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Review and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 21.

Bible Charity

Review and Herald

May 25, 1911

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 25, 1911

Bible Charity

IF I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.— 1 Corinthians 13, Am. Rev. Ver.

Special Book Sale

During our recent fire, a number of our books were damaged by water. They were not burned, for the fire was in the roof, above the books; but the water came down through the floors above and sprinkled the books. The damage is very slight,—only water spots on the covers and edges.
Now is the time to get these valuable books for only a little money. Order quick, for they are going fast.
Regular Price Fire Sale Price Regular Price Fire Sale Price
Making Home Happy, cloth $ .50 $ .15 Bell's Language Series, No. 3 $ .80 $ .35
Early Writings, paper .25 .08 Bell's Language Series, No. 4 1.25 .60
Home and Health, morocco 5.00 1.00 United States History, Bunch 1.00 .40
Daniel and Revelation, German 3.00 .80 Body at Work .50 .20
Science in the Kitchen, cloth 3.00 1.50 Good Health .50 .20
The Art of Massage 2.50 1.25 Smith's Primary Arithmetic .50 .20
My Garden Neighbors, cloth 1.00 .45 Education 1.25 .45
Little Folks’ Bible Nature, cloth .50 .18 Education Reader, No. 1 .60 .35
Little Folks’ Bible Nature, board .25 .09 Education Reader, No. 2 .60 .35
New Testament Primer, cloth .50 .18 Education Reader, No. 3 .75 .40
Friend in the Kitchen, cloth .50 .20 Purity Series 1.00 .50
Hymns and Tunes, Turkey morocco 2.25 1.00 Patriarchs and Prophets, cloth 3.00 .75
Hymns and Tunes, Levant 3.25 1.40 Our Paradise Home, cloth .50 .17
Hymns and Tunes, half morocco 1.50 .70 Home and Health, half morocco 4.00 .85
Hymns, words only, cloth .75 .20 Home and Health, cloth, marble 3.00 .70
Songs of Freedom . .15 Ministry of Healing, relief edition 1.50 .75
Joyful Greetings . .15 Patriarchs and Prophets, morocco 5.00 1.10
Bell's Language Series, No. 1 .65 .30 Patriarchs and Prophets, half morocco 4.00 .90
Bell's Language Series, No. 2 .65 .30
Review & Herald Pub. Assn., Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.

THE JUNE NUMBER OF Life and Health

The June number of Life and Health brings a volume of practical instruction, clothed in simple language, upon such topics as—
How to Prevent Tuberculosis—the theme of public interest in all places; The Advantages of Country Life—the moral, physical, and mental influence of fresh air and sunshine; The Evil Effects of Worrying; The Curse of Alcohol; The Increase of Infantile Paralysis; The Care of Children; The Evils of the House-Fly; The Benefits of the Bath; Common-Sense Physical Culture for the Sick; Fruits, Their Use as Food; Drugs for Emergencies, Not Specifics; Old Age Not Measured by Years, but by the Manner of Life; A Diet for Acute Inflammatory Skin Disease; Mouth Treatment in Health and Sickness; The Influence of Home Upon Character and Health; and many other topics of present public interest to all classes.
All Orders for This Number of Life and Health Should Be Sent Through the Conference Tract Societies

