Review and Herald, Vol. 82, No. 51. (12/21/1905)

Review and Herald

Dec 21, 1905

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Dec 21, 1905

Our Publishing Work

By Editor

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Psalm 68:11.

Any publication mentioned on this page may be ordered through your conference tract society or from any of our publishing houses or their branch offices. See last paragraph on this page for addresses of our publishing houses.

DID you notice from the statistics given in one of the readings for the week of prayer what simple and apparently useless efforts were blessed of the Lord in bringing the truth to individuals? Did not the instances recorded in that reading make you resolve to be more faithful in sowing the seed “beside all waters”?

A COPY of “Steps to Christ” (cloth, plain, 50 cents; cloth, gilt edges, 85 cents), “Mount of Blessing” (cloth, 60 cents), “Master’s Monosyllables” (50 cents), or “Lover’s Love” (75 cents), sent to a friend not in the truth may interest him in religious matters, and open the way for the reading of more strictly doctrinal publications. Try it.

AT a recent meeting of the National Reform Association, held in Pittsburg, Pa., they reported a circulation of a million or more copies of one leaflet during the last year, and comment was made to the effect that Seventh-day Adventists were doing practically nothing with their religious liberty literature. Now is a time when the enemies of religious liberty are active. Is their imputation true concerning our efforts?

DURING this winter thousands of copies of religious liberty leaflets ought to be placed in the hands of legislators, attorneys, politicians, and public men. We owe it to these people to bring to their attention these small but important publications. The prices are as follows: (No. 1) “Principles Too Little Understood,” 8 pages, each ½ cent, one hundred, 38 cents; (No. 2) “Sunday Laws; Their Origin, Nature, and Object,” 8 pages, each ½ cent, one hundred, 38 cents; (No. 3) “The Logic of Sabbath Legislation,” 8 pages, each ½ cent, one hundred, 38 cents; (No. 4) “The Civil Sabbath,” 12 pages, each ¾ cent, one hundred, 55 cents.

HOLY men of old spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and we read their writings, and through them know to a certainty what the future will disclose. “Patriarchs and Prophets” is a book of 762 pages which treats on a most important portion of the Bible, and gives us new and wonderful views of this inspired history. Beginning with the rebellion in heaven, it shows why sin was permitted, why man was tested, why Satan was not destroyed, rehearses the plan of salvation, and traces Israel’s history down to the close of David’s reign. There is no better book to overthrow the theories of evolution, and to establish the Bible record of creation. It is a book to read and reread, to loan and keep loaning. It will carry light and blessing wherever it goes. Get out your copy and pass it on to some one else. Price in full cloth, gilt edges, $2.75.

THE regular edition of “Hymns and Tunes” can still be supplied in all the regular styles of binding. Prices from $1.50 to $3.25.

IF your subscription for the REVIEW, Life and Health, Youth’s Instructor, or Sabbath School Worker expires at this time of the year, please send in your renewal early, as this is a very busy time on our lists.

“MINISTRY OF HEALING” will carry light and blessing to the sick-room, or to the invalid. Start your copy on its mission of helpfulness. The price is $1.65, post-paid, and if you have not already ordered a copy, do it now.

ONE college president has said that the cat story in the book, “My Garden Neighbors,” is well worth the price of the book. If you like stories of any kind, you will be pleased with this book, and, best of all, its stories are all true.

HAVE you a supply of those Signs Leaflets on hand ready for use whenever opportunity offers? The fifty-cent assortment contains about 18 each of the 16 various kinds of leaflets, or 576 pages of reading-matter treating on various phases of truth.

DURING the winter is the very best time to begin the study of the birds, as their numbers are fewer, and you are not nearly so apt to become confused in seeking to know their names. In the book “My Garden Neighbors” you will find out how to get acquainted with your feathered winter visitants. On page 218 you are told how to get the winter birds to visit your home; and on pages 243-254 you are told how to learn their names and study their habits and characters. All our young people, all our teachers, will be glad to get the knowledge contained in this book.

