priest of the people, and he only can perform the annual worship at the imperial altars to heaven, earth, imperial ancestors, and the gods of the land and of the grains.
It thus appears that the native worship of China is a worship of created objects—of the creature and not the Creator. The material universe as a whole and in detail is worshiped.
Each family has its own household gods. The special Confucian household gods are these: Heaven, ruler, parent, and teacher. But that part of this idolatry which has the strongest hold upon the Chinese is the worship of ancestors. The tablets of deceased parents are in every family. Incense is burned to them every morning and evening, and more formally upon the 1st and 15th of every month, and on all feast days. Every family connection has an ancestral temple, in which the tablets of the successive generation of ancestors, from the foundation of the family, are preserved. Some families have tablets of successive generations, the oldest dating for one thousand years before the era A.D. The ancestral temple serves as a school-room for the children of the connection.—Gospel in All Lands.
THE WORSHIP OF CONFUCIUS.
By Rev. W. T. A. Barber
BY REV. W. T. A. BARBER.
For centuries past the learned classes have given to China her rulers; they are the natural leaders of the people; their word is all powerful for good or ill; and any church which sets before it the bringing of this mighty nation to Christ cannot afford to ignore these two millions and a quarter of its natural aristocrats. What, then, are the elements of their mental and spiritual life? The same Confucian books, conned and mastered in the same order, have formed their mental warp and woof; they have acquired all that was worth knowing in the world. The lofty moral maxims of these books have become so many pegs to hang competitive essays on, and the result is a mass of high-sounding words, with the heart of their meaning eaten out. We have thus all the elements of the Pharisee. Confucianism deals with the duties of man to man; it is silent as to all beyond the realm of sense, and the Confucianist scholar is sense-bound. Confucius said, "The part of wisdom is to attend carefully to our duties to men, and while we respect the gods, to keep aloof from them." We have thus all the elements of the Sadducee; and, as in all systems in which man can see nothing higher than his idolized self, there is no sense of sin.
If you desire to see the highest point to which their system rises, come with me to the worship of Confucius. The midnight has passed in a Chinese city; the dawn is yet an hour distant. We walk along the dark, narrow streets till we reach the roof-curved gates of a great temple, which bears the legend in golden letters, "His virtue is a match for heaven and earth." Soldiers are picketed around their large lanterns; sedan chairs and their bearers are everywhere awaiting the mandarins who have entered for the worship. We enter a large court open to the sky; around this courtyard are set huge stacks of reeds, ready for bonfires; at the head of the court, beneath a great roof, is a high platform whereon stands the tablet of the "Sage of Ten Thousand Ages,"—Confucius.
Before this are spread sacrifices, the ox—sacred to him alone beside supreme heaven—the pig, the sheep, and in cups and platters the animal and vegetable products of the land.267To right and left are smaller tablets, each to two great disciples, and before them sacrifices similar, save only for the ox. Down the cloisters of the court are set the tablets of his lesser disciples, arranged in groups, and before each group are set similar sacrifices. There is a pause, a stir, lights are set to the bonfires, which crackle upward; then enters a choir, dressed in blue robes trimmed with black velvet, with tall feathers on their head-dresses, marching two and two, till, with ancient wind instruments of music in their hands, they take their stand on the platform, where candles have been lighted and incense curls up in the still air. Behind them enter the high mandarins of the province, the viceroy, with supreme power over sixty millions of his fellow-men, the governor, all the others, clad in silken robes of state and hats of crimson floss silk, taking their station according to rank in the center of the courtyard.
The high, lilting voice of the master of the ceremonies cries out, "Bow your heads!" and the proud mandarins kneel, bowing their heads thrice three times to the very earth. Then at the different words of command the various officials are taken to do their worship before each of the shrines. The whole scene, the crackling flames roaring upward to the solemn stars, the weird music up and down the gamut, the stately dance of the choir, with their interlacing feathers against the ruddy background of the candle-lit shrine, the high monotones of the master, the statuesque figures of the mandarins reverently bowing—all form the nearest resemblance to cathedral worship to be found in China. Then is chanted the "Ode to Confucius," written on silk, and, with reverent gestures, the reader hurries down the open court to burn the silk in a tripod; the flames leap up; the ashes sink down; the dawn rushes across the sky; the mandarins go forth—the worship of Confucius is over.—Missionary Notices.
WHAT SHE COULD.
By John P. Ellis
BY JOHN P. ELLIS.
"And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing." Mark 12 : 42.
