Earlier text: AFRAID OF A SHADOWA SUNDAY-SCHOOL LESSON.
By J.
THE international Sunday-school lesson for November 27 was on Matt. 12:1-14, and was entitled, "Jesus and the Sabbath." It has given the lesson writers of the "evangelical" papers another opportunity to display their erudition on the subject of the Sunday-sabbath. The one that seems to contain the most authoritative statements on the subject is found in the Congregationalist. The subject is summed up in the following oracular utterances:— "No rule for its observance can be binding, which has ceased to be useful in developing man's higher life. No particular portion of time is in itself more sacred than another. God created the universe in six periods of time, and then entered on a period of rest. In Jewish law, corresponding to this fact, the last of the days of the week was fixed upon as the day of rest. But the day which we call Saturday was never in itself more sacred than any other of the seven. One-seventh of the time by divine law is sacred. Jewish law and custom made that time fall on Saturday. To Christians the day of the Lord's resurrection, the first day of the week, gathered about itself peculiarly sacred associations. At first they observed Saturday and Sunday each week by abstaining from labor, and by gathering together for worship. Gradually they ceased their observance of Saturday, and made Sunday their sabbath. The custom became confirmed and sanctioned by the churches, guided by the Holy Spirit. Sunday is therefore the sabbath of the Christian church, and every true follower of Christ will use it as a precious gift of God for himself, for his neighbors, and for the world."
Here is a series of rather important statements, and we desire to examine them a little more closely than merely to read them over. 1. "No rule for its [the Sabbath] observance can be binding, which has ceased to be useful in developing man's higher life." In another place the same writer says, "The moral law which the ten commandments expressed . . . is inseparable from the nature of man who is governed by it." This being true, then can any rule for its observance ever cease to be useful in developing man's higher life? God has given definite rules for the observance of the Sabbath. The Sabbath being a part of the moral law, and inseparable from the nature of man, then rules for its observance must involve moral duty; and again we ask, Can any such rule ever cease to be useful in developing man's higher life? If it can, who is to decide just when it ceases to be useful? Is each man to decide the question for himself and in his own case? If so, then what is the use of having any rule at all in the matter? This proposition of this lesson writer inevitably makes every man his own judge in matters of morals, and ends in the subversion of all law. 2. "No particular portion of time is in itself more sacred than another." Perhaps not "in itself," but when God makes sacred a particular portion of time, and calls it sacred, then it is more sacred than any portion of time which he has not made sacred. Now the word of God is, that "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it," and the Lord "rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." If, therefore, there is any such thing as the seventh day, then it is certain that that particular portion of time is more sacred than another. God blessed that portion of time and made it holy, which he has done to no other portion of time; therefore if the blessing and the hallowing of a thing by the Lord has any effect at all in making that thing sacred, then it is made certain by the word of God that that particular portion of time known as the seventh day is more sacred than any other. And whoever does not regard it so commits sin. The above statement by the Congregationalist's lesson writer contradicts the truth. 3. "God created the universe in six periods of time, and then entered on a period of rest." Yes, that is so, and these six periods of time were the first six days of the first week of time; and the period of rest upon which he then entered was the seventh day, which, when he "had rested" upon it, he blessed and sanctified, to be forever a like period of rest for man in his remembrance of the Creator. But if the lesson writer means here the geological idea of six periods of time for the creation of the universe, and then a seventh period for the rest of the Lord, then when did the seventh period end that the Scripture might be fulfilled in saying that he "blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested"? According to the Scripture the seventh day and its rest were past before God blessed and sanctified the day. But according to the geological period idea, this period of rest is not yet past, consequently the blessing and the sanctification cannot yet have been put upon it, "because that in it he had rested," and from that it inevitably follows that there is no divinely-appointed Sabbath for man. And the sum of the matter is that the scientific idea of creation is in direct contradiction to the word of God. We know that the great mass of the divines of the present day have adopted that idea, nevertheless; but that in nowise proves that the scientific idea is the scriptural one, as it contradicts the word of God; it only proves that in this the divines have forsaken the word of God and are turned unto fables. 