Earlier text: Question CornerPUTTING OUR TRUST IN THE LORD.
By L. A. Hansen
CHRIST is the great Example for man to follow in everything, and only as he is in us, and is taken by us for an example, will we be able to do that which is right. We read in 1 Peter 2:21 that Christ has left us an example, and that we should follow in his steps. In the next verse we are told that he did no sin, and neither was guile found in his mouth. The twenty-third verse reads thus: “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously.” We would understand from this that the reason he did no sin and there was no guile found in his mouth, and why he was able to bear being reviled without reviling again, was because he committed himself unto God. If we are to expect to live as Christ lived, without sin, with no guile in us, and not reviling again, then we must surely follow the example of Christ: we must commit ourselves unto God and put our trust in him. In Heb. 2:13 we have the words of Christ, saying, “I will put my trust in Him.” While here among men he told them, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30. While it may be hard to comprehend how the mighty Son of God could be in a position where he could do nothing, absolutely no thing, yet he himself said that such was the case. As he realized his own inability to perform the great work that was given him to do by the Father, he took that course that would insure him strength to do the work, and said, “I will put my trust in him.” He committed himself to God, and not once did the Example of man trust in himself to accomplish the work that had been given him to do. The way Christ showed that he did put his trust in God was to give himself entirely into the Father’s hands, to be used by the Father at all times, and in any way according to the Father’s will. He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.” “He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” and in his great agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he prayed that if it were possible he might be spared the greatest ordeal of his life, he said to the Father, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” He submitted himself to the Father so unreservedly, let the Father use him so entirely, permitted the Father’s will to be done in and through him so completely, thus declaring the Father to the world (John 1:18), that Christ himself was not made known to the world. He said, “No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” Matt. 11:27. Notice that the Son is not revealed at all, but only the Father. It was “God manifest in the flesh,” and it was “God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.” It was God in Christ that did the works that were done, according to the words of Jesus. See John 14:10. God “hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation,” and now we, in Christ’s stead, entreat the people to be reconciled to God. 2 Cor. 5:19, 20. It is the same work that Christ did while here, and we can not do it of ourselves any more than could he. As it was truth when he said of himself, “I can do nothing,” so it is true when he says to us, “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5), and it means again absolutely no thing. While we are of ourselves only weakness, yet we are to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” The Lord says to us each, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor. 12:9. Then, instead of being unable to do anything, we can each say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phil. 4:13. This will only be, however, as we follow the example of Christ, committing ourselves to the One that is mighty, let his will be done in us, and let him only be seen. As God was in Christ, we are to let Christ be in us, and then, with Christ in us, and God in Christ, our trust will be of that kind that will never be disappointed. Letting the mind of Christ be in us will cause us to do just as he did—hide self, and show only the Lord. We will be obedient unto death. “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind.” 1 Peter 4:1. Having this mind, we will be able to bear the revilings of men without reviling again. “Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:19. 175 Central Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. PROGRESS TOWARD THE UNIVERSAL SUNDAY LAW.
