Earlier text: Rome in Politics and Religious LegislationHow We May Increase the Income
By W. H. Branson
"Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." Prov. 3: 9, 10. THE individual who takes God into partnership with himself in all his business relations, and who recognizes God's ownership by honoring him with the first fruits of all his increase, need have no fear as to how his business will succeed. When others are suffering from storm, pestilence, flood, and many other disasters; when property is swept away, and men and women are dying for want of food and shelter, he has the blessed promise that "bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." To those who do not thus honor God, but feel perhaps that they cannot afford to pay into the treasury of the Lord that portion of his goods which he claims as his own, the following words are spoken: "Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. . . . Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man to his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit." Haggai 1: 5-10. How many have passed through just such an experience! Feeling that they were too poor to pay tithe and to make freewill offerings to the Lord, they have retained the Lord's portion of their goods and their income, and have appropriated it to their own use. And behold the results! In many instances the Lord has simply blown upon all that they possessed, and, lo, it was gone! They have failed to recognize the principle set forth in the following words of inspiration: "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." A failure on the part of many of God's people to recognize this principle has shut them off from his blessing. In Malachi we read: "Even from the days of your fathers ye have gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you. . . . But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me." From this language it is clear that God will not commend an individual who has thus robbed him. But the case is not hopeless. "Return unto me, and I will return unto you. . . . Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Surely it will pay from a financial as well as a spiritual standpoint to return unto the Lord in this manner. Israel of old apostatized and gave up the tithing system. God accordingly withdrew his blessing from them, and they passed through a time of great poverty. Many suffered terribly from hunger, crops were cut off, and it seemed that they would all perish. The priests and singers, who were supposed to live upon the tithe, were forced to abandon the services of the temple and the work of teaching God's truth, and every one fled to the country to try in vain to earn a livelihood. Of this condition and the way they came out of it the prophet says: "And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries." Neh. 13: 10-12. Again in the days of Hezekiah we read of a like condition: "Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord. And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things, brought they in abundantly. And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps. . . . Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and Levites concerning the heaps. And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store." There is not one who is too poor to pay a tithe. Nine tenths of what little we have will be worth far more to us with God's blessing upon it and upon our families than the whole amount would be if God's blessing were withdrawn and his curse placed upon it. Liberality in dealing with the Lord will bring large returns, both spiritual and temporal. He Will Come Again
By Mrs. Mary H. Williams
“He will come again!” Like a glad re-
frin
Is the theme of redemption's story.
He will come to banish sin and pain.
Proclaim it, and swell the triumphant
strain,
For the earth waxes old and hoary. 'Tis the sweetest word earth's mourners
e'er heard,
This promise our Lord has given;
With joy their hearts are thrilled and
stirred
And faith made strong through hope de-
ferred,
Who wait his return from heaven. In the Word it is told in letters of gold,
And repeated, the joys in store.
What visions blest do those lines unfold!
The tomb shall no longer our loved ones
hold,
For death's dark reign will be o'er.
