Review and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 43. (10/26/1911)

Review and Herald

Oct 26, 1911

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 26, 1911

Suffered for Me

By L. D. SANTEE

L. D. SANTEE

How blessed to feel from my care-laden heart, Christ knoweth my sorrows, and bids them depart; To lay my tired head in an infinite rest, On the heart of all others that loves me the best!

When my lips have been touched with the spirit of prayer, I feel that the presence of Jesus is there; From all condemnation my soul is now free, For the blessed Redeemer has suffered for me.

He folds us, as children, close, close, to His breast; When the journey is over, then cometh the rest. He knows all our sorrows, He feels all our need; And in His “green pastures” of love would we feed. Surrendered in all to my Saviour’s control, I give Him my life, and the love of my soul. How sweet ’tis to feel from my sins I am free, For my blessed Redeemer has suffered for me!

How sweet ’tis to feel that His love reaches all; The vile and the sinful respond to His call. His peace, “like a river,” brings joy to the heart; It remains with us always, ne’er, ne’er, to depart. Then welcome the life that is free from all sin, And welcome the “peace” that abideth within. Salvation is offered, all boundless and free; For my blessed Redeemer has suffered for me.

THE NOVEMBER NUMBER OF LIFE & HEALTH

By Editor

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HEADACHES: THEIR CAUSES, PREVENTION, AND CURE, by the author of “Preston Papers.”

Who can estimate its worth to millions of sufferers from this common affliction?

HOW TWO MOTHERS CARED FOR THEIR BABIES: WHY ONE SUCCEEDED AND THE OTHER FAILED, by Lauretta Kress, M. D., of the Loma Linda (Cal.) Sanitarium staff.

The first of three articles from the pen of this physician of wide experience in Europe, Australia, and America. Should be read by every mother interested in the successful care of her children.

HOME WATER TREATMENTS: THEIR RESTORATIVE EFFECTS, by G. K. Abbott, M. D., of the Loma Linda (Cal.) Sanitarium staff.

Many illnesses can be alleviated and cured through these simple treatments, which may be administered in the privacy of the home.

WHY A SMALL ATTENDANCE AT CHURCH SERVICES? A STUDY ON VENTILATION, by Mary A. Laselle.

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THE SCIENCE OF WATER-DRINKING, by W. W. Worster, A. B., M. D.

There are many things to be learned even about the common, every-day practise of drinking. Well worth reading.

THE HARDENING OF THE ARTERIES, by J. H. Neall, M. D.

A lecture recently delivered by this well-known physician. Tells us in simple language what arteriosclerosis means to the life and health of mankind.

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REVIEW AND HERALD

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Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.

Following Christ

By J. A. Zoller

J. A. ZOLLER

Just to do the Master's bidding while we may; Just to speak the words he gives to us to say; Just to make his work our own Ere the days for work have flown; Reap though others may have sown. While we pray.

Just to follow in his footsteps lest we stray; Just to emulate his life from day to day; Just to listen to his voice Guiding us in every choice,— Let our hearts in him rejoice And obey.

Just to feel within our hearts his burning love; Just to know our treasure all laid up above; Just to feel the gentle power Of his Spirit hour by hour, Coming down through sun and shower Like a dove.

O what joy will then be ours while we wait! Never idle, ever doing, early, late: Soon our Saviour, loving, true, Will come back for me and you, And will bear us safely through The pearly gate.

San Claudio, Cuba.

The Use of Talents

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE

The parable of the talents should be a matter of the most careful and prayerful study; for it has a personal and individual application to every man, woman, and child possessed of the powers of reason. Your obligation and responsibility are in proportion to the talents God has bestowed upon you. There is not a follower of Christ but has some peculiar gift for the use of which he is accountable to God. Many have excused themselves from rendering their gift to the service of Christ, because others were possessed of superior endowments and advantages. The opinion has prevailed that only those who are especially talented are required to sanctify their abilities to the service of God.

It has come to be understood that talents are given only to a certain favored class, to the exclusion of others who, of course, are not called upon to share in the toils or rewards. But it is not so represented in the parable. When the master of the house called his servants, he gave to every man his work. The whole family of God are included in the responsibility of using their Lord’s goods. Every individual, from the lowliest and most obscure to the greatest and most exalted, is a moral agent endowed with abilities for which he is accountable to God. To a greater or less degree, all are placed in charge of the talents of their Lord. The spiritual, mental, and physical ability, the influence, station, possessions, affections, sympathies, all are precious talents to be used in the cause of the Master for the salvation of souls for whom Christ died.

