Signs of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 25. (6/18/1902)

Signs of the Times

Jun 18, 1902

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 18, 1902

GOD'S KEEPING POWER.

THESE are days of stress and storm and tempest. Whirlwinds of human passion sweep over the earth. Great winds of popular folly carry all light and movable things before them. Cyclones of great temptation seem forming all around him who would walk straight on in the narrow way. These are times of moral danger even more than physical.

It is not mere leaves that are being detached by the great tempests of to-day. It is sad to see these go, to see beautiful trees stripped of their foliage. It is sadder still to see the trees go, torn up by the roots or broken or split or twisted off in the trunk. It is sad to see the buildings go down and note the wrecks of noble edifices in the whirlwind's path. It is sadder still to know that lives have been snuffed out by the tempest's wrath. Men are worth more than trees. Souls are of more value than brick and marble palaces.

INSTINCTIVELY the heart trembles when one sees inexperienced youth start on a perilous journey up a mountain path, down a steep declivity, on narrow spans over a fierce, foaming torrent. We feel that they are not physically able for the task that is dangerous even for experienced men. We wish they had some strong helper. Our hearts faint when one slips and falls to destruction. But how many there are who are going to wreck morally all around us, swept by wind and tempest from treacherous slippery paths, to be lost forever, and we are scarcely stirred. The apathy of death is over the great mass, they are not alarmed even for themselves.

COULD we but draw back the veil which hides the invisible from mortal eyes, how differently would we feel! Could we see the angels of evil, grown by long practise skilful to destroy, ever following our pathway, lurking by our side, and by suggestion and snare and gin endeavoring to lead and lure and entrap us to everlasting perdition, we would be alarmed. Could we see the many times we have been saved by the mercy of God from sure destruction when we felt our feet sure; we would tremble at our vain self-confidence. The dangers, the wrecks, the storms, the tempests, the treacherous paths, the strong, resourceful, watchful enemy, and man's own utter weakness, demonstrated so often, ought to lead every believer in Christ Jesus to cry out, in the words of the psalmist, “Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.” It is God who must hold up,—He who never falls. “Let me take your hand, papa,” said the little three-year-old toddler, running along carelessly on a smooth city walk. But the little inexperienced, careless feet soon tripped, the weak baby hand lost its hold, and the little man, strong and confident in himself, fell. But the fall made him wiser (would God it might children of older growth). “Papa,” came the little voice again, “you take my hand, and hold me up if I slip.” He wanted the stronger grip, gladly given, and by means of its kindly, stronger grasp the little one walked safely.

HE only is held who is “kept by the power of God.” He only is held up who is held from above. On life's stormy sea, many anchor to the depths beneath and find watery graves. The Christian finds anchorage above. Christ reaches down and lifts from the trough of the mighty sea, from the overwhelming waves. He reaches down His mighty, kindly arm, and grasps the hand, if He is permitted, of him who walks in dangerous places, and holds him from falling. We may pray the prayer.

BUT in His paths it must be. We can not ask God's blessing, God's keeping power, when we go on forbidden ground. “In the way of righteousness is life.” There may be ways that seem right to our wisdom, but the ends are the ways of death. Only where He walks can we walk. And every path that He asks us to take is marked by His own faithful and oftentimes bleeding footsteps, but footsteps that never faltered, never failed,—“kept by the power of God.” In His paths we may walk and fail not.

BUT held up how, kept how?—“Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.” “Simply trusting, that is all.” Faith is harmony with Him; doing His will, receiving

His life, agreeing with Him in all things, at all times, in all ways. With what confidence then can we pray the Spirit-inspired prayer, “Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.” And He will do it, never fear, if there is perfect distrust of self, perfect trust in Him.

KEPT by His word. Note the context of our text: “Concerning the works of men, by the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Ps. 17:4. But the mere possession of the Bible is not sufficient, the reading or even memorizing of the Word will not keep us. It must be in us as leaven is placed in meal, to be effectual. “Thy Word,” says the psalmist, “have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Ps. 119:11. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them,” says the prophet; “and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart; for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jer. 15:16. Only by feeding upon God's Word, by assimilating its life, by using its power in service for God, can we be kept. But if eaten, digested, assimilated, used in the faith of Jesus Christ, no power can cast us down, ensnare our feet, or destroy us. We are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:5. Thus may it be with every soul who reads this

“YE WILL NOT COME.”

