Signs of the Times, Vol. 35, No. 12. (10/21/1908)

Signs of the Times

Oct 21, 1908

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Oct 21, 1908

God's Greatness and Power

GREAT is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite." Man speaks of the "great ones of earth," of the "great nations," and the "great earth," but before our God "the inhabitants" of the earth "are as grasshoppers," and "the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance." He measures the waters, as it were, in the "hollow of His hand," metes out heaven "with a span," weighs "the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance."

NAY, more; beyond this earth are all the rolling spheres of light. "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one is lacking." He upholdeth all things "by the word of His power." "By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens." And of all we can see of their shining hosts we may say, with the Idumean patriarch, "Lo, these are parts of His ways; but how little a portion is heard of Him? but the thunder of His power who can understand?"

BUT God does not leave the revelation of Himself thus. He would not terrify us with His greatness. He would reveal that greatness; He would show His mighty power and marvelous works. He would declare Himself by His works to be the Omnipotent One; the one All-wise God. But His infinity of power and wisdom in maxima argues for infinity in minima. The God of the great things is the God of the small. He who guides mighty Arcturus, paints the wings of the butterfly, forms the delicate petals of the lily, imprisons the sweet fragrance in the rose, the heliotrope, the violet, and clothes the peach with down, and bestows color and beauty upon leaf and flower. Yea, all of the great things are made up of littles. The mighty rock is formed of its tiny crystals; the great, restless ocean, of its individual drops, each of which is a little sea of itself, in whose "depths" oftentimes a multitude of infinitesimal creatures live and sport.

Nature Speaks of God's Greatness and Power.

BUT even more than this; God is infinite in love. The great lesson He would have us learn from His wisdom and understanding is that He knows everything, He knows how to accomplish His own righteous will, He is able to save to the uttermost, and to keep unto the end all that is committed to Him; and—from the minima, the little things of His creation—that He has a recognition of, a care for, the smallest of all His creatures. And Love bids us believe, "He cares for us; He cares for me."

THIS is the beautiful lesson, the precious message, brought to this sinful, care-rent world by the love of Jesus our Lord. Two sparrows are of little worth. Their market value in Jesus' day was but three fourths of a cent each. They are worth even less now in man's eyes. And yet not one of the chirping feathered morsels shall fall to the ground without your Father's notice. He supplies them with life; and when the life-cord is broken, the great heart of the Father feels the pain, and He notes the sparrow's fall; "not one of them is forgotten before God." O fearful heart, fear not; ye are of more value than many sparrows! God will not forget; has not forgotten. He can not forget; you are graven on the palms of His hands.

When Christ died, the nail-marks in His hands and feet were for you. Your sins placed them there. Your direful needs are expressed there. He can not forget you. Night may seem to shut you in; God may seem to have forgotten because you do not see and hear; but fear not, He "that keepeth Israel shall not slumber nor sleep." Friends may forsake you; He is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Sickness and calamity may come upon you; Death may smite you; but He is victor over Death, and from your ashes will make you a shining immortal. "Only trust Him, just now."

"I heard the voice of Jesus say, Come unto Me and rest; Lay down, thou weary one, lay down Thy head upon My breast. I came to Jesus as I was— Weary, and worn, and sad; I found in Him a resting-place, And He hath made me glad."

A Question of Diet and Salvation.

To mortal man the question of diet is truly an important one. Man is a physical being. He lives upon what he eats and drinks and breathes. It is therefore important that he eat and drink the right things, and breathe the right atmosphere, and eat and drink and breathe in the right way. The many schools of medicine, the thousands of instructors in physical culture, the multiplied sanitariums, the multitudes of health foods, the many quacks and patent nostrums, all attest to the importance of the physical human and his needs. Yet the most vital question is not the diet question.

The most important question that humanity can ask is ages old, "What must I do to be saved?" For man is a lost creature, spiritually, mentally, physically, doomed to decay and death. He lives but a little time, then all powers begin to fail, and he dies.

