A PUBLIC profession of Christianity, witnessed by a Christ-filled life, is the strongest testimony which can be afforded to the world of the power of the gospel. From many quarters the cry is going up today that Christianity has proved a failure, because its advocates fail to exemplify its principles in their lives. The world judges Methodism today not so much by its articles of creed as by the fruit which Methodism bears in the lives of its members. It will judge Seventh-day Adventists in the same way. It is not by the proportions of our buildings of brick and mortar, the machinery of our organization, nor even yet by the amount of our contributions, which are by no means any too liberal, that the world at large will judge this movement. It will look at the character of the fruit which this movement brings forth in the lives of those connected with it. "Christ in you, the hope of glory"—this is Christianity.
The loud cry of the third angel's message will not consist in proclaiming the truth in trumpet tones, in sensational or spectacular methods of religious work, nor yet alone in giving world-wide publicity by tongue and pen to principles which we hold. The loud cry of this message will find its wellspring in the reign of righteousness which will exist in the hearts of the believers. We may widely circulate truth-filled literature; but if we do it with unconsecrated hearts, our efforts will fail of that large, full fruitage which God desires them to bear.
"Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord." This is the word of God to this people. Our primary need is more of Christ in the life, an infilling of the Holy Spirit. The need of this movement in the days to come, in the crises through which it will be called upon to pass, will be for men and women who know what Israel ought to do. We need to pray more, to study the Word more earnestly, to consecrate ourselves more fully to the service of God.
In this experience is our only hope, and in this experience is the hope and ultimate success of this movement. Indeed, if we fail to gain this experience, God will raise up others to take our places in order that his word may go untrammeled, and that those whom he chooses as his representatives may reflect in their own lives the principles of the gospel message which they bear to the world.
Individual Work for Individuals
THERE is constant danger of too much generalization in Christian effort. We give to the general missionary cause; we pray for those in sickness and distress, for the people of the church, and for the community at large. However commendable and good this general Christian labor may be, it will never take the place of individual missionary effort. The kind of missionary work which counts above all others is individual work for individuals.
It is an excellent thing to make a list of the names of needy ones in whom we feel a special interest. For these we can offer special prayer in our secret devotions or at the family altar. For these we may put forth special effort. It is interesting to watch the results of Christian labor of this character. We pray for one who is sick. In time that prayer is answered. How thankful we are then to eliminate his name from the list and add the name of another in need. We pray for a wayward youth who is backslidden, at the same time manifesting a kindly interest in the wanderer and putting forth judicious efforts to bring about his return to the Lord. We may watch with interest the means which God employs to bring about an answer to our prayer. When the wanderer returns, his name may be dropped from the list, and the name of another added in its place. In this way we shall be enabled to watch with great interest our changing list, and our hearts will be led to rejoice many times by the direct manner in which God has responded to our prayers.
Individual work for individuals is God's way of reaching the unconverted. This was the method employed by Christ. We shall find it the most effective means of missionary labor.
Pulling in Even Lines
It is fitting that we should be stirred by the startling events which are now taking place in the world. As never before, in the situation which now exists in Europe, we can see the fulfillment of prophecies indicating the close of earth's history and the coming of the Lord. But while we recognize the situation which exists in the political world, we should not ignore conditions existing in the social, industrial, and religious worlds equally significant. Nor should we forget that we have been made the conservators of a complete, full, and well-rounded gospel message for those in darkness. We must not drop out any of the links in the great chain of truth due the world at the present time.
Word comes of one brother who, upon hearing of the beginning of hostilities in Europe, ordered three thousand copies of one of our Sabbath tracts for distribution among his neighbors. In this he showed a keen appreciation of the situation. He recognized that in the great crisis between truth and error of the last days, the early conclusion of which the present European war presages, the Sabbath of the Lord is to play a prominent part, and he felt that the present European situation was a call to him to awake and present the truth on the Sabbath question to his neighbors.
We need to advocate today the doctrine of life in Christ as a safeguard against the great delusion of Spiritualism which is continually enlarging its scope and influence among the nations of earth.
