It is a recognized fact that lawlessness in the United States is rapidly on the increase. The Chicago Chronicle, which is published in a community where conditions prevail out of which lawlessness naturally grows, charges the present state of affairs to disregard of law on the part of the labor unions. Unquestionably this is one great source, though not the only one, of the tide of lawlessness which is filling many minds with alarm. The Chronicle reasons logically upon the subject. It says:—
People who are making an attempt to account for the increase of disorder in many parts of the country need not look much beyond the teachings of the labor unions and their apologists in politics and in the press.
The labor union has held for a generation that when it becomes involved in a strike, all laws are suspended so far as its own immediate interests are concerned.
Labor unions have been supported in this contention by weak-kneed politicians and by demagogues in office. They have managed as a rule to do about as they pleased, breaking heads here, mobbing employers there, and killing and terrorizing everywhere, with almost no attempt on the part of anybody in authority to punish them for their misdeeds.
It is preposterous to suppose that this sort of thing can go on for twenty, or thirty years without having a far-reaching effect upon the young and thoughtless. Every case of lawlessness for which no penalty is exacted begets lawlessness in others far beyond the immediate neighborhood in which it occurs.
If it be admitted that a considerable number of the people are above the law and can do as they please, it is a natural corollary that there are others who are beyond the protection of the law, and can hope for no assistance from it.
There is hardly a trades union in the land which does not have its “wrecking gang.” Every man connected with labor7organizations is well aware of the principle on which these gangs work. They are simply criminals. They make no attempt to disguise the fact. Organizations which recognize such agencies and stand ready to profit by their operations are no less criminal in their inspiration and purposes.
Taught by many years of lawlessness and demagogy that under certain circumstances a mob may execute its will upon an opponent in the name of union labor, the disorderly elements in this country are now quick to widen the scope of their operations. Class riots are of daily occurrence. Race riots appear with increasing frequency. Religious riots may be looked for at no distant date.
“Religious riots”! A revival of the worst scenes of the Dark Ages! To this the present state of affairs is rapidly tending, and the fact is evident even from a secular standpoint. We are living in perilous times. L. A. S.
Note and Comment
According to the Central Christian Advocate, three hundred million dollars a year represents the cost of keeping up the work of Christianizing America, and “fully one billion dollars is annually absorbed in the Christianization of the whole world.”
Pope Leo and Religious Liberty
A NOTEWORTHY thing about Pope Leo is the favorable impression which seems to have been made by his personality on Protestants and Catholics alike. In the minds of many who have no sympathy with papal doctrines, the pope himself is invested with an atmosphere of spirituality and saintliness; and by this the pope has no doubt gained much for the papacy. People are prone to lose sight of principles in looking at the person who represents them. There are many good people in the Catholic Church, but they are good in spite of the principles of the religion they profess. That the papacy is the greatest enemy of civil and religious liberty, is a fact that should never be lost sight of in the luster which may pertain to individual Catholics. Religious liberty, says Cardinal Gibbons in his book, “The Faith of Our Fathers,” is liberty to worship God according to “the dictates of a right conscience.” And a right conscience, in the papal view, is one which conforms to the doctrines
The whole history of the papacy conforms to this idea of religious freedom.
The fact is mentioned, however, in connection with statements called out by the pope’s illness, that in 1891 the present pontiff erected in the church of St. John Lateran a monument to Pope Innocent III, whose reign was marked by the fiercest persecution of “heretics,”—an act which would not indicate a very mild attitude on Leo’s part toward heretics of the present day.
The Mob Spirit Growing
UNDER the heading “The Mob Spirit Growing,” the Chicago Tribune of July 7 says:—
The old and respectable city of Evansville, Ind., had a taste of mob rule last Sunday. A policeman was shot and killed, and, as the murderer was a negro, evil disposed individuals set out to lynch him. Not being able to get the murderer, the mob began attacking all the negroes it came across. Some of the black men tried to defend themselves. That infuriated the rioters, who do not concede to the negro the right of self-defense.
