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Signs of the Times, Vol. 5, No. 21.

General Articles

Signs of the Times

May 22, 1879

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · May 22, 1879

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

Peter Preaches Christ to the Gentiles.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
PETER spoke with Cornelius and those assembled in his house, concerning the custom of the Jews; that it was considered unlawful for them to mingle socially with Gentiles, and involved ceremonial defilement. It was not prohibited by the law of God, but the tradition of men had made it a binding custom. Said he, "Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for; I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me."
Cornelius thereupon related his experience, and the words of the angel that had appeared to him in vision. In conclusion he said, "Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."
Although God had favored the Jews above all other nations, yet if they rejected light, and did not live up to their profession, they were no more exalted in his esteem than other nations. Those among the Gentiles who, like Cornelius, feared God, and worked righteousness, living up to what light they had, were kindly regarded by God, and their sincere service was accepted.
But the faith and righteousness of Cornelius could not be perfect without a knowledge of Christ; therefore God sent that light and knowledge to him for the farther development of his righteous character. Many refuse to receive the light which the providence of God sends them, and, as an excuse for so doing, quote the words of Peter to Cornelius and his friends: "But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him." They maintain that it is of no consequence what men believe, as long as their works are good. Such ones are wrong; faith must unite with their works. They should advance with the light that is given them. If God brings them in connection with his servants who have received new truth, substantiated by the word of God, they should accept it with joy. Truth is onward. Truth is upward. On the other hand, those who claim that their faith alone will save them, are trusting to a rope of sand; for faith is strengthened and made perfect by works only.
Peter preached Jesus to that company of attentive hearers; his life, ministry, miracles, betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, and his work in Heaven, as man's Representative and Advocate, to plead in the sinner's behalf. As the apostle spoke, his heart glowed with the Spirit of God's truth which he was presenting to the people. His hearers were charmed by the doctrine they heard, for their hearts had been prepared to receive the truth. The apostle was interrupted by the descent of the Holy Ghost, as was manifested on the day of Pentecost. "And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days."
The descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Gentiles was not an equivalent for baptism. The requisite steps in conversion, in all cases, are faith, repentance, and baptism. Thus the true Christian church are united in one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Diverse temperaments are modified by sanctifying grace, and the same distinguishing principles regulate the lives of all. Peter yielded to the entreaties of the believing Gentiles, and remained with them for a time, preaching Jesus to all the Gentiles thereabout.
When the brethren in Judea heard that Peter had preached to the Gentiles, and had met with them, and eaten with them in their houses, they were surprised and offended by such strange movements on his part. They feared that such a course, which looked presumptuous to them, would tend to contradict his own teachings. As soon as Peter visited them, they met him with severe censure, saying, "Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them."
Then Peter candidly laid the whole matter before them. He related his experience in regard to the vision, and pleaded that it admonished him no longer to keep up the ceremonial distinction of circumcision and uncircumcision, nor to look upon the Gentiles as unclean, for God was not a respecter of persons. He informed them of the command of God to go to the Gentiles, the coming of the messengers, his journey to Cesarea, and the meeting with Cornelius and the company collected at his house. His caution was made manifest to his brethren from the fact that, although commanded by God to go to the Gentile's house, he had taken with him six of the disciples then present, as witnesses of all he should say or do while there. He recounted the substance of his interview with Cornelius, in which the latter had told him of his vision, wherein he had been directed to send messengers to Joppa to bring Peter to him, who would tell him words whereby he, and all his house, might be saved.
