MAGAZINE and newspaper offices are influenced by, and governed through, certain fixed and inflexible methods, forms, and systems as unalterable as the laws of the Medes and Persians.
All connected with these enterprises,—the editors-in-chief, their assistants, the contributors and writers, even the errand boys,—are amenable to these well-defined plans and systems of action. No rule can be violated with impunity by any one. Necessity created the want for these methods, forms, and systems, and forced their adoption; hence policy demands their rigid observance.
Among the many rules considered of vital importance is the one which demands that all the matter in any publication, even the most brief and most insignificant, shall “tell something,” “tell a story,”—shall present some picture to the eye or mind, particularize some occurrence, or embody some entertaining fiction; that is, contain life or action.
It is not so well understood that this rule applies to the illustrations equally as much as it does to the printed matter; hence many a meritorious photograph is declined, and many an otherwise pleasing illustration, if accepted, fails to entertain, because the rule governing the taking of photographs for the press was not understood, or not followed.
The main object in presenting a picture is more fully to impress the mind of the reader with the value of the story before him, as well as to give him material upon which he can more fully fill out the scene as he reads. The picture must be one that, in imagination, the reader can enter into as a spectator, can lose himself in the scene before his eyes, can become a part of the story the picture is telling.
To illustrate: A picture is presented of a large and costly edifice, evidently some public institution. The photographer, anxious to show the details of construction, came close to the building with his camera, and allowed the structure to monopolize all available space on his plate or film. As a mechanical piece of work, the photograph may be even more than passably good, yet it fails to create any interest, as it tells no story, does not lead the mind to fill out details by a mental association with it. Even the name and the location of the building have to be sought for by a reading of the “legend,” or inscription, given below the picture, and by a perusal of the story accompanying it.
Had the artist dropped down with his camera below the mound upon which the building stood, retreating to a proper distance, cutting down the size of the structure to one third of its former dimensions, allowing the surrounding scene to occupy the greater portion of the plate, then the eye would have abundance of material to present to the mind upon which a story could be constructed. The surroundings then would give the clue to the location of the building,—whether it was in a city, in a park, or in an isolated place; whether in a temperate zone or a ‘tropical region’; whether in a situation familiar personally or by report, or in a locality unknown to the reader.
A camp-meeting scene consisting merely of the “big tent,” its expanse of white canvas filling the entire background, with possibly a figure or two in the foreground, is most decidedly a view of “still life.” The eye can scarcely be tempted to give it a second glance.
If, however, the artist had waited for his opportunity, and, standing some distance away, had caught a leading speaker in the foreground (the large tent in the rear and of reasonable proportions), reading to members of the local conference a telegram just received containing some joyful news items,—there would be a story. As soon as the eye took in such a scene, the mind would begin to clamor for a reading of the article in order to obtain all possible details. Such an illustration would be a photograph with life and action.
Our foreign views as given in our denominational publications often sadly lack in interest, although always connected with matter of great importance. Our missionaries fail, generally, to remember that foreign scenery is unfamiliar to the people at home, and that without sufficient exhibition of the surrounding scenery, the pictures of their houses, schools, or other institutions can not be associated with their environment. If in these photographs some domestic scene connected with the life of the people, were shown there would be a story. Mentally, the reader would become at once a spectator, a part of the story. A study of the principle involved in making illustrations for our publications would materially increase public interest in their contents.
Brakes
By John N. Quinn
JOHN N. QUINN
The timely application of a brake has prevented many a serious accident; the failure of a brake to work at a critical moment has sent many a soul into eternity. A newly appointed brakeman had just entered on his duties in connection with a steam railroad running through a rural district. A rather steep hill was crossed each day by the train, and if the steam pressure in the boiler was lower than usual the engineer found it difficult to bring the train over the hill. One day the train moved with greater difficulty than usual; a glance at the steam-gage showed sufficient steam in the boiler, and the engineer was at a loss to account for the slow and difficult movement of his train. At last the top of the hill was reached, and thrusting his head out of the window, he called to the brakeman, “Well, lad, we had a hard time crossing over to-day.” “Indeed we did, sir; and had it not been that I put on the brakes, we should have gone down the hill,” was the reply which came to the ears of the astonished engineer.
