p. 9 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 39, No. 37. (9/24/1912)

The World’s Moral Decline

"Vice commissions," and "wars on vice," etc., are coming to be quite the order of the day in many sections of the country. A San Francisco judge has recently said that the "white slave" traffic and the vices that it fosters have become a leading menace of the civilized world. One city after another is breaking out with epidemics of grafting and all the crimes that go with it. The papers day by day are filled with the accounts of the nauseating details of such criminality. Anywhere you meet men, on the streets, in stores, or elsewhere, you will find that they can readily be led into discussions of these conditions and into deploring the situation. It ought to be apparent to all, that the foundations of society are breaking up. And every one ought to know that when in the past any nation got into such conditions of debauchery, she invariably went down. And now that the whole world is in this condition, there can be but one conclusion. This world can not stand long in the condition to which it is plunging with such headlong speed. Men who will stop long enough to weigh carefully the actual conditions of to-day ought to be able to see this clearly.

Cloudbursts and Their Meaning

By Editor

The despatches continue to report "cloudbursts" and other severe storms that are causing much disaster in many parts of the country. Have you observed that these things are greatly on the increase? and have you sought for the meaning of it?

Wireless Communication Across the Pacific

On September 3 regular wireless communication was established between San Francisco and Honolulu, Hawaii, by the Federal Telegraph Company.

A Solemn Lesson

By Mrs. E. G. White

The solemn fate of the five foolish virgins, presented in the parable of the ten virgins, is recorded to warn those who, while professing the faith of Christ, have become cold and backslidden.

The five foolish virgins represent the careless, indolent, self-satisfied professors of religion. They have a calm expectation of entering heaven sometime, yet they have not purified their souls by obeying the truth. They understand the theory of truth, but have no vital connection with God. They trust to feeling, and neglect to search the Scriptures. They are satisfied to walk in the sparks of their own kindling. We are all exhorted to be diligent, that we may make our calling and election sure. But I am greatly troubled, fearing—yes, knowing—that there are many who profess the truth who are not testing their lives and characters by God's great moral standard of righteousness. They are careless; they have not the oil of grace in their vessels with their lamps. They are cherishing hidden sins, which no human eye can see. They know that they are not pure and without spot, and should diligently seek God, that they may cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the sight of God.

There are many ideas in the world as to what is sin. The deist says that sin is dishonesty, a lack of patriotism, honor, and manliness. Those who have little idea as to what constitutes religion will tell you that sin is murder, adultery, robbery, and crime. But what does the Word of God define it to be? John writes, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." Without the law we have no knowledge of what sin is. Those who have no respect for the law will be deceived by entertaining hopes of entering heaven.

Knowledge of the Law Not Enough

But a knowledge of the law is not enough. He who accepts the law, who acknowledges the claims of the law, who yet feels satisfied with himself, and has no experience in being born again, will fail of keeping the law, and will come under its condemnation. God's law not only covers every deed of outward life, but also penetrates to the intents and purposes of the heart. The man who will meet Christ in peace will be the man who follows in His footsteps, who takes Him for his example and righteousness. Jesus said, "I have kept My Father's commandments." He was the embodiment of all that was noble and holy; and whoever obeys Christ, fulfils the law of God, meets every claim upon him, treats every being as the purchase of the blood of Christ.

He who does not yield to the claims of the law of God, sets himself above God, breaks away from God's rule of right, and becomes disloyal, as did the great deceiver in the beginning. Would that some who claim to be commandment keepers could see how their cases stand in the register above! O, that all who are falling short of the principles of righteousness might realize that they do not meet the broad, far-reaching claims of the law of God upon them! Repentance for sin is the first step in conversion. Repentance is an intense hatred of sin in all its forms. Pharisaism permits of self-complacency; and those who are self-righteous appear to have a form of piety, but at heart they are corrupt. They may talk of their hope of heaven, when, in fact, they have not taken the first step toward heaven.

We are not under a system of mere requirements, mere justice, and unsympathizing rigor. The penalty of transgressing the law has fallen upon our Substitute and Surety, and for a time has been suspended, so that the guilty do not feel its weight; but the object of this suspension is not to teach us that its claims are over, its exactions set aside, but to attract us to holiness, to obedience. Nothing is changed except the manner of bringing men to obey the law. Obey its claims we must. The first step toward obedience is repentance. We are to see the excellence of its requirements by beholding the wrong of disobedience.

