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Review and Herald, Vol. 86, No. 7.

Victory

Review and Herald

Feb 18, 1909

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 18, 1909

Victory

By Julia Ward Howe

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible, swift sword; His truth is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment-seat; O be swift, my soul, to meet him! be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on.
—Julia Ward Howe.

The Book Department Mirror

Being a Reflection of Interesting Happenings, and Notes on Our Publications. Conducted by the Book Department of the Review and Herald Publishing Association
THERE is in preparation a paper-covered edition of that important book, “The Great Advent Movement.” Missionary Volunteer Society leaders should take this matter up with their members at once, and see that all are provided with a copy as soon as it is ready, which will be in about two weeks. “The Great Advent Movement” is the text-book for the study of denominational history, and every Missionary Volunteer who passes the Standard of Attainment will need one of these books. Prices: Paper, 50 cents; cloth, $1.25.
We have just received a shipment of the new edition of “Patriarchs and Prophets.” This volume is a careful study of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, as illustrated in the lives of holy men of old. The present book furnishes an excellent companion volume to “The Great Controversy.” The prices are the same as for the other large books; namely, cloth, $2.75; library, $3.75; morocco, $4.75.
Speaking of “Great Controversy” brings to mind the fact that one of our canvassers found a man who bought “Great Controversy” from an agent several years ago, and who has made it a practise to read the book through once a year since then. Do we appreciate our literature as we ought?
A new number will soon be added to the Religious Liberty Library. This leaflet is entitled, “The Famous Congressional Sunday Mail Reports,” and will be designated as Religious Liberty Leaflet, No. 15. The information contained in the twelve pages of this leaflet should be in the hands of every American citizen. The prices will be, post-paid: Per dozen, 9 cents; per hundred, 75 cents.
Owing to the large number of orders which we have received for “The Speaker’s Manual,” it has been necessary to place an order for another edition to be printed at once. There is a vast amount of information crowded into this little volume. The correct pronunciation of over 2,000 words, commonly mispronounced, is given, together with exercises in enunciation for either class or private practise. We have bound a few copies in red flexible leather. Prices: Red flexible leather, 50 cents; cloth, 25 cents.
All should avail themselves of the opportunity offered in the new “Year Book.” The record of a year’s progress in the message is inspiring. Added to the full statistics of all the different lines of work is a directory of the conference officers and workers, a map of each conference and mission field, and a complete list of all the institutions under the supervision of the denomination. Price, paper, 25 cents.
The next book in the Missionary Volunteer Reading Course will be “Daybreak in the Dark Continent,” by Wilson S. Naylor, a graphic story of the work done by missions for the people of Africa. The book is certainly worthy of the careful study it will receive. Prices: Paper, 40 cents; cloth, 50 cents.
Order of any publishing house, tract society, or Review and Herald Publishing Association, Takoma Park, D. C.

Editorial

By Editor

The doctrine of the utter destruction of sin and sinners stands as the crowning evidence of God's infinite love for the finally impenitent. Were God vindictive and revengeful, he would preserve the wicked to an endless life of suffering, and delight in their misery. Having exhausted the resources of divine grace to secure their reformation to life, he now does for them the only thing he can do in love,—takes away the life which has become a burden and intolerable on account of sin. God reveals his love for the possessor in bringing his life, so misused and distorted by sin, to a merciful end.
The capacity for knowing God and for living in fellowship with him has been conferred upon us; but we may refuse to retain God in our knowledge, and may employ the higher faculties of our being for lower purposes. One way to contribute to this result is to keep the mind occupied with the things pertaining to this present world. While we should be “diligent in business,” we should also be “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” It is possible to give proper attention to business, and at the same time to keep the mind stayed upon God and the heart aglow with love for God and his truth. The penalty of becoming too much absorbed in the every-day affairs of life is the loss of both the inclination to, and the power for, intimate fellowship with heavenly beings. This is too high a price to pay for any worldly gain.

