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Review and Herald, Vol. 90, No. 5.

God's Gracious Invitation

Review and Herald

Jan 30, 1913

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 30, 1913

God's Gracious Invitation

O, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? harken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He hath glorified thee.
Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. — Isa. 55:1-7.

THE WORK AND THE WORKERS

By Editor

Have you read the February or “Alcohol,” “Narcotics,” and “Common Ailments” number of Life and Health?
The “Statue of Liberty” and “Sunday Labor” number of Liberty is attracting considerable attention in Washington and other Catholic centers. Why? See the Bonzano letter and photos of Sunday labor on Catholic University.
Mr. A. A. Hainsworth, secretary of Peterboro Y. M. C. A., Ontario, writes: “I consider the Protestant Magazine one of the best of its kind, and one which should be in the library of every man who is zealous for religious truth and liberty.”
The articles “Accidents and Common Ailments” and “Special Exercises for Women” in the February Life and Health should be read by all. This number also contains forty other valuable articles and items—an excellent number to circulate in your neighborhood.
The Illinois Tract Society has just sent us a rush order for 1,000 copies of the beautiful February number of Life and Health. Note the excellent cover picture of the “Snow-shoe Girl.” Send $1.00 to your tract society for 20 copies, or $2.00 for 50. You will be surprised to find how easily they sell.
If you wish to close the mouths of deceivers who say that the Church of Rome never did believe and does not now believe in persecuting “heretics,” show them the photographs and documents in the February or “Rome and the Heretics” and “Papal Persecutions” number of the Protestant Magazine. This number will convince thousands of honest-hearted Catholics. Hand it or mail it to those with whom you are acquainted.
Why are Roman Catholics asked to keep sixteen instead of ten commandments? Why did Rome permit Sunday labor on the Catholic University? What would you be permitted to do on Sunday if Rome succeeded in enacting a Sunday law according to her ideas? These and many other questions are answered in the current number of Liberty—the “Statue of Liberty” and “Sunday Labor” number.
Rev. Edward C. Hall, pastor Christian Church, Oshawa, Ontario, writes under date of Jan. 15, 1913: “To all concerned: For several months I have been a reader of the Protestant Magazine, and am pleased to testify that it is ably edited, deeply spiritual, and reverent toward the great eternal truths of God’s Word. Its articles are worded with dignity, and are free from abuse and flippant language. Still it searches the best authorities for its facts, and prints only what can be depended on as authentic. Its criticisms are all the more powerful because certainly true, and one need not fear successful contradiction when he quotes from its pages any matter relative to the Roman Catholic Church. It should be in every pastoric library, and in all homes of Christian workers.”
Rev. G. Osborne Troop, St. Martin’s Rectory, Montreal, Quebec, writes thus: “From what I have seen and read of the Protestant Magazine, I believe it to be doing a good and sorely needed work.”
The repudiation of the word Protestant by the so-called “Protestant” Federal Council of Churches, in Chicago, Dec. 5, 1912, on the plea that it is “a word that is not a uniting but a dividing word,—a word that recalls a most unhappy and trying experience,”—should lead us to renew our allegiance to that noble word and to the principles of true Protestantism and religious liberty. Another argument peculiar to the underlying purpose of the organization was: “By using this word, you make it more difficult for many of your Christian brethren to work with you.” This elimination of the word Protestant was done to express the “earnest hope” for the “fellowship of Catholic unity.” “Then,” says an eye-witness, “the report was promptly and unanimously adopted, and with applause.” Let us rally to the circulation of Liberty and the Protestant Magazine as never before! Seventh-day Adventists are now the only Bible Protestants left! For $3.00 we will send this magazine to ten different addresses for six months, or to five for one year.