Selfishness Distresses the Truly Regenerated

He who is truly repentant, he who is regenerated, hates sin. All manner of selfishness is distressing to him. Indifference to God on the part of those around him grieves him. He is not led to exalt self in the performance of his duty, but abhors self. "I abhor myself" is the language of the godly of all ages, who have had a clear view of the purity and holiness of Christ. But those who are but superficial Christians seek to exalt self by depreciating others. The clearer the views of the character of Christ, the more humble will be our views of self. Like Job, Isaiah, Daniel, David, and Paul, we shall feel that our comeliness is turned in us into corruption.

Those who are represented by the foolish virgins have not this sense of their own unworthiness. They have no oil in their vessels with their lamps. The same principles of truth are presented in the parable of the two builders,—one built upon the rock, and the other upon the sand. Jesus says: "Whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

It is not a matter of little consequence to us as to how we hear and how we treat the truth of God. To misunderstand the truth, to fail to appreciate it, because we do not cherish light that comes to us, will tend to make us careless in our character building, and we shall have our foundation laid upon the sand. The wise builder builds upon the Rock Christ Jesus, no matter what may be the inconvenience. He builds not upon human but upon divine merit, accepting the righteousness of Christ as his own, and as his only hope of salvation. The foolish builder builds upon the sand, and through his carelessness, or prejudice, or through the deceptions of the natural heart, he cherishes a self-righteous spirit, and places human wisdom in the place where God's wisdom should have the supremacy; and how terrible are the consequences!

Unwise Builders

There are many unwise builders, and when the storm of temptation comes and beats upon them, it is made evident that their foundation is only sliding sand. They are left in gross darkness, without faith, without principles, and without foundation. The five foolish virgins had a real interest in the gospel. They knew what was the perfect standard of righteousness; but their energies were paralyzed with self-love; for they lived to please and glorify themselves, and had not the oil of grace in their vessels with which to replenish their lamps. They were often distressed by the enemy, who knew their weakness, and placed darkness before them in the semblance of light. Truth—precious, life-giving truth—represented as oil, appeared to them as unessential; and Satan took advantage of their blindness, ignorance, and weakness of faith, and they had a fluctuating experience, based on uncertain principles.

All who wait for the heavenly Bridegroom are represented in the parable as slumbering because their Lord delayed His coming; but the wise roused themselves at the message of His approach, and responded to the message, and their spiritual life was replenished. Their spiritual discernment was not all gone, and they sprang into line. As they took hold of the grace of Christ, their religious experience became vigorous and abundant, and their affections were set upon things above. They discerned where was the source of their supply, and appreciated the love that God had for them. They opened their hearts to receive the Holy Spirit, by which the love of God was shed abroad in their hearts. Their lights were trimmed and burning, and sent forth steady rays into the moral darkness of the world. They glorified God, because they had the oil of grace in their hearts, and did the very work that their Master did before them,—went forth to seek and to save those who were lost.

Night

By M. Elisabeth Burns-Howell

By M. Elisabeth Burns-Howell

O, the rare enchantment, like the mystery of dreams, When the moon is shining silver, with her pure and placid beams! When the air is heavy freighted with the scent of fragrant blooms! O, 'tis then that rest aboundeth, and a sweet refreshing comes!

It is then that peace surpassing settles down upon the soul, And we feel, beyond our striving and our strife, a higher goal; For the eye with wider vision looks enraptured on the sight, As it sees in faith a future like the holy hush of night.

Cometh now a sense of safety, and a calm serene enthralls, With the joy of trust unfailing, e'en when seeming ill befalls; For the Hand that stills the tumult and bestows the balm of night, Holds the suns and all their systems, and shall shape our course aright.

A Spiritual Autobiography—VI

By J. A. L. Derby

THE more I have studied the law of God, the more I have found in it to study. Like the nerve fibers of the spinal column, which ramify into millions of subdivisions, extending to all parts of the body, so the law of God runs into the history of every moment of time, and directly or indirectly into every part of nature and revelation. The laws of nature are God's usual ways of acting with inanimate things—His will concerning the obedience of such objects. The Decalogue is His will with reference to the obedience of free moral agents.

As a matter of fact, it is not man on trial during the ages; it is the law of God. Incidentally, man is tested, tho he is but the means by which the demonstration is wrought. When a third of the angelic host, with Lucifer as their leader, revolted, before time was, the results of disobedience to the divine law were not known by experience.

