Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 23, 1879
SMALL SINS.
By Eld. Jas. Sawyer
BY ELD. JAS. SAWYER.
“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines; for our vines have tender grapes.” Song of Solomon 2:15.
In the Song of Solomon, in which, by a sacred allegory, is represented the mutual love between Christ and his church, the wise man who “spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall;” and who “spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes,” represents the true church, the bride of the poem, by several beautiful figures. And, as in the text at the head of this article, he has in this way taught some important lessons.
The church is compared to a rose, which, though growing among thorns, is always fragrant. The careless hand may crush it, yet the sweeter are its perfumes. The rose is always lovely, and so it is with the true church; she is “the light of the world.” “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys,” says the bride. To which the spouse replies, “As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” She is as the beautiful and fragrant lily compared with thorns. Surely Christ’s love for his saints is very great.
And Solomon forgets not to search the fields of nature among the birds. The dove is remarkable for its affectionate and peaceable disposition. Other birds have more beauty, their songs are sweeter, but they are not to be compared with the harmless dove. And he writes: “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” How appropriate is this description of the church! and how tender is the love between Christ and his people! The bride, feeling her unworthiness, would hide in the clefts of the rock; but she is called forth, and comforted by the assurance that her voice is sweet and her countenance comely. Nor is the affectionate disposition of the church manifested simply in her love to her Lord, but even enemies have been led to exclaim, “See how these Christians love one another.”
The inspired naturalist, seeking fitting symbols from which to teach lessons of wisdom, next notices the trailing vine,—the vineyard with its precious fruit. He delights in the choice clusters of the luscious grape. But his attention is suddenly attracted by a rustling among the vines, and on examination he finds that some of the grapes are already spoiled. What is the matter? Ah! it is the little foxes that are making this destruction in the vineyard. Perhaps other larger animals had been there, but these were unnoticed; it was the “little foxes” that crawled under the branches and destroyed the tender grapes. The Saviour also compared the church to the branches of a vine: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” And what can the little foxes be but small sins,—little errors in faith and practice that hardly seem worth mentioning? Alas for the church when these creep in to blight and destroy!
The foxes were as likely to be found in one place as another. The tender grapes were on all the vines, and wherever they were, there must the snares be set. In like manner Jesus makes no exception. All the branches need care. The gardener need not think that because one branch seems to be healthy, vigorous, and productive, he will not prune that one. Perhaps that is the very one where he will find the little foxes eating. The Master said, “Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” It will not do for us to sit in judgment on our brother and watch for faults in another, while little sins are blinding us, and eating out the vitality of our own life.
It is hard to eradicate these little destroyers, so it is necessary to keep setting the snares. One writer says:—
“Spare not small sins. A little leak can sink a great ship, and a little spark may become a great conflagration, and so can a small sin which is allowed to be fostered destroy the soul. Never spare a small sin. Follow it to its very lurking-place, and allow it no mercy whatever. This is the admonition of the wise man, ‘Take us the foxes, the little foxes.’”
“No wicked man designed at first ever to become evil. But he began by allowing himself a little gratification, and this led to a greater transgression, and so he became what he now is.”
“There are two ways to come down from a tower; one is to jump down, and the other is to go down by the stairs; but in either way one can reach the ground. So are there two ways that lead to hell; one is to journey thither with open eyes—few are the men who do this—the other, to go step by step down through the means of small sins. This last is a very common way. If you cling to some small sin, you will soon need more. Even a heathen could say, ‘Who has ever enjoyed himself with only a single sin?’ And so shall thy heart become more hardened in sin every year. A wise man tells how sin acquires its power over us in these words: ‘First it is terrible, afterward pleasant, then easy to be indulged, then cherished, then often repeated; whereby it becomes a deep-rooted habit and a necessity; man in this way becomes so hardened that it is difficult to repent, and he dies in condemnation.’”
“If some small sin is allowed a place in the heart, soon may we expect to be wholly in the enemy’s hands. ‘Play not with the fire’ is an old and true maxim, and in like manner let us not trifle with small sins. Spare them not. ‘Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines; for our vines have tender grapes.’”