He recounted the events of this first meeting with the Gentiles, saying, "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could withstand God?"
The disciples, upon hearing this account, were silenced, and convinced that Peter's course was in direct fulfillment of the plan of God, and that their old prejudices and exclusiveness were to be utterly destroyed by the gospel of Christ. "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."
Herod was professedly a proselyte to the Jewish faith, and apparently very zealous in perpetuating the ceremonies of the law. The government of Judea was in his hands subject to Claudius, the Roman emperor; he also held the position of tetrarch of Galilee. Herod was anxious to obtain the favor of the Jews, hoping thus to make secure his offices and honors. He therefore proceeded to carry out the desires of the Jews in persecuting the church of Christ. He began his work by spoiling the houses and goods of the believers; he then began to imprison the leading ones. He seized upon James and cast him into prison, and there sent an executioner to kill him with a sword, as another Herod had caused the prophet John to be beheaded. He then became bolder, seeing that the Jews were well pleased with his acts, and imprisoned Peter. These cruelties were performed during the sacred occasion of the passover.
James was one of the three favored disciples who had been brought into the closest relationship with Christ. James, John, and Peter were his chief witnesses after his death. They saw the transfiguration of the Saviour, and beheld him glorified. They were in the garden with him during the night of his agony. James and John were the sons of Zebedee, the ones whom Jesus had asked, "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" When James was rudely thrust into prison, and unceremoniously summoned to execution, he understood more fully than ever before, the words of his Lord upon that occasion.
There was great grief and consternation at the death of James. When Peter was also imprisoned, the entire church engaged in fasting and prayer. While the Jews were celebrating the memorial of their deliverance from Egypt, and pretending great zeal for the law, they were at the same time persecuting and murdering the believers in Christ, thus transgressing every principle of that law. At these great religious gatherings they stirred one another up against the Christians, till they were united in a bitter hatred of them.
The people applauded the act of Herod in causing the death of James, though some of them complained of the private manner in which it was accomplished, maintaining that a public execution would have had the effect to more thoroughly intimidate all believers and sympathizers. Herod therefore held Peter in custody for the purpose of gratifying the Jews by the public spectacle of his death. But it was suggested to the ruler that it would not be safe to bring the veteran apostle out for execution before all the people who were assembled in Jerusalem for the passover. It was feared that his venerable appearance might excite their pity and respect; they also dreaded lest he should make one of those powerful appeals which had frequently roused the people to investigate the life and character of Jesus Christ, and which they with all their artifice, were totally unable to controvert. In such a case, the Jews apprehended that his release would be demanded at the hands of the king.
Peter's ardent zeal in vindicating himself, and in advocating the cause of Christ, had lost to the Jews many of their brethren, and they stood in great dread of his having an opportunity to lift up his voice in the presence of all the nations and people that had come to the city to worship. Therefore the apostle was placed under charge of sixteen soldiers, who alternated in guarding him day and night. But it was in vain that the puny arm of man was lifted against the Lord. He, by the putting forth of his might, was about to stay the precious blood which the Jews would have been emboldened to shed, had not divine power interposed.
While the execution of Peter was being delayed, upon various pretexts, until after the passover, the church of Christ had time for deep searching of heart, and earnest prayer. Strong petitions, tears, and fasting were mingled together. They prayed without ceasing for Peter; they felt that he could not be spared from the Christian work; and they felt that they had arrived at a point, where, without the special help of God, the church of Christ would become extinct.
Meanwhile worshipers of every nation sought the temple which had been dedicated to the service of God, and which remained, to all appearance, the same as when the shekinah had glorified it, with the exception of additional embellishment. But God was no longer to be found in that palace of loveliness, glittering with gold and precious stones, and presenting a spectacle of grandeur and beauty to all beholders.

ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT

By Dudley Marvin Canright

The Scripture Doctrine of a Future Life.--No. 19.

ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT

GEHENNA.

THE Greek word gehenna, translated hell in the New Testament, always refers to the place of punishment of the wicked. It never means the grave. The following is its complete use:--
Matt. 5:22, shall be cast into hell fire. 29, whole body should be cast into hell. 30, whole body should be cast into hell. 10:28, to destroy both soul and body in hell. 18:9, two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 23:15, more the child of hell than yourselves. 33, can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mark 9:43, having two hands to be cast into hell. 45, having two feet to be cast into hell. 47, having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Luke 12:5, hath power to cast into hell. James 3:6, is set on fire of hell.
The reader will readily see that every passage refers to the place of punishment, or hell, properly so called.
Greenfield, in his Greek Lexicon, thus plainly gives its origin and meaning: "Gehenna, pr. the valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem, once celebrated for the horrid worship of Moloch, and afterwards polluted with every species of filth, as well as the carcasses of animals, and dead bodies of malefactors; to consume which, in order to avert the pestilence which such a mass of corruption would occasion, constant fires were kept burning."
Mr. Ellis, a Hebrew and Greek scholar, says, "Gehenna is not a Greek word. It does not occur in any classical author. It is merely the Grecian mode of spelling the Hebrew words which are translated 'the valley of Hinnom.'"
The phrase, the valley of Hinnom, occurs in the Old Testament ten times, as follows: Josh. 15:8; 18:16; 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31, 32; 19:2, 6; 32:35.
The word gehenna, as used in the Greek, occurs in the New Testament twelve times, as already given. It is always translated hell. As Greenfield says, the apostate Jews once celebrated the worship of Moloch in the valley of Hinnom. When they put away their idolatry, in order to show their contempt of Moloch and of his worship, they made that place a depository for all the filth and refuse of the city. Carcasses of beasts and malefactors were thrown there. Constant fires were kept burning, into which these carcasses were cast. But sometimes a carcass or some part of one was left out of the fire to be devoured by the worms. There were, therefore, two agents of destruction in the case,--the fire and the worms. It was a most repulsive picture of utter destruction. Jesus used this as an illustration to the Jews of how God would finally destroy the wicked. They will be cast into fire, and be consumed, the same as in the valley before them. Thus it became a very forcible illustration of the utter destruction of the wicked.
In Jeremiah the Lord himself names it the valley of slaughter. "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place." Jer. 7:32.
The prophet Isaiah in referring to the same thing tells us that the carcasses of men shall be cast into the fire and eaten by the worms. "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Isa. 66:24.
Thus the reader will see that there is not the remotest reference to unending torment in the use of the word gehenna or hell.
But does it not say that the fire shall not be quenched, neither shall the worm die? Yes, and this is very true. To quench a fire is to extinguish it before the material on which it is feeding is destroyed. A house is on fire; but by the application of water the fire is quenched, and the house is preserved. But suppose the fire is so far under way that it cannot be quenched. That is an unquenchable fire. It burns up the house entirely, and then it goes out of itself. You could not say that it was quenched. The Lord burned Jerusalem with unquenchable fire. He says, "I will kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Jer. 17:27. But is Jerusalem burning now? No: the fire went out eighteen hundred years ago; yet the city was burned with unquenchable fire; unquenchable from the fact that the inhabitants could not quench it, and save the city. Just so the wicked will be cast into a fire which they can by no means extinguish. Hence the conclusion that they must certainly be burned up, and utterly perish.
And so with regard to the worm. The simple meaning evidently is that these elements of destruction will not fail, but will continue to prey upon the carcasses of the wicked until they are entirely consumed. All this will be literally fulfilled when God shall burn up the wicked in the fire which purifies the earth.

TARTAROO.

This word occurs only once in the Bible, and is in that case applied to the fallen angels. "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." 2 Peter 2:4.
This requires but a short notice. Mr. Parkhurst in his Greek Lexicon says, "Tartarus, in its proper physical sense, is the condensed, solid, and immovable darkness which surrounds the material universe." Probably it refers to those etherial regions surrounding this fallen planet, which Satan as the "prince of the power of the air" is said to inhabit.
The parallel text in Jude says, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 6.
From this it appears to be a place of darkness somewhere in the etherial regions. It has no reference to a lake of fire or to the final place of punishment, either of men or devils. It will be noticed that although the devils were in this place already in the days of Christ, yet they were not in torment then, for they said to Jesus, "Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" Matt. 8:29. This is sufficient to show that tartaroo is not the place of torment. As it has no reference to the punishment of men, we leave it here.

WHO IS THY FRIEND?