Angels are but finite beings; therefore only by faith in God's word (I do not, of course, mean the Bible) could they know that rebellion against His government is ultimately death. Had the revolt of the angels been immediately crushed by their destruction, opportunity for doubt would still have existed. God will suffer sin to remain—in other words, will permit Satan to work out his claims—in as many ways and to such an extent as is necessary to satisfy every rational creature that infraction of the law must result in ruin.

The Supreme Test

What was the test in the Garden of Eden?—Obedience or death. The old serpent denied it. And ever since, he has been persuading men not only that there is something faulty with God's requirements, but also that no such dire results will follow rejection of them.

When I once clearly saw this fact, and remembered, further, that the arch-adversary of God is still “the prince of this world,” I knew for certain that I should find the majority of people in so-called Christian lands tinkering the law up in some way different from the form in which God gave it. And is it so?—Most assuredly. Where is the “Christian” nation that does not observe Sunday instead of the Sabbath?

What God Desires Most

Yet God has never, with reference to His law, had any other purpose than obedience. If necessary, we might quote illustrative texts covering the period from creation to Moses. But it will be sufficient to begin with the Exodus and the Mosaic law. Observe the emphatic statement in Jer. 7:21-23:

“Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: but this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.”

Again, later on, when the chosen people had demanded a king, and the Lord had granted one, the same principle is reasserted. To King Saul, the prophet Samuel said: “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” 1 Sam. 15:22, 23.

So from creation to Christ, obedience and sin stand as opposites. To be obedient was to refrain from sin. To sin was disobedience. When Jesus came, we find Him accepting unquestioningly this antithesis as correct.

And we have already seen that His first preaching was a call to repentance from sin, with no intimation that sin was in any sense a different thing from what it had been since creation. Sin in the time of Christ was sin precisely as in the time of Adam or Solomon. And such it is to-day, and such it will be forever. The same law that condemned the sin of Cain, condemns any kind of murder to-day. I may commit murder by drinking whisky; you may murder yourself by wilful starvation. But Cain and you and I all violate the same law: “Thou shalt not kill.” I may worship joss; you may love money so much as to make you dishonest; another may love his tobacco so dearly that it keeps him from becoming a Christian. But we all three break exactly the same command as did the worshipers of Moloch: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” You may keep Sunday; I may keep Friday; another man may keep Wednesday. But none of us would be keeping the day God blessed and sanctified as a memorial of His creative work, and set apart for us to observe as a sign that He is the Lord our God. (Eze. 20:12, 20.) Jesus kept the Ten Commandments, and taught that salvation depends upon our accepting Him to enable us to keep them.

Each True Messenger and the Decalogue

This brief sketch of the rule of duty through the ages is sufficient to illustrate how every true messenger of God has confirmed obedience to the Decalogue. Nay, more: As far back as we trace events in heaven, before time was, we find no change in the righteous standard that points out sin. In the eternity past, the Father and the Son, foreseeing the departure of man from that standard, planned (I speak human-wise, for God does not plan) to bring Their erring creature back. “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory,” etc. (1 Cor. 2:7-10.) “Who hath saved us [from sin, to eternal life, which Jesus said depends on keeping the Ten Commandments], and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” 2 Tim. 1:9.

In a former article I gave in outline the line of Bible study by which I came to see that God has but one fundamental law for His government both on earth and in heaven. To this agree the words of the psalmist, “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” Ps. 119:89. We noticed the final nature of that law,—a fact well understood by His ancient people, as brought to light in such texts as the following: “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.” Eccl. 3:14. A still more emphatic declaration of this truth was made by Jesus Himself: “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. And later, the great apostle, showing the relation of faith to the law, affirms unequivocally: “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Rom. 3:31.

But what did Paul mean by our establishing the law? Was it not firmly settled before? Did God need the feeble hand of man to make His law permanent? That is not the sense in which the apostle uses the word. What he means is, that we acknowledge and verify the truth and obligation of the law. That is exactly what the obedience of faith does. Yet, notwithstanding the absolute permanency of the law, from the standpoint of the divine purpose, that fact could not be fully appreciated by finite creatures until they had a demonstration of it. The occasion for such a demonstration came about by sin. Would God change His law to save guilty man, or must that law be satisfied? The penalty for violation is death. Must man die? Death there must be, or the law altered or abolished. But God could not change the law; for being, as it is, a law of perfect righteousness, it must be a transcript of God's character—the very righteousness of God. Therefore man must either die or provide a substitute. But as no finite substitute could avail, God forever demonstrated the unalterable nature of His law by Himself suffering the penalty for man. Righteousness is life; sin only ends in death. Hence death could have no final conquest over God manifest in flesh. If, then, we by faith unite ourselves with Him, our lives are “hid with Christ in God,” and He being risen from the dead, henceforth to die no more, we have eternal life in Him.

