“But as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matt. 24:37.
WHAT will be the condition of this world at the time of our Lord’s coming? Will it be Christianized, peaceful, holy, in sympathy with God, in loyalty to our Lord Jesus Christ? Will the world continue to grow better through the increasing power of a conquering Gospel, all ungodliness and infidelity and false religions and iniquity being rooted out, or compelled to hide their ugly heads? What will be the attitude of this world’s inhabitants toward that event? Will they be looking and waiting for it, expecting it all the time, as the next thing to occur, influenced by the belief that the day of the Lord will come like the lightning’s flash? that it is nigh at hand?
There are different opinions on these questions freely and frequently expressed. But there can be but one fact concerning them—our Lord has answered them.
He likens the time of His coming to the days of Noah. The inhabitants of the earth then were totally indifferent to the approaching event. They did not believe the Flood would come in their generation. Noah was told of it, and while building the ark warned them, but they would not listen to him.
This state of things lasted till the day they went into the ark. The godliness, worldliness, unbelief, gaiety, self-gratification, forgetfulness of God and corruption, reigned up to the very time that the door of the ark was closed and the waters rising and falling caught them and hurled them to their doom. So it was in the days of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. Here, as with the Antedeluvians, they continued their revelries, their strife for gain, their unbelief, until the heavens darkened, and out of the unusually black cloud burst the rain of fire and brimstone. Probably till the last moment they called it a bugbear, altho the day brake with as bright a sunrise as ever gilded mountain top, or drove away the shades from the green valleys.
Our Lord says, as was the world, as were the people in Noah’s day, and in Lot’s day, so shall they be in the day of His coming. So will people be wrapped up in unbelief and carelessness and corruption when He shall come. Not willing to believe that that day is at hand, and so not making it the subject of expectation and preparation, they will go on as ever in their work and play, their sinful gratifications and unlawful employments, and the day will burst upon them like a clap of thunder out of a clear sky. Does that look like a millennium, the fruits of an all-controlling Gospel? There will be no more a millennium before our Lord’s personal return than there was when the rain began to fall, after God shut Noah into the ark; no more than there was in the city of Sodom, on that brilliant morning, whose noon witnessed its terrible overthrow in sulphurous flames. Let us notice another thing: Noah and those with him were in the ark before the rain came down. Lot and his daughters were in Zoar when the storm descended. So, before our Lord’s day opens, He will have removed His redeemed. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we be ever with the Lord.”
How many who read these lines will be of those who refuse to believe that He is soon to come, and like the people in Noah’s and Lot’s time will be left to weep and wail over their blind folly?
Standing as we are on the threshold of a new year, should we not listen to the warnings in the Word of God, and study the signs of the times, which all point to fulfilled prophecies and to the nearness of the second coming of the Lord and the disappearance of His church from the earth? The time is short. “Behold the Bridegroom cometh.” Are you ready?
CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP.
By W. F. Martin
God’s Ownership.
WEBSTER defines a steward as “a man employed in a large family, or on a large estate, to manage the domestic concerns,” etc. In what way can we apply this meaning to the subject we are considering? God, the Father, is the great householder. “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder.” Matt. 20:1. Next, we ask, Who is the steward? “The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.” Matt. 25:14; also 21:33, 34.
Now we inquire, What is the estate? “I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof.” Ps. 50:9-12. “Whatsoever is under the whole heavens is Mine.” Job 41:11. “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Hag. 2:8.
At the creation, man was entrusted, under God, with the rulership of the world. Gen. 1:26; Ps. 115:16. Man being created free, with the right of choice, there was the possibility of a wrong choice. By constantly guarding against this, he would develop a character, beautiful and symmetrical. By failing, he would prove disloyal, and forfeit his standing with his Creator. Turning again to Genesis, we find that man was first tested on the right of property. See chapter 2:16, 17. By withholding the fruit of one tree, and still entrusting it to his care, God would test man’s honesty as a steward. It would thus be seen whether he would be honest with his Lord’s goods. The outcome was that man appropriated that which belonged to God, and as a result, lost his standing with his Creator, and had to give up his home in Eden.
After the Fall, there was still a test for man on the ownership of property. Humanity has always been disposed to selfishness and covetousness. To offset this, and that man might ever keep in mind God’s ownership, the Lord has reserved to Himself a part of man’s income. By returning this to the Creator, man not only acknowledges God’s ownership, but he also manifests his faithfulness as a steward. How much does the Lord require of those to whom He has entrusted His goods? “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy unto the Lord. . . . And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27:30-32.
