p. 797 | Review and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 50. (12/10/1901)

BABYLON AND THE LOUD CRY.

By Elder John A. Brunson

ELDER JOHN A. BRUNSON.

“And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev. 18: 1–4.

From this passage of Scripture we learn that when the fall of Babylon is completed, universal corruption will prevail; for “all nations” will then “have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” Her cup of iniquity will be full. Satan will then be working with “all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;” “and they that ‘received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,’ will be left to receive ‘strong delusions, that they should believe a lie.’ Not until this condition shall be reached, and the union of the Church with the world shall be fully accomplished throughout Christendom, will the fall of Babylon be complete. ‘The change is a progressive one.’”—Great Controversy, pages 389, 390. Then “darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people,” and the destructive thunderbolts of God’s wrath will be ready to fall upon the sin-benighted world.

But at this juncture, just before “the overflowing scourge shall pass through,” and the awful, desolating “consumption, even determined upon the whole earth,” shall be accomplished, is heard the call of mercy, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” God’s wrath cannot fall upon Babylon as long as any of His people are found in her midst. Every soul who honestly loves the truth will hear and heed the voice of warning. The truth and the truth-lover were made for each other, and the gracious God will see that the two come together. The object of the “loud cry” is to accomplish the complete separation of the wheat from the chaff; and when the work is done, there will be none of Zion in Babylon, and none of Babylon in Zion.

The people who compose Zion will be the complete embodiment in the flesh of the principles of Christ, while those who compose Babylon will be the complete embodiment of the principles of Satan. These two classes will be an object lesson to the whole universe. The one class stand as a living illustration of the result of the prevalence of the principles of God. The righteousness of God and the holiness of heaven are conspicuously manifest in their lives. What they are is what all would have been if Satan’s shadow had not darkened the world. What a contrast does the latter class present! They stand as an example of Satan’s finished work. Filthy and unrighteous, their hearts are the habitation of demons, and their characters the incarnation of all that is vilely selfish and selfishly vile. What they are, wicked, wretched, vile, is what all would have been if the light of God’s love from Calvary’s cross had not penetrated the darkness of Satan’s shadow, and rescued the truth-lovers from the gloom of despair and death. Upon this picture, with its sharply contrasted features of light and darkness, holiness and iniquity, happiness and misery, the universe gaze with intense interest. They see in the one class a clear demonstration of God’s infinite love, in the other of Satan’s deep malignity. The purity and peace of the one loudly and gratefully proclaim the eternal justice and infinite mercy of God’s law; the walls of woe that arise from the other declare the awful consequence of Satan’s rule. As they gaze upon the scene, they all acknowledge the wisdom of God’s plan of action; and when the mighty blasts of His fury are about to burst upon the world, they with one voice proclaim, “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of ages.”

Now let us endeavor to ascertain the cause of Babylon’s fall. The statement has already been made that it is not sudden, but progressive. The repulsive picture of Rev. 18: 2 is the logical and necessary consequence of causes that have operated slowly but surely for years. It is but an awful and vividly portrayed illustration of the unchangeable law—“whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The fall of Babylon is in no way the result of an arbitrary decree of God, but the legitimate outworking of a competent cause. What is that cause? Let Rev. 18: 7 tell the story: “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her; for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” Note carefully the record. What did Babylon do? (1) She “glorified herself;” she was guilty of the sin of self-glorification; (2) she “lived deliciously.” This speaks loudly of self-indulgence; (3) she said in her heart, “I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.” This makes prominent the sin of proud, haughty self-exaltation. Look well at the abominable trio, self-glorification, self-indulgence, self-exaltation. Reduce them all to unity, and what have we?—Selfishness. Write it large; capitalize it—SELFISHNESS. Are you personally acquainted with it? Have you felt its withering, damnable sting? Have the fetid fumes of its blasting breath been allowed to blow upon your work that you have undertaken in the Master’s name? Look closely. Examine minutely. The principle of selfishness is the principle of Babylon, and Babylon is doomed to destruction. This principle is satanic in its origin. In Isaiah 14 we have an account of Satan’s fall: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. . . . I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” Similar language is employed concerning Satan in Eze. 28: 17: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Here we see manifested in Satan this same principle of selfishness exhibited in pride and self-exaltation, and to this principle his downfall is attributed. Hence we conclude that selfishness, which is the principle of Babylon, is only the manifestation of the principle of Satan, and will lead to Babylon’s downfall and utter destruction.

