THE prophet Zechariah, at the time of his first vision, was only a young man, Zech. 2:1-4. The occasion of his first prophecy is stated in Ezra 5:1. The Jews had returned from Babylon under the proclamation of Cyrus the king of Persia, which authorized them to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. Ezra 1. The foundation of the temple was laid by Zerubbabel, otherwise called Sheshbazzar, in the second year of their coming to Jerusalem. Ezra 3:8; 5:13-16; Zech. 4:9.
But when the adversaries of the Jews learned what Zerubbabel was doing they came and offered to co-operate in the work. When this offer was declined, these adversaries hired counselors at the court of the king of Persia to influence him against them. This caused the Jews so much trouble that they desisted from the work until Haggai and Zechariah commenced to prophesy to them. Ezra 4.
The first chapter of Zechariah consists of two visions. The first vision is contained in verses 1-6, and was revealed to the prophet, not by signs, but, by words. The second vision is contained in verses 7-21, and was revealed to the prophet by signs and by words. The first vision speaks of the sins which caused the Babylonish captivity. It invites the Jews to return unto God, promising that he would receive them. The prophet declares that their fathers had refused to regard the warning till they were overwhelmed by the punishment. Then, when utter ruin had overtaken them, they had acknowledged that God had fulfilled his word. The prophets did not live forever, but the word which they spake did not die with them.
The second vision begins with the declaration that the prophet saw a man riding upon a red horse, and behind him were red, speckled, and white horses, each no doubt with a rider like the first. Verses 7, 8. We learn from verse 10 that these horses and their riders represent those whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro through the earth. These, according to Heb. 1:14, are the angels of God who go everywhere to minister to his people. The prophet Elijah was taken up into heaven by a chariot of fire and horses of fire. 2 Kings 2:11, 12. See also Ps. 68:18; Isa. 65:15. The man that stood among the myrtle trees was an angel of God. Compare verses 8, 10, 11. He was the commander of the angels; for he was at their head, and they made report to him. Verses 8, 11. We may therefore conclude that he was Michael the archangel or prince of angels. Compare Jude 9; Dan. 10:13.
In verse 12 this mighty angel makes intercession for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. He pleads that God had had indignation against Jerusalem for seventy years. The seventy years of the prophecy of Jeremiah seem to have two points of commencement and two points of termination. First, They commence in the fourth year of Jehoiakim B. C. 606, when Nebuchadnezzar carried to Babylon a part of the Jewish people and a part of the vessels of the house of God. 2 Chron. 36:5-7; Dan. 1:1, 2; Jer. 25:1, 8-12; 29:10. Seventy years from this point ended in B. C. 536, when Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return and to build the temple. Dan. 9:1, 2; Ezra 1:1-4. Second, The seventy years spoken of by the angel in Zech. 1:12 must commence B. C. 588 when Jerusalem was totally destroyed, for it was just seventy years from that date that Zechariah had this vision to encourage the Jews to rebuild the temple notwithstanding the fierce opposition of their adversaries. Ezra 5:1, 2.
We are told in verse 13 that the Lord responded to the intercession of the angel with good and comfortable words. These words are repeated in verses 14-17. The Lord had returned to his people because they had returned175to him. God gave his people into the hands of the king of Babylon because of their sins. They had received such cruelties that he was determined to punish those who had abused them. He said also that the city and the temple should be rebuilt, and that the cities of the Jews should be filled with prosperity.
In verse 18 we are told that the prophet saw four horns. When we read of horns as agents or actors in prophecy we know, from the testimony of the angel of God, that these signify kings, or rather kingdoms. Dan. 7:24; Rev. 17:12. In the next verse we are told what four kingdoms or nations are represented by these horns. The angel told the prophet these were the horns that had scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. We are able by this declaration to determine what kingdoms are intended by these four horns:-
1. The king of Assyria carried the ten tribes or Israel into captivity. 2 Kings 17:1-6.
2. The king of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and carried the Jews to Babylon. 2 Chron. 36:11-21.
3. The king of Ammon dispersed the remainder of the Jews that gathered together in Juda after the king of Babylon had carried the nation to Babylon. Jer. 40:11-16; 41:1-18.
4. When the Jews had returned to rebuild the temple "the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin" resisted them and did it in the name of the king of Persia. Ezra 4:1-24; Neh. 4:1-23.
