God has instructed me to say to his people, ministers and lay members, “Take your stand on higher ground. Move steadily onward and upward in the path that Jesus trod. Do not trust in your own opinions. Sanctification through the truth is your only safety.” The Lord God of Israel would have his people stand in his strength, and in his might, receiving to impart. He will uphold and sustain those who serve him with mind and heart and strength.
We need to understand what it means to put on Christ, what it means to have an experimental knowledge of the grace of Christ, and a continually increasing faith.
Speaking of the mystery “which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,” Paul says, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery; . . . to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.” Not only to those living in this world, but to the principalities and powers in heavenly places is the church on this earth to reveal the glory of God.
A Royal Name
God chose from among the Gentiles a people for himself, and gave to them the name of Christian. This is a royal name, given to those who join themselves to Christ. It is of this name that James is speaking when he says, “Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment-seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?” And Peter says: “If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” “Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”
O that God’s people would take him at his word, and lay hold of the wonderful treasure of knowledge opened to them! O that they could realize the simplicity of the faith and love that means so much to them!
Words of Instruction
“The elders which are among you,” Peter says, “I exhort, who also am an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory which shall be revealed.” He who is chosen to fill the office of elder is not, because of this, to become self-exalted. Let him remember that the office does not make the man, but that before angels and before men he is to honor his office.
“Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.”
The teachers of the word of God are first to learn of Christ, that in spirit and word and act they may represent him.
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, . . . for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” You may sometimes feel that you are wronged, abused, misjudged, but looking to Jesus, remember the words, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Our Example and Our Rule
We have before us the highest, holiest example. In thought, word, and deed Jesus was sinless. Perfection marked all that he did. He points us to the path that he trod, saying, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
We have a perfect rule—the word of the living God. This word he has given us as our guide and counselor. The psalmist says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” And in Paul’s letter to Timothy we read, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Christians, those who are to represent God in the world, are not to seek for doctrines that are new and strange. They are not to pry into the mysteries of the future life. Their part is to make their life in this world such as God can approve. They are to practise the lessons that God has given.
Different Instrumentalities
God has not given to any one man all the knowledge and wisdom. He entrusts to different ones the different gifts needed for the accomplishment of the work to be done in this world.
When God gave Moses instruction regarding the building of the tabernacle, he said:—
“See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. . . . And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee.”
Many of God’s people are to go forth with our publications into places where the third angel’s message has never been proclaimed. The work of the canvasser-evangelist, whose heart is imbued with the Holy Spirit, is fraught with wonderful possibilities for good. The presentation of the truth, in love and simplicity, from house to house, is in harmony with the instruction that Christ gave his disciples when he sent them out on their first missionary tour. By songs of8praise, humble, heartfelt prayers, and a simple presentation of truth in the family circle, many will be reached. The divine worker will be present to send conviction to hearts. “I am with you alway,” is his promise. With the assurance of the abiding presence of such a helper, we may labor with faith and hope and courage.
Every church should be a light in the world. If there is in your church a deadness, a stagnation, come together, as the disciples did before the day of Pentecost, and plead with God until you receive the light of life. Then let the light shine to all around you. Do not go on from week to week, from year to year, without knowing whether or not you are in the love of God. When Jesus went away, he promised to send the Holy Spirit, and we have a right to claim that promise. God wants us to work in the power of the Spirit. He wants us to be guided and controlled by the living, abiding principles that will keep us in the truth.
God has not placed any soul on the judgment-seat. We are not to dissect the work and character of others. Each one has enough to do to attend to the work that has been given him. Every one is to bear his burden in the place where he has been appointed to labor, doing his work with the perfection that will give character and influence to the cause of God. This is what the Lord expects of every conference president. It is what he expects of every worker in every line, and of every church-member. Each one is to stand at his post of duty. When God’s people act their part, in their appointed places, there will come to them a freedom, a light, a power, that will enable them to endure the seeing of him who is invisible.