We need to note carefully the rapidly shaping events fulfilling the prophecy of Revelation 13. In times of war as well as in times of peace the influences of evil represented in this chapter are steadily pursuing their purposes in the world. The great conflict before this movement is with the beast and his image. We cannot ignore the Roman peril. We cannot afford to forget that it exists. This message is a message of God warning against it, and we should be faithful and diligent in giving that message to the world.
We have reached the hour of God's judgment. We are to make men acquainted with that solemn fact. The law of the ten commandments constitutes the standard of judgment in the heavenly assize. Men are to be called from the worship of the creature to that of the Creator. God alone is to be exalted in every life. We need today to present to the world the gospel message in its fullness.8
We need to pull in even lines; to present the gospel message in its fullness, instructing the people not only in one phase of the truth, but in all phases. And while we should respond earnestly in times of crises and center our forces at the vital point of attack, let us not permit our attention to become so engrossed in one line of truth, or in the presentation of one point, as to neglect others of equal importance. We need to pray for heavenly enlightenment that we may be able to know when to give the trumpet a certain sound. We need to pray for well-balanced judgment and for the spirit of harmonious cooperation. We need to cultivate the spirit of keeping step and moving in order. Let us avoid that spirit of conservatism which tends to stagnation and death, and also that spirit which would lead us to move ahead of God's providence. Let us watch the pillar of cloud and of fire, and stand still when it stays, and move forward when it advances. Keeping close to God and close to our brethren will prove our safety in the days before us.
Francis Bampfield's Account of His Arrest and Examination for the Sabbath of the Lord
By W. A. S.
IN these days of stirring Sabbath reformation, many may read with interest some details of the trial of Francis Bampfield, one-time clergyman of the Church of England, who found the Sabbath truth in prison, and died in prison for the truth of God, two centuries ago and more.
Bampfield was pastor of a Sabbath-keeping church which met in Pinner's hall, London. The hall was in an alleyway off Broad Street, in the heart of the old city, near the Bank of England. Nonconformity was being pressed especially hard in those times which followed the restoration of the monarchy after the end of Cromwell's Commonwealth. Francis Bampfield's brother Thomas, who also became a Sabbath keeper, was formerly a leading man in state affairs, as Francis Bampfield was formerly a leading light in the service of the state church. Thomas was for a time speaker, or presiding officer, of one of Cromwell's Parliaments.
In a tract in the British Museum, entitled "The Lord's Free Prisoner," written in prison, Francis Bampfield tells the story of his arrest. He says:—
On the seventeenth of the twelfth moon, according to the vulgar count, in the year 1682, whilst I was at our usual hour of convening, openly at my ministerial work in Pinner's hall, reading and interpreting of the Scriptures (Isa. 63:19), the constable, with his staff of office, attended with several other non-officers, with their old ruffly halberds, rushed in upon our assembly, "requiring in the king's name to give off, and to come down," to which I answered I was there in the discharge of my office, in the name of the King of kings.
He mentioned that he had a warrant from the Lord Mayor to disturb our meeting.
I replied I had a warrant from Christ, who was Lord Maximus, to go on; and so kept on my work.
He commanded one of the underofficers to pull me down.
I answered out of that scripture I was upon, "that Christ was traveling in the greatness of his strength, he speaks in righteousness, he was mighty to save, that the day of vengeance was in his heart, and the year of his redeemed ones was come, and that he would pull down his enemies."
This was whilst the underofficer was pulling me from behind, from the place where I was speaking.
This is in short what passed there, for the sum of it, so far as I can well remember, though it may not be expressed in the very same words.
From thence they guarded me and about six more to the Lord Mayor's hall; who, when we were before him, demanded of the constable and other officers for what cause they had brought us before him.
The constable answered they took us at a meeting, and that I would not give off when he commanded me to do so.
The Lord Mayor applied himself to me, saying that we, and such as we, would bring in popery.