Then the prophet saw four workmen or carpenters who came to restore the desolation which these horns had caused. This must signify the four eminent servants of God that were raised up in his providence to accomplish the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem. These were Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra, and Nehemiah. See Ezra 3:2, 8-10; 5:1; Neh. 4:1-23; Hag. 1:12, 14; 2:3, 4; Zech. 4:9; 6:11, 12. J. N. A
Establishment of the Sabbath.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
"REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work; thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11.
If there were no other facts given concerning the Sabbath than those contained in the above commandment, we would still have everything that is needed to guide us to its proper observance. Indeed, since it is the law on the subject, we should expect as much, even without reading it, for a law concerning anything must contain within itself all the information necessary to enable one to obey it understandingly. This is the case with the other precepts of the decalogue. They are explicit, allowing no chance for differences of opinion. The only difference between the fourth commandment and the rest is that it is more full and explicit than any of them.
But the wise man has truly said, "God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions;" and for no purpose have "inventions" been more persistently sought out than for the purpose of evading the plain import of this fourth commandment. Many are not satisfied with the simple reading of the law, vainly thinking that somewhere in the record of God's dealings with men, they will find that which will warrant them in disregarding his spoken word. It therefore is necessary to consider everything that has a bearing on the subject.
It is evident that a law can never mean anything more or less than it did when first pronounced. If the conditions on which the law is based change, or the will of the law-giver changes concerning those conditions, then the law itself may be changed; but such change must be clearly indicated. The terms of the law must be changed, or another law enacted with the express declaration that it is to supersede the first. Until this is done, the original law remains in full force, even though the will of the law-making power should change; for how can the people know the will of the power having authority, unless that will is plainly expressed?
Again, if any change in a law is made, the new law must not only be expressed in as clear language as the old, but it must be as widely circulated. All who are subject to the law and are expected to keep it, must be informed of the change, or else they cannot keep it. To punish a person for the violation of a law with which he had never been allowed to become familiar, would be an act of injustice. God does not so deal with his creatures. In every instance where the execution of his judgments is recorded, we are plainly informed as to the command which was violated; and a penalty is never threatened in the Bible without an explicit statement being made of what course of action will make one liable to that penalty. With these statements, we will proceed to dissect, as it were, the Sabbath law, to see if it really means what it appears to; and we will also see if it has in any way been modified, or been superseded by another law.
It is evident from the reading of the fourth commandment that the Sabbath did not originate at Sinai, for we are referred to the creation of the earth, and told that at the completion of that work God "blessed" and "hallowed" the Sabbath day. It must, therefore, have been in existence at that time; a thing that has no existence cannot be blessed, neither can it be hallowed.
This will be still more evident when we consider the meaning of the word "hallow." Webster defines it thus: "To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate." The word in the original is defined similarly. It is the same word that is rendered "sanctify" in Gen. 2:3, and "appoint" in Joshua 20:7. The fourth commandment, then, tells us plainly that God commanded the Sabbath to be kept holy in the beginning.
Turning to the first chapter of Genesis we read the record of the first six days of time, in which the heavens and the earth, and all that they contain, were created, the work of each day being specified. At the close of the sixth day God looked over the whole of his creation "and behold, it was very good." He was satisfied with his work, because it was perfect. The record continues:—
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Gen. 2:1-3.
We have here the record of the first Sabbath commandment. That in Ex. 20:8-11 is the same in every respect, being simply a renewal of the commandment as given at creation. In the institution of the Sabbath there was a three-fold act on the part of God. First, he rested on the seventh day. This made that day a Sabbath, for Sabbath means rest. Because the Lord rested, it is called the Sabbath, or rest, of the Lord. But this act did not place man under any obligation to rest on that day. If the record stopped here, we would have no interest in it except as a matter of history. Second, God pronounced a blessing upon the day. It was thus exalted above other days in that it was a Sabbath, and blessed; still these two acts were not sufficient to make its observance obligatory on man. Third, he sanctified the day, that is, set it apart for holy or religious use; he appointed that it should be regarded holy. This was the crowning act which placed man under obligation to keep it.