Watching for the Master
LONG has the world, the Master's rule disowning, Hating his presence and his holy sway, ‘Cried, “Where is now the promise of his coming, And where the signs of the long-promised day?”
But still above the scoff, and taunt, and laughter, The still small voice ariseth, “Watch and pray;” And still to cheer the hours of lonely waiting, “Behold, I come,” I hear the Master say.
It may be that the night will yet grow darker, It may be that the storms are not yet spent; It may be that the times will wax more evil, Earth braving heaven and scorning to repent.
It may be that the church's eye shall weary, That hope, so long deferred, at last shall faint, That dark delay the buoyant heart may sadden, And shake the faith of many a weary saint.
Still as we hear the Master's daily saying— “Behold, I come; awake, arise, prepare!” For but a little, then there sounds the summons, “Ascend, my saints, to meet me in the air!”
Then end at once our weary days of watching; Cometh the vision and the vernal day, Cometh the Master to the waiting household; ’Tis sunlight bursts, the shadows flee away.
Error and darkness hide their heads forever, Truth, life, and righteousness make up our morn; Earth shall at last arise in holier splendor Than when at first in perfect beauty born.
— Selected.
Does God Forsake an Old Prophet?
By Stephen Nelson Haskell
S. N. HASKELL
ANY humane government pensions its old soldiers. A responsibility is felt to look after every dependent family whose husband and father has served the government faithfully until old age has come upon him. Provision was made in the law of Moses for those who had officially served the Lord fifty years. God never leaves his people because they are old, if they have continued faithfully in his service. “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” These were the words of David in his old age. The prophet Isaiah uttered the following: “Thus saith the Lord that made thee, that formed thee from the womb, which will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob, my servant.” Again, “Harken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: and even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.” Such is the character of the God of the Bible. It is the God that I am serving and have served for over half a century. I love him, for he first loved me. It is a common thing for man to be deceived, but we can not deceive God. When God calls a man or a woman to stand in the forefront of the battle for over two thirds of their lifetime, then in their old age do you think that God will leave them to the buffetings of Satan?
There are two principles in the work of God that should never be forgotten. God never had two leading prophets at the same time. There were often many prophets in Israel. At one time there were over seventy. There are eighteen mentioned in the New Testament. He never has been in such straits as to confine himself to one when he chose to speak through more then one; and yet he never has set an aged prophet aside when faithfulness has marked his life. David was an old man, and he committed very grievous sins, but God established his testimony even upon his death-bed. No one took his place until he closed his eyes in death. There were other prophets while he lived, even when driven from his throne because of his sin, but none of them took his place. God gave him an opportunity to repent, which he did, and the Lord restored him to his throne. The story of this is familiar to the readers of this paper.
Another principle should never be forgotten. To speak against any prophet whom God has given the most prominent place in his work has always been a grievous sin, even if he did do things which to the eyes of men seem strange. Miriam and Aaron, both prophets, tried it with disastrous results. Nothing but the prayers of Moses restored Miriam from her leprosy that came in consequence of it. Numbers 12. In the New Testament history, the apostle Paul occupied a place much like that occupied by Moses in the Old Testament. There were other prophets and apostles in the church at the same time. There were a number of prophets in Corinth; for they had all the gifts in the church at one time. On one occasion some of these prophets got out of place; so the apostle wrote them some very plain instruction upon this point. The gift of prophecy does not destroy the sense of propriety; but it seemed to do so with some of these prophets. They had forgotten, if they ever knew, that the spirits of prophets were subject to the prophets, and that they were all subject to the leading prophet, the one who had been the instrument in the hands of God of bringing the church into existence. After laying down these principles, which would bring order out of the confusion that existed, Paul then concludes the fourteenth chapter of First Corinthians with these words: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant [or deny this principle], let him be ignorant. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophecy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.”
It is God’s order, when he has a prophet in the position of responsibility, that he is responsible for him and will not forsake him. And if his Spirit should rest upon others, they, too, will respect and honor the leading prophet with that honor and respect that will give their testimonies due weight. These principles are as eternal as the throne of God. They will be established in the last days and confirmed. God does not inculcate the worship of any man, but when he chooses an instrument to work through, he does not forsake him even in his old age.
