Signs of the Times, Vol. 5, No. 30. (8/7/1879)

Signs of the Times

Aug 7, 1879

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Aug 7, 1879

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

The Sufferings of Christ.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

"GOD is love." And his matchless love manifested toward fallen man, in the gift of his beloved Son, amazed the holy angels. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He was the Father's "appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." He was the "brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." And he upheld "all things by the word of his power." He possessed divine excellence and greatness. It pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell. And Christ "thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Yet he "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

The Son of God consented to die in the sinner's stead, that man might, by a life of obedience, escape the penalty of the law of God. His death did not slay the law, lessen its holy claims, nor detract from its sacred dignity. The death of Christ proclaimed the justice of his Father's law in punishing the transgressor, in that he consented to suffer the penalty in order to save fallen man from its curse. The death of God's beloved Son on the cross shows the immutability of God's law. His death magnifies the law and makes it honorable, and gives evidence of its changeless character. From his own lips is heard, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." The death of the divine Son justified the claims of the divine law. In order to more fully realize the value of redemption, it is necessary to understand what it cost. In consequence of limited views of the sufferings of the divine Son of God, many place a low estimate upon the great work of the atonement.

The plan of redemption, embracing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, was first preached to Adam. It was to him the star of hope, lighting up the dark and dreaded future. Adam saw that Christ was the only door of hope through which he could enter and have life. The plan of saving sinners through Christ alone was the same in the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and every successive generation of those who lived before the advent of Christ, as it is in our day. The patriarchs, prophets, and all the holy martyrs from righteous Abel, looked forward to a coming Saviour, in whom they showed their faith by sacrificial offerings. At the crucifixion the typical system of sacrifices was done away by the great antitypical offering. The sacrifice of beasts shadowed forth the sinless offering of God's dear Son, and pointed forward to his death upon the cross. But at the crucifixion type met antitype, and the typical system there ceased; but not one jot or tittle of the moral code was abrogated at the death of Christ.

The Son of God is the center of the great plan of redemption, which unit plan covers all dispensations. He is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." He is the Redeemer of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam in all the ages of human probation. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Christ is the substance or body which cast its shadow back into former dispensations. And when Christ died the shadow ceased. The transgression of the moral code made the shadowy system necessary. And at the death of Christ, which event had been shadowed forth by the blood of beasts from the time of Adam, these offerings, and not the law of God, the violation of which had made them necessary, was abolished.

The gospel preached to Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses was to them good news; for their faith embraced a coming Saviour. A more clear and glorious light now shines upon the Christian world; for in the Jewish age the cross cast its shadow away back to the time when Adam left his Eden home. That which was faith to the ancients, who lived before Christ, is assurance to us, as we see that Christ has come, as foretold by the prophets. It is essential, no more so, and no less, that we have faith in a Redeemer who has come and died our sacrifice, as it was for the ancients to believe in a Redeemer to come, whom they represented by their typical sacrifices.

The Son of God, in becoming man's substitute, and bearing the curse which should fall upon man, has pledged himself in behalf of the race to maintain the sacred claims and exalted honor of his Father's law. His work and mission was to convince men of sin, which is the transgression of that law, and through the divine mediation, bring them back to obedience to his perfect law. The Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through his mediatorial work he may completely vindicate the binding claims and the holiness of every principle of his law.

After Christ was baptized of John in Jordan, he came out of the water, and bowing upon the banks of the river, he prayed with fervency to his Heavenly Father for strength to endure the conflict with the prince of darkness in which he was about to engage. The heavens were opened to his prayer and the light of God's glory, brighter than the sun at noonday, came from the throne of the Eternal, and, assuming the form of a dove with the appearance of burnished gold, encircled the Son of God, while the clear voice from the excellent glory was heard in terrible majesty, saying, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."

Here was the assurance to the Son of God that his Father accepted the fallen race through their representative, and that he had granted them a second trial. The communication between Heaven and earth, between God and man, which had been broken by the fall of Adam, was resumed. He who knew no sin, became sin for the race, that his righteousness might be imputed to man. Through the perfection of Christ's character, man was elevated in the scale of moral value with God; and through the merits of Christ, finite man was linked to the Infinite. Thus the gulf which sin had made was bridged by the world's Redeemer.