By T. E. Bowen

AND ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.” While these words were addressed by our Saviour to the unbelieving Jews, they contain, as well, both condemnation and comfort for all classes of people both before and since the days of Christ upon earth. The way to Jesus has been made plain from the fall of man in Eden unto the present time. During all these ages, men and women, to whatever depths of sin they may have sunken, could come to the sin-pardoning Christ. The invitation is extended to all. No one has been slighted. Altho many have been so occupied with the immediate things about them that they have failed to catch the gracious invitation, still all these ages the word has been sounding, “Come.”

The astonishment is that more do not come. Life, full and abundant, is found in the sinless One of Calvary; but men choose death rather than life. “Ye will not come.” Passing strange! When but for the coming, one may have life—eternal life—why is it that so few come? Heaven wonders, while the Satanic forces marshal more compactly, and urge on to ruin those to save whom the Son of God poured out His life.

There is but one way. By our own efforts we can not gain life. “I am the Door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Still men come not. The promise of life is upon condition that sinners come. God compels no one to come. He never has and never will. Yet all depends upon your coming unto Him with a heart full of sorrow and contrition for sin. This is the requirement. “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37.

Men may compass land and sea, perform the greatest feats known, acquire immense fortunes, even search the Scriptures diligently, thinking by so doing to merit favor with God; and yet by missing the one vital thing—coming to Christ—they gain nothing. Instead, all is worse than loss. Missing the Son of God,

they have missed all. The Jews recognized not the Messiah in the humble Man of Nazareth. They searched the Scriptures for eternal life; but they missed the life, because they missed the Son, in whom the Father had hidden eternal life. Among them walked One greater than Abraham, Solomon, or Moses; yet to them He was a common man. Then when it became more plain that He was the Promised One, they would not come unto Him for life. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5: 10-12.

This is not saying that a man who has eternal life may not go to sleep in Jesus. O, no! He may rest in the grave, but his life—this eternal life, hidden by God in His Son and handed down to us, which by faith the individual has made His own—is hidden in Christ, and whether he wakes or sleeps, it is safe in Him. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” Col. 3: 3, 4.

Dear reader, have you heeded the gracious invitation of your Lord? Have you invited Him into your soul-temple? Have you hastened to Him with your load of grief, sin, and care? Have you recognized in Him your life? Is your life insured (you do not want your death insured) in Him? Have you believed God’s record of His Son? or are you making God a liar through unbelief? If you have not experienced rest from your sins, if you have not gone unto Him, hasten to go. Delay not. An enemy is pursuing, seeking your life. Out of Christ you are not safe one moment. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” T. E. BOWEN.

PRAYER

By Ellen G. White

PRAYER is communion with God. It is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.

Jesus Himself, while He dwelt among men, was often in prayer. Prayer went before and sanctified every act of His ministry. It was by prayer that He was braced for duty and for trial. He is a brother in our infirmities, “in all points tempted like as we are;” but as the sinless One, His nature recoiled from evil; He endured struggles and torture of soul in a world of sin. His humanity made prayer a necessity and a privilege. He found comfort and joy in communion with His Father. And if the Saviour of men, the Son of God, felt the need of prayer, how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer.

God longs to bestow on us the blessings of His grace. He has a deep, earnest desire for our happiness. He says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” He urges us to present our needs. His heart of love is filled with a longing desire to bring us into close touch with Him.

Do Not Be Afraid to Go to Him.

Do not entertain the thought that because you have made mistakes, because your life has been darkened by errors, your Heavenly Father does not love you and will not hear you when you pray. He says, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” “The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” His heart of love is touched by our sorrows, and even by our utterance of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear; for He holds up worlds, He rules over the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, that they can not find deliverance in Christ. The demoniacs of Gadara, in the place of prayer could utter only the words of Satan; but yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need is unheeded.