San Bernardino, Cal.
The Real Issue
I received a letter this week containing a question. For some time I was in doubt whether I ought to pay any attention to it. But as it is a question many others in Battle Creek are asking, and it is one in which thousands of people in this city are interested, it has seemed best that I should try to answer it. I believe it to be an honest inquiry, and I will endeavor to answer it honestly. The letter reads as follows:—
“Dear Brother Farnsworth: Will you be so kind as to state in a word what you understand to be the real issue in the controversy here in Battle Creek? Is it money, administration, doctrine, or what is it? If you would briefly answer this from the pulpit, you would greatly oblige one who is seriously involved, and many others for whom he writes.”
I sincerely hope that nothing I shall say will have a tendency to create strife. You will bear me witness, brethren, that since coming here I have not engaged in controversy with any one. I did not come here for that purpose. I have not done so in the past, and do not intend to do so in the future.
If I should simply give my opinion as to what is involved in the present perplexity, it would be worth very little. The opinion of any other man might be even better than mine. But I take it for granted that this congregation believes the Testimonies the Lord is sending us, and that what is stated in them is authoritative, and so in answer to this inquiry I shall read considerable from them.
What is the issue in this controversy? I read from a Testimony which was written in 1903, and which has recently been printed in “Series B, No. 7.” I might read some of later date, but I read this purposely because it has been so long before the people.
“I am now authorized to say that the time has come to take decided action. The development seen in the cause of God is similar to the development seen when Balaam caused Israel to sin just9before they entered the promised land. How dangerous it is so to exalt any man that he becomes confused, and confuses others in regard to the truths that for the last fifty years the Lord has been giving his people.”
Then the confusion that has arisen is in reference to the truths which God has been giving his people for the past fifty years. Then it is not a quarrel between men, it is not a personal matter between men, and men are involved only as men stand for principles.
“Few can see the meaning of the present apostasy.” That is certainly a clear statement: “Only a few can see the meaning of the present apostasy.” Please notice what the Spirit calls it. “But the Lord has lifted the curtain, and has shown me its meaning, and the result it will have if allowed to continue. We must now lift our voices in warning. Will our people acknowledge God as the supreme Ruler, or will they choose the misleading arguments and views that, when fully developed, make him, in the minds of those who accept them, as nothingness.”
I hope you will note that the theories taught, carried to their logical conclusion, make God as nothingness.
“These words were spoken to me in the night season. The sentiments in ‘Living Temple’ regarding the personality of God have been received even by men who have had a long experience in the truth. When such men consent to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we are no longer to regard the subject as a matter to be treated with the greatest delicacy. That those whom we have thought sound in the faith should have failed to discern the specious, deadly influence of this science of evil, should alarm us as nothing else has alarmed us.”
I say, brethren, when the Lord talks that way, it is time for us to stop and listen. I don’t know how language could be stronger.
“It is something that can not be treated as a small matter that men who have had so much light, and such clear evidence as to the genuineness of the truth we hold, should become unsettled, and led to accept spiritualistic theories regarding the personality of God. Those doctrines, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy.”
Now the question is, What issue is at stake? I answer, It is the whole Christian economy. It is not walls of brick and mortar. It is not a question of dollars and cents. It is not simply a question of administration. These things all enter into it, but they are simply symptoms that grow out of a diseased condition. That which is involved is all for which Seventh-day Adventists have stood for fifty years. That demanded, though it may not be apparent to all,—for the Testimony clearly states that few see all there is in it,—is the absolute surrender of every truth which Seventh-day Adventists have held for fifty years.
“These doctrines followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John to give to his people. They teach that the scenes just before us are not of sufficient importance to be given special attention.”
That is, the second coming of Christ and all things connected with it, are not of sufficient importance to receive special attention.
“They make of no effect the truth of heavenly origin, and rob the people of God of their past experiences, giving them instead a false science.
