Earlier text: Life and Health for JanuaryAtlantic Union Conference
By I. H. EVANS
Received on the $150,000 Fund up to Dec. 17, 1907
Atlantic Union Conference
*Central New England ................ $ 2,772.18
Chesapeake .......................... 554.73
*Eastern Pennsylvania ............... 2,477.67
Greater New York .................... 1,425.17
*New Jersey .......................... 1,148.26
Maine ................................ 689.88
New York ............................ 2,239.50
*Southern New England ............... 1,160.50
Vermont ............................. 1,255.00
Virginia .............................. 762.14
West Pennsylvania ................... 1,501.85
*Western New York ................... 1,973.84
West Virginia ......................... 465.49
Total .............................. 18,426.21 Canadian Union Conference
Maritime ............................. 317.43
Quebec ................................ 97.27
Ontario ............................... 778.15
Newfoundland .......................... 16.80
Total ............................... 1,209.65 Colorado ............................ 2,638.65
Kansas .............................. 2,788.82
Missouri ............................ 1,558.23
*Nebraska ........................... 5,727.90
*Wyoming .............................. 780.99
Total .............................. 13,494.59 *Washington churches ................ 1,361.19 East Michigan ........................ 2,544.09
*Indiana ............................ 5,183.52
North Michigan ....................... 1,103.14
*Northern Illinois .................. 2,810.61
*Ohio ................................ 5,720.81
Southern Illinois .................... 1,201.59
West Michigan ........................ 6,700.30
Wisconsin ............................ 3,868.62
Total .............................. 29,132.68 North Pacific Union Conference
Conference not specified ............... 55.00
British Columbia ...................... 210.50
Montana ............................... 578.33
Upper Columbia ...................... 3,037.78
Western Washington .................. 2,359.56
Idaho ................................ 976.90
Western Oregon ...................... 2,604.96
Hawaii ................................ 16.05
Total ............................... 9,839.08 Western Canadian Union Conference
Alberta ............................... 200.80
Manitoba .............................. 305.30
Saskatchewan Mission Field ............. 47.60
Total ................................ 553.70 Northern Union Conference
Iowa ................................ 4,788.20
*Minnesota .......................... 5,474.68
*South Dakota ........................ 2,645.47
*North Dakota ........................ 2,011.09
Conference not specified ............... 73.82
Total .............................. 14,993.26 *Arizona .............................. 414.14
California-Nevada ................... 8,917.75
Southern California .................. 1,738.76
*Utah ................................ 431.58
Total .............................. 11,502.23 Southern Union Conference
Conference not specified ............... 49.65
*South Carolina ........................ 230.09
Alabama ............................... 513.14
Tennessee River ...................... 1,246.01
Florida ............................... 795.24
*North Carolina ........................ 940.56
*Cumberland .......................... 1,184.63
*Louisiana ............................ 565.54
Mississippi ........................... 343.83
*Georgia .............................. 441.47
Total ............................... 6,310.16 Southwestern Union Conference
Not specified .......................... 22.82
Arkansas .............................. 513.35
Oklahoma ............................ 2,802.02
Texas ................................ 1,949.90
Total ............................... 5,288.09 Unknown ............................... 158.20 *Algeria ............................... 13.33
Australia ............................. 163.84
Bermuda ................................ 36.00
China ................................. 155.60
South Africa .......................... 328.16
Jamaica ................................ 13.41
Yukon Territory ........................ 20.00
England ............................... 264.13
West Africa ............................ 14.06
Mexico ................................. 2.00
Costa Rica .............................. 6.25
India ................................. 147.94
South America .......................... 41.80
Switzerland ............................. 9.69
Panama ................................. 24.00
Nicaragua ............................... 4.00
Central American Mission ............... 26.00
Trinidad ............................... 28.69
Norway ................................. 25.00
Japan .................................. 12.50
Hayti ................................... 5.00
*Egypt ................................ 51.55
Palestine ............................... 3.00
Tobago, W. I. ........................... 1.22
Cuba .................................... 8.00
Hungary .................................. 3.00
Tahiti ................................. 14.88
France ................................... 6.80
Philippine Islands ...................... 1.00
Samoa .................................... 8.00
Barbados ................................. 5.00
Portugal ................................. 1.00
Straits Settlements .................... 10.08
Pitcairn Island ........................ 10.00
Total ............................... 1,464.93 Grand Total ....................... $113,733.97 The Coming Dawn
By Geneva Anderson
When breaks the day! O glorious fruition
Of all our hopes, and death of all our fears!