How few appreciate these blessings! How few seek to improve their talent, and increase their usefulness in the world! The Master has given to every man his work. He has given to every man according to his ability, and his trust is in proportion to his capacity. God requires every one to be a worker in his vineyard. You are to take up the work that has been placed in your charge, and do it faithfully. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Let the business man do his business in a way that will glorify his Master because of his fidelity. Let him carry his religion into everything that is done, and reveal to men the spirit of Christ. Let the mechanic be a diligent and faithful representative of him who toiled in the lowly walks of life in the cities of Judea. Let every one who names the name of Christ so work that men, by seeing his good works, may be led to glorify their Creator and Redeemer. “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord.” Let the upbuilding of the kingdom of Christ be your constant thought, and let every effort be directed toward this one end.

Those who have been blessed with superior talents should not depreciate the value of the services of those who are less gifted than themselves. The smallest trust is a trust from God. With the blessing of God, the one talent through diligent use will be doubled, and the two used in the service of Christ will be increased to four; and thus the humblest instrument may grow in power and usefulness. The earnest purpose, the self-denying efforts, are all seen, appreciated, and accepted by the God of heaven. “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones.” God alone can estimate the worth of his service, and see the far-reaching influence of him who works for the glory of his Maker.

We are to make the very best use of our opportunities, and to study to show ourselves approved unto God. God will accept our best efforts; but let no one imagine he will be pleased with ignorance and inability when, with proper improvement of privileges bestowed, a better service might be supplied. We are not to despise the day of small things; but by a diligent care and perseverance, we are to make the small opportunities and talents minister to our advancement in divine life, and hasten us on to a more intelligent and better service. But when we have done all that we can do, we are to count ourselves unprofitable servants. There is no room for pride in our efforts; for we are dependent every moment upon the grace of God, and we have nothing that we did not receive. Says Jesus, “Without me ye can do nothing.”

We are responsible only for the talents which God has bestowed upon us. The Lord does not reprove the servant who has doubled his talent, who has done according to his ability. He who thus proves his fidelity can be commended and rewarded; but he who loiters in the vineyard, he who does nothing, or does negligently the Lord’s work, makes manifest his real attitude toward the work to which he has been called, by his works. He shows that his heart is not in the service for which he has been engaged. He has digged in the earth, and has bidden his Lord’s money. The talent given

to him for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, has been unappreciated and abused. The good it might have done is left unaccomplished, and the Lord can not receive his own with usury.

Let none mourn that they have not larger talents to use for the Master. While you are dissatisfied and complaining, you are losing precious time and wasting valuable opportunities. Thank God for the ability you have, and pray that you may be enabled to meet the responsibilities that have been placed upon you. If you desire greater usefulness, go to work and acquire what you mourn for. Go to work with steady patience, and do your very best, irrespective of what others are doing. “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Let not your thought or your words be, O that I had a larger work! O that I were in this or that position! Do your duty where you are. Make the best investments possible with your entrusted gift in the very place where your work will count the most before God. Put away all murmuring and strife. Labor not for the supremacy. Be not envious of the talents of others; for that will not increase your ability to do a good or a great work. Use your gift in meekness, in humility, in trusting faith, and wait till the day of reckoning, and you will have no cause for grief or shame.

Are Roman Catholics Happy?

By John N. Quinn

JOHN N. QUINN

Father D. S. Phelan, editor of the St. Louis Western Watchman, a leading Roman Catholic religious weekly, thus preaches to his people in his paper of April 9, 1908, under the topical head, “Christianity Is a Religion of Joy:” —

“Why are not Catholics all happy? No, you are not happy. You do what you do for God and your souls through compulsion. You go to church on Sunday because you must. You go to confession because you must. You go down on your knees in the morning and again at night to say your prayers because you must. You abstain from meat on Friday because you must. But I don’t see that you are very happy in all that. You come to the confessional with sour faces, and you go away with faces sometimes a little sourer. And you come to the holy table sometimes as slaves driven thither. I don’t see happiness depicted in your faces. You are very much like people going to pay their taxes. Go down to the collector’s office on days when taxes are due; you see people pressing up to pay their taxes. There are no particularly happy people there. They come because they must. They are like people standing around in a dentist’s office, who come to have teeth extracted. You come here on Sunday, and look like people who are going to have their teeth pulled out. You don’t find any particular happiness in your religion.”