In order that we may discover these little foxes, they should be described. There is one which goes by the name of ingratitude, which, if left to grow, becomes one of the basest of crimes. It is often found among children. Parents know something of its bitter results. It is cruel to be ungrateful even to a dog. It is said that a certain traveler left his wallet by the wayside. His faithful, knowing dog observed this, and in his own peculiar manner tried to arrest his master’s attention. The master mistook the dog’s conduct for madness, and shot him. He supposed he had killed him; but the faithful animal had strength left to crawl to the money, and watch it until the master, on missing it, returned to see the cruelty of his rash and ungrateful deed.
Suspicion is another wily sin which sometimes eats into the heart like a canker. It becomes incurable, and unbelief takes root in it. It starts that little member, the tongue. It cannot then be tamed. If the tongue be the unruly member, what a dreadful penalty must await that which sets it in motion.
Over-sensitiveness is kin to suspicion. One feels the thongs before the blow is struck. How often has the Christian soldier, after he has fought many a hard battle and overcome many a wily foe, been himself vanquished by a gentle reproof which a little child should readily accept! It was I that the speaker meant, how can I endure it? He lays a heavy burden on his own shoulder, and finally falls a victim to unbelief among that great company which preceded him. It was only a little fox, but the branch had tender grapes.
Then there is jealousy, which, if left to grow, will become a sly, sneaking creature that can hardly be taken.
Neglect may be only a small sin, but terrible results follow in its wake. It preys upon both the rich and the poor. It sometimes entirely disqualifies the Christian soldier for active service. Cold neglect banishes love and turns home into a prison; and the church that falls under its baneful influence goes into darkness like that of Egypt.
And so we might go on to describe other little foxes which have their lurking-places among the branches of the vine. Paul, who, as well as Solomon, was a close observer of nature, has for our benefit classified many of both the large and the small sins: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Gal. 5:19–21.
Solomon was not ignorant of the way in which these foxes must be taken, even if he did not always adopt the course himself. He left upon record the plan the husbandman must pursue: “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Eccl. 12:13, 14. These words, like a two-edged sword, detect the very motives of the heart when we follow them according to the interpretation which the Saviour gave,—“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” When we do this, and are aided by the Holy Spirit, it is hardly possible to go amiss.
We may love our neighbor from a selfish standpoint. If he is our equal, it is easier to love him as ourself. We may anticipate that all the favors we bestow will be returned to us; but to extend to one the helping hand in the hour of adversity,—perhaps when the world around casts a disdainful look upon us for doing so,—is a very different matter.
We then begin to realize something of the love which Jesus manifested in behalf of the world. Would you suffer reproach for a brother? Would you divide with him your last morsel? Would you give him one of your two coats? Then you are beginning to estimate that love which is born of faith in God.
Are you rejoicing in a truth which saves men? That truth cost the life of the Son of God. Think upon the Man of sorrows. Go back with me to Calvary. Listen to the old story of the cross. Who was it that sunk beneath the heavy burden? Who was suspended between the heavens and the earth as a reproach and shame? Fierce persecutors spread his arms upon the cross, and his innocent hands received the cruel spikes. Do you hear the groans as they pierce his side with the spear? Do you see the bitter cup from which he is invited to drink? Do you hear the taunts that are heaped upon him by the infuriated mob?
He loved us even unto death. He loved the unlovely. While we were yet sinners he died for us. Here is our pattern. He fulfilled the closest requirements of the law. He loved his neighbor as himself. Are we ready to follow in his footsteps? Are we ready to make sacrifices for the salvation of others? Do we sacrifice according to the ability which God has given us? He who is all wrapped up in self stands in a slippery place, no matter what his profession may be. It was something more than mere profession that Jesus urged upon the Pharisees in the parable of the barren fig-tree; and those were solemn words which the master of the vineyard addressed to the vine-dresser: “Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?”
