Earlier text: Publishers’ PageReligious Liberty Collection, March 12
By J. S. WASHBURN
THE question of religious liberty in this country is not a dead issue. The writer had a personal interview a few weeks ago with Rev. W. F. Crafts, the head of the International Reform Bureau. He is zealous, active, determined, and is doing a practical work. He seems actually to believe that God has called him to Christianize the American government, and that progress is being made to that end. Eight laws have been passed by Congress at the request of the Bureau; and in a way that we can not understand, Mr. Crafts is able to secure the printing of his National Reform literature at public expense, and have it sent out as Congressional documents. I have now before me “Senate Document 150,” “Moral Legislation in Congress, Passed and Pending,” presented by Senator Gallinger, of New Hampshire; Feb. 8, 1904, ordered to be printed. This is filled with genuine National Reform teaching subversive of every principle of free government. And you and I and all American citizens are taxed to thus advertise the national apostasy. Two Sunday laws were introduced into the present Congress. On one of these a public hearing was held before the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, but no one who would oppose the bill was apprised of the hearing until after it had passed. The situation is evidently more favorable for a District Sunday law than ever before. Surely “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” We trust there will be a liberal collection on March 12 throughout all our churches for the religious liberty work. Religious Instruction in Public Schools
EDUCATIONAL circles in Utah are greatly stirred over the question whether the Mormon Church shall be allowed to teach its doctrines in the public schools. A Salt Lake City dispatch says that “this practise prevails to a great extent in districts outside of Salt Lake City that are dominated by Mormon school trustees. Dismissing the classes early, and then forcing the children to remain and listen to instruction in Mormon doctrine, has aroused the ire of the non-Mormon people. The custom dates back to the time when the Saints were the only people in Utah, and has continued despite the influx of gentiles, and their protests. Many letters are being published by local newspapers from opponents of the system which is defended by the church organ.” In New York State, Roman Catholics are making a determined and apparently successful effort to use the public school system as a means for the propagation of Romanism. The principle involved is the same in the one State as in the other, but the situation in the Empire State is much more serious than that in the section dominated by Mormonism. The Religious Liberty Cause
By W. A. Colcord
Although the Sentinel of Christian Liberty has been suspended, the cause of religious liberty is not dead. Through the Sentinel and other religious liberty literature, many important battles have been fought, and not a few victories won. Few, perhaps, fully realize the tremendous influence which this literature has exerted, both among our own people and among those not of our faith, in keeping alive the love and spirit of liberty, and in repressing the spirit of bigotry and intolerance, which, on every hand, has eagerly been seeking to spring into action. And there are battles yet to be fought. The campaign is not over. Just recently we have again been reminded that “we may have to plead most earnestly before legislative councils for the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience.” The most interesting and intense part of the controversy is before us. The issue has not changed. The advocates of religious legislation have not ceased working. We are simply coming face to face with the great issue for which we have been looking many years. The religious element and the labor unions, with their required marks and badges, are already beginning to unite. Soon the great religious boycott will be declared, stipulating that only those who have the Sunday-sabbath mark can buy or sell. If there was ever a time when a warning voice should be sounded throughout the land against false worship, and the bigotry, intolerance, and oppression which naturally go with it, it is now. Now is the time to work. Literature is needed. Small, timely documents, rightly prepared, will tell. They have done effective work in the past; they will do it again. There is no need of carping, or of dealing with indirect issues; but there is need of setting forth the great fundamental principles of religious liberty, of calling attention to the great battles which have been fought over this question in the past, and of meeting directly the issue before us. Therefore, in harmony with the call that has been made by Elder Allen Moon, chairman of the Religious Liberty Department of the General Conference, for a collection for this work, Sabbath, March 12, we hope all will give liberally. W. A. COLCORD. We note in the Union Signal mention of the following call which has been issued “for the week of prayer for the Sabbath:” — To the pastors, officers, and members of all Christian churches, and all who love the Lord’s day: Greeting. The undersigned representatives of Sunday Rest organizations in the United States and Canada unite with kindred associations in Great Britain, Continent of Europe, and the British Colonies in reminding all Christians that April 10-17 will be the twenty-sixth annual World’s Week of Prayer for the better observance of the Christian sabbath, the wider dissemination of its inestimable blessings, and its more general observance as the Lord’s day. An “International Rest Day Congress” is to be held at St. Louis, October 11-14, in connection with the exposition, on which occasion, says the Signal, “the Sabbath question will be discussed in all its bearings by some of the most eminent men and women.” The Buddhist Revival in America
By L. A. S.
