OUR first missionaries came to India fifteen years ago and began work in Calcutta, the seat of government and largest city in the Indian Empire. We now have in that city a Bengali church and an English church, a well-equipped set of treatment rooms, and a health food factory. We have three other mission stations in Bengal, located at Karmatar, Babulmohal, and Gopalganj.
At Karmatar a dispensary is operated, active evangelistic work is carried on in the surrounding villages, and four village schools are maintained, having an attendance ranging between two and three hundred pupils. Within the last few months eight souls have been baptized. Land for the erection of a mission house and church has recently been obtained. A brick wall surrounding the land has already been built, fruit-trees have been set out, and the foundation for the mission house is now being laid. The prospect for the future development of the work at Karmatar is very encouraging.
At Babulmohal, which is located on the border of the Santal country, is a boarding-school, with three village schools near-by. Santalis make very reliable Christians. Some have already accepted the faith as the result of our boarding-school, and are developing into successful workers. Several in the school are much interested in what has been taught them of Jesus Christ, and we believe some of them will drop their worship of demons and accept the Gospel.
Gopalganj is located in East Bengal. Recently a mission house has been purchased. Tho there is much fever in this part of India, and it is difficult for our workers, yet it is thickly populated, and we have a number of scattered Sabbath-keepers and several Bengali workers in this district. Our canvassers are selling many papers and tracts. During the monsoon season, which lasts for several months of the year, the many branches of the Ganges River overflow their banks and the land is covered with water. Our workers have to go entirely by boats from one house to another. A house-boat suitable for a European family and several Bengali workers is now being purchased. It will be propelled by oars, and tho slow in motion, will be sufficiently commodious for workers to make their home on for several weeks or even months at a time, while going from village to village, so that they will not need to return to the mission house each night.
Burma
Our work next opened in Burma. A thriving little English-speaking church with several Burmese members is located at Rangun. Land has been purchased in the suburbs for putting up a mission house. Most of the money for the purchase of the same has been donated by the Rangun church.
At Meiktilla, in Northern Burma, an industrial school has been started. The need of practical education is felt in Burma, and many Buddhists are anxious to have their sons attend mission schools where the Word of God is taught. Money for purchasing land at Meiktilla has been subscribed by interested people in Burma. One building is already completed and another will soon be started.
Work has been opened up recently at Mandalay, the largest city in Northern Burma. The Burmese people about Mandalay buy Gospels and tracts readily, as many as 1,150 Gospels and tracts being sold in one week.
Word has just come from the Shan States, on the frontier of China, that a very favorable, healthful, and suitable location for a mission station has been found, and temporary buildings will soon be erected. The land is good for cultivating, and the people seem friendly. Heralds of the Gospel are finding the farthermost corners of the Indian Empire.
North India
In North India, missionaries are located at the following places: Lucknow, Mussoorie, Deosa, and Najibabad.
At Lucknow are located the Watchman Press, the union mission office, and the tract society depository. One worker is giving her time to zenana work in Hindustani homes, with encouraging results.
Mussoorie is the headquarters for our work in India during the eight months of the year while the heat of the plains is oppressive. A rest home for missionaries was purchased several years ago with money donated by the readers of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. A school for children of missionaries and other English-speaking believers is carried on in connection with it. Treatment rooms and a free dispensary are also operated at Mussoorie. A public effort in English is carried on each season.
The beautiful palaces of lights of the old kings of Oudh, Lucknow
The large boarding-school at Deosa, Garhwal, has now been running nearly two years and is making good progress. The first convert is now waiting for baptism. A mission house, a school building, and two small dormitories have been built. The mission station enjoys a healthful, invigorating climate. The people in surrounding villages are very friendly; and in time, by God's help, we look to see a goodly number of souls liberated from the shackles of Hinduism and instructed in the Gospel of Christ.
The dispensary at Najibabad has only been going a little over a year, during six months of which time the work was seriously interrupted by bubonic plague. One13worker was seized with the plague, but in answer to prayer the disease was almost instantly checked and the life of the worker spared. From thirty to fifty patients are treated daily at the dispensary. The only house for workers is located in the center of the native city, and is really not safe and suitable for our missionaries to live in. Land has been offered about a mile from the city.