“During the past night I have been shown more distinctly than ever before that these sentiments have been looked upon by some as the grand truths that are to be brought in and made prominent at the present time. I was shown a platform, braced by solid timbers, the truths of the Word of God. Some one high in responsibility in the medical work was directing this man and that man to loosen the timbers supporting this platform. Then I heard a voice saying, ‘Where are the watchmen that ought to be standing on the walls of Zion? Are they asleep? How can they be silent?’”
And I wish to appeal to the watchmen who may be here on that point. The Spirit of the Lord says, “Where are the watchmen?” I can tell you where some of them are. They are on the fence, and they think it is a very meritorious position to occupy to be able to say that they are “neutral.” But I tell you, my friends, when God marshals his hosts for a great and mighty work, to be neutral is treason. When a great issue is to be met, the neutrals go to the rear, and the men of conviction come to the front. We may say that these things amount to but little, but when God speaks in this way, you may depend upon it that the very foundations of the faith are involved.
And I appeal to every one, especially to my brethren and sisters engaged in medical work, I appeal to you in the name of the Lord, let us stand right on this question.
“The heavenly messenger turned to those professing to be medical missionaries, and said, How could you allow yourselves to be led blindfold? How could you so misrepresent the name you bear? You have your Bibles. Why have you not reasoned from cause to effect? You have accepted theories that have led you away from the truths that are to stamp their impress upon the characters of all Seventh-day Adventists. Your leader has been moving the foundation timbers one by one, and his reasoning would soon leave us with no certain foundation for our faith. He has not heeded the Testimonies that God through his Spirit has given. The books of the Bible containing most important instruction are disregarded because they say so much about a personal God. He has not known whither his feet were tending. But in his recent writings, his tendencies toward pantheism have been revealed.
“The enemy of souls has sought to bring in the supposition that a great reformation was to take place among Seventh-day Adventists, and that this reformation would consist in giving up the doctrines which stand as the pillars of our faith, and engaging in a process of reorganization. Were this reformation to take place, what would result?”
Now here are words I would like to have you particularly notice:—
“The principles of truth that God in his wisdom has given to the remnant church would be discarded. Our religion would be changed. The fundamental principles that have sustained the work for the past fifty years would be accounted as error. A new organization would be established.”
A new what?—“A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written.” I tell you we are not so far from these things as some of you may imagine.
“A new organization would be established. Books of a new order would be written. A system of intellectual philosophy would be introduced. The founders of this system would go into the cities and do a wonderful work.”
Please don’t forget that part of it. They “would go into the cities and do a wonderful work. The Sabbath, of course, would be lightly regarded, as also the God who created it. Nothing would be allowed to stand in the way of the new movement. The leaders would teach that virtue is better than vice, but God being removed, they would place their dependence on human power, which, without God, is worthless. Their foundation would be built on the sand, and storm and tempest would sweep away the structure.
“Who has authority to begin such a movement? We have our Bibles. We have our experience, attested to by the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit. We have a truth that admits of no compromise. Shall we not repudiate everything that is not in harmony with this truth?”
I will read just one statement further from “Testimonies for the Church,” Series B, No. 6, page 50:—
“‘Behold,’ Christ declares, ‘I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.’ God calls upon us to voice the words, ‘Even so, come, Lord Jesus.’ God will do much for his people if they will have faith in him. Infidelity is stalking abroad through the land. Satan has laid his plans to undermine our faith in the history of the cause and work of God. I am deeply interested as I write this. Satan is working with men in prominent positions to sweep away the foundations of our faith. Shall we allow this to be done, brethren?”
“My soul is stirred within me. I shall trust in God with heart and soul. I shall proclaim the messages that he has given us to proclaim. I testify in the Lord that our youth should not be encouraged to go to Battle Creek to be made infidels. God will help us to see what can be done to prevent this. We are now to work10earnestly and intelligently to save our youth from being taken captive by the enemy.”
