MANY blessings hoped for fail to reach our possession because we do not prepare the way to receive them. Missing these, we mourn over blighted hopes when it is too late to change the results. When the rounds of providence provide us with multiplied chances to mend our ways, we still say, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
Adam and Eve might have lived in Eden until now if they had continued in the way of obedience. Now their posterity cast blame upon them because they yielded to the tempter; but who has not made for himself a cause to mourn over what might have been? The Lord provided excellent things for patriarchs of olden times, which they did not receive because they missed the road in which these things were to be found.
When Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord wished to make them a shining light to all the people of earth; but they became a derision to the nations, instead of a blessing. The Lord said to them, “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured forever.” Ps. 81: 10-15.
The following scriptures tell us what blessings might have come to Israel had they received the message of John the Baptist: “This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee. . . . For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come.” Matt. 11: 10, 13, 14, A. R. V. “And he [John the Baptist] shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17.
But John was beheaded because of the righteous reproof he gave; and after he was dead, Jesus gave the following explanation relative to the prophecies which he was to have fulfilled had the people accepted him as a prophet sent of God: “And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. . . . Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” Matt. 17: 9-13.
When the long-expected Messiah came to be made an offering for transgressions, his own nation refused to receive him. The apostle says, “He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not.” John 1:11, A. R. V.
He gave every essential evidence of his anointing, but they still refused to receive him. After he was rejected by those for whom he had labored, he wept over their doomed city, saying, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” Luke 19:42-44. When he saw the fearful calamities which were coming upon that people, instead of the joy which they might have had, his sorrow became too great to smother in his own bosom, and so expressed itself in bitter wailing.
Following the ascension and coronation of Jesus, the people of Israel were invited by the apostles to receive him as their personal Saviour, and of course to unite with them in giving the glad tidings of salvation through him to all the world. The apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost said, “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. . . . Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. . . . Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2: 32, 33, 36-39.
On another occasion he testified, saying, “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts 3:25, 26. And again, “Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, . . . to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher. But God raised him from the dead: and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again. . . . Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.” Acts 13:26-33, 40, 41.
But the Jews eventually rejected the gospel as presented to them by the apostles, and so the Gentiles were called upon to accept Christ, and presumably to assist in the work of giving the gospel to the world. “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” Acts 13:46. And again, “The heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.” Acts 28: 27, 28.
Brethren and sisters, there are lessons in these things for us. These things were written for the admonition of those who live in the closing up of this dispensation. The Lord desires that we shall be kept from making mistakes similar to those referred to in the preceding quotations. There is great need of watching at every step. Much study and earnest prayer will be required. Are we doing all the good possible with the truth which God has committed to our trust? Are we constantly leading sinners to Christ? Do we make the right use of the means which the Lord puts into our hands? Had all been wholly faithful to the truth committed to them in giving the third angel’s message to the world, our work might have been completed long ago. But shall we now be faithful? Will our people now consecrate themselves and their means to the Lord? Why can not those who have thousands of dollars on interest donate it to the most needy fields, so that many more souls may be brought to Christ soon? It would be a wonderful day of rejoicing among the Lord’s worn servants if one million dollars were offered this winter for the advancement of this cause. This doubtless seems like a large sum to mention, but it is not beyond that which might be done if all were as willing to invest their money in this cause as many will be when it is too late. It seems to me that the time has come when something of a decided character should be done.
God's Heroes
By John M. Hopkins
JOHN M. HOPKINS
The world has had many heroes, men who were ambitious for wealth, for renown, for position and power,—men of large ability, of education, of physical strength. The world's history abounds with records of daring, of endurance, of energy and enterprise in the mad rush for earthly glory.