A Law of the Ages.
Some may argue that this was merely a law of the Jews, instituted for them as a nation, and ceasing to exist when Israel as a nation ceased. To show that this is not so, we have only to refer to the account of the capture of Lot, and his rescue by Abram. On the return of the rescuing party, Melchizedek, king of Salem, met Abram and blessed him, saying, “Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth.” And the record further says, “Abram paid him tithes of all.”10Here, God is especially referred to as “possessor of heaven and earth.” The tithe was given as a recognition of this fact. This was before the organization of the Jewish nation, and under the Melchizedek priesthood. Evidently, even this was not the origin of the tithing system, but simply an incidental record of acting on a well-known principle.
Some years after this, we find Jacob vowing to give the Lord the tenth, recognizing Him as the great Provider. See Gen. 28:20-22. God, in His wisdom, saw fit to have the system incorporated in the laws of the Israelites. The moral law was treated similarly, but the passing away of Israel affected neither, as will be seen by reference to a few passages of scripture.
“Ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Matt. 23:23. In these words the Saviour sanctioned this system of rendering back to God His due; recognizing His ownership and our stewardship. “These ought ye to have done,” showing that in this we have a moral obligation.
Let us now consider a scripture which not only teaches the duty of tithe-paying, but its purpose. “Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?” 1 Cor. 9:13, 14. What were the “things of the temple,” on which the priests lived? This is answered in Num. 18:21: “And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.”
Returning to Corinthians 9, we read, “Even so [that is, this way, after the same manner, by the tithe] hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel.” If plain English can express a fact, it is certainly taught in these verses that God’s plan of supporting His Gospel workers is by the tithe.
A Reckoning Day.
In the parable of the talents, it is said, “After a long time, the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.” We will then be called upon to give an account of our stewardship. If we are not found faithful, of what will we be accused? We find an answer to this in Mal. 3:8-12: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee?” The answer is given in such plain language that there is no mistaking it: “In tithes and offerings.” This gives us a view of how the Lord looks upon those who withhold from Him their tithe.
The result of this course is then brought to view: “Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” Verse 9. Now notice particularly the following verse: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” We do not hesitate to state, on the authority of this text, that if all God’s people should faithfully bring in the tithe, the church of God would have to enlarge the place of their tent, lengthen their cords, and strengthen their stakes. If every Christian should pay to the cause one-tenth of his income, how many millions would flow into the Lord’s treasury!
But this is not all. Notice the following promise: “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.” There can be no doubt that the Lord stands ready to fulfil this promise. Speaking from experience, we know that as a class, the tithe-payers among God’s people are the most prosperous.
Planning for God Means Prosperity.
There is more than one reason for this. First, in order to know what is the exact tithe, one must keep a strict account. A man who does this, is more apt to succeed than one who is careless. As an illustration, I will cite one case. A man was converted under my teaching. He was a poor man, didn’t even have a cow. I taught him the tithing system, and he adopted it. When he paid his first tithe, he said, “I’ve learned a lesson; that is, if I can save money to pay tithe, I can save money to buy a cow.” A few years later I saw this man installed on a small farm, well stocked, and free from debt. There can be no doubt that when the Lord sees a disposition to pay tithe, He opens a way whereby it shall increase.
The tithing system is just. The man who makes one hundred dollars is as able to pay ten dollars, as the man who makes ten dollars is to pay one dollar. The man who says it takes all he can make to support him, and uses that as an excuse for appropriating the Lord’s portion, could, with the same degree of logic, say, if a renter, that it took all the crop raised to support him, and he could not pay the landlord. Would the landlord rent to him another year?
“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” 1 Cor. 4:2. So if we have not been faithful with our Lord’s goods, will He receive us into everlasting habitations? Let the Saviour answer: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” Luke 16:10-12.
Can the Lord entrust us with the gold of heaven if we have not used aright the gold of earth? Do we still fear that such a course will impoverish us? “Fear not, little flock;” God can make nine dollars, with His blessing, go farther than man can make ten dollars go with His curse.
“Sell that ye have, and give alms: provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens. . . . For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:33, 34. We brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out. But, thank the Lord, we can send our treasure on before.
Happy the lot of him, who at the last day shall hear said to him, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” Matt. 25:21.
MELODIES OF NATURE.
By G. A. Snyder
BY G. A. SNYDER.
