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Review and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 32.

Prayer

Review and Herald

Jul 1, 1915

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jul 1, 1915

Prayer

By Mrs. Harriet Warner Requa

So strong is my desire, so great my need, So vast the interests pending, as I plead; So little do I know the hidden deep And outmost reach of my necessities, So subtle and so limitless. So steep The ascent to springs unfailing; and the ties That hold the spirit earthward are so strong, So all-unsearchable the sympathies That crowd and jostle in unnumbered throng.
What shall I ask for, as I bend the knee? Thy word of grace has promised full supply.
What shall I say for every clamoring want, Or deeply felt, or less than understood?
How shall I ask the Infinite to grant That which I crave, yet know not whether good Or ill it may be? how the cup refuse That seems so bitter, but may prove to be The balm of healing? Nay, I dare not choose. O Life! O Love! O Light! Infinity, I pray, I plead, give Thyself to me, And what Thou wilt beside. Thou sum of bliss In whom all fullness dwells, all power, all peace, To endless blessing Thou the open door; Give me Thyself, I ask, nor wish for more.
—Mrs. Harriet Warner Requa, in "Stones for the Temple."

Young Man and Young Woman

THERE IS A WIDE FIELD OF USEFULNESS FOR YOU
Local Conditions Need Not Debar You
THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME is right before you. The greatest men of the world have achieved their success in the early years of life—from twenty to thirty or thirty-five years of age. Set your ideal high—be a minister, a business man, a doctor, a college professor, a teacher, and work to it. You are living in a century of wonderful opportunities. Do not longer delay.
PREPARATION IS ESSENTIAL. When in need of expert counsel, or suffering from a severe malady, you seek the best help obtainable. The world will look to you only as you are prepared to meet its demands.
EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES are offered by this denomination which are second to none in the world, from primary grades to bachelors of arts and sciences. You may establish yourself accordingly. The financial consideration has been provided for.
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ROME AND THE WAR

WITHOUT regard to which nations may be victorious in the great war struggle now depopulating the European continent, the Roman Church intends to profit thereby.
Note the following quotation, which was written by Cardinal Manning in 1874, and appears in the Rome and the War Extra of the Protestant Magazine:—
It is my firm conviction that, in spite of all obstacles, the vicar of Jesus Christ will be put again in his own rightful place. But that day will not be until his adversaries will have crushed each other with mutual destruction.
Place with the above the following quotation from “Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White,” Century Company, New York, 1905:—
The Vatican has always been, and is today, a storm center. The Pope and his advisers have never hesitated to urge on war, no matter how bloody, when the slightest of their ordinary worldly purposes could be served by it.
Remember that “Rome never changes,” and you have in a nutshell, the reason why you should place copies of this Protestant Extra in the hands of all your friends and neighbors. The issue is on. Circulate this Extra now. Five copies or more, one cent each; $8 per thousand, postpaid. Almost 50,000 already circulated. Address your tract society.