Let it be remembered that it required these three acts to institute the Sabbath in the beginning. It certainly can take nothing less to institute a new Sabbath, should there be such a thing; and therefore whenever we find men claiming that some other day is entitled to recognition as the true Sabbath, we have only to apply these tests: Did God ever rest upon it? Did he ever pronounce a blessing upon it? Did he ever pronounce it holy, and set it apart for sacred observance? If these three questions in regard to any other day cannot be truthfully answered by a simple affirmation, then that day does not approach in honor and sacredness to the original Sabbath of the Lord. Man may rest upon any other day, and that day will thus become his rest, or sabbath; but man cannot pronounce a blessing upon the day, thus elevating it above other days, neither can he sanctify the day; he cannot make it holy, and he has no right to command anybody else to rest upon it. And since there is no record that God ever did these three things for any other day than the seventh, that day stands alone, distinguished above all other days as being the Sabbath of the Lord.
E. J. W.
The Incorporation of the New England School.
By Stephen N. Haskell
BY ELD. S. N. HASKELL.
At the last annual meeting of the New England Conference, seven of our brethren were chosen to act as trustees for the New England school when it should be legally incorporated, and to have, until that time, the supervision of the school interests.
We have had evidence from the commencement that God has favored the enterprise, and blessed our efforts, however imperfect they may have been. A goodly number of the students have, we trust, been converted to God, while at the same time commendable progress has been made by them in their studies. The increase of attendance has been more rapid than our preparation to receive and care for those who came. Having no school-building, the recitations, until the last term, were heard in four different buildings; but all seemed determined to make the best of everything, and it has been a frequent remark, "What a happy family you have." During the last term the meeting-house has been used for a school-room, the seats having been removed and desks substituted in their place. The same arrangement will continue through the present term and until a school-building is erected.
During the last vacation, although only for one week, several of the students spent the time in canvassing, and not without success.
It has been our object from the commencement to have physical labor connected with the school. Last summer, about one acre of land was cultivated by the male students, and during the winter they have sawed and split about four hundred cords of four-foot wood. The girls also have accomplished their share in this work, having done all of the laundry work, chamber work, and mending, in fact, for the greater part of the time, all of the work of the boarding-house for about seventy-five persons, excepting as the young men have assisted in some of the heavier part; also quite an amount of sewing for themselves and the school. For this labor the students have received a fair compensation.
There appears to be a healthier religious feeling in the school this present term than during either of the preceding terms. One young man, a professor of religion, but not of our religious faith, who came from another Conference to attend our school, has taken his stand to keep all of God's commandments. Last first-day he practically showed his faith with the others at the wood-pile.
The missionary class the present term numbers twenty. The more advanced students in this department who attended the previous terms, spend the hour allotted to instruction in practical missionary work, such as corresponding with the public libraries respecting the books offered them, wrapping and mailing papers, etc. Others have assigned to them some district or local society, for which they act as secretary or librarian, endeavoring to bring them up in the different branches of the missionary work; while others are assisting Sister Huntley in the work of the International Society. Those who have entered the class this term for the first time, take lessons in book-keeping, missionary correspondence, and reporting meetings.
BOARD ORGANIZED.
Thursday, March 22, at a meeting duly called, the New England S. D. A. Educational Society was legally organized. A Constitution and By-laws were adopted. It was decided to issue stock and place the shares at $10.00 each. Many items of importance relating to the future welfare of the school were freely discussed, and the following resolutions were adopted:—
Whereas, Our experience during three terms of school, and part of another, has proved to our satisfaction that physical labor connected with a boarding-school is practicable, and also necessary to a healthful physical and mental development; and,
Whereas, We believe that it would be highly beneficial to the school at South Lancaster to have trades connected with it, so that with physical labor the students may have the opportunity of learning some useful trade while attending it, even though not receiving a remuneration in dollars and cents for their labor; and,
Whereas, To carry on these trades would require more capital than the school can command, and also involve other serious difficulties; therefore,
Resolved, That we recommend that persons possessing good characters, who are qualified to instruct others in such trades as would be desirable and could be successfully carried on in South Lancaster, be corresponded with, with the view of inducing them to come to this place.
Whereas, Duty seems to call Eld. Haskell to California this spring, therefore,
Resolved, That in our judgment it will be advisable to postpone building until fall, or such time as he may return.
The Whole Duty of Man
FEAR God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man; for God shall bring every work into judgment.
The International Tract and Missionary Society.
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
BY ELD. S. N. HASKELL.
