Your ShelfYour Projects

Signs of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 42.

Congregationalism and the Color Line

Signs of the Times

Nov 4, 1889

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 4, 1889

Congregationalism and the Color Line

THE Congregational Council had a very lively discussion on the color line. The colored churches of Georgia had representatives in the Council. Some Independent Methodist white churches also sent delegates and asked admission to the Council, as Congregationalists. But the record on the “color line” was doubtful, hence the discussion. They at last were admitted, and the Council affirmed the position (a sensible and Christian position) of Congregationalists once more by passing the following resolution:—
“Resolved, That this Council re-affirms the historic position we conceive to be characteristic of Congregationalism always—the equality of all believers in Christ Jesus; and that we admit the before-named delegates of the Congregational Conferences in Georgia to membership in this body in the belief that they also stand with us on this ground, and in the expectation that they will use the uttermost of their endeavors at home to realize and manifest the fact in the promotion of organic union among all the Congregational Churches of that commonwealth.”
“If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” “There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all.” Gal. 3:29; Col. 3:11.
It is the meek that God will guide in judgment and teach his way. Ps. 25:9. He who comes to the word of God with a love of his own opinions, will pursue a vain quest. He may learn a part of the truth, but it will be superficial and one-sided; the fullness of truth lies unrevealed to him. If God should enlighten him, his selfishness would take all the glory to himself. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.”

A PECULIAR PEOPLE.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS E. G. WHITE. (Concluded.)
ALL Heaven is interested in our salvation, and I would that our minds were spiritualized, that we might fully realize this great fact. Although Christians will experience trials and difficulties, they should be the happiest people on the earth; for if they are obedient children, they can address God as their Father and Friend. “As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” God has a deep interest in those who are striving to obey his precepts.
Although the children of God may at times be placed in situations that are trying and full of sorrow, they need not imagine that the Lord has forsaken them. Joseph was cast into prison without any provocation, and it seemed that God had forgotten him; but Joseph trusted in the Lord. He had been true to the Lord under temptation, declaring, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
And the Lord did not forsake him. Heaven gave him wisdom to answer the tempter, and a firm purpose to resist evil. If one of us were called to go through such trial as Joseph endured, would we have borne without complaint and murmuring? He forgot his own trials, and sought to help others. Even in the prison he made himself a necessity and a blessing.
Look at the case of Daniel in Babylon. He was surrounded with all the luxury of the king’s court, but he refused to participate in the banquets of extravagance. He would not defile himself with a portion of the king’s meat, or take of his wine. When men havethe principle that will enable them to stand amid temptation, as did Daniel, the God of heaven will look upon them with approval, and will send them needed help and strength at the moment of their trial. If Daniel had weakly yielded to temptation to indulge appetite, he would have placed himself in a position where he could not have received the wisdom and grace the Lord had for him. He would have brought upon himself physical and mental weakness.
God does not take any man into connection with himself, to give him wisdom and grace, unless he places himself in right relation to the precepts and principles of truth. Man has a work to do to close the door against temptation. He must build a wall around himself, and then God will train his powers for the highest use. It is not possible for us to tell what a man may become, and what he may achieve through the power and grace of Christ. The reason why we are so weak in moral power, is that we are continually venturing on Satan's ground. We should be careful where we go, and see to it that we take no backward steps. For when professed Christians do not live up to the light that God gives them, they can do more harm than open sinners.
When Daniel had been exalted in the court of Babylon, he was not free from trial and temptation. The wise men of the court were filled with envy, and plotted for his destruction.
How earnestly the enemies of Daniel watched for an opportunity to accuse him before the king, but they decided that they could find nothing against him, except in his fidelity to his God. They induced the king to frame a decree, according to the custom of the Medes and Persians, that could not be changed, to the effect that if any man for thirty days offered prayer to anyone except the king, he should be thrown into the den of lions. The king was flattered by this proposition, and as he did not understand the motive that prompted it, he signed the desired decree, and made it a law. Did these men think because they had deceived Darius that they had deceived the Lord also? Daniel knew all about the decree, but when the time came for prayer, "he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."
The report was quickly carried to the king, and too late he saw that the decree had been proposed and carried into effect through the envy and jealousy of his court. Daniel had determined that he would be true to God. He would let the world know that no king, prince, or power, had a right to come between his soul and God. God did not forsake him, for though he was cast into the den of lions, the angels of heaven were with him, and he suffered no harm. The king, filled with sorrow, spent a restless night in his chamber, and at early light he came to the den, and cried, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" Then Daniel said to the king, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt."
Daniel was soon delivered from the den of lions, and his enemies who had plotted his ruin were themselves destroyed.
Through the trial that was permitted to come upon Daniel, great good resulted to the nation; for it gave opportunity to call the attention of great and small to the fact that God was able and willing to save him who trusted in him. Daniel showed to the nation that Jehovah was a living God. He brought out chapters in his experience showing that God had manifested himself to his servant in a remarkable manner. He told them how he had stood before them as a prophet of the Most High God, and that no earthly power had the right to interfere with a man's personal relation to his God. Thus God was manifested above every king, emperor, or statesman, as the one to be honored and obeyed.
Daniel was counted peculiar, and every man who makes God his counselor, and who seeks him in simplicity of heart, will be counted peculiar by the world. But this is the faith we need, this is the experience that we must have; for Christ has died to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. We should live with an eye single to his glory, and then we shall be able to gain the victory over the world. We must come out from the world and be separate, if we would be the sons of God, the heirs of heaven. If we do this, we shall enter in through the gates into the city, we shall have a right to the tree of life, and we shall see the King in his beauty.