Encouraging Reports

THE following reports will be of interest to the readers of the REVIEW, as they show the advancement attending the circulation of our subscription books.
The field agent of New Jersey writes:— “The Lord has greatly blessed us this year [1912], so that our book sales have amounted to about $3,500 more than during the year 1911. Our total sales came to $11,004. Our canvassers averaged $1.03 an hour for the time they worked, and delivered ninety per cent of all orders taken.”
“During the year 1912 there were forty different individuals engaged in the canvassing work, though only three of them worked full time. Total number of hours worked, 14,202: average sales per hour, 81 cents.”
The field agent of Wisconsin gives us the following report of book sales during the last seven years:—
Year Sales
1906 $4,200
1907 3,577
1908 6,290
1909 5,599
1910 5,271
1911 5,878
1912 11,631
From the West Pennsylvania field agent comes an encouraging report, showing a gain of nearly 200 per cent in sales over the year 1911, the sales for 1911 being $4,926, and for 1912, $13,121. This is certainly a very encouraging gain.
The field agent of Southern Illinois sends a report, showing an average of the sales by the canvassers in that conference to be about one dollar an hour.
THE makers of the Diary recently mentioned in these columns expected to make shipment to us last week. We hope therefore to be able to fill all orders for this splendid diary by the time this issue of the REVIEW reaches its readers. All orders will be filled as promptly as possible. The price is only 25 cents. Order from the Review and Herald Publishing Association, Takoma Park, D. C.
THE YEAR BOOK for 1913 is now ready for delivery. This issue contains much matter not found in former issues, which will be of great value to our people.
The issue for 1913 contains a brief historical summary, giving an account of the rise and progress of this denomination, and also data regarding organizations and institutions connected therewith. This sketch begins with the development of the advent movement in 1831, and traces this movement in its important phases and chief events year by year to the present time.
This matter will be of great assistance to our people who desire a sketch of this movement and a brief history of the development of this cause in its various departments. Complete statistical tables, giving information on the leading phases of this work from the time of its organization in 1863 to the present time, enable the reader to turn readily to almost any point he may desire for any year. The matter contained in this issue will be greatly appreciated by our workers. We believe that this edition of the Year Book is the most valuable yet published.
The price is 50 cents. Order through your tract society.
A RECENT issue of the Signs of the Times weekly has this good word for the new “History of the Sabbath:” “The late J. N. Andrews made exhaustive study of the history of the Sabbath question, consulting many of the best libraries in both the Old World and the New. He was also one of the most profound Bible students, it being said of him that he could from memory recite verse about with any one practically the entire Old and New Testaments. Hence he brought into his work not only much careful historical research, but a depth of Bible knowledge as well. His valuable volume has long since been out of print, and Pastor L. R. Conradi, of Germany, undertook the task of verifying all the historical facts that Pastor Andrews had woven into his work, and has gathered out much valuable new matter as well. The book traces the Sabbath from its institution at the close of creation week, all through the old dispensation, giving the Bible facts concerning it. In addition to the facts gathered from the Bible covering this period, there are also many other interesting and helpful quotations made from leading Bible expositors and historians. But in the time of the old dispensation there is not much controversy over the Sabbath question, and hence the greater part of the book is devoted to the time of Christ and after. The history of Sabbath observance in the new dispensation is carefully traced, and alongside this history is given the origin and history of the Sunday institution. In concluding chapters the restoration of the Sabbath and its conflict with the rival Sunday institution are carefully treated. An appendix gives ‘brief biographies of the authorities quoted’ in the work. There are three indexes: an index ‘to authorities quoted,’ a ‘Scripture index,’ and a ‘general index.’ Taken as a whole, it is one of the most valuable books that has come from the press in many a day.”

Does the History of Turkey and Egypt Since 1798 Fulfil the Prophecy of Dan. 11:40-44?