The New York Sun of February 23 calls attention to some “details indicative of a very notable revival of the aggressive spirit of Buddhism,” which, says the Sun, “have a pertinency for this country, since it seems that here the new Buddhist propaganda is most hopeful of success.” The Sun adds: “The American nation,” says the editor of Buddhism, Ananda Metteya, “is one which, in our opinion, is perhaps the best of all fields for the promotion of those ideas for which our journal is founded, on account alike of the general freedom of its people from conservative prejudices and their capacity for grasping what is essential in new ideas.” He acknowledges indebtedness to Professor Lanman, of Harvard University, for selecting for the society an American representative, Albert J. Edmunds, of Philadelphia, the author of a metrical translation of the ‘Dhammapada,’ or one of the divisions of the sacred writings of the Buddhists, also translated by Max Muller. Not long since we reprinted from an American Buddhist magazine, the Light of Dharma, a very glowing description of a Buddhist temple established in Philadelphia, “under the direction of Dr. Maxwell Sommerville, professor of glyptology in the University of Pennsylvania.” The Sun also makes mention of having received the second number of “an imposing quarterly review called Buddhism,” printed in the English language in Rangoon, as the organ of the International Buddhist Society. “Every indication of enthusiasm, of hopefulness, and of methodical organization in this Buddhist propaganda,” the Sun remarks, “is manifested in the Rangoon review. All the articles give evidence of a sincere conviction that from it will come the world religion of the future.” There is much in what is being taught to-day in this country in the name of Christianity that gives support to the belief of these exponents of Buddhism that “the American nation is one which, in our opinion, is perhaps the best of all fields for the promotion of those ideas for which our journal is founded.” Disguised Buddhism, masquerading in this country as a new phase of Christianity, finds ready acceptance in many minds not guarded by a knowledge of “the truth as it is in Jesus.”
L. A. S. Danger in Speculative Knowledge
By Ellen G. White
The experience of the past will be repeated. In the future, Satan's superstitions will assume new forms. Errors will be presented in a pleasing and flattering manner. False theories, clothed with garments of light, will be presented to God's people. Thus Satan will try to deceive, if possible, the very elect. Most seducing influences will be exerted; minds will be hypnotized. Corruptions of every type, similar to those existing among the antediluvians, will be brought in to take minds captive. The exaltation of nature as God, the unrestrained license of the human will, the counsel of the ungodly,—these Satan uses as agencies to bring about certain ends. He will employ the power of mind on mind to carry out his designs. The most sorrowful thought of all is that under his deceptive influence men will have a form of godliness, without having a real connection with God. Like Adam and Eve, who ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, many are even now feeding upon the deceptive morsels of error. Satanic agencies are clothing false theories in an attractive garb, even as Satan in the garden of Eden concealed his identity from our first parents by speaking through the serpent. These agencies are instilling into human minds that which in reality is deadly error. The hypnotic influence of Satan will rest upon those who turn from the plain Word of God to pleasing fables. It is those who have had the most light that Satan most assiduously seeks to ensnare. He knows that if he can deceive them, they will, under his control, clothe sin with garments of righteousness, and lead many astray. I say to all, Be on your guard; for as an angel of light Satan is walking in every assembly of Christian workers, and in every church, trying to win the members to his side. I am bidden to give the people of God the warning, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked.” Beware of a Sensational Religion
At this time we need in the cause of God spiritual-minded men,—men who are firm in principle, and who have a clear understanding of the truth. I have been instructed that it is not new and fanciful doctrines which the people need. They do not need human suppositions. They need the testimony of men who know and practise the truth, men who understand and obey the charge given to Timothy: “Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” Walk firmly, decidedly, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. You may be sure that pure and undefiled religion is not a sensational religion. God has not laid upon any one the burden of encouraging an appetite for speculative doctrines and theories. My brethren, keep these things out of your teaching. Do not allow them to enter into your experience. Let not your life-work be marred by them. A Warning Against False Teaching