Christians Are Happy

“Whom [Jesus Christ] having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8, 9.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Rom. 5:1, 2.

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Acts 13:48.

“If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:17.

Takoma Park, D. C.

Having a Definite Message

By B. G. Wilkinson

B. G. WILKINSON

God never sends destruction without first sending a warning, just as he never allows a soul to enter a life of sin without first sending conviction. If man then, through weakness, is slow in repenting, God, through love, is slow in destroying. He gives time for the transgressor to repent, and in many cases he states definitely how long.

He sent Jonah to cry to the great capital of Assyria, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Some might have said, Impossible! Others might have reasoned, Would God use only one man to proclaim this great judgment, and a foreigner at that? Does it not seem incredible that he would pass over our great body of priests, and use this fellow, who, according to his own story, has been a weak man?

Nevertheless, Nineveh repented. And it was genuine repentance too; for God accepted it. From the king on the throne to the lowliest slave, all clothed themselves in sackcloth, and bowed down in ashes. These were fruits of repentance, and the threatened ruin was averted. There was a definiteness about Jonah’s preaching; it declared that God would not permit wickedness to go on indefinitely, and that preaching was followed by definite results.

Such should be the character of all preaching. The prevailing wickedness of to-day is evidence that God somewhere has those proclaiming a definite message. True preaching will reveal the truth that God will not permit wickedness to endure long. It will be noted that the people of Nineveh did not repent because they had been eye-witnesses of Jonah’s deliverance from the deep. Jonah may have related this experience, but of their repentance the Saviour says, “The men of Nineveh . . . repented at the preaching of Jonas.” They were not moved so much by the story of Jonah’s deliverance as they were by the need of their own deliverance. Heathen men had cast Jonah into the sea, but in forty days the great God was going to cast them and their city into ruin. Not only they, but their works, would perish. Therefore they cried to God for repentance.

Christ took courage from the definiteness of Jonah’s work to proclaim judgment on his generation. “There shall no sign be given it,” he said, “but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

We also may take courage from the definiteness of Jonah’s preaching. “The men of Nineveh,” said Christ, “shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” The preaching of Christ was as much more definite than that of Jonah as his message was greater than the message of Jonah. But was it to stop there? With the passing of Christ from the earth, was definiteness and positiveness of preaching to pass?—No. The Master, speaking of the work of his disciples in the future, said, “Greater works than these shall he do.”

It is too late now to advance the theory of indefiniteness—an indefinite church, an indefinite revelation, and an indefinite message. And it is too late for God’s people to permit themselves to be lost in the mists of uncertainty. Many great reformers and messengers of God have already done much good in preaching God’s judgment, dimly seen through the idea of a burning hell; but how much greater good may those do who have received clearer light on what the judgment actually is, and not only on what it is, but on when it is; for they are to proclaim, “The hour of his judgment is come.”

Takoma Park, D. C.

Beginning and Closing the Sabbath With Prayer

By GEO. O. STATES

GEO. O. STATES

In our experience as a people, we have sometimes come to places where we could see no way of advancing the work, and our aged ministers have laid the situation before the people, and the whole denomination has sought the Lord with fasting and prayer.

In the winter of 1865 the spread of the message looked very discouraging, and our whole denomination spent the first four days of March in fasting and praying. During that time all through our ranks there was earnest seeking of the Lord and confessing of sin. Those of us who passed through that experience have always looked upon the sudden closing of the war as a direct answer to prayer. Ever since that time the nations have been held in check, and the message has made wonderful advancement. We believe God has committed to us this message, and in answer to our prayers the winds of strife are held to enable us to carry forward this work. It is a blessed thought that notwithstanding all our mistakes, the Lord accepts us when we pray and confess our sins.

In the early days of this message, it was our custom to begin the Sabbath

with prayer. “When the Sabbath begins, we should place a guard upon ourselves, upon our acts and our words, lest we rob God by appropriating to our own use that time which is strictly the Lord’s. . . . Friday is the preparation day. Time can then be devoted to making the necessary preparation for the Sabbath, and to thinking and conversing about it.”

It was also our custom to close the Sabbath with prayer. As the sun was sinking in the west, we would all gather round the family altar and close the Sabbath with earnest prayer. Many still follow the custom. Are some of us becoming careless in this respect? As the coming of the Lord draws nearer, we should be found more earnestly seeking the Lord in prayer.

Cedaredge, Colo.

“Thou God Seest Me”

By Mrs. S. L. Stout

MRS. S. L. STOUT

Mid mountains drear, or sea's broad strand, Or sheltered vale, or burning sand, Or arid wastes—it matters not; Where'er be cast my earthly lot, I'm 'neath the shadow of Thy hand;

Amid the multitude, or 'lone; In foreign land or humble home; 'Neath fig-tree, bowed in humble prayer, Or pillowed on a cold rock bare. Thou slumberest not, all-seeing One.

Visions of light thou giv'st thine own; On topmost height bright gleams are sown: From thine eternal throne it glides, Nor prison wall thy glory hides; By angel bands to earth 'tis borne.

Darkness and light are like to thee, By rocky shore or shadowy lea; On midnight winds, or wings of morn, To distant climes should I be borne, I'll ne'er forget, “Thou seest me.”

Moline, Ill.

GEO. B. THOMPSON

By George B. Thompson

“Hard Nuts for Seventh Dayists”—No. 2

GEO. B. THOMPSON

“5. Is it the duty of Christians to put to death those who desecrate the seventh day? Num. 15:32–36. If yes, who will be the public executioner? If no, what will you do with the law? Ex. 35:2. If you say that the penalties are abolished, I answer, The same passages that you use to establish this, prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the law, too, is abolished. If you admit that the penalties are still in force,—and the proof that they are is unanswerable and invincible if the law is in force,—there is not an Adventist on top of the green earth who can escape the vengeance of the broken law.”

We answer, No. That the case cited was one of special guilt is plain from the fact that although Israel frequently violated the Sabbath, no such penalty was visited upon them. Even in this instance they had no law which seemed to cover the case, so the man was put “in ward” until the matter could be settled. The verses which immediately precede this text (Num. 15:30, 31) explain the matter. “But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously,” etc. Evidently the sin of presumption was the sin against which the terrible penalty was directed, rather than that of the violation of the Sabbath. To show his disregard for what God had said, he went out and openly worked on the Sabbath, contrary to the instruction of the Lord. And it should not be forgotten that while the letter of the law is not administered now as then, this signal punishment must ever stand as expressing God’s attitude against the sin of presumption; and those who presumptuously break God’s Sabbath, or wilfully violate any other requirement, must meet it in the day of God.

But this brings us once more to the question, Where is the instruction concerning how Sunday should be kept? While seeking to prove that the seventh day can not be kept, will those who observe the first day point to the passage in the Bible where the instruction is given as to its observance? We are waiting for this.

“6. If Christians are under obligations to observe the seventh day, why did Jesus declare that all law and prophecy hang on love, instead of the Sabbath, seeing the command to keep it is the one on which you hang your everlasting all? Matt. 22:34–40; Rom. 13:8–10.”

It is quite true that all the law does hang on love—love to God and love to man. Without love to God no form, however correct, or however sincere the person may be, can avail anything. But notice the words of Jesus in replying to the lawyer’s question, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matt. 22:40. On love to God and love to man hangs “all the law.” Then if “all the law” is hanging on these two great precepts, the fourth commandment is hanging there with the rest, and should be kept. Then why does not the author of these questions keep the Sabbath? This precept hangs there with the other nine. It looks to the reviewer as if the author of these “hard nuts” had nearly hanged himself with his own theory.

“7. Why did Jesus not require the young ruler to keep the Sabbath when enumerating the commandments? Matt. 19:16–20; Mark 10:17–22; Luke 18:18–24.”

This question more properly belongs to Jesus than to those who keep the Bible Sabbath. It is hardly fair to ask us, why Jesus did as he did. Ask him. The writer feels loath to attempt to explain the acts and words of Jesus, lest he appear in the light of his apologist. Evidently the intention of the one who asks this question is to endeavor to show that the Sabbath is not binding because Jesus did not mention it in replying to the rich ruler’s inquiry. Very well. Neither did he mention the precept for-bidding the worshiping of other gods, the making of images, or the taking of the name of God in vain.