THERE is music all around us,
From the humming of the bee
To the mighty oratorio
Of the ever-restless sea.
There is music in the heavens
Where the vibrant echoes ring
Back from all the circling systems
To the great eternal King.
There is music when the breakers
Rise in graceful, joyous arch
With a brilliant, dashing movement
Like a royal wedding march.
There is soul-inspiring music
In the diapason roar
Of the mighty swells of ocean
As they kiss the rocky shore.
There is music when the wavelets
Gently ripple on the deep
Like the lullaby of mother
When she rocks her babe to sleep.
There is music in the whisper
Of the breezes as they pass,
And the tinkle of the rain-drops
As they come to cheer the grass.
There is music in the sighing
Of the night-wind through the bush
Just as well as in the warble
Of the robin or the thrush.
There is music in the lowing
Of the home-returning herd
Just as well as in the trilling
Of the cage-imprisoned bird.
Go and list to Nature's music
Rendered by the gentle breeze,
As she sweeps her airy fingers
O'er the harp-strings on the trees.
Listen to the liquid music
Where the laughing waters go
Dancing gaily o'er the pebbles
Shining from the depths below.
Yes, there's music, heavenly music,
All around us and above;
And the key in which 'tis written
Is the natural key of love.
When we're keyed to Nature's love-
song
Hear we melodies so rare
That the soul-entrancing music
Sweetly echoes everywhere.
“PEACE AND SAFETY.”
By T. L. Waters
BY T. L. WATERS.
“WHEN they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in nowise escape.” 1 Thess. 5: 3, R. V.
Who are to say, “Peace and safety”? Evidently, the nations of the world, and right now are they saying it. In the new treaty between Great Britain and Japan the overwhelming preponderance of naval power is expected to keep the peace of the world. Baron Hayashi is reported by the Associated Press as saying:
The new treaty forms an effective safeguard against renewal of disturbances in the far East. That is its object. We can not say that a permanent peace has been secured—that is too much to be sure of—but we can aver that tranquillity has been assured for a long time to come. This applies not only to Great Britain and Japan, but also to all powers having political or commercial interests in that part of the world; in fact, to all who have been interested in maintaining the status quo. I repeat that the treaty is a sure guaranty of peace, for that is its aim and object.
Lord Lansdowne, foreign secretary of Great Britain, who signed the treaty on behalf of that nation, says:
Great Britain, I believe, may count on the goodwill and support of all the powers in endeavoring to maintain peace in eastern Asia, and in seeking to uphold the integrity and independence of the Chinese Empire, and the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all nations in that empire.
At the same time, the Czar of Russia has issued a call for a second peace conference, in which he has the approval of President Roosevelt. Yet the construction of battle-ships and armaments is to go on, notwithstanding all this cry of Peace. But impending destruction is as assured as the “travail of a woman with11child,” one of the most certain things in the world.
How will it come? “And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw One sitting like unto a Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Send forth Thy sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud cast His sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped [the wheat gathered into the heavenly garner]. And another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city [Jerusalem, see Zech. 14: 1-3], and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs [that may refer to the line of battle, 200 miles in length].” Rev. 14: 14-20.
The wheat harvest first, and it is close upon us. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief; for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober.” 1 Thess. 5: 4-6.
John Wesley on Certainty
By John Wesley
WHEN I was a young man I was sure of everything; but in a few years, finding myself mistaken in a thousand instances, I became not half so sure of most things as before.—John Wesley.
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING.
By H. A. St. John
BY H. A. ST. JOHN.
“WHOSO offereth praise glorifieth Me,” Ps. 50:23. “O that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men,” Ps. 107:8.
1. God’s goodness leads to repentance. Rom. 2:4: “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Who can intently contemplate God’s goodness to the children of men, and not be truly sorry for all sins against Him. A true sense of God’s goodness leads to a true sense of sinfulness, and to a true godly sorrow for sin.
2. Praise and thanksgiving stimulate obedience, watchfulness, and prayer. “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving,” Col. 4:2. It will help in the payment of vows. Ps. 50:14: “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High.” And without doubt the practise of thanksgiving will aid much in ordering the conversation aright.
God often causes the wrath of man to praise Him. Instance the cases of Paul and Silas, singing praises to God at midnight in the Philippian jail, the three Hebrew children, Daniel in the lion’s den. Our Saviour enjoins that when persecuted, and all manner of evil is said against us for His sake, we should rejoice and be exceeding glad.