By Arthur G. Daniells

— No. 5

King of the North

A. G. DANIELLS
Speaking of the four kingdoms into which Grecia was divided in the year 301 B. C., the prophecy says: “And the king of the south shall be strong.” Dan. 11:5. That kingdom was Egypt, over which Ptolemy reigned. At the time of the division, that kingdom was the strongest of the four. But the prophecy immediately adds: “And one of his [Alexander’s] princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.” Verse 5.
This prediction evidently points to Seleucus, who, before his death, had united the eastern, western, and northern divisions into one. These changes came about in this way: Cassander became king of Macedon B. C. 301. He soon added Greece to his kingdom, which he held until his death.
“On the death of Cassander, in 297, the Macedonian crown fell on his eighteen-year-old sickly son, Philip IV, who left it four months later to his brother Antipater. . . . In Macedonia the sons of Cassander, Antipater and Alexander, quarreled furiously. Alexander fled to Demetrius, who put him to death on the charge of conspiring against his life, won over the Macedonian army, drove out Antipater, and found himself, in 293, king of Macedonia without a rival. He now thought to repeat the career of Alexander the Great, and prepared immense armaments. This aroused the other kings against him. The Macedonians were disgusted by his debauchery; and when war broke out in 288, his army went over in a body to Pyrrhus (king of Epirus), who seized the kingdom of Macedonia. . . . Lysimachus, in 287, drove Pyrrhus back into Epirus, seizing Macedonia for himself.”—“History of All Nations,” Vol. III, pages 388-395.
Lysimachus had, before adding Cassander’s kingdom to his own, extended his territory in Europe northward to the river Danube, and in Asia Minor he had pushed his conquests eastward to the Taurus Mountains, which run in a north-easterly direction from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. After his conquest of Macedon, the dominion of Lysimachus extended from the Pindus mountain range, which runs north and south along the western boundary of Macedon, to the Taurus in the eastern part of Asia Minor. Thus, as Helmolt says, “Lysimachus had united under his rule a great part of Alexander’s empire.” Durny says, “Lysimachus ruled from the Pindus to the Taurus,” and another adds, “over an empire as beautiful as he could have wished.”
Thus at this point, 287 B. C., the western kingdom drops out, leaving but three kingdoms—Egypt, Syria, and Thrace. But this tripartite division did not continue long.
“The great power of Lysimachus and that of Seleucus could not fail to come into collision, with the more certainty because their territories were adjacent. The intrigue which cost the life of Agathocles, the son of Lysimachus, brought about open hostilities between them. The widow of the young prince fled to Seleucus, and besought him to avenge her husband. The kings of Thrace and Syria were the only generals of Alexander who now remained on the throne—the former seventy-four years of age, the latter seventy-seven. These two old men fought with each other in the plain of Cyras in Phrygia, and Lysimachus was conquered and slain (281 B. C.). With him his empire fell, and the number of kings remaining was for the moment reduced to two, by the union of Thrace, Macedon, and Asia in the hands of Seleucus. The former satrap of Babylon [Seleucus] ruled, therefore, over the whole of Alexander’s empire except Greece and Egypt.”—“History of Greece,” by Durny, Vol. IV, pages 294-304.
Describing this same event Helmolt says: “This was the cause of the war which broke out in 281 B. C. between Lysimachus and Seleucus. They met at Corupedium: Lysimachus lost the battle, and was killed, and Seleucus entered on his inheritance in Asia Minor and Europe.”—“The World’s History,” Vol. IV, page 146.
This situation in the year 281 B. C. exactly meets the specifications of the prophecy. There are now but two divisions of the Grecian Empire. One is in the south, a strong kingdom, the other in the north, a greater and stronger dominion stretching from Persia in the east to Macedon in the west. These are the two kingdoms designated in verses 5-15 as “the king of the south” and “the king of the north.” These two kingdoms, founded by Ptolemy and Seleucus, for more than one hundred years fulfilled every detail foretold in the ten verses that follow their introduction into the prophecy.
Can there be any difficulty in determining which is the kingdom of the south, and which the kingdom of the north?—Surely not. The location oftheir territory makes this unmistakably plain. One is in the south, the other in the north. It matters not whether their boundaries remain precisely the same at all times. Sometimes the kingdom of the south extended farther north into Palestine and the Grecian archipelago than at other times. Seleucus and his successors did not always retain all their territory at the extreme limits east and west. Syria and all of Asia Minor in the north remained intact and continued to be ‘the king of the north’ without a break, to the time when a new power is introduced by the prophecy in verse 16.
These plain facts of prophecy and history show us, we firmly believe, where to look for the king of the south and the king of the north, brought to view in verse 40. We are to look to the southern division of the Grecian Empire for the king of the south, and to the northern division for the king of the north. It is not the particular king nor dynasty, but the particular locality that constitutes one the king of the south or the king of the north. The king of the south, whatever nation it may be, is such because it is in the south; and so of the north. The kings may die and the dynasties may change, but the locations remain, and whatever nation may be ruling in either of these divisions at any time is the king of the division, whether south or north.
Having given the plainest information regarding the place, the order of development, and the history of these kingdoms for nearly two centuries, the prophecy introduces other powers with no word to indicate whether they will be brought forward again or not. But after passing over a period of two thousand years of time, suddenly the prophecy says: ‘And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him.’ Verse 40. Any one having read the preceding part of the prophecy would most naturally, promptly, and consistently look to Egypt and Asia Minor as the kingdoms here brought to view.
At the time of the end, 1798, Egypt, the king of the south, was ruled by the Mamelukes. Syria, Asia Minor, Thrace, and Macedon had been for centuries the Turkish Empire. These were the kingdoms of the south and north at that time. These were the two powers that were to be at war with another power called ‘him’ in 1798.