Visions of Future Glory

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE
In the darkest days of her long conflict with evil, the church of the living God has been given revelations of the eternal purpose of Jehovah. His people have been permitted to look beyond the trials of the present to the triumphs of the future, when, the warfare having been accomplished, the redeemed will enter into possession of the Promised Land. These visions of future glory, scenes pictured by the hand of God, should be dear to his church today, when the controversy of the ages is rapidly closing, and the promised blessings are soon to be realized in all their fullness.
Many were the messages of comfort given the church by Isaiah. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” (Isa. 40: 1) was the prophet’s commission from God; and with the commission were given wonderful visions that have been the believers’ hope and joy through all the centuries that have followed. Despised of men, persecuted, forsaken, God’s children in every age have nevertheless been sustained by his sure promises. By faith they have looked forward to the time when he will fulfill to his church the assurance, “I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.” Isa. 60: 15.
Often the church militant is called upon to suffer trial and affliction; for not without severe conflict is the church to triumph. “The bread of adversity, and the water of affliction” (Isa. 30: 20) are the common lot of all; but none who put their trust in the One mighty to deliver will be utterly overwhelmed. “Thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.” Isa. 43: 1-4.
There is forgiveness with God: there is acceptance full and free through the merits of Jesus, our crucified and risen Lord. Isaiah heard the Lord declaring to his chosen ones: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together; declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.” Verses 25, 26. “Thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.” Isa. 60: 16.
“The rebuke of his people shall he take away” (Isa. 25: 8), the prophet declared. “They shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord.” Isa. 62: 12. He hath appointed “to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Isa. 61: 3.
“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come unto thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.” Isa. 52: 1, 2.
“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression: for thou shalt not fear: and from terror: for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. . . . No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isa. 54: 11-17.
Clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. “Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (Cant. 6: 10), she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer.
The darkest hour of the church’s struggle with the powers of evil, is that which immediately precedes the day of her final deliverance. But none who trust in God need fear; for “when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall,” God will be to his church “a refuge from the storm.” Isa. 25: 4.
In that day the righteous only are promised deliverance. “The sinners in Zion are afraid,” the prophet declares; “fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Isa. 33: 14-16.
The word of the Lord to his faithful ones is: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.” Isa. 26: 20, 21.
In his vision of the great judgment day, Isaiah witnesses the consternation of those unprepared to meet their Lord in peace. “The day of the Lord is at hand,” he exclaims; “it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: and they shall be afraid.” Isa. 13: 6-8.
“The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. . . . In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made eachone for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isa. 2: 17-21.
The day of wrath to the enemies of God is the day of final deliverance to his church. The prophet declares:— “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.” Isa. 35: 3, 4.
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” Isa. 25: 8. And as Isaiah beholds the Lord of glory descending from heaven, with all the holy angels, to gather the remnant church from among the nations of earth, he hears the waiting ones unite in the exultant cry, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Verse 9.
The voice of the Son of God is heard calling forth the sleeping saints; and as the prophet beholds them coming from the prison house of death, he exclaims: “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” Isa. 26: 19.
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing.” Isa. 35: 5, 6.
In the visions of the prophets, those who have triumphed over sin and the grave are seen happy in the presence of their Maker, talking freely with him as man talked with God in the beginning. “Be ye glad,” the Lord bids them, “and rejoice forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” Isa. 65: 18, 19. “The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.” Isa. 33: 24.
“In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water.” Isa. 35: 6, 7. “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree.” Isa. 55: 13. “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.” Isa. 35: 8.
“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned : for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isa. 40: 2.
As the prophet beholds the redeemed dwelling in the city of God, free from sin and from all marks of the curse, in rapture he exclaims: “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her.” Isa. 66: 10.
“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.” Isa. 60: 18-21.
There man will be restored to his lost kingship, and the lower order of beings will again recognize his sway; the fierce will become gentle, and the timid trustful. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. . . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain” (Isa. 11: 6-9), saith the Lord.
The prophet caught the sound of music there, and song,—such music and song as, save in the visions of God, no mortal ear has heard nor mind conceived. “The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isa. 35: 10. “Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.” Isa. 51: 3. “As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there.” Ps. 87: 7. “They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord.” Isa. 24: 14.
In the earth made new, the redeemed will engage in the occupations and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning. The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field. “They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” Isa. 65: 21, 22.
There every power will be developed, every capability increased. The grandest enterprises will be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations will be reached, the highest ambitions realized. And still there will appear new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects of study to call forth the powers of body and mind and soul.
The prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed longed to understand their full import. They “inquired and searched diligently; . . . searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify. . . . Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you.” 1 Peter 1: 10-12.
To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfillment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come,—events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God’s children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!
Fellow pilgrim, we are still amid the shadows and turmoil of earthly activities; but soon our Saviour is to appear to bring deliverance and rest. Let us by faith behold the blessed hereafter, as pictured by the hand of God. He who died for the sins of the world, is opening wide the gates of Paradise to all who believe on him. Soon the battle will have been fought, the victory won. Soon we shall see him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in his presence the trials and sufferings of this life will seem as nothingness. The former things “shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isa. 65: 17. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Heb. 10: 35-37. “Israel shall be saved . . . with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.” Isa. 45: 17.
Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5: 7, 8.
The nations of the saved will know no other law than the law of heaven. All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving. Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming, There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death.
“And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.”Isa. 66: 23. “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Isa. 40: 5. “The Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” Isa. 61: 11. “In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people.” Isa. 28: 5.
“The Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.” Isa. 51: 3. “The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon.” Isa. 35: 2. “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called my delight, and thy land Beulah. . . . As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” Isa. 62: 4, 5, margin.

