p. 3 | Review and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 26. (6/29/1911)

Review and Herald

Jun 29, 1911

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 29, 1911

— Marie Conway Oemler, in the New York Independent

By Marie Conway Oemler

When

Some day — in future, fairer days to be — I’ll do the kindly work my heart has planned; Then every one that asks shall have from me The quick, sure sympathy of heart and hand. I shall obey the Father’s old command To lift the fallen, comfort the opprest; To pluck the thorns from out my brother’s breast; To open wide my soul, and cast out sin, And call good deeds, God’s tender angels, in.

I have no time to-day; but sometime I Shall follow where the Master’s feet have trod; Shall face the frowning world with courage high; Shall learn to kiss, with chastened lips, the rod, And find in Sorrow’s face the eyes of God. So shall I curb the quick, rebellious will, Hear in my heart a low-voiced “Peace, be still!” Through grief most nobly borne my soul shall win A space to call the choiring angels in.

But O, what if, on some fair eventide, When I might watch, as Abram watched of old, The long-closed tent doors of my heart flung wide To welcome angel guests into my fold, That they should find my dwelling-place too cold! A moldered floor, unknown of wind and sun; A lamp unlit of kindness never done; A shrine dust-strewn with selfishness and sin, And, all too late, I called the angels in!

— Marie Conway Oemler, in the New York Independent

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The Arrow of the Lord's Deliverance

By A. W. Spaulding

A. W. SPAULDING

The casement opens wide upon a fiery west, The still air holds a portent as of conflict nigh; Athwart the red God's shining messenger is shot, To paint his emblem on the anger of the sky. Wild tumult high upon the coming tempest's crest, And weak things cowering in devoted lot! The thunders roll; the heavens lower: It is the hour! It is the appointed hour!

The arrow of the Lord's deliverance is sped! Thy prophet's hands on mine have sped thy shaft! Lord, in thy tribulation bitter tears I've shed: Now in thy vindication I have laughed!

The slender reeds from off the pavement-stone I snatch. Not once nor thrice, but with exultant joy I smite with blow on blow, till they be naught but thatch; For thus, O Lord, shalt thou thy foes destroy.

The scourging Hazaels have bared the vengeful arm; They heard thy voice, yet answered to their gods. Thou spakest peace to them; they blew the war's alarm, And scourged thy people under iron rods.

Wild was their rage of hatred, deep their subtle scorn; They held the head on high, they curled the lip: But on their night of revel cometh vengeance's morn; Before thy gates of praise their foot shall slip.

Fast speeds thy herald shaft across the evening sky, Swift sweeps thy tempest o'er the doomed land; So speeds thy promise at thy suffering children's cry, So sweepeth down thy great avenging hand.

Who read the wrathful signs upon the western sky? Who saw the aspen quiver, voiceless, and foreknew? Who heard the trumpet's blast, and thought it not for mirth? Who dallied not in quiet ere the tempest blew? My heart! my heart! I can not hold my peace! I cry: Destruction on destruction is the lot of earth! Yet — waste and void, the heavens without light — God speaketh forth salvation in his might.

Naples, N. C.

Individual Accountability

By Ellen G. White

(Concluded)

MRS. E. G. WHITE

One of God's commandments reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” You are robbing God when you refuse to give that day to his service, abstaining from your own work. He has sanctified the seventh day, but you ignore its holiness, and thus cast contempt upon the lawgiver. Still the forbearance of God is exercised toward you. Make up your mind that from henceforth your feet shall go in the path of obedience. The darkness that binds you like a thick cloud, will part asunder, and heavenly light will shine upon all those who will have the truth at any cost.

The Lord understands all about your trials; and however impossible it may seem to live for God, you will find that the way will appear. When your faith has been tested, as the Lord opened the Red Sea so the waters will divide, and his providence will make a path for your feet. It is safe to serve God. It may not be to your worldly advantage to keep God's ways; but the transgressor will be at an eternal loss. “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings.” We must walk carefully and humbly before the Lord in these precious hours of probation. We must draw close to Jesus till his light is shed upon us. It is the desire of our Saviour that we should be the light of the world, reflecting every ray that shines upon us. What straight paths should we make for our feet, so that the lame may not be turned out of the way! This is an age of light. The Lord of heaven is sending the rays of light into the homes of the world. A special light is shining upon the commandments of God. The door of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary stands ajar, and within, as in the most holy place of the ancient sanctuary, is the ark of the testimony. The law of the Most High is beneath the mercy-seat. The light of this law is shining upon the world, penetrating the moral darkness that has covered the people.