Silencing God’s Voice

By Editor

The acceptance of the hypothesis of evolution in place of the Biblical doctrine of special creation has resulted in the loss of belief in a personal God. This belief being fundamental in the whole scheme of Christianity, there has come a revolution in the whole range of Christian doctrine which is really equivalent to the substitution of a new religion for “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” The practical effect of this change is plainly exhibited in the views expressed concerning such calamities as formerly led men to entertain a wholesome fear of God and to forsake their sins. Instead of recognizing in these visitations the call of God to return to him with repentance and confession, they are explained to be the inevitable results of the working of natural laws, and as thus interpreted, they serve to make people forget God. This change of belief is acknowledged by The Nation (New York) of February 4, in an editorial, from which we quote:—
The flood of comment on the earthquake at Messina continues; yet in all that is said there is—as in the case of San Francisco—but little serious moralizing. We have the conventional expressions of pity and horror, we have generous responses to appeals for help; but we view the event with a scientific detachment which would have been impossible a century ago. Few persons speak of the hand of God; many, of the inexorable laws of nature. The difference indicates, we think, a far-reaching change in our attitude toward the universe. . . .
Can it be that the scientific spirit has robbed us of the old power to discern in the universe something besides the play of blind force on brute matter? Are we no longer plagued by misgivings as to the justice of the smoking sacrifice at Messina? This globe seems to have dwindled to a whirling clod of dirt in blank immensity. There are no vast unknown regions from which an angry God may launch his thunder-bolts. The chemical constituents of land and water, of plant and animal, are analyzed, ticketed, and pigeon-holed; we think we know the exact laws by which they combine, disintegrate, and recombine in myriad forms. There seems to be nothing that can surprise, perplex, awe, or terrify us; nothing that can make our pulse check at a sudden vision of eternity, and startle us out of our humdrum and sordid pursuits. We see in the present fleeting opportunity nothing immeasurably precious because within the hour the solid bases of the hills may heave like the sea, and hurl us on “the black infinite ash-heap of the dead.”
The condition as here described is truly alarming. The unproved assertions of science have shut God out of his universe, and reduced men to mere machines that are incapable of responding to the divine messages contained in storms, floods, famines, and earthquakes. Thus has the god of this world blinded the minds of the people of this generation, lest the glorious light of the last warning message should shine upon them. And all this is done under the appearance of imparting scientific certainties.
How urgent is the demand for the cry, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come”! O that this message might be speedily proclaimed “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power”! O that our own hearts might be more deeply moved with a true sense of the meaning of these repeated judgments, and that our zeal for hastening the coming of the kingdom might be greatly quickened!

