p. 6 | Review and Herald, Vol. 84, No. 30. (7/25/1907)

Review and Herald

Jul 25, 1907

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 25, 1907

Love Divine

By D. Middlemas

O heavy heart, with sorrow bowed, Behold the rainbow in the cloud! Know for thy joy that in this spot Where suffering is the common lot, God loveth thee and loves thee well.

Though Summer's hand thou canst not see, When laid on grass and flower and tree, Be this the comfort where thou art, Making glad summer in thy heart; God loveth thee and loves thee well.

Though winds blow easterly and bold, As sheep thou art within the fold. No winter touches thee with frost, For Love the threshold once has crossed; God loveth thee and loves thee well.

The kindness that surroundeth thee, The tender, patient ministry, So gently shown, so freely given, Confirm the truth from highest heaven; God loveth thee and loves thee well.

— D. Middlemas.

Home and Health

Our New Health Book

A Book of Merit and Practical Value. A Book that Appeals to the People—One that They Will Buy and Never Regret. A Book that Gives Full Value Received to the Purchaser and a Liberal Remuneration to the Agent.

“Nothing Succeeds Like Success”

That our statements of the public appreciation of “Home and Health,” and the success it brings to its agents, are not overdrawn, we give below a tabulated report of 41 agents just as they came in for one week. These reports are not selected, but include all the reports of all the agents reporting on the book for one week.

Beginning Record for One Week on “Home and Health”

	Agts.	Hrs.	Orders	Value	Value per hr.
Western Washington	8	174	120	334.25	2.78
Upper Columbia	1	31	23	60.50	1.95
State of California	23	624	398	$1,159.60	$1.86
“ ” Minnesota	2	58	74	206.00	3.55
“ ” Missouri	2	92	60	167.75	1.82
“ ” Texas	5	178	115	337.50	2.12
Totals	41	1157	790	$2,305.60	$1.99

DESCRIPTION

“Home and Health” is a large subscription book of 592 pages, thoroughly illustrated, and designed especially for home reference and the treating of the many details pertaining to the home and the care of the body.

It embraces “The Home,”—how to make it; “General Housekeeping,”—all its details; “The Diet,”—what it should be; “The Care of the Body,”—revealing the simple things one must do to keep the body healthy; “The Care and Training of Children,”—common sense for parents; “The Home Treatment of Disease,”—a valuable instructor, doctor, and nurse.

It contains principles of the gospel as they should be practised in our manner of living.

WHAT IT DOES

It reveals some of the most practical means by which we may make our homes visible types of the invisible home above. It gives God’s message of health, which is due just now in all the world. It tells how to live a plain, simple life. It imparts information that will prove to be practical in the mechanical construction of homes. It enables its readers to apply many of nature’s effective remedies in the treatment of the majority of common diseases, such as colds, croup, etc. It will lighten the labors of many an overburdened housekeeper through helpful suggestions on all the practical features of housekeeping. It will prove to be an all-round, valuable counselor in every feature of home life.

Agents are wanted to sell this valuable work. Any one with a little preparation can sell it. With a few exceptions, the agents above reported are beginners, mere boys and girls.

PRICES: Cloth, marbled edge, $2.50; full law sheep, $3.50; full leather, $4.50.

WHERE TO SECURE THE BOOKS

Of any State tract society, or the Review and Herald Publishing Assn., Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C.; the Pacific Press Publishing Assn., Mountain View, Cal.; Southern Publishing Assn., Nashville, Tenn., or their branches.

Editorial Letter

By W. W. P.

Jottings from the Editor's Note-Book

HELSINGFORS, the capital of Finland, where our annual meeting for that country was held, is a city of about one hundred and fifteen thousand inhabitants, about equally divided between Finns and Swedes. It is located on the south coast, and is the center of shipping and trade. Its principal business streets present about the same general appearance as do those of the large cities of Europe, and there are some very attractive public parks. There is a good system of electric trams, and the cheapest cab service which I have found in any part of the world. For one half of a Finnish mark (ten cents in American money) one person can ride to almost any part of the city, and as a natural result the people use the cabs freely. Even the laundry women use a cab to convey their baskets of clothes from place to place. The most of the horses are harnessed in Russian style, with the shafts directly connected to the collar, instead of using traces, and a high wooden yoke passing up over the foreshoulders of the horse is attached to the shafts where they are connected with the collar. These outfits correspond exactly to the pictures which I had seen of Russian conveyances.