The Supreme Manifestation of Love

But the death of Christ was something besides the vindication of Heaven's law; it was the supreme manifestation of God's love for man. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. There is a remarkable law of human nature, ultimate in character, and passing analysis, that love begets love. I know of no explanation of this any more than of the fact that we laugh instead of cry at the ridiculous, manifest sorrow by weeping rather than by laughing, or burn with indignation at injustice, etc. All we can say is that we are so made. Gravitation is, and that is all we know of its origin, except, of course, that its source is God.

Now if the love of God, especially as displayed in the sacrifice of Jesus, is not enough to arouse our highest loyalty to Him, and reconcile us to His law of love, I—well—but surely none can resist it, if he understands it.

And thus we have the new covenant—the law written in our affections by love, established in our hearts by faith. And thus shall it be throughout the universe, when these dark days of sin shall have been blotted from the calendar of eternity. Then shall righteousness cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Then “it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord.” Then shall be “heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,”—yea, even by His law of love.

Railway to Heaven

(An old poem printed by request)

The line to heaven by Christ was made, With heavenly truths the rails are laid. From earth to heaven the line extends— To life eternal, where it ends. Repentance is the station where All passengers are given share.

No fee for them is there to pay, For Jesus is Himself the way. The Bible is the engineer. It points the way to heaven so clear. Through tunnels dark and dreary here, It does the way to glory steer.

God's love's the fire, His truth the steam Which drives the engine and the train. All you who would to glory ride, Must come to Christ, in Him abide, The first and second and third class, Repentance, faith, and holiness.

You must the way to glory gain, Or you with Christ can never reign. Come then, poor sinner! Now's the time. At any station on the line, If you repent, and turn from sin, The train will stop, and take you in.

Sin, and What Man Lost by It

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

“NOW,” says one, “I never could see the justice in punishing Adam so severely, just for committing one little sin,—only eating an apple!”

But let us reason for a moment. If we take into consideration the vastness of the benefits bestowed upon Adam, and compare these with the trifling prohibition laid upon him, we stand amazed.

All the myriad trees of the garden freely given him, with only one reservation! What better terms could even infinite wisdom and love have made?

Suppose God had reserved all the trees in the garden, and given to Adam only one. But even then He would only have been exercising His just prerogative as Creator.

Or suppose Adam and Eve had taken the fruit to satisfy their hunger, which they had no other means of appeasing. But they were neither hungry nor thirsty nor in want. Every need had been supplied by the hand of their loving and thoughtful Creator. Every wish of their heart had been anticipated.

The means for satisfying the demands of the most fastidious appetite were scattered about them in lavish profusion.

The most perfect beauty appeared everywhere,—beauty of tint and color, of form and feature. The music of the most beautiful song-birds entranced their senses. Nor do I apprehend that their ears were strangers to the ravishing music of the angel choirs.

And in return for all this prodigality of gifts, God asked but one thing. He did not ask man to perform some great deed, or to purchase this munificent estate by hard labor. In fact, God did not ask the least service of Adam.

He simply asked him to refrain from doing just one thing, and that a thing which of itself would present the very least temptation imaginable.

Had Been Warned of Consequences

Besides, the Almighty told them plainly just what the dire consequences would be if they did not obey His word.

Suppose some great king had presented me with ten thousand dollars in gold, and should only ask that one dollar remain untouched.

What would you think of the ingratitude which would prompt me to covet and actually to appropriate even this dollar to my own use?

One would think that pure gratitude alone, even with no other reason, would have prompted the man to be obedient. God had given him everything. Satan had given him nothing. Yet man voluntarily chose to disobey God; and as if that were not enough, he went over to the arch-enemy of God and righteousness, and joined forces with His implacable foe. Man turned his back upon his best Friend.

Contradicting the Almighty

For one man to call another man a liar, is accounted one of the grossest insults that it is possible to offer him.