The ear of the Lord is open to the cry of every suppliant. Even before the prayer is offered or the yearning desire of the soul made known, the Spirit of God goes forth to meet it. Never has there been a genuine desire, never a tear shed in contrition of soul, but grace from Christ has gone forth to meet the grace working upon the human heart.

The Opened Way.

Christ has opened the way for us to approach God. He says, “Make use of My name. It will be your passport to the heart of My Father and to all the riches of His grace. ‘Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. . . .’ Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” In Christ’s name His followers are to stand before God. Through the value of the sacrifice made for them, they are of value in the Lord’s sight. Because of the imputed righteousness of Christ, they are accounted precious. For Christ’s sake the Lord pardons those that fear Him. He does not see in them the vileness of the sinner; He recognizes in them the likeness of His Son, in whom they believe.

True prayer brings power. Prayer has “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire,”—we shall know what this means when we hear the reports of the martyrs who were burned for their faith,—“turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”

We shall hear about these victories when the Captain of our salvation, the King of heaven, opens the record before those of whom John writes: “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

Freshness and Progress in Religious Life.

If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of conversation with God, as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet, joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us, as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there are seen in his life simplicity, humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus, and has learned of Him.

Every sincere prayer is heard in heaven. It may not be fluently expressed; but if the heart is in it, it will ascend to the sanctuary where Jesus ministers, and He will present it to the Father, beautiful and fragrant with the incense of His love.

How wonderful it is that we can pray effectually; that unworthy, erring mortals possess the power of offering their requests to God. What higher power can man require than this,—to be linked with the infinite God? Feeble, sinful man has the privilege of speaking to his Maker. He utters words that reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe.

The cry of the soul can not die away into silence, nor can it be lost. It rises above the din of the street, above the noise of machinery, to the heavenly courts. It is to God we are speaking, and the prayer is heard.

The rainbow about the throne is an assurance that God is true, that in Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. We have sinned against Him, and are undeserving of His favor; yet He Himself has put into our lips that most wonderful of pleas, “Do not abhor us, for Thy name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory; remember, break not Thy covenant with us.” When we come to Him confessing our unworthiness and sin, He has pledged Himself to give heed to our cry. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfilment of His Word unto us.

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

THE LAST WORDS OF JESUS.

By H. A. St. John

How many times we have heard friends relate the last words of some dear one that had passed away. The last sayings of loved ones, uttered just before falling asleep in death, are cherished by the living with peculiar regard; they linger in the memory, and not infrequently have a restraining or moulding influence upon the life.

The death of Jesus on Calvary is a death affecting all mankind for weal or woe, as no other death can. It was a death in which all are concerned, and hence should have a deep interest. And by every Christian the seven last sayings of Jesus on Calvary should be cherished and often considered; and to their consideration we now briefly invite your attention.

1. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Thus Jesus prayed at the time when, without resistance, He was being nailed to the cross. Forgiveness is the first blessing in Christian life. And this forgiveness can not be obtained while the penitent is unwilling to forgive others their trespasses against him. The repentant sinner must forgive, if he would be forgiven. It is one of the most explicit conditions of pardon found in the Bible. Here we learn a most important lesson, given under the most aggravating circumstances. The trespasses of others against us can never be so great, so aggravating, so unreasonable, and unjust, as were the trespasses of the wicked against Christ. Hence we can never have so good a reason to be unforgiving. By penitence some of those wicked men afterward found pardon; while others, by their impenitence, rendered the Saviour’s prayer impossible of fulfilment in their behalf. As we are all guilty, not only of trespassing against others, but also of crucifying Christ, His prayer was for us. So by true repentance let us make it possible of fulfilment.