But why call it Babylon?—Because ancient Babylon in its glory was the most perfect earthly embodiment of this principle, and hence has given name to it. “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” are the self-important words of the haughty monarch of that proud empire of antiquity. Babylon, the earthly embodiment of the satanic principle of selfishness, is contrasted with Zion, the earthly embodiment of the heavenly principle of unselfishness. Babylon is Satan’s counterfeit of the Lord’s Zion. They are the respective representatives of opposite principles. They are irreconcilably antagonistic. The complete supremacy of the one must mean the utter extinction of the other; hence the statement above, that when the loud cry has completed its work of sifting and separating, there will be none, absolutely none, of Babylon in Zion, and none of Zion in Babylon.

Now from the foregoing remarks it is easy to determine what Babylon is. Since selfishness is the great, fundamental principle of Babylon, wherever an embodiment of this principle is found, there is so much of Babylon. If it is found in the midst of the various churches of Christendom, then Babylon is in the midst of those churches. But we may come a little closer. If it is found in Seventh-day Adventist churches, then Babylon is in the midst of Adventists. But let us make a closer application still. Whoever we are, if this principle of selfishness is in our hearts, then Babylon is in us. Are we envious, sensitive, proud? Are we afflicted with a sense of self-importance, that disease of moral blindness that is almost an epidemic in Zion? Are we disposed to think our worth has been underrated, and our real value unappreciated? If so, we betray unmistakable symptoms of this dread disease of Babylon.

Selfishness is the curse of Christendom to-day. All selfishness is sin, and like the bondwoman, must be cast out. It must be eradicated. Until that is done, we must remain weak. The weakness of the Church to-day is directly ascribable to selfishness. We pray for power, but power can never baptize a selfish heart; for that would be adding strength to the devil’s arm. It would be encouraging rather than destroying Babylon. The loud cry of the loud cry should be heard. The long-suffering Jesus is waiting to lead the advancing armies of Israel to certain victory. At a word He could cause the great mountains of difficulty to vanish like dew before the rising sun. He is calling to us now, just now: “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” This command is supported by the promise, “Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shalt fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the wealth [margin and R. V.] of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.” But something restrains the Captain of the Lord’s host. What is it? Shall I say it? Hold thine ear close and listen. The message is for you. The restraining cause is the selfishness of your heart and mine. Come, let us face the fact. Let us humble ourselves before God, and confess the sins of our hearts that He may cleanse. Christ can conduct

only a clean camp to victory. Selfishness is in Zion. But selfishness is Babylon. Therefore Babylon is in Zion. The logic is invincible. But Babylon must be overthrown. It must be cast out of Zion before the latter can be intrusted with the loud cry. Those in whose hearts Babylon is can never be intrusted with the cry, Come out of Babylon. That would be calling out of Babylon into Babylon. But God wants to call from Babylon to Zion, and those who give the call must be such as have heeded the divine injunction: “Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 6: 31, R. V.

What, then, is the antidote?—An experimental knowledge of righteousness by faith. This alone can take the boast of selfishness out of the human heart. This alone humbles the creature and exalts the Creator. It teaches one to use such language as this, “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” It emphasizes the cardinal fact “that no flesh should glory in His presence.” It joyfully acknowledges that salvation “is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” He who knows the blessedness of righteousness by faith gratefully confesses that he is nothing, and that “Christ is all, and in all.” Then, and not till then, is he prepared to become a channel for the transmission of divine power and wisdom. He then becomes a true reformer. Every real reform that the world has yet known has had its foundation in the true doctrine of righteousness by faith. It was so in the days of Noah, in the days of Abraham, of Paul, of Luther, of Wesley. It will be so again. The true basis of the loud cry is righteousness by faith. This is the central thought of the message. It includes all, and in its light every part is readily and perfectly adjusted to every other part. May God add His blessing, and fulfill His promise: “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” Then we may expect to see “signs and wonders . . . done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.”

ITEMS OF INTEREST.

By A. J. B.

— Rumor comes from Constantinople that Miss Stone, the kidnapped missionary, is dead.

— Some members of the Pan-American Congress favor a railway from the United States to South America.

— The Canadian Minister of Justice objects to England’s yielding its “rights” in making a new Nicaragua Canal treaty.

