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Review and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 47.

What Then?
Earlier text: What Then?

“He Knoweth”

By GEO. O. STATES

GEO. O. STATES
I HAVE thought for months, as I have read in our good REVIEW the reports of the good meetings our people were having, “O that I had the health to get out among our people once more and enjoy these refreshings!” When the date for the Western Colorado Conference camp meeting was settled, I decided that I would attend a few days of the opening meetings. The day before I should have to start, I talked it over with my family, and it was decided that it would not be best for me to go.
On going to bed, I was quite nervous, and began reflecting over the past. I thought of how, over eleven years ago, I was stricken down at the close of a series of meetings in which some dear souls accepted the truth and were baptized and taken into the church. I wondered why I had had to suffer so many years. “Here I am,” I thought; “the message is swelling into the loud cry, and I have to stay at home, half of the time not well enough to attend the Sabbath school and church services, and having no part in the closing of the message.” With my mind dwelling on these things, I finally fell asleep. When it was time to arise, I was apparently dreaming, and these words were impressed upon my mind as vividly as if spoken: “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
I thought, “Is it possible that it has taken all these years of suffering that I might reflect the divine nature?” This text then came to my mind: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” I said, “Notwithstanding all my mistakes, I surely love the Lord. Then all this will work out for my good. Though I cannot understand it here, yet in the eternal ages it will all be made plain.”
As these thoughts were passing through my mind, I surely felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and a willingness to trust him, to leave the Lord to order my life in his own good way. While I never expect to go out and preach the message as in the past, yet I do feel more of a willingness to act any part that the Lord may appoint for me. If I cannot meet with the Lord’s children as I should like, I will bear my testimony in our good REVIEW.
There is a story of a man who was quietly doing much good in advancing the cause of Christ, and Satan called a council of his leaders, asking different ones what to do to break up his usefulness. Many suggestions were made, but Satan said, “No, these suggestions never will work out, for he will know where they come from.” Finally one who had been listening quietly and not taking any part said, “Give him over to me, and I will discourage him.”
The devil knows better than to tempt me on the leading points of this message. He knows that over sixty years ago I saw Sister White in open vision; and although I was then just a little child, I know something of the power of God accompanying this message in its early days; so Satan does not tempt me on that point. Some months ago, when I was recovering from a severe illness, he came to me with this thought: “Here you have given your life for the advancement of this work; your brethren have no use for you; you are simply an expense, and no benefit. Now what is the use of keeping up family worship? Tell wife to do the reading and praying and you will listen.” When these suggestions came to me, I went down into the grove by the creek, and pleaded with the Lord to keep me from falling.
The Lord has been looking on through all my afflictions. When I have pleaded with him, asking that if I could not be cured so as to have some part in the closing of the message, he would lay me away to await the first resurrection, he was even then blessing my humble efforts. When I was in the greatest discouragement, one whole family accepted the truth as a result of the few Bible readings I was able to give and the reading matter I could put out. From the fast-fulfilling prophecies I know we are near the close of this work. Soon the time will come when those who have silver and gold which they have heaped up will cast their money to the moles and to the bats.
I recently learned that one of our brethren whom I used to visit in the eastern part of our State nearly twenty-five years ago, had given up the truth and gone to making money. I made inquiries as to how it happened. I was told that it came about through his criticizing our system of organization, and also the spirit of prophecy, which God placed in this church at its beginning. Dear brethren and sisters, there are some things we may not understand, but I want to tell you that this is the third angel’s message, and it is going to gather out a people for translation. The question with us as individuals should be, Shall I be one of that number?
Cedaredge, Colo.

A Prayer

By Georgiana Silverthorne

GEORGIANA SILVERTHORNE
Dearest Lord, I bow before thee; More I love thee every day; O, look down in tenderest mercy, Bless me as I kneel to pray!
Though the clouds be dark and heavy, Ne’er a moment will I fear; Thou hast promised to be with me, And in sorrow thou art near.
In my joys or in my sorrows, Keep me ever near thy side; Never need my footsteps falter If thou art my constant guide.
So through life direct and keep me, Never let me from thee roam, Till, at last in endless glory I with thee shall find a home.
Pacific Union College.

