Earlier text: Publishers’ PageThe General Conference
By Arthur G. Daniells
By the time this number of the REVIEW reaches its readers, another session of the General Conference will be about to open. The first meeting of the session will be held Friday evening, March 27. The conference is to continue until April 13. These will be eventful days. At the present writing the list of delegates who are to attend numbers one hundred and thirty. Of course many more people will be in attendance. Owing to the many sessions of the union conferences that have been held since the last General Conference, and also the great distance of our missionaries in foreign lands, it has been thought best to make the attendance at the coming conference light. This will save much time and means, which can be devoted to the work in the fields. But though the attendance may not be as large as on some previous occasions, the conference will be none the less important. The importance, and especially the value of a gathering of this kind, does not depend primarily upon the number present. It depends upon the work done, the decisions made, and the plans formed for the development of the work. The coming conference will have very weighty and far-reaching problems to deal with. Since the last session important changes have been made in our conference organizations. Eight union conferences have been organized in North America, four in Europe, and one in South Africa. Over twenty new local conferences have been organized, and several local mission boards brought into existence. Those in charge of these new organizations will report visible results. The whole question of organization will no doubt be dealt with, and the work already begun, more fully perfected. Gospel finance will no doubt be a live question. How can we best raise the means required to carry forward this work as rapidly as we should? What success has attended the steady, laborious efforts of the last two years to roll away the reproach of debt? Shall the committees and boards of management in charge of the various departments of work create debts, as in past years, or shall this plan be repudiated? Shall we make the tithe of the Lord the basis of the support of our missionaries in foreign lands, or continue to use the tithe in the conferences where it is paid, and make the donations of the people the basis of support for the gospel workers who go to distant lands? Shall we aim to double our expenditure in mission fields, where so many millions of people sit in the region and shadow of death, calling for the light that shines upon us? Has not the time come for this denomination to make definite and efficient arrangements for the support of aged and sick ministers, and for the widows and orphans of those who fall in the battle? If so, what plan can be adopted that will work justly and equitably for all? Shall plans be laid for a great forward movement during the next two years in what we call the home field? Are our churches willing to let our ministers go into new places in the conference and devote their time to people who have not heard this message? Shall special efforts be made to reach our large cities? Shall we continue our tract and missionary campaign until every family in our land shall be supplied with our literature? In short, shall this conference lead to the greatest movement ever known by this people to give the advent message to the world in this generation, and so finish the work? But above and beyond all, will the coming conference mark the beginning of a new life and spiritual experience? Let us make no mistake; this is the greatest need of this people to-day. A revival and a reform must come, or the most serious consequences will follow. This consideration towers above all the rest we shall deal with. A new baptism for service must come upon God’s ambassadors. Absolute surrender must be made to Christ. Power must attend the preaching of this message. Shall the coming conference mark the beginning of a new era in this respect? This point fully gained, all other benefits will follow. How strange and unaccountable that the most important and vital needs should be neglected more than almost anything else, when the supply is so freely offered by our great Leader. Dear brethren and sisters in this great work, will you pray earnestly for this conference? The first few days of the session will be very apt to mark the character of the whole conference. We shall be gathering for the meeting when you read these lines. I shall not make an official announcement for the committee nor conference, but I do, as a brother who is deeply burdened for this approaching meeting, ask you to pray earnestly that a special blessing may come to the cause of God. How much may be gained if all the churches, Sabbath, March 28, would offer earnest, importunate prayers to the Lord that he will visit his people at this time. “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.” A. G. DANIELLS. Clergymen as Labor Arbitrators
By L. A. S.