Lo, We Turn to the Gentiles

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE
After the departure of Mark, Paul and Barnabas visited Antioch in Pisidia, and on the Sabbath day went into the Jewish synagogue, and sat down. “And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” Being thus invited to speak, “Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.” He then proceeded to give a history of the manner in which the Lord had dealt with the Jews from the time of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and to relate how a Saviour had been promised of the seed of David. He then preached Jesus as the Saviour of men, the Messiah of prophecy.
In this wonderful discourse, Paul boldly declared that of the seed of David “hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: when John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh One after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose.”
Having made this declaration, Paul addressed his Jewish brethren, “Children of the stock of Abraham,” and also all others present in the synagogue who feared God, and announced that unto all alike, Gentile as well as Jew, “is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.”
Paul did not hesitate to speak the plain truth in regard to the rejection of the Saviour by the Jewish leaders. “Though they found no cause of death in him,” the apostle declared, “yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher. But God raised him from the dead; and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people.”
“We declare unto you good tidings,” the apostle continued, “how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: but he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.”
And now, having spoken plainly of the fulfilment of familiar prophecies concerning the Messiah, Paul preached unto them repentance and the remission of sin through the merits of Jesus, their Saviour. “Be it known unto you,” he said, “that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”
The Spirit of God accompanied the words that were spoken, and hearts were touched. The apostle’s appeal to Old Testament prophecies, and his declaration that these had been fulfilled in the life-ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, carried conviction to many a soul longing for the advent of the promised Messiah. And the speaker’s words of assurance that the “glad tidings” of salvation were for Jew and Gentile alike,—for all that feared God,—brought hope and joy to those who had not been numbered among the children of Abraham according to the flesh.
“When the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” The congregation having finally broken up, “many of the Jews and religious proselytes” who had accepted the glad tidings borne to them that day, “followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.”
The interest aroused in Antioch of Pisidia by Paul’s discourse, brought together, on the next Sabbath day, “almost the whole city . . . to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.”
“Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”
“When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” They rejoiced exceedingly that Christ recognized them as the children of God, and with grateful hearts they listened to the word preached. Those who believed, were zealous in communicating the gospel message to others, and thus “the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.”
Centuries before, the pen of inspiration had traced this gathering in of the Gentiles; but these prophetic records had been but dimly understood. Hosea had said: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which can not be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” And again: “I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”
The Saviour himself, during his earthly ministry, foretold the spread of the gospel among the Gentiles. In the parable of the vineyard, he declared to the impenitent Jews, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” And after his resurrection, he commissioned his disciples to go “into all the world,” and “teach all nations.” They were to pass none by unwarned, but were to “preach the gospel to every creature.”
In turning to the Gentiles in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas did not cease laboring for the Jews elsewhere, wherever there was a favorable opportunity to gain a hearing. Later, in Thessalonica, in Corinth, in Ephesus, and in other important centers, Paul and his companions in labor preached the gospel to their Jewish brethren, as well as to the Gentile world. But their chief energies were henceforth directed toward the building up of the kingdom of God in heathen territory, among peoples who had but little or no knowledge of the true God and of his Son.
The hearts of Paul and of his associate workers were drawn out in behalf of those who were “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Through the untiring ministrations of the apostles to the Gentiles, the “strangers and foreigners” who “sometimes were far off” learned that they had been “made nigh by the blood of Christ,” and that through faith in his atoning sacrifice, they might become “fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”
Advancing in faith, Paul labored unceasingly for the upbuilding of God’s kingdom among those who had been neglected by the teachers in Israel. Constantly he exalted Christ Jesus as “the King of kings, and Lord of lords,” and exhorted the believers to be “rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith.”
To those who believe, Christ is a sure foundation. Upon this living stone, Jews and Gentiles alike may build. This is the only foundation upon which we may securely build. It is broad enough for all, and strong enough to sustain the weight and burden of the whole world. And by connection with Christ, the living stone, all who build upon this foundation become living stones. This is a fact plainly recognized by Paul himself. In the closing days of his ministry, when addressing a group of Gentile believers who had remained steadfast in their love of the gospel truth, the apostle wrote: “Ye are . . . built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
As the gospel message spread in Pisidia, the unbelieving Jews of Antioch, in their blind prejudice, “stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them” from that district.
The apostles were not discouraged by this expulsion; they remembered the words of their Master: “Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
The gospel message was onward, and the apostles had every reason for feeling encouraged. Their labors had been richly blessed among the Pisidians at Antioch; and the believers, whom they left to carry forward the work alone for a time, “were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost.”

On the Border of Canaan

By J. L. Prescott

J. L. PRESCOTT
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Ps. 119:105. Having reached a good old age,—eighty-three years on March 8, 1911,—like one standing upon the summit of a mountain, I readily trace the road I have traveled from childhood to the present time. My parents were devout Christians, and early taught me to fear God and reverence his Holy Word. While but a child, I began to serve the Lord, and to study his Word, portions of which I committed to memory. This had a molding influence on my life. It controlled my choice of my life companion, I being at liberty to marry only in the Lord. In my experience the wisdom of God’s Word stands approved. In our life-work that blessed Book has been to us what the polar star is to the mariner. It has discovered to us some of the errors of our early education, and safeguarded us from the strong delusion of Spiritualism and many other perils. It led us in early life to consecrate our hearts to the service of God, to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, to lay up our treasure in heaven; and we have found joy in the service of our dear Lord.
We have proved that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light, and he has given us rest as he promised. I have read the Bible through in course once every year for many years, besides my topical studies, and with increasing pleasure every year. Indeed, it is like the dawn of the glorious day, the rising of the day-star in the heart; and now, like Moses viewing the promised Canaan from Pisgah’s top, with the swelling Jordan rolling between, I am favored with wonderful views of our heavenly Canaan and its metropolis, the New Jerusalem, and those beautiful mansions Jesus has gone to prepare for his redeemed. Therefore I rejoice in the knowledge that he is very soon coming to gather his saints, and take them to this glorious kingdom. For this consummation of our hope I constantly pray.
“My heavenly home is bright and fair; Nor pain nor death can enter there; Its glittering towers the sun outshine; That heavenly mansion shall be mine.”