Happy is the man who redeems the time, and becomes a fruitful branch in the living Vine. Happy are we when we become clean through the word which the Master has given us: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me.” John 15:4.
WEEKS
[From an article on Divisions of Time compiled by F. H. Burbank and published in the Herald of Life of Sept. 18, 1878.]
Seven days and nights constituted a week. Six of them were appointed to labor and the ordinary purposes of life, and the seventh day, or Sabbath, was appointed by God to be observed as a day of rest, because that on it he had rested from all his work which he had created and made. A period of seven days under the usual name of a week is mentioned as far back as the time of the deluge. Gen. 7:4, 10; 8:10, 12; 29:27, 28. It must therefore be considered a very ancient division of time, especially as the various nations among whom it has been noticed, for instance the Nigri, in Africa, appear to have received it from the sons of Noah. The enumeration of the days of the week commenced at Sunday; Saturday was the last or seventh, and was the Hebrew Sabbath, or day of rest. In the Syriac, Arabian, Christian, Persian, and Ethiopian calendars the word sabbat denoted a week. Sunday was one of the sabbath or week, Monday was two of the sabbath or week, etc. They used the cardinals, one, two, three, etc., instead of the ordinals, first, second, third, etc. The evangelists follow the Syriac calendar. As the Sabbath was called the principal day of the week, the whole week was called in the New Testament sabbaton and sabbata.
There were several kinds of weeks in the calendar of the Hebrews.
1. There was the week of days, consisting of seven days, which has already been described.
2. The week of weeks. This was a period of seven weeks, or forty-nine days, which was succeeded on the fiftieth day by the feast of138Pentecost, Greek, pentekostee, fifty. Deut. 16:9, 10: “Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee; begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a free-will offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.”
3. The week of years. This was a period of seven years, during the last of which the land remained untilled, and the people enjoyed a sabbath, or season of rest. They were reckoned from one sabbatical year to another. Jacob served a week of years for Rachel. It was seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, that were “determined” (“ga-zar, (1.) cut off, sacrificed, put to death, as the Messiah; (2.) hewed or cut down, as trees; (3.) divided, separated, as the Red Sea; (4.) cut in two, as a victim; (5.) decreed, ordained, determined; (6.) seized, snatched, tore off, devoured, as a hungry lion.”—Roy’s Dictionary) upon Daniel’s people.
4. The week of seven sabbatical years. This was a period of forty-nine years, and was succeeded by the year of jubilee. (Lev. 25: 1–22; 26: 34.)
My Castles in the Air.
By Henry W. Teller
I had built them strong and high,
In the sunny days gone by,
And had seen the fairest of them fade and fall;
Childhood’s visionary dream,
Manhood’s best and broadest scheme,
Like the changeful hearth-fire gleaming on the wall.
Youth and hope together wrought,
From afar the stones were brought,
And I thought the walls and towers securely laid;
But upon an evil day
The foundations slid away,
And the disappointed workmen stood dismayed.
Then the Master Builder came,
Not a look or word of blame,
Only gentleness and love in every tone.
Was that counsel a command,
By the which he set my hand
To a nobler work than it had ever known?
The foundations He had laid,
And the corner stone was red,
As if hewn from out that pitying heart of love.
Not so fast the building grew;
There was careful work to do—
Work my fitness and my faithfulness to prove.
But its rising towers shine
With a light almost divine,
And I hold a title to it, full and clear.
Never was there home so fair
As my castle in the air;
Though its perfect glory doth not yet appear.
It will brave the wildest blast
Of these earth-storms, and outlast
All the floods that round its deep foundations roll.
It shall stand through endless day,
Though the earth may pass away,
And the heavens be rolled together like a scroll.
—Henry W. Teller.
The Hand-Basket Portion.