Christ Died on Friday and Arose on Sunday

By O. A. JOHNSON

O. A. JOHNSON
SOME in our day believe that Christ must have been three full days and three full nights, or seventy-two hours, in the heart of the earth, or the grave; hence he must have been crucified on Wednesday and buried on that evening about sunset, and consequently arose Sabbath evening, just before sunset. Such base this conclusion on Matt. 12:40; 28:1. Others hold that Christ was crucified and buried on Thursday and arose Sunday morning. But these views contradict other scriptures that have a direct bearing on the same subject. And furthermore the views expressed above are in direct opposition to the teachings of all Christians from the time of Christ till the present time. All well-informed persons know that the sufferings and death of Christ have been commemorated by the observance of Good Friday from the earliest ages of Christianity. Likewise has the first day of the week been observed in memory of Christ’s resurrection on Sunday. Early history records no dissent therefrom.
It is a wrong principle to interpret one text of Scripture in a manner that will conflict with others which speak of the same subject. Again, texts of the New Testament ought to be interpreted in harmony with the usage of the Old Testament, as well as in harmony with the use of the language in the days of Christ.
Sometimes the word day includes only the light part of the diurnal period, and sometimes it embraces also the night. Gen. 1:5. When several successive days follow an event, that day on which the event occurs is always counted as the first. “I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” Luke 13:32. The day on which Christ was speaking was the first of these three days.
The day on which a child is born is the first day of its existence, although its birth may occur late in the afternoon of that day. “Abenezra, an eminent Jewish commentator, (on Lev. 12:3) says that if an infant were born in the last hour of the day, such hour was counted for one whole day. This observation critically reconciles the account of our Lord’s resurrection in Matt. 27:63 and Mark 8:31, ‘after three days,’ with that of his resurrection on ‘the third day,’ according to Matt. 16:21 and Luke 9:22, and according to fact; for, as our Lord was crucified on Good Friday about the sixth hour, or noon, the remainder of that day to sunset, according to the Jewish computation, was reckoned as one day. Saturday, it is generally admitted, formed the second day; and as the third day it began on Saturday at sunset, and our Saviour arose about sunrise on the following morning, that part of a day is justly reckoned for the third day; so that the interval was ‘three days and three nights,’ or three calendar days current. < The same mode of computing time obtains in the East to this day.”—Horne’s Introduction, Vol. II, part 2, chap. 4, sec. 6, pages 75, 76.
“R. Eliazar ben Azariah said, ‘A day and a night make an onah, and a part of an onah is as the whole. And a little after, R. Ismael computed a part of the onah for the whole.’ Thus, then, three days and three nights, according to this Jewish method of reckoning, included any part of the first day, the whole of the following night, the next day and its night, and any part of the succeeding or third day.”—Clarke’s Commentary on Matt. 12:40.
King Rehoboam said to the people, “Come again unto me after three days,” and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day.” 2 Chron. 10:5, 12. Queen Esther advised the Jews at Shushan as follows: “Fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king.” “Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house.” Esther 4:16; 5:1. “We remember,” said the Jews to Pilate, “that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day.” Matt. 27:63, 64.
The above scriptures, as well as the quotations from those eminent commentators, show clearly that often a part of a day was counted for a whole day, and that an event to take place after three days actually occurred on the third day.
The earliest Christian writers testify that Christ was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday. Ignatius, who lived from A. D. 30 to A. D. 107, wrote as follows: “On the day of preparation, then, at the third hour, he received the sentence from Pilate, the Father permitting that to happen; at the sixth hour he was crucified; at the ninth hour he gave up the ghost; and before sunset he was buried. During the Sabbath he continued under the earth in the tomb in which Joseph of Arimathea had laid him. At the dawning of the Lord’s Day he arose from the dead, according to what was spoken by himself: ‘As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’ The day of the preparation, then, comprises the passion; the Sabbath embraces the burial; the Lord’s Day contains the resurrection.”—“Ante-Nicene Fathers,” Vol. I, page 70. Justin Martyr, who lived 110-165, testifies as follows: “Sunday is the day on which all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For he was crucified on the day before that of Saturn [Saturday]; and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the sun, having appeared to his apostles and disciples, he taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also, for your consideration.”—Id., page 186.