A Call to Greater Consecration

By T. W. THIRLWELL

(Continued)
T. W. THIRLWELL
While it is true that the world has reached a crisis, it is also true that the remnant people have reached a more serious, a more solemn crisis. Why?—Because the church as a whole is not so thoroughly consecrated to God as it should be. The church is not in the place where God can send upon it the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
“Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own doing, until she shall abhor herself. When she resists the evil and chooses the good, when she seeks God with all humility, and reaches her high calling in Christ, standing on the platform of eternal truth, and by faith laying hold upon the attainments prepared for her, she will be healed. She will appear in her God-given simplicity and purity, separate from earthly entanglements, showing that the truth has made her free indeed. Then her members will indeed be the chosen of God, his representatives.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VIII, page 250.
This quotation certainly describes the condition of the church as being far from the place God would have it be, spiritually. Many are patterning after the world in foolish and frivolous conversation and in dress, and, in many instances, are indulging in the amusements of the world. There has not been throughout our ranks such a consecration as there should be. There are many who are truly consecrated to God, in body, soul, and spirit, yet there are many, on the other hand, who are not truly converted to God, and there are still others who have allowed their spirituality to die out. A spirit of worldliness has crept in. We cannot deny these things. The greatest perplexity is the fact that few realize the seriousness of their condition, and that these things are hindering the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in its fullness. True, we see evidence that the Spirit of God is working to some degree, but are we to be content with a few drops when we can have the showers, full and free? There must be a spirit of true, complete reform. Men’s hearts must be stirred as never before. We have too long gone on in a half-hearted way, and have not sought for the Holy Spirit as earnestly as we should. O that every soul in our ranks would be pierced with the arrows of conviction, and that men would be led to repent of their condition in sackcloth and ashes! This reproach must be washed away with tears of true-hearted repentance. We cannot afford any longer to remain upon the enchanted ground of the enemy.
We hear so much talk about the “latter rain;” and by the way some speak of it, one would think that the church had nothing to do but to receive it. There never was a greater mistake. There are many contenting themselves with the thought that all then in the church will be made pure and holy, and ready to meet Christ. Some who are thus contentedly waiting this time will find themselves sadly disappointed. Every one who wishes to enjoy the outpouring has a personal work of preparation to do for himself before he will experience this blessing. No doubt some are deceiving themselves upon this most serious and vital question, and resting comparatively easy, thinking that all will be well with them when the “latter rain” falls. Many, many are going to miss this blessing unless they most earnestly seek for it. Let every one note carefully the following quotation from “Early Writings,” page 71:—
“I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful, and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ and the ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord, and to live in his sight. O, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation, therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets, and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building. But there will be no time then to do it, and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father. . . . I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing,’ unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action.”
These solemn statements should take hold upon God’s people with force. We must begin the work of self-examination. We cannot expect the Holy Spirit to abide in our hearts unless they are free from sin. When we ask our friends to come to see us, we endeavor to have our homes clean and presentable. A great many are asking this holy, heavenly Visitor to come to abide with them, when the temple in which they expect him to dwell is not clean, is not free from sin and defilement. Until the soul temple is cleansed, can we expect him to come to abide? Certainly not. Then let us begin to cleanse this temple, get rid of every sin, put away all faultfinding, all criticism and evil speaking, all unholy thoughts. Then we can expect the presence of this holy Visitor to abide with us. Many, no doubt, are looking forward to the camp meeting season for a time of great revival and renewal of their Christian experience, a time when God will draw near to his people, a time of great refreshing. Undoubtedly these hopes for spiritual blessings will be realized, and at the consecration meetings evidence of the Spirit will be seen; but when and where should this work begin?—It should begin at home, weeks before the time of camp meeting.
(To be concluded)