When we reveal true gratitude and thanksgiving for blessings received, we prepare the way for greater blessings.
IS GOD PARTICULAR?
By Thoro Harris
BY THORO HARRIS.
WHEN, in the investigation of the Sabbath truth, it has become evident that the commandment requires the observance of the seventh day, the inquiry is frequently raised, “Of what practical importance is it which day I observe? Does not every day belong to God?”
It is true that in virtue of our creation and preservation by the hand of God, all that we possess and every moment of our existence belongs exclusively to Him; and for this very reason it is His prerogative to dictate how every portion of our time should be employed. As the Sovereign of time, He has given us six days, and reserved the seventh unto Himself. “Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord.” Ex. 31:15.
A century after the birth of Christ, the seer of Patmos writes, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” This shows beyond question that there is a day in the Christian dispensation which God claims as His own; and this text of scripture should be sufficient, to every candid mind, to overthrow the supposition that all days are alike holy, or that God is not particular as to what day we observe.
“What difference does it make?” This is precisely the reasoning of the disobedient child. So, doubtless, our foreparents argued with reference to the forbidden fruit. It seemed a small thing to take one piece of fruit. Was there not an abundance left? Yet in this apparently trivial matter was involved the question of their loyalty to Jehovah; and for six thousand years the world has been filled with misery as a result of this one transgression.
The Lord is a jealous God. He is particular as to the service we render; He means exactly what He says; He desires us to obey Him implicitly, and to serve Him fully.
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE JEWS.
By A. J. Waterhouse
[A. J. Waterhouse, in S. F. Call.]
Fools who kill for the lust of blood, fiends of the slaughter-pen,
Who wreak red malice on women and babes and gray and defenseless men;
Murderers, thugs, assassins, who, e'en in religion's name,
Dare the work of the ghoul to do, and crawl in your bestial shame—
This in the name of religion! Why, fools who are less than clod,
From the Jew you borrowed your altar, from the Jew you filched your God.
His was the great Jehovah whom your churchly rites attest,
And his was the wondrous Bible that shone on your darkened West.
His David still is singing,
Your souls oppressed to thrill,
And Sinai's voice is ringing:
"Thou shalt not, shalt not kill!"
Murderers! thugs! assassins! sodden and ingrate crew!
Most of the best ye now disdain was learned of the hated Jew.
In temples of desecration his psalms ye have mouthed to-day;
Then turned from the hollow praises to slaughter and kill and slay;
Ye have mourned with his Jeremiah, as great was your need to do,
But if mourning fostered brute alone, small was the gain to you,
"Why should ye be stricken any more?" Isaiah moaneth still,
But all that ye learn from the broken words is kill—and kill—and kill!
And Rachel still is mourning that her children are no more,
While your hearts are mad with malice and your hands are red with gore.
Still rolls the awful thunder
O'er Sinai's darkened hill,
While still—O, deed of wonder!—
Ye kill—and kill—and kill!
Fools who are less than brutish, tyranny's pestilent crew,
A beast may spring on his master—and ye do murder the Jew.
When your forebears sat in their frozen dens and mumbled their rotten bones
From Palestine echoed northward the great Jehovah's tones.
The God of the Jew had spoken, and your ancestor heard and knew,
And his first dim knowledge of truth and right he learned of the hated Jew.
Ay, more! From Nazareth came one day the Man who is thine and mine,
And He set in the soul of the brutish man the germ of a thought divine,
And the germ took root in the soul of man, and ever it bloomed and grew,
And the Christ whom your crimsoned hands do flout was a Jew and the son of a Jew.
His heart for the sad world bleeding,
He loved and forgave us still;
And yet, that lesson unheeding,
Ye kill—and kill—and kill!
Fools who are less than brutish, tyranny's pestilent crew,
All that the world holds dearest is slaughtered in him—the Jew.
Prevailing with God and Men
"BE prayerful; if you can not prevail with God, you need not expect to prevail with men." —Inc.
BIBLE IGNORANCE.
By T. E. Bowen
BY T. E. BOWEN.