2. “Verily I say unto thee to-day, shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” Altho Jesus was passing through the most intense physical suffering and mental anguish, His ear was open to hear, and His heart glad to respond, to the call of the penitent thief for help. This request was a bright gleam of joy that came to Jesus in this hour of His deepest distress. To be called Lord, to be asked to remember the penitent thief when He should come to His kingdom, were expressions of faith and repentance especially gratifying to the Son of God in that darkest hour of His earthly experience; and they were rewarded by a promissory note to the thief, worth more than all the wealth in this world of ours. So the disciple of Jesus, having been forgiven all his trespasses because he has forgiven all that have trespassed against him, will ever be ready and glad to point the penitent to the Lamb of God, that “taketh away the sin of the world.”

3. “Woman, behold thy son!” “Behold thy mother!” These words were addressed to His mother, and the disciple John. He could no longer be the earthly support of His widowed and heart-broken mother; but His filial love shone out with surpassing beauty in those brief words, which created and cemented a bond of union as mother and son, between His mother and the beloved John, in whose heart He Himself was enshrined. From that hour John took the mother of Jesus to his own home, and he received many rich blessings in caring for her during the remainder of her mortal life. In these words of Jesus another characteristic of the true child of God is beautifully revealed. In every heart where this love abides, there will be seen the same loving interest and tender care of parents.

4. “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” This was the despairing cry of Jesus in the crisis of that greatest of all tragedies. For a brief time He was left to feel forsaken of His Father. Yet the Father was never nearer His beloved Son than at that very moment. But Jesus was to be a Man of sorrows—the heaviest of sorrows, and to be made acquainted with grief—the deepest of grief. So the Christian will have hours of darkness; he will sorrow and grieve. But he should not forget that the Father’s presence and love are over him still, and that there is bright sunshine soon to follow. There is a purpose, a lesson, in these dark shadows that cross our pathway, which we will understand some day; and then, if not at the time, we shall see that they have worked for our good.

5. “I thirst.” With a loud voice these words were uttered. They were an intense expression of a natural, physical, temporal want. Who will respond to this human cry of a soul in physical distress? A soldier was moved to touch the Saviour’s lips with a sponge saturated with a bitter stupefying liquid; but there was no loving hand to give the cup of cold water. Said the priests, “Let be.” Here is a lesson for the follower of Christ. Do you hear the loud call from suffering representatives of Christ all around you? Do you hear the cry, “I chill. I suffer. I hunger. I thirst?” Do you say, “Let be?” Do you leave all calls for help to the unsympathizing, the unfeeling? Inasmuch as you do it not for one of the least of God’s children, you would have done it not for Christ.

6. “It is finished.” In trumpet tones Jesus cried, “It is finished.” Never did three words mean more than when they came from the lips of the dying Son of God. He had finished the work His Father had given Him to do, and He had finished it gloriously, triumphantly, eternally. This was not a cry of defeat, but a shout of everlasting victory. From world to world throughout the universe of God, these all-victorious words were repeated, and shouted with glad hosannas. The banner of King Jesus was planted on the eternal heights, never again to be endangered. So every Christian must come to a time when his work, for eternity, is finished. May we all, like the apostle Paul, be able to say, “I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day.”

7. “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit!” Jesus yielded up His life for a season, committing it to the care of His Father, whose character and love He had so vividly and wondrously revealed to the world. It was in safe keeping. It was impossible that such a One should be holden by death. Acts 2:24. Erelong His Father called Him, gave Him back His life, to die no more, and seated Him at His right hand in glory, with an exaltation and a name above every other. In like manner every Christian, at the end of life’s journey, when the solemn hour arrives when he can keep his life no longer, can commend it into the hands of the loving All-Father, to receive it again at the resurrection of the just.

So the reader may see, that in the seven sayings of Christ on Calvary we have embraced the seven distinct phases of Christian experience and work, from the hour of pardon till probationary life is surrendered. And it is a comforting and encouraging thought that we can pass through them all, and in the end come off more than conquerors through Him who so loved us that He gave His life for us on Calvary. H. A. ST. JOHN.

IS IT IMPOSSIBLE?

By C. Castberg

If the Saturday-sabbath people think that they can observe the same time as Sabbath the world over; they are very much mistaken. The rotundity of the earth makes it impossible for people dwelling in different parts of the earth to keep the same time.