Such words have a terrible significance to me as I read them. Fathers and mothers have a right to know what kind of an education their children are receiving; they have a right to know whether their children are being educated in the truth or out of it. They have a right to inquire whether they are being educated to believe the message or to doubt it. They have a right to know whether the minds of their children are being filled with theories which would eventually not only sweep them away from the message for this time, but from Christianity itself.
Now when this inquirer asks me to tell him what is at stake in this controversy, I reply, First, it is every truth that Seventh-day Adventists believe or teach; and, second, involved in this issue are the children and youth of our denomination. When the truths of God and our children are to be taken from us, then I must protest. We have the right to protest. We do it in all kindness. We plead with all our souls that every one who has been deceived in this matter be undeceived. We speak with charity for all, and with malice toward none. But I say it is criminal for a watchman to see that coming in that will sweep away the foundation of truth, and keep silent, on the plea that it will hurt the feelings of somebody, or that he prefers to remain neutral. Brethren, let us pray that God will help us to stand loyal to him and to the truth.
There is an expression that occurs many times in the book of Judges: “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, . . . and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them;” and “the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel;” “and the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years;” and the children of Israel did evil in this, and they did evil in that, and as the result of the evil that they did, they were so harassed by their enemies on every hand that they were never entirely freed from them.
What is it that weakens people now? What is it that separates them from God so he withdraws his protection?—It is sin, and sin alone. That was the difficulty then; it is the difficulty now. The trouble in olden time was not with one man or two men, but it was this: the spiritual vitality of the nation was so weakened that God could not work in their behalf.
In “Patriarchs and Prophets” is found a history of how serpents bit the children of Israel. The people were protected until they came to the border of the land of Moab, and then the serpents entered the camp, many people were bitten, and many died. Why were they not bitten before? They had been living in a land of serpents for forty years, but the serpents had given them no trouble. The difficulty lay in the fact that when they had almost reached the border of the promised land, they committed a great sin. They murmured against God and spoke against those whom he had appointed as their leaders; the protecting hand of God was withdrawn, and it was then that the serpents entered the camp, “and much people of Israel died.”
The lesson taught is this: It is only when the spiritual vitality of the church is low that the enemy gains the advantage. It is when the people lose sight of their mission and the work God has given them, that obstacles and difficulties multiply. The real difficulty, then, is in the people themselves.
Of course there was no excuse for the Philistines oppressing God’s people in olden time. The fact that Israel sinned did not lessen their responsibility. It gave no good reason for the Canaanites coming in, nor for Jabin to come down, and others. That did not lessen their crime; but if God’s people had been what they ought to have been, the kings of the Hivites, the Jebusites, and all these other nations could have had no power over Israel. When the enemy takes Israel captive, it is simply the result that follows a state of low spiritual vitality.
Brethren, if, as a people, we had spent our energy and our means to give the third angel’s message,—if we all had been arduously at work these years in doing the work God called us to do, he would have blessed us wonderfully, and it is my opinion that many of the difficulties we face to-day would never have had an existence. There is a great body of our people in the United States, fifty thousand or more. During the past few years the majority of them have been as fully absorbed in cultivating their farms, raising stock, and in other worldly enterprises as their neighbors who have no faith in the message at all; and the means which came into their hands, and which God designed should be used in sending the truth for this time to every land,—that money is represented by houses and lands, it is invested in stocks, and laid away in banks, as treasure accumulated on earth, instead of its being treasure laid up in heaven.
These things are simply an index of where the hearts of the people are. Many have left the work of God, and have turned every man to his merchandise. One says, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must cultivate it.” Another says, “I have just built a new house, and I must furnish it.” Yet another excuses himself by saying, “I have married a wife, and therefore I must stay at home.” Thus one excuse after another is offered, and the people chosen of God and sanctified by him for a certain purpose and for a certain work,—they have turned away from that which God gave them to do; they are attending to earthly things, and it is no wonder that the Philistines come; no wonder that the Canaanites are prowling about our borders; no wonder that serpents enter the camp, and that the people are bitten; no wonder that a thousand difficulties face us, and that at times we know not which way to turn.
