WALTER PAGE tells of a “school that built a town.” The Bible gives the history of a school from which a nation developed. Nearly two thousand years before Christ there lived in Ur, an opulent city in the land of Chaldea, a man destined to do a great work in the world. Ur was an idolatrous city. Few families knew of God; most of the inhabitants were devoted to the luxury of the city, and its festivals and its carnivals.
The name of the head of one wealthy family was Terah, who could readily trace his ancestry to the patriarch Noah. Terah had three sons, and the youngest, Abram by name, was a man in whose heart truth was cherished. In spite of the prevailing iniquity, he chose to seek God. The history of the fathers, handed down from son to son, told of God’s purpose that men should scatter upon the face of the earth. Evidence was not wanting that men were following the opposite course by congregating in cities. Abram proclaimed the message to come out of the cities. So earnest and persistent was he that his father’s household disposed of the family property, bade kindred farewell, and moved out, going they knew not whither, but guided, as they believed, by Jehovah.
A halt was made at Haran, a hill town in the northern part of the Mesopotamian Valley. The message to come out into the country was proclaimed there, and all who accepted it—ten or fifteen hundred souls—joined the family of Abram.
Upon the death of Terah, now an old man, Abram and those who united with him in his desire to lead an exodus from the cities, journeyed toward the west. They crossed the Syrian desert, forded the Jordan, and pitched their tents in a fertile valley in the land of Palestine. There he established an industrial school, where not only the children but the heads of families were trained.
The location of that school is an interesting feature. “Patriarchs and Prophets” says, “It was under the shade of the oaks of Moreh, in a wide, grassy valley, with its olive groves and gushing streams.” The Scriptures describe it as “a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey.”
What more appropriate place could be found for an industrial school from which a nation might take its growth than that with “the free air of those upland plains, with their olive groves and vineyards, their fields of waving grain and the wide pasture grounds of the encircling hills”?
It was here that the Hebrew nation was born; it was in the midst of such surroundings that children learned to love the God of heaven, and were taught to obey his precepts.
In this school three lines of education were co-ordinated: mental discipline, physical training, and spiritual education were so combined that students developed into living missionaries, surrounded on all sides by heathen peoples to whom they were to preach the gospel.
One may judge of the subjects taught in this school by giving thought to the conditions and requirements of the time. Such elementary subjects as reading, writing, arithmetic, the geography of the land, and surveying were necessary to enable them to perform ordinary business transactions, which history records that they did with perfect ease. History was familiar to every child, for its study was begun as nursery tales told by the parents; government was studied as the school family increased; and such fundamental principles as the equality of all men, integrity, benevolence, and unselfish courtesy were so thoroughly taught that the pupils of this school won the admiration of neighboring kings.
Abraham, who stood at the head of this school-nation, was honored by surrounding nations as a mighty prince and able chief. He was noted for his “unswerving allegiance to God and his affability and benevolence inspired confidence and friendship.”
Notwithstanding he was known as the teacher of a new religion, three kings invited him to enter into an alliance with them.
This school is a connecting link between the Eden lost by our first parents and the earth restored to its Edenic state—the fulfilment through Christ of the promise made to the patriarch Abraham. As we draw near to the time for the consummation of that promise, the history of this school may well be studied as a model for industrial schools in which to train modern missionaries.
In point of location, for subjects taught, and for methods, where could wiser counsel be found?
Communion With God
By Edward Clifford
If I were asked what is the thing which the devil and the world and the flesh try hardest to prevent Christians from getting, I should reply, “Conversation with Christ.” I say this from my own experience, and from observation of all the Christians I have ever known. A quiet, unhurried speaking to Jesus alone, and hearing his replies,—that is what every Christian needs every day, and what many get only once a month, or more seldom still, or never. When did you last so talk with Christ? Do stop and answer this question to yourself before you read on.