4. "In Jewish law, corresponding to this fact, the last of the days of the week was fixed upon as the day of rest." Is then a commandment that "is inseparable from the nature of man," a "Jewish law"? If so, how so? And by whom was the last of the days of the week fixed upon as the day of rest? It was by the Lord himself. He not only in the commandment said the seventh day is the Sabbath, but by withholding the manna on a certain day and causing it to keep over that day, which it would not do any other day, and by continuing this for forty years, he showed to all people precisely what he means when he says in the commandment, "The seventh day is the Sabbath." The people had no part whatever in the fixing of the day of rest. It was not only fixed without their will, but directly against the will of some of them. The lesson writer is correct in saying that the last of the days of the week was fixed upon as the day of rest. And it was fixed upon by the Creator himself, and no power can unfix it—there it must remain fixed forever. God has given commandment that the seventh day is the Sabbath, he has also given his own interpretation of what he means by the seventh day; that interpretation he has held before the world from Sinai to this day, and no power can reverse it. The day which God fixed as the Sabbath by withholding the manna is the day which he means when he says in the commandment, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," and that day is "the last of the days of the week,"—the seventh day, commonly called Saturday. 5. "The day which we call Saturday was never in itself more sacred than any other of the seven," says Mr. A. E. Dunning, D. D., the Congregationalist's Sunday-school lesson writer. But God says that it was, and is, more holy than any other of the seven. The Lord made that day holy. He calls it holy. He commands man to keep it holy. This he has done for no other day of the week. Therefore that day always was, it always is, and it always will be, "more sacred than any other of the seven." We prefer to believe the word of God rather than that of Mr. A. E. Dunning, D. D., and everybody else will do well to do so also. 6. "One-seventh of time by divine law is sacred." Which one? 7. "Jewish law and custom made that time fall on Saturday." Neither Jewish law nor Jewish custom made that time fall on Saturday. It was the example of God in resting that day from the work of creation; it was the law of God which commanded that day to be kept, and the custom of God, kept up for forty years, in withholding the manna on that day and causing it to keep over that day,—it was the law of God and the acts of God which made that time fall on Saturday. And those who have respect to the law of God and the ways of God, will remember that that time always falls on Saturday, and will honor God by keeping it holy unto the Lord. Isa. 58:13. 8. "To Christians the day of the Lord's resurrection, the first day of the week, gathered about itself peculiarly sacred associations." Suppose it did, what effect can that have upon the peculiarly sacred associations of the seventh day and the commandment of God to keep it holy? By what right can the peculiarly sacred associations which the first day of the week gathered about itself, rule the seventh day of the peculiarly sacred associations with which God has clothed it? It is a queer idea that because the first day of the week should have gathered about itself peculiarly sacred associations, therefore the commandment of God, which enjoins that the seventh day shall be kept sacred, should be made void? 9. "At first they observed Saturday and Sunday each week by abstaining from labor, and by gathering together for worship." This is not wholly true, it is true that at first they kept Saturday, because the word of God says, "They rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. But as for their observing Sunday also, at first or at any other time, the word of God says nothing about it. But suppose we grant that they did keep Sunday also, by what authority did they keep it? The word of God says, they kept the Sabbath—Saturday—according to the commandment. Did they keep Sunday too according to the commandment? If so, according to what commandment did they keep it? There is nobody in the wide world who can point to any commandment of God for keeping the day called Sunday. And nobody in the wide world ever kept Sunday in obedience to a commandment of God. There is no such commandment. Where there is no commandment of God there can be no obedience to God. And as there is no commandment of God for keeping Sunday, therefore nobody can obey God by keeping Sunday. 10. "Gradually they ceased their observance of Saturday, and made Sunday their Sabbath." That is to say, they ceased to obey the commandment of God, and obeyed one of their own instead. As they made Sunday their sabbath, their own will was the only authority for its observance. Consequently their humility was only a "voluntary humility," and their worship was only "will worship," and as it was all contrary to the word of God, the result was to beguile them of their reward. But now, dear reader, "let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility . . . after the commandments and doctrines of men." "For these precepts, though they have a show of wisdom, in a self-chosen worship, and in humiliation, and chastening of the body, are of no value to check the indulgence of fleshly passions." Col. 2:18-23 with Conybeare's and Howson's translation. 11. "The custom became confirmed and sanctioned by the churches guided by the Holy Spirit." We have read, before, somewhere, some such doctrine as this. Let us see where. Here it is:—747 "Question—Is it, then, Saturday we should sanctify in order to obey the ordinance of God?
