THE Jews in the time of Christ were condemning their own ancestors for refusing the messages of the Lord and slaying his messengers.
Our generation is condemning the Jews for refusing the Saviour when he came and for slaying him for claiming to be the Saviour.
The Jews said if they had lived in the time of their ancestors, they would not have done as their ancestors did.
Our generation says that if we had lived in the time of Christ, we would not have rejected and crucified him.
And yet this generation, with more light than the patriarchs had and more light than the Jews of Christ's time had, is refusing the message of God, trampling upon the law of God, and to a large extent, by denying the deity of Christ, is crucifying afresh the Lord of glory. If we had lived in their time, would we have been wiser than they? truer to principle than they? more obedient to God's requirements than they?
There is nothing in the attitude of our generation toward God's message and his messengers to indicate it.
We are standing on the threshold of the grandest and most sublime event this world will ever see. The tragedy of sin is soon to be finished; the ushering in of the everlasting kingdom of righteousness is soon to take place; and yet the world — even the "Christian world" — is more deeply absorbed in the interplay of human events, in the daily doings of mortals, than in the actual coming of that kingdom and in the assurance of an inheritance therein.
Well might the patriarchs say: If our lot had been cast with the last generation upon the earth, when the time was near for Zion's King to establish his kingdom and crown his faithful with their eternal reward, we would have been more faithful than they, more zealous than they, less careful of temporal affairs and more deeply engrossed in the affairs of eternal consequence.
The great men of this world are laying plans that involve generations yet unborn; the popular pastor preaches pleasing things, lauds the divinity of man and robs Christ of his glory and his majesty and his mission, and leads men to expect the indeterminate continuation of this present state of existence.
At the same time God's Word is telling us in words that we can give no excuse for not knowing or not understanding: "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is. . . . He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus." Rev. 20: 12-20.
It is the Saviour's corroboration of the declaration of the angels on Mt. Olivet: "This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye behold him going into heaven." Acts 1: 11.
It is the corroboration of Peter's declaration: "The day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God." 2 Peter 3: 10-12.
It is the corroboration of the words of Jesus to his disciples: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." Matt. 24: 14.
It is the corroboration of the testimony of Malachi, who declares: "Behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace: and8all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts." Mal. 4: 1-3.
It is the corroboration of the testimony of the prophet Daniel that "at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." Dan. 12: 1-3.
It is the corroboration of the testimony of Isaiah: "The ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isa. 51: 11.
That declaration of our Saviour announces the fruition of the psalmist's hope that he should "dwell in the house of the Lord forever." It tells of the approach of that day when the gates and the "everlasting doors" of the city of God shall be lifted up that "the King of glory" may come in.
It is the fruition of the hope of Job, who declared: "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another." Job 19: 25-27.
It is the hope of Adam and the fulfillment of the declaration of Jehovah to him in the promise of the Seed who was to bruise the serpent's head, and in that bruising, eliminate sin and Satan from the world, restore to the human race the forfeited inheritance, and establish righteousness under the whole canopy of heaven.
We are not in darkness concerning the approach of that day of doom and delight, of destruction and salvation, of terror and trust, of separation and glad reunion. God has given us in sky and on earth, in the winds and the seas, the unmistakable signs of the nearness of that event. Let us not be of those who see what was the duty of the Jews and condemn them for not knowing the day of their visitation, while we turn deaf ears to God's warnings and messages to us and turn unseeing eyes toward the signs God has hung in the heavens and planted in the earth. This is our day, our generation, our message, and God looks to us, who condemn them, for conduct he will not need to condemn in us.
C. M. S.
Rome's Answer to the Reformation
By W. A. S.
OUR workers who have the book must appreciate, we are sure, the added historical matter that appears in the new "History of the Sabbath," which is a revision and an enlargement of Elder J. N. Andrews's standard "History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week." Elder L. R. Conradi, who has revised and rewritten the historical portion, has had the advantage of access to many libraries and authorities not so accessible thirty or forty years ago.
The new book gives the evidence for the stand which the Catholic Council of Trent took on the Sabbath question in its answer to the challenge of the Reformers. The Reformation was based on the open Bible, and its battle cry was, The Bible as the authority in all doctrine and practice. Blow after blow was struck at the papal system until it felt itself fairly tottering. The Council of Trent was called really to give Rome's answer to the Reformation. The council continued intermittently from 1545 to 1562. Its decisions constitute a restatement of Rome's position.
