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Review and Herald, Vol. 81, No. 52.

Standard Works

Review and Herald

Dec 29, 1904

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Dec 29, 1904

Standard Works

The Pillars of Our Denominational Literature

The following list of books contains the principal standard works that have been, and are still, giving the message in all its phases:—

Patriarchs and Prophets

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE
A commentary on the principal Bible subjects from Adam to the death of David, including an exhaustive study of the sanctuary and its services, the exodus, the law, the giving of the manna, the Sabbath, etc.
The life of each of the patriarchs from Adam to King David is thrillingly portrayed; and from each a lesson is drawn, pointing out the consequences of sin, and bringing vividly to mind Satan’s studied plan for the overthrow of the race. It traces the great conflict between good and evil from its inception down through the centuries to the time of David’s death, and reveals God’s wonderful love for mankind by his dealings with “holy men of old.” The book is written in plain, simple style, yet in such a manner as to stir the soul of the reader, and awaken the emotions of the mind.
The work contains 760 large octavo pages. Thoroughly illustrated with beautiful engravings, more than half of which are full page. Cloth binding, gilt, $2.50; full morocco, gilt, $4.50. The work is also issued in the Danish, Swedish, German, and Dutch languages at the same prices.

The Great Controversy

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE
A valuable work upon the great controversy between Christ and Satan during the Christian dispensation. It is a companion volume to “Patriarchs and Prophets.” The book contains the most intensely interesting history that has ever been written on the great conflict between Christianity and the powers of darkness as illustrated in the lives of Christian martyrs and reformers on the one hand, and wicked men and persecuting powers, on the other. Beginning with our Lord’s great prophecy given while viewing Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, this book outlines the history of the whole dispensation down to the time of the end, when God’s entire universe is clean, and the great controversy is forever ended.
The work contains 700 pages, and is appropriately illustrated, handsomely printed, and bound in the following styles: cloth, marbled edges, $2.25; cloth, gilt edges, $2.75; library, marbled edges, $3; half morocco, gilt edges, $4.50. Published also in Danish, Swedish, German, and French at the above prices.

The Desire of Ages

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE
An interesting, instructive, and thrilling volume on the life of Christ, magnifying the truth that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.”
The purpose of “The Desire of Ages” is to set forth Jesus Christ as the one in whom every longing may be satisfied, to present the life of God as revealed in his Son, and the divine beauty of the life of Christ, of which all may partake; not to satisfy the desires of the merely curious nor the questionings of critics.
The work will interest all classes; for they were all represented in the various individuals who received help and encouragement from the great Consoler while he was here upon the earth.
It contains nearly 900 pages, beautifully illustrated, and substantially bound in the following styles: Popular edition, thin paper, $2.50; cloth, marbled edges, $3.50; cloth, gilt edges, $4.25; library, marbled edges, $5; full morocco, gilt edges, $7.

Daniel and the Revelation

BY URIAH SMITH
“Daniel and the Revelation” is a verse-by-verse study of the prophecies recorded in the books of Daniel and the Revelation of the Bible.
These books of the Bible have been considered difficult to understand; but this book is a key which makes plain what was before dark and obscure. It follows the correct rule of interpretation, which has guided every reformer in the past from darkness to light. The field of history is carefully scanned, and the emphatic response it gives in thrilling confirmation of the voice of prophecy is shown to be clear and beyond dispute. A prophecy fulfilled is a most powerful antidote against skepticism. The book of Daniel reveals many prophecies fulfilled, and cites others still future. It also gives scenes of the most startling nature which are yet future, and should be understood.
The book contains 757 octavo pages, exclusive of sixty-six full-page illustrations. It is beautifully and substantially bound in the following styles: cloth, marbled edges, $2.25; cloth, gilt edges, $2.75; library, marbled edges, $3; full morocco, gilt edges, $4.50.

Bible Readings for the Home Circle

“Bible Readings for the Home Circle” contains three thousand questions and answers on practical, prophetic, and historical subjects. It contains a vast collection of pearls from the mine of sacred truths. It is the first work of the kind ever issued. It presents a systematic arrangement of Bible subjects with illustrations, and gives brief, pointed answers to the questions, quoting directly from the Scripture, from history, and the writings of eminent commentators of modern times. It gives 162 readings, contributed by ministers, practical Bible students, temperance and social purity workers, and considers themes of the deepest interest especially to those who desire a better knowledge of the Scriptures.
It contains 600 octavo pages, thoroughly illustrated, and bound in the following styles: cloth, marbled edges, $2; cloth, gilt edges, $2.50; library, marbled edges, $3; half morocco, marbled edges, $3.50; morocco, gilt edges, $4.25.

