Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 3. (1/21/1886)

Signs of the Times

Jan 21, 1886

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 21, 1886

General Articles.

By Mrs. E. G. White

Bible Beneficence.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

"Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."

The promises to the liberal are very great; and He who made them is able to fulfill his word, for his resources are infinite. Yet all his promises are based upon conditions, and it is only by complying with these that we can hope to gain the proffered blessing. God has intrusted of his bounties to every man, but in varying measure, according to their several capacities. These gifts of a kind Providence are to be wisely employed in the service of the Giver, and to be returned with interest at the day of reckoning. Those who prove themselves good stewards will receive in greater measure, as they dispense their means to advance the cause of God and to bless their fellow-men.

The children of God are not like worldlings, enshrouded in moral darkness, loving self, and seeking for earthly treasure. They are ever a "peculiar people, zealous of good works." It requires self-denial and self-sacrifice to follow in the footsteps of our Saviour. And in order to do this, we must cultivate a spirit of beneficence. The first great principle of God's law is supreme love to the Creator; the second, equal love to our neighbor. "On these two commandments," said Christ, "hang all the law and the prophets."

Experience shows that a spirit of benevolence is more frequently found among those of limited means than among the more wealthy. Many who greatly desire riches would be ruined by their possession. When such persons are intrusted with talents of means, they too often hoard or waste the Lord's money, until the Master says to them individually, "Thou shalt be no longer steward." They dishonestly use that which is another's as though it were their own. God will not intrust them with eternal riches.

The cry of souls that have been left in darkness, and the cry of the widow and the fatherless, go up to Heaven as a swift witness against the unfaithful stewards. But the poor man's gift, the fruit of self-denial to extend the precious light of truth, is as fragrant incense before God. Every act of self-sacrifice for the good of others will strengthen the spirit of beneficence in the giver's heart, allying him more closely to the Redeemer of the world, "who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich."

The smallest sum given cheerfully as the result of self-denial is of more value in the sight of God than the offerings of those who could give thousands and yet feel no lack. The poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury of the Lord, showed love, faith, and benevolence. She gave all that she had, trusting to God's care for the uncertain future. Her little gift was pronounced by our Saviour the greatest that day cast into the treasury. Its value was measured, not by the worth of the coin, but by the purity of the motive which prompted her. God's blessing upon that sincere offering has made it the source of great results. The widow's mite has been like a tiny stream flowing down through the ages, widening and deepening in its course, and contributing in a thousand directions to the extension of the truth and the relief of the needy. The influence of that small gift has acted and reacted upon thousands of hearts in every age and in every country. As the result, unnumbered gifts have flowed into the treasury of the Lord from the liberal, self-denying poor. And again, her example has stimulated to good works thousands of ease-loving, selfish, and doubting ones, and their gifts also have gone to swell the value of her offering.

Liberality is a duty on no account to be neglected; but let not rich or poor for a moment entertain the thought that their offerings to God can atone for their defects of Christian character. Says the great apostle: "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."

Again, he sets forth the fruits of true charity: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth." If we would be accepted as the followers of Christ, we must bring forth the fruits of his Spirit; for our Saviour himself declares: "Ye shall know them by their fruits."

It is to cultivate a spirit of benevolence in us that the Lord calls for our gifts and offerings. He is not dependent upon men for means to sustain his cause. He declares, by the prophet: "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine and the fullness thereof."

The Lord will not accept our offerings, if we withhold ourselves. He asks for that which is his own—not only the means intrusted to us, but all that we have and are, in body, soul, and spirit; for all has been purchased at the infinite price of the blood of Christ. God might have made angels the ambassadors of his truth. He might have made known his will, as he proclaimed the law from Sinai, with his own voice. But he has chosen to employ men to do this work. And it is only as we fulfill the divine purpose in our creation, that life can be a blessing to us.

The Majesty of Heaven yielded up his high command, his glory with the Father, and even his own life, to save us. And now what will we do for him? God forbid that his professed children should live for themselves! There is work to be done for the Master, by our means and by our influence. God's claim underlies every other. The first and best of everything rightfully belongs to him. When Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven, he will have no use for the money which he has intrusted to us. It is in this life that he requires all our talents to be put out to the exchangers. In this life he calls upon us to bring all the tithes into the store-house, and thus prove him and see if he will not pour us out a blessing. This proposition is made by the Lord of hosts. Shall we comply with the conditions, and thus secure the promised blessing?