We smile at the stupidity of the brakeman, yet possibly we are doing a similar work. The superintendent of the Sabbath-school is putting forth Herculean efforts to make the weekly teachers’ meeting a success, and you, although one of the teachers of the school, assume an attitude of indifference to the superintendent and his work. In so doing, you have put on the brake on the up-grade. The officers of the school are earnestly striving to begin the Sabbath-school with each member in his place when the opening bell rings. Five minutes later you saunter in, and leisurely take your place in a class. You may be a teacher or a church officer or a scholar in the class,—it makes but little difference,—you have the brake on while the train is going up-hill. The librarian of the church feels a burden that a spirit of activity shall permeate the entire church. He spends hours in prayer and in arranging plans for labor. He presents his plans, and many sit and listen, believe the plans to be good, and quietly pass out of the church without even a look at the tract-rack. The librarian is the last one out of the room, and as he notices how few take with them a supply of tracts, he is tempted to feel discouraged—so many in the missionary society with brakes on, while he is earnestly striving to bring the church up to God’s ideal.
There may at times be a tendency in the church, in the Sabbath-school, or in the missionary society for things to “run wild.” Then is the time to apply the brakes and save the day. It may require fortitude and a spirit of determination to do so, but it is essential to the welfare of the work. There is a purpose and a time for everything under the sun; but it is not the time to use brakes when the work of God is surmounting difficulties. Then is the time when the divine Engineer is crying out, “All brakes off!” Off with them, then, and thus help the work of the Lord upward and onward.
Stars of Our Night
By WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN
WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN
OUT in the night when the stars are bright,
And the air is calm and still,
The sky is so clear that heaven seems near
Its covenant to fulfil.
Return to the glare of the city’s dense air
And the beacons appear but a few,
For its gilded charms seek with the lights of the street
To bedim all the gems in the blue.
Stars of our night are the promises bright
With which God has bespangled our sky;
In his atmosphere pure, naught of earth can allure,
And we sense that his heaven is nigh.
Count the stars if you can, or fathom his plan
For his children who dwell in the night!
’Tis a deep, boundless sea with a star canopy
Till the dayspring appears to our sight.
Portland, Oregon.
Editorial
By C. M. S.
Up-to-Date Preaching
THE preaching that aims merely to be up to date in the estimation of the world is entirely out of date in the estimation of Him who bids us go into the world to do his work. The Christian's business is not to seek to please men in the position where they are, but to bring them into a position where they will be pleasing in the sight of Heaven; to make them so dissatisfied with themselves and the service of the world that they will find no peace to their souls until they find it in the forgiveness of their sins and the acceptance of their Saviour.
Satan is doing all he can to make one class satisfied with what they have outside of Christ; and the other class dissatisfied with everybody and everything, and disbelieving in all the plans and work of God. And it must be confessed that the popular preaching of the present day is doing little or nothing to alter the condition of either of these classes. The great wealthy world is well pleased where it is; popular preaching tickles and pleases and keeps it where it is. He is considered the “up-to-date” preacher who can meet his audience where it is and please and satisfy it there. He is the preacher who commands the high salary; and for that salary more than for hungry souls, too many are laboring to-day.
If Christ had preached as the up-to-date preacher does, there would have been no opposition to his work from Israel's rulers; nor would there have been any crucifixion—or any salvation. He would have pleased his hearers, and they would have made him king; but he would have lost all, and we would have perished in our sins. That is the very result that is following the popular preaching of the present day. Paul tells us in his second letter to Timothy: “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” The time now has come. But that gives us no excuse for teaching or preaching anything that is not sound doctrine.
The Christian preacher who is one in truth, has nothing else to preach, no matter of what class or classes his audiences are made up. There is no other commission than to “preach the gospel to every creature,” “preach the word.” Such preaching may not be considered by the world to be up to date; but it is the only preaching that counts in the salvation of souls; the only preaching that God has authorized men to do; the only preaching that helps to forward the cause of God and hinder the work of Satan.
A man may be rich in this world's goods and great in the eyes of his fellow men, and at the same time be poverty-stricken in the eyes of Heaven, and counted as among the very least in the final judgment of the supreme court of the universe. He may be clad in the most expensive and gorgeous apparel which this world can produce; but in the eyes of the all-seeing One be rated as “miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” God sees not as man sees, nor judges as man judges. When a fashionable, pleasure-loving, and appetite-indulging man or woman approves of the utterances of the minister of God, it is time for that minister to begin to make diligent inquiry, in the sanctuary of his own soul and face to face with God, as to whether he is the minister of God in fact or only in name. The approval of this world is almost certain to be synonymous with the disapproval of heaven.