The Empire Series

By A. T. Jones

BY A. T. JONES
In 1896 “The Empires of the Bible,” the first volume of the Empire series, was published; the second volume, “The Great Empires of Prophecy,” in 1898; and the third volume, “Ecclesiastical Empire,” in 1901. These are three very important books, and should be carefully studied by every member of every church.

The Empires of the Bible

“The Empires of the Bible” traces the history from the origin of nations to the captivity of Judah, and carefully reveals the causes of the rise and the fall of these early peoples. The Biblical records, together with secular history and modern research, establish the manner of the development of the great empires of Egypt and Assyria, and the founding of the races from which the great nations of later times developed.
The reader is greatly assisted in the study of this work by the twenty-one colored maps made especially for this book. There are 410 large pages. Bound substantially in cloth. Price, $1.50, postpaid.

The Great Empires of Prophecy

“The Great Empires of Prophecy” is a history of the great nations of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome. Gleanings of the most important and interesting histories are herein compiled, to set forth the real influences that caused the prosperity and the decay of each of these great nations. On account of the great number of noted historians quoted in this work, it might be appropriately termed a cyclopedia of history, and a ready book of reference.
It contains 712 pages and 22 full-page colored maps. Nicely bound in cloth. Price, $2, postpaid.

Ecclesiastical Empire

“Ecclesiastical Empire” contains the account of all the principal events that have affected the civil governments and tended to the establishment of ecclesiastical authority, from the time of the fall of Rome to the publishing of this book. It contains a good history of the Reformation, a compendium of the principles of true Christianity, the reason for our national apostasy, and a full treatise upon the union of church and state.
This book contains 874 pages. Substantially bound in cloth. Price, $2.50, postpaid.
This series contains 1,996 pages of the most important historical matter, especially prepared and condensed for the use of those who do not have access to the original histories, and who have not the time to search out these facts had they the books. The combined price of the full set of these volumes is only $6, postpaid.

Order From Our Publishing Houses

Order of Review & Herald, Washington, D. C.; Battle Creek, Mich.; Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal.; Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Assn., Nashville, Tenn.; or your State Tract Society.

Editorial

By Editor

Looking Backward

With the passing of the old year it is natural, and perhaps profitable, to review the record of 1904. Although we can not change the past, we may be able to draw from it encouragement and warning for the future. It ought to be clear to the observing and thoughtful that history is being made very fast in these days. Events of great significance follow each other in rapid succession, and the sensation of yesterday is overshadowed by the greater sensation of to-day. This has been true in almost every line of human experience. In this time of great light the minds of men have been stimulated to wonderful achievement, and the fruits of the intense life have been seen in the whole intellectual field. That which casts a dark shadow over the whole picture is the fact that the Bible and the God of the Bible have, with such increasing emphasis, been refused their place as the inspiration and the power for good; and as an inevitable consequence evil has become more and more rampant. That control in human affairs which is often called self-control, but which is really the restraining influence of the Spirit of God, has been in a large degree, rejected, and rapid progress has been made in that experience which will finally demonstrate to the universe the true nature of sin,—unrestrained sin,—sin in its real hideousness. The year has also been marked by significant experiences in our own work. That teaching which threatened the very life of this advent movement has been openly challenged and repudiated, and there has been a seeking after the old paths, which is bringing back the old-time spirit of this message. With this revival of faith and courage there has also been an increase of missionary zeal, and a more intelligent comprehension of the world-wide nature of this work. The year has witnessed such action on the part of some of the home conferences as indicates a purpose to plan for really finishing the work in this generation. Finally, the reports thus far received seem to warrant the conclusion that the recent week of prayer was a time of revival and preparation for greater things. The backward view reveals mistakes and failures, but there are also victories and progress. Let us profit by these experiences, as we face the conflicts which are yet to come.