A VERY striking illustration of ignorance of the Scriptures was recently shown in a report published in the New York World of Monday, Dec. 11, 1905. The Methodist Episcopal Church of St. Paul, at West End Avenue and Eighty-sixth Street, New York City, has been equipped with a telephone service, a transmitter being placed upon the pulpit directly in front of the speaker which is connected by wires to the rear of the church, where pew receivers are provided for the comfort of those who may be afflicted with deafness. The invention seems to be in every way a success, and is likely to become more generally used, but what attracted attention was the fact that a World reporter attended services Sunday the 10th to report the telephone system. He gave a very interesting account of that, but must have had his mind upon it more than upon what was said from the Bible; for he reports that “the pastor, Rev. George P. Eckman, preached from the third epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians.”
Oftentimes a mistake of the typesetters accounts for a mistake like this, but in this instance that could hardly be the case; for the words are all spelled out as quoted above.
The illustration of the pulpit represented the pastor talking with a large closed Bible on the pulpit. When the words of the living God are ignored, and in their place the words of man, however learned or eloquent he may be, are used, we can not blame a reporter for stating that texts were taken from epistles that can not be found in it. Nor can we wonder that men and women are recklessly plunging on to ruin. Nothing can save us but the Word of our God; for in it are hidden the bread of life and the water of life—salvation.
It must be that the third epistle to the Ephesians is full of wonderful texts, and this may account for the many able sermons upon the Sabbath question, where it is so clearly proved from the Scriptures that Sunday, the first day of the week, is the Sabbath of the Lord our God.
“ROCK OF AGES.”
THERE is no greater hymn, perhaps, in the language; there is none more universally familiar. It has been the comfort of thousands in their last hour. When, many years ago, a ship sunk in the Bay of Biscay, a man who was saved was asked what the passengers were doing. He said that the last he heard was “Rock of Ages” sung by all who could sing. In multitudes of cases, in joy and in sorrow, in times of danger and amid scenes of peace, it has been the language of the heart. And yet, familiar as it is, and precious as it is, possibly there may be those to whom it is not quite clear what Toplady meant by the figure in the first two lines of the hymn. In Isa. 26:4, the expression is “everlasting strength,” but the marginal reading is “rock of ages.” It is probable that the poet got his imagery here. But to the writer the real meaning has been brought out with beautiful clearness since reading of the circumstances under which the lines were written. There is, not far from where Toplady used to serve as curate in charge, a great rock rising up by the side of the road. In the midst, as it were between two massive towers, is a deep cleft. One day in passing he was driven into the shelter of this cleft to escape the fury of a thunder storm, and it was while waiting there, that he composed his great hymn.
—Indian Witness.
AN, THE BLIND KOREAN PREACHER.
[In his recently published "Compendium of Presbyterian Foreign Missions," Robert E. Spear tells of an interview with this devoted man.]
THE first time I saw him, he was coming up the path from the gate to Mr. Lee's house. He did not carry a cane, but felt his way along with his great wooden shoes with turned-up toes. There was no light in his eyes, but on his face was the peace of God, and he brought an air of quietness and rest into the room, where he sat down and clasped his hands and lifted his sightless eyes to the two visitors from a far country who had come thousands of miles to see his people and bring to them the greetings of their fellow-Christians in a strange land.
"Shepherd," said he to the missionary, "it is good that these visitors have come. They have come through many troubles. Our hearts are encouraged by them."
And this was An's story:
"I am twenty-four years old, and lost my sight when I was three years old. For two and a half years I have been a Christian. When I first heard the Gospel I said: 'This is Catholic doctrine. If I believe it, I shall die.' But as I heard it over and over I lost my fear that I would be crazed by it, and soon I awakened to the sense of my sins."
A Native Korean.
"Life is very different now to me. The words of Jesus are very sweet. What ones do I like best? 'Ye can not serve two masters,' and 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart.' And of all the incidents of Jesus' life I love most the story of the healing of the man who was born blind. It is in the ninth chapter of John."
"Do you know all your Bible so well?" I asked.
"I know it well," answered An.
"Do you know what is in the fifteenth chapter of Luke?"
"O, yes," he replied; "the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son."
"And do you know in which chapter in Matthew is the story of the feeding of the five thousand?"
"Yes; in the fourteenth," was his instant reply.
"You see," he said, "I think of the gospels all the time. In my little room at the gate others read them to me. Is it possible that anything else could be so sweet to me?"
"And do you have in your mind a picture of Jesus?" we inquired.
"Yes," he answered; "I think of him as a man, but full of color, of brightness and glory."
"Does Jesus help you?"
"If Jesus did not help me, I could not live!"