Evidence of Christ’s Second Coming

JUST as surely as the prophecies relating to Christ’s first coming were literally fulfilled, just so surely they will be concerning his second coming. If the former were plain, so that the Jews were left without excuse, the latter are no less so. There are ten evidences now to one then. Shall we refuse to heed them?
Do not search the Scriptures for excuses to evade their plain import; search for helps. There are none of the former, there is an abundance of the latter. Always remember that God never gave an excuse for avoiding a single plain duty that he has enjoined; and he who seeks for excuses, turns from God to evil paths. He who searches for helps, in order to do God’s will, will be shown the love of God and filled with all the fullness of Christ.

Sunday and the Seventh Day

By Editor

THAT class of Sunday advocates which claims that Sunday is the original seventh day ought to pay the proprietors of “Sapolio” a good round price for educating the public in that count of the days of the week. In their full-page advertisements, in great, staring spheres and letters, they represent no less than three times that Sunday is the seventh day. Of course the advertisement is no proof, but it is as good as any we have seen on that claim.

Submission to God’s Will

In Whittier’s poem entitled “Traveler,” the good, white-haired old man is made to say:—
“And for the happiness of which I speak, I find it in submission to His will, And calm trust in the holy trinity Of Knowledge, Goodness, and Almighty Power.”
What a basis for faith is here expressed! God knows all things, therefore he can make no mistake in his designs. He is incarnate goodness and love; therefore there can be no evil in his plans; he will do only good to the creatures of his care. And he is omnipotent; therefore he can bring to pass all that his goodness and knowledge dictate. Who would not submit to God’s will?

The Church and Christ’s Coming

By Editor

F. M. BIRD, in his criticisms on the revised edition of the Protestant Episcopal Church Hymnal, criticises the hymn of which the following is a stanza:—
“Far down the ages now, Her journey well-nigh done, The pilgrim church pursues her way, And longs to reach her crown.”
Upon this he makes the following remarks:—
“This is one of those unpractical, sentimental, millenarian effusions of which Dr. Bonar is so fond, and of which the preliminary report contains two (49 and 50), though one of them was happily thrown out in the revision. He holds these views in entire sincerity, and has a perfect right to hold and express them; but they are not our views, and there is no reason why they should be foisted upon us. “Her journey well-nigh done!” How does anybody know that? We are not Adventists, and it is no part of the church’s doctrine that the world is coming to an end next year, or during the next century. No congregation in the land, and but few individuals, could sing that opening stanza, or the two that follow it, with intelligence and honesty.”
There have been those in the Episcopal Church, and we believe that there are such still, who had not so far departed from the truth and teaching of Christ, that they could not sing such sentiments. It may be that the coming of Christ, or its proximation, is no part of the Protestant Episcopal Church’s doctrine, but it is of the true church. “I will come again,” says Jesus. “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors,” he says again. And the church, through the prophet, exclaims, “Even so, come [quickly] Lord Jesus.”

THE CHILD-LIKE HEART.