THE mites that she gave proved treasures of worth,
Outweighing the fame that plenty acquires;
And He who looked on betokened to earth
That little is much where duty inspires.
Who then may bemoan a limited good,
Or question the mite that leads in the van?
He pointed to one who "did what she could"—
We're only required to do what we can.
Then strive to do good as life you may span,
E'er steadfast in truth, to do what you can.
The mites become powers we may not despise,
Like giants new born and free from pretense—
The small that in strength and majesty rise,
While trumpet-toned gifts are oft an offense.
Fear not to maintain the glory of truth,
For goodness is heaven that gleameth in man,
And men will e'er cherish the honor of youth
Who brighten their lives and do what they can.
The pathway of life reveleth to all
The stricken who need our love and relief;
Heed, then, the voice of humanity's call,
E'er troubles o'erwhelm in billows of grief.
Go, search for the homes where sorrow invites,
And gospel-trained help may succor each; plan
To comfort the lowly as heaven incites,
E'er trusting in God to do what you can.
—The Voice.
The Candle of God’s Word
"We may safely go as far as the candle of God's word goes before."
THE EFFECTS OF TOBACCO ON HEALTH.
By E. L. Hart
BY E. L. HART.
PROMISCUOUS smoking is an intolerable nuisance, and it is to be regretted, seeing that smokers are so oblivious to all but their own comfort, that stricter rules are not enforced to prohibit the practice in public places and mixed assemblies.
It is, undoubtedly, most offensive to ladies and delicate persons, and is sometimes persisted in when true politeness would prompt its discontinuance.
The selfish unconcern of smokers is most apparent on omnibuses and other public conveyances, where the ashes and smoke from pipes or cigars are blown into the faces of passengers, whether women, non-smokers, or children. When asked to desist, in the interest of others, an insolent reply is often made, to the effect that those who don't like it had better get inside, or take a cab.
Cowper truly wrote:—
"Pernicious weed, whose scent the fair annoys,
Unfriendly to society's chief joys."
Dr. B. W. Richardson, in "Diseases of Modern Life," says: "The effects of this agent [tobacco], often severe, even on those who have attained to manhood, are especially injurious to the young, who are still in the stage of adolescence. In these the habit of smoking causes impairment of growth, premature manhood, and physical prostration."
With some the liking for tobacco is inherited, and thus not so much to be wondered at; fathers are the first offenders, and there is not the least doubt that excessive indulgence largely conduces to the lowered vitality and enfeebled health of little children.
Indeed, to quote Dr. Richardson again:—
"If a community of the youths of both sexes, whose progenitors were finely formed and powerful, were to be trained to the early practice of smoking, and if marriage were to be confined to smokers, an apparently new and physically inferior race of men and women would be bred."
No healthy man or boy, well bred or well brought up, has the slightest inclination to smoke, or to adopt the use of tobacco for its own sake. Influence and example are responsible for many acquiring the habit who otherwise would never dream of doing so; but, alas! perfect health is becoming an extinct quality.
Mr. James Parton says:—
"In our civilized sedentary life he who would have good health must fight for it. Many people have the insolence to become parents who have no right to aspire to that dignity; children are born who have no right to exist, and skill preserves many whom nature is eager to destroy. Consequently, while the average duration of human life has been increased, the average tone of human health has been lowered. Fewer die and fewer are quite well."
Dr. Richardson says:—
"Smoking produces disturbances in the blood, causing undue fluidity and change in the red corpuscles; in the stomach, giving rise to debility, nausea, and sickness; on the heart, causing debility of the organ and irregular action."
Dr. W. A. Alcott considers that "tobacco injures the gums and the lining membrane of the mouth, stomach, and alimentary canal generally, and, in fact, of the lungs also, and thus not only prepares the way for various diseases, but spoils the beauty, injures the soundness, and hastens the decay of these organs. It was, no doubt, the intention of the Creator that the teeth should last as long as their owner."
(Concluded next week.)
NATIVES OF AFRICA AS HELPERS IN AGGRESSIVE MISSION WORK.
By Joseph Clark
THE question is often asked—Do your native Christians show that they are ready to endure hardness, to risk their comfort and safety in the service of Christ? Let the following reply:—
I have with me two native helpers who agreed to go with me into the interior and open a new work for Jesus on Lake Ntoumba. While we were delayed at Stanley Pool building our boat, we heard repeatedly that the people among whom we were going were very savage, and that they were much addicted to cannibalism. I was astonished to find that, though oft repeated, these stories had no effect on my two young men.
