Earlier text: EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE CASEA BIG UNDERTAKING.
By Editor
UNDER the head of, "California's Deepest Need—a Day of Rest," the Pacific, a Congregationalist paper, says:— "At a recent meeting of the American Sabbath Association of California it was resolved to proceed at once with a vigorous and well-directed campaign against the present widespread desecration of the Sabbath. A large number of well-known and influential business men of this city showed their interest in the movement, not only by their presence, but by their remarks. The necessity of coping with the growing tendency towards indifference of Sabbath observance was discussed at length, and resulted in the determination to restore, by means of State Legislature, the weekly day of rest to its proper position in the minds of the people." Without reference to the question as to which day is the Sabbath, what is the "proper position" which the Sabbath should occupy "in the minds of the people"? Manifestly it is the position demanded by the fourth commandment. It should be regarded as holy, and so observed. Now think793of the absurdity of the idea that the State Legislature can restore the Sabbath to its proper position in the minds of the people; that a State law can make men regard and keep the day holy. The men who entertain such ideas must have a very exalted conception of the power of State Legislatures, or very low views of Sabbath observance. The State can compel men to put on an appearance of respect for the day, and that is all that it can do. The objection that we have to the State's interfering in religious matters is it can do nothing but make hypocrites. (Lesson 15, January 11, 1890.) - In the Mosaic dispensation, did God have a dwelling-place among his people?
- Where was it made? and by whom?
- What were its two rooms called?
- Who were permitted to go into the sanctuary? Num. 18:1-7.
- How often did the priests go into the holy place?
"Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God." Heb. 9:6.6. Who was permitted to go into the most holy?
"But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people." Verse 7. 7. In what does our priest minister?
"A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Heb. 8:2. 8. Where is the sanctuary in which he ministers?
"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens: a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Verses 1, 2. - Who made that sanctuary? Verse 2.
- Where was the blood of the sin-offerings presented before the Lord?
"And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." Lev. 4:7.
"And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat eastward; and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat." Lev. 16:14, 15.11. Could Christ have any priesthood on earth?
"For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law." Heb. 8:4. See note.- Who were the priests that served according to the law?—Ib. Ex. 28:1.
- What was the nature of their service?
"Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount." Heb. 8:5.- What is meant by the example and shadow? Ans.—They were typical.
- How was the pattern or example obtained? Same verse, last part.
16. Of what is Christ the mediator?
"But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." Verse 6.- How does this compare with the old covenant?—Ib.
- What was the old covenant? See Ex. 19:5-8; 24:3-8.
- What is a covenant? See note.
- Upon what was the better covenant established? Heb. 8:6.
- What was the condition of the covenant in Ex. 19:5-8? Ans.—It was that which the Lord called his covenant.
- What was his covenant which he required them to keep?
"And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut. 4:12, 13. At first glance it might seem that the reasoning is not good which decides that Christ could have no priesthood on earth; for, if the law which confined the priesthood to the family of Aaron were abolished, what would hinder one serving though he were of another tribe? But it must be remembered that the priesthood and the law ordaining the priesthood stood and fell together. The only law for an earthly priesthood was that law which gave the office exclusively to the family of Aaron, and if any would act as priest on earth he must conform to the law of the earthly priesthood. It was impossible for one of another tribe to act as priest on earth. Further, it must be borne in mind that the service in the temple was still kept up by the Jews at the time when this letter was written, so that the words in this verse were conformable to the facts as they existed, as well as to the facts concerning the change of dispensations. For no one could possibly have then officiated as priest unless he were of the family of Aaron. WEBSTER gives two principal definitions to the word "covenant." The first is, "A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from some act or thing." The second is, "A writing containing the terms of agreement between parties." But neither of these definitions is extensive enough to cover all the uses of the word in the Bible. For instance, in Gen. 9:9-16 the word "covenant" is used with reference to a promise of God, given without any condition expressed or implied. The common idea of a covenant more nearly fits the transaction recorded in Ex. 19:5-8; yet even here we shall find that the thing called a covenant, which God made with the people, does not in every particular correspond to a contract made between two men. It is only another instance of the impossibility of a perfect comparison between divine and human things. In other places in the Bible the word "testament," or "will," is used with reference to the same transaction, although a contract and a will are greatly different. The transaction between God and Israel partakes of the nature of both. But it is of little consequence that a human covenant does not perfectly represent the affair, or that the Bible uses the word "covenant" in so widely varying senses. The main point is to understand just what is meant in each instance, and this the Scriptures themselves enable us readily to do. STILL another sense in which the word "covenant" is used in the Bible, is found in the text under consideration. Ex. 19:5-8. The condition of the covenant which the Lord made with Israel was that they should keep his covenant. Here was something already existing, which God calls "my covenant," concerning which he was about to make a covenant with the people. What God's covenant is may be found from Deut. 4:12, 13. It is the ten commandments. God's law—called his covenant—was the basis of the covenant between him and Israel. The matter is so plain that there is no necessity for confusion. It makes no difference that the same term is applied to both; it is sufficient to know that God's covenant—the ten commandments—antedated and is entirely distinct from the transaction at Horeb—also called a covenant. That to which the apostle refers as the first covenant was, therefore, simply this: A promise on the part of the people to keep his holy law, and a statement on the part of God of the result to them if they should obey him. Notes on the International Lesson.