By I. O. Rankin

Lord, thou wast made a child, and why should I Think honor only due to hoary age? Give me a child-like heart, wherewith to try The doubts and changes of my pilgrimage.
Yet thou didst grow in stature, day by day, Unto thy perfect manhood, undefiled. So let me profit, Lord, upon my way, In wisdom’s growth a man, in love a child.
For, when I look for wisdom, thou art wise. If I would love, thy love perfection is. Come, weary heart, out of thy place arise! Thy life, thy love, thy service, all be his! —I. O. Rankin, in S. S. Times.

MATTHEW TWENTY-FOUR.

By J. H. Waggoner

BY THE LATE ELDER J. H. WAGGONER.

(Continued.)

"ALL THESE THINGS."

It is suggested that there are other things besides the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, which took place, according to this prophecy, and we are to look for "all these things" before we are to expect the coming of the Lord. If the reader will look carefully at the connection, he will see that, following these signs, five things are mentioned before the parable of the fig-tree is given: (1) The shaking of the powers of the heavens; (2) the appearing of the sign of the Son of man; (3) the mourning of all the tribes of the earth; (4) the coming of the Son of man in power and great glory; (5) sending his angels to gather his elect. Surely no one will contend that "all these things" shall take place before we have a right to expect the coming of the Lord as an event near at hand. We cannot say his coming is yet near in the future when he has come and gathered his saints to himself in glory.
Thus it is seen that we have to draw a line between those things which are signs of his coming, and those things which take place at his coming. Where shall this line be drawn? We say between the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and the things which follow. All that follow the three signs are connected with the immediate coming of the Lord. We need notice only the first—the shaking of the powers of the heavens.
1. Paul teaches, in Hebrews 12, that as the voice of God once shook the earth, in the days of Moses, so once more will the voice of God shake both earth and heaven. Once more the voice of God from heaven will be heard, and heaven and earth will be shaken thereby.
2. In Revelation 6, following the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, it is said, "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together;" and this is accompanied with an earthquake so great that every mountain and island are moved out of their places. Thus the heavens and the earth are shaken, and the people upon the earth call to the rocks and mountains to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. They will understand at that time that the Lamb of God, he who has been their intercessor, has taken vengeance into his hands, and no probation remains for the impenitent. Compare 2 Thess. 1:7-10.
3. In Rev. 16:17-21 we learn that the voice of God is heard from heaven, and the consequent commotion of the elements takes place, under the seventh and last plague, "in which [the plagues] is filled up the wrath of God." Under this plague the battle of the great day is fought. Heaven's artillery is the great hailstorm. Compare Ezekiel 13. Under the sixth plague the Saviour announces his coming as future, but very near.
4. Isaiah, in chapter 2, and also 13, prophesies of the same shaking, and the dismay of the inhabitants of the earth, who seek a hiding-place in the rocks for fear of the majesty of the Lord, locating it in "the day of the Lord."
5. Jeremiah, in chapter 25, locates the speaking of God from heaven at the time of the great battle, when all the kingdoms of the earth shall drink of the cup of God's fury, and fall and rise no more; when "evil shall go forth from nation to nation," because the Lord has a controversy with them, and he "will give all the wicked to the sword." The destruction of the wicked shall be so complete and universal that "they shall not be lamented, neither gathered nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground."
6. Joel also speaks of the time when the voice of God is heard from heaven, and says it is when the battle of the nations is come; when the sickle is put in because the harvest is ripe. Joel 3:9-16.
7. Jesus said, "The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels;" and also that at the harvest the Son of man shall send forth his angels to separate the wheat from the tares. Matt. 13:37-43.
8. John also says the harvest is reaped when the Son of man appears upon the great white cloud. Rev. 14:14-18.
9. A message—a most solemn message—of warning is given before the Son of man appears upon the white cloud to reap the harvest of the earth, and the seven last plagues are poured out after this message and before the advent,—after the message, for the first plague is poured out upon the very ones denounced in the message (compare Rev. 14:9-12 and 16:1, 2); and before the advent, for under the sixth plague the Lord warns of his coming near, and the great battle is fought under the seventh, which is just at the period of his coming.
Inasmuch as he comes in the glory of his Father, and all his holy angels with him, it is certain that there will be such glory and splendor as this world has never yet beheld. Webelieve the distant appearance of this cloud, of this most resplendent glory, far, far beyond the brightness of the sun, will be that “sign of the Son of man” which will cause all the tribes of the earth to mourn. They will have heard and rejected the evidence of his near coming. Then, when too late, they will realize their terrible mistake and their hopeless condition. This will cause them to seek a hiding-place from the dazzling, and to them fearful, sight.
We do not here take time to fully develop the argument concerning the shaking of the powers of the heavens; but from this brief view we think it must appear conclusive to all that the shaking of the powers of the heavens is not a sign to prove to the waiting church that the Lord’s coming draws near, but is an event which takes place in immediate connection with the Lord’s appearing. It therefore follows that the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, are the only signs here given whereby we may feel the strongest assurance that his coming is near. And these are already fulfilled. Therefore now is the time to watch, for his coming is near indeed.
We do not say there are no more prophecies to be fulfilled before the Lord comes. The warning of the angel of Rev. 14:9–12 must do its work,—must lead the people of God to that perfect obedience to “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,”—to that preparation and consecration which will insure their being sealed with the seal of God in their foreheads, that they may be preserved from the evil to come, in the day of the Lord’s anger,—in the pouring out of the plagues of his wrath. See Zeph. 2:1–3.
(To be continued.)