South India
Mission work has been carried on at Nazareth, Tinnevelli, for four years. Two acres of land was given to us by the Tamil Sabbath-keepers. A mission house and church and school building have been built. With a church of forty members who have accepted the faith since the work began, a Sabbath-school of a hundred members, and a day-school of equal size, together with a dispensary treating from forty to sixty patients daily, the work at this mission station is moving forward hopefully. An outstation a few miles away has been recently opened.
At Trichinopoli, a large city in South India, a beginning is being made. Our workers have been preceded in this place by an Indian brother who has been preparing the way by teaching the Gospel to his fellow countrymen.
West India
Work has fairly started in West India. A few souls have accepted the faith. Mission work has been started this year at Panwell, fifteen miles across the bay from Bombay. A few native workers are in training. Our workers at Panwell are in a thickly settled district, and the great city of Bombay is only a few miles away, with but two lone sisters doing medical work in that great gateway of India.
Lonavla, a more healthful station situated in the Western Ghats, thirty miles distant, has a few believers. A dispensary is just being opened at that place.
Summary
Considering the field as a whole, there is much for which to thank God. To be sure, there are many difficulties to be overcome. Caste, the large diversity of languages spoken by the people, the climate, and poverty of the poor, present obstacles which can be overcome by divine power only. Yet nothing can stay the hand of God in His work. Our dispensaries are creating a friendly feeling and opening the way to teach the Word of God. Last year 42,000 treatments were given. The number of pupils in our boarding and village schools totals more than six hundred. Papers, tracts, and pamphlets are now being issued in eight different languages. Our canvassers are finding that literature can be sold, and prospects for increasing its circulation are favorable.
The great need is for men and means to answer the pressing calls and fill into the openings on every hand. Truly God is going before His servants in India, the time has come when India is to hear the Gospel, and a people be gathered out to meet the Lord when He shall come. Let us continually pray the Lord of the harvest that more workers may be drawn out into His harvest-field in heathen lands.
J. L. SHAW.
Mussoorie, India.
"Mine Hour Is Not Yet Come"
By Anonymous
Jesus' "hour is not yet come."
Let this word thine answer be,
Pilgrim asking for thy home,
Longing to be blessed and free.
Yet a season tarry on—
Nobly borne is nobly done.
While oppressing cares and fears
Night and day no respite leave—
Still prolonged through many years,
None to help thee or relieve;
Hold the word of promise fast,
Till deliverance comes at last.
Every creature, hope, and trust,
Earthly prop or stay,
May be prostrate in the dust,
May have failed and passed away.
Then when darkest falls the night,
Jesus comes—and all is light.
Yea, the Comforter draws nigh
To the breaking, bursting heart;
For with tender sympathy
He has felt and seen its smart.
Through its darkest hours of ill,
He is waiting, watching still.
Dost thou ask when comes His hour?
Then, when it shall aid thee best.
Trust His faithfulness and power;
Trust in Him, and quiet rest.
Suffer on, and hope, and wait—
Jesus never comes too late.
Blessed day which hastens fast,
End of conflict and of sin;
Death itself shall die at last,
Heaven's eternal joys begin.
Then eternity shall prove
"God is light, and God is love."
—Anon.
The Acts of the Apostles
By Editor
Patriarchs and Prophets
Desire of Ages
# The Acts of the Apostles
Great Controversy
THE great chain of light for the church to-day is lengthened and strengthened by the addition of the beautiful new book "The Acts of the Apostles," by Mrs. E. G. White, of which more than three thousand copies have gone out during the past four weeks.
Of its mission, the publishers' preface to the book speaks as follows:
"To her wonderfully instructive volumes in this series, 'Patriarchs and Prophets,' 'The Desire of Ages,' and 'The Great Controversy,' the author has added 'The Acts of the Apostles,' a record of God's witnesses subsequent to the life of our Lord.
"By this Spirit-aided book a flood of light is thrown upon the apostolic church and its momentous meaning to us of this time. The church militant demands the church triumphant. Through all her warfare, her trials, her defeats, she has seen the vision of victory. Above all the discordant noises of earth, she has heard the ringing, cheering voice of her Captain. He who suffered for her children is choosing them to reign with Him. He who came in humiliation to die, the Suffering One, is coming again in glory, the Regnant One forever."