A warning against such teaching is found in Paul's letter to the Colossians. The apostle declares that the hearts of the believers are to be “knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” “And this I say,” he continues, “lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. . . . As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.” I am instructed to say to our people, Let us follow Christ. Do not forget that he is to be our pattern in all things. We may safely discard those ideas that are not found in his teaching. I appeal to our ministers to be sure that their feet are placed on the platform of eternal truth. Beware how you follow impulse, calling it the Holy Spirit. Some are in danger in this respect. I call upon them to be sound in the faith, able to give every one who asks a reason of the hope that is in them. Diverting Minds From Present Duty
The enemy is seeking to divert the minds of our brethren and sisters from the work of preparing a people to stand in these last days. His sophistries are designed to lead minds away from the perils and duties of the hour. They estimate as nothing the light that Christ came from heaven to give John for his people. They teach that the scenes just before us 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 experience, giving them instead a false science. “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein.” Let none seek to tear away the foundations of our faith,—the foundations that were laid at the beginning of our work, by prayerful study of the Word and by revelation. Upon these foundations we have been building for the last fifty years. Men may suppose that they have found a new way, and that they can lay a stronger foundation than that which has been laid. But this is a great deception. Other foundation can no man lay than that which has been laid. In the past many have undertaken the building of a new faith, the establishment of new principles. But how long did their building stand?—It soon fell; for it was not founded upon the Rock. Did not the first disciples have to meet the sayings of men? Did they not have to listen to false theories, and then, having done all, to stand firm, saying, “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid”? So we are to hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. Words of power have been sent by God and by Christ to this people, bringing them out from the world, point by point, into the clear light of present truth. With lips touched with holy fire, God's servants have proclaimed the message. The divine utterance has set its seal to the genuineness of the truth proclaimed. The Anointing
By J. W. WATT
“THEN said Jesus to them again, The Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” John 20:21. “Even so,” in like manner as Christ was sent into this world by the Father, are the disciples sent into the world by the Son. How did God send his Son into the world?—Clothed upon9 with the Holy Ghost; for it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek.” Isa. 61:1. The Spirit of the Father was upon the Son of God; the Spirit of heaven upon earth was thus made manifest. Again we read: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.” Acts 10:38. The Spirit of God, then, is the Holy Ghost; and it is the power of God. How much of the Holy Ghost was given to Jesus? “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” John 3:34. The great ocean of God’s power was open to the Son of God, and he could draw from that treasure-house of divine power a sufficient supply for every need. There was no failure to be seen in the work of Christ; for God was with him, and his power is unlimited. “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” John 17:18. “As he is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. How wonderful is this! God does not ask us to go out into this world to meet a great foe alone; he knows that we should fail if left alone. He thus reveals to us the fact that the same power that sustained his Son and enabled him to make a success of his work, is awaiting us if we only believe what God has said. Is there truly a heavenly anointing for God’s people?—O, yes! “Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God.” 2 Cor. 1:21. “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” 1 John 2:27. Who can read the preceding scriptures without being convinced that God is ready to bestow upon his servants his Spirit without measure? The Testimonies of the Spirit of God have been telling us for years that the power of God was awaiting our demand and reception. How slow we are to believe what God has said upon this important point! O how often we have felt our need of divine power when under a strong pressure from the enemy! how many times we have failed when we might have had the victory if we had only realized that “as Jesus was sent into the world, even so are we sent into the world; that as God imparted to his Son the needed power to insure success, so will he impart the same power to-day to those who trust him.” The Lord is not pleased to see such weakness as is seen among his people at the present time. He would have us awaken to the fact that his power is for his people, and that by faith we should grasp it. By the Holy Ghost, which is thus promised to the people of God, we may and should have the victory at every step of the way. God is stronger than the devil, and through the power of God we may also be stronger than the devil, and put him to flight in every conflict. My brother, put away unbelief, take God at his word, and be strong for the right. There is no reason why we should not see great power with the people of God at this time. The Lord is ready to do his part. Let us seek earnestly for faith that will bring the power of God into our lives as an actual, daily experience. My Shield
By Marianne Farningham
“Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me.” I MUST go forth and take my part In cloudy day or darksome night; Let me not fail Thee, nor lose heart, However fierce the fight. Lord, be thou, lest I faint or yield, My shield. Let me not be of foes afraid, Nor lose my courage in the stress; The weakest need not be dismayed, Whom thou wilt bless. I rest me ever on thy Word, My Lord. Unless thou send, let me not go, Nor follow other lights than thine; I see heaven’s path from vales below, When thy lamps shine, Or through the dark to thee I sing, My King. Stand thou between me and my fear, O mighty Saviour, tender Friend! No harm can hurt if thou art near; Stay by me till the end. With thee I find a peace in strife, My life. I gladly go and take my part If thou shalt bid me rest or fight; Strengthened by faith and strong of heart, I struggle to the light. Be thou to me on every field My shield. A Bible Study
By A. T. Robinson
God's Ownership and Man's Stewardship—No. 2
Study Gen. 14: 17-24. What did Abram bring back from the battle of the kings? Verse 16. Whom did Abram meet on his return? Who is Melchizedek declared to be? What blessing did Melchizedek pronounce upon Abram? Which of these two was the greater? Heb. 7: 1, 2, 7. How much had Abram sworn that he would not take of what belonged to the king of Sodom? What had he done with one tenth of all the spoil he had taken? Then to whom did Abram recognize the one tenth belonged? To whom then does the one tenth belong, even of those who do not recognize the Lord's claim? Study Num. 18: 20, 21, 26-32. What inheritance and part was Aaron not to have among the people? What was Aaron's part and inheritance? What did the Lord give to the priesthood for their service? Then who really and directly paid the priests for their service? How was the tithe to be reckoned by the priests who received it? Verse 27. Were the priests to pay tithe from the tithe which they received? Verse 26. To whom were the priests to pay their tithe? Verse 28. Whom did Aaron represent to the people? Were gifts received to be tithed? Verse 29. After having faithfully tithed all that they received, how were the priests to regard the remaining nine tenths? Verses 30-32. 2 Chron. 31: 1-10. Read and study this portion of the story of good King Hezekiah's work. What did the people do to the images and idols? Whom did Hezekiah appoint to the respective offices? Verses 2, 3. What did he command the people to give to the priests and Levites? Verse 4. What effect did he say this would have upon the priesthood? As soon as this commandment was given, how did the people respond to it? Verse 5. What did the children of Israel and Judah that dwelt in Judah also do? Verse 6. How long did it take them to accumulate those “heaps”? Verse 7. How did Hezekiah and the princes feel when they saw the heaps? Verse 8. Concerning what did Hezekiah question the priests and Levites? Verse 9. How did Azariah the chief priest answer this query? Verse 10. Had they always had enough to eat? What was now left after they had enough to eat? What was the secret of this bounteous store? With what later promise was that experience in harmony? Mal. 3: 10. 1 Cor. 9: 7-14. Study this scripture carefully. What questions are asked in verse 7? Where had this same principle been set forth? Verse 8. What figure is quoted as illustrating the support of the priesthood? Verse 9. Was this spoken directly with reference to oxen? Verse 10. What mutual obligation is stated in verse 11? What questions are asked in verse 13? Is the Lord's plan now just the same as it was in the days of the Levitical priesthood? Verse 14. Are you faithful to God in the payment of that which he claims as his, and from which the Lord's ministers are to be supported? If not, do you know that you are withholding the Lord's blessing from your own soul, the light of the blessed gospel from those who are in darkness and error, and bringing discouragement upon those who are called to the work of the ministry? What is now being withheld from God's people? Jer. 5: 24, 25. What are among the sins mentioned, that are withholding these good things? Mal. 3: 10-12. If all of those who profess to believe the third angel's message were paying an honest tithe, there would be an abundance of means for the support of the workers both at home and in foreign fields. Forgetting Injuries
By G. B. Thompson
PAUL admonishes us to forget the things which are behind, and press on toward the prize which is before us. Certainly this is wise counsel concerning injuries, either supposed or real, which others may have inflicted upon us. Many have darkened their souls by brooding long over fancied injuries. They have nursed with care some old grievance, and mourned at the same time over their waning spirituality. Precious time which should have been spent in prayer and in labor for lost souls has been employed in imagining that somebody has slighted them, and their worldly, selfish dignity lies in the dust, groveling under the supposed insult. Like a canker, these things have gnawed at the heart-strings of their spiritual life until all the gentle graces of the Holy Spirit have been eradicated from the soul, and they find themselves cold and spiritually dead. All this unspeakable anguish and sorrow of heart is caused by selfishness. The old man is not dead, but lives and reigns. Suppose some one has done us an injury. It may have been unintentional, and with tears he may have repented before the Lord. And if the insult was intended, the injury is really greater to the one who did it than to the one who received it; for the God who weighs actions will ask some day for an account to be rendered. Let the thing alone. Forget it, and the wound will heal. Cease talking it over, and reviewing it, for “by beholding we become changed.” A writer gives this sensible advice:— “A man strikes me with a sword, and inflicts a wound. Suppose, instead of binding up the wound, I am showing it to everybody; and, after it has been10 bound up, I am taking off the bandage constantly and examining the depth of the wound, and making it fester; is there a person in the world who would not call me a fool? However, such a fool is he, who, by dwelling upon little injuries or insults, causes them to agitate and influence his mind. How much better were it to put a bandage on the wound, and never look to it again.” Have you been removing bandages from wounds, and tearing them open afresh to see how deep they are? If so, do so no more, but remember that it is written, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves: but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Rom. 12:19. It is certain we can not take any hatred, envy, or jealousy to heaven with us when Jesus comes. Every one of these wicked things must be cleaned from the heart, or we shall be lost. MRS. S. N. HASKELL
By Mrs. S. N. Haskell
The service in the typical sanctuary on the day of atonement in an especial sense represented the work of Christ and mankind in carrying out the plan of salvation. Before the opening of this day’s service every sin was confessed. But if a soul rested upon that fact, saying, There is no need of my afflicting my soul to-day, for my sins are all confessed, he was cut off from among his people. Lev. 23: 27-31. The work done by the high priest in the temple did not save the individual, unless he co-operated in the work by carrying out faithfully the part given him to do upon that day. We are living in the antitypical day of atonement, and our salvation depends upon our co-operating with our great High Priest; and while he, in the heavenly sanctuary, pleads his blood before the Father in our behalf, he expects us to do the work typified by the work required in the shadowy service. If we fail to do this, we shall be cut off just as surely as the individual was cut off in the type. Four things were required of the individual on the typical day of atonement:—- There was to be a holy convocation.
- He was to afflict his soul.
- He was to offer an offering.
- All work was to be suspended.