But few have a true sense of the great privileges which Christ gained for man by thus opening Heaven before him. The Son of God was then the representative of our race; and the special power and glory which the Majesty of Heaven conferred upon him, and his words of approval, are the surest pledge of his love and good will to man. As Christ's intercessions in our behalf were heard, the evidence was given to man that God will accept our prayers in our own behalf through the name of Jesus. The continued, earnest prayer of faith will bring us light and strength to withstand the fiercest assaults of Satan.

The light and strength of one day to the Christian will not be sufficient for the trials and conflicts of the next. Satan is now constantly changing his temptations, as he did with Christ. Every day we may be placed in new positions, and may have new and unexpected temptations. We may as consistently expect to be sustained on the morrow by food eaten to-day, as to depend upon present light and present blessings for future strength. Weak and sinful man cannot be safe unless God shall daily manifest his light and impart to him his strength.

It is of the highest importance that God manifest his will to us in the daily concerns of life; for the most important results frequently depend upon small occurrences. The more we become acquainted with God through his divine light, the more sensible shall we become of our weaknesses, and that we cannot live without him. We should ever feel that we need a sure guide to direct our faltering steps.

The life of a living Christian is a life of living prayer. The path of the just shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The Christian's life is one of progression. He goes forward from strength to strength, from grace to grace, and from glory to glory, receiving from Heaven the light which Christ, at infinite cost, to himself, made it possible for man to obtain. The Christian cannot let his light shine properly unless he receives an increase of the divine illumination, corresponding with his growth in the knowledge of Bible truths. The strength and glory from the accessible Heavens will qualify him to meet the new temptations and bear the heavier responsibilities which are ever before him. Untried scenes await the Christian. New dangers surround him. And unexpected temptations constantly assail him. Our great Leader points us to the open Heavens as the only source of light and strength.

After his baptism, the Son of God entered the dreary wilderness, there to be tempted by the devil. For nearly six weeks he endured the agonies of hunger. For forty days he ate and drank nothing. This made his suffering greater than anything which man would ever be called to endure. Christ was bearing the guilt of the transgressor. He realized the power of appetite upon man; and in behalf of sinful man, he bore the closest test possible upon that point. Here a victory was gained which few can appreciate. The controlling power of depraved appetite, and the grievous sin of indulging it, can only be understood by the length of the fast which our Saviour endured that he might break its power.

Satan had gained the victory over man in almost every temptation on the point of appetite. The Son of God saw that man could not of himself overcome this powerful temptation and he had such infinite love for the race that he left the royal courts of Heaven, and clothed his divinity with humanity, that with his long human arm he might reach to the very depths of human woe, while with his divine arm he grasps the Infinite. He came to earth to unite his divine power with our human efforts, that through the strength and moral power which he imparts, we may overcome in our own behalf. Oh! what matchless condescension for the King of glory to come down to this world to endure the pangs of hunger and the fierce temptations of a wily foe, that he might gain an infinite victory for man. Here is love without a parallel. Yet this great condescension is but dimly comprehended by those for whom it was made.

It was not the gnawing pangs of hunger alone which made the sufferings of our Redeemer so inexpressibly severe. It was the sense of guilt which had resulted from the indulgence of appetite that had brought such terrible woe into the world, which pressed so heavily upon his divine soul. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

With man's nature, and the terrible weight of his sins pressing upon him, our Redeemer withstood the power of Satan upon this leading temptation, which imperils the souls of men. If man should overcome this temptation, he could conquer on every other point.

Intemperance lies at the foundation of all the moral evils known to man. Christ began the work of redemption just where the ruin began. The fall of our first parents was caused by the indulgence of appetite. In redemption, the denial of appetite is the first work of Christ. What amazing love has Christ manifested in coming into the world to bear our sins and infirmities, and to tread the path of suffering, that he might show us by his life of spotless merit how we should walk, and overcome as he had overcome, and that we might become reconciled to God.

As the human was upon Christ, he felt his need of strength from his Father. He had select places of prayer. He loved the solitude of the mountain in which to hold communion with his Father in Heaven. In this exercise he was strengthened for the duties and trials of the day. Our Saviour identifies himself with our needs and weaknesses, in that he becomes a suppliant, a nightly petitioner, seeking from his Father fresh supplies of strength, to come forth invigorated and refreshed, braced for duty and trial. He is our example in all things. He is a brother in our infirmities, but not possessing like passions. As the sinless One, his nature recoiled from evil. He endured the struggles and torture of soul, in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and privilege. He required all the divine support and comfort which his Father was ready to impart to his Son, who had left the joys of Heaven and chosen his home, for the benefit of man, in a cold and thankless world. Christ found joy and comfort in communion with his Father. Here he could unburden his sorrows that were crushing him. He was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.

