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Signs of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 26.

The Cost of Abandoning a Wrong Course

Signs of the Times

Jul 8, 1889

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 8, 1889

The Cost of Abandoning a Wrong Course

MANY justify themselves in pursuing a wrong course, because they have invested their means in the enterprise and would lose much by refusing to go farther. Such may learn a lesson from the history of Amaziah king of Judah, recorded in 2 Chron. 25. In an expedition against the Edomites, he had hired a hundred thousand men of Israel for one hundred talents of silver, about $15,000. The prophet of God said to him, “O king, let not the army of Israel go with them; for the Lord is not with Israel. . . . But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle; God shall make thee fall before the enemy; for God hath power to help and to cast down.” But said Amaziah, “What shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this.” And God gave Amaziah victory without Israel. God’s blessings will always be upon those who honor him, and his blessing is worth all earthly riches.

CHRIST’S YOKE IS EASY.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
THESE are very precious words that are spoken to us. In them is revealed the love of Jesus, and this love seems to flow out in tender longing that the sinner may come unto Christ and find rest. The invitation is extended to all that labor, to all that are heavy laden. Christ makes no exception. All may come who are toiling under their burdens. He does not specify that only those who have peculiar difficulties may be relieved. His invitation is to the whole world. He says, “Come, all ye that labor.”
Whatever may be the character of your troubles or wants, you need not go for help to those around you, for Jesus says, Come unto me, and I will give you rest. You need not keep away from me. You who have been seeking for relief and comfort and hope, come unto me. I am the source of your strength and help.
When Christ came to this world, men did not recognize his divine character, or realize the nature of his mission. If he had come with pomp and ceremony, to reign as a temporal prince on the throne of Jerusalem, the whole Jewish nation would have acknowledgedhim as the Messiah. But the prophets did not say that he was to come in this way. They did not tell the people that he was to break the Romish yoke. He was to come as a man of sorrows, to bear the infirmities of humanity. He came as a humble toiler, and worked at the carpenter's trade. The people saw him toiling up and down the hills. They were acquainted with his brothers and sisters, and knew his life and labors. They saw him develop from childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood, and although he left a spotless example of obedience and meekness, they could not realize that he was the promised Messiah. I am glad we have such an example.
He chose his disciples from the humble fishermen. He did not go to the learned, for it would have been impossible to give them the right mould. The education they had received tended to exalt self, and he chose those whom he could teach his precepts, and bade them follow him. In following him, in listening to his words, in associating with him, they found the greatest teacher the world has ever known. He opened before them the beauties of nature, and taught them of the enduring realities of the world to come. He educated them to become fishers of men. From the swaying fisherman's boat, he uttered truths whose influence is as far-reaching as eternity.
Jesus had come to earth to do the very work that the Jewish nation had left undone. In a synagogue in Nazareth, he opened the word of God, and read the words of Isaiah that described his mission to men. He read, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” He healed the sick, cleansed the lepers, raised the dead, and preached the gospel to the poor. His words were simple and direct, and no one need look in the dictionary to ascertain his meaning. A child could comprehend his teaching. And as he did his work, so are we to do ours, following his example.
He preached the gospel to the poor, and offered men the gift of God without money and without price. He invited the weary and heavy-laden to come and find rest. The only condition was to come; for in coming, men made it manifest that they felt their want, and realized their need of Christ. Jesus wants us to come to-day. He wants us to believe in him as the source of all light and peace. Whoever comes will be able to testify that he is light, and that in him they have found rest.
Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I ask you who have borne Christ's yoke, Have you found it hard and grievous? For fifty years I have borne Christ's yoke, and I can testify that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I have never found any difficulty except when I manufactured a yoke of my own, and laid aside the yoke of Christ. I feel grateful that every one of you may find relief from all your troubles. Come to Christ in full faith, and find rest unto your souls.
Many profess to come to him, but they do not really come; for they are still in trouble, still under the load of their burdens. You are to follow on in the path of obedience, and submit your will to the moulding of God's will. If you are in trouble, it is because you are learning lessons of him who was once an exalted angel of Heaven, but who fell from his high position through rebellion against God. Those who murmur against God, are learning from the evil one how to press their wills in opposition to the will of God.
Jesus invites us to come unto him; but how many go to every one else but him. We need not seek for help from those who are as weak as we are ourselves. He says, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” Men do not esteem lowliness of mind as they should. Intellect is highly exalted and extolled among men. My husband used to say that it was hard for him not to worship intellect; whenever he met a person possessed of a superior mind, he felt like paying homage to his intellectual powers. It is right that we highly esteem the powers of mind that God has given to men; we want an intellectual religion; but we should have all our powers of mind and body consecrated to God. We should have sanctified judgment and reason, devoted to the service of our heavenly Father. We should realize what our work is, and do it to the extent of our ability. The greater our ability, the greater will be our responsibility. There is danger of worshiping intellect; but if we bring our talents to God and devote them to his work, he will give us grace not to think more highly of our powers of mind than we should.
“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability.” When they were called to give an account as to how they had employed their lord's talents, he who had the five had doubled his talents, and he who had two had doubled his; but he who had received, but one came to his lord and said, “Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strewed; and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed; thou oughtest therefore to put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.” The lord rewarded those who had increased their talents, but he condemned him who had buried his lord's money.
(Concluded next week.)