Charles City, Iowa. The iniquity of man is oftentimes hidden in this world. Many crimes are committed which are forever concealed from the eyes of human beings. Frequently, however, the criminal reaps the fruit of his own misdoing in this life. A recent incident in Southern California illustrates this:— In a cañon near Los Angeles the skeleton of a man was found. There was no clothing to indicate who or what the skeleton had been in life. All marks that might identify the bones had apparently been destroyed by the action of nature. The bones themselves would have "gone to mix forever with the elements" had it not been for the unprecedented rains of the past month. The grave in which the body lay was deep enough to resist any storm but a most unusual one. But the man who buried the body in this lonely place not only failed to make provision against the work of the elements, but he failed to remove from the mouth of his victim the peculiar gold fillings which enabled the relatives to identify the skeleton. This led to the apprehension of the man who committed the murder. There will come a day when every secret thing will be brought to light and stand revealed before the judgment bar of God. "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:14. In this life we may deceive our fellows, but we can never deceive God. The all-seeing eye takes account of everything we do. The record of our lives is written in the books of heaven, and some day we must face that record. Happy then will be that man who has availed himself of the sacrifice of Christ in his behalf, whose sins have been covered by the blood of the Lamb; but lost and undone will he be who appears without an intercessor. "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after." 1 Tim. 5:24. Let us make sure that our sins are covered by the blood of Christ, and that he stands as our advocate. To Those Who Hold the Ropes
By W. A. Spicer
At the beginning of the century of modern missions, William Carey, the pioneer, gave us for all time the striking illustration of the relation between the believers at home and the missionaries in the field. Carey’s associate, Fuller, listening to the account by Mr. Thomas, the Indian chaplain, who told of the great need among the Hindus, said that there was evidently a gold mine for missionary effort in India, but it seemed as deep as the center of the earth. “Who will venture to explore it?” he said. “I will venture to go down,” said Carey; “but remember that you,” turning to the representatives of the Baptist churches, “must hold the ropes.” Continually our mission fields give expression to their courage in the Lord at the thought that his truth for this time and his blessed Spirit are keeping thousands of believers in the homeland actively engaged in the task of “holding the ropes.” Here is a paragraph from one of the outlying mission stations of the China circuit, written by Elder W. F. Hills, on receipt of information from the Shanghai headquarters that appropriation had been made to meet the calls considered absolutely essential for pushing on the work in the Swatow district this year. He writes to the Mission Board: — You can guess the joy that filled our hearts when we received word that every dollar was allowed which we asked for in our budgets this year, and that we had the faithful people at home back of the promise to send us money each month to push our work on toward the goal. I tell you we can here appreciate the earnest efforts and the faithful sacrifice of the brethren at home, for a few dollars more added to the allowance of last year will allow us to answer another call or two which would otherwise have to wait. Tell them that the interest on their investment is accumulating very fast out here, and that although they may not see the actual returns here in this life, they may have the joy of knowing that soon they will be able to sit at the great table in heaven around which shall be gathered jewels just as bright as any which will enter the kingdom. So the messages would come, if we gave the space, from the whole worldwide circuit of our mission stations. Everywhere the need is so great that none of the stations receive what they need. At every point the workers make their calls according to the bare necessities for keeping pace with the most pressing providences of God; and while the entering of many an open door must be deferred, the fields are thankful that the brethren in the churches are giving week by week, with now and then a large gift, so that somehow advance steps can be taken at very nearly every point. The only way out for us is to give ourselves to the Lord for the carrying of this message to every unreached people, and never for a moment must we slacken our hands upon the ropes. The “promise to send money each month to push our work on toward the goal” is not and never can be the promise of the Mission Board treasury. It is merely the estimate which the General Conference Committee makes as to what should be apportioned to each local mission, based only on the reports of what has been given in the past, and on the knowledge that there are thousands of believers in this message in the churches who will not forget that they are the Lord’s stewards, and that the money for missions must come week by week and month by month from the hands of the Lord’s children who are pledged to give their lives and their all for this work. The promise is God’s promise to finish the work and to use his people in the doing of it. The call for resources for a little expansion of the work year by year is illustrated by this paragraph from another great field, India. Brother S. A. Wellman, of Lucknow, enters this plea for North India: — As to the appropriations for the present year, we are holding to what you allowed us. But as far as the North India native work is concerned, it will have to be doubled the coming year if we are to keep up with the work already started. The calls and the conditions demand that we shall not stand still. We have been the most meagerly manned field in India, as far as native labor is concerned. We must have more to do with another year, or our work is practically at a standstill. We have one third of India in this division, and great openings in a number of parts, especially in the Panjab, and we should be in a position to step into these openings. So come from the wide fields the words of thanks and of courage, and the appeals for help. We Are Going Forward
By C. M. S.