Truly, from the first chapter, "God's Purpose for His Church," to the closing, "The Church Triumphant," the light contained in the struggles and victories of the past is shed forth to those upon whom rests the work of carrying forward the Message of Truth to-day.
This is why ministers, Bible workers, teachers, church workers, and lay members, everywhere—all of whom are equally interested in the triumph of the Gospel—will deeply appreciate this new book. Its fifty-eight chapters are:
God's Purpose for His Church
The Training of the Twelve
The Great Commission
Pentecost
The Gift of the Spirit
At the Temple Gate
A Warning Against Hypocrisy
Before the Sanhedrim
The Seven Deacons
The First Christian Martyr
The Gospel in Samaria
From Persecutor to Disciple
Days of Preparation
A Seeker for Truth
Delivered from Prison
The Gospel Message in Antioch
Heralds of the Gospel
Preaching Among the Heathen
Jew and Gentile
Exalting the Cross
In the Regions Beyond
Thessalonica
Berea and Athens
Corinth
The Thessalonian Letters
Apollos at Corinth
Ephesus
Days of Toil and Trial
A Message of Warning and Entreaty
Called to Reach a Higher Standard
The Message Heeded
A Liberal Church
Laboring under Difficulties
A Consecrated Ministry
Salvation of the Jews
Apostasy in Galatia
Paul's Last Journey to Jerusalem
Paul a Prisoner
The Trial at Cæsarea
Paul Appeals to Cæsar
"Almost Thou Persuadest Me"
The Voyage and Shipwreck
In Rome
Cæsar's Household
Written from Rome
At Liberty
The Final Arrest
Paul Before Nero
Paul's Last Letter
Condemned to Die
A Faithful Under-Shepherd
Steadfast unto the End
John the Beloved
A Faithful Witness
Transformed by Grace
Patmos
The Revelation
The Church Triumphant
The book contains 630 pages, including Index to Scripture References and General Index. A special thin paper edition bound in red limp leather, uniform with the Testimonies in this binding, has been prepared, the price of which is $2.00, post-paid. Another style of binding, durable cloth, may be secured at $1.50, post-paid. At these prices, every family can avail themselves of the help of this beautiful new book.
Order of your tract society or
Pacific Press Publishing Association
Mountain View, California
Kansas City, Missouri
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Portland, Oregon
Fish or Serpent; Which?
By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle
HERE is one thing which we would better settle at once and forever in our mind, and that is this: To take the bare word of the Lord, without any mental reservation whatever, and to believe that He means exactly what He says; that He will not promise one thing and then do the opposite; in other words, that what the Almighty promises to do or to give or to fulfil, is just as sure as is His everlasting throne.
"Yes," you say, "I get very much comfort from the promises; but sometimes I am just a little puzzled, because, really, I can't see that they are always fulfilled. For instance, that one which says, 'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.' Now I have asked for one certain blessing to come to me,—asked, and knocked, and sought. Other things for which I have prayed have come to me, but that which I have desired more than all, has not come; I have been sorely perplexed, and I wonder why God does not answer me."
Well, my sister, the Lord answers our prayers many times when we do not realize it. Unless the answer is affirmative, we seem not to realize that we have received any answer at all. To illustrate:
Mr. Jones has a fine horse, which Mr. Brown wishes to purchase. Mr. Brown accordingly writes Mr. Jones a letter, asking if the horse is for sale, and stating that he wishes to buy it. In due time he receives a letter from the owner, who says, "No, sir; I do not wish to sell the animal."
Now would it not be strange indeed for Mr. Brown to insist that Mr. Jones had never answered him?
Sometimes the Lord answers us by a direct refusal to grant our request; but it is none the less an answer.
"But why does He refuse me?"—Why do you sometimes refuse to grant the desires of your child?
"Well, but if he asks a 'fish,' I am very sure that I would not give him a 'serpent.'"
No, no; and neither does your heavenly Father.