By William N. Glenn
THE FORERUNNER ANNOUNCED.
THE first four verses of the book of Luke are merely prefatory, giving the author's reason for writing it. It was written for the purpose of instructing a “most excellent” man named Theophilus, that he might “know the certainty” of the things whereof the book treats. Inasmuch as it comes to us as a work of inspiration, we take it that, properly understood, it will teach us to a certainty. Therefore let us enter upon the study of its lessons with full confidence of its truth, and in faith that the same Spirit which actuated the writer may guide in the understanding of the Scripture. “HEROD, the king of Judea,” here spoken of, was Herod the Great, the father of all the Herodian dynasty. He was an Idumean by race, but a Jew in religion. He was a very energetic man, but cruel and selfish. He repaired and enlarged the temple at Jerusalem, which was afterward known by way of distinction as Herod's temple. He died in Jericho, in B.C. 4, aged sixty-nine years, after a reign of thirty-seven years as king of Judea. It may seem strange how he died in B.C. 4, when he was living at the birth of Christ. It must be remembered that our reckoning of A.D. does not go back far enough by four years. This manner of reckoning the years was not instituted until the sixth century, and then in calculating backward a mistake was made which was not discovered until several centuries later, and has never been rectified, so that B.C. 4 was really A.D. 1 or 2. ZACHARIAS was a priest “of the course Abia.” In the twenty-fourth chapter of 1 Chronicles we find the record of the division of the sons of Eleazar and Ithamar into courses by lot for the service of the sanctuary. There were twenty-four of them, and from that time forward they took turns at the service, and the eighth in order was Abijah, called Abia in the New Testament. Not only was Zacharias of the priestly line, but his wife, Elizabeth, was of the daughters of Aaron. “AND they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Verse 6. From this we learn what constitutes righteousness; it is to walk in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. So, in Ps. 119:1, those who walk in the law of the Lord are reckoned as being “undefiled,” and a blessing awaits them. Just before the coming of the Reward-giver (see Rev. 22:11–14) there comes a time when the characters of the righteous, or undefiled, and the opposite class, or “filthy,” will794 be unalterably fixed forever. And “of that day and hour knoweth no man;” therefore watch. THE “ordinances” in which Zacharias walked were the ceremonies incident to the Jewish service, which pointed forward to the sacrifice of Christ, and through which the devout Jew manifested his faith in the coming Messiah. But there are ordinances since the offering of the great Sacrifice, in which it is just as essential for the righteous man to walk as it was for Zacharias to observe those of his day. In Matt. 28:19 is the Lord's command to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And in the next verse is the command to teach them “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” OF the “all things whatsoever” he had commanded, there was the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, which was to be observed in remembrance of him. Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; 1 Corinthians 11. Of this ordinance and baptism we find a quite general recognition, at least nominally. But in the thirteenth chapter of John there is another ordinance described very minutely, which nearly all Christian bodies utterly ignore. This they cannot do, and yet “teach all things” which the Lord commanded his disciples, for it is expressly commanded to them. Why is it ignored?—Because it teaches humility, and in the last days men are to be “lovers of their own selves,” etc. 2 Timothy 3. THE Lord sent an angel, a most honorable one, Gabriel, the same who came to Daniel on a similar errand (Dan 9:21), to tell him that his prayer had been heard. How God honors those who walk “in all his commandments and ordinances”! And his blessings always transcend all that we can ask or think. How paltry would be our supply if our sustenance from heaven were limited to our judgment, or our ideas of God's goodness! He is more willing to give than we are to ask. In this instance, with all of Zacharias' faith, the promise was more than he could believe—it comprised nothing less than that his heir should be the harbinger of the Messiah. “AND he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias.” Elijah, here called Elias, had so perfectly walked in the commandments of God that he was translated to heaven without seeing death. His spirit was a most humble and self-denying one, and such a spirit was becoming the forerunner of the meek and lowly Jesus. The power of Elijah is illustrated in that “he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” James 5:17, 18. Such power with God became the messenger of him who has all power in heaven and on earth committed unto him. Let us study well the characters here brought to view, for the people of God are again to have the spirit and power of Elijah “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Mal. 4:5. MILLICENT'S MISTAKE.