I replied that we were more Christians, and more against popery, than those who would wrongfully accuse us; for we own Christ for our one and our only Lord over our consciences, and lawgiver to our souls, and the Scriptures of Truth for our one and only rule of faith, worship, and life; we declared against popery as being against God, against Christ, against Christianity, against the word of Christ, against the laws of Christ, against humanity.
"You speak great words for yourselves," said the mayor.
"Sir," I said, "we are ready to prove all this to any of your chaplains, or any other whatsoever, if we are called unto it."
"Who shall be the judge?" said the mayor.
I replied, "Sir, we will refer the determination of it to your own conscience if you will give us a fair hearing."
"What calling or profession are you of?" said the mayor.
"Sir, I am a minister of Christ, and this also I am ready to prove if any question my call."
"Are you of any other profession or calling?"
Answer.—"No, sir; nor never was."
"It is under the pretense of such private conventicles that all the popish plots are hatched and carried on."
Answer.—"Our assemblings are in one of the most open public places in all London for such meetings, where both doors stand wide open for any to come who will, and so it used to be in my private dwelling."
"Do you keep Saturday Sabbath?"
Answer.—"I observe the seventh day as the weekly Sabbath."
"Do you keep the Sunday?" said one who stood next to the mayor.
Answer.—"There is but one day in the week that is the weekly Sabbath day."
"You break the king's laws," said the mayor.
Answer.—"We observe, keep, and obey the Scripture laws of King Jesus, who is King of kings and Lord of lords."
Upon this I was bid "to stand or sit by."
In the meantime, Bampfield tells us, four other members of the congregation were examined, to learn if they had been at St. Omars, a Jesuit institution, in order to see if they had been Jesuitically educated. Two witnesses were called. One said he thought there was no congregation in London that bore fuller testimony against popery. Several of those arrested were fined ten pounds each, and Bampfield was sent home.
In the afternoon the company met again at Pinner's hall, whereupon the constable came and led Mr. Bampfield out, cleared the hall, and closed the doors.
On the next Sabbath again the congregation was worshiping at Pinner's hall. The constable came, and Bampfield was again pulled from the pulpit and taken to the mayor. This time Mr. Bampfield was sent to the Old Bailey, and then to Newgate prison, "where," he says, in closing his little tract, "my Lord is with me to the sweet feeding and satisfaction of my whole man." In this prison he died.
Casting Out Sin
By C. M. S.
THE final destruction of this earth, with the destruction of all that has dishonored it and opposed God, is the full fruitage of sin. Says James: "Sin, when it is full grown, bringeth forth death." That will be true of the world and of every individual in the world who permits sin to have its way in his soul; in other words, who permits sin to take root and grow and come to maturity.
By the power of God sin may be plucked out of the soul just as God will finally pluck sin out of the world. Satan planted sin in this world; God uproots it and burns it out; but in the process this old world must pass through the furnace of affliction and be purged by fire. Every soul that is finally triumphant will pass through the purging fires of affliction in this world.
God declares of this earth itself that it shall "melt with fervent heat," and yet, "according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 9When the fires of affliction have dissolved self and burned sin out of us, righteousness will dwell in us also. Righteousness will dwell in the world because it dwells in those who are accounted worthy to inhabit that renovated world.
The psalmist says:—
"Jehovah hath chastened me sore; but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will enter into them, I will give thanks unto Jehovah. This is the gate of Jehovah; the righteous shall enter into it." Ps. 118: 18-20.
A purified and righteous people dwelling in a purified and righteous world, is God's answer to Satan's conspiracy against the government of heaven and the eternal welfare of man.
The psalmist declares that "righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne;" and when God has finished with Satan and his works, righteousness will be the habitation of his footstool also. It can be so only as the law of righteousness completely dominates the lives of those who inhabit this earth when the curse has been wiped away. In the lives of his righteous saints will then be seen the vindication of God's dealings with his children. In harmony with that thought, God caused his ancient prophet to say:—
"I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. . . . As the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations." Isa. 61: 10, 11.