Eternal life, the end of sin’s condition,
The glad good-by to death, to sorrow’s tears.
“Knowing as known,”—the veil is drawn away,
When the day breaks, and the shadows flee away. When breaks the day! The sun departs in splendor
Behind the rugged mountains, brave and old;
The dying radiance of the sun so tender
Turns threatening clouds to purple, red, and gold;
But now the light is gone, the clouds are ashen gray,
“Till the day break, and the shadows flee away.” O Saviour mine, for whom my soul is longing
Far more than watchers for the morning light,
Or weary, panting hart for clear springs cooling,
Give me thy strength to work, by day or night;
Give me thy patience, grace to watch and pray,
“Till the day break, and the shadows flee away.” Days of Anxiety
By Ellen G. White
The Return of the Exiles— No. 8
Stirring were the times during which Israel worked by faith to restore the temple at Jerusalem. Through the messages delivered by Haggai and Zechariah, the people were roused to put forth every possible effort to build. As they labored, they were sadly harassed by the Samaritans and others who feared not God. The enemies of the faithful builders devised many discouraging hindrances. The provincial officers of the Medo-Persian realm visited the returned exiles, and requested them to state the name of the one who had commanded them to rebuild. If the Jews at that time had not been trusting the Lord for guidance, this inquiry made by men high in authority might have resulted disastrously to the builders. “But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius.” The officers were answered so wisely that they decided to write a letter to Darius Hystaspes, king of Medo-Persia, directing his attention to the original decree made by Cyrus, commanding that the house of God at Jerusalem be builded, and that the expenses for the same be paid from the king’s treasury. Darius searched for this decree, and found it, whereupon he directed those who had made inquiry, “Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place. “Moreover,” Darius declared, “I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered. And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt-offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: that they may offer sacrifices of sweet savors unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.” The king further decreed that most severe penalties be meted out on any who should in any wise alter the decree; and he closed with the remarkable statement: “The God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.” Thus the Lord, in his providence, prepared the way for an early completion of the temple. But for months before this decree was made, the Israelites had kept on working by faith, “the prophets of God helping them.” Just two months after Haggai’s last recorded message was delivered, Zechariah had a most encouraging series of visions regarding the work of God in the earth. These messages, written out in the first six chapters of the book of Zechariah, were given in the form of parables and symbols. They came at a time of great uncertainty and anxiety, when it seemed as if the permission granted the Jews to rebuild was to be withdrawn. The future appeared very dark. God saw that his people were in need of being sustained and cheered by a revelation of his infinite compassion and love. His testimonies at this time were of peculiar significance to the men who were advancing in the name of the God of Israel. After an introductory view of the nations having universal dominion in the earth, Zechariah hears “the angel of the Lord” inquiring, “O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me,” Zechariah declares, “with good words and comfortable words. “So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. “Therefore thus saith the Lord: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.” The prophet is now directed to cry out, saying, “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.” Next the prophet sees the powers that had “scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem,” symbolized by “four horns.” Immediately afterward he sees “four carpenters,” representing the agencies used by the Lord in restoring his people and the house of his worship, as decreed by Cyrus and his successors, as well as by God himself. “I lifted up mine eyes again,” says Zechariah, “and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: for I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.” God had commanded that Jerusalem be rebuilt, and the measuring of the city was a symbol that he would give comfort and strength to his afflicted ones. His protecting care, they were assured, would be like “a wall of fire round about.” O, how compassionate is our Heavenly Father! What comfort and hope there are in his promises! The prophet is now inspired with an earnest message to the children of Israel who are still in Babylon, the land of their captivity. At the time the decree of Cyrus was given, nearly a score of years before, only a comparatively small number, a mere “remnant,” had returned to Judea. By far the greater portion had failed of discerning the opening providence of God, as revealed in the decree of King Cyrus. They had chosen to remain behind, in a heathen land, rather than to return to Jerusalem. And now, many years later, the Lord was preparing the way for these thousands who had lingered, to return. A chain of circumstances was rapidly leading to the confirmation of the decree of Cyrus and the issuance of a second decree by Darius Hystaspes. The Lord foresaw the troublous times that would soon follow in the reign of Xerxes—the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. And so, in a time of special favor and opportunity, the message was given, through Zechariah:— *“Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from9 the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts: After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me.”* How sad it is to contemplate that this touching appeal met with so little response! Had this entreaty to flee from Babylon been heeded, how different might have been the condition of the Jews in the trying times of Mordecai and Esther! The Lord’s purposes for his people have ever been the same. He desires to bestow on the children of men the riches of an eternal inheritance. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. When those who choose to become obedient subjects of the Most High are finally saved in the kingdom of glory, God’s purpose for mankind will have been fulfilled. To us who are praying and longing for the coming of this most glorious kingdom, as well as to the children of Israel in the days of Zechariah, are spoken the words: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.” Prayer and Praise
By A. J. BRISTOL
“O COME, let us sing unto Jehovah;
Let us make a joyful noise to the rock
of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with
thanksgiving;
Let us make a joyful noise unto him
with psalms.