Faith and Obedience

A TRULY regenerate soul will not stop to argue with God or question his requirements. We can see such manifestations of his wisdom in so many respects, that in reason we ought to accept what remains if our poor finite minds do not comprehend it. And if we knew all the reasons for every precept which God has given, if we understood all the way he wishes us to go, where is the room for the exercise of faith? “We walk by faith and not by sight.”

Obedience Rather Than Excuses

IF professed Christians would study God’s word in order to know his will, and for helps to obey it instead of excuses to evade obedience, there would not be the crying need of Christian union and the half-hearted service now everywhere prevalent. How often is the question of old, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” changed to, “Lord, what may I get rid of doing and still be saved?” The lips may not frame the query, but the life shows that the heart does.

The Transience of Worldly Honor

THE world to-day is full of wrecks of those who stood high in the estimation of their fellow-men, when, at some time in the past, earthly riches and honor were heaped upon them, but who are now mere ciphers in the estimation of their former friends. No matter how high a value the world has placed upon a man, and no matter how much applause it has rendered him, when he falls from the circle in which he moved, it spurns him. Why, then, should we covet anything which this world can offer us in the way of honor or position? There is nothing more transitory and fleeting.

The Inspiration of Scripture

By Editor

WE are glad to reproduce such healthful and truthful expressions on the inspiration of the Scriptures as the following from the New York Independent:—
“Paul, in quoting from one of the psalms, prefaces the quotation with these words: ‘Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith.’ This shows what he thought of the thing said. Through the man who wrote the psalm the Holy Ghost spake. The language, though human, was, nevertheless, the language of the Holy Ghost. This is the general position of the New Testament in respect to the sacred writings composing the Old Testament. If we accept the former, we must also accept the latter as being the word of God.”

Prohibition and Pure Politics

By Editor

MR. L. A. MAYNARD, one of the editorial staff of the N. Y. Observer, has been making a tour through Kansas, for the purpose of ascertaining the facts as to the working of prohibition. In one of his communications he writes:—
“I miss the presence in political gatherings, and a happy ‘miss’ it is, of the burly, dirty, and insolent rumseller who ‘bosses’ our primaries and ward caucuses in the East.”
And this is just what would be true of every State if the liquor traffic were prohibited. It is the greatest foe to pure politics and good government in existence, with the possible exception of the movement which would make our Government a religious oppressor.