The strength of Jehovah's purpose to establish righteousness in this world is seen in what he was willing to sacrifice in order to bring it about. "He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We shall never have more than a slight conception of what that sacrifice meant until we are able to look upon salvation as a completed work, viewing it from the other side of probation.
The Son of God placed his very existence in the balances in his purpose to bring this world back under the rule of righteousness. The sacrifice which that involved no one who has not been an occupant of heaven can comprehend. There is no contrast in this world which can be used as an illustration of the mighty contrast between the position he left in heaven and that which he assumed in this world. Only one illustration has ever been given us of such meekness, and that illustration is the one which he furnished. God promises this earth, when it has been purified, to the everlasting possession of the meek; but at their head in meekness, as well as in love and leadership, stands the Redeemer of the race. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth;" and their example to all eternity will be the One who redeemed the world and those who shall possess it, out of the hand of the adversary of souls.
Meekness and righteousness walk hand in hand into the glorious inheritance of the saints. Says the prophet Zephaniah:—
"Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger." Zeph. 2: 3.
Who are they "that have kept his ordinances"?—They who "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus." And "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." And they who do this are the ones who are to be "hid in the day of Jehovah's anger." There can be no question, then, that this admonition in Zephaniah is an admonition to the commandment-keeping remnant who will be living on the earth at the time of our Lord's second advent.
Meekness and righteousness were the characteristics of our Saviour. Righteousness is the seal of law keeping, and meekness is the seal of service; and law keeping and service are the rule of Christ's kingdom. When, therefore, he commands us to seek meekness, he is virtually telling us to render up our lives a sacrifice in the service of others, even as he rendered up his life a sacrifice in service for us. When, therefore, he commands us to seek righteousness, he is virtually telling us to bring every deed and emotion of our lives into harmony with the law of God, and to exalt that law in our lives as he did in his.
Such a purpose on our part puts us at once in open opposition to the "god of this world;" but what is the outcome?—"It may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger." The uncertainty, evidently, is not on the part of Jehovah, as if it were a question as to whether he would do his part. The only uncertainty about it is on the part of man, whether he will continue faithful to the end, or whether he will yield at the last to the temptations of the adversary. In that case, he will not be hid. Sin will go on doing its work, will come to its fruitage in him, and that is death.
In view of what God's purpose is, and in view of the certainty of its accomplishment, they who range themselves on the side of God may know beyond doubt or questioning that God will one day open to them the gates of eternal life and give them an inheritance in this same earth when it has been purged from sin and made beautiful again under the hand of our Saviour. Of the class who do that the prophet Malachi says:—
"They shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even mine own possession, in the day that I make; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not." Mal. 3: 17, 18.
This is Jehovah's unconditional assurance to his faithful servants: "They shall be mine, . . . even mine own possession." Service is the key that either unlocks eternity to us or locks it against us, and it depends entirely upon whether that service is the service of God or the service of something else. What will be the test that will show which it has been? It is this:—
"Behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts." Mal. 4: 1-3.
Wickedness cannot stand that test of fire. Sin, and they who have let it take root and come to maturity in them, will come to ashes. They who, through the power of God, have uprooted sin from their souls, will stand unscathed in the midst of the burnings of that day, even as the three Hebrews stood unscathed in the midst of Nebuchadnezzar's sevenfold-heated furnace; and as it was in that case, so in this, the Son of God will be with them.
It will be a wonderful experience that will come to the children of God in that time, to stand unharmed while the elements are on fire and the earth is a molten sea from the heat of Jehovah's wrath. But it is possible for such to be our experience if we have made sin an outcast from our souls and have taken Christ for our all and in all. Out of that fire of testing we shall pass into the restored Eden, into the paradise of God where sin and sorrow can never enter, into the life eternal over which death can throw no shadow, into the society of our blessed Redeemer where love and joy and peace shall reign as long as God shall live. That may be our experience if we permit Christ to uproot sin from our souls and cover us with the robe of his righteousness. C. M. S.