WE want all our canvassers for “Desire of Ages,” and all others who will help to introduce the book to Sunday-school officers and teachers, to have a copy of our little booklet “An Important Sunday-school Lesson Help.” This little “Help” gives references from the lessons to the passages in “Desire of Ages” which treat the same topic. This booklet is free to interested persons who will make use of it. We have also prepared a limited edition de luxe of this “Sunday-school Lesson Help,” printed on deckle edge paper with liberal margins, and tied with silk cord, which is especially good for use with prominent pastors or superintendents. For this de luxe edition we make a charge of 5 cents a copy.

Orders for any publication mentioned on this page may be sent to any conference tract society or to any of the following: Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington, D. C., and Battle Creek, Mich.; Pacific Press Publishing Company, Mountain View, Cal.; also Portland, Ore., and Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Worth, Tex.

Editorial

By Editor

No More Delay

MORE than four years have passed since the prophetic declaration that “there shall be delay no longer,” was taken by this people as the basis of renewed hope and courage. During these four years we have passed through experiences which were not anticipated as preliminary to the realization of our hope. There has been further apparent delay. Much time and strength have been consumed in preserving the integrity of this message, and in preventing this advent movement from being corrupted by pantheistic teachings and spiritualistic sentiments. Warnings and counsels have been given through the spirit of prophecy, and there has been every opportunity for all to understand the nature of the views which were being advocated as truth, so that all might make an intelligent choice between the original third angel’s message and a new and spiritualistic interpretation of that message. The time has now come that the issue should be definitely settled, as is plainly indicated by the solemn warnings and exhortations which have recently been sent to us. From instruction which is dated Nov. 20, 1905, we quote the following significant statements: “The time has come for the enlargement and growth of God’s people. For years the backward tendencies of many have greatly hindered the work of God. Now, just now, the Lord’s people are to show their loyalty. The time has come when the Lord would have all who will honor him take their stand firmly on the side of truth and righteousness. No longer are we to be a mixed multitude. Those who profess to be followers of God’s word must be straightforward, pure, and holy. . . . We can not afford to trifle with our soul’s salvation. All who choose to mark out a path for themselves, supposing that they will be saved by their own righteousness, will be destroyed suddenly, and that without remedy. God now graciously calls to those whose souls are lifted up unto vanity, to come to him. No longer are they to act as a stumbling-block to hinder the work of the Lord. Unless they change their attitude, the Lord will remove them; for his work is to be delayed no longer. . . . Long has he borne with men who have not glorified his name. He now calls upon his people to make a thorough work, and to remove every stumbling-block. Let us clear the highway for our God.” We ask all to read these words over and over again until it is definitely impressed upon their minds that “now, just now,” is the time to take decisive action, and that it will be impossible after this for any one to hold a neutral position concerning the issues which have been pressed upon us. “There shall be delay no longer.”

“In . . . Sinful Flesh”

By Editor

A READER of the REVIEW has written to the editor at some length concerning the statement made in a recent editorial to the effect that the flesh which Jesus took was sinful flesh. Many questions are asked, but the most of them will be answered by settling the main question at issue.

The paragraph to which objection is offered reads as follows:—

And it is further declared that the flesh which Jesus took, and in which he was tempted, was the same as the flesh of the other members of the family, sinful flesh. Here is the direct statement: “What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”

Referring to this paragraph, our correspondent says:—

I notice that this scripture does not say that God sent his own Son “in sinful flesh,” but “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” To me this seems a very different statement. How could one in sinful flesh be perfect, be holy, be unblemished (free from stain)?

There are two ways in which we might deal with this inquiry. We might introduce positive proof in support of our view, or we might show that such consequences would follow from the position taken by our correspondent as would forbid us to accept it. To make assurance doubly sure, we shall do both of these things.

Let us, then, consider some of the positive statements of the Scriptures bearing directly upon this matter. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.” The natural and legitimate conclusion from this declaration would be that the flesh and blood of Jesus were the same as the children had. This is further emphasized in the same connection: “For verily he taketh not hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold [margin]. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren.” The mission of Jesus was not to rescue fallen angels, but to save fallen man. He therefore identified himself with man, and not with angels, and he became “in all things” like unto those whom he proposed to help. The flesh of man is sinful. In order to be “in all things” like unto man, it was necessary that Jesus should take sinful flesh.