"But," says Mrs. Hasty, "I don't know about that; to say the least, I can't understand it. Now, I am very much troubled with a hasty temper. I grow angry very easily. So I asked the Lord to give me patience. And I asked in faith, too. I verily believed that He could do it, and that He would. That was about a year ago; and I've prayed for patience every single day since, and (I admit the truth with shame) I have lost my temper many times, tho I do believe I'm gaining some ground. But I tell you, I've never had a year of such perplexity and trial in all my life. O, I wonder why the Lord does not answer my prayer!"
Methinks I see the hot tears rolling down Mrs. Hasty's cheeks as she makes this confession, for she is very much in earnest. Strange that she does not appreciate the truth that the Lord has been answering her prayer all the time; He is trying to teach her patience.
Now there is one short verse in the good Book, which is the key to the whole situation, only Mrs. Hasty has forgotten the verse. She has been praying for the very thing which she has received; for "tribulation worketh patience" (Rom. 5:3, 4).
Mrs. Hasty does not desire tribulation. But the pathway of trial and tribulation of one kind or another, is the only path which perfects the Christlike grace of patience. Why, there is no virtue in wearing a sweet smile and speaking in gentle tones when everything goes smoothly and we may have our own way in every matter. But when the bread sours, and the baby is cross, and John is exasperating, and the cookies burn up in the oven, and Mary spills the gravy down the front of her best dress, and that tedious Mrs. Blank comes over in the early morning and stays so long you are forced to neglect your morning's work until almost dinner time,—then, O, then is the time to exercise patience. If you had been ever so kind and good when there was no provocation, you could not be called "patient,"—now could you, Mrs. Hasty?
"But do you really mean to say that when I pray for patience, I necessarily ask for trials and tribulation?"
I really do mean just that; because patience is the direct fruit of tribulation of some sort; it is a fruit which thrives upon no other tree.
"Still," you say, "if I ask God for some blessing which I very much desire and need, and if I have fulfilled, on my part, all the conditions, as far as I know them, is not God bound, on His part, to carry out His share of the contract, and never to give me a 'serpent' if I ask for 'fish'?"
Let me repeat: He is not only bound to do so, but He always does do so; He never fails.
"Never?"—No, my sister, He never fails. But sometimes you and I fail to recognize the nature of His gift. Sometimes the devil actually blinds our eyes to that degree that, in our blindness, we declare the "fish" to be a "serpent." We must not, MUST NOT allow him thus to blind and deceive us. We must not be ignorant of his cruel wiles; for he has come down with great power, knowing that he has but a short time.
Let us always remember that "every good gift and every perfect gift" comes from God, and that He never gives His children anything else.
Sickness? — Yes, sometimes. Poverty? Yes. Tribulation? — Yes. Trials? — Yes, if God sends them, they are good for us,—best for us!
Then no matter how much the "fish" for which we have prayed, may, to our blinded eyes, resemble a "serpent," we are to lift up our eyes to the heavens, tho they seem but brass, and cry in faith: "The word of Jehovah stands sure; and it matters not what He sends us, it is 'fish;' and it is not and it can not be a 'serpent.'"
Did you know that we must learn to take God's word even in preference to our own natural eyesight? — We must.
It is quite possible for us to be mistaken. But "the word of the Lord endureth forever." And verily the time hasteth when it will be said, "Blessed is the man whose hope is in the Lord of Hosts."
The Vanishing Dead-Line
By William J. Hart, D.D.
By William J. Hart, D.D., in New York "Christian Advocate"
MUCH has been written concerning the activities of youth, until we have sometimes been induced to think that most of the great things of the past have been done by men comparatively young. It came, therefore, as a great surprise to a Chautauqua audience in 1911 to be informed that "the period of greatest productivity of a man's life lies in the decade between his sixtieth and seventieth year." At first there was a disposition to question the assertion thus made by Dr. Earl Barnes, the well-known educator. But he stood on secure ground, for he had based his statements on a book of which few persons had knowledge. This work is entitled "The Age of Mental Virility," and was written by Dr. Dorland.
The Chautauquan Daily quotes Dr. Barnes on this subject in the following words:
The beginning of the investigation was made in an attempt to disprove the much misunderstood so-called Osler theory, which, by the way, Dr. Osler says was only a banquet joke.