Let the burden be for souls, not for salary or position or worldly approval. Let the question be, What would God have me to say and to do and to be? In that attitude God can bless and use. To serve the kingdom of Christ is of more importance than to win the approval of all the world. C. M. S.
Genesis, Evolution, and the Gospel
By W. W. P.
IN the issue of the Homiletic Review for November, 1911, an English clergyman, Rev. Walter Foxon, asks and attempts to answer the question “Does the doctrine of evolution destroy the teaching of Gen. 1:1 to 2:3?” This article is of interest as showing that the view of inspiration of a generation ago has been absolutely discarded, and such an interpretation has been placed upon the Bible as makes it in reality a book of merely human philosophy. The opening sentences of the article under consideration set forth plainly the modern view concerning the first chapter of Genesis:—
Looking through some of the discussions that have taken place on this subject, it soon becomes evident that the source of much of the difficulty experienced is to be found in the method of interpretation. Early divines, not having at hand the knowledge that has been forthcoming in recent years, sought to find in Genesis not only spiritual truth, but history and science. Such a conception eventually became part of their system and rendered them unable to accept facts that were afterward made known. But coming to this document dealing with creation without any preconceived theory of mechanical inspiration, it soon becomes evident that it teaches neither science nor history in the strict meaning of those terms.
To prove the unreliability of the historical statements of the Bible a quotation is taken from “History of Babylonia and Assyria,” by Prof. R. W. Rogers, who is declared to be “a most cautious and guarded American Assyriologist.” According to this authority, if we go backward—
until we reach the period of more than 4,000 years before Christ, we shall be able to discern here and there signs of life, society, and government in certain cities. Civilization has already reached a high level, the arts of life are well advanced, and men are able to write down their thoughts and deeds in intelligible language and in permanent form. All these presuppose a long period of development running back through millennia of unrecorded time.
This quotation is regarded as “enough to convince the unbiased that this part of Genesis does not teach history.” It is thus clear that in the estimation of the writer of this article the inspired writings are of less authority than the statement of a modern historian, inasmuch as a single quotation from a present-day writer is accepted as sufficient proof that the chronology of the Scriptures is a misrepresentation of the facts.
In a similar way it is shown that “we can not interpret it [Genesis] as science.” The proof in this instance is taken from the writings of Dr. Driver, a foremost representative of destructive criticism, who declares that the creation of the sun, moon, and stars after the earth “is inconsistent with the entire conception of the solar system—and, indeed, if we think of the stars, with that of the whole celestial world—as revealed by science.” Here again human authority is taken to be more reliable than divine inspiration, and the results of human research are accepted in the place of divine revelation. The modern interpretation of the Biblical record of creation is then given:—
If we are not to interpret Genesis as history or science, how are we to interpret it? This is the point where religious scholars redeem their promises. When we see first one and then another supposed article of belief taken away, we begin to doubt; but with fuller knowledge there comes to us a reasonable confidence. While research has shown that Genesis is neither history nor science, it has also made known other cosmogonies which have both similarities with, and differences from, that of the opening9pages of Scripture. The similarities, along with other facts which comparative religion has brought to light, have led scholars to conclude that the older cosmogonies form the basis of the one contained in Genesis. When we seek to account for the differences, we find the key that enables us to solve the problem of its interpretation. The verses that we are at present considering are the work of a comparatively late writer with monotheistic ideas, which at once accounts for the differences, and shows us that the method of interpretation is the purpose of the writer. Consequently, we no longer expect to find a perfect presentation of the results which modern research has established. The value of Genesis is to be found not on its scientific, but on its theological side. Inspiration did not impart to man truths of mathematical and physical science that would not be known until centuries later. What it did for him was to give him enlightenment in regard to spiritual truths, and these he expressed in language that they understood. That is the position of this Semitic writer. He accepts the views of his contemporaries regarding the formation of the world, and adds to these those truths of God’s connection with it which he thinks necessary to be believed. What he had learned of God’s power and of his relation to the world and man by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he imparts to his countrymen through an account of creation which they all understood.
Having thus interpreted the first chapter of Genesis as being neither historical nor scientific, but rather a mere statement of the current views of an ignorant age through which some very hazy and indefinite spiritual truths were to be conveyed, it is now asserted with much confidence that the doctrine of evolution does not destroy this teaching. In other words, having interpreted this portion of the Scripture from a purely evolutionary standpoint, it is claimed that the doctrine of evolution does not destroy this interpretation, and the article closes with these statements:—
The Christian has nothing whatever to fear from the doctrine of evolution, which in reality only reveals to us the method of creation and not the cause. Indeed, he may look to the evolutionist for knowledge which will enable him to appreciate even more than he does at present the wealth of the truths taught by the ancient Semitic writer in the first document of Scripture.