MAY COLE KUHN

By May Cole Kuhn

Sabbath

MAY COLE KUHN

Day of Jehovah, whose first sun Dawned mid creation’s glorious rays, About whose history is spun A living wreath of prayer and praise; God of the Sabbath, help us still To love thy law, to do thy will.
For who can guard these sacred hours And turn a trampling foot away, If he but trusts his own weak powers, And strives through self his thoughts to stay? God of creation! be thou near; Help us to love, help us to fear.
In vain in form and word we do The letter of the law’s commands; Infinite Love brought law to view,— ’Tis love that answers his commands. Thou loving Father, for to-day, Help us to honor and obey.
Day of Jehovah, whose bright bands Bind gems with fairest thought replete; A refuge in earth’s desert sands, When men, unhindered, God may meet! For faithless vow and ruthless word, Have mercy on thy people, Lord.

The Power of the Spirit

By George B. Thompson

The Holy Spirit—No. 3

The Power of the Spirit

G. B. THOMPSON
“And ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8.
“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49.
These words are a part of the last instruction of our Saviour just before he ascended to the throne of his Father, and the other “Comforter” came and took his seat in the church.
The disciples had been with Jesus during his ministry. They had listened to his instruction in the temple, as they walked by the way, on the shores of Galilee, and in the upper room. They had seen his wonderful power manifested in healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, and even raising the dead. They saw him after his resurrection, and heard him speak of the things that pertain to the kingdom of God. They finally saw him ascend from Olivet to the place of glory and power at the right hand of God. They talked with the angels concerning his return, and “returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” Yet all this did not constitute power. It did not qualify them to carry the gospel to the world; but they were bidden, “Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49.
The disciples were to carry the gospel to the world. They were to meet persecution, imprisonment, and death. The Saviour knew that it was impossible for them to accomplish the work before them without this heavenly enduement. On the day of Pentecost the promise was fulfilled, and having received the promised unction, they went forth with power to make known the gospel. They were imprisoned, whipped, stoned, and slain. Their followers were fed to the wild beasts, and the sand of the arena was soaked with their blood; but the word of God triumphed. Old Rome, with her pagan idols and abominations, has passed away. The dynasty of the Cæsars has sunk into oblivion. Her oracles are dumb. Her temples have been destroyed, and her laws abolished; but the gospel, through the power of the Spirit, has gone to the ends of the earth, and the Word has been printed in all languages and scattered to the utmost extremity of the habitable globe.
The word power, as found in the English version of the Scriptures, is represented in the Greek Testament by several distinct words. One is kratos, which signifies strength, or the manifestation of physical force. It is from this word that such words as autocrat, plutocrat, and aristocrat are derived.
Another is exousia, which indicates authority exercised or conferred by a ruler; as, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Matt. 28:18. “To them gave he power to become the sons of God.” John 1:12.
But spiritual, or evangelical, power is designated by the word dunamis, as in Luke 24:49. The apostles employ this word to express the spiritual power of the ministry, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” 1 Cor. 2:4. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor. 1:18. It is this word dunamis from which dynamite, dynamos, dynamics, dynasty, etc., are derived.
“If we endeavor to analyze the elements of this power in itself, I think we shall fail. It is spiritual and invisible. All we can do is to trace the circumstances under which this power is given, and the results which flow from it. Indeed, power is in its nature indescribable. It is known simply by its results. Gravitation, that greatest of all material powers, ceaselessly active, everywhere potent, is wholly beyond our research, or even our conception. Where are those cords, stronger than steel, which bind the planets to their centers? Where are those unseen ties that, like a universal network, envelop every atom in the air, and make it fall to the earth, and not merely to the earth, but in a direct line toward the center of the earth, though it be thousands of miles away and can never be reached? It seems an emblem of God, filling all space, operating through all matter. If the dream of astronomers be true, that not only secondaries surround their planets, and planets their suns, but that suns revolve around the center of immense systems, and all these centers through the immensity of space move round one great center, who can ever conceive the magnitude of a force that can thus operate through infinite space with precisely the same law of attraction for vast worlds and for infinitesimal atoms? It is a force never seen, and yet it operates alike in the sunshine and in the dark. It is never heard, and yet it sends its myriads of worlds singing and shining on their way. He who made that power by the word of his Spirit gives that Spirit to work in us and through us.”