Let us see if a like insult was not offered to the God of heaven: God had said in reference to the Tree of Knowledge, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

But Satan insinuates his ugly presence in the form of a serpent, and at once begins, in wily, subtle speech to contradict the word of the Lord. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die”—a flat contradiction! And—O, the ingratitude of it!—they took the word of the arch-fiend, in preference, and directly against, the word of the Eternal—their best Friend! Think of it, all ye who, with sentimental pity, condone the monstrous sin of the man and the woman in Eden—think of it, and wonder in amazement at the long-suffering and mercy of Him whose outraged kindness would call for sterner words and severer punishment.

And even yet, as if in haste to spare them suffering, God gives them at ONCE a blessed hope in the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent.

Satan’s Masterpiece Perpetuated

But that first lie of Satan’s in Eden, was so successful that he considers it his masterpiece, even yet. And well he may. And hence he has industriously and insidiously whispered the same lie into the willing ears of every generation of men which has peopled the earth since Adam’s time: “Thou shalt not surely die.”

How well has he succeeded? Paganism and Papacy, Mariolatry and saint-worship, Spiritualism, witchcraft, ancestor-worship, and a thousand and one offshoots of these tap-root errors,—all bear undeniable witness to his tremendous and calamitous success. And thus we find cropping out everywhere the idea that when a man dies, he is not dead!

Then what shall you and I believe? I answer, Believe the plain word of the Almighty; and when Satan suggests to us that there is some undying principle in man that is by nature immortal and that can never die, repeat to him the words of the One who created man, and who surely must know best: “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Was not this a strange thing for the Almighty to declare, if He knew there was a principle in man which could not die to all eternity?

Man was created a candidate for immortality. God had said, “Obey and live; disobey and die.” By yielding to sin, man forfeited eternal life. He lost, also, his innocence and his inheritance.

The mission of Christ was to buy all these infinite blessings back again—for us.

If we have faith in Him, we need not perish. Otherwise there is no hope for us.

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

—**—

Toleration Versus Liberty

By W. F. Martin

HERE is a wide difference between toleration and liberty. Toleration is a concession. We find it granted where there is more or less of a union of the church and the state. It also implies more or less of a censure or disapproval. We tolerate what we dislike or disapprove but can not well prevent.

Toleration implies the right of the state to interfere in matters of religion and to control public worship. Russia tolerates Romanists and Protestants. Turkey tolerates Christians.

Again toleration is simply a matter of expediency. It is a gift of man. Persecution always results from a union of church and state. Toleration comes as a relaxation of that union. It is an intermediate state between religious liberty and religious persecution.

Full religious liberty requires a peaceful separation of the spiritual and secular powers. No one in a free country wants to be tolerated for his religious opinions or convictions.

The theory of the Middle Ages was intolerance and persecution. The theory of enlightened Europe to-day is toleration. That of the United States is religious freedom, and equality of all sects before the law.

By religious liberty or soul freedom is meant the natural and inalienable right of every soul to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. That religion is and must be a voluntary service.

No earthly power has any right to compel conformity to any creed or kind of worship. If any one sect is given a preference by law over other sects, that destroys perfect religious liberty. Religious liberty is not a gift

of man. It is a gift of God. It is not a matter of expediency. It is a principle. It is a natural, inalienable right of every man. It is inherent and fundamental.

It is true that liberty may be abused, but no amount of abuse can destroy its right use. The only proper attitude of the state toward the religion of its subjects is to see that each one is protected in the right to worship God as his own conscience may dictate. A government best consults its own interests when it protects all and persecutes none. “Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings—give us that precious jewel, and you may take everything else.”

W. F. MARTIN.

Christ and the Sabbath

1. What important statement did Christ make concerning the Sabbath?

“And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: so that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2: 27, 28.

2. What was the custom of Christ concerning the Sabbath?

“And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and He entered, as His custom was, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.” Luke 4:16.

3. In foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem, which was not to occur until nearly forty years after His death, how does Christ show His regard for the Sabbath in the Christian dispensation?

“When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place [“when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies,” Luke 21: 20, in describing the same thing] (let him that readeth understand), then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains: let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house: and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. . . . And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a Sabbath.” Matt. 24: 15-20.

4. Does Christ in any instance give a single hint that He or His Father would change the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week?

Answer: He nowhere even hints at such a thing. But in the foregoing text from Matthew He plainly shows that He had a solicitous regard for the seventh-day Sabbath in the New Testament dispensation, by asking His disciples from that day and forward to continue to pray that when Jerusalem should be destroyed their flight from the besieged city would not be on the Sabbath day. If Christ had changed the Sabbath, as so many insist that He did, one would naturally expect Him to mention such a change in a connection of this kind.