"Answer—During the old law Saturday was the day sanctified; but the church, instructed by Jesus Christ, and directed by the Spirit of God, has substituted Sunday for Saturday.
"Q.—Had the church power to make such change?
"A.—Certainly, since the Spirit of God is her guide, the change is inspired by that Holy Spirit."—Catholic Catechism of Christian Religion. The Sunday-sabbath doctrine leads to Rome every time, but this is not always so clearly shown as it is here by the Congregationalist's lesson writer. Christians need to be told that the Holy Spirit guides neither the church nor individuals away from the law of God. Whoever turns away from the commandment of God is not led of the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit guides men into the truth, and the law of God, exactly as he wrote it, is the truth. And "he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Prov. 28:9. 12. "Sunday is therefore the sabbath of the Christian church," etc. But it is not the Sabbath of the Lord. And no man is under any obligation to keep the sabbath of the Christian church. The Christian church has no authority to make a Sabbath. And as this writer has plainly said that the Christians "made Sunday their sabbath," we should like to know how and where the Sunday-sabbath comes in as "a precious gift of God." God did not give it at all. They made it themselves, it is their own gift to themselves, and as they ceased to observe the commandment of God that they might make this for themselves, there is nothing precious about it. The Sabbath of the Lord is that which the commandment of God directs shall be kept. And the word of God is, "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work." Jesus observed it, and left us an example that we should follow his steps. Will you follow the steps of Jesus in keeping the Sabbath of the Lord? or will you follow the pernicious doctrines of men, which lead straight to Rome? NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.
THERE being no set lesson for this date, we present a few fragmentary notes on certain portions of the lessons that have been studied during the quarter. Some of the first lessons were records of notable miracles performed by Jesus. These were performed in response to faith exercised by the individual, and should serve to direct our minds to the power of faith. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives a list of things that have been done through faith, and the inquiry might naturally arise, Whence does faith derive this extraordinary power? The answer will be found in an examination of what faith is, which we can give only in the briefest manner. FAITH is confidence in another. It is a giving up of one's own ideas and will, to some other who is thereby acknowledged to be superior. It is trust, such as the innocent child reposes in its parents' word. Now anybody knows that whenever such confidence is reposed in any person, it always produces a certain degree of consideration for, or tenderness toward, the trusting one. The traveler who is appealed to for guidance by a fellow-traveler, feels an interest in that other; the fact that a stranger has confided in him makes him feel kindly toward the unknown one. Even the hardened ruffian could scarcely find it in his heart to do harm to one who, trusting to his honor, would unhesitatingly cast himself upon him for protection. Now whatever good things there are in man, are from above, and exist in the heart of God as much more strongly than in the heart of man, as God is greater than man. So when Abraham, with child-like trust, believed God when he made a promise which to all human appearances could never be accomplished, his simple belief "was counted unto him for righteousness." It is not irreverent for us to say that such trust touched the heart of God, and made him feel especially tender toward Abraham. Faith accomplished what nothing else could. And let it be remembered that there is good reason for this. Perfect faith implies perfect worship. Faith and humility are inseparable. The greater one's faith in another, the lower his opinion of himself. So that perfect faith in God, such as Abraham exhibited, implied perfect willingness to do whatever God required of him. Such faith is as powerful to-day as it ever was. It suffices to secure pardon for sin, even as it did for Abraham, and nothing but such faith will secure pardon. The cleansing of a sinner from the defilement of sin is the greatest of all miracles, and it is one that is daily being performed in response to faith. Whenever God sees such trust and submission in the heart of anyone, nothing that that one can ask for can be denied. Then who would not pray, "Lord, increase our faith"? JESUS said to his disciples, on one occasion, "Truly the harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few." This suggests the query, Who are the laborers? and how do they stand related to the work of Christ? Their relation to Christ is most intimate. Christ is the great source of light. "In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," and "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." His disciples derive the light from him, and are, in turn, to be the light of the world. See