Earlier text: The Little FoxesJustification
By L. F. STARR
JUSTIFICATION is a divine act, just as pardon and adoption are. It is one of those extremely significant acts by which God justifies the sinner by revealing his saving grace. “And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Acts 13:39. The hope of being justified “freely” by grace comes through Jesus Christ. It is an act of grace, and yet a judicial act. It is the duty of the judge to declare the one before him guilty or free from guilt. God, in declaring the sinner free from guilt, justifies him. “It is God that justifieth.” Rom. 8:33. A clear acquaintance with the nature of true religion is of the utmost importance in these days of doubt and infidelity. It is important to the true Christian; for in this way only can he have comfortable assurance of his state and safety. It is important to the inquirer after salvation, as in this way will he learn to know the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. And how is this correct knowledge of true religion to be obtained?—By a close acquaintance with the Word of God. Here genuine piety is plainly described; the way back to our Father’s house is clearly set forth. It is clear that genuine religion includes justification as well as other acts of grace. What is implied in justification? It refers to the judicial hindrance in re-establishing the original relation between God and man. There is a moral hindrance preventing the reunion between God and man, arising from the alienation of man’s heart through sin. Man is chargeable with transgression. This is true of both his heart and life. The great tide of sin soon engulfed the world: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Gen. 6:5. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” But does man know his own heart, and can he curb his thoughts, without divine help? Viewing man’s condition in sin, Job asked: “What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?” Job 15:14. In David’s account of sin he says: “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Ps. 14:2, 3. What a pitiable condition! None seeking God, and none doing good! Isaiah says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6. In Paul’s meditation of man’s sad and hopeless condition, he throws open the door of faith and hope in the following words:— “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” “We know,” he says, “that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law.” Here is a law that is universal in its application. Every mouth is stopped; all the world is guilty. How, then, may man become righteous? Will the law give him righteousness? Could the tables of stone on which the ten commandments were written give him the righteousness of God?—Verily no! Where, then, is he to look for relief? The answer is given: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.” Verse 21. The righteousness of God is manifest, being witnessed by the law. Whose righteousness is manifest apart from the law? “Even the righteousness of God which12 is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Verse 22. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” The transgression of man exposes him to punishment. Sin is opposed to God’s holy nature. “The wages of sin is death.” Though God is merciful, yet he by no means will clear the guilty. Then what is included in justification? The term is sometimes interchangeable with pardon, or remission of sin. “By him all that believe are justified from all things.” Now to justify means to make righteous. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” How, then, does a man become righteous?—He is justified, or made righteous, by faith. This is the opposite of guilt and condemnation and danger of death. In a court of justice, a man may be justified upon the ground of innocence, when he can vindicate himself; or upon the ground of compensation, when he has met the demand of the penalty. The sinner can not be justified in either of these senses. He is guilty. Death is the penalty. But God saw man’s need; he saw him bound in the shackles of sin, and was sent to be the “propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Rom. 3:25, 26. In Acts 13:39 the negative view is given. We can not be justified by the law of Moses. We can not be justified by any law, only as we accept the means of justification which is witnessed to by the law and the prophets. The law of God demands perfect obedience. It does not acknowledge repentance. Do and live is the mandate of the law. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18:4. The penalty of the law can not be repealed. Could this be done, what would become of the moral character of the Lawgiver? What about his righteousness in giving such a law? “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Rom. 3:20. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Gal. 2:16. Here the positive means and medium of justification are asserted. “By him [Christ] all that believe are justified from all things.” Christ is the meritorious medium of justification. He met all the demands of that law which condemned the sinner. The law required a holy nature, a nature which approved of the righteousness of its precepts and loved its holy standard. Christ possessed such a nature. His voice was heard saying: “Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” The law required perfect obedience. He obeyed it both in spirit and in letter. He magnified the law and made it honorable. Isa. 42:21. It required an atonement for man’s guilt; satisfaction for his crimes. Christ paid the demands. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:8. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Eph. 1:7. The dignity of Christ’s person and the preciousness of his blood, amply satisfied all the claims of the justice of God. Mark well the instrumental medium of justification. By faith “all that believe are justified from all things.” God requires the sinner to comply with his divine appointments in obtaining the benefits of Christ’s death, not the works of his own righteousness. The fact of Christ’s death does not alter the truth of my being a sinner, nor does it make my sin a trifling matter, nor does it free me from the possibility of punishment and death; but it opens the way to deliverance, and makes my salvation possible and easy. Justice demands that I pay the debt, but I am a slave and bound by the cords of sin. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil.” Jer. 13:23. How may we, the unworthy objects of Christ’s love, see this change wrought?—By applying to Christ. I lay hold of him. Did I not rely on him and believe in him, what could I reply to justice? I am doubly condemned. The law condemns me as a sinner, the gospel as an unbeliever—one for crime, the other for unbelief. I am justified, not for faith, but by it, for Christ’s sake. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa. 1:18. Though they be heinous and numerous, the divine promise is: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Isa. 43:25; 44:22. In this way justification, or righteousness, is freely imputed to us who believe. The Path of the Just
By F. J. STEMPLE
THERE are two paths set before us,—the strait and narrow path, “which leadeth unto life,” and the broad way, leading down to death. A great many start out to follow the right path; but some grow weary in well-doing, and the path seems to be too narrow, and so they step over the line and take the broad way followed by the majority. They feel that the standard is set too high. Says the Scriptures, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary, in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” If we would follow Jesus, he would lead us up the strait and narrow path; for his standard is a perfect life. He came to do the Father’s will. He had no time to spend at card parties, theaters, and shows, nor at any other worldly amusements. It is said of him, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” We are also called to carry a message to a dying world, and if we are faithful in giving this message, we shall find no time for selfish amusements, but we shall find great pleasure in doing the Father’s will. If we have not the spirit of Christ abiding in us, and so fail to carry this message, God will raise up others who will carry it. So let us hold fast our profession, that no man take our crown. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Jesus is soon coming again; and “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” In order to do this we shall have to follow in his steps, and take heed to the instructions he has given us in his Word. “No man can serve two masters.” Let us therefore walk humbly before the Lord, and do only those things that will edify the body of Christ. For “they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” David says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Let us keep our minds filled with his Word, which is a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path. Then we shall be able to keep our feet on the path that our Lord and Master has set before us, and that path will grow clearer and brighter each day, “till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man.” Use the “Review” in Missionary Work
By Albert Weeks
IN response to a call for periodicals for gratuitous distribution, one is sure to get a much larger supply of the REVIEW than of any of our other papers. Undoubtedly this is because our people do not use the REVIEW to hand out. But why not use it thus? The words “Advent” and “Sabbath” being so conspicuous13 upon the title-page, some may fear that many will not receive it as favorably as they would a paper of a more general title. Sometimes it is true that the paper may not be read on that account, but not always. The one that receives it may wish to investigate the Adventist faith. In that case, he will read, and some of the sound reasoning of our good paper may be used by the Spirit of God to reach the heart. While it is true that the REVIEW is our church paper, and contains some of the deep problems of our work, even these can do no harm, and may be just what is needed. Who can tell that it is better to withhold these things? While it is best to make some discrimination in handing out our papers, it certainly is not best to discriminate against the REVIEW. It contains the precious truth of God for the last days. Hand it out, and ask the Lord to care for the seed of truth it contains. “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” In Kafirland, South Africa