Probably if an Evansville policeman had been killed by a negro two years ago, or even one year ago, there would have been no rioting, but to-day the mob spirit is rife in many Northern cities. Lawlessness in one community inflames the lawless element in another community, and it lays hold of the first opportunity to break the law. The lynchings at Belleville and Wilmington and attempted lynchings at other points were one great cause of the attempted lynching at Evansville. . . .
In view of this prejudice, and of the growing inclination to resort to lynch law in Northern communities, it is the duty of peace officers, whether sheriffs or chiefs of police, to be more vigilant and efficient than they have been in many instances, and to deal with mobs in a decisive and ungentle manner. Otherwise the contagion will spread, and there will be riotous demonstrations in many communities now looked on as conservative and law abiding.
The contagion of mob lawlessness is certainly spreading fast. The fact is visible to all, but its cause and meaning are clear only in the light of divine revelation.
Fourth-of-July Accident Statistics
FOURTH-OF-JULY accident statistics show that two hundred and nine persons were killed and several thousand injured in the celebration of Independence day this year. It would be interesting to know, could the figures be given, how many more persons have been killed and wounded in the celebrations of this day since it became a national day than were killed and wounded in the war by which the national independence was achieved.
The Drink Bill
“SINCE 1880,” says the American Grocer, “the use of alcoholic beverages [in this country] has nearly doubled.” The use of other nerve-injuring drinks has also greatly increased. The Midland (Chicago) puts together some statements on the drink bill in the United States and in Great Britain, taken from the American Grocer and the London Times, which are worth noting. It says:—
Not long ago the London Times printed a statement, which it has published annually for some years, of the amount spent in the United Kingdom for drink, with a comparison of the figures for successive years. It estimates the consumption of British spirits at 35,339,523 gallons, other spirits 8,778,200 gallons, beer 35,243,472 barrels, wine 15,348,242 gallons, and British wines, cider, etc., 15,000,000 gallons. The total cost is figured for 1902 at $292,279,915 for spirits, $528,652,080 for beer, $69,067,090 for wine, and $7,500,000 for British wine and cider, making a total of $807,499,085. In the middle of 1902 the population of the United Kingdom was stated to be 41,952,510, which would make the average drink expenditure for that year $21.39 per head. From figures given by the American Grocer, as quoted in a daily paper, a comparison of our own expenditure in the same line may be made. The American drink bill in 1902, including coffee, tea, and cocoa, classed as light stimulants, reached the high-water mark, the total bill being $1,369,038,276, representing a per capita expenditure for stimulants of $17.33 for the 79,033,000 people of the United States, or 4.7 cents per day. The cost at retail of alcoholic and malt drinks was $1,172,565,235, of coffee $149,831,030, of tea $39,642,011, and of cocoa $7,000,000, amounting to a total of $1,369,038,276, as compared with $1,273,212,386 in 1901. Since 1880 the use of alcoholic beverages has nearly doubled.
Russia’s Religious Toleration Deception
By L. A. S.
Not long ago the papers had much to say about an edict for religious toleration having been issued by the czar of Russia. According to an English writer, Mr. R. E. C. Long, who is mentioned as a “noted student of Russian affairs,” no such thing as religious tolerance has been contemplated by the Russian government, and in the translation of that part of the czar’s manifesto relating to this subject a deliberate deception was practiced upon the world. What the manifesto did say, says Mr. Long in the London Fortnightly Review, was that the Russian laws regarding religion were good enough for the empire, and would under no circumstances be departed from. The manifesto was, he says, a defiant declaration to Russia and to all the world on this point, and is quite capable of meaning that dissenters and heretics will be even more rigorously dealt with than has been done heretofore.
Mr. Long does not believe that the manifesto was drawn up by the czar, for the reason that “a more Jesuitical intellect was needed to compile a paragraph which, without visible inconsistency, at once speaks of tolerance as a virtue and declares that intolerance is the future policy of the state.” The manifesto declares that there will be “undeviating observance” of existing laws; and as the Russian laws take full cognizance of questions of religious belief, the trial and punishment of heretics in Russia is always strictly according to law. “The essence of religious persecution in Russia is its perfect legality.” Religious toleration is therefore wholly incompatible with the declaration that the laws will remain unchanged. Religious freedom is gaining no ground in that quarter of the world. L. A. S.