It is so easy to go to services, and to listen to prayers, and to join in them. It is easy to sing to him, or to pray to him with others, or to think that we are doing so because we “feel refreshed” by it. But what if it should turn out that we were really only talking or singing for other people and ourselves to hear? Communion services are not necessarily conversations with Christ, nor is preaching or teaching or working for him. You may be a most religious person, busy all day long about God’s matters; you may give time, money, and thought to him, and yet be assured of the fact that if you never converse with him alone for some time, perhaps an hour each day, you will certainly get thoroughly wrong, and that when you and he meet, you will see all your work crumble away, and suddenly wake up to the fact that you and your Saviour are strangers.
It will be a horrible surprise to you that nothing should remain of all the work on which you spent your life; for “without me ye can do nothing” had been forgotten by you. He meant that12you should have talked to him continually about everything you did, and should have always been conscious of his sympathy and oversight; but instead of that you talk only to men and women, and make shift with their sympathy, advice, and help. He meant you to have asked his counsel about that money trouble. He would have arranged it all; but you only asked your lawyer, and it turned out badly. He meant you to have told him your anxieties about your son, and he would have ended them; but you only consulted your friend, and matters got worse. He meant you to have asked him for light about that doctrine which you could not understand; but you went to a book to get it explained, and you became more uncertain than before. He would have satisfied you. He meant you to have confessed to him that secret sin, and he would have forgiven and cleansed you; but you confessed it to your clergyman or minister, and it torments you to this hour. He meant you to have asked him how much money you were to give away; but you settled that yourself, and settled it wrong. He would have been your counselor about the profession you chose, the situation you accepted, the servant you engaged, the books you read, the friendships you formed; but you chose other counselors, and all has been a failure. May the Holy Spirit strike the scales from your eyes now, and may you take Christ now as your personal Friend and Counselor!—Edward Clifford.
Clothing for Children
By Lauretta Kress
MRS. LAURETTA KRESS, M. D.
A VERY important part of the mother’s duty is to clothe her children so as to keep their bodies in health. This responsibility begins at the time the child is born, and increases as the days go on. There is much error taught about the clothing of children, and as a result we see sickness and disease increasing with remarkable rapidity. This is largely due to the failure to understand the organization of the body.
Mothers who are careful to have their own garments hygienic are careless regarding their children’s clothing. They place upon them ready-made clothes, bought at a very reasonable figure in the stores. These have been made in large lots without any consideration as to the form of the body, and do not fit. They are tight in the armholes, often measuring the same in the front and back, leaving no room for expansion as the child stands erect and takes a deep inspiration, which is very essential to the development of a healthy child. There must be an abundance of room in the chest as well as about the waist, if the garment is properly made.
The proper way for each mother to do in making garments for her children, is to allow sufficient in seams and about the chest and waist, so that they can be made larger as the child grows. Frequent measurements of the chest and waist should be taken as the child grows in years, so that the mother can be sure that the clothing is not binding or hindering the growth of the body, or displacing any organs.
Great care should be taken also to have all parts of the body clothed evenly. The arms should not be left with a thin covering over them while the trunk of the body has many thicknesses. The legs and knees need correspondingly as much clothing as the thighs and the trunk. If these are not properly clothed, the blood, on its way to the extremities and to the skin is chilled by contact with the morning and evening breeze, and is driven internally, congesting the digestive organs, also the lungs and other organs contained in the body. Insufficient clothing over the knees and legs causes a great deal of disturbance in the throat and nose. Physicians who are studying these things have noticed for a number of years that there has been an increase in disease where the arms and the legs of children have not been properly clothed, and many deaths occur that might have been prevented had some heed been paid to this great essential by mothers.
In the winter season and the autumn, the limbs should be clothed with two thicknesses of flannel. Long combination undersuits reaching to the ankles and wrists, with woolen stockings reaching over the knees, will keep the hands and feet warm, and increase the assimilation of food very remarkably. If children have cold hands and feet, we are sure to see some disturbance of the digestion following. For colder weather it is quite necessary that the legs and arms should have even more clothing than this.