But there is a remedy, and a way, and only one way, in which we can safely go; that is for this people to once more face about and take the truth of God wherever he indicates it should go. God is desperately in earnest with this people. They will do his work, or some one else will do it. The people he has chosen will wear the crown of life, or some one else will wear it in their stead. May God help us to repent of all evil, and so give us the victory over all our enemies.
Prevailing Prayer
By Nora Evelyn Harvey
NORA EVELYN HARVEY
It is the privilege of every Christian to prevail in prayer. It is the privilege of the Christian to know what the Lord wants him to do. It is his privilege to know what is right. Through prayer the way is made plain to us.
To obtain the assurance of the pleasure and will of God we must pray intelligently, in other words, we must understand the attributes of God, and we must know where to address our prayers. In our minds, and by faith, we must see him in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. We should pray submissively, being willing for God’s will to be done, even though it might cause us suffering.
Under these conditions how sweet is communion with the Lord! O, the blessedness of prayer! What a privilege to talk with our God!
When we have asked the Lord to lead us, then let us believe and remember that he is leading us. We often keep the Lord from working by unbelief after we have asked him to lead us.
The urim and thummin were oracles by which the Lord spoke to his people in ancient times. When a halo of light was seen about the urim, it was an evidence that the Lord was pleased with the request, and the right way was thus made plain. The Lord’s displeasure was shown by the cloud at the thummin. It is the Christian’s privilege, when praying, to know if the light encircles the urim, or if the cloud is at the thummin. O what a joy to be living in this experience! We may have it. Let us obtain it. Let there be a urim and thummin in the experience of each one. When the Lord grants our requests even while we ask, what light and joy come into our souls, and what wonderful and blessed peace follows! If, to answer according to his will, it brings a cloud over our life’s experience, then we are to know that he does what is right, and good, and best for us.
“Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.” Job 22:21.
Mankato, Minn.
Here Am I; Send Me
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” Isa. 6:8.
No Cause for Envy
THE following dialogue is reported as having taken place between Mr. Jacob Ridgway, a Philadelphia millionaire, and a young man who thought Mr. Ridgway was greatly to be envied on account of his wealth. “Think,” said the young man, “of the thousands your income brings you every month.”
“Well, what of that?” replied Mr. Ridgway. “All I get out of it is my victuals and clothes; and I can’t eat more than one man’s allowance, or wear more than one suit of clothes at a time. Pray can’t you do as much?”
“Ah! but,” said the youth, “think of the fine houses you own, and the rental they bring you!”
“What better off am I for that?” replied the rich man. “I can live in only one house at a time; as for the money I receive for rents, I can’t eat it, or wear it; I can only use it to buy other houses for other people to live in; they are the beneficiaries, not I.”
“But you can buy splendid furniture and costly pictures, and fine carriages and horses; in fact, what you desire.”
“And after I have bought them,” responded Mr. Ridgway, “what then? I can only look at the furniture and pictures, and the poorest man who is not blind can do the same. I can ride no easier in a fine carriage than you in an omnibus for five cents, with the trouble and attention to drivers, footmen, and hostlers; and as to anything I desire, I can tell you, young man, that the less we desire in this world the happier we shall be. All my wealth can not buy back my youth, can not purchase exemption from sickness and pain, can not procure me power to keep afar off the hour of death; and then, what will all avail when, in a few short years at most, I lie down in the grave and leave it all forever? Young man, you have no cause to envy me.”
The Truth About Beer
The wide-spread idea that beer drinking is a comparatively harmless form of self-indulgence, is combated by the following testimony of two eminent physicians of Toledo, Ohio, the inhabitants of which are greatly addicted to the use of that beverage:—
“I think beer kills quicker than any other liquor. My attention was first called to its insidious effects when I began examining for life insurance. I passed as unusually good risks five Germans—young business men—who seemed in the best of health, and to have superb constitutions. In a few years I was amazed to see the whole five drop off, one after another, with what ought to have been mild and easily curable diseases. On comparing my experience with that of other physicians, I found they were all having similar luck with confirmed beer drinkers, and my practise since has heaped confirmation on confirmation.