The following illustrates some of the practical missionary work confronting our workers in Africa. Elder W. S. Hyatt, in speaking of his work among the natives in Kafirland, and appealing to the brethren and sisters in South Africa, says:— “I have made a little tour through Kafirland to see what prospects there were for boys and girls to attend the mission school at Maranatha. I find that many of these poor people would gladly send us their boys and girls, but they have no clothing. Two girls came to me yesterday begging to go with us, but said their people did not want them to go until they had clothes. Moko brought some old clothes and fitted out two boys. I am sure that if our people knew of the situation, they would make an effort to gather up some clothing for both boys and girls. If this can be done, we can help several young persons to enter the school. There has been no rain in this part to speak of, in fact, but very little for years, and mealies (corn) is scarce and very high. Many of the people are hungry, and have no money to buy either food or clothing. This matter requires haste, and what is done must be done quickly.” South Africa
By M. C. STURDEVANT
Since my last report, I have attended the good union conference meeting at the Cape. This was an excellent meeting, and one that brought much courage and strength to the workers gathered from different parts of South Africa. Personally, it was a great help to me. Though we have seen reverses and trial the past season here at the Solusi Mission, yet the work is progressing, and God is gathering out a people. We hope to have another class of nine enlightened souls ready for baptism in June, when we expect to have Elder and Sister R. C. Porter with us. A testing time seems to have been upon our mission of late, and many who before have been trusting in their teachers' faith and courage have had to learn to trust in a power beyond the arm of flesh. Some have almost fainted, but we believe this test will finally prove a benefit in our work here. Sometime they must be tried and must learn to stand alone, and I believe it well for the trial to come when they can have the counsel of godly teachers to support them. So we are still of good cheer and courage in our work. As for our school work, our numbers are less than for years in the past. Yet those who are here are progressing, and the teachers are certainly doing all in their power to make the school what it should be. Our out-schools are doing much better this year. Eight native teachers are in charge of five stations, and two are teaching in the home school. In one of our schools especially, the spiritual interest is high. We are now in the midst of the harvest. Our crops are not heavy, but they are fair, and we shall have an abundance of food. Drought at the first, then too much rain at the last, cut the corn crop much shorter than we at first thought. Our herd of cattle is doing well, and brings us a good profit. Because of the heavy rains the latter part of the season, much fever has been our lot, mostly among the natives. With the exception of Brother H. C. Olmstead, none of the white workers have been14 sick. Brother Olmstead has had some light attacks, but, we are thankful to say, none serious as yet. The wife of one of our native teachers was buried the fifth instant. And two days ago two natives brought to our mission a white man, a Jewish trader, who had been in the veld with the fever, and was almost dead. We took him into the house, and did all we knew how for him; but in thirty hours his life went from him, and while I am writing now, his body is lying in the box we made for him, waiting for the arrival of the district surgeon, to give us authority to bury him. And so it goes daily. We are called out to wait on the sick and dying. We long ago learned that our rest is not here. But if only we may enjoy the rest that awaits the people of God, we shall be well repaid. We are trusting in the prayers of the dear ones in the home land. Ever remember, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Our prayers also go up with yours for the Father's blessings upon the work in the home fields and in other countries. Let us be strong in faith, and press the battle to the very gates; for soon “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” For this we earnestly pray. I was one time in a room a hundred feet above the earth. A chimney-swift had found its foolish way into the room; and from scratchings on the window it was very apparent that all the day, and maybe days, it had tried to find its way through the window into the sky. I chanced to come there late one night, and found the swift baffled with the light I held in my hand. My heart was so sore with pity that I climbed and caught the trembling bit of bird and feather in my hand, and opening the window, put it out into the out-of-doors for which it was meant, and where its life was. But it turned its face my way, saw the flicker of the light, and flew back in. So it did time and again, not knowing that