Again we have the statement previously quoted: “What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” The suggestion is made that the expression “in the likeness of sinful flesh” does not mean the same as “in sinful flesh.” We might then properly ask, What does it mean? Does it mean “in sinless flesh”? If so, why did it not say so? Why are the words “flesh of sin,” as it reads in the margin of the Revised Version, introduced, if it is not the intent to convey the meaning that the flesh of Jesus was the same sinful flesh which we have? It seems to require a forced interpretation in order to attach any other meaning to the statement.

But we may apprehend the meaning of this passage more clearly if we compare it with another statement in which a similar form of expression is used. Here is one: He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Do we not rightly conclude that Jesus was really a man when we read

that he was made “in the likeness of men”?—Most certainly. The only way in which he could be “in the likeness of men” was to become a man. That he did really become a man, and that he still is a man, is shown by the assertion that there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Is it not equally clear that the only way in which God could send his Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh” would be for that Son to have sinful flesh? How would it be possible for him to be “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” and yet his flesh be sinless? Such an interpretation would involve a contradiction of terms.

It should, of course, be remembered that although Jesus was sent “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” yet he did not commit sin. “Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”

We now turn to consider some of the consequences which follow if Jesus did not take sinful flesh. We must remember that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, being both Son of God and Son of man. This is the great central truth of Christianity, and from it come blessed results to believers. “The Saviour was deeply anxious for his disciples to understand for what purpose his divinity was united to humanity. He came to the world to display the glory of God, that man might be uplifted by its restoring power. God was manifested in him that he might be manifested in them.” In order that the character of God might be manifested in sinful men who should believe on him, it was necessary that Jesus should unite divinity and humanity in himself, and that the flesh which he bore should be the same as the other men in whom God was thus to be manifested. Another way of expressing it would be to say that the Son of God tabernacled in the flesh when he appeared in Judea, in order that the way might be prepared for him to dwell in the flesh of all believers, and that it was therefore necessary that he should take the same kind of flesh as that in which he would afterward dwell when he should take up his abode in the members of his church.

This is not a mere matter of theory. It is intensely practical in its bearings. If the Son of God did not dwell in sinful flesh when he was born into the world, then the ladder has not been let down from heaven to earth, and the gulf between a holy God and fallen humanity has not been bridged. It would then be necessary that some further means should be provided in order to complete the connection between the Son of God and sinful flesh. And this is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church has done. The creed of that organization is in perfect harmony with the view taken by our correspondent.

The formal expression of this doctrine is called the dogma of the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary, according to which the mother of Jesus was “by a special privilege preserved immaculate, that is, free from the stain of original sin, from the first moment of her conception.” As the mother was thus entirely different from other women, so the flesh which Jesus took from her would be different from the flesh of other men, and there would still be a separation between Jesus and men in sinful flesh. The Roman Catholic Church, having created this separation by its creed, has introduced a system of mediation between the Son of God and men in sinful flesh. First come the priests on earth, which are known to have sinful flesh; then come those who did dwell in sinful flesh, but are now canonized by the church as saints in heaven; next the angels; and lastly the mother of Jesus. Thus the door into heaven is not Jesus, but the church, and such a price is charged for opening the door as it is believed the sinner or his friends can pay. These are the consequences which naturally follow the doctrine that Jesus did not take sinful flesh, and we avoid these consequences by denying the doctrine, and holding to the plain teaching of the Scriptures.

Furthermore, our correspondent asks, “How could one in sinful flesh be perfect, be holy?” This question touches the very heart of our Christianity.

The teaching of Jesus is, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” And through the apostle Peter comes the instruction, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” No one will deny that we have sinful flesh, and we therefore ask how it will be possible to meet the requirements of the Scripture if it is not possible for one to be perfect or holy in sinful flesh.

The very hope of our attaining perfection and holiness is based upon the wonderful truth that the perfection and holiness of divinity were revealed in sinful flesh in the person of Jesus. We are not able to explain how this could be, but our salvation is found in believing the fact.

