Signs of the Times, Vol. 8, No. 4. (1/26/1882)

Signs of the Times

Jan 26, 1882

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 26, 1882

The Victory at Ebenezer

By Mrs. E. G. White

General Articles.

The Victory at Ebenezer.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

AFTER suffering the oppression of their enemies for twenty years, the Israelites "mourned after the Lord." They repented of the sins which had alienated them from him, and sought to return again to their allegiance. Samuel counseled them, "If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods, and Ashtaroth, from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." "Return unto the Lord with all your hearts;" "Prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only"—here we see that practical piety, heart religion, was taught in the days of Samuel, as taught by Christ when he was upon the earth. The teacher is virtually the same in both dispensations. God's claims are the same. Without the grace of Christ, the outward forms of religion were valueless to ancient Israel. They are the same to modern Israel. All the pleas of self-righteousness are unavailing; all hope is groundless except that based upon the sacrifice and victory of our Saviour. Obedience to God, required in the days of Moses, Joshua, and Samuel, was enforced by the world's Redeemer.

Samuel endeavored to impress upon Israel the fact that they themselves had something to do to secure the divine favor. They must repent of their sins, and put away their idols. The prophet had succeeded in arousing the people from the lethargy of sin, and he greatly desired that this awakening might result in a general and permanent reformation. With the co-operation of the heads of the tribes, a large assembly was convened at Mizpeh. Here a solemn fast was held. With deep humiliation the people confessed their sins, and poured out water before the Lord as a symbol of their supplications poured out for the divine favor, their tears of sorrow for sin, and of gratitude that the Lord was still gracious and merciful. As an evidence of their determination to obey the instructions they had heard, they invested Samuel with the authority of judge.

Remembering how the prayers of Moses had formerly prevailed with God for Israel, the people entreated Samuel to intercede for them. Again the prophet exhorted them to renounce their idolatry and turn from their backslidings, and then as the servant of God he prayed for a blessing upon them.

The Philistines interpreted this gathering of Israel to be a council of war, and with a strong force set out to attack and disperse them before their plans could be matured. The tidings that these powerful foes were approaching caused great terror among the Israelites. Unarmed and defenseless, they felt that their only hope was in God. If he went forth with their armies, they would be victorious; if he refused to help them, defeat was certain. Hence they entreated Samuel, "Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines."

With great earnestness the prophet pleaded for divine help, and the people also sought the Lord. While Samuel was in the act of presenting a lamb as a burnt-offering, the Philistines appeared in the distance, ready for battle, and expecting to make an easy prey of the people whom they had so long oppressed.

Then the Mighty One who had descended upon Sinai amid fire and smoke and thunder; who had parted the Red Sea, and made a way through Jordan for the Hebrew host,—the God of Israel, again manifested his power. Vivid lightning flashes and terrific peals of thunder struck terror to the advancing host. When the blinding glare had passed away, the earth was strewn with the dead bodies of armed warriors. Against such a foe, military skill was powerless. Paralyzed with fear, the Philistines looked only for utter destruction.

During the raging of the elements, the Israelites stood in silent awe, trembling with hope and fear. When they beheld the slaughter of their enemies, they knew that God had accepted their repentance, and that he had wrought in their behalf. Though wholly unprepared for battle, they seized the weapons of the slaughtered Philistines, and fell upon the force they had so lately dreaded, and pursued the fleeing hosts to Beth-car.

This signal victory was gained upon the very field where, twenty years previous, Israel was smitten before the Philistines, the priests slain, and the ark of God taken. Thus was again repeated the great lesson, that for nations as well as for individuals the path of obedience to God is the path of safety and happiness, while that of transgression leads only to disaster and defeat.

It was the Lord's purpose so to manifest his power in delivering Israel, that they might not take the glory to themselves. He permitted them, when unarmed and defenseless, to be challenged by their enemies, and then the Captain of the Lord's host marshalled the army of Heaven to destroy the foes of his people. Humility of heart and obedience to the divine law are more acceptable to God than the most costly sacrifices from a heart filled with pride and hypocrisy. God will not defend those who are living in transgression of his law.