“AN OBJECT LESSON IN CHARITY.”

RECENTLY a lineman in the employ of a telegraph company in New York City met his death by coming in contact with a charged electric light wire. Referring to this same occurrence, the New York World of October 13 tells the following touching story:—
“Yesterday a good-sized money box was fastened to the telegraph pole at the corner of Chambers and Centre Streets, near the spot where poor Lineman Feeks met his fate. Above it was a placard calling for aid for the family of the deceased. At noon, when the working people were going to their dinners, and at the hour their day’s labor was ended, it required a sturdy policeman to keep the surging crowd back from the box, and to form them into something like an orderly line so that each might contribute his mite to so worthy a cause.
“It was an interesting and a suggestive sight to see these toilers, evidently possessing no more than they needed for their own necessities, eagerly extending relief out of their earnings to the bereaved widow and children of an unfortunate fellow-laborer. It served to show that men’s feelings are most deeply stirred by matters which concern those in their own condition of life; that it is the poor man who feels the most deeply for the poor, the sufferer who has the most sympathy with the suffering, the unfortunate who is the most moved by compassion for the afflicted.
“Of course many broadcloth coats worked their way up to the subscription box, and some bills passed through the opening. But the great majority of givers wore the garb of laboring men, although their hearts were cased in golden sympathy and charity. The spectacle was calculated to make converts to the belief that the poor are more generous than the rich. We have many grand charities in our city, it is true, and our rich citizens are occasionally noble in their benevolence. But is it not also true that great wealth too often creates that insensibility which ‘wraps a man up in himself and his own concerns, and prevents his being moved with either the joys or the sorrows of another’?”

SAUL'S VISIT TO THE WITCH OF ENDOR.