For outdoor wear there is need of extra clothing for the limbs as well as for the trunk. No doubt many serious illnesses have resulted from lack of care in this respect. Whatever degree of warmth is required for comfort for any one portion of the body is necessary for other parts as well, and children’s outdoor outfits should be such as will secure an equal additional increase of13warmth to the entire body proportionate to the severity of the weather.
Many other points in addition to that of healthfulness require consideration in the question of clothing for children. No child ought to be subjected to the necessity of wearing unbecoming garments. Many a little one has been made self-conscious and unhappy by being obliged to wear some article of clothing so out of harmony with beauty or good taste as to make the wearer a target for comment and even ridicule. Healthful garments are not necessarily so peculiar in design as to be ungraceful or inartistic, as many seem to imagine. God has clothed the flowers of the field in beauty and loveliness, and it was certainly not intended that human flowers should be clad in ugliness; not that all the vagaries of fashion should be followed, but when purchasing or making children’s clothing, the mother may aim to choose that which is adapted in every way to the peculiarities of the wearer, and so to combine harmony in color with simplicity of style as to make an unobtrusive garment, answering every hygienic requirement, and satisfying the innate love of the beautiful.
To dress a child simply is always in good taste; and while all the clothing should be made neatly and well, for ordinary wear it should not be of such dainty material as to subject the little wearer to the slavery of constant care lest she spoil her shoes and soil her dress. Not only does such a bondage of thought and care concerning dress mar the happiness and curtail the freedom of the child’s activity, but it so emphasizes the subject to her mind that it is likely to foster vanity and a love of dress.
Children’s attention should be called as little as possible to dress as an adornment. Teach them early in life that it is the clean, smiling face, ruddy cheeks, and upright, healthy frame that should be the chief attraction; that dress is simply the setting for the jewel; and that while it should always be whole and tidy, it should not be the thing in itself to attract admiration. Teach the principle that it is the sound body, the perfect poise, the near approach to God’s ideal, that gives the charm, and not the frills and furbelows, of a fashionable attire.
My Babies
By Emma Dorothy Rose
EMMA DOROTHY ROSE
Out of my arms grew my babies, And into my heart crept a pain At the thought that no more in the future Will they hold my own babies again.
And the pain is akin to a heart-break, And my empty arms long to be filled As of old; but in vain is the longing: Soon my heart will forever be stilled.
Yes, the children grown up prove me aged, But my heart is as young as of yore; Yet my empty arms fill me with sadness, For they'll hold my own babies no more.
O, my long-ago babies, I love you! My heart yearns to take you again In my empty arms, aching to hold you, Where of old you so often have lain.
I would cuddle you up close, my babies, With your little forms pressed to my heart, And your little heads laid on my bosom, And I'd nevermore let you depart.
I am glad that I loved so my babies, Though their growing up fills me with pain; For I always may keep the remembrance, And in memory hold them again.
Though my empty arms still remain empty, And my lonely heart aches in its grief, I must bear it the rest of my journey, And death will then bring me relief.
And then, in the presence of Jesus, I will have peace instead of pain; And my heart, satisfied with his likeness, Will not long for my babies again.
The Love of Jesus
By Dolan
WHAT is in Jesus that so draws men, that wins their allegiance away from every other master, that makes them willing to leave all for his sake, and follow him through peril and sacrifice, even to death? Is it his wonderful teaching (“never man spake like this man”)? Is it his power as revealed in his miracles? Is it his sinlessness (the most malignant scrutiny could find no fault in him)? Is it the perfect beauty of his character? None, nor all, of these will account for the wonderful attraction of Jesus. Love is the secret. He came into the world to reveal the love of God—he was the love of God in human flesh. His life was all love. In most wonderful ways during all his life did he reveal love. Men saw it in his face, and heard it in his voice, and felt it in his touch. This was the great fact which his disciples felt in his life. His friendship was unlike any friendship they had ever seen before, or even dreamed of. It was this that drew them to him, and made them love him so deeply, so tenderly.