By Frances Browne

WHO is thy friend? The man that shares thy pleasures In banquet hall or beauty's witching powers; He that will dance with thee to folly's measures, And make no reckoning of the squandered hours— To whom the revel and the game is all?- These are the friends that help men to their fall.
Who is thy friend? The man that shares thy pride, Thine hour of glory, or thy day of gain; Who stands in every triumph by thy side, And never finds that triumph false in vain, But shapes his doctrine as thy humor goes? These are the friends misfortune turns to foes.
Who is thy friend? The man that for his winning To power or place hath need of thine or thee; Who will not fear thy risk, or blame thy sinning, So it but speed his fortune's growing tree; Whose praise is large, whose promise larger yet? These are the friends that fail us and forget.
Who is thy friend? The man of truth and trust, In gladness near, in sorrow nearer still; To thy faults generous, to thy merits just, Thy help to every good from every ill, Whose love for the world's hate might make amends? Alas for it! this life hath such few friends.
Who is thy friend? The best, the least regarded, In faith unfailing, and in love unchanged Through all the changeful years, though ill rewarded, Give Him thy heart, so long and far estranged; And from the broken reeds of earth ascend, To seek in Heaven thine everlasting Friend. —Frances Browne.

One God.

By A. J. Dennis

WHAT a contradiction of terms is found in the language of a trinitarian creed: "In unity of this Godhead are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." There are many things that are mysterious, written in the word of God, but we may safely presume the Lord never calls upon us to believe impossibilities. But creeds often do: Let us see what is involved in the above words, quoted from a well-known collection of "Articles of Religion." We would not approach the subject, but with that reverence and godly fear which becomes the creature when speaking of the Creator.
Webster, in giving an illustration of the word "person," quotes from Locke: "We must consider what person stands for; which I think, is a thinking intelligent being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider itself as itself, the same thinking thing in different times and places." Webster certainly approved this illustration or he would not have used it. We approve of it too: it seems to cover the whole ground, and we are sure it will recommend itself to the reason of all.
We have here, then, three "thinking, intelligent beings," each one capable of "considering itself as itself." We are told by trinitarians these three persons are of "one substance, power, and eternity." Now as to the oneness of substance of the Father and the Son. If the oneness referred to be understood to be similar to what is meant when it is said of a man and wife that they are one flesh, we have no objections; and if the oneness of power refers to possessorship simply, not to authorship, we have no objections here, for we believe the Father to have exalted the Son to equal power with himself. "Where, then," you say, "is the contradiction you speak of?" It is here—"Of one eternity." Webster, among other definitions of eternity, says it is "continuance without beginning or end," or "duration without end." Whether we take the first or last definition, matters but little. One of them must be taken, and either of them involves the advocate of the theory in hopeless difficulty. If the first, we have two self-existent beings of equal power, for it is impossible for a being whose existence never had a beginning to depend on any other being for that existence. The irresistible conclusion from such premises, would be that we have two Gods. But the Lord says, "I am the Lord. Beside me there is no God." But suppose the other definition be taken, and it is said simply, that they have both duration without end. May not the same be said of Enoch or Elijah, of the last generation as saints (for Paul says, we shall not all sleep, or die,) and, indeed of all who obtain eternal life?
If the latter definition be received, then it cannot be said we have any God; for if it is impossible for a being whose existence has no beginning to depend on another being for that existence, it is equally impossible for a being whose existence has a beginning, to be independent of every other being, or self-existent.
If it be said the first applies to the Father, and the last to the Son (which, after all, we believe to be the real faith of many so-called trinitarians), we agree with them there. But, if that be true, are not the words of the creed ill-chosen? Such, we believe will be the conclusion of every candid-minded person who will carefully weigh the evidence on either side of the question. A. J. DENNIS.

The Society of Heaven.