By Mrs. M. E. Sangster
"I CAN be as good a Christian outside the church as in it," said Millicent decidedly. "I don't see why I am in need of making a profession. As the hymn says, I can let my life show forth his praise." "But, dear, the question is not whether you can be what you say, an humble, hearty Christian outside the pale of the visible church, but whether you have any right to choose for yourself in a matter where the Lord has left you his orders. His words are very plain: 'Whosoever confesseth me before men, him will I confess before my Father;' 'whosoever is ashamed of me before men, of him will I be ashamed before my Father.' I do not see that you have a choice, dear." "I don't think I am ashamed, Miss Mary." Millicent was talking with her Sunday-school teacher, and the two had lingered after the others had gone away from the little room in which their Bible-class gathered every week. "It is just that I don't like to be bound." "Ah, dear child, then you haven't yet made a full surrender! The Lord bids you to-day to sell all that you have, and come and follow him; but you are holding fast to your personal liberty; you do not love him so deeply and entirely that your being is lost in him; that you are willing to give him whatever he demands, to the uttermost farthing. I am afraid, dear, that you are clinging to some worldly love, some ambition, some pursuit that keeps you away from the Saviour. No man can serve two masters, Millicent. The trial has been made over and over, but it always fails and it always must." Millicent went home intent on being a Christian after her own pattern. A Sabbath or two later a large number of young people in the church she attended stood up in presence of the congregation to confess Christ. They took upon them the obligations of discipleship in the face of their world,—the people they knew, their school-mates and friends, the men and women of their town. Millicent Davis was not of the number. She went home from the church before the girls who were her dearest companions had been able to say a word to her. Seated in one of the side pews while the sacrament was going on, Millicent had recognized, as she had never before done, the significance of the vows her friends had made. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate." A voice from heaven had said this to the others, and, she owned it to her accusing conscience, had made its appeal to her—an appeal she had disregarded. While the bread and the wine were passing from hand to hand, Millicent, looking on, suddenly realized the rite in its character of plighted faith, the military vow renewed to be true to the great Leader, through all changes, so long as the campaign on earth should last. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life," came to her ears, as if someone had spoken audibly. Everything which the teacher had said to her came to her in a flash of insight, unsought, almost unwelcome. She acknowledged that to be a Christian one must obey Christ, obey him literally, fully, gladly; that consecration could not be partial, but must be complete; that one, in a world of Christ's enemies, must needs take sides, because "he that is not with me, is against me;" that there is immense strength in an army corps, because it multiplies the unit by thousands, the thousand-fold stroke being only the unit reinforced by the impulse of every loyal life, so that the army is only the word of command in action. You would hardly believe how much came, and how forcibly it came, to Millicent, watching the friends, girls and boys, who had been truer and braver than herself, as they sat at the table and feasted with the Master. But the full force of her mistake did not appear to her till later. She was sitting in the wide, pleasant parlor of her home, partially concealed by a curtain, when her brother Tom and one of his friends came in and took seats by the fire. They did not see Millicent, and, boy-like, took no pains to ascertain whether anyone else was in the room. "Tom Davis," said the other lad, whose name was Con Lee, "I was surprised that you did not join the church to-day. I think if you had done it I would have done so too, for I've about come to the conclusion that it's the straight thing for a fellow to show his colors, and I'm bound to be on the right side. But you and I have been chums so long that I thought I'd wait and follow your lead." Tom did not answer very promptly. Millicent, retiring more deeply into the shadow of the heavy