That Circular Letter

By K. C. Russell

K. C. RUSSELL
There are many who seem to be prejudiced against the circular letter. Believing the reasons for this prejudice against this excellent medium of communication are more imaginary than real, I wish to submit a few observations concerning its value.
I think no one will dispute the claim that the circular letter is a most economical means of communication. It saves a vast amount of time, labor, and effort on the part of the writer, as well as on the part of the one who receives it. If one were to write to a thousand persons the same matter in as many separate letters as is condensed into the circular letter, it would take nearly a thousand times longer, and nearly a thousand times more work. It would take more time and study for the one receiving the personal letter to assimilate its contents, for it would be more scattered in thought and less expressive; besides, the expense in postage would be double. The item of expense is a weighty argument even to men of business, who value things wholly from the standpoint of dollars and cents; much more should this important item be considered by those who believe the third angel's message, and who realize that every cent should be used to the very best advantage in conducting our work, and to the glory of God.
To those who regard personal appeal more than the real facts communicated, it is more pleasing to receive a personal letter, and to enjoy the personal flavor that usually accompanies strictly personal letters, at the expense of the real burden of the letter; but in so far as the real business requiring the letter is concerned, the circular form is far more effective and just as acceptable to all whose principal concern is the advancement of the great work committed to us.
The fact that circular letters are used so largely by successful business houses of the world ought to be a strong recommendation as to their practicability and value. If a man of the world will carefully read a circular letter about a plow, why will not our people be interested enough in the salvation of souls to read a circular letter upon the best methods of accomplishing that work? One of the features making a circular letter of special value is the fact that much time, and thought, and careful and prayerful study are bestowed upon its preparation. It is usually well written; for every sentence and paragraph is studied with the thought of expressing the ideas of the writer in the most clear and expressive manner. If literature is enclosed, the aim is to select that which has been prepared with the greatest care. The dictated personal letter compares with the carefully prepared circular letter, as an unprepared, spontaneously delivered sermon compares with a carefully studied address, prepared to cover certain points and to extend over a given time. If one prefers merely extemporaneous, unclassified thought, he can usually get itin dictated letters from individuals who will dictate for hours at a time; but if he prefers ideas, presented in the fewest words, and in the fewest words possible, the matter of the letter is of more importance than the manner of it,—then the circular letter is preferable to a dictated, personal letter. Those who scorn the circular letter are mechanical in all their readings, for they read the newspaper prepared for the eyes of millions. Let them read a book that has not been prepared for them alone.
It may be said that the circular plan may be abused by the aggressive managers of institutions. Sometimes they do this. The same may be said of the writers of personal letters. Instead of discriminating against the circular-letter method, would it not be more wise for us, as a people, to study improvements on this economical and successful method of world-acknowledged utility?
Washington, D. C.

One Soul Brought to Glory

“PERCHANCE in heaven one day to me Some blessed saint will come and say, ‘All hail, beloved! but for thee My soul to death had fallen a prey!’ And O, what rapture in the thought One soul to glory to have brought!”