the sky was its place, that the sky was about it, and not the peril a hundred feet below. It had wings, but didn't try them. At last I took the trembling bird and flung it into the sky, black and starless, and unlit by any lamp, and closed the window. Do you not observe that by my throwing it out into the sky I did not hurt it, but saved it? God must do that with us. Sometimes we think our safety is our home. What I am saying this morning to the praise of God is that sometimes he casts us out into jeopardy; because God is more concerned about our strength and our service and our enlarged life than he is that we have no peril. If you think that God is trying the conservatory plan on your heart, you misunderstand him. In the conservatory they shut out the storm, and baffle the winds, and what they grow is flowers that the first spring breath, leaning to kiss them, would break. And God is concerned not that we get on easily, but that we get onto something that will stand when the final storm breaks.—Selected. A Land Without Missionaries
By Frederick Palmer
Why do so many missionaries go to Japan, China, India, Turkey, and Korea, and so few to Central America? Partiality for distant lands can not explain their neglect, for Alaska is most abundantly supplied. Is it possible that the soul of a Caribbean Indian in twenty-five cents’ worth of cotton drill is less worth saving than the soul of an Aleut in furs? Latitude can not matter, else the Fiji Islands, which have been well cared for, would be under the ban. Any excuse that Central America is already a Christian country is inconsistent, if not otherwise untenable. Mexico is a favorite field, and Mexico is a Christian country—far more Christian than Guatemala or Nicaragua. Although the Mexican state has made war on the Roman Catholic Church, the Mexican peon is a most devout religionist, reverent and superstitious. Mention Central America to the missionary in Mexico, and he looks blank. You almost expect him to ask where Central America is. To me, however, the absence of missionaries in numbers was deplorable. The modern missionary who founds little communities in foreign countries where the humanities and hygienics are taught is a spreader of civilization regardless of his creed. For every one of him in Japan, that learned for itself, and in China, that is learning for itself, there ought to be a hundred in this field at our door, that can not learn for itself, for which our Monroe doctrine is responsible. Can the reason be that Japan is more picturesque? that the servants in China are better? that one who returns from Burma is more of a hero at the missionary meetings than if he were back from Guatemala? Yet the Roman Catholics have sent two American priests to take the place of the Spanish friars in the Philippines, and the boards have sent Protestant clergy to the Philippines, where they are far less needed than in Central America. On the train from Corinto to Managua was a Nicaraguan who had been in Manila and was bringing back his young Filipino wife. “Everything is so much dirtier than at home! ugh!” this little woman kept repeating. “Everything—everything is worse.” So it was, by all the standards of Christian civilization—worse than the Philippines under Spanish rule. That woman from her cleanly Manila was rightfully homesick. A visit of a delegation from every Philippine province to Nicaragua would be a powerful object-lesson. The position occupied by the priesthood of Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua is lower than in any other country in Christendom not in the Caribbean region. The bayonet no longer considers it a factor to be reckoned with. It has neither political power nor religious power of any account. When I asked a young woman, head of a girls’ school in Guatemala, if she had been educated in a convent, she was quick to free herself from any such prejudicial charge against the administration, which does not permit convents to exist. When I asked if she were a Catholic, she answered, “O, yes,” carelessly. If you are looking for real church ruins, go to Central America. Many churches are disused, and those that are not are almost invariably in disrepair. The people, poverty stricken and hopeless, take little interest in them. Religious ideas are dying, and with them moral ideas. A settled indifference of day-by-day existence characterizes the masses, who are reverting to Indian superstition.—Frederick Palmer, in Chattanooga Times. “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”
By Ernest Lloyd