Finland is a mission field under the direction of the Scandinavian Union Conference, and there are about one hundred believers in this territory, nearly all of whom are Swedes, as the work has thus far been largely conducted in the Swedish language. There are, however, some Finns who have received the truth, and others who are interested, and what we said in English was translated into both Swedish and Finnish. About seventy-five of our own people came to this meeting, and there was some attendance on the part of those in the city who were interested. On Sunday meetings were held in one of the principal halls of the city with a fair attendance.

In the instruction which I gave at this meeting I tried to present the gospel message for this time as a personal experience. When the third angel's message is received merely as a creed, it brings no more power to save from sin than does any other creed, and there is the same danger of formalism that there has ever been. This message is designed to gather out a people from every nation, and to give to them a special experience as a preparation for the coming of the Lord. The understanding of the sanctuary and its services, which came after the disappointment of 1844, threw a light upon the past, the present, and the future, and gave the right direction to this advent movement. It is the understanding of this subject and the experience which comes through it which will keep this people on the right path to the heavenly city, and it is therefore most important that this great truth should be clearly presented to all the people. “The third angel closes his message thus: ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making his final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers, and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. . . . Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels' messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them, will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.”—Early Writings, pages 117, 119.

Several were baptized during this meeting, and plans were laid for the more rapid advancement of the work, especially among the Finnish people.

We left Helsingfors the next morning after the close of the meeting, and went directly to the Swedish meeting which was held at Södertelje, a town of about ten thousand inhabitants near Stockholm. A tent had been pitched in which the public services were held, and the people were cared for in rooms secured in the town. About two hundred of our own people attended this meeting, but the attendance from the town was very small. This was doubtless due in part to the weather, as it rained every day, and it was rather cold for a tent-meeting.

Here again I dwelt upon the plain truths of this message, and endeavored to help all to see and avail themselves of the provision which has been made to enable us to meet the requirements of God and to stand complete in Christ. This led us to a study of the gospel of creation, and to the place which Christ occupies as Head of creation and Head of the church, and to his ministry by virtue of which that creative power works in the believer to reveal the character of God as manifested in the keeping of all the commandments. Through sin man ceased to be the temple of God, and lost the power to obey God's law, but in the gift of Christ to take the flesh to work out righteousness in the flesh, and as High Priest to minister that righteousness to all believers by the ministry of the Spirit, the power of his endless life, man may be restored to become again the temple of God, and to reveal the righteous character of his Creator. These wonderful truths presented from day to day brought light and courage into the hearts of our people, and seemed to give them a new experience. I find that the believers in all lands need just such help as this, and that they respond to the simple and plain presentation of

the vital truths of this message in the very setting which the Lord has given to them, and I see more clearly than ever the need of just such a message as this to be preached “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”

At the time of the Norway conference it was arranged that after I had attended the other meetings, I should spend a few days at the sanitarium at Skodsborg, Denmark, and I accordingly came directly to this place after the close of the meeting in Sweden. I have now held two meetings with the helpers, and have given a talk on Japan and Korea to both patients and helpers. An appointment has been made for me in Copenhagen for next Sabbath, and on Sunday I shall return to Hamburg. I expect to attend the general meeting of the German Union Conference at Friedensau, and after that the general meeting of the British Union Conference in England, before returning to America. I am hoping that these meetings will be occasions of special blessing to the work in these great fields. W. W. P.

Our Present Duty

By Editor

Editorial

Our Present Duty

WE are now called upon to be laborers together with God in a most earnest and practical way. The closing message of salvation through the merits of a crucified Redeemer is to reach every home in every land, and is to be carried even to the homeless ones. Every one of us has an appointed part to act in union with every other believer. Our literature is to be placed in the hands of all the people. The Lord's treasury is to be supplied with needed funds. Workers are to go to unentered fields. A great work is to be done, and it is the duty of every one to act his part. Let us unite heartily in doing our present duty.

Mustering In

By C. M. S.

A CALL has gone out into the world that is designed to bring out of the world a people that shall stand loyally for God against a program that is designed by the author of evil to deceive and ruin the last generation of men. For six thousand years good and evil, light and darkness, have been working toward the culmination of a conflict which is to determine who is to be the ruler of this world—God or Satan. In point of numbers, that conflict might have been decided long ago; for the majority in this world seem always to have been opposed to the rule of righteousness in the life, and their actions have been in harmony with their feelings in the matter.