The answer to the question is equally important: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." True whole-hearted belief unites the soul with God, and makes it a partaker of the divine nature. The sin and the sinful, rebellious heart are surrendered, and the sinner is at peace with God. And the peace brings joy. "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; . . . and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

And therefore "the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

But he who is thus partaker of redemption in Christ will "go on unto perfection;" he will "grow in grace and in the knowledge" of Jesus Christ. He will not remain a child, but grow to manhood in Christ Jesus. He will seek in all things to glorify his Master. Therefore, whether he eats or drinks or whatsoever he does, he will "do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31.

What Is Best?

He will study to know what is the best food, what food will build up the strongest and most enduring physical frame consistent with clear mentality and keen moral perception. He will therefore regard the instruction which God has given His children, instruction based on their constitutional requirements and needs, and having direct bearing upon their service to Him and their eternal welfare.

The Christian will note the distinction between clean and unclean beasts, based not on arbitrary choice, but upon the very nature of the creatures themselves. The law to the Israelitish nation (Leviticus 11) has passed away; but the nature of the beasts and the great underlying principles remain. Surely man can not glorify God and continue in transgression.

The Original Diet.

The Christian will note that back of all this, when man was created, God gave him a diet of fruit and grains. Gen 1:29. After man sinned, there were included in his bill of fare, herbs, or vegetables, but no flesh foods. Gen. 3:18. He will also note that when God called His people out of Egypt and fed them in the wilderness on manna, He gave them no animal food; and those who were the most faithful in the God-given diet were remarkable for their physical strength, mental power, and longevity. Surely, it will glorify God if His children get back, or forward, to the vegetarian bill of fare, now that He has set His hand to gather His people the second time.

Medical research and science have also demonstrated that the animals usually killed for food are, under growingly unnatural conditions, becoming more and more diseased; and are killed under circumstances which make it almost impossible for the consumer to know their condition. More and more all evidences, among which are the happy experiences of thousands, go to show that the best diet man can adopt is a non-flesh diet.

But in doing this let him not do it as a matter of cold law, of something he must do or be lost. Such cold, legal requirement brings but poor appetite and offers no aid to digestion. But let him learn that it is the best, and then adopt it gladly as the best. Prepare it in the best way and then eat it joyfully as the best as unto the Lord.

Let him drink, preferably not at meal times, a sufficient quantity of good, pure water, unadulterated with the poisons of caffeine or thein. Let him breathe, night and day, God's pure, fresh, life-filled air, deeply, joyfully. So will he find blessing and joy in serving God, and his food and drink will not be a matter of deprivation of one good thing, but the satisfaction that he has sustenance worthy of a king, and that fits him for the best service for the best Ruler of the universe. His diet will not then be a matter of cold law, nor will he count it the Gospel, but rather on the incidental fruits of the blessed Gospel.

A Warfare

By Ellen G. White

By Mrs. E. G. White

THE new man in Christ is born to conflict, toil, and labor, born to engage in the good fight of faith. The warfare in which he is engaged is a hand-to-hand struggle, and will require the exercise of every energy. He must meet human beings of power and influence who are on Satan's side of the controversy; he must also meet unseen agencies of evil. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." But there is a power within his reach through which he can obtain the victory in every onset, power to make him more than conqueror over every temptation.

A Wily Foe.

Satan watches his opportunity, when the Christian is unguarded, to seize from him the precious graces; but it is the privilege of the follower of Christ to obtain strength from God to hold every precious gift. He will often have severe conflict with the powers of darkness in order to retain them; or if he has lost a heavenly grace through lack of watchfulness, he will have a struggle to regain it. Fervent and effectual prayer will be regarded in heaven. When the servants of God take the shield of faith for their defense and the sword of the Spirit for war, they will succeed. When truth in its simplicity and strength prevails among believers, and is brought to bear against the spirit of the world, it will be evident that between Christ and Belial there is no concord.

The triumph of Christianity is dependent on the influence of its adherents. Manfully the Christian is to fight the good fight of faith. Lawfully he is to strive, never relaxing his efforts, day by day seeking for greater power to help those around him. His words are to be right words, pure and true, fraught with sympathy and love; his actions right actions, a help and a blessing to the weak. Never is he to grow weary in his work. He will meet with trial, but he must always be brave and cheerful, bringing joy and courage into other lives.