This is a sample of the arguments presented in opposition to the plain teaching of the Bible that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and that it is the duty of every Christian, no matter where he lives, to “keep it holy.” Is this impossible? Dear reader, lay aside all prejudice and preconceived ideas, and, looking the issue fairly and squarely in the face, let us make an investigation of the subject to ascertain the facts in the case.

When our Saviour was on the point of leaving this world to go to His Father, He said to His disciples, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26. And having declared that the words which they heard of Him were not His, but the Father’s which sent Him (verse 24), He said, “I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me.” John 17:8.

Among the words which Jesus gave to His

disciples, and which the Spirit of God brought to the remembrance of Mark when he wrote his Gospel, we find this significant statement,

“The Sabbath was made for man.” Mark 2:27. These words, then, are a part of that Gospel which should be preached “in all the world,” “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8. But Jesus knew that His twelve apostles would not live long enough to take the words He had delivered unto them to the “uttermost part of the earth.” That was reserved for later generations. And so we find Christ saying, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.” John 17:20.

We know that the work which Jesus commissioned His disciples to carry forward is not yet finished; therefore, in obedience to the divine command of Christ, we must still proclaim the message that “the Sabbath was made for man.” But in using the term “Sabbath” Christ meant, and the Jews understood Him to mean, the seventh day of the week, a day commencing at even Friday and ending at even Saturday. Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32. And of that law of which the Sabbath commandment is a part, we hear Him say, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.” Luke 16:17. Hence the Decalogue, as given by the Lord on Mount Sinai, is still in vogue, and its holy precepts are to be preached to “all nations” “unto the end of the world.” Matt. 28:18-20.

But did Christ know anything about the rotundity of the earth, to the “uttermost part” of which He sent His messengers? Did He know that the people in America, for example, who heard His words, “The Sabbath was made for man,” could not keep this day at the same time as their brethren, say in Europe, who heard, and wished to obey, His words?—Certainly He did; for the worlds were made by Him. Read Col. 1:16, 17; Eph. 3:9; Heb. 1:2, 3. It is only by reason of the earth’s rotundity and its revolution once in every twenty-four hours, that it is possible for all the inhabitants of this world to enjoy the blessing of the Sabbath day. As the earth turns on its axis, day and night changes incessantly; but its inhabitants can no more keep the seventh day simultaneously than they can have Monday or Wednesday or any other day in the week at the same time all the world over. God, who “in the beginning” made everything, and declared His works “very good,” ordained that when the Sabbath, in its passage round the earth, came to any certain place, then the people of such place should “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Ex. 20:8-11.

Whatever difficulty may exist is due, not to the rotundity of the earth, but to the “carnal mind;” for “it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7.

C. CASTBERG.

OUR DUTY TO GIVE THANKS.

By W. S. Sadler

A LARGE portion of our time is spent in asking for blessings, when it ought to be occupied in thanking God for blessings received. Read Ps. 92:1, 2: “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O Most High; to show forth Thy loving-kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night.” Gratitude is a good thing. It is also a duty in the doing of which we may expect to receive a blessing. If we desire a spirit of thankfulness, God will give it to us; for “no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Let us ask Him for more of the spirit of thanksgiving. The psalmist speaks here about giving thanks in the morning and in the evening, so at the beginning and close of each day we should offer our grateful thanks to the Giver of every good and perfect gift.

Paul says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thess. 5:18. Here we see that the will of God is that we give thanks in and for everything, and this even includes any trouble we may have had, or any unpleasant experience we may have passed through. It embraces all things, not leaving out those that are disagreeable. Give thanks in everything that happens in your daily life. When the fiery trials come, as they surely will, give thanks for them, instead of thinking they are some “strange thing,” as many do. They are a part of God’s infinite plan of love for you, and He does all things well. It is good to give thanks for everything.

