Earlier text: MY BOWWHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF THE END?
By Laura Gibly
"What shall be the sign of the end?" The apostles were anxious to know. The Master had told them that the end would come, and they, knowing that never in the past7had God brought His judgments upon the earth without a warning, desired to know the signs that would show the end near. "Nation shall rise against nation," He said, "and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles." "False Christs and false prophets shall rise." "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall." "And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." This is His own word for it; and "heaven and earth shall pass away; but My words shall not pass away." Mark 13:4, 8, 22, 24-26, 31. All these things are harbingers of the end, even as the putting forth of the leaves indicates that summer is near. "So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors." Mark 13:29. Some would put us off by quoting, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man." True, but when the evidences multiply that the event is imminent, it behooves guilty man to prepare to meet it. Unbelief and scoffing will not in any way prevent the Lord's return; indeed, these very things are signs of that event. Soon, very soon, the cry will be heard: "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh! Go ye out to meet Him!" THE TRUE MAN.
By James Russell Lowell
HE stood upon the world's broad threshold wide;
The din of battle and of slaughter rose;
He saw God stand upon the weaker side,
That sank in seeming loss before its foes;
Many there were that made great haste and sold
Unto the cunning enemy their swords;
He scorned their gifts of fame and power and gold,
And, underneath their soft and flowery words,
Heard the cold serpent hiss; therefore he went
And humbly joined him unto the weaker part;
Fanatic named and fool, yet well content
So he could be the nearer to God's heart,
And feel its solemn pulses sending blood
Through all the widespread veins of endless good.
—James Russell Lowell. TRUSTING GOD.
By Ellen G. White
IF we commit the keeping of our souls to God in the exercise of living faith, His promises will not fail us; for they have no limit but our faith. "All things are possible to him that believeth." We may make or mar our own happiness. Many pet and excuse the defects in their characters; but these must all be remedied. Every deviation from the right is sin, and sin must be put away. We can not afford to walk carelessly before our brethren or before the world. Many confess their sins again and again, but do not put them away by genuine repentance. Unless we have a firm purpose and the aid of the grace of God, strong resolutions and vigilant watchfulness will be vain and powerless when temptations assail the soul; and under such circumstances some give up in despair, fearing that they must ever remain slaves of sin. These have not a living faith in Jesus. We can not trust in ourselves; if we do, we shall fail. Jesus has spoiled the powers of darkness; and it is through faith in His might that we shall be made strong. He will lift up a standard against Satan in behalf of every trusting, believing soul. We have the assurance that His grace is sufficient for us, and that we shall not be tempted above that we are able to bear. This is our only hope. The apostle says, "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Christian church at Pentecost, great wisdom and grace rested upon the whole body of believers. This blessing was given in answer to earnest, persevering prayer; and to-day God is just as willing to listen to the petitions of His people. "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." When these fruits appear in the life, a telling influence will be exerted upon the world. The truly converted man will cease aspiring to be thought great. He will not seek for worldly honor, nor for luxury, ease, or wealth; neither will he be sensitive to reproach or neglect. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Self is no longer the supreme object of love; family and friends are no longer the boundary. His heart is enlarged. Jesus has the first place in his affections; he loves Christians, because he sees in them the image of his Master, and all mankind with a love that prompts him to do them good. This is the fruit growing on the true Vine, more precious in the sight of God than all the wealth and learning of earth's great men. The unparalleled exhibition of love that was made on Calvary shows how God estimates souls. If we have this love in our hearts, we shall seek to win sinners to Jesus, that for them this great sacrifice may not have been made in vain. The language of the heart will be, "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul." We shall say with the psalmist, "I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congregation." We shall rejoice to speak of the wisdom and goodness of God as shown in the way He has led His people; for we shall have proved that "the path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." THIS is the way the "sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God," operates to put down crime and reform criminals: "A Japanese evangelist held a series of mission meetings in an important town in Japan for Christians and inquirers after Christianity. There were some remarkable confessions of sin. One young man of twenty, an inquirer, confessed that four years previously he had set fire to a house, had done various petty pilfering, and caused the death of two children. He boldly went to the police station and told the whole story, including the fact that through the power of the Gospel of Christ he had been led to confess. He is a railway telegraph operator, and now spends all his spare time going from place to place on the railway, telling of the Gospel of the grace of God." No doubt many people will scoff at the idea of such a man becoming a Christian, and especially at his being a missionary. But in the great judgment day, when the secret acts of all and the secret thoughts of all hearts will be laid bare, how many scoffers will appear in any better light? It is not past life, but the obedience of faith in Christ, that saves men. "WE WOULD SEE JESUS."