Searching long and diligently for some argument by which to meet the challenge of the Reformers, that the Word of God alone was the standard of doctrine, the council seized upon the Sabbath question as affording the ground of its answer to the Reformation. It was in the closing days of the council, "History of the Sabbath" tells us, that "Caspar del Fossa, Archbishop of Rheggio, made the following statement in his opening discourse, Jan. 18, 1562:—
Such is the condition of the heretics today that they appeal to no other matter more than that they, under the pretense of the Word of God, overthrow the church: as though the church, which is the body of Christ, could be opposed to this Word, or the head to the body. Yea, the authority of the church is most gloriously set forth by the Holy Scriptures; for while on the one hand she recommends the same, declares them divine, offers them to us to be read, explains them faithfully in doubtful messages, and condemns whatever is contrary to them, on the other hand, the legal precepts of the Lord contained in them have ceased by virtue of the same authority. The Sabbath, the most glorious day in the law, has been changed into the Lord's Day. . . . This and other similar matters have not ceased by virtue of Christ's teaching (for he says he came to fulfill the law, not to destroy it), but they have been changed by virtue of the authority of the church. Should this authority cease (which would surely please the heretics), who would then witness for truth, and confound the obstinacy of the heretics?
It was in seeking for the real test of church authority, for the mark of its power above the Word of God, that the council seized upon this change of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first. The new "History" quotes the following from Holtzman's "Canon and Tradition," page 263, giving testimony to the adoption by the council of the declaration of the Archbishop of Rheggio:—
The council agreed fully with Ambrosius Pelargus that under no condition should the Protestants be allowed to triumph by saying that the council had condemned the doctrine of the ancient church. But this practice caused untold tribulation without serving as a safeguard. For this business, to be sure, "almost divine prudence" was requisite—which was indeed awarded to the council on the sixteenth of March, 1562, by the Spanish ambassador. Really they could scarcely find their way in the many labyrinthian passages of an older and a newer comprehension of tradition, which were constantly crossing and recrossing each other. But even in this they were destined to succeed. Finally, at the last opening on the eighteenth of January, 1562, their last scruple was set aside; the Archbishop of Rheggio made a speech in which he openly declared that tradition stood above Scripture. The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the church had changed Sabbath into Sunday, not by the command of Christ, but by its own authority. With this, to be sure, the last illusion was destroyed, and it was declared that tradition does not signify antiquity, but continual inspiration.
Ever since that time Rome has unceasingly thrown in the face of Protestants their inconsistency in declaring for the Bible as the rule of faith and doctrine while yet accepting the first day in place of the seventh as the day of rest and worship.
There Rome issued its challenge, and unfortunately the Protestantism of that time was not ready to meet the challenge. True, isolated believers here and there met it in a practical way by turning from the Sunday of the Papacy to the Sabbath of the Lord. Sabbath keepers began to spring up all through Europe in those times.
Still Rome presses its challenge, and meets no answer amidst the great body of Protestant opinion. But the Lord has given the answer in the message of Sabbath reform; and with the rise of this advent message and movement Rome's challenge is being answered in every land today.9
Over two thousand years ago the prophet Daniel was shown the working of the Papacy, trampling the truth underfoot, and seemingly triumphant; and for his sake and for the sake of the Lord's children, this question was asked in heaven, "How long shall be the vision?" Dan. 8:13. How long shall this apostasy be allowed apparently to triumph and tread underfoot the truth of God? The reply was, in effect, that at the end of the great prophetic period of twenty-three hundred years the Lord would give the final answer to the Papacy. Then the judgment was to sit, which, as it closes, will bring the final judgments of heaven upon error and sin.
Through the long centuries that promise of the Lord has stood, and when the year 1844 brought the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary and the hour of God's judgment, it brought also this advent movement into the world, proclaiming to all men the Lord's answer to Rome's challenge. Truly the battle rages round the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, which is the divinely appointed sign or mark of loyalty to the God of heaven.
The Dream of Peace and the Prediction of War
By Francis McLellan Wilcox
THE world today presents some striking anomalies. Conditions have become abnormal. In every phase of human existence and experience are presented apparent contradictions and questions which are paradoxical. One writer expresses the present situation in the following words:—
This is an age of brilliant pretensions, but sad realities. Its professions and practices, its facts and theories, present a climax of contradictions.