Looking Forward

We are not prophets, but we have the words of the prophets. We are not stargazers and prognosticators, but we are expected to discern the signs of the times. We should not attempt to be wise above what is written, but “the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children.” In the light, therefore, which is cast upon our situation by the sure word of prophecy, and by attending to the voice of current events, we may be sure of some things in our forecast of the experiences of the coming year. We have no ground to expect an improvement in the general situation. On the contrary, we have every reason to expect that “evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse.” There are no indications that there will be a genuine revival of true religion among the great denominations of the day. The time of false revivals is at hand, and they may appear at any time; but there can be no true repentance and turning to God without a radical change in the whole attitude of Christendom toward the fundamentals in Christianity,—the Bible and the Lord’s Christ. And the day of their visitation seems not to have been perceived. Those who do not wish to be partakers of her sins must now come out from a fallen church. The current in the social and political world has gained too much headway in the wrong direction to make it easy to reverse it, and the array of facts and figures concerning the increase of lawlessness, to which we have recently called attention, constitutes a terrible indictment against public morality. There is no power in the ethics and the philosophy of “the new evangelism” to cope with this situation, and peace congresses held by nations which are steadily increasing their fighting power are not likely to convert the world. The whole drift is toward the battle of the great day. The only hope for the world is in the third angel’s message. This message, we are confident, will make rapid progress during the coming year. If all the believers will heartily co-operate with God’s purpose concerning his people and work at this time, the next twelve months may witness such a revelation of the power and glory of God as has not been seen since apostolic times. For this the preparation has already been made. Only our own unfaithfulness will defer or dim the glory. The time demands whole-hearted service. Let the coming year be filled with it.
“Come, let us anew our journey pursue, Roll round with the year, And never stand still till the Master appear.”

What They Did in 1844

There is a paragraph in one of Sister White’s articles, designated for use during the recent week of prayer, which ought not to be dismissed with a single reading. It runs as follows: “Be always ready; ‘in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ Go to your rest at night with every sin confessed. Thus we did in 1844, when we expected to meet our Lord. And now this great event is nearer than when we first believed. Be always ready, in the evening, in the morning, and at noon, that when the cry is heard, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!’ you may, even though awakened out of sleep, go forth to meet him with your lamps trimmed and burning.” There is a directness and a simplicity in this instruction which make the thought of the nearness of the coming of the Lord very vivid. That event is now to be reckoned with by us just as it was bythe believers in 1844. Each day’s experience must now close with the positive assurance that we are justified by faith, and that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This must become a settled habit with us, so that we may be always ready to meet the Lord, though he should come suddenly. As we close the day with thanksgiving and intercession, let this instruction be remembered: ‘Go to your rest at night with every sin confessed. Thus we did in 1844, when we expected to meet our Lord.’ Sinners whose sins have all been confessed and forgiven will be ready to hail the Bridegroom with joy.