Then may be fulfilled the promise of Jesus: “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

It is the crowning glory of our religion that even flesh of sin may become a temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Much more could be said in reply to the question of our correspondent, but we hope that the principles involved and their relation to Christian experience have been made clear, and we trust that none of our readers will accept the doctrine of the papacy because they are unable to explain the mystery of godliness. It is safe to believe the plain teaching of the Scriptures.

The High Tide of Blessing

By W. A. S.

It is an interesting sight to watch the tide come in on the Bay of Fundy, famous for its high tides. The water rises from thirty to sixty feet. As the current sets in landward, the waves lap higher and higher along the coast. At every opening landward the sea bursts in. Far from the shore line, at low tide, one sees deep channels running through meadows and back among the hills, dry and empty, save for a little stream at the bottom flowing seaward. But when the tide rises, these channels are filled to the brim with the surging waters. Great rivers are stopped in their downward flow to the sea, and their currents turned backward before

the oncoming tide. Wherever there is an opening, the tidal current sweeps in upon with all the power of the vast ocean of waters behind it. Ships lying high and dry on their keels are lifted and sent on their way. Few of the phenomena of nature convey a more vivid sense of quiet, and yet vast and resistless, energy.

Watching these tidal currents in the Bay of Fundy, I thought of the language of that quotation from the spirit of prophecy, made in a recent REVIEW:—

God has committed to us a special work, a work that no other people can do. He has promised us the aid of his Holy Spirit. The heavenly current is flowing earthward for the accomplishment of the very work appointed us. Let not this heavenly current be turned aside by our deviations from the straightforward path marked out by Christ.

It is a striking illustration. The current from heaven itself—the infinite ocean of love and energy and blessing—is flowing earthward, to fill every open heart, and to accomplish the set work of flooding this world with the glory of the last message. The time has come, and the high tide of blessing is flowing. Neither time nor tide can wait. Everything appeals to us to cast down every barrier of sin and inaction, and to open wide the channel for the inflow of power and blessing for service. This heavenly current will arrest and turn back every unsanctified downward current of the life, if we let it in. There is salvation in recognizing the time of our visitation. The Lord in these days is surely visiting his church, and now is the time to press onward in the straightforward path marked out for the advent people. W. A. S.

Church Federation

By L. A. S.

THE leading religious bodies in this country are seeking to realize by federation a union which they have sought but failed to attain by a breaking down of denominational dividing lines. The Christian idea of unity, set forth in the prayer of Christ for his followers, is that of a complete oneness in belief, desire, and aims, even as Christ is one with his Father. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one Holy Spirit, hence there is no provision made for any disunion or division of any sort among true Christians. Christ is not divided, and true Christians being only those whose life is that of Christ in them, only perfect unity among them can exist. If this unity is not seen, it is because the human and selfish have not all been replaced by the divine.

Self is a dividing element. The religious divisions that exist are due to self; they are not due to any fault in the revelation that has been given of God's will to man, or in the agencies by which the divine plans are wrought out.

Having failed of a union in which all selfishness would be eliminated, a union is now proposed in which the elimination of self will not be necessary.

There is the same difference between Christian unity and church federation that there is between humility and pride. Humility is necessary to union with God. God dwells not with the proud, but with him “that is of a contrite and humble spirit.” In justification by faith all the glory of man is laid in the dust. By this surrender of all human glory and pride men are brought into unity with Christ and with one another.

Federation, on the other hand, calls for no such surrender. With federation comes the sense of power, and with this comes pride. There is glory and power in a great federation, but they are not of God. The divine purpose of the church of Christ can not be realized through this means.

L. A. S.

Prayer

By L. A. S.

The Lord provides us with spiritual food, but he does not force us to partake of this food. We must reach out our hands and take the food and appropriate it ourselves. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them,” says the prophet. If he had been content with merely finding the words of the Lord, he would have received no benefit. We must do our part. We must ask if we would receive.

All that we receive of spiritual blessing from the Lord, comes through prayer. The Lord has made wonderful provision for us, giving us his Word with its revelation of divine truths, and promises of great blessings for this life and the life to come, but only as we pray do we become partakers of these blessings. We can not understand the Bible, we can not have understanding of the times, or discern between good and evil, or know opportunity when it comes, unless we pray. If we have not interest enough in God’s blessings to ask for them, he would not be justified in bestowing them upon us.