Nothing but love will kindle love. Power will not do it. Gifts will not do it. Men will take your gifts, and then repay you with hatred. But love begets love; heart responds to heart. Jesus loved.—Dolan.
The Father’s Great Love
“BEHOLD what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us!”
Notice It
NOTICE what?—Notice everything that is done by others to contribute to your benefit or happiness. Nothing seems more ungracious than the passing over, without remark, and apparently without thought, the thousand and one little efforts and attentions which are intended to sweeten domestic life.
Ingratitude and indifference sometimes mar the character of woman, but are far more frequently observable, we think, in man. A husband returns from his business at evening. During his absence, and throughout the livelong day, the wife has been busy, with mind and hands, preparing some little surprise, some unexpected pleasure to make his home more attractive than ever. He enters, but seemingly sees no more of what has been done to please him than if he were a blind man, and has nothing more to say about it than if he were dumb. Many a loving wife has borne in her heart an abiding sorrow day after day, from causes like this, until, in process of time, the fire and enthusiasm of her original nature have burned out, and mutual indifference spreads its pall over a household.
Often, we think generally, inattention to little acts of thoughtfulness and consideration results from a mere habit of carelessness; but, in its effect upon the happiness of a family, it is a most unfortunate habit. A few words of thanks, of appreciative recognition, are easily spoken, and such words are precious to the soul that hungers for them. They are highly prized, and not soon forgotten.
Take notice of what is done for you. Words of merited praise and thanks exert a kindly and beneficial influence upon both listener and speaker. Gratitude unexpressed seems to others to be unfelt.—The Leader.
Circumstances Affecting Digestion
It may seem almost superfluous to say much concerning the influence of the mind upon digestion; yet no subject is more important, and none so imperfectly understood. The mental condition which is depressing the digestive functions may be entirely unrecognized. For instance: some mishap or disappointment overtakes a susceptible individual. He thinks he is treating the matter philosophically and not worrying over it; and yet he may experience a severe diarrhea, or loss of appetite, or heaviness after meals, with other dyspeptic symptoms. He may be some time recovering his equilibrium, or notwithstanding a most careful regulation of diet. Such cases yield readily to some radical change which takes the mind into other channels, such as a camping trip, a sea voyage, a visit to a distant but dear friend—anything, in fact, which completely diverts the mind without taxing it, especially if the new surroundings tend to a state of mental rest and happiness. It does little good to say to such people, “Cheer up.” They may not realize that they are not cheered up. It should be the work of some good Samaritan to take in the situation, and, without explaining why, plan an outing or a trip for the sufferer in such a way as to relieve him of all care.
One reason why camping trips and outings sometimes do not do more good is that the campers let their business cares follow them. Their mails are sent to them, and they are in reach of telephone and telegraph. The sensible man, in need of rest, will plan his work so he can go out where mails will not reach him, and then forget that he has any business.
Napoleon was a man with immense responsibilities, and yet when the time for sleep came, he could stop the work in his massive brain, and sink into what oblivion. Many men, and women, too, with smaller burdens, lay awake nights, with wheels buzzing away in their heads, and of course they can not have good digestion. The cause must be removed before a cure can be realized.
All unpleasant moods, as anger, envy, jealousy, hatred, mortification, are paralyzing in their action. No one can afford to indulge them even though he is living only for this world; for they unfit one for the duties of this life as well as the life to come. Every unpleasant emotion, it is said, poisons the fluids of the body. The infant taking milk from the breast of an enraged mother may be thrown into spasms. How about the self-poisoning which is going on in the mother? It is probable that every tissue suffers as the result of these abnormal and unpleasant mental states.