— According to a New York court decision, consumptive immigrants will not hereafter be allowed to enter the United States.

— Henry Hart, an eccentric New York millionaire, leaves property to his niece “on condition that she does not marry a Christian.”

— An expert diver locates the wreck of the Pacific mail steamer “Rio de Janeiro,” which foundered not long ago off the California coast.

— The German Emperor places an order in America for 300,000 tons of anthracite coal, paying less for it than the regular price charged in Chicago.

— A London dispatch of the 29th ult. states that “the invention of a new machine gun, which is capable of firing bullets at the same rate as a Maxim gun, with a range of 6,000 yards, is interesting military circles.”

— On the 23d ult. the Holland submarine boat “Fulton” dove in Peconic Bay, Long Island, and remained under water fifteen hours, “twelve hours longer than any other submarine boat has been submerged.” One of the six persons in the boat at the time was Rear-Admiral John Lowe.

— The Chicago Wrecking Company buys the remains of the Pan-American Exposition, as they stand, for $132,000. There are in the buildings 33,000,000 feet of timber, 2,000,000 pounds of pipe, 200,000 incandescent lights, 20,000 flag poles, and 30,000 flags; and it is estimated that “more than 1,000 freight cars will be needed to transport the material to Chicago.”

— Mrs. McKinley fails to improve healthwise.

— Barney Conway, aged 106, died the 29th ult. near New Albany, Ind.

— Extensive deposits of copper ore are reported to exist in Alaskan islands.

— Natives of New Hebrides are punished for having attacked French ships.

— United States revenue officers discover a “moonshine” whisky factory in Pittsburg, Pa.

— An automatic telephone exchange is invented and successfully operated by a Baltimore, Md., man.

— Canada is accused of violating its agreement with this country “concerning the importation of cattle.”

— Twelve horses were gored to death in a bull fight at Mexico City the 26th ult. Many Americans were present.

— Montana’s governor offers to join Governor Van Sant, of Minnesota, in the fight against the great railroad combine.

— The Harrowah Shirt and Overall plant, Montreal, Quebec, was destroyed by fire the morning of the 27th ult. Loss, $50,000.

— In Marquette, Alger, Ontonagon, Houghton, and other counties of the upper Michigan peninsula, the snow is from one foot to two feet deep.

— Superintendent Machen stated that “in five years rural free delivery will cover the whole of the inhabited territory of the United States.”

— A conference relating to the manufacture of sugar will be held in Brussels, Belgium, the 16th inst., the United States not being invited to send delegates.

— United States army officers are “incensed at the barbaric methods of warfare” now being adopted by the Filipinos. It might be well to inquire whether “civilized” methods of warfare do not accomplish the same purpose as those used by the natives of the Philippines.

— A writer for the Review of Reviews says that Cuba is “a gigantic farm of 28,000,000 acres of marvelously fertile soil. Thirteen million acres remain as virgin forest. Her present population is a little above one and a half millions. Were Cuba as densely populated as Massachusetts, her census would show 11,000,000 inhabitants. An equal density with that of England would give her upward of 22,000,000,000. Her ability to support a population per square mile equivalent to that of England, so large a percentage of which is dependent upon manufacturing interests, is somewhat doubtful, from the fact that Cuba presents little or no possibility of ever becoming a manufacturing center.” However, in view of the much greater fertility of the soil, it is thought that Cuba could provide a comfortable and profitable living for 10,000,000 people.

A. J. B.

BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS — HOW?

By W. A. Spicer

ELDER W. A. SPICER.

(December 15–21.)

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Gal. 6:2.

The law of Christ is the life of Christ; it is His way of living. That law commits one to a life of burden-bearing because that is the manner of His life.

Jesus is the Master Burden-bearer. Because the world could not bear its own burden, and because it needed help, Jesus came. He could not stop in heaven, apart from human need and human woe. By the very law of His life, He was constrained to go down to help the world in trouble.

We are to fulfill the law of Christ. His law, His life, in us, will assuredly constrain us to go to the help of every need within our reach. It is a law of the divine life that it must work to build up and to help. The same Spirit of God that wrought in Christ and that works in all heaven, is the power that works in us, just in the measure that we permit.

Christ’s burden is light, and His yoke easy. Yet how it pressed Him! Worn and weary, He took upon Him our griefs and carried our sorrows. He bore the crushing weight of sin upon the cross. Still, it was for the joy that was set before Him that He endured it. And in that joy of the Lord was His strength. He loved the world that He suffered for, and so His burden was light.