Obedience and faith must characterize us as the servants of Christ. Our Redeemer unfolded before His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the chief priests and elders, and be killed, and be raised from the dead the third day. He was already standing under the shadow of the cross. He fully comprehended the great work He came to do, and He would have His disciples understand the greatness of this work, and the responsibilities which would rest upon them in the performance of their duty in carrying forward His work when He should leave them. He said to them, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; . . . for what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works."

Loyalty Demanded.

Those who hesitate to devote themselves unreservedly to God make poor work of following Christ. They follow Him at such a distance that they do not really know whether they are following in His footsteps or in those of the enemy. Why are we so slow to give up our interest in the things of this world, and take Christ for our only portion? Why should we wish to keep the friendship of our Lord's enemies and follow their customs and be led by their opinions? There must be an entire, unreserved surrender to God, a forsaking and turning away from the love of the world and earthly things, or we can not be His disciples.

The life and Spirit of Christ are the only standard of excellence and perfection, and our only safe course is in following His example. He will guide us by His counsel, and afterward receive us to glory. We must strive diligently and be willing to suffer much, in order to walk in the footsteps of our Redeemer. God is willing to work for us, to give us of His free Spirit, if we will strive for it, live for it, believe for it. Then we can walk in the light as He is in the

light. We can feast upon His love, and drink in of His rich fulness.

Our country claims of fathers and mothers their sons; it demands that brothers and husbands be given up to leave their homes for the field of carnage and bloodshed. They must face peril, endure privation and hunger, weariness and loneliness; they must make long marches, footsore and weary, through heat of summer and through winter's cold; they run the risk of life. They are compelled to follow the commander. Sometimes they are not even allowed time to eat. And all this severe experience is in consequence of sin. There is an enemy to meet, an enemy to be resisted. Enemies of our country will destroy her peace and bring disaster and ruin, unless driven back and repulsed. "Conquer or die," is the motto.

Thus it is with the Christian warfare. We have an enemy that we must meet, who is never off his guard one moment. The claims of our country are not higher than the claims of God. If hardships are borne and trials are endured by our soldiers fighting in behalf of their country to obtain the mastery and bring to obedience the rebellious, how much more willingly should the soldiers of Christ endure privation, self-denial, and taxation for His sake!

There Stands a Friend Outside.

By Ruth Evans Caldwell

By Ruth Evans Caldwell.

BEHOLD, there stands a Friend outside, Who calls and knocks at thy heart's door; Pray bid Him enter to abide, Lest, grieved, He leave thee evermore.

Of princely mien is He, yet meek, With patient, loving, goodly face; The Father wills that He should seek In hearts of men abiding-place.

E'en as a stranger doth He wait, Tho oft before He's halted there; Nor hath He deemed it yet too late With all thy wilfulness to bear.

Arise and open to Him now, No longer insolent remain, Into thy heart He'll come, and thou Eternal happiness shalt gain.

The Authority of the Moral Law

By J. O. Corliss

LAW in general is a rule of action established by authority. Law established by human authority can take cognizance of no act beyond the overt, or that which is open to public view, because it can not be made to cover more than what is expressed in the import or common usage of the words it contains. Having no authority beyond its mere letter, it can not do more than to restrain outward actions. Containing no power of discernment, it can become operative only through the discrimination of a life and mind outside of itself. It has, therefore, no power of itself even to punish offenders, but is wholly dependent on the testimony of outside witnesses to secure conviction for violation of its behests. Being but a human production, it has all the weaknesses of humanity, and no more strength of purpose than its maker.

The principles here stated have been so generally recognized that many have been wont to apply them to the operation of the moral law. They may not have done so designedly, but their constant association with the human side of affairs has naturally inclined their minds in that direction. However this has been, we may now, with profit, perhaps, view the question from the standpoint of God's authority in the government of His subjects, whether in heaven or upon earth.

One thing must seem just and right to every candid mind; namely, that in administering the affairs of a moral government, the same principles must apply to all subjects in every part of the universe. It could not be otherwise, since morality is but the science by which discriminations are made between right and wrong actions. There can be, therefore, but one rule by which to decree what is right and what is wrong, since each of these constituents has its own established test of classification.

