THE World's Harvest double number, with illuminated cover, of date November 29, is well designed to give an unprecedented impetus not only to the "SIGNS work" itself, but to all lines of our work. The results of this effort will be in proportion to the active interest taken in its circulation. Our brethren should remember that it stands for the two issues of November 29 and December 6. There will be no paper printed for the latter date. Bear this in mind in ordering, and order for two weeks' work, even if it be not intended to do extra work with it.
WE have received volume 1, number 1, of The Helping Hand, a monthly magazine, published in connection with the Helping Hand and Medical Mission, 641-647 Commercial Street, San Francisco, Cal. This initial number shows very neat typography, and contains interesting matter pertinent to the work of the mission. The cover design shows a street scene in the vicinity of the mission itself. The price of the magazine (16 pages and cover) is only 25 cents a year. By subscribing you will get more than the worth of your money, besides helping the mission.
REFERRING to the new sanitarium at Des Moines, Iowa, the Bulletin says: "The sanitarium is now open for patients. Several are already availing themselves of the benefits to be obtained, and those who have been waiting for its completion need wait no longer. A consecrated corps of nurses have been selected to administer to the wants of the patients. It is hoped that this institution, which has been planted for the Lord's work, will indeed prove a blessing to suffering humanity."
FROM Brother S. B. Horton, Lake Charles, La., we have the encouraging report that "one of our canvassers, as well as our Bible worker, has been doing good work with the SIGNS. From Northeast Louisiana especially, encouraging words come to us concerning souls who are accepting present truth through the SIGNS work. . . . I am interested in seeing the circulation of the SIGNS increased, for it is a most excellent medium with which to work on missionary lines."
NEW YORK CONFERENCE at its recent annual session adopted the following resolution:—
"Resolved, That we give more attention to the question of religious liberty, seeking to enlighten the people by every means, and encouraging the Religious Liberty Association in its work of caring for the families of the persecuted, and publishing and circulating literature, also becoming members of the association, and otherwise giving it our support."
A CHURCH has been organized in the vicinity of the new Woodland Academy, Wis., and a church school is to be started as soon as a building can be secured.
SEVEN converts are reported at Clear Lake, Wis., by Brethren N. P. Neilsen and J. B. Locken.
THREE candidates were recently baptized at Poysippi, Wis., by Brother J. N. Anderson.
LITERATURE WANTED.
Books, tracts, pamphlets, and papers for missionary work. Send, post-paid, to J. W. Norwood, Fayetteville, Ark.
He Saves to the Uttermost . . .
By Editor
This leaflet tends greatly to establish a wavering soul. It is especially good for mission work. A. G. L. No. 24. 13 cents per 100.
Pacific Press Publishing Locations
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO.
New York City Oakland, Cal. Kansas City, Mo.
Choose Ye This Day
Presents in an impressive manner the fact that it is ours to choose whom we will serve, and represents what will be the result of our choice. A. G. L. No. 14. 50 cents per 100.
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO
New York City Oakland, Cal. Kansas City, Mo.
THE USE OF WATER IN DISEASE.
By David Paulson, M. D.
WATER can be used beneficially in a variety of ways. There is scarcely a good effect upon the human system which can be derived from drugs which can not be secured from water, and the water has the advantage of not leaving behind it the injurious after effect of drugs. We have now reached a period which is the great harvest-time for the patent-medicine man; he has something that "beats the Klondike." Car-loads and car-loads of this stuff are yearly buried in human stomachs, and the principal effective element in many of them is cheap whisky. Half of the so-called "Bitters" will burn, because some of them contain as high as forty per cent. of alcohol.
There are many varieties of these patent-medicine "remedies," but they are all more or less deceptive,—they make a man feel better when he is no better; they make him feel strong when he is weak. There is coming a day of reckoning for those who use these artificial props. When the body has to be held up by an artificial aid, there is something wrong. It is only when the remedy or treatment builds up the man, so that he is like a tree whose roots strike deep into the earth, and thus holds it up, that there is anything physiologically permanent.
I will try to make clear the difference between an artificial stimulant and a physiological stimulant. A physician once said he had been giving his patients artificial stimulants, and now, said he to us, "I am going to send them to you to get physiological stimulation."
The beautiful sunlight is a physiological stimulant. The alternate hot and cold application of water is a physiological stimulant.
