Review and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 33.
TO MY BRETHREN AND SISTERS IN THE FAITH, NIGH AND AFAR OFFPage 1
Earlier text: TO MY BRETHREN AND SISTERS IN THE FAITH, NIGH AND AFAR OFFCOMMON ERRORS IN DIET.
By L. A. S.
THERE are two ways in which the body may become poisoned. One is by taking poison into the body; the other is by the failure of the eliminative organs to expel the poisons that are constantly being generated in the body. People become poisoned in the first of these ways by eating improper food—food which contains poisons. All flesh foods contain the poisons that in all animal bodies, as in the human body, are constantly being formed. Decay is another source of poison in foods. An illustration of this is seen in the violent illness sometimes following the eating of fish or of shell fish. Decayed fruit is also a poisoned food. All food put up in tin cans is to be regarded with suspicion, because of the lead used in the manufacture of the cans, which is almost sure to become more or less absorbed into the contents of the can, especially when the can contains acid fruit. It is generally understood that care must be exercised to select foods that will not be a means of introducing poison into the system; but it is not so well understood that an equal or even greater source of danger in this respect lies in the possible failure of the eliminative organs to properly perform their work of throwing poisons out of the system. As before stated, poisons are constantly being generated in all animal bodies, even the healthiest, and these poisons must be constantly thrown off or the health of the individual will immediately suffer. These poisons are deadly, and would cause death in a few hours’ time if the eliminative organs—the skin, the kidneys, the liver, etc.—should cease their action. When any of these organs become deranged, therefore, some of the work which naturally falls to the affected organ is left undone, and the poison which should have been thrown off is absorbed into the system. Under these circumstances it is impossible for an individual to be healthy. Aside from the injury caused by taking poisoned foods or drugs into the system, the eliminative organs may receive injury in two ways,—by being overloaded with work, or by being insufficiently nourished; in other words, by the individual’s eating too much, or eating too little. When a person overloads his stomach, although the food may be of the proper kind, some of it fails to be digested, and the result is decay, producing poisons which irritate the organs called521 upon to get rid of them. In this way some of the digestive organs may become so weakened as to be unable to do even a normal amount of work, and then results that most common of ailments—dyspepsia. The dyspeptic person is continually unable to assimilate his food. Every time he eats, some of the food he takes decays, giving rise to various unpleasant symptoms, and what food he assimilates is insufficient for the demands of his body. The poisons produced by indigestion and resulting decay are carried throughout the system, and thus the evil is extended to other organs besides those of digestion. By eating too little also, or by eating food that is not assimilated, every organ of the body may become weakened from simple starvation; and because thus weakened, the eliminative organs may fail to perform their work, and the system become full of poison. Explorer Stanley, in his book, “Darkest Africa,” mentions that the men in one division of his command which was left behind in the march across the continent, experienced the horrors of starvation; and in describing their condition when found, he says that even a scratch which under ordinary circumstances would have been unnoticeable, produced on their bodies a festering sore. This was simply because their blood was full of the poisons which the exhausted eliminative organs had been unable to throw off. This point is worthy of more attention than is generally given it. People do not generally eat too little except from a sense of duty, but we have known individuals who had confounded a health diet with a starvation diet, and suffered accordingly. We have known people who thought it a duty to eat little, and to fast often, under the impression that this was demanded by the laws of hygiene. For fleshy persons, it is true, this course may often be highly advantageous; but for others, it may very easily lead to a consumptive’s grave. A healthful diet is always a nourishing diet. The body must be nourished; every organ must be continually built up by a generous supply of blood, that it may be strong and able to perform its work. There are individuals who overlook this point. They would hold up their hands in horror at the thought of eating pork, but at the same time they practice dietetic errors which impair the usefulness of the