We have seen that human laws require witnesses outside of themselves to convict offenders. This is because they are but the product of human minds, and so are faulty because the origin of their existence is defective. The moral law, being the product of an infinite mind, must partake of the divine nature, and be able to reveal its Author to those who accept its authority. It must, therefore, of itself, have the power of discrimination between good and evil, and be able to trace these elements to their minutest lurking places, thus discovering to each subject the real condition of his own being.

Nay, more, he who would know the power of God to control his actions must have his eyes opened to heavenly things in order to behold wondrous things out of the law of heavenly rule. Ps. 119: 18. This privilege is for all who comply with the conditions offered. To His disciples Jesus said: "To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom [government] of God; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables." Mark 4: 11. To know for oneself the workings of God's government in the soul is to be initiated into a spiritual realm where one's eyes are opened to spiritual entity, and he is in perfect harmony with the life throbs of heaven's administration.

To be thus guarded, one must conceal, or lay up in his heart, the instruction of God's word. Ps. 119: 11. Then not only will he be kept from wrong, but he will "find the knowledge of God," and "understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity, yea, every good path." Prov. 2: 1-9.

The reason why the word of God is able to do this for men is that it possesses original life and energy, with power to discern, and so to criticize or judge the very reflections and intentions of the heart. Heb. 4: 12. The moral law, having these attributes of Jehovah, carries the power to uncover, without assistance from alien witnesses, the very thoughts of men. Having this law in the heart, one normally bears in himself the mind of Jehovah, and is thus governed from within, because the kingdom, or government, of God is within him. Luke 17: 21.

It is thus that the highest point in Christian experience is reached. The careless or indifferent pretender of friendship with God can never hope to attain such heights. Even Israel's sweet singer of God's attributes, with all his devotion to heavenly things, declared in Ps. 139: 6, that an insight into all of Jehovah's ways was knowledge "too wonderful" for him. The word "wonderful" as there used means something singular, or secret; that is, hidden from profane gaze. Yet notwithstanding this, the promise is, as learned in a preceding paragraph, that those who hide God's commandments in the heart and earnestly plead for the knowledge of Jehovah shall find what they desire.

The source of this rich endowment is not far to seek. We can not for a moment suppose that God bestows the riches of His grace upon fallen men independent of their attitude toward Him. Indeed, such a course would be unreasonable, for then Jehovah would have no exclusiveness to elevate Him above the vilest of humanity. The maintenance of Jehovah's exaltation demands that only those devoted to Him should share the privilege of His inner presence, and receive the knowledge of His attributes which can come only through such environment.

This thought is beautifully and forcibly expressed by the psalmist: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear [reverence] Him; and He will show them His covenant." Ps. 25: 14. To reverence God is to venerate and obey Him; that is, to be humbly submissive to His least requirement. To assume

this attitude is to make oneself a "friend of God," and entitles him fully to expect to receive the secret counsel of heaven's Ruler. This is that which Jesus undertook for His immediate disciples, and He offered the same to us when He said: "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you." John 15: 15.

Speaking of this work of Christ, the prophet said: "The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable," that is, majestic, or beautiful. Isa. 42: 21. To "magnify" the law is to bring out in detail its hidden features. When revealing to His disciples the secret things of God as He promised to do, Jesus was but fulfilling His mission, and uncovering the attributes of His Father, which are contained in His law, but which are hidden from those who have no reverence for the Author of that law. That the law is an unerring witness of God's life and character will be the theme of another paper.

Say You're Sorry.

By Max Hill

Say you're sorry for the heartache That your thoughtless lips may bring; Say you're sorry, lest by waiting You should leave a burning sting.

Say you're sorry, for your brother May be struggling hard with sin, Show to him a Christ-like spirit If to Christ his heart you'd win.

Say you're sorry, say it truly, Own the wrong your lips have done; Leave no heart to grieve in sorrow Till the setting of the sun.

Say you're sorry, say it quickly, For a tender heart is pained; Just a word will clear the shadow, And a victory is gained. Max Hill.

God Knows.

By A. J. McDougall

I WILL not murmur when small things go wrong, When plans of mine, long cherished, weaken, fall; When hushed upon my lips is life's glad song; When joys long sought have vanished past recall— God knows—God knows.