The attempt to show the fallacy of the statement made by Dr. Osler was taken up by Dr. William A. N. Dorland, himself a physician and an author of some reputation. He selected the names of four hundred of the most noted men of all time from all lines of activities—statesmen, painters, warriors, poets, writers of history, fiction, and other prose productions. Opposite each name was placed the name of the greatest work of his lifetime—his greatest picture, greatest battle, greatest poem or book—whatever the greatest thing he had done in his lifetime might be.
This list was then submitted to a considerable number of competent critics for suggestions. The list was revised and re-revised. Names were added, names were dropped; the list was thoroly gone over time and again, until the majority opinion was that the list as it stood represented the four hundred greatest men of the world's history.15
When the list was completed to the satisfaction of the critics, Dr. Dorland appended to the list of the achievements of the men, the age at which the deed was accomplished. The list was arranged according to decades of age, and the result was startling. It was found that the decade of years between sixty and seventy contained thirty-five per cent of the world's greatest achievements. Between the ages of seventy and eighty, twenty-three per cent of the achievements fell; and in the years after the eightieth, six per cent. In other words, sixty-four per cent of the great things of the world have been accomplished by men who had passed their sixtieth year; the greatest percentage, thirty-five per cent, being in the sixth decade.
The figures for the other periods of life are interesting. Between the fiftieth and the sixtieth years are found twenty-five per cent, between forty and fifty, ten per cent. These all totaled together, leave the almost negligible quantity of one per cent to be attributed to the period below the age of forty. Two great classes of work fall below the forty-year limit. These are the deeds which require an extreme physical power and vim, as the conquests of Alexander the Great; and the beautiful expression of the lyric poetry which is typified by the nervous, supersensitive temperament of such men as Shelley or Keats.
But, taken as a whole, the figures prove conclusively that the period of the greatest thing in a man's life comes not when he is in his youth, but only with the years of mature manhood.
"Countrified"
By James Buckham
Do they call you "countrified"?
Let it be your joy and pride,
You who love the birds and bees,
And the whispers of the trees!
Trust me, friend of flowers and grass,
Little brown-faced lad or lass,
Naught in all the world beside
Equals being "countrified."
Up of mornings when the light
Reddens on the mountain height;
Hearing how the bird-throats swell
With the joy they can not tell;
Conscious that the morning sings
Like a harp with unseen strings,
Over which the breezes glide,—
This is being "countrified."
Roaming far, on summer days,
Or when autumn woodlands blaze;
Learning how to catch and tell
Nature's precious secrets well;
Filled with sunshine, heart and face,
Or, where branches interlace,
Dappled like the shy trout's side,—
This is being "countrified."
What tho little fit to pose
In the city's ways and clothes?
There is vastly more to love
In the brown of nature's glove.
Health and happiness and tan
Are best fashions for a man.
All who near to God abide
Are, in some way, "countrified."
—James Buckham.
The Washington - Lincoln Number
By Editor
A touching scene from the home life of Washington
The Message of the February "Signs"
Washington and Religious Liberty, by M. C. Wilcox, is an article of historical and practical interest. It gives George Washington's attitude toward those who in his day observed the seventh-day Sabbath. His letter to the Ephrata community of seventh-day Christians is given, and it well supports the practically universal belief in the greatness of Washington. It may be said to be George Washington's "declaration of religious liberty."
Lincoln and Liberty, by A. O. Tait. Another great man, and the principles that go for genuine greatness. Let us remember, with the man, the principles for which he stood.
The Witness of the Stars, by Frank S. Weston. Not following the beaten path. Startlingly new facts and reasonings. Commended to our readers.
Death Abolished by Life, by J. O. Corliss. The closing article of this series from the pen of Mr. Corliss. It is worth your time.
How to Keep from Falling, by George B. Starr. A good practical article on how to sustain one's Christian experience.
The Redemption of the Earth, by William Covert. God's plan for our world. Worthy of your study. The main principles briefly outlined.
The Second Coming of Christ, Bringing Life and Immortality, by George W. Rine. The second of this series. Commended to the most careful attention of our readers.
There are others, with the usual good line of current topics.
Well illustrated.