No one who in his heart believes that we are living in the hour of judgment will neglect the holy convocation. We are admonished not to forsake “the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Heb. 10: 25. If we have no taste for the religious assembly, it is because our spiritual eyesight is blinded, and we do not see the day approaching. In “Great Controversy,” page 420, we are told that afflicting the soul consisted in “prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart.” Any one who realizes that the judgment is set in the heavenly sanctuary, and that one by one all who have ever named the name of God will pass through the close scrutiny of that court, will spend much time in prayer and deep heart searching, that every sin may go beforehand to judgment. But why this fasting? For twenty-four hours they partook of no food. The appetite was held in complete control. There was no question as to which was the master. The individual in the type who afflicted his soul was the master of his appetite; for he partook of no food whatever on that day. If he failed to be the master of his appetite, he was cut off. If this means anything to us, it must mean that during the antitypical day of atonement the individual who allows his appetite to control him will lose his place with the people of God. In Luke 21: 34-36, when the Saviour was speaking of the time when the faithful would be “accounted worthy” to escape those things which are coming on the world, he admonished all to take heed to themselves lest they be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. Surfeiting refers to the quantity of food partaken of, while drunkenness refers to the quality. Some may say, “I know my sins are confessed, and that Christ intercedes for me, but I have no faith in preaching health reform. A man’s religion is not affected by what he eats and drinks.” In the type it meant death to disregard this instruction. In the antitype the soul who disregards the plain instruction given by the Lord in regard to eating and drinking, will find that, too late, he is cut off from among God’s people. Other offerings besides the regular sin offering of the day of atonement were made on the tenth day of the seventh month. Num. 29: 7-11. We are to present our offering, the precious Lamb of God, and through his blood gain the victory over every besetment, every sin. In the type the day was a sabbath, all work was laid aside for a fit type of the admonition given by the Saviour to those living in the time of the judgment: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged . . . with cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” Our business is to be held secondary, and the work of God occupy the first place in our heart’s affection. WHAT Christian man could hear the roar of the flames at Baltimore and not remember the words of an ancient Book, which so plainly declare that the whole earth is some day to pass through a baptism of fire? Even that greater destruction will have its compensation; for a new heaven and a new earth are to follow. Destruction is to be the forerunner of construction. The ephemeral is to give way to the eternal. The uncertain is to be done away with, that the certain and enduring may come in. Every man's work is some day to be tried so as by fire. There will be a great burning up of wood and hay and stubble, but the gold and the silver and the precious stones will remain. God's finger has written more than one lesson in lucid characters of flame, and now again we read that the world passeth away. Blessed indeed is that soul who, recognizing this truth, remembers that he who doeth the will of God shall abide safely through all conflagrations, because unto him comes the assurance that he abideth forever.—New York Observer. Small Causes of Defeat
By Dr. Alex. Maclaren
I BEGIN my day's work some mornings perhaps wearied, perhaps annoyed by the multiplicity of trifles which seem too small to bring great principles to bear upon them. But do you not think there would be a strange change wrought in the petty annoyances of every day, and in the small trifles which all our lives, of whatever texture they are, must largely be composed of, if we began each day and task with that old prayer: “Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered”? Do you not think there would be a quiet in our hearts, and a victorious peace to which we are too much strangers? If, into the trifles as well as into the sore struggles of our lives, we carried the assurance that there is One who fights for us, we should have peace and victory. Most of us will not have many large occasions of trial and conflict in our career; and if God's fighting for us is not actual in regard to the small annoyances of home and daily life, I know not for what it is available. There are more deaths in skirmishes than in the pitched field of a great battle. More Christian people lose their hold of God, their sense of his presence, and are beaten accordingly by reason of the little enemies which come down on them like a cloud of gnats on a summer's evening, than are defeated by the shock of a great assault or a great temptation, which calls out their strength, and sends them to their knees to ask for help from God.—Dr. Alex. Maclaren. Tact is better than talent. Common sense is better than circumstance. It is better to receive criticism than flattery. It is better to be a good failure than a bad success. An approving conscience is better than an applauding world. It is better to overlook a wrong than to be suspicious of one. A minute ahead of time is better than a second behind time. It is better to tell people of their virtues than of their faults. It is better to secure the confidence than the advantage of others. It is better to do with less than you can use than to want more than you need. It is better to think of the blessings you have than of those you do not possess.—Selected.