An Obvious Conclusion Acknowledged

ONE difficulty which we have found in dealing with the scientific infidelity which has been thrusting itself upon us, with the avowed purpose of supplanting well-established truths, has been the fact that it was so often clothed in language capable of a double interpretation. The new views were often suggested rather than openly stated. By an apparently slight and plausible modification in the interpretation of familiar passages of Scripture, by abolishing any distinction between the physical and the spiritual, and by playing upon the twofold sense of some words, it has been possible to introduce among us the beginnings of a system of teaching which, when logically developed, would overthrow the very foundations of Christianity in general, and the third angel’s message in particular. All this teaching would have carried with it, in large degree, its own antidote, if the conclusions involved in the first positions had been openly avowed. Here was the difficulty. The premises were stoutly maintained, but the conclusions were either denied or so carefully hidden under a veneering of truth that many were being deceived.
Some of the advocates, however, of this new philosophy are beginning to acknowledge the inevitable conclusions of their premises. One of these is Dr. Lyman Abbott, of New York. His present position and its real meaning, as well as its relation to a kind of teaching which is quite familiar to us, is so clearly presented in an editorial in a recent issue of the New York Sun, that we quote it entire. It is entitled “The Confession of Dr. Abbott:—”
Dr. Lyman Abbott announced in a sermon to Harvard students on Sunday [December 18] that he no longer believes in “a great first Cause.” “My God,” he said, “is a great and ever-present force.” That is, he has become a pantheist. The confession seemed to him so startling that, after having made it, he declared his expectation that forthwith “the newspapers will brand me as a heretic.”
If any newspaper is surprised by this confession, it must be ignorant of the outgivings of Dr. Abbott, and of the school of theology to which he belongs, for a long time past, or be incapable of drawing an obvious logical conclusion. This school of theology, the “New Theology,” has given up the dogmatic premises of the old theology, and according to past religious standards it is wholly heretical. Measured by those tests, it is as infidel as was Ingersoll himself, the difference between it and him being rather in form of statement than in substance of thought.
Dr. Abbott tried to save himself at Cambridge by saying, after making his formal pantheistic confession, “Yet God has a personality.” He had described his divinity as the “one energy” which “has always been working,” and the only possible attribute of personality he had given it was “intelligence.” That simply means that the “energy” “works” through the laws of nature, and the science which knows no personality in God would agree with him entirely. Actually, there is as much personality in electricity as in Dr. Abbott’s “energy.”
Dr. Abbott, however, will be disappointed in his expectation of being denounced as a heretic. The Presbyterian clergyman who threw overboard the Westminster Confession is not haled for trial as a heretic, but held tight in the embrace of his presbytery. The Union Theological Seminary constructs an indefinite creed of its own, and there is no outcry in the religious world. The miracle of the incarnation is explained away in nominally orthodox pulpits, and reduced to a “merely symbolic, a purely imaginative significance,” yet no trials for heresy result.
Dr. Abbott himself had classed the prophets of the Old Testament with contemporary men of genius, yet nothing was done to him and no expressions of surprise at his conclusions were heard. And now, also, when he makes bold to declare to Harvard students his square pantheism, there will be no excitement in any quarter. Everybody who knew anything about his school of religious thought knew very well already that its reasoning was pantheistic.
All the same, ought such a man to be occupying the pulpit of a Christian church founded on belief in a “great first Cause” and on belief in the fact of the incarnation and in something more than mere “energy,” even if it be an “intelligent energy”? Ought he not to be on a platform wholly independent of religion as it was once conceived to be?
In this connection it seems appropriate to call attention to two brief extracts from the spirit of prophecy. The first one shows that much of the religion of the present day is heathenism in disguise. It reads as follows:—
The god of many professedly wise men, of philosophers, poets, politicians, journalists,—the god of polished fashionable circles, of many colleges and universities, even of some theological institutions,—is little better than Baal, the sun-god of Phenicia.—“Great Controversy,” page 583.
The second quotation makes it clear that this conception of God as “a divine, ever-present, all-pervading Intelligence” is emphatically anti-Christian. Here it is:—
If God is an essence pervading all nature, then he dwells in all men; and in order to attain holiness, man has only to develop the power that is within him. These theories, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They do away with the necessity for the atonement, and make man his own savior.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VIII, page 291.
Years ago we were told that “all who value their eternal interests should be on their guard against the inroads of skepticism,” and that “the very pillars of truth will be assailed.” The time has surely come when we ought to give most earnest heed to this instruction. In the three messages of Revelation 14, as God gave them to this people, we shall find “a solid, immovable platform.” Here we can take our stand. “Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance.” It is our privilege and duty to give these messages to the world as God has given them to us, without any of the interpretations of a pantheistic science.

Ready to Respond

By W. A. S.

Now and then a special appeal from the mission fields makes very hard reading for some. For instance, Elder Ketring last week told of the open door in Peru—open, even though his meetings are held behind closed and barred doors—and added this appeal:—
O that God would move upon the hearts of some faithful, God-fearing workers to come here to help give the last message of mercy to this people!
That stirring call, we know, must have been hard reading for one consecrated worker in the northwest, who has had a heavy burden for the west coast of South America, and has longed for the word to go. So it is with appeals from many a field. Hearts are stirred to respond. The Lord has been preparing recruits for the service, and while awaiting their time to go into the fields many have been learning lessons of patience which will prove valuable when their time does come.
It seems assured that the week-of-prayer season will introduce a year of deeper interest in missions than any year preceding. This will mean advance moves, and response to calls for fresh recruits. From various parts we hear of members engaged in business who are inquiring how best to get into needy fields as self-supporting missionaries. The camp is astir. The Lord is making his people willing in this day of his power. W. A. S.