The Sign of Discipleship
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
“As I have loved you.” The crowning act in the sacrifice of love was yet to come. Soon, in the scenes of the Saviour’s betrayal, trial, and crucifixion the disciples were to see the measure of his love. They were to see him hanging on the cross in dying agony, bearing the sins of the world. In this, and in his resurrection and ascension, they were to see a love so broad and deep that all doubt as to the meaning of the new commandment would be swept away. The knowledge of the Saviour’s matchless love for them was to bind them heart to heart, preparing the way for the Lord to anoint them with his Spirit. United by this love, they were to go forth to witness with convincing power to the divinity of their Leader. And their Christlike love for one another was to be the sign of their discipleship.
How much of this love have we shown for one another? Might we not better begin without delay to love one another as Christ has loved us? Would we not then be a power for good in the world?
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”
Weakening the Influence of Truth
I wish to speak of some things that have been represented to me as taking place in assemblies of God’s people. Some have taken offense at things entirely unworthy of notice, and have dishonored God by giving way to the feelings of the unsubdued heart. They have misinterpreted the truth, and weakened its influence. They have strengthened Satan’s kingdom; for church-members who speak words that stir up strife are doing Satan’s work much more effectively than his own subjects.
O my brethren, why are you so easily irritated? Why do you so readily separate from one another? Do you realize that your hasty words are written in the books of heaven, to receive the same punishment as the words of the profane man? The same spirit that led him to swear led you to speak words that stirred up strife in the assembly of God’s people. Remember that by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
O that those who are proclaiming the most solemn message ever given to the world would realize how greatly their influence is weakened when they are suspicious of their brethren, when they allow angry words to pass their lips! The displeasure of God rests upon every one who speaks harsh, unkind words. Nothing so dishonors the Lord Jesus as a readiness on the part of church-members to take offense when something occurs to displease them. The conversion of unbelievers depends on the distinctness with which Christ is revealed in the lives of believers. When our hearts are filled with love and compassion, when our conduct toward one another is marked by Christlike tenderness and courtesy, then our words will have power to convict souls.
“That They All May Be One”
The Holy Spirit is to rest upon God’s children. This is the Lord’s will and plan. But this can never be until they seek for unity, forgetting self in the desire to extend his kingdom. The Saviour’s prayer for his followers is, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
It is the unity of Christ’s followers that convinces the world that God has indeed sent his Son to die for sinners, to make them partakers of his perfection, changing the sinful heart, and forming the character after the divine likeness. Christ declares, “There shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” He came to our world to live the life that was to be the pattern for all his children. He came to reveal the love that was to bind them heart to heart. And he made unity the badge of their discipleship.
Our Trust
God’s people are to be united in the accomplishment of one great work. They are to make a combined effort of consecration. By a tender, respectful regard for one another, they are to cherish the influence that works for the recovery of sinners. As good soldiers of the cross they are to strive to win sinners to loyalty. Righteous principles gain more and more power over the life as their influence is allowed to soften and subdue the natural, untamed disposition. This is the mystery of godliness.
We are living in the testing time. God is proving his people, to see who are worthy of admittance into his family. He desires his followers to carry out the instruction contained in the seventeenth chapter of John. The practice of this instruction is to begin in the home. God measures church-members by what they are in the home. When Christ’s words are obeyed in the home, the influence extends to the church. Grieve not the Spirit of God from your home by an unchristlike course of action. Work the works of Christ in the home. Then your lamp, burning brightly and clearly, will give light to those in darkness. Have you accepted your trust? Does your light so shine before men that they, seeing your good works, glorify your Heavenly Father?
Parents should make the Word of God their study. Their first work should be to interest their children in the holy, uplifting truths of this Word. Then in turn the children will become instruments in the Lord’s hands for interesting and instructing others. Thus the truth works with power to win souls to Christ.