There never was so much of the form of godliness, and never so little of the power.
Never so many assurances of peace, and never so extensive and urgent preparations for war.
Never so many tokens of coming danger and calamity, and never such a feeling of security, expressed and implied, on the part of the people.
There never was a time when the doctrine of the immediate opening of the temporal millennium was more universally cherished and talked of, and never a time when every feature of society, social, moral, and political, rendered such an idea more preposterous.
There never was a time when there was so much money in the world, and never a time when there was more widespread and distressing poverty.
Perhaps nowhere are these anomalous conditions more apparent than in those questions affecting the national and international relationship of the nations of this earth. On the one hand, we have a strong international movement working for peace — for the settlement of disputes by arbitration. For years, from the pulpit and platform, and in the public press, the advocates of this movement have urged its claims upon the public. Public-spirited men and statesmen have espoused the cause. At The Hague a great Peace Temple has been erected, where it is fondly hoped the representatives of the nations will come together from time to time to settle their international differences, rather than to resort to war and bloodshed. Mr. Carnegie has contributed of his millions for the good of the cause.
One of the latest efforts in the furtherance of this purpose is the action of the United Churches of Switzerland. This religious federation has sent an earnest invitation to the churches of Europe to a conference "to pronounce against war and its standing armies and armaments." This appeal cites the fact that in thirty years the leading nations of Europe,—Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia,—have increased their standing armies from 2,650,000 men to 4,200,000. During this same time the military expense has increased from $697,000,000 to the enormous sum of $1,549,000,000 per annum. The Switzerland church alliance expresses its shame that the so-called Christian nations of Europe are guilty of expending so much for offensive and defensive warfare, in direct opposition to the teaching of Christ.
On the other hand, while this general agitation for peace is apparently growing and receiving the open commendation of men high in the councils of state, the nations of earth are engaged in a feverish race for naval supremacy. According to Winston Spencer Churchill, first lord of the admiralty in Great Britain, that nation "will have ten of the new big-gun battleships in the water by the time any other nation in the world has two." All of these ships will carry fifteen-inch guns, the best weapons ever possessed by the British navy, and capable of hurling a projectile weighing a ton for a distance of twelve miles.
Great Britain's naval estimates for 1914-15 amount to $257,750,000. Referring to the situation in the East, Mr. Churchill announced the renewal of the British alliance with Japan to the year 1921, and stated that "it is not to be expected that Japan will be less in need of her powerful friend at the other end of the world at that date than she is today." In concluding his speech in the House of Commons Mr. Churchill said: "Our naval strength is the one great balancing force we can contribute to our own safety and the peace of the world. The causes which might lead to a general war have not been removed. The world is arming as it never armed before. All attempts at arresting it have been ineffectual."
And for this outcome of warfare others than Mr. Churchill are eagerly looking and deliberately planning. Says the editor of Pearson's for Feb. 25, 1914, in discussing "Why the Krupps Are Happy:"—
In these circumstances the cheerful pipings and twitterings of Mr. Carnegie about European peace seem like a ghastly joke. While this fatuous person is building temples of peace, a large part of the nations of Europe are deliberately preparing for the most terrific war in history.
Truly there is presented before us an interesting spectacle. On every side are found the prophets of peace and the prophets of war, and many times the personnel of the two companies is the same. Indeed, a favorite argument with some of the advocates of peace at the present time is that large navies are essential to the bringing in of this condition.
At Camden, N. J., on March 23, occurred the launching of the battleship "Oklahoma." Says the Literary Digest of April 4:—
A new precedent was established by dedicating the vessel "to a mission of peace in the service of Almighty God." . . . That the "Oklahoma" will give a good account of herself on any mission of war is seen from the fact that she carries ten fourteen-inch guns, and is 583 feet long, with a displacement of 27,500 pounds. She will be our largest battleship, although two larger ones are now under construction.
If it were not for the Scriptures of Truth, we might be confused by what we see and hear today. But when we turn to the prophetic word, we find that the very situation which we are facing has been plainly and clearly delineated. The prophets of old declared that in the closing days of earth's history the nations would be making great preparations for warfare; that the implements of peace would be turned into implements of war. On the other hand, prophecy shows that right at that very time there would be some crying, "Peace, peace," but that the dream of peace would fail of its fulfillment.