Through the day he labored earnestly to save men from destruction. He healed the sick, he comforted the mourning, and brought cheerfulness and hope to the despairing. He brought the dead to life. After his work was finished for the day, he went forth, evening after evening, away from the confusion of the city, and his form was bowed in some retired place, in supplication to his Father. At times the bright beams of the moon shone upon his bowed form. And then again the clouds and darkness shut away all light. The dew and frost of night rested upon his head and beard while in the attitude of a suppliant. He frequently continued his petitions through the entire night. If the Saviour of men, with his divine strength, felt the need of prayer in our behalf, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of prayer—fervent, constant prayer on their own account! When Christ was the most fiercely beset by temptation, he ate nothing. He committed himself to God, and through earnest prayer, and perfect submission to the will of his Father, came off conqueror.

"It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord." Our tables are frequently spread with luxuries not healthful nor necessary, because we love these things more than we love freedom from disease and a sound mind. Jesus sought earnestly for strength from his Father. This the divine Son of God considered of more value even for himself than to sit at the most luxurious table. He has given us evidence that prayer is essential to us in order to receive strength to contend with the powers of darkness, and to do the work allotted us to perform. Our own strength is weakness, but that which God gives will make every one who obtains it more than conqueror.

(To be Continued.)

O, QUICKLY COME.

By L. Tuttiett

"He saith, Surely I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus." Rev. xxii. 20.

O! quickly come, dread Judge of all For, awful though Thine Advent be, All shadows from the truth will fall, And falsehood die, in sight of thee. Oh! quickly come, for doubt and fear Like clouds dissolve when thou art near.

O! quickly come, great King of all; Reign all around us, and within : Let sin no more our souls enthrall, Let pain and sorrow die with sin. O! quickly come : for thou alone Canst make Thy scattered people one.

O! quickly come, true Life of all : For death is mighty all around : On every home his shadows fall, On every heart his mark is found. O! quickly come : for grief and pain Can never cloud thy glorious reign.

O! quickly come, sure Light of all : For gloomy night broods o'er our way; And weakly souls begin to fall With weary watching for the day. O! quickly come : for round thy throne No eye is blind, no night is known. L. Tuttiett.

The Immortality of the Soul.—History of the Doctrine.

By D. M. Canright

BELIEF OF THE CHINESE.

The Chinese, a very numerous people, do not believe the doctrine of the soul's immortality. They are materialists in the broadest sense. Confucius was their great teacher and lawgiver. For thousands of years his doctrines have been implicitly received by at least one-fourth of the race. (New Am. Cyclo., art. Confucius.) He taught nothing about the future state. (Howe's Travels of Célébrated Travelers, p. 200.) He did not claim to know anything beyond this life. (Ency. Brit., art. Confucius.)

Says Horne, "Religion as a system of divine worship, as piety toward God, and as holding forth future rewards and punishments, can hardly be said to exist among the Chinese." (Introduction, Chap. i., p. 21.) Dr. Morrison says that the learned sect among the Chinese are "entirely silent respecting the immortality of the soul." (Quoted by Prof. Hudson, in Future Life, chap. viii, p. 266.)

Says John Leland, "It is observed by the celebrated Mons. de Montesquieu 'that the religion of Confucius denies the immortality of the soul;'" (Leland's Rev. vol. ii, part iii, chap. iii, p. 297,) and he indorses the statement. He cites several eminent men who have spent a long time in China, and who declare that the Chinese have no idea of the immortality of the soul. (See Ibid., pp. 297, 300.) He says that "Confucius being asked by one of his disciples what angels or spirits are, answered that they are air. And this is the notion that the Chinese have of the soul. They look upon it to be a material thing, though highly rarified, and that then the soul separated from the body, both of them lose the individual being they had before, and nothing remains but the substance of heaven and earth, which had before concurred to the composition of man." (Ibid., p. 300.)

Says another writer, "Confucianism appeals to 'practical' men. It lauds the present world; rather doubts than otherwise the existence of a future one." (Chambers' Encyclopedia, vol iii, art. Confucius.) "'The philosophers,' wrote Morrison to his wife from China, 'are atheists; as for the common people, O ye rationalists, mark here the fruit of your' 'reason.'" Oriental Religions, by Sam'l Johnson, p. 554.)

