Your ShelfYour Projects

Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 16.

GOD'S WAY IS A GOOD WAY
Earlier text: Secret Societies

Try Digging

By The Country Contributor

THE woman who cannot make a home in a tent can't make one in a palace. And so with your garden. If you can catch a mood in your own petunia bed, a hint and stirring of divine things in the tangle of color and sunshine, you have all the spirit of beauty ever found in the hanging gardens of Babylon or the Alcazar gardens of Spain.
If you have sinned and suffered, try working in the garden.
If you are lonely, if life has hurt you unmercifully, see if digging will not cure you.
If you are rich and “do not have to work,” do it anyway. You probably need more than any other thing to be tired and hungry.
But if you are poor,—if the dooryard is narrow and the porch is ugly,—your reasons for gardening are still more urgent.—The Country Contributor, in the Ladies' Home Journal.

God's Warriors

By Arthur W. Spaulding

ARTHUR W. SPAULDING
They love not life who war for God; They beg no boon of death. They hear Christ's challenge to the foe, Not what he answereth.
They ask not where nor how is ease; They shirk no danger zone. Perchance they charge with comrades true; Mayhap they die alone.
The desert marks their high resolve; Their power the city knows; Their faith is branded on the seas, And on th' eternal snows.
O count not them who fall, as dead; For, victors in the strife, In Christ they live, through ceasing time And through eternal life.
They loved not life unto the death: Their valor cheers us on! Please God, their places shall be filled Until the fight is won!
Hendersonville, N. C.

Southeastern California Conference

By W. F. Martin

As our conference had to be postponed on account of the storms and floods, our people did not have the privilege of hearing the report of the year's work. It has been decided to postpone the conference till the time of camp meeting. This is to be held in August, possibly the first of the month. The location has not been decided on. Thinking the people of our conference would be interested in some of the items of progress that would have been reported at the conference, I am sending them to the REVIEW.
During the year there was paid in tithe $36,937.46. This is an increase over 1914 of $1,557.60. We received in offerings to missions $13,150.33. This leaves us $3,094.47 short of the twenty-cent-a-week goal. We hope to reach the goal during 1916. We have in our conference fifteen church schools, employing eighteen teachers and having an enrolment of 384 pupils. A number of our young people are attending school in San Fernando Academy and Pacific Union College. We are glad for these children and young people, and pray that they may receive a training that will fit them for a place in the work.
One very encouraging feature of the year's work has been the success attending the evangelistic work of our laborers. It has been our constant endeavor continually to pursue this line of work. At least two or more meetings in new fields have been in continuous operation. As a result, the reports show that during the year 342 persons have been received into the church, 277 through baptism and 65 on profession of faith. This encourages us to more earnest, faithful labor for the year to come. Through the blessing of the Lord we were able to operate our conference within our income. It has not been necessary to draw on our surplus, and our treasurer's books show a fair operating gain. We are glad for these evidences of the favor of the Lord, and hope for even better success in the year to come. W. F. MARTIN.

Fire Loss in Mississippi

By C. S. West

ON Sabbath afternoon, March 11, the Mississippi Conference building, situated at 932 Union St., Jackson, Miss., was destroyed by fire. The origin of the fire is not known, but it is evident that it began in the room where all our tent and camp meeting equipment had been stored. This building was erected a few years ago as a dwelling place for our workers, and was also used to store our tent and camp meeting equipment.
When the fire started, all the inmates of the house were at home. Henry Balsbaugh and I were living on the first floor. Brother Ben C. Marshall, the secretary and treasurer of the conference, was living above on the second floor. Before any of us were aware of the fire, the whole roof was in flames, and those who were on the second floor narrowly escaped with their lives. Everything on the second floor was destroyed. Brother and Sister Marshall lost all their furniture and personal belongings, escaping with only the clothing they had on.
The total loss, personal and to the conference, amounts to about $6,000. There was insurance on the building of $2,000, which will practically cover that loss, but there is an entire loss of at least $1,500 on our tent and camp meeting equipment. We have had an insurance on this of $500, and we hope that the insurance company will allow us the full amount. Brother Marshall's loss was entire, having no insurance; Brother Balsbaugh's loss was slight, and my loss amounted to about $360, which, however, was covered by insurance.
We do not know how to replace this loss to our conference, but hope, and have confidence in God to believe, that this seeming catastrophe will be turned into a blessing. We do not know how we can raise sufficient money to buy the tent and camp meeting equipment that will enable us to carry on our summer's work and also the camp meeting, but we have hope in God that his work will not be hindered during this summer's campaign. C. S. WEST.