A Sealing Message
By R. C. Porter
THE third angel’s message is a sealing message. It seals its adherents for the heavenly kingdom with the seal of the living God.10
The seal affixed to a document is its assurance of being genuine. It is a safeguard against fraud. So under the third angel’s message God is setting the seal of his approval upon genuine believers in the message, thus designating them as children of the kingdom. None but the genuine will be sealed.
The Sabbath the Seal
Upon what basis does the Lord affix the seal upon his people under this last-day message? It is upon the basis that they are genuinely sanctified to God.
“Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Eze. 20: 12. This scripture plainly declares that only the genuinely sanctified are sealed, and that the true Sabbath, the sign of creative power, is the sign, seal, or mark, of the genuineness of their sanctification. The prophet Isaiah, viewing the conflicts of this company just before the close of time, said: “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. . . . Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.” Isa. 8: 13-17. Here is the same sanctification, with the Sabbath as the seal of the law as its sign. The fifty-sixth and the fifty-eighth chapters of Isaiah complete the picture of this last-day reformation movement, with the people turning away their feet from trampling upon the long-downtrodden seal of God’s law.
A Shaking Time
Isaiah makes it very plain that there will be a shaking time: “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.” Isa. 8: 14, 15. Formal commandment keepers shall stumble and fall. Only the fully sanctified, who have surrendered all for Christ, will be able to stand the test during the shaking time, which removes the unsanctified from the church. One of the sifting agencies will be religious persecution. See Rev. 12: 17; 13: 14.
Sealing and Marking
Then comes the setting of “the seal of the living God” upon the sanctified, and the reception of “the mark of the beast” by those who join in the great apostasy from “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 9-12. One class, truly sanctified to God for the finishing of his work, have completely surrendered themselves to him for cleansing and for service. They have counted the cost and have decided for the kingdom of God though it costs the loss of earthly possessions, worldly honor, and even life itself. They are sealed for the kingdom. They marshal under the leadership of the King of kings, who, seated upon the “white horse” and followed by “the armies which were in heaven,” “in righteousness . . . doth judge and make war.” Rev. 19: 11-14. Their victory is sure. “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” Rev. 15: 2.
The complete and final defeat of those who are marked as belonging to the great last-day apostasy from the platform of the message, is also assured. “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Rev. 19: 19, 20.
The forces are now operating which are to cause the separation between these two classes. “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple,” says Christ. Nothing less than uncompromising and unconditional fidelity to the Lord and the message will prepare a people to receive the seal of God and escape the apostasy that insures the reception of the mark of the beast.
The people of this generation face the most momentous issues, fraught with the most serious results, ever faced by any people. Shall we meet them loyally or disloyally? As in the parable, it took all to buy the field, so now all must be laid upon the altar to insure being sealed for the kingdom of God. No storm can drive him from his moorings who has fully reached this decision and is anchored by faith to the Rock of Ages within the veil; no persecution can swerve him from loyalty to God. Have you made the surrender? Will your anchor hold?
The Warning
The warning against the beast, his image, and his mark, is best given by presenting it in contrast with the seal of God in fulfillment of prophecy. This principle is very clearly stated in “Special Testimonies to Ministers,” Series A, No. 2, page 14, as follows:—
The best way to deal with error is to present the truth, and leave wild ideas to die out for want of notice. Contrasted with truth, the weakness of error is made apparent to every intelligent mind.
But while this instruction was given, it was also stated that—
the message we have to bear is not a message that men need cringe to declare. They are not to seek to cover it, to conceal its origin and purpose. Its advocates must be men who will not hold their peace day nor night. As those who have made solemn vows to God, and who have been commissioned as the messengers of Christ, as stewards of the mysteries of the grace of God, we are under obligation to declare faithfully the whole counsel of God. We are not to make less prominent the special truths that have separated us from the world and made us what we are; for they are fraught with eternal interests. God has given us light in regard to the things that are now taking place in the last remnant of time, and with pen and voice we are to proclaim the truth to the world, not in a tame, spiritless way, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power of God. The mightiest conflicts are involved in the furtherance of the message, and the results of its promulgation are of moment to both heaven and earth. . . .