This society was organized in 1876, and although reports have been published yearly, some additional particulars concerning its history and work may be of interest to the readers of the SIGNS. For two years following its organization, very little was accomplished. The report for 1878 showed the receipts of that year to have been only $447.15. During that year, however, reading matter was sent to nearly all of the Southern States, England, Holland, Italy, and Africa, and, by means of agents in these countries, to nearly all parts of the civilized world. Notwithstanding this, for several years we saw but little fruit as the result of the efforts put forth.
The object of this society is to enter those fields which are outside of Conference limits, and there place our reading matter in the hands of honest inquirers. It has also assisted persons and companies, whose circumstances have seemed to make it advisable to do so, where organizations have been effected, until they were otherwise provided for. In this way there are those in nearly every State in the Union who have been helped.
THE RESULTS.
Since the more perfect organization of our V. M. and T. and M. Societies, the International Society seldom occupies a field long exclusively. Only one person was known to be observing the seventh day as the Sabbath, and in harmony with our views in other respects, south of Maryland, when publications were first sent South. At the present time observers of the Sabbath are numbered by scores in nearly every Southern State, and in some of them by hundreds, having ordained ministers, licentiates and organized churches. All this commenced in an interest which was awakened by reading matter sent by mail into that field. Now this effort is carried forward and increased a hundred fold by those who thus received the truth then.
In some of the Western Territories publications have been sent to every town. In New Mexico the truth was received by a missionary who for years did what she could to scatter the light there. In foreign countries the work has been equally encouraging, although the numbers embracing the truth have not been so great. A hearty co-operation has been secured with missionaries of nearly every denomination, many of whom have been for years active workers with us. In this, God's providence has opened the way for the truth in a most remarkable manner. A missionary in Bristol told me that it would do my heart good could I see with what eagerness our publications, especially the writings of Sister White, are received by many.
While reading aloud from them to the sailors they have sat and wept. The next time he would see them, they would inquire if he had any more of that Mrs. White's writings. At Cardiff and Liverpool much interest is also manifested. In Grimsby and in Glasgow, Scotland, persons have been found to co-operate with us in the missionary work, both of those who are, and those who are not, in sympathy with our denominational views.
THE SHIP WORK.
This work is very important both in Europe and America. At Hamburg, Germany, the International Society is supplying a ship missionary with French, Swedish, German, and Danish publications; also some English. More than a ton of reading matter sent from Battle Creek, Michigan, has been used in the ship work at San Francisco, Cal. As the result of this, persons of influence and culture have been known to embrace the Sabbath.
Boston, New Bedford, and New York City, are points of much interest in the ship work, and are constantly supplied with our publications by the International Society. In New York City there are quite a number of sailors' missions. One of these which we visited had received our publications, and before I made myself known I learned that those having charge of the mission, preferred the SIGNS OF THE TIMES to any religious paper which they received. The superintendent said that it was a live paper, and that he had never before read such articles as Mrs. White's. When I asked if it did not contain objectionable doctrines, he replied that he was a Methodist and did not believe all that the paper taught, but that its influence as a whole was good, and just what they wanted. A constant supply of reading matter is kept at this and other missions, where a similar interest is manifested. Much more might be said showing that our reading matter is appreciated by persons who are interested to co-operate with us in its distribution. Another person having charge of a mission, told me that he had known a vessel to wait two days after it was loaded ready to sail, for the purpose of obtaining a set of our publications, a set having been removed with the view of supplying another in its place.
EXTENT OF ITS EFFORTS.
About six thousand of our standard bound books have been taken with the view of presenting them to the public libraries in this country, quite a proportion of which have already been disposed of in this way. Many of these libraries have reading rooms connected with them, to which our publications are sent weekly. Also a goodly number of the libraries in Old England have been supplied with "History of the Sabbath."
Quite a proportion of the life-saving stations on the Atlantic Coast, have been furnished with our publications, including the set of bound books presented to libraries. From four to five thousand dollars' worth of publications, at reduced prices, have been distributed in quantities to nearly every State in the south, and to England, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden, the West Indies, and India. Ship work in California, Boston, and New Bedford, Mass., Portland, Maine, and New York City, has aided much in this work. In Nova Scotia, a company of seven are observing the Sabbath, and meet regularly for worship. Others are interested. And in nearly all of these places believers are reported as the result of this labor, which is exclusive of small packages sent by mail to these, and nearly every other country where the languages are spoken in which they are printed. There never has been a time when openings for our publications presented themselves before this society as at the present, especially the few past months. Any readers of the SIGNS wishing to make donations to this society can do so by sending to the Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal., Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich., or Miss M. L. Huntley, South Lancaster, Mass., which will be thankfully received and appropriated for the above purpose.