But there is another class of heroes and heroines of whom the world knows little or nothing. I do not mean those only who have stood in the forefront of the conflict against wrong, such men as Luther, Wesley, or Whitefield. I do not mean the D. D.'s or the LL. D.'s or any of the famous ones. But I do mean those men and women of every creed and clan, of every place and time, who have valiantly stood for God and his truth,—men and women who, in humble circumstances, in poverty, in hunger, in destitution, and in persecution, have firmly, but meekly and patiently adhered to the right,—those who, in opposition, have been willing to sacrifice life rather than compromise principle,—men and women who have braved trials and hardships that they might carry the “good news” to their brothers and sisters in heathen darkness.
And God has his heroes in the home land. There are many fathers and mothers, many husbands and wives, many sons and daughters, who are toiling and struggling against difficulties, bearing heavy burdens of care and duty,—many wives whose husbands are hard, cruel, and intemperate, who receive at their hands only neglect and abuse,—many mothers who are patiently toiling for those they love, denying themselves needed food, clothing, and rest, that their wayward, ungrateful children may be made comfortable and happy,—many husbands and fathers working early and late to supply the needed comforts of home, while they are regarded as simply “the old man,”—many whose forms are bent, whose hands are marred and scarred, whose fingers are crooked, whose eyes are dimmed, of whom the world is not worthy.
Indeed, the world knows nothing of them. Silently, uncomplainingly, patiently, they toil on year after year, until, worn out, their life ebbs away, and they are laid to rest. Too late the scoffing son or daughter, the ungrateful husband or wife, comes to see that father or mother or companion was not appreciated. Too late they recall the bitter words spoken, the slights and the neglects.
But God knows. He sees all those tears. He hears all those sighs and cries. He feels all those heartaches and pains. He knows all those struggles for principle, for truth and righteousness. Yes, many are the Lord's heroes. And it requires vastly more moral courage, more strength of character, more strict adherence to principle and duty to thus toil on unloved, unappreciated, unknown, year after year, and not only to toil but to bear and suffer, than it does to win a battle or to conquer an enemy.
My brother, my sister, are you one of God's heroes, one of his heroines? Toil on. Are you standing, perhaps all alone, in defense of the “commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”? Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Stand faithfully at your post of duty, knowing that a true man, a true woman, will stand at the post of duty like a man, like a woman, or fearlessly fall there. Make no compromise with sin, banish it from your heart and life. Make no compromise with the world; for it “lieth in wickedness.” Be true to your high sense of justice, of honor, of Christian dignity. Be true to Christ, principle, and duty. Be true to your own best present and eternal interests. Be God's hero in the strife.
A Night in the Country
Gentle reader,—you who are in the habit of going to sleep among the dying echoes of the day's rumble and roar in the city, to be awakened at intervals by the rattle of a vehicle clashing over the cobblestones, or some vociferous engine snorting and puffing as it comes from a long trip,—I place you under obligation to me by giving you this exhortation: Try one night in the country, where you can open your windows, and, lying on your bed, can look up at the peaceful stars smiling down through an atmosphere untainted with smoke and dust. Listen to the song of the whip-poorwill over in the clump of trees where the water murmurs. Hear the gentle heart of Mother Nature beating against your own. Think of God, and light the altar-fires in the soul's dim sanctuary, and listening to the faint footfalls of the “loved and lost awhile” as they tread the halls of memory, you will fall into a childhood's slumber, and awake a better man or woman. Try it.—Raleigh Christian Advocate.
A Lesson About Diligence
There was once a German duke who disguised himself, and during the night placed a great stone in the middle of the road, near his palace.
Next morning a sturdy peasant, named Hans, came that way with his lumbering ox-cart. “O these lazy people!” said he, “there is this big stone right in the middle of the road, and no one will take the trouble to put it out of the way.” And so Hans went on his way, scolding about the laziness of the people.
Next a gay soldier came along. He had a bright plume waving from his helmet, and a sword dangling by his side, and went singing merrily on his way. His head was held so far back that he didn’t notice the stone, so he stumbled over it. This stopped his song, and he began to storm at the country people, and call them “boors and blockheads, for leaving a huge rock in the road for a gentleman to fall over.” Then he went on.