"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." There has been a fearful withholding from God, and, as a result, the withdrawal of his special blessing. We should not look upon the tithe as the limit of our liberality. The Jews were required to bring to God numerous offerings besides the tithe; and shall not we, who enjoy the blessings of the gospel, do as much to sustain the cause of God as was done in the former, less-favored dispensation? As the work for this time is extending in the earth, the calls for help are constantly increasing. And in view of this the Lord commands us, "Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house," that is, a surplus of means in the treasury, that the work of God in its various branches may be amply sustained.

As we are continually receiving the blessings of God, so are we to be continually giving. When the heavenly Benefactor ceases to give to us, then we may be excused; for we shall have nothing to bestow. God has never left us without evidence of his love. He gives us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, providing us abundantly with his bounties, and filling our hearts with gladness. He has declared that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and har-

vest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."

We are sustained every moment by God's care, and upheld by his power. He spreads our tables with food. He gives us peaceful and refreshing sleep. Weekly he brings to us the Sabbath, that we may rest from our temporal labors, and worship him in his own house. He has given us his word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. In its sacred pages we find the counsels of wisdom; and as oft as we lift our hearts to him in penitence and faith, he grants us the blessings of his grace. Above all else is the infinite gift of God's dear Son, through whom flow all other blessings for this life and for the life to come.

Surely, goodness and mercy attend us at every step. Not till we wish the Infinite Father to cease bestowing his gifts on us, should we become impatient of giving. Not only should we faithfully render to God our tithes, which he claims as his own, but we should bring a tribute to his treasury as an offering of gratitude. Let us with joyful hearts bring to our Creator the first-fruits of all his bounties,—our choicest possessions, our best and holiest service.

THE ANGELS' SONG.

It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of gold: "Peace to the earth, good will to men, From Heaven's all-gracious King!" The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife The world has suffered long; Beneath the angel strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong; And man, at war with man, hears not The love-song which they bring; Oh! hush the noise, ye men of strife, And hear the angels sing!

And ye, beneath life's crushing load, Whose forms are bending low, Who toil along the climbing way, With painful steps and slow,— Hark now! for glad and golden hours Come swiftly on the wing; Oh! rest beside the weary road, And hear the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on, By prophet bards foretold, When, with the ever-circling years, Comes round the age of gold; When peace shall over all the earth Its ancient splendors fling, And the whole world send back the song Which now the angels sing. —Sel.

Is the Believer's Life a Happy One?

By Austin Phelps

RICHARD BAXTER was a life-long sufferer. Incurable disease kept him for years at death's door. "I live with one foot in the grave," he used to say. For twenty years he probably did not know the sensations of health. The jubilant spring of life in other men became a forgotten joy to him. As if this were not enough, he was persecuted for his religion. For preaching five sermons, he was condemned to imprisonment for five years. Sermons were costly luxuries in those days; a year of prison life for each one! He escaped only by the interposition of his physician, who swore that the execution of the sentence would cost him his life.

Not a very fascinating life, this, to a looker-on! We should not have thought him querulous against the providence of God, if he had been the author of an essay published not long ago, entitled, "Is Life Worth Living?" But the invalid and persecuted preacher published no such thing as that. He had no time to ask or answer such a question. He was living, and he made the best of it by living to some purpose. He published a hundred and forty-five distinct works in the intervals of his pains. He was one of the busiest of men, as, indeed, Christian invalids have commonly been.

Of all men in the world, he was the one who was moved to write "The Saint's Rest." And so understandingly did he write of it, that to a million of readers since his day, it has seemed as if he must have had a foretaste of the heavenly blessedness himself. It is supposed that nearly half a million of copies of that book have been published, and the popular verdict upon it has everywhere been the same. It is one of the few books so profoundly written from the heart that their insight into truth borders on inspiration.

Suffering men are the happiest men. Women on beds of anguish sing most honestly our hymns of Christian triumph. Men in prisons know most of Christian liberty. People who have least of this world have most luminous foresight of Heaven. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, yet possessing all things; such, ideally, is the privilege of holy living.