In the Weald of Kent, when the daughter of an old farmer is married, if it be inquired what portion the old man gave, the answer is, “He gave them not much money, but the old people are always sending them something—there is always something sent from the farm-house.” Then the observation usually is, “Ay, here is a hand-basket portion, which is generally the best, for there is no end to that.” Even so our everlasting Father gives to his poor children a “hand-basket portion”—a basket being that which we generally fetch our daily provisions in. And God sometimes even puts his blessing in the basket, and then it seldom comes home empty; as it is written, “Blessed shall be thy basket.” Deut. 28:5.—Christian Treasury.
CONSECRATION
By J. M. Hopkins
“Rule thou in every thought
And passion of my soul,
Till all my powers are brought
Beneath thy full control.”
—Song Anchor, p. 84.
THESE precious words expressive of deep practical piety have found their way to the homes of many of God’s dear people, and have met a glad welcome from many a heart awakened by the solemn truth for this time. We are living in the waiting, watching time; and those who have been led to bring their lives into harmony with the commandments of God, and are trying by divine grace to prepare to meet the soon-coming Saviour, most earnestly desire to be free from every stain of sin. God says to us, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thess. 5:22. The eyes of the Lord are upon us. Every thought, word, and act is noticed by him. “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Heb. 4:13. To the Christian this is a very precious truth. In its effect upon the life it serves a twofold purpose, first, by acting as a restraint in the moment of temptation, and secondly, by affording encouragement and strength to the saddened, weary pilgrim.
“Every thought!” Oh, that we might realize more fully the importance of holy thoughts, of meditating upon that which is pure! “For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; . . . the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Sam. 16:7. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Ps. 139:23, 24. How searching is this test! What a long catalogue of sins would be exposed to view should the Lord make known our evil thoughts! But some may say, “Are we indeed responsible for our thoughts?” “The thought of foolishness is sin.” Prov. 24:9. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Ps. 66:18. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Matt. 12:34. It is an old and true proverb that we “talk most about what we think most about.” If by the study of God’s word and contemplating its glorious truths our minds have become acquainted with God, and the heart has been filled with his love, be assured that that acquaintance and love will be made known to those with whom we associate through the medium of our conversation. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” Matt. 12:35. It is true that man may so cultivate holiness, may become so familiar with the Bible, that its principles will be the controlling element in his being. Thus will the Redeemer “rule in every thought and passion of the soul,” and all the energies of the mind, the acts of life, the loves, the hopes, the joys, will be controlled by him, and life will be one grand scene of blessedness.
It is vain for us to try to speak and act in a holy manner, while indulging sinful thoughts. If the evil one dwells within, he will control without. He will make known his authority, and guide us, sooner or later, into all sin.
The child of God should practice nothing, however insignificant the indulgence may of itself seem to be, which will not in its result be good. He should attend no place of amusement, engage in no conversation, if by so doing the blessing of God cannot attend him. About our conversation Jesus said, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment.” Matt. 12:36. Paul said, “Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor.” Eph. 4:25. “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Verse 29. “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving of thanks.” Chap. 5:4. He who indulges in light talk and jesting loses all influence for good, and should he attempt to speak in defense of truth his words will more likely than not be turned into ridicule, and he will thus bring reproach upon the cause of Christ.
In hope of soon being with those “in whose mouth is found no guile,” who are “without fault before the throne of God” (Rev. 14:5), and who “follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth” (verse 4), let us pray and sing,—
“Rule thou in every thought
And passion of my soul,
Till all my powers are brought
Beneath thy full control.”
J. M. HOPKINS.
DRIFTING AWAY.
By Chas. B. Reynolds
“Can ye not discern the signs of the times?” The evidences multiply around us that we are living in perilous times, amid the closing scenes of earth’s history. As we look around us, we realize the sad truth that “many are called, but few are chosen.” When we see one and another drifting away, giving heed to seducing spirits, growing lukewarm, wearying of the struggle, yielding to the fatal fascination and allurements of the world,—surely it were vain to deny that we have reached the trying, testing time. We cannot ignore the facts; and instead of shutting our eyes to the danger, it behooves us earnestly to cry to God for help, to keep double watch and ward over all approaches to the citadel of our faith, to strengthen one another’s hands, to confirm the feeble knees, while holding fast our profession and earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints.