JOHN FAWCETT, the author of this sympathetic hymn, was a minister in charge of a parish in a poor district in England. So poor were the members of his congregation that he received only about sixteen shillings a week for his support. In 1772 he accepted a call to a parish in London. He preached his farewell sermon, and the day arrived for him to leave Lockshire. Six wagons, loaded with his books and furniture, stood in front of his house. His congregation—men, women, and children—gathered about the door; all were in tears; the agony of the parting was manifest on their faces. Mr. Fawcett and his wife, deeply touched, sat on a packing-case. Tears were shed by them also. Mrs. Fawcett, looking up to her husband, said: “O John, John, I can not bear this! I know not where to go!” “Nor I, either,” said he, “nor will we go. Unload the wagons, and put everything back in its old place.” He recalled his letter of acceptance, took up his work again among his loving flock, and wrote this hymn to commemorate the evident Christian love which bound them “like to that above.” What a monument of loyal love between a pastor and his flock!—Ernest Lloyd, in Present Truth. WHEN I was in Scotland, I stayed at the house of one of Scotland’s noble sons, a gentleman indeed, honored and loved by everybody. He told me his life motto had been learned from a young man dying of consumption. A fire had broken out in the village, and there were no fire brigades in those days. The men formed a line from the pond to the conflagration, and handed on the buckets rapidly. Down in the pond, to his waist in water, stood the young consumptive, bailing as fast as the buckets were brought him. Some one recognized him, and cried in consternation: “Eh mon, you’ll catch your death there.” Sweet and calm came the answer: “Somebody must do it, why not I?” and, said my friend, “I made that the motto of my life. When anything difficult or dangerous or irksome or distasteful had to be done, I know, ‘Some one must do it, why not I?’”—Selected. A POOR blind woman in Paris put twenty-seven francs into the plate at a missionary meeting. “You can not afford so much,” said one. “Yes, sir, I can,” she answered. On being pressed to explain, she said: “I am blind, and I said to my fellow straw-workers, ‘How much money do you spend in a year for oil in your lamps when it is too dark to work at night?’ They replied: ‘Twenty-seven francs.’” “So,” said the poor woman, “I found that I save so much in the year because I am blind and do not need a lamp, and I give it to shed light in the dark heathen land.”—Selected. Measuring Desire for Missions
JOHN G. PATON once said: “There is a way to measure the depth of desire. Here is the measuring line. It is within us: How much are we willing to do to bring the kingdom to men? How many miles are we willing to travel in order to have it come to other men who are in heathen darkness? How much money are we willing to give in order to have it come to the world? All this is a very accurate test. Few of us will travel for its coming or give money for its coming unless we really desire its coming. Men’s actions often speak louder than their prayers.” Enlarge the Place of Thy Tent
“ENLARGE the place of thy tent, . . . lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.” Isa. 54:2. The North Dakota Camp-Meeting
By J. T. BOETTCHER
This meeting was held in Jamestown, June 21-27, in the so-called “Anton Kurz Park,” just across the James River. It was the largest meeting North Dakota has held in many years; some said the largest it had ever had. The conference had purchased two large new tents, and a number of smaller ones, thus giving ample room for the different nationalities represented at this meeting. Preaching was carried on in the English, Scandinavian, Russian, and German languages. This is probably the only conference in the States where the Germans are in the majority. There must have been nearly seven hundred on the ground. The most of these people had formerly come from Russia. They left their native country because of religious oppression, and have settled in free America. It was a very striking coincidence that while we were at this meeting, we received the good news that the Duma, in Russia, had passed a bill favoring religious toleration. There was great rejoicing in the camp, for this means much to the cause of God in that country. A number of brethren expressed a desire to go back to visit their friends and relatives, and take the message of salvation to them. One young man will go to our school in Friedensau, Germany, for one year, and then enter the work in Russia. He said that this has been the burden of his heart for several months. We are glad that the Lord has put the burning desire into the hearts of the young people to go into the hard places. This is as it should be. The Sabbath day was one of special blessing to the entire camp. The weather was favorable, therefore almost every one was out to meeting. The Sabbath-school was carried on in the different departments and nationalities. The German tent being too small for class recitation, a general class was formed, and every one took an active interest in the lesson studied. According to count, there were present: Germans, 428 members, donations $133.20; Russians, 7 members, donations $2.25; English, 118 members, donations $22; Scandinavians, 44 members, donations $15.36; children, 88 members, donations $4.05; making a total membership of 685, donations $176.86, all of which goes to the foreign missions. After Sabbath-school, there was preaching service in English by Elder O. A. Johnson, and in German by Elder G. F. Haffner. The Lord came very near to many a fainting heart and back-slidden sinner. Prayers of repentance were uttered, sometimes fifteen or more praying at once. Fathers went to their children and confessed their sins, and children to their parents. In