Trusting God in Adversity

It is easy for us to trust in God when the sun shines brightly, the birds sing, and every person we meet has a friendly greeting for us. No great exercise of faith is required for anyone to trust in God under such circumstances as these. But this is not what trust is. It is when darkness covers our pathway, when adversity comes upon us, and when afflictions press us sore, then it is that trust brings us its greatest blessings. Job, although afflicted almost to the point of death, could rejoice in the Lord, and exclaim, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him!” Job 13:15. The greater our needs, the greater should be our faith. The assurance which God gives us that he is more than willing at all times to bestow his blessings upon us should especially cause us to call upon him in time of trial, not because of his greater willingness to bless, but because of the fact that we realize to a greater extent our need of his help. Therefore upon such occasions as these above all others, we should call upon him with “full assurance of faith.” And if we do this, he will undoubtedly be found of us to the joy of our souls.

FISHING-NETS.

LAUNCH out into the deep, The awful depths of a world's despair, Hearts that are breaking and eyes that weep, Sorrow and ruin and death are there. And the sea is wide, and the pitiless tide Bears on its bosom away—away, Beauty and youth in relentless ruth To its dark abyss for aye—for aye. But the Master's voice comes over the sea, "Let down your nets for a draught" for me! He stands in our midst on our wreck-strewn strand, And sweet and royal is his command. His pleading call Is to each—to all; And wherever the royal call is heard, There hang the nets of the royal Word. Trust to the nets and not to your skill, Trust to the royal Master's will! Let down your nets each day, each hour, For the word of a King is a word of power, And the King's own voice comes over the sea, "Let down your nets for a draught" for me! —Sunday Magazine.

"NO, THANK YOU; I'M IN A HURRY TO-DAY."

By H. H. Henry

"Get in, and ride a ways," said a kindly backwoodsman, as he reined in his horses and accosted the old mail-carrier, who everybody in the neighborhood knew had a journey of fifty miles to make.
"No, thank you; I'm in a hurry to-day," answered the rugged mountaineer of sixty, but hale and hearty as a young athlete.
For fifteen years this man carried the mail, on foot, between two points twenty-five miles apart, and made the round trip between morning and night. Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he started off at a dog-trot, and kept it up almost the entire way. His route lay through a rough, wild, hill country, and, to deliver his mail and reach home before night, he must cross a high mountain twice each day. The old man often overtook a buggy or wagon, or, in winter, a sled, going in the same direction; and, on receiving an invitation to ride part of the way, his invariable reply was, "No, thank you; I'm in a hurry to-day."
The horses might outstrip him on the level, but they could not over rough places, or up and down the many hills which lay before him. Nothing could keep this man from the one object before him. Dripping with perspiration some hot July day, how pleasant to have cooled off while he rode through the shade of the forest! What a temptation to come in under a covered wagon during a September down-pour of rain. How comfortable in bitter January weather to have thrown about him the buffalo robes in a neighbor's sled, while he turned his back to the piercing winds which swept down the mountain! But to all invitations he returned the same answer, "No, thank you; I'm in a hurry to-day." It was only by pressing on steadily, perseveringly, and keeping his goal ever before him, that he could accomplish his journey, and return before nightfall.
If the Christian would enjoy the sunlight of God's favor all the way to his heavenly home, he too must press on at all times and under all circumstances. The world often means well when it asks the Christian to join in some questionable amusement, or to visit some questionable resort, to do which, however, would surely retard his progress heavenward. Card-playing may afford amusement during some long winter evening; dancing may seem only a pleasant recreation; a game of billiards or a social glass are both suggested as tokens of friendship; but in the end all these things will surely prove hindrances, and not helps, toward the Christian's destination. To all such temptations we should give the answer of the faithful old mail-carrier, "No, thank you; I'm in a hurry to-day."
Even a fellow-believer may tempt us to tarry on the way in order to have the pleasure of his company, as Christian tempted Faithful in "Pilgrim's Progress." Reaching a little ascent, Christian espied Faithful on before, and, like himself, bound for the Celestial City.
"Ho, ho! so-ho!" he cried. "Stay, and I will be your companion." But Faithful only made answer, "No, I am upon my life, and the avenger of blood is behind me."
When duty called our Master, he "steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem," and nothingcould tempt him to loiter by the way. In the heavenly race he never stopped running till he could sit down with his Father at the right hand of the throne of glory. His word and example teach us that it is only by "striving" that the "strait gate" is entered. It is only by pressing on that the heavenly prize is gained. It is only by running that the Christian race is won.—Rev. H. H. Henry, in S. S. Times.