St. Paul appears to have been another of the great Christian contradictions. As we read his autobiography, it does seem to lend reason to the conundrum, "Is Life Worth Living?" He is a man of bold nerve who would select St. Paul's life as the model of his own. On the human scale of measurement, the apostle cannot be pronounced a happy man. He was not hilarious in his temperament. He did not sing comic songs. Men who do, cannot make much of him. The world would not call his life a fortunate one. It went hard with him at the best. What a history of ill-luck he gives us! Flogged like a slave in the market-place five times, and three times in court; shipwrecked three times; pelted with stones by vagabonds till he was left for dead; in prison so many times that he does not count them; hungry, cold, thirsty, naked, robbed, hunted by murderers, with nothing but a wicker basket between him and death; betrayed by friends whom he trusted and prayed for; in the city, in the country, in the wilderness, on the sea, everywhere in the wide world, beset by dangers; always guiltless, yet always an outlaw; he was saved at last from being clothed with pitch and used as a candle to light the streets of Rome, by having his head cut off. And as if the cruelty of man were not enough, he must find the devil on his track, and must put to hazard body and soul in fight with invisible foes more ferocious than the beasts of Ephesus.

Yet, of all men in the world, this man is the one to say, "I will glory in my infirmities." This hunted and outlawed man is the man to tell us what a blessed thing life is, how grandly worth living, what a good fight it is, full of what magnificent chances, what a precious thing suffering is, and what a lordly coronation glorifies it at the end. This is the man who goes to his grave exultingly, and celebrates a victory over death. He really seems to have been one of the happiest of men, yet one of the most illustrious of sufferers. Where in all history shall we find his peer—his peer in sorrow, his peer in joy?

What is the secret of it all? Christian history is full of such contradictions. Unwritten biography abounds with them. Men and women are now living such lives in secret. The world does not know them, and never will while time lasts. But they are a great multitude whom no man can number. Not that there are many Baxters, or a crowd of St. Pauls. But there is an innumerable host of plain men and women, and children even, whose lives do approximate, and honestly claim rank with, illustrious saints. Martyrs, as a class, have been the most cheerful of men. This is the Christian theory of holy living, that such life is a victory, not a conflict only; and least of all is it a losing fight.

Let us not overlook here the fact that God does not sit aloft in remote and inaccessible seclusion from our human trials. They are more real to God than they are to us. No being in the universe feels the woes of human life so deeply as he feels them. This is the working of infinite sympathies in the heart of a loving Creator. "In all their affliction he was afflicted." Yet over and above the billows of human sorrow, the blessedness of God remains intact. In those very sorrows he finds cause of joy, because they are the instruments of his own benevolence. They have never taken him by surprise. He has made no mistakes in them; nor has he ever permitted one of them which he could not use to more loving purpose than he could use ease and comfort and indulgence in its place. He is blessed, therefore, not only in spite of them, but in them. And the principle of Christian living is, that what God enjoys we can enjoy.

For example, the works of God, the word of God, the plans of God in redemption, the joy of God in Christ, his delight in his own love to man, his enjoyment of his own perfections, his outgoings of benevolence to the universe, his complacency in the reciprocated love of angels and of saints, his beneficent vigilance over human sorrows, his blessed foresight of their fruits in the holiness and happiness of men—all these objective tributaries to the infinite ocean of felicity which fills the heart of God, are equally fitted to be tributaries to ours. Why not? Are we not made in God's image? Are we not called to be like him in our better nature? Why not like him, then, in our resources of joy?

These were the resources of the happiness of Christ. This was the nature of the joy set before him. "I have meat to eat that ye know not of." "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me." The true value of any human life consists in just this—identifying it with the life of God. In such supreme alliance, no man can be unhappy. And no man can be happy without it. Life without God is not worth living.

There is such a thing as living in sympathy with God. It is the most real thing there is in any man's life. Christ has come to us to make it a reality. The fruit of it is to make us participants of the life which God lives. His will becomes our will, his plans ours, his joy ours. We become one with him, as Christ was and is. Whether such a life is worth living admits of but one answer.—Austin Phelps, D. D., in S. S. Times.

Reflected Images.

By N. Y. Witness

THERE is a very suggestive alteration in one important passage of Scripture in the revised New Testament. In 2 Cor. 3:18, the Authorized Version reads as follows:—

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

The Revised Version reads:—

"But we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Spirit of the Lord."

If by glass in the first quotation is meant looking-glass, or mirror, for there was no glass in those days, then the image seen in it would be that of the person looking at it, which could not change him from glory to glory; but if his face is the mirror at which Christ is looking, and if he reflects the image of his Lord to all who behold him, then indeed his aspect will be changed from glory to glory. This last reading brings into prominence one of the most important functions of the Christian, namely, to reflect in all his intercourse with his fellow-men his Lord's image. More of his usefulness depends on this point than any one can estimate.