The evening before we left Pyeng Yang, An came to say good-by. We should never meet again here, he said, but we would above. He had been turned out of his home when he became a Christian, but there was a home of many mansions there. He could not remember the sight of us when we were gone, but he wanted something by which to recall us. So I gave him my card that he might feel that. If he should write to us in America, would we be able to get any one to read it to us?
"What would he wish to see first?" we asked.
"First Jesus," he answered, "then God, then all the believers. I must see Jesus first, for he has been the Mediator between my soul and God."
I see dear An still, as early in the morning of the next day he stood in the path that led down to his little room by the gate, gently waving his hand to us as we walked off southward toward Seoul, and smiling after us with that quiet, patient smile which I hope to see again some day, beaming with new joy, in the land where the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the Lamb is their everlasting light.
TRUE RICHES.
By George O. States
The latter part of October I had occasion to go from Santa Anna, Cal., to Orange. As it is only a few miles, and I needed the exercise, I walked. As I was passing a beautiful residence in the outskirts of Santa Anna, an old gentleman who was sitting on the porch called to me, and as I walked up he said, "Sit down and let us talk a little." I replied, "All right. I have more time than money." "Well," said the man, "I want you to understand that I have both."
He then told me how he owned his residence and some acres of orange, lemon, and walnut groves; had eighty thousand dollars on interest, and his wife had forty thousand; and he had made it all honestly, through the rise in real estate. I laid my hand on his shoulder and, looking him in the eye, replied, "My brother, having all this wealth, if you have not Christ, you are poorer than I."
He appeared somewhat surprised, and asked, "Who are you?" I then told him I was an Adventist minister, broken down in health, and was resting. I remained over an hour correcting some false ideas he had regarding our work, and telling him how I once owned a valuable fruit farm in Colorado, but sold it that I might go out and tell the people we are nearing the coming of Christ. I told him that in time this earth, altho containing so much that is beautiful, is marred by sin, yet it is to be restored to its Eden beauty, and become the eternal abode of God's people.
I told him that at the coming of Christ those who have died in faith will all be raised, and the living saints will be changed and taken to the New Jerusalem; then, after a thousand years, the city will come down to this earth, which will be purified and become the abode of God's people through the eternal ages.
The old gentleman seemed to enjoy the talk, and asked me very earnestly to come and see them again. I could but think as we talked of the reality of the future home of God's people, that no doubt there are many who are longing for more than the riches that perish. I felt anxious for the time to come13when my health will admit of my going out and interesting people in the true riches.
Escondido, Cal. GEO. O. STATES.
THE CHRIST MISSION.
"He brought us out that He might bring us in." Deut. 6:23.
Out of the distance and darkness so deep,
Out of the settled and perilous sleep,
Out of the region and shadow of death,
Out of its foul and pestilent breath,
Out of the bondage and wearing of chains,
Out of companionship, ever with stains.
Into the light and glory of God,
Into the holiest clean by His blood,
Into His arms, the embrace and the kiss,
Into the scene of ineffable bliss,
Into the quiet and infinite calm,
Into the place of the song and the psalm.
Wonderful love, that has wrought all for me!
Wonderful work, that has thus set me free!
Wonderful ground, upon which I have come!
Wonderful tenderness, welcoming home!
Out of disaster and ruin complete,
Out of the struggle and dreary defeat,
Out of my sorrow, and bondage, and shame,
Out of the evils too fearful to name,
Out of my guilt and the criminal's doom,
Out of the dreading, and terror, and gloom.
Into the scene of forgiveness and rest,
Into inheritance with all the blest,
Into a righteous and permanent peace,
Into the grandest and fullest release,
Into the comfort without an alloy,
Into a perfect and confident joy.
Wonderful holiness bringing to light!
Wonderful grace, putting all out of sight!
Wonderful lowliness, draining my cup!
Wonderful purpose, that ne'er gave me up!
Out of the horror of being alone,
Out, and forever, of being my own,
Out of the bitterness, madness, and strife,
Out of myself, and all I called "life,"
Out of the hardness of heart and of will,
Out of the longings that nothing could fill.
Into communion with Father and Son,
Into the sharing of all that Christ won,
Into the ecstasies full to the brim,
Into the having of all things with Him,
Into Christ Jesus, there ever to dwell,
Into more blessings than tongue can e'er tell.
Wonderful Person, whose face I'll behold!
Wonderful story, there all to be told!
Wonderful, all the dread way that He trod!
Wonderful end that He brought me to God!
—Selected.