A Woman’s Prison Ministry

In New York City, Mrs. Shaffer, a lady of means and education, visits daily, it is said, the chief prisons of the city, converses with prisoners, and learns their histories. If she concludes that a prisoner is innocent, she gives bail where it is accepted, secures a lawyer, and has never yet failed to win a case on its merits. It is said, too, that during all her work of this sort, her confidence has never been misplaced.

ARE WE NEARING A CRISIS?

By Editor

At certain periods in the world's history there have been premonitory symptoms of a general social upheaval, some of which have escaped attention until too late, and others of which have been noted and their sequel predicted. No great movement of society is spontaneous. It is always the result of accumulated forces, some silent and obscure, others open and manifest; but for every effect there is a cause.
May it not be possible that at the present time we are on the verge of one of those social revolutions which disturb the peaceful current of the world's progress, and restore, for the time being, the reign of chaos and confusion? Do not the signs of the times point to widespread disturbance and trouble, the end of which no one can predict? Are we not standing on the edge of a volcano which, though now quiescent, may burst into flames at any moment? Can we not feel the quiver of the solid ground beneath our feet, and hear the rumblings which mark the coming of an eruption?
Germany is struggling with labor troubles, which are more widespread and serious than might be imagined. France is kept in a state of anxiety by the schemes of Boulanger and the revolutionists, who desire to use him for their own purposes. Great Britain is straining every nerve to regain her prestige as monarch of the seas. Russia is ready to pounce upon the southeastern provinces or to push her way into India at a moment's notice. Italy and Spain are impoverishing themselves in the attempt to keep up enormous armies and navies; and in all these countries the leaven of discontent is working among the masses, who see themselves condemned to toil day and night in order to support immense standing armies and fully equipped navies in idleness. What, except a terrific social upheaval, can be the outcome? Whether it will come this year or next year, or in ten years, no one can tell, but it cannot be possible to mistake the indications or to doubt that a crisis is impending.

ONE EFFECT OF A CHANGE OF HEART.