Dr. McGregor, of Scotland, once met a little girl staggering under the load of a robust little lad, whom she carried in her arms along the rough roadway.

“Isn’t that a heavy load for you, my little girl?” he said.

“Oh, no, sir,” she replied; “you see, sir, he is my brother.”

The brave Highland lassie had the secret that makes the burden light. She loved her little brother.

The love for others that is to make all burden-bearing a joy is not manufactured within ourselves. It is the gift of God’s own love that comes as a result of personal experience. Rom. 5:4, 5. But by exercise the gift of helpfulness is increased.

How shall we bear the burdens of others? Love must teach the way.

The burden of sin is the heaviest of all. Know Christ as the One who bears your sins, and you can point the way of release for others.

A discouraged heart is a burdened one. Speak the cheerful word that shows that somebody cares. The uplifting power of a kindly hand upon the shoulder is a marvel of spiritual science.

The poor are to be relieved, the sick to be ministered to. Everywhere people are carrying burdens grievous to be borne because of ignorance of right ways of living. It is a desperate sin in these times for any Seventh-day Adventist to allow himself to remain in ignorance of the simple principles of healthful living, which are Heaven’s gift to this people in order that they may undo heavy burdens and let the oppressed go free.

Job was a burden-bearer of ancient times. “When the ear heard me,” he said, “then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. . . . I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.” Job 29:11-16.

This is so good a lesson on bearing burdens that God has preserved it for us in modern times.

While the burdens of the world grow heavier year by year, calling for an army of burden-bearers, the Bible shows that selfishness will be a special characteristic of the last days. Men will be “lovers of their own selves.” The Lord must save us from this wickedness. He is to have a whole people whose lives will be a protest against selfishness, and who will manifest again the same spirit of helpfulness toward all men that Jesus showed. “If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His.”

Anybody who nurses a sour disposition and an evil temper cannot help adding to the burdens of the world. On the other hand, anybody who cultivates a cheery, kindly disposition will be lifting burdens on every hand.

QUESTIONS.

What is the law of the divine life?
Of what are we to be partakers?
What made Christ’s burden light?
Let the company discuss practical ways of lightening burdens in the church and community.

A PLEA FOR THE CHILDREN.

By A. K.

A. K.

A commanding tone wears both parent and child, and is like a creaking door hinge to the listener. What must it be to the pure beings that God sends to guard the children? Father and mother, were you ever able to act naturally when placed under the scrutinizing eyes of one who is always looking for evil? Was it not easy for you to be good while in the presence of some one whom you knew to be helpful and charitable? “Charity thinketh no evil.” Did you ever hear anything like this: “There you are at the same old trick again; I knew you would be, I never saw such a child.” And so the parent goes on, repeating the child’s faults, and holding them up before him much magnified, till the little one really feels that he is one of the unaccountables, one of the worst of children.

Try the other way. Overlook little things which are but childish pranks. If you see him repeating something which is not right, talk to him kindly about it. Show him the results of both ways. Tell him you know what it is to try to be good, and fail, as you have just such times yourself. Explain that, finally, good will overcome evil, as the power of God is greater than the power of Satan, and that the foe we are fighting has already been conquered.

If the child fails again, say, “Well, you did lose the battle that time, but God knows you meant to do right, and by and by you will get the mastery.” Place confidence in him, and let him know you are looking for good results; they will come. “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” If he has your confidence, he will dread to disappoint you.

I well remember a country school, where we had one little boy who would rob birds’ nests. The children found a nest, which they had closely watched, robbed, and told me, in Willie’s presence, that he had robbed the nest. I said, “Why, no! Willie would not rob a nest, especially if he knew it was wrong.” The look of surprise in his face, caused by the unexpected confidence I placed in him, told me that he would never do such a thing again. The victory was gained, and I received a valuable lesson. He was a changed boy from that day; he knew I was looking only for good from him, which expectation made him respect himself and me.

“Children may wish to do right, they may purpose in their hearts to be obedient and kind to their parents or guardians; but they need help and encouragement from them. They may make good resolutions, but unless their principles are strengthened by religion, and their lives influenced by the renewing grace of God, they will fail to come up to the mark.”—“Testimonies for the Church, Vol. I, page 399.”