There must come a culmination. This conflict of the ages, with its dower of misery, sin, and death, could not go on forever. The physical strength of the human race could not stand up under the strain forever—it is not standing up under it now. The downward tendency of the physical man is easily discernible from decade to decade. Military boards are compelled from time to time to reduce the height limit for army recruits and to make the physical tests less exacting in order to keep the necessary number in the ranks. More than that, the proportion of insane to the entire population is steadily and rapidly increasing. What does it mean?—It means that if the race should go on from generation to generation as it is, the physical man would be unable to endure the strain of the conflict, and would go to pieces. The only hope for this world is in the second coming of Christ; and we can have no legitimate hope of meeting him in peace when he does come unless we enlist in his service in obedience to his last call for faithful bearers of his last message.

It is a hopeful omen that we see so many now laying aside various occupations, and enlisting for this final conflict. A spirit has come among our people such as we have never seen before—a spirit, a feeling, that the work needs them, and that they must not longer hesitate between the service of the world and the service of Christ.

This spirit of a desire to enlist in the closing message is particularly striking among the younger generation, and they are taking hold of the work with the energy and freshness of youth. It is an encouragement to the hearts of the veterans in the service to see this striking movement among the young. There is something striking also in the remarkable success that is attending the work of many of these young recruits, especially in the book and periodical work. Years ago men were taught that they were not to consider themselves failures in the canvassing work unless they had canvassed at least three or four weeks without taking a single order. They are unable to make such a test now, for some of them have sold hundreds of dollars' worth of books in that length of time during the recent months.

What does this mean?—God is setting his hand to the work to make it a short work, and his Spirit is striving with the hearts of men. They who yield to it will be a power for him. They who refuse are putting themselves in a place of terrible danger. The times are urgent; the generation is nearing its close; God must have workers, and he can not wait and dally with those who are uncertain whether to serve him or not. The powers of evil are mighty at the present time. They who are to be his must now come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

John says, "I have written to you, young men, because ye are strong, . . . and have overcome the wicked one." If ever the professed followers of Christ needed strength, they need it now. Against them are focusing the accumulated cunning of him who is the chief of deceivers and conspirators. It will take strength to overcome this wicked one. It will not be the strength of the natural, physical man. It must be a strength that is superior to the human, or defeat is certain. There must be no trusting in our own strength; "for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Eph. 6:12. If that admonition was necessary in the days of Paul, much more is it necessary now in our days. There is no strength but Christ's that can be called strong in comparison with the strength of the principalities of darkness with which we must contend.

Heaven does not send us out unarmed into this struggle. "Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Eph. 6:13-17.

There is the armor, and there is the source of strength. Moreover, such provision would never have been made were it not that God foresaw that it would be needed. To go about in our own strength at such a time is to invite destruction. To go with any less armor than God has provided is to set our wisdom above his, and make every vital part vulnerable to the shafts of the devil.

While Satan is mobilizing his forces in all the world, it is a glorious spectacle to see consecrated young men and women being mustered into the service of God and drilling in his camp. The convention at Mount Vernon speaks volumes for the more rapid progress of the third angel's message. Said one, "The call of the hour is for consecrated young men and women to give their lives to this service." And they are answering the call. The establishment of the Washington foreign mission training-school is another long step toward the completion of this work. Let us take courage; the conflict will be short, but it will take all there is of us, coupled with all Heaven has promised us, to make us conquerors. The blessed part of it is that the victory is certain and near at hand, and we may be victors. C. M. S.

It Gladdens Our Hearts

By William Ambrose Spicer

NOTWITHSTANDING the comparative smallness of our numbers and limited resources, it is marvelous to all how our missionary enterprises are spreading through the earth. We are doing no more than a fraction of what might be done, it is true, and the Spirit of God appeals for the surrender and consecration of every soul and every resource. But God is wonderfully blessing the efforts that are made.

We hear of the advance of the message in many parts and through many witnesses. The public press abroad and the missionary journals bear constant

testimony to the fact that the message God has given for the last days is in evidence in mission fields away beyond anything that would naturally be expected from our numbers.

We are only beginning in Portugal, yet the very foremost newspaper and illustrated journals are advertising our work. In a recent Baptist missionary journal a correspondent in Spain reports that “the sixth-day Adventists” are reaping results there. He means to refer to our work, only just beginning, but forcing a degree of attention altogether out of proportion to the staff at work. It is according to the promise, “One man of you shall chase a thousand.” The truth of this message, preached by only one or two in a dark land, has power to set thousands to talking about the Sabbath and advent doctrines, and the message sounds out as though many were preaching it.

The stand taken by young men loyal to the Sabbath in their military service has caused the newspapers of Germany to advertise the work of Seventh-day Adventists through all the German-speaking world. A French pastor in Tahiti, Society Islands, tells the readers of the Missionary Review of the World:—

The Mormons and the Adventists have come direct from America. They do not unfold at once the whole of their strange doctrine, but go where they hope to find some people whose piety is not very enlightened, and whom they can trouble and frighten. They lay great stress upon what they call vital points, such as the baptism by immersion, or the Mosaic Sabbath, and they affirm that to overlook them means eternal death. Their converts are, however, almost wholly from the malcontents, who have thus the pleasure to take their revenge without becoming Roman Catholic. Awful temptations everywhere face our people. Drinking, gambling, immorality—all things which are so hard to repulse for a non-converted Tahitian! Is it not a shame to say that many white people openly encourage these things?

We are thus mentioned with the Mormons, but the reference to the Sabbath truth shows that the conversions to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus wrought by this message are bearing witness in the South Seas. One thing the pastor will find it difficult to harmonize. He suggests that converts to this message are among people “whose piety is not very enlightened,” while at the same time he bewails the spread of the drink habit among his people. Yet, he must know that not a user of intoxicants, or even of tobacco, can be found among our people in the Society Islands.

These are but examples of the testimony that is being borne continually. This message of the Lord’s coming is spreading through all the earth. Some say one thing and some another about it. But all the world is yet to be talking about the most solemn and important message ever committed to mortals to carry. Truly we are called to loyalty and devotion and faithfulness in such a time as this. W. A. S.

G. B. THOMPSON

By G. B. Thompson

Diotrephes

G. B. THOMPSON

Diotrephes is referred to but once in the Bible. The scripture which mentions him reads as follows: “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.” 3 John 9, 10.

This is indeed a brief history, but it is all we have; and is all we need. A careful reading of this inspired narrative will reveal a number of very interesting and instructive things.

1. “I wrote unto the church.” That is, John, the beloved disciple, was the writer. John was a “pillar” in the church. He was one of those who gave to the great apostle Paul, and to Barnabas, the “right hand of fellowship.” He was one of the chosen apostles of the Lord, and was ordained to the work of the apostleship to which he was called. And, moreover, he had the Spirit of prophecy; he was a prophet of God. Rev. 19:10; 1:9-19. Now, in his old age, with all the years of his rich experience in the past, and the light of God shining in his soul, this apostle and prophet of God writes to Gaius concerning some worthy laborers, and bids the church receive them. It would seem that a communication from such a source would have been respected and heeded. But Diotrephes did not do this; he was a law unto himself. He was amenable to no one’s rule or counsel. Great as was John’s position in the church, he was greater—in his own estimation. The exhortation of God to “submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject to one another,” and to “obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves,” had no weight with Diotrephes. He did not believe that any one should have rule, and write directions to the church, even if the Lord had so ordained it.

2. John wrote to the church. This communication is lost, so we can not now ascertain its contents. But it was concerning the receiving of these brethren by the church. God has put order and system into his church. It is an organized body of believers to carry forward his work. It was John’s prerogative as apostle and prophet to send instruction to the church. But Diotrephes was not subject to the counsel sent to the church. While rejecting the counsel and rulership of others, though only a member, he ignored the whole body of believers.

It seems marvelous that any one should use this as an example of what true organization should be in the church. Diotrephes was not carrying out the plans of organization, but on the contrary was arrayed against the organization of which John was a “pillar.” The trouble was not with the organization, but with Diotrephes. His imperious will took precedence of all else.

And we need to exercise care, that while criticizing Diotrephes, we do not take a similar course, for there are such individuals in the church still. Organization is designed of God to hold in check and control just such unruly elements as these. Laws and regulations are not “made for a righteous man,” but for the “lawless and disobedient.” For this reason, any organization or system in the work of God will always be pronounced despotic by the Diotrepheses.

3. We do not know just who Diotrephes was, nor what official position he held in the church. Evidently, however, he had great influence in this church, and probably was a leading officer. John, however, was a leading apostle and prophet of God, and in rejecting the counsel sent to the church from this venerable seer, Diotrephes arrayed himself against the spirit of prophecy. He may have thought, as some do now, that all who have the Spirit of God have the spirit of prophecy, so he had the spirit of prophecy as well as the aged John, and he decided to follow his own. This, according to his view, would be consistent of course.