The Relation Between the Church and the State

The Roman Catholic Doctrine

ONE direct and valuable result of the discussion which has followed President Roosevelt’s letter on religious liberty is that it has called forth from representatives of the Roman Catholic Church a clear statement of their position on the union of church and state. In the effort to parry the effect of quotations made by Protestants from official utterances of popes who have unqualifiedly condemned the separation of church and state, it has been claimed that these declarations were applicable to Catholic countries in the Old World, but that the position of the church in America, a Protestant country, was quite different. It is therefore of interest to read the statements of representative Roman Catholic teachers who set forth their interpretation of papal bulls and define the position of American Catholics upon the question of the separation of church and state. Our first quotation is from a sermon delivered at Philadelphia by Rev. David Hillhouse Buel, S. J., who declared:—
The Catholic Church has always taught that religious liberty, freedom of conscience, and freedom of worship should be allowed to the sincere and honest of every persuasion, whether Jew or Chinese. But she has also taught that the rebel Catholic, who knew the truth and rejected it, the man of bad will who acted against his conscience, should be forbidden religious liberty, freedom to worship as he pleased, or say what he pleased, to write or to print what he pleased. This is the meaning of the seventy-ninth proposition condemned in the syllabus of Pope Pius IX.
This statement certainly reveals a unique conception of what constitutes religious liberty. Those who are “sincere and honest” should be allowed “freedom of conscience and freedom of worship,” but the liberty of “the man of bad will” should be restrained. In the application of these principles there must of course be some authority who shall determine whether a man is “sincere and honest,” or whether he is a man “of bad will;” and although it is not so stated in this paragraph, the history of the Roman Catholic Church proves that that body claims this right. What, then, becomes of religious liberty? It is granted or withheld at the discretion of the church, which is only another way of saying that there will be liberty to believe and practise Roman Catholicism.
Another utterance of some significance is made by Rev. Thomas F. Burke, of the Paulist Fathers, who is reported in the New York Times as saying:—
No matter how much the church may advocate the union of church and state where ideal conditions prevail, no matter how much she has insisted upon such a union in other lands and in other times, she has never advocated a union of church and state in America. On the contrary, in her principles and in the writings of her supreme pontiffs, she has ever told the Catholics of America that they should give their entire allegiance to the Constitution of the country, and, if necessary, give their lives in her defense. With conscientious rectitude, therefore, every Catholic does, unequivocally, subscribe to the Constitution.
The real meaning of this explanation of the Roman Catholic attitude should not escape attention. The church advocates “the union of church and state where ideal conditions prevail,” or in other words, where Roman Catholics have control in the affairs of state; and the reason she has never advocated the union of church and state in America is because she does not have the power to bring about a union between the Roman Church and the state, and she does not wish to see a union between the Protestant church and the state. Therefore, according to that principle of expediency which has characterized the history of the papacy, the Roman Catholics in this country can adopt the principle of the separation of church and state with apparent sincerity. If, however, they should at some time in the future realize their present purpose to make America Catholic, they would at once repudiate the principle forced upon them and accepted as a matter of expediency, and would advocate the true papal principle—the union of church and state. Those who are familiar with the history of the papacy can entertain no doubt that this is a correct forecast of the situation.
More authoritative and more clear than either of the declarations already quoted is the statement made by “Very Rev. D. I. McDermott,” in a lecture delivered in Saint Mary’s church, Philadelphia, Dec. 6, 1908. This lecture, which is a reply to the letter of the Lutheran ministers to President Roosevelt, has been printed with the approval of the Catholic censor and Archbishop Ryan. In it the teaching of the popes concerning the union of church and state is thus interpreted:—
In advocating a moral union of church and state, the popes teach that state and church are distinct and supreme, each in its order; but that they are not separated; that they are united just as body and soul, though distinct, are united. That, as the welfare of the body depends largely upon its subjection to reason, so the welfare of the state depends largely upon following the guidance of the church; that, as the uncontrolled appetites of the body would war against the aspirations of the soul, and involve both body and soul in destruction, so would legislation uncontrolled by the law of God, war against the prerogatives of the church and inflict injury upon both state and church; that as the separation of the body from the soul is physical death, so the separation of the state from the church is moral death.
Here we have the papal idea of the relation between church and state clearly defined. With an exhibition of that casuistry for which Roman Catholic reasoners are noted, this lecturer declares that the popes regard the state and church as “distinct and supreme, each in its order,” while at the same time affirming that they are as closely united as body and soul. The illustration used shows just to what extent the church and state are “distinct” in the Catholic mind.
When the position here taken is analyzed, it will appear that the principles advocated are in perfect harmony with the record of the church found in the history of the papacy. Popes have always claimed the right to dictate to kings and princes, and have not hesitated to hurl their anathemas against those who resisted these encroachments upon civil liberty. The principle that “the welfare of the state depends largely upon following the guidance of the church,” when formulated in the light of history, means that the state is wholly subordinate to the church, and is to be administered in harmony with the wishes of popes and prelates. Indeed, the claim is plainly made, in this lecture, that one of the purposes for which the church was established was that she might be a court of final appeal in determining the authority of the state. We quote again:—
As Christ certainly foresaw that it would perplex men at times to distinguish what belongs to the state from what belongs to God, he could not have neglected to establish an authority as competent as himself, to adjust differences, to settle disputes, to hold the balance evenly between the citizen and the country, in judging all questions of conscience. For this purpose, Christ established a church... The church, then, no more than Christ, was to learn from kings, emperors, presidents, or legislatures what is politically right or wrong, whether the laws of men are in violation of the laws of God or not. On the contrary, they were to learn this from the church.
It is hardly to be expected that this Roman Catholic lecturer intended to give an interpretation of that twofold symbol presented to John in vision when he saw “a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.” At the same time this statement of the Roman Catholic view of the proper relation between the church and the state is a complete justification of that interpretation of this symbolic prophecy which makes it a representation of the Roman Church in control of the Roman state.
Comparing now these quotations from the utterances of American Catholics with the official documents issued by the popes, it is clear that the principles maintained are precisely the same, the only difference being that in America the principles are not applied for the very good reason that Roman Catholics are not in control of the affairs of state. If at any time the Roman Catholic idea of the relation between church and state should become dominant in this country, a union of church and state would be inevitable. The proper way to guard against this contingency is to maintain inviolate the Christian and American doctrine of the entire separation of church and state.