The New York Independent summarizes some of the good results which the Sabbath rest agitation has produced in European countries. In Germany, where formerly the business houses were closed only for a few hours each Lord’s day, they are now by law allowed to be open only a few hours. In many of the Swiss cantons comparatively rigid laws have been enacted, while in others the old laxness still prevails. In Italy no less than thirty-six cities have9passed special Sabbath laws since 1892. In France progress has been made, and in Paris there is no mail delivery except in the early hours of the morning, and every post-office official has a Sabbath free once a month. In Belgium only those packages and letters are delivered which are not marked “Not to be distributed on the Lord’s day.” In Holland no Sunday papers are published. In Norway no alcoholic drinks are allowed to be sold from Saturday afternoon at 5 o’clock to Monday morning at 8. In Russia the post-offices are open for a short time only, at 2 P. M.—Pacific Ensign. Courts Should Keep Religion Free From State Sanctions
It is time that the law shall take the most advanced ground on those questions, and that courts shall recognize the fact that the cause of true religion is always injured and never advanced by calling to her aid the sanctions and punishments and rewards of secular authority.—California Reports, 60, 1882, p. 187. Christ Came Not to Judge the World
Jesus Christ said, “If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world.” John 12:47. The Truth Shall Make You Free
The tendency of the times is toward parentalism in government. There is much popular clamor for “reform” from various quarters, and, with few exceptions, the advocates of reform call upon the government to father their schemes. Men, and women too, become extremely benevolent or charitable—provided the public treasury will bear the expense. They become exceedingly anxious that the people become religious—but they want the government to assume the burden of bringing about the desired result. It is noticeable, however, that the effect of doing all good works through public channels is to lessen private or individual effort. Thus the call for benevolence on the part of the government in this or that direction is little less than a desire to shirk the responsibility of private duty. This principle was aptly illustrated by Congressman Hainer, of Nebraska, in a recent speech on the subject of government aid to religious or private benevolent institutions. We quote as follows from the Congressional Record of April 2:— “The habit of appropriating for these institutions does another thing—it dries up the sources of private charity. Take the history of any of these institutions, and you will find that when they are supported by public subsidies, private contributions fail. The report from which I have quoted shows that in 1895 this institution which we are considering received but $30 from private sources. An institution which sustained itself prior to 1880 exclusively by private contributions received only $30 in 1895. The same is true in every state and in every community where this practice has prevailed, and in my remarks, with the permission of the House, I will quote from the experience of Pennsylvania and New York on this point. “Mrs. Lowell, prominent in charity work in New York, states that of the 18,900 children supported by charity in New York City, 2,700, or one-seventh, are supported in private institutions at private expense (14 per cent. of the total expenditure), and that 1,200 are supported at public expense in public institutions. Of the total expenses for all purposes of the 23 institutions caring for the remaining 15,000, 8.8 per cent. is contributed by private benevolence. From this it appears that 21 per cent. of the expense of caring for dependent children is borne by private benevolence, while 79 per cent. is borne by the city. “In Philadelphia, under a different system, the proportion borne by private benevolence is 97 per cent. In New York one institution that received in 1892 $250,000 from the city received from private sources less than $500, and in case of twelve institutions the receipts from private sources were less than 5 per cent. of the total expenditure. “Commissioner Bolles, of Pennsylvania, says:— “‘The state by appropriating so generally is drying up the interest of individuals in organized charities. Our people have acquired great wealth, and their sympathies should be cultivated in every possible manner. The state can never do through its long perfunctory arm acts of mercy with the same degree of kindly interest as individuals who live nearer the scene of relief and who have a more distinct interest in the sufferers.’ “What is true of these dependents is true of every other branch of charitable relief. It applies with equal force to the support of schools by subsidies. Divided responsibility means no responsibility.” SAYS Mr. Thackeray about that nice boy, Clive Newcome, “I don't know that Clive was especially brilliant, but he was pleasant.” Occasionally we meet people to whom it seems to come natural to be pleasant; such are as welcome wherever they go as flowers in May, and the most charming thing about them is that they help to make other people pleasant too. Their pleasantness is contagious. The other morning we were in the midst of a three days' rain. The fire smoked, the dining-room was chilly, and when we assembled for breakfast, papa looked rather grim, and mama tired, for the baby had been restless all night. Polly was plainly inclined to fretfulness, and Bridget was undeniably cross, when Jack came in with the breakfast rolls from the baker's. He had taken off his rubber coat and boots in the entry, and he came in rosy and smiling. “Here's the paper, sir,” said he to his father with such a cheerful tone that his father's brow relaxed, and he said, “Ah, Jack, thank you!” quite pleasantly. His mother looked up at him smiling, and he just touched her cheek gently as he passed. “The top of the morning to you, Pollywog,” he said to his little sister, and delivered the rolls to Bridget, with a: “Here you are, Bridget. Aren't you sorry you didn't go yourself this beautiful day?” He gave the fire a poke and opened a damper. The smoke ceased, and presently the coals began to glow; and five minutes after Jack came in, we had gathered around the table, and were eating our oatmeal as cheerily as possible. This seems very simple in the telling, and Jack never knew he had done anything at all, but he had in fact changed the whole moral atmosphere of the room, and had started a gloomy day pleasantly for five people. “He is always so,” said his mother when I spoke to her about it afterwards, “just so sunny and kind and ready all the time. I suppose there are more brilliant boys in the world than mine, but none with a kinder heart or a sweeter temper, I am sure of that.” And I thought, Why isn't a disposition worth cultivating? Isn't it one's duty to be pleasant, just as well as to be honest, or truthful, or industrious, or generous? And yet, while there are a good many honest, truthful, industrious, and generous souls in the world, and people who are unselfish, too, after a fashion, a person who is habitually pleasant is rather a rarity. I suppose the reason is because it is such hard work to act pleasant when one feels cross. Very few people have the courage of that cheeriest of men, Mr. Mark Tapley, who made it a point of honor to “keep jolly” under the most depressing circumstances. People whose dispositions are naturally irritable or unhappy, think it is no use trying to be otherwise; but that is a mistake. If they will patiently and perseveringly try to keep always pleasant, after a while they will get in the habit of smiling instead of frowning, of looking bright instead of surly, and of giving a kind word instead of a cross one. And the beauty of it is, as I said before, that pleasantness is catching, and before long they will find themselves in the midst of a world full of bright and happy people, where every one is as good-natured and contented as they are.—Christian Work. Spring Tonics: Nature's Remedies for Health
By O. C. Godsmark
Having noticed in the two preceding articles the necessity and use of certain sanative agencies that should be properly employed by every one in need of a thorough blood purifier, we now consider some of nature’s own tonics. A tonic, according to Dunglison, is a “medicine which has the power of exciting slowly, and by insensible degrees, the organic actions of the different systems of the animal economy, and of augmenting their strength in a durable manner,” and he classifies cold water as one of these medicines, and, under the head of “mental tonics,” confidence, hope, and amusement. Then a tonic is that which will augment the strength of the various tissues in a durable manner; and if such a commodity can be obtained, which will also leave no final depressing influences upon the system, it is surely what is wanted. Aside from the food we eat, of which we spoke last week, there are four universal tonics within the reach of all, which our heavenly Father has provided, without money and without price. These are fresh air, pure, soft water, proper exercise, and sufficient rest. The vivifying effect immediately felt upon the system by filling the lungs with the fresh morning air, is so apparent to all that it seems strange that intelligent beings will remain housed up in overheated, illy-ventilated rooms day after day, when the life-giving element is all about them seeking to find admittance to their secluded abode. Sunshine is studiously kept from entering the rooms for fear of fading some precious bit of furnishing; or, from a defect in the building, proper windows were not provided for the direct entrance of the sun’s rays into the living apartments. Sometimes through sheer neglect the rooms are not sunned and aired each day as they should be. Oftentimes the housework assumes a mere round of endless duty, that drags its weary length along, day after day, and week after week, with no apparent changes save such as is common to the shifting seasons as they come and go. Such a life has become self-centered, and by thus continually looking only at self and self troubles, the soul’s horizon continually becomes narrower, until life itself becomes a burden, being but the center of a self-limited circle, whose circumference is oftentimes scarcely larger than the walls of the house the individual calls home. The Saviour of mankind seeks to draw the minds of such without themselves. “Consider the lilies, how they grow.” The plants, leaves,10grasses, flowers, trees, birds, in fact, all nature, is calling with audible voices for these weary ones to look beyond self, and behold the loveliness of all creation around. What purer, healthier, better tonics can there be than these that nature continually holds out for our reception? Drink these in. Live in them, and let the soul delight itself