To carry about in the open face a mirror, reflecting Christ, is an inconceivably valuable gift, both for self and all around. To be in one's character, and conduct, and conversation, an epistle of Christ, to be known and read of all men, should be the Christian's aim. To be even as Christ in the world, is what he enjoins; but few seem to understand. The duty and privilege of reflecting as a mirror the Lord Jesus is sadly neglected by the moody Christian, who, like an iceberg, chills all around him. Also by the irascible Christian, who loses his temper readily and indulges in irritating language. Nor is it remembered by the drinking Christian, whose fiery face suggests his failing. Nor by the smoking Christian, who, to indulge an injurious acquired taste, disregards the taste and comfort of all around him.

Neither is Christ seen in the Christian who vies with worldlings in costly apparel and ornamentation. Nor in the envious Christian, nor the tyrannical Christian, nor the hard, miserly Christian, nor the backbiting Christian, nor any one who allows the devil, the world, and the flesh to deface the fair image of Christ on his or her character, and presents instead an ugly portrait of the prince of this world. The influence of a Christian who reflects Christ is very great and lasting for good. The influence of one who misrepresents Christ is, perhaps, equally great for evil. Such a one may himself be saved so as by fire, but he is a terrible stumbling-block for others.—N. Y. Witness.

"As He Hath Commanded Us."

By E. R. Jones

"And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us." Deut. 6: 25.

God requires of men perfect obedience. He says in his commandments just what he means. Nothing less will be accepted; nothing more is required. Any change in his precept or deviation from his commandment in acts of service is counted by him as disobedience and sinful. His positive word is, "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it. Thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." Deut. 12: 32.

"The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Human ingenuity has ever been active in devising ways of serving him, a little more congenial to the unregenerate heart than doing "as he hath commanded us." His word is altered a little; they do a little differently from what he has commanded, and then say, "This will do just as well; the Lord is not particular."

But the Lord is particular. His word fully attests this fact, and it should not be ignored by any who have respect to his service. The sons of Aaron knew what the Lord had said about the hallowed fire that must be used in burning incense before him. They took other fire to make an offering to the Lord, and miserably perished. When Saul was king of Israel, God sent him against Amalek to "utterly destroy" that nation and all their flocks and herds. He did so; only he deviated just a little, and brought Agag the king along as a prisoner; and some of the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings he brought for a burnt offering to the Lord. No doubt he reasoned with himself that the Lord would certainly be pleased with such a fine offering, although he knew it was not strictly in harmony with the instructions given him. When he met the prophet Samuel, he exclaimed, "I have performed the commandment of the Lord."

"And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" He answered that they had "spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice unto the Lord." "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." He was told that this apparently slight departure from the word of the Lord was no less than rebellion and stubbornness; the one is as the sin of witchcraft and the other as idolatry. These cases clearly show that the Lord is particular and accepts of nothing in his service that is knowingly offered contrary to his commandment, or is not in perfect obedience thereto. To depart in the least from his positive precept is rebellion against him; and if it is in pretended service, it is idolatry, and not the true worship of God at all; for it sets aside his authority for that of another, and is little less than insulting him to his face.

In one of his commandments, the God of Heaven has said, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work; . . . for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

This precept is plain. Its requirements are easily understood; and yet nearly all of those who claim to be the children of God, in professed obedience to this commandment are keeping another day, one which it does not enjoin, and that, too, to the utter disregard of the seventh day, which it says we are to remember and keep holy. With his holy law before their eyes, can he receive such service from intelligent beings?

Is it observing to do as he hath commanded us? Is he honored by such service? By no means. He is greatly dishonored. It is rebellion against him, and stubbornness. The cases of the sons of Aaron, and of Saul, are a solemn warning to all who wish to serve God in their own way, and thus set at naught his authority.

Righteousness is right doing, and it is only doing right when doing exactly as God says, and no other way. And it shall be our righteousness if we do all his commandments "as he hath commanded us." E. R. JONES.

Words of Jesus.

By Bene-Barak

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." This is the first recorded use of the emphatic word "verily" from the lips of Jesus. After that he used it many times. It was a favorite word with him. No one had so good a right to use it as he; for no one can speak with equal authority. Christ used this word more than any other person mentioned in the Bible. It adds strength to any statement or proposition.

The first use of this word of which we have any record was by Joseph's brethren, but which one is not stated. Its use was brought out in a case of quickened conscience. Ten of Joseph's brethren were before him as purchasers of corn. It was the first time they had met since they drew Joseph out of a pit, and sold him to a company of Ishmaelites journeying to Egypt. Many years had intervened, and although Joseph knew his brethren, they did not recognize him. He charged them with being spies, and put them in prison for three days. It was a time of reflection with them. A little discipline is a good thing for all of us. What passed through their minds in those three days and three nights of confinement is indicated by their first utterance upon their release. "And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother."