AN item in the Chicago Tribune of March 12 gives the interesting information that “arbitration by Biblical precept is to be tried at the union stockyards this week, when the wage and hour controversy between the packers and their steam engineers comes up for settlement.” The country is about to hear the report of the strike commission appointed by President Roosevelt to arbitrate between the Pennsylvania coal miners and mine owners. This commission, it will be remembered, was appointed as a last resort, after it had been found that there was no power in the government of Pennsylvania or in the United States government to stop the strike. Referring to the extraordinary nature of this proceeding, we pointed out at the time that it would lead naturally to the establishment of government by arbitration in the place of government by State and national constitutions; that the arbitrating body also would necessarily be distinct from the parties in dispute in such controversies, the church being in this respect the body to which appeal would most naturally be made; and that of all the churches, the Catholic Church was the one most concerned with labor questions, nearly all the labor union leaders and most of the membership of these bodies being Catholics. With this in mind the significance of the item referred to is apparent. It says: “Arbitration by Biblical precept is to be tried at the union stockyards this week, when the wage and hour controversy between the packers and their steam engineers comes up for settlement. A board consisting of three clergymen, the first of its kind to adjust a labor dispute in Chicago, will hear the case. The board will be composed as follows: Representative of the packers, Dr. Frank Gunsalus, of the Central church; representative of the engineers, Dr. W. M. Lawrence, of the Second Baptist church; arbiter, Father E. A. Kelly, of St. Cecelia’s church. The board will open its sessions this morning, probably at the offices of Swift & Co., packers, and their men will appear and be questioned, and accept the board’s decision as final.”
L. A. S. Samuel Trained by Daily Duties
“SAMUEL was trained by daily duties to be God’s herald to a great nation. He who fails in little things will never have an opportunity to fail in great things.” I ASKED the lamp about his light,
But he knew not what I meant.
“In getting, getting,” he humbly said,
“My eager time is spent;
The wick affords me strengthening
oil;
Inspiring gas, the air;
So weak! so hungry! food, more food!
That is my only care.” I asked the fire about his heat;
He could not understand.
“For getting, not for giving out,”
Said he, “my life is planned.”
Why, what am I to comfort you?
Dull, heavy, stupid I!
More oxygen! more oxygen!
That is my only cry.” I asked the saint about the grace
His shining life expressed.
“My thought is all of getting help,”
The blessed soul confessed.
“God’s pardon, God’s indwelling love,
By day, by night, I seek.
How could I strengthen other men
With all my life so weak?” And yet the fire was darting heat,
The lamp was flashing light,
And all that saw my saint approach
Grew happy at the sight.
For heat and light and holy life
Refuse to be confined;
They need no will, they ask no way,
They leap from fire and mind. Ah, you who fear your feeble life
Will fail of God’s command
To win the sinner, praise the saint,
And reach the helping hand,
Confused no more with doubtful tasks
The busy years shall roll;
One work is yours, and one alone —
Get God within your soul. If God were dwelling there indeed,
Then doubt and all unrest,
And fear of lack that causes lack,
Were treason to your Guest.
Submit to him his instrument,
And he will work his will
In his own way, in his best way;
So trust him, and be still. Words to Ministers
By Ellen G. White
The minister who learns daily in the divine school of Christ will ever be conscious that he is a messenger of God, commissioned by him to do a work in its results as lasting as eternity. He will have no desire to call attention to himself, to his learning or his ability. His one aim will be to lead sinners to the Saviour. Self will be lost sight of in Christ. The realization of his weakness and unworthiness and of the feebleness of his efforts in contrast with those of his Redeemer, will keep him humble, self-distrustful, and will lead him to rely on Christ for strength and efficiency. Such a man will speak with power, with authority from on high. His heart is filled with the sympathy and love of Jesus, and his earnest appeals melt hearts long hardened against God, and draw sinners to the cross. Ministers should be instant in prayer. Among the ministers of Christ there is too little prayer, and too much self-exaltation. There is too little weeping between the porch and the altar, crying, “Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thy heritage to reproach.” Too little is said about the love and compassion of Jesus. Christ is constantly interceding for sinners. Those who co-operate with him must do a work which corresponds to that which he is doing in heaven. Jesus has opened the door of heaven for us, and we may make intercession at the throne of grace, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting, presenting before God those for whom we are laboring. And by faith we may see heaven