in the contemplation of the handiwork of nature’s God. The care of house plants in winter, and of a garden, small tho it be, in summer, will divert the mind from the morbid condition within, and as the soul expands under the vivifying influences of a consciousness of self-improvement, of a gradual return of the original image of God upon our distorted and sin-scarred features, the fountain of health will be opened wide, and the burdens of life will lighter grow. How the blood goes rushing to every part of the body, carrying with it life and nourishment to every organ, when once the pure, fresh air finds entrance to the lungs, and the direct sun’s rays fall full upon us! How soon the eye regains its luster, the cheeks their color, and the whole system its buoyant tone, when nature’s tonics, alternatives, and blood purifiers are intelligently and thankfully used! Persons with weak lungs or bronchial affections must use care in exposing themselves to the cold, damp, or piercing winds. The lungs, throat, and mouth must be properly protected. Exercise in the open air is most certainly to be recommended; but care must be used that the patient does not become fatigued. Exercise should never be continued to exhaustion. Bathing the whole body by wetting the hands in cool or tepid water, and then rubbing the skin briskly, followed by a thorough rubbing with a rough towel, is a most excellent tonic. This may be done upon first rising in the morning, but should never be practiced in a room so cold that the patient can not easily react from the shock. Much injury has been done by patients whose vitality was much exhausted, attempting to follow the heroic cold-water treatment, that, to a strong, robust person was perfectly proper. They became chilled—the blood that had been driven from the skin and superficial muscles rushed in upon and congested the delicate, internal, vital organs, and nature had not the power of restoring the equilibrium of circulation for so long a time that permanent injury followed. It is utterly impossible to make one person’s experience a criterion by which to treat and advise all others. A little sanctified judgment is a most appropriate coefficient in either advising others or adopting a course of treatment for ourselves. While many would be greatly improved in health by out-of-door employment, there are also many who are continually overworked, and who need rest—rest of body and rest of mind. Whatever our cares or troubles, we may cast them all upon the Lord. He is the great Burden-bearer. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matt. 11:28, 29. When we realize that, wherever he places us, there is where we are to work out the problem of patience, and that nothing short of tribulation can work patience (Rom. 5:3), then we will grasp something of the blessedness of the truth that he whom the Son makes free is free indeed (John 8:36). With a mind free from the anxiety of sin, we can better plan our work, and have more time for rest. “Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.” Prov. 3:23, 24. FACTS FOR THE MILLENARIAN.
By A. G. Adams
It is often urged by those who are believers in a “Golden Age” just about to dawn upon us—a millenial reign of peace and prosperity—that the world is growing better; that crime is decreasing; that the tendency of the world in general is toward a higher plane of morality. The above sentiments are quite familiar, being echoed and reëchoed from the pulpits throughout the length and breadth of our land. . . . The following brief statistics, however, show the real tendency of the world at the present time:— |
1867. |
1877. |
|---|
| Great Britain |
905 |
6,587 |
| France |
9,850 |
57,116 |
| Germany |
18,450 |
93,818 |
| United States |
53,574 |
328,716 |
In 48 years, ending with 1886, Great Britain increased in population 30 per cent. For the same period of time the increase in suicides and murders in that empire was 32 per cent. The consumption of wines, malt liquors, and distilled spirits in the United States is illustrated by the following comparison: In 1879, 423,261,090 gallons; in 1888, 879,767,476 gallons. The kingdom of Great Britain consumed 21,000,000 lbs. of tobacco in the year 1811; in 1888, 57,000,000 lbs. This shows an increase in the quantity of tobacco consumed in 77 years of 271 per cent. Increase in population for the same length of time, 50 per cent. France consumed 20,000,000 lbs. of tobacco in the year 1811; in 1888, 80,000,000 lbs. Increase in population for same period, 33½ per cent; increase in quantity of tobacco consumed, 400 per cent. In 1840 there were 20,000 lbs. of opium consumed in the United States; in 1880, 533,450 lbs. Number of habitual opium users in the United States in 1868, 60,000; in 1893, 500,000. The above statistics were taken from “International Dictionary of Statistics.” Compiled by Mulhal, Dr. Hammond, and others of national repute. These are only a few of the many comparisons that might be made from reliable data, showing the marvelous increase of evil and crime over that of population. If we add to the above the infinitude of crimes which pass unnoticed, we certainly have a deplorable, tho truthful picture, for the consideration of the fond dreamers of a millennium.—A. G. Adams, in Minnesota Worker. That brilliant writer and critic “Nym Crinkle,” in reviewing a late naturalistic novel, gives utterance to this important truth:— “This recrudescence of paganism in our smart romancers is a curious and serious sign of the times.”