4. “Prating against us with malicious words.” Barnes tells us these words mean “to overflow with talk.” From this we gather that Diotrephes was quite a talker. Evidently he did not have brotherly love for John and the other brethren. Hatred seemed to be at the bottom of the opposition against the counsel sent the church. He was malicious. There was an old grudge somewhere. It may have been that he had been reproved by the venerable seer. A man of the make-up of Diotrephes, who loved to have the pre-eminence, would probably need correction, but it is not likely he would relish it when it came, and he would be apt to entertain feelings of animosity toward the person through whom it was sent. To his mind, doubtless, any system which would uphold the administering of any reproof to him seemed to be despotic.

5. Diotrephes did not “receive the brethren.” They visited the church with the consent and approbation of the aged prophet, who counseled the church to

receive them. But Diotrephes did not matter care for the counsel of the prophet of God. Neither the advice of John nor the wishes of the church itself were of any consequence to him. He knew best. When the brethren came to the church, fully indorsed by the body, this man deliberately set them aside. He was the despotic head of a local church. These brethren were not allowed to preach or give any counsel. There is no hint that this prohibition was the result of organization. It was caused by the despotic spirit of Diotrephes. It is a clear case of rebellion against the organized work of God in apostolic times. Instead of this being an example of the evils of organization in the church, it is an example of those who array themselves against the organization established by the Lord. The spirit of Diotrephes still lives. But its manifestation is not in the organized body of Christ, but against it.

6. Diotrephes did not believe in being under the rule of any one, for he loved “the pre-eminence.” He would rule or ruin. He was zealously opposed to any headship, unless he was the head. No doubt he could see visions of the papacy being formed all around him in any plan that would make any one a “pillar,” or leader, in the church, except himself. He was not opposed to leadership, providing he was the leader, for he loved to be first. It was so with Lucifer. He, too, loved the pre-eminence. He coveted the highest place in heaven. The Son of God having been assigned to this position by the Father, Lucifer instilled in the minds of the angels the idea that a tyranny had been enthroned, and in order to be free, they must contend for their rights, and oppose the organization of heaven. Satan would have had no contention about leadership had he been placed at the head. This spirit still works in the church of the Most High.

7. “Casteth them out of the church.” Diotrephes refused to receive these brethren, forbade others to do so, and cast them out of the church. Whether he cast out those who wished to receive these brethren, or the brethren who came to the church, we need not discuss, as the spirit of domination is the same in either case. Diotrephes, it appears, took the responsibility in this matter, and assumed the power to cast them out of the church of God. Organization prevents this spirit of despotism. Where organization prevails, if members are disfellowshipped, it is by the church itself, and not by some Diotrephes who happens to be in the church. The church—all the people—have a voice in the matter. They look prayerfully into all the facts connected with the course of the individual who may be under censure. He is labored with. One person goes to him. If this fails, one or two others are taken, who endeavor, if possible, to help the offending one. If this course fails, the matter is brought, not before Diotrephes, but before the church. The church as a body carefully considers the question, and if the unruly member refuses to reform, he is disfellowshipped by the church. But where there is no organization, there is nothing to hinder some Diotrephes having his own way, and ruling in the church with a tyrannical hand.

Dr. Abbott’s Pantheistic Theology

Dr. Lyman Abbott, at Litchfield, Conn., recently delivered an address eulogistic of the work of Henry Ward Beecher and his father, Lyman Beecher, entitled “A Century of Progress.” As reported in the Outlook of July 20, after showing the relation of the teachings of these men to the religious thought of the times, he sums up the progress made, from which we quote:—

Popular opinion, gradually imbibing the teaching of modern philosophy, no longer conceives of a Great First Cause who has created and set in motion secondary causes, while he sits apart from the world, ruling it as an engineer rules his engine; it is coming to conceive of one great underlying Cause, an Infinite and Eternal Energy from whom all things proceed, a Power not ourselves which makes for righteousness, a spirit in humanity which it calls the Spirit of Humanity.

Since it is necessary “for us to save the church from the paralysis which has always accompanied pantheism,” it seems that he acknowledges this teaching to be pantheism. And it is well to know that he admits it. He continues:—

Popular opinion imbibing the teaching of science has largely come to recognize the fact that all phenomena are interpreted in the terms of growth, that each event grows by natural processes out of the event preceding, and that this is as true of the moral development of the race and the moral development of the individual—that is, in sociology and anthropology—as it is in the development of the animal or the plant, that is, in biology and botany. It is for us to lay hold of this grander conception of God’s method of doing things, and show how the spirit of the living Christ is the power in all moral and spiritual development, personal and social; that, in other words, evolution and redemption are different ways of spelling the same word.