What Has Been Accomplished

A WRITER who has evidently given some careful thought to the question has prepared the following summary statement of the results of the “New Theology” in contrast with old-fashioned Christianity:—
A pantheistic god, instead of a personal God.
A human savior, instead of a divine Saviour.
Infallible scholarship, instead of an infallible Bible.
“Modern thought,” instead of a “Thus saith the Lord.”
A development of religious ideas from the human mind, instead of a revelation from God.
The natural in all things, the supernatural in nothing.
Reformation, instead of regeneration.
Culture, instead of conversion.
A change of environment, instead of a change of heart.
The energy of the flesh, instead of prayer and faith.
Interest in the secular, instead of zeal for religion.
Nobody afraid of hell, and nobody caring much about heaven.
Everybody coming out right anyhow, and nobody on the wrong track except those who cling to the faith once delivered to the saints.
Those who are acquainted with the situation as it exists in the religious world to-day, and have not been infatuated with these satanic sophistries, know that this summary is altogether too true. There is no compromise between these two systems of teaching. They can not stand together. The one which holds its ground must overthrow the other. For twenty years the struggle has been going on in the so-called orthodox churches, but now the “New Theology” claims to be orthodox, and is ruthlessly demolishing “the foundations of many generations.”
Those who have been called out under this message are to refuse these perversions of the truth of the gospel, whether advocated without or within this denomination. “Words of power have been sent by God and by Christ to this people, bringing them out from the world, point by point, into the clear light of present truth. With lips touched with holy fire, God’s servants have proclaimed the message. The divine utterance has set its seal to the genuineness of the truth proclaimed. . . . Let not erroneous theories receive countenance from the people who ought to be standing firmly on the platform of eternal truth. God calls upon us to hold firmly to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.”
Those who believe in an inspired and infallible Bible, and have been kept on the straight line of truth by the warnings and instruction coming through the spirit of prophecy, have a testimony to bear to the world which will reveal a personal God and a divine Saviour, which will teach the necessity of a thorough conversion, which will not discount prayer and faith, and which will emphasize the fact that there is a hell to shun and a heaven to win. This is the testimony of the third angel’s message.

Violence in Labor Conflicts

By L. A. S.

STATISTICS prepared by Mr. Slason Thompson, and published in The Outlook, of violence attending labor conflicts, show a total of 198 persons killed, 1,966 persons injured, and 6,114 arrests made in the United States in connection with such conflicts for two years and nine months ending Sept. 30, 1904. These figures are the outcome of an inquiry “instituted to secure the concrete facts, if possible, and some reliable data as to the mortality through the unceasing war which labor unions have been waging in the United States during recent years.” “The difficulty of obtaining anything like full statistics of the violence attending strikes,” Mr. Thompson says, makes it certain that these figures greatly understate the truth. Nor do they, he adds, “begin but to tell the whole harrowing tale of violence and outrage attending strikes during the period mentioned,” as “may be judged from the fact that in the State of Pennsylvania alone, between May 1 and Nov. 3, 1902,” in connection with a “peaceable” strike, “there were thirty occupied dwellings dynamited; forty trains obstructed or wrecked; four dams and bridges dynamited; scores of houses burned, stoned, shot into, or otherwise attacked; unnumbered riots and assaults with clubs, stones, and other weapons; cattle poisoned, doctors forbidden to attend the sick, ministers boycotted for ministering to the dying.”
In this work Mr. Thompson has had in mind two questions ‘put to him by Mr. John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers of America: “Can strikes be conducted without violence?” and, “Can they succeed when not accompanied by lawlessness?”—which questions Mr. Mitchell answers with a positive “Yes.” Mr. Thompson, however, finds himself led to a different conclusion. “Unfortunately,” he says, “stern and inexorable facts which I have gathered from every section of the Union prove that if strikes can be conducted without violence, without assaults, without lawlessness, without riots and murder, they are not, and, with rare and insignificant exceptions, they never have been.” “A strike without violence of some sort is a barren ideality that exists only in the minds of self-deceived sentimentalists, professional agitators, and unsophisticated economists.”
Such figures impress us with the fact that war is going on in our earth not alone in far-off Manchuria or Africa, but at our very doors and under conditions of nominal peace. The spirit of selfishness which fills the world is accompanied everywhere by lawlessness and strife, which oftentimes produce results but little short of those attending a military campaign. There is a vast amount of nominal peace, but very little real peace, in the world.
As it was just prior to the first destruction of the world, in the days of Noah, when “the earth was filled with violence,” so it is to-day, and we know that the earth is ready for a second visitation of the wrath of God. L. A. S.