opened, and the glorified Son of God, the High Priest of our salvation, pleading for sinners. It is not enough to preach to men. We must pray with them and for them. We can not help them while we hold ourselves coldly aloof from them. We must come close to them in Christlike sympathy and love. As Enoch of old, ministers should walk with God. The Redeemer’s boundless love should be the theme of their conversation. The earnestness and unselfishness that marked the work of Christ should characterize their efforts. If they would remove prejudice from the minds of those who listen to their words, their hearts must be filled with the Saviour’s love. Converts to the truth seldom rise in spirituality above the level of their teachers. How important, then, that those who teach the word of God should be spiritual-minded men, who are in constant communion with heaven. Divine power alone will melt the sinner’s heart, and bring him, a penitent, to Christ. Neither Luther, Melanchthon, Wesley, Whitefield, nor any other great reformer and teacher could of himself have gained such access to hearts as to accomplish the great results that these men accomplished. But God spoke through them. Men felt the influence of a superior power, and involuntarily yielded to it. To-day those who forget self, and rely on God for their success in the work of soul-saving will have the divine approval, and their efforts will tell gloriously in the salvation of souls. I feel constrained to say that the labors of many of our ministers are lacking in power. God is waiting to bestow his grace upon them, but they pass on from day to day, possessing only a cold, nominal faith, presenting the theory of the truth, but presenting it without that vital force which comes from a connection with heaven, and which sends the words spoken home to the hearts of men. O that our ministers might be aroused from their spiritual slumber, and that their lips might be touched with a live coal from the divine altar! They are half asleep, and all around them souls are perishing in darkness and error. Ministers of Christ, with your hearts aglow with love for God and your fellow creatures, seek to arouse those who are dead in trespasses and sins. Let your earnest entreaties and warnings pierce their ears. Let your fervent prayers melt their hearts, and lead them in penitence to the Saviour. You are ambassadors for Christ, proclaiming his message of salvation to a perishing world, and upon you there rests a fearful responsibility. You are not your own. To redeem you, the Saviour paid a price of agony and blood. He has a just claim to your service. He expects your willing co-operation in the work of saving souls. He asks for all your powers of mind and body. He would employ them for the salvation of souls. You dishonor him when you are not continually growing in grace and in a knowledge of the truth. Whatever suffering you may be called upon to bear, do not allow one murmur to escape your lips. Christ endured far more for you than it is possible for you to endure for him. He redeemed you by the sacrifice of his life. When he says to you, “Go work to-day in my vineyard,” let no selfish desire, no worldly ambition, keep you from cheerful, unqualified obedience. God calls upon those who in his name are bearing the most solemn message ever given to the world, to reveal the truth in the daily life. Were this done, many who have entrenched themselves behind the breastworks of infidelity would be brought to a belief of the truth. The influence of a true Christian is like the cheering rays of sunshine, which pierce the darkness wherever they are allowed to enter. Arguments may be resisted, persuasion and entreaty may be scorned, the most eloquent appeals may be disregarded; but a daily piety in all the walks of life, an unselfish love for others, beaming from the countenance and breathing in the word, make an appeal that it is well-nigh impossible to resist. Ministers who would labor effectively for the salvation of souls must be both Bible students and men of prayer. It is a sin for those who attempt to teach the Word to others to be themselves neglectful of its study. Those who realize the worth of souls will flee to the stronghold of truth, where they may obtain wisdom, knowledge, and divine power. They will not rest until they have received an unction from on high. Too much is at stake for them to be careless in regard to their spiritual advancement. My brethren, remember that a lack of prayer and of wisdom on your part may turn the balance for a soul, and send it to perdition. You can not afford to be careless and indifferent. I entreat you to be instant in season and out of season. You need power, and this power God is willing to give you without stint, if you will go to him, and take him at his word.9 The Lord asks only a humble, contrite heart, willing to believe and receive his promises. You have only to use the means God has placed within your reach, and you will obtain the divine blessing. The Perpetuity of the Law of God
By C. H. Spurgeon