Strychnine is an artificial stimulant; it irritates the nerve centers and drives a man on, producing a similar effect to that of whipping a horse; it also adds to the poisons already in the system; it irritates the eliminating organs which have to carry it off. The reverse of this is true of a physiological stimulant,—that is the difference between the two.
It can easily be seen that there is a radical difference between taking into the body something that irritates and poisons the system, and the applying of a physiological stimulant such as hot and cold application. We feel better in winter, because cold is a natural stimulant. Long hot treatments are relaxing; therefore they should be short, and quickly applied. And, likewise, do not take a long cold treatment, but only enough to get the chill from it. This brief chill is a sort of fire-alarm for every cell in the body. The effect of this stimulation is to make us feel better. We ought to get that feeling out of every cold treatment. At first there is a brief depression, then the patient reacts, and every cell in the body gets to living on a higher plane. It is like a spring which bounds higher after depressing it than it was before, while at rest. By repeating this day after day, by and by these nerve cells will actually have learned the secret of living upon this higher plane. But don’t stay in the cold spray or bath too long; the quicker it is done the better. Get the sensation produced by the spray, and then there is a mighty effort of nature to restore the equilibrium; and when that is done, we feel better. Keep this up and by and by you will be able to live upon a high plane and maintain that good feeling all the time. It is possible to do that; it is of no use to live down in the vale of despondency when there is a better place to camp.
We can secure something besides stimulating effects from water; we can as readily get a sedative effect. Here, for example, is a person who can not sleep; his nervous system is upon a high tension. Give a 20-grain dose of trional and it quiets him, but it does not restore the blessed feeling of rest. But if that patient is placed in a bath at a temperature of 95° for half an hour or an hour, that shuts off all the irritations to the nerves in the skin, and produces quiet. When a person has received an extensive burn, we put him into a full bath of about 95°, and he may remain in it for a long time—sometimes as long as five or six months. There is nothing weakening about it when the water is about the temperature of the skin.
The same effect may be produced by another procedure, namely, by a wet-sheet pack. The sheet is wrung out of water at a temperature of 75° to 80° or even much colder, and wrapped around the patient, and several dry blankets wrapped over it. There will then be a reaction, followed by a quieting influence. Sometimes raving maniacs who have not slept for several days or nights, when treated in this manner, go to sleep in a few minutes. In such cases it certainly could not be due to mind-cure. It is because there is something in the application which is naturally soothing. This is such a simple and valuable remedy that all should know how to do it.
These things put a man to sleep because they soothe his nerves, but drugs and opiates put a man to sleep because they benumb his nerves. The man who is put to sleep by drugs feels miserable the next day, but the man who is put to sleep by the application of water feels better the next day; so there is a radical difference between the two methods of treatment.
In cases of bruises and wounds, water can be applied with good results. A man may come in who has been working with some heavy instrument which came down upon his hand and smashed it. The physician repairs it and then places it in hot water—not hot enough to be uncomfortable, however—and it is remarkable what beautiful results may be seen. This of course is especially applicable to hands that are so crushed and blue that it seems as tho gangrene will occur. Often by this treatment with hot water and proper bandaging, growth is stimulated and the parts are saved.
It may be asked, "Do you not give any morphine in such cases?" Possibly, at first, if the patient is suffering very severely. And it would be very pleasant for the physician if he could safely keep on giving morphine, but this he can not do, for it is imperatively demanded that nature shall have a chance to cure such cases. The influence of morphine, which paralyzes the nerves and thus relieves the pain, also paralyzes the activities of the cells of the body which are building up the injured part.
To illustrate: Suppose there were a number of men putting up a building and there was a boy present who was making a very disagreeable racket; then suppose there should be a storm of hail sufficient to silence the boy; the hailstones that silenced the boy would also stop the operations of the men who were putting up the building. So, with the use of morphine, we might silence the pain, but we would also silence the activities of the man. It is wicked to give such a patient something that will merely stop the pain but which antagonizes nature,—it is just putting a foot upon nature. It is amazing how readily such pains may be removed by application of moist heat.
WOMAN’S CRUEL DEMAND.
By Pentecostal Herald
ARE women, as a class, unkind or inhuman? We do not consider them so. As the old saying is, “Woman thinks she is always right until she knows she is wrong.”