Report of Labor.
By N. C. McClure
SINCE leaving San Francisco we have labored in Humboldt County, speaking and visiting and distributing reading matter, and conversing with families in regard to the truth. At Port Kenyon School-house, where I have spoken once a week during the winter, our audiences have been good, with increasing interest. I hope to begin a series of evening meetings soon at this place. Some opposition has arisen from the "popular" ministers who in their efforts to explain the change of the Sabbath have succeeded thus far in causing honest investigators to seek the true light.
A number of SIGNS are being sent into the county by T. and M. workers of District No. 1, and in our visiting we have found them in the families. Those who read say they like them very much, and speak of Sister White's writings as specially interesting. One family subscribed after receiving a single copy from a missionary worker in Petaluma, and are now investigating the Sabbath question, having about concluded that it is the Lord's day.
I have just returned from Freshwater, twenty-five miles distant, where I spoke four times; visited a number of families, selling several dollars' worth of books and obtaining two subscribers for the SIGNS. We had good audiences and considerable interest was manifested to have a series of meetings. Other engagements prevented us from continuing meetings at that time, but I have promised to return in three or four weeks and do so. Some were solemnly impressed as we spoke on Sunday night of the coming of the Lord. We found a few who had heard Sister White in Iowa, years ago, and were anxious to hear more of the message.
I have visited all the Sabbath-keepers in this county, except one family living about sixty miles from here. Some had not seen an Adventist for three or four years; all gave us a hearty welcome.
I have sold over ninety dollars' worth of books; taken twenty-three subscriptions for SIGNS and Good Health; and visited over many miles of country, trying to carry the truth from house to house. No doubt the efforts of T. and M. workers will show good results, as there are many anxious to know more of these things.
Should missionary workers receive responses to letters written to Humboldt, by sending me word the parties will be visited.
N. C. MCCLURE.
Ferndale, Cal., March 28, 1883.
Smoking Prohibited in Government Departments
By Editor
SECRETARIES Folger and Lincoln now prohibit smoking in their departments during business hours. There will be one clean spot in the Government then.
The Success of Prohibition in Maine
By Editor
Mr. Blaine says: "Intemperance has steadily decreased in the State since the first enactment of the prohibitory law, until now it can be said with truth that there is no equal number of people in the Anglo-Saxon world among whom so small amount of intoxicating liquor is consumed as among the 650,000 inhabitants of Maine."
And yet there are those who call prohibition a phantom and prohibitionists fanatics. But we regard him as the fanatic who blindly, in the face of such facts as the above, holds on to a system that is daily slaying its thousands.
All for Christ.
THOSE who become Christians in heathen lands have often literally to forsake all to follow Christ. In a letter from Nowgong, Assam, Rev. S. H. Moore relates two affecting instances of this. On the 1st of last October five young men from the Mission Normal School were baptized by the lately-ordained pastor, Tuni. One of them was the only son of an aged widow, who looked to him for support in her declining years. She used entreaties, tears, and threats to dissuade her son from forsaking the religion of his fathers. For months the struggle went on in the young man's heart—filial love and duty and all the ties of early associations on the one side, and on the other the conviction that Jesus is the only Saviour of sinners. If he became a Christian the terrible power of caste would at once shut him off from all intercourse with his family, and make him an outcast and an abomination. But at last he decided for Christ, and "in his face," writes Mr. Moore, "we see the peace and joy which Christ gives to those who trust in him." The other case was that of a young man who became deeply interested in the gospel, but was bitterly opposed by his father and brothers in his desire to become a Christian. He finally left home, and by a circuitous route found his way to the mission at Nowgong, where he was taken into the Normal School, and some time after was received as a candidate for baptism. His father and older brother, hearing that he was at the mission, hastened thither to save him if possible, from becoming a Christian, but did not arrive until after his baptism. The father's grief was very great, for thenceforth his son was lost to him—he had broken caste, and there could be no further intercourse between them. Such, adds Mr. Moore, is the power and tyranny of caste.—Selected.
THE SEED.
The farmer planted a seed,
A little, dry, black seed,
And off he went to other work—
For the farmer was never known to shirk,
And cared for what he had need.