For Jehovah is a great God,
And a great king above all gods. . . .
O come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before Jehovah our Maker:
For he is our God,
And we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand,
To-day, O that ye would hear his
voice!” At this season when our minds are especially exercised in reference to drawing near the Lord, it is well that we consider the scripture quoted above, and others which so clearly teach that thanksgiving is one of the means of approach to God. While it could doubtless be as truly said of many of the Lord’s people in this time as it was of old, that “your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear;” and equally applicable to us would be the admonition to “wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well,” yet we should bear in mind that it is “the goodness of God [that] leadeth thee to repentance.” As we gratefully recall the tender mercy of the Lord in his dealings with us, our hearts will be melted to tenderness, and we shall truly repent of having wandered so far from our loving Father. Failing to praise, we forget to pray, and we begin the course of the heathen, of whom the apostle wrote “that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; . . . and even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind; . . . being filled with all unrighteousness.” And then follows the long dark catalogue of sins of which they became guilty, and it seems to include every unclean and hateful thing. All this is the result of not giving thanks to God. If, upon examination, we find any of these things in our hearts, let us without delay begin to recount the mercies of God. Thank him that you are alive, and have been permitted to see your peril; thank him that it is not too late to be forgiven; and above all, thank him for the “Way” out of every difficulty. Anciently the people of God were directed to erect monuments of the special experiences in which God wrought for them, and repeatedly the admonition is given to “beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments” in times of material prosperity. That these things might be kept in mind, the instruction was given to “talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.” We are often reminded from the pulpit and by the printed page of our duty to pray, but not much is said or written of our duty to praise, and yet, if we carefully note in reading the Bible, we shall find the exhortation to praise is more frequent than is the one to pray. Frequently the two are mentioned together: “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks.” “Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving.” “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I will say, Rejoice. . . . The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” “We need to praise God more ‘for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.’ Our devotional exercises should not consist wholly in asking and receiving. Let us not be always thinking of our wants, and never of the benefits we receive. We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks. We are the constant recipients of God’s mercies, and yet how little gratitude we express, how little we praise him for what he has done for us.” While conditions in the world and our relation to them as bearers of the last message of mercy are such that we have felt constrained to observe a day of solemn fasting and prayer, if we have been faithful in putting away the evils which the fast has revealed, we may find confidence and courage to persevere by recounting the unmistakable evidences that this is the Lord’s work, and that “hitherto hath Jehovah helped us.” Having yielded our hearts fully to the Lord, and our lives to his service, it is our privilege to “look up” and rejoice. “Serve Jehovah with gladness:
Come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that Jehovah, he is God;
It is he that hath made us, and we are his;
We are his people, and the sheep of his
pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise:
Give thanks unto him, and bless his
name.