In thousands of American homes where refinement holds sway, birds of various climes are cherished as a source of delight. This mission is one of gentleness and mercy, as they appeal to the finer nature of children. Their beauty, helplessness, and power of song are God-given lessons to all. We have known them to roam at will through a home and then return to their cage.
Suppose after years of caressing and care you call your children around you, take this sweet singer of the sunny South in your left hand, and with a sharp stiletto in your right hand begin at its throat, cut it open, and skin it alive while yet the tender form is quivering with pain. What would the lesson be to your children?—One of direst cruelty, and one that years would not banish from their memory. And yet this occurs by the wholesale as a money-making traffic. “Man’s inhumanity to man” is evil enough, but this inhuman torture to the innocent birds is a thousand-fold more to be condemned.
Let us read some of the authentic statistics in regard to this evil: In one province of India thirty thousand birds were killed within three days to meet this cruel demand. One consignment brought to England contained thirty-two thousand humming-birds, eighty thousand water-fowl, and eight hundred thousand pairs of wings.
Three hundred and sixty thousand bird skins were sold at one time; and these beautiful birds are stripped of their skins while throbbing with life. Even the slaughter of birds for food should be denounced. It is stated that London receives daily in early spring from twenty to forty thousand larks.13
Careful estimates have resulted in the positive assertion that eight millions of birds are annually sacrificed at the shrine of fashion. What would we conclude if we should behold a beautiful dead bird fastened to the side of a man's hat? We would raise our hands and exclaim, He must be crazy!
One ornithologist, walking through the Washington city market, once counted three hundred bluebirds in one stall. Many parts of the country are already paying the penalty of this bird banishment, as the rapid increase of insects is proving alarmingly destructive to both grains and fruits.
Women alone are responsible for this barbarous custom, and it is our earnest desire that they refrain from the use of them as ornaments and only invest in the living songsters. There is no study that children can engage in that will be more helpful than the habits of birds, butterflies, and other insects. It tends to make them thoughtful and kind.—Pentecostal Herald.
NOTHING LOST.
By Richard Metcalf
THE look of sympathy, the gentle word,
Spoken so low that only angels heard;
The secret act of pure self-sacrifice,
Unseen by men, but marked by angels' eyes—
These are not lost.
The kindly plan devised for others' good,
So seldom guessed, so little understood,
The quiet, steadfast love that strove to win
Some wanderer from the ways of sin—
These are not lost.
Not lost, O Lord! for in Thy city bright
Our eyes shall see the past by clearer light,
And things long hidden from our gaze below
Thou wilt reveal; and we shall surely know
These are not lost.
—Richard Metcalf.
EAT PURE FOOD AND ENJOY GOOD HEALTH
THE DECADENCE OF BRITISH AGRICULTURE.
By T.
IN the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Prof. John F. Crowell gives some solicitous and uneasy views of the present condition of agriculture in England. He notes the speedy transfer of the people from the country to the cities, and says that this is producing a rapid decline in the values of rural property. He thinks that not only is the social constitution being reconstructed, but that there is a rapid drying up of one of the nation's main sources of public revenue, and also the income to many of the nation's most cherished institutions.
What a great mistake men make when they desert the farm! The tenantry system of England is no doubt responsible for much of the decline in agriculture; but that evil does not exist in this country. Hundreds of families who are now crowded into the cities and hardly able to get the bread with which to sustain life, might be making good livings on small farms of from five to twenty acres. There is no work that is more completely adapted to man than agriculture. But many men have failed to appreciate this, and hence refuse to adapt themselves to the very thing that their Creator has already adapted to them. We can not hope to see a general turning away from the cities to the farm. But we hope that some at least will be induced to consider the advantages of it, and try the benefits of agriculture and a country home. T.
Flemish Soup.—One yellow turnip, one small carrot, half head of celery, one small bunch of green onions or two leeks, one head of lettuce, a bunch of asparagus, half teacup spinach left from yesterday's dinner, two tablespoonfuls olive-oil, yolk of two eggs, half a pint strained tomatoes, four quarts boiling water, two or three tablespoonfuls of breaded flour to thicken. Chop the vegetables all together (use only the tops of the asparagus), put the oil in the soup kettle, and throw in the vegetables; cover the pot, and stew gently for one hour. Then add the water and cook an hour longer, and thicken with the flour. Now beat the yolk of eggs well, and add three ladlefuls of the soup to them, a little at a time, beating the eggs as you add the soup. Pour the egg mixture into the soup. Keep stirring as you do so. Cook the soup for five minutes longer, but do not leave off stirring or the eggs will curdle. Serve hot with sippets of toasted bread.
