A common name for eczema is salt-rheum, and it is also known as moist tetter, and by a number of other names. Eczema is essentially an inflammation of the skin, and, like all inflammations, may be either acute or chronic. It is the most common of skin diseases, according to some authorities forming about one half of all cases.
A Multiform Affection
There are many varieties of eczema; indeed, its multiformity is characteristic of the disease. It may manifest itself simply as a group of red spots, or there may be slight red elevations of the skin, or little vesicles containing a yellowish, watery fluid, or even offensive matter; both scales and large crusts may form.
Fortunately, eczema is not a contagious disease, and consequently is not transmitted from one person to another. The one constant symptom is itching, which is often severe, and at times may be almost intolerable. But don't scratch under any circumstances; for to do so only aggravates the condition, and may be the means of prolonging the disease for years.
Eczema a Symptom
It is generally believed that in most cases eczema itself is merely a symptom, indicating lowered vitality and a deterioration of the blood. It may be symptomatic of dyspepsia, which happens frequently; of gout, rheumatism, and other dyscrasias. Sometimes it is due to certain drugs, and is then known as a medicinal eczema. Then there is the dietetic form, caused by errors of diet, which is by no means uncommon.
Irritation the Cause of Eczema
Broadly speaking, eczema is due to some form of irritation, which may be either external or internal. The external irritation may be mechanical, such as friction from coarse underwear; thermal, e. g., excessive heat; chemical, as when produced by irritating soaps, lotions, or ointments; or parasitic, that is, due to lice or micro-organisms. Indeed, all forms of eczema are more or less complicated by the action of micro-organisms, and often these are the direct cause.
Chronic eczema is usually the result of a long-continued irritation of some kind that has been neglected. To expect a cure while the causal factor is still at work is unreasonable.
Lack of Bathing
The lack of cleanliness is undoubtedly one of the most prolific causes of eczema. The accumulation of filth acts as an irritant, and soon inflames the skin. Such a condition invites the presence of parasites, and an aggravated case of eczema is quickly set up.
Eczema is apparently no respecter of persons; for it attacks both sexes and all ages, from the baby at the breast to the old man in his dotage. It attacks all classes of society, both rich and poor. The poor man is compelled to be frugal in his diet, but is often careless about his person, and thus becomes a prey to the disease. The rich man, on the other hand, while scrupulously clean on the outside often has impure blood, due to high living, and so he is also subject to eczema.
First Remove the Cause
It is obvious to any one that the first step in the treatment of eczema is to remove the cause. Whatever the cause may be, internal or external, seek it out, if possible, and remove it. On the removal of the exciting causes, the inflammation soon ceases, unless it has become chronic, and even then it is alleviated.
Build Up the General Health
After removing all known and possible causes, give careful attention to the general health. The patient is almost always in a run-down condition, and requires tonic treatment. Adopt a plain but nutritious and wholesome diet, plenty of restful sleep, and a well-regulated course of physical training. It is very important to improve digestion and nutrition in most cases, and also to secure regular action of the bowels. Pickles, pastries, sweets, cheese, and all rich and greasy foods, should be strictly avoided, since they are difficult of digestion. It is well to drink plenty of water, and fruit, both fresh and stewed, can usually be taken freely. By these simple means the blood will be purified, and the healthy, active body will soon be able to shake off the local disorder of the skin.15
The Local Treatment
The part should first be cleaned thoroughly, and then always kept clean. Soaps of all kinds should be avoided in acute cases. Warm, soft-water may be used, or better still, bran or oatmeal-water. The oatmeal-water may be prepared by boiling the meal in a bag, and squeezing it in the water to be used.
Acute eczema always requires soothing treatment. A lotion containing bicarbonate of soda is very useful, also carron-oil.