An Indefinite Sabbath

By L. A. S.

In an argument to prove that the first day of the week is the Christian Sabbath, Rev. R. C. Wylie, a prominent advocate of Sunday legislation, says that “the expression in the fourth commandment ‘The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God’ can not refer to the seventh day of the week or Saturday, but to the seventh, after six days of labor. . . . The fourth commandment fixes nothing as to the day of the week to be observed. It is just as applicable no matter what day of the week the rest day falls upon.”
Is it not strange that men who strenuously insist that there should be a definite fixed weekly Sabbath, appointed and enforced by law, for the people of this day, should contend that God left the world for thousands of years to observe the Sabbath by keeping any one day in seven after six days of work, as might suit their preference or convenience? The Bible says that “God is not the author of confusion;” but either this statement must be wrong or Dr. Wylie must be in error in charging God with the authorship of a system of Sabbath observance which would allow men to have as many different sabbaths as there are days in the week.
The fourth commandment states as the reason for keeping the Sabbath, the fact that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and rested the seventh day. This made the week, and the Sabbath day was and is necessarily the seventh day of the week. And so long as this division of time was observed by all, there could be but one day observed as the Sabbath. It would be necessary to violate God’s law before any new weekly cycle of time could be set up. Every other weekly rest day than the seventh day of the primeval week, must rest on a foundation of disobedience to God.
Is it not strange also that any intelligent person should make this furtherstatement of Dr. Wylie’s that “it is clear that the Jewish Sabbath was repealed, but not the fourth commandment”? If, before there was any other Sabbath day than that observed by the Jews, that Sabbath had been repealed, and if, as Dr. Wylie says, that Sabbath could be repealed without repealing the fourth commandment, then the fourth commandment could have existed without any Sabbath at all, and the Sabbath and the fourth commandment are independent of each other! Such statements are noteworthy only as illustrating the blindness into which men are led by clinging to an unscriptural doctrine.
L. A. S.

No, Not Too Late

By Arthur Grosvenor Daniells

At the close of the week of prayer, letters come to our office containing donations in which the donors say, “I hope this is not too late to go into the Annual Offering to help make the eighty thousand dollars called for.” Others earnestly ask, “Am I too late to have a part in making up the eighty thousand dollars?”
To all, we are glad that we can say it is not too late to take part in swelling the annual offering to the amount called for. The remittances will be coming in for several weeks, and during that time any gifts sent to the local conference treasury or to this office will be placed in the fund.
We still feel burdened to call upon our brethren and sisters to consider seriously the grave obligations that rest upon those who remain at home. It can not be that the responsibilities created by the growth of this cause all fall upon those who go to mission fields. Those who go must cut loose from everything in this world. They must provide for the care of aged parents, young brothers and sisters, and helpless, dependent relatives. They must dispose of, or leave in the hands of others, their homes, which represent the careful savings of years of toil. They must leave a country whose people, language, and customs they understand, and go where everything is new and strange. They must leave the many comforts, advantages, and safeguards of modern, advanced civilization, and place themselves where they will be exposed to heat and cold, and disease, without proper protection, and be deprived of educational and other advantages they and their children need. They must cut themselves off from what appears to be a visible means of support, and cast themselves on the good-will and loyalty of the believers in this message who do not go.
This is what the triumphant progress of this cause in the world means to those who go to the front. What does it mean to those who stay at home? Have they any special responsibilities? If so, what are they? Those who remain at home in possession of property and of commercial advantages, must give of their means to support those who have left all these. This is a vital, fundamental point in the great problem of foreign missions. It is immensely practical. It can not be overlooked, forgotten, nor set aside except at the peril of our comrades. Many connected with this cause, and who enjoy reading of its progress, do not realize what this means from a financial standpoint. Look at our situation to-day. We have ministers, Bible workers, writers, teachers, physicians, nurses, and canvassers in Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, The West Indies, Egypt, Africa, Palestine, Turkey, India, Ceylon, China, Japan, the islands of the Pacific, and in other lands. These laborers are our own brethren and sisters (and brothers and sisters in the flesh, too). They were once in our midst. Now they are scattered all over the world. They find perishing souls who are glad to get the light of the gospel. They are devoting every hour of their time, and all their strength, wholly to the proclamation of the truth. They are not farming, nor engaging in commercial enterprises of any kind — not because they do not like to work, nor because they are not able to make a living for themselves. When they were here engaged in worldly business, they were as industrious and successful as any of us; but their ears caught the earnest appeals for help that are coming from these distant lands, and their hearts responded in love and self-sacrifice. They obeyed the command of the great General, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Forgetful of their own personal interests, they have gone abroad to render service to their fellow men. The question of their support they have left with the Lord and their brethren. The Lord will surely do his part; and we brethren will do ours. Thank God for this loyalty!
A. G. DANIELLS.