Nuttose Cutlets.—Slice one onion and half a head of celery and put them in a saucepan; add half a pint of tomato and a little sage. Now slice and add to this one pound nuttose, nucose, or nutlet, cover the saucepan, and cook with gentle heat for one hour. Have another saucepan ready, into which put one and a half quarts granose. Set soup strainer over the saucepan, turn the sliced nuttose, etc., into the strainer, and with a potato masher press it through onto the granose, and mix well. A little more water may be added if it is too dry.
Make into pear-shaped balls, and with a knife flatten and shape into cutlets. Insert a piece of macaroni two inches long, to represent the bone. Lay them on an oiled baking-pan and brush over with a beaten egg; cook in a quick oven fifteen minutes. Serve on green peas or puree of green peas, or on a puree of tomatoes.
Rice Croquettes and Jelly.—Put one cup of rice on to boil in three cups water, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Cover and cook until rice is tender; do not stir while cooking. When cooked, remove from the stove and turn the rice out into an agate milk-pan or anything of the kind, and work in it the yolk of two eggs and a little salt. Flour the hands and shape into balls, and with the forefinger make a hole in the center of each to hold a teaspoonful of jelly. Egg and bread-crumb them and bake in quick oven fifteen minutes. Serve with a slice of orange under each croquette and a teaspoonful of jelly in each hole. A little thickened grape juice makes a nice sauce for this dish.
Cabbage Salad.—Mince finely some white, tender cabbage; add lemon juice and salt to taste. A little celery salt added gives a nice flavor to this salad.
Cream Tartlet.—Make a paste of two whites and four yolks of eggs, two tablespoonfuls of thick cream, four tablespoonfuls of sugar, two cups of flour. Work very lightly, and roll it out a quarter of an inch thick. Line patty-pans or tartlet pans with the paste and fill them with rice to keep the shape. Bake in a moderate oven ten or fifteen minutes. Remove rice and fill them with apple jam or marmalade, and put a tablespoonful of whipped cream on each.
J. E. PATERSON.
90% OF AMERICAN WOMEN
wash dishes three times each day. If you are one of these, wear a pair of "Goodyear" Rubber Gloves and always have soft, white hands. Sent by mail, post-paid, on receipt of $1.50. Agents wanted. Address, M. O. Dept., M. F. Reese Supply Co., Setauket, N. Y.
FOOD COMBINATIONS
Our new cook-book, "A Friend in the Kitchen," not only contains 400 recipes for the preparation of good foods, but it tells how they may be best combined as well.
It also contains a table giving the nutritive value of foods and the time required to digest them.
Price of the book is only 60c post-paid.
Pacific Press Publishing Company
OAKLAND, CAL.
39 BOND STREET
New York City
18 W. FIFTH STREET
Kansas City, Mo
Pure Health Food Crackers and Biscuits
The Battle Creek Bakery has been in operation for nearly twenty years, and is engaged in the manufacture of Health Food Crackers, Biscuits and Cereola,—strictly high-grade goods at reasonable value. There are very few crackers and biscuits manufactured at the present day that are a strictly pure article. The vast majority are shortened with lard, inferior grades of butter, or the various compounds. The common (so-called) Butter Crackers, so extensively used, are lard-shortened goods. We offer to the public a variety of pure crackers and biscuits in which none of the above articles enter, only the best obtainable stock being used. The high quality and rich nutty flavor of these goods make them standard on the market with an increasing demand wherever introduced.
Our variety comprises the following:—
Cereola, Gem Oatmeal, Lemon Cream and Fruit Biscuits, Whole Wheat, A and B Graham, and New Era Butter Crackers, and Cream of Cereal Coffee. We believe there is no better substitute for coffee and tea on the market than Cream of Cereal.
Ce-re-o'lä is a food composed of a variety of the best grains, and is ready for immediate use by the addition of milk or cream, fruit juices, or may be eaten dry. Many have used this (only) for the third meal with good results and sweet sleeps, while other foods would cause distress and wakeful nights. Try it, everybody. A sample box of these goods will be sent, express or post-paid, upon receipt of 35c in stamps or money-order.