Next came a company of merchants, with pack-horses and goods, on their way to the fair that was to be held in the village near the duke’s palace. When they came to the stone, the road was so narrow that they had to go off in single file on each side. One of them, named Berthold, cried out, “Did anybody ever see the like of that big stone lying here all the morning, and no one stopping to take it away?”
It lay there for three weeks; and nobody tried to remove it. Then the duke sent round word to all the people in his lands, to meet at a deep cut in the road, called Dornthou, near where this stone lay, as he had something to tell them. The day came, and a great crowd gathered at the Dornthou. Each side of the cut was thronged with people overlooking the road. Old Hans, the farmer, was there, and so was Berthold, the merchant.
And now a horn was heard, and the people all strained their necks and eyes toward the castle as a splendid cavalcade came galloping up to the Dornthou. The duke rode into the cut, got down from his horse, and with a pleasant smile began to speak to the people thus:—“My friends, it was I who put this stone here three weeks ago. Every passer-by has left it just where it was,13and has scolded his neighbor for not taking it out of the way.”
When he had spoken these words, he stooped down, and lifted up the stone. Directly underneath it was a round hollow lined with white pebbles, and in the hollow lay a small leathern bag. The duke held it up that all the people might see what was written on it. On a piece of paper, fastened to the bag, were these words: “For him who lifts up the stone.” He untied the bag, and turned it upside down, and out fell a beautiful gold ring and twenty large, bright, golden coins.
Then everybody wished that he had moved the stone, instead of going around it and only blaming his neighbors. They all lost the prize because they had not learned the lesson or formed the habit of helpfulness. And we shall lose many a prize, as we go on in life, if we do not form this habit. That bag of money was the duke’s promise of a reward for helpfulness. But that promise was hidden away under the stone, so that no one could see it. God’s promises are not hidden in this way. They are written plainly in the Bible, so that we may all see them and understand them.—Christian Intelligencer.
Winter Birds
I WATCH them from my window,
While winds so keenly blow;
How merrily they twitter
And revel in the snow!
In brown and ruffled feathers
They dot the white around,
And not one moping comrade
Among the lot I’ve found.
“Cheep! Cheep!” Their tiny voices
Seem thankfully to say:
“A blessing to the Giver
We sing upon our way.
Though skies are dull and stormy,
To sigh would never do;
For he who sends the winter
Will send the summer, too.”
Ah, may I be as cheerful
As yonder winter birds,
Through ills and petty crosses,
With no repining words!
So, teaching me this lesson,
Away, away they go,
And leave their tiny footprints
In stars upon the snow.
— Scholar’s Magazine.
The Quiet Child
We have recently had occasion to observe the ways of a nervous mother, and we feel inclined to echo the sentiments of the lady who said that nervous people have no right to children.
To train a child to sit still and to speak in whispers, and to move about, when at all, very quietly, may be better than allowing it to roam the streets totally unchecked. But isn't it something like breaking a wild song-bird to captivity?
The poor little thing so dreads the bars, and, beating its wings the while, looks at you so piteously with such a mournful light in its soft eyes, and then after a while it ceases to fret, it even knows a dull content—it has grown accustomed to its cage. But, ah! you will miss the wild beauty of its song, the glad pulsations of its breast and wings, the ardor with which it sought to soar when it was free. Restore these, if you can.
A quiet child—a subdued child—a child that never makes any noise—a child which always has before it the fear of its mother's reproof,—it is a pathetic image.
Imagine if you can a boy who never tooted a horn nor played fire-engines; a girl who never romped and ran, never sang, nor whistled for the mere delight of being alive. There are thousands of them, and eternity will not be too long to make up to them for the childhood lost.