By Arthur Carlyle Logan
"WE would see Jesus." We would see Him as He once walked this earth, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We would see the spirit which characterized the life of the Saviour of men, that spirit that was exhibited in the lives of His disciples, a spirit of love and devotion. Where would we see this spirit?—In the lives of the followers of Jesus. "We would see Jesus." We would see Him as He toiled at the carpenter's bench beside His earthly father. We would see that devotion which He exhibited in His daily life, that integrity which was characteristic of Him, never sacrificing principle. We would see the loyalty He showed to His heavenly Father as well as the honor to His earthly parents. "We would see Jesus." We would see Him as He sat in the temple teaching those learned doctors of the law, astonishing them with His wisdom and penetration of the Scriptures. We would see Him as He taught the multitudes in the fields and woods, or by the lakeside, of the kingdom of heaven. Again we would see Jesus as in tender compassion He fed these multitudes in the wilderness, healed their diseases, relieved them of evil spirits, restored to them their dead, forgave their sins. "We would see Jesus." We would see Him in Gethsemane, weeping over and praying for a fallen race, wrestling alone in the darkness of night in an agony of souls unapproached by any other man, His faith clinging to God, willing to do the Father's will, to drink the cup, that man might be saved. We would see Jesus as He was led to Pilate's judgment hall, there to be condemned to death, and that the most ignominious; and then led out of the city, bearing His cross, to Golgotha, where the climax of that life of love was reached, where the Lamb of God, the slain from the foundation of the world, died that sinful, mortal man might have life. "We would see Jesus." To-day we would see Him, in the lives of His professed followers. We would see the love He mani8fested, the kindness, the devotion, the sacrifice. These attributes are only revealed in those who walk in His footsteps, who emulate His Spirit, His words, His deeds, who live His life. O, that the world as it looks for these characteristics in Christians might find them all, and be led by that manifestation to follow Him! THE IMPATIENT STONE.
By Aldis Dunbar
[Aldis Dunbar, in Harper's Magazine.] I WAS a stone beneath a Sculptor's hand
That lay and muttered in my discontent:
"Yea, worn am I. No beauty hast Thou lent
My surface—naught of splendor where I stand.
My quarry-brothers, Lord, at Thy command
Receive great honor—carven ornament—
Rich traceries. Good Master, was I sent
For uses dull? for no brave glory planned?"
Then He: "O eager stone—that can not wait
My hour in patience—heed thou in what wise
From blocks of shapeless marble I create
All works divine. Thy brothers from such guise
Grow into noble outlines, day by day
Not as I give, but as I rive away!" TWO GREAT SHAKINGS.
