Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 21, 1880
General Articles.
By Ellen G. White
THE JOURNEY FROM MOUNT HOR.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
THE nations of Canaan had watched with jealous eye the movements of the vast hosts of Israel. They remembered with many forebodings the visit of the Hebrew spies forty years before, and were now continually on the alert to prevent any invasion of their territory. Being informed by spies of the encampment of the children of Israel near Mount Hor, Arad, one of the Canaanite kings, went out with a large army, to make war upon them. He gained a decided victory, and took a number of prisoners. The Israelites were deeply humbled at this defeat, and with prayer and fasting, they sought help from God. They made a solemn vow that if the Lord would deliver these enemies into their hands, they would utterly destroy them and their cities. The Divine Protector of Israel was pleased to hear and answer the prayer of his people, and the Canaanites were completely routed.
This victory should have filled the hearts of the Israelites with gratitude. It should have led them to fear and trust the Lord, and to shun the sins which had separated them from his favor. But, elated with success, they became boastful and self-confident, and soon fell into the old habit of murmuring. They were now dissatisfied because the armies of Israel had not been permitted to advance upon Canaan immediately after their cowardly rebellion at the report of the spies forty years before. They pronounced their long sojourn in the wilderness an unnecessary delay, reasoning that they might have conquered their enemies as easily heretofore as now. They flattered themselves that if God and Moses had not interfered, they might now have been in possession of the promised land. Thus they cherished bitter thoughts concerning the dealings of God with them, and finally they became discontented with everything.
As they continued their journey toward the south, following the guidance of the cloudy pillar, their route lay through a hot, sandy valley, destitute of shade or vegetation. The way seemed long and difficult; they were sometimes thirsty, and often weary. Their sojourn in the wilderness should have taught them that help could come alone from God; but when again brought into circumstances of difficulty and trial they failed to endure the test of their faith and patience. By continually dwelling on the dark features of their travels, they separated themselves farther and farther from God, until a defiant, rebellious spirit made them almost Satanic.
A long preparatory process, unknown to the world, goes on in the hearts of God’s people before they commit open sin. There is first a gradual decline of spirituality; God is not cherished in the thoughts; prayer is neglected; selfish thoughts and feelings have a controlling power; carnal desires slowly but surely gain the ascendency; and a spirit of proud self-sufficiency takes possession of the soul.
Had the children of Israel, as they journeyed, called to mind the wonderful deliverance which God had wrought for them in breaking from their necks the yoke of Egyptian bondage, had they dwelt upon the many precious and miraculous revelations of divine power in their behalf, they might have strengthened the courage of the faint-hearted and unbelieving, and thus averted the terrible judgments which had fallen upon them. But light had become darkness to them, and darkness light. Egypt looked brighter and more desirable than liberty and the land to which God was leading them.
Thus it is with many professed Christians at the present day. They become weary of self-denial and humiliation. They desire an easier path, in which there is less self-restraint, in which there is no necessity for a constant, individual effort. Their hearts are ever pleading, “I pray thee, have me excused.” They have no love for duty, no affinity for wholesome restraint and discipline. They act over the experience of ancient Israel, in doubting and murmuring. They dwell upon the objectionable features in their experience, and with their spiritual sight dimmed, everything pertaining to their religious life wears a dark, forbidding aspect. They begin to turn toward the world, as the hearts of the Israelites were constantly turning back to Egypt. In conversation, in dress, in deportment, this class manifest a conformity to the world. How dwelleth the love of Christ in them?
The word of God draws a dividing line between his followers and the worldling. Over that line, toward Egypt, is the life of self-indulgence, fashion, frivolity, and the veriest slavery to sin. Over that line, God is forgotten. When the professed followers of Christ should be fighting the Lord’s battles, how often are they out of the path of duty, on Satan’s ground. Christ is wounded when any who bear his name are found there; he is crucified afresh, and put to an open shame by those who profess to love him.