The positions taken and the arguments advanced by the writer of the article in question are in themselves sufficient to prove conclusively that the doctrine of evolution, if accepted, does absolutely destroy the teaching of the first chapter of Genesis. The importance of this fact is not determined by the mere overthrow of an ancient theory of creation. The seriousness of this whole matter is perceived when we remember that the gospel of salvation is the gospel of creation, and that the Biblical teaching concerning the original creation is the basis upon which rests the revelation of the new creation . To pervert the teaching of the Bible concerning the original creation is, therefore, to pervert its teaching concerning the new creation; and this perversion has gone steadily forward until all the fundamental truths of the gospel have been set aside, and men are really left without hope and without God in the world. It is a thousand pities that those who profess to be the defenders of the Christian faith are the very ones who have led in this destructive movement. So long as we wish to maintain our confidence in the salvation revealed in the Scriptures, we must hold to the inviolable authority and reliability of the Inspired Word.
W. W. P.
Short-Lived Christians
By F. M. W.
CHRISTIAN living to be effective must be continuous and enduring. The reward at last will be given to those who endure unto the end. Too many are satisfied with a fitful, spasmodic experience. They become revived for a season. Some special occasion, like the week of prayer, serves to renew their faith for a little time, but they soon fall back into the old ruts of their experience. To this class the question propounded by the apostle Paul is applicable: “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” or as the marginal reading expresses it: “Who did drive you back that ye should not obey the truth?”
The Lord illustrates this class of Christians in the parable of the sower as recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. Some of the gospel seed “fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”
The secret of this early backsliding is indicated in the fact that such Christians have no root. Their emotions have been stirred, their feelings aroused, but a deep conviction has not taken hold of their souls, earnest settled purposes have not possessed the life. They have begun to build without counting the cost; and when sacrifice is demanded, they are unwilling to make the surrender.
Will this be the experience of any who have started anew during the week of prayer? Will they be found short-lived Christians? Will their Christian experience prove to be wavering and uncertain, fitful and transitory, and that which brought a joy to their hearts in a new-found Saviour prove but an illusive hope because they have not taken hold of the power and strength of the gospel?
No one can hinder the child of God from continuing with unabated zeal and with all the ardor of his first love in the blessed service of his Master. The relationship between Christ and every one of his children is so direct and personal that no human factor can be interposed without the consent of the believer. Our faith is not built upon men. Its growth is not dependent upon the smiles and good will and recognition of our associates. Men may fail, but the foundation of Christ abideth ever. It is when we forget this truth that our minds become clouded. It is when we look to men instead of to God that we begin to absorb the coldness of indifference and the doubt of unbelief. It is only when we begin to gage our lives by the lives of those around us that we lose the freshness and sweetness of simple faith. Then we begin to feed upon criticism, become sensitive, and allow malice, envy, and variance to come into our hearts. To the account of others we charge our failures. We excuse ourselves from doing good because others have done evil. We adopt the standard of the world as the gage of Christian living instead of the high and holy standard of God.
Let us guard against this weakening process, this sort of half-hearted Christian living, in the coming year. In our Christian life we have only to live one day at a time. If we can live to-day for God, we can live to-morrow for him. If we can make one week a week of prayer, we can carry the same spirit into a whole month and into the whole year. If by God’s grace we can run well for a little season, we can run well clear through to the end of the journey. His grace is all-sufficient to those who will seek to mold their lives after this order. Let us make the year to come the best year of our lives. Let us make it one of prayer, one of earnest labor for others, one of song and praise, one of trust and confidence in God, and he will make it for us one of blessed victory.
F. M. W.
Why?
By William Warren Prescott
Why should such a stir be caused in this country when the head of the Roman Catholic Church elevates three archbishops to the cardinalate?
Why should the papers of this country devote columns of space to this matter, going into the minutest details and dwelling upon the most trivial features of the occasion?
Why should President Taft send a cable message to the new cardinals, assuring them that it will give him pleasure to receive them when they return to America?
Why is it a matter of any more concern to the citizens of this country when certain men are advanced to high positions in the Roman Catholic Church10than if the same thing were done in the Methodist Church, or the Presbyterian Church, or any other church?