“Nor is it the only exhibition of power. Consider the chemical affinity that draws together the acids and the alkalis. With what constant and unseen power does it operate! Think of that magnetic power which makes the steel filings, though in a mass of dust and rubbish and clippings of tin and brass, leave them all and fly up and kiss the magnet. It touches that pivoted needle, and lives and treasure are secure upon the stormy ocean in the darkest night by its unerring guidance. The winds blow ever so fiercely, the cold comes ever so freezingly, the waves roll ever so furiously, and the vessel pitches and sinks as if it would be submerged; and yet that strange influence, unseen, unheeded, unfelt even by the most sensitive nerves, holds the needle in its place. Who can tell what is power? We see it in its effects, we measure it in its results.”
“So with spiritual power. We can not tell ‘whence it cometh, and whither it goeth;’ but it breathes upon the human spirit: the stormy passions subside; falsehood, fraud, lust, and avarice disappear; and truth, purity, meekness, and love reign supreme in the soul. It is a transmutation beyond what the philosopher sought in the fabled stone whosetouch would transmute into gold. It is a new creation from the breath of him who created all worlds and breathed into all spirits. Spiritual power is not beauty of presence nor dignity of form. It is not learning, nor rhetoric, nor logic, nor oratory; but it can use these for its one great end. It can burn and shine in the highest periods of the most eloquent speaker, and it can thrill in the accents of the unlettered man. It can invest the words that drop from the mother’s lips, and it can wing the lispings of the little child. It can use all there is of a human being, and of his acquirements, for the glory of God and for the advancement of his church.”
“This spiritual force, in its highest human manifestation, is ministerial power. It employs and utilizes all other forms as its agents. It uses the power of thought, which is immense in its character,—the thoughts not only of good men, but of angels and of God,—thoughts which were from eternity, and thoughts which shall triumph when earth’s history shall have closed. It uses the power of language in all its multifarious forms. Its tongue of fire is to preach among all nations, and to carry to every heart, through its own peculiar idiomatic expressions, the knowledge of the power and love of God.”—Lectures on Preaching, pages 202-204.
The foregoing is in harmony with the following most encouraging extract from the spirit of prophecy:—
“All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of his own Spirit, the life of his own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through cooperation with Christ they are complete in him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence.”—Desire of Ages, page 827.
As we ponder the wonderful promises of the Word to give power to the faint, and might to those who are without strength, there springs up in the heart an unquenchable desire to see this power manifested among the remnant of Israel as in apostolic days. We are not zealous as to the form in which the Spirit’s presence shall be manifested. God has infinite ways to manifest himself. The mode of that manifestation doubtless will change, as the times and needs change. But the Spirit is to abide with the church till the end of time, and we can but believe that when this other Advocate, this divine representation of the throne on which sits the eternal God and his Son Jesus Christ, has his way in the church and in the hearts of all the believers, there will be unmistakable signs and outward signals of his presence among us.
It is not a question of believing that there is a Holy Spirit. He has his place in the fundamentals of our faith. But the question is, What place has he in the life? The eloquent words of Bishop Simpson quoted above, stir the heart. We believe that God did inspire prophets in ages past; but these are dead and gone. “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” The God who through the Spirit inspired and strengthened his servants in the past is no less willing to give unto every believer now the fulness of his Spirit for service.

What Shall Our Children Read ?