Perhaps no one but the unnaturally restrained child himself fully knows the ache and depression of feeling himself different from other children. That difference will separate him from his kind throughout life. If he does not learn comradeship in those early years, he will only never learn it. He will always be a creature apart from the rest of humanity, cut off from it by a gulf never to be bridged. And what if he is better instructed, wiser, more intellectual, generally superior, if with it all he is not happy? The individual who enjoys is more to be envied than he who has learned to despise enjoyment.—Selected.
Depressant Drugs and Sudden Deaths
It is very interesting to examine the statistics of sudden death from heart-disease in New York City during the last three years. In 1900 there were registered 4,069 deaths from heart-disease in the greater city of New York, in a population of approximately 3,445,000, while in 1901 there were 4,626 such deaths, the population having presumably increased about 100,000. Thus there was an increased ratio of sudden deaths to population. In 1902 the number of sudden deaths reported from heart-disease had increased still further to 5,461. Calculating the percentages of sudden deaths from heart-disease to population, allowing for the before-mentioned increase of population, the deaths of this kind to each 1,000 were, in 1900, 1.18; in 1901, 1.31; in 1902, 1.34.
For the year 1903 there was a decrease in the number of deaths from this cause, so that the ratio was only 1.28 per 1,000. There has been some discussion among sanitarians and public health officials as to the reason for this decrease. A portion of the decrease has been ascribed definitely—and with considerable plausibility—to a certain cause. At the beginning of last year the board of health, suspecting that many prescriptions for phenacetin were being filled by druggists with acetanilid, or with a mixture of phenacetin and acetanilid, sent inspectors to obtain definite information on this matter. Altogether 373 samples of phenacetin were bought from the same number of drug stores in various parts of the city, phenacetin being specially asked for, and in some instances even obtained, on a physician’s prescription. Of the 373 samples, 58 were pure phenacetin; 315 were adulterated with cheaper drugs, mainly acetanilid; and in 267 cases containing more acetanilid than phenacetin; 32 samples were pure acetanilid. The commissioner made these facts public, and threatened to expose and prosecute all druggists who would hereafter be found committing this misdemeanor.
It is very interesting, at least, to find that a single year after the investigation and supposed consequent reform on the part of the dispensing pharmacists there should be a slight reduction in the actual sudden death rate from heart-disease, and that at a time when for many years there has been a constant increase in the death rate from this cause. It is well known that acetanilid is a distinctly depressant drug for the heart. Professor Jacobi, of New York, always insists that it is an actual tissue poison, to be used only with great care, and many therapeutists teach that it is the underlying cause for the increase in reported sudden deaths in recent years.
This question of the evil of depressant drugs is all the more interesting because of the freedom with which so-called headache powders, mainly composed of acetanilid and other heart depressants, are now so commonly bought and sold. Many women, and even men, think nothing of stepping into a drug store and asking for something for a headache. The headache powders that are dispensed to them so freely always contain acetanilid, and great harm is being done in this way. It is probable that a similar investigation in other cities of the country might also furnish instructive facts. Certain it is that proper legal regulation of the sale of such depressant drugs, so that they could not be dispensed except under the direction of a competent physician, would in the long run have a beneficial effect on the sudden death rate from heart-disease. This cause of sudden death is becoming more frequent in this country, and is a serious menace for those suffering from even slight forms of heart-disease if they are so foolish as to take these remedies.—Journal of the American Medical Association.
The Scolding Habit
SCOLDING is mostly a habit. It is often the result of nervousness, and an irritable condition of both mind and body. A person is tried or annoyed at some trivial cause, and forthwith begins finding fault with everything and everybody within reach. Scolding is a habit very easily formed. It is astonishing how soon one becomes addicted to it, and confirmed in it. It is an unreasoning and unreasonable habit. Persons who once get into the way of scolding always find something to scold about. . . . It is an extremely disagreeable habit. It is contagious. Once introduced into a family, it is pretty certain in a short time to affect all the members.
People in the country more readily fall into the habit of scolding than the people in town. Women contract the habit more frequently than men. This may be because they live in a confined and heated atmosphere, very trying to the nervous system and the health in general, and it may be partly that their natures are more susceptible, and their sensitiveness more easily wounded.