This number is sure to take well with the people, and is an unusually good one to work with.
Order through your tract society
A Particularly Timely and Important Number of the
# Magazine with the Message
Olives and Figs for Sale
By A. E. Crist
Large ripe olives, 50 gal. bbl., 50c per gal.; 25 gal., 60c; 5 gal. can, 70c. Medium or green, 10c less. Small, 20c less. 200 pounds or more, $1.50 per hundredweight east of Rockies.
White or black figs, hand picked, processed and pressed in 50 pound buckets, 7c per pound.
Satisfaction guaranteed.
A. E. Crist, Chico, California.
For Sale
A good house, six rooms, bath, toilet, wash-room, and storeroom, sewer connection, free water, one or two large lots. On car line, three quarters of a mile from Lodi Normal. Price reasonable. Terms to suit if sold soon. W. H. Hamilton, Lodi, Cal.
Free Sample of E-Z Washing Tablets
Mrs. J. Valentine, Salem, Oregon, writes:
"One lady to whom I sold a quarter's worth of your Washing Tablets came a few days later and took $1.50 worth. Said she never saw anything like it."
You will say the same if you try it. Send your name and address on a postal and receive a free sample. Address Alfred Mallett, 721 H St., Sacramento, California.
Wanted
A Seventh-day Adventist who is a practical nurseryman, one who understands budding and grafting. Would prefer one to take an interest in the business. Fine opening. Good climate. Plenty of good water for irrigation. 4,000 feet elevation. New farming and fruit country. References given and required. Address O. O. Osborne, Deming, New Mexico.
The Law of God as Changed by the Papacy
By Editor
Printed on good, white paper, size 5½ x 11, giving the law as changed by the Catholic Church, surrounded by extracts from Catholic works showing that the pope is considered above all laws, and the admissions of the change of the fourth commandment. Price, three cents; 50 cents per 100. Address Pacific Press Publishing Assn., Mountain View, Cal.
My Garden Neighbors.
By L. A. Reed. A new nature-study book just fresh from the press. All will be interested in the true story of the sparrows who learned to imitate the bluebirds, of the cat that went wild, of the cowbird that imposed on a sparrow, and all the others in this instructive and entertaining book. It contains 256 pages with over fifty illustrations, several of them colored. Bound in cloth, $1.00. Address this office.
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SUBSCRIPTION RATES
By Editor
N. B. We send no papers from this office to individuals without pay in advance. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon to pay for them. Please read the papers you may receive, and hand them to your friends to read.
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DATE OF EXPIRATION
The SIGNS wrapper bears date of last issue due on your subscription. Unless renewed in advance, paper stops with expiration date.
If herewith is an order-blank, you will know you have overlooked sending renewal. You will not wish to miss a single issue. Back numbers often can not be furnished.
C. H. Jones, Circulation Manager.
Bible Versions Used
By Editor
Our authority is the Bible, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. When the Common ("King James" or "Authorized") Version or the American Standard Revised Version is used, the version will not generally be designated in reference. Any Bible quotation in this paper, therefore, differing from the Common Version, unless otherwise indicated, will be almost invariably from the American Standard edition of the Revised Bible, copyright 1910, by Thomas Nelson & Sons.
For further particulars, subscription rates, etc., see page 15.
Contained in This Issue
By Editor
Question Corner
3644—The Love-Feast; 3645—James and Paul; 3646—A Fearful Famine, Amos 8:11; 3647—Infant Baptism; 3648—Sanctification and Politics . . . 2
Our Bible Band . . . 2
General
Testimony of Jesus . . . 3
The Sabbath of the Bible . . . 4
The Object of God's Law . . . 5
Studies in Daniel—God the Vindicator; Found Wanting . . . 6, 7
King's Insurance Company . . . 8
Our Bible Reading
Origin of the Sabbath . . . 8
Present World Movements in Prophecy
A Twentieth Century Ecclesiastical World Empire . . . 9
Outlook
Senator Heyburn on the Johnston Sunday Bill . . . 10
"An Amazing Year" . . . 11
Notes . . . 11, 16
Missions
Our Work in India . . . 12
Home and Fireside
Fish or Serpent; Which? . . . 14
The Vanishing Dead-Line . . . 14
Poetry
What Have I Done? . . . 5
Belshazzar . . . 6
At Vespers . . . 8
"Mine Hour Is Not Yet Come" . . . 12
"Countrified" . . . 14
India Mission Field
By Editor
One of the great mission fields which we propose to study this year with our readers is India. Read the article on page 12.