Let us look at the case of Elijah. The time has come when he must meet his mortal enemy, the cruel Ahab, the despot of Israel, the apostate from the religion of his fathers. In anger the king inquires, “Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” Does Elijah weaken before the king? Does he cringe and cower, and resort to flattery in order to mollify the feelings of the enraged ruler? Israel has perverted her way, and forsaken the path of allegiance to God, and now shall the prophet, to preserve his life, betray sacred, holy trusts? Does he prophesy smooth things to please the king, and to obtain his favor? Will he evade the issue? Will he conceal from the king the true reason why the judgments of God are falling upon the land of Israel?—No; as the messenger of God he must proclaim the truth, just such truth as the occasion demands. He carries a great weight of sorrow on account of the apostasy of Israel. He must hold up before them their defection, that they may humble themselves in the sight of the Lord, that his fierce anger may be turned away from them. Elijah faces the enraged king, and answers, “I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.”
This instruction is plain, and strictly in keeping with the gospel teaching throughout. The appeal is to be made to those in error by showing them their defects for their salvation, not parading them before others for their condemnation. Acting upon this principle, the sealing message is to be fearlessly proclaimed before all nations, leaving the results with God.
The Peace Christ Gives
By Leighton
Where the peace is that Christ gives, all the trouble and disgust of the world cannot disturb us. All outward distress to such a mind is but the rattling of hail upon the tiles to him who sits within the house at a sumptuous banquet.
In Batongaland
By W. B. White
W. B. WHITE
SUNDAY, June 7, our party of three left the Solusi Mission for Bulawayo and the north. The sun had set when we left the mission, and it was past midnight before we reached the railroad station. The last half of the night was spent in our beds on the open prairie, with the starlit canopy of heaven above us. We took an early morning train for Bulawayo.
This is a city of possibly four thousand people, and is the commercial center for Southern Rhodesia. We are told that in former years this city was terribly afflicted with the fever, but as the country about has been brought under cultivation and gradually opened up, this condition has now almost wholly disappeared, and Bulawayo is regarded as a healthful place. We stopped here only a few hours, taking the train at noon for Victoria Falls, on the Zambesi, three hundred miles north.
The country along the way is a rolling prairie, covered with a short growth of trees, high grass, and innumerable white-ant hills, ranging from three to fifteen feet high, with here and there, possibly at a distance of fifteen or twenty miles, a stock farm, with some cultivated land upon it. In this country, but back from the railroad, is much wild game, such as lions, leopards, wild cats, hyenas, and some elephants. Station agents along the way told us of the nightly visits and thieving propensities of these wild animals. The country abounds in deer of many varieties, but of these not much account is taken.
We arrived at Victoria Falls early Monday morning, June 8. Long before we reached the station, we could see over the prairie a great cloud of mist hanging over the falls, caused by the spray. We first visited the gorge below the falls, which we are told is forty miles long and abounds in some of the grandest pieces of scenery in the world. Where we saw it, the gorge is not so wide, but is very deep, rocky, and precipitous, with the Zambesi River, like a blue ribbon, roaring and rushing far down in its rocky depths. We next made our way along a well-beaten path, cut through a dense tropical forest, to the Cantilever Railroad bridge which here spans the river. In the wet season this bridge is 356 feet above the river, but in the dry season it is 406 feet above the water, the river varying fifty feet in depth between the wet and dry seasons. This bridge is 650 feet long, and is a beautiful structure. Passing a little way up the river, we came to the full view of the falls, of which we have heard so much. At this point the Zambesi is about a mile wide, and the plunging of this great river over a sheer precipice of 464 feet, forms the most majestic waterfall the writer has ever seen. The beauty of Victoria Falls is increased by the fact that the river at the brink of the precipice is divided by huge rocks, forming a series of waterfalls of different sizes and forms, presenting to the eye a picture far more lovely and varied than it would if the fall were only a single one. Then again the falls can easily be seen at close range, for the shore of the river just below closes up very near to the precipice, enabling one from the opposite shore to get a splendid view, provided he is well protected with rubber clothing.