Why is there any more significance in the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States than in the growth of any other ecclesiastical organization?
The correct answer to these questions can be given only in the light of those prophecies which deal with the immediate future of the Roman Catholic Church, and which reveal what the Papacy is to accomplish in shaping affairs in this country. The student of prophecy in considering the very rapid development of the power of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States can not escape the conviction that things foretold long ago are now coming to pass, and that events are rapidly shaping for the great consummation. It is a time when every one should be laying hold of that personal experience which will enable him to stand in the trying times now so near at hand.
W. W. P.
Where Are the Dead ?
By C. M. S.
FREQUENTLY, in the religious press, where an account is given of the death of some church-member, we see the statement that the deceased one has “been promoted,” has “passed over,” or has “gone home.” These have come to be fashionable expressions, all of them, in the parlance of general Protestant and Catholic church-membership; but how subversive of truth! We noticed recently that one good woman was declared by her pastor to have “gone over peacefully home” on a certain date. Another was declared to “have gone home and entered into her rest.” She had been assured by her pastor in her last hours that she was “almost home,” meaning that she would step from her death-bed directly into her heavenly abode. And this is the belief of the vast multitude of the religious people of the world to-day.
But what say the Scriptures? “Man dieth, and is laid low: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” Then Job, speaking as the inspired mouthpiece of God, answers the question: “Man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep.” Job 14:10, 12. But that does not mean they shall never awake; for in the “day of the Lord,” at the second coming of Christ, “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise” (2 Peter 3:10-13); “and at that same time “the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” 1 Thess. 4:16. The voice of “the Lord himself” wakes the sleeping saints, the “dead in Christ,” and brings them out of their dead graves. They have not been in heaven. Christ comes at that time to take them there. (See verse 17.)
In harmony with this speaks the prophet Isaiah: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” Isa. 26:19.
When does this event take place? The two verses following the quotation tell us plainly enough: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” During all the centuries of the past the earth has been cumbered with her dead. The slain of the Lord in the deluge were covered by the earth itself through the instrumentality of the mighty surgings of the waters of the flood. The earth covered her slain. She will not do this in the destruction of the finally impenitent when the wrath of God is poured out for the last time upon all the agencies of iniquity.
This language of Isaiah shows plainly where the dead are—the bodies of those who have slept the sleep of death in this earth since Adam and Eve laid down their lives. The dew that has been falling upon the grass and herbs has been falling at the same time upon the dead over whom has been growing the grass and the herbs. But when Christ comes, “the earth shall cast out the dead.” If they were in heaven, it would be impossible for the earth to cast them out. This text also furnishes a clew as to what class of the dead will be “cast out” at that time. It will be the righteous alone; for they are to “awake and sing.” The wicked dead will not sing when they awake. It is declared of them that they will awake “to shame and everlasting contempt.” Dan. 12:2. But the righteous who have been dwelling in the dust, will celebrate their deliverance and their Saviour’s return with the gladdest of glad hosannas.
Eternal life and the heavenly inheritance are the reward of the saints. If the righteous dead entered into that reward at death, Christ would not be declaring to us, as he does in Rev. 22:12, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” That reward, including eternal life, is given at the second coming of Christ. He says that he brings it with him to bestow at that time; this is shown also in 1 Cor. 15:51-55. At that time the corruptible dead and the corruptible living both put on incorruption. Both were mortal; but both at that time “put on immortality.” They have not had it before, or they would not need to put it on at that time. So the dead have not been “promoted” as they have passed into the silence; they have not “gone home,” unless we call the grave their home, and it certainly is not the home of the children of God. The dead have not “passed over” to the shining shore. If they are among “the dead in Christ,” they are peacefully sleeping the sleep of death, and so will continue to sleep until Christ comes to awaken them out of their sleep “with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God,” calling them out of death into immortal life. And that glad day is fast approaching. The hope of the eternal inheritance is nearing its fruition. That day when the tongue of the dumb shall be heard shouting the praises of our Redeemer; that day when the eyes of the blind shall be opened to see the beauties and the wonders and the glories of the purified kingdom of our God; that day when the lame shall leap as a hart, and the ears of the deaf shall be opened to hear the music of heaven and the voice of their Redeemer; that day toward which every sincere soul has looked with fondest yearnings, and the assurances of whose reality have comforted the children of God as they have gone down in death; that day which puts an end to sin and misery and sorrow and poverty and woe and sickness and death; that day which puts the hand of the righteous dead again into the hand of the translated living, and binds up broken hearts, and dries the tears of the grief-stricken; that day which rights every wrong, and makes even the dead to triumph over death and its author,—that day is near at hand, and its glorious dawning is drawing on apace. C. M. S.