Contrast these two prophecies:—
The Prophecy of Peace
"And it shall come10to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord." Isa. 2: 2-5.
The Prophecy of War
"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Joel 3: 9-14.
Please note that in the prophecy of peace it is declared that "many people shall go and say" let us have a time of peace, but the prophecy of war gives not the words of the people, but the word of God to the people.
That this cry of peace and safety would prove a snare and a delusion, the Scriptures plainly indicate. Says the apostle Paul in speaking of this very period in earth's history: "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape." The context of the prophecy concerning peace, in the second chapter of Isaiah, also indicates the same thing. The dream of peace will never find more than temporary fulfillment. At the very time when some are dreaming of a temporal millennium and of a world rule of peace and righteousness, the Lord declares:—
"Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made." "For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low." "And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." Isa. 2: 7, 8, 12, 17.
We must recognize that many worthy men and women are interested in the advocacy of these peace principles. In some measure success will crown their efforts. We do not question the sincerity of their motives, but they are dealing with impossible conditions. They are seeking to establish through political measures and human arrangements a kingdom of righteousness in the earth. But while the units of society and of the state are unregenerate, but little change can be made in the body politic. The life of the nation will rise no higher than the life of the individual units of that nation.
The fearful unrest filling the lives of men; the pent-up passions and animosities possessing their hearts; the fierce struggle for the mastery in trade and commerce; the unequal struggle the laboring classes are waging in their fight for existence—these elements of heart and soul and life cannot be suppressed by resolution or by peace treaty. This earth will never know peace until in the heart of every one of its inhabitants peace reigns. This will not be until sin has been purged away, and the King of peace takes universal dominion. Until that time all human devisings for the attainment of peace will be futile.
Let us not, therefore, be confused by conditions which exist in the world today. Let us remember that the unerring pen of the prophet pictured these conditions centuries ago. We know their portent. We know whither they are tending. We are in the closing days of earth's history. Let us be admonished by what we see taking place on the earth, and be prepared for the grand transformation which will be accomplished by the coming of our Lord and King.
F. M. W.
Note and Comment
The Danger of Worldliness
A Lenten message to the Lutheran churches has just been issued by the presidents of the synods and the president of the general conference of that denomination. This was published in the Lutheran of Feb. 19, 1914. Among some of the great dangers threatening the Christian church at the present time there is emphasized the great danger of worldliness. We quote the following statement and appeal:—
We must confess, as pastors and people, that we are exposed to the danger of worldliness. We are living in an age of material prosperity and progress such as history knows not of. Men have become intoxicated with the glare and glitter of wealth, and stand aghast before the babel of human achievement in the world of industry and science. This has bred a spirit of self-sufficiency and smothered the spirit of dependence upon God. The worship of God has given way to the worship of man. This spirit has powerfully influenced the life of the church. Both pastors and people are in danger of being conformed to the fashion of this world. Pride is taking the place of self-denial; indulgence, the place of discipline; and Belial, the place of Christ. There is no clear line of demarcation between many professed followers of Christ and pure worldlings. The church is being tempted to make an alliance between God and mammon, and her members have ceased to be a "peculiar people." Social customs and standards destructive of spiritual life are adopted or patterned after, and soul-destroying pleasures are eating like a canker into the vitals of the Christian life. The church often seems more concerned to please men than to save them, and is adopting the spirit and ways of the world. It is a compromising rather than a conquering church. The Scriptures are being betrayed and the gospel surrendered in the very citadels where the bulwarks are supposed to be thrown around them. Like a weak and foolish Samson, the church is toying with Delilah, and its strength is passing from it.
Wife Deserters and Suicides
By Editor
MANY men have faced grave crises in their financial affairs. Many husbands and fathers have come to a place in their experience where it seemed an utter impossibility to provide necessary food and clothing for those dependent upon them. Some have heroically struggled on, and time has shown that their struggles were not in vain. The tide has turned. God has recognized their loyalty to those they love, and has opened the way before them. Others, with perhaps no faith in God, have cowardly committed suicide or deserted their wives and children. We say that they have cowardly done this, for this we believe is the true word to designate this course. Speaking of this, the Cincinnati Times-Star says:—
Of cowardice there are many kinds—from the purely physical to the moral and spiritual. But the cowardice displayed by a man who deserts the woman he has sworn to love and cherish, for better or worse, deserves the contempt of every right-minded being. The Cincinnati department of charities and corrections reports that since January 1 no less than fifty wives have lodged complaints of this character with it. A most unsavory record!