Arriving at Irebu, we again heard the same tales, and this time from people who had been on the lake. A state official informed us that they were "very bad," and that they "chopped [ate] men too much." Another white man told us he had been compelled by the people to leave, etc.
We, nevertheless, went ahead and purchased land in Ikoko for a mission station, and are to plant the cross of Christ there. On my second visit to the place I asked my helper, Frank Iteva, if he would be afraid to stay without me among those people and study the language while I returned to Irebu. I could not arrange to return in less than ten or twelve days. He replied at once, "I can stay; I am not afraid." I said he had better think it over and finally reply next day. In the morning his reply was the same. He asked for two men to work in clearing the ground, etc.
I confess I was astonished, for I am sure there are many thousands of Christians in our Baptist Churches at home that would not dare to do as he has done. He has no arms (gun or revolver) and though he knew I had two in my boat he did not ask for one. He knows nothing of the language of the people, yet in spite of these things my Frank bravely stayed because I thought it would be best.
With heartfelt gratitude to God, I knelt down with him in the cabin of my boat and placed him in God's hands, and left him there.
My other helper, Willie Lufwilu, is also enduring hardness. He goes out every day with a gang of men to the forest to cut timber. The woods are full of water and almost every day they experience severe rainstorms, which add to the difficulties by enlarging the swamps. But he patiently works away and manages these native workmen (Irebu, Lukolele, Wangata, and Lulanga men) very well.
Another pleasing feature is that neither of these young men has yet demanded any wages. Of course they will be paid, but though they have been a year with me (ten months rather) they have not even arranged with me their rate of pay. The love of money is not very strongly developed in them, it seems. How few American Christians would go forward thus trustfully! I heard a gentleman say he asked Frank what his wages were to be. Frank replied that he did not know if he would get any; but he was sure God would provide all he required.—Joseph Clark, A. B. M. U., Irebu Station, Kongo.
AN EXAMPLE OF SCRIPTURE STUDY.
A LADY missionary at Rangoon, Burma, writes to the Spelman Messenger, Atlanta, Ga., under date of October 10, 1893, as follows:—
“We have just closed our Bible class of women to-day. The Lord has supplied health and strength so that we have been in session five months without missing a session. The women, too, nineteen in number, have been kept in good health for the most part, six of them not having missed a session. They studied Genesis, Exodus, Mark, Luke, Acts, Galatians, and Old Testament prophecies of Christ, with various topical lessons, and are able to give in a sentence the contents of each chapter of most of the books studied. But, better than this, their spiritual growth has been most marked and satisfactory. We praise the Lord for giving us what we asked of him before the women came,—a definite spiritual blessing for each one. The last day was spent in a prayer meeting in the morning and a praise meeting in the afternoon, when each told how the Lord had dealt with her, and praised him for his goodness.”
THE RESTORATION
From Eden to Eden
IN the twenty chapters into which this book is divided, the author discusses the unity of the divine plan and the continuity of God's purpose through all the ages, showing that in all dispensations the truths constantly impressed upon the minds of the people have tended to one end,—the elucidation of one central idea,
THE RESTORATION
of the dominion which was lost in Adam.
CHAPTER I is a brief discussion of the Creation of the World; Man's Dominion and How He Lost It; the Origin and Authorship of Sin, with the divine remedy for its consequences.
CHAPTER II treats of the "Promise of God to the Fathers," with all that it implied in heaven and on earth. In other chapters are discussed such subjects as "The Abrahamic Covenant;" "Righteousness through Faith;" "The Covenant with Israel," the reasons for it, and the universality of its application; "The Return of the Jews;" "The World's History in a Dream;" "The Setting Up of the Everlasting Kingdom;" "The Hour of Judgment;" "The Fall of Babylon;" "The Seal and the Mark;" "Signs of the Second Coming of Christ," and the responsibility of man in recognizing them; "The Resurrection of the Dead," and what the doctrine involves.
THE LAST CHAPTER is a GRAND COMPILATION of the Promises of God in regard to the "Restoration of the First Dominion," with a vivid portrayal of the earth's appearance and condition when clothed in the garb of Edenic purity and loveliness.
THE BOOK is substantially bound, and handsomely embossed with floral designs; gold title on side and back; heavy, cream-tinted, sized and super-calendered paper; size, 5 1/2 in. x 9 in.; price, postpaid, $1.00; gilt edge, with side design embossed in gold, $1.50.
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