A fit of anger will stop digestion perhaps for hours. A severe disappointment will completely destroy the appetite. Food eaten under such circumstances is poorly digested and assimilated. In fact, it is much better for one to fast when in a depressed mental condition. The best way, though, is so to change one’s surroundings that the mind will be completely turned into other channels, and then it will not be needful to fast.—Pacific Health Journal.
Fruit and Nuts as Food
THE Department of Agriculture has for several years been conducting a series of experiments to determine the dietary value of different foods.
Nine dietary studies and thirty-one digestion experiments were carried on. In the majority of the dietary studies and in all but one of the digestion experiments fruit and nuts constituted all or almost all of the diet. The results of the investigation emphasize the fact that both fruit and nuts should be considered as true foods rather than food accessories. The subjects were two women, three children, two elderly men, and two university students. The men all did hard manual labor during a part of the time, the students working to support themselves while pursuing their studies.
The fare given in these experiments was in every case one that would appeal to any normal appetite. It embraced honey, tomatoes, apples, bananas, cantaloupes, grapes, verdal, cornichon, Tokay, muscat, scarlet haws, pears, pomegranates, persimmons, oranges, strawberries, and watermelons, figs, almonds, and peanut butter. The only animal foods allowed were cottage cheese and eggs; and these in limited quantities. The cost of such a diet varied from fifteen to eighteen cents a day. Comparative experiments were carried along in which animal foods were employed under the usual conditions of living, and in these the daily cost ran from twenty-six to thirty cents. It was found that the food eaten supplied about sixty per cent of the protein usually secured by the average meat diet, while health and strength14continued the same, if not improved, and in two or three cases there was a slight gain in flesh and weight.
One of the chief objects of the series of experiments was to furnish data as to the value of nuts as food. Fruits contain little protein, and nuts are relied on in the fruitarian plan of eating to balance the ration. Fruits are rich in carbohydrates, and nuts in fat. A pound of peanuts, which costs seven cents, furnishes one thousand calories of energy at a cost of three and one-half cents, and protein at a cost of thirty-six cents a pound. A porterhouse steak costs, for the same result respectively, twenty-two and one-half cents and $1.31, when the steak can be bought for twenty-five cents a pound.
The average price per pound of the protein of nuts ranges higher than the corresponding average of meats, but the cost per pound of peanut protein is lower than for meats, fish, eggs, milk, dairy products, and prepared cereals. The only foods which furnish protein at a less cost than peanuts are flour and dried beans. According to Professor Jaffa's experiments, nuts are the cheapest source of energy for the fruitarian, the peanut ranging far ahead of any other variety.
Although peanuts supply protein and energy for a smaller sum than bread, they are outranked by dried beans, which, at five cents a pound, will supply for ten cents over two hundred grammes of protein and three thousand and forty calories of energy.—Scientific American.
The German Union Conference
By Guy Dail
GUY DAIL
July 9-19 was the time officially appointed for the German Union Conference this season, but as there were so many people on the grounds, the first meeting was held on the evening of the 8th. The annual gatherings in Germany remind one of the summer meetings in the States. Some of our brethren save up their meager earnings during the entire year that they may enjoy the blessings and responsibilities of these convocations, while there are others living in easier circumstances who look forward with happy anticipation to these spiritual feasts. For ten days we lived in a cosmopolitan tented village, where Austria, Hungaria, Bulgaria, Rumania, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, America, and Australia were represented. People of these nationalities met together as fellow-citizens and heirs of that better country which Abraham saw, loyal subjects of the God that Moses obeyed when “he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”
THE FIRST GERMAN CAMP-MEETING AT FRIEDENSAU
In Friedensau itself there were noticeable changes for the better. First of all, is the sanitarium cottage, newly built, with accommodations for twenty-four first-class patients. It is connected with the main building by a veranda. The use of electricity in the sanitarium for lighting and medical purposes has also been introduced since last summer. In the health food factory, too, there is noteworthy growth, and its capacity for manufacturing and caring for the foods is greatly increased. Our brethren were all pleased with the improvements in the little settlement, and, while such outward tokens of prosperity may sometimes be accompanied by a decay within, yet we believe that God’s hand has been with us in enlarging the German union institution in Friedensau, and that the growth which we see here is in no sense abnormal or built upon an unsafe foundation, for the value and the earning power of the property have been increased, and its capital has grown, without any additional indebtedness.