By H. A. St. John
IN the Word of God and the spirit of prophecy, we have brought to light two great shakings, yet to come in the history of this world; and both are now in the near future. In fact, for several years we have been in the time of the first of these shakings. They will not both occur at the same time, for the first is to prepare the way for the second. The cause, character, and consequences of each are clearly revealed in the inspired Word. This great shaking comes under the Third Angel's Message, in the last generation. It is to be the shaking of the remnant church of Christ, called in the Bible the church of the Laodicians. The message from Heaven, from the faithful and true Witness, the Lord Jesus, the head of the church, will cause this shaking among God's people. Upon this solemn testimony the destiny of the church hangs. It has been feebly declared for years, and as feebly heeded. The testimony of Jesus which is to fully heal the church of Christ and send her to all the world, clothed in the light of God's eternal truth and glory, has never been half heeded, and by many entirely disregarded. Hence the shaking of the church up to this time has been very moderate, and at times has nearly ceased. But a mighty shaking of the church must come soon. There shall be delay no longer. Souls with zealous repentance, with strong cries and tears, will believe and receive the straight testimony of the True Witness. They will cast off all the works of darkness, and put on the whole armor of light. By hungering and thirsting after righteousness they will be filled with faith, with joy, with love, and indeed they will be filled with all the fulness of God. Thus filled and thrilled, they will pour forth the straight testimony, the living testimony, with great power. This testimony will not be received by all, many will reject and oppose it, and this will cause a mighty shaking in the church. Those who are unwilling to zealously repent, and let Jesus into their hearts, will be shaken out, and others will fill up the ranks. The shaking will then extend to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, where the victorious remnant church will go with the Gospel of the kingdom under the Master's great commission. And Jesus will go with them to earth's remotest bounds, and He will work with them, confirming the word of truth by signs, wonders, miracles, and the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. Reader, will you be one of the struggling, faithful, and victorious ones? or will you continue lukewarm, and be spued out of the mouth of the Lord? This will be to be weighed in the balances and found wanting. It means to be blotted out of the Lamb's Book of Life—lost, lost, eternally lost. This will be the shaking of all material things on the earth, and in the atmospheric heavens around the earth. The mighty shaking in the remnant church, which will extend to all people in the world, will bring the human race to the end of probation, the end of man's day, and the beginning of the day of the Lord. Then the time will have come for the great earthquake. It will be caused by the voice speaking from His throne in the heavens. The Lord will roar out of Zion; He will utter His voice from Jerusalem above. Then the voice of God will terribly shake the heavens and earth. Never has been so mighty an earthquake and so great. Every mountain and island will be moved. Cities of the nations will be shaken down. No pen can describe, no tongue can tell, no mortal mind can conceive, the terrors of that day. But the Lord will be the hope of His people. It will be the time of the coming of the Lord right in the climax of that trouble. When Jesus comes, with all His holy angels, for His people, He will appear in flaming fire, and it will be very tempestuous round about Him. He calls to immortal life all His sleeping saints. The ransomed host will all be gathered up by the angels of God. By His power they will be "caught up to meet the Lord in the air," with Him to ascend to the beautiful home prepared for them. Thus we see that the results of the first mighty shaking of the church is to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord, to ripen the great harvest of the earth, both the tares and the wheat, that each may receive the just recompense of their reward. The second mighty shaking will result in the execution of the judgment upon the house of God, the destruction of the wicked by the brightness of the coming of the Lord; the earth in desolation to rest till the end of the millennium, and then to be made new and glorious, the saints' eternal home. EXCEPT the Lord shall build the house
The builders work in vain;
Except the Lord the city keep
It shall not long remain. Then, Lord, build Thou my house for me,
Be Thou the architect;
Be Thou my watchman day by day,
My house and life protect.
MAX HILL. On Family Humility
By Cervantes
CONCEAL not the meanness of thy family, nor think it disgraceful to be descended from peasants; for when it is seen that thou art not thyself ashamed, none will endeavor to make thee so.—Cervantes. 1. WHAT is enmity to God?
"The carnal mind is enmity against God." Rom. 8:7, first part. 2. Why is the carnal mind enmity?
"For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Last part of same verse. 3. Can one please God while he is carnally minded?
"So then they that are in the flesh can not please God." Verse 6. 4. What will those receive who remain in that state?
"For to be carnally minded is death." Verse 6. Note.—Since the "wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23), and "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4), it follows that, if to be carnally minded is death, it is also sin, or a violation of God's law. 5. In what way may this condition be changed?
"We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. 5:20. 6. What things are essential to reconciliation?
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted that your sins may be blotted out." Acts 3:19. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. 7. Is this work effected independently of the sinner's action?
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. "For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Rom. 5:10. 8. How is the carnal mind destroyed?
"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Rom. 6:6. 9. When the work on the part of the sinner has been thoroughly done, how complete will be the change in him?
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17. 10. How may we know whether or not one has experienced this change?
"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matt. 7:20. 11. If one has a spiritual mind, what fruit will he bear?
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Gal. 5:22, 23. 12. What is the first result of justification?
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 5:1. 13. How complete is the justification of that person who becomes reconciled to God?
"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. 14. When thus reconciled to God, how will the individual stand?