5. Does Christ lay claim anywhere to being Lord of any particular day?

“The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2: 28. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.” Isa. 58: 13, 14.

NOTE.—It should be clear that the day should be called “the Lord’s day,” of which Christ Himself says He is Lord, and which Jehovah distinctly says is “My holy day.”

Race Gambling Legalized Again in California

By J. E. Squires, Secretary International Reform Bureau

Shall It Be?

HAT such a question should be put at this time seems almost startling, and unless it were warranted by the facts, would demand an apology from me. But some facts need to be noted.

After years of work by reform forces in California, the Walker-Young bill came into the law in our state in February, 1911, and race gambling left the state—“never to return,” some of us hoped. But in May, 1912, the horsemen of the state met and determined to use the “initiative” to put upon the ballot, at the coming November election, “Race gambling—yes or no?” At this meeting, about sixty men were present, representing probably millions of money. It was proposed, we understand, to raise a fund of $100,000 to secure a place on the ballot. And while they needed only 31,000 names on the petition, they secured 59,000, having had well-paid canvassers to secure the signatures. Thus we see that almost twice as many signatures as were needed to put this question on the ballot, were secured, while petitions for Sunday rest bill and anti-prize-fight law fell far behind in the number of signatures needed.

Now it is not for a moment thought probable that a majority of the voters of California want the return of the race gambling; but it is known certainly that all the gambling fraternity know exactly what is on, and are working with might and main to secure votes for it, and that multitudes of the best people are absolutely indifferent to these matters—some through ignorance of the movements of the enemy, and many who do not think that religion or goodness has any part in secular or political matters.

Upon such indifference as this, I have no doubt, the gamblers counted when they considered the matter of securing the ballot on this thing. Now when we consider that all they need to do, is to get a majority of votes cast upon that particular amendment, and that on national elections we are not in the habit of giving much attention to “small matters,” they no doubt argued that only those concerned would vote at all, on this number; hence their confidence and hope of success.

To allow this propaganda to succeed would put us back a decade in moral reform in California, and it must not be. With this conviction of the importance of the matter, and the assurance that all the good people need, is to see the real danger to be aroused to action, the following steps are being taken:

1. A large committee, of twenty-five or thirty, is being formed to lead in “a propaganda against return of race gambling in California”—these persons chosen without reference to political or church affiliations.

2. A publicity expert is secured who, for the coming eight weeks, will keep this matter before the people of California through two hundred and fifty of the leading daily and weekly papers of the state.

3. Matter will be sent to two thousand pastors, from time to time, and they are asked to make weekly mention of some phase of the case, in pulpit and church bulletins; and finally—

4. A campaign, state-wide, in all towns and cities, by men and women who, before great mass-meetings, can arouse public sentiment against this great evil that is outlawed by so many of our states.

Of course we expect the editors of church papers to take a strong and leading part in this campaign, quoting from the “expert matter” mentioned in papers of the state, announcing mass-meetings, and writing editorials on same.

A long, strong pull, and a pull all together, will save the day, but nothing less than this is worthy of us, and of such a cause.

Remove the Stones of Stumbling

By Phillips Brooks

O MY dear friends, you who are letting miserable misunderstandings run on from year to year, meaning to clear them up some day; you who are keeping wretched quarrels alive because you can not quite make up your mind that now is the day to sacrifice your pride, and kill them; you who are passing men sullenly upon the street, not speaking to them, out of some silly spite, and yet knowing that it would fill you with shame and remorse if you heard that one of those men were dead, to-morrow morning; you who are letting your neighbor starve, till you hear that he is dying of starvation; or letting your friend’s heart ache for a word of appreciation or sympathy, which you mean to give him some day,—if you only could know and see and feel, all of a sudden, that “the time is short,” how it would break the spell! How you would go instantly and do the thing which you might never have another chance to do! — Phillips Brooks.

The Devil and the Idle Man

A SPANISH proverb says, “The devil tempts every man, but an idle man tempts the devil.”

Christ Strengthening Us

By François Fénelon

WE are ever ready to confide in weak friends, but we are afraid to trust in God. We believe the promises of the world, but we can not believe the Word of God. Let us make an effort to restore the divine order; let us confide with moderation in what depends upon ourselves, but let us set no bounds to our confidence in God. Let us repress all eagerness, all inquietude, all that we call zeal. He who thus trusts in God, becomes immovable as Mount Zion. Our trust should be more firm and elevated. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”—Fenelon.

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