Within a few miles of the camp were the parade grounds of the German artillery. In the distance faintly we heard the firing of guns and the booming of cannon. As we thought of these men training for war, and observed the amount of time and energy such a training requires, and took into consideration the end sought, we could the more earnestly commend ourselves to the glorious task God has committed to his people—the carrying of the word of life to those who sit in the shadow of death. While the whole world is training that men may the better destroy human life, and advances in naval and war equipments are of almost daily recurrence, let us be faithful to improve every opportunity of strengthening our spiritual manhood, as the great struggle before us will try every man’s moral nerve.
Aside from the regularly employed German union ministry, who took an active part in the work for those not of our faith, Elder Irwin conducted valuable studies on the spirit of prophecy, Dr. Paulson gave a series of health talks which were practical and timely and highly appreciated, and Elder Conradi’s instruction on church organization and government, designed especially for the church elders and workers, was beneficial to all, and will bear fruit in solidifying the work of the gospel ministry by giving us a better and more effective corps of church officers, who will urge upon our people the necessity of becoming thoroughly rooted and grounded in the great principles of truth God has committed to us for these days. On the second Sunday, there were about three hundred strangers on the grounds. About eight hundred of our own people attended15.
There were two baptisms, forty-eight believers, representing Germany, Holland, Austria, Hungaria, and Russia, thus openly signifying to the world that they had renounced its customs and practises, and entered into covenant relation with the God of Abraham. The second baptism was held the afternoon of the last Sabbath, and as forty-six candidates were at that time buried with their Lord, this was the largest baptism that we have ever had in Europe.
An important step taken at this meeting was that of deciding definitely to enter the mission field in German East Africa. Brother J. Ehlers, a man who has a splendid record as a practical gardener, genuine missionary, and all-round worker, was ordained as church elder for this mission, and he, with one or two others, will probably leave for Africa about the first of October. It is expected that this little company will act as a scouting and locating party, to spy out the land and ascertain the missionary openings it offers. We believe that our friends in America, especially the German brethren, will take a deep interest in this work, and we hope those who may feel a burden to give toward the enterprise will freely do so: it may be that some not of our faith would be glad to help us, were their attention called to the German East Africa Mission. The German Union Conference has collected two thousand dollars toward the work. At several of the local conferences last winter it was decided to devote the First-day offerings to the mission, and since then these offerings have nearly doubled. As Elder Conradi is to be in Germany a few weeks before leaving for Finland, Russia, and the Balkan States, he will again visit the government officials in the capital city, and arrange as far as possible for the success and comfort of those who will go out as pioneers this fall. We would especially commend this movement to the prayers of our friends in all parts of the great harvest field. It is another attempt to carry the gospel to those who sit in the darkness of heathenism, to Ethiopia, whose needs cry out mightily to the everlasting God.
Encouraging growth is still seen in the German Union Conference. The last quarterly report shows that 463 were added during the three months ending June 30, 1903; and the membership is 4,750, showing a net gain of 721 for the twelve months. There are now over one hundred gospel workers in the field, and between one hundred and seventy and two hundred canvassers. The tithe for the year 1902 was $26,947.51; Sabbath-school gifts amounted to $2,423.24; First-day offerings to $449.42; annual offerings to $998.68; book sales to $39,149.11. At the meeting over one thousand dollars was raised toward the educational and sanitarium fund.