All Israel recognized the hand of God in their deliverance, and gratefully acknowledged his great mercy. That the occasion might never be forgotten, Samuel set up, between Mizpeh and Shen, a great stone as a memorial. He called the name of it Ebenezer, "the stone of help," saying to the people, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." This stone was to stand as a witness to all future generations, to testify of God's care for his people, and to strengthen faith in him as their deliverer.

The Philistines were so completely subdued by this defeat, that they surrendered the cities which had been taken from Israel, and refrained from all acts of hostility for many years. Other nations followed the example of this powerful and warlike people, and the Israelites enjoyed peace during the whole period of Samuel's sole administration. The condition of God's people at the present day is similar to that of idolatrous Israel. Many who bear the name of Christians are serving other gods besides the Lord. Our Creator demands our supreme devotion, our first allegiance. Anything which tends to abate our love for God, or to interfere with the service due him, becomes thereby an idol. With some their lands, their houses, their merchandize, are the idols. Business enterprises are prosecuted with zeal and energy, while the service of God is made a secondary consideration. Family worship is neglected, secret prayer forgotten. Many claim to deal justly with their fellow-men, and seem to feel that in so doing they discharge their whole duty. But it is not enough to keep the last six commandments of the decalogue. We are to love the Lord our God with all the heart. Nothing short of obedience to every precept—nothing less than supreme love to God as well as equal love to our fellow-men—can satisfy the claims of the divine law.

There are many whose hearts have been so hardened by prosperity that they forget God, and forget the wants of their fellow-men. Professed Christians adorn themselves with jewelry, laces, costly apparel, while the Lord's poor suffer for the necessaries of life. Men and women who claim redemption through a Saviour's blood will squander the means intrusted to them for the saving of other souls, and then grudging dole out their offerings for religion, giving liberally only when it will bring honor to themselves. These are idolaters.

Church-members expend their Lord's money in various forms of self-indulgence, and when means are needed to sustain the church, a fair, a theatrical entertainment, or a grand supper is given. Thus professed Christians unite with worldlings in mirth and frivolity, feasting and display—sometimes, far worse, in practices which in a slightly different form are denounced as crimes by the laws of the land. And all this to obtain means from those who have no interest in religion, and who are actuated only by a desire for sensual gratification! Is not this base idolatry?

The history of our Saviour's life of humiliation, self-denial, and sacrifice, is looked upon as an old story, which has become distasteful to the refined imagination. It does not possess sufficient interest to stir the heart, to lead to self-denial for Christ's sake, or for the sake of souls for whom he died. A large proportion of the Christian world are saying by their practice, "Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die." Their religion has no elevating, ennobling influence upon themselves or upon society. Though all they have is the gift of God, they do not acknowledge it as such.

Oh, how great is the mercy of our God, to bear thus with the perversity of his creatures! Every spring the earth is clothed with verdure, that its freshness and beauty may bring to our minds thoughts of the Creator. The fields of grain waving in the sunshine of summer, or the autumn breeze, tell us of Him who giveth to his children their daily bread. The trees bending under their burden of rich fruit, proclaim his mercy and benevolence. But men, blinded by selfishness and mammon, can discern only the amount of gain which shall fill their coffers.

The cattle upon a thousand hills, could they but speak, would acknowledge the care of the Great Shepherd. The birds of the forest sing with sweetest strains the praise of God. The heavens declare his glory, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. The things of nature—earth itself, teeming with bounties and blessings—would call the mind away from self to honor and adore the Lord God, our Creator. And yet men feel no duty to return thanks to the Giver of all good. They appropriate the gifts of providence, and then too often hold themselves aloof from their fellow-men, as though worldly possessions had given them special importance. They will yet learn that it is goodness of heart, integrity of character, not the riches of the world, which make a man worthy of honor.