The Third Angel's Message

By C. M. S.

What Its Acceptance Requires of Us

WHEN the Lord has a message to be given, he calls a man to give it. When he has a work to be done, he calls a people to do it. The message given by Moses to enslaved Israel in Egypt was “the message of the Lord, and the work of that people in standing on the highway of nations to witness for Jehovah was the work of the Lord. The message of the Hebrew prophet to the captive Israelites in Babylon was the message of the Lord, and the work of that people in re-establishing the city, the sanctuary, and the sanctuary services was the work of the Lord. So through his prophets he has spoken, and through his people he has wrought, to warn the world, and to carry out his changeless purpose concerning this earth and its inhabitants.
The third angel's message is a work as well as a warning; because the giving of that message constitutes the last act in the work of the gospel, and because there is set before those who give it the stupendous task of carrying it to all the world. The message of Noah was to the world; because the impending destruction would involve all the world. The message of Moses was to a people; for only a people was immediately concerned in what it contained. The same was true of the message given to the captives of Babylon and of Persia. But in the warnings of the third angel's message and in the destruction which will follow the completion of its work the whole world is involved, and therefore the whole world must be warned.
The greatest task ever committed to a people is that committed to those who have espoused the cause of the third angel's message—a handful of men and women to warn fifteen hundred million! It is a staggering thought; but it is the fiat of the Almighty, and it will be accomplished. Had we but human power to draw on, human means to look to, we might well consider the task a hopeless one. But the one who has given the command for the work to be done is the same one who has said: “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. . . . And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Just so surely as God's work is to triumph in the world, that triumph is to be preceded by the giving of this solemn message. The Saviour makes no more emphatic statement than this: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.” The end must come, or the triumph of God over sin could never be won; but the coming of “the end” is preceded by, and inseparably connected with, the giving of the message; and that is the arrangement outlined by the Saviour himself. The same relation of events is specified by the Revelator. The message of the third angel, warning the world against the worship of the beast and his image, is immediately followed by these words:—
“And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Rev. 14: 14-16.
That is the harvest of the world, the end of the reign of sin, the punishment of sinners, the resurrection and reward of the righteous. It is the consummation of the work of Christ for man. But it is all contingent upon the giving of the message to the world. Without the giving of that message, it will not come. But that it will come is as certain as that God lives, and that the message will be given is just as certain as that the end will come. Men will apostatize from the faith, “expose” the work, and predict its disintegration; but the work will go on in spite of the apostasy, in spite of the “exposure,” increasing in volume and accelerating in speed. The work is of God, and there is nothing we can do that can stay its progress. As well might we attempt to stand in the middle of the Mississippi, and push back its great rushing flood of waters with our bare hands, as to attempt to block the progress of this message by our individual power and influence. The only effect of our opposition is to put another in our place, to run with the message we would not carry.
Out of the land of darkness and bondage and into the land of eternal light and liberty, is what this message means to us if we prove true to its principles and triumph with it. But while it means so much to us, it demands much of us. It means a more striking separation from the world than has ever been practised by any body of people in the world. It means such an attitude toward the law of God and the faith of Jesus as is taken by no other denomination. The Sabbath of Jehovah will separate a people from the world, and stand forth as the chief sign that they are not doing homage to the beast and his image. Their implicit faith in the Bible as the inspired Word of God will separate them from one half of Christendom, and their opposition to the commands of the Vatican will separate them from the other half. While Christendom is confederating to put unlimited power in the hands of religious leaders, the refusal of that small people to join in the confederacy will make them the targets of the envenomed darts of the confederated world. To stand faithful to principle in such a time will be no mean task. With all that power arrayed against them, with the weapons of persecution made ready, and the machinery of law in action to put them into operation, it will seem to some as if God himself had forsaken them. To stand then will require more than human power; and it will be given.
But that is the culmination, the time of fierce trial toward which we have looked so long, and of which we have been warned. We shall know what is to follow, and that will, in itself, be a source of strength and courage. How we have related ourselves to the work of the message before that time arrives will be a strong determining factor in the matter of how we stand the trials of the last days. If we have taken hold of it merely with our finger-tips; if we have given sparingly, and done that grudgingly; if we have kept as close to the world as we could and still have our names retained on the church roll; if we have kept back the tithe, and appropriated it to our own use; if we have refused to inconvenience ourselves that the cause might prosper; if the possession of house or farm or business has given us greater satisfaction than the progress of the message; if when we might have borne testimony to the truth, we have closed our mouths lest we might lose position or influence,—if we have done all these and similar things, we shall find, when the supreme trials come, that we have not sufficient love for this cause to make it seem worth while to bear the burdens and endure the trials.
If, however, we have been faithful in our attitude toward this message, keeping the commandments of God conscientiously, believing his word implicitly, contributing of our means generously and willingly, upholding the standard of truth and purity unflinchingly, giving the message when opportunity offers, going ourselves to carry it or giving that others may go, living day by day in its progress and praying constantly for its success, while we, with God's help, cut loose from all the entanglements of the world, the flesh, and the devil,—then when the crushing tests come, the message will be the only thing in the world to us, and we would rather die than turn our backs upon it. In no other course is there certainty of our being able to stand and to triumph with the truth in the eternal victory over sin and Satan. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15: 58. “Fear God, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Rev. 14: 7. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10: 31. C. M. S.

