Earlier text: Victory Through SorrowA Broader View
By Ellen G. White
In carrying forward the Lord's work at home and abroad, those in positions of responsibility must plan wisely, so as to make the best possible use of men and of means. The burden of sustaining the work in many of the foreign fields must be largely borne by our conferences in the home land. These conferences should have means with which to assist in opening new fields, where the testing truths of the third angel's message have never yet penetrated. Within the past few years, doors have been thrown open as if by magic; and men and women are needed to enter these doors, and begin earnest work for the salvation of souls. Our educational institutions can do much toward meeting the demand for trained workers for these mission fields. Wise plans should be laid to strengthen the work done in our training centers. Study should be given to the best methods for fitting consecrated young men and young women to bear responsibility and to win souls for Christ. They should be taught how to meet the people, and how to present the third angel's message in an attractive manner. And in the management of financial matters, they should be taught lessons that will help them when they are sent to isolated fields where they must suffer many privations and practise the strictest economy. The Lord has instituted a plan whereby many of the students in our schools can learn practical lessons needful to success in after-life. He has given them the privilege of handling precious books that have been dedicated for the advancement of our educational and sanitarium work. In the very handling of these books, the youth will meet with many experiences that will teach them how to cope with problems that await them in the regions beyond. During their school life, as they canvass for these books, many may learn how to approach people, courteously, and how to exercise tact in conversing with them on different points of present truth. And as they meet with a degree of success financially, some will learn lessons of thrift and economy, which will be of great advantage to them when they are sent out as missionaries. The students who take up the work of selling "Christ's Object Lessons" and "Ministry of Healing" will need to study the book they expect to sell. As they familiarize their minds with the subject-matter of the book in hand, and endeavor to practise its teachings, they will develop in knowledge and spiritual power. The messages in these books contain the light that God has revealed to me to give to the world. The teachers in our schools should encourage the students to make a careful study of every chapter. They should teach these truths to their students, and seek to inspire the youth with a love for the precious thoughts the Lord has entrusted to us to communicate to the world. Thus the preparation for handling these books, and the daily experiences gained while bringing them to the attention of the people, will prove an invaluable schooling to those who take part in this line of effort. Under the blessing of God, the youth will obtain a fitting-up for service in the Lord's vineyard. There is a special work to be done for our young people by those bearing responsibility in local churches throughout the conferences. When the church officers see promising youth who are desirous of fitting themselves for usefulness in the Lord's service, but whose parents are unable to send them to school, they have a duty to perform in studying how to give help and encouragement. They should take counsel with parents and youth, and unite in planning wisely. Some youth may be best fitted to engage in home missionary work. There is a wide field of usefulness in the distribution of our literature, and in bringing the third angel's message to the attention of friends and neighbors. Other youth should be encouraged to enter the canvassing work, to sell our larger books. Some may have qualifications that would make them valuable helpers in our institutions. And in many instances, if promising youth were wisely encouraged and properly directed, they could be led to earn their own schooling by taking up the sale of "Christ's Object Lessons" or "Ministry of Healing." In selling these books, the youth would be acting as missionaries; for they would be bringing precious light to the notice of the people of the world. At the same time they would be earning money to enable them to attend school, where they could continue their preparation for wider usefulness in the Lord's cause. In the school, they would receive encouragement and inspiration from teachers and students to continue their work of selling books; and when the time came for them to leave school, they would have received a practical training fitting them for the hard, earnest, self-sacrificing labor that has to be done in many foreign fields, where the third angel's message must be carried under difficult and trying circumstances. How much better is this plan than for students to go through school without obtaining a practical education in field work, and, at the end of their course, leave under a burden of debt, with but little realization of the difficulties they will have to meet in new and untried fields! How hard it will be for them to meet the financial problems that are connected with pioneer work in foreign lands! And what a burden some one will have to carry until the debts incurred by the student have been paid! On the other hand, how much might be gained, if the self-supporting plan were followed! The student would often be enabled to leave the educational institution, nearly or wholly free from personal indebtedness; the finances of the school would be in a more prosperous condition; and the lessons learned by the student while passing through these experiences in the home field would be of untold value to him in foreign fields. Let wise plans now be laid to help worthy students to earn their own schooling by handling these books, if they so desire. Those who earn sufficient means in this way to pay their way through a course at one of our training-schools, will gain a most valuable practical experience that will help fit them for pioneer missionary work in other fields. A great work is to be done in our world in a short time, and we must study to understand and appreciate, more than we have in past years, the providence of God in placing in our hands the precious volumes, "Christ's Object Lessons," and "Ministry of Healing," as a means of helping worthy students to8meet their expenses while in training, as well as a means of liquidating the indebtedness on our educational and medical institutions. Great blessings are in store for us, as we wisely handle these precious books given us for the advancement of the cause of present truth. And as we labor in accordance with the Lord's plan, we shall find that many consecrated youth will be fitted to enter the regions beyond as practical missionaries; and, at the same time, the conferences in the home field will have means with which to contribute liberally to the support of the work that shall be undertaken in new territory. Glimpses
By H. I. MORSE-FARNUM
O BRIGHT the mansions building
Beyond the “dome”!