God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. No other worship will he accept. There is need to-day of such a revival of true heart-religion as was experienced by ancient Israel. We need, like them, to bring forth fruit meet for repentance,—to put away our sins, cleansing the defiled temple of the heart that Jesus may reign within. There is need of prayer—earnest, prevailing prayer. Our Saviour has left precious promises for the truly penitent petitioner. Such shall not seek his face in vain. He has also by his own example taught us the necessity of prayer. Himself the Majesty of Heaven, he often spent all night in communion with his Father. If the world's Redeemer was not too pure, too wise, or too holy to seek help from God, surely weak, erring mortals have every need of that divine assistance. With penitence and faith, every true Christian will often seek "the throne of grace, that he may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

Repentance is the first step which must be taken by all who would return to God. No one can do this work for us. We must individually humble our souls before God, and put away our idols. When we have done all that we can do, the Lord will manifest to us his salvation.

And when the light of Heaven dispels our darkness, let us, like Samuel, evince our gratitude by making a memorial to God. We often lose great blessings by neglecting to praise the Giver. Let us make melody to him in our hearts and with our voices. The soul may ascend nearer Heaven, on the wings of praise. God is worshiped with song and music in the courts above. And as we thus express our gratitude, we are approximating to the worship of the heavenly hosts. "Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth God." Let us with reverent joy come before our Creator "with thanksgiving and the voice of melody."

A PRAYER OF TRUST.

O, FATHER, is this "trying of my faith" That which thou hast called "precious?" Dearest Lord, Help me to "think all joy," since thou dost send For my own good the trial. Let the gold "Tried in the fire thine own image bear. Thy strength is to sit still," thou hast declared; But can I hold me still when this tired heart Quivers with inward pain, and the flesh shrinks, And every sense seems numbed, and life's deep springs Are failing? From the depths I cry to thee, Who for me bore a nature like my own. O, human Saviour, hear my human cry, And pity as thou only canst, dear Lord! Never on earth from weakness thou didst turn, Nor send the fainting multitudes away Unfed; and shall this hungry, aching heart, That turns alone to thee in its deep need, Be thrust aside? Dear Lord, thou canst not spurn A thing so poor, so helpless, from thy side, And thou hast been my help in days gone by. So closer, closer to thy wounded side I press, That if I needs must suffer, thy dear arm May be about me, and thy loving breast May prove my shelter though all other fail. In utter weakness here I lay me down At thy dear feet, my Saviour, nevermore In joy or sorrow, Lord, from thee to part.

Crime.

THE great increase of crime may well excite serious apprehension in the mind of every lover of his country. Gambling is rapidly becoming a national vice. Colleges have their boat clubs, towns and cities their base ball clubs for gambling purposes. Millions of dollars of railroad, mining, and other stocks, are sold by men who do not own what they sell, to men who do not expect to own what they buy. Even grain, that feeds the people, is bought and sold in the same way. A. buys of B. a million of bushels of wheat to be delivered at the end of thirty days at a certain price. If, when the time is up, wheat is higher than it was when the sale was made, B. pays the difference on the quantity sold. If it is lower A. pays the difference. It simply amounts to a bet between the parties that wheat will be at a certain price on a certain day. It is gambling and nothing else. This is carried on, to an extent little dreamed of, by men living in all parts of the land. This leads to false reports in the papers in regard to everything that has a tendency to influence the market. To cover up losses, recourse is had to embezzlements, thefts, and forgeries. The conscience is silenced by the plea that the money so taken will be returned as soon as possible. The government is robbed, business houses are robbed, widows and orphans are robbed—sometimes openly and sometimes under the cover of judicial proceedings.

Murders for the most trivial causes are becoming common. The New York Graphic says: “In the shooting line the wild West pales before the East. For in shooting, New York now rivals Leadville.” The Fenians, for the purpose of crippling England, openly threatened to blow up English steamships even though engaged in the American trade and loaded with American passengers.

What is the cause of this general demoralization? For years back we have been accustomed to attribute it to the war. There is no doubt but that war is an enemy to morality and religion. But we have had peace for a sufficient length of time for the nation to recover its moral tone. But there are no indications of a growth of virtue among the people. We think the causes of the prevalence of crimes are mainly these:—

1. The growing prevalence of infidel sentiments. Experience has demonstrated that human laws, whatever their penalties, are weak unless they are supported by the sanctions of religion. The experiment of governing a state on atheistic principles was tried a half-century ago in France. Under the teachings of the assumed philosophers of the day, the Sabbath was formally repealed, the Bible discarded and Christianity abolished. The worship of reason was inaugurated. Those in authority beheaded, under the forms of law, thousands of their co-patriots because their political sentiments differed a little from their own. The streets of Paris flowed with blood.