Its Benefits

By J. O. Corliss

Tracings of the Prophetic Gift — No. 3

Its Benefits

J. O. CORLISS
SEVERAL conspicuous differences may be noted between the offices of prophet and priest. The priesthood was maintained from the descendants of a single family, without regard to individual character, while prophets were selected promiscuously, according to personal fitness. It was therefore the office, or institution, of the priesthood that was honored, rather than the individuals connected with the service. Descended from a warrior ancestry, it is not strange that certain priests should be found registered as military commanders. Gen. 49: 5-7; 1 Chron. 11: 23, 24; 12: 28; 27: 5.
It must be that the priestly service had in some way been perverted from its original design; for it was instituted with a divine title, and its servants were called priests “of the most high God.” It was also divinely said unto them: “Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” Lev. 19: 2. But as we view that order under the kings of Israel and Judah, with all its magnificence and venerable usages, it could not possibly foreshadow the glory of him who was to be, and who now is, the great High Priest of all nations. This probably was one principal reason why our Lord dealt such heavy blows against the system during his earthly ministry. John 2: 14-16; Matt. 21: 12, 13. As it was, the Jewish priesthood, with its family caste, passed away, and the universal priesthood of Christ succeeded it. Heb. 9: 11.
Not so, however, with the prophetic office. That reaches over from the Old Testament into the New, to be continued throughout the history of the Christian church. 1 Cor. 12: 7-10, 28. While the priests were required to consult the urim and thummim for their oracles, the prophet was favored with direct communion with God in visions and dreams. Num. 12: 6. More than this, the inspiration of the Hebrew prophets was positive and universal. It was not confined to some specific order, as to a founder of a religion, but was open to every fit person. This may be gathered from the rebuke administered by Moses, when Joshua asked him to require Eldad and Medad to cease prophesying in the camp of Israel. Said he: “Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them!”
We find the great apostle also uttering a similar sentiment. He instructs all to desire gifts of the Spirit, but gives preference to that of prophecy, stating thus his reason therefor: “He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” Therefore prophesying, he goes on to say, is a greater gift than speaking with tongues, because of its much greater benefit to mankind. See 1 Cor. 14: 1-5, 24, 25, 31.
The prophetic gift is from a distinctly divine source. The Hebrew prophets were conscious of this, and were therefore impelled to speak to any or all in reproof or counsel. “Woe is me, if I preach not the gospel,” said the inspired apostle. 1 Cor. 9: 16. God spoke to the fathers by, or more literally in, the prophets. Heb. 1: 1. God himself spoke by the mouth of men, thus making their appeals more startling and impressive. “The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,” says the psalmist, “and his word was in my tongue.” 2 Sam. 23: 2. The words of a prophet’s mouth, therefore, were not his own words, but the words of God. When uttered, the responsibility of them was the Lord’s, and so the prophet need not enter any defense for himself, when the authority of the word spoken was questioned.
The reason why God chose thus to use men is not far to seek. Having made man in his own image, with the attributes essential to direct communication with heaven, it was necessary to man’s best interest, even though he had separated himself from God by sin, to communicate directly with him, in order to provide proper help in time of perplexing emergencies. Man having lost, through sin, the power to discern clearly the underlying principles of God’s character, as traced in the tables of stone, these could be best elucidated before him, and applied to specific duty under peculiar circumstances, by God speaking positively and personally to him through some chosen human instrument, that is, by some one using a language in common with the individual to be communicated with.
In this way the purity of service to the one true God could be preserved as by no other method. Had spiritual instruction been left to man, unaided by the Spirit, but a short time would have elapsed before all knowledge of Jehovah and his ways would have been eliminated from every sinful mind. In such case, man would have passed beyond redemption, and creation would have proved abortive through Satan’s attitude of enmity to the divine will. But the eternal love that gave man existence, again provided a medium of heavenly communion with him, though he had forsaken that first love. As Satan tried to thwart the first plan by which God might commune directly with his created image, so it might be expected that the arch-enemy would continue his attempt to defeat the improvised system of speaking to men through his chosen prophets. Heb. 11: 36-38.
It was only by the impulse of Jehovah’s mind, speaking by human tongue, that suitable impressions could be made upon the heart of man,—the seat of love and all the tender emotions,—and cause it to vibrate in response to heavenly strains. As the stream does not rise higher than its fountainhead, so fallen humanity could not, by personal influence alone, lift man above its own station. And as the fulness of the stream is the glory of its fountainhead, it must be that for man to lift another to the intended height, he must first be filled with fulness from the source of heavenly supply, in order to render glory to the name and strength of him from whom flows eternal salvation.
All this was to keep under heavenly control those who willed to have it so. By this means, man could walk with God in a sure way, in the face of every obstacle. It was, indeed, the binding together of men’s hearts in the mystic intimacy of a theocracy, or God-rule. This word theocracy seems to have been invented by Josephus, to express an idea for which ordinary Greek could furnish no adequate term. Speaking of the annals of his people, this Jewish historian says: “Our Lawgiver had no regard to monarchies, oligarchies, democracies, or any of these forms; but he ordained one government to be what by a forced expression may be called a theocracy.” This was not a government of earthly priests, as opposed to kings, but a government by God himself, in which he spoke directly to his subjects through his chosen prophets as his mouthpieces.
From the very nature of such an organization, it seems almost useless to assert that God must, in the very course of his unchangeable nature, continue his original method of governing his own people. But through some mysterious influence the modern church has fallen into the habit of each one doing what seems right in his own eyes. This has brought in complicated conditions, in which many are wandering in darkness, having no certain guide, because their blinded minds do not comprehend the voice of God in his written Word, and they recognize no human instrument through whom the Lord’s speech is directed. It seems as true now as in olden times, that “where there is no vision, the people perish,” or, as rendered in the Danish Bible, the people “become reinless.” Prov. 29: 18.
Mountain View, Cal.