Betimes appears the gilding
Of that far home. A hint of the gay adornings
And gates empearled,
These dewy, gorgeous mornings
Give to the world. Shyly the blushes of flowers
And sheen of leaves,
Are telling of unseen bowers
No blighting grieves. In gurgling brook and fountain,
And forest grand,
From plain and towering mountain
And valley land, Rise faintly echoes, surging
With foretaste sweet
Of loveliness, bright glowing,
And life complete. See, in the ponderous river
Another rise
Beneath the throne forever,
In paradise! This life is full with lessons set
On every hand;
Repeated oft; can we forget
The fatherland? Forget? while earthen vessels break?
Earth beauties die?
While for Christ’s name and mercy’s
sake
Beyond the sky Homes are in waiting for the few,
In every clime,
Who faithful prove, and always true
Through trial-time? How brief the testing time—
Mortality!
But long that “sun-bright clime”—
Eternity! Jacob’s Ladder and Promise
By Wm. Covert
THE manner of communication between our world and the place where God dwells was illustrated to Jacob when, as a wayfaring man, he slept on the bare ground with a stone under his head for a pillow. In the dream he saw a ladder with its base on the ground where he slept, while its upper step reached up to heaven. On the ladder were angels continually bearing messages between heaven and earth. A sad, lonely sinner was sleeping at the terrestrial end of this heavenly stairway, and the Lord at the top of the ladder was telling the angel messengers to guard the troubled sinner while he slumbered. It is judged from the reading of the story that Jacob had not tithed his property at his father’s house before starting on his journey, and, too, that he retired to sleep without prayer. But the Lord wanted him to learn that he was observed in all his conduct by eyes that do not slumber. When he awoke, the impression made9by the dream affected his mind in a peculiar way. Some things in the lesson astonished him: he had not previously known that God kept such close watch over all men in all their ways and in all parts of the earth. In the flush of his surprise he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” He had supposed that he was alone, sleeping apart from God, but the dream made him see that God had followed him on his way, and that when he lay down to rest, his bed, though supposed to be in a far-away spot, was at the very gate of heaven. Learning that God was keeping perpetual watch over him and his conduct, he there decided to yield all his interests to the control of the One who so cared for him. Then he thought of the property that would be placed under his management if he should ever get back to his father’s house in peace; and in substance he said, “I will give a tithe of it all to the Lord just as soon as I can do so.” The birthright, which through his father’s will was transferring the financial interest of the family property from Esau to Jacob, was placing great responsibilities upon him, which would necessarily have to receive attention when he should again reach home. Esau, Jacob’s brother, had been the supposed heir of Isaac’s estate; but not being conscientiously inclined toward the religion professed by his ancestors, he had probably neglected to pay a tithe into the Lord’s cause. Under the conditions which then existed at his father’s house, Jacob felt that no tithe would be paid until he could return to the house in peace, and attend to this business without passing through such a scene as he had witnessed on leaving home; therefore he said to the Lord: “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God. . . . And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” God’s dealings with Jacob in giving him this dream relating to providential care, and other evidences of his love, made the man feel that it would be a dangerous thing for him longer to neglect his duty to God and his cause in any way; and so under these influences he solemnly pledged before God that he would honestly tithe the property which was coming into his hands. God is unchangeable in matters relating to his cause and his people; therefore he is still watching over all for their safety and for the good of his cause. If the Lord’s cause needed the tithe of all property that his people obtained in the days of Jacob, it most certainly needs it now. Surely the work that is now to be done in the world in giving the third angel’s message to every people, is as important as anything that has been done in the past. Then let all who handle property now know of a certainty that God is keeping an account with them that must be examined and balanced during the hour of judgment. Undoubtedly every business transaction is carefully noted in heaven. It was this thought that called forth the sacred tithing pledge from Jacob. As the angelic communication between heaven and earth was shown to him, he felt that he was called upon by the Lord to be faithful in tithing all that God should place in his hands. Should not all who read this article, and are thus again led to ponder over Jacob’s dream and sacred tithing vow, do as Jacob did when he first saw and felt the significance of this dream? Will you do it now? God’s Plan for His Work in the Earth
By A. T. ROBINSON