By W. N. Glenn

It is well understood by all who accept the Bible as the truth, that the beginning of a Christian life is a change of heart. The natural heart is "deceitful above all things;" "the carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Then, in order that the law of God may be written in the heart, according to the terms of the new covenant, it is necessary that there be a change. It is also understood that a man cannot change his heart, any more than a leopard can change his spots. That is a work that must be done by the Spirit of God.
But many Christians entertain doubts as to whether that work has been done for them, and express their anxiety in the spirit of the old hymn:— "'Tis a point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought: Do I love the Lord or no— Am I his, or am I not?" Inasmuch as the law is to be written on the heart, as stated above, the question might be settled by this test: Do I love the requirements of the law or not? If it is engraved on the heart, there will be an unmistakable love for its provisions, and corresponding desire to obey it. But we have in the Scriptures a striking example of the effect of "another heart," which may afford much light to doubtful souls.
It is recorded in the ninth and tenth chapters of 1 Samuel that Saul, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, was sent by his father with one of the servants to hunt some lost asses. After searching without success until he feared his father would be more concerned for his safety than for the asses, he concluded to go to the house of the prophet Samuel and make inquiry. After being told that the asses had been found, Saul and his servant tarried all night. In the morning Samuel called them early, to send them on their way, and went with them some distance. "And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us (and he passed on), but stand thou still awhile, that I may show thee the word of God."
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and, pouring it upon Saul's head, anointed him king. Then he told him certain things that should happen on the way, and let him depart. "And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart." Now Saul, either on his way home or after he had reached home, met his uncle, who asked him where he had been; and Saul told him about being at the prophet's house. "And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not."
This evidence of humility on the part of Saul is indeed remarkable, and could only have been the result of a change of heart. The natural heart would hardly have waited to be asked where he had been, or what the prophet said. The natural impulse would have been to rush home in almost breathless suspense and proclaim his promotion without ceremony. But the Spirit of God makes one small in his own eyes.
Another instance also shows the almost unparalleled backwardness of Saul, although he was the finest-looking man in all Israel. Samuel called all the people together at Mizpeh to publicly install the king. He went through the formality of choosing a king, by first causing all the tribes to come near. Then the tribe of Benjamin was taken, and the record continues: "When Samuel had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken; and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. Andthe Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward." 1 Sam. 10:21–23.
How different his action from that of the natural man! How natural, on such an occasion, for Saul to be the most conspicuous person in all that company, which would have been very easy for one of his extraordinary personal appearance. And had he told his friends what Samuel had done and said to him at his previous meeting, how natural for all his kindred to be gathered around him, making all the display in their power, and to have given him so much attention that it would have been impossible for him to get out of sight if he had wanted to. But the man with "another heart" was careful to avoid all such display.
Yet another circumstance: After all the services of this occasion were over, it is said that "Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men whose hearts God had touched. But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace."
Now read the further history of Saul, after he had been permitted to defeat his enemies, and becoming flushed with success, pride and self-sufficiency entered his heart. In a backslidden state he could dare to disobey God, and even presume to assume the priest’s office and offer the sacrifice which Samuel had appointed to do himself. In such a condition of heart, he was very jealous of the honors which he deemed to be his due, and was ready to even put to death those to whom the people would render well-merited praise. Under such circumstances, woe to any man who would have said and done concerning him as the "children of Belial" did when he first became king, in the face of which he at that time merely "held his peace."
It would seem that the case of Saul gives a good indication of the evidences of a new heart. Certainly one characteristic trait, that of meek humility, is made apparent; and that is a very essential one. The Saviour says, "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted," and, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." W. N. GLENN.

THE EVIL SPIRIT.

No man can deny that God has created other orders of rational beings besides men; or that some of those orders have fallen; or that a purely spiritual being can have influence over human minds. The New Testament teaches the existence of angels and devils. It teaches this almost as plainly as it teaches the existence of God. It would require nearly as much violence to language if we should interpret the Scriptures so as to exclude from them the recognition of good and evil spirits, as it would to exclude the recognition of God. Man, in his original state, and in his true nature, before the apostasy, is never represented as originally evil; it comes to him first from without. There is an outward force which holds sway over humanity, and which must be destroyed. Man fell being tempted by the serpent, elsewhere called that old serpent, the devil. The first prediction concerning the Messiah is, that he, the seed of the woman, should bruise the serpent's head. When Christ came, he recognized the existence of devils, and assumed to cast them out. He spoke of an individual as their leader, whom he called the devil, and the prince of this world; and of his associates, as the angels of the devil, as demons, and the powers of darkness.—Selected.

"ARE WE NEARING A CRISIS?"

By Editor

IN giving to his disciples the signs which should indicate the approach of his second advent, the Saviour said (Luke 21:26) that men's hearts should be "failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." The following from a secular paper (the San Francisco Post), written with no reference to the words of Christ, is about as good a comment upon the text as we have ever seen; we quote it entire:—

TO-MORROW.

By Gerald Massey

High hopes that burned like stars sublime, Go down the heavens of freedom, And true hearts perish in the time We bitterliest need them; But never sit me down and say, There's nothing left but sorrow; We walk the wilderness to-day, The promised land to-morrow.
Our hearts brood o'er the past, our eyes With smiling features glisten; Lo! now its dawn bursts up the sky— Lean out your souls and listen. The earth rolls freedom's radiant way, And ripens with our sorrow; And 'tis the martyrdom to-day Brings victory to-morrow.
'Tis weary watching wave by wave, And yet the tide heaves onward, We climb, like corals, grave by grave, And beat a pathway sunward. We're beaten back in many a fray, Yet newer strength we borrow; And where our vanguard rests to-day Our rear shall rest to-morrow.
Through all the long, dark night of years, The people's cry ascended; The earth was wet with blood and tears Ere their weak sufferings ended. The few shall not FOREVER sway, The many toil in sorrow; The bars of hell are strong to-day, But Christ shall reign to-morrow. —Gerald Massey.