Publicity Work in Michigan

By M. C. Guild

IN the last effort at Saginaw it was demonstrated that the newspaper is a valuable factor in spreading the light of present truth.
Synopses of the sermons delivered were inserted in the morning and afternoon papers, and during the time that the meetings were in progress liberal space was granted us. The paid display advertising that we furnished these papers helped in securing space for the sermons.
As the soul-stirring truths regarding the signs of Christ's soon coming, the striking fulfilment of the prophecies, and the binding obligation of the Bible Sabbath were published, we soon learned that large numbers were reading the vital truths of the message.
The two leading newspapers not only have a good circulation in the city, but are also read in a large section of the State.
We learned of groups of people who met in the city and read and discussed the subjects presented. Men in the country, working on the road, talked of the sermons that were preached, and seriously discussed the subjects they had read. Different persons clipped the sermons from the papers and inclosed them in their letters to friends. Almost everywhere that the papers were circulated we heard of persons who were reading the truth, some as far as one hundred and thirty-five miles distant.
A young lady living about sixty miles from the city, after reading the sermons in the paper, although somewhat prejudiced, came and listened attentively. On her return home she took with her a good supply of our literature. We encouraged her to attend one of our schools. This she is doing. She recently began the observance of the Sabbath, has been baptized, and is rejoicing in the truth. At another time a young man and his wife received advertising matter concerning our meetings which was distributed on the street, attended the meeting, and became deeply interested, and through personal appeal made to them in their home, they both gave their hearts to God. They were baptized, and are now faithful, devout Christians. This young man is the superintendent of the Sabbath school in the church to which he has moved.
Recently I succeeded in publishing an article on temperance in one of the city papers. This was unusual, as our city has saloons, and temperance subjects are not popular. Soon I began to receive congratulations from business men and from members of the W. C. T. U., and have since been able to affiliate with the temperance forces in active labor.
A young man who until recently was a mail order clerk on the train, has, with his wife, given his heart to God and begun to keep the Sabbath. Just recently I had the privilege of burying them both with their Lord in baptism. They came into the truth largely through personal work and by reading our good literature.
Brethren, it pays to publish the truth in the daily papers, to advertise it, and to circulate our reading matter everywhere. We have reached the time when the printed page of truth is taking effect on human hearts. M. C. GUILD.

A Happy Sabbath

By W. S. Mead

DECEMBER 25 was one of the happiest Sabbaths the Calcutta (India) church ever spent. In the morning, at nine o’clock, we all came together for Sabbath school. Our Sabbath school is anything but tedious and desultory; it is full of life.
Then at fifteen minutes past ten we sang a few songs and witnessed the baptism of seven new believers. Three of these were young people, members of our Sabbath school. Two others were young persons who had been converted during the week of prayer, and the other two were older persons who had been studying the truth for some months.
At 3:30 P. M. we all came together again, and took part in the ordinances of humility and the Lord’s Supper, after a short time spent in offering individual praise and testimony.
The hour from five to six was spent in listening to words of instruction and exhortation from our pastor, J. M. Comer; and we departed to our homes grateful indeed for that blessed, thrice-blessed, Sabbath.
It had been ours to see in the different ordinances our Saviour, first as man serving his fellow men, then as the sacrifice for our transgressions, obedient even unto death; and next as our risen Redeemer triumphant over sin and death and the grave, and still Lord also of the Sabbath day.
After all, what a wonderful privilege it is really to walk in his steps—washing each other’s feet, going to church on the Sabbath day, and partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine as he did.
“What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Jesus; What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus my Lord!”
W. S. MEAD.