The night came with its dew—
The cool and silent dew;
The dawn came and the day,
And the farmer worked away
At labors not a few.
Home from his work one day—
One glowing summer day—
His children showed him a perfect flower;
It had burst in a bloom that very hour;
How, I cannot say.
But I know if the smallest seed
In the soil of love be cast,
Both day and night will do their part;
And the sower who works with a trusting heart
Will find the flower at last.
—Selected.
"Hop Growers, Protect Your Interests."
By H. D. Clarke
SUCH were the words printed boldly on handbills and scattered broadcast among voters at a recent town meeting.
The struggle was over the question of license or no-license. The town had been professedly for temperance a great many years. Rum-sellers had been prosecuted to the full extent of the law, some paying fines, some suffering imprisonment, until the people had come to feel quite secure, and few men were seen under the influence of liquor. Men raised hops and voted no-license, men picked hops, "pulled poles," "tended box," and voted no-license; men manufactured hop-boxes, and hop-presses, and hop-stoves, and built hop-houses, and voted no-license. They were Christian men by profession, and were considered temperance men. A few in advance of the times ventured to assert that no person could engage in the hop business, directly or indirectly, and be a temperance man. They were even positive enough to say that the lines would soon be more closely drawn, and in the struggle these hop men would array themselves on the side of rum and become the desperate opposers of the great temperance reform. Few believed that, and such prophets were accused of fanaticism, etc.; but the lines are now drawn and the fanatic is vindicated. The years 1882 and 1883 witnessed this order of things, and to-day more than one strong temperance town stands ready to grant licenses because of the unholy hop trade.
We left our Verona home March 5, not having been a resident of the county long enough to be a voter, and so we visited some forty miles away on town-meeting day. The excitement was intense when we arrived at our journey's end. People were talking at every corner over the prospect. "Will the town go for license?" "Yes, for the hop growers are making a desperate effort to carry it." Night came; the votes were counted. The infernal regions were holding high carnival over the victory for rum. "Those handbills, and hard work, done the business." Said Satan, "Now for a dozen saloons there, and the work will be nearly complete."
O, the scenes we now foresee! Men who have lived there where liquor could not as easily be obtained, men struggling with appetite are to be tempted, overcome, ruined, and hurled to perdition, to gratify the covetous hop-growers. Happy homes made desolate to gratify the hop-pickers. Anxious mothers waiting for the return of their wandering boys who find their pleasure in the saloon licensed by the hop-grower, and manufacturer of utensils to supply that trade. We will not try to picture the scenes. The wicked work has commenced, and angels weep over the prospect. One thing, however, has been settled, thank God. We no longer fight a secret foe. With the distillers, rum-sellers, and keepers of grog-shops, are united the hop-growers, hop-pickers and all who for the almighty dollar favor the traffic. We know where to find them and where to aim our guns. The thought is painful, however, that this business is woven like the warp and woof of a fabric, all through the church in hop-growing districts. Saints of God, wash your hands of this iniquity. Separate yourselves from these emissaries of the evil one. And for goodness sake, ye hop-growers and pickers, don't put on the livery of heaven with which to serve the devil. Repent of your evil deeds and be for God and truth, or else leave the church and be consistent. You have no business there as a professor of religion while you are willing to sell the souls of your fellow-men for a pound of hops. But our appeal will no doubt be in vain. Hops at a dollar a pound will stifle convictions, and this Juggernaut of death will roll on. Dead men in drunkard's graves will not stop them. Live men going down to ruin and shame, will not keep them back. Show them a bloated, staggering wreck of manhood, still loved by some broken-hearted wife, and pray them to stop raising and selling death, and they will yell out in utter defiance, "Hops are a dollar per pound; drive on." And away goes the chariot of beer, rum, and alcohol, through our land, crushing hearts and hopes, life and limb, rich and poor, saint and sinner.
"Hop-growers, protect your interests." Yes, and may Heaven have mercy on your souls.—H. D. Clarke, in Sabbath Recorder.
Vermont Prohibition.
By Traveler
THE LIQUOR QUESTION SOLVED.