One cause of irritability is the drinking of stimulants. Another cause is found in indigestion and dyspepsia. But “bad air” is undoubtedly to be held as the cause of many scoldings which would never have occurred in well-ventilated apartments. If the reader has acquired the habit of scolding and really wants to be rid of it, she should try to remember each time she feels provoked that it only makes her look foolish in the eyes of the person spoken to and those around, and is the source of discomfort and unhappiness. By getting into the habit of speaking kind words, which never die, and seeking to benefit rather than wound others, she will escape much displeasure, and in time entirely lose the practise of speaking harshly.— Selected.
Korea, an Unentered Field
By F. W. Field
F. W. FIELD
KOREA is Japan’s nearest neighbor; so we who have brought the closing message to the “flowery kingdom” are brought close to the needs of the “hermit nation.” For centuries Korea was shut away from the rest of the world, like a hermit in his hut. But this exclusiveness has vanished; there is a friendly feeling toward foreigners, and the laws are liberal.
Korea is situated directly west of the main island of Japan. It has an area of eighty-five thousand square miles, rather less than Great Britain, and a population estimated at between six and ten millions.
The government is weak, but under the influence of Japan various enterprises and reforms have been introduced.
Many curious and interesting customs prevail among the people. Travelers paint fantastic pen pictures of cities built of low mud houses, along narrow streets trod by people in long white garments and towering hats. But these odd externals soon lose their novelty; of deeper interest are the spiritual conditions and needs of the people. Buddhism and other forms of heathenism prevail. Yet the door of Korea is wide open to the entrance of the gospel, and already several denominations of Christians have well-established missions. The Bible is printed in the native language, and other Christian literature is being brought out. In Chemulpho, the port of Seoul the capital, the Methodists have a congregation of about three hundred believers. The Korean Christians are often spoken of for their devotion, and their liberality in supporting gospel work.
The women of Korea are compelled by custom to live in seclusion, much as do the women of India. So there is need of women missionaries, as well as men. A Korean church building has one side of the room partitioned off for the women, with just a narrow aperture about a foot wide in front, through which to see and hear the minister.
The language resembles the Japanese in grammatical structure, but in vocabulary the two bear little resemblance. The Koreans, like the Japanese, use the Chinese characters in their books; but they, too, have evolved something very like an alphabet, consisting of simple characters, each with a fixed phonetic value.
Some of their books are printed wholly in these native characters, while others contain Chinese ideographs. Europeans require two or three years of study before they can begin to use the language in giving religious instruction.
Of late we have felt much interested in this needy field, and are praying that God will lay the burden upon some hearts to bring the closing gospel message to this people. We shall be more than willing to furnish further information to any whose hearts may be so impressed. Strong, energetic, consecrated young people are required for such a field. These Oriental countries may not offer all the comforts and luxuries to be found in our American homes; but they do offer glorious opportunities for winning souls for the Master. The Lord calls for volunteers. Who will go? and who will send them?
KOREAN CIVIL OFFICERS
Tokyo, Japan.
Council Meeting in Fiji
By E. H. Gates
E. H. GATES
BELIEVING that the readers of the REVIEW will be interested in the progress of the cause in the islands, I send the following report of a council held by our laborers in Fiji. Brother Fulton, superintendent of that mission, has been in Australia for the past year, for the benefit of his health, but has just returned from a two months' visit in Fiji. He reports excellent and encouraging meetings among the native brethren.
We are very anxious to start a school in that group, where we can educate native young men for mission work in the heathen islands to the west of Fiji.
Proceedings of the First Church Council in Suva Vou, Fiji
This council was held Nov. 2-5, 1903. There were present Pastors Fulton (Chairman) and Parker, Brother and Sister L. Currow, Sisters Parker, Peoples, Read, and Edwards, and Brother A. Currow.