I will not weakly weep the hours away, Tho Marah's waters flow around my feet, Tho life's fair sky be shadowed leaden gray, Tho rue be mine instead of roses sweet— God knows—God knows.

I will not drop from weary hands, toil-worn, The task unfinished, tho a burden sore; Tho earth's fair pleasures from my grasp be torn, Tho sorrow's keenest pain my cup brim o'er— God knows—God knows. —A. J. McDougall.

Spiritual Decadence of the Churches

By Prof. George W. Rine

THE approach of no other event in the history of the church foretold by inspired prophets is heralded by so many and diverse omens as is that of the second advent of the Redeemer. One of the striking signs of this crowning event foretold by our Lord, as well as by nearly all of the New Testament prophets, is the mournful fact that in the days when the Son of Man is about to be revealed, spiritual declension and apostasy would be deplorably prevalent in the nominal Christian church.

After enunciating the great truth illustrated by the parable of the importunate widow, Jesus gave expression to the significant question, “Nevertheless when the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” This question was not asked for information. No answer was expected. Jesus expressed this terse prophecy in the form of a question for the express purpose of setting it forth with emphasis and distinction. It is the strongest possible form in which the Lord could assert that at the time when His second coming should be near, faith would almost have perished from the earth.

Note the startling prophecy of the same import given by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul, as recorded in the first part of 2 Timothy 3: “But know this, that in the LAST DAYS grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of SELF, . . . unthankful, unholy, . . . no lovers of good, . . . LOVERS OF PLEASURE RATHER THAN LOVERS OF GOD; holding a FORM of godliness, but having denied the POWER thereof; . . . ever learning, and never able to come to a KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also WITHSTAND THE TRUTH; . . . REPROBATE CONCERNING THE FAITH. . . . But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” A.R.V.

The Churches Have Lost Their Power.

In his latest book, “Christianity and the Social Order,” the Rev. R. J. Campbell gives the following vivid pen-picture of the decay of church influence in England and on the Continent:

“We are to-day confronted by the startling fact that in practically every part of Christendom the overwhelming majority of the population is alienated from Christianity AS REPRESENTED BY THE CHURCHES. In our own country nearly seventy-five per cent of the adult population remains permanently out of touch with organized religion. . . . On the Continent this falling away of the people from the churches is more marked than in this country. Educated Germans frequently express their astonishment on coming to England at the fact that so many people go to church. . . . Spiritual religion is being choked today by ecclesiasticism in its various forms.”

We are told by no less an authority than the Catholic Quarterly Review that in the cities and large towns of France, hundreds of thousands of persons are little better than heathen. Country churches are becoming more and more empty; there is one parish in France containing 161,000 people in which only two chapels and one church can be maintained. The masculine intellect of the nation is almost wholly untouched by the influence of the church. Even Australia sends its mournful echo round the world in the same key: “Much complaint is heard that churches are forsaken and that in the sphere of religion the young do not take the places of their fathers and mothers.”

In our own country (declared by the U. S. Supreme Court to be a “Christian nation”) the decadence of organized religion is equally accentuated. “If the gain of the churches on population during the first half of the century [nineteenth] is represented by eighty,” says Dr. Josiah Strong, “during the last half it is represented by twenty, during the last twenty years it is represented by four, and during the last ten years it is represented by one.” A very striking fact is revealed by the study of the denominational year-books. This fact is the large and growing number of barren churches; that is, those which do not report a single addition on confession of faith. Last year the number of barren Congregational churches was 2,390, against 1,632, in 1895. The number of barren Presbyterian churches was 2,270, against 1,699, in 1895. The number of barren Methodist churches was 2,276, against 1,134, a decade earlier.

For one who can read between the lines, some highly significant information was given regarding the country church situation by the Hampden County (Mass.) Conference of Congregational Churches in its last year’s report. “At the annual conference . . . pessimism was the key-note. The tendency on the part of the community to get along without the church is conspicuous. The summer business knocks the spiritual activities of the church deader than a door-nail. There is general indifference to missionary enterprises. A general failure on the part of the members to take part in the prayer-meeting. The only striking event was when the steeple was struck by lightning.”