Due to Imagination

By GEO. D. BALLOU

Mind Cure—No. 3

Due to Imagination

GEO. D. BALLOU
THERE are many invalids and semi-invalids who are so sensitive that they cannot read a list of symptoms without automatically beginning to feel those symptoms. Fakers and quacks, unprincipled doctors and patent medicine vendors, make rich profits from such persons. There is another class who are so full of imaginary ills that they are constantly worrying and fretting. Both these classes by persistent effort may succeed in really producing poor digestion, assimilation, circulation, and depuration, and suffer for years with impaired health. Now, the cause of their worry may be purely imaginary, but the results in the form of disease are just as real as though produced by taking some slow poison.
It is the habit of those who pay little attention to mental troubles to speak very lightly of the ailments of this class of patients, and treat them as if they were not real. What these invalids need is a change of environment, with employment, if possible, in caring for others more wretched than themselves. It costs much more skill and effort to cure dyspepsia or liver trouble caused by worrying than to cure the same disease caused by eating ham and eggs, broadside pork and Welsh rabbit.
Get the mind diverted from its own fears and perplexities. A study of the things of God as seen in the animal and plant worlds, or the study of astronomy, may be best for those who are more intellectual. Cheerful diversion, pleasant surroundings, and the care of something other than themselves, with all the necessities of life provided, will bring relief to persons of this class. The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah presents the complete remedy. Any foundation for the permanent cure of mental ailments must be broad enough to provide for all past, all present, and all future troubles.
Much, very much, of the domestic infelicity which prevails in the majority of homes is due to the reading of fiction in childhood days which filled the mind with dreams of impossible things and conditions. The blood-and-thunder stories, the dramatic presentation of crime, and now the moving picture show are producing criminals more rapidly than they were ever produced before.
What is the remedy? — Simply a change in mental habits. That is all. A good habit of thought formed in childhood is just as easy to follow and just as hard to break as a bad one. Mold the child mind into right habits of thinking and he will not be likely to forsake them. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” But if the child is trained half the time in the home in correct ideals and half the time elsewhere in false ways of thinking, the outcome is doubtful. The only permanent remedy for all the ills due to the false workings of the imagination is the inculcation of true ideals until the false become distasteful and abominable. This will be, in most cases, a difficult task, requiring much time and patience.

When Jesus Sings

By J. S. WASHBURN

J. S. WASHBURN
Does Jesus sing? Think you that he through whom God created angels, principalities, and powers, all things visible and invisible; who inspired and filled the lark with music, and made the many song birds to soar in the heaven, while earth and sky throb with their sweetest melody; he who tunes the voice of the untaught, innocent child; he who gave the music of peace and rest to the still waters of the quiet streams; he who speaks in awful majesty in the terrific bass of the thunder cloud and in the deep, wondrous voice of the sea,—think you there is in his heart no music, in his voice no melody of song?
When he was born in Bethlehem, angels whose harps and whose voices had been tuned by him sang their joy. “The whole plain was lighted up with the bright shining of the hosts of God. Earth was hushed and heaven stooped to listen to their song, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’”
Cheerfully, joyfully, in boyhood and young manhood he bore the loneliness, the homesickness, of his separation from his heavenly home. “This is where Christ was a helper. He was never so full of worldly care as to have no time or thought for heavenly things. Often he expressed the gladness of his heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs.”
Just before the horror of Gethsemane, under the awful shadow of Calvary, Jesus spoke to the disciples of the peace that the world can never give nor take away, of the Father’s house of many mansions, of God’s unfailing love, and “before leaving the upper chamber he led his disciples in a song of praise. His voice was heard not in the strains of some mournful lament, but in the joyful notes of the Passover Hallel: ‘O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord.’” Psalm 117. After the hymn, he went out to the agony of Gethsemane, the mockery of the night trial, and the horror of Calvary. And after the tomb, after the resurrection, he sings his triumph over death, “saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.”
After the awful battle had been fought and won, he is welcomed home with glorious music. With a multitude of captives set free at his resurrection, and a host of escorting angels, with shouts and acclamations of praise and celestial song they draw near the city of God. In answer to the challenge of the waiting sentinels, “Who is this King of glory?” the mighty choir who are with Jesus shout this answer in harmonious song that rings through heaven: “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” Then the portals of the city of God are opened wide, and the angel throng sweep through the gates amid a burst of rapturous music.
In holy vision John writes of Jesus in his glory that his voice is as the sound of many waters. He who has stood gazing out upon the sea and has heard its soft yet mighty voice, so mysterious, so wonderful, so deep, can form a faint idea of the beauty and the power of the voice of Jesus. He who as a child and as a man, amid hate and sorrow and sin and death, sang of heaven and God, still sings in nature and in his church with wondrous voice. O thou glorious, divine Musician, thou sweetest Singer earth ever heard, soon shall we “join the angelic chorus, and our songs of triumph mingle with the music from angel harps, till heaven seems to overflow with joy and praise.”
“Love has conquered, the lost is found. Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming: ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’”