We make a business of supplying the trade, and recommend you to ask your grocer for them, or if you can not obtain them thus, send direct to the Battle Creek Bakery, Battle Creek, Mich. For the southern states, we have an agency established at 243 South Boulevard, Atlanta, Georgia, I. A. Ford, manager, to whom all communications for that territory should be addressed.
Battle Creek Bakery, Battle Creek, Mich.
The Adjustable Umbrella Roof
Don't throw away your old one—make it new for $1.00. Recovering only takes one minute. No sewing. A clumsy man can do it as well as a clever woman.
TEN DAYS' FREE TRIAL. Send us $1.00 and we will mail you, PREPAID, a Union Twilled Silk, 26-inch "Adjustable Roof" (28-inch, $1.25; 30-inch, $1.50). If the "Roof" is not all you expected, or hoped for, return AT OUR EXPENSE and get your money back by return mail—no questions asked.
WHAT TO DO.—Take the measure (in inches) of your old umbrella. Count the number of outside ribs. State if the center rod is of steel or wood. Full instructions for putting on the cover will be sent with all orders. Our special price-list of different sizes and qualities mailed on request.
Send for our free book, "Umbrella Economy," anyway. Your umbrella will wear out some day, and you will be glad that you know about
THE JONES-MULLEN CO., 396-398 Broadway, New York
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS
INTERNATIONAL SERIES THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON VIII.—SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1899. # PUBLIC READING OF THE SCRIPTURES. ## Lesson Scripture, Neh. 8:1-12, R.V. 1 "And when the seventh month was come, the children of Israel were in their cities. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water-gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the 3 seventh month. And he read therein before the broad place that was before the water-gate from early morning until mid-day,15in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Uriah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people); and when he opened it, all the people stood up; 6 and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with the lifting up of their hands; and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law; and the 8 people stood in their place. And they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, which was the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye 11 grieved; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the 12 day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them."
Golden Text: "And he read therein before the street that was before the water-gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law." Neh. 8:3.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) How large a congregation came together? and where did they meet? V. 1. Note 1. (2) What did they ask of Ezra, the scribe? V. 1. (3) At what time was this meeting held? V. 2. (4) What did Ezra bring before the congregation at this time? V. 2. Note 2. (5) How long did he continue to read from the book of the law? And how did the people receive what was read? V. 3. (6) When Ezra blessed the Lord, what did all the people say? And how did they show their reverence for the Lord and His Word? V. 6. (7) Were the people helped to understand? V. 8. (8) What did the people do when they heard the words of the law? V. 9. (9) Why were the people told to refrain from weeping? Vs. 9, 10. (10) What is the "joy of the Lord"? V. 10. (11) Why did the people make "great mirth"? Verse 12.
NOTES.
1. This lesson gives the report of a most wonderful meeting. It can not be studied too closely in every particular. Each sentence should be carefully pondered so that we may fully comprehend what God designs to teach us in this important scripture
2. The law.—The last lesson gave a full history of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. This lesson is an account of the beginning of a reformation among the people. Israel had long been in Babylon, surrounded by the grossest depths of heathenism. And when it is remembered that they were sent into the Babylonish captivity because of their departure from God, it becomes very evident that many of them were by this time in the grossest errors and vices. But Ezra, like every true priest or minister of God, brought forth the book of God's law and read from it. This book as it was read revealed their sinfulness. And so strong was the contrast between what their characters were and what the Word of God held forth as right, that the people were moved to weeping. And thus it will always be when the Word of God is really believed in and held forth by a religious teacher; it will do its appointed work of breaking the hard hearts of men and leading them to repentance and contrition. The Word of God is in and of itself both living and powerful. Heb. 4:12. It is life and power. And every reform worthy of the name has been based on the powerful Word. But every individual who is truly reformed must have the ever-living Word of God as his sure foundation. The person who has learned that God's Word has both life and power, has learned the secret of every reform, and has stepped upon the ladder by which he may mount to the very heights of the pure and holy life of God and His Christ.
1 "THEN spake Jesus to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; 3 all things therefore whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not. 4 Yea, they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will 5 not move them with their finger. But all their works they do for to be seen of men; for they make broad their phylacteries, 6 and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the chief 7 place at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places, and to be called of men, 8 Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Teacher, 9 and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on the 10 earth; for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters; for one is your Master, even the Christ. 11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13 "But wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven against men; for ye 14 enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter. 14 "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense ye make long prayers; therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation. 15 "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.