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matt. 5: 18. I gather from our text two things upon which I shall speak at this time. The first is that the law of God is perpetual: “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” The meaning is that even in the least point it must abide till all be fulfilled. Secondly, we perceive that the law must be fulfilled: Not “one jot or one tittle shall . . . pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” He who came to bring in the gospel dispensation, here asserts that he has not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. First: the law of God must be perpetual. There is no abrogation of it, nor amendment of it. It is not to be toned down, or adjusted, to our fallen condition; but every one of the Lord’s righteous judgments abideth forever. I would urge three reasons which will establish this teaching. In the first place, our Lord Jesus declares that he did not come to abolish it. His words are most express: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” And Paul tells us with regard to the gospel, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Rom. 3: 31. The gospel is the means of the firm establishment and vindication of the law of God. Jesus did not come to change the law, but he came to explain it, and that very fact shows that it remains; for there is no need to explain that which is abrogated. Upon one particular point in which there happened to be a little ceremonialism involved, namely, the keeping of the Sabbath, our Lord enlarged, and showed that the Jewish idea was not the true one. The Pharisees forbade even the doing of works of necessity and mercy, such as rubbing ears of corn to satisfy hunger, and healing the sick. Our Lord Jesus showed that it was not at all according to the mind of God to forbid these things. In straining over the letter, and carrying an outward observance to excess, they had missed the spirit of the Sabbath law, which suggested works of piety such as truly hallow the day. He showed that— was not mere inaction, and he said: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” He pointed to the priests who labored hard at offering sacrifices, and said of them: “The priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless.” They were doing divine service, and were within the law. To meet the popular error he took care to do some of his grandest miracles upon the Sabbath day; and though this excited great wrath against him, as though he were a law-breaker, yet he did it on purpose that they might see that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, and that it was meant to be a day for doing that which honors God and blesses men. O that men knew how to keep the spiritual Sabbath by a ceasing from all servile work, and from all work done for self! is the true Sabbath, and the service of God is the most acceptable hallowing of the day. O that the day were wholly spent in serving God and doing good! The sum of our Lord’s teaching was that works of necessity, works of mercy, and works of piety are lawful on the Sabbath. He did explain the law in that point and in others, yet that explanation did not alter the command, but only removed the rust of tradition which had settled upon it. By thus explaining the law he confirmed it; he could not have meant to abolish it, or he would not have needed to expound it. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in addition to explaining the law and pointing out its spiritual character, also unveiled— for when one asked him, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” he said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” In other words, he has told us, “All the law is fulfilled in this— There is the pith and marrow of it. Does any man say to me, “You see, then, instead of the ten commandments, we have received the two commandments, and these are much easier”? I answer that this reading of the law is not in the least easier. Such a remark implies a want of thought and experience. Those two precepts comprehend the ten at their fullest extent, and can not be regarded as the erasure of a jot or tittle of them. Whatever difficulties surround the ten commands are equally found in the two, which are their sum and substance. If you love God with all your heart, you must keep the first table; and if you love your neighbor as yourself, you must keep the second table. If any suppose that the law of love is an adaptation of the moral law to man’s fallen condition, he greatly errs. I can only say that the supposed adaptation is no more adapted to us than the original law. If there could be conceived to be any difference in difficulty, it might be easier to keep the ten than the two; for if we go no deeper than the letter, the two are more exacting, since they deal with the— Heart, and Soul, and Mind