In hearing the earnest prayers of Israel, and granting them a great victory over their enemies, the Lord had given a fresh token of his willingness to help his people when they should seek him. How cruel, then, was their unbelief and murmuring. The great sin of Israel was their jealousy that God meant them harm; that he was restricting their liberty, and surrounding them with denials and severities. Yet in all the way of God’s leading, they had found water to refresh the thirsty, bread from heaven to satisfy their hunger, and peace and safety under the shadowy cloud by day and the fiery pillar by night. Angels were ministering to them as they climbed the rocky heights, or threaded the rugged paths of the wilderness. It is a mistake to entertain the thought that God is pleased to see his children suffer. All Heaven is interested in the happiness of man. It is in the path that leads away from God to darkness and death that there are pains and griefs, disappointments and sorrows. These are placed by the hand of Infinite Love to warn man not to go on in disobedience and destroy themselves.
God does not close the avenues of joy to any of his creatures. The divine requirements call upon man to shun those indulgences which would bring suffering and disappointment, and would close to him the door of happiness and Heaven. The world’s Redeemer accepts men as they are, with all their wants, imperfections, and weaknesses; and he will not only cleanse from the defilement of sin, and grant redemption through his blood, but will satisfy the heart-longings of all who consent to wear his yoke, to bear his burden. It is his purpose to impart peace and rest to all who come to him for the bread of life. He only requires of men to perform those duties which will lead his steps to heights of bliss to which the disobedient can never attain.
The true, joyous life of the soul is to have Christ formed within, the hope of glory. Then will the servants of the Master feel that it is safe to follow where he leads. They may climb the mountain steeps or tread the burning desert sands, singing over the hardest paths, because Jesus is their companion. Had ancient Israel but cherished gratitude to God for his preserving care, for his divine companionship in the shadowy cloud and the fiery pillar; had they, instead of murmuring, recounted the blessings which God had bestowed upon them; had they cherished faith, and laid aside their fears and anxieties,—they might ever have had the presence of the Divine Helper, and he would have lifted the burden from every weary soul.
The hindrances which keep many from advancing in a life of purity and holiness are created by themselves. The cross which every Christian must bear if he follows Christ, gives increased spiritual strength. In lifting the burdens of Christ, heavier burdens are removed. To all who are willing and obedient, to all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of the greatest discouragement and difficulty is the time when divine help is nearest. When the path of duty is obstructed by difficulties the most formidable, when it seems that the soul must give up in despair, the glory hidden behind the cloud that has darkened the way shines forth in all its brightness.
Those who press on in the path of duty will look back with joy and thankfulness upon the darkest part of the way, where trials and difficulties seemed like a heavy cloud to hide every ray of God’s sunshine. The Lord conceals himself from us in the cloudy pillar, as from ancient Israel. His ways are past finding out. Yet all that he makes known of himself, all that he can reveal to the most elevated mind, only convinces us of an infinity beyond, of wisdom, purity, and love.
SOMETIME.
SOMETIME, when all life's lessons have been learned,
And sun and stars forevermore have set,
The things which our weak judgment here have spurned—
The things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet—
Will flash before us out of life's dark night,
As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue,
And we shall see how all God's plans were right,
And how, what seemed reproof was love most true.
And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh,
God's plans go on as best for you and me;
How, when we called, he heeded not our cry
Because his wisdom could the end foresee;
And even as prudent parents disallow
Too much of sweet to craving babyhood,
So God, perhaps, is keeping from us now
Life's sweetest things, because it seemeth good.
And if sometime, commingled with life's wine
We find the wormwood, and rebel and shrink,
Be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine
Pours out this lotion for your lips to drink.
And if some friend we love is lying low,
Where human kisses cannot reach his face,
Oh! do not blame the loving Father so,
But wear your sorrow with obedient grace.
And you shall shortly know that lengthened breath
Is not the sweetest gift God sends his friend;
And that, sometimes, the sable pall of death
Conceals the fairest boon his love can send;
If we could push ajar the gates of life
And stand within and all God's workings see;
We could interpret all this doubt and strife,
And for each mystery could find a key.