"The Hakkas, an interesting tribe, as described by Eitel, also exhibit this germinant rationalism. They repel metempsychosis and the Buddhist hells, and assert the annihilation of the wicked instead of their endless punishment." (Ibid., p. 562.)

The religion of the Japanese is the same as that of the Chinese. Of them Mr. Seward says, "The Japanese, under the influence of Confucius, have become a nation of doubters." (Seward's Travels, p. 102.)

The New American Cyclopedia says of China, "Its population may be estimated approximately at 500,000,000. . . . Indifference to religious matters is a prominent national trait of character. They have not even a general term corresponding to the term religion. Kiao, the word that comes nearest to it, means only doctrine or creed. The belief in the immortality of the soul has never taken firm root among them." (Art. China.)

Again: "Considering the vast numbers of those by whom the doctrines of Confucius have been and are implicitly taken as the highest authority, and the influence they have exerted on the entire social and political edifice of a nation comprising fully one-fourth of mankind, there is no founder of any religion who boasts of success greater than that of Confucius. He was not, however, the originator of the religious creed." Speaking of the doctrines of Confucius, under the same head, the author says, "The books containing them, partly written by Confucius himself, partly by his disciples, bear almost the same relation to the Chinese as the Bible to the Christian world." (Art. Confucius.)

Here, then, is a whole great nation, comprising one-fourth of the entire human race, who have not the slightest idea of the immortality of the soul, nor did they ever have. Our readers must begin to see how groundless have been the assertions of our orthodox opponents upon this subject.

OTHER ASIATIC NATIONS.

Of these the following may be mentioned as holding no ideas of the immortality of the soul:—

The Santals. A learned author says, "Of a future life of blessedness the Santal has no idea. . . . After death all is a blank. (Spencer's Descriptive Sociology, No. 5, table 36, p. 37.)

The Karens "have ideas of a future life, vague and contradictory." (Ibid., table 37.)

The Todas "believe transmigration, but whether of soul or body, few have formed very distinct ideas." They hold "the idea that the soul is a living solid, a real duplicate Toda, requiring food; but the whole scheme of their observations is so illogical that it is impossible to deduce therefrom any clear definition of a creed." (Marshall, a phrenologist, among the Todas, p. 125.)

The Kukis "have no actual idea of the soul, but believe that the 'departed assume their old forms again, and inhabit a world of shades." (Journal As. Soc. Bengal, xxiv, 632.)

The Mishmis. "These people do not appear to have any very distinct conception of a future state." (Rowlett, Journal As. Soc. Bengal xiv, 487.)

"The Siamese hold annihilation to be the greatest reward of virtue." (McClintock and Strong's Cyclo., art. Annihilation.")

POLYNESIAN RACES.

Mr. Ellis, who spent several years among the Polynesians, and particularly inquired into their doctrine of the soul, says of them:

"We afterward endeavored to learn from them something respecting their opinion of a state of existence after death; but all they said upon the subject was so contradictory and mixed with fiction that it could not be discovered whether they had any definite idea of the nature or even the existence of such a state. Some said that all the souls of the departed went to the Po, place of night, and were annihilated, or eaten by the gods there." (Polynesian Researches, vol. iv, chap. xiv, p. 2,667.)

"The Fijian gods eat the souls of those who are destroyed by men. The gods roast the souls. Some souls are killed by men." "Especially bachelors are liable to be seized and killed by smashing against a stone by one of the gods. The spirit is liable to be thus smashed, annihilated." (Descriptive Sociology, No. 3, p. 38.) "The belief in a future state is universal in Fiji; but their superstitious notions often border upon transmigration, and sometimes teach an eventual annihilation." (Ibid., p. 37.) Poor believers in the immortality of the soul are these!

The Tahitians have "vague ideas of death. . . . Some spirits are eaten by the gods, others deified; no belief in future punishments." (Ibid., table 10.)

Of the Dyaks of the Sandwich Islands, a late author says their "notions of the immortality of the soul are very vague." (Ibid., table 14.)

"The Land Dyaks have not any decided notions of the immortality of the soul." (Low's Sarawak, p. 263.)

Of the Tasmanians our author says, "The more western portion of the aborigines had no idea of a future existence. They were like the Kangaroo." (Bonwic's daily Life of Tasmania, p. 182.)

The Fuegians. A traveler among them says, "I never witnessed or heard of an act of a decidedly religious nature, neither could I satisfy myself of their having any idea of the immortality of the soul." (Voyages of the Adventure and Beagle, vol. ii, p. 179.)