The ten commands mean all that the two express; but if we forget this, and look only at the wording of them, I say it is harder for a man to love God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and with all his strength, and his neighbor as himself, than it would be merely to abstain from killing, stealing, and false witness. Christ has not, therefore, abrogated or at all moderated the law to meet our helplessness; he has left it in all its sublime perfection, as it always must be left, and he has pointed out how deep are its foundations, how elevated are its heights, how measureless are its length and breadth. Like the laws of the Medes and Persians, God’s commands can not be altered; we are saved by another method. To show that he never meant to abrogate the law, our Lord Jesus has embodied all its commands in his own life. In his own person there was a nature which was perfectly conformed to the law of God; and as was his nature, such was his life. He could say, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” and again, “I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” . . . He was so perfect and pure, so infinitely good, and so complete in his agreement and communion with the Father, that he in all things carried out the Father’s will. The Father said of him, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Point out, if you possibly can, any way in which Christ has violated the law, or left it unfulfilled. There was never an unclean thought or rebellious desire in his soul; he had nothing to regret or to retract. He was thrice tempted in the wilderness, and the enemy had the impertinence even to suggest idolatry, but he instantly overthrew the adversary. The prince of this world came to him, but he found nothing in him. “My dear Redeemer, and my Lord,
I read my duty in thy Word;
But in thy life the law appears
Drawn out in living characters.” Once more: that the Master did not come to alter the law is clear, because after having embodied it in his life, he willingly gave himself up to bear its penalty, though he had never broken it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it is written, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” If the law had demanded more of us than it ought to have done, would the Lord Jesus have rendered to it the penalty which resulted from its too severe demands?—I am sure he would not. But because the law asked only what it ought to ask—namely,— and exacted of the transgressor only what it ought to exact, namely, death as the penalty for sin,—death under divine10 wrath,—therefore the Saviour went to the tree, and there bore our sins, and purged them once for all. He was crushed beneath the load of our guilt, and cried, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death,” and at last when he had borne— “All that incarnate God could bear,
With strength enough, but none to spare.” he bowed his head, and said, “It is finished.” Our Lord Jesus Christ gave a greater vindication to the law by dying, because it had been broken, than all the lost can ever give by their miseries. He has borne all that was due from his people, and the law is defrauded of nothing. By his death he has vindicated the honor of God’s moral government, and made it just for him to be merciful. When— The Lawgiver Himself Submits to the Law,
when the Sovereign himself bears the extreme penalty of that law, then is the justice of God set upon such a glorious high throne that all admiring worlds must wonder at it. If therefore it is clearly proved that Jesus was obedient to the law, even to the extent of death, he certainly did not come to abolish or abrogate it; and if he did not remove it, who can do so? If he declares that he came to establish it, who shall overthrow it? The Law Perpetual by Nature
But, secondly, the law of God must be perpetual from its very nature; for does it not strike you the moment you think of it that right must always be right, truth must always be true, and purity must always be purity? Before the ten commandments were published at Sinai, there was still that same law of right and wrong laid upon men by the necessity of their being God’s creatures. before a single command had been committed to words. When Adam was in the garden, it was always right that he should love his Maker, and it would always have been wrong that he should have been at cross-purposes with his God; and it does not matter what happens in this world, or what changes take place in the universe, it never can be right to lie, or to commit adultery, or murder, or theft, or to worship an idol god. I will not say that the principles of right and wrong are as absolutely self-existent as God, but I do say that I can not grasp the idea of God himself as existing apart from his being always holy and always true; so that the very idea of right and wrong seems to me to be necessarily permanent, and can not possibly be shifted. You can not bring right down to a lower level; it must be where it always is; right is right eternally, and can not be wrong. You can not lift up wrong and make it somewhat right; it must be wrong while the world standeth. Heaven and earth may pass away, but not the smallest letter or accent of the moral law can possibly change. In spirit the law is eternal. The law of God is no more than God might most righteously ask of us. If God were about to give us a more tolerant law, it would be an admission on his part that he asked too much at first. Can that be supposed? Was there, after all, some justification for the statement of the wicked and slothful servant when he said, “I feared thee, because thou art an austere man”?—It can not be. For God to alter his law would be an admission that he made a mistake at first, that he put poor, imperfect men (we are often hearing that said) under too rigorous a régime, and therefore he is now prepared to abate his claims, and make them more reasonable. A Specious but False Doctrine