A Mixture of Nationalities

By William Ambrose Spicer

THE principal of a Chicago public school has presented the claim that he has “the most cosmopolitan school in the world.” He finds that his twelve hundred pupils represent the following nationalities:—
American Canadian Hungarian
English Hebrew Slavonian
German Japanese Greek
Irish Norwegian Portuguese
Lithuanian Danish Belgian
Polish Scotch Swiss
Swedish Spanish Persian
Russian Dutch Welsh
Bohemian Italian
We need ever to challenge ourselves with the fact that all this mixing of nationalities in America is to be turned to the hastening of the work of evangelizing all nations. We hear that the Wisconsin brethren are working to systematically cover the city of Milwaukee in a distribution of leaflets in several languages. Seed sown among the many nationalities gathered in this country must surely bring fruit. The German and Scandinavian literature, as all must know, is produced at College View, Neb., by the International Publishing Association. But any desiring leaflets in other languages, or wishing counsel as to how to work for the groups of foreign-speaking Europeans in our mining or industrial centers should write to the secretary of the foreign department, Brother A. Boettcher, Room 404, 32 Union Square, E., New York City.
W. A. S.

The One True Light

By W. A. S.

THE life of Jesus silences the claims of every perversion of the Christian religion, and of every false religion.
The Hindu talks of Krishna as the divine incarnation, born into the world to teach the way of life.
The Mohammedan glorifies Mohammed as the greatest teacher ever sent on earth, and the Moslem religion as the one true way.
I have asked the non-Christian inquirer in India to put these three religions to the test of the life.
If a man lived in modern times as Krishna is said to have lived, would he be considered a good and model man? Even the Hindu must acknowledge that Krishna lived a vicious life, and that any one following his example would quickly be locked up as a criminal in any orderly community.
Is Mohammed's life one that would be counted a model in the community today? — Plainly not. Dr. Tisdall, of Persia, says that what we learn of his later years from his Moslem biographers is so evil “that it has been found in India that the perusal of his life has again and again led Moslems to abandon their religion.”
Then what of the life of Christ? If a man follows the life and example of Jesus, will he live a model life? Not a Hindu, not a Mohammedan, not a non-Christian can be found who can find aught that is evil in the life of the Author of Christianity.
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” He is the one true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The first convert in the history of modern missions in Japan found a Bible, and in reading the story of Jesus was “taken captive,” he said, “by his life.”
The sum of Christian duty is to “follow his steps.” Sabbath-keeping, baptism, all the duties of Christian service, are urged as part of the life that Jesus lived as our example. Seventh-day Adventism stands for following Christ.
W. A. S.