Matt. 5:14. Thus they are sharers in Christ's work. He himself said to the Father: "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." John 17:18. Thus the disciples become "workers together with God," and prepared, by the only means possible, to receive the cheering words, "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Only those who are sharers in Christ's work can be partakers of his joy. THE lesson for November 20 is a most important one. In it occurs these words: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matt. 11:28-30. There is no freedom outside of Christ. The Christian is the only man on earth who really has his liberty. Sin and lawlessness are a grievous yoke of bondage, and Christ alone can break this yoke from off our necks. Anarchists fight against all law; they feel that something is galling their necks, and they imagine that it is the law, and so they would fain abolish law. But that which galls them is the yoke of sin which they bear. The law of God in Christ Jesus is not a grievous yoke. There is no man so much at liberty as the one who keeps the law of God, and this can be kept only when one is in Christ. The one who perfectly obeys the law never feels it. Said the psalmist: "I will walk at liberty; for I seek thy precepts." Ps. 119:45. And our Saviour set forth the whole matter in the following words: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:34-36. Before this he had said: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Verse 32. This agrees with the other, for Christ is the truth. John 14:6. THE parables in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew seem to be the most expressive of any in the Bible. The parable of the tares utterly refutes the comparatively modern idea of a temporal millennium. In the parable, the man who owned the field is represented as saying to his servants who asked if they should not pull up the tares: "Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn." In the interpretation of the parable, the field is declared to be the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom, the tares the children of the devil; the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. The Saviour then says: "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Matt. 13:40-43. This declaration is so plain that no comment can make it plainer. It shows conclusively that there is never on this earth a time of righteousness and peace until the wicked have been destroyed, and that the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous do not take place until the coming of Christ and the end of the world. THE parable of the net that was cast into the sea (Matt. 13:47-49) seems to be of a little different nature from that of the wheat and tares. There would be no object in giving two parables in close connection, to teach exactly the same thing. In this chapter many parables are given illustrative of the kingdom of Heaven, because all its features could not possibly be represented in one parable. The parable of the net is, we think, more limited in its application than the parable of the tares and the wheat. The latter represents the good and bad as living together in the world until the final Judgment; the former represents both good and bad persons as being taken into the church, and remaining there until they shall be separated by the decisions of the Judgment. NOTICE that in this parable there is first a gathering out from the sea, which doubtless represents the world. Into the net are gathered a quantity of fishes out from the great mass of fishes. The net contains both bad and good. When it is drawn ashore, the catch is sorted, the good being preserved, and the bad thrown away. Even "so shall it be at the end of the world; the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." The company here brought to view by the fishes in the net is a company of supposed good people, of those whom it is proper to expect that they will be good. The church is just such a company. According to their profession, all the members of the church ought to be good; but they are not. Many that say, "Lord, Lord," will be cast out at the last day. No one has any reason to feel safe, simply because his name is on the church roll. The gospel net gathers in both bad and good. This does not mean that any of those whom it gathers in are good in the sense that they are fit for translation, but that they are composed of good material out of which to make saints. The work of the gospel, after it has gathered them out, is to transform them fully into the divine image. But some are bad; they will not be transformed; they resist the good influences that are cast around them, and so grow worse instead of better. THIS parable takes all the point out of the infidel cavils concerning church members who act dishonestly or who fall into gross immorality. Christ has told us beforehand that there will be false professors. Therefore there is no point to the cavil that infidels love to make against religion, when some professors show that they are unsanctified in life. We learn that both bad and good are drawn into the gospel net. The church is not composed of perfect creatures, but of candidates for perfection. The church is