God’s work in the earth is a progressive work. Whenever it ceases to be progressive, it becomes a dead formality or develops into apostasy. The third angel’s message is God’s program for the finishing of his work in this world. When this message closes, God’s work in behalf of mankind will be ended, the number of subjects for his kingdom will be made up. This message is an epitome of the whole gospel plan, a setting in operation of all the agencies ordained of God for the accomplishment of his work. This message is a gathering together into one harmonious system of truth of every ray of gospel light that has ever shone upon the world, and focusing that light upon the last generation of mankind. This message is therefore a development. While this whole movement was outlined on the prophetic page thousands of years ago, when God’s appointed time came for it to be given to the world, it began to unfold; and link after link has been added, first appearing in dim outlines, and as further and clearer light has shone, these links in the chain of eternal truth have resolved themselves into the harmonious, beautiful, and clear system of truth which we denominate the third angel’s message. As the truth of this message has been, and still is, developing, so the divine plan for the accomplishment of the work has been, and still is, developing. By this plan the ever-increasing needs of the work have been met. In the early days of the message there was almost no means of support for the ministry. Light began to shine upon the Lord’s plan. The people began to walk in the faint glimmerings of light which at first shone upon them, by adopting the plan of “systematic benevolence.” Each member pledged, at the beginning of each quarter, to pay a certain amount each week. This was the first step toward the tithing system. Of course we can now see that it was not a tithe, but it was the best the people knew, and it met the needs of the work in those early days. As the work developed, and its needs increased, further light was given, which led to the adoption of the tithing system as now followed. The divine plan forbids the use of the first tithe for other purposes than the support of the gospel ministry. But did the Lord ordain no plan for the support of other lines of his work in the earth? Among other lines of work which have developed in recent years is our church-school work. The support of our church-school teachers, thus far, has been about as precarious as was the support of the ministers in the early days of the message. The spirit of prophecy bears this testimony concerning the tithing system: “God’s plan in the tithing system is beautiful in its simplicity and equality. All may take hold of it in faith and courage, for it is divine in its origin. . . . If one and all would accept it, each would be made a vigilant and faithful treasurer for God; and there would be no want of means with which to carry forward the last message of warning to the world. The treasury will be full if all will adopt this system, and the contributors will not be left the poorer.” A system is here referred to. A system suggests a plan with several parts; for instance, we speak of a railroad system when we wish to refer to the main line with its branches, rolling stock, etc. The support of one branch of the Lord’s work, the ministry, has been solved by the adoption of one part of God’s beautiful plan, the payment of the first tithe. The testimony quoted above says that “if one and all would accept it, there would be no want of means with which to carry forward the last message of warning to the world.” The church-school is to act an important part in this work, and God’s beautiful plan makes provision for its support. What is the Lord’s plan for the support of different parts of his work, including Christian education? — “Institutions that are God’s instruments to carry forward his work on the earth must be sustained. Churches must be erected, schools established. . . . These institutions are ordained of God, and should be sustained by tithes and liberal offerings.”— “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, page 464. “To promote the assembling of the people for religious service, as well as to provide for the poor, a second tithe of all the increase was required.”— “Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 530. The work of the priests and the Levites was to “teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law.” Deut. 33:10. Their plan of teaching must have been somewhat similar to that of our church-school system. “And they taught in Judah, having the book of the law of Jehovah with them, and they went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people.” 2 Chron. 17:7-9. “The system enjoined upon the Hebrews has never been repealed nor relaxed by the One who originated it. Instead of being of no force now, it was to be more fully carried out and more extended. . . . The contributions required of the Hebrews for religious and charitable purposes amounted to fully one fourth of their income.”— “Patriarchs and Prophets,” pages 392, 393, 530. “None need fear that their liberality would bring them to want. Obedience to God’s commandments would surely result in prosperity.”— “Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 533. Do not these quotations suggest to us that when God’s beautiful plan is fully adopted, there will be an abundant supply of means, through the second tithe, for the support of our church-school teachers, the support of worthy poor, and the keeping up of church expenses? Judge Not
By Adelaide A. Procter
JUDGE not: the workings of his brain
And of his heart thou canst not see.