By Ellen G. White

(Concluded)
MRS. E. G. WHITE

Preoccupy the Soil

THE best way to prevent the growth of evil is to preoccupy the soil. Instead of recommending your children to read “Robinson Crusoe,” or fascinating stories of real life, such as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” open the Scriptures to them, and spend some time each day in reading and studying God’s Word. The mental tastes must be disciplined and educated with the greatest care. Parents must begin early to unfold the Scriptures to the expanding minds of their children, that proper habits of thought may be formed.
No efforts should be spared to establish right habits of study. If the mind wanders, bring it back. If the intellectual and moral tastes have been perverted by overwrought and exciting tales of fiction, so that there is a disinclination to apply the mind, there is a battle to be fought to overcome this habit. A love for fictitious reading should be overcome at once. Rigid rules should be enforced to hold the mind in the proper channel.
Between an uncultivated field and an untrained mind there is a striking similarity. In the minds of children and youth the enemy sows tares, and unless parents keep watchful guard, these will spring up to bear their evil fruit. Unceasing care is needed in cultivating the soil of the mind, and sowing it with the precious seed of Bible truth. Children should be taught to reject trashy, exciting tales, and to turn to sensible reading, which will lead the mind to take an interest in Bible story, history, and argument. Reading that will throw light upon the Sacred Volume and quicken the desire to study it, is not dangerous, but beneficial.

The Sabbath-School Lesson

The Sabbath-school affords to parents and children an opportunity for the study of God’s Word. But in order for them to gain that benefit which they should gain in the Sabbath-school, both parents and children should devote time to the study of the lesson, seeking to obtain a thorough knowledge of the facts presented, and also of the spiritual truths which these facts are designed to teach. We should especially impress upon the minds of the youth the importance of seeking the full significance of the scripture under consideration.
Parents, set apart a little time each day for the study of the Sabbath-school lesson with your children. Give up the social visit, if need be, rather than sacrifice the hour devoted to the lessons of sacred history. Parents as well as children will receive benefit from this study. Let the more important passages of Scripture connected with the lesson be committed to memory, not as a task, but as a privilege. Though at first the memory may be defective, it will gain strength by exercise, so that after a time one will delight thus to treasure up the words of truth. And the habit will prove a most valuable aid to spiritual growth.

The Home Reading Circle

Let our people show that they have a live interest in medical missionary work. Let them prepare themselves for usefulness by studying the literature that has been prepared for our instruction on these subjects. This work deserves much more attention and appreciation than it has received. Those who study and practise the principles of right living will be greatly blessed, both physically and spiritually. An understanding of the philosophy of health is a safeguard against many of the ever-increasing evils.
Fathers and mothers, obtain all the help you can from the study of our books and publications. Take time to read to your children from the health books, as well as from the books treating more particularly on religious subjects. Teach them the importance of caring for the body, the house they live in. Form a home reading circle, in which every member of the family shall lay aside the busy cares of the day and unite in study. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, take up this work heartily, and see if the church in the home will not be greatly improved. Especially will the youth who have been accustomed to reading novels and cheap story-books, receive benefit from joining in the evening family study. Young men and women, read the literature that will give you true knowledge, and that will be a help to the entire family.

The Bible

Above all, take time to read the Bible— the Book of books. A daily study of the Scriptures has a sanctifying, uplifting influence upon the mind. Bind the Holy Volume to your hearts. It will prove to you a friend and a guide in perplexity.
Both old and young neglect the Bible. They do not make it their study, the rule of their life. Especially are the young guilty of this neglect. Most of them find time to read other books, but the Book that points out the way to eternal life is not daily studied. Idle stories are attentively read, while the Bible is neglected. This Book is our guide to a higher, holier life. The youth would pronounce it the most interesting book they ever read, had not their imagination been perverted by the reading of fictitious stories.
Youthful minds fail to reach their noblest development when they neglect the highest source of wisdom—the Word of God. That we are in God’s world, in the presence of the Creator; that we are made in his likeness; that he watches over us and loves us and cares for us,—these are wonderful themes for thought, and lead the mind into broad, exalted fields of meditation. He who opens mind and heart to the contemplation of such themes as these, will never be satisfied with trivial, sensational subjects.
The importance of seeking a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures can hardly be estimated. “Given by inspiration of God,” able to make us “wise unto salvation,” rendering the man of God “perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:15-17), the Bible has the highest claim to our reverent attention. We should not be satisfied with a superficial knowledge, but should seek to learn the full meaning of the words of truth, to drink deep of the spirit of the holy oracles.
Continue reading: God's Claim Upon Man