digestive and eliminative organs so that their bodies become filled with poisons every bit as bad as those that are found in pork. They carefully guard against the introduction of poison from without, but forget that it is equally essential to guard against the retention of the poisons that are continually forming within. There are some people also who starve themselves not by eating too little, but by trying to live on theory. Theory is not food. They make their food agree with the theory, regardless of whether or not it agrees with them. The Creator designed that eating should be a pleasure — that people should relish their food. If you do not relish your food, it is pretty certain your food does not relish you; in other words, does not nourish you. This is not to say that you should eat everything that you relish — far from it. But it is useless to eat things you do not relish, simply because they are theoretically the proper food. Eat food that is theoretically proper, but only such kinds as you relish, and acquire a taste for others before you attempt to make them the basis of physical health and strength. MRS. ADA D. WELLMAN
By Ada D. Wellman
EDITOR REVIEW AND HERALD: To the good article in a recent number of the REVIEW, concerning care of the hair, might be added this suggestion: Wear a dusting-cap when working in a dusty room. It is a case of prevention versus cure. Also avoid wetting the hair, except for the purpose of cleaning the scalp, and you will thereby escape much dust which would cling to damp hair. Water is not needed to make the hair smooth; in fact, its result is largely the opposite. The natural oil of the hair, if encouraged by brushing, and not discouraged by substitutes, or drowned out, will suffice. The old minister closed the book, and looked around the village church. “You are told,” he said, “when you make a feast, to call to it not your rich neighbors, but the poor, the maimed, and the blind. Now none of you are going to set out a fine dinner or supper this week. Some of us never in our lives gave a great entertainment. Yet the order is to us. I want each one of you when you go home to consider what God has given you besides food with which to make a feast, and who are the poor folk whom you should bid to it.” People glanced, smiled at one another, for the good man was full of queer suggestions. But the idea remained in the minds of some of his hearers, making their Sunday afternoon uncomfortable. It bothered Phil Dorrance, as he sat alone in his room. He usually sat alone, except when at his meals. Phil was the blacksmith’s son, whom his father, by dint of years of hard work and saving, had sent to college. He was grateful to his father, but he felt his education had made a great gulf between him and the old man. His companions were his classmates. He had meant to spend this afternoon with some of them, discussing a paper he had written on the history of the Reformation. Instead, he took it downstairs to the kitchen, where his father and mother in their Sunday clothes sat nodding over the fire. How bare and empty their lives were — work and sleep! “I want to read you something I have written,” he said, cheerily. They drew up their chairs, their eyes sparkling with pride and delight, and listened with a keen, shrewd intelligence that surprised him. They were able, too, to correct some mistakes that he had made, and to give him some facts new to him. “I haven’t had as pleasant a day for years, Phil,” said the old man, when the paper was finished. His aged mother said nothing, but kissed him, her eyes full of tears. In another farmhouse Grace Peel sat also thinking of the old doctor’s suggestion. She was a musician from the city, who cared only for classical music. At home, her playing gave keen pleasure to friends whose musical taste had been cultivated. “They are my rich neighbors,” she thought. Rising, she went down to the parlor and opened the piano. “Suppose,” she said, “we sing some hymns — all of us.” The farmer called in the boys, excitedly. “We haven’t had the piano opened since Nancy went away,” he said. “Come, grandma, I’ll move up your chair. You must join in.” They sang “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” and “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” Sarah, the black cook, came to the door and threw in a wild note of triumph now and then. The discord sometimes made Grace shiver, but she played on. Grandma asked for the old hymns she had sung when she was a girl, and the boys for “Hold the Fort.” When the afternoon was over, the farmer said to Grace, “It’s been a real happy time. You play as well as my daughter Nancy.” Grandma laid her wrinkled hand on Grace’s shoulder: “The happy hours are so few at my age,” she said. “God bless you for giving me this one, my child.” So the minister’s suggestion was carried out. DR. KOCH ON COWS AND CONSUMPTION.