For Jehovah is good; his loving-kindness
endureth forever,
And his faithfulness unto all generations.” “Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due
unto his name;
Bring an offering, and come into his
courts.” Some of Its Earlier Supports
By J. O. Corliss
Character of the Papacy—No. 5
Some of Its Earlier Supports
About the surest way to put one into leading-strings is to darken his vision. Put out one's eyes, and he sees no stumbling-block, because he walks in the blackest night. The blind always desire to be led, and they ask no questions about objects with which they do not come in contact. They follow the lead of any one, high or low, of any grade of intelligence, who volunteers to guide them in the way, because they are entirely helpless and dependent. Very much after this sort were the people of the medieval ages. Having been refused the light which shines from God directly through his Word, in their inherent longing to be guided into a better existence they submitted to be led through midnight byways, not daring to question the breath of corruption which was constantly being wafted toward them, but continuously hoping that all would work at last for their eternal good. In justification of this latter statement, we quote from “The Pope and the Council,” page 291, as follows: “Paradoxical as it may sound, it is an historical fact that the more suspicious and scandalous the conduct of the popes—with their exemptions, privileges, indulgences, and the like, and the consequent confusion in the church—appeared to pious men, the more inclined they felt to take refuge from their doubts and10 suspicions in the bosom of papal infallibility. Tested by simple Christian feeling, they would have been obliged to condemn this, and much else, as an abuse and heinous sin against the church. But that feeling had to contend with the notion, instilled into them from youth, that the pope is lord and master of the church, whom none may contradict or call to account.” Thus were men blinded, and taught to regard themselves as mere herds of cattle belonging to the pope, with no will of their own, to be driven here and there as the head of the church dictated. Some, indeed, we are informed, were settled in the notion that the pope was a mysterious god upon earth, whose ways should not be too closely scrutinized, but whose voice was to be blindly followed, as though it came from heaven above. Not only were men thus denied the right of conscience in spiritual affairs, but they also were forbidden the right of self-government in civil matters as well. Gregory VII, the first pope to undertake to depose kings, said, “To me is given power to bind and loose on earth and in heaven.”—Manzi, 20: 467. This Gregorian system, says Janus, “required the most complete immunity of the whole clergy from the secular power and civil courts. It served to create an immense army, exclusively belonging to the pope, and widely separated by common caste feelings and caste interests from the lay world.”—“The Pope and the Council,” page 155. After the Reformation had wrought its wonderful change of sentiment in Europe regarding civil government, and absolute monarchy gave way to a constitutional form of sovereignty, the Gregorian theory fell somewhat under decay, among the laity; so much so that for thirty years prior to the great ecumenical council of 1870, there occasionally appeared printed discourses from influential quarters, modifying earlier divine claims of the papacy. To offset these Pius IX issued a Syllabus in December, 1864, which condemned, in all, eighty of these so-called heresies, and reasserted all the pretensions of medieval days. Following this the nations were notified that a world council for the ratification of these syllabic articles would be called to assemble in Rome at an early date. Among other things condemned as heresies, which history has stated over and over again as true, this remarkable document affirmed it to be a wicked error to admit Protestants to equal political rights with Catholics, or even to permit Protestants to worship freely as they see fit. On the contrary, it affirms that the early doctrines of Jesuits, advocating suppression and coercion, are sacred obligations. Schneeman, in commenting on this, says that “the church will, of course, act with the greatest prudence in the use of her temporal and physical power, according to altered circumstances, and will not therefore at present adopt her medieval policy.” The seventy-seventh proposition just referred to was directed against Bishop Ketteler, of Mayence, who, in a very popular work, attempted to show that the Catholic Church thoroughly respects freedom of conscience of all outside of her own communion, and would consider any coercion in their cases as immoral and utterly unlawful. It was also made plain by the bishop that Protestants had no need to fear regarding forcible coercions to the Catholic faith. Schrader, the Syllabus commentator, said that the bishop had fallen into that “forbidden liberalism,” which is accounted by the Roman Church as one of the “grossest errors of the day.” The Syllabus closes with the assertion that “they are in damnable error who regard the reconciliation of the pope with modern civilization as possible or desirable.” It is easy to see from the foregoing that Rome has not changed, in any degree, her principles of intolerance. Her only hindrance in carrying out her ancient dogmas is the democratic attitude of constitutional rights in modern civil government. Let the papacy appear to modify its maxims to harmonize with popular institutions, and their educating forces, or let existing society modify its claims to meet apparent variation of papal demands, then, according to the Jesuit Schneeman, Rome might again dominate affairs of state according to her faith in her divine right to rule the world. Elements are even now stirring that will count heavily toward this result in the near future. Of this phase we will have more to say later, but in this connection it will be well to call attention to another step of the papacy, by which it insured the entire support of its clergy. Finding that it needed all the