Matt. 28:1 is sometimes quoted to prove that Christ must have risen late on the Sabbath; for, say they, the Greek word opse, translated “in the end of the Sabbath,” literally means “late;” hence, late in the Sabbath, and not “in the end” or after the Sabbath. It is true that “late” is one definition of opse, but it has other meanings. “Opse, with a genitive, as in Matt. 28:1, means ‘at the end of, at the close of, after.’”—Robinson’s “Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.” “After the close of the Sabbath, Matt. 28:1.”—Bagster’s “Analytical Greek Lexicon.” “After a long time, at length, late.”—Liddell and Scott, Greek-English Lexicon. The following from Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, who lived 200-265, and wrote in Greek, explains Matt. 28:1 as follows: “Now this phrase, ‘in the end,’ will be thought by some to signify, according to the common use of the word, the evening of the Sabbath; while others, with a better perception of the fact, will say that it does not indicate that, but a late hour in the night, as the phrase ‘in the end’ denotes slowness and length of time. Also because he speaks of night, and not of evening, he has added the words ‘as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.’”—“Ante-Nicene Fathers,” Vol. VI, page 95.
I have examined all that the ante-Nicene Fathers have said on Matt. 12:40 and 28:1, and all explain these texts in harmony with the above. I know of no commentator or church historian that explains them otherwise.
From Luke 23:54-56 we learn that Christ was crucified on the preparation day before the Sabbath, which was kept according to the commandment; and this was the seventh day of the week; for the day following was the first day of the week. Luke 24:1; Mark 16:1, 2; Matt. 28:1. That Sabbath was also a “high day.” John 19:31. If, as some believe, this Sabbath was the fifteenth of Nisan, then it was a high day, because the first Passover sabbath and the weekly Sabbath came at the same time; and if this weekly Sabbath fell on the sixteenth day of Nisan, as others teach (which I think is the truth), then this Sabbath was a high day because it was the day on which the wave sheaf was offered. Those who wish to study this subject thoroughly and critically will find valuable information thereon in Edersheim’s “Life of Christ,” Vol. II, chaps. 9, 14; and “The Temple,” by the same author, chapters 11-13, and the appendix.
There is also another line of argument which proves conclusively that Christ could not have been crucified before Friday day. It is based on the fact that the five Gospels relate what Jesus did during the six days before the Passover. On his way to Jerusalem from Jericho, he stopped at Bethany at the home of Lazarus, and there they made a supper for him. Read Luke 19:1-28; John 11:55-57; 12:1-11. The first of these six days was the day of his arrival at Bethany. But this could not have been the Sabbath, as he with his disciples had traveled many miles from Jericho; nor could it have been on the first day of the week, for that would then have made the Passover fall on the following Sabbath. The day following was therefore the Sabbath, the fifth day before the Passover; and this was spent at the home of Lazarus. See Geikie’s “Life of Christ,” chap. 55, par. 1; “Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,” by Edersheim, Vol. II, page 357; “The Desire of Ages,” chap. 62, par. 3; “Spirit of Prophecy,” Vol. II, page 372.
On the next day, the fourth day before the Passover, he rode into Jerusalem, at which time his disciples made a great demonstration over him, such as would not have been proper for the strict observance of the Sabbath. This entry into Jerusalem was on Sunday, which has been called “Palm Sunday,” because palm branches were strewn on the road by the multitude when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. See “The Desire of Ages,” chap. 63, par. 3; “Spirit of Prophecy,” Vol. II, page 383; Geikie’s “Life of Christ,” page 661.
In the evening of this day he returned to Bethany. Mark 11:11.
On the following morning, the third day before the Passover, which would be Monday, Jesus returned to Jerusalem, cursed the fig tree and cleansed the temple by driving out the buyers and sellers, taught and healed the sick. Mark 11:12-18; Matt. 21:14-19; Luke 19:45-48. From the fact that they bought and sold it is evident that this day could not have been the Sabbath, but a common work day. In the evening he left Jerusalem and returned to Bethany. Mark 11:18, 19; Matt. 21:17.
On the following morning he returned to Jerusalem and taught all day in the temple. Mark 11:20, 27. Jesus spent all this day teaching in the temple. This was Tuesday, the second day before the Passover. Matt. 26:1-5; Mark 14:1, 2.
There is no record of what Jesus did on the following day, or the first day before the Passover, which was Wednesday. It is but reasonable to believe that he rested at the house of Lazarus, preparatory to his trial and sufferings on the days following. Of course the Jews were then plotting against him. Luke 22:1-6.
The following day was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, when the lamb was killed between the two evenings, or after three o’clock and before sunset. Matt. 26:17-20; Mark 14:12-17; Luke 22:7-15; John 13:1. According to Josephus, who was a priest, the lamb was killed between the ninth and eleventh hours, or between three and five in the afternoon. See Josephus’s Wars, book 4, chap. 19, sec. 1. Jesus ate the Passover on the night following. Ex. 12:5-8; Matt. 26:20; 1 Cor. 11:23, 24.
On the next day Jesus was crucified, and was buried on the preparation day, the day before the Sabbath. Luke 23:54-56. He rose early on the first day of the week, the third day after his crucifixion, according to the Scriptures. Mark 16:1, 2, 9; Luke 24:21; 1 Cor. 15:3, 4.
College Place, Wash.