curtain, not to embarrass the boys, could see that his face was very grave. When he spoke at last, it was with a touch of hesitation very unlike headlong Tom Davis. "The fact is, Con," he said, "I meant to have gone forward, but I watched my sister, and I made up my mind to be guided by her. If Milly can be a Christian without joining the church I can, for girls don't have half the temptations that boys do. And it seems that Milly is quite contented in her present position. I felt disappointed when she chose to remain away, but I'm not going to set myself up to be better than Milly." The room was growing dark, and nobody but her guardian angel and the Master she had wounded saw the quick blushes which dyed Millicent's cheek, and the hot tears which overflowed her eyes. She stole softly away, leaving the boys to their talk. Another reason why one who is a Christian should join the church, had come strongly to her consciousness. The power of example is a distinct force in the world, and one cannot escape responsibility in the pattern one sets in the sight of others. A verse often repeated came to Milly's mind with a new emphasis: "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself." "I have kept two disciples from the Master, Tom and Con," she said to herself, sorrowfully—"two of whom I know. There may be others of whom I do not know." Millicent sought pardon from the Lord before she slept. And when another opportunity came, she, with Tom and friends, did what they ought to have done before, acknowledged Christ's right to their service by joining the church. They found, what all discover who do their duty, that under every husk of duty done there abides a heart of sweetness. The privilege of belonging to Christ, openly and fully, is too precious to be dispensed with by any who love him. And he reveals himself never so blessedly to his own as when they "do this"—break the bread and taste the wine, "in remembrance of him," for then indeed he brings them into his banqueting house, and his banner over them is love.—Mrs. M. E. Sangster. SOMETHING ABOUT OUR NATIONAL PARK.
"BEAR are getting pretty tame in the National Park," said R. C. Long, a contractor from the Yellowstone, yesterday. "Never a shot is fired at them, and the rules are so strict about the conduct of strangers and natives on the reserve that one almost feels as if one should raise his hat in the presence of bruin. The respectful consideration he receives, however, is demoralizing him. Every night he comes down to the hotels and eats the slops that have been thrown out during the day. Two or three will waddle down at a time and quarrel and growl over the refuse from the table. Away from the hotels the bears kill the small game, and are as destructive to deer, antelope, and elk as hunters would be. The mountain lion lives right royally there too, and stalks unmolested by man or beast. "The buffalo are increasing in numbers, and there is a herd of at least three hundred and fifty. Outside of the National Park there are very few animals of this breed. On a ranch in Nebraska there are some, and in Manitoba there are others, but the buffalo would be practically extinct were it not for the care and freedom granted in the park. There are very many deer there, and they are so tame that a man may approach them without causing them the slightest fear. "Travel has been up to the average. This year there have been 7,000 people in the park. Strangely enough, nearly all were foreigners. Americans went to the Paris Exposition. It is expected that there will be a great number of visitors next year, and the syndicate that has the lease of the privileges on the reservation11 is building two more hotels. Over one hundred miles of road have been constructed this year, and the government has expended about one hundred thousand dollars in improvements. "The face of the park is always changing. The geysers rest from their play every year or so, and the direction of the rivers change. A geyser is an easy thing to disturb, and, like the tramp, it hates soap. Some of the visitors who visit the park carry bars of soap with them, which, when thrown into the craters, cause the geysers to vomit forth their waters. This is prohibited, not because it is considered cruel or unkind, but because it disturbs the regularity of the geyser. Sometimes women get scalded when standing around the mouth of a crater. They see the eruption in the hole, but they never know enough to get out of the way, and the boiling water flies up, enveloping them in a cloud of steam. "The escape of gas proves disastrous to small game, but few bear or deer get caught in Death Gulch. I have seen rabbits, attracted by the salt in the valley, go forward to the veins from which the gas is emitted and fall dead. An effort may be made to inclose the gulch, but that is not likely for some time yet." The Home Circle.