It is a curious and serious sign of the times in circles outside of romance and literature. It is seen in athletic sports, in festivals and carnivals, in political matters, in art, in secret societies and orders, and, more than all else and worse than all else, in religious matters. The retrogression of Protestantism to ornate forms and elaborate ceremonials is a revival of the old pagan spirit. Among all church institutions those revealed in the word of God are least regarded, while those which came from paganism, without one word of authority from the word of God, such as Christmas, Easter, and the Sunday, are the most highly honored. Our Christian Endeavor Societies are following the old Persian sun-worshipers in their early morning sunrise meetings; and in the control of religion and religious observances by civil law the same ideas obtain readily that existed in Pagan Rome. Truly it is a curious and serious sign of the times. THE LAST PRAYER.
By Helen Hunt Jackson
FATHER, I scarcely dare to pray,
So clear I see, now it is done,
That I have wasted half my day,
And left my work but just begun; So clear I see that things I thought
Were right or harmless, were a sin;
So clear I see that I have sought,
Unconscious, selfish aims to win; So clear I see that I have hurt
The souls I might have helped to save,
That I have slothful been, inert,
Deaf to the calls thy leaders gave. In outskirts of thy kingdom vast,
Father, the humblest spot give me;
Set me the lowliest task thou hast,
Let me repentant work for thee. RUNNING TO CATCH THE TRAIN.
PROBABLY few persons who travel much do not occasionally find themselves obliged to run to catch a train. This is particularly true of those who go to and fro from the great cities to the suburban towns daily, living in one and doing business in the other. It is said that heart disease has greatly increased in London, and the same is no doubt true of other cities, since this custom has grown into such proportions. “There are,” says Dr. Richardson, “few acts of a physical kind performed by men in their regular course of life, which so demonstrably produce physical disease of the heart and great blood-vessels as this one act of running or hastening to catch a train. There is more in the act than the mere haste; there is the attendant excitement; the looking out for the signs that the train is still there; the breathless mode of inquiry how long it will be before the train starts; the hurry to get past people on the platform; the trepidation, perchance, to get a ticket; the numberless little irritations which come in the way; the fits and starts of temper, if any obstacles give trouble and annoyance; and other anxieties which I need not wait to describe. These all add their quota to the general disturbance and to the strain which cripples or to the strain which kills.” The evils arising from haste to catch a train are most frequent in persons who have passed their fortieth year, and, as a rule, they are brought about by physical injury affecting either the heart or the great arterial blood-vessels which spring from the heart. The heart becomes enlarged, dilated; the openings to which its valvular appendages are attached become too large; the valves themselves become distended and pouched; the great arterial vessel which rises from the left side of the heart becomes dilated and loses its contractile power, or the muscular walls of the heart become deficient in tone. The heart affected in any of these ways may work under ordinary circumstances so well that it may give to its owner no indications of its failures unless it be severely taxed. It might, indeed, go on working, under fair circumstances, for years, and carry its owner into the possession of a long life, if it were not overtried. But then occurs one of these great strains, and it succumbs. The heart is so important an organ that its hygiene should be carefully attended to, in order that it may do its work as long as the constitution has vigor to live.—Journal of Hygiene. DARKNESS was coming down upon the desert. There were no trees to cast lengthening shadows, no hilltops to hold the lingering rays of sunlight, but suddenly, all over the wide extent of level sand, darkness fell like a black robe. Mahomet and his attendants halted on their journey, and a tent was pitched. “Allah’s care is over his children,” said one of the band. “I will even loose my camel, and trust in Allah that I shall find him again in the morning at sunrise.” “Friend,” said the prophet, with grave, uplifted finger, “tie thy camel and then trust in Allah.” There is one point of our daily living at which we see men and women continually loosing their camels, with loud protests of trust in Allah, and showing presently pious resignation at their loss—I mean the care of their health. Of course this earthly house of our tabernacle must decay, and we must bear its infirmities cheerily and patiently; but there is neither sense nor piety in committing our lives to God and then breaking all the laws of hygiene. “This is a strange dispensation of providence,” I said mournfully to my neighbor, as we attended together the third funeral which we had followed from Colonel B.’s house within two years. “Providence, indeed!” answered my neighbor, with a gruff disrespect which I hope was intended for me, not for providence. “Humph! the colonel keeps rotting potatoes in his cellar!” “I am asking God to give me dying grace, that I may be willing to go,” said a girl in the last stages of consumption. “Ah,” said her doctor in a confidential whisper, “if she had only asked a year ago for common sense to keep from putting off her flannel shirt in midwinter to go to a party!” Friends, eat plain, wholesome food, wear sensible clothes, ventilate your houses, be temperate, be prudent; in short, tie your camel, and then trust in God, and take cheerfully the dispensations of his providence.—Christian Work. A WORD TO BOYS.