B. L. HOWE

By B. L. HOWE

Saving Our Children — No. 2

B. L. HOWE

IN David’s varied experience he came to realize that the stability of the kingdom rested in the home, and that the Lord must be the master builder. He says, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it,” or, as the margin says, “that are builders of it in it.” Ps. 127: 1. This shows that the psalmist is speaking of those who occupy the house rather than of the building. This is still further shown in verse 2, where he speaks of the eating and the sleeping of those who dwell in the house. In verse 3 it is made plain just what part of the family he has in mind: “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Children are the heritage of the Lord in the sense that every child belongs to him. They are also a treasure committed to parents.
When a child comes into a family, “God says to the parents, ‘Take this child and bring it up for me.’” Except the Lord build in all the training of the child, the labor is in vain. Your child may reach the highest education the world can give. You may rise up early and sit up late, yet your labor be in vain. How can the world’s education build a child for the kingdom of God? Children are compared to arrows in the hand of a mighty man. It requires both hands of the archer to direct the arrow. If the arrow hits the mark, it must be under the control of the one who handles the bow. God would have our children, as they go out from our homes and schools, so directed that they will not miss the kingdom. It is beyond us to understand how those who know nothing of the message for this time can so train our children that they will hit the mark.
If we would have the children go right, the training must begin at least as soon as the child begins to live. In the REVIEW of Sept. 19, 1854, is an article from the pen of Sister White, entitled “Duty of Parents to Their Children.” This was reprinted by request in 1893. From this we quote: “Parents stand in the place of God to their children, and they will have to render an account whether they have been faithful to the little few committed to their trust. Parents, some of you are rearing children to be cut down by the destroying angel, unless you speedily change your course, and be faithful to them. . . . Is not your salvation doubtful with the blood of your children upon your children that might have been saved had you filled your place and done your duty as faithful parents? . . . Children are the lawful prey of the enemy, because they are not subjects of grace, have not experienced the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, and the evil angels have access to these children; and some parents are careless and suffer them to work with little restraint.”
If the children are the “lawful prey of the enemy,” they are his captives by law. This law we find recorded in Gen. 1: 11, 12, 21, 24, 25. The law that everything shall bring forth after its kind, is found in all plant and animal life, and is as eternal as the Creator who put it there. Its unchanging nature is recognized by those who engage in the development of plant and animal life. This law can be made plain to children while yet young. When the child thoroughly understands it, he has at least one strong point in his fortification against the teachings of evolution.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God. Had he remained true, his children would have been in the same image and likeness. He became a sinner. The law of reproduction remained the same, but man had changed. So we read (Gen. 5:3), “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth.” This was after the death of Abel, after Adam had become a sinner. The psalmist, under the deep humiliation of his great sin, realized the strength of the law that makes the child a captive. He said, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Ps. 51: 5. This is why we need a Saviour, “made of a woman, made under the law.” Gal. 4: 4.
In the record of the prophecy in Psalm 22, Christ says of himself, “But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.” Verses 9:10. We need a salvation that we can apply from the inception of life to the end of life. This we have in Jesus, who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, who did no sin, and who bore our sins in his own body on the tree. The child is a portion of the parent life. The servant of the Lord says, “Parents stand in the place of God to their children.” He holds the parent responsible for the development of the child life the same as if it were the parent’s own life. It is the privilege of parents to surround their children with holy angels.
As Satan stood by the grave of Moses and contended with Christ about the body of Moses, so he stands by every cradle and contends for the babe as his lawful captive; but it is the privilege of every father and mother to claim the victory that Christ has won for the children. Isa. 49: 24, 25, asks and answers the final question on this subject: “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.”
In the quotation given, God says, ‘Children are the lawful prey of the enemy.’ Here the question is asked, ‘Shall the prey [the children] be taken from the mighty [Satan], or the lawful captive [children captives by law] delivered?’ The answer is from the Lord: ‘Even the captives [the children, captives by law] of the mighty [Satan] shall be taken away, and the prey [the children, “the lawful prey of the enemy”] of the terrible [Satan] shall be delivered.’ And then comes the promise whose price is above rubies to every struggling mother, ‘For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.’