So he would have us believe that it is by “natural processes” of “evolution” that we are regenerated, instead of “being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” And no wonder this is more acceptable, for he expresses his opinion of God’s Word in the following terms:—

Popular opinion, gradually imbibing its ideas from literary scholars, is learning that the Bible is a collection of Hebrew law, history, and literature; that it is to be studied and interpreted as other collections of literature; that it grew up as other collections of literature have grown up; that an infallible book is an impossible conception; that the revelation of God afforded by the Bible is the revealing and unveiling of God in the personal experience of the men who wrote the Bible, and that its authority rests upon this, that their experiences evoke kindred experiences in our own hearts, and to their disclosures of the life of God in the souls of men our souls give a long and loud amen.

So the results of this “century of progress” are that having gradually imbibed the teachings of modern philosophy, science, and literature, the people have, instead of faith in “God, who created all things by Jesus Christ,” a belief in an Eternal Energy; instead of the gospel which “is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,” “evolution” “by natural processes;” and instead of believing that they should “search the Scriptures,” for “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable,” they are studying it as any other collection of literature. Surely there is need of the admonition, “Be not wise in your own conceits.”

Note and Comment

“It is more important and more desirable that all the people should drink beer than that people should drink more beer,” was one of the key-notes of the brewers’ convention recently held at Atlantic City, N. J. This is a most remarkable confession by the drink-makers that they realize the full significance of the appetite-creating property of alcoholic liquors. If the brewers can but induce every man, woman, and child to begin the use of beer, their prosperity is assured.

What Is War?

ONE does not wonder that an embarrassing silence ensued at The Hague recently when the Chinese military delegate said he wished he could find out what war really is. Several European nations had attacked the forts and occupied the capital of China with troops, at the same time insisting that they were not at war. He also wanted to know what would happen if one of the powers declared war against another, and the latter would not fight. Would that be war? No one volunteered to answer his questions. If the so-called Christian nations were really Christian, what an excellent opportunity was here afforded their delegates to impress the teaching of Christ to “love your enemies,” and “do good to them that hate you.” Universal practising of these precepts would soon preclude the necessity of war, as well as the definition of it.

“My Cup Runneth Over”

By L. A. Hansen

THESE words of the psalmist express the measure of God's dealing with his people, if indeed we can say that he deals by measure. Paul says that “unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Eph. 4:7. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32.

This is the Scripture tone always when speaking of the way God gives to us,—only expressions of the freest and fullest liberality, no stint, no closeness, no niggardliness, no sparing, but only the most abounding outpouring of his free gifts.

The term “much more abound” is expressed from God's standpoint, and how “much more” he will do for us is beyond our knowledge, for he “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” David expresses the true condition of God's own when he says, in the first verse of the twenty-third psalm, “I shall not want.” Paul said also, “I have all, and abound,” and assures us, “My God shall supply all your need.” Again we are told in emphatic language, “All things are yours.”

Jesus gives us many lessons on the solicitous care of God for his children, leaving no room for us to doubt but that every need will be provided for most fully. In connection with the statement that he is the good shepherd, he tells us that the object of his coming is that we might have life, and that we “might have it more abundantly.” The final entrance into the kingdom of God will be ministered “abundantly.” 2 Peter 1:11.

God, who is “abundant in goodness,” has given us spiritual blessings “according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.” Eph. 1:8. “Of his fulness have all we received.” He “giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”

Then why is it that some do not enjoy richness of experience? Why so burdened with cares of this world, trying to make a living and having the same sort of a struggle for spiritual existence? It is not that the promises of God have failed, or that there has been the least lack on his part to supply. The failing is on man's part somewhere.

Two texts from Proverbs may give some suggestions. “A faithful man shall abound with blessings; but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” Prov. 28:20. “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Prov. 11:24.

The giving of God is “in all wisdom and prudence;” and although he bestows most abundantly, he does not give for wasting. But the psalmist says, “My cup runneth over.” Does this mean a waste of the overflow? Is it a far-fetched conclusion to say that the overflow of our blessings is to help supply the need of others, and, too, that in proportion as we share our gifts, so will be our own store?

There is much very plain teaching to show that we are blessed that we may be a blessing. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” L. A. HANSEN. Graysville, Tenn.

Continue reading: Atlantic Union Conference