This is a State that has come nearer a practical solution of the liquor question, so far as the prohibition features of the case are concerned, than any State in the union. The prohibitory law here is very severe, and the sentiment of the people of the State generally is one of commendable vigor. A man is not only arrested and fined, but he is compelled to say where he obtained his liquor, and is used as a witness against the seller. The sale of liquor is carried on by a town agent appointed for the purpose, who can sell it only upon the certificate of a practicing physician, and a record is kept of the name of the person, the amount sold, together with the certificate upon which it is sold. Violation of the law is punishable by imprisonment in the State's Prison for a term of years. The result is that in over 8 per cent. of the towns of this State the sale of liquor for use as a beverage is practically unknown.
In the larger towns, like Rutland, Burlington, St. Albans, Brattleboro, and Montpelier, there is some laxity, and liquor can be purchased at the hotels by travelers, and by some of the local tipplers in whom the vender has confidence; but the hazards of the traffic reduce its evil effects to the minimum. The result is that the class upon whom the distressing influences of a comparatively unlimited traffic press with the greatest weight, are benefited by the prohibiting restrictions. Even among the poor, ragged and ill-clad children are almost unknown, and many a dollar that is earned through the week, instead of reaching the rum-seller's till on Saturday night, is expended for shoes for the wife or a frock for the baby. It is a fact no one can dispute that in no State of the Union are the laboring classes so well housed, clothed, and fed as in Vermont, and this is due solely to the fact that by a rigid prohibitory law the earnings of the laborer are not squandered for intoxicants.
Another effect of this legal restriction, and one quite as important, that the prohibition sentiment of the State is being constantly strengthened. The young grow up regarding the violation of the liquor law as wrong, like the infraction of any other statute. A rum-seller is regarded more and more as a criminal, and is ostracised accordingly. A man would be laughed at who would talk here about a respectable saloon or a respectable rum-dealer. You will hear in Vermont little said about personal liberty, for the traffic has so long been under the ban that the privilege of getting drunk is looked upon not as a right but as a thing to be prevented. Nor is it true as a rule, that the drinking of liquor has been transferred from the saloons to the closets of private houses. In my many calls upon friends of twenty years ago, in this State at their own homes, in no single instance has the decanter been produced or mentioned. For over thirty years Vermont has had a rigid prohibitory law, and there is not a saloon in the State. If any one thinks prohibition does not prohibit, let him make a tour of the State and see. The result is that there is less crime, pauperism, and distress in Vermont than in any other State. Its churches are larger and its schools are better attended than in any other similarly populated region upon the globe. Its poorer classes are less poor, and its laborers are more thrifty and prosperous, than in any State in the union. With all her faults, Vermont has set an example that any of her sister commonwealths might follow to the benefit of their people and the prosperity of the State.—"Traveler," in the Lever.
Grog-Shops and New York Poverty
In a recent lecture on "The Glory and Shame of New York," Dr. Crosby said: "The shame of New York is summed up in a single word, 'grog-shops.' Of these there are 12,000 in New York, or one to every 100 inhabitants. Now out of every 100 inhabitants 67 are women and children, and of the men 15 seldom or never enter a liquor saloon; so that really we have a saloon for every 18 drinkers. To sustain these places, each of these 18 men must on an average spend $7.00 a week—or the larger part of the average earnings of the workingmen of New York. The poverty of New York is no longer a secret."
THE following is the article referred to on page 173, in the Sabbath-school instruction on Acts 2:—
Doctor Barnes says:—
“New wine—Gleukos. This word properly means the juice of the grape which distills before pressure is applied, and called must. It was sweet wine, and hence the word in Greek meaning sweet was applied to it. The ancients, it is said, had the art of preserving their new wine with the peculiar flavor before fermentation for a considerable time, and were in the habit of drinking it in the morning. One of the methods in use among the Greeks and the Romans of doing this was the following: An amphora or jar was taken and coated with pitch within and without, and was then filled with the juice which flowed from the grape before they had been fully trodden, and was then corked so as to be air-tight. It was then immersed in a tank of cold water, or buried in the sand and allowed to remain six weeks or two months. The contents, after this process, were found to be unchanged for a year, and hence the name aei gleukos, always sweet. The process was not much unlike that which is so common now of preserving fruits and vegetables.”
Liddell & Scott's Greek Lexicon defines the original word thus: “Sweet, new wine.”
Pickering's Lexicon gives it thus: “New wine, must; a sweet juice or liquor; in N. T. sweet wine, Acts 2:13.”
Andrews' Latin Lexicon defines the corresponding Latin word, “new or unfermented wine.” Many other authorities might be cited.
This was a very healthful, nourishing drink, and one of which any one might partake with impunity.