Enlarging God’s Kingdom
Those who accept the truth are pledged by their baptismal vows to live the truth before the world. As soon as men and women come to a knowledge of the truth, they are to use their powers in shedding abroad the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. God wants his people to be light-bearers. As Christians multiply their talents by use, the church becomes the light of the world.
A living church is a working church. It is the do-nothing position of those who profess to be converted that robs the church of its vitality. Souls are to be saved, and those who claim to know the truth, yet who do not make any effort to win sinners to Christ, will sooner or later be revealed as spiritual dwarfs. God calls for workers who will unite their varied gifts in laboring for him. His people must show missionary courtesy, missionary hospitality, missionary zeal. He has grace for every worker.
God’s servants are to make use of every resource for enlarging his kingdom. The apostle Paul, a faithful steward of the grace of God, declares that it is “good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth,” that “supplications,9prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.” And James says, “Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” Every member of the church is pledged to unite with his brethren in giving the invitation, “Come; for all things are now ready.” Each is to encourage the other in doing a whole-souled work. Earnest invitations will come from a living church. Thirsty souls will be led to the water of life.
My Brother’s Cross
“If I could see
A brother languishing in sore distress,
And I should turn and leave him comfortless
When I might be
A messenger of hope and happiness,
How could I ask to have what I denied
In my own hour of bitterness supplied?”
“If I might share
A brother’s load along the dusty way,
And I should turn and walk alone that day,
How could I dare —
When in the evening watch I kneel to pray —
To ask for help to bear my pain and loss,
If I had needed not my brother’s cross?”
The Lord Speaking by His Son
By John Norton Loughborough
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” Heb. 1:1, 2.
Having noted how the Lord, in Old Testament times, spoke to his people by voice, by angelic visitation, and by prophets, it may be of interest to consider that portion of the text respecting the latter-day speaking “by his Son.”
When the infant Saviour was brought to the temple by his mother (his first public appearance), to have made for him the required offering, he was recognized by two prophets. One of these was the devout Simeon, to whom it had been revealed, by the Holy Ghost, “that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple . . . and said, . . . Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.” “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. . . . And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.” Luke 2:26-38.
Six months before the public ministry of Christ was to open, his mission was heralded by John the Baptist, the greatest prophet that had yet appeared. Luke 7:28. To him the Lord made direct revelations, even telling him how he might know the Messiah, when, at his baptism, he should see the Holy Ghost descending upon him in the form of a dove. John 1:33. He also made predictions of the baptism of the Holy Spirit which Christ should impart, and of the final work of gathering the faithful as the wheat into the Lord’s garner, and the burning up of the wicked like the chaff, with unquenchable fire. Matt. 3:11, 12.
The Lord’s speaking by his Son of course includes the personal teaching of Christ when on earth, as recorded in the four Gospels of the New Testament. The words that he spoke in his teaching he disclaimed as his own; for he said, “The Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. . . . Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” John 12:49, 50. “The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” John 14:24.
The words of Christ found in the four Gospels are not, however, the whole of his teaching for the “last days;” for when he was about to leave the world, he comforted his disciples with these words: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” John 14:16. And of this Comforter, he said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26. Again, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me.” John 15:26.
The Saviour said of this Comforter, which was to “abide forever,” “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear them now.” John 16:7-12.
All that was to be spoken by the Son was not accomplished when he was here in person, as the following scripture shows: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16:13, 14. Our Lord further spoke to the disciples of the coming and work of the Spirit, in these words: “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49. A record of the same conversation is also given in these words: “And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise [fulfillment of the promise] of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” Acts 1:4, 5.
This promise which the Father had made, and to which our Saviour here refers, must be the promise recorded in the book of Joel; for when, on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit was poured out, Peter recognized it as the beginning of what was predicted by Joel. We read: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4.
The mocking ones among the multitude who came together on seeing and hearing of this wonderful manifestation, declared, “These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.” Acts 2:13-20; Joel 2:28-32.