Our government is a government by the people. Yet within a few years two of our best and most popular Presidents have been stricken down by the assassin’s hand. Our government cannot stand upon an infidel foundation. Atheistic sentiments are sapping the very foundation of society.

The New York Evening Post says: “A careful survey of the murders, suicides, and other great felonies committed in the chief cities of the United States during the last ten years, shows that a heavy fraction of the perpetrators were atheists and free thinkers. These unhappy persons, persuaded that life is the be-all and end-all here, imagine that they can jump the life to come. A collection of letters and other papers often left by criminals, when anticipating death, shows a fearful number of instances, some of which many readers will recall, of absolute disbelief in the existence of a God, or in penalties for sins committed in this life to be exacted in the future one.”

The Hon. George R. Wendling in his lecture on Robert Ingersoll, says: “The most notorious outlaw known in the criminal annals of the West, Frank Rande, stood a few months ago, at the bar of his cell in St. Louis, the very impersonation of every crime, and with the air of a braggart, said to preachers, priests, and policemen, to throngs of men and women, ‘I am a Bob Ingersoll man’—and every man and woman in the land believed him.”

2. Another cause of the tendency to crime is the making of salvation so easy by the popular churches and revivalists of the day. Repentance, restitution, confession, turning from popular sins, is not insisted on. Multitudes join the church without any Christian experience. They profess to be saved without meeting the conditions of salvation. Many who are starting upon a career of crime are encouraged to go on, with the hope that before they die they can “come to Jesus,” without humbling themselves and making wrongs right, and be saved. The popular, unscriptural theology is doing immense harm. We need revivals; but most of all a revival of righteousness.

—B. T. Roberts, in Earnest Christian.

The Second Advent Compared with the First.

By Rev. J. S. Gilbert, (Methodist.)

CHRIST, the Son of God, came into this world of ours. Bethlehem contained his manger-cradle, Calvary his cross, and Olivet the last imprint of his blessed feet. He will come again. He said so; his apostles said so, and they wrote so. Only gigantic self-conceit or cold indifference can miss their meaning. Let us compare the two advents together. They have points of agreement and points of divergence. Let us first note their points of agreement.

Each has been foretold. The prophets of the Old Testament, who spake of his first coming, looked over intervening centuries and in vision beheld him come again in power and glory. The New Testament is full of predictions concerning his second advent. The closing verses of its last book contain a promise of his coming again.

Each is a personal coming. We can no more spiritualize away his second than we can his first coming. The one will be as real and actual an event as the other.

A few were looking for him the first time. A few, comparatively, will be looking for him the second time.

The first advent was certain, and came in God's good time,—it came when the nations had tried every help and hope, and all had failed. The second advent is no less certain to occur and will come at the appointed time. It will come when every other hope has failed, and men's hearts are failing through fear and despair.

Note now the points of difference. They are many and very patent. We can no more than name them.

The first time, he came to suffer; when he comes again it will be to reign. He came in the feebleness of infancy; when he comes again it will be in "power and great glory." He came to die for sinners; he will come the second time "without sin unto salvation." At his first coming he stood at the bar of Herod and Pilate; when he comes again, not only Herod and Pilate, but all men and all nations, must stand before his bar.

"The babe of Bethlehem, how unlike the man That groaned on Calvary, yet he it is, The man of sorrows,—Oh how changed!"

Then the seat of mercy will give place to the throne of judgment. The brow once pressed with thorns will be radiant with divine glory. The hands once nailed to the cruel wood will wave a sceptre of victory and dominion. The face, down which once trickled the tear of sorrow and the warm blood-drop, will be as the "sun shining in his strength." He will come to stay. It will be a final coming. He will come to live with and reign over his people.

Are we ready for this coming? Do we think upon it with pleasure? If so, happy are we. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh will find watching and waiting.—Rev. J. S. Gilbert, (Methodist.)