We May Know God

By F. M. W.

The relationship existing between God and his children is a mutual one. God knows his child, and the child may come to know God. Our Saviour says, in the beautiful lesson of the shepherd, “I know my sheep, and am known of mine.” The knowledge of the One is infinite, absolute; the knowledge of the other is a growing revelation and experience, beginning here and continuing throughout eternity.
Knowing God is a deeper experience than knowing of God or knowing about God. We may know of some man, we may know about him; but this does not necessarily embrace our really and truly knowing the man. Job illustrates this difference: “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.”
There are many professed children of God who are without any real knowledge of him. They are content to hear of God merely, to glean a sort of superficial, second-hand knowledge of him through the experiences of others. They have not seen him with their own eyes, felt the magnetic touch of his divine hand, or the inspiration of his quickening Spirit in their lives. For this class, Christian life holds but little pleasure. Christian duties become a dull and irksome round of formal ceremonies.
There is a nearer approach to the Divine, a closer union which makes of service a song, and of sacrifice an abiding joy. Such communion is found in knowing God, in knowing him for what he is, and for all that he desires to become to every one of his children.
We can not know him as an abstract principle. We arrive at this knowledge through concrete experiences and companionship, as real as those by which we become acquainted with human companions in life's associations. Trial, disappointment, joy and sorrow, victory and defeat, want, perplexity, sickness,—all have their place in revealing to us God, in bringing us through places where we shall feel our need of his divine aid, or in giving to us a knowledge of his divine power and working in our behalf.
We may know him in his power and majesty; we may know him in his love and tenderness. We may know that he is the Saviour of all men; and that he pardons the sins of others, but sweeter than all that, we may know that he pardons our own sins. We may know him in the family relationship of Friend, Father, Brother, and in that tenderest of all associations to the troubled and grieved believer, the Comforter. He pities our sorrows, and longs to bear our burdens. To him we may carry every perplexity, being assured of consideration at his hands. By a multitude of figures God represents his care and solicitude for his chosen ones. He calls himself our Shield, our Refuge, our Strong Tower, our Rock of defense. He longs to become this to every soul, and into this fellowship every child may enter.
We may come to know God with more definite, satisfying knowledge than we know any earthly friend. Our fellows change. We may count them friends to-day; but the reverses of to-morrow change their attitude toward us. Not so with God; he is the “same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” “He is faithful that promised.” This personal knowledge of God will prove a bond stronger than any theory or logic which human reasoning can adduce. Others may turn against him; we will remain loyal. As he is our friend, ever true and tried, we will prove his friends. We know in whom we have believed. We have come to know him in all the precious attributes of his character, and false representation can not affect our allegiance to him or his cause, or tempt us to violate the sweet, holy friendship we cherish with him.
Then let us no longer behold him afar off, but seek to draw near, into sacred, personal communion: By study of his Word, by prayer, by meditation, by asking and believing, by dedicating to him our all, we may enter into the joy of communion, and joy of communion will give joy of service. May we truly come to know him, whom to know aright is life everlasting.
F. M. W.

True Success

By F. M. W.

We can not truly measure success by worldly standards. These may be right, but usually they are wrong. There are scores of men and women whose lives have appeared failures to the world. They did no great heroic deeds. They were the humble toilers of life, only doing the little things, perhaps the menial tasks of the world's work. They died unnoted and unknown. To them was accorded no need of praise or honor, and no monument was erected in their memory.
But God regarded these humble ones otherwise. He took account of the purity of their motives and the faithfulness of their endeavors. He witnessed their stand for right, their loyalty to principle, their faithful, patient plodding in the upward way. In Heaven's sight they rank among the true heroes and heroines of earth's history. F. M. W.