The Andamans. "The Andaman Islanders 'manifest no notion of a Supreme Being or of a future existence.'" (Transactions of the Ethnological Society, new series, vol. ii, p. 35.)

"The Viddas have no idea of a future state of rewards and punishments." (Ibid. vol. ii, p. 300.)

The Tahitians. "Their ideas of a future state were vague and indefinite. On leaving the body, they imagine it (the spirit) was seized by other spirits, conducted to the Po, or state of night, where it was eaten by the gods." (Ellis' Poly. Res., vol. i, p. 516.)

The Tongans. "The Tonga Islanders think that the lower classes of men have no souls." (Martin's Tonga Islands, vol. i, p. 55, note.)

"Though contrary to the common opinion, some of the lower orders in Tonga think they have immortal souls as well as the chiefs." (Ibid., vol. ii, p. 128.)

The Summatrans. These people are about like the others. Mr. Marsden says, "They have also a vague and confused idea of the immortality of the human soul, and of a future state of happiness or misery." (Hist. of Sumatra, p. 385.) That is to say, they have some idea of a future, and that is about all.

Malagasy. The same is true of these people. A traveler among them says, "In almost the same breath the Malagasy will express his belief that when he dies he ceases altogether to exist, . . . and yet confesses the fact that he is in the habit of praying to his ancestors." (Ellis' His. Madagascar, vol. i, p. 393.)

This is about the way with the most of these barbarous nations. They are often claimed as full believers in the immortality of the soul, while the real fact is they have only the most confused ideas even of a future life of any kind.

D. M. CANRIGHT.

(To be Continued.)

He's Been a Soldier, By His Walk.

THESE words attracted my attention as, waiting the arrival of my own train, I watched a third class carriage and its passengers just ready to start for London.

The above remark, "He's been a soldier, by his walk," was in reference to an erect, firm-treading man who had alighted from the train and had evidently been an object of interest to his fellow passengers.

"Ay, and he's been a soldier, by the way he carries his pack," said another.

"Ay, and by his politeness," observed a third. "Did you see how he touched his cap, only because you gentlemen looked at him? Most of them would have said, 'What are you staring at?'"

The train snorted off, the man left the station, and I followed. "Did you hear the remarks of your fellow-travellers, my friend?"

He smiled as I repeated them, and said, "Just as it should be, sir—just as it should be! A soldier in plain clothes should be the same as a soldier in uniform. A true soldier ought to walk so as to be known as such wherever he is."

He gave me a military salute, and we separated.

He left me full of serious thoughts, that came to me in the form of the following questions:—

"Is my walk such as to elicit from all with whom I associate the remark, 'He is a soldier, by his walk'?"

"I have a burden in the form of a daily cross to carry. Do I bear it so as to leave no doubt where I learned to carry it? Do I bear it soldier-like?"

"As a soldier of the Lord Jesus I have a character to sustain. Do I so sustain it, even in the small kindnesses and courtesies of life, as to make the remark of me true, 'He must also be a soldier, by the way he behaves toward all—taking affront at nothing, but supposing the best of our actions?'"

Circumstances Cannot Control Genius

CIRCUMSTANCES cannot control genius; it will wrestle with them; its power will bend and break them to its path.

A Converted Ministry.

DR. BOND, being once present at a conference at the time of the admission of a batch of young men on trial, and noticing the stress laid on talent and education, while nothing was said on personal piety as a qualification for the work, said he felt like rising and asking if the young men professed religion. It may be laid down as an axiom "that no man can produce in another spiritual experiences which he does not possess himself. Spiritual life propagates itself by sympathy—it is contagious."

Sermons to be useful should be the outgrowth of personal piety, and should bespeak communion with God. Homiletics, or theological institutions, never have and never will do much of this kind of work. Spiritual life is not drilled into us by any method of theological training ever yet invented by man; nor can the chief qualifications of an efficient soul-saving ministry be obtained by any such process. Paul declares his ministry was not of man; no part of his efficiency came from that source; he was "the Apostle of Jesus Christ."

This conscious amenability to the source from whence the commission comes, not only gives tone and character to the message, but secures honesty and faithfulness in its delivery. "I have not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God, and have coveted no man's silver, gold or apparel," is a thought ringing in memory at the recollection of some of the best successors of him who used these words to the elders of the church at Ephesus, that I ever heard or saw. They often seem to stand before me in venerable plainness and simplicity, delivering a message that sounded like a call to judgment.