An International Lord’s Day Congress

By ELIZA H. MORTON

Undercurrents of Power

ELIZA H. MORTON
THAT there are undercurrents of power quietly and silently working in this free land is evident from the fact that the Fourteenth International Lord’s Day Congress, to be held in connection with the Panama-Pacific Exposition in Oakland, Cal., from July 27 to August 1, represents in its membership thirty-six organizations, covering associations of trade, manufacture, commerce, reform, of civic and social betterment, and working-men’s unions, as well as churches, Sunday schools, ministers’ associations, religious societies, educational associations, and all Lord’s Day and Sabbath associations. Delegates from all these organizations will be present at the exposition. The honorary chairman of the congress will be President Wilson, and the vice chairmen will be the governors of the several States. The permanent chairman will be Hon. Alton B. Parker, of New York.
The platform of principles includes the following remarkable statement:—
“We hold the Sabbath or weekly day of rest to have been founded by the Creator in the beginning; embodied in a commandment of the decalogue; confirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ, by him dedicated to the welfare of all mankind; and finally to have appeared in the Lord’s Day of the Christian church, all whose great, historic branches, however otherwise divided, are united in the observance of Sunday as a day of rest and worship.”
The great object of this congress is to promote the making and enforcement of strict Sunday laws. That it has a powerful working force is evident. The church and the state will clasp hands at this great gathering. The undercurrents of power will, for a brief time, be apparent. The platform of principles does not state how the seventh-day Sabbath, “confirmed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and by him dedicated to the welfare of all mankind,” finally appeared in the Lord’s Day of the Christian church. It quietly ignores the Jews, and the Seventh-day Baptists and the great body of Seventh-day Adventists, who do not unite with the rest of Christendom in the observance of Sunday as a day of rest and worship. It distinctly states that its aim is to educate the people to resist whatever tends to deprive them of the Sunday sabbath. While it disclaims any desire to enforce or interfere with the religious observance of the day, yet at the same time it maintains its object to secure for all citizens a right to worship which may not be infringed “by the distractions of pleasure or by the demands of business and labor.”
The foundation of the platform is contradictory, and not in accordance with the fundamental law of the land, neither is it in harmony with the principles of the Bible. The outcome of this powerful religio-political combination is outlined in God’s Word. The Sabbath question is coming rapidly to the front. It may be the next great issue of the world. It will be the test which will face every soul. Now is the time to sow the seeds of truth. Now is the time to place literature in the hands of men of influence,—literature which will enlighten them concerning the true import of Sunday laws, and the great message now due the world. We must not forget that “the last moves will be rapid ones.”

The Blessing of Unanswered Prayer

I HAVE lived to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered.— Jean Ingelow.

The Promise of Christ’s Coming

THE last message of mercy to this stricken world brings out two classes,—the faithful and the faithless; the believers and the scoffers; the commandment keepers and the image worshipers. The one looks to Christ and believes the promise of his return, the other turns its eyes to, and places its trust in, a human being sitting in the temple of God and setting himself forth as God. “Where is the promise of his coming?” asks the one class. “Here in the infallible Book of our Father,” answers the other, “as true as God is true.” In that promise lies the only hope of a world now enshrouded in the gloom of Satan’s machinations. That promise is worth more than worlds to us. It opens all the storehouses of eternity. It makes us heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ in all the wealth of God’s universe, and brings us into his household to sit down with our Redeemer, and go no more out forever.
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