By Josiah Gilbert Holland
THERE'S a song in the air!
There's a star in the sky!
There's a mother's deep prayer
And a baby's low cry!
And the star rains its fire while the beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King! There's a tumult of joy
O'er the wonderful birth,
For the virgin's sweet boy
Is the Lord of the earth.
Ay! the star rains its fire, and the beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King. In the light of that star
Lie the ages impearled;
And the song from afar
Has swept over the world.
Every hearth is aflame, and the beautiful sing
In the home of the nations that Jesus is King. We rejoice in the light,
And we echo the song
That comes down through the night
From the heavenly throng.
Ay! we shout to the lovely Evangel they bring,
And we greet in his cradle our Saviour and King.
—J. G. Holland. MY LAST CIGAR.
By Christian at Work
ONE Christmas my mother invited her children to her home to spend the day. I went and enjoyed the last Christmas I ever spent with her. After enjoying a real good, old-fashioned Christmas dinner, I went out doors to smoke an extra large and fine Havana, which a friend had given me a few days before for a "Christmas-day smoke." I found the flavor fine, but the tobacco was much stronger than I was accustomed to, so that when only a third of it was smoked I found myself quite dizzy, and compelled to cease operations, though I had used the weed ten years. So I let the fire go out, and after the dizziness had passed off I went back into my mother's presence, with the unlit cigar between my teeth. As I entered mother looked up and said:— "My son, I wish you would do something to-day that you will in the future always be glad you did upon this Christmas-day, which will be of permanent good to you through your remaining life, and make your mother happy as well." "Name it, mother," I replied. "Throw that cigar into the stove and never smoke another, or use the vile weed in any way; it is a slow but sure poison, besides being an expensive habit." I took out the cigar from my mouth, looked at it, asked myself, Can I leave off smoking?—then I looked over to mother's chair; her eyes were closed, but her lips moved, and I felt that mother was lifting up her heart to God for me, and the words came to me, "My grace is sufficient," and instantly I raised the stove lid and threw in my Havana, and said— "You will never regret it," she said, and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. And I am happy to say I have never regretted it. The great wonder to me to-day is how I ever could consent to have endured the slavery of tobacco ten years. Having been a free man fifteen years I have come to despise tobacco in every form in which men use it. And how a father can use the vile weed, and encourage his children to use it, as thousands do in our State, is one of the most astonishing things to me, and one of the saddest things I encounter. And I hope Christian women will wage their war upon tobacco as well as upon rum until it is banished from every home. Mothers, do your duty! Fathers, do it by example as well as by precept, and then the evil will be stamped out, because there is no influence so powerful with a son as a father's and mother's.—Christian at Work. THE OYSTER AND THE STAR-FISH.
THE Rev. J. G. Wood says: "No-one would have thought, on placing an oyster and a five-finger side by side, that the star-fish is a relentless foe to the oyster. Those who can remember their first fruitless endeavors to open an oyster may naturally wonder how the star-fish can achieve such a feat. As I have repeatedly seen, it proceeds as follows: Clasping the oyster in its rays, it brings its mouth opposite the hinge. From the mouth it pours a secretion that paralyzes the hinge muscle, and causes the shell to open. It cannot, like a dog-whelk, extract its prey and put it into its stomach, so it reverses the process, and puts its stomach into, or rather over, the oyster, protruding the stomach from its mouth, surrounding the oyster with its coats, digesting it, and then withdrawing the stomach into its body. The wildest fancy of Oriental legends never equaled in grotesque imagination this perfectly true history of the oyster and the star-fish." A LITTLE boy was deeply interested in reading Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," the characters in that wonderful book being all living men and women to him. One day, while his grandma was busy with her needle-work, he took his slate and pencil, and seated himself by her side; and, thinking of what he had been reading, he said: "Grandma, which of all the people in the 'Pilgrim's Progress' do you like the best?" "I like Christian," was the reply, giving the little boy her reasons. "Which do you like the best?" Slowly but thoughtfully the little fellow replied, "I like Christiana." "And why, my boy?" inquired the old lady. "Because she took the children with her, grandma," Health and Temperance.