The forests about the falls are very tropical, and seem to be a veritable paradise for monkeys and birds of beautiful plumage. The railway management has here provided a little side trip for the benefit of its passengers. They hold the train at Livingstone, which is across the river and a few miles up, four or five hours, enabling all who desire to do so to go above the falls, take canoes, which are propelled by skillful native oarsmen, and skirt along the shores of the river four or five miles to a point opposite Livingstone, where the canoe crosses to the city and the passengers connect with their train. This river ride is a pleasant break in a long, tiresome journey.
Tuesday, June 9, at midnight, we reached Manze Siding, where we were met by Brother and Sister Anderson, with their ox team. They were waiting to take us to the mission, eight miles away.
Sister Anderson, during the last rainy season, was afflicted with blackwater fever, but her life was spared. She is getting stronger, and we were glad to meet them both. It is very evident, however, that they need a rest of a few months in which to build up their strength, as they have been under a hard strain for some time.
We reached the mission about 4 A. M., and of our experiences and observations there I will speak in another article.
Opening New Stations in the Philippines
By L. V. Finster
L. V. FINSTER
THE Filipinos have many languages and dialects. People of different provinces cannot understand one another, although they may live but a few miles apart. But the gospel commission bids us go to all nations and tongues; for Jesus will not return until the gospel has been "preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations."
With the help that has been sent from the homeland, we have been able to open up missions in three new languages this year. Elder Roy Hay has gone to the Ilocano people, in northern Luzon; Elder E. M. Adams to the Iloilo-Visayan people, on the islands of Panay and Negros; and Dr. Carlos Fattebert and Brother Robert Stewart to the Cebu-Visayan people on the island of Cebu. They are now settled and hard at work on the study of the languages, that the people may hear the truth in their own tongues.
All these places should have been entered long before. The people are in great darkness. Rome has ruled for nearly three hundred years, and has done little to uplift the people. The Bible has been kept from them, and their ancient forms of heathenism have been changed only in name. Many of the people are longing for the light, and greatly appreciate the gospel when it is taught them. There are many other provinces that must be entered soon. These workers gather the young people and teach them to carry the gospel to their own people.
Experiences in the Philippines
Last week we sent one of our colporteurs to Rizal Province, but as he was eating his evening meal, with his family, the police came and asked why he was there, and took all of them to jail. Here they stayed during the night. The next day he was called before the president and asked why he was selling Bibles and books there without authority. He told the president that he had very high authority, and read the gospel commission and the third angel's message, and canvassed the president for the books. He was then dismissed, and told to sell as many as he pleased.
Burning Bibles
The time of burning the Bible is not confined to the Dark Ages. Not long ago, in the province of Ilocos Sur, the priest in the largest city of the province invited the people to the public square, and then poured oil on a large pile of Bibles and burned them.
God Hears and Answers Prayers
The Lord answers the prayer of faith, no matter what the color of the suppliant may be. One son of this darkened land heard the gospel story preached. His simple faith grasped the promises, and he gave himself to the Lord. He could not read, but longed to know the Word of God. He thought of it much, and finally said that God had heard the prayers of other people, and why could he not help him to read his Word? He went to his closet and prayed. He came back and picked up his Bible and began to read. He has improved wonderfully, and is now one of our colporteurs.
A short time ago his child was sick, and he was obliged to remain at home for some time. One of our native Bible workers visited him, and the man said, "Why can we not do as it is stated in the book of James?" They bowed and claimed the promise. The child arose without any assistance, and went out to12play. This greatly strengthened his faith in a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God.
We are now holding a baptismal class of about twenty in Tondo. We shall probably baptize them the last of this month. There are eight or ten at Maypajo who have been keeping the Sabbath nearly two years; they are calling for a baptismal class, that they may learn more of the Christian life and be baptized. There are eight at Imus who will soon be ready for baptism. The consecration of these persons in their early love for the Saviour, causes great joy to the laborers.