What looks to thy dim eyes a stain,
In God's pure sight may only be
A scar brought from some well-won field
Where thou wouldst only faint and
yield. The look, the air, that frets thy sight,
May be a token that below
The soul has closed in deadly fight
With some infernal, fiery foe,
Whose glance could scorn thy smiling
grace,
And cast thee, shuddering, on thy face. The fall thou darest to despise—
Mayhap the angel's slackened hand
Has suffered it, that he may rise,
And take a firmer, surer stand;
Or, trusting less to earthly things,
May henceforth learn to use his wings. Then judge none lost, but wait and see,
With hopeful pity, not disdain;
The depth of that abyss may be
The measure of the height of pain
And love and glory that shall raise
The soul to God in after-days. The Book of Daniel
By Editor
The Rights of Conscience Vindicated
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their hosen, their tunics, and their mantles, and their outer garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste: he spake and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them. Dan. 3:19-27. The burning of dissenters is not a modern method of disposing of those who obstinately refuse to conform to the ritual established by the state. Ancient Babylon set the example which has been followed by its spiritual counterpart, in using this means of securing uniformity in faith and practise, and the tragedy which was enacted on the plain of Dura has been repeated in many countries, in which demons in human form have employed satanic methods in their efforts to take from men the divine right to worship according to the dictates of their own consciences. But Nebuchadnezzar did not indulge in that refinement of cruelty which in later times has suggested the long-drawn-out torture of slowly roasting the unfortunate victims of religious persecution; and the heating of the furnace “seven times more than it was wont to be heated” would, in the ordinary course of things, mean the most sudden, and therefore the most painless, death which could be inflicted by fire. As the event turned, however, this venting of his fury became only a stronger evidence of the wonderful deliverance which was wrought for the three Hebrew captives. From the minute description given of the clothing worn by the condemned men, it would appear that they were arrayed in the garments which befitted them as those who had been placed “over the affairs of the province of Babylon.” As more exactly representing the meaning of the original words, their attire has been described as consisting of “wide trousers, fine linen shirts, precious garments, and robes of state,” and it has been suggested that, “being thus clad the three Hebrews came forth conspicuously to confess their God, and, as if courting observation, to make the Babylonians understand that they were not ashamed to suffer openly for his sake.” Because these three protesters against the authority of the state in spiritual things feared the King of heaven, they were not afraid of what the king of Babylon could do unto them. By their conduct, they were inculcating the lesson which the great Teacher afterward expressed in these words: “Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” In order to preserve that freedom of mind which is the heritage of man created in the image of God, these three Hebrews permitted their bodies to be bound and to be committed to the flames, and before all the assembled multitude the reality of the power of the fire was demonstrated in that the “mighty men” who were charged with the execution of the king’s sentence, were themselves destroyed by approaching near enough to the mouth of the furnace to cast in the victims of Nebuchadnezzar’s fury. As helpless as logs of wood, and designed merely as fuel for the raging fire, “these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” And now the tables are suddenly turned, and Nebuchadnezzar beholds a sight which leads him to question the correctness of his memory of what he himself has just done. His own consciousness testifies that he commanded three men to be cast into the fire, and yet he sees four men in the furnace. Did he really cast in three or four? He remembers that the men were bound before they were consigned to the flames, but now he beholds the four men “loose, walking in the midst of the fire.” Is his mind confused so that he can not trust its testimony? His counselors assure the king that it was three and not four who were cast into the fire, and the description of the fourth shows that he is a being of a different order from the three: “The aspect of the fourth is10like a son of the gods.” While his statement “will not be taken by any Chaldee scholar to have any intentional reference to the incarnate Saviour, still, we may fairly