But not to-day. Then be content, poor heart;
God's plans, like lilies, pure and white, unfold;
We must not tear the close-shut leaves apart—
Time will reveal the calyxes of gold.
And if, through patient toil, we reach the land
Where tired feet with sandals loose, may rest—
When we shall clearly know and understand;
I think that we will say, "God knows the best."
He Shall Never Hear the End
A SAILOR was converted. In the glow and gladness of first love he was heard to exclaim: “To save such a sinner as I am! He shall never hear the end of it.”
Sometimes men in unchristian anger use the threat against an enemy: “He shall never hear the end of it.” Here in Christian triumph, it was beautifully used by the rejoicing sailor. Through all eternity the saved shall praise the Saviour. “He shall never hear the end of it.”
PRESENT TRUTH.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
BY ELD. D. M. CANRIGHT.
TEXT: "Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth." 2 Pet. 1:12.
WHY talk so much about the coming of the Lord? Can we know anything about when it is to occur? Does not the Bible say, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man"? And, even if we could know when it was coming, what is the use of saying so much about it? If we are only prepared to die, are we not prepared for the coming of the Lord? Why make division by stirring up the people on this point? Would it not be better to unite with others in converting souls to God by preaching Christ and repentance instead of making a separate party by talking about the coming of Christ? All believe that he will come sometime.
These are some of the most common objections that Adventists meet wherever they go; and to answer them, is the object of this article. No doubt they seem reasonable to those who make them. Yet we think that they are entirely unscriptural. Our text speaks of "the present truth." Not that Peter is speaking of our times, but it shows that there was in his days, and hence, that there may be at other times, what he denominates "present truth"—that is, a truth which is applicable at one time, but is not at another. Some truths are always equally true and applicable; as, There is a God; we should love him; men should repent of their sins, etc. These truths should always be preached. But other truths have a more local and temporary application, but yet are equally important at the time. Noah's case will illustrate this. God, at the proper time, gave him a message to warn the world with regard to the coming flood. This he did for about a hundred and twenty years, till it came. It was important that he should warn the world of that impending calamity. God blessed him in doing it. But suppose that, after the flood was over, Noah had continued to preach that the flood was coming, just as he had before it did come, would there have been any propriety in his action, or any force in his preaching? Would it have been true? Certainly not. The time had passed for that message to be proclaimed. It had been present truth to the generation that perished in the flood; but it was not present truth after the flood was passed; nor would it have been, a thousand years before it came.
Take another case. When God sent Jonah to Nineveh, the prophet cried, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Was it important that that warning should be given to Nineveh? We well know that it was, from God's dealing with Jonah when he refused to give it; and when the prophet delivered his message, behold, how mightily it stirred that great city. It caused them to repent in dust and ashes. It was the means which God used for their salvation. It was present truth to them at that time, and if they had neglected it they would have perished. But suppose that Jonah, because God so greatly blessed that proclamation, had kept right on preaching the same thing for years afterward, "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown," would that have been sensible? would it have been true? Certainly not; it had been present truth, but could be no longer.
Take still another case. At the first advent of Christ, God raised up John the Baptist in fulfillment of the prophecy of Isa. 40:3; Matt 3:3, and sent him with a special message to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. John preached the baptism of repentance, telling them that they should believe on him who should come after him. That was a special message, a special warning. God was in it, and greatly blessed it.
While John was preaching, his message was the present truth for that people. Those who heeded it were blessed of God, while those who did not heed it, rejected the counsel of God against themselves. Luke 7:29, 30. "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." But after Christ had come and the gospel had been fully introduced, would it have been proper for the apostles, or any others, to preach the same message that John did a few years before? It would have been entirely out of order. It would not have been truth, and God would not have blessed it. See this fact illustrated in Acts 18:22-28; 19:1-7. Apollos, some fifteen years after the resurrection, did preach and baptize after the manner of John; yet, when Paul came there, he baptized these same individuals over again, into the then present truth of a risen Christ. Illustrations of this kind might be multiplied to any extent, but these are sufficient to show the meaning and import of "present truth."