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:1. Natural Aristocracy
By Henry Ward Beecher
NATURAL aristocracy is the eminence of men over their fellows in real mind and soul.—Henry Ward Beecher. The Value of Money
By Benjamin Franklin
If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some, for he that goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing.—Benjamin Franklin. THE GREAT SALVATION
By Geo. W. Reaser
THE CAPTAIN OF OUR SALVATION.
"Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." "SALVATION belongs to God," but He is not alone in this great work of beneficence; He has an Associate. The Central Figure in the plan of salvation, from the standpoint of a union of divinity and humanity, is the Son of both God and man. Wonderful union, amazing condescension. The saving power vested in the Son is amply sufficient to rescue any and all members of the human family, from sin and its power. wears many forms of loveliness, which have deep meaning, merited by the gift of Himself to save the lost members of Adam's race. The first name bestowed upon Him at His birth into the human family, was "JESUS," which is the Greek word for Saviour. He was thus named because He came to "save His people from their sins." In order to be a Saviour, He must possess more than human power, therefore His name is called "IMMANUEL," which means, "God-with-us," and He is clothed with all power in heaven and in earth. Because He is our triumphant Leader in the plan of redemption, He is called "The Captain of our salvation." Perfect Captain; He never lost a battle; therefore we can have the utmost confidence in Him. He is, to all who obey Him, "the Author of eternal salvation." He was "made perfect through suffering." We do not understand that the infinite Son of God was not perfect before He became a member of the human family, nor that He could not enter into our feelings as fully before as after His incarnation; but by His dwelling in flesh, our humanity can grasp the blessedness of the thought that He is one of us in all particulars, except in yielding to sin, and that He is in infinite touch and sympathy with us. Thus it is that He became a perfect Saviour to us. Through the Eternal Spirit He dwelt with God's people from the foundation of the world; and "in all their afflictions He was afflicted," but none could fully realize His presence or His power in our sinful flesh, till He became "Immanuel." Immediately after the Fall, or as soon as man needed a Saviour, He was given in the promise of God to humanity, as the second Adam, all having been lost to the race by the surrender to Satan on the part of the first Adam. When Eve's first-born son came into the world, she evidently thought the God-man had come, to deliver from the thralldom of sin, for she said, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." But instead of his being the God-man, the promised "Seed of the woman" who was to "bruise the serpent's head," the Saviour of men, contrary to her fond expectations, he was the first human slayer of man. Instead of shedding his blood for his brethren, he shed his brother's blood, in cruel murder. However bitter the disappointment experienced by mother Eve, the promise could not fail; God had spoken the word; it must stand. The Desire of All Nations.
Time sped on, families multiplied into nations; but all members of the human family, feeling the crushing power of sin, were longing for a Deliverer. Hence the True Seed is called the "Desire of all nations." The fulness of time came, the opportune moment in the history of the world, from every view-point, for the appearance of the Deliverer. When the hour-hand of the clock of the universe reached the designated time, the announcement was made, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." He was called "the Son of man," by the prophet five hundred years before He was born into the human family, and nearly twenty-five hundred years prior to the actual fulfilment of the prophecy, simply in anticipation of His being born "unto us." Dan. 7:13. When He appeared, a few faithful ones were "waiting for the consolation of Israel." Among these was Simeon, who, being directed into the temple at the exact moment of His presentation, took "Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, . . . Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people." Blessed privilege, to have taken the infant Saviour in his arms, to clasp Him to his breast, and feast his eyes upon the diminutive Figure which he held in loving embrace. But An Infinitely Greater Blessing
than the outward observation of the Saviour, is to hold His blessed presence in our hearts. This, dear reader, is your privilege and mine, through the mystery of the incarnation of this Divine-human Saviour. Behold Him; feast your eyes upon Him, for He is "the One altogether lovely," the "Chiefest among ten thousand;" yea rather, invite Him into your soul-temple, and thereby entertain the Guest-royal of the universe. This same Jesus, was not only born into our family, but was "the Only-begotten of the Father," "the First-born of every creature," one of the morning stars whose voices made the arches of heaven ring with praises to God, long before the foundation of the world, even from "the days of eternity." He was the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and in Him was vested the power to uphold all things. While on earth He gave abundant evidence of His connection with God, by healing the lame and leprous, restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, by supplying bread to the multitude, turning water into wine, and by raising the dead. That connection with God brought creative power into His work. He employs His creative power in the plan of redemption; otherwise it could not be effectual. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." The same power is required to transform a sinner into a saint, as that which Christ employed in bringing the world into existence; but this power is freely bestowed in the plan of salvation, and by appropriating it we are created anew in Christ Jesus, unto good works. Surely Jehovah has laid help upon One who is "mighty to save," and "He is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him." EXPIATION.