Sometime We Shall Understand
By F. M. W.
LIFE presents many mysterious problems. We look out into the great universe of God, and how many things there are that we can not fathom nor understand. The heavens above and the depths beneath are beyond our comprehension. The Scriptures of truth contain mysteries. The lives of others are as closed books to our study, and even our own experiences have dark and unexplained chapters. We can not understand why certain things have befallen us, why we have been called upon to pass through certain trials, why certain influences have shaped and molded our experiences. We have been bereft of friends; we have suffered sickness; property has been swept away; those we loved and trusted have apparently turned11against us; our fellows have counted our best efforts for naught, misjudged our motives; and it has seemed at times, as it did to Jacob of old, that our experiences were against us.
To the trusting child of God there is comfort in the thought that the darkness will sometime give place to the light; that the crooked places will be made straight and the dark places plain. Sometime, if not in this world then in the world to come, we shall have the privilege of viewing questions from the standpoint of heaven’s exalted plane. We shall see, in so far as finite can see through infinite eyes, as God sees. We shall measure with the great measuring rule of divine wisdom.
The apostle Paul refers to this time and to this experience in the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians when he says: “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. . . . For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known.”
This more perfect knowledge is to be a part of the glorious heritage of the children of God in the ages to come. How blessed it will be to see with undimmed eyes! How sweet to carry about with us the consciousness that our associates are in sympathy with our purposes and understand our motives! We shall not see through a veil, dimly, but face to face. We shall know even as we are known. Some of the hard, trying experiences through which we have been called upon to pass will then be explained by our own blessed Master.
“Christ will lead his redeemed ones beside the river of life, and will explain to them all that perplexed them in this world. The mysteries of grace will unfold before them. Where their finite minds discerned only confusion and broken purposes, they will see the most perfect and beautiful harmony.”
In view of this experience which awaits us, let us be patient. We are now in God’s great training-school. By the trials and difficulties that we meet he is endeavoring to fit us for a place in his coming kingdom. The trials are his workmen. By them our rough characters are chiseled and fashioned and molded after the divine similitude. The rough, sharp corners are taken off, and we are fitted to become beautiful stones in the temple of our God.
By faith we may know, as did the apostle Paul, that “all things work together for good to them that love God.” Again and again human reasoning will deny the truth of this statement as applied to our personal experience; but it is for us through God’s grace to permit faith to cast down reasoning, and to build our hopes, not upon the unstable foundation of our own philosophy, but upon the sure word and promises of God. We may not understand how divine omnipotence can shape the experiences of life so that they will work out our eternal good, but our great Father of wisdom and love has pledged his word that this shall be done for us, as far as we will patiently submit our cases into his hands.
Then let us not repine and mourn and complain. Let us be patient through the purifying process, trusting that in the glorious future we shall understand all of life’s mysteries, and know why God has led us over the road we have traveled and brought us through the experiences which have befallen us.
In the following song the poet has beautifully expressed our thought and the hope that should comfort our hearts throughout life’s journey:—
“The desert way He sometimes leads us,
The simple manna that he feeds us,
The humble work for which he needs us,
We may not always understand;
But while for Canaan gardens yearning,
God’s lessons patiently we’re learning;
The fiery pillar still is burning:
He leads, he leads,
We need not understand.
“The bondage which we’ve left, repenting,
The foe that follows unrelenting,
The deep, wide sea our flight preventing,
We need not always understand;
But we’ve a Father wise as loving,
Let faith his promises be proving;
Stand still and see the waters moving:
He rules, he rules,
We need not understand.
“Why to the bitter fountains guided,
When ’twas for crystal springs we chided,
Nor knew we prayed with heart divided,
We may not always understand;
But by the lonely pool of Marah,
The living water seemeth dearer,
And Christ, the riven Rock, is nearer:
Life flows, life flows,
We need not understand.
“And when we reach the Jordan River,
Where day’s last shadows faintly quiver,
O may the arms of the Life-giver
Bear safely to the promised land!
Till then we trust the One who knoweth,
No storm forbidden ever bloweth,
No tear unnoticed ever floweth:
He knows, he knows,
Sometime we’ll understand.”