John beheld an angel flying through the midst of heaven, warning men of the final judgments of God. He proclaimed the position of those who heeded his warning, and who would escape the seven last plagues. He announced them as God's people, and called attention to their peculiar character: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” The time for the fulfilment of this prophecy has come. We hear the sound of this very message calling the attention of men and women to the broken law of God, and demanding repentance and reform.

The children of light are to be as a city set upon a hill, that can not be hid. The world will be condemned by the testimony of those who follow the light as it shines upon their pathway. “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.” The servants of Jesus are to bear the precious truth to the world, and to present the claims of God to every soul, not pandering to custom, nor lessening the responsibility of any soul, but declaring the whole counsel of God.

When the book of the law was found

in the house of the Lord, in the time of ancient Israel, it was read before Josiah the king. And he rent his garments, and bade the men in holy office to inquire of the Lord for him, and for his people; for they had departed from the statutes of the Lord. He called together all the men of Israel, and the words of the book were read in the hearing of the congregation. The sin of the rulers and the people was pointed out, and the king stood up before them, and confessed his transgression. He manifested his repentance, and made a covenant to keep the statutes of the Lord with his whole heart. Josiah did not rest until the people did all they could to return from their backsliding, and serve the living God.

Is not this our work to-day? Our fathers have transgressed, and we have followed in their footsteps; but God has opened the book of the law, and backslidden Israel hear the commandments of the Lord. Their transgression stands revealed, and the wrath of God will be upon every soul that does not repent and reform as the light shines upon his pathway.

When Josiah heard the words of warning and condemnation because Israel had trampled upon the precepts of Heaven, he humbled himself. He wept before the Lord. He made a thorough work of repentance and reformation, and God accepted his efforts. The whole congregation of Israel entered into a solemn covenant to keep the commandments of Jehovah. This is our work to-day. We must repent of the past evil of our doings, and seek God with all our hearts. We must believe that God means just what he says, and make no compromise with evil in any way. We should greatly humble ourselves before God, and consider any loss preferable to the loss of his favor.

Christ left all to save men from the consequence and penalty of the transgression of the law. The way from the manger to Calvary was marked with blood. The Son of God did not deviate from the path of unwavering obedience, even to the death of the cross. He endured all the wo of man's sin; and shall we turn away from the commandments of the Lord because their observance involves the loss of friends, position, or worldly gain? Will you not take your feet from trampling upon the Sabbath of Jehovah? Will you continue to rob God of his holy time? You can not afford to do this work of making void the law of God. It is at an eternal loss that you rebel against the truth of Heaven. I beseech you, in the name of Christ, that you confess your sins and reform your ways, that your name may not be blotted out of the book of life, but may be confessed before the Father and before his angels. Jesus is pleading his blood before the Father; and now, while mercy lingers and probation is prolonged, seek the approbation of Heaven. Delay not to keep the commandments of the Lord. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Baptism — Its Significance

By J. W. Christian

J. W. CHRISTIAN

When our Lord gave his commission authorizing the disciples to go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19, 20), he instructed them to baptize all who would accept the message. The assurance is given: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” Mark 16:16. By a careful study of this passage it will be seen that hearing, believing, and accepting God’s Word are the necessary requisites to make one a candidate for the heaven-born rite of baptism.

On the day of Pentecost, when Peter, in the power of the Holy Spirit, moved the hearts of his hearers as he preached to them Jesus until they cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” the answer came in clear, definite tones: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38. After further instructing the people, the account states: “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Acts 2:41.

When the Lord Jesus met Saul on his way to Damascus, as he was “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord,” Saul inquired, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” This willingness on Saul’s part to be led and directed made it possible for the Lord to work for him. A vision was given to Ananias, which led this faithful disciple to the house in which Saul was staying. There he laid his hands on Saul, and said: “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.”