We are admonished in view of the truths of the sanctuary—that great central light of our faith and hope—“to hold fast our profession,” and certainly the exhortation of the apostle to the Hebrews (chap. 4:14–16) is especially adapted to the present hour. We are not simply urged to hold fast, but encouraged with the blessed assurance of help in every time of need. Again, from Heb. 10:19–25, we learn that because we have faith in the atonement and mediatorial work of our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, therefore we should hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised. It is admitted that there is but one faith. “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Eph. 4:5. The apostle most clearly defines the faith which we should hold fast,—the faith of Jesus.
Dear reader, is this your faith? Are you holding fast? or are you yielding, dallying with temptation, drifting away from your first love? Are you building up the cause with all the zeal of your first conversion? or are you lukewarm, no longer seeing clearly your duty to sacrifice, blinded by the god of this world? Answer; and remember that according to your answer will be your destiny. You elect your portion for eternity. “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21.
God demands that we profess our faith not alone in words, but in acts also. This calls for some effort on our part. The Lord has warned us that we cannot truly confess him without raising the ire of the world, which, hating him, will hate his real followers. It is easy enough like Peter to be boastfully faithful and valiant when surrounded by Christians and favorable circumstances; but it is easier still to drift with the current and deny him with an oath, when alone in the society of those who scorn and deride him. The world is not a whit better now than in his day. It vacillates between heavenly virtues and hellish crimes, patronizing one for appearance’s sake while conniving at the other. Excess of vice or virtue it would punish with equal severity. Pure, genuine, zealous Christianity the world will not tolerate; for it is virtually a daily condemnation of the worldling, and a stinging reproach to the mere professor.
To live out a daily profession insures derision and persecution. “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Tim. 3:12. Ah, say you, once I was a good deal derided, persecuted, held aloof from, but not of late. Why? Because you have ceased to hold fast your profession; you are drifting away, drawing a little nearer to the world. This means that you are far away from God. Commandment-keepers claim to be entrusted with the last message of mercy to a dying world; this is the confession of our lips, is it of our lives also? Do we under all circumstances prove our faith by holding fast our profession without wavering? Hold back no longer from a frank and open avowal of your faith. “Quit you like men, be strong. Let no craven spirit make you shrink. What matters it, if for a little while we endure scorn and reproach? The call is sounding, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” A very little while, and this question will be of vital import to all. Stand forth in the strength of the Almighty, and own him God. In the love of Jesus, profess him, your hope, your Saviour. Act no more Peter’s weakness, but his strength born of repentance and experience.
Having made profession of our faith, the apostle exhorts us to hold fast. This language implies that energy must be put forth to resist opposing power. Subtle and continued attempts will be made to beguile us from our faith in its purity and fullness; but we must fight the good fight; all attacks upon any point of faith or practice whether open or insidious must be resolutely withstood. The testimonies harmonize with our experience that many and diverse are the attempts of the evil one to hinder a profession of faith, and to cause us to grow weary of maintaining all the holy and ennobling but most unpopular truths of the third angel’s message.
Our unaided human wisdom is quite inadequate to cope with the craft of Satan, our unaided human strength utterly unable to resist his assaults. To the believer, oftener than otherwise he appears as an angel of light; for he is wise enough to know that the most violent attacks provoke the strongest resistance. He is well aware that one traitor within the citadel, if his plans be not discovered, will accomplish more than a host without the walls. We are living at a time when all the mighty vigilance and subtle power of Satan is being exerted to deceive,—to allure us from God, from the truth, from eternal life.
The sifting, trying time is upon us; Satan, if it were possible, would deceive the very elect. Under the garb of great zeal and business ability, as well as under that of special sanctity, Satan will introduce his agents into the most sacred positions of trust, hoping that the discovery of their hypocrisy may discourage some, and bring ruin and confusion into the remnant church. No device will be left untried to induce the church collectively and the members individually to depart from their first love, to forsake the narrow way, and to glide down the smooth plane of worldly delights to eternal ruin.