A Lesson From Israel

By William C. White

“ALL these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
The Lord had hearkened unto the cries of his oppressed people. He had brought them “forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm.” Patiently and tenderly he had led them through the wilderness. His people had sometimes murmured at trial and difficulty, but invariably their mighty Leader had wrought for them a wonderful deliverance. And had Israel believed the Lord, and faithfully followed where he desired to lead them, they would soon have entered their possession.
“If the Lord delight in us,” said Caleb and Joshua, “then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us. . . . Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.”
What a blessing would have been theirs, what reproach and bitterness and hardship might they have escaped, had the children of Israel hearkened to the words of courage and trust spoken by the faithful servants of God! But they “entered not in because of unbelief.”
The heart of their Heavenly Father was grieved with the unbelief and distrust manifested by his children. He had desired them to open their mouth wide, that he might fill it. “But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. . . . They walked in their own counsels.” How pathetically sorrowful are the words that follow: “O, that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured forever.” Ps. 81:11-16.
To Seventh-day Adventists a definite work has been committed. Promiseshave been made that will be realized if unitedly and courageously we will arise to finish this work. More than four years ago the message came to us:—
“Have faith in God. He gave me the idea of giving ‘Christ’s Object Lessons’ for the relief of the schools. He is testing his people and institutions in this thing, to see if they will work together, and be of one mind in self-denial and self-sacrifice.
“Let our institutions make every effort to free themselves from debt. Let every family arouse. Let the ministers of our churches and the presidents of our conferences awaken. Then He will tell you what to do next.”
We were also told that “if all will take hold of the work in the spirit of self-sacrifice, for Christ’s sake and for the truth’s sake, it will not be long before the jubilee song of freedom can be sung throughout our borders.”
Some, yes, many of our people have responded to this call. We can not estimate the great blessings that have come to individuals and to our institutions as a result of the self-sacrificing efforts that have been put forth. But have we not stopped short of the mark that has been set before us? Our schools are not yet freed from debt. Shall we as a people remain satisfied in the position of the one who put his hand to the plow, and then turned back?
We have now reached a time for another mighty effort to complete the work of “rolling back the reproach.” Let us bear in mind the experience of Israel, that we may not, because of doubt, discouragement, or inactivity, fail to receive the promises of God. Let us keep the high mark before us, working earnestly and prayerfully, and it will not be long till “the jubilee song of freedom can be sung throughout our borders.”
W. C. WHITE.

Special Divine Protection

By W. A. S.

IN view of the fact that, on an average, about twenty thousand persons are killed by snake bites every year in India alone, and thousands slain by wild beasts, the following report by a student of missionary history is worthy of special emphasis:—
It is a notable fact that though missionaries, especially those in India and Africa, are constantly exposed to danger by reason of wild beasts and venomous reptiles, there is not, so far as the writer has been able to discover, a single case on record of a missionary who has met death in this way. The peculiar promises made to the seventy (in Luke 10:19) and to the disciples (in Mark 16:18) seem to have been wonderfully fulfilled.
Times without number missionaries have been in such peril from reptiles and beasts that they were conscious of the fact that only the special interposition of God could have saved them. In such times these promises have been very towers of refuge. God, from his throne in the heavens, actually sends angels to stand by and protect his servants.
W. A. S.
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