Let us redouble our efforts for the lambs of the flock. I see nothing in my children, in the way of wrong, but what they have learned from “children grown tall.” So let us learn to control ourselves before we look for better children.

How much children are caressed when in their infancy and innocency. “What sweet little things!” But alas for poor baby when he is a few years older! He is not “so sweet” then, and must stand aside to see baby number two loved and caressed, and now he shows such a “bad disposition.” But what school has he been in? Who has been his teacher? By beholding, he has become changed. Who is to blame?

I know of no truer mirror than our children. Do not you see yourself reflected many times as soon as the children are old enough to act out what they have seen in you, and have inherited? We are too harsh and severe with them under many circumstances. Let us get right before God, and deal with them as our heavenly Parent deals with us. “Parents cannot succeed well in the government of their children until they have perfect control of themselves. They must first learn to subdue themselves, to control their words, and the very expression of their countenance. They should not suffer the tones of their voice to be disturbed or agitated with excitement or passion.”

How many of us who are parents have this perfect control? God is able to make grace abound in us. My prayer is that God will help us to square our lives by His word, and save the children. Let every parent read “Dangers of the Young,” in “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. I. The writer had many a struggle to get where she could smile at the noise and pranks of mischievous children, especially boys who seem to have no other way of giving vent to their energy. A child readily learns who is annoyed by his presence, and will soon become a constant nuisance unless one studies the disposition, and deals with it accordingly.

WOMAN'S HOME INFLUENCE.

By S. Frances Gilbreath-Ingersoll

S. FRANCES GILBREATH-INGERSOLL. (Middlefield, Ohio.)

Wherever man has achieved distinction, in contest of war, in fields of science or art, or in acts of high philanthropy, woman can point to notable examples among her own sex who have kept even pace with him. And yet she has done, and can do, a work beside which man's most brilliant successes pale and grow commonplace. It is essentially woman's work to make a perfect Christian home, type of the home perfect and eternal. Man may make the laws governing the strongest of nations, guide empires and kingdoms through perilous times; but how often history shows that woman's hand and woman's mind have been the controlling powers back of it all. It is the motherhood of woman to which we are indebted for all the world holds of successful effort or faithful endeavor. When Garfield, crowned with all the honors a nation could bestow, bent in reverent salutation to the white-haired mother, he gave a kingly acknowledgment to all he owed to a Christian motherhood. John Quincy Adams, when his body was bent and his hair silvered with the weight of eighty years, was accustomed to repeat each night, with folded hands and reverent voice, that simple child's prayer, learned at his mother's knee when a little boy: “Now I lay me down to sleep.” How often, when the mist of long years of wandering and sin deepens into the shadows of old age, does the memory of mother love and mother counsel gleam athwart the darkened mind.

It is in the home life of a nation that we must look for its groundwork of principles, its stability, its religious faith. In the Bible alone do we find one religion for both man and woman; and to this fact, more than all else, is due the extent and strength of Christianity to-day, and its refining, civilizing influence wherever it obtains a foothold; and only thus can a nation grow in purity and wisdom. The onus of this rests upon the mother. “Give me,” said the Catholic priest, “all children till they are ten years old, and I will guarantee their future religion for all time.” Ought a Christian mother to say less? Women have done work in the mission fields that can scarcely be estimated; but it dwarfs into insignificance beside the work—for weal or woe—that mothers are doing in the homes of our land to-day. A pebble dropped into the boundless ocean is a small thing; but its circles widen out and on infinitely; and who can tell where the influence of one home may end?

In the early days of Massachusetts lived a woman, a vagrant and a thief. From statistical authority, that one woman's descendants number several hundred; and every one, without exception, has been either a vagabond, a thief, or a criminal. A noted missionary, walking through a rural district in England, saw an old woman, clad in homespun, knitting by the open doorway of her humble cottage. “O,” said he, “what can such people as that woman yonder realize of the cry that goes up from benighted heathen lands, and the need of consecrated sacrifice and self-denial?” “Take off your hat,” was his companion's reply, “you stand in the presence of royalty itself. Yonder woman, humble and poor, by a life of unceasing toil educated her three sons; and only a few days ago, with tear-dimmed eyes but unfaltering faith, she saw the last one of the three sail away to far-off mission fields, and returned to her poor home to earn her daily bread in humble labor, knowing that in this world she will never again look upon the faces of her children. She has given her all for the Master's work.”