For the truth as it is in Jesus, for the faith once delivered to the saints, we are called to contend. The enemy’s plans may for a time succeed; but the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. We have a great High Priest, who has been touched with the feeling of our infirmities. The foe with whom we have to battle, Jesus met alone; full well he knows his malignant fury and cunning devices. Satan knows his doom is near, and so struggles with the energy of despair. As time grows shorter so does his wrath increase, and if by the severity of his blows, or the success of any of his schemes he can make even a show of temporary triumph; he trusts thus to thin the ranks of the Lord of hosts and to weaken the cause he so cordially hates.
God rules and reigns. His truth shall triumph. Let others do as they may, let us hold fast our profession. Be not deceived, ensnared, beguiled into drifting away. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Rom. 8:35. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Soon, very soon, the race will be ended, the warfare over. God help us to stand firm. “Let us labor to enter into that rest,” lest any, tempted of Satan, drift away, and fail of the crown of eternal life.
CHAS. B. REYNOLDS.
SLANG
By E. L. Draper
Is the use of slang and by-words a characteristic of a Christian? You will all say, No; yet I know of several of our own members who use by-words. When they took upon themselves the Christian profession they laid aside swearing, but in its stead, substituted any by-words that were not exactly taking the name of God in vain. When I was a child I supposed that such words were swearing, and they do not yet sound right to me from any one, much less from a professed Christian. Is their use by a Christian setting a good example before the world? If we are to give an account for every idle word we speak, can we ask God to bless us in the use of such language? Its use is neither lady-like nor gentlemanly, nor will it have a tendency to make us better Christians139. If we consecrate our whole hearts to God, I am sure there will be no room for slang. Christ was given us for an example, and who ever heard of his using idle words?
This is a subject that has long troubled me, and if this little article serves to arouse some, and help them to abstain from the use of such language, my object will be accomplished. Let us do nothing upon which we cannot ask God's blessing. E. L. DRAPER.
CONVENT SCHOOLS.
When Madame Campau inquired of Napoleon, “What does France need to elevate her?” his reply was, “Mothers.” The Jesuits have discovered that to lay this Republic where Italy, Spain, Belgium, Mexico, Canada, and South America have lain, priest-ridden at the feet of the pope, they must secure the future mothers of America to be pliant tools in their hands. For this purpose they make their convent schools “attractive,” not by thorough education, but by imparting showy accomplishments and by giving a pledge—constantly violated—not to interfere with the religious convictions of their pupils.
The New York Herald says there are 35,000 Protestant girls in Roman Catholic schools; and the Romanists claim that one out of every ten of these girls is converted to their faith, and that three out of ten are taught to hate Protestantism. So this is the way the religious convictions of pupils will not be interfered with. “’T would be just as sensible to put your finger in the flame and not expect to be burned.”
The “American Colony” is the name given to the Americans living permanently in Paris. Families reside there for years to educate their children, but there are hazards attending it. The number of young American girls that have become “converts,” as they are called in the Roman Church, is surprising to those who do not know the process by which the change is accomplished. Day by day, year after year, the proselyting process is ingeniously carried on, not, perhaps, by persuasions and arguments, but by familiarity with the Popish services, a heart hunger for something to break up the monotony of such a life, and above all, by those innumerable artful devices plied too successfully by the “sisters.”
Gavazzi styled convent life the “moral assassination of our sons and daughters.” In the time of Henry VIII. numbers of these nests of iniquity and hiding-places of sin were broken up. A correspondent of the London Record writes:—
“Having traveled considerably in Roman Catholic countries, I find that the monastic and conventual systems are fast dying out, while I regret to say that they are increasing in England and North America. Being in North America last year, I was very much grieved to find those ‘canker-worms’ of society spreading all over the Republic.”