When Saul had received the message brought to him, and his sight had been restored, the record states that he “arose, and was baptized.” Acts 9:18.

One of the most beautiful treatises on baptism is written by this same Saul (now Paul) in his letter to the brethren at Rome. “Know ye not,” he asks, “that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:3-11.

The great testing truth in the days of the early church was faith in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. Not only the Jewish nation, but all the world was proved upon this point. The Samaritans, at the mouth of the evangelist Philip, received the evidence of Jesus as the promised Christ, and were baptized. Acts 8:5, 16. The Ethiopian eunuch, at the special direction of Providence, heard and received the “glad tidings” formerly announced by angels to the humble shepherds; and upon his acceptance of Jesus as the promised Messiah, he received baptism at the hands of Philip.

While baptism, as a rite, does not absolve one from sin, nor serve as a prevention against sin, it does serve as an outward sign to the unbelieving of the inward work wrought on the human heart by the Holy Spirit; and the candidate thereby bears evidence of a good conscience toward God through faith in the Lord Jesus, and receives heaven’s approbation for his willing obedience to the Lord’s requirements.

We are often asked concerning the importance of rebaptism by those coming out of other churches where baptism by immersion is practised. While we have no arbitrary rule in the matter, the question is a vital one, and deserves careful consideration.

We quote from “Sketches From the Life of Paul,” by Mrs. E. G. White, pages 132, 133:—

“There is still another lesson for us in the experience of those Jewish converts. When they received baptism at the hands of John, they were holding serious errors; but with clearer light they gladly accepted Christ as their Redeemer, and with this advance step came a change in their obligations. As they received a purer faith, there was a corresponding change in their life and character. In token of this change, and as an acknowledgment of their faith in Christ, they were baptized—in the name of Jesus.

“Many a sincere follower of Christ has had a similar experience. A clearer understanding of God’s will places man in a new relation to him. New duties are revealed. Much which before appeared innocent or even praiseworthy is now seen to be sinful. The apostle Paul states that though he had, as he supposed, rendered obedience to the law of God, yet, when the commandment was urged upon his conscience by the Holy Spirit, ‘sin revived, and I died.’

“There are many at the present day who have unwillingly violated one of the principles of God’s law. When the

understanding is enlightened, and the claims of the fourth commandment are urged upon the conscience, they see themselves sinners in the sight of God. ‘Sin is the transgression of the law,’ and, ‘Whosoever shall . . . offend in one point, he is guilty of all.’ “The honest seeker after truth will not plead ignorance of the law as an excuse for transgression. Light was within his reach. God’s Word is plain, and Christ has bidden him search the Scriptures. He receives God’s law as holy, just, and good, and he repents of his transgression. By faith he pleads the atoning blood of Christ, and grasps the promise of pardon. His former baptism does not satisfy him now. He has seen himself a sinner, condemned by the law of God. He has experienced anew a death to sin, and he desires again to be buried with Christ in baptism, that he may rise to walk in newness of life. Such a course is in harmony with the example of Paul in baptizing the Jewish converts. That instance was recorded by the Holy Spirit as an instructive lesson for the church.”

Hastings, Neb.

The Investigative Judgment

By Arthur L. Manous

ARTHUR L. MANOUS

I. HAS God a specific time for the judgment?

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” “I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” Eccl. 3:1, 17; see also Acts 17:31.

2. Was the time of the judgment still future in Paul’s day?

“As he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled.” Acts 24:25.

3. At the end of what specific time was the investigative judgment, or cleansing of the sanctuary, to begin?

“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14; see Lev. 16:19.

4. What definite work was begun at the end of the 2300 days?

“Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14.

5. How do other versions render the original of the word that is translated “cleansed” in this passage?

(a) “Then shall the sanctuary be vindicated.”—Rotherham’s Translation.

(b) “After which the sanctuary will be sanctified.”—Fenton’s Translation.

(d) “When the sanctuary shall be cleansed justified.”—Leeser’s Translation.

6. What specific period is cut off from the 2300 days, or years?

“Seventy weeks are determined.” Dan. 9:24.

7. How do others render the original of the word “determined” in this verse?

(a) “Seventy weeks are decreed.”—Revised Version.