consider whether this was not indeed the ‘angel of the Lord’ that went with Israel through the wilderness, in whom was the name of the Father, and against whom the people sinned, provoking him by their rebellion, and whom the inspired writer of the epistle to the Hebrews expressly names as Christ.” The only effect of the fire was to burn the bonds, and thus to mock, as it were, at the authority of the king who had attempted to exercise unwarranted control over the conduct of these men who were first servants of God and second servants of the king. Nebuchadnezzar, who had by his command caused these men to be put into the furnace, now calls them forth, addressing them as “servants of the most high God.” Any thought that the king was merely the victim of a distorted vision was dispelled when in the presence of the representative men of Babylon they walked forth from the midst of the fire, having been preserved from even the least semblance of injury. “The grandees, wondering, pressed close around the living martyrs, saw, handled, and even smelt. As to their sight, it fell on countenances serene with innocence, and radiant with joy. As to their touch, they found the texture of the men’s raiment firm—their flesh healthy—their persons not scathed with flame, nor feverish with fear. The hair of the men’s heads was carefully dressed in the Babylonian fashion, long and neatly braided, as it lay between their shoulders; and the beard, cut square, fell, as accustomed, on their bosoms. As to their coats, or rather trousers, worn after the Hebrew fashion, they were not even changed, much less consumed. . . . As for the sense of smell, it served to witness that the costly perfumes spent in the morning, as if to anoint them for burial, had lost nothing of their fragrance—fragrance yet exquisitely pure, breathing gladness, as became persons adorned for a feast. The smell of fire had not passed on them. The pitch, the naptha, the stench, had not hung about them; and the men, who had contracted no taint from the licentiousness of palaces, passed untainted through the suffocating vapor of the furnace. Here stand the princes, proof under the sharpest tests, material and spiritual, ready again, with loyalty untarnished, to minister to their king. “Even the very golden pillar, though the iron pens of scribes added nothing to its record, stood a monument of the miracle that closed the ceremonial, and dismissed the imperial assembly; while in the thoughts of all, so long as Persian rapacity did not strip off its gold, and deface its beauty, it stood conspicuous from afar; and people, of all the tongues that muttered confusedly in the streets and plains of Babylonia, told of the furnace, the heaven-defended princes, and the most high God. Myriads, who never drew near it to decipher any name of god or man, told aloud of the God of the Hebrews at the first sight of that lofty pillar from afar.”—Rule. The remarkable deliverance of these three men who placed loyalty to the King of heaven above loyalty to the king of Babylon, is evidently cited by the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews as a noteworthy example of living faith. On the one side, this marked exhibition of power over the destroying elements was wholly due to the direct interference of the God of heaven, the angel of whose presence was manifested to human sight. But on the other side, these three worthies “through faith . . . quenched the power of fire.” Thus do the divine and the human co-operate in saving men from the fire which shall never be quenched. Such an interposition of divine power as is shown in this deliverance from the fiery furnace is rightly called a miracle, and in view of the present tendency either to deny miracles altogether, or to affirm that every exhibition of the power of God is a miracle, it may be well to consider the real nature of miracles. This has been well stated in the following language: “The distinction indeed which is sometimes made, that in the miracle God is immediately working, and in other events is leaving it to the laws which he has established, to work, can not at all be admitted: for it has its root in a dead, mechanical view of the universe, which lies altogether remote from the truth. . . . Laws of God exist only for us. It is a will of God for himself. That will indeed, being the will of highest wisdom and love, excludes all wilfulness—is a will upon which we can securely count; from the past expressions of it we can presume its future, and so we rightfully call it a law. But still from moment to moment it is a will; each law, as we term it, of nature is only that which we have learned concerning this will in that particular region of its activity. To say, then, that there is more of the will of God in a miracle than in any other work