An Experience in Healing

By Mrs. G. W. Rowe

BELIEVING it will be a source of encouragement to our people, and that it will be to the glory of God, I wish to relate an experience that came to me last year.
Last spring, in the month of March, I was taken very sick, and suffered excruciating pain. The doctor was called, and after several days decided that I must go to a sanitarium. The physicians there, upon examination, said that only by undergoing a surgical operation could I find relief. The operation was a very serious one, and I was at the sanitarium about six weeks. I hoped to be a well woman in the end, but as the time drew near for me to return home, I found to my bitter disappointment that I was unable to walk. I was carried to and from the train, and then got about on crutches as best I could, hoping against hope all summer long that I should get the use of my limb. September came, however, and found me still on crutches, with increasing pain.
It is impossible for me to tell of my depression of spirit, but suffice it to say that my extreme necessity drove me to the Source of all comfort. September 17 Elders F. I. Richardson and G. A. Snyder were called to anoint me and pray for me. True to the Lord's promise, the prayer of faith saved the sick, and he raised me up. I was healed instantly. A cooling sensation began at the back of my head and passed over my body like electricity. Several minutes passed before I realized that I was healed, so occupied was my mind with my spiritual condition, as the sweet comfort of the knowledge of sins forgiven took possession of my heart. Then I realized that God had done a complete work, and that the part of the promise I had not noticed before, “And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him,” was also fulfilled to me. I did not realize how complete a work God had done for me until I went to put on my glasses. I had been obliged to wear glasses from the time I was twelve years old, but on this day, as I raised them to my eyes, I found that they were an obstruction to my sight. Then I noticed also that the ulcers had disappeared from my mouth.
Never had I enjoyed such perfect health as I have had since my healing. My heart goes out in praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father for his wonderful love to me in granting not only health of body, but also peace of mind. To him be all the glory.
Mrs. G. W. ROWE.

More Evidence Against Alcohol

By L. A. Hansen

A RECENT mail brought the following item of health news, issued under date of Feb. 23, 1916:—

“ALCOHOL AND PNEUMONIA

“The United States Public Health Service brands strong drink as the most efficient ally of pneumonia. It declares that alcohol is the handmaiden of the disease which produces ten per cent of the deaths in the United States. This is no exaggeration. We have known for a long time that indulgence in alcoholic liquors lowers the individual vitality, and that the man who drinks is peculiarly susceptible to pneumonia. The United States Public Health Service is a conservative body. It does not engage in alarmist propaganda. In following out the line of its official duties it has brought forcefully to the general public a fact which will bear endless repetition. The liberal and continuous user of alcoholic drinks will do well to heed this warning, particularly at this season of the year when the gruesome death toll from pneumonia is being doubled.”
The same mail brought the Journal of the American Medical Association of March 4, in which the first editorial article is entitled “New Evidence Against Alcohol.” This article presents the most recent observations on the possible effects of alcohol in moderate doses. We quote:—
“The data already collected on the effects of alcohol are extremely voluminous. Some of the work may be said to be tinged with almost inevitable traces of personal bias, for the subject is one on which many persons have firm convictions, often based on ethical, social, or economic grounds rather than on physiologic evidence. Nothing is more convincing in this field, however, than clear-cut indications furnished by strictly objective scientific investigation of the possible effects of alcohol in moderate doses—for these alone are worthy of debate—on the functions of the human organism. Duplication of results, and frequent repetition of the experiments by independent investigators in a matter of such fundamental importance, will call forth no criticism of wasted scientific energy.
“Accordingly, the Nutrition Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution, of Washington, ideally equipped for a re-investigation of the alcohol question under the best auspices, has taken up the subject anew with a thoroughness and on a scale which it is expected will satisfy the majority of scientists as to the dependability of the results. The program for this exhaustive experimental study of the physiologic consequences of the ingestion of small doses of ethyl alcohol in man, has begun with the psychologic aspects of the subject. This feature, studied by Dodge and Benedict, included the effects of alcohol on a selected group of interrelated processes covering the fundamental neural activities at various levels of the cerebrospinal system, from the simplest reflexes of the lumbar cord to the most complex cortical arcs that could be measured accurately by available laboratory technic.”
The tests made involved certain nerve reflexes, the eye, speech, memory, and sensory changes, and were of a nature to insure accuracy. We quote the results as given in the last two paragraphs of the Journal editorial:—
“The greatest effect was found in the reflexes. In the patellar reflex, alcohol increased the latent time ten per cent, while it decreased the amount of quadriceps thickening forty-six per cent. In the protective lid reflex it increased the latent time seven per cent, while it decreased the extent of lid movement nineteen per cent. It increased the latent time of the eye reactions five per cent, and that of the speech reactions three per cent. Memory and the free associations were only slightly affected. Sensitivity to faradic stimulation decreased fourteen per cent after alcohol. The number of finger movements decreased nine per cent, and the velocity of the eye movements decreased eleven per cent, as a consequence of the ingestion of alcohol.
“These observations bring further evidence of the general depression of the neuromuscular processes at all levels of the cerebrospinal system. There is depression of even the simplest forms of motor processes, such as are found in eye and finger movements. Certainly nothing in all of this suggests any true stimulation, any increase in psychologic or physiologic efficiency. Impairment seems to be the keynote expressed by the depression. Here is the statement of the Nutrition Laboratory investigators: ‘In conjunction with the pulse acceleration, the general neuromuscular depression may be regarded as presumptive evidence of the effect of alcohol on organic efficiency. In none of our data is there any indication of a pure facilitation effect of alcohol.’ These scientific findings leave the conclusion of Quensel unimpeached. ‘Work and alcohol,’ he said, ‘do not belong together, especially when work demands wide-awakeness, attention, exactness, and endurance.’”
These authoritative statements are worthy of preservation by those interested in this subject.
L. A. HANSEN.