By Mercy Drama
Please don’t kill the birds or rob their nests. Don’t abuse the cats, but shelter and feed them. Be kind to the dogs, and give them water. Don’t jerk, kick, whip, or overwork your horse. Don’t dog or stone the cows. Don’t fish or hunt for sport, or use steel or other cruel traps. Don’t give pain to any creature. When you see any creature in need, please give it food and water. When you see any creature abused, don’t fail to earnestly but kindly protest against such abuse. Be above using tobacco or liquors. Be above using profane or vulgar language. Be clean in body and mind. Always do good and never evil. These are the ways to be happy and beloved.—Mercy Drama. In a lecture at Boston, Mass., Professor Wood dealt with the phenomena of spider life. In one tribe the female is 1,300 times as large as the male. The spider's thread is made up of innumerable small threads of fiber, one of these threads being estimated to be one-two-millionth of a hair in thickness. Three kinds of thread are spun—one of great strength for the radiating or spoke lines of the web. The cross lines, or what a sailor might call the ratlines, are finer and are tenacious; that is, they have upon them little specks or globules of a very sticky gum. These specks are put on with even interspaces. They are set quite thickly along the line, and are what in the first instance catch and hold the legs or wings of the fly. Once caught in this fashion, the prey is held secure by threads flung over it somewhat in the manner of a lasso. The third kind of silk is that which the spider throws out in a mass of fluid, by which it suddenly envelops any prey of which it is sometimes afraid, as, for example, a wasp. A scientific experimenter once drew out from the body of a single spider 3,480 yards of thread or spider silk—a length little short of three miles. Silk may be woven of spider's thread, and it is more glossy and brilliant than that of the silkworm, being of a golden color. An enthusiastic entomologist is said to have secured enough of it for the weaving of a suit of clothes for Louis XIV.—Selected. Believe and Attempt Great Things for God
By William Carey
BELIEVE great things of God; attempt great things for God.—William Carey. NORTH INDIA.
By T. J. Scott
BY REV. T. J. SCOTT, D. D. The great movement among the poorer castes of North India holds on unabated. From fifteen to twenty thousand annually are added to the Methodist mission alone. The United Presbyterian mission of the Punjab is also having a large ingathering. In some cases in the Methodist mission, deputations have come in from a long distance asking for teachers to come and teach them Christianity, and open schools for their children. In several directions thousands of inquirers are asking for baptism. One pastor in three months had baptized 400, and was expecting to add at least 1,000 to his Christian community during the year. The great demand is for native pastors and evangelists to conserve and carry forward the work. The theological seminary at Bareilly is taxed to the utmost to meet the want. The score or more trained men turned out annually is far below the need. It is much to be regretted that friends in America do not at once furnish the $40,000 called for to put this seminary on a larger basis at once. Instead of 80 at least 200 students should be on the roll under training, to push and conserve this great work. This is no sudden movement. For more than a third of a century the Gospel has been faithfully preached in these regions, and many copies of the Scriptures circulated among the people. They have had the truth held up. The sense of sin has been awakened, and the true way of salvation has been before them. So the baptisms are not “hasty” in the sense of some critics. Preachers, European and native, have been sounding out the Gospel for years, and multitudes have been thinking. Thus the present harvest, amounting to perhaps 85,000 of a Christian community among the Methodists, is not a sudden thing, without ample plowing and sowing and watering. True, the harvest has been largely gathered in more recent years. Some 65,000 have been added within 4 years, and the number will soon run up to 100,000, and more, if a pastorate to care for the multitudes gathered in can be raised up. This is no superficial work. It is, to be sure, not matter for surprise if tares are found among the wheat in so large a harvest. A mass movement like this must carry along with it, and catch up, a good deal that is not altogether good, and in this it differs in nothing from large revival movements in the home land. But will any one say such revivals