By George Birdseye
FATHER, give me strength, I cry,
To redeem the years gone by,
Tho I expiate in pain
In the years that yet remain. Saving good, for better mould,
From the ruins of the old;
False to leave, to hold to true—
Help me, Lord, to build anew! Sweet compassion in Thine eyes,
Upon Thee my faith relies.
GEORGE BIRDSEYE.
Lynn, Mass. The Samaritans represent the last remnant of the oldest Jewish sect of earth. There are only two hundred of them left. They speak neither English nor any European language; only Arabic or very poor Hebrew. They believe only in the five books of Moses and consider orthodox Jews schismatics. Four of them have arrived in England, bringing books and manuscripts of priceless value. We described in this paper a number of years ago the scroll which has been used in their synagog for untold centuries. One of these four men is the son of the high priest who showed this famous scroll to the present king of England when he was prince of Wales. Their object in visiting England is to raise, if possible, funds for their tribe, which has been harried and taxed by the Turks so that they can hardly live. The despatch, speaking of their visit, describes them as tall of stature, gaunt, dignified and silent, and they are clad in the robes of their priestly office. This is a true description. They are particularly silent because they can not talk with anybody who does not speak Arabic, and as for talking with one another, long since in their isolation the thoughts and intellectual accumulations (meager indeed) of one must now be known by all.—Christian Advocate. WANTED, BOYS.
By Robt. H. Oury
Sawmills Can Not Run Without Logs. Saloons Can Not Run Without Boys.
[Robt. H. Oury, in Federation Agitator.] WANTED, some bright boys, full of life and cheer,
To stand at my counters as drinkers of beer,
To fill up the ranks, without further delay,
Of the army of drunkards passing away. Fifty thousand a year will only supply
The loss of our trade from the drunkards that die.
Send those who can toil or have wealth to bestow,
For profits are small on old drunkards, you know. Let them come from the shop, the school, or the home,
We'll welcome them all whoever may come;
And once at our counters, tight in our grasp,
We'll craze them with rum, till we kill them at last. Let mothers surrender their sons to our cause,
And fathers keep voting for old license laws,
For if you will vote to keep running the mill,
You must furnish the grist or the wheels will stand still. Then give us your boys; placed at our wills,
We will make of them demons and fill up our tills.
Give us your boys, hearty and well,
And we will make of them murderers, subjects for hell. Let each city come with its votes and boys,
And we will rob them of peace and earthly joys,
And in place of homes, happy and true,
We'll make hell on earth—such as whisky will do. Influence and Responsibility of Mothers
By Mrs. L. D. A. Stuttle
By MRS. L. D. A. STUTTLE. X. TRAINING TO REVERENCE.