It is not recorded that a single thing enumerated by Joel, to be produced by the Spirit, took place on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit was, however, poured out on that day, and there was a wonderful manifestation of the gift of tongues. In Joel’s prediction of what should result from the outpouring of the Spirit, nothing was said about tongues. The gift of tongues is, nevertheless, one of the operations of the Spirit of God, as well as those directly specified in Joel’s prophecy, and all were to be seen in the work of the Holy Spirit. The time covered by this prophecy of Joel reaches down to the close of probationary time—even to “the great and the terrible day of the Lord.” The “last days” must include the very last day of the last days, which would take in the last day of probationary time. Hence this prediction of Joel relates to the work of the Spirit of God—the Comforter—as it should please the Lord, “forever,” even through the entire gospel dispensation.
That this outpouring mentioned by Joel, is the “promise of the Father” to which Christ referred, is evident from Peter’s discourse in which he says: “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.” Acts 2:32, 33.
That Peter understood this promise to cover the Lord’s manner of working even to the end of time, is set forth in these words: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. And for the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38, 39. Then as long as10the Lord calls people to his service, so long is the promise of the Holy Spirit extended to them.
With the idea in mind that the Spirit of God was to have much to do with the believers during the gospel age, we can more fully comprehend the words of the apostle Paul, when, comparing the past dispensation with the present one, he says, “How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?” 2 Cor. 3:8. If this entire dispensation is the “ministration of the Spirit,” it surely must be that the Spirit is to have much to do with those who will accept its working. The Comforter—the Holy Spirit—is Christ’s representative, which he has sent to be with his people to the end. Through it he was to say the “many things” the apostles were not then ready to receive. So a part of the speaking of the Lord, by his Son in “these last days,” is through the operations and gifts of his Spirit, not aside from the Scriptures, but in harmony with the word therein spoken.
How It Will Be Done
By George B. Thompson
G. B. THOMPSON
From the Review of Feb. 28, 1899, I copy the following words from the pen of Sister White:—
“Paul lived the gospel that he preached; and if our ministering brethren will live the truth, they will be loving, kind, tender, lowly in heart, unpretending, earnest, devoted. Their works will be their credentials. There would be a hundredfold more conversions than the record shows to-day if God’s workmen were what they should be. God demands truth in the inward parts. The spirit of those in the ministry must correspond to the truth preached.”
We talk of finishing the work in this generation, and of delay no longer, and look upon the vast fields with their unwarned millions sending in a mute appeal for help, and wonder how it will be done. Humanly speaking, the task is impossible, but with God all things are possible. The quotation given above from the spirit of prophecy tells how it can be done. It never can be done through the power of institutions, or by a change of this or that plan, though all this may be necessary and proper; but it is consecration to God that will capture the ramparts of the enemy, and finish the work. God has waited long for this. Has not the limit of his patience and long-suffering been almost reached? There shall be “delay no longer,” thank the Lord.
But this statement from the Holy Spirit makes me feel sad at heart, and as a minister of Christ I feel ashamed. Think of it: “a hundredfold more conversions than the record shows to-day if God’s workmen were what they should be”! As ministers we should weep between the porch and the altar that this sad condition might speedily be changed. There is much labor expended, and much of the Lord’s money used in the home and foreign fields that yield but little returns. Effort after effort is made in new fields, and scarcely any results. Year after year we labor on with only meager returns, one here and there, like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is over. It might be different if only we were more consecrated.
We have the mightiest truth the world has ever known. God is in it. This generation will witness its triumph, and the Lord will come. It will close in power greater than the “midnight cry.” Hence some of God’s servants will seek and obtain the power which comes from consecrating all to him. The promised blessing will come. Who of God’s servants will receive it? And who will be passed by?
Again I quote from this article:—
“Will the workers in various lines of God’s work ponder these things? A large share of the shallowness of the work is the result of the shallowness of the workers. When the Spirit of God works, something will be done, and in a much larger degree than we have yet seen.”