the afternoon fifty were baptized in the James River, the entire camp witnessing the scene, Brother Carl Kunkel and Lars Neilsen administering the rite. Sometimes they would speak in English, sometimes in German, and at other times in the Scandinavian language, according to the nationality of the candidate. Husband and wife, brother and sister, could be seen walking arm in arm into the watery grave together. Their faces were shining with joy as they stepped out. It was very interesting to see how the truth of God binds all nationalities together in the great bond of love. On the following Sunday four more were baptized, making in all fifty-four. A number of others were also willing to follow their Lord, but it was thought best for them to wait until they should return home, that their respective churches might unite in receiving the blessing with them. Sunday was a missionary day on a large scale. Talks were given on the needs of the cause of God in all the world. After this, requests were made to those present to support the work, which met with a hearty response. Pledges amounting to $3,285.50; cash, $683.60; grain yet in the field, $615; 240 acres of land, $4,000; also live stock, amounting to $25, were laid upon the altar of God. In another tent there were pledges and cash offered, bringing the total amount to about $11,000. We are sure that this is a step in the right direction. There was no excitement among the people, rather a thoughtful consideration of the needs of God's work. One man gave one quarter section of land, half of which is to go to the school in Russia, forty acres to the General Conference, and the other forty acres to the work in the home field. Even though this was not a regular conference meeting, an expression was taken of those present of how much of their tithe should go to the support of the missionary work. They were willing to give from one fifth to one fourth of their regular tithe, beginning either with November, 1909, or January, 1910, as the committee may decide. This will amount to about $4,000 a year to the General Conference work. The book work is also onward in North Dakota. The Lord is wonderfully blessing those who are in the field. A good interest was taken in this work at the camp-meeting, and some twelve more will enter the work in addition to those already engaged. From every part of the State we received the report of good crop prospects, and there is nothing to hinder North Dakota from making the best record she has ever made. I have never seen such fine fields of grain as met our view from Jamestown south to Sioux Falls. The whole country looked like a garden of Eden. Where ten years ago I saw log houses and little claim shanties, there now stand great red barns and neat houses surrounded by little groves and orchards. Surely the prospering hand of God is manifest. The people in the United States are favored with many more blessings in this respect than those of other countries, and therefore God will hold them accountable for the means entrusted to them. Help from outside was rendered by Brethren G. B. Thompson, O. A. Johnson, H. J. Loebsack, G. F. Haffner, F. L. Perry, Dr. C. P. Farnsworth, T. D. Gibson, W. L. Manfull, and the writer. The people went home with a determination in their hearts to serve the Lord better than ever before. I was glad for one to have been present at this meeting. J. T. BOETTCHER. The Minnesota Camp-Meeting
By J. G. LAMSON
At the request of Elder R. A. Underwood, who left the camp-ground before the close of the meeting to attend the camp-meeting at Sioux Falls, S. D., it affords me pleasure to report for the REVIEW a most excellent meeting just closed at St. Paul. The camp was located in a pleasant grove with sandy soil, in the Midway District, between St. Paul and Minneapolis. People living in any part of both of these cities could reach the camp-ground for a five-cent fare, and the evening services especially were well attended by residents in that section of the city where the meeting was held. More than one hundred ninety tents were pitched, and there were about seven or eight hundred people living upon the grounds. I never saw a meeting move any more smoothly, or where better order on the part of old and young was maintained. The conference held its annual session, and the business was transacted with the utmost harmony. Several changes were made in officers and the executive committee. Brother C. M. Everest, who has been the faithful, painstaking servant of the conference as treasurer for fifteen or sixteen years, takes up field work in the missionary department of the conference, and Brother H. R. Gay will do the treasurer's work in the office. Elder S. E. Jackson continues as president. The conference felt that it was best to place some new young men on the committee in order that they might have an experience which would fit them for fields beyond. A missionary spirit seemed to be in every resolution and in every talk. Every question was decided from the standpoint of how Minnesota could best encourage the work in distant fields. The brethren responded nobly to the call for financial assistance, and nearly six thousand five hundred dollars was raised for various