By Rev. J. Bunyan Lemon

IN your "Asked and Answered" column of September 26, you gave your opinion of 1 Sam. 28:7–25, relating to Saul’s visit to the witch of Endor. This passage of Scripture seems to puzzle more people than a hundred other portions which are more difficult to understand. Why is this so? I believe it is because the number of church members who are secretly believing in the possibility of communicating with departed friends, through some such medium as fortune-telling, or spirit-rapping, is much larger than we think. Suppose we take the Revised Version, though there is but little difference in the two versions at this point, and make a strictly literal interpretation of these statements, the result will show that the record is similar to other records of the present day; that there is no miracle in it, and that Samuel did not appear as represented by the witch, though that which appeared to be Samuel did appear. Notice:—
1. Saul did not come to the witch until all other means of communicating with the heavenly world were apparently cut off from him. Lesson 1. When God refuses to accede to your requests, go to a witch and see if you cannot force him to do so. Lesson 2. By this means you will also have the prerogative to choose the messenger who shall bring you his message, and this may be of great advantage to you. Saul chose Samuel.
2. When Saul made inquiry for one possessing a “familiar spirit” he specified that it must be a woman. Question 1. Are not all witches women? 2. Are not all witches ignorant women? 3. Are not all witches poverty-stricken women? 4. Are not all witches women who are not Christians? 5. Are not all witches of suspicious moral character?
3. When Saul went to the witch he disguised himself and went in the night. Lesson 1. When you go to a fortune-teller be sure and keep it a secret. Not that it will affect her story, for she will find you out as she did Saul, but it might affect your standing before the world, as it would have affected Saul, had his armies seen him put off his royal armor, and don a beggar’s suit to seek counsel of war from a wretched old woman living in the back alleys of Endor. Lesson 2. When you go, be sure and go at night, for the evangelist John, in the third chapter of his gospel, according to the nineteenth verse, shows you the great advantage to be gained thereby.
4. When Saul selected his messenger he also indicated the direction from which he must come. “Bring me up Samuel.” Moral: Always select a messenger from the regions below, for he will be more apt to come. Besides, if your messenger should come from above, it would appear as if he came from heaven. That would be a sin against heaven.
5. Saul believed it was Samuel who was speaking with him, although he had no good reasons for believing so. Moral: Always be ready to believe whatever a fortune-teller may tell you, no matter how false it appears to be. She told Saul:—
1. That Samuel came up. Samuel was [according to the popular theology—EDITOR SIGNS] in heaven, and therefore ought to have come down.
2. That Samuel was still an old man. If because a man dies in old age he is ever afterwards to be old and decrepit, and walks the golden streets leaning on a cane, then how much better to die young, so you are not too young, so as to need someone to carry you.
3. That he was dressed like Samuel. Are we to infer that in the next world our dress will still have a striking similarity to the style we adopted here? If so, O ye fashionable women, what a striking contrast there will be in heaven between you and your great grandmothers!
4. That his manner of speech was that of Samuel: “Why hast thou disquieted me?” Poor Samuel! He comes against his will, but he is compelled to come nevertheless. He is more of a slave now than when he was on earth, for no witch could have ordered him about then. He is not at rest, as we supposed. He is subject to the summons of all the witches in the earth. If this was Samuel who appeared, the heaven in which he dwells is not the heaven of the New Testament. How do I explain the apparition? Why need I explain? Paul says, “And no marvel; for even Satan fashioned himself into an angel of light.” 2 Cor. 11:14, Rev. Ver. Then why could he not have fashioned himselfinto a representation of Samuel? In fact, the prophecy here attributed to Samuel has upon it the stamp of Satanic authorship. For it is part truth and part falsehood, with just enough truth to obscure the lie. Satan knew that God had forsaken Saul, that Saul's army was about to be crushed, that the only hope of success for Saul was in Saul's courage and perseverance, and so both of these are taken away by the message Satan brings him in the name of Samuel. It required but little ingenuity in Satan to predict the defeat and death of Saul, which result men look upon as a marvelous piece of prophecy fulfilled.
6. By going to the witch Saul gained nothing, but lost everything. See his downward steps:—
1. He disobeyed God and God departed from him.
2. God having departed from him, he seeks the companionship of a witch, leaving his royal robes behind as if conscious of his degradation, finds her home in the back alleys of Endor, where his officers who had scoured the country for witches had failed to go. She lives in a stable with her calf, and upon the dirt floor of that hut in that unkept alley the stately king of Israel fell full length upon the ground as the last atom of his courage is taken away by the message he receives. O ye angels, look down upon the scene! The king of Israel is fallen too low! But he has one more step to fall.
3. “He fell upon his sword.” 1 Sam. 31:5. The end has come.
I believe it is possible for some men as well as women to become so wicked as to have so intimate a relationship to the devil that he imparts to them some things which his wide-awake eyes have seen in our past lives. He may also tell them some things which his shrewdness enables him to see must come to pass as a result of forces already in operation. But further than this he cannot go. No witch, fortune-teller, Spiritualist, or necromancer, has ever gone further than this. One lesson taught us in the Scripture, however, is that all who turn into this gate are in great danger of speedily committing spiritual and physical suicide, like Saul.—Rev. J. Bunyan Lemon, in Baptist Examiner.

THE REST OF FAITH.

By A. L. Anthony

BY A. L. ANTHONY.
“Come unto Me, ye weary feet, Ye heavy laden, sore distressed; And you shall find a foretaste sweet Of your eternal heavenly rest.
“In vain, with purpose good and true, You’ve tried the heavy load to bear; Still there is rest and peace for you,— Come to the cross and cast it there.”
I heard the invitation kind, And I, beset with doubts and fears, The promised peace of Christ did find,— Sweet rest and joy of coming years.
“With thankful heart I now can say: I am the Lord’s, and he is mine; He keeps me all along the way, And loves me with a love divine.”
Oh, come to him, thou weary soul— Worn and distracted, sin-sick, sore— He’ll heal thy wounds, he’ll make thee whole, And thou may’st fail and fall no more!
He’ll give thee rest without alloy, He’ll give thee victory over sin; And when his saints shall share his joy, He’ll bid thee also enter in.
Yountville, Cal.