Bathing and sponging with hot water, together with the use of lead lotion and tar preparations, also camphor, will relieve the itching. A weak solution of carbolic acid, one per cent, is often very effective to allay itching. But don't forget that carbolic acid is a deadly poison, and the greatest precaution possible must be taken in its use. Creolin, soda, and alkaline baths may be used to advantage at times. For a soothing powder, starch alone is sometimes serviceable, but a good talcum powder is better. Vaseline is an excellent ointment, and may be made still more effective by the addition of small quantities of carbolic acid, salicylic acid, oxid of zinc, or resorcin, etc.
Chronic Cases
Chronic eczema, on the other hand, requires stimulation, and tar preparations are very useful, also mercury and sulphur ointments. Hard crusts and scabs may be softened by sweet-oil or vaseline, and then removed, and the ointment or lotion applied. In old cases where the skin is much thickened, a hot spray for five or ten minutes twice a day is often helpful.
Simple hydropathic treatment without the use of ointments or local applications of any kind, is often sufficient to effect a cure. Usually the patient's diet is at fault. With this properly corrected, and the system cleansed and purified by suitable baths and exercise, the distressing symptoms are almost sure to disappear.
In treating eczema of the scalp it is well to cut the hair quite close, and then the affected part can be reached to better advantage. The same would apply to affected portions of the face covered by a beard.
It is often difficult to prevent children from scratching, which only aggravates the disorder and causes it to spread. In such cases the affected part should be well protected, and the irritation relieved by proper treatment.
C. L. BUTTERFIELD
By C. L. Butterfield
Korea
C. L. BUTTERFIELD
WE have now found and rented a good brick building for our temporary headquarters, are moving our press into it, and will be at work there before the end of this week. This building is in the heart of the city, on one of the main streets. Our place is not so large as we shall need in the future, but will do this year very well. I certainly hope that we can have a building of our own by the time our lease is up on this place, one year from now.
We were glad to have Brother I. H. Evans with us for a few days on his trip to Europe. Brother and Sister F. H. De Vinney, of Japan, came with him, and spent a little time with us.
Because of a lack of the $300,000 Fund, or prospects of getting it this year, it seemed best to rent here in Seoul another year. But we must get Brother R. C. Wangerin located in the south this fall. It is about impossible for us to locate any one in this country unless we build a house for him, as there are no houses in which our missionaries can live. I do not believe in putting workers into Korean huts, where their lives are endangered. The houses here are not so good even as those in China, so you may be sure they are unfit for our workers to live in.
Our first annual camp-meeting will be held at Chinnampo, August 3-13. Brother DeVinney will be with us at that time, and we hope for a good attendance. I believe it will be a great help for our people here, and hope for a real spiritual revival. We are certainly thankful to hear how our people in the United States are taking hold in raising the $300,000 Fund. This means advancement in the fields all over the world.
Seoul.
Religious Retreat in Active Ministry
By W. M. Clow
A LIFE which keeps a stream in the strong flood must be fed from never-failing streams. Christ sought solitude, calm, and refreshment on the mountain-top, teaching us the high value of the quiet seasons of the soul. Religious retreat is part of any active and evangelizing ministry.—Dr. W. M. Clow.
The Power of Imagination
“I CAN’T stand this any longer, doctor,” said the nervous woman. “If the patient in the next room to mine, No. 22, doesn’t keep quiet at night, I must change my room or leave the sanitarium altogether.”
“What’s the trouble?” asked the physician.
“She has one of those squeaky old wooden bedsteads, and every time she turns over, it awakens me. Last night she did nothing but toss to and fro, and I didn’t get a single wink of sleep.”
“I’ll see to that at once,” he assured her. “A woman in your condition certainly must have absolute quiet at night. I’ll have the patient in No. 22 sleep on the roof. The fresh air will be better for her, anyway.”
The next morning the nervous woman appeared in the consultation-room of the sanitarium in radiant mood.
“How did you sleep?” asked the doctor.
“Perfectly,” she replied; “I’m so much obliged to you. It made a great difference.”
“I knew it would,” he said, gravely.
He was telling the truth, because he knew the power of the imagination in disease, especially of the nerves. As a matter of fact, No. 22 had not been occupied at night for three weeks. The patient had been sleeping on the roof all the time.—New York Tribune.
About Stamp-Collecting
About 1860 the practise of collecting postage-stamps began, and very soon there were offices opened in the great cities for their sale and barter. One dealer boasts that he sells annually two million stamps and thirty thousand stamp albums. A fine collection is said to cost from $10,000 to $50,000. There are, however, special collections worth a far larger sum. A Spanish nobleman, son of the Duchess de Galliera, is said to have spent more than $300,000 in postage-stamps. A collection belonging to Mr. Arthur Rothschild is also valued at nearly $300,000. There are collections in Paris worth $30,000, $50,000, and $100,000. Sometimes the dealers in stamps make successful speculations, as did the one who, foreseeing the unity of the Italian states into one Italian kingdom, bought up all the stamps of the small states—Modena, Lucca, the States of the Church, and Tuscany.
There are some stamps now worth fancy prices; for instance, the French orange one-franc stamp of 1848, which is worth 200 francs if new, and sixty francs if canceled. There are two blue republican stamps of 1852, one for three sous (fifteen centimes), and the other for six sous (thirteen centimes), which are and worth about $200. A Sandwich Island stamp of the first issue, with figures in place of a design, is generally worth $200 if in good condition.
The rarest stamp of all is that of the island of Mauritius in 1850. Be it red or be it blue, canceled or uncanceled, provided it has the word post-office upon its margin, it is worth $300. No doubt every young collector will hope that some day he will have the good fortune to find one, but I regret to assure him that this is very improbable; for all embassies and consulates the world over have been repeatedly entreated to keep a lookout for one.
The white Mexican half-real stamp, marked Guadalaxara, 1867, is worth, canceled, $50; a round British Guiana stamp, black or yellow, of 1850, brings $55; the telegraphic stamp of Bavaria, 1870; brings $24 uncanceled; the two-real red Spanish stamp of 1851 is held at $50 if new, and $20 if canceled. Apropos of this stamp it is said that in 1873, when Don Carlos II was ravaging the northern provinces of Spain, he issued postage-stamps for Biscay, Navarre, and Catalonia, and forbade any inhabitant of those provinces, under pain of death, to put any other stamp upon a letter. As his cousin Alfonso XII at once issued a counter order making it death to use the stamps of Don Carlos, the inhabitants of northern Spain had no resource but to give up writing letters.
In 1852 a mail steamer was stranded on her way home from South Africa. Her letter-bags were some time under water, but were at last recovered. All the blue triangular Cape of Good Hope stamps had turned black, and these black stamps are now in demand; value from $10 to $20.
The monks of the Chartreuse at Ghent have a room papered beautifully with postage-stamps. There are Chinese landscapes, Spanish chateaux, Swiss chalets, dogs, flowers, arabesques, and inscriptions,—Harper's Young People.
Woman's Province
A MAN can build a mansion,
And furnish it throughout;
A man can build a palace,
With lofty walls and stout;
A man can build a temple,
With high and spacious dome;
But no man in the world can build
That precious thing called home.
It is the happy faculty
Of woman far and wide,
To turn a cot or palace
Into something else beside,
Where brothers, sons, and husbands,
With willing footsteps come,—
A place of rest, where love abounds,—
A perfect kingdom—home.
—Selected.
The Lost Day
By J. R. Miller
WHEN the last hour of youth is gone, with its opportunities for preparation neglected and unimproved, there is nothing that can be done to repair the harm. “Some things God gives often. The seasons return again and again, and the flowers change with the months; but youth comes twice to none.” Thus each period of life has its own closing, its last hour, in which work is ended, whether well done or neglected. Indeed, we may say the same of each day: its end is the closing of a definite season through which we can never pass again. We may think of each single day as a miniature life. It comes to us new; it goes from us finished. There are three hundred sixty-five days in a year. The only way to have a well-finished year is to finish the tasks and duties of each day as it passes. A marred or a lost day anywhere along the years may lead to loss or even sore misfortune afterward.— J. R. Miller.
The October Collection
By A. J. HAYSMER
It will soon be time for another annual collection to be taken for the work among the colored people of the South. I am glad to be able to report real progress in this work. Although Satan is doing all in his power to hinder it, the forces of good are stronger than those of evil, and we see many precious souls accepting the message.
Last spring we held an institute for the workers, which was greatly appreciated by them. We had held institutes for our teachers before, but never anything for the ministers. All felt that they had received something that would be a great help to them in their future work. Some of the teachers have been connected with the tent work during their vacation this summer.
But the work for the colored people is not self-supporting; therefore it is our custom to take up a collection the first Sabbath in October for carrying it forward.
“For many years the Lord has been keeping before his people the needs of the work among the colored people in the Southern States of America. The moral darkness of this field is, in itself, a powerful plea for the exercise of liberality. In the past, some have done what they could to support this branch of our work; and their beneficence has borne fruit in the conversion of many souls. Although much remains to be done for the colored people, we have cause for rejoicing over the good beginning that has been made. . .
“Let us thank God, dear brethren and sisters, and take courage. God is laying bare his arm to do a mighty work in this mission field within the borders of our own land. He is now giving his people unusual opportunities to extend the message rapidly to the South. Especially should we reveal a spirit of beneficence at the time the yearly offering for the support of the colored work is taken up. God has reposed confidence in us by making us stewards of means and of his rich grace; and he now points us to the poor and suffering and oppressed, to souls bound in chains of superstition and error, and assures us that if we do good to these, he will accept the deed as done to himself. ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,’ he declares, ‘ye have done it unto me.’ Matt. 25:40.
“Thousands of colored people in the South may now be uplifted, and become efficient agents to help their own race, if they can receive the help God is calling upon us to give them. Multitudes of men and women in this field feel their deep poverty and their need of uplifting. And when faithful teachers come in to them to open to them the Scriptures just as they read, presenting truth in its native purity, the darkness will disappear. Bright beams of light will shine upon the soul searching for truth. With those who have had advantages, a close and intelligent investigation will take place upon the subjects of truth revealed in the Scriptures. Many will be taught of God. They will learn aright from the Great Teacher, and will accept with joy the truths that will sanctify and uplift. The moral image of God will be restored in the soul, and many will be eternally saved.
“My dear brethren and sisters, Christ is now saying to you: ‘Lift up your eyes and look on this Southern field; for it needs workers—sowers of the seed, and reapers. It needs your means for the maintenance of these workers.’ The grace of Christ is unlimited, it is God’s free gift. Then why should not this neglected people have some hope and courage and faith brought into their lives?
I have been greatly encouraged this summer, as I have been in different places in the West, to see how willing our people are to help in this work. We trust that our dear brethren and sisters will all remember the work in the Southern States,—the work at our own doors,—and that the October collection will be the largest ever made for this work. A. J. HAYSMER.
Three Good Camp-Meetings
By F. C. Gilbert
Allentown (Pa.) Camp-Meeting
As the Allentown camp-meeting has already been reported, I will only say that I greatly enjoyed the privilege of once more meeting the brethren and sisters of this conference at this time. I was glad to see the presence of the Holy Spirit, and to note the willingness on the part of the people to respond to the voice of God.
The two Sabbaths were marked with much of the blessing of the Lord. As sinners and backsliders came forward to give themselves to God, it was evident, by the earnest, contrite, and humble confessions which were made to the Lord and before his people, that his Holy Spirit was present. We hope the good work there begun will continue till every sin is put away.
One Jewish woman was present for several days during the meetings, and we are sure the Spirit of God strove with her heart. She once had been a Christian, and was now in a backslidden state. The workers all did what they could to lead her to Christ, and we hope that she found the peace of God before the meetings closed.
Manitoba Camp-Meeting
I arrived at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, the second day of the meeting. This city, of about six thousand inhabitants, seems a central place for a camp-meeting. The faithfulness on the part of the brethren and sisters present made up for lack of numbers. The Lord has been working for his people here during the past year. Although the conference has passed through some trying experiences, the Holy Spirit came into the meetings, and everything passed off smoothly. All differences were put away, and the presence of the Spirit of God harmonized the hearts of his people. It is indeed blessed to know that if brethren and sisters will only come together with a desire to do the Lord’s will, the Holy Ghost will bring all things into unity.
Elder F. L. Perry was unanimously elected president of the conference, and with one or two changes, the same officers will serve as last year. There was a good attendance of the German brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord worked upon the hearts of his people in the different nationalities.
Elder H. S. Shaw, president of the union conference, was present nearly all the time of the meeting, and helped much by his counsel and instruction as well as by his public labors. The labors of Elder G. F. Haffner among the Germans were also blessed of God. We hope that a good work will be done in the Manitoba Conference during the coming year.
As the meeting following this one was a German meeting in Saskatchewan, it was thought best that I spend a week or so in the city of Winnipeg, doing what I could to help the church there, and at the same time see what could be done for the Jews. We secured the Baptist tabernacle for several nights, and advertised the meetings. The first night we had a fairly good attendance, and would have had a large one the next night but for a hard shower. There seems to be some interest in Winnipeg among both the Jews and others. We believe that if a strong man could work in this important, growing city, many souls would be brought into the truth. May the Lord lay the burden of this city upon some soul, that the third angel’s message may be sounded to the people here.
One Jew told me that he knew a certain brother who was a Sabbath-keeper, and a most remarkable man. He paid a glowing tribute to Seventh-day Adventists; and it is evident that his ideas of Christianity have radically changed since he has known some of our brethren.
Alberta Camp-Meeting
After leaving Winnipeg, I went to the Alberta meeting, which was held at Didsbury. I had studied the geography of the country somewhat before I went to the province; but truly it is a country of “magnificent distances.” One can hardly realize what tremendous distance must be traveled in this western Canadian country to go from one province to another. This makes the field somewhat difficult to work.
The people who live in these provinces have gone there to make money rather than to settle permanently, and establish homes. This being so, it is rather difficult to get them interested in religious matters. Nevertheless, the Lord has blessed the labors of his workers here, and a number have taken their stand for the truth.
A new tent was erected in Didsbury, a town of about one thousand inhabitants. Elder P. P. Adams had been holding a series of meetings here for several weeks prior to this meeting, so there was a good attendance of the people of the town. The one thought of the meeting was to lead the people to see the times17in which we are living, and the necessity of a thorough consecration to the Lord. The blessing of God was with his people, and everything passed off harmoniously. The business meetings of the conference were more like social meetings than meetings for discussions, and a good spirit was present all through the meeting. Elder C. A. Burman, the president of the conference, has the confidence of the people, and all the departments of the work gave encouraging reports.
The meetings held on both Sabbaths were blessed seasons. Backsliders were reclaimed, and many gave their hearts anew to the Lord. Some also found Jesus as their Saviour for the first time, and went away with the consciousness that their sins were forgiven.
Very little change was made in the officials of the conference. Brethren Humann (German) and N. J. Aalborg (English) were ordained to the gospel ministry. The Lord gave freedom in presenting his word, and the last Sunday afternoon and evening the tent was more than filled.
Elder H. Shultz was present all through the meeting to help with the work among the German brethren, and Elder S. Mortensen was there part of the time to assist the work for the Scandinavians. Elder Shaw, president of the union, was also present and rendered valuable aid.
By a unanimous vote this conference decided to raise its quota the coming year to fifteen cents a week for each member, instead of ten cents, as formerly; during the last year almost fifteen cents a week for each member was paid in. The brethren also decided to raise a five-thousand-dollar fund to carry on the work for the coming year, five hundred dollars of this to go to foreign missions, and two hundred dollars to go to the General Conference for the Jewish work.
From this meeting we went to Pense, Saskatchewan, but I was unable to stay more than two days on account of illness at home, and other conditions which had arisen that made it imperative for me to leave. I regretted very much that I could not stay; but it was indeed a privilege to attend these meetings, and gain a better insight into the work in that vast field. Although it is in North America, there are some things about the conditions of the country, its laws, and its people which make it really a foreign field. It is an interesting field, and we believe that erelong, with the blessing of the Lord, encouraging results in the advancement of the message will be seen. We pray for the rich blessing of the Lord upon the labors and laborers of that union conference. May the coming year see many brought to a knowledge of the truth. F. C. GILBERT.
JOHN FRANCIS OLMSTED
By John Francis Olmsted
Ohio
COLUMBUS.—At the close of the regular church service, August 12, nine persons were baptized. Eight of these became members of the Columbus church, and one will join the Charleston (W. Va.) church. Six other candidates will go forward in this sacred ordinance later in the year.
The work has not advanced so rapidly as we desired, but we are truly thankful for these evidences of the Holy Spirit's power among us. Twenty-three have been added to the church the past sixteen months, fourteen by baptism and nine by letter. Perhaps if all had been more faithful and energetic in the service of the Lord, there might have been many more, but we rejoice that these have entered the fold of God's commandment-keeping church, and we earnestly pray that they may prove faithful when their way is assailed by the author of rebellion. We are also thankful for the spirit of cooperation and unity that exists in the church. Our hearts have been made glad many times as we have seen the zeal and devotion of our faithful members who are desirous of hastening the Lord's return. Our large churches are not free from trials; but we know that where sin abounds, grace much more abounds, so our hearts are filled with courage, and we would press on and work till Jesus comes.
JOHN FRANCIS OLMSTED
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH
By John Norton Loughborough
California
It is now four months since I reported for the REVIEW. I learned the other day that one of my friends said he “looked among the obituaries each week to see if I was dead.” On hearing of it, my daughter said, “No; father is very much alive!” While I can not, in advancing age, do as much public service as I did when younger, I thank the Lord that, with his blessing, I am still able to do a little for the encouragement of the people.
From May 7 to 15 I gave a number of talks to the students of the Pacific Union College, St. Helena, Cal. I was pleased to see the improvements the students are making under the joint labors and counsel of the professors and teachers. It was indeed interesting to see the plain, neat dormitory which is being erected, all by students’ labor, from the cutting of the trees until the lumber is placed in position in the erection of the building.
From May 17 to 28 I attended the camp-meeting of the Central California Conference, at Tulare. There was a good attendance at and interest in this their first camp-meeting since their establishment as a separate conference. It was encouraging to see the zeal with which they take hold of the work. There was a signal moving of the Spirit of God in the camp, and many conversions to the Lord.
From June 2 to 11 I was in attendance at the Northern California-Nevada camp-meeting, at Stockton. While there was not a large outside attendance at this camp, a great many of our own people, with their youth and children, were present. The labors put forth resulted in at least fifty baptisms at the camp-meeting, and in the home churches immediately following the camp-meeting.
From July 7 to 16, I attended the California camp-meeting in Oakland. This meeting was much larger than the general camp-meeting of last year, held before the conference was divided. I was privileged to do my share of speaking in all these meetings. It was cheering to see the earnest seeking of God for renewed consecration to the work, in response to calls for the same. We could but thank the Lord that he still gave to his servant, Sister White, strength to speak with clearness several times on the Oakland camp-ground.
Since the Oakland camp-meeting I have given eight talks in the summer school for teachers held at Lodi, near my home. This week I go (D. V.) to attend the Southern California camp-meeting, after which I will be present at the one held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Lord blesses as we talk of his hand so manifest in “leading out a people” in this great second advent movement, and in saying to our people, “Courage in the Lord; in his strength we are able to go up and receive the goodly land.”
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH
North Carolina Camp-Meeting
By T. H. Jeys
THIS meeting was held as appointed, at High Point, N. C., August 3-13. It was preceded by a workers' meeting of three days' duration. Meetings had also been conducted in the city, and there was therefore quite a good interest to hear the preaching. The attendance from the city was mostly at night and Sundays, when the crowds numbered from three hundred to eight hundred. Good attention was given, and excellent order was maintained. The use of the grove where the camp was pitched was given free by the owner.
Elder G. M. Brown was reelected to the presidency of the conference, with Elder R. T. Nash and Brethren W. E. Lanier, T. J. Woodall, and H. R. Hahn to assist him on the conference committee. Elder M. H. Brown again accepted the office of secretary and treasurer, but by reason of advancing age asked that help be supplied. All felt that the conference was favored in having his labor and counsel, and that help should be given, that he may yet have strength to give counsel and the benefit of his long experience.
During the meeting $360 was raised in cash and pledges for missions. For the emergency fund, $484 was raised. The Sabbath-school offerings for missions on the two Sabbaths amounted to fifty dollars.
Thirty family tents were pitched, and the attendance at Sabbath-school numbered 161. Two new churches were received into the conference, which now has a membership of 321, with thirteen churches.
On the last Sabbath of the meeting, fully seventy-five persons came forward for prayers, and there were many remarkable cases of divine help. Some were set free from tobacco and other evil habits. Husbands whose wives were praying for them, surrendered, and went home rejoicing in the Lord. Sons, whose mothers were anxiously watching the turn of affairs, heard the call of the Master, and parents and children rejoiced together.
Prof. H. R. Salisbury and Brother L. A. Hansen, of the General Conference; Elders Charles Thompson and G. W. Wells, Professor Hiatt, and Brethren V. O. Cole and W. H. Williams, of the Southeastern Union; Brother Miller, of the Christian Record, College View, Neb.; and the writer, from Oakwood Manual-Training School, were present a part or all of the time. Besides these all the workers of the local conference were present. The preaching was practical, and was well received by the brethren. Twenty persons were baptized on the last Sunday of the meeting.
It was a matter of much pleasure to me to return to this field once more18after an absence of two years. I note the growth and progress of the work with much satisfaction. North Carolina has many problems, but these will all be solved; and as the hearts of the brethren are united in the finishing of the work, God will give wisdom for every time of need. The brethren returned to their homes full of courage. Meetings will be continued in the city, and I confidently hope that a church will be raised up.
T. H. JEYS.
The Secret of Soul-Winning
By G. B. Thompson
THE preacher is God's spokesman. He is to receive a message from his Master, and as a true watchman, deliver it to the people. This is a responsibility which can be measured only in the light of eternity and the worth of souls purchased by the blood of the Redeemer.
The aim of all preaching should be the salvation of men. We must save them from sin, and deliver them from the bondage and slavery of sin into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Any preaching which does not aim at this is spiritless, Christless, and of little value. It is not enough to warn men; we must save them from eternal death.
A prophetic spokesman for God says, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” I sometimes fear that this woe is upon us. Where is the zeal proportionate to our message? Considering the awful tidings we hear, we take things too easy. The terrible burden of souls which should rest upon the watchman is not upon us. The following from the servant of the Lord should be prayerfully studied:—
“I looked to see the humility of soul that should ever sit as a fitting garment upon our ministers, but it was not upon them. I looked for the deep love for souls that the Master said they should possess, but they had it not. I listened for the earnest prayers offered with tears and anguish of soul because of the impenitent and unbelieving in their own homes and in the church, but heard them not. I listened for the appeals made in the demonstration of the Spirit, but these were missing. I looked for the burden-bearers, who in such a time as this should be weeping between the porch and the altar, crying, Spare thy people, Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach; but I heard no such supplications. A few earnest humble ones were seeking the Lord. At some of these meetings one or two ministers felt the burden, and were weighed down as a cart beneath sheaves. But a large majority of the ministers had no more sense of the sacredness of their work than children.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. V, pages 165, 166.
Does the condition set forth in the foregoing statement still exist? If so, we as ministers have a most serious work before us. The faithful minister is represented as a cart beneath sheaves. This means much more than to preach a few sermons in a scholarly and logical manner. It means to bear a load of responsibility; to carry day by day on our hearts a lost world, whose probation is soon to end. I most sincerely believe that those who do this will be soul-winners.
In order to win souls, we must come close to them; we must love them. The work can not be done by proxy. Mechanical efforts will not answer; there must be the personal touch. It has been well said that we can never do much for the soul of an Italian while regarding him as a “dago,” or for a Jew while nicknaming him a “sheeny.” This illustrates the principle. We must recognize a human brotherhood to all men, and in love reach out the hand of love and helpfulness if we save their souls. A visitor to a pottery observed one of the workmen carefully and at great pains molding a certain piece. Said the visitor, to whom this seemed a slow process, “Is there no tool you can use to facilitate your work?” “No, sir,” said the workman; “we have tried several, but somehow or other in this work we must have the human touch.”
So also in the work of the successful minister, there must be the personal touch. But before men can give this, their own hearts must be touched by the pierced hands of a compassionate, long-suffering Redeemer. Dr. J. H. Jowett truthfully says: “If my compassion be dried up, the people will know my benumbment. My preaching, when I stand in my pulpit, if I be dried up and hard, will fall like showers of gravel, and not like a shower of soft and refreshing rain.” If success has not been attending our labors, it might be well prayerfully to search out the cause, to consider what kind of shower we have been letting fall on poor, lost souls,—whether a shower of gravel or of rain; for surely there is a very wide difference.
To be a true soul-winner, there must be manifested the tenderness of the loving Shepherd. This is expressed so well by Dr. Jowett that I quote his words:—
“May I ask another question? I scarcely know how to phrase this question, but I will put it thus: Is the wooing note present in our ministry? The wooing note? If we do not realize the horrors of bondage with a profound and exquisite sympathy with the bound, the tender notes of the lover and the wooer are not heard in our speech. Is not our preaching too uniformly severe? Is there not too much in our preaching which savors of the judgment-seat, and too little that is fragrant with the winsomeness of the fireside? ‘Out of the throne proceeded thunderings and lightnings’? Ay, but out of the throne proceeded also the river of the water of life, the gracious river of soft, healing, redeeming grace. I express my own fear that the thunderings and lightnings are rather too prominent in our ministry. I do not see and feel enough of the gleaming, gracious river. I think we need more tenderness and less scolding; we need more wooing; we need to drive less, and to constrain more. ‘Compel them to come in.’ I am glad the Revised Version has taken out the word ‘compel,’ and reads, ‘Constrain them to come in.’ Woo them in. Go back to the wooing days; think of all the little devices, all of them legitimate, employed in order to woo the affection of one you love. Think, too, of the little tendernesses paid, of the kindly abounding services rendered, when even the flickering of the response seemed to be a repulse, and how you multiplied your attentions and nursed the gracious awakening. Every great preacher is a wooer. ‘Turning to the Old Testament Scriptures, we might expect the wooing note to be absent. Amos is severe in speech, stern in expostulations, multiplied in denunciations; yet you find that even stern, thundering Amos sometimes lays aside his thunder, and begins to woo. And19as for Hosea, he is a wooer from beginning to end. Turn to Isaiah at the end of the chapter in which there is poured out such denunciation and woe, and note how he lays all this aside, and begins with, ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye.’ Speak right up to the heart of the people; go up, whisper to it, ‘Comfort ye my people.’ He was the great wooer.”