Good for Dr. Koch. There is the milk of human kindness in his veins. His declaration before the British congress of physicians that cows do not communicate consumption is a much needed relief. Medical men have us on too great a scare. They have so stocked everything that we eat, drink, touch, or handle, with germs or bacilli that life has become a constant alarm. It was time for a let up, and especially in the matter of milk. For what with water added to increase the quantity, and chemicals to preserve the sweetness, we had about all that we could stand at the hands of the dairyman. Putting in a lot of tuberculosis germs was too much. Therefore, Dr. Koch is to be thanked for ruling them out, or rather for declaring them harmless. It is good for the cows, and good for us. For nobody wanted to think that cows were going around the meadows with murder in their eyes, nor does anybody like the idea of murdering whole herds of fine cattle in the name of medical science. Still less do we want to believe that to drink a glass of milk is to populate our interior system with the agents of disease, destruction, and death. There are enough of other things to kill us, or to make life miserable. Dr. Koch contends that bovine tuberculosis is not communicable to human beings. In the attempted passage the germ does not reach our side of the shore. It gets lost in the “milky way,” or at least fails to set up in business when it arrives. The human system has established immigration laws against it, which are better enforced and more effective than those of our government. And it is to be taken for granted that a germ of fastidious taste would prefer tenderloin and porterhouse steaks to the tough pickings of the average human body. But the proof which the famous physician offered in support of his opinion is based upon experiment. He tells us that through the assistance of the government, he experimented on a score of cattle, endeavoring by every means to communicate to them human tuberculosis. But it did not communicate. The cattle gained in weight, winked at the doctor, and lay down and chewed the cud of content. When killed, they showed no signs of the affection. But when another lot of cattle were put under the test of bacilli from animals of their own kind, or similar kind, they showed serious signs of infection. From these facts Dr. Koch argues that the bacilli of human tuberculosis and those of bovine tuberculosis are so different in kind as not to be transmissible. Had the experiment been made the other way, the argument would have been more conclusive. But this is not practicable, for no score of human beings care to be experimented upon. The doctor says, however, that if the bacilli of bovine tuberculosis were able to infect human beings, many cases of tuberculosis caused by the consumption of food containing tubercle bacilli could not help but occur among the inhabitants of great cities, especially children. But while most medical men believe this to be the case, it is not really so. That a case of tuberculosis is caused by food can be assumed with certainty only when the intestines suffer first, but such cases are extremely rare. Another important declaration made in the congress was that of Professor Brouardel, dean of the medical faculty of Paris, who maintained that alcoholism is largely responsible for consumption. You will check the ravages of consumption, he said, by stopping the drink habit. This assertion is contrary to the common opinion that whisky is good for lung troubles. But it is a doubly good thing when a medical congress stands up for milk and bears down on alcohol. Most of us would rather trust the cow than the still. WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING?
By L. A. S.
In the Christian life it is a matter of vital importance to look in the right direction. The right direction is toward God. All the trouble in the universe began, in the first place, by looking away from God. Lucifer, the covering cherub, began looking away from the Creator, to himself. Lucifer was a perfect being, possessed of exalted wisdom, glory, and beauty. Of all this he began to take account. His thoughts began to be turned inward upon himself, the tide of his being began to flow inward instead of outward, and this was selfishness,—a principle exactly opposite to that manifested in the life of God, and upon which He had founded His government. The life of God is a continual outflow from himself to His creation; and each of His creatures is to pass on the tide of divine blessing from himself to others. This is the way it has always been in heaven. In the abode of righteousness no being thinks of himself. The angels are not self-conscious. They do not think of their own glory and beauty, for they “do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Lucifer reversed the order which had been established in heaven, by intercepting the tide of divine blessing and appropriating it to himself. By this he shut God away from him, and changed himself into the devil; for without God no being is or can be anything but a devil. But if, when he began looking at his own wisdom and excellence, he had looked away from himself again to God, he would have recovered himself and have averted the ruin which came upon him. The selfishness with which he had become tainted would have disappeared; he would again have become a channel of the divine life, instead of becoming, as he did, a stagnant pool of self. And for every one of Adam’s race who has become tainted with self, there is available the same remedy—the simple looking away from self to God. For this purpose Jesus Christ has been lifted up before the world, and the eternal Father has revealed himself in Christ. “God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. 4: 6. While the devil is calling our attention to anything and everything that can divert the view from God to that which is of the world, even for an hour, God has provided for us this glorious view of the face of Jesus Christ. Is this a spectacle worth our attention? Is it worth more than the tawdry shows gotten up by the evil one to catch our attention and fasten it to a doomed earth? These are questions for each of us to answer for himself. Do not think that in the Christian life it will be necessary every now and then to stop and take account of the excellences to which you have attained. That is both unnecessary and dangerous. The one thing necessary is to look steadily unto the divine Pattern, the Captain of our salvation. The Christian need not feel worried because he is not conscious of growth in grace. Growth is not a thing the grower is ever conscious of. The sure way to grow is to behold “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” until there is no consciousness of self, and the sure way to shut off Christian growth is to look away from that vision to ourselves. So it is worth while to consider the question, To what are you looking? The most glorious sight in the universe is before you. Have you seen it yet? If not, do not delay, but by faith behold it now. THE GREAT LITTLE THINGS.