Prayer was offered, which was followed by reading the record of the first council in the Christian church, as recorded in Acts 15. Remarks were made by the Chairman, to the effect that questions of a similar nature had to be dealt with in this the first council of believers in this message in Fiji. As there, the Holy Spirit was needed now to direct and preside, that the work might be rightly done, and harmoniously carried forward in the future.
Brother A. Currow was appointed secretary. The Chairman read a list of items for consideration, and suggested the appointment of a committee of three persons to prepare resolutions on the same. The three appointed were C. H. Parker, Pauliaso Bunoa, and A. Currow.
The medical work was taken up for discussion, pending the report of Committee on Resolutions. Brother and Sister L. Currow had been sent here as self-supporting medical missionaries.
Brother Currow was asked to express his desires, and to make suggestions. He first read a report of the work to date: Number of treatments, 66,—free, 29, representing £6; paid, 37, representing £10 15s.
The report was received with pleasure, especially as it represented but three weeks, the work being not yet known in Suva. The blessing of God was attending the treatments in a marked manner. The following outline was presented by Brother Currow for consideration in council: Name by which the work shall be known; the basic idea or form; the charges to be made for natives; the location; health foods and sanitary supplies; advertising among the natives.
These subjects were considered and voted upon separately, thus: Name, Fiji Medical Mission; that the basis be educational, for whites and natives; that a nominal charge be made the natives, payable in cash or labor, according to ability of individual; that as soon as advisable rooms be secured in Suva to give the work a public standing; that the work with health foods, etc., be undertaken by Brother L. Currow; that free notices be printed in the Rarama. Meeting adjourned.
Subsequent Meetings
The meetings which followed were all well attended by the native brethren, who manifested much enthusiasm in taking part in the proceedings. Here it is customary to allow but one, or perhaps two, native ministers to be present in church councils.
The discussions were marked by unity and a desire to lift up the standard of truth and present a pure church before the world.
We here append the resolutions discussed and passed during the council sittings:— 1. Denominational name. It being difficult to make a suitable translation of our denominational name into the Fijian15language, there being a paucity of words to convey the idea therein, it was voted to adopt the name already given by outsiders,—“The Church of the Seventh Day.”
2. That a request be made to the Australasian Union Conference for union with Tonga and Samoa.
Whereas, The Lord has said that our publications should be “scattered as the leaves of autumn,” therefore,—
3. Resolved, (a) That more literature be prepared and published in the native language during 1904, as follows: two tracts on health, one on the second advent of Christ, and one on the Sabbath.
(b) That our people be encouraged to take up the canvassing work, commission being allowed on all sales.
(c) That the circulation of the Rarama be encouraged by our people, taking yearly clubs of one hundred, at one pound, for each locality of organized believers, and that donations for support of the paper be solicited from Australasia.
(d) That a vigorous effort be made to place our literature in the hands of the Solomon Islanders, nearly all of whom speak and read Fijian, so that the truth may be carried by them to their homes when returning thither. One of the native brethren informed the council that on one occasion he had sold ten copies of our first Fijian book to Solomon Islanders, and that these books had been taken to that group.
(e) That a new hymn-book in Fijian, containing not less than one hundred hymns, be printed as soon as possible.
In view of the importance of Sabbath-school work, and the growth of the work in Fiji.
4. Resolved, (a) That a Sabbath-school organization be effected here, so that that work receive due attention.
(b) That one person be elected yearly as its secretary, the duties of that office being to gather reports from different schools; to prepare quarterly reports to be forwarded to the Sabbath-school association’s secretary, in Australia; and to prepare lessons for use in Sabbath-schools.
(c) That schools be provided with maps and blackboards, and suitable exercises be introduced to make the gatherings interesting and instructive.
(d) That outlines of lessons be printed monthly in the Rarama, for use in the Sabbath-schools.
5. That this council heartily appreciates the action of the union conference in passing a resolution respecting the establishment of a missionary training-school for Polynesia to be located in Fiji, and providing a teacher for same, and in view thereof, recommend that the said school be conducted for the present at the Suva Vou Mission.