purposes. Nearly all of this fund will go outside of the conference. It is over three times as much as was raised last year, and is the most that has been raised in the conference on any similar occasion in many years. Two financial resolutions are deserving of special notice. Minnesota was one of the first conferences to reach its allotment of ten cents a week. So encouraged were the brethren that they unanimously voted to set fifteen cents a week for each member as their mark for the fiscal year beginning July 1. In addition to this, which we believe is the first instance of its kind in the denomination, the brethren voted to pay one fifth of the tithe to the General Conference after paying a first tithe to the union conference. If the ordinary expenses of the Northern Union Conference continue as they are, enough of Minnesota's tithe is passed on by the union conference to the General Conference, so that if this be added to the one fifth now voted by the Minnesota16 Conference, each person in Minnesota who pays tithe may feel sure that twenty-five cents on every dollar goes direct to the mission fields. Both Sabbaths were seasons of refreshing. Elder G. B. Thompson took charge of the revival service the first Sabbath, and Prof. P. T. Magan the second Sabbath. Many souls were refreshed. A number gave their hearts to God for the first time, and many more returned from their backslidings. Sunday forenoon forty-nine were baptized in the Mississippi River, and were added to the church. One interesting feature of the camp-meeting was a meeting of the “conference church,” which is made up of isolated Sabbath-keepers in all parts of the field. About fourteen of those who were baptized were of these scattered members, and Sunday afternoon the church held a meeting, at which were celebrated the ordinances of the Lord's house. It certainly was a great pleasure for some of those who have no such opportunity at any other time during the year. The General Conference and union conference laborers, other than those already mentioned, were Brethren J. T. Boettcher, of Russia; J. N. Anderson, of China; R. H. Habenicht, of Argentina; S. Mortenson, of the Swedish department; J. W. Christian, of the Norwegian department; G. F. Haffner, of the German department; J. V. Willson, of Africa; and Brethren R. A. Underwood, C. P. Farnsworth, T. D. Gibson, W. L. Manfull, and the writer, of the Northern Union Conference. The St. Paul and Minneapolis dailies gave a reasonable amount of space to the meeting, and their own reporters made conscientious efforts to give correct reports of the services. One of the larger tents was left standing at the camp, and Elders C. A. Pedicord and A. V. Olson will remain to follow up the interest awakened by the meeting. It is hoped that permanent results may be seen from holding the conference and camp-meeting at St. Paul. South Africa
By J. H. DE BEER
JOHANNESBURG.—It gives me great pleasure to be able to report that the work is moving onward in this part of the Lord’s great vineyard, notwithstanding the many obstacles and difficulties on every hand. There seems to be an awakening among the Dutch-speaking population of this country, and the message is gaining a strong foothold here. The Dutch Reformed Church exerts a powerful influence over the people in this land, and, next to the Roman Catholic Church, is one of our strongest opposers; but, thank God, they can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. We have at present two small churches in the “golden city” of the Transvaal. The first one was organized by Elder Geo. W. Reaser some six or seven years ago. We own a neat little church building, thirty-six by eighteen feet, built of burnt brick. This building was dedicated a year ago, and is the first Seventh-day Adventist church building erected in the Transvaal. The site was generously donated by Brother J. J. Wessels. The Lord has greatly blessed our efforts in the distribution of the Missionary REVIEW. The writer handed a copy to each of the editors of the three principal newspapers of this city; and as a result one of them—the Transvaal Leader—published quite a lengthy article, commenting favorably on our work. Last week Brother T. G. Crouch, one of our faithful canvassers, received a friendly note from a lady residing at Potchefstroom (seventy miles west of Johannesburg), to whom he had sent a copy of the special REVIEW. She enclosed a donation of ten dollars. Brother Jas. Symons received a letter from a prominent legislator expressing his appreciation of a copy of the REVIEW. Elder J. N. Loughborough’s one week’s mission here closed on Sunday, May 23. His inspiring talks on the rise and progress of the great second advent movement proved a great blessing to our little churches. As our veteran pioneer told us of the early experiences connected with this movement, and how the Lord had wonderfully wrought for his remnant church, our courage was revived, and our confidence settled in all points of the great threefold message. His visit will long be remembered by those who had the privilege of listening to him. We are determined to press the battle even unto the gates. Pray for the work in this difficult field.
J. H. DE BEER.