By A. J. B.
To, the one who is constantly looking for some “great big” thing, the title of this article may seem a little ambiguous. However, though paradoxical, it expresses perfectly the thought which we wish to convey. The dignity and importance of little things are too often overlooked. All great things are composed of little things. For every “great big” thing in this world there exist a thousand “great little” things. Life itself is made up entirely of very little things—seconds, heart-beats, snatches of fresh air, little food-particles, millions of little thoughts brief as lightning, etc., etc. How much, indeed, depends upon trifles! Jesus was a thorough believer in the importance of little things. He it was who taught that “he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.” Luke 16: 10. In His parables He used the little, the every-day things of life to make His thoughts plain to the multitudes. By means of the parable of the mustard seed He taught a never-to-be-forgotten lesson on the power and true greatness of “little things.” After the feeding of the five thousand He asked His disciples to “gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” John 6: 12. Jesus was a true gentleman—a man of gentle manners; for, among David’s last words occur the following: “Thy gentleness hath made me great.” 2 Sam. 22: 36. His gentleness, we may be sure, was manifested not merely in the great things, in the crises through which He passed, but also in His more numerous experiences in little things. Snow and water are composed of minute particles, frail in themselves; yet how disastrous the powerful avalanches and floods! It has been estimated, by some genius, that “if a single grain of wheat produces fifty grains in one year’s growth, and these and succeeding crops be counted, and yield proportionately, the product at the end of the twelfth year would suffice to supply all the inhabitants of the earth for centuries. The single grain would have multiplied itself 244,140,625,000,000,000,000 times.” Some other genius should compute the size of the forest which it is possible to grow from one little acorn, etc., etc. Such is the power of little things. History records that the Crimean War, which involved England, France, Turkey, and Russia, and cost $1,520,000,000, to say nothing of the great loss of life, “grew out of the refusal to give up a key. A shrine in the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem was claimed by the Greek Church, which locked it up, and declined to surrender the key. This refusal made the Latin Church angry. The controversy became so warm that Russia stepped in as the patron of the Greek Church, and France of the Latin Church, and the complications increased. Russia demanded of Turkey that some repairs be made to the church. Turkey refused the demand. As England had been in the habit of helping the Turks, she took sides with them, and drifted into an alliance with France, against Russia. From that trifling and contemptible beginning came the charge of the ‘Six Hundred,’ the costly assault of the Malakoff, the destruction of thousands of brave men who died in the trenches before Sebastopol, and the slaughter of many desperate battles.” Nor is this the only case wherein a little thing played so important a part. Then ten years’ siege of Troy was caused by a circumstance most trivial. Numerous other instances might be mentioned. It is said that Napoleon’s success was due to the fact that he was “a master of trifles;” and that “to details which his inferior officers thought too microscopic for their notice, he gave the most exhaustive attention. Nothing was too small for his study. Nothing could be more perfectly planned, even to the pettiest item, than his memorable march which led to the victory of Austerlitz, which for years sealed the fate of Europe.” The captain who took him to Elba was “astonished at his familiarity with all the equipments of the ship.” His success, to be sure, was that of an unscrupulous, cruel, and worldly man; but the method he used was most excellent, consisting, as it did, in thoughtful consideration of the power of little things. Of all men, the Christian needs to guard himself against the “great little things.” The slightest deviation from the right is a “little” thing which leads to greater and still greater transgression. “The best exercise for the conscience,” says James Freeman Clarke, the great Bible student, “is holding fast its integrity in small things. Here lies the chief temptation to wrong. To tell a small untruth, to utter a little word of unkindness, to cheat in some very unimportant matter,—these are the real temptations of life which beset us.” Therefore, let us be careful of the little things in our lives. The great things come to us so seldom that we are generally quite fully prepared for them. Great temptations repel us, and give us time to resist or escape. The little ones seem too small to be noticed, unworthy of resistance, and therefore conquer us by their sheer littleness. The peasants of Italy are able, by the use of a little powder and a cannon, to drive from their vineyards the great and destructive hail-storms; but the little destroyers are not so easily disposed of. As Solomon says, it is “the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines.” If we take care of the little temptations, the great ones will take care of themselves. POWER FROM ON HIGH.