By John G. Wooley
THE MOCKING DEVILS OF DRINK.
How the mocking devils of drink transform a man! I have seen a man of pure life become profane and dirty. I have seen a man who loved his wife and child so debauched by drink that he was mortally offended because his wife did not look cheerful when he came home drunk. I have seen a man debauched by drink look coldly at his wife when she wept, and sneer at her sobs, and then shoot off to the nearest saloon. I have heard her cry, "Where are you going, my darling?" and heard him reply, "You'll find me at the morgue in the morning." I've heard her cry, "Oh, come back, and I'll not complain; I'll be cheerful!" and no answer was vouchsafed but the brutal ringing of his retreating footsteps. I have seen a man who idolized his children sneak through an alley and try to get into the house without their seeing him. I have seen a man who enjoyed good pictures and good books, when debauched by drink prefer the society obtained in a low dive and playing cards with thieves for partners. I've seen a man who loved and idolized his mother so sunk and debauched by drink that when she knelt and clung to him, and asked him to stay in for one night, he tore her hands away and left her prone on the floor. I have seen a noble man die in an inebriate asylum, howling like a wild beast. Forty of my own personal friends have so died. Twelve such have died since I began speaking. There are 300 who have died by drink in this twenty-four hours. It's awful, awful! The holocaust of 1889 will number 3,000,000. I have been told that I reasoned like a woman when I said that the liquor traffic ought to be destroyed root and branch. I believe that it's on its way, and more rapidly than many of us think. I hope the country will soon get right and stay right. I hope that it will no longer be a partner in producing the most utter misery of the world.—J. G. Wooley. RICE BREAD WHEATEN BREAD.
ALLOW one-pound of rice to four pounds of wheat flour. The rice must be boiled in milk or water till tender enough to mash. Mix it with the flour just as you would rub butter into it, rubbing it between your hands. Dissolve a cake of compressed yeast in a quart of warm water or milk; pour it into the flour and rice, with two teaspoonfuls of salt and three of sugar. The dough should be quite soft to the touch. Knead well and set to rise. When it has risen well, knead it thoroughly and make into loaves, which put into buttered pans; let them rise to twice the bulk and bake in a good oven. This is delicious bread when made with milk, and excellent without. Making Curtains Incombustible
A SAFE and easy way of rendering window curtains and mosquito nets incombustible is to steep them in a solution of phosphate of ammonia, obtained by mixing a pint of water with three ounces of phosphate. This leaves the color and texture of the fabric unchanged. "It is not intellectual work that injures the brain," says the London Hospital, "but emotional excitement. Most men can stand the severest thought and study of which their brains are capable, and be none the worse for it; for neither thought nor study interferes with the recuperative influence of sleep. It is ambition, anxiety, and disappointment, the hopes and fears, the loves and hates, of our lives, that wear out the nervous system, and endanger the balance of the brain." CONDENSED REPORTS FROM THE FIELD.