Christ's school, and Christians are learners of Christ, striving to follow the divine pattern, until at last they may come "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Who has any right to say that the church is a failure, because it contains some dull scholars, and some who refuse to perform their allotted tasks? We judge a school and a teacher, not by the dull, the lazy, or the obstinate pupils, but by those who follow the instruction given them. If those who obey orders show improvement, we say that the school is a good one, and the teacher competent; and we do not pass sentence of condemnation because those who refuse to obey are not benefited. So we must judge of the church of Christ and of Christianity; not by the lives of false professors, but by the lives of those who heed the example and teachings of Christ, and who yield themselves to the influence of the Holy Spirit. PAUL writes to the Philippians thanking them for the gift received by their messenger, Epaphroditus, and says: "I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length ye have revived your thought for me; wherein ye did indeed take thought, but ye lacked opportunity." Phil. 4:10, Revised Version. It was not an easy matter to send money from Philippi to Rome in A. D. 64. There was no mail service, no express, no banks to draw and honor drafts. The only way was to intrust the money in coin to a special messenger. And that messenger could not go by steam and in a few days, as now. The journey was both tedious and perilous, as we learn by reading the twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts. Indeed, Epaphroditus, who bore the bounty of the Philippians to the apostle, was sick at Rome and "nigh unto death," as the result, doubtless, of exposure during that journey. See Phil. 2:27. The primitive churches were poor, many of their members were slaves. They were not able to give much. But what they did give for Paul at Rome or for the poor saints in Jerusalem it was no easy matter to send to them. How they would have rejoiced in our facilities! How such facilities would have stimulated their liberality! Now, God's rule for giving, or rather for doing good in all Christian ways, is stated by Paul in Gal. 6:10, "As we have therefore opportunity." Every new opening for benevolent effort should be to a Christian what a new channel is for a river. The current passes into it and fills it of its own accord. No effort, no pumping, is needed. But how can we obey such a rule in these days when it is all opportunity? The Christian in any town in the United States can send his gifts to any part of the world, by mailing a draft to the treasurer of a missionary society in New York, and specifying for whose benefit the money is sent. He can have Bibles distributed in China or India by making a donation for that purpose. He can write a letter to cheer the heart of a laborer in the foreign field, and a five-cent postage stamp will insure its delivery, as addressed, in China or India, within a few weeks. Suppose that Paul, while a prisoner at Rome, had enjoyed our opportunities of communication—that he could have mailed a letter to any place in the Roman Empire, and known that it would be taken there as fast as steam could carry it and promptly delivered at the cost of an obolus—the Athenian three-cent piece. Would he not have wanted to write day and night, and to keep all his companions busy writing? And would he not have expected to have received scores of letters every day from the churches that he had founded and the converts that he had won to Christ? With such facilities would even he, the great Christian enthusiast, have dared to say, "Do good to all men as ye have opportunity"? Yes, for what he wrote to the Galatians was not for them and their times only, but for all believers in all time. Opportunities are providential. God gives them on purpose that the progress and triumph of his gospel may be hastened. The printing press, the steam-car, the steam-ship, and the international postal service are divine arrangements for facilitating the work of the church. Jesus said to his disciples, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." And now, in the progress of modern civilization, he is helping us to obey this, his last command. No one who believes in that triumphant declaration of the Saviour, "All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth," can think for a moment that there is no connection between the advance of the race in the facilities of communication and the mission of the Christian church. "All things are yours," wrote Paul to the Corinthians, and he wrote it for us. The world belongs to our ascended Lord. He rules and overrules to bring about the fulfillment of his promises. He owns and controls every steam-car on the land and every steamship on the sea. They are all opportunities for us, and we are bound to avail ourselves of them to the extent of our ability. Indeed, the measure of Christian obligation may be stated in two words—ability and opportunity. We receive both from God; we receive them as his stewards; they are charged against us in the books before the throne, and we must offset the charge by a corresponding Christian activity and benevolence. If, with our improved facilities, we can do an hundred-fold more than we could have done had we lived a thousand years ago, then that is just what we ought to do. We are persuaded that a prayerful study of our opportunities would lead us to a renewed consecration of ourselves and our wealth to the work of our Lord and Saviour on the earth. He is going before us, throwing the doors wide open, and he says with renewed emphasis, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."—Interior. Hindrances to Christian Progress