It has been said that man’s moral inability to keep the perfect law exempts him from the duty of doing so. This is very specious, but it is utterly false. Man’s inability is not of the kind which removes responsibility; it is moral, not physical. Never fall into the error that moral inability will be an excuse for sin. What! when a man becomes such a liar that he can not speak the truth, is he thereby exempted from the duty of truthfulness? If your servant owes you a day’s labor, is he free from the duty because he has made himself so drunk that he can not serve you? Is a man freed from a debt by the fact that he has squandered the money, and therefore can not pay it? Is a lustful man free to indulge his passions because he can not understand the beauty of chastity? This is dangerous doctrine. The law is a just one, and man is bound by it, though sin has rendered him incapable of doing so. I should like to ask any brother who thinks that God has put us under an altered rule: Which particular part of the law is it that God has relaxed? do you feel free to break? Which law is it that God has exempted you from? That law of worshiping him only? Do you propose to have another god? Do you intend to make graven images? The fact is that when we come to detail, we can not afford to lose a single link of this wonderful golden chain, which is perfect in every part as well as perfect as a whole. The law is— and you can neither add to it nor take from it. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.” If, then, no part of it can be taken down, it must stand, and stand forever. A third reason I will give why the law must be perpetual is that to suppose it altered is most dangerous. To take away from the law its perpetuity is, first of all, to take away from it its power to convince of sin. Is it so that I, being an imperfect creature, am not expected to keep a perfect law? Then it follows that I do not sin when I break the law; and if all that is required of me is that I am to do according to the best of my knowledge and ability, then I have— A Very Convenient Rule Indeed,
and most men will take care to adjust it so as to give themselves as much latitude as possible. By removing the law you have done away with sin; for sin is the transgression of the law, and where there is no law, there is no transgression. When you have done away with sin, you may as well have done away with the Saviour and with salvation; for they are by no means needful. When you have reduced sin to a minimum, what need is there of that great and glorious salvation which Jesus Christ has come to bring into the world? Brethren, we must have none of this: it is evidently a way of mischief. By lowering the law you weaken its power in the hands of God as a convincer of sin. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” which shows us our spots, and that is a most useful thing, though nothing but the gospel can wash them away. It is only a pure and perfect law that the Holy Spirit can use in order to show to us our depravity and sinfulness. Lower the law, and you dim the light by which man perceives his guilt. This is a very serious loss to the sinner, rather than a gain; for it lessens the likelihood of his conviction and conversion. You have also taken away from the law its power to shut us up to the faith of Christ. What Is the Law of God For?
For us to keep in order to be saved by it?—Not at all. It is sent in order to show us that we can not be saved by works, and to shut us up to be saved by grace. But if you make out that the law is altered, so that a man can keep it, you have left him his old legal hope, and he is sure to cling to it. You need a perfect law that shuts man right up to— Hopelessness Apart from Jesus,
puts him into an iron cage, and locks him up, and offers him no escape but by faith in Jesus; then he begins to cry, “Lord, save me by grace, for I perceive that I can not be saved by my own works.” This is how Paul describes it to the Galatians: “The Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed. Wherefore the law was— to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” I say you have deprived the gospel of its ablest auxiliary when you have set aside the law. You have taken away from it the schoolmaster that is to bring men to Christ. No; it must stand, and stand in all its terrors, to drive men away from self-righteousness, and constrain them to fly to Christ. They will never accept grace till they tremble before a just and holy11 law. Therefore the law serves a most necessary and blessed purpose, and it must not be removed from its place. To alter the law is to leave us without any law at all. A sliding-scale of duty is— fatal to the principles of law. If each man is to be accepted because he does his best, we are all doing our best. Is there anybody that is not? If we take their words for it, all our fellow men are doing as well as they can, considering their imperfect natures. Self-righteousness builds itself a nest even in the worst character. This is the man’s talk: “Really, if you knew me, you would say I have been a good fellow to do as well as I have. Consider what a poor, fallen creature I am; what strong passions were born in me; what temptations to vice beset me, and you will not blame me much. After all, I dare say God is as satisfied with me as with