Prayer is the channel of communication between the soul and God. When that channel is closed, we are cut off from the supply of that upon which our spiritual life depends. It is the constant endeavor of the enemy of souls to cut them off from God by blocking this channel of communication.

We can commune with one another by speech, face to face, by telephone, telegraph, or letter; but we can have communion with God only through prayer. We would not think of keeping up our acquaintance with a friend if we made no effort to communicate with him; and no more can we expect to maintain our relationship with God and receive spiritual benefits if we cease to communicate with him. The whole history of God’s dealings with his servants shows us that spiritual blessings come always in answer to prayer.

It is our privilege to come “boldly” unto the throne of grace. We can approach God not as we would approach men, for it is always our need that appeals to God. Let us not make the mistake of coming to him on any other ground. “For thy name’s sake, O Lord,” the prayer is given us, “pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.” The greatness of our iniquity is the reason for asking God to pardon it; the greatness of our need is the basis of our plea before him. This encouragement have we to come to him. L. A. S.

A Record of Lawlessness

If the public is not fully informed concerning the iniquitous course followed in recent years by those who were evidently determined to become rich at all hazards, it will not be for lack of vigorous articles on this subject by well-informed writers. The great daily papers of the country are giving full reports of the long-continued and searching investigation into the affairs of the great life insurance companies, with full details of the sensational disclosures; and some of the magazines of large circulation are printing from month to month special studies upon different phases of the many questions involved in this revelation of a moral collapse.

In an article in the December number of McClure’s Magazine we find a brief and striking summary of the record which has been made by the money getters during recent years. Such an indictment of the leaders of the financial world would be discredited at once if it were drawn by one who believes that this condition of things exactly meets the specifications of the Scriptures concerning the last days, when iniquity would abound, and the love of many them would grow cold. Those who know the facts, however, must admit that it is a correctly colored view of the real situation. We quote the following paragraphs:—

There have been some appalling revelations made in the last few years, both in our periodical and also in our more permanent literature; exposures of commercial and political iniquity and civic unrighteousness. There are the stories of some of our gigantic business enterprises which have climbed to dizzy heights of unprecedented financial power. And they have done it by deliberate policies of commercial assassination, by ruthlessly crowding to the wall, both by fair means and oftener by foul, all honest competitors. And none is so insignificant as to escape their notice; the keeper of the little corner grocery, and even the street peddler, are as calmly and quickly crushed out of existence as the great rival concerns. For with the trusts as with God, though in a different sense, “there is no respect of persons.” It considers “not the person of the poor, nor has respect unto the person of the mighty,” not because it “fears the Lord,” but because it has “respect unto the recompense of the reward.”

There are flagrantly dishonest collusions with the great transportation corporations, whereby not only utterly unfair advantages are secured over all competitors, but often the honest profits of these rivals are directly taxed to pay tribute into the treasury of the trusts. There is solemn perjury committed before courts of justice and investigating committees. Stocks are manipulated with diabolical ingenuity to the fleecing of the innocent and the ruin of the honest investor.

There is not wanting evidence of crimes against persons, against individual rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” There are indirect evasions and overt fractures not merely of the moral law, but of the common statutes of the State and nation; and there are great legal firms that deliberately prostitute the brilliant abilities and accumulated knowledge which should be consecrated to the maintenance of justice among men, to the defense of such iniquitous injustice. These are the real anarchists who are chiefly to be feared to-day, who threaten most seriously to overturn the very foundations of law and order among us, and not the poor fellows who talk bad English and wave red flags in our streets. Nothing is stopped at which promises commercial power and financial success. And whatever or whosoever stands in the way to that goal is promptly and ruthlessly trampled under foot.

This is the record which has never been successfully impugned.

This description of the doings of moneyed men, written by one who lives among them, is the filling in of the bold outlines given many centuries ago through the apostle James, who wrote of these times. Mark the close correspondence between them. “Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that

reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.”

The word of God is being fulfilled. The Lord is soon to come. It is high time to seek a refuge from the storm which is soon to break upon the world. “Be ye also ready.”