GET OUT OF THE CUTTING PLACE.

By H. B. Sevey

"It cut me terribly, and I can't stand it. It was so unjust. They knew better, and there was not a bit of truth in it. It was only told to stir me up and make me fret."
Yes, that may be all true; but they did just what they wanted to, and the devil rejoices to see you all stirred up and out of patience. Now, dear children, let me tell you that there is a better place for you. Have the body of sin destroyed, and your life hid in Christ by being dead unto sin; then what now cuts you so will not be felt. A dead man does not feel the knife. "Ye have put off the old man, and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." The new man's life is in Christ, crucified to the world, "kept by the power of God through faith."
"Yes," you say, "that will do for some. They can be kept, but I can't." Why not? Isn't the power of God sufficient? "Yes," you say, "but I do not believe." Yes, there is the trouble. We are kept through faith by the power of God, not by our own strength. Is not the power of God all you need? Is not he that is in you stronger than the world? Is not his strength made perfect in weakness? Did he not say to Paul that his grace was all he needed? Paul could say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." Can't he keep us so we may not feel the thrusts and fiery darts of the devil, so as to give way to our natural propensities?
Yes, praise the Lord. Let the knife cut, we can be still, and we can rejoice and be exceeding glad, because our names are written in heaven. To be dead unto sin, and alive unto God, is just where our blessed Saviour wants us to be, and where we must be to be translated when Jesus comes. If not there, submit at once; lay all on the altar; let it remain until sanctified, body, soul, and spirit.—H. B. Sevey, in World's Crisis.

GIVING THE TENTH OF OUR INCOME.

By Jennie Fowler Willing

EVERY Christian ought to give a tenth of his gross income to the Lord's work. Gross, rather than net, for if one says, "I will give what is left after I have had my living," he will be very apt to use the lion's share on himself, and the Lord's cause will go begging. We are not to be trusted at that point. Jacob said, "Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee."
1. It is economical.
(1) To keep the promise we may have to live simply.
And that will be the better for us in every sense.
(2) We will have to keep our accounts carefully.
Otherwise, we will never know when we are quite honest with the Lord; so we will be saved from the slipshod way of doing business that is at the bottom of most failures.
(3) It will make us honest.
We will avoid doubtful margins if we know that God has the concern in hand, taking ten per cent. of the gross profits, and liable to withdraw the capital if he is not pleased with our methods.
(4) It will make our business honorable.
The office will become a temple. In England "gentlemen" are above business. In our country "ladies" are. In God's code, work is honorable, though it be as coarse and common as herding cattle, driving oxen, or dressing vines.
2. It is necessary for self-defense.
One of the twelve, after witnessing Christ's miracles, and listening to his teaching three years, fell through covetousness, and died by suicide. Is there a greater hindrance to God's work than the avarice of his own people? We may be able to stand where an apostle fell, but it is well to be on our guard.
3. God commands it.
"Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the field bringeth forth, year by year." "The first of your dough ye shall give unto the Lord, an heave-offering in your generations."
The Hebrews gave one-third of their income back to God. The firstlings of the flocks and herds were sacred to God. If the owner wished to retain them, he paid for them.
The first-fruits of the harvest were the Lord's. The spontaneous growth of the seventh year belonged to the poor. That year all debtors were released from obligation. The trespass-offering had to be paid, and also the yearly offering of the shekel of the sanctuary, about twenty-seven cents of our money. A tenth of everything was given every year; and the third year there was an additional tithing, when the people made solemn declaration before God that it had been faithfully paid.
If a Jew could give so much, surely a Christian ought not to give less than one-tenth.
4. Neglect of this duty displeases the Lord.
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."
5. He is pleased with faithfulness in this matter.
"Ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them, and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. The land shall yield her fruit; and ye shall eat your fill." The apostle orders that everyone shall lay by him in store, on the first day of the week, as God hath prospered him, the means to carry on the Lord's work.
We must not wait till we have a competence in adopting this rule of giving. Jacob left home in such haste that he had hardly the runaway's bundle on a stick. His giving was all in the future. Systematic giving is a safeguard against mammonism, a deadly danger in our country. If all God's people would give by rule, all his causes would soon be taken off the pauper list. There would be no lack in any department of his work.

THE PEACE OUTLOOK IN EUROPE.

