Your ShelfYour Projects

Review and Herald, Vol. 81, No. 46.

WHERE TO ORDER

Review and Herald

Nov 17, 1904

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Nov 17, 1904

WHERE TO ORDER

Missionary Campaign Supplies

REVIEW AND HERALD

“It is the mission of the REVIEW to encourage and instruct the denomination.” No one can afford to be deprived of its weekly visits. Price $1.50 a year; 6 months, 75 cents. Address Review & Herald, 222 N. Capitol St., Washington, D. C.

THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE SERIES

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

From one to four sets of four papers each . . . . . . 20 cents a set
Five or more sets to single addresses . . . . . . 15 cents a set
Five to twenty sets to one address . . . . . . 12 cents a set
Twenty-five or more sets to one address . . . . . . 10 cents a set
Address SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Mountain View, Cal.

SOUTHERN WATCHMAN

SPECIAL SERIES. Price 15 cents a set or in lots of ten or more, 10 cents. Address Southern Watchman, 1025 Jefferson Street, Nashville, Tenn.

LIFE AND HEALTH

A practical, helpful journal containing just such information as is needed in every home. All new yearly subscribers get November and December numbers and all of 1905 for 50 cents. In lots of 25 or more, the special price for November and December number is 2½ cents each. Address Life and Health, 222 North Capitol Street, Washington, D. C.

FOREIGN PAPERS

THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE SERIES of the Hausfreund (German), Sions Vaktare (Swedish), Evangeliets Sendebud (Danish). Price same as the Third Angel's Message Series of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. Address International Publishing Association, College View, Neb.
Any of the above periodicals may be ordered of your Tract Society, or from the Publishers.

RECOMMENDED TRACTS

(a) “Gospel Message for Today.” Price, 70 cents a hundred, postpaid.
(b) “Who Changed the Sabbath?” 70 cents a hundred, postpaid.
(c) “Waymarks to the Holy City,” 70 cents a hundred, postpaid.
(d) “Heralds of His Coming.” Price, $1.00 a hundred, postpaid.
(e) Religious Liberty Leaflets, New Envelope Series. The following will be ready about November 15, and others will follow soon: “Principles Too Little Understood,” 38 cents a hundred, postpaid. “Sunday Laws, Their Origin, Nature, and Object,” 38 cents a hundred, postpaid. “The Logic of Sabbath Legislation,” 38 cents a hundred, postpaid. “The Civil Sabbath,” 55 cents a hundred, postpaid.
(f) Family Bible Teacher. Ten cents a set, postpaid.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

“Object Lessons,” $1.25. “Story of Joseph” 25 cents.
The above books are dedicated to the assistance of our schools and work in the South, hence no commission is received by the worker.
“Education,” $1.25.
“Mount of Blessing,” 60 cents.
“Things Foretold,” 50 cents.
“Cobblestones,” 75 cents.
“Thoughts on Daniel” (paper), 25 cents.
“Thoughts on the Revelation” (paper), 25 cents.
“Great Nations of To-day,” 25 cents.
“Little Folks' Bible Nature” (cloth), 40 cents.
“Sunshine at Home,” Danish and Swedish, plain, $1.00.
“Sunshine at Home,” Danish and Swedish, gilt, $1.25.
“Steps to Christ” (cloth), 50 cents.
“Steps to Christ” (paper), 25 cents.
“Power for Witnessing” (cloth), 75 cents.
“Power for Witnessing” (paper), 25 cents.
On the above books a discount of 40 per cent., with postage or express additional, will be allowed to workers.
Any of the above books or tracts should be ordered of your State Tract Society, or the Publishing House nearest you.

REVIEW AND HERALD PUB. ASSN.

222 North Capitol Street, Washington, D. C.
Battle Creek, Michigan

PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO.,

Kansas City, Mo.  Portland, Ore.  Mountain View, Cal.