All must agree with us that there are important, stirring truths which the people should hear at one time, which, if preached at any other, would not be true. People are continually asking us, If these things are true which you are preaching about the coming of Christ, why were they not found out and preached before? In the light of facts already stated, the answer is plain: The time had not come, and therefore it would have been entirely out of place. For a Noah, or a Jonah, or a John the Baptist, to have preached what they did a thousand years before the events came to pass, would have been out of place. So it would have been entirely out of place for the people to proclaim the immediate coming of Christ a thousand or even a hundred years ago, when it was not at hand. But when the fullness of time has come, and that event is just at hand, then it will be present truth. Then it will be the all-important truth to be proclaimed to the world. Christ himself illustrates it in this manner:—
After stating the signs which should mark his second coming, and further stating that it should be at that time as it was in the days of Noah, he says, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?" Who then, that is, at that time, at the time of his second coming, is a wise servant, and will be found giving the household meat in due season? Look at the illustration—"meat in due season." Here is a man keeping boarders. During the winter, he provides bread, meat, potatoes, and other food commonly used in winter. This they consider proper food for the household during the winter, and no one complains; but, by and by, spring draws near, and early vegetables come, but he provides none for his table. Strawberries and raspberries are ripe, but he buys none for his boarders; cherries and apples are in the market, but not any appear on his table. He provides for them exactly the same food that he did during the winter. Would there not be some complaining in that household? Yes, and justly, too; for he does not provide for them food according to the seasons.
This parable of our Lord beautifully illustrates the importance of instructing the church of God with the proper truths which are due at different ages of the world. This, and this only, will keep the church alive. And here we may suggest that the grand failure which many learned theologians make, lies in the fact that they do not keep up with the times, and preach living truths, which are due in their days. They go back and study the writings and theological systems of eminent men who lived ages before them. Those men were alive to the truths applicable in their days, and with these they stirred the world; and after those days were passed, and circumstances were changed, these men now take up the same line of argument, fill their minds with these old, dead issues of the past, and dwell upon them, while other plain and living truths of their own times are neglected. Hence God cannot use them in his work. He has to choose some poor shepherd, fisherman, or mechanic, whose mind is open to receive the light of present truth. Such humble men, with the living, stirring truths which are applicable to their days, go forth with them and stir the world. Here is where the teachers of the people, the scribes and the Pharisees, erred in their days. Christ upbraided them for not being able to discern the signs of the times. Matt. 16:13. Jerusalem was overthrown because the people knew not the time of their visitation. Luke 19:41-44.
This brings us to consider another important truth: God always reveals his truth to his people as fast as it is due to the world. Thus Amos says: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7. This text states the great truth which we are trying to demonstrate, viz., that God never leaves his people in the dark concerning any important event which materially affects them. Before the event comes, those of his people who are walking with the Lord are always duly informed with regard to it. Notice a few examples: Noah was informed of the time of the flood, that it was to be after one hundred and twenty years. Gen. 6:3. A short time before it came, the Lord revealed to him the very time it should commence. Gen. 7:4: "Yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights."
The time of the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egypt was foretold to Abraham. Gen. 15:13, 14. "They shall afflict them four hundred years," said the Lord, "afterward they shall come out with great substance." When the Lord proposed to destroy Sodom, he said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" Gen. 18:17. Then he proceeded to inform Abraham concerning what he was about to do. Lot, also, was warned, and fled out of the city. Through Joseph, God revealed the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine which were to come on Egypt. Gen. 41:26-30. When the time of Israel's deliverance from Egypt drew near, God raised up Moses to deliver them. Moses knew that the time had come, and that he was to deliver them; for thus we read of him: "For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them; but they understood not." Acts 7:25. Moses understood it, though some of the people did not. The number of years that they should wander in the wilderness was foretold. Num. 14:34. The seventy years' captivity in Babylon was revealed to his people: "And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years." Jer. 25:11. The very year that the Messiah should come was revealed. Dan. 9:25: "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three-score and two weeks." The 1260 years of papal supremacy were foretold. Dan. 7:25.