Out over the vast assembly, down through the hushed, expectant silence, rang a wonderful voice in the words of the song, “Where is my wandering boy?” O, the pathos, the heartbreak, the yearning in that voice! And yet my tears were more for the boy—homeless, misguided, and unrepentant—than for the mother. And why? If you, dear mothers, unite to yourselves a congenial company around the card table in your own house, you can but expect that your boy will go where he finds congenial company for his game of cards, too. If you serve wine in dainty fashion to your guests, you can scarcely condemn the rumseller, when he entices your son with brilliant lights and gay surroundings. If you clasp hands across the threshold of home with the tainted and impure, you need not be surprised if the smirch of contact rests upon your innocent daughters. Not that you should hold yourselves aloof in the spirit of the Pharisee; but while stooping with Christlike touch to comfort and win the debased and erring, you can surely find a more fitting place than within the home shelter.

It has been given to woman to reach greater depth and sublimer height than man; for not only came—and still comes—the curse of sin unto death, but also of her was the Christ-child, the Redeemer, born, and there is healing in her touch. Can either influence be measured or limited by earth's narrow bound?

O mothers, the way is so hard and strange to little feet, and dangers lurk not only in the darkening wood, but in the sunny, blossoming glades! Let each day bind about you and your little ones gossamer threads that shall grow into a cable, anchoring your life-bark in the still waters and havens of heavenly peace. But there are mothers who sit in darkness, and whose lives are one long prayer that the Good Shepherd may

bring back the wanderers into the fold. The sins of the fathers are still visited upon the innocent children, and the taint of inherited passion and appetite poisons the life of mother and child. And yet I cannot but think that in the “great day” when the records of earth are unfolded, a Christian mother's prayers will weigh heavily in the balance, when the pitying, merciful Father asks of parents the souls of little ones intrusted to their care.

IN THE KITCHEN.

Mrs. D. A. Fitch, Guadalajara, Mexico, sends the following recipes:—

CRACKED WHEAT FLUFF.

Into one pint of well-cooked cracked wheat stir one-half cup of sweetened grape juice, or the same of braised cream. Add the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in a hot oven ten minutes, and serve at once.

Mrs. H. Tyszkiewicz.

SCIENTIFIC RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The meaning of this expression, if it be a permissible one, is explained by the following, which we take from the Independent (N. Y. City), of November 7. It is an editorial description of Briarcliff Manor, a collection of farms situated not far from New York City, and owned by a wealthy resident of that city, who has devoted himself to the idea of securing scientific perfection in all that pertains to the running of his farms. And certainly this “righteousness” is not to be despised; for no person can be truly righteous while failing to strive for perfection in the particulars which are here described. Every farm owner who reads these lines should be stimulated by them to activity in this direction. The editor says:—

“That a man of wealth should leave the country for the city is not a novelty, but that a man who has acquired wealth by trade or manufacture should leave the city to develop an ideal farm is something new and notable. This is what Mr. Walter W. Law has done at Briarcliff Manor. He determined to have a farm run absolutely on the highest principles—a farm where science should speak the first word and the last word, and all the time.

“Science is nothing but accumulated experience—what we have found out to be best and truest; and so Briarcliff Manor farms were simply to do the best, instead of second best, or third best, or tenth best. The houses were to be models, the stables were to be ideal, the orchards planted and worked ideally, the gardens must show what possibly could be done in vegetables, and the corn crop and the oats and the wheat must not be left to any guesses of man or nature. Feeding must be done on scientific principles; barns must be as sanitary as houses; stables must be sunny and thoroughly ventilated. Water must be absolutely pure for the cattle, and their sanitary conditions as perfect as those for human beings.