(b) “Seventy weeks are fixed.”—Fenton’s Translation.

(d) “Seventy weeks are shortened.”—Douay Version.

(e) “Seventy weeks are cut out.”—The Newberry Bible.

(f) “Seventy weeks are cut off.”—Hengstenberg (in Noyes’s Translation).

8. What is said of this word “determined” in Dan. 9:24?

“The word here translated ‘determined,’ literally signifies ‘cut off.’ Seventy weeks, representing 490 years, are declared by the angel to be cut off, as specially pertaining to the Jews. But from what were they cut off? As the 2300 days was the only period of time mentioned in chapter eight, it must be the period from which the seventy weeks were cut off; the seventy weeks must therefore be a part of the 2300 days, and the two periods must begin together.”—“Great Controversy,” page 326.

9. From what point did the 2300 days and the seventy weeks date?

“From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” Dan. 9:24-27.

10. When did the “commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” go forth?

“In the seventh chapter of Ezra the decree is found [Ezra 7:12-26]. In its completest form it was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, B. C. 457. But in Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at Jerusalem is said to have been built ‘according to the commandment [margin, ‘decree’] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.’ These three kings, in originating, reaffirming, and completing the decree, brought it to the perfection required by the prophecy to mark the beginning of the 2300 years.”—“Great Controversy,” pages 326, 327.

11. When did the 2300 years end, at which time the investigative judgment began?

“The beginning of the seventy weeks is fixed beyond question at B. C. 457, and their expiration in A. D. 34. From this data there is no difficulty in finding the termination of the 2300 days. The seventy weeks—490 days—having been cut off from the 2300, there were 1810 days remaining. After the end of 490 days, the 1810 days were still to be fulfilled. From A. D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. Consequently the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14 terminate in 1844. At the expiration of this great prophetic period, upon the testimony of the angel of God, ‘the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’”—Id., page 328.

12. About this time what message was due, and was actually being proclaimed to the world?

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give to glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14:6, 7.

From the foregoing considerations we may see that we have been living in the judgment-hour since 1844. Just how soon our cases will be called, we know not, but it must be very soon. May God help us to live in harmony with the solemnity of the hour.

Greenville, S. C.

Its Impartial Assignment

By J. O. CORLISS

Tracings of the Prophetic Gift—No. 8

Its Impartial Assignment

J. O. CORLISS

Through the generous gift of the Spirit, the apostle Peter learned one lesson that Jewish rites had failed to impart. So imperative, indeed, had these rituals been, that notwithstanding his long acquaintance with the charitable teachings of the Lord Jesus, the apostle had failed to appropriate these in their full significance. Even a vision from heaven, wherein an audible voice had emphatically commanded, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15), had failed to make clear to him God’s unchangeable plan of saving all classes of people alike. But when he learned from the Gentile Cornelius that God had spoken to him in vision at the same time that he had spoken to Peter, and in relation to the same matter, the reluctant apostle was obliged to say, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.” Verse 34.

This was an astonishing revelation to Peter, but a lesson he should have learned from the first, believing, as he evidently did, that God is as unchangeable as he is infinite in all his ways. This principle was later magnified by the apostle Paul to cover not only nations separated from the Jews, but also to include sex, and every life condition.

This is his statement: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:28.

It has been expressed by some that this liberal sentiment was new, and obtained only because the plan of salvation had taken on new aspects in the Lord Jesus. No doubt this was strange doctrine to the creed-bound Jews, who for centuries had counted Gentiles as dogs, and women so inferior that they were not to be considered in the problem of God’s work on earth. But had they pondered God’s dealings with their own nation, they might have seen that throughout all the ages, Jehovah had sought to impress them with the idea that he did not discriminate between nations or sexes when calling for representatives of his will among men.

To say nothing of the prominent part acted by Miriam in watching over the infancy of Moses, to preserve him for the great work before him (Ex. 2:4, 7), and also the leading part taken by her in organizing the female portion of that great national chorus of rejoicing at the crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 15:1-21), she was but one of many women to have a conspicuous place in the normal history of Israel’s life drama. From the time those people were lodged in Palestine, their future home, their continued experience was one of alternating apostasy and repentance. Various men, called judges, were set to rule the nation in its early days of theocracy, each of whom led them to war, to relieve them from the oppression of heathen peoples, whose boundaries touched those of Israel’s tribes.