“Come Unto Me”

By I. H. EVANS

“COME UNTO ME, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

This invitation to rest, which was given by the Master himself, has encouragement to every heart burdened with toil and worrying care. Nor is it alone of physical rest that the Master is speaking; for we are to find rest not only from our labors, but also rest for our souls.

The physical toils of this life are often very severe. Indeed, sometimes it seems that there is no relief from the perpetual grind of toil and worry that falls to the lot of some of the children of men. Misfortunes beset their life's pathway like storm clouds on a chilling autumnal day. From earliest memory they have toiled and labored and drudged, groaning under their heavy burdens, like a galley-slave at his hopeless task. No passing pleasure could lure them from the shadow of their load. The sweetest music from the grandest harmonies of the greatest masters is as nothing to them; all the beauties of sea and land in their ever-changing tints and outlines have no power to charm them. Nay, with “muck-rake” in hand, they dig and delve and worry, and never see the crown of glory shining just above their heads.

Let us pause a moment and ask, Is all this necessary? Why are we to be burdened and pressed down beneath an unbearable load? What is life to bring forth? and what will be the result of the conditions that confront us to-day, if they continue until the close of our life? Have we found that rest for both body and soul promised in our text?

If there were no Christ, no Saviour, no promises of God, no great Burden-bearer, no after-life, no crown of glory to be gained, then indeed must our labors and troubles be endured; but to the Christian, to him who knows his Father's love, and who has tasted of the waters of life, surely there is little reason for all this wearing toil and fretful care. The promise is, Rest.

The Master says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Surely the invitation is plain enough, “Come.” Does not that word have the ring of welcome in it? Read it again, Come. Over the very doorway of entrance hangs that word written with the blood of Christ, Come. When I read that invitation, Come, I am assured of a hearty reception. A dear friend wrote me the other day, “I am in great trouble: I need counsel; come at once. I must talk with you.” Was there not welcome in that invitation? Says Jesus, “Come unto me, . . . and ye shall find rest.” Then none need tarry for an invitation, for here it is, “Come.”

But, says some soul, where shall I come? I know not how nor where to come. Listen to the invitation, “Come unto me.” The word is not, Come to Jerusalem or Capernaum. It does not say, Come here or there, but simply, “Come unto me.”

Where, O Master, where shall I find thee? Come to me in the chamber of suffering, in the halls of sorrow, on the streets of poverty and want; there you will find me. I am beside the bed where lie the dying, by the couch of pain and weeping, where there is sin and sinning, where the human heart is torn and bruised and bleeding. Come unto me as I wipe the death-damp from yon brow; come, while I open those deaf ears and give sight to those blind eyes; come, while I restore to the paralytic the use of his limbs, and cleanse those lepers, and tell that poor, trembling woman, “Go, and sin no more.” Come, come to me, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

But, you say, how shall I come? I am broken with toil, so scarred with sin. O child! weary and worn with the cares of this life, tempted and tried on every hand, methinks the Master says, Come as thou art. Why should he say, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,” if he did not mean that we could come in our labor and just as we are when we labor? He does not say to the lepers, Go and be cleansed and healed of your malady, and then come to me; he does not say to the poor blind man, Go to Jerusalem or Joppa and consult an expert oculist and get your eyes cured, and then come. No, no! It is written, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.” Then we will come in our labor and with our heavy burdens. We are to come in our trials, and in the very heat of our temptations; we are to come with that consuming sorrow in our hearts, with that sin stain on our brow, in that trial with our brother, with our feelings all crushed and wounded and lacerated. With wearied body and tired nerves we are to come into his presence. There, there we shall find rest to our souls.

“All you that are weary and sad, come! And you that are cheerful and glad, come! In robes of humility clad, come! The Saviour invites you to-day.”

Do you say your own griefs are so great that you can not enter the hall of sorrow and the chamber of suffering, your own poverty is so extreme that you will not enter the streets of penury and want? Nay, my brother, there is the

one place where thy Master can be found. You need not seek him in the halls of pleasure, of luxury and wealth, for there he is not. You must go where he is. The invitation is, “Come unto me.” And as we enter into the sufferings and wants and heart sorrows of our fellow sufferers, the Master lifts the burden from our own hearts; and in laboring and sacrificing for others, we shall find rest to our own souls.