By L. A. S.
The people of God have not nearly as much power as they ought to have, or as the Lord wants them to have; and there is one simple reason why they do not have it. That reason is, they would not use it to the glory of God. They have all the power now with which the Lord can trust them. All power is of God. The Lord Jesus Christ has “all power . . . in heaven and in earth,” and because of this He has commissioned His servants to go everywhere and preach the kingdom of God. In the service of God, “all power” is not too much to be exercised by the weak human instrument; but in the service of self, all power would be infinitely523 too much. “All power” to resist sin is only what the Omnipotent has provided us; but all power to serve sin would set sin upon the throne of God. God will not make himself the servant of sin; therefore He cannot endue any person with power from on high while that individual is practicing sin. Yielding upon even one point to the power of sin, opens an avenue through which the devil has access to the heart, and through which he would have access to the power of God if that power had been given the individual. Then the power of God would be exercised under the direction of Satan, and God would be divided against himself. It is useless to pray for more power while failing upon any known requirement of Christianity. The way to more power is through more consecration. The way to gain greater victories is by a more complete surrender. God has power enough, and He will not fail to bestow even omnipotent power upon you the moment He sees that you can be trusted with it. We read in the sacred word of how God manifested himself to the prophets of olden time, and we think that God must have had great love for the holy men of old, as indeed He had. But was it not the merits of Christ, the appointed Sacrifice, that commended them to God, the same as with ourselves? And did you ever take note of the fact that God revealed himself to them not for their sakes, but for ours? The revelations made to the prophets were a manifestation of God’s love for us. Here is the testimony of Peter on this point. After speaking of the prophets who “inquired and searched diligently” to know the things that pertain to the sufferings and resurrection of Christ, he says: “Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1: 10–12. Even as early as the time of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, God began to speak for the benefit of us who are now living at the end of time, and so Enoch prophesied of the second advent of Christ. And so far as the record shows, this is the first clear prophecy ever uttered. The prophecy of the second advent of Christ was made before that of the first advent, and the second destruction of the world was prophesied long before Noah uttered his warning of the destruction to come by a flood. As we read the words written by the holy men of old, let us not forget that God made them ministers not unto themselves, but unto us. ALL the grudges that you lay up now against others, will appear finally as having been laid up against yourself. THE reason God is so particular with us is that we could not trust a God who was not particular to keep His word. PROGRESS means victories, and victories mean conflicts. Thus you may “count it all joy” when you fall into “divers temptations.” THE person who is most conscious of the need of reformation in other people, is apt to be one who greatly needs a reformation in himself. THERE is one sure solution of the “labor problem,” and every one will find it who will heed the invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” CHRISTIANS are the salt of the earth, but in order that this may be so they must be as unlike the earth as salt is unlike that which it preserves. Christians need never think to help the world by becoming like it. FREE METHODIST JUSTIFICATION FOR SUNDAY.
By L. A. S.