Are we to conclude that the author of these questions believes that these commandments are not now binding, and that idolatry and blasphemy are not now prohibited by the Lord? If the fact that the Saviour did not mention the fourth commandment at this time proves that it is not binding, the same logic proves that the other precepts not mentioned are likewise not binding. It would seem that a person must be in desperate straits for material out of which to manufacture so-called “hard nuts” thus to ’entangle himself in such an inextricable dilemma. Either he must admit that there is now no command against swearing, or that his argument is not correct. Upon which horn of this dilemma will he decide to empale himself?

The Saviour, in answer to the question of the young man as to which law, quoted enough to define what law he meant, and doubtless named the precepts which the young ruler was especially transgressing.

“8. If Christians are to keep the law of Moses,—the Sabbath,—why did the apostles and elders who met at Jerusalem leave it out of their address to the churches? Acts 15:1–29. This case finds, in some respects, a parallel in your theorizing. Judaizing teachers had gone forth declaring to the brethren that unless they would submit to circumcision and keep the law of Moses, they could not be saved. The apostles said, ‘We gave no such commandment.’”

The decision of the council at Jerusalem was, “That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication.” Acts 15:29. Using the same language, allow us to submit a “nut” for our questioner to hammer on: If Christians are to keep from idolatry, dishonoring parents, taking God’s name in vain, and from stealing, why did the apostles and elders who met at Jerusalem leave those things out of their letters to the churches? Only one precept of the decalogue is mentioned. The author of “Hard Nuts for Seventh Dayists” intimates that the fourth, or Sabbath, commandment is not binding because not mentioned here. Well, what about the other eight? They are not mentioned either. To escape the binding claims of the Bible Sabbath, some arguments are put forth which lead to most shocking conclusions, and the above is one of them. It is difficult to believe that those who publish such cheap quibbles are so blind that they do not see the inevitable conclusion to which their position leads. “Where no law is, there is no transgression.” Rom. 4:15.

Washington, D. C.

Blessed Is the Man That Doeth This

“BLESSED is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.”

A Message of Reform

By W. J. Stone

W. J. STONE

The work in which Seventh-day Adventists are engaged is a work of reform. The proof of this is demonstrated in what it has accomplished. The truths taught by Seventh-day Adventists have done much to revolutionize the world in thought and practise.

The teaching of the Bible truth regarding the Sabbath has brought about a great reform throughout the world, and thousands have returned to the observance of the true Sabbath. On the other hand, because of the preaching and practise of the truth upon this subject, a counterwork of reform is being agitated, which in reality is a work of apostasy from the truth of Christ. Nevertheless, the Sabbath reform is preached, “whether in pretense, or in truth,” and therein do we rejoice; and through the preaching of the truth upon this question the whole world will be stirred until it will be said of us, as it was of the apostles, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; . . . and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar.” Acts 17: 6, 7.

Again: the teaching of Seventh-day Adventists regarding the second coming of Christ has so permeated the whole world that there is a general feeling among God-fearing people that we are on the eve of some great revolution, and many who do not profess to be Adventists believe that the signs indicate the soon coming of Christ. To us God has committed the proclamation of the true teaching of the Bible regarding the second coming of Christ; and we are to give it in the setting of the three angels’ messages of Rev. 14:9-12, with the true Sabbath reform. All other teaching of the coming of Christ which is rife everywhere will mystify and lead away from the truth.

Take the subject of health reform. Thirty years ago Adventists were ridiculed for their manner of living. The Lord gave us advanced light for the world, and although we may not have made the best use of this knowledge, yet God has so blessed our efforts that the whole world has to some extent felt the influence of this teaching, and a reform has been brought about regarding the matter of diet and the preparation of healthful foods.

Who can say that the teaching of Seventh-day Adventists has not greatly changed the thought and teaching upon such subjects as the state of the dead and the destiny of the wicked? A great change has been wrought during the last forty years, so that the doctrine of hell fire is seldom preached. We might mention other points in connection with this great work of reform, but these are sufficient to show the power and influence of our work in the world. God intends that the work of the third angel’s message shall in these last days stand at the head of every true reform. Deut. 28:1-14. May we so relate ourselves to the Lord that he can use us in this truly great reform movement.

Richmond, Va.