God’s Unchangeable Love

God’s love is unchangeable.

The Secret of Successful Prayer

By John Taylor

JOHN TAYLOR
“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever.” I Chron. 28:9.
Thus, according to David, the secret of prevailing prayer is to seek the Lord “with a perfect heart and with a willing mind,” the former regenerated through the efficacy of Christ’s atoning blood, and the latter under the supreme control of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is by far the most important means of grace. It is possible to reach the kingdom of God without learning, or books, or knowledge, or anything this world esteems as great or valuable; but no one will ever reach heaven without prayer. Without prayer, a person may have a name to live, and be counted a Christian, but in the sight of God such a person is dead. Prayer is the sign that a soul is alive; and the feeling that it is necessary for us to cry to God for mercy and peace is evidence that we are children of the heavenly King.
As a child in grief or want will straightway run to its parent for relief, so the perfect heart and willing mind of the faithful heir of God, in the manifold miseries and crosses of this life, will seek for help at the hands of his Heavenly Father by prayer. For as he who truly loves another delights in nothing more than in often talking and conferring with him whom he loves, even so those who are “chosen of God, and precious,” will manifest, in a true and unfeigned love to God, a desire, by frequent prayer, to commune with him, such as no peril nor danger—no, nor even the loss of life itself—can stay nor hinder.
God is a Parent who feels more for his children than even a mother feels for her little ones. Mothers may forget their children, and fail to have compassion on their offspring; but God can not lose his tenderness nor forget to be gracious to his children. God is love itself, and every cry which is sent up to him from a heart in distress fills heaven with joy, and an answer is always given for that soul’s eternal good. If we ask the mighty men of prayer in the Book of God, we shall find that a steadfast belief in this immutable fact was the secret of their power with God and men.
First, let us ask David what prayer is. “As for me,” he declares, “I will call upon God.” “I will cry unto God most high;” “I anticipated the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy words.” “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God.”
Jacob will tell us that prayer is “wrestling” with God. Prayer was something very real to Daniel. Not even the death decree could close his lips. Three times a day he prayed, though at the risk of losing his life. To Saul of Tarsus, prayer meant the reception of his eyesight, his salvation, and the revelation of the mysteries of God. Go to him, Ananias, said the Lord; “for, behold, he prayeth.”
Let us ask the penitent prodigal, as from his wounded, broken heart these words pour forth: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” Ask that publican, as within the house of God he stands smiting his breast. Few were his words, but they were freighted with deep contrition and urgent need; they came forth from the deepest depths of his soul: “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
And now let us ask the holy Saviour. Night after night Jesus spent in pouring out his soul to his Father in prayer. To him prayer was an inexhaustible source of comfort. Jesus conquered because he prayed.
As our last teacher, let us ask Jeremiah. The Lord’s work, for which he had suffered hunger, exposure, persecution, and imprisonment, weighed heavily upon his heart, and he cried out: “I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon. Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.”
“Prayer,” as one of the Lord’s faithful children has observed, “is human need craving the divine fulness, the wretchedness of earth begging the consolations of heaven, man’s guilt beseeching the mercy of God. By prayer the helplessness of the creature clings to the strength of the Creator. Prayer is a voice from nature’s wound, calling to the heavenly Healer.”
Earnest continuance in importunate, faith-directed prayer is the divinely appointed way to obtain the supplying of all our spiritual necessities. It will open for us the treasury of heaven, and set the fountains of life flowing for the daily strengthening and refreshing of our souls. This is our only support for the wilderness of this life. It is only in the strength of this meat that we shall be able to bear our burdens, and make progress to the kingdom of God.
Watford, England.

H. E. SAWYER-HOPKINS

By H. E. Sawyer-Hopkins

Rejoice

H. E. SAWYER-HOPKINS

PAUL says, “Rejoice in the Lord.” How often?—“Alway.” To impress this admonition more fully on the mind, he repeats it: “Again I say, Rejoice.” And yet again he urges: “Rejoice evermore.” 1 Thess. 5:16. To whom do these words apply? We find an answer to this question in the words of the psalmist: “Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God.” For what shall the righteous rejoice?—For his goodness, his love, and his mercy.
As we pass along the stream of time, and matters in life move along smoothly, it is natural to be full of hope, courage, and rejoicing; but when reverses come, it is easy to look on the dark side, and be downcast; not even a sigh but adds to our load. Should we stop and consider, we should see plainly that no good ever comes from encouraging a gloomy, depressed spirit.
Let us encourage the habit of looking up at all times, under all circumstances, and thus show our confidence in Him who is mighty. Let us “rejoice evermore.”
Pomona, Cal.
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