We note in the Free Methodist, of Chicago, the following attempt at justifying the observance of Sunday:— “In contrast to the Mosaic dispensation, in which six days of labor were followed by the Sabbath as a day of rest, the day of rest comes first in the Christian dispensation, and the days of labor follow. This contrast has its counterpart in the type of religious experience characteristic of the two dispensations. The old covenant was one of works, and under it men labored in pursuit of rest. The new economy is peculiarly one of grace, in which soul rest, realized through faith, is the starting-point, and works follow as a consequence. The Jews labored, and then entered upon their Sabbath. We enter upon our Sabbath first, and are then refreshed and prepared to labor. And only such as have entered into the Sabbath rest of deliverance from sin's galling service are prepared to do effective service in the interest of Christ's kingdom.” This sounds plausible, but the worst error often appears plausible. Going deeper than the surface appearance, we find at once that it is wholly unscriptural. For men who sought to gain the promised rest through a “covenant of works” never obtained it, either in the Mosaic dispensation or in any other. A “covenant of works” was never ordained of God, and never could lead to any spiritual blessing. Neither are men prepared now to labor for the Lord in any different way from that by which God's servants were prepared under the “old dispensation.” Faith was as necessary in the work of God anciently as it is to-day, and works followed faith as inevitably then as they do now. He whom the Scriptures hold up as the father of the faithful was Abraham, who lived even before Moses; and at the best, people of this age can only be counted as Abraham's children in the Christian faith. Rom. 4: 1-25; Gal. 3: 6-9. The rest which is gained by faith was promised to those whom Moses led out of Egypt, and it was through their lack of faith that they failed to obtain it. “For some, when they had heard, did provoke; howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was He grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Heb. 3: 15-18. Therefore, because they who might have entered into the promised rest, did not do so because of their unbelief, “Again, He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long a time; as it is said, To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” It is the same rest now that was set before those who lived under the Mosaic dispensation, and is to be obtained by us in the same way in which they might have obtained it. And we are exhorted, “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest.” Heb. 4: 11. We must first “labor” to obtain that spiritual rest now, just as truly as people had to labor for it in the time of Moses. The Sabbath came when creation was finished; and it was the rest of God, an emblem of the heavenly rest to come. Only by faith in Christ can it be properly observed. By faith there is a new creation, and the believer is again made perfect in Christ. There is no need of a new Sabbath, nor any chance for one; for by faith the believer enters into the rest of the Lord, and no Sabbath but the Sabbath of the Lord, ordained to crown a new and perfect creation, would be appropriate for him. There are many plausible reasons for keeping Sunday, but not one that is Scriptural. L. A. S. A TERRIBLE famine prevails in China over the provinces of Shansi and Shensi, where there are one third as many human beings as fill the whole United States. For several years there has been almost no rainfall, and the famished inhabitants are eating grass, bark, and even each other, to keep alive. A cry for help comes from this death-stricken land to this country, and Christians in many places are responding. While the “Christian Powers” are compelling China to pay $337,000,000 damages for a war these Powers provoked, Christians are giving money to China for its relief. This illustrates the moral difference between a “Christian” nation and Christianity. The New York Christian Herald, which raised a fund for the famine-stricken in India, is doing a like work for the famine victims in China, and any reader of these lines who is moved to give something to this fund can do so by forwarding it to the Christian Herald, 92 Bible House, New York City, which will send it by telegraph to China. Twenty cents will save a life for a week. Five dollars will save six lives for a month. It is to be hoped this Christian relief work will do something to distinguish Christianity in the Chinese view from the doings of invading armies, and thus prepare the way for a more favorable reception of missionary efforts in that great country. (Designed for the consideration of such questions as will be of interest and profit to the general reader. All correspondents should give their names and correct post-office address, that queries not replied to here may be answered by mail.) 824.—The 7th Thousand Year.
A friend of mine thinks we are mistaken about the idea that Christ is coming so soon; thinks six thousand years from the creation of the world must elapse before the end comes. What is the evidence on this point? Mrs. M. J. T., Otho, Iowa. Answer.—There is a long-standing tradition that the week consisting of six days of labor, and the seventh day, or Sabbath of rest, is an emblem of the course of time, spanning the existence of this world in its present condition; that is, that the days represent a thousand years each, the six working days representing six thousand years during which sin and sorrow will reign, and the seventh a thousand years of Sabbatical rest, or the millennium, during which the world will have rest from its troubles, and peace and righteousness will prevail. This, of course, is but conjecture and tradition. But suppose there should be something substantial and tangible to this, it would still be clothed with an element of uncertainty; for the question of chronology, especially in regard to the age of the world, is involved in doubt by the disagreement and confusion of the leading systems of chronology. The question of the nearness of the second coming of Christ is not left to rest upon such a foundation. There are prophecies that indicate approximately the time. Signs bear testimony to the fulfillment of the prophecies; the course of events show the age of the world in which we are living; the apostle says of the Church that they are not in darkness that the great day should overtake them as a thief; that is, evidences enough are placed around them, that they need not be overtaken as by a thief; and they are told, when they see certain phenomena occurring, to know that Christ has reached the very door that opens into the fulfillment of His promises, and the fruition of the hopes of His people. When He comes, He comes as the friend and redeemer of His people, and they greet Him with the joyful exclamation, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us;” and He will greet them, by saying, “Come, my people, enter into the joy of thy Lord.” IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
By L. A. S.