THE society of Heaven constitutes one of its chief attractions. We will, doubtless, carry the social principle with us in the eternal world. But who constitute the society of Heaven? Let an apostle answer. It is "an innumerable company of angels; the general assembly and church of the first born, whose names are written in Heaven; God, the judge of all; the spirits of just men made perfect, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant."
What a grouping together of all that is necessary to constitute good society is here made! God the Father, Jesus Christ the mediator, innumerable angels, and the spirits of good men in a state of perfection! Can anything be added to it? Should anything be taken from it? Every being will be there whose presence we could desire, and not one whom we would wish to be absent. We talk sometimes of good society in this world as a necessary element in our happiness; but what is the best society of earth compared to that of Heaven?
We have occasionally held communion here with God the Father, and our fellowship has been with his Son Jesus Christ, but it has been at long intervals, and there has always been a veil between us; but there we shall see them face to face, and know even as we are known. Angels have visited us, and been our ministering spirits, and kept their stations round about our beds, to defend us when we were in danger, and to shield us when temptations beset our paths; but we were not conscious of their presence, and received the benefits of it without knowing the sources from which they came. But there we shall be their equals, and talk with them as friends.
We have associated with the wise and the holy men and women of earth, and our hearts have gone out in warm affection toward them, and we have felt as if we would make them our companions forever; but they were only just men and women, with the remains of corruption and imperfection still clinging to them. In the very best of them we can see spots which marred the beauty of their characters, and tempers and dispositions which rendered intercourse with them unpleasant. Though thus imperfect, we have thought that a society composed entirely of such would far exceed anything that earth has ever afforded; but Heaven is filled with these just men made perfect. A spirit made perfect is something of which we have never yet seen a specimen. What a spirit must that be which has been purged of all the unholy tempers and corrupt propensities which have filled it and marred its peace in this world, and been adorned with every grace which the Holy Spirit can confer upon it? How different from the spirits with which we come in contact in the society in which we now mingle! In Heaven there are none but such. Envy and malice, hatred and strife, slander and detraction, are neither felt nor practiced there. Who would not wish to dwell in such a company as that?—Louisville Herald.

Do Everything Well.

If you have something to attend to, go about it thoughtfully and do it just as well as you can. Do it as though it were the only thing you had ever to do in your life, and as if everything depended upon it; then your work will be done well, and it will afford you genuine satisfaction. Often much more depends upon the manner in which things seemingly trivial are performed, than one would suppose, or than it is possible to foresee. Do everything well and you will find it conducive to your happiness, and that of those with whom you come in contact.

Unlearning.

It is almost as difficult to make a man unlearn his errors as his knowledge. Mal-information is more hopeless than non-information ; for error is always more busy than ignorance. Ignorance is a blank sheet on which we may write; but error is a scribbled one, from which we must first erase. Ignorance has no light, but error is a false one.
"Who can understand his errors ?"

Remember Lot's Wife.

By R. A. Morton

I WRITE a word in behalf of the youth. Parents frequently overlook the important fact that character is a thing of growth; that each of its qualities has been planted in the mind through one or more of the five senses; that these germs of character become fixed thought; that thought is manifested in word and act. Character therefore is the development of impressions received through the senses of sight, hearing, etc.
Hence it is a mistaken idea entertained by many parents, that a youth may visit places of public amusement and behold the vanities of this wicked age clothed in their most attractive dress, without receiving impressions of a similar kind which develope into character.
The mind of the youth is a fertile field which most generally brings to maturity all the impressions of evil planted there.
Let such parents follow these vanities to their dwelling place as they retire from the public gaze. Let them see them in their daily attire and fall in with their train of ungodly thought, leading away from all holiness down to the gates of death; then would they spurn public vanities when in their most gaudy attire, as so many seductive emissaries of evil which decoy the youth by gay appearances.
Parents who profess to be looking for the glorious appearing of our Saviour could no longer worship at the altar of public amusement bringing the tender lambs of their own nourishing as priceless sacrifices, could they realize that one such hour's work frequently changes the character of a youth.
"But my children must see what is going on in the world." But stop; this is a plea more selfish than godly. It is the same that leads to theatrical scenes of lust drawn out in the most thrilling and attractive manner, even if void of the soul-ruining consequences thereof.
Public amusements, church festivals included as now practiced, are the devil's seed-sowers. May the time soon come when there will not be one in all the land who professes to love the Lord's soon return, who will consider it a light thing to allow the youth to go to behold the ungodly vanities of this age.
When this kind of selfishness is gone, and parents come to understand that the youth must have recreation, they will then unite with alacrity to institute some harmless recreation for their children. Such, perhaps, as the romance which the fields of nature afford, with a good regard to appropriate luxuries. Spare no pains in giving them a good holiday of innocent amusement.
Let us not look back upon the world and long for its unbridled vanities.
Brethren, what will you do on the Fourth of July? R. A. MORTON.