Who Shall Judge?

By R. F. Cottrell

BY R. F. COTTRELL.

THE LORD instructs his people to be circumspect in all that he commands. Who shall say that some things which he requires are of little or no importance? Yet many, professing to be loyal to the King of Heaven, treat his word in this way. And it always happens that those things they are disposed to do are, in their estimation, important; but those things they are inclined to neglect they esteem of little or no importance. Baptists are astonished at those who can profess the Christian name, and yet neglect to obey Christ in the institution of baptism, a duty so plainly taught in the Scriptures. But at the same time they can neglect and evade the fourth commandment of the decalogue in the same manner in which Pedo-Baptists do immersion, by something else substituted for that which is commanded, and feel easy. With them baptism, precisely as it is taught in the Scriptures, is essential and highly important. They deny the right of men to substitute sprinkling for immersion. They appeal to what is written by inspiration on the subject. But they can accept a man-made change of the Sabbath, calling a day by that sacred title that God never rested on, blest, nor sanctified, and trample the day that God claims as his rest-day, because he rested on it, under their feet, profaning that which God has sanctified and blest, and giving its title and honor, to another day, one that God never bade us esteem as sacred to him.

So much by way of illustration; now let us make the application. As a people, we claim to have a special message, and, as a consequence, special light and guidance, which is taught and promised in the word of God. We have been enlightened both in regard to moral and physical law. We have been taught how to care for our bodily health so that we might have sound minds in sound bodies, and prepare ourselves for the trying times which lie between us and the coming of the Lord. We acknowledge the health reform to be important. But there are many particulars embraced in this subject, and each one thinks that some of these particulars are important, and therefore reduces them to practice, while other particulars, as plainly expressed, are not heeded. These are made non-essential. Now when we discriminate and judge between two things taught by the Spirit of God, accepting the one and neglecting the other, do we not follow our own light, and not the illumination of the Spirit? We do the one because we think it best; we neglect the other because we do not deem it important. In all this we have followed our own mind—we have been guided by ourselves. Wherein have we obeyed God?—what have we done, with the sole intention of yielding to his superior wisdom? In this course, have we not taken our own counsel?

While the Lord requires circumspection in all he has taught, who shall judge which should be accepted, and which rejected?

Character at Home and in Public

Out in the world men show us two sides to their character; by the fireside only one.

The Work of our Hands

By Vara

“The Work of our Hands.”

“THE work of our hands establish thou it.” I read the words over again going back a little. “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and the work of our hands, establish thou it.”

“The work of my hands day by day,” I said almost scornfully, as I thought of the homely work my hands had to do, the cooking, the house-work, the patching, the mending, the rough, hard work, I sometimes had to put them to. And I smiled as I thought of such work being established forever. I smiled again almost bitterly as I thought, “It is established that my hands must work—if not forever, for all my earthly time.”

“Please comb my hair now, mamma; the first bell is ringing,” and Nedd ie tapped my hand with his comb.

I patted and smoothed my boy’s tangled locks. “The work of my hands,” I said, and perhaps more gently than usual turned up my boys face to kiss his lips as he went out to school. I turned to the sitting room, drew up the shades in the bay window, so my few geraniums might have all the sun’s rays they could, shook down the coal in the stove, dusted the chairs, straightened out the table cover and books, and brushed the shreds from the carpet, sighing a little over the thin places that the best arrangement of mats could not quite cover. The rooms looked neat and tidy. “The work of my hands,” I repeated, mechanically. Just then the sun shone out bright. It lit up my room like a kind smile. “The beauty of the Lord our God,” I repeated, softly.

I went back to my homely work in the kitchen. Patiently I tried to go through my every-day routine of duty. For I said to myself, “If this is always to be the work of my hands, surely I must let the beauty of my Lord ‘rest upon it.'”

“You look very bright to-night, wife,” said Will, when he came in after his days work. “Has it been an easy day?”

I thought of the cooking and ironing, of my tired hands and feet, and smiled as I said, “I had a good text this morning.”—Vara, in Arthur's Home Magazine.