“The first organ to be attacked is the kidneys; the liver soon sympathizes, and then comes, most frequently, dropsy or Bright’s disease, both certain to end fatally. Any physician who cares to take the time, will tell you that among the dreadful results of beer drinking are lockjaw and erysipelas, and that the beer drinker seems incapable of recovering from mild disorders and injuries not usually regarded of a grave character. Pneumonia, pleurisy, fevers, etc., seem to have a first mortgage on him, which they foreclose remorselessly at an early opportunity.
“The beer drinker is much worse off than the whisky drinker, who seems to have more elasticity and reserve power. He will even have delirium tremens; but after the fit is gone, you will sometimes find good material to work upon. Good management may bring him around all right. But when a beer drinker gets into trouble, it seems almost as if you have to recreate the man before you can do anything for him. I have talked this for years, and have had abundance of living and dead instances around me to support my opinions.”—Dr. S. H. Burgen.
“That beer is foreign to nature’s demand is plainly evident. The whole organism at once sets about its removal. Every channel through which it can be got rid of is brought into play, and does not cease till the last trace is gone. Reaching a certain end depends only on the frequency of the repetition. The whole is made up of the parts; every drink counts one. These ‘ones,’ added together, make the wreck; to secure this result it is only necessary to make the single numbers sufficient. Each leaves its footprints in one way or another; and the idea that, because you stop before you stagger, the system takes no note of the damaging material you put into it, is a ruinous delusion.”—Dr. J. T. Woods.
Two Points of View
By Helen Knight Wyman
WHEN I am tired and weary,
And nothing goes my way,
I thank the Heavenly Father
For two nights to every day.
But when, once more, I’m rested,
And all the world looks bright,
I thank him that he sends me
Two days to every night!
There’s the pause before the battle,
There’s the respite from the fray;
And that is how I reckon
Two nights to every day.
When the sunset glow has faded,
In a little while ’tis light!
And that is how I reckon
Two days to every night.
And so ’tis due, believe me,
To the way we look at things,
Whether we sigh and falter,
Or whether we soar on wings!
—Helen Knight Wyman, in Good Housekeeping.
Gardening for Pleasure
MRS. THEODORE THOMAS, who is a practical believer in the satisfaction of raising simple flowers, says in The World To-day:—
“The pleasures of gardening are twofold. First comes the pleasure of making green things grow and blossom, and afterward the artistic delight of using their form and color to decorate the landscape. For neither of these pleasures is it necessary to own a large and picturesque estate. I have seen splendid flowers raised in the window of some poor old woman, with no better place to grow in than an old tomato can, and by tasteful planting the ordinary city backyard can be transformed from a dumping-ground of household refuse into a delight to the eye. Nor is it needful to have professional assistance of much horticultural knowledge to achieve the best results. When I started my garden, I knew nothing at all about the culture of flowers, but I learned by experience in a few years how to grow the simple kinds of plants. There are so many of these, and they are so beautiful, that it is not necessary for amateurs to attempt to raise those which require hotbeds, winter storage, grafting, transplanting, pinching, pruning, and all the other special processes which professional florists practise. By a little thought in the matter of grouping, one can make almost any ordinary flower effective in the garden. The common foxglove, for instance, which usually blossoms in a very ugly shade of magenta, and is inharmonious in a bed of mixed colors, is very decorative planted in masses together with the white variety among a quantity of green shrubbery, and with all the scarlets, blues, and yellows at a respectable distance. It is wonderful what can be done in this way with the simplest plants, and it adds immeasurably to the pleasure of flower growing to take some common, despised flower or weed and see what one can do with it by setting it in the best surroundings.”—Selected.
Freely Ye Have Received, Freely Give
“FREELY ye have received, freely give.” Matt. 10: 8.
The Word Hidden in the Heart
“When the Word is hidden in the heart, it is seen in the life.”