Prophecy Studies in Progress
By Editor
We hope our readers are gathering to their own hearts some of the mighty evidences of prophecy to the eternal verities of the Bible in the three series of articles now running in this journal; namely, "The Testimony of Jesus," the Studies on Daniel, and the articles on Present Great World Movements in the Light of Prophecy. Our Outlook articles are along the same great line. We regret that we had to divide the article in the first-named series, but it was unavoidable.
The Acts of the Apostles
By Editor
"The Acts of the Apostles," not the Bible book of that name, but the recent work by Mrs. White, which covers more ground than is embraced in the Acts, is a book which we commend to all our readers. Many of our readers have just given a year's study to Acts, and may feel that they know the book fairly well; but however thoroly they have studied it, it will pay them tenfold to read the work referred to above. After a careful, sympathetic reading, they will wonder why they did not see more in their Bible study. Price, for a beautiful volume, only $1.50.
To Our Correspondents
By Editor
To Our Correspondents.—We wish to say again, as we have said many times before, that we answer no communications, print no articles, sent us unsigned. We do not ask for the signature for publication. We leave that to the wish of the writer. If they wish to have their questions signed by initials, or a pseudonym, that is perfectly agreeable to us; but we must have their name, or a question or communication will not be considered. There are always sufficient on hand so that we are never in such want of questions to answer that we need to consider anonymous communications.
Speak It Now
Speak it now. If the Spirit says, "Speak a word of encouragement to that man," do not wait; speak it. He may not look as if he needed it; outwardly he may be smiling; but deep down his heart may be overwhelmed with trouble. A word, just a word, may help mightily. Speak it in the name of the Master, and leave it with Him.
Looking Beyond Temporary Things
By Editor
There is a great deal of political talk nowadays, and more or less agitation regarding presidential candidates, the conditions of the old parties, Socialism, etc. Many men are interested in these things, and they are putting forth great energies to accomplish their desires. But there is one thing which ought to awaken paramount interest, and that is the great, eternal future. Planning for that does not take away our interest in this life; the true view of eternal consequences does not make a man a less worthy inhabitant of this world, a less helpful neighbor. True godliness has the promise of this life, as well as that which is to come. The man who is working for eternity will use the moments of time as no one can use them who is working only for time. He who looks for the long gain will take time in the days of this brief existence to help others along the way. He who is after mere temporary results forgets the rights and needs and wants and woes of others. Let our readers look beyond the mere issues which are placed before us by politicians, the temporary things of this life, and let them take hold of the great eternal verities in God. Nothing will give such balance to life as this.
The Living Law
Does this number seem to be strong in law and duty? It is; so was the life of our Lord. He was the living law, the living Word, the Word Incarnate. He died to save from sin, the transgression of that law. He lives to save to righteousness, to loving obedience to that law. In Him is life and healing and hope and joy. Through the law His Spirit reveals to us our sin, that we may long for His righteousness. He reveals to us our misery, that we may by faith receive His mercy. He shows that we are dying creatures, that we may appropriate His life and love for all God's precepts.
Sinless Crimes
Sinless Crimes.—A human law may be good or evil; its violation is a crime. But the violation of an evil law may not be a sin. Daniel was cast into the den of lions for the violation of the king's decree (see Daniel 6) that men should worship no other being than the king for thirty days. Daniel went on as "aforetime," and three times a day bowed before the God of heaven. He was guilty of a crime, but he was not a sinner. The three Hebrews (Daniel 3) were criminals, doomed to death, but they did not thereby sin. Both they and Daniel would have sinned if they had observed the evil decrees. Jesus Christ was executed as a criminal, but He "did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth." When human law seeks to transcend divine law, when it seeks to put the human in the place of God, it is sin to obey it. Loyalty to God demands its transgression. These distinctions it is well for legislators, lawyers, and judges to know.