THERE is a note of victory in the camp of Israel. The people of the Lord are going forward, and the leaders are taking the lead. None can fail to be convinced of this who have been reading the reports of our ministerial institutes published from time to time in the REVIEW. The reports are inspiring to us who read them; but those who have attended the meetings have received an inspiration that cannot be measured by any human instrument, and whose influence will tell mightily for the progress of this message in every field to which these workers go. The unanimity of these reports in showing the real spiritual uplift that has characterized these meetings is a source of great encouragement to us. It indicates that God is giving his people a special preparation in view of their increasingly9 difficult work. While we may expect to see the wrath of the enemy more and more strikingly manifest as we draw nearer to the consummation of the work, we may expect also to see God manifest his presence and his leading in equally striking ways. He will never revoke his promise to be with his faithful followers straight through to the end of the controversy. Difficulties may tower high, but God's providences will find a way for his little flock around or over or through them. The enemies of the truth may be many and active, but the angels of God, his ministering servants, are more than they, and will wield the power of God mightily in thwarting the adversary and bringing deliverance to his people. If we were in this work alone, depending upon our own leading and protection, we might well tremble for our safety both here and hereafter. We know that the forces of the adversary are mobilizing for the final conflict. There are organizations numbering their members by the hundreds of thousands which the enemy will use as divisions of a great army for physical attack and coercion and oppression when he considers that the time is ripe for so doing. And will not God fit his people for such a season?—Most certainly he will. He is doing it now. This work of special preparation has begun with the leaders and more active workers, the ministers, the Bible workers, the canvassers, and the colporteurs. Through them it will be carried to the rank and file of the people. They who step into the channel of God's providence in this matter God will prepare for the trials of that time. They who hold aloof will be unfitted, unprepared, and unable to stand. It is no time now to be lukewarm, half-hearted, world-loving. It does no good to walk toward the mountains if we keep our eyes fixed on Sodom. Thousands of Seventh-day Adventists are attending Sabbath school occasionally, spending one hour a week in the regular Sabbath service, omitting the prayer meeting generally or entirely, doing nothing to bring others into the truth, and maintaining a vague notion that some time Jesus will come and carry them home to heaven. But he will never do it. When he comes, he will bring his reward with him, and will 'render to each man according as his work is.' When he comes, he will say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant,' to every one whom he rewards with eternal life. No one will go with him to the mansions of the blessed whose Christian experience and Christian activities have been summed up in sitting still one hour a week in a comfortable pew and listening to a sermon. Christ will say "Well done" to those alone who have done well their part in speeding his message in the earth and advancing the interests of his kingdom here. It is indeed time to awake out of sleep, to buckle on the armor and demonstrate to both friends and enemies that we are actually on the firing line, enlisted in God's service till the end. There is not a soul among us who does not need this preparation, and none of us can get it for somebody else. No one can have it just because some one else has it. Your having it does not lessen the necessity of my having it. This is an individual work. Just as the wedding guest could not go into the wedding without the wedding garment on, so no individual can go through the trying experiences before this people who does not have the preparation that God designs to give his people to fit them for that time and those experiences. There must be a willingness on our part to receive it, a pressing together in his service, a faithfulness and a diligence in accepting every means of grace, a desire to be in touch with God every hour of the day, and a glad willingness to be used in any way that he may choose. The lack of these things cannot be made up by merely having our names on the church books, attending divine service once a week, and bearing the reproach of 'keeping Saturday for Sunday.' So far as it affects our prospect of eternal life, we might as well be active in the service of Satan as to be slothful in the service of Christ. Either would shut us out of the kingdom. The writer had the privilege of attending the ministerial institute for the Columbia Union Conference, held at Baltimore, Md., and through the work of that institute saw as never before the guiding providence of God at work, fitting his people for the last epoch of the history of sin. The instruction given in all lines was timely and heart-searching. Ministers who have been teaching this truth for years, went from that institute with a far deeper sense of the solemnity of the message they hear than they had ever had before. They were made to realize the sacredness of their calling and the far-reaching consequence of faithfulness or unfaithfulness in their ministry. Young men just entering the work of the ministry were given a broader and deeper view into the meaning and the responsibilities of that sacred calling, and