“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.” Ps. 69:30, 31. The Lord says, “You can give Me money, deny yourself, and make all kinds of sacrifices; but it is more pleasing to Me to have you give thanks for what I have done for you; for My infinite sacrifice in your behalf. I would rather have you give thanks for what I am doing for you, than that you should do all you can for Me.” God is well pleased with thanksgiving, more pleased with it than with anything we can possibly do for Him.

Our Saviour did not leave gratitude out of His life. In this He sets an example which we surely ought to imitate. We read: “And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me.” John 11:41. Christ was found giving thanks at every step. Instead of asking His Father to hear Him, He simply looks up and says, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me.” Without making any request, direct or implied, He simply thanks God for hearing Him. His request was in His heart. If we would pray more in our hearts than on our lips, both in public and in private, and then thank God in public for having heard us, it would be more pleasing in His sight. Let us remember He knows that we have need of all these things. “My God shall supply all your need”—not all your notions. When you don’t get what you have asked for, it is evidence that what you considered a need God saw was merely a notion, or else the time is not ripe for you to receive it. Thank God He has supplied all your needs, rather than be all the time asking Him to supply them. Be grateful because He is doing it for you every moment; and as you do so, your capacity to receive greater blessings will be increased, and it will be consistent for God to give you more.

Paul says, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph. 5:20. Every prayer should be flavored with a spirit of thankfulness, and it should be noted that we are to give thanks always, for all things. When we are in trouble, we go on breathing physically just the same. Prayer is the breathing of the soul; so when we are in distress or any kind of trouble, and we pray (and that is the time when people usually pray most), let us not omit to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for everything, even including our present affliction.

When Christ had healed the ten lepers, and only one of them was sufficiently grateful to return and give thanks, He regarded the failure on the part of the nine to do so as base ingratitude. When we have been blessed, helped, preserved from danger or harm, the first thing we should do is to give thanks and recognize that God has delivered us. And the more promptly we do this, the more pleasing will our act be to Him who was our gracious benefactor.

“When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Rom. 1:21. Unthankfulness is one way in which the Father is not glorified. Thankfulness does glorify the Father who is in heaven. The thankful man continually recognizes how weak he is; and how great, strong, and good the Father is. It is a foolish heart that is unthankful, and the consequence is that by and by that heart becomes darkened. Darkness and ingratitude go together along with foolishness; while wisdom and light accompany thanksgiving. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Phil. 4:6.

We need not worry or feel anxious about what we are going to have, what will befall us, and so on. Do not take up all the time making requests, but thank God that your requests have been granted. Christ was in need on a certain occasion, and His need spoke so eloquently and loudly to the Father that it was answered without Christ, so far as we know, making any verbal request, so the Saviour looked up and said, “I thank Thee, O Father, that Thou hast heard Me.” God heard the language of His need; and we should ever remember that it is our need which prays most eloquently for us. Then, should we speak to the Lord about it, we should feel it our duty to thank Him that He heard the cry of our need even before we recognized our sorry plight, and turned our face and heart toward God for help. W. S. SADLER.

WORKING WITH GOD.

All honest, honorable labor has a spiritual significance. The meat which perisheth, the reward which is gained in money or land or some other material form, is worthy of diligent effort, and he would be foolish who should belittle its value; but it is not the only or even the chief reward to be striven for. He who reverently regards himself as working together with God, who therefore cherishes aims beyond and above those of merely immediate and material returns, and who tries to gain through his daily work knowledge of the divine character and purposes, and fellowship with the good and holy—he it is, and he only, who is laboring for the meat which does not perish. He may or may not become rich in property, but he does grow rich in character, and he alone can carry his accumulations with him into the future life.—Congregationalist.

THE BURDEN OF THE HOUR.

By George Klingle

God broke our years to hours and days, That hour by hour, And day by day, Just going on a little way, We might be able, all along, To keep quite strong. Should all the weights of life Be laid across our shoulders, and the future, rife With woe and struggle, meet us face to face At just one place, We could not go; Our feet would stop, and so God lays a little on us every day, And never, I believe, on all the way Will burdens bear so deep, Or pathways lie so steep, But we can go, if, by God's power, We only bear the burden of the hour. —George Klingle.

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