“Then it followed that the arrangement for human beings must be on the highest level. Men and boys who were employed must be looked after to produce a splendid human result. That is, they must not be left to act as so many mechanical appliances or brute force masters of the lower animals. The superintendent says: ‘I think we have now the noblest farm in the United States, and that we have good men, intelligent men—the very best men—is the reason that we have the best farm.’ It seems not yet quite familiar to us that a store should have the golden rule for a business maxim; but what are we to make of a farm where the superintendent says, ‘Not until we apply the golden rule to cows will we ever get the best from them’? The walls of the stables are hung with such mottoes as, ‘Speak gently; it is better far to rule by love than by fear.’ The application of this rule to cows ought to create a moral evolution in the stablemen, so that by and by it could be applied to human folk as well, and thoroughly believed in as a workable law of life. Prizes are distributed at Briarcliff of this sort: ‘Evelina Gatardy, most gentle with cows.’ ‘Theodore Anderson, most careful teamster in feeding his horses and keeping his stables clean.’ There are other prizes for ‘Cleanest delivery wagon,’ ‘Neatest house yard,’ ‘Best garden truck,’ ‘Best-kept room in Dalmeny.’ Emphasis is placed on the fact that all virtues have a commercial value. Commercial success and character may and should go forward together. This is a principle worth the study of everybody.

“Do not misunderstand us that Briarcliff is a great charitable institution. It is par excellence a money-making establishment. It intends to show, not that ‘farming pays,’ but that ‘the best farming pays.’ In all ways success and righteousness are inseparable—we mean scientific righteousness. To do a thing rightly is the only proper way to do it, and a person who does a thing a little short of the right way is unrighteous.

“Bulletins on impure milk and other topics have a twofold value; they advertise products, and they instruct the consumers of milk. We are deeply interested as a people in pure food products, in cleaner dairying, in scientific farming in every direction—that is, the largest production of the best possible products, in orchard, garden, field,—and the stable and house as well. This we call natural piety—to do the best with what God gives us for the good of our fellow beings. If this sort of spirit can be infused into agricultural work, we shall have great faith in that social reform which will make the golden rule the law of human society.”

Getting Out of Life What We Put In

It was Dr. Holland who said that we get out of life what we put into it. It is likewise true that we usually get what we go for. There was a certain school in this land some years ago that would not take a student who had no definite purpose in view. Sometimes the rule seemed to be rather arbitrary, but the principal was rigid. He contended that a student who was aimless would be a poor student, and would not be a credit to the school or of much use in the world. Some who were refused were turned to a consideration of life in new aspects, while not a few determined upon a course, and then sought admission to the school. It may have been a narrow conception of education, but it contained a principle many of us need to learn. What are you going for? Nothing? Then that is precisely what you will get. It does not follow that every caprice of the heart will be satisfied; but it does follow that every earnest purpose of life will find realization in some way. What a great majority of young people need to-day is simply this: Going for something; going for it steadily, persistently, through sunshine and rain, accepting opportunities, making opportunities, keeping at it. To such a sturdy heart there is sure to come a rich reward.—Baptist Union.

HOW TO MAKE HENS LAY IN WINTER.

By J. L. McNaughton

J. L. McNaughton, in Chicago Tribune.

Two years ago, in a lecture before the chemistry class at the medical university where I was a student, the professor stated that hens do not lay as many eggs in winter as in summer because they cannot get the necessary food to produce the yolk of the egg, and that if farmers would feed their fowls powdered red albumen in winter, they would have as many eggs as in summer.

After the lecture I asked the professor in what quantities and how the albumen should be fed. He said to take a pound of powdered red albumen and mix it with one pound of black or red pepper, ground fine; then every morning to mix some ground feed, half wheat bran and half corn meal, and to each quart of this mixed feed add two teaspoons of the mixed pepper and albumen, then enough hot water to make the feed damp, but not sticky, and give a quart of this hot feed to each twelve hens. Every evening give a quart of whole grain, wheat, or corn, or both mixed, to each twelve fowls, and in two weeks the hens will begin to lay.

I wrote to my father and brothers, giving them this recipe, and they and several neighbors tried it last winter with success. The coldest weather did not stop their hens laying. My father keeps one hundred light brahmas. Winter before last they did not lay at all, but on this feed last winter they averaged seven dozen eggs a day all winter. One thing the brahmas used to do to a finish, that was to sit, but last spring father could not get a hen to sit until he quit this feed.

My brother bought two hundred and fifty young hens last September, and began giving this feed two weeks ago. He is now getting over two hundred eggs a day.

LENTIL SOUP.

By M. Hacker

Soak one and one-half quarts of lentils overnight. Slice in one large onion while cooking. When well done, strain through a colander, add more water to make it the right consistency for soup, a little thick. Strain through a Chinese strainer, turn into a double boiler, and to this add two cups of strained tomatoes, two tablespoonfuls of diluted nut butter, and two of browned flour. Add a little grated onion, and salt.

Miss M. HACKER.

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