THE following from a leading San Francisco daily, will show how the world regards the peace prospect of Europe. Referring to the late visit of the czar to Berlin, the Chronicle says:—
“The emperor, in toasting the czar, said he drank to the continuance of the friendship which had subsisted between their houses for over a hundred years, and which he was resolved to cherish as a legacy from his ancestors; and the czar, in reply, thanked the emperor for his kindly sentiments, and drank to his welfare.
“While all this gush and buncombe was going on, the German Government was submitting to the Bundesrath a bill to authorize the loan of about $62,000,000, the most of which is to be expended on account of the military. It is a peculiar coincidence, to say the least, that while these two sovereigns were vowing eternal amity, and, metaphorically at least, weeping on each other's necks, the Legislature of one of their countries should be asked to borrow so large a sum for the government to expend for military purposes. This fact is much more significant than the honeyed words of the two monarchs, for words are very much cheaper than bonds.
“What does Germany want of all this money? The recent election in France should have put to rest all fear of attack from that source, for it is certain that the republic meanspeace, and that no French Republican leader, be he who he may, would dream of putting himself at the head of the party of revenge, if there be any such party now in France. Bismarck has just said that England had decided to be a fat ox and not a mad bull, so there is nothing to be apprehensive of in that quarter. What power, then, is there except Russia to inspire this new financial departure on the part of Germany, and to cause her to spend so much money for military purposes.
“The net indebtedness of the German Empire, funded and unfunded, is about 420,000,000 marks, and it seems quite certain that it would not be increased by so large a sum as 249,000,000 marks unless the government thought there would be urgent necessity for the money very soon. Germany cannot have been blind to the extraordinary activity of Russia in making preparations for war, and it is certainly not an unreasonable conjecture that this new loan is intended to meet those preparations. The czar and the emperor may hobnob and drink each other's health now, but if next spring a Russian army appears on the border, there may be a struggle which will be just as fierce and desperate as though the love feast at Berlin had never taken place.”

AMUSEMENTS IN THE CHURCH.

By Archibald Brown

An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross, so brazen in its impudence, that the most short-sighted of spiritual men can hardly fail to notice it.
During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate, ever for evil. It has worked like leaven, until now the whole lump ferments. Look which way you may, its presence makes itself manifest. There is little, if anything, to choose between church, chapel, or mission hall. However these may differ in some respects, they bear a striking likeness to the posters that figure upon and disfigure their notice boards. Amusement for the people is the leading article advertised by each. If any of my readers doubt my statement, or think my utterance too sweeping, let them take a tour of inspection and study the "announcements for the week" at the doors of the sanctuaries of their neighborhood, or let them read the religious advertisements in their local papers. I have done this again and again, until the hideous fact has been proved up to the hilt, that "amusement" is ousting "the preaching of the gospel" as the great attraction. "Concerts," "fancy fairs," "entertainments," "dramatic performances," "smoking conferences," are the words honored with the biggest type and most startling colors. The concert is fast becoming as much a recognized part of church life as the prayer-meeting, and is already, in most places, far better attended. "Providing recreation for the people" will soon be looked upon as a necessary part of Christian work, and as binding upon the church of God as though it were a divine command, unless some strong voices be raised which will make themselves heard.
Providing amusement for the people is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all his apostles. What is to be the attitude of the church towards the world according to our Lord's teaching? Strict separation and uncompromising hostility. While no hint ever passed his lips of winning the world by pleasing it, or accommodating methods to its taste, his demand for unworldliness was constant and emphatic. He set forth in one short sentence what he would have his disciples be, "Ye are the salt of the earth." Yes; the salt, not the sugar candy or a "lump of delight." Something the world will be more inclined to spit out than swallow with a smile. Something more calculated to bring water to the eye than laughter to the lip.
Short and sharp is the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." "My kingdom is not of this world." These passages are hard to reconcile with the modern idea of the church providing recreation for those who have no taste for serious things—in other words, to conciliate the world. If they teach anything at all, it is that fidelity to Christ will bring down the world's wrath, and that Christ intended his disciples to share with him the world's scorn and rejection.
Jesus pitied sinners, pleaded with them, sighed over them, warned them, and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them. When the evening shadows of his consecrated life were deepening into the night of death, he reviewed his holy ministry, and found comfort and sweet solace in the thought, "I have given them thy word."—Rev. Archibald Brown, London, England.
Continue reading: CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN