International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 3, 1885
General Articles.
By Ellen G. White
Co-laborers with Christ.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
"For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
BEFORE Christ came to the world, his home was in the kingdom of glory, among beings that had never fallen. They loved him, and he might have stayed there and rejoiced in their love. But he did not do this. He left the royal courts, and went without the camp, bearing the reproach of sin. He came to a world all marred and seared by the curse to save the lost sheep; and he gathered into his divine bosom all that would come to him. He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He trod the rugged path of self-denial himself, and so set us an example. This was the work of Christ for us. Had he not done this, we should have been left to perish without hope in God.
We find here a duty that rests upon all alike; not one of us is excused. Those who see the preciousness of the Saviour's love as he hung upon the cross, those who understand its value as there revealed, will be in earnest; they will be anxious to become co-laborers with Christ in seeking for the lost and perishing. We are not placed here merely to seek our own gratification. There are sinners to be saved, and they are all about us.
It is a terrible thing to be lost at last. Once when I was at my home in Battle Creek, Mich., a bitter cry rang through the house. I hurried to see what was the matter, and found that one of my children was drowning. When he had been rescued from the water, and his apparently lifeless form laid in his little cradle, I remember how I stood over him for three-quarters of an hour, working for that little one whose life was trembling in the balance. Those around me thought my efforts were in vain; yet I labored on until that little life was given back to me.
That night, as my child that had been, as it were, raised to life, was lying upon my breast, and I was rejoicing in my heart that he was spared to me, though he was still in a very precarious condition, the bells rang out sharply, and a shrill cry was borne on the still night air, "Lost! lost! a child lost!" Then I thought how the little one that God had given to me had almost been lost, of the vacant place that would have been left in the little wicker cradle at my bedside; and the word "lost" came home to me with a force and meaning it had never possessed before.
Never shall I forget the incidents of that night. It was just one little life that was at stake; but it seemed as though the whole city of Battle Creek was stirred to go out in search of the lost child. Lights were glimmering everywhere. They flashed through the streets, along the river bank, and through the adjacent woods, and the cry resounded, "A child is lost! A child is lost!" After a long search, a shout was raised, "The child is found!"
Yes, the child was found; but it might go astray on the journey of life, and be lost at last. I knew, too, that death might come to the little one that was saved to me; and that should he live, he would have the evils of this life to meet and to battle with. And the thought with me was, Will this little child, whose life I hold so dear, be finally lost, or will he be saved to praise God forever in his kingdom?
There was no sleep for my eyes that night. I thought of the lost sheep that Jesus came from Heaven to earth to seek and to save. I thought of Christ as he looked down from Heaven upon a world of lost sinners, lost without hope, and of the sympathy that led him to leave his high and exalted place upon his Father's throne, and make the infinite sacrifice necessary to lift man up from the degradation of sin, and bring him back to the fold of God.
The sin of our first parents had cut off this world from Heaven. But Christ took upon himself our weaknesses and sins. He was tempted; he was ridiculed; he was beset on every hand. He suffered all the woes, all the griefs and sorrows of humanity, without a murmur, that he might leave as an example. He descended step by step in the path of humiliation, until he hung as a criminal upon the cross, that with his right arm of infinite love he might encircle the race, while he grasped the throne of Infinite Power, thus connecting earth with Heaven. This was his work; this was his mission to this world; and how earnest was he in his efforts to seek and to save that which was lost.
Then what is our work to be co-laborers with Christ? As I look over the field, I ask the question, Why do we see such indifference, such neglect of the salvation of others? Why is the whole work of laboring for souls left to the minister? God has promised to all alike, as many as will seek for it, the same redemption, the same love, the same light. Why are we not by living faith grasping the power that he is so willing to give us, that we may be a blessing to those that are lost? Our hearts have throbbed with love at the very mention of the name of Christ, when we have remembered that he has saved us from our sins. Now what if we should all go forth, as Christ did, to save that which was lost, how would our works appear? Would they not be very different from what they are to-day?
Our first work is to bring our families to understand their accountability to God. There is not a father or a mother who has studied the Bible but may know just what course to take with the children, and how to restrain them. Parents may have wisdom from God to bind their children to the throne of mercy. Next to our families, we should try to exert an influence to sway others in the right direction, to lead them out of the darkness of error into the precious light of truth.
The perils of the last days are about us; and we should have such an intense love for souls for whom Christ died that we cannot remain at home. When our hearts are overflowing with love for sinners, we shall be anxious to go out in the harvest field to labor for others, and we shall work as Jesus worked. But we know there are some who do not want to be disciplined to work under the Captain of our salvation. It is a very difficult matter to make them see their duty, because they have so long had their own way. Their inclinations have been permitted to govern them. Such will have to render an account for their course in the day of God. May the eyes of these blinded ones be opened to see their God-given responsibility.
All desire happiness, and many seek it in every way but the right way. Some travel from place to place in its pursuit; some seek it at a mountain or sea-side resort; some go to places of amusement; and some try change of employment. True happiness is not found in any of these ways, and yet it is not difficult to find. It may be secured if we will try to help one another,—to bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
There is peace and happiness in Heaven, and we all hope to share it. This is our privilege. An abundant entrance may be administered unto us into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; but we must prepare for the heavenly society by a life of unselfish labor for others. There are many who do not understand the path of life; this is one reason that more do not travel in it. Multitudes are following the dictates of an unconsecrated heart who do not know what they are722doing. And we are not to think that there is no responsibility resting upon us. We are each a part of the great human family, and we are to lay every one's case to our hearts. The nearer our lives approach to the life of Christ, the more helpful shall we be to those around us, and the more happiness we can bring into their lives. We are called upon to labor understandingly for fallen humanity. And by and by, when the Man of Nazareth shall 'see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied,' we shall enter into the joy of our Lord. But let us be faithful in the work that is committed to us; for it is only to those who have done well that the 'Well done' will be spoken.
The Signs of the Times.
"Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12.
THE Lord of the harvest walked forth one day
Where the fields were white with the ripening wheat,
Where those he had sent in the early morn
Were reaping the grain in the noon-day heat.
He had chosen a place for each faithful one,
And bidden them work till the day was done.
Apart from the others, with troubled voice,
Spoke one who had gathered no golden grain:
"The Master has given no work to me,
And my coming hither has been in vain;
The reapers with gladness and song will come,
But no sheaves will be mine in the harvest home."
He heard the complaint, and he called her name:
"Dear child, why standest thou idle here?
Go fill thy cup from the hillside stream,
And bring it to those who are toiling near;
I will bless thy labor, and it shall be
Kept in remembrance as done for Me."
'T was a little service; but grateful hearts
Thanked God for the water so cool and clear;
And some who were fainting through thirst and heat
Went forth with new strength to the work so dear;
And many a weary soul looked up
Revived and cheered by the little cup.
Dear Lord, I have looked with an envious heart
On those who were reaping the golden grain;
I have thought in thy work I had no part,
And mourned that my life was lived in vain.
But now thou hast opened my eyes to see
That thou hast some little work for me.
If only this labor of love be mine,
To gladen the heart of some toiling saint,
To whisper some words that shall cheer the weak,
Do something to comfort the worn and faint—
Though small be the service, I will not grieve,
Content just a cup of cold water to give.
And when the Lord of the harvest shall come,
And the laborers home from the field shall call,
He will not look for my gathered sheaves;
But his loving words on my ear will fall,
"Thou gavest a cup of cold water to Me,
A heavenly home thy reward shall be."
—Sel.
Our Work and the Sunday Trials in Arkansas.
By E. W. Farnsworth
WE know that our brethren and sisters will be deeply interested in the work here in Arkansas. In company with Brethren Wood and Scoles, we began meetings Friday evening, October 30, with a small congregation; and we could tell by the feeling, as well as the looks, that the current was very much against us. Every accommodation had to be paid for at the highest cost. But we tried to seek help from God, and he heard us.
What gave these meetings special interest was, as our brethren are aware, the fact that Brother Scoles and two others had been indicted, and that their trial was coming off at this time. These trials caused more excitement, far more, than all the others combined. We secured the best counsel we could get in this part of the State,—Judge Walker, ex-member of the United States Senate. He told us he had but little hope that he could win the case in this court. His only hope was in the Supreme Court. He has done his very best, but the law is clearly against us. It is about the same as the Sunday laws of other States, with no exceptions from pains and penalties for those who keep the Sabbath. Our lawyer reasoned before the judge that the law was unconstitutional, first, because it was an infringement of religious freedom or the right of conscience, inasmuch as it compelled men to keep as the Sabbath a day which their conscience and the Bible taught them was not the Sabbath; secondly, because it was an infringement of the right of property, taking from us one-sixth part of our time, and the time of a laboring man being his property, the law was in its nature a robber; thirdly, because it took away a right that God had given,—the right to labor six days and rest one.
But all this was overruled by the judge. I never was so impressed with the power of what to me seemed sophistry as I was while listening to his rulings; and yet he seemed to be honest and unbiased. He belonged to no church, and seemed to be a candid, fair man. Especially was I impressed with this while conversing with him in private.
The readers of the Review will be interested to know how a law could be made to appear constitutional that compels a man to keep as the Sabbath a certain day which his conscience forbids his keeping, when the Constitution gives the most abundant religious freedom; and how such a law could be made to appear constitutional, when each week it took two days from the Sabbath-keeper and only one from the Sunday-keeper, while the Constitution declares that all men shall stand equal before the law.
The judge ruled that the law rested equally upon all, that the law required that all men should rest one day, and that the first day of the week; which requirement rested alike on all,—the Methodist, the Baptist, the Congregationalist, the Sabbatarian, the Jew, the worldling, the infidel—all alike. It demanded one day of all; but if there were parties among these classes whose religious scruples demanded that they keep another day, they could do it.
They might keep every day if they chose, and the law would not meddle with them, that being a part of their religion of which the law would not deprive them. The law forbade no man keeping Saturday if he wished to; it only commanded him to keep Sunday; but if his religion compelled him to keep another day, then it was his religion, and not the law, that took the extra day; hence the law took no property from one class that it did not, from another, thus bearing equally upon all. It meddled with no man's religion, as it gave every man the liberty to keep as many days as he chose.
But his ruling in reference to the exercise of our conscience before the law was more astonishing still. He took the position that no citizen had a right to set up his conscience in opposition to the laws of the State, that we are to be governed by the State; to enforce and illustrate which, he referred to the Mormons. Their religion and conscience told them to marry many wives; but the Government stepped in with the law, without regard to their conscience or religion, and they were fined and imprisoned for the violation of the law.
Of course our counsel took exceptions to all this, and the case is appealed to the higher court, where it will take several months to get it through. The matter will rest where it is till a decision is reached.
The scene in the court room was a most interesting one. It was crowded full, men being present from all parts of the county. Our attorney made a most telling argument. He said he had supposed, and our people supposed, that the Constitution amounted to something. He had supposed that the law of God amounted to something; his client thought the same. He had supposed that religious liberty in this country amounted to something. But all this had been swept away as an illusion, a thing of the past, and we were given to understand that the wheel of time had been turned backward a thousand years.
After he had finished, Brother Scoles was granted the privilege of speaking in his own defense. He occupied about forty minutes. The Spirit of God and the surrounding circumstances gave his words solemnity and power. As far as possible, he presented the scriptural grounds for our observance of the Sabbath. The crowd was held in perfect silence. To see a minister of the gospel on trial in a court of justice, pleading with the Bible in his hand for the authority of God's law and for liberty to keep it, was a sight that has not often been seen in the past, but we believe will be repeated many times in the future.
As a result of the trial and the meetings we have held, there seems to be a most wonderful change in the opinions and sentiments of the people respecting us. While there are a few prejudiced bigots who are still in favor of enforcing the law, the great majority of the people say that the law is wrong, and that we should have the privilege of working on Sunday if we keep the Sabbath. Our large tent 50x70 ft. is nearly full every night. Some nights it is crowded. The very best citizens of the place attend; and it is but justice to the people to say that we have seldom been in a place where there is more respect shown or better attention given. A collection of $10 was taken up Sunday night. The most perfect order prevails, with no effort to keep it, and these impressions have gone all over the county. To God be all the praise.
But never did I realize on how brittle a thread hangs our religious freedom till I had this experience. There were a few Jews in the city of Little Rock, who kept their stores open on all days of the week. Under the former provision of the law, they were shielded from the fine of Sunday labor by their professed desire to keep the Sabbath; but they did not keep any day. The other merchants were angry, persuaded the Legislature to repeal the exception from the statute-book, and religious freedom was gone. At least, I am informed that this is the way the thing was done. It was but little more than a stroke of the pen. I have no idea the Legislature had any reference to us as a people. I do not suppose they knew much, if anything, about us. There might have been some special one who did know us and worked for the repeal of the exception, keeping the real reason a secret. We do not know. But it is somewhat strange, and a good deal significant, that, so far as we can learn, no one else in the State but conscientious Sabbath-keepers has been indicted and tried; the case of one alone excepted, and he was quickly cleared. And it is generally thought that that was a "trumped-up" case, and brought up more as a blind than for any other reason, that the prosecution of our brethren might not look so much like religious persecution.
When I see how easy it is for a court to explain away the Constitution that gives us freedom of conscience, and then see how easy it is to give apparent coloring to his rulings by comparing us to the Mormons or illustrating our case by theirs, and then instruct the jury accordingly, what can we really expect? In a certain sense, religious freedom is just as sacred in Arkansas as in Iowa or Michigan. If the exception in those States should be taken away, there would be persons in almost any neighborhood who would have our brethren indicted and fined.
The cost in these trials is considerably greater than we expected. It will be at least $300, and probably more. The brethren in Arkansas are thankful for the assistance their brethren have given them; and I know they appreciate it. And if there are still others who feel like sending any more such help, it will come in good time. We know not how it will all turn out at last. We cannot but hope that God will in some way overrule it to his glory and the advancement of the cause. But it makes a great difference in a man's labor whether the law of the State is in his favor or against him. Brother Butler truly said in his article, "There is no romance in this thing to our brethren."—E. W. Farnsworth, in Review and Herald.
What Has Infidelity Done?
Has infidelity ever raised a man or woman from the haunts of vice, and made a sinful life clean? Has it ever taken the drunkard from the gutter, the gambler from his cards, the fallen from a life of shame? Has it ever found a man coarse and brutal in character and life, and made him a kind husband and faithful father? Has it ever gone out into a heathen land, and found a people ignorant and barbarous, delighting in rapine and murder, and by the power of its teaching lifted them out of their degradation, until they adopted the customs of civilized nations? Has it ever written down languages, translated literature, prepared textbooks, planted schools, established academies, seminaries, colleges, and universities? Has it ever founded hospitals, builded asylums, established orphanages, and brought blessings to the poor, the sick, the maimed, and the blind? What discoveries has it made? What improvements has it introduced? Is there in all the history of infidelity a story of its moral triumphs that will match the regeneration of the Fiji Islands under the labors of the missionaries? Has it added anything to the sum of human happiness? Does it bring one ray of comfort into the chamber of death, filling the soul of the dying with peace, and the hearts of weeping friends with hope? The religion of Jesus Christ has done all these things. "The tree is known by its fruit." Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Does infidelity bear figs or thistles?—Sel.
The Christian's Guide.
By Sylvester A. Watkins
"For this God is our God forever and ever; he will be our guide even unto death." Ps. 48:14.
THIS text sets forth a glorious truth, one which has been tried and proved by thousands of men and women from the fall of Adam to the present time. The idea it contains is so grand, so rich in thought, and so unspeakably beautiful, that it supports, comforts, and strengthens all who appropriate it to themselves, not for a short time, but as long as truth is realized in the soul.
How often have men when traveling, whether by land or by sea, felt the need of a guide to lead them in the right path—one who will keep with them till their journey ends. So it is with the Christian, who, above all persons, requires a guide that knows the way by experience, and cannot err; for while he is a pilgrim and sojourner here, he is surrounded by innumerable dangers, hidden rocks, and quick-sands ready to engulf him the moment he leaves the beaten track.
Truly the Christian who would be his own guide through this world of sin and misery, resembles too closely the captain who would try a dangerous passage without a pilot. May that never be the case with you, dear reader. God graciously offers to guide you through this world, and to protect you from its many snares and temptations to which you would otherwise be subject; but it must be on the condition that you surrender yourself entirely to him. There must not be anything kept back. All must be straightforward and clear as the day; and the unfeigned language of your heart must be, "Lord, do with me as seemeth good in thy sight." Then God can deal with you as with a son.
What a blessed truth it is to know that He who said, "Let there be light, and there was light," is the Christian's everlasting friend. He who created these rolling orbs of light, which are seen in the far-off skies proclaiming to the listening universe the tale of their birth, he that is God from everlasting to everlasting, says, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
SYLVESTER A. WATKINS.
Pleasing Ourselves for the Lord's Sake.
By Editor
THE Sunday School Times deals in the following vigorous style with the modern custom of having a good time, and calling it devotion to the cause of God. We wish every church member in the land would read it:—
How strong the temptation is to evade the plain question of duty in giving money to the Lord's cause! How prone even Christian people are to strive to mingle the possibilities of pleasure-seeking with that of duty-doing, where dollars and cents are involved, in such a way that it cannot be fairly known which motive of action is the prevailing one. They have been having fresh discussions over this matter in the field of a South Carolina correspondent, who writes:—
“We need money to repair our church, to buy furniture, Sunday-school library books, etc. Some say we can have an entertainment, tableaux, charades, etc., and raise the money. Others say this would not be just right, but that we can have a feast, or a supper, or an excursion, and in that way raise the money, and give the people full value for their money; while there are still others who say that if we can properly raise money in that way to buy an organ, or Sunday-school books, we can just as properly raise the money to pay our preacher and the claims of foreign missions in the same way; but that we ought to go into our pockets for the money for all such purposes, just as we do to pay our taxes and grocery bills, and not trust to any special transaction to raise money for the Lord’s work. Please turn on the light.”
Undoubtedly you could raise some money for religious purposes by charades, or tableaux, or a feast, a supper, or an excursion, and you surely would have prominent precedents in this line to quote against anybody who objected to its morality or its wisdom. But, after all, there does seem to be sound sense in the suggestion of those people who say that if you rely on these means to repair your church, or to furnish it, or to obtain needed books for your Sunday-school library, it would seem to be equally well to try the same method in order to pay your preacher or to sustain the cause of foreign missions. Just think of this method of aiding this last-named cause, if you really want light on the subject. Let the preacher plead the cause of missions, pressing its claims on all believers; then let him announce from the pulpit: “The deacons (or stewards) will now serve ice-cream to those in this congregation whose hearts are moved in behalf of the perishing souls in heathendom. The ice-cream is of three flavors, of good quality, and two spoons are with each glass. Brethren and sisters, invest for the blessed cause of missions! Take at least one glass apiece; two, if your souls are deeply stirred.” It is quite possible that that method might induce some persons to show an interest in missions who have hitherto seemed unconcerned for the world's evangelization; but that that fact alone would justify such a method of money-raising, we do not believe. Yet, if the principle of the thing is tolerable anywhere, why not adhere to it in such a case as this? For our part, we agree with those “still others” in South Carolina, who say that we all “ought to go into our pockets for the money for all such purposes, just as we do to pay our taxes and grocery bills, and not trust to any special transaction [or circumlocution, rather] to raise money for the Lord’s work.” That’s good doctrine for the South and for the North, for the East and for the West.
Are the Prophecies Reliable?
By R. F. Cottrell
THE apostle Peter calls the prophecies a "sure word;" but in these days, some professing great light, by their expositions make them the most uncertain of all things. One of this sort of expositors recently held forth in Buffalo, N. Y. If it were possible, I would like to give a sample of his expositions, and I will try that upon Daniel 7: 25. This prophecy has been clearly fulfilled in every particular by the papacy, as far in the past as A. D. 1798. This he did not deny when his attention was called to it; but he called it a primary fulfillment; and he claimed that the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled by a future Napoleon, who will arise and rule as king in Syria, a personal antichrist. He claimed that this Napoleon would make a "seven years' covenant with the Jews," in fulfillment of Dan. 9: 27.—"He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week," etc.; (another wonderful application of Scripture!) and that during the last half of the week, the final three and a half years, this Napoleon would "have power over all nations (Rev. 13: 7), and then perish at Christ's descent at Armageddon. Rev. 19: 20."
But this is not all that he gets out of Dan. 7: 25. He has yet another object to which he applies it,—the Mohammedan antichrist, which he says arose in A. D. 636, and to which he applies the "time and times and the dividing of time" found in the text. This 1260 years added to 636 brings us to 1896, at which date he holds that Christ will come and "destroy antichrist and convert the few Jews and Gentiles remaining on the earth, and personally reign over them and their descendants a thousand years."
Now if the prophecies are to be played with in this way, if they are no more reliable than such fanciful interpretations make them, the sooner we abandon them the better. If the description given of the little horn of Dan. 7: 25 is intended to be applied to three different powers coming upon the stage of action hundreds of years apart, who knows that there are not a half-dozen other objects to which it applies as well? Considered thus, what assurance can prophetic fulfillment give us? None at all. But it is not so. The word of God is not yea and nay. Dan. 7: 25 applies to just one object, to the exclusion of every other. One power, and only one, in all the world and in all time, can fill the description. Therefore the prophecy is infallible in its application, and can be relied on as a sure and infallible guide.
R. F. COTTRELL.
TWO ALTARS.
By H. H.
WHEN Edwin reigned in Britain,
And Redwald reigned in Kent,
The news of Christ's religion
Throughout the country went.
Edwin embraced it warmly,
Unquestioning, content.
"I will not be too hasty,"
Said the canny king of Kent.
"It may be Christ is strongest,
And the devil safely pent;
But still I am quite certain,"
Said Redwald, king of Kent,
"I'll give to neither worship
Unqualified assent.
My temple has two altars;"
(Oh, canny king of Kent!)
"The foremost and the biggest
To Christ henceforth is lent;
But the small one in the corner,"
Said Redwald, king of Kent,
"I'll keep burning to the devil,
That he may see I meant
To do him no dishonor,"
Said Redwald, king of Kent.
Christians rule now in Britain,
And Christians rule in Kent,
And men suppose the devil
Is dead, or safely pent.
But in some secret corner
The most of them consent
To give him one small altar,
Like Redwald, king of Kent.
—"H. H.," in the Century.
The Government Lands.
THE rate at which the public lands of this country are being disposed of is astonishing, and can only be realized by comparison with some known areas of territory. Dakota contains ninety-five million acres. Of this, thirty-five million acres, equal to the State of Illinois, have been disposed of in the past nine years. Taking in two years more, the investigator will find that the amount of public land disposed of by the Government in eleven years is greater than the area of Spain, but a trifle less than the area of France or Germany, and one-fourth as great as British India with its 200,000,000 inhabitants. The amount of land disposed of in the last eleven years is 200,000 square miles, an area eighteen times as great as Belgium, which sustains over 5,000,000 inhabitants.
The areas disposed of in some of the States, given approximately, during the past nine years, are as follows: Wisconsin, over 3,000,000 acres; Michigan, nearly 2,500,000; California, nearly 6,500,000; Kansas, 14,500,000; Minnesota, over 9,000,000; Nebraska, over 13,000,000; Oregon, over 3,000,000, and Washington Territory, nearly 5,000,000 acres; Alabama, nearly 3,000,000; Arkansas, nearly 3,000,000; Louisiana, over 3,000,000; Mississippi, 1,500,000, and Florida, 2,500,000 acres.
Thankfulness in the Night of Sorrow
By Coleridge
In the deepest night of sorrow God gives us so much to be thankful for that we need never cease singing. With all our wisdom and foresight, we can take a lesson in gladness and gratitude from the happy bird that sings all night, as if the day was not long enough to tell its joy.—Coleridge.