The Faith of Jesus

By T. E. BOWEN

T. E. BOWEN
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12.
These are the words of Inspiration. The Lord points to a company down at the close of time, and mentions three of their special characteristics: (1) They are a patient people; (2) they keep the commandments of God; (3) they keep the faith of Jesus. This is a wonderful description, when we study what those expressions mean. Let us consider the last specification.

What Is the Faith of Jesus?

What does it really mean to “keep the faith of Jesus”? In the first place, we must know what the faith of Jesus is. Unless we do, we may be found keeping that which bears some resemblance to the “faith of Jesus,” and yet is quite unlike it.
What was the nature of Jesus’ faith as manifested in his life among sinful men? We cannot fathom the infinitude of any one of the attributes of the Son of God; neither can we know the great depths of his faith, but we can at least get some understanding of it through the Word.
Many are the statements in the Word revealing his perfect reliance upon his Father’s love, his help, his presence, his wisdom, and his power. Text after text could be cited illustrating this. A few of them read: “My Father is greater than I.” “I am in the Father, and the Father in me.” “The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.” “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.” “Whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” “The Son can do nothing of himself.” The basis for Jesus’ faith was the word of his Father. He knew that word would not fail. Upon that he unquestioningly took his stand.

Jesus’ Faith Tested Through Suffering

There is still another phase of the faith of Jesus containing valuable lessons for us. As he came into the horror and darkness of Gethsemane, as he began to feel the withdrawal of his Father’s presence, and realized that in his humanity he must drink the bitter cup that belonged to us, his faith and confidence in his Father’s goodness and love and wisdom were put to the extreme test.
At this time, apparently, so far as he could see, his Father actually was deserting him. Did Jesus’ faith and confidence in his Father fail him here?
We hear that thrice-repeated, agonizing prayer, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” This prayer came from the lips of him who had spoken worlds into existence. Think of the tremendous strain upon the anchor chain of his faith when the Son of God clutched the very earth itself at midnight’s lone hour, as these words escaped his lips. The destiny of a lost world, yes, a universe, was trembling in the balance. Would he drink the cup? Would his faith in his Father’s wisdom and love fail him in that dreadful hour? As often as he prayed, “Let this cup pass,” came the words, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
One record states that he prefaced this prayer with the words: “Abba, Father, all things are possible with thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless,” etc. What an expression of unswerving confidence in the infinite power of his Father!
The One who, through faith in his Father’s power, had cast out devils by his word, had cleansed the lepers with his touch, had opened the eyes of the blind, he whose voice had penetrated the caverns of the dead, is now tested to the utmost. Jesus apparently is left alone, deserted by the nation he came to save, forsaken by the closest of his disciples, the weight of the sins of an unfeeling and unappreciative world resting upon him; and in this trying hour even the Father turns his face from him. Do you wonder that this request to let the cup pass fell from his pale, quivering lips? All this is comprehended in the “faith of Jesus.”

Have We Truly the Faith of Jesus?

And before the experiences of the people of God are over in this world, God says “the faith of Jesus” will be kept by this remnant. There must be, therefore, some experiences for them quite similar to these that brought to the test the faith and confidence of Jesus.
Do we believe the Word of God as Jesus did? Are we learning to trust God in the everyday experiences coming to us as he did? Is it true of us that we are keeping Christ’s command to love one another as he loves us, as he kept his Father’s commandments and abode in his love? If so, we are laying the foundation for a faith that will not fail us in the supreme test just ahead, as Jesus was sustained by his faith in the hour of his trial. “And Jesus answering saith
unto them, Have faith in God;” or, as the margin puts it, “Have the faith of God.”
So in all assurance, with the poet, let us pray for a faith—
“That will not murmur or complain Beneath the chastening rod, But in the hour of grief or pain Can lean upon its God. “That bears unmoved the world’s dread frown, Nor heeds its scornful smile; That sin’s wild ocean cannot drown, Nor its soft arts beguile.”

Morsels

By PHILIP GIDDINGS

PHILIP GIDDINGS
One ought to know the bottom of the top where he desires to be. He should not aspire to the summit before he has perspired at the base. He who begins to build at the top ends below. Toddle first, and you will not topple after.
Where you cannot speak the Word, let the Word speak.
The Lord chooses at times strange workmen as well as workshops to do his work. The Pentateuch was written by Moses, a refugee from Egypt who tended sheep in the Midian desert; the book of Daniel was written by an exile in Babylon; the sublime Revelation by the prisoner John on penal Patmos. “Pilgrim’s Progress” can still be made in Bedford jail. Those who go down into the deep see wonders on high.
Simon Magus made more money bewitching the people than Simon Peter did in switching them off the deception. And it is still so to this day.
Be not like the match that cannot be made to ignite but on its own box. Strike a light anywhere a light is needed. Be a kind man to all mankind. The truly great men are those with the bigness of international and cosmopolitan souls, the sons of Adam, who are the sons of God.
Though the nations of the earth speak in different tongues, they all laugh alike and cry alike. The language of the human heart is the same—the sorrow of sin’s night or the dispersing joy of the Sun of Righteousness. He who talks Jesus, talks love’s wide-world Esperanto. As evident as the sun in the heavens, there is no speech nor language where that voice is not understood.
A bank note, worn, dirty, and even torn, is worth infinitely more than the cleanest counterfeit.
Painstaking protects against pain. Carelessness sows for a crop of cares. Waste and want are the morning and evening of the prodigal’s day.
A tiny room may still be a tidy room. Those who excuse disorder and dirt because the place is small, would have spread them out in greater space. Order and cleanliness depend more on the housekeeper than on the house. He that cannot keep a little garden from weeds has no claim to the management of extensive farms. He that is faithful in little will be faithful in much.

Fifteen Hundred Miles Through Venezuela With the Scriptures

(Concluded)
[The introduction of the Bible into the spiritually dark countries is a very important part of God's work on earth. We feel sure the readers of the REVIEW will follow with deep interest the experiences of Stephen B. Adams, a colporteur of the British and Foreign Bible Society, on a recent tour into the interior of Venezuela, as published in the Bible in the World, from the leaves of his diary.]

By Steamer on the Great Orinoco

On leaving San Fernando by steamer, we entered upon a new order of things. Thus, at meals, for want of spoons we learned to drink soup over the side of the plate, and catch the thickest part of it with our fingers. If one wanted to drink, he was handed an old butter tin, which served many purposes; but it was not an easy matter for the inexperienced to scoop up water from the river while the boat was in motion.
There was no mistaking the Orinoco when we reached it—a great expanse of water with waves as turbulent as the sea. At some places we could scarcely see the opposite bank, as this mighty river at its junction with the Apure is quite four miles wide. What surprises one most is the little traffic on this truly vast waterway; from San Fernando to Ciudad Bolivar, our destination, we met nothing but a few native dugout canoes. There is very little sign of human life upon its banks, and the silence strikes one with a kind of awe. After two days and nights we reached Ciudad Bolivar, a very pretty place built on a hillside, after the old Spanish fashion. Here there were hundreds of foreigners, and we heard English spoken on every side by natives hailing from Trinidad.