A majority of these cases show that the misnamed husbands deserted their wives and children without making any effort to provide even temporarily for their care. Driven to desperation by lack of employment, many a man has felt that those dependent upon him would be no worse off, even though no better, without him. Yet the man with real courage does not desert in the face of such odds. Only cowards do that.
We rarely hear, on the other hand, of wives deserting husbands when troubles of the ordinary kind loom large on the horizon. They turn momentary bravery into steadfast courage, and fight side by side with their mates.
China’s Stolen Antiquities
THE invasion of China by vandals sent there to secure antiques for museums of archeology is causing much dissatisfaction in that country. For two or three years these unscrupulous collectors have been unusually busy desecrating ancient tombs and temples to secure works of art, even breaking off fragments and pieces of sculptured art from their settings and shipping them to Europe and America. An appeal is being made to all governments for the return to China of all stolen Chinese antiques.
Brazilian Union Conference
By F. W. Spies
F. W. SPIES
FOLLOWING the very good workers' meeting in Santo Amaro, Sao Paulo, the third session of the Brazilian Union Conference convened January 19-25. There were many things to encourage the delegates and workers of this great field, as they tarried together for a few days to lay plans for the carrying on of the work in our union for another two-year period.
The same spirit of hopefulness and courage so apparent during the workers' meeting increased during the union conference session, and the last Sabbath of the meeting was a day of spiritual blessing and of consecration to the Lord and to his work. On this same day also there were ordained to the gospel ministry three of our young men who had been developing in the work during past years. This ordination service made a deep impression upon all present, and was a definite encouragement to our brethren, who could thus see that the work in our union is progressing, and that our number of trusty workers is increasing.
Soon after the beginning of the workers' meeting public meetings were held each evening, and the tent was well filled at each service, even at times when the weather was unfavorable. Some are now keeping the Sabbath as a result of these meetings.12
This interest was increased by the good work done by our faithful nurses. A boy of about nine years, who as the result of a fall, had been paralyzed, was given up by the doctors as a hopeless case; but through the treatments given by our nurses the boy was soon able to walk again. This caused not a little interest. In a little time a goodly number of sick folk had presented themselves; and the health talks given drew many hearers.
The prospect for working with tents in the proclamation of the gospel in this country is certainly promising, to judge by the experience in Santo Amaro.
The reports of different departments of the work showed progress. The membership, in spite of many having been lost through emigration and other causes, showed an increase; and the tithes and offerings also had increased.
We were able to plan for a better manning of our various fields than heretofore, and we confidently expect that with the Lord's help we shall see greater progress during the next biennial term than ever before. We must see greater progress, for the work is to be finished in this generation.
In several resolutions of thanksgiving, the brethren expressed their gratitude to God for his preserving care of the cause and workers, and also thanks were cheerfully expressed to the General Conference for its kind interest and substantial help in men and means sent to our union.
We are of good courage, trusting the Lord and expecting great things from him. May he abundantly bless his faithful workers, and hasten the glad day of his return.
Portugal
By C. E. Rentfro
C. E. RENTFRO
SOME time has passed since I reported to our good church paper, the REVIEW. The years 1912 and 1913 were years of progress, for which we thank God. Thirty-one during the former year and eighteen during the latter year were taken into church membership. Some progress is noted in the literature work. An edition of 5,000 of "His Glorious Appearing" was printed last year, and 3,000 copies of the Signs of the Times series are being printed, a part of which found buyers in the States and also in Africa.
In Lisbon a church was organized in September, 1912, with twenty-nine members, and has increased to forty-one. Elder Paul Meyer has been there since 1910, being left in charge from May, 1911. A good work has been done there in bringing the truth before the people. In a short time this church will have the experience of carrying on its own missionary work; while the workers enter new fields.
One sister, who for many years has suffered from an incurable disease, desired baptism. She could not accompany the others to the place of baptism, so later was baptized in an improvised baptistery. She has a fair knowledge of the Bible, and her hope is in the soon return of our Saviour. I have seen her writhing in agony, but expressing her desire that God's will be done. When I saw her after nine months had passed, as she was sitting on the floor, a picture of distress, I, with Brother Meyer and several friends, could hardly do more than wonder at her patience. Sitting on the floor by her side, I read the Bible and asked her a few questions, among them being, "If you saw any one in the same condition, could you say to such a sufferer that God is good and merciful?" The answer came with no delay: "Yes, God is good. He is merciful. Let his will be done." I thought of many who for a trifling thing are ready to murmur and complain, yet this sufferer, after years of sickness and trials, is ready to exclaim, "God is good."