THE CALENDAR.

By Editor

THE following article from the Inter-Ocean, on “The Calendar,” will be read with interest by all, especially by those who imagine that in the change from old to new style the true count of the week was lost, so that we cannot now determine which is the seventh day. Of course this idea is most absurd, but persons who entertain it will perhaps find some comfort in the thought that they are no more ignorant than were many in England at the time the change was made. This reference will be understood by a perusal of the article, which runs as follows:—
“When Julius Cæsar, in the year 46 B. C., reformed the calendar, he estimated the length of the year—that is, the period indicated by the apparent return of the sun at mid-day to the same point in the heavens—at 365¼ days. He therefore arranged that there should be three years of 365 days each, and that the fourth year should contain 366 days. The additional day was given to February by calling the fifth day before the calends of March a second sixth, and therefore this fourth year was called bissextile, from bis, twice, and sextus, sixth. This calendar was a great improvement on all that preceded it, but it contained one serious error. The true length of the year is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 48 seconds, or a little over 11 minutes less than 365¼ days. In the years that elapsed between the adoption of the Julian calendar and the latter part of the sixteenth century, this error of eleven minutes had amounted to a total of ten days.
“The calendar was then reformed again by Pope Gregory XIII., who ordered that the 5th of October in that year should be called the 15th. This change was well received generally in the Catholic countries of Europe. The common people were at first a little doubtful about it, but when they saw that the miracles which took place on certain days of the year—as the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius on December 16—observed the new style in the most accurate manner, they accepted the change as altogether correct. In England, however, it was not so readily agreed to. The more intelligent people, even, being very conservative, and intensely opposed to obedience to Papal acts of any kind, could not be convinced for some time of the advantages of the Gregorian calendar. At last, in 1752, during the reign of George II., an act was passed providing that after the 3d of September of that year the next ensuing day should be held as the 14th, thus “suppressing,” or dropping eleven days. The days of the week were not affected by this change of date.
“The masses of the people, who did not understand the reason for this change in the calendar, and generally believed that they had been deliberately robbed of eleven days’ work and wages by it, were very indignant. For many months afterward the appearance of any one of the members of Parliament known to have been active in passing the bill for the change of style, was sure to be the signal for the gathering of a mob, which followed the unfortunate person with the cry, ‘Who stole the eleven days? Give us back our eleven days!’ The miracles in Protestant England, too, did not accommodate themselves to the changes of style as carefully as they had done in the Catholic countries. For instance, in Hampshire there was an oak tree which was believed to put forth its first buds every year on Christmas day. But in the year of the change of style it was said the tree did not bud until old Christmas came, or January 5, eleven days later than Christmas day in the new calendar. This was taken as conclusive proof, by the opponents of the new style, that their objections to the change were founded on the highest wisdom. Russia and the other countries of the Greek Church have never accepted the changed calendar, but still follow the old style in the computation of dates.”

THE LIGHT OF LIFE.