It is expected that the East German Conference will be divided this winter, and that a new conference to be known as the East Prussian Conference will be organized, with about four hundred and seventy members.
The work of disposing of ‘Christ’s Object Lessons’ is going forward steadily. About fifty-five hundred copies have already been sold in our territory, and we have a new edition of eleven thousand now ready for circulation. The conference presidents and mission directors pledged themselves to do still more for this branch of the work.
Brethren Westland and Enns, who had arrived from America, were heartily welcomed, and will find plenty to do. The former has begun gospel work in Carlsruhe, and the latter is at the Friedensau Sanitarium for the time being, as he is an experienced nurse. It is expected that he will be one of the party for East Africa the coming autumn. Additional workers are to be employed in the Balkan States, and in Austria and Hungaria. Brother D. Voss, of Russia, was ordained to the ministry.
Elder Conradi was re-elected president of the union, and H. F. Schuberth, vice-president. The other officers are as follows: Secretary, O. Luepke; Missionary and Sabbath-school Secretary, K. Laubhan; Treasurer, B. Severin; Union Committee, L. R. Conradi, H. F. Schuberth, J. Erzenberger, J. Pieper, E. Frauchiger, J. T. Boettcher, G. W. Schubert, C. W. Weber, L. Mathe, J. F. Huenegardt, G. Perk, D. P. Gaede, H. J. Loebsack, J. Perk, H. Hartkop, A. Pages, A. J. Hoenes, O. Luepke, and W. Krumm.
In the Friedensau Sanitarium there are about fifty patients, and there are more than seventy students enrolled in the school for the coming year. A number of the patients belong to the refined and educated classes, and the school is sending out quite a corps of workers. It is the education of the native workers which builds up a field, and in this respect the German Union Conference has been especially blessed of God, for about ninety per cent of all our workers are native born.
The Hamburg publishing house has just had the very best year of its history. Our book sales and the circulation of the German papers are increasing steadily. The Herold der Wahrheit has a semimonthly circulation of 25,000; the health paper, a monthly, has a list of 6,000; Zions-Wachter, 3,200; the Dutch paper, Zions-Wachter, 2,000; and the children’s paper, 2,500. The last two papers are monthlies, and the Zions-Wachter, our worker in the German field, is a semimonthly. The Hamburg house had a gain of $6,500 for the year: $2,500 of this will be used in purchasing a much-needed press, and $2,500 will be given to Friedensau, while the rest will be used in increasing our foreign book stock.
While education is needed, while we have plenty of calls for men of ability, while there are demands for means, and while there are many difficulties with which our workers must contend, yet we realize that without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, nothing can be accomplished. For more spiritual power, and a closer walk with our God, must we seek. This is true of those who labor in these fields. This is true of those who second the efforts of the soldiers in the front line of battle. We are of good courage. The times show that Christ is soon to come. The Scriptures show that he will quickly return.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Hamburg, Germany.
His Mother's Translation Best
In a Bible class recently the teacher was telling of the various translations of the Bible and their different excellences. He spoke of Jerome's Vulgate, of Luther's German Bible, of our own King James' Version, and of the Revised Version, and how it was made. The class was much interested, and one of the young men, that evening, was telling a friend about it.
“I think I prefer the King James' Version for my part,” he said; “though of course, the revised is more scholarly.”
His friend smiled. “I prefer my mother's translation of the Bible to any other version,” he said.
“Your mother's?” cried the first young man, thinking his companion had suddenly gone crazy. “What do you mean, Fred?”
“I mean that my mother has translated the Bible into the language of daily life for me ever since I was old enough to understand it,” said Fred. “She translates it straight, too, and gives it a full meaning. There has never been any obscurity about her version. Her every-day life is a translation of God's Word that a child can read, and that Saint Jerome could not better. Whatever printed version of the Bible I may study, my mother's is always the one that clears up my difficulties.” What a tribute to a godly mother!—Selected.