At Christ's first advent it was revealed to holy men and women that they should see him before they died, which, also, they did. See Luke 2:25-30, 36-38. Indeed, they generally expected him at that time. God raised up John the Baptist to go before Christ and prepare the people for his coming. Did John know that the advent of the Messiah was at hand? He did, and told them to believe on him who should come after him. John's mission was no mere guess-work. He knew definitely what his message was, and what prophecy he was fulfilling. Thus we read: "Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias." John 1:22, 23. Here was a prophecy given hundreds of years before. When the proper time came, John was raised up to deliver that message; and he did it, knowing and claiming that he was fulfilling it.
Thus we might show that every important event connected with the work of God and God's people in every age has been revealed to his church just before these events came to pass. When the generation had come who was to witness them, God raised up men to warn the people of their coming. The true servants of God, who were in the light and were walking with the Lord, were always informed in regard to them, and were ready when they came. At the same time, there always was another class, who were not only ignorant with regard to these events, but opposed those who proclaimed them.
Now we appeal to the reader, If those minor events, such as the flood, the fall of Sodom, coming out of Egypt, destruction of Nineveh, the first advent of Christ, etc., were revealed to the people of God, and a special message was given with regard to them just before they came, is it reasonable to believe that the last great day will come and the people of God know nothing about it, no warning be given concerning it? Those events affected only the generation then living, sometimes only a small portion of that, and yet the Lord thought them of sufficient importance to reveal them to his people, and instruct that generation with regard to them. But when the Judgment of the great day shall come, when Christ shall appear King of kings and Lord of lords, when the dead shall be raised, when the459world shall end, and all things earthly shall be closed up, how vastly more important will this event be than all others! In this grand event all will have an interest, both the living and the dead, from Adam to the last child born. Before this grand and awful event all others sink into insignificance. Shall, then, such an event as this come upon the people of God and the world, and God's servants know nothing about it, and the world be unwarned concerning it? Reason itself would teach us that it could not be so. The history of God's dealings with his people in the past shows that it will not be so, besides which, we have abundance of direct testimony that God will do in the last days as he always has before, viz., instruct his people and warn the world.
A COLLAPSE OF FAITH.
This is what threatens at the time now present. That general credence of Christianity which has been customary for Protestant nations, has been subjected to such constant and tremendous erosion by floods of modern skepticism that its fall is imminent.
Never were the proofs of the truth of the Scriptures more full and plain than now. Those proofs are multiplying every day. As every panful of miner's earth yields its proportion of gold, so every new research and excavation adds its precious testimony to the oracles of God. The bases of unchangeable truth that underlie the gospel, were never more manifest than now. The alluvium of superstition which the dark ages deposited around them has been all washed away, so that they now stand clear. In spite of these facts, it is to be seen that the truth has lost, or is losing, that general hold that it had two hundred years ago; or, again, seventy-five years ago. Those who were born of God hold the truth now, of course, though with perhaps a grasp enfeebled by the relaxation all around them. But infidelity has made fearful havoc among the mass of our civilized fellow-men. This is not yet so evident as we fear it may be in a few years. In the decaying tooth, the external wall of enamel hides for a time the ravage of caries within; and the gloss of civilization will hide the decay of public faith for a season. But the time of collapse must come.
It should not be necessary to say that we have no fear of the future in regard to the gospel. It is of God, and stands secure as God. But the sun may for a season be eclipsed by a far inferior body. So the truth of God may be darkened by a smoke ascending out of the pit. And truly, when we come to ask what enemy it is who hath drawn the minds of men away, we are of nothing reminded so much as of the three unclean spirits like frogs, which the apostle saw coming out of the pit of the abyss. In one of Poe's pieces, he describes man as a noble actor on a grand stage, falling before a conquering worm. How vile and unseemly are the new doctrines of infidelity! Satan, sitting like a cormorant, or squatting like a toad, is a fair representative of them. And it is before such repulsive forms of unbelief that men will bow? Even so. It has come to that, that men are fascinated, not by the meretricious beauty of error, but by its foul deformity. As a dog returns to his vomit, the modern skeptic has gone back to the defecations of ancient philosophy. The more you debase him, the higher a teacher you are in his eyes. Preach to him that he is a superior monkey, and he reverences you. Preach that he is a fortunate environed mollusk, and he worships you. O Philosophy! "into what depth thou seest, from what height fallen."