But generally soon after relief from immediate danger came, the people again sought to follow their own ways, which were evil. In time, however, the prophetess Deborah came into the position of judge or ruler, as one “divinely illuminated” for the position. This was at a time, too, when Israel had been sorely pressed for twenty years by one Jabin, king of northern Palestine, and commander of nine hundred iron war chariots. As usual, the people finding themselves in a hopeless case, began to plead for God’s help, which as yet had appeared in no human governorship. Deborah lived in primitive style under a spreading palm in the midst of Ephraim. From there she sent word to Barak, an inhabitant of Kedesh, in Naphtali, that God had called him to organize a force of ten thousand men, from the tribes Naphtali and Zebulon (these tribes being located nearest the scene of danger), and set these in battle array at Mount Tabor. Judges 4:6.

So minutely was the entire plan of the campaign laid out in the call of God, through the prophetess, that had Barak relied fully on the word sent, he could have known at just what point Sisera, Jabin’s general, with his chariots and his whole army, would have been captured. But regarding Deborah as one who, because of her exalted position, would be safe from harm, and so be a shield to himself and his command, Barak utterly refused to go on his heaven-sent mission unless Deborah would accompany him. She promised to go with him, but told him candidly that because he could not trust the Lord’s word through her, and go in faith to his appointed work, a woman would gain the honor that ought to be his, under God.

The result of this last prediction was as sure as the first. Sisera, finding himself liable to capture by Barak’s army, deserted his charge and fled toward home. On the way he stopped to rest at the tent of a Kenite, belonging to one Heber. Jael, the wife of Heber, gave him milk to drink, and when he lay down to rest, covered him with a mantle, he at the same time asking her to stand in the tent door, and turn away any who might come to inquire for him. Finding that he had fallen asleep, she made sure not to incur the wrath of his pursuers by attempting to hide him from them. So she took a nail, and wielding her hammer with a strong arm, drove the spike through the sleeper’s temples. When Barak and his men appeared, Jael directed them to their enemy lying in the toils of death, with the tent pin still projecting from his head. In consequence, Barak was obliged to join Deborah in a song of praise, for the woman who had destroyed Israel’s enemy (Judges 5:24-27), and thus God established her sex, in the minds of all, on an equality with the men of Israel.

Between the dates of Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s prophetic utterances there is found a time when another woman stood in the gap to declare the words of God to Israel. It is not known just when the prophetess Huldah began her heaven-deputed career, but we find her being consulted by the king on an important matter at least five years after the calling of Jeremiah. Huldah’s place of abode was in Jerusalem, as was also Jeremiah’s. The fact that King Josiah chose to interview her instead of Jeremiah, when both were alike accessible, rather gives color to the thought that she, being older in her calling, and having long been proved reliable as the Lord’s mouthpiece, her counsel was considered preferable to that of the young man whom God was probably training under her long experience for the important post awaiting him.

At all events, Huldah was the king’s counselor in the case alluded to. Coming at an early age to the throne of Judah, as successor of some very questionable rulers, and finding the Lord’s house sadly neglected, the king ordered it repaired. As the work proceeded, an ancient book of the law was discovered, and brought to the king. So struck was he with its contents that he hastened before the prophetess for instruction as to his duty regarding it. At once she pronounced upon that place and people the threatenings of the discovered book, but for the king she had only words of comfort and peace from heaven for his humble attitude before the Lord’s voice. 2 Kings 22:14-19. This interview proved the temporal reformation of the people; for immediately the king ordered burned all the furniture in the Lord’s house which had been dedicated to the worship of Baal, the sun-god. The horses, also, which had by former kings been dedicated to the service of the sun, and which were kept by the gate of the temple, were removed; and the chariots devoted to the sun, he caused to be destroyed by burning. The great image of Baal, at the entrance of the house, was also pulled down and destroyed. Chapter 23.