Work Among the Colored People of Pittsburgh, Pa.

By A. N. Durrant

SINCE the dedication of our new church building on January 16, the Lord has continued to bless our work. Our Sunday night meetings are well attended, and many are interested. Sunday night, March 12, I baptized six persons, one of whom is a carpenter who worked on the church building last fall. Since we entered the building the last of December, we have added nine new members by baptism. Others are keeping the Sabbath, whom we hope to see take this step soon.
As the union conference is now holding its biennial session here, March 13-19, I have planned for revival meetings in our church, when the visiting colored ministers can help each evening, while all attend the union meetings during the day. We ask the prayers of all God's people, that our efforts to increase the membership may speedily be realized.
The offerings for missions continue to grow. Sometimes the Sabbath school donations are almost six dollars. On the first Sunday night of each month we are also receiving payments on the pledges made at the dedication. This money is applied on our church debt.
A. N. DURRANT.

Surrendering Our Will to God

“ONLY in proportion as our own will is surrendered are we able to discern the splendors of God’s will.”

From a Shut-In

By Francis T. Sparks

I HAVE been a shut-in for twenty-four years, and so severely afflicted with rheumatism that I have not walked a step for nineteen years. Last spring some Seventh-day Adventist literature fell into my hands, and I was so much interested in the truths presented that I kept on studying. Finally, in October, I went to Shreveport, La., and Elder W. P. McLennan gave me Bible studies. The first of December I united with the Seventh-day Adventist church at that place.
I am still studying the message, and trying to prepare myself for work in the Lord's vineyard. I wish you to join with me in praying that if it is the divine will, I may be healed, so that I may have an active part in giving the third angel's message to a world in darkness. I long to go out and tell others how great things God has done for me. However, I can say, His will, not mine, be done. FRANCIS T. SPARKS.

Medical Missionary Department

W. A. RUBLE, M. D. - - General Secretary
L. A. HANSEN - - Assistant Secretary
H. W. MILLER, M. D. - - N. Am. Div. Secretary