of his, is insufficient. Such an affirmation grows out of that lifeless scheme of the work, of which we should ever be seeking to rid ourselves, but which such a theory will only help to confirm and to uphold. “For while we deny the conclusion, that since all is wonder, therefore the miracle commonly so called is in no other way than the ordinary processes of nature the manifestation of the presence and power of God, we must not with this deny the truth which lies in this statement. All is wonder; to make a man is at least as great a marvel as to raise a man from the dead. The seed that multiplies in the furrow is as marvelous as the bread that multiplied in Christ’s hands. The miracle is not a greater manifestation of God’s power than those ordinary and ever-repeated processes; but it is a different manifestation.”—Trench. “Satan would say of miracles, ‘Let God never interfere to deliver;’ man would say, ‘Let God always interfere to deliver;’ God has determined in his wisdom to interfere when it is most for his glory, and best for you. Were God always to deliver his servants by a perpetual miracle, it would not be a miracle; it would be called—to use the phraseology of the day—‘a law of nature.’ Were God never to deliver his servants, then the world would say, and Christians would begin almost to think, ‘There is no God.’ He interposes miraculously often enough to convince that God is, and God acts; and he interposes seldom enough to make more vivid the interposition as an evidence of a divine and providential Power. I need not say that a ceaseless miracle is, by its very necessity, no miracle at all. The present law is that water should run down-hill; but if the law were that it should run up-hill, and if it had been so for eighteen centuries, men would say, ‘For water to run uphill is a law of nature;’ and if anything occurred to make it run down-hill, they would say, ‘This is a miracle.’ The present law is that the vine should be planted, that the rain should saturate the soil in which it grows, that the juice should rise through the stem and go into the branches and the leaves, that it shall effloresce into blossom, and ripen into fruit; that the fruit shall be pressed, the juice fermented, and be converted into wine. But Christ, by one word, shortened the process; and instead of taking a year to allow the water to turn into wine, which is the ordinary law, he did it in a minute, saying, ‘Let the water be wine.’ But if water always became wine by the speaking of a man, that would be a law, and the other process would be the miracle. What is continuous is called the law; the suspension of the continuity indicates the interposition of the Lawgiver. A ceaseless miracle, then, is an absurdity.”—Cumming. By working this miraculous deliverance, the God of heaven vindicated the rights of the individual conscience, and testified to the inhabitants of Babylon and to all the world that even that civil power which he has ordained has no authority in the spiritual realm; and the lesson remains the same even though there have been millions of martyrs in whose behalf there was no miraculous interposition. The principle of religious liberty which was established by the experience of the three Hebrews is of full force to-day, and the story of the burning fiery furnace ought to be told in all lands. The Refining Fires of God
By Rev. A. T. Guttery
Much of our social veneer and many of our pretentious respectabilities will shrivel into ashes when the refining Lord appears. The fires will burn deeply into our life, but all hail to them if they will purify our churches from alloy.—Rev. A. T. Guttery. A SINGER sang a song of tears,
And the great world heard and wept,
For he sang of the sorrows of fleeting
years,
And the hopes which the dead past
kept:
And souls in anguish their burden bore,
And the world was sadder than ever
before. A singer sang a song of cheer,
And the great world whistled and
smiled;
For he sang of the love of a father dear,
And the trust of a little child;
And the souls that before had forgotten
to pray
Looked up, and went singing along their
way. Aunt Mary's Morning Visitor
By Mrs. Edith E. Bruce