MOSES, in his record of creation, speaks of God as saying, "Let there be light," and then adds, "And there was light." Gen. 1:3. Paul in his second epistle to the Corinthians, obviously refers to this record, when he says: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. 4:6. God, according to Moses, is the Creator of light, and, in the sublime language of the record, he said, "Let there be light." Paul’s God is the same being. He "commanded the light to shine out of darkness." Light, whatever it is, is no more self-existent than oxygen or any other gas. The God who "built all things" created light as really as he created man. The universe of suns is the universe which he made by his own power.
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." Ps. 19:1. This God—the God of light, who said, "Let there be light"—is, according to the conception of Paul, the God of the gospel system; and in this system he "hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face [person] of Jesus Christ." The sun is his because he made it and commanded it "to shine out of darkness;" and the gospel is his because he appointed it, and sent Jesus Christ to be the Revealer of himself, and the great Saviour and Teacher of the world. Referring to himself in this character, Jesus said of himself: "I am thelight of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12. Of him John says that he "was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9.
Saul of Tarsus saw this light when God revealed his Son in him and unto him. Then it was that God "shined" into his heart, and gave him the light of his own glory as contained in the mission and work of Jesus Christ; and thereafter he spent his life in diffusing this light among men. It was the light of God’s glorious grace to sinners, and the light of Christ’s glorious work in their behalf, that Paul specially saw, and communicated to others. The God of creation came to him in the person of Christ, and through that person shone into his heart. This God made Christ to him "wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. 1:30.
Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, recognizing it as "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth." Rom. 1:16. "God forbid," says he, "that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Gal. 6:14. The supreme passion of his soul was to know and honor the great God who had poured the glories of his own grace into his heart through the Lord Jesus Christ. God in Christ was Paul’s God for the purpose of salvation. The Christology of the apostle is worthy of a life of the most attentive study. His epistles are filled up with it.—Independent.

A Day Not Lost

Count that day lost in which you have done no kind deed.

DECEIVING THEIR OWN SOULS.

By Editor

THE following paragraph from Echoes, a paper published in this city, is a sad commentary upon the religion of a certain class of business men who are deceiving themselves with the idea that they are Christians:—
It is, alas! only too easy to turn up the seamy side of current Christianity. “Do you know,” said a commercial traveler to me the other day, “that a large number of men on the road are not only tempted but forced to go to the devil by Christian men of high standing? You are surprised, but it is a fact. My own experience is a case in point. Some years ago I was employed as a drummer for a big house, the head of which was not only a church-member but a church officer. And yet he instructed me in almost so many words not to hesitate to get my customers drunk, if I could in that way sell them a big bill of goods. I got many a heavy order by helping my customers to paint the town red, and my Christian employer knew it and cheerfully footed the bills, large as they often were. Instead of rebuking me he praised me for my business ability, until, under his tutelage, I at last became little better than a common drunkard. I began to lose my customers, and then for the first time this good Christian realized what a wicked man I was, and promptly discharged me, with a highly moral lecture on the importance of temperance. It took me five years to reform and rehabilitate myself. Do you, therefore, wonder that I speak bitterly of the professing Christian who forced me to make a drunkard of myself in order to fill his coffers?”

THE SANCTIFIED.

HERE, in twenty particulars, is William Secker’s description of the characteristics of sanctified men and women:—
  1. Sanctified Christians do much good, and make but little noise.
  2. They bring up the bottom of their life to the top of their light.
  3. They prefer the duty they owe to God to the danger they fear from man.
  4. They seek the public good of others above the private good of themselves.
  5. They have the most beautiful conversation among the blackest persons.
  6. They choose the worst sorrow rather than commit the least sin.
  7. They become as fathers to all in charity, and as servants to all in humility.
  8. They mourn most before God for their lusts which appear least before men.
  9. They keep their hearts lowest when God raises their estates highest.
  10. They seek to be better inwardly in their substance than outwardly in appearance.
  11. They are grieved more at the distress of the church than affected at their own happiness.
  12. They render the greatest good for the greatest evil.
  13. They take those reproofs best which they need most.
  14. They take up duty in point of performance, and lay it down in point of independence.
  15. They take up their contentment in God’s appointment.
  16. They are more in love with the employment of holiness than with the enjoyment of happiness.
  1. They are more employed in searching their own hearts than in censuring other men’s states.
  2. They set out for God at the beginning, and hold out with him to the end.
  3. They take all the shame of their sins to themselves, and give all the glory of their services to Christ.
  4. They value a heavenly reversion above an earthly possession.
If we hold up that as a mirror, do we see ourselves reflected in it?—King’s Highway.
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