Prohibition in Vermont

By R. J. Bryant

PROHIBITION being a State-wide issue in Vermont this year, it was decided that our people should carry on a strong campaign in the interest of the temperance cause.
After due consideration and the formulation of plans for a strong work, the writer, accompanied by a corps of workers, visited Barre, Montpelier, Burlington, Rutland, St. Albans, and several smaller places. We planned to put a copy of the Temperance number of the Youth's Instructor into every home in these cities, besides delivering lectures in the largest auditoriums that we could find. In this campaign we were greatly assisted by Elder C. S. Longacre, of Washington, D. C.
Before going to Barre we had written to one of the leading ministers of that city, asking for his cooperation. He placed the matter before the ministers' association, and they voted to ask us not to come to Barre. However, we felt impressed that we should work there as well as in other places, so we secured the large opera house and sent our corps of workers out over the city to place a copy of the Youth's Instructor in every home. When this was accomplished, we visited the ministers and found that the prejudice had been removed; and we believe the impression created by the work with the Youth's Instructor is a lasting one for good, as the ministers themselves commented very favorably on our work. The evening meeting in the opera house, where Elder C. S. Longacre spoke, was well attended by an enthusiastic audience.
The word had gone to Montpelier ahead of us, and our workers found that people were ready to receive the papers, and the ministers were ready to coöperate with us. One of the leading ministers of this city offered prayer from the platform at the beginning of our meeting, which was held in the large city hall, one of the finest halls in the State of Vermont. Our audience was made up of the very best people of the city.
In Rutland we held two meetings in the Shrine Theater. These meetings, like those held in the other places, were well attended by a very enthusiastic audience. Here, too, our workers placed a copy of the paper in every home, and we received favorable comments from the ministers of other denominations, as well as from the leading people of the city.
In Burlington we met with excellent success. Here a large gathering attended the lecture in the Majestic Theater. This last meeting was held on Sunday night, after a big temperance rally of the Flying Squadron Foundation had been held in the forenoon. Without any request from us, these workers announced our meeting which was to follow at night.
We were sorry that we were unable to secure the city hall in St. Albans at a price within our reach, but we sent our workers there with the Youth's Instructor, and we believe that much good will be accomplished. These workers are also visiting a number of smaller places in the State. Altogether nearly 15,000 homes have been visited, and more than 30,000 circulars have been scattered. Besides 14,000 of the Youth's Instructor, we placed 2,000 of the tract “Drunkenness and Crime” where they will be read.
Everywhere we went the newspapers were open to us, and good accounts of the lectures and of the work with the Youth's Instructor were published. Especially was this true of the Burlington papers. We feel that this was in the providence of God, because the Burlington Free Press is the leading paper of Vermont, and is read in most of the homes in the northern part of the State.
At the time of this writing, the election has not been held, but already we can see splendid results from this campaign. Thousands of people thankfully accepted the papers, and we know by the attendance at the meetings and the visits made to leading clergymen of the State that through our temperance work a great deal of prejudice has been broken down, and everywhere we heard remarks to the effect that the Seventh-day Adventists were doing a good work. It was our privilege to meet some of the leading business people of these cities, and, in answer to their questions, to inform them concerning our people and work as a whole.
We feel grateful to the Southern New England Conference for donating 3,000 papers for this work, and sincerely hope and pray that God will add his blessing to all that has been done.
R. J. BRYANT.

A Splendid Institute

By J. A. Applegate

The accompanying picture of the group of colporteurs and prospective colporteurs gathered at the recent institute held in Burlington, Vt., cannot convey the spirit of earnest enthusiasm and consecration to the work manifested by each one attending.
From the very first, it was evident that angels of God were present. The work started with a consecration service led by the conference president, Elder R. J. Bryant. Those attending the institute were of “one heart and one soul” in seeking divine help. Elder Bryant gave practical, spiritual Bible studies from day to day.
Brother V. O. Cole, our veteran field secretary, gave the general instruction on principles and methods. This was very clear and pointed, and was highly appreciated by the entire class. In fact, each succeeding lesson seemed to surpass the previous one.
This institute was attended continuously by the conference president, the secretary-treasurer, and the home missionary secretary, as well as by the local field secretary. We especially appreciated a visit from the branch house manager, Brother L. W. Graham.
Twenty persons were in regular attendance at the classes, and seven of these studied the splendid new edition of “Bible Readings,” three studied “The Great Controversy,” three “Heralds of the Morning,” four “Bible Footlights,” and three “The Coming King.” Others from the Burlington church attended the classes part of the time, and plan on entering the work later in the season.
COLPORTEURS IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCE
COLPORTEURS IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCE
One feature of this institute of especial interest was the fact that each one present set a goal to be reached during the remainder of the year. These goals ranged from $1,000 to $3,000, and totaled $12,100. We confidently expect to make more than this amount of sales in the Northern New England Conference during 1916.
Splendid meals, prepared by the wife of one of the regular colporteurs, were served. The members of the Burlington church did everything in their power to entertain us and to make the institute a success, and our stay among them will be long remembered. They took turns in bringing in cooked food and supplies.
The public services conducted each evening by Elder Bryant were on the topics of the day, and were illustrated by stereopticon views. They were well attended by those not of our faith. These studies were also a great help to the colporteurs present. The closing service was on the temperance question, and was preparatory to the temperance campaign in the State of Vermont.
We firmly believe this institute marks the dawning of a new day in the colporteur work in the Northern New England Conference, and rejoice to see that our goal of $10,000 in sales, set during the union conference, was too small. God wants to do a large work through his people, and we are determined by his help to do our part.
J. A. APPLEGATE.