are failures? The weak are strengthened, and the utterly worthless are eliminated. So the missionaries deal with this movement, which has its critics in the field, particularly among less successful missions. Those who know the work realize that a strong, substantial church is being raised up, served by a native ministry, and that effective self-support is being developed. Tried by the tests of self-support, spiritual life, endurance of persecution, and martyrdom, a true church is being founded. Rev. P. M. Buck, in a recent letter written in the midst of this work, says:— These converts manifest a very encouraging willingness to do what they can to support the work among them. Persecution has been common and persistent. In the region where the greatest number of baptisms has occurred, the leading men of a large number of villages assembled in council, where it is said several hundred were present, and they bound themselves under a curse to suppress Christianity and prevent its further spread. Petitions were made for assistance to native government officers. Money was freely offered to bribe for the same purpose, and one of our workers was asked to name a sum he would be willing to take and retire from the field. Our people have been beaten, and were for a time deprived of pasturage for their cattle, and of fuel for cooking their food. One was imprisoned under false charge, and from one village a company of recently baptized converts have been expelled, and the case awaits settlement in the court. In the face of all this opposition, resulting in various other petty annoyances as well, I have heard of but one man who has lapsed from Christianity, and he, a little later, when we held a meeting in the neighborhood, came with his offering for the collection made, which, however, his brethren refused, telling him he had gone over to the enemy in the time of trial.
“INDIA’S Pearl” presents a prosperous field for mission work; medical and educational work are especially prosperous, and the only cloud on the horizon is that of threatened failure of support by Christians at home. Everywhere the call for “retrenchment” brings sorrow and apprehension to the missionaries’ hearts; for it not only means hardship and trial to themselves, and inability to reap the fields which are white to the harvest, but it means that the unconverted will have another occasion to scoff, and heathen communities and weak Christians lose faith in the stability and truth of Christianity. Calls come for funds for medical dispensaries for women, and for schools to educate the youth. Over 200 have professed their faith in Christ during the past year, and many others are inquirers. The mission schools contain 14,868, and the Sunday schools 6,405 children. Jaffna College has 160 students, and the high school 391. One hundred dollars will support for a year four native village schoolteachers in Ceylon. Each teacher would have on the average 50 pupils in his school, so that $100 would prevent the giving up of four schools, and therefore keep 200 children in Christian schools, under Christian instruction, for a year. Twenty-five dollars would keep 50 children in school; $10, 20 children; $5.00, 10 children; $1.00, 2 children. “Quick help is double help.” The dispensary for women at Chavagacherri (opened in July, 1894, through the self-sacrificing efforts of Miss Leitch) has now over 100 patients daily, patients who had previously been shut out from European medical treatment, owing to native female modesty, which prevents them from consulting male physicians. Rich and poor consult the lady physician, and receive spiritual as well as temporal aid. Many evince their appreciation by their contributions to the sustenance of the work.—Missionary Review. THE HEAVENLY CALL.
By Lucy Larcom
What shall I do, my Lord, my God,
To make my life worth more to thee?
Within my heart, the earth abroad,
Deep voices stir and summon me. Through strange confusion of the time,
I hear thy beckoning call resound;
There is a pathway more sublime
Than yet my laggard feet have found. My coward heart, my laggard feet,
They hold me in bewildering gloom;
Come thou my stumbling steps to meet,
And lift me into larger room. The dearest voice may lead astray;
Speak thou: thy word my guide shall be—
O, not from life and man away,
But through them, with them, up to thee! It is not much these hands can do;
Keep thou my spirit close to thine,
Till every thought thy love throbs through,
And all my words breathe truth divine. With souls that seek thy pure abode,
Let my unfaltering soul aspire,
Make me a radiance on the road—
A bearer of thy sacred fire.