Space forbids enumerating here all the prophetesses named in the Bible. We find them, however, extending throughout the Old Testament, and continued in the New. Anna, a prophetess, was one of the first to recognize the divine nature of the Lord Jesus, as he was being dedicated after the usual manner in the temple. Luke 2:36, 38. In his travels Paul found four daughters of one family all of whom prophesied among the men prophets, and, these were found worthy of mention in the sacred annals. Acts 21:9-12. The entire record shows that God has never been a respecter of sex in his gifts and callings, but has bestowed them on those who would use them faithfully.

Mountain View, Cal.

Rest for the Weary

By Delwin Rees Buckner

DELWIN REES BUCKNER

O BUTTERFLY! thy wings do never cease To flit unquietly from flower to flower. Is there no fragrant honeysuckle bower Where thou canst stay and sip thy dew in peace? Thou followest each zephyr where it blows, But restless restest when the sun’s orb sinks. Canst thou not find contentment in the pinks, Or in the flavored nectar of the rose? O butterfly! my life was once like thine, A round of pleasure, which could never please; Which soothed a moment, like an opiate, But left the pangs there still. O, mine Were sorrows earth could never ease, Which only Heaven could alleviate!

Ambato, Ecuador.

Power of Truth

By Arthur V. Fox

ARTHUR V. FOX

THIS age is one of anomalies, of revolutions, of epochs, of apocalyptic trumpet-soundings and seal-openings. It calls for men. That we may respond to this call we must have many characteristics, one of which is a love of truth. The advantages of such a love are incalculable. It promotes science, comfort, usefulness, true glory, salvation. It promotes science by fixing and limiting attention, clarifying the mind, and purifying the heart. Our age is an inquiring one. Truth must eventually prevail. Let a man take a truth against the world, and proceed to conflict, and within a single lifetime he may bring the whole human race over to his side.

Harvey said, The blood circulates; the rest of the world said, It does not; the priesthood cried, Blasphemy; the schools smiled in contempt; conservatism, in veneration of holy antiquity, cried out against modern madness: but ere the great anatomist died, he saw his profession revolutionized. Galileo was twice persecuted by the Inquisition, and was compelled to abjure the Copernican system; but he lived long enough to cry, “It moves!” and yet breathe freely. The lives and achievements of such men as Columbus, Wesley, and many others might also be cited in proof of this statement.

See Luther, a solitary monk, rising against a power that had made kings do homage and the earth tremble. Tetzel, clothed with the thunders of the Vatican, burns Luther’s theses with ignominy, and denounces him as a heretic; but still he stands. A thousand barbed ecclesiastical arrows quiver on the string, directed at him, but he will not yield; he

meets the papal legate at Augsburg, and mildly but firmly maintains his position; lamenting that he is regarded as the leading adversary of the whole church of God on earth, yet speaking with unfaltering accents. Summoned to battle against the combined powers of church and state, in the Diet of Worms, his friends gather around him to dissuade him, urging that they who had burned his writings would burn his body. “I would go, if I knew there were as many devils at Worms as tiles on the houses,” is his grand reply.

It is wonderful what one mortal, with one truth, can achieve in this wicked world; and yet not wonderful, for truth is omnipotent.

“Do you think the Pope fears Germany?” said the legate of St. Peter’s chair to the humble but honest monk at his feet. “Do you think the princes will defend you with arms?—Most certainly they will not; whither, then, will you find refuge?”—“Under the wide heavens,” was the noble reply.

He who goes with the party, and shouts as the people shout, may be compelled, by the death of the president, the vote of a council, or the crossing of a river, to change his note; but he who follows truth, though he stand alone amid earth’s millions, will stand on the side of God.

Truth is not only always present, but always operating. When the drums cease beating, and the flags no longer fly, and the people return to their houses, the popular enthusiasm evaporates, and you know not how to raise an argument or hurrah for error; but truth, in private no less than in public, in shade equally as in sunshine, at midnight as well as at noon, and oft in visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon man, wherever there is a conscience to feel or a mind to think,—truth, like the law of gravitation, with its silent but sweet and irresistible attractions, works out its blessed problems. Stay it? As easily stay Niagara. It may begin as a little spring in the mountainside; it may roll silently along the meadow, concealed by the grass; it may gurgle as a rivulet over its pebbly bed; but its gathering may laugh at chains, as the Hellespont at Xerxes.

Los Angeles.

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