“The healing of his seamless dress Is by our beds of pain; We touch him in life's throng and press, And we are whole again.”

The Master lightens our burdens by laying upon our bending forms the burdens of our fellow travelers. He gives us rest from our labors, by teaching us to labor for others, and in the sympathy of love bestowed upon other griefs than our own, he teaches us to forget our sorrows, and find rest and peace in him.

“Of all our Saviour's tender promises, It seems to me the sweetest one is this,— Sweeter than balm to souls with sin opprest,— ‘Come unto me, and I will give you rest.’”

“‘Come unto me!’ O words divinely sweet! My soul remembers, and my lips repeat, The promise of the hope that follows me Through life, through death, and all eternity.”

I. H. EVANS.

Missionary Incomes

By William Ambrose Spicer

ALL the great missionary societies are feeling the pressure of the calls for enlarging work. The Baptist missionary organ prints the following list of the incomes of the larger societies last year:—

The Presbyterian North.....$1,184,778 The Presbyterian South..... 226,284 Methodist Episcopal (Foreign)..... 987,567 American Board (Congregational).................... 725,315 Reformed Church in America..... 119,012 The Church Missionary Society (Church of England) (Expenditures)............ 1,643,582 The London Missionary Society (Congregational)..... 864,835 American Baptist Missionary Union..................... 737,978

These are large sums, but really small as compared with the membership of these societies. It represents, however, a vast amount of work in all the four quarters of the earth. And the call of the times for expansion into new fields has been such that the year shows deficits as follows in various societies:—

Church Missionary Society (nearly)....................$300,000 London Missionary Society..... 129,843 Paris Missionary Society..... 30,000 Berlin Missionary Society..... 125,000 American Baptist Missionary Union..................... 11,368

Some of the societies will doubtless retrench and cut down to meet the deficit; others will lay the situation before their supporters, and endeavor to bring the income up to the requirements of the advancing work.

None of these great societies would perhaps acknowledge the advent idea as the influence hastening on the world's evangelization. But we know why it is that just at this time the providence of God is lining up and hastening forward every force that makes for righteousness. The end is at hand. The Word of God is being scattered, the sound of the gospel is reaching the ears of earth's millions, and the way is being prepared for the advent warning to sweep quickly over all the earth. W. A. S.

The Worth of Christlike Manhood

“A MAN may make a splendid living, robing himself in purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day; but if meanwhile he is not making himself a noble and Christlike manhood, he is losing all that is worth while.”

Note and Comment

THERE is no mistaking the fact that the public mind is greatly stirred just now. The shocking exposures of the prevalence of graft and corruption, the bringing to light of the utter disregard of moral principles in the financial world, the histories of the various monopolies and the way in which they tax the many for the benefit of the few, and the plain talk about the concentration of wealth in the hands of ten or twelve men, have aroused feelings which may soon crystallize into actions. There is a clear trend toward the public ownership of public utilities and an attempt to control the power of wealth. The Independent (New York) prophesies “a social struggle bigger than any that has yet been waged in human history.” It says:—

There is nothing now to prevent our dealing directly, and with entire singleness of purpose, with the question whether we intend to make over our unequaled natural resources, and all the machinery of our superb political organization, to a little group of multi-millionaires, to be owned and exploited by them for the luxurious maintenance of an exclusive social set, measured statistically by the number of boxes in the parterre circle of the Metropolitan Opera-house, and self-portrayed morally as a quarrelsome gang of bridge whist players.

The practical program for the near future is plainly indicated in these words:—

We shall dispose of our smart set by the simple process of stopping its allowance. That is to say, we shall take away from its multi-millionaire husbands and papas the ownership of those vast wealth-producing public utilities that rightfully are the property of the public.

Only a short time ago such language as this would have been regarded as anarchistic, but there is an increasing demand for a remedy for the evils which are multiplying so rapidly, and many reform measures will doubtless be proposed. The disease is too deep-seated, however, for any human reformer to deal with it. The coming of the Lord himself is the only solution of the problem. There must be a new earth in which righteousness will dwell.

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