From this church four young people have been sent to Switzerland to be trained for the work. One of these we expect to see begin work this year. Another brother has been canvassing for a few months. As the result of a series of meetings begun the first of this year at the special request of the church, there are a goodly number of interested persons.
The work in Oporto was begun in 1906, but was abandoned in 1908. In 1911 I moved my family to this place to pick up the threads left three years before. Later Brother Alberto Figueiredo came to help, and nearly a year later another brother joined in the work. Seventeen persons were baptized, and one was received by vote here. Thirteen entered the ranks in 1913.
One young girl of sixteen years has taken up the canvassing work, and is learning quite readily how to approach the people and sell literature. She began her work with the tracts "Secret of Health" and "Waymarks" and the paper Sinais dos Tempos. A new edition of 5,000 copies of the latter was printed, and she began with them the first of this year. In three weeks she sold about 600 copies at three cents each.
FOUR YOUNG PORTUGUESE CANVASSERS
Somebody having heard of her success, said it was her luck, a usual Portuguese expression. She then told her experience. Before she leaves the house, the family has prayer over this work, and on the way she lifts her heart to God for help. One day, having worked until nearly 4 P. M. without selling anything, she sought a secluded spot where she kneeled down and prayed for help. In a short time afterward she sold the book "His Glorious Appearing" and the tract "Secret of Health."
Her younger sister has accompanied her, as well as two younger brothers, one of whom is ten years old and is also learning to sell papers.
The accompanying photograph shows the four small Portuguese canvassers. They, with their mother, are realizing the fact that God answers prayer. My heart rejoices to see new workers being trained for service. We pray that God may give us more workers with solid characters, full of faith and courage, and may he hasten the day when all shall receive their reward of service.
Tsungwesi Mission, South Africa
By M. C. Sturdevant
M. C. STURDEVANT
AFTER a ten months' furlough, our party arrived at the mission Oct. 11, 1913, and received a hearty reception. A lookout had been kept, and when our ox wagon appeared in sight, many came running down the road to meet us. All were anxious to greet their old teachers once more. It was a touching sight, I assure you.
We found the mission in anything but an encouraging condition. The scourge of smallpox, resulting in the death of Brother Bowen, the burning of many of our native houses, together with being shut in for about three months by quarantine, had wrought havoc to the work of the mission, and brought more or less discouragement to our native students.
Sister Bowen and Brother L. Sparrow had worked hard and faithfully to hold the work together till conditions should change and help arrive. We are thankful to God that he sustained these workers and brought relief in time. We saw at once that there was an abundance of hard work to be done, so, by the help of the Lord, we started in, and by his grace and blessing we can now say that things are in a much more encouraging condition.
We are sorry to report that Brother F. B. Jewell, who, with his family, came out to help us, has not been well, and has finally been compelled to leave us for a time and go to our sanitarium at the Cape for treatment. During the time they were here, Sister Jewell was very faithful in her school work, and courage and hope sprang up again among the students. We regret this change that has come to us so soon again; but we must trust all to him who has held the work to the present moment.
The work done in the baptism class that was kept up by Brethren Bowen and Sparrow resulted in the baptism of twenty-six believers, Sabbath, January 17. How our hearts rejoiced to see some fruit of our labors! One may plant, another reap, but it is God who giveth the increase. At the beginning of the new year our school numbers seventy-nine, most of whom are boarding students.
The temporal side of our work is also encouraging. While it has been very dry all around us and little planting has been done in season, we have been blessed with sufficient rain so that we could plant and cultivate, and our crops have developed to the marvel of all who have seen them. The prospects are now good for a splendid harvest. Again our hearts go out in thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father, who has promised to be with us to the end.
Brethren, we are trying to press the battle to the very gates of the enemy, believing that victory is ours. Never were we more determined and hopeful in our work, and we are willing, if need be, to lay down our lives for this dear people. Never did we enjoy more of the Lord's presence and blessing in our efforts. Let us all be of good courage, and hasten the work, for our rest is in sight. Pray for the work at the Tsungwesi Mission.