By Central Baptist
No man has a right to keep company with those who retard his Christian progress, or to engage in any business or pleasure which makes it more difficult for him to serve the Lord. ONE of the greatest privileges of the Christian is to feel God a friend, walking beside him through all the by-paths of daily life, ready at any time to offer help and yield consolation. "You couldn't spare me a very little money, could you, father?" Janet leaned over him as he counted some bills. "If it is for something positively necessary, my daughter." "I can't say it is exactly that; but I never get a cent of pocket money now, father." He sighed heavily as he answered: "I know it, and I'm sorry; but the pressure seems harder and harder every year. Wants seem to increase faster than the means of supplying them. Hand this to your mother, Janet." "Forgive me for worrying you, father. I ought to be making my own spending money, but there are so few ways of doing that unless I go away from home." "We can't let you do that. There's enough for all, if we are careful." "Take it out to Bridget," said her mother, as Janet gave her the money from her father. "Twelve dollars. Dear me!" said Janet to herself, rather fretfully, as she walked slowly to the kitchen. "Bridget has earned it, and I don't grudge it to her, but how I wish I could earn twelve dollars." "Wirra, wirra!" Bridget sat on the floor, holding an open letter and rocking herself backward and forward with dismal groans. Pots, pans, and kettles were around in their usual confusion. "It's meself must be lavin' yez the day, Miss Janet." Servants were hard to find, and Janet's face wore the accustomed expression of dismay with which such notices were always received, as she asked, "What's the matter, Bridget?" "It's me sister's got the fayver, bad, and it's meself must be goin' to her. An' it's six weeks entirely I'll be shtayin' when it's so far to be goin'." As Janet handed her the money, a sudden thought came to her. "I'm sorry for you, Bridget. Of course you must go if you must. Perhaps we can get along without anyone till you are ready to come back." "Mother," she said, turning to her, "Bridget's going away for a few weeks." Mother's face grew as dismayed as Janet's had, for she was not strong, and there were four boys. "An' plase ye, ma'am, it's afther comin' to try to get the place I am." "What do you mean, Janet?" said her mother, laughing as the young girl courtesied low. "You can't do it all, Janet." "What I can't do, I'll hire. I want to do something, and I want to get a little money I can feel is my own, and that I have a right to spend if I want a new book or a bit of music or anything else. I can't get a school—there are forty applications where there is one vacancy. I can't dispose of fancy-work or painting, and if I could, I might dabble over them for a month, and then not clear more than Bridget does in a week, there are so many waiting to do that kind of work. Kitchen work is the only work there appears to be plenty of for girls." "You may try it, but I think you will get tired of it." Janet spent a good share of her first week's wages in buying gingham aprons, rubber gloves, and paying a stout woman to come for half a day to scrub and scour until the last traces of good-natured, slovenly Bridget's presence were removed. Then, with clean kitchen, clean utensils, and clean towels, Janet took hold of her work with a right good-will. "We'll all co-operate," said father, when he heard of her intention. "We'll all co-operate," cried the boys; and they kept their word well in bringing wood and water and sweeping the walks. And after the first morning, she found that Tom had made the fire before she came down. "There's great satisfaction in doing things thoroughly," said Janet to her mother, after the first day or two. "Before, when we have been without a girl, I have always hated it because I tried how much I could shove out of the way. Now that I am making a business of it, I don't feel that way. And, mother, you would be astonished to see how little cleaning there is to be done when nobody makes any unnecessary dirt, or how much work can be saved by using your wits to save it." She never told her mother how her back ached during those first days of unusual exercise. This wore off as she became accustomed to it. Every day she learned more and more to simplify her work. A few minutes in the kitchen just before bed-time she arranged things so exactly to her hand that there was no hurrying or crowding at the busy time in the morning. Careful handling of table linen and other things made the wash smaller, so that the stout woman could do two weeks' wash in one. Janet found that there were few days in which she could not sit down when the dinner work was over. Other surprising things came to light. "What's the matter that you don't burn any wood nowadays?" said Tom; "I have so little splitting to do." Bridget, like so many of her sisterhood, had always seemed to consider it her bounden duty to keep up a roaring fire all day, regardless of whether there was need of it or not, and father always looked blank over the fuel bill. One-half the quantity was now found amply sufficient, and a difference was soon apparent in many other things. The food for one person is always noticeable in a small family where a rigid hand must be kept on expenses, besides which Janet was not slow in perceiving how many things went further than before. Odds and ends were utilized which had been thrown away or had counted for nothing, for no one felt afraid of scraps done over by Janet's hands. "We never were so comfortable before," said father. "We never had such good things to eat," declared the boys, who had highly appreciated the dainty, though plain cookery, as contrasted with Bridget's greasy preparations; for Janet, full of an honest determination to earn her wages, had given much attention to the getting up of palatable, inexpensive dishes, seeking a variety, where Bridget had moved in one groove. "I almost dread having Bridget come back," said mother. But the time came when she was hourly expected. Mother sighed as she took note of the spotless kitchen, in which it was now pleasant to come and lend a hand at cookery, or sit with her knitting while Janet moved briskly about. "It's time I was settling with you, Janet," she said. "Six weeks—I owe you $18." "No; six off for hiring Mrs. Holt, and a few other things." "Not a bit off, dear; I've been looking over the bills for the month, and I find quite a difference; more than pays all your extras. Not only in meat and groceries and fuel, but I notice it in the wear and tear and breakage—dear me! I don't think $5.00 a week covers the expense of Bridget being here." "You don't, mother, dear?" said Janet, in great delight; "then you are not tired of your new girl and anxious to have Bridget back?" "No indeed," said mother, fervently. "Then she isn't coming back. I've found my way of earning, and am going to stick to it for a while. It isn't all pleasant to be sure, but I don't know any kind of business that is. Only," she said, laughing, "I shall insist upon having my wages as regularly paid as if I were Bridget. I shall clothe myself out of them, and so be saving dear old overworked father about $5.00 a week, if you are right in your calculations, mother." "What will you do with Bridget when she comes?" "Mrs. Whitcomb wants a girl, so she can go there. O mother, dear! it's a real comfort to feel as if I were supporting myself. And I wonder why I never thought before how pleasant a way it is, this doing kind and pleasant things for you all." And Janet worked on, feeling sure she had found her best way of securing her pocket money in this expending of her energies for those she loved. How many daughters, restless and fretful for something to do, might find the same way blessed to themselves and to others in homes made bright and sweet by their faithful ministration.—Selected. I KNOW not what the day may bring
Of sorrow or of sweetness,
I only know that God must give
Its measure of completeness.
I reach for wisdom in the dark,
And God fills up the measure,
Sometimes with tears, sometimes with cares,
Sometimes with peace and pleasure. For hours of grief and saddened face
True wealth of heart I borrow;
And heavenly wisdom oftenest comes
Clad in the guise of sorrow.
I know not which is best for me
Of all his mercy bringeth;
I know his praises every day
My willing spirit singeth. I know not what my life may yield
Of fruit that will not perish;
I know God gives both soil and seed,
And all the growth must cherish.
How great his work! How small my part!
I wonder at my weakness;
And his great patience fills my heart
With gratitude and meekness. I know not what c'en Heaven can give
To blessed souls who gain it;
I know God's goodness it must show,
For earth cannot contain it.
And if eternity but rings
With love the same sweet story
That earth is telling every day,
Thine, Lord, shall be the glory. A CLEVELAND man discovered a bird's nest in his barn, and found in it two young swallows. Upon taking one bird in his hand he was astonished to find one of its legs very thoroughly bandaged with horse-hair. Having carefully removed the hairs one by one, he was still more astonished to find that the nestling's leg was broken. Upon visiting the "patient" the next day the leg was again bandaged as before. The bird surgeon was not again interfered with, but in about two weeks it was found that the hairs were being cautiously removed, only a few each day, and finally, when all were taken off, the callus was distinctly felt, and the union of the bone evidently perfect, as the bird was able to fly off with its mates.—Selected. Female Education in Japan
THE interest in female education in Japan is increasing. Two Japanese gentlemen have become responsible for fifty thousand dollars toward the establishment of a school for girls belonging to the higher classes.