The second use of the word "verily" in the Bible is also significant. This time God is the speaker, and it forms a part of the message which he commanded Moses to deliver to the people concerning the observance of the Sabbath. The reference is one of the most extensive allusions to the manner of keeping the Sabbath, and the reason for it, to be found in the Bible. In these days of Sabbath desecration, it is well to consider what the Creator thought of the day. The reference is Ex. 31: 12-17. In it will be found the words, "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep." God created the Sabbath, and was the first to observe it. We are to keep the Sabbath because he wants us to, and because it is for our good. The keeping of the Sabbath is a recognition of the existence of God and his authority. That is its first and perhaps most important lesson. If there were no other reason for its observance, this of itself would be sufficient. The natural tendency of the unregenerate is to forget God. By keeping the Sabbath, we are reminded of the existence of God at least once every seven days, and no nation or people can entirely ignore God that allows such a frequent reminder to exist. The man who keeps the Sabbath not only recognizes the existence of God by that act, and imitates him, but he is recognized by God and his fellow-creatures as a member of the household of faith, and an heir to the heavenly inheritance. Dire consequences are threatened him who does not keep the Sabbath. Because the punishment is not speedily meted out to the offender, men persist in offending. But as sure as there is a God in Heaven, a violator of the Sabbath, from the standpoint of the great Judge, will not go unpunished.

It is worthy of remark that this message concerning the Sabbath immediately precedes the delivery of the "two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." The whole law of God to man was summed up in the brief inscriptions on these tablets. The system of ethics taught by this law is still in force, and Jesus says it shall remain in force so long as man shall exist. The heavens and earth must first pass away before one jot or one tittle shall fail. No stronger expression can be framed to denote the universality, completeness, and permanence of the law of God. The heavens and the earth shall pass away (2 Peter 3: 10), but not until the work of redemption has been finished.

Till the end of our lives as individuals, and to the end of the world as a race, the law of God delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai, is to be the law of our being and the rule of our conduct. The expression, "jot or tittle," allows of no change or abridgement. The former word denotes the smallest letter in Hebrew and Greek, while the latter word refers to the faintest curl of a letter. The law of God is emphatic and permanent, and its application is universal. Jesus is the only one who has perfectly complied with its letter and Spirit. While we know that we can never keep the law as he did, we are bound by every consideration that can be named or imagined to do the best we can, and trust that our short-comings will be forgiven us through his imputed righteousness. Rightly viewed, to obey is better than sacrifice. There is no liberty without law. License to do as we please is not liberty; it means the destruction of liberty to ourselves and to others. Law is the perfection of liberty. In honoring the law we enjoy the highest style of freedom. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." They only shall be rewarded who keep the commandments of God. —Bene-Barak, in Herald of Truth.

One Thing Needed.

The saw-mill is a very old-fashioned one. It has an up-and-down saw, and the wheel that used to move it was driven by the stream that used to flow through the mill-race. The saw is still there. The mill seems to lack no machinery. A log, pushed up against the saw, is still on the carriageway, and the work of sawing has progressed a foot or two. But for three years no progress has been made. The mill-race is dry; the wheel motionless. The machinery is rusty, and the timbers rotting. No oiling or repairs will make it move. The one needed thing is power. Are there not churches like this dead mill? The machinery may be all perfect, the work may be well laid out; but the first necessity is power. The best machinery will fail unless there is power to move it. The power is the Holy Spirit. Only his reviving and renewing influence can move the machinery of a dead church, or impart life to a dead soul. Let us, first of all, seek power from on high.—Sel.

Christ’s Power Proves His Divinity

As THE shining of the stars is a better proof of their existence than the figures of an astronomer; as the testimony of the almanac that summer comes with June is not so convincing as is the coming of summer itself in the sky, in the air, in the fields, on hill and mountain, so the power of Christ upon the human soul is to the soul evidence of his divinity, based upon a living experience, and transcending in conclusiveness any convictions of the intellect alone. If Christ is the wisdom of God and the power of God in the experience of those who trust and love him, there is need of no further argument of his divinity.—Sel.

Duty and the Meaning of Life

WHEN men face a duty, not merely will that duty become at once less unpleasant to them, but life itself will immediately begin to gather interest; for in duty, and in duty only, does the individual begin to come into real contact with life. Therein only can he see what life is, and grow fit for it.—Weighed and Wanting.

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