many who are a great deal better, because I had so few advantages.” Yes, you have shifted the standard, and every man will now do that which is right in his own eyes, and claim to be doing his best. If you shift the standard pound weight or the bushel measure, you will certainly never get full weight or measurement again. There will be— to go by, and each man will do his best with his own pounds and bushels. If the standard be tampered with, you have taken away the foundation upon which trade is conducted; and it is the same in soul matters—abolish the best rule that ever can be, even God’s own law, and there is no rule left worthy of the name. What a fine opening this leaves for vainglory! No wonder that men talk of perfect sanctification if the law has been lowered. There is nothing at all remarkable in our getting up to the rule if it is conveniently lowered for us. I believe I shall be perfectly sanctified when I keep God’s law without omission or transgression, but not till then. If any man says that he is perfectly sanctified because he has come up to a modified law of his own, I am glad to know what he means; for I have no longer any discussion with him. I see nothing wonderful in his attainment. Sin is any want of conformity to the law of God, and until we are perfectly conformed to that law in all its spiritual length and breadth, it is idle for us to talk about perfect sanctification. No man is perfectly clean till he accepts absolute purity as the standard by which he is to be judged. So long as there is in us any coming short of the perfect law, we are not perfect. What a humbling truth this is! The law shall not pass away, but it must be fulfilled. This truth must be maintained; for if it goes, our tacklings are loosed, we can not well strengthen the mast; the ship goes all to pieces; she becomes— The gospel itself would be destroyed could you destroy the law. To tamper with the law is to trifle with the gospel. “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.”—C. H. Spurgeon. THESE are the keynotes of the missionary enterprise. Many sermons have been preached on each of them. A few words must here suffice. Prayer is the most fundamental of them all. It is the source of the vitality and power of every Christian movement; for all power comes from God, and the energies of God respond to prayer. It is not so much the truth that converts men as it is the Holy Spirit using the truth, and the Holy Spirit works in answer to prayer. Examples of its efficacy are exceedingly numerous. The neglect of prayer for missions is one of the crying sins that must be charged against the church to-day. And there are scarcely enough of the right sort that are ready to go. It is true that the student volunteers are much in evidence, and their ranks are supposed to be crowded with eligible candidates. But some of the societies, at least, seek in vain for a sufficiency of men to man their posts and fill the ever-recurring gaps. There is no real plethora. There is still call for downright consecration on the part of those best qualified to do the largest service. Only the best are fit for this highest, most responsible labor. As to giving, the church has yet to begin to wake up to a partial realization of its duty. The number of those who really sacrifice anything for Christ is small. The great majority of the membership never think of denying themselves even a dish of ice cream, or an extra street-car fare, that they may have a share in saving the world. Sixty per cent of all members, it is estimated, give nothing to this cause. An average of one dollar a member is certainly not beyond the ability of the churches; but if it could be secured, it would treble the contributions and revolutionize results. Moreover, what an effect it would have on the enrichment of character; how vision would be broadened, sympathies enlarged, joys deepened, and the whole Christian life quickened. Pray — Go — Give — Work.—Selected. Some Strange Things
By R. HARE
Strange that the monster-tower, built by the worldly wise men after the flood to show the wisdom of their rebellion against God, and to get themselves a name, should remain the one surviving monument on the plains of Shinar—the oldest monument of human folly. Strange that the gallows erected by Haman for the execution of Mordecai should afterward become the instrument on which Haman himself was executed. Strange that the wicked plotting, whereby the princes of Babylon sought to destroy Daniel, should result in their own destruction. Strange that the rich man of the parable, following out the wise policy of building greater barns wherein to bestow his goods, should be regarded by God as “a fool.” Strange that the Bible, the book most despised and proscribed by men, should multiply the most rapidly of all books, and become the most honored volume among men. Strange that the woman set up as the “Goddess of Reason,” during the French Revolution, should afterward lose her own reason, and die in a lunatic asylum. Strange that the room in which Tom Paine wrote his “Age of Reason,” and other works against the Bible, should afterward become a Bible repository. And strange it is that men look upon these strange things as the working out of some blind chance, when the hand of Divinity is behind it all.