This erosion of the common belief of the people is carried on by newspapers, magazines, and even by books of history, which now sometimes go out of their way to give a fling at Moses, as the Jews are said to turn aside to throw a stone at Absalom's supposititious tomb.
When belief in the records of Moses has gone down, belief in the claims of Jesus must soon follow. When the soldiers of Titus burst the outer wall of the Holy City, they knew they could soon put a torch to the sanctuary.
The Duke of Argyll has written how the stream of Niagara frets away first the nether stratum of its rock-bed. That stratum is a soft shale, and leaves the hard upper rock unbroken and overhanging for a time. But by and by, the projecting hard rock is too far underworn, and falls, in sudden collapse, into the chasm. False science has been abrading the common faith in Moses' writings, because the belief in Jesus is necessarily resting on that, and must fall soon after. Some say, "Give us Jesus and the resurrection, and let Moses go." But Christ said, "If they hear not Moses, neither will they be persuaded though one should rise from the dead."—Watchman.
THE LEGEND BEAUTIFUL.
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"HADST thou stayed, I must have fled !"
That is what the vision said.
In his chamber all alone,
Kneeling on the floor of stone,
Prayed the monk in deep contrition
For his sins of indecision,
Prayed for greater self-denial,
In temptation and in trial;
It was noonday by the dial,
And the monk was all alone.
Suddenly, as if it lightened,
An unwonted splendor brightened
All within him and without him
In that narrow cell of stone;
And he saw the blessed vision
Of our Lord, with light elysian
Like a vesture wrapped about him,
Like a garment round him thrown.
Not as crucified and slain,
Not in agonies of pain,
Not with bleeding hands and feet,
Did the monk his Master see;
But as in the village street,
In the house or harvest field,
Halt and lame and blind he healed,
When he walked in Galilee.
In an attitude imploring,
Hands upon his bosom crossed,
Wondering, worshiping, adoring,
Knelt the monk in rapture lost.
Lord, he thought, in Heaven that reignest,
Who am I, that thus thou deignest
To reveal thyself to me?
Who am I, that from the center
Of thy glory thou shouldst enter
This poor cell, my guest to be?
Then amid his exaltation,
Loud the convent bell appalling,
From its belfry calling, calling,
Rang through court and corridor,
With persistent iteration
He had never heard before.
It was now the appointed hour,
When alike, in shine or shower,
Winter's cold or summer's heat,
To the convent portals came,
All the blind and halt and lame,
All the beggars of the street,
For their daily dole of food
Dealt them by the brotherhood;
And their almoner was he,
Who upon his bended knee,
Rapt in silent ecstasy
Of divinest self-surrender,
Saw the vision and the splendor.
Deep distress and hesitation
Mingled with his adoration.
Should he go? or should he stay?
Should he leave the poor to wait
Hungry at the convent gate,
Till the vision passed away?
Should he slight his heavenly guest,
Slight his visitant celestial,
For a crowd of ragged, bestial
Beggars at the convent gate?
Would the vision there remain?
Would the vision come again?
Then a voice within his breast
Whispered, audible and clear
As if to the outward ear;
"Do thy duty; that is best;
Leave unto thy Lord the rest !"
Straightway to his feet he started,
And with longing look intent
On the blessed vision bent,
Slowly from his cell departed,
Slowly on his errand went.
At the gate the poor were waiting,
Looking through the iron grating,
With that terror in the eye
That is only seen in those
Who, amid their wants and woes
Hear the sound of those that close,
And of feet that pass them by;
Grown familiar with disfavor,
Grown familiar with the savor
Of the bread by which men die!
But to-day, they knew not why,
Like the gate of Paradise
Seemed the convent gate to rise;
Like a sacrament divine
Seemed to them the bread and wine.