Live Up to The Mottoes.

By Housekeeper

THERE is no use in putting up the motto, "God bless our home," if the father is a cross old bear, and the spirit of discourtesy and rudeness is taught by parents to children, and by the older to the younger. There is no use in putting up the motto, "The Lord will provide," while the father is shiftless, the boys refuse to work, and the girls busy themselves over gewgaws and finery. There is no use putting up the motto, "The greatest of these is charity," while the tongue of the backbiter wags in the family, and silly gossip is dispensed at the tea table. There is no use in placing up conspicuously the motto, "The liberal man deviseth liberal things," while the money chinks in the pockets of the "head of the household," groaning to get out and see the light of day, and there are dollars and dimes for wine, tobacco, and other luxuries, but positively not one cent for the church. In how many homes are these mottoes standing—let us say hanging—sarcasms which serve only to point a jest and adorn a satire! The beauty of quiet lives, of trustful, hopeful, and free-handed, free-hearted, charitable lives, is one of surpassing loveliness, and those lives shed their own incomparable fragrance, and the world knows where to find them. And they still remain fresh and fadeless when the colors of the pigment and the floss have faded, and the frames have rotted away from their joints.—Housekeeper.

SHAKE HANDS.

Shake hands with somebody as you go out of church. The more of it the better, if it is expressive of real interest and feeling. There may be a great deal of the spirit of the gospel put into a hearty shake of the hand. Think of St. Paul's four times repeated request, "Greet one another"—after the custom then in common use, and one which is expressive of even warmer feeling than our common one of handshaking. Why not give your neighbors the benefit of the warm Christian feeling that fills you to your finger-tips, and receive the like from them in return? You will both be benefited by it; and the stranger will go away feeling that the church is not, after all, so cold as he had thought it to be.

Greatness Through Mistakes

No MAN ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes.—Gladstone.

WAITING.

By Advocate and Guardian

WAITING! Man is ever waiting For some fancied future good; Ever with himself debating How he'd grasp it if he could.

Through his childhood he is waiting For the halcyon days of youth; For the happy time of mating, And the plighting of his troth.

Through his youth he still is waiting For a fortune, or a name; Always in the future dating The fruition of his aim.

All through manhood he is waiting Something undefined to gain; Not a whit his hope abating, Though his labor be in vain.

Age is not exempt from waiting; It has proved what earth can yield, And it waits the final stating Of what has not been revealed.

Blest indeed! are those who, waiting, Lean upon the "One Strong Arm;" To the end anticipating Sure protection from all harm. —Advocate and Guardian.

A Prepared Place.

By Bishop Simpson

I WAS visiting a friend, some years ago, that had just built a new house. It was just finished. It was beautiful and useful. He took me up-stairs. It was a beautiful room into which he led me. It had wardrobes, toilet-glasses, books, and paintings. It was furnished grandly. And the father turned to me and said: "This room is for our daughter. She is in Europe. She does not know we are arranging it. Her mother and I have fixed up everything we could think of for her; and as soon as the house is fully finished, we are going to Europe to bring her back, and we are going to bring her up-stairs, and open the door, and say, 'Daughter, this is all yours.'" And I thought of the joy it would give her, and I thought, "How kind these parents are."

Just then I turned away, and I thought, "That is just what Jesus is doing for me." He says, "I am going away. I will come again. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." Then I said, "This father and mother are rich; but they have not all treasures; there are a great many things they don't know how to get. But Jesus, who is furnishing my mansion in glory, has everything. He knows everything. He has undertaken to furnish a place for me, and I shall be with him forever." — Bishop Simpson.

Troublesome Weeds.

EVERY one has a garden called Conversation. If the unpleasant words which blossom into thoughts are kept out, the garden becomes beautiful and interesting. There are a few kinds of weeds, which unconsciously creep into this garden, and unless they are put down, or better, pulled out, they injure and spoil the good flowers.

1. Untruth. This is dark-leaved and so small at first that it is scarcely noticed. In its early stages it is called exaggeration. You are not sure whether you saw three or four things and you say four. The next time the number becomes larger, and so the weed grows until it is strong and hardy. Be sure and pull it up.