The Atheist’s God

By Earle Albert Rowell

EARLE ALBERT ROWELL

Has the atheist a god? you ask. He does not worship the God of the Bible. He does not worship sticks and stones. But the command divinely given, “Thou shalt worship,” is instinct in his soul; and try as he may, he can not eradicate it.

The materialist Spiller substitutes for God what he calls “the universal ether,” which, he says, “is the creator of heaven — i. e., the heavenly bodies — and the earth. It also created us men; it governs the whole world; it is eternal; it is all-wise; it is just; it never errs, and is alone infallible because it acts without self-consciousness and without any fixed purpose.”

The philosopher von Hartmann has a different idol. He calls it “the Unconscious One.” “The Unconscious One is never weary. He does not waver nor doubt, requires no time for consideration, and never errs. He possesses no memory; yet in him will and idea are bound up in indissoluble unity. The Unconscious One is almighty, all-present, all-knowing, and all-wise.”

But this is by no means all. The famous German atheist and scientist, Professor Haeckel, has outdistanced them all in imagination. He tells us that the atom has an immortal soul. “The motion of the atoms in the formation and dissolution of a chemical combination is only intelligible if we ascribe to them feeling and will. . . . If every atom is endowed with feeling and will, the plastidule (or organic molecule) is distinguished from them by possessing memory. All plastidules possess memory.”

Now, scientists tell us that a pin-head contains so many atoms that it would take 250,000 years for one to count them. What an amount of feeling and will a pin-head must contain, not to mention the whole pin! And how much memory in the billions and billions of molecules in a strawberry!

These are the men who ridicule Christians for believing in an Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth and all that in them is. They deny an intelligent God, and then give the universal unconscious ether, or the Unconscious One who knows nothing, yet is “all-wise” (!), or the plain invisible atom the attributes of God. They deny that it is possible for man to live forever, by any means whatever, but “the atom-soul,” says Haeckel, “is eternal and immortal.”

Is it not the irony of fate when the great scientists and agnostics of the world, who scorn the Christian God, put in his place an infinitesimal idol, the smallest particle of matter that is conceivable? This is the fruit of skepticism, of science without God. Thank God we know whom we have believed, and in whom we trust. We must worship. The principle is implanted in our natures. We may choose whether it be an atom or “my Lord and my God.”

Portland, Ore.

God Is Great

By Kenelm Hungerford

KENELM HUNGERFORD.

O’ER the bosom of the ocean roll the waves forever on, Ever moving toward the beaches that the breakers beat upon; And the murmur of their washing on the sandy margin there, Rises ever, like the crying of a mighty ocean prayer.

God would surely hear the ocean, if it really were a soul; For its billows are so mighty, and so solemn is its roll. Surely God would hear the ocean, with its many miles of wave, Could it cry to him for pity; it is certain he would save.

But can God, who is so mighty, hear a prayer so small as mine? Does he know this tiny corner where his graces never shine? Will he listen to a mortal, lost with millions of his kind? Am I not too unimportant for his omnipotent mind?

God is great, and God is greater than the foolish thoughts of men; He who rules the mighty billows, rules the dewdrop in the glen; He who rules the briny waters, rules each pearly drop of dew That upon its crystal bosom doth reflect the heaven’s blue.

God is great, and God is great enough to hear each humble cry That appeals to him for mercy from beneath our domed sky; And so mighty is our Father that the smallest he can see. This I know, and thus I praise him for his blessed love to me.

Boengoeran, Soerabaya, Java.

The Spirit of Sympathy and Love

By Betts

A PRESENT-DAY requirement is a more general spirit of sympathy and love; a spirit that can more quickly discern the virtues of others than their vices. We do not mean that the vices which others possess should be excused and condoned, but that we should not make them a standard whereby to pass judgment upon humanity as a whole, or upon any individual in particular. If we encourage the cultivation of the virtues, then the vices, if not fostered, will gradually die away. It is impossible to get a white pigment by adding two blacks together. The result of such a process would be continued blackness. In the same degree, virtues will not result from the persistent dangling of a man's vices before his eyes. The better way to cure a man of vicious habits is to place virtue alongside of them. The contrast, which even the most depraved can not fail to see, will have a salutary effect. It is only as one sees the beauty of virtue that he is enabled to realize the hideous deformity and loathsomeness of vice. What censure often fails to effect, the spirit of sympathy will accomplish with incredible swiftness and ease.—Betts.

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