It makes a difference whether a person observes one particular day of the week as the Sabbath, or as an equivalent observes “any one day in seven.” It is often argued that the Fourth Commandment does not specify a particular day of the week, but merely a seventh day, and therefore that any one day in seven will answer the purpose of the Sabbath law. But however plausible this may look in theory, there is a vast difference between the two in practice. If you think this is not so, try it and see. Change from the observance of the first day of the week as the Sabbath to the observance of the seventh day, and see if it does not make an immediate and very tangible difference in your circumstances. See if your neighbors do not feel differently toward you; see if your employer does not think there is a difference between keeping the first day of the week, and keeping the seventh. And if you are in a State where the Sunday laws are enforced, tell the court, when you are brought before it for breaking Sunday, that one day of the week will do just as well as another for Sabbath-keeping, and see if the court will excuse you on that ground. You will hear that argument dismissed by the court in a very summary way. No; it makes a difference—a vast difference—everywhere save in the theories men have invented to evade the self-sacrifice required by obedience to the Fourth Commandment. It makes a great difference with men, and do you suppose it makes no difference with God? Is God less particular than man in the matter of obedience to law? God’s people are “a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” It is their religion that makes them peculiar. Seventh-day observers are a peculiar people; first-day observers are not. Peculiarity is not always Christianity, but Christianity is always peculiar. An indefinite religion so elastic as to conform to popular custom, and thereby avoid inconvenience, scorn, and ridicule, will not stand the test. God designs that His people shall be different from the world and from all such as are influenced by selfish motives; therefore He has put a difference between taking Him exactly at His word and the pretended obedience of those who have only a form of godliness. He has established this difference not for the detriment of His people, but for their everlasting good. In the day of Judgment we shall be glad indeed of this distinction. L. A. S. Maritime Provinces.
By George E. Langdon
South Farmington, Nova Scotia.—I made a short visit at South Farmington, with Brother Dimock. He and his family are the only Sabbath-keepers in that place. On Sunday a goodly number of neighbors attended the services held in Brother Dimock's house, after which his two daughters, one son, and his farm hand were baptized in a little stream near by. These four, with Brother Dimock and his wife, were afterward taken into the church at Halifax. Indian Harbor.—At this place a neat church building has been under construction for several years. Last winter Brother Covey, with others, finished the building sufficient for use. I held meetings every night for four weeks, with a good attendance. Four young people were baptized and united with the church; four gave up the use of tobacco; and some who had been on the background renewed their covenant with God. They are planning to complete their church for dedication next fall. Halifax.—I have made this place my home for the past two years. Brother F. A. Tracy has also been laboring here part of the last year. Four have lately been baptized, and nine united with the church. There are now thirty-four members, and twelve others are keeping the Sabbath. The Sabbath-school numbers fifty-nine. St. Martins, New Brunswick.—There are only a few Sabbath-keepers left here, but all are of good courage in the Lord. Two living here united with the church in St. John, that being the nearest church of our people. Fredericton, New Brunswick.—Brother W. R. Andrews, whom the New England Conference has kindly sent to our needy field, has joined me at this place, and we have our fifty-foot tent pitched in a pleasant location, with a good attendance. Brother F. A. Tracy, who has been with us and helped in starting our tent work, has now gone farther up the St. John River to visit the scattered Sabbath-keepers, and hold meetings as the way may open, and work with “Christ's Object Lessons.” Two tents are in the field this season,—ours at Fredericton, and Brethren Hersum and Longard's at West Jeddore, Nova Scotia. RALLY TO THE STANDARD. *
By Mary Evelyn White
Praise the Lord, O my soul; yea, praise His holy name;
His goodness laud, His grace extol; ye saints, His love proclaim;
Hold fast the faith; faint not; doubt not; our trust is in the Lord;
Think of His coming; sing and shout, all ye who keep His word. We know His coming will be soon, because His word is sure.
Jehovah’s law, the faith of Christ, our watchwords safe and pure.
Lift up the standard, keep the faith, shrink not, faint not, ne’er doubt!
Ye watchmen now on Zion’s walls, send the glad tidings out! Restore the paths! Close up the breach! Push on the work each day!
The God of heaven will blessing give, and be with you alway!
His is the glory, His the power, the increase He will give.
His sheep will know their Shepherd’s voice, and look to Him and live.