God's Name in Forty-Eight Languages.

THE name of God is above every other name. To this day the pious Jew picks up and examines every slip of paper he finds in his path, lest perchance his sacred name might be thereon, and be irreverently trodden under foot of man. The first petition, in the solemnest of all prayers, is the hallowing of God's name. The following incident, culled from a German book, shows how the name of God relieved the wants of an unfortunate man. As Louis Burger, the well-known author and philologist, was walking in the Avenue de Champs Elysees, one day, he heard a familiar voice exclaiming, "Buy some nuts of a poor man, sir? Twenty for a penny!"

He looked up, and recognized his old barber.

"What! are you selling nuts?" said he.

"Ah, sir, I have been unfortunate."

"But this is no business for a man like you."

"Oh, sir, if you could only tell me of something better to do," returned the barber with a sigh.

Burger was touched. He reflected a moment; then tearing a leaf from his memorandum book, he wrote for a few moments and handed it to the man, saying:— "Take this to a printing office and have a hundred copies struck off; here is the money to pay for it. Get a license from the Prefecture of Police, and sell these copies at two cents each, and you will have bread on the spot. The strangers who visit Paris cannot refuse this tribute to the name of God printed in so many different ways."

The barber did as he was bid, and was always seen in the entrance to the Exposition, selling the following circular:— The Name of God in Forty-eight Languages.— [In these words the vowel u has nearly the sound of oo, never of our short u.] Hebrew, Elohim; Olala tongue, Deu; Chaldaic, Elah; Assyrian, Ellah; Syriac and Turkish, Alah; Malay, Alla; Arabic, Allah; Language of the Magi, Orsi; Old Egyptian, Teut; Armorican, Teutis; Modern Egyptian, Teun; Greek, Theos; Cretan, Thios; Æolian and Doric, Ilos; Latin Deus; Low Latin, Diex; Celtic and Old Gallic, Diu; French, Dieu; Spanish, Dios; Portuguese, Deos; Old German, Diet; Provencal, Diou; Low Breton, Doue; Italian, Dio; Irish, Die; German and Swiss, Gott; Flemish, Goed; Dutch, Godt; English and old Saxon, God; Teutonic, Goth; Danish and Swedish, Gut; Norwegian, Gud; Salvic, Buch; Polish, Bog; Pollaca, Bung; Lapp, Iubinal; Finnish, Iumala; Runic, As; Pannonian, Tstu; Zemblain, Fetizo; Hindostanee, Rain; Coromandel, Brama; Tartar, Magatal; Persian, Sire; Chinese, Prussa; Japanese, Goesur; Madagascar, Zannar; Pervnian, Puchocammae.

A few days after Burger met the barber.

"Well," said he, "has the holy name of God brought you good luck?"

"Yes, indeed, sir. I sell on an average a hundred copies a day, at two cents each, or two dollars; but the strangers are generous; some give me ten cents, and others twenty. I have even received half a dollar for a copy, so that, all told, I am making five dollars a day."

"Five dollars a day?"

"Yes, sir, thanks to your kindness."

"Ah!" thought Burger, as he walked away, "if I were not a literary man, I would turn peddler or publisher; there is nothing so profitable as selling the learning or wit of others!"

Great and Little Things.

We cannot often do great things, but we can do some little good thing every day. A word fitly spoken, a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple, a crumb afforded to some starving sufferer—all these are small to those who do them, but they may be very great to those to whom they are done, and it is the aggregate of such deeds that make up a benevolent life. A rain drop is small, but it is equal to any and all of its kind, the multitude of which water the fields and swell the floods.—United Presbyterian.

"Buying Indulgences."

IN some of our churches is a class of men who have means and who pay largely toward defraying church expenses. But when they do this they seem to think they have done their part.

They live loosely, and seem to care little for the worship of God or for the society of his people. They are found far more often in the company of wicked men, far more often at worldly gatherings than at the church of God.

Yet they seem to expect the church to disregard their disorder. The preacher has to depend on them largely for his salary, and they don't think he ought to bother them. The fact is he couldn't get along without them.

Nor could the church, they think, dispense with their services. They pay their money! They have bought and paid for the privilege of living disorderly!

Shame!! Shame!!!

What a cringing coward that preacher must be who will not denounce them, and what a servile thing that church must be which cannot stand for its Master in such case and maintain order in his house.

Let every Baptist church resolve that "no indulgence" to sin can be bought in the body.—Baptist Banner.

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