The Blessed Hope.

THE New Testament contains two hundred and sixty chapters. In these chapters the Lord's coming is named three hundred and eighteen times. There are therefore, more allusions to the second coming of Christ than there are chapters. This being so, why is it that the professed disciples of Him who is to return are so reluctant to think and speak of his appearing? Why are they so shy and still, so reticent and dumb, or so apathetic and indifferent—not to say often hostile—when this eminently Scriptural topic is introduced?
In private I have seen their lips instantly close when I spoke of Christ's coming. In public religious meetings I may have been frowned down for quoting Scriptures relating to this last glorious event. There is nothing that will shut the mouths of a company of lukewarm professors, and send a chill to their hearts so quickly as to introduce into a parlor circle this tabooed theme.
Who can explain this state of things with thousands in the church? Can we love an absent Saviour and not desire his presence? Can we love an unseen Lord and not long to see him? Can the thought of Christ far away in Heaven be pleasant, and at the same time the thought of him near at hand and visible, be irksome and dreaded? Is not that Christianity to be suspected that indulges itself in such contrarieties? In fine, is it not a Christian grace to love our dear Lord's appearing? 2 Tim. 4: 8. —Sel.

Trust for Daily Bread.

HALF the world are in distress about their temporal support. Society is full of men who are disheartened by want of success, and fear of poverty. Their schemes have failed; disappointment makes them sad and dejected, and they think that they shall come to want. But a pious man must not yield to this despondency, nor cease from exertion. Let him still labor patiently, and hope for better days. Though he may not be able to see beyond this setting sun, or know how he shall obtain bread on the morrow, still let him work on as long as he finds work to do, and God will provide. The promise is absolute: "Trust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed."
Christians are guilty of criminal unbelief when they doubt the oversight and sympathy of God. Poor, faint disciples! Have they not read that their "Heavenly Father knoweth that they have need of these things?" Let them yield up their hearts to a feeling of perfect trust, and they will find a happiness which no wealth can give. This sweet confidence in God takes away all the weakness of distrust, and turns all sorrow into joy. Because of this child-like trust, many of the poor of this world, who were rich in faith—like the shepherd of Salisbury Plain—have been the happiest of men.
It is instructive to see how the poor saints are provided for. Yonder lives a widow who seems to have hardly the necessaries of life. Yet he who feeds the young ravens when they cry, feedeth her. He awakens sympathy; he creates a feeling of kindness in many hearts, so that her bread and water do not fail. One who had a long experience of life, declared, "I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread."—Sel.

Help in Time of Need.

A LITTLE heathen maid was received into a Christian family to attend to the children, and take them out, as she was well acquainted with the people and the surrounding country. She was kind and gentle with the children, and the family liked her. They extended their walk one day farther than usual, gathering wild flowers, and being tired, they all sat down on the grass. One of the little ones strayed away, and not returning immediately, the maid said she would go and look after her, and told the children not to stir from that spot till she returned. She ran off, calling the child by name as she went. At last she heard the child's voice answering. Soon they met, but her horror was great on seeing her followed by a leopard. She ran to her rescue, and stood between the two. In a moment it rushed into her mind, I will try my master's God. She threw herself on her knees in an agony, and uttered loudly, "O, my master's God, save my master's child!" The leopard looked at the maid and the child, then turned around and ran into the thicket, the child looking after it.

Infant Baptism and Immersion

If anything speaks against Infant Baptism, said a learned German author, it is that the specific rite of baptism (Immersion) cannot be applied.
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