were caused to see the necessity of a full surrender of heart, a complete renunciation of sin and worldliness, and a fixed purpose to be faithful stewards of the things of God. In the Bible work, the young people's work, and the canvassing work, the instruction given and the interchange of experiences and views helped to consolidate and unify the work, and make the efforts of each individual in his special line of work much more effective for the advancement of the cause. There was continually held before these workers the aim of the denomination,—the winning of souls for Christ. "Every member a soul winner," read the motto; and the testimonies of these earnest workers indicated that they purposed to make that motto the ruling factor in their lives. As these workers now go out into the field and to their churches, the influence of the institute will make itself felt. Let us as a people rally as one man to the standard set. Let us present a solid front to the enemy. Let us break away from the allurements of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and swing into line with a purpose to be God's minutemen, anxious to receive from him what he has to give, and ready to follow his leading wherever it may take us. The cause is going forward; the people of God are going forward; shall you and I go forward with it and with them? May God help us to decide aright, and having decided, to stand firm and loyal to the end, bringing with us many sheaves from the harvest fields of this world. C. M. S. The General Meeting in Battle Creek
By Editor
It was the good fortune of the editor of this paper to be permitted to attend the recent general meeting in Battle Creek, Mich. The occasion was the ministerial institute for the workers of the Lake Union Conference, followed later by the biennial session of that conference. Several things conspired to make the gathering one of pleasure, profit, and inspiration. The weather was propitious throughout, and the historical setting of the meeting was one of added interest. Battle Creek was for years the headquarters of our denominational work. Many brethren and sisters who have been living witnesses of practically every important advance made in connection with this movement were present at the meeting. Among some of the pioneer conference laborers we noticed Elders A. C. Bourdeau, M. S. Burnham, H. Nicola, and William Covert, and Brother J. W. Bachelor who connected with the work when the Review and Herald was published in Rochester, N. Y., and remained with the institution until the plant in Battle Creek was destroyed by fire. Battle Creek witnessed the beginning of our educational and sanitarian work. The first college building, the first publishing house, and the first sanitarium ever erected by Seventh-day Adventists10 were established here. The college building still stands, used now as offices by the Battle Creek Sanitarium. The old sanitarium building and also the Review and Herald Publishing House were destroyed by fire. Only the Tabernacle remains as a landmark of the earlier history of our work in Battle Creek. What thrilling, thronging memories these scenes revived! How we lived over again the days of the past with their struggles and conflicts! Our work today has long since overstepped the barriers which held it back in its formative period, and has now become a great world-wide movement, reaching out into all the nations of earth. But while the material work has changed, while the organization has enlarged, while many of the old pioneers have passed from the active stage and younger men have taken their places, yet it is the same work, and we praise God that the same spirit of the third angel's message still rings true in this movement. Notwithstanding their mistakes, failures, and shortcomings, God still loves his children in this world, and he stands ready to respond to every desire of the heart after him. This was indicated in a marked measure in the ministerial institute. The preaching of the word had in it the true advent ring. There was nothing of sensation, and but little of what would be commonly counted eloquence. The message was given in a plain, simple, straightforward manner, but with confidence and assurance. It went with convicting power to the hearts of those who heard. Enlarged visions of the sacredness and character of the work of God and of the sacred calling of the gospel ministry were received by those present. Victory over sin in the personal life, power to prevail with God and with men as did Israel of old, the power of the Holy Spirit in the life to accomplish the work God has committed to us,—these were the keynotes emphasized again and again. Many were led to exclaim, as did Isaiah of old: "I am a man of unclean lips . . . for mine eyes have seen the Lord of hosts." To this cry of burdened hearts there came the comforting assurance of the Word: "Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away." God has blessed in a large measure the work in the Lake Union Conference during its history. We confidently believe, however, that larger blessings are to be experienced in the future than ever before, for the reason that its ministers have obtained a new view of God's glory, and realize that "except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." The burden of the institute instruction was carried by Elders I. H. Evans, G. B. Thompson, and O. A. Olsen. Prof. W. W. Prescott spoke twice upon the dangers threatening our liberties, giving valuable instruction relative to the present impending crisis and our relation thereto. The five days of the ministerial institute brought the workers to the business session with serious hearts and with prayerful consideration for the questions