support possible to sustain its claims of divine right before the world, a plan was launched by which the clergy would be deprived of home interests, and so become more fully devoted to the upbuilding of the papacy. The subject of celibacy had been broached in some important gatherings, notably the Council of Carthage (251), and the Council of Elvira, 313(?). But in a council held at Rome in 1074, Gregory VII pressed the matter so strongly that no ecclesiastic should be a married man, that the doctrine put forth tentatively and gradually, as a thing desirable, was then made an absolute law of the church. This put into the hands of the hierarchy a most potent engine of ecclesiastical power, in that it put every priest in a special caste by himself, and made him entirely subservient to the interests of the supremacy of the church. It virtually divorced the priesthood from citizenship in all countries, by creating a great gulf between its popish ministers and the rest of humanity. Especially has this been the case to a large extent in the United States, where the fear has existed that, in view of the papacy's pronounced antagonism to modern civilization, if papists ever became strong enough politically, they would upset the Constitution. In fact, the Civiltà Romana, a periodical produced by Jesuits, and at one time indorsed by a papal brief as an organ of the Church of Rome, maintained, as late as 1854, that it is necessary for the church to visit her opponents with fines, imprisonments, and scourgings, without which, it affirmed, she could not exist to the end of the world. See Vol. VII, page 603. It maintained, indeed, that, as an urgent necessity, in view of the unbelief of the present time, this work should be carried on through the old institution of the Inquisition, which it describes as “a sublime spectacle of social perfection.” See Vol. I, page 55. But in this matter, as suggested by certain of their astute advisers, prudence will dictate that, for some time to come, the divine right assumed by the papacy will be permitted to lie dormant, adopting in the meantime a waiting attitude. Time alone can tell what will come, but we may be certain that out of the questions now agitating the Catholic world, there will be evolved a plan by which the power of the papacy will be felt as in days of old. The present outlook of the situation, however, will be considered in another paper. Personal Efforts
By WILLIAM COVERT
THE apostle Paul says, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim. 1:15. It becomes necessary for the gospel laborer to go where sinners are and to come into personal touch with them in order to bring about their salvation. Christ, the Saviour of men, went into the homes of the people, sat at their firesides, ate at their tables, slept in their beds, acquainted himself with their conditions, learned about their burdens, ministered to their needs, taught them precepts of truth, allayed their fears, brightened their hopes, and proved himself to be a tender-hearted brother who could soothe their sorrows and save them from their troubles. And every missionary who would be successful in his work should learn from Jesus, and do as he did. The sinner’s hardened conscience must be softened, and his darkened mind must be enlightened, before he can be made to sense his great need of help. A deathlike stupor possesses the average human mind, and something unusual must be done to arouse the drowsy one from his benumbed condition, else he will soon pass into the dark abyss where no pleading can reach him. And even now very many right among our own churches, and even in our home circles, are in the road that leads to eternal death. Indeed, we find persons in need of personal help wherever we go, so that no one can say there is nothing that he can do. As the Saviour on the cross found a seeking sinner near at hand, so may his followers at every turn and in every11 place find opportunities to call sinners to repentance. Day by day and hour by hour, we meet and talk with those who have no hope in Christ; and what record is made in heaven of these things? The curious man who climbed the tree, the blind one who cried by the roadside, the impotent man at the pool, and the ruler who came by night, all received personal attention from the Son of God. And if it was right for him to leave heaven and come into our world to save sinners, we certainly ought to turn aside from our little earthly affairs to give our fellow creatures the message which he has prepared for us to hand to them. He sought them out, and often called them by name (John 10: 3; 11: 43), so that his appeals were personal and direct. A word spoken directly and tenderly is a balm and a solace when applied to an aching heart. No kind of missionary investment is more effective than this, and even the poorest one of God’s children may possess it in abundance to give away. Ask the Lord to help you to do it. Lessons from Nehemiah
By P. J. Laird
AFTER every great epoch there has usually been a time of quiet, in which but a few pages of history were written. It was so after the great advent cry in 1844; so it was after Ezra’s reform movement. The book of Ezra closes with the account of the great separation, which had involved all classes. Twelve years had elapsed when Hanani brought word to Nehemiah: “The wall of Jerusalem . . . is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.” Neh. 1: 3. Nehemiah, overwhelmed with grief that Satan should again have been allowed to triumph, “sat down and wept, and mourned certain days.” Verse 4. Well for us is it when our grief drives us to God. A season spent in worshiping God always results in conviction, as with Nehemiah. “Both I and my father’s house have sinned” (verse 6), is the language of true repentance. Sin must be acknowledged before God, and faults confessed “one to another.” James 5: 16. This will of itself act as a deterrent. The great Australian revival came about after the ministers had met together and confessed one to another. Let our plea be based upon God’s promises, “If ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, . . . I . . . will bring them unto the place that I