HOW can parents expect their children to exhibit qualities which they do not themselves cultivate. There was never a truer saying than the trite one about example being better than precept. "O, but you are harping on the same old string," some one exclaims. "Will you never cease insisting that mothers and fathers are responsible for everything the children do?" I do not take quite so extreme a view of the matter as that, but I must always believe that parents are responsible for the bringing up of their children, and that it is a responsibility which must not—can not—be shifted to other shoulders. Ah, when mothers and fathers cry from their hearts constantly: "How can I go up to my Father and the lad be not with me?" there will be less disposition to shirk the solemn responsibility which parents must assume as soon as the little ones are placed in their arms. And the children should not be censured too severely if they follow the example of their parents. Brother and Sister A come home from church, and discuss the weak points of the sermon at the dinner table in the presence of John and Mary. "I declare," says Sister A, "Elder B grows more and more tedious every Sabbath." "Yes," says Brother A, "I came very near going to sleep myself." Not a word said about the solemn and important truths to which they had listened; and yet Brother and Sister A are shocked when Mary and John speak of going to a picnic the next Sabbath, on the ground that the minister is so tedious they don't want to go to church. I tell you there is a responsibility resting upon parents which is not half appreciated. I am thinking as I write, of a young lad I know so well. Every Sabbath morning I used to see Frank and his father, hand in hand, hurrying to Sabbath-school. What a dear boy he was; cheeks as red as roses; eyes dark and tender and loving and true. "He has in him the promise of a noble and useful manhood," we used to say. But time passed on. The father began to drift into the ways of the world. The mother learned to love the lodge meeting better than the prayer-meeting. By and by a lucrative position was offered the father. The salary was large, the position one of worldly honor. Christ or the world, which? The temptation was too great. The glitter of the yellow gold dazzled his eyes. He chose the world. To-day the young lad who used to walk hand in hand with his father to Sabbath-school is a fugitive from justice—his name gone, his character blotted. Without friends, without hope in Christ, he stands before the world—the world for whose favor his parents had sold their hope—a miserable thief. The father was willing to break one commandment for the sake of gold. The son had chosen to break another. Whose is the responsibility? But I digress. How shall we teach the children to be reverent?—By being reverential ourselves. Do you think it reverential, on the smallest pretext, to leave your seat in the house of God, drawing the attention of the other worshipers, and confusing the speaker? Again, can we teach the children to regard the Bible reverently, if we indulge in light jokes and witticisms concerning it? Can we expect our sons and our daughters to regard as sacred that which we lightly esteem and mention carelessly and irreverently? By our own godly example we must teach our children the difference between the sacred and the profane. "Well," says some worried mother, "I have no trouble teaching Robert to be reverential toward the Bible, or to be careful about speaking the sacred names of the Deity, but I can not teach him to be respectful toward the aged! He always sees something funny or ugly about them, and truly he makes me ashamed very often. There is old uncle Blake; he is very ugly looking, and he is so deformed that really it is quite funny to see him try to walk; sometimes it makes me smile, myself. He is a good old man, I suppose, but I can't make my Robert treat him respectfully." Pardon me; but by your own admission, I can not wonder. If the poor old man arouses feeling of mirth in your own heart instead of a sense of sympathy and pity, God help you, then, I say. Have all the fountains of human love and sympathy dried up in your heart? Most likely your boy Robert has seen you smile sometimes, and children are quick readers of human nature. No wonder he laughs at the poor man and ridicules his deformity. You "didn't mean any harm?"—no; but I beg you to get down on your knees until you have enough of the Spirit of Christ to pity and aid the suffering, the aged, and the unfortunate. HEALING ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY.
By W. S. SADLER, M. D.
"Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogs, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." Matt. 9: 35. THIS scripture tells us that the Master healed "every sickness and every disease." While this was true of His miraculous working when here on earth, it is equally true to-day, for all those who truly recover when smitten by disease are healed of God. But we must make a difference between healing that is ordinary and that which is extraordinary,—that which is the natural process, and that effected by miraculous power. Not but that they are both effected by the same God; indeed they are both manifestations of the same divine and merciful power. The difference consists, not in the personality of the Healer, nor in the character of the healing, but rather in the elements of time and human co-operation. In one instance, God chooses to heal the sick by what we ordinarily term "a miracle,"—that is, independent of time and means, and without any apparent material co-operation on the part of human agents, or the ordinary remedial agencies of Nature. In the other case, it is the same God that heals, and the healing requires