“Every one,” says the Rev. Madison C. Peters, “who knows the emptiness of the pews in nearly all the Protestant churches in New York, knows also that, so far as Protestants are concerned, New Yorkers have ceased to be a church-going people.” Rev. Peters declares further that the failure of the church to reach the people is not only a failure in numbers, “but it is a failure of quality as well as quantity.” He avers that by far the vast majority of the people of the metropolis never enter a Protestant church except possibly to attend a funeral or witness a wedding.

Only three eighths of the American people are church-members, and of that fraction the great majority are only nominally so, with neither faith nor interest in the church.

Church Amusements.

The fact has become notorious that, in order to induce people to attend the services of the churches, ministers everywhere are supplementing their sermons with stereopticon views; giving musicales every Sunday night instead of sermons; reading sermons from fifteen to twenty minutes in length; providing facilities in the church building for athletics, for billiards, for checkers and cards, for ice-cream parties and oyster suppers; and the newspaper despatches tell us that one enterprising Chicago preacher has gone so far as to supplement all these with an apartment “fitted up for courting.”

It is evident that one of the prime causes of this awful spiritual decline in the churches is their fabulous wealth. “The church is plethoric with material wealth,” says a writer in a recent number of the Arena. In New York City the churches own at least $204,000,000, which is exempt from taxation. But now that the church is gorged with riches, it finds that it no longer has a hold upon the masses of the people. “They reject its call and its forms; they give little attention to its teachings. . . . The church is now vastly richer in property than it ever was. Never were there such splendid edifices of worship; the accompaniments, equipment, style, and clerical salaries are more sumptuous and commanding than ever before.” But just as the church has bounded forward in material wealth, its power over the religious feelings of the people has correspondingly declined.

Lack of power, LACK OF POWER, is the major key of all the criticisms launched against the churches. How exactly is this in keeping with the prophetic declaration that “in the last days,” the nominal church would have “a form of godliness, but denying [in practise] the POWER thereof.”

Did Jesus have power to influence the common people? Did the disciples? Did Luther and his colleagues? Did Wesley? Did Whitefield? Did Moody? Why?—Ah, they were men of faith, of consecration. Through faith they experienced in their own lives the “power of God unto salvation,” revealed in the Gospel.

But the churches have fallen upon “grievous times.” They have, as a rule, forsaken their Lord, are in league with the world, and are “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” This deplorable fact is only one of scores of proofs, according to the express declarations of divine prophecy, that this world has reached its last days, that the “glorious appearing of . . . our Saviour Jesus Christ” is drawing near, and that the prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” is about to be answered in all its measureless fulness.

Light, Air, and Ventilation

By D. H. Kress, M.D.

SUNLIGHT and pure air are two of Heaven’s choicest gifts to mankind. Man in the beginning was placed in the open, where he could have the constant benefit of these two agencies which minister to life, health, and happiness.

In the presence of light the leaves unfold and become green, flowers develop and assume their varied colors, and the fruit ripens. Deprived of light, vegetation becomes pale and sickly, and finally dies. The pink cheeks indicative of health are found not among the youth of our crowded cities or among cave- and house-dwellers; they are found only among those who are much out of doors and exposed to light. While light is destructive to the low and harmful forms of vegetable and animal life, it imparts life to the higher and useful forms of life. Light possesses healing virtues and has for years been employed in various ways in the treatment of disease.

Consumption, a disease that a few years ago was considered incurable, responds to fresh air if not too far advanced. Pneumonia and cerebrospinal meningitis also yield under the influence of pure air. It will yet be found that other diseases require fresh air as surely as the diseases named.

In our modern homes there may be a sufficient number of windows; but the windows we have are usually kept darkened, and the light is shut out. As a result rooms become damp, the growth of germs and mold is encouraged, a musty odor makes its appearance which poisons the atmosphere and causes sickness. Light and air are equally important, life can not exist without them. Air is a more important element than food. It is possible to live days and even weeks without food, but to attempt to do without air for even a few minutes results in death. There is no more rapid or effective way of introducing poison into the system than through the medium of the air, or by inhalation. It is therefore important that the air should be free from poisonous gases and impurities; otherwise that which was designed to be one of man’s greatest blessings may become his greatest curse.