On the High Plains; Caribbean Indians

In the saddle once more, we were following the track on what are called the “High Plains.” Here we met several bullock wagons, great, lumbering vehicles with large, broad wheels, each wagon dragged slowly onward by ten oxen. We had been warned by many of the danger of going without a guide, and of the possibility of getting lost; so after traveling three hours we were congratulating ourselves on the ease with which we had kept the track. Nevertheless we learned that we had gone astray, and must strike due east to find the telegraph lines. We were very hungry, as we had had no breakfast, and we appreciated a piece of casabe,—a dry, hard, tasteless kind of bread made from the yucca plant,—for which we exchanged a New Testament. We followed the telegraph wire through a trackless plain, and were glad at length to reach a hut occupied by a Negress, who prepared us a simple native breakfast,—a “table spread in the wilderness,” in very truth. This woman possessed a New Testament, but had been forbidden by a passing priest to read it; now she bought a Bible, promising to read it carefully.
By and by we came in contact with the Caribbean Indians, and visited one of their villages. As we drew near, we noticed the women hiding, and the little ones looking afraid. We dismounted, and left our horses in the care of a boy at the door of the first hut. We examined many things of interest, and as one young man spoke Spanish, we were able to get the information we wanted. The huts were low and small, thatched with palm leaves. Some of the men were weaving a kind of long basket tube for making the inevitable casabe. Others were playing a rude kind of mandolin, but the greater part were doing nothing. The women were more afraid of us. Some were netting hammocks of thread made from the palm tree, while others were scraping and preparing the yucca, which seems to be their staple food. While a few could speak Spanish, not one could read; but we gave one man St. Mark's Gospel, and he was pleased with his present. These Indians are expert with the bow, and seem to fish a good deal in the great rivers.

A Vivid Experience

Near the Tigre River we lighted upon a hut kept by a little Negro woman as a resting place for travelers. The landlady told us we could sleep there if we liked, but food she had none. Nothing! The stern truth dawned on us that we had tasted no food since the previous evening. Just then there came up two bullock wagon drivers, and these gave us a bit of sun-dried beef. Out of this meat the little woman made a kind of soup, and with the addition of some old casabe we supped once more, drinking the soup in native style, over the edge of the dirty plates. There was neither table, chair, nor light in the hut; and as we squatted on the floor, the Negro woman cooked at the fire—also on the floor—while the bullock drivers, one with a native mandolin and the other with two big rattles, played as hard as they could. This music proved so inspiring that every now and again the cook would leave her pot, and the rattler his two rattles, and catching each other like two wrestlers, they would dance around for about five minutes, and then, each apologizing for bad steps, they would resume, one his rattles and the other her cooking pot. The dancing ceased; and then the Negress began to tell about a wonderful cross she had recently bought, that had worked many miracles and was blessed by a priest. She brought it out, all covered with fancy paper, and hung over with the gifts that she had received from those who had been cured by its power. One man said that if he had five cents, he would have given it to buy a candle to burn before the cross; but the Negress told him that at present she had plenty of candles, only next time he returned he must not forget his promise. When the moon rose, the music and dancing were renewed. After that, we got them together and told them the story of the true cross. The poor woman said she liked that better than dancing. Finally we slung our hammocks under a tree near the hut, and so ended another day.
Early next morning we gave the Negress two Gospels, filled our water bottles, and set off. That day we met a Turk with a bullock wagon. He gave us a big bowl of soup with meat and casabe, and would take nothing in exchange; but we presented him with a New Testament, with which he was highly delighted.
At the town of Aragua we met two Germans and a Frenchman, and when the telegraph operator announced the latest war news, the natives tried hard to excite a quarrel; but we were able to keep the peace, thank God. With our books we worked the town, but the priest had preached against us from his pulpit. Many were afraid to buy, yet in spite of his warning we had quite good sales.

Venezuela's Bane

Soon we traveled right into the malarial zone, and then the sights that met us as we went with the Scriptures from house to house and hut to hut made us sad indeed. Out under a tree would lie half-naked bodies of men or women in the throes of heat and fever. The yellow, wasted forms, the hollow, sunken cheeks, and the languid look in many cases, announced that the cold hand of death was not far off. Or the fever would be at the shivering stage, and the poor patient would be covered with every piece of available clothing, yet be shaking like a leaf in the wind. This fever is a curse to Venezuela; little by little it is wiping out once famous centers of trade, yet nothing is being done to stay its ravages.

Home Once More

After three months' absence we returned fit and well to Caracas. Our first news there was of the death by yellow fever of a young missionary who had gone west on a similar trip. Thus ended a long, trying, and difficult tour, which beforehand was considered by many to be an impossibility at that time of year. When we look back on our trip, we marvel at what God enabled us to do. Our sales amounted to 180 Bibles, 825 Testaments, and 1,420 portions—making a total of 2,425 books. Arrangements had to be made for the transport of these books by railway, on horses, on donkeys, in cars, in canoes, on board steamers, and last but not least, in great wagons drawn by ten yoked oxen. Here and there we found groups of interested people; and the good seed has been widely sown.
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