There is a warning in all this to parents; if they would keep their daughters free from all Jesuitical influences, and within the church where they have received their first religious impressions, they must not place them within the reach of those whose whole lives are given to the cause of Rome, and whose principal object in existence is to seek proselytes. There is a warning, also, to our citizens. In every State there should be a law similar to Pennsylvania’s, providing for an annual inspection by examiners appointed by the Judges of the district where situated. Perhaps by putting these iniquitous institutions under rigid official espionage we may make them less formidable, if we cannot diminish their number.—Protestant Standard.
GIVE LIKE A LITTLE CHILD
Not long since a poor widow came into my study. She is over sixty years of age. Her home is one little room, about ten feet by twelve; she supports herself by her needle, which in these days of sewing machines means the most miserable support. Imagine my surprise when she put into my hands three dollars and said,—
“There is my contribution to the church fund.”
“But you are not able to give so much?”
“Oh, yes!” she exclaimed. “I have learned how to give now.”
“How is that?” I added.
“Do you remember,” she answered, “that sermon of yours three months ago, when you told us that you did not believe one of your people was so poor that, if he loved Christ, he could not find some way of showing that love by his gifts?”
“I do.”
“Well, I went home and cried all night over that sermon. I said to myself, ‘My minister don’t know how poor I am, or he would never have said that.’ But from crying I soon got to praying; and when I told Jesus all about it, I seemed to get an answer in my heart that dried up my tears.”
“What was the answer?” I asked, deeply moved by her recital.
“Only this: ‘If you cannot give as other people do, give like a little child.’ And I have been doing it ever since. When I have a penny change over from my sugar or loaf of bread, I lay it aside for Jesus; and so I have gathered this money all in pennies.”
“But has it not embarrassed you to lay aside so much?”
“Oh, no!” she responded eagerly, with beaming face. “Since I began to give to the Lord I have always had money in the house for myself; and it is wonderful how the work comes pouring in. So many are coming to see me that I never knew before.”
“But didn’t you always have money in the house?”
“Oh, no! Often when my rent came due, I had to go and borrow it, not knowing how I should find means to repay it. But I don’t have to do it any more, the dear Lord is kind.”
Of course, I could not refuse such money. Three months later she came with three dollars and eighty-five cents saved in the same way. Then came the effort of our church in connection with the memorial fund; and in some five months she brought fifteen dollars, all saved in the little mite-box I had given her. This makes a total of twenty-one dollars and eighty-five cents from a poor widow in a single twelve-month. I need hardly add that she apparently grew more in Christian character in that one year than in all the previous years of her connection with the church. Who can doubt that in giving as little children there would result such an increase in our gifts there would not be room to contain them!—Presbyterian.
WHAT TO TEACH THE BOYS.
ALFRED L. SEWELL, in his new monthly for boys, Home Arts, published in Chicago, writes as follows:—
A philosopher has said that true education for boys is to “teach them what they ought to know when they become men.”
What is it they ought to know, then?
1st. To be true—to be genuine. No education is worth anything that does not include this. A man had better not know how to read,—he had better never learn a letter in the alphabet and be true and genuine in intention and in action, rather than being learned in all sciences and in all languages, to be at the same time false in heart and counterfeit in life. Above all things teach the boys that TRUTH is more than riches, more than culture, more than any earthly power or position.
2d. To be pure in thought, language, and in life—pure in mind and in body. An impure man, young or old, poisoning the society where he moves, with smutty stories and impure examples, is a moral ulcer, a plague spot, a leper, who ought to be treated as were the lepers of old, who were banished from society and compelled to cry unclean, as a warning to save others from the pestilence.
3d. To be unselfish. To care for the feelings and comfort of others. To be polite. To be just in all dealings with others. To be generous, noble, and manly. This will include a genuine reverence for the aged and things sacred.
4th. To be self-reliant, and self-helpful, even from early childhood. To be industrious always, and self-supporting at the earliest proper age. Teach them that all honest work is honorable, and that an idle, useless life of dependence on others is disgraceful.
When a boy has learned these four things;—when he has made these ideas a part of his being—however young he may be, however poor, or however rich, he has learned some of the most important things he ought to know when he becomes a man. With these four properly mastered, it will be easy to find all the rest.