In his heart the monk was praying,
Thinking of the homeless poor,
What they suffer and endure;
What we see not, what we see;
And the inward voice was saying;
"Whatsoever thing thou doest
To the least of mine and lowest,
That thou doest unto me !"
Unto me? but had the vision
Come to him in beggar's clothing,
Come a mendicant imploring,
Would he then have knelt adoring,
Or have listened with derision,
And have turned away with loathing?
Thus his conscience put the question,
Full of troublesome suggestion,
As at length, with hurried pace,
Toward his cell he turned his face,
And beheld the convent bright
With a supernatural light,
Like a luminous cloud expanding
Over floor and wall and ceiling.
But he paused with awe-struck feeling
At the threshold of his door,
For the vision still was standing
As he left it there before,
When the convent bell appalling,
From its belfry calling, calling,
Summoned him to feed the poor.
Through the long hour intervening
It had waited his return,
And he felt his bosom burn,
Comprehending all the meaning,
When the blessed vision said,
"Hadst thou stayed, I must have fled !"
—Henry W. Longfellow.
POWER OF INFLUENCE.
By W. M. Punshon
THE stone flung from my careless hand into the lake splashed down into the depths of the flowing water; and that was all. No, it was not all. Look at those concentric rings, rolling their tiny ripples among the sedgy reeds, dipping the overhanging boughs of yonder willow, and producing an influence, slight, but conscious, to the very shore of the lake itself.
That hasty word, that word of pride or scorn, flung from my lips in casual company, produced a momentary depression; and that was all. No, that was not all.
It deepened that man's disgust at godliness; and it sharpened the edge of that man's sarcasm; and it shamed that half-converted one out of his penitent misgivings; and it produced an influence, slight but eternal, on the destiny of a human being.
Oh! it is a terrible power that I have, this power of influence; and it clings to me. I cannot shake it off. It is born with me; it has grown with my growth, and strengthened with my strength.
It speaks, it walks, it moves; it is powerful in every look of my eye, in every word of my lips, and in every act of my life.
I cannot live to myself, I must either be an Abel, who by his immortal righteousness, being dead, yet speaketh, or an Achan, the saddest continuance of whose otherwise forgotten name is the fact that man perishes not alone in his iniquity.
O brethren! this necessary element of power belongs to you all. Your sphere may be contracted; your influence may be small; but a sphere and influence you have.—W. M. Punshon.
THE CHAINED BRIDGE.
By Rev. F. H. Mullineaux
As I was riding along a turnpike in Baltimore Co., Md., I passed over a small bridge; and while so doing, I noticed that the bridge was chained to a large tree that stood near by. What does that mean? thought I to myself. It is to hold the bridge sure and steadfast in time of high water. The incident was very suggestive, and a good and useful lesson may be drawn from it. As the bridge was secured by a chain, so should every man be united to Heaven and to God. Heaven is the tree, man the bridge; the afflictions, temptations, trials and troubles of this life unite and cause high water, but while God's promises form a united chain with our faith in him, the storms of life can never sweep us away. With the anchor of hope dropped within the vail we are sure and steadfast.—Rev. F. H. Mullineaux.
Sharpen Your Saw
A MAN was at work on a huge pile of wood. The saw was dull, and he tugged and fretted and fumed, and at last broke out with a series of expletives big enough and coarse enough to fatally injure an ordinary mouth. A cheery fellow passed by, and taking in the situation at a glance, said, by way of friendly advice: "My friend, why don't you sharpen your saw?" The poor, oppressed victim of circumstances looked savagely at him for an instant and then replied: "Look here, mister, don't you think I've work enough to do sawing this pile without stopping to sharpen saws?"
Satan, the Meanest Paymaster
The meanest pay-master in the world is Satan. He has never yet been known to have employed a hand that he didn't cheat. Young friends, engage your services to a better Master, namely Jesus, who has never been known to cheat.
Insults Are Counterfeit Money
Insults are like counterfeit money; they may be offered, but you need not take them.