Shall we not lay these things to heart? O, if all, by becoming tender, gentle, kind, and earnest—consecrated—can accomplish a hundredfold more than now, how speedily the work in all the earth could be done, and our divine Lord come.
Many of our local churches are drying up, dying spiritually. If all would awake and lay hold of the power which awaits our demand and reception in all our churches, what a growth would be witnessed, and voices would be everywhere proclaiming the appearing of the Saviour in the clouds of heaven. My heart longs for this blessed day to dawn, and with a sense of my great need and unitness to receive him in all his fullness, my soul reaches out for a deeper consecration to his work. The feeblest instrument can be used if it is only consecrated to him. How glorious it will be to share in the refreshing, engage in the last terrible struggle against sin and its hosts, and as conquerors enter the promised Canaan.
How Much?
It is an easy matter to say how much we would give if we had what we do not now possess. The following story is a good illustration of this kind of spirit in giving:—
One native convert said to another: “If you had one hundred sheep, would you give fifty of them for God’s work?”
He replied, “That I would; I would be willing to give fifty.”
“If you had one hundred cows, would you be willing to give fifty of them to the gospel work?”
“O, yes, I would,” was the prompt reply.
“But you would not do it if they were one hundred horses, would you?”
“O, yes, I would. You would see that I would.”
“But if you had two pigs, would you be willing to give one of them?”
The man’s countenance fell, and he quickly replied, “No, I wouldn’t. You know I have two pigs; then why do you ask me that?”
He was willing to give what he had not, but what he had he was not willing to give.—United Presbyterian.
Stand by the Message
By E. K. Slade
E. K. SLADE
Many, in times past, have looked forward to a time in which great faith and firmness and much of the power of God would be required in order to stand true to the message and the cause of God. We are in such a time as that now. The elements that make it a most testing time may be far different from those that were seen and feared, but the time is here, and we are in it either to be established and kept safe to the end or to be shaken about and shaken out before the end.
God's keeping power in such a time accompanies a special message for that time. Faithful regard for the special truth proclaimed by Noah one hundred and twenty years, declaring that the judgment of God was at hand, meant safety and salvation to that man of God. The direct and special message to Nineveh brought salvation to that city, as the message was heard and heeded. The same was true in the days of Lot. The special message that came to him and the cities about him was a message of salvation to all who received it.
Just now and from this time on our only hope of being kept and safely carried through to the end is in hearing, heeding, and heralding the special and definite truth, “The day of the Lord is at hand.” At such a time as this, many things will occur to obscure and make ineffective the message for the time. It is the last message of salvation, and this is the last generation that can give or receive it; and we who know the import of the message as well as its time and place, are bound, under God, to sound the note so clearly and well pitched that none who hear it can fail to know that the day of the Lord is at hand. That Jesus is coming in this generation, should call forth the mightiest efforts on the part of all who believe it, to make it known to the many millions who do not know it. To truly know it and believe it will awaken the truest joy of which the human heart can know. This timely truth, tersely told, will bring hope and gladness to thousands of homes of gloom and sadness. Many a weary soul who has grown old in waiting for the consummation of his hope, will be gladdened when he is assured that Jesus will come in this generation, in his generation.
The great reforms accompanying this message are not to take the place of the message, nor are they in any way to obscure it by occupying a foremost place in the prosecution of the work of reform. They will fulfil their true purpose in helping to bring to the world everywhere the knowledge of this precious truth, “The day of the Lord is at hand,” and in helping the inhabitants of the world in every nation to prepare for that event. Only thus will they be effective in accomplishing the good for which they are instituted. Their force is lost to the11world when the message is not given its proper place.
It should be the chief object in all our efforts, the prompting motive in all our plans, the central thought in all our councils, the keynote in all our preaching; for it is the one great, central truth for this time, giving force and value to all truth. It will lead to the culmination of the whole gospel plan, and the establishment of the kingdom of God in the earth. The one purpose of every man and woman, of every church and every conference, of every department of the work and every institution, will be to give the message to all the world, that Jesus may come in this generation. “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.” Matt. 24: 45-47.