The Legal Rest Day

At the very time when an effort is being made to secure from Congress the passage of a law requiring rest from ordinary labor on Sunday in the District of Columbia, a movement is on foot in Massachusetts to so modify the present Sunday law of that State as to provide for one legal rest day in seven, without that day necessarily being Sunday. The discussion of this question includes some statements worthy of note. One is made by Dr. Gordon, of the Old South Church (Congregational) of Boston:—
If civilization demands that a man work Sunday, he should have some other day of rest. Sunday can not be arbitrarily set as that day.
The second is credited to the pastor of the Warren Avenue Baptist Church of the same city:—
We are willing to let men decide for themselves whether or not they shall have a Sabbath day, and how they will observe it.
The third is found in an editorial from the Morning Star (Baptist) of Boston:—
Either we must invade the field of conscientious conviction, and attempt to compel the Jew to keep the Christian Sunday, which would not be relished if it were a case of the Jew trying to compel Christians to keep the Jewish Sabbath, or else we must agree to let each party observe his own rest day and work on the other six, provided he does not disturb anybody's worship.
This is a frank statement of the actual situation. A law requiring rest on Sunday invades the field of conscientious conviction, and punishes those who obey the commandment of God. The only defensible course is to leave each one free in the choice of a day of rest, and to protect all in their right to hold a peaceable assembly for public worship on any day of the week.
In its further discussion of the question, the Morning Star makes this inquiry:—
How will it affect the rest of us to put Sunday on a kind of secular level with the other six days of the week?
This question broadly suggests that Sunday now depends upon legal enactment for any superiority over other days of the week. If Sunday is a genuine religious institution supported by divine authority, it has no need of the support of the state. If it does not rest upon divine command, it ought to give way to the true Sabbath. In any case, there can be no justification of legislation in its behalf.

Turning Toward Rome

THERE are frequent reminders of the progress being made toward a union between Protestantism and Catholicism. One of these is a recent address to Pope Pius X, from the Society of St. Thomas, of Canterbury, England. From the report of this somewhat remarkable action as given in the Standard and Times (Catholic) we take this paragraph:—
Among the many addresses and letters of congratulation received by our holy father on the occasion of the golden jubilee of his priesthood, few, if any, can have caused him deeper pleasure than that which he received from the Society of St. Thomas, of Canterbury, which comprises the very élite of the Church of England. The address was drawn up at the annual meeting of the society, and was signed by the president, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is undoubtedly a sign of the times, and one of the most remarkable evidences yet given of the tendency toward reunion with Rome on the part of the best elements of the Anglican Church.
The closing part of this address, according to the translation given in the Times, runs thus:—
And, although the dissensions of a past age have caused us to be long separated from communion with you, still we readily accord to the office and dignity of the See of Rome all that was accorded to it by the ancient Fathers, both of the Eastern and Western Church, whose teaching our communion has been wont to recognize as the rule of faith and morals.
We shall ever pray our common Lord to grant you length of years in the supreme priesthood, to finish successfully the work which you have so worthily begun, so that all things may be restored in Christ, and that there may be one fold and one shepherd.
Although those who sent this address to the pope are nominally members of the Church of England, yet it must be evident that at heart they are in communion with the See of Rome. Organic union may never be formed between the high church party of England and the Roman Catholic Church, but they are one in spirit, and agree in placing the tradition and authority of the church above the written Word. Those principles of the papacy which were repudiated in the Reformation are again gaining power over the minds of men.

Note and Comment

Not a Sham

That Roman Catholics regard Protestantism as a force which must still be reckoned with is shown by their estimate of Protestant missions. From a paper on foreign missions, read at the recent Catholic Missionary Congress at Chicago, we take this paragraph:—
Let us not delude ourselves with the idea that Protestant missions are a mere sham. With their enormous outlay they are obtaining remarkable results, and, above all, they are raising a powerful obstacle to the planting of the true Christian faith. There are nations that would to-day be far on the road toward Catholicism were it not that when our missionaries arrived, they found that Protestantism had already, there as everywhere, done its work of dividing the minds of the people and leading them toward incredulity and indifferentism.
If Protestantism had remained true to its original principles, its triumphs would have been far greater, and it would have raised a much more powerful obstacle to the planting of Roman Catholicism. There is need to-day for a revival of the first principles of Protestantism.
Continue reading: An Important Lesson