SOUTHERN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION,

1025 Jefferson Street,  Nashville, Tennessee

LIFE AND HEALTH

By Editor

Special Issues for November and December

SPECIAL issues of Life and Health have been planned for use in the Missionary Campaign, and the November number is now ready. Though only a limited notice of this number has so far been given, very encouraging orders from all sections of the country are coming in rapidly. Besides the many single subscriptions sent to us in every mail, the following club orders will give a general illustration of the large orders daily received:—
“Enclosed find money-order for $2.50 for which please send me 50 copies each of the November and December numbers of Life and Health. Cora B. Hill, Aledo, Ill.”
“Kindly send me at once 50 copies of the November number of Life and Health. “W. H. Loose, Irvington, N. J.”
“Please send 100 Life and Health for one year to J. B. Beckner, Text Lane, Jamaica.”
“The Sanitarium wishes to co-operate in the missionary campaign and desires to use Life and Health in their work. At present please send 80 copies of the November issue. Newark Sanitarium, Newark, Ohio.”
The Nebraska Conference orders 75 copies; Mrs. M. A. Livingstone, Park Rapids, Minn., orders 100 copies; Mrs. Olina Hanson, Webster, S. D., orders 100 copies; Mrs. Phebe Press, San Francisco, Cal., orders 200 copies, etc.
Telegram—
“Send us 500 copies Life and Health, Brighouse, San Francisco. “St. Helena Sanitarium. “Per T. J. Evans.”
New yearly subscriptions for 1905 will include the November and December numbers until the editions of these issues are exhausted.
We give our regular authorized agents 20 cents commission on all new yearly subscriptions secured in the United States between November 1, and December 31, 1904.
Twenty-five or more copies of the special numbers ordered at one time will be furnished for 2½ cents per copy.
Agents everywhere report good success. Many of them express surprise that the journal sells so easily. Oftentimes people purchase it from sight without waiting for a description. Sells well from new’s stands. The November number is especially attractive, and people purchase it readily. Two sisters recently went out for an hour in the evening, and sold 60 copies. Others can do likewise.
Order through your State Tract Society or
LIFE AND HEALTH,
222 North Capitol St.,
Washington, D. C.

Believing on Christ

By Editor

Editorial

Believing on Christ

There is a kind of professed faith in Christ which is little better than sentimentalism. There are many who have no personal acquaintance with Christ as a real being, and who know nothing of his actual ministry in their behalf as their Advocate with the Father, and to whom the more common phrases of the Christian faith are merely formulas learned from others, and not a means of expressing their own experience. This form and appearance of Christianity rises little, if any, above the plane of heathenism pure and simple. The exercise of saving faith in Christ includes more than mental assent to a ready-made creed, or the acceptance of the current traditional views of an apostate or semi-apostate church. The faith which brings actual salvation from sin must lay hold of Christ in his work of saving from sin. The faith through which one is made righteous must actually receive “the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness.” The faith which will prepare one for heaven must deal with the realities of heaven here below, and will be revealed in the heavenly life on earth. Such a faith as this must find its sure foundation in the revealed Word of God; Jesus himself must be its author and finisher; and it will involve an intelligent acceptance of Christ as the sacrifice, the substitute, the surety, and his priestly work in behalf of sinners. Genuine faith recognizes Christ as Son of man and Son of God, the man Christ Jesus who has opened the way to heaven for humanity, and who is the personal representative of every believer before the Father.
Saving faith in this generation will accept Christ as the coming Saviour, and will be revealed in loyal obedience to all the commandments of God. This is the faith which the Son of man when he comes will find in those who are waiting for the kingdom of God. “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved,” but be sure that you believe on the Lord Jesus, and not on a mere verbal shadow of him. The time of testing is now upon us. “Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith.”

A Thrilling Thought

When we take time to consider the full meaning of the message which we bear to the world, we shall surely be deeply stirred by the thought that we may witness the closing scenes in the long controversy between Christ and Satan. That which prophets and wise men have longed for, we may behold. The crowning day of all the ages is almost within sight. These are the days of the voice of the seventh angel, in which the mystery of God will be finished, the reign of sin will be brought to an end, and the heavenly glory will be revealed. There is danger of becoming so absorbed with the daily routine of life that these wonderful truths should lose their vividness to us. It is possible to allow even the work of the Lord to degenerate into mechanical formalism in which the life and joy of true service are entirely lacking. We must not only talk the message but we must be the message. We do not need to live in a state of unnatural tension, but the thought of the approaching end of all things and the coming of our Saviour with power and great glory ought to thrill our hearts, and to arouse every one of us to faithful service. And in our service we may rejoice, knowing that our redemption draweth nigh.
“Keep the eye single, the head upward lifted; Watch for the glory of earth’s coming King; Lo! o’er the mountain tops light is now breaking; Heirs of the kingdom, rejoice ye and sing.”

Concerning Miracles

By Editor

A READER of the REVIEW writes as follows about the article in our issue of November 3 with the title “Discrediting Miracles:” —
I have read the editorial in the REVIEW of yesterday’s date, and am much perplexed at it. It appears to me that some mistake has been made.
Can there be a number of classes of miracles? Is it not just as great a miracle for the Lord to keep me alive as it was for the Lord to create me, or to create Adam, for that matter?
Is the whole subject of the wonders in nature simply a matter of course? The farmer plants his seed, and of course reaps his crop; has not the power of God anything to do with it?
Did it take any more of the power of God to create Adam than it does to make any man, to clothe the earth with green in the spring, or to keep the planets in their respective courses?
If more people would study histology or physiology, and find out a little more about themselves, they would certainly exclaim as did David in Psalm 139. Is this simply a matter of course just because it is an every-day occurrence?
Your statement, “The claim, therefore, that all the operations of nature are miracles, just as much as the original creation, is simply evolution in disguise,” is surely rather strange. I can not understand it, neither can I find any Biblical ground to stand upon and believe it.
The chief question, to sum up, is this: Do we live by the power of God, and was Adam created by the power of God? If these questions are answered in the affirmative, is there any difference in the power? I had always supposed that it took just as much power to make a mouse and keep it alive as it does to keep the whole universe from falling to pieces.
We are glad that these questions have been asked. They indicate that the subject needs further consideration in order to meet and counteract the confusion of thought and terms brought in by a false philosophy which claims to be the newest thought in Christianity. We are assured by our correspondent that there are others besides himself who are perplexed over this subject, and we are sure that this is true. The seeds of this false philosophy have been planted in many minds. For this reason we deem it advisable to deal with these questions in the columns of the paper rather than in private correspondence.
As a fundamental proposition let ustake the statement of the psalmist: “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this, That power belongeth unto God.” There are no exceptions to this truth. There is no being in the universe who has power independent of God. This follows, without direct assertion, from the revealed truth that Jehovah is God alone, and besides him there is none else. If there was another being in the universe who had power independent of the God of heaven, there would be another God besides Jehovah. Let us, then, regard it as settled beyond question that all power belongs to God. “Thine . . . is the power.”
This power of God is revealed in many ways. The creative work was accomplished by it. “He hath made the earth by his power.” This power was the power of his word, for “by the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”
The same power that created the universe maintains the heavenly bodies in their courses. “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these, who bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking.” “Upholding all things by the word of his power.”
The same power is manifested in all the operations of nature. “He stirreth up the sea by his power.” “For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity.” “The same creative energy that brought the world into existence is still exerted in upholding the universe and continuing the operations of nature. The hand of God guides the planets in their orderly march through the heavens. It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth continues her motion round the sun, and produces her bounties. The word of God controls the elements. . . . It is through his power that vegetation flourishes; that the leaves appear, and the flowers bloom.”
The same power of God which has created all things, and which upholds all things, is the power in the gospel for redemption. “I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” This same power raised Christ from the dead and quickens the believer. “That ye may know what is . . . the exceeding greatness of his power to us ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead. . . . And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins. . . . For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” “He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength.” We are therefore exhorted, “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.” And in our experience we are to be “strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, unto all patience and long-suffering with joy.”
It was by this same power of God that the wonderful works of Christ were wrought. “And it came to pass on one of those days, that he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.” On another occasion he was with “a great multitude of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they that were troubled with unclean spirits were healed. And all the multitude sought to touch him; for power came forth from him, and healed them all.”
This same power of God was with the apostles in their ministry. “With great power gave the apostles their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” That they claimed no power for themselves is evident from the question of Peter after the healing of the lame man: “Why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk? The God of Abraham . . . hath glorified his servant Jesus.” They acknowledged God as the source of all power, as is plain from Peter’s answer to Simon the sorcerer: “Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said unto him, Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast thought to obtain the gift of God with money.”
These statements of the Scripture are simple and clear. There is no difficulty in understanding them. They cover the whole field of manifested power, and teach us that it is the one power of God which has created all things, which has sustained and does sustain all things, and which saves from sin. This will be a sufficient answer to several of the questions of our correspondent. It is certainly true that we live by the power of God, and it is equally true that Adam was created by the power of God, and that the reproduction of the seed in the annual harvest is wholly due to the power of God. Furthermore, we heartily agree with our correspondent that “if more people would study histology or physiology, and find out a little more about themselves, they would certainly exclaim as did David in Psalm 139.”
What, then, is the real point at issue? It is this: Is it proper to designate all these manifestations of the power of God as miracles? When we answer this question in the negative, we do not thereby deny that it is the power of God which is revealed in all these cases. Our correspondent seems to think that if we do not call every corn field a miracle, we make the growth of the corn “simply a matter of course,” and shut out the power of God altogether. So also if we do not regard the beating of the heart and the digestion of the food as miracles, it is intimated that we are in conflict with David’s views concerning the human body. We are in full accord with David’s statement that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” but neither David nor any other writer of the Bible applies the term “miracle” either to the birth or growth of a human being or to any of the operations going forward in the body. And nowhere in the Bible are the ordinary operations of God in nature spoken of as miracles. Jesus called attention to the growth of the lily, but he said nothing about the miracle of growth. He told of the sower who “went forth to sow,” and said that the seed “yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty,” but he said nothing about the miracle of the corn field. This is a modern and confusing application of this word.
In order that we may have a clearer apprehension of the correct use of the term “miracle” as applied to the revealing of God’s power, let us note some of the miracles mentioned in the Bible. Those remarkable displays of the power of God which were seen in the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt and in caring for them in the wilderness were miracles, and they were such unusual evidences of God’s presence and power that they constituted a special ground for faith and obedience. To doubt God after seeing these miracles was the climax of unbelief. “Because all these men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not harkened to my voice; surely they shall not see the land which I swore unto their fathers.” These men had seen the ordinary working of the power of God during the whole period of their lives,but these miracles were a different thing altogether, and they were held accountable for seeing these special revelations of God’s working.
Jesus wrought many miracles while he was here upon earth. Peter on the day of Pentecost spoke of him as “a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.” His wonderful works are cited as proof that he is the Son of God, the Saviour from death. After recording a selected list of these miracles the apostle John wrote: “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” It is the power of God which is revealed in restoring any person who is sick with a fever, but if there is no difference between the ordinary experience of applying the usual remedies and the healing of Peter’s wife’s mother, how could that work of Jesus be any special evidence of his divinity? The common people certainly observed a difference between the work of Jesus in restoring the afflicted and the usual experience in such cases. Note these instances: To the sick of the palsy Jesus said, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. And he arose, and straightway took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” Again: “And as they went forth, behold, there was brought to him a dumb man possessed with a demon. And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man spake: and the multitude marveled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.” And yet many people in Israel had recovered from sickness by the application of remedies.
There is an experience of the great apostle to the Gentiles which is worth noting in this connection. When he was at Ephesus, “God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: insomuch that unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out.” Ephesus was the home of magic. “No city in the world had so many magicians in it as Ephesus. Astrology, sorcery, charms, exorcism, and the black art constituted one of the liberal professions,—practised, not by wandering gipsies merely, but by men and women of all classes, from the lowest to the highest.” Even such miracles as Paul had wrought in other places would not meet the demands of this situation. Special miracles were therefore wrought. These and the failure of some of the exorcists to accomplish similar results by using the name of Jesus made such an impression upon the people that “fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” Those who practised magical arts were convinced of the reality of the miracle-working power, acknowledged their own trickery, and burned their books. Why did not Paul give the Ephesians a discourse on the miracle of the corn field, or on the miracles of physiology? The answer is easy enough. The circumstances demanded real miracles, and not the modern philosophy concerning miracles.
Our correspondent is especially troubled about our statement that the indiscriminate application of the term “miracle” to all the operations of nature is evolution in disguise, and thinks it is contrary to the teaching of the Scripture. We hope that what we have already stated will help to clear up this matter in his mind. There are not several kinds of power working in the things that are made, neither are there “a number of classes of miracles.” There is only one power, the power of God, and there is only one class of miracles, but it will certainly lead to a wrong conception of God when we make no distinction between the ordinary and the extraordinary revelations of his power.
Modern scientists are now acknowledging an Infinite Power working in nature, but always under established laws. Some modern theologians have lost the true conception of God as a personal Being to such an extent that they accept this acknowledgment of the scientists as a confession of belief in the God of the Bible. It is really heathenism under the appearance of Christianity. Ancient heathenism regarded every revelation of power in nature as a god, and had many gods; this modern heathenism has one Power (with a capital P) in nature, and one God (with a capital G), but the difference is one of number and not of kind. Both are merely human conceptions of deity based upon observation, and not upon revelation. Both shut out the personality of God in any proper sense of that term. Science professes to believe in personality, but makes its own definition as follows: “Wherever there is manifested a plan, a design, a purposive movement, this fact alone is evidence of a personality behind the plan, a power behind the movement.” Such a personality is simply Power under established law, and not necessarily a personal being who is the source of both power and law. With this view of deity, and divine power, and personality, both scientists and theologians believe in evolution, and interpret the Bible on this basis. There must therefore be no miracles, or all the operations of this Power must be miracles, otherwise the orderly working of this Power under established law is interfered with. Some adopt the former view, and are seeking to discredit all the miracles of the Bible; some adopt the latter view, and claim that all the workings of this Power are miracles. Either view is in harmony with the essential idea of evolution. He who accepts the revelation of God as given in the Scriptures, and accords to him the privilege of working in such a way as will best reveal his glory, will not adopt either of these views about miracles.
This use of the term “miracle” as properly applying to the ordinary working of an infinite power in nature is one link in the argument to prove that the god of science is the same as the God of the Bible. This is one of the deceptions of the last days, against which the people of God need to be on their guard. In its present form this teaching seems plausible, and appears to give special honor to God and to make us better acquainted with him. In the end it will be found that it leads away from the true God, and gives us the false god of human speculation in his place. With such a god there is no barrier against sin, no salvation from sin. It is preparing the way for the revelation of Satan as the coming of Christ.
We have taken considerable space in which to present the teaching of the Scriptures concerning this question of the power of God and the proper use of the term “miracle,” rather than to give categorical answers to the questions of our correspondent. Human opinions are of little value, but the truth is revealed in the Word of God. We hope this study of the subject may make the truth clear to any whose minds have been confused by this new philosophy.

The Blessedness of Giving

By Arthur Grosvenor Daniells

(Concluded)
On one occasion when Israel turned from God to idols, it is written of her: “She said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and flax, mine oil and my drink. Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but she shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now. For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal. Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recovermy wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness. And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of my hand. I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me? and I will make a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.” Hosea 2:5-12.
How plain it is that the power of the living God is secretly working to bestow his gifts in abundance, or to withhold them. In the book of Haggai, we have a most striking lesson before us: “Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, and there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands.” Haggai 1:3-11.
On hearing this message “the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord.” And immediately the Lord responded to the people, saying: “I am with you, saith the Lord.” And he stirred up “the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God.” and the Lord said “the silver is mine, and the gold is mine, the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, . . . and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 1:12-14; 2:8, 9.
Thus we see that, without being able to discern the secret working of God’s power, Israel could feel most keenly the results of the working of this mighty, hidden power. With this thought in mind, let us read farther: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.” Mal. 3:8-12.
In this scripture the charge of robbery is preferred by the Lord against his people. But in mercy he directs them to cease the robbery by bringing to him all the tithes and offerings, and then promises in return to turn the tide and send them great blessings. His power to do this had been revealed to his people. “He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.” “Yea, forty years did’st thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” Ps. 105:37; Neh. 9:21.
These are the outward manifestations of the hidden working of that infinite power. It gives fertility to the soil, productiveness to the vines, rebukes the destroyers of the products, turns the streams of silver and gold in among his people, preserves their health, provides good food, and preserves their clothes from quickly wearing out. The way we should respond to all these facts, and what will be the sure result of such a response, are clearly stated by the apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 9:6-12: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man, according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
God has not given us all these promises and revealings of his working to appeal to our selfish motives, but to give us assurance. His people have ever been few and poor, but entrusted with a very great work that has required large sums of money. And they have always accomplished the work grandly when they have been surrendered to the will and working of God. The Lord has required of them what would have been utterly impossible from a human standpoint. This is true of us to-day. Our Leader is demanding from us that which is infinitely beyond our power, that which is humanly impossible. But praise his great name, when he sees faithfulness marking every move, and sees us at the limit of our possibilities, then he steps in and helps us to do the impossible.
Brethren, we ought to be the happiest, most earnest, and the truest people in this world. And toward gospel work we ought to be the most liberal, free people of any class on earth. We have special light from God. We have a definite message, and we have wonderful promises. O, let us arise and shine! Let us respond to the love of God. Let us go forward. And let us prove by deep experience the truthfulness of the word of the Lord Jesus, that it is more blessed, more satisfying, more noble, more profitable, to give than to receive.
A. G. DANIELLS.

Why Appoint a Week of Prayer?

By Arthur G. Daniells

THE week from Sabbath, December 10, to Sabbath, December 17, has been appointed by the General Conference Committee to be observed by Seventh-day Adventists as a week of prayer. A reading has been prepared for each day of that week, and as far as possible our people will meet together daily in the churches and in little companies to hear the reading for the day and to engage in prayer.
Now to the question heading this article—Why appoint a week of prayer? Is it done merely as an official act to perpetuate a custom? Is it to provide a “form” to be observed at the close of the year to take the place of the prayer and devotion that should have been a part of the life all through the year? Or is it because there is at this present time a good reason why we should devote a week to earnest prayer and devotion?
For one, I wish to say that never before in my experience in this cause have I seen the great, pressing need of this whole denomination’s giving itself to earnest, importunate prayer as I see it now. I do feel that if ever the church of God has been called to its knees, it is at this present time. Brethren, this arrangement for a week of prayer is not dry formalism. It is not merely to keep the denominational machinery going.
Prayer is communion with God. It brings us into his divine presence. It “opens the windows of the soul heavenward.” Prayer does not change God. It changes the one who prays. Our prayers for personal help do not inform the Lord of our needs, nor cause him topity and love us. He knows our needs, and loves us just the same before we pray as afterward. Prayer enlightens those who pray, and places them in an attitude of humility and loyalty that will lead them to make a right use of the blessings of the Lord. He knows all the time what they need, and what his love continually longs to give them.
All the praying of the week of prayer for the prosperity of the cause will not increase the Lord’s interest in it. It will not increase his assurance in its final triumph. It will not give him courage to undertake to do more to hasten it. But earnest prayer will do all that for the one who prays aright. It will put him in such union and harmony with God that he will see light in God’s light. His mind will be illuminated and filled with the Lord’s wisdom. His heart will be inspired with the assurance and courage of his great Leader in the conflict. His soul will be filled with a love for the perishing that will lead to sacrifice and service for their salvation.
This experience, this condition of heart, this attitude toward God and humanity, is just what the church needs. It is this that will make God’s people the power in the world that he intends them to be. Without this heart experience the message for this time will lose its meaning and its charm to us, the work of God will be made secondary to our personal interests, and the worship of God will become destructive formalism.
The week of prayer is intended to aid the church in reaching higher spiritual ground, and to stimulate her in missionary enterprises. When the Saviour sent the seventy out to make him known in every city, he said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth the laborers into his harvest.” What is the situation presented?—A large field and few laborers. What was the remedy?—“Pray ye.” Here is a lesson. Prayer is the resource of the church in behalf of a destitute field—not to take the place of laborers, but to secure them.
The harvest of the whole world is now to be garnered. Truly the laborers are few. The church must pray. How appropriate, then, that a week should be set apart for the study of the Bible, the field and its needs, and for prayer.
Every believer in this message can take part in this season of devotion. There is nothing difficult nor strained in the arrangements. Preparations can be made beforehand so as to have as little of the regular work of life as possible to do during the week. All the readings will be printed this year in THE REVIEW AND HERALD. Every morning an hour can be devoted to the study of the reading for the day, and to prayer. This will be a good preparation for the meeting that may come later in the day or in the evening. Once reading is not enough for the stirring articles prepared for this occasion. They will bear rereading a number of times.
Dear brethren and sisters, all that is true and solemn in this message calls to earnest prayer at this time. Do we need a week of prayer?—Most assuredly. Has the appointment of such an occasion at this time more in it than merely to comply with a form of long standing?—It certainly has. The earnest calls from open doors in all lands are not being answered by this people as they should be. Our comrades at the front are not being re-enforced as they must be. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.” And remember that the earnest, importunate prayer of faith will not permit the one who offers it to withhold himself, nor his children, nor his money from going forth into the harvest-field in harmony with his prayers. A. G. DANIELLS.
Continue reading: Note and Comment