Religious Liberty Department

By C. S. Longacre

C. S. LONGACRE - - N. Am. Div. Secretary

Publishing Department

N. Z. TOWN    -    -    -    -    General Secretary W. W. EASTMAN    -    -    -    N. Am. Div. Secretary

Canvassing Experiences

By Walter Harper

God has been very near to me since I last reported to the REVIEW. His loving care has not failed, and I praise him for his great goodness and his wonderful works to the children of men.
I left Boulder, Colo., about the middle of November, and worked across the Sierra Nevadas in eastern California to Loma Linda, with excellent success. My health also continued good. I was sustained through many hard experiences by the knowledge that the workers in the Sanitarium in Colorado were remembering me daily before the throne of grace.
I disposed of many copies of our good books, but the Master's care over "Great Controversy" sales was especially notable. I do enjoy selling this precious volume, and pray that some to whom I have sold it may thereby find their way into the kingdom of God. I also sold many copies of "His Glorious Appearing" in foreign languages, particularly Italian. I never before encountered foreigners so ready to buy a religious book.
Surely now is the time to attempt great things for God, and to expect great things from him. This is the time of the latter rain, and we should "seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness," upon us. WALTER HARPER.

The Colporteur Work in Iceland

By W. W. Eastman

BROTHER O. J. OLSEN accompanies his annual report of the sale of subscription books by our colporteurs in Iceland with the following note:—
“We are not very great, but growing slowly all the time. The colporteurs are of good courage, wading rivers and streams, their backs loaded with books weighing from fifty to one hundred pounds, carrying them sometimes a distance of from twenty to forty miles.”
The report accompanying this note shows sales by the colporteurs for 1915 to the amount of $2,875. Thus in the far north, as well as the south, east, and west, our books are being placed in the homes of the people by the faithful, self-sacrificing colporteurs.
W. W. EASTMAN.

In Hard-Times Territory

By W. H. George

THERE is a section of Virginia where it is generally claimed that the people are too poor to buy books, owing to the low prices of tobacco. The writer had occasion to stop off in this section about seven hours while waiting for the next train, on which Elder W. C. Moffett was coming. We were en route to visit the new company at Republican Grove, Halifax County. I felt that I could not afford to lose the time, and recalling the words,—
“Count that day lost, whose low-descending sun Views from thy hand no worthy action done,”
and remembering that I had a prospectus for “Bible Readings” in my grip, I started to take orders. When dinner time came I had $41 worth of orders. While taking my lunch, I placed another order, making $44 worth. Having a little time before the train came, I increased this amount to $52 worth, all in about three fourths of a day. The orders were for three full morocco, four half morocco, and seven marbled edges. One person asked me to take $2 in advance on his book. This amount came in handy, as I was a little short of funds. I thanked the Lord for it. He knows when his people have need of anything. I was told that a canvasser could do nothing in that territory. We should be awake and use all the disadvantages as arguments to sell our books, turning every hindrance into a selling point. Now is our opportunity.
At the Republican Grove church we found five or six brethren who are getting ready to enter the book work.
The prospects are very encouraging for 1916. Last year we placed $17,338 worth of literature in the field, and we have set our goal at $25,000 for 1916. We are making nearly one hundred per cent deliveries in the wintertime. We thank God. W. H. GEORGE.

The Bible Year

Assignment for April 2 to 8

April 3: 2 Samuel 1 to 4.
April 4: 2 Samuel 5 to 8.

First and Second Samuel

“The great event in the books of Samuel is the establishment of a monarchy.
“The three leading characters are Samuel, Saul, and David.
“These books open with the aged priest Eli as the priest, judge, and leader of the people. Samuel is born in answer to prayer; he takes the place of Eli. The people ask for a king; Saul is given. Saul, proving unworthy, is deposed, and David takes his place. The books close with the end of his reign.

“The Last Judge of Israel

“Samuel has been placed next to Moses in the great work which he did. Moses, under God, was the founder of the theocracy. Samuel was the founder of the monarchy; he is one of the most majestic figures in the Old Testament; his public and private acts are above reproach. When he became judge, the tribes were at war with the surrounding nations and with themselves; the national religion had fallen into decay. When he died, the tribes had become a nation respected and feared by their enemies, and Jehovah’s religion was firmly established.

“The Rise of the Monarchy

“Necessity. It is evident that God intended the Israelites to become a great nation living immediately under his government and knit together by faith in him. But they proved themselves unworthy. They disregarded God’s commands, fell into evil ways, and were fast losing their national and religious life.
“Steps leading to the kingdom. The experience and condition of the people under the later judges constituted the first step. It was clearly seen that for salvation from their troubles a strong union must be made. Samuel was ordered by God to accede to the people’s wishes; reluctant at first, he finally yielded, and anointed Saul as king.