Church Discipline
Whereas, In Fiji intemperance in eating, drinking, etc., is rapidly increasing, and is to some extent sanctioned by other denominations, to the confusing of the native mind and retarding of the progress of the gospel in its purity, therefore,—
6. Resolved, (a) That we as a church in no way countenance the use of the native drink yaqona, and tobacco, neither by cultivation, sale, nor use in any way; and, further,—
(b) That we pledge ourselves to follow the Word of God in discarding all things therein classed as unclean and unsuitable for food.
Seeing that in the past God’s people were led into idolatry, riotous feasting, and worldly pleasures by beholding such things, and that similar temptations exist and shall increase in these last days, therefore—
7. We earnestly exhort all church-members to maintain an entire separation from such evils and practises as are contrary to the spirit and purity of the gospel.
Whereas, The Word of God expressly commands, “Owe no man anything,” therefore—
8. Resolved, That we “shun debt as the leprosy.”
Whereas, Ministers of this denomination can not celebrate marriages of parties divided in religious belief, therefore,—
9. Resolved, That this people follow the Scripture in respect to marriage (2 Cor. 6:14), and be not “unequally yoked together with unbelievers.”
10. Resolved, That special effort be made by workers to encourage payment of the tithe, exhorting all to be faithful in returning to the Lord his own.
Seeing that we are admonished by the spirit of prophecy to “guard sacredly the edges of the holy Sabbath day,” therefore,—
11. Resolved, That meetings be held at time of sunset, to welcome in and close the Sabbath accordingly.
12. Resolved, That we acknowledge by praise and thanksgiving the goodness of God, and express gratitude for the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in all the meetings.
A number present gave cheering testimonies, and all joined finally in a song of praise. A thanksgiving prayer offered by the Chairman, and followed by the benediction, brought the proceedings to a close. A. CURROW, Secretary.
Mission Notes
THE British and Foreign Bible Society was able to circulate 88,000 copies of the Scriptures in Spain last year, as compared with 71,000 during 1902.
Free Railway Passes for Bible Society Agents
The Russian authorities have recently granted free railway passes to agents of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and free transportation of their books, over the lines in Manchuria.
China’s Need for Bibles
For every person in China who has a Bible, there are about two thousand who have none; and for every person who has a New Testament, there are two hundred and fifty who have none; for every person who has a single copy of one of the Gospels or other small portion of Scripture, there are forty who have none. So the work is only beginning.
World Population by Religion
THE latest statistics show that in the world’s population of 1,544,000,000, there are to every 1,000 people, 346 Christians, 7 Israelites, 114 Mohammedans, and 533 heathen.
Need for Foreign Missionaries
Bishop Thoburn, writing of the need of the Methodist Church for re-enforcements in the foreign field, says: “If asked for an estimate of the men needed, I should say that we should enlist at least two hundred and fifty missionaries within the next twelve months. Do not be startled in that this number seems large. If you had the view which I possess of the actual extent and the imperative demands of the work, you would wonder at my using so small a number as two hundred and fifty. I feel quite sure that if this large re-enforcement should be sent abroad, it would not at all suffice to meet the present demand.”
The Old Man’s Love for the New Testament
AN old man died in Japan last year who had been the first to be baptized in his native town, years ago. He was over seventy years of age at the time of his death, which for a Japanese is very old. The missionary had felt that the old man did not take much of the gospel into his head and heart, as he said very little about it. But just before his death, he learned that he had been greatly mistaken. The missionary thus describes his discovery: “Since the day of his baptism he had never been known to be separated from his New Testament, neither by day nor by night. By day he carried it in his bosom, and by night placed it under his pillow. When I visited him, it was still by him, being placed at his head, and his simple life had been the living of this Word. Would to God we all had the faith of that old man, and the like love for our Father’s Holy Word.”