“Good morning, Aunt Mary. Pardon me for coming so early in the morning, but I’m so worried about little Willie; he was so sick all night, and this morning he can not sit up at all. Dear me! what am I ever to do with my children? It seems that some of them are ill all the time, while yours seem always to be well. I have come to see if you can tell me what to do.” “Well, that’s too bad, Sister Brown,” said Aunt Mary, sympathetically; “come in, and sit down; and if I can help you in any way, I shall be glad to do so.” Mrs. Brown dropped into the easy-chair that Aunt Mary offered her, and glanced around the tidy though plain little room. Again she made comparison. Here was Aunt Mary at nine o’clock in the morning, with her hair combed neatly, a clean print dress and apron on, and a fresh white collar. A blush came to her cheek as she noted her own untidiness; but then Willie had nearly worn her out all night, and everything seemed to go wrong. “How dreadful,” said Aunt Mary, “tell me all about Willie’s illness. How long has he been sick? and what seems to be the matter?” “O, he has not been sick long,” said Mrs. Brown; he went to school yesterday, and ate a hearty supper last night; but about ten o’clock he was taken sick, and it did seem as if the little fellow would die.” “How dreadful,” said Aunt Mary. “What did the dear little fellow eat? His stomach is not very strong, is it? You will have to be careful about his diet.” “That is just the question, Aunt Mary,” said Mrs. Brown, “what shall I cook? and how shall I cook it? I am simply desperate over the food question. You know my husband is not in the truth, and I have not been very long; and while I know that I should cook differently, I have not been taught, and I am afraid that if I venture new methods, I shall make a failure, and not please my husband. You asked me what I had for supper. I had just the usual bill of fare,—fried potatoes, hot biscuit and butter, strawberry jam, pickles, molasses cake, and coffee. That was very simple, you see, but I suppose Willie did eat too many biscuit with jam. Of course the children do not drink coffee nor eat much meat, but what shall I cook that will be healthful?” Aunt Mary looked thoughtful. It had been in her mind for some time to try to do something for Mrs. Brown, and also for her other young sisters in the church to help them in their cooking and housekeeping; but she realized that it was a delicate subject, and she hardly knew how to get at it. Now she recognized this request as her opportunity, so she said: “I shall be so glad to help you! The same perplexities that now confront you, I have passed through, and all that I have been able to get through experience and otherwise I shall be only too glad to give to you. It will give me great pleasure to talk things over with you, and see what we can do. It may be, too, that you know of others whom we could help at the same time.” “O how good, Aunt Mary! Yes, indeed, I do know several of my neighbors who are anxious to learn how to cook hygienically.” “They shall have all I know,” said Aunt Mary, cheerfully, “but at present let us see what can be done for Willie’s immediate relief; and then, if you desire, we will arrange for a definite study in what I consider to be one of the most important subjects for women to pursue.” “Without a doubt Willie’s sickness was due to having his little stomach overloaded with rich, heavy food. If he must eat at night, his lunch should be very simple,—fresh or stewed fruit with plain bread and butter would be sufficient. The thing for you to do now, is to give his stomach complete rest for a few hours. When you go home, give him a hot foot bath and some fomentations to his stomach to relieve the soreness and irritation caused by the retching. But first of all give him a good warm enema, give him sips of warm water, and then let him remain quietly in bed all day, and I am sure he will be much better. And now, my dear, when he has recovered from this attack, he will be hungry again, and then you must use caution. At first just give him some warm gruel. I would suggest gluten, but I know we can not always get this. A very nice gruel can be made from rice. In preparing all grains we should be careful that they are well cooked. Wash your rice thoroughly, put one-half cup in a quart of water, and boil slowly for one hour. Put through a sieve, and add a little salt and a tablespoonful of cream to a half-pint of the gruel to give it a good flavor, and I am sure you will find it very palatable. One thing more, be sure to serve it hot. Nothing is more distasteful than a lukewarm gruel, or any other lukewarm food, for that matter, that should be hot.” “How thankful I am, Aunt Mary, for your kind suggestions, and I will gladly do all you have told me. Now I must hurry back, but first tell me when we are going to meet to learn how to do things right? I am so anxious to begin!” “How would next Thursday afternoon do? If you will come here, and bring as many of your neighbors as you can, we will begin in earnest. We will call it our ‘Good Housekeeping and Cooking Club.’ Be sure to bring your notebooks.” Mrs. Brown grasped Aunt Mary’s hand as she arose to go, and thanked her again for the kindly interest she had manifested in her. She went away with a new resolve in her heart that she would be a better housekeeper in the future, and for the present would put in practise all that Aunt Mary had told her.