have chosen.” Neh. 1: 9. Nehemiah was zealous for God’s glory, as suggested by calling God’s attention to “thy servants.” Verse 10. Compare 2 Sam. 7: 26; 2 Kings 19: 19; Isa. 48: 11. It is said that it was even a capital crime to appear sad in the Persian monarch’s presence. When the king asked of Nehemiah the reason for his sorrow of heart, Nehemiah was “very sore afraid.” But Nehemiah “prayed to the God of heaven.” Verse 4. Shall we not all learn to cultivate the habit of silent prayer for grace, guidance, and wisdom? Permit a personal illustration: I was out on a book-selling trip in Kuangsi, alone as to foreigners, and of the coolies all were practically strangers to me and to the place. While dinner was preparing, some books were taken on the street, for sale. I had not been out long when the Chinese crowd suddenly took up the cry of an opium fiend, and shouted, “Kill the foreign devil! Kill!” It is one thing to write these words, but quite a different experience to hear them. As the crowd closed in around me, “God, help me!” I cried, in my distress. As I turned around, the people stood back on each side, and allowed me to pass. Believe God answers prayer? It has been proved that he does. Now mark Nehemiah’s request: “Send me unto Judah.” He does not mention dangers by the way. Think what it meant to the king to “rebuild the wall.” However, Nehemiah, by his godly and consistent life, had won the king’s confidence. Treason was never thought of by Artaxerxes. God is calling loudly to many to-day, not to fill the needs of cities only, but national needs, such as those existing in China. Here the living stones need to be gathered out, the ignorant instructed, and error to be gently opposed. It should not be, where I can be useful, but most useful; not, where there is need, but the greatest need, or the danger of delay greatest. “Where can I lay out my life for God at highest interest?” We have come to the point of seeing that the Orientals stand with the Occidentals with an equal claim to Christ as their Saviour. It is not favor that is asked for the heathen, but a more just approach to equality in the distribution of the gospel. God is always true and good. Given the man who says, “Send me,” the equipment—temporal and spiritual—surely will follow. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isa. 6: 8. Your answer to God’s question may find you among the Zulus in South Africa, whose needs are appealing to our people for the gospel; or among the fanatical Mohammedans; behind the fast-closed doors of Afghanistan, or among the hostile millions of Tibet. On arrival at his mission station, Nehemiah spent three days in investigating and arranging his plans. The Foreign Mission Seminary at Washington will prove of inestimable advantage to our workers. Then there will be another time of survey when they reach their fields of labor. The language will call forth the best in them, even to tears. Then the heart will be fired, and the response will be unanimous, “Let us rise up and build.” It was so arranged that most of the people of the city built opposite or nearest their own houses. Nehemiah had hardly got the people to work when fierce opposition assailed them. “They laughed us to scorn.” “If a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.” This will come wherever a Seventh-day Adventist worker goes. In China ministers write us: “It would be easy, I trow, to snap up your few converts if we should offer them employment.” “The missionary body could make short work of you. The Chinese government’s closing schools on Sunday . . . all militates against you.” Satan next brought slander, conspiracy, and treachery against Nehemiah. Chap. 4: 8, 11. Opposition to the third angel’s message will unite those hitherto at enmity. And hindrances will be found within, perhaps, as often as without. The “bearers of burdens” grew weary. Verse 10. “Actual service tests zeal, and much that promised well fails.” “Our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.” Verse 11. Some who went out from us are now doing Satan’s work, in aiming at our organization. But let us trust in the assurance that God will vindicate his truth. Let us stand by our organization, as men of old rallied around their standard. Our Captain never lost a battle. “They said unto us ten times [the Chinese number for perfection], That from all places ye must return to us.” Verse 12. Nehemiah thereupon set a careful watch. A mission leader, on his way to the Shanghai Centenary Conference, told one of our workers, “It is a necessity of organization that all the smaller missions will have to join the federation”—evidencing the change of front of the speaker, who four years ago tabooed even attendance at a local conference of workers as being waste of time. Nehemiah’s injunction stands good today for Adventists: “The work is great and large, and we are separated . . . one far from another;” but “our God shall fight for us.” Verses 19, 20. True prayer will not slacken energy; rather will it increase zeal and labor. We must “watch and pray,” if we would be overcomers. “They that be with us are more than they that be with them.” May God open our eyes to see him. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” “All the heathen . . . feared, . . . for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.” Chap. 6: 16, R. V. As a result of God’s blessing our organization, the increase in all branches of our work is being favorably commented upon and emulated by those not of our ranks. At last the work was finished, and “the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.” Chap. 12: 43. We in heathen lands praise God when we see our dear people giving over fifty thousand dollars in tithes and offerings for mission fields. Then they can raise the $150,000 fund, in addition. The way may sometimes seem rough, and the difficulties many; but soon God will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness. One secret of Nehemiah’s success was the fact that he believed. “The joy of Jehovah is your stronghold.” Neh. 8: 10, A. R. V., margin. Nehemiah’s experience is an illustration of what one man can do when linked to Omnipotence.