THERE seems to be better prospects for the truth in France than formerly. God, no doubt, still has a people there, despite the curse which hangs over it. France rejected the Reformation, drove the Huguenots and others from her shores or put them to death. America and England profited by her loss, and since that time instability and revolution and infidelity have been characteristics of beautiful France. Those who love the truth have had a hard time to get a footing in France. It seems that everything has been against them, but they have labored on, toiled and sacrificed and suffered for their kindred’s and nation’s sake. But a new generation is coming upon the stage of action. Many have rejected Christianity, because they supposed that it was manifested in Catholicism. Now there are calls for Protestant ministers. The Protestant State church can get no support from the State till they have quite a large company raised up, while the various missions of other Protestant bodies make very slow progress on account of the great expense. They do not seem to know how to make their missions, or companies, which they raised up, self-sustaining. With Seventh-day Adventists the work has been different. Our people in France have been faithful in paying the Lord his own, and so love the truth that they will live on the poorest fare, and walk many miles to meet with others of like precious faith. The French are also much interested in matters of healthful living and hygiene. It is hoped that the truth may reach souls in this way. Elder Burrill reports from Michigan that eight were added to the church at Seville and three were baptized at Wheeler and will unite with the St. Louis church. C. McReynolds reports an extensive tour of visiting among the churches of Kansas, besides attending four local camp-meetings. Five were baptized among the churches, and thirty were converted and baptized at the camp-meetings, which were seasons of great blessing. Mr. W. F. Crafts was recently at Wichita, where he promised to answer the American Sentinel charges, but when the time came he did not even attempt a reply. The tide seemed to set against Mr. Crafts at Wichita even as at Oakland, the dailies all being friends of religious liberty. Brother Wilson reports from West Virginia that he has met with much opposition in Wiseburg, in the Sandy Creek district, which a short time ago was flooded with water. The rough element threatened to whip him, and to tear down the tent, but the Lord helped to proclaim his truth faithfully, till opposition was to a great extent disarmed by the “weapons not carnal.” Five persons accepted the truth, and the country was stirred for miles around. A series of successful tent-meetings has just closed in Washington, D. C., conducted by Elder H. E. Robinson. While the weather was cold, damp, and rainy, no meeting was omitted for ten weeks, stoves having been put in the tent to counteract the effect of the damp weather. Seventy-five sermons were preached, fourteen Bible-readings held, besides fourteen meetings for the children. Sixty dollars’ worth of publications were sold, and over eighty dollars were donated to the meetings. Twenty-two have signed the covenant to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The field is an encouraging one, and many are interested in the truth. Brother M. Wood has been holding meetings in Riverdale, R. I., and nine adults who never even professed religion before have embraced the truth. A thorough reform has been made in respect to the use of tobacco, as well as in other respects, the brethren deciding to give the cause of God what they had spent for appetite. When the power of the truth of God, the Holy Spirit, is present in the life, there will be a breaking away from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. WE HAVE SEEN HIM.—The Christian Register says: “The church parasite—have you seen him? He buries himself in the body of the church and sucks its life, but does not contribute anything to its usefulness.” The Post of Honor and Duty
By Edwards
WHATEVER our place, allotted to us by Providence, that for us is the post of honor and duty. God estimates us not by the position we are in, but by the way in which we fill it.—Edwards. The Power of Prayer
By W. Landels
WE feeble mortals have the privilege of speaking to our Maker. We utter words here, or pour out our desires in the closet, or when walking in the street, or engaged in our daily employment, we breathe an ejaculation. The word may be scarcely louder than a whisper, it may be inaudible to our neighbor, and yet it cannot die away into silence, nor can it be lost through blending with other sounds; nothing can drown it or prevent it from reaching its destination. It passes beyond sun and stars; it enters the presence-chamber of the Almighty. Amid the ceaseless strains of praise, that whisper reaches the divine ear, touches the infinite heart, moves the omnipotent arm. It sets in motion long trains of events, and brings down showers of blessings on those who utter it. OH, THAT THE PEOPLE OF GOD WERE ONE!
THE Chinese Recorder thinks that the prospect in China is almost hopeless, with forty Protestant missionary bodies all working independent of each other. It says:— “To begin with, we have the Church of England, with her thirty-nine articles, her prayer-book, and her formularies all translated, and she is striving and hoping to impose them in all their entirety upon China. Again, we have the Presbyterians, with the ‘Westminster Confession,’ their longer and shorter catechisms, their system of church government, also translated, equally zealous and sanguine in their endeavor to lead the Chinese to adopt their system. Further, we have the Methodists, with their elaborate organizations; the Congregationalists, with their form of government; the Baptists, with theirs; the Lutheran Church, seeking to produce in China a fac-simile of itself, nothing less or more; the American Episcopal Church, with a like aim. And so with other denominations. What a spectacle to thoughtful Chinamen! and there are many such. No wonder they say to us, ‘Agree among yourselves, and then we will listen to you.’ We have three branches of the Episcopal Church, eight different sects of Presbyterians, six sects of Methodists, two Congregationalists, two Baptists, besides several other minor bodies, all acting independently of each other.”