to be decided. Others will report these features of the meetings. It was refreshing to find on the part of the Battle Creek church the old-time spirit of hospitality, which during the recent years has not so generally characterized this denomination as in bygone times. Free rooms, and in many cases board as well, were furnished by the church not only to the delegates but to the visiting brethren and sisters also. One of the most interesting occasions was a meeting held by the church to determine the question which had been raised regarding the sale of the Tabernacle. Through some changes in the building, installation of heating system, etc., a debt of about eight thousand dollars had gradually accumulated against the property. Some had felt favorable to the plan of selling the building to the city for auditorium purposes, using a portion of the proceeds for the erection of a smaller and more modern church building, and donating the remainder to the cause. Others, however, felt that this old landmark should still be preserved as a memorial of our work in Battle Creek, and this seemed to be the prevailing sentiment not only of the large majority of the church, but of many of the visiting brethren and sisters who were present at the meeting. The Lake Union Conference showed its deep interest in the work at this center by coming forward with the proposition that if the church would raise one half of the indebtedness, the union would become responsible for the other half. To this the church heartily responded, and before the close of the conference session enough had been pledged by the church members to more than make up the one half of the indebtedness they were to meet, and provide also a substantial sum to be applied upon the running expenses of the church. We are sure that our readers everywhere will rejoice with us that this building, which was erected years ago by many contributions from our brethren and sisters throughout the world, will still stand in Battle Creek as a memorial of our work. In this connection it is gratifying to state that at the present time there is a deeper interest on the part of those not of our faith in Battle Creek to listen to the special truths for this time than has ever before existed in the city. Elder W. A. Westworth, who is doing very acceptable work as pastor of the church, has, with the assistance of his faithful coworkers, developed a good interest, and some of the evening meetings have been attended by two or three hundred people from the outside. Of the final result of this effort we shall hope to hear from Brother Westworth in the future. In listening to the message which God gave to his servants, in communion with God, and in association with old-time friends, the meetings at Battle Creek proved a truly blessed season of spiritual refreshing and inspiration. Returning from Battle Creek by way of Chicago, we spent the Sabbath at Hinsdale, Ill., speaking Sabbath morning to the church in this place. The sanitarium carried on here by Dr. Paulson and his associates is enjoying a good patronage, and a good spirit possesses the family of workers who are endeavoring to hold up the gospel standard before their guests.
F. M. W. Self-Denial Week
By W. T. Knox
At the fall council of the General and North American Division Conferences much consideration was given to relief measures for our training schools and sanitariums. It was decided to continue the plan adopted at the regular session of the General Conference of requesting our brethren in North America to adopt a standard of gifts equal to an average of twenty cents a week a member, from which there should be given to foreign missions an equivalent of fifteen cents a week, which would give to the General Conference $500,000 for its operations of 1914, the remainder, or the equivalent of five cents a week, to be devoted to the relief of our institutions. This should supply $175,000 for the year. In addition to this, the following measure was adopted:— That as a means of bringing special help in the campaign for lifting the burden of debt from our institutions, a self-denial week be appointed, and that all conference and institutional workers be asked to dedicate that week's salary to this purpose, in special token of the dedication of our hearts and lives to the work of rolling away the reproach of debt from the cause of God; and that we invite all our people to make that week a week of self-denial for the benefit of our institutions; and further, that the last week in May be the time for this united endeavor and consecration of life and service. This action was reaffirmed at a meeting of the North American Division Conference held at Loma Linda, March 25-29, with the provision "that the proceeds received from the self-denial week appointed at the fall council be returned to each conference, the same to be applied on institutional relief in the union11 conference." According to this action, the last week of May is set apart as a self-denial week in North America, especially for our conference and institutional workers, they being requested to devote that week's salary to the relief movement, and all our people are invited to make the week one of self-denial for the benefit of our institutions. The money thus realized in any union conference will be left entirely at the disposal of the union conference for its own institutions, or such relief measure as it may elect. It is hoped that this will afford material assistance to some of our schools or sanitariums that are in need of immediate help. Word received from a number of the union conference officials states that a very hearty co-operation in the plan is already indicated on the part of their associates.
W. T. Knox.