Air must be kept pure. Where people work in the field and sleep in their rudely constructed homes through which daylight may be seen on all sides, very little thought need be given as regards purity of the air. But where this rural life has been exchanged for city life, and work in the field for office work, and the loosely thrown together hut for the modern air-proof dwelling, some plans must be devised whereby the foul air may be diluted and removed by the constant admission of pure air.

To supply the same purity of air in the inside of dwellings that is found on the outside is impossible, since it would require a complete change of the air four or five times every minute. Therefore house-dwellers, even where they have the best-known ventilation system, must be content with air that has in it some impurities not found in out-of-door air. For inside air we are forced to adopt a different standard of purity than for out-of-door air. The beneficial effect of light and pure air may be witnessed by exposing bedding containing impurities to them. Every one has noted how sweet the bedding is at night after such exposure during the day. Sunlight and air have the same beneficial influence on the human body. The organic impurities which are constantly forming in the body and oozing through the pores of the skin, in the absence of light and air, undergo putrefactive changes and develop foul and offensive gases, which when reabsorbed or inhaled, produce disease. Wherever darkness exists, therefore, the words should still be heard, “Let there be light.”

There are those who religiously exclude the night air, believing it to be harmful. Night air is the only kind of air we have to breathe at night. It is only a question of whether we will open our windows and breathe the pure night air, or keep them closed and breathe impure night air.

In order to keep the air in rooms as pure as possible, it is necessary to have more than one opening. There must be an inlet for the pure air and an outlet for impure air in every ventilating system. These openings should be as nearly opposite each other as possible. The air must be kept circulating or in motion. Unless this is done, the air surrounding the body soon becomes so thoroly impregnated with impurities that it becomes dangerous to health. Sleeping in rooms in which the air stagnates is responsible for the lack of ambition and good-for-nothing feeling experienced early in the morning. Infants are often injured by sleeping with tobacco-using parents. Many an infant has been sacrificed in this way.

Impure air dulls the mind and makes less acute the judgment and the ability to discriminate between right and wrong. It dampens the vital forces and decreases energy. No one can be what God designed him to be physically, intellectually, or morally, who is content to dwell in poorly-ventilated rooms and breathe impure air.

Examine the Links.

By A. Delos Westcott

By A. Delos Westcott.

CHARACTER is the sum of all our habits, good and bad. It is like a chain, each habit constituting one link. Suppose you were going to be lowered into a deep mine by a windlass and chain. You are assured that the chain has been thoroly tested and found to be good and safe, excepting one link. That one link is made of poor material, and is cracked and weakened. Would you be willing to risk your life on that chain?—Of course you would not. Well, how about your chain of habits? Are there any unsound links in that chain? One weak link in the chain of character will plunge you into eternal ruin. Every sin you commit proves a flaw in one of the links. An uncontrolled temper shows a weak link. Do you take advantage of your neighbor in a trade?—There is another link with a flaw. Are you intemperate in eating or in drinking?—Another worthless link. God’s law is the detector of weak and worthless links. Read the Ten Commandments in Ex. 20: 1-17, with the comments of Christ and His apostles in Matt. 5: 17-32; 7: 12; 1 John 3: 15; 5: 1-3; etc., and you will begin to find the flaws in the dangerous links. Would you like to exchange the bad links for good ones? Remember that Christ stands ready to make the exchange. "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin." 1 John 3: 4, 5. "For He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5: 21. See also Rom. 8: 3, 4; 3: 19-26; 5: 17-19. Reader, look well to the links.

Don'ts for Books.

Don't turn the leaves with your thumbs.

Don't leave a book face downward.

Don't turn the leaves down—use a marker.

Don't cut the edges with anything but a paper-knife.

Don't open a book hurriedly; hold the leaves loosely and they will give gently.

Don't forget to return a book you have borrowed.

With Our Inquirers

By Editor

"If ye will inquire, inquire ye."

[All questions to this department will be answered which to the editors will seem to minister to the good of the readers and to the mission of the paper. The same question can not be answered repeatedly in the same volume. The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable. It is well always to enclose a stamp for reply.]

Continue reading: Suggestive Notes