the same mighty power, but it is effected only after the lapse of time, during which human hands co-operate with the healing process in the application of those powerful and potent natural remedial agents which God has placed within our grasp. This ordinary healing differs also from the extraordinary and miraculous in the rate of its progress,11 consuming oft-times weeks, or months, and in some instances even years. "Then asked they him, What Man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was; for Jesus had conveyed Himself away, a multitude being in that place." John 5: 12, 13. Here is an illustration of how God oft-times heals those who do not even recognize His divinity, much less seek Him as a healer. No doubt God is just as liberal with His healing as with His rain and sunshine, causing it to be bestowed like many other material blessings, upon both the just and the unjust. The fact that God chooses to heal the unworthy or cure the ungrateful, in no way belittles His work of healing, but rather exalts His love and mercy. Many a sufferer, cured of His disease, has honored the doctor or glorified some patent medicine, little dreaming that his recovery was due to the ministry of life by a merciful Father who loves His erring children in spite of their sin and all its train of physical sickness and suffering. "One of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And He touched his ear, and healed him." Luke 22: 50, 51. In this instance the Son of God worked a miracle to rectify the mistake of one of His followers. In rashness the disciple smote off the right ear of the high priest's servant, and in compassion His Master touched the wound and made it whole—another illustration of how liberal God is with His ministry of healing, willing even sometimes to help us over the results of our rash blunders and heal the consequences of gross carelessness. Gerhardt was a German shepherd boy, and a noble fellow he was, too, altho he was very, very poor. One day while he was watching his flock, which was feeding in a valley on the borders of a forest, a hunter came out of the woods and asked: "How far is it to the nearest village?" "Six miles, sir," replied the boy, "but the road is only a sheep track, and is very easily missed." The hunter glanced at the crooked track and said: "My lad, I am hungry, tired, and thirsty. I have lost my companions and missed my way. Leave your sheep, and show me the road. I will pay you well." "I can not leave my sheep, sir," rejoined Gerhardt. "They would stray into the forest, and be eaten by the wolves, or stolen by robbers." "Well, what of that?" queried the hunter. "They are not your sheep. The loss of one or more wouldn't be much to your master, and I'll give you more money than you have earned in a whole year." "I can not go, sir," rejoined Gerhardt, firmly. "My master pays me for my time, and he trusts me with his sheep. If I were to sell my time, which does not belong to me, and the sheep should get lost, it would be the same as if I stole them." "Well," said the hunter, "will you trust your sheep with me, while you go to the village and get some food and drink, and a guide? I will take good care of them for you." The boy shook his head. "The sheep do not know your voice," said he, "and—and—" Gerhardt stopped speaking. "And what? Can't you trust me? Do I look like a dishonest man?" asked the hunter angrily. "Sir," said the boy, "you tried to make me false to my trust, and wanted me to break my word to my master. How do I know you would keep your word with me?" The hunter laughed, for he felt that the boy fairly cornered him. He said: "I see, my lad, that you are a good, faithful boy. I will not forget you. Show me the road, and I will try to make it out myself." Gerhardt now offered the humble contents of his script to the hungry man, who, coarse as it was, ate it gladly. Presently his attendants came up, and then, Gerhardt, to his surprise, found that the hunter was the grand duke, who owned all the country around. The duke was so pleased with the boy's honesty that he sent for him shortly after, and had him educated. In after years Gerhardt became a very rich and powerful man, but he remained honest and true to his dying day. Honesty and truth and fidelity are precious jewels in the character of a child. When they spring from piety they are pure diamonds, and make the possessor very beautiful, very happy, very honorable, and very useful. May you, my readers, wear them as Gerhardt did. Then a greater than a duke will befriend you, for the Great King will adopt you as His children, and you will become princes and princesses royal in the kingdom of God.—Young Pilgrim. PATIENCE.
By Emma S. Bromley
A little girl once said, "Patience is to bide a wee and dinna weary." "WHAT is patience?" once I asked
Of a little Scottish maid.
"To bide a wee, yet
Dinna weary get—
Is patience, sir," she said. To bide a wee, the task seems light,
But life-work tries us sore,
And then we forget
Half the task she set—
To "weary not" forevermore. But patience wins the promise-crown
The Book says very clearly.
So let us hold fast
The wee maiden's task—
"To bide a wee and dinna weary."
EMMA S. BROMLEY. Discerning Noble Qualities
“It takes far less insight to discover defects than it does to discern noble and lovely qualities.” Pride and Discouragement
By Amiel
NOTHING resembles pride so much as discouragement.—Amiel. Whether going East or coming West, do not fail to take advantage of the most essential features of traveling Which are given the greatest attention in the equipment of the Running over the Southern and Union Pacific. Secure tickets and make reservations for berths from any Local Agent
Southern Pacific Company —OR—
City Ticket Office,
Ferry Bldg., San Francisco, Cal.