16 "Wo unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. 17 Ye fools and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that hath 18 sanctified the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift 19 that is upon it, he is a debtor. Ye blind, for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? He 20 therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all 21 things thereon. And he that sweareth by the temple, sweareth 22 by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that 23 sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon.
23 "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, judgment, and mercy, and faith; 24 but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other 24 undone. Ye blind guides, which strain out the gnat, and 25 swallow the camel.
25 "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye 26 cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within 26 they are full from extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, 27 cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside thereof may become clean also.
27 "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beauti28 ful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all un28 cleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto 29 men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 "Wo unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye 30 build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of 30 the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our 31 fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the 31 blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, 32 that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets. Fill ye up 33 then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye offspring 34 of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of hell? Therefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes; some of them shall ye kill and crucify; and some of 35 them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from 35 city to city; that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto 36 the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and 38 stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have 38 gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her 39 chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your 39 house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord."
NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
Notwithstanding Christ had exposed the evil character of the Jewish officials, what did He tell the people of the position they occupied? Matt. 23:1, 2. Note 1. (Neh. 8:4-8; Mal. 2:7.)
In view of the place held by them, what attitude did Jesus say the people should hold toward these rulers? Verse 3. (Rom. 2:19-24.)
How did He justify His statement, "They say and do not"? Verses 4-7.
After pointing out the glaring defects of those in power, what counsel did Jesus give? Verses 8-10. (James 3:1; 1 Peter 5:3.)
What is true of one who is really great in the service of God? Verse 11.
What is sure to come to those who put themselves above others? Verse 12. (1 Peter 5:5-7; Ps. 35:22.)
What reason did Jesus give for pronouncing the first wo upon the scribes and Pharisees? Verse 13. Note 2.
For what reason was the second wo pronounced? Verse 14.
Repeat the charge against them under the third wo. V. 15.
In pronouncing the fourth wo, what did He call them? What errors had they taught? Verses 16-22.
What greater wrong made them subject to a fifth denunciation? Verses 23, 25. (Micah 6:8.)
Under a sixth wo pronounced, what did Jesus say those leaders were like? Verses 25-26. (Luke 11:39; Acts 23:3.)
Under the seventh and last wo, with what did Christ charge the scribes and Pharisees? Verses 29-32. (Acts 7:51, 52.)
In what terms did He describe their character? What question did He raise? Verse 33.
What did He say would be required of the generation guilty of these things? Verses 34-36. (Rev. 18:24.)
Suddenly changing His manner, what tender yet mournful words were uttered by the Lord? Verses 37, 38.
Side Lights.—"Desire of Ages," chapter 67; "Spirit of Prophecy," vol. 3, chapter 4.
NOTES.
1. Then spake Jesus.—Mark says that after the public silencing of the Pharisees, "the common people heard Him gladly." They were then prepared to hear dark revelations concerning their former leaders. After they had perceived the hypocrisy of the men in high places, there was no longer any danger of their turning against their Lord. On the other hand, their attitude would deter the officials from laying violent hands on Christ until He had fully brought out their character in its true light. His words of condemnation on this occasion were most scathing; yet they were those of gentleness; to the Pharisees, however, they were but the voice of volumed terror. Never were more terrible denunciations uttered than were heaped on those Pharisees. Yet this was done without any commingling of sinful passion or of revengeful malice. His words were those of the Eternal Judge, which all who shall be found at last in the same class, will hear concerning themselves.
2. But wo.—How different the words of this last day's message in the temple, from the teaching of the Saviour on the mount of blessing! The words of blessing were uttered on a mountain-side of Galilee; the words of wo were pronounced in the courts of the Lord's house. But it can not be that these wo were uttered simply because those men were sinners. There must have been something about them more terrible then mere acts of evil; for to the woman taken in adultery the Saviour kindly said, "Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more." But to the haughty Pharisees at whose table Christ sat, He spoke altogether differently. These wo were directed against those who cherished hidden sins,—corruption of heart,—while they outwardly posed as God's servants. Hypocrisy must therefore be one of the most hideous, nauseating sins in God's sight, especially where its influence is used to lead souls to perdition. The Gospel is, therefore, like the cloudy-fiery pillar,—a glowing light to the faithful, but a lowering gloom to the faithless; to some it speaks tenderness; to others, terror; to some it is all blessing; to others it proves a curse.