“The First King

“Saul is one of the most dramatic as well as one of the saddest characters in Old Testament history. As a young man he gave promise of a very bright career. His ability as a leader, a statesman, and a warrior was of the first order. He assumed the reins of government with great zeal, and soon made his power felt throughout the land. But his fault was in the fact that he tried to reign like the kings round about him, and not to regard himself as truly a subject of God as any one of his people. Feeling his rejection most keenly, the latter end of his life was embittered by fits of deep melancholy.

“The Second King

“David, the shepherd lad called to be king in place of Saul, proved himself to be an almost ideal king. The keynote of his character is struck in his duel with Goliath. ‘Then said David, . . . Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.’ In this supreme trust in God is marked his entire difference from Saul. After the death of the first king, David was invited to the throne of Judah. The northern tribes remained faithful to Saul, and Ishbosheth, his son, reigned over them until his assassination, when they invited David to be their king; he was then crowned a second time in the city of Hebron.
“The home policy of David was centralization of power. Soon after he became king of the whole nation, he besieged Jerusalem (then called Jebus), and taking it, made it the political and ecclesiastical capital of his kingdom.
“After coming into the Land of Promise, the Hebrews had worshiped at many local shrines, such as Gilgal, Tabor, and Bethel; now all these were broken up, and the worship centered at the temple. The importance of this change cannot be overestimated.
“The foreign policy of David was strong and vigorous. He was not content to wait and repulse attacks, but carried on a war of conquest. The hereditary enemies of Israel, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Edomites, the Scythians, and the Amalekites, were made vassals, and the borders of the kingdom extended from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates. . . .

“Rise of the Prophetic Order

“One of the most striking features of these books is the order of the prophets, which suddenly presents itself. No explanation is given for its origin. Up to this time the priest has been the chosen medium through which God communicated his will to his people. Now the prophet to a great extent takes his place. This order represented the independence of the moral portion of the nation and the divine will as distinct from government or priestly enactment.
“Schools were established, in which the prophets were trained for their work, much like our theological seminaries today. Such a school was situated at Ramah.
“Instruction was given in the sacred books and in poetry. The pupils were also taught to play upon musical instruments.
“Results. They were far-reaching. The graduates of these schools became teachers of religion and patriotism. They made copies of the sacred law and kept the text free from error. They became the preachers to the people, denouncing national, family, and individual sins. They encouraged the people in times of trial or disaster. All the prophets did not possess the prophetic gift. In a number of cases the inspired prophet came from the prophetic school, but the prophetic gift was from God. The inspired prophets predicted the captivity, the return, and the coming glory of Messiah’s reign.”—Henry T. Sell, D. D., in “Bible Study by Books.”

News and Miscellany

Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press
— Our government owns fourteen national parks, with a total area of nearly five million acres, all under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior.
— By means of a golden key, presented at the White House, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, wife of the President, formally opened the American Woman’s Exposition at Cleveland, Ohio, March 6.
— In the Imperial University at Tokio, a state university of Japan, there are seventeen Christians among the teachers, and more than three hundred professed Christians among the students.
— The Dutch government has taken over the distribution of all coal in Holland. Distribution is under the control of a body known as the State Coal Distribution and Advisory Committee. Importers of coal must dispose of it subject to the instructions of this body.
— The oldest workable automobile in existence was made by the Haynes Company, of Kokomo, Ind., in 1893-94. With the use of gasoline it made a successful trial trip of six to seven miles an hour, July 4, 1894. It is now on exhibition in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
— Secretary of the Treasury William McAdoo, and United States Senator Duncan U. Fletcher of Florida, left Washington March 7 for Buenos Aires, to attend the International High Commission on uniformity of laws relating to foreign trade, to be held in Latin America.
— During the past year there were 11,888 students enrolled in Columbia University, 10,555 in the University of California, 7,968 in the University of Chicago, 7,404 in the University of Pennsylvania, 6,810 in the University of Wisconsin, 6,684 in the University of Michigan, 6,351 in Harvard, 3,572 in the University of Texas, and 3,303 in Yale. Princeton had 1,615 students, and the University of Virginia, 1,008.

Missionary Volunteer Department

M. E. KERN — Secretary MATILDA ERICKSON — Assistant Secretary MRS. I. H. EVANS — Office Secretary MEADE MACGUIRE — Field Secretaries C. L. BENSON J. F. SIMON
Continue reading: The Bible