2. Slang. This spoils many a garden of choice flowers. It is sometimes overlooked among boys, but is not considered to have any beauty.

3. Bad grammar. This is a common weed found in the gardens of uneducated and careless persons. It grows slowly but steadily, and finds a place beside the nicest looking flowers. There are a number of varieties and among them are “I seen,” which chokes up “I saw,” or “I have seen;” “it’s her’n,” which crowds out “it is hers;” and “it is me,” which grows close to the little plant “it is I.”

4. Gossip. Every one knows this ugly weed which works mischief wherever it appears. It is one of the worst varieties, and has been known to completely over-run and spoil the gardens in which it was allowed to grow.

These are the principal weeds which find their way into the garden of conversation. Examine the one belonging to you and see what weeds are gaining headway.—Scholars' Companion.

The Beginning of Evil.

By Moody

MANY come to me and say they have such evil thoughts that they think that they cannot be Christians. But that is not so unless you yield yourself to evil thoughts. Satan is tempting you, but he must be resisted. We are not to blame for the birds that fly over our heads, but for letting them make their nests in our hair. I am so busy I don't have time to yield to temptation. People who allow themselves to brood over their trials and troubles have a hard time of it. Keep engaged in hard work and you will be healthy. Neglect family worship and the study of the Bible and you will fall into sin.

Men don't go down all at once into the depths of some great, open sin. The world may not have known or seen the sins that have led to this denouement, but they have been committed. The thing often has been going on for a long time. I had an apple tree on my farm that didn't do well. I asked my brother what the trouble was. He went at it, dug into it, and found and got away the worms that were destroying it. How many have some secret sin which is like the worm at the root of the tree. It takes the life out of us. It puts us out of communion with God. Such persons go in the prayer-meeting and talk and talk, but there is no unction. Let God take the knife and cut deep, or a bitter reaping time will come. Christ was tempted and "he is able to succor them that are tempted."

How it Would Be.

ONE evening, says Wm. Howie Wylie, at a small literary gathering, a lady, famous for her "muslin theology," was bewailing the wickedness of the Jews in not receiving our Saviour, and ended her diatribe by expressing regret that he had not appeared in our own time. "How delighted," said she, "we should all be to throw our doors open to him, and listen to his divine precepts. Don't you think so, Mr. Carlisle?"

Thus appealed to, he replied: "No, madam, I don't. I think that, had he come very fashionably dressed, with plenty of money, and preaching doctrines palatable to the higher orders, I might have had the honor of receiving from you a card of invitation, on the back of which would be written, 'to meet our Saviour'; but if he had come uttering his sublime precepts, and denouncing the Pharisees, and associating with the Publicans and lower orders, as he did, you would have threatened him as much as the Jews did, and have cried out, 'Take him to Newgate and hang him.'"

Four Grand Arguments.

There are four grand arguments for the truth of the Bible. The first the miracles on record, the second the prophecies, the third the goodness of the doctrine, and the fourth the moral character of the penman. The miracles flow from divine power, the prophecies from divine understanding, the excellences of the doctrine from divine goodness, the character of the writers from moral purity. Thus Christianity is built upon these four immovable pillars—the power, the understanding, the goodness, and the purity of God.

The Bible must be one of these things—either an invention of good men or angels, or of bad men or bad angels, or a revelation from God. But it could not be the invention of good men or angels; for they neither would nor could make a book telling lies, and at the same time saying, "Thus saith the Lord," when they knew it all to be their own invention. It could not be wicked men or devils; for they could not make a book which commands all duty, which forbids all sin, and which condemns them to all eternity. The conclusion is irresistible: the Bible must be given by divine revelation.—Religious Telescope.

Snoring in Church.

Rev. Arthur Hall, an English clergyman, being annoyed by snoring during his preaching the other day, stopped in his sermon and said: "I do not object to a quiet nap on a hot day, and am flattered at being able to contribute to anybody's repose. But, while proud at being able to give the beloved sleep, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I draw the line at snores. There is somebody snoring in the congregation, and I shall be obliged if somebody will wake him up."

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