Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 3.
AS MUCH AS LIETH IN YOU, LIVE PEACEABLY WITH ALL MENPage 1
“AS MUCH AS LIETH IN YOU, LIVE PEACEABLY WITH ALL MEN.”
By Ellen G. White
The plan of redemption was formed to bring unity and peace to men. The world was at war with the law of Jehovah; sinners were at enmity with their Maker; Jesus came to make overtures of peace. At the appointed time angels were commissioned to announce his birth, and give expression to their joy in the salvation of the one lost sheep, the fallen world. To the watching shepherds the message came, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Shortly before his crucifixion, Christ bequeathed to his disciples a legacy of peace. “Peace I leave with you,” he said; “my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” This peace is not the peace that comes through conformity with the world. It is an internal rather than an external peace. Without will be wars and fightings, through the opposition of avowed enemies, and the coldness and suspicion of those who claim to be friends. The peace of Christ is not to banish division, but it is to remain amid strife and division. Though he bore the title of Prince of Peace, Christ said of himself, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword.” By these words he did not mean that his coming was to produce discord and contention among his followers. He desired to show the effect his teaching would have on different minds. One portion of the human family would receive him; the other portion would take sides with Satan, and would oppose Christ and all his followers. The Prince of Peace, he was yet the cause of division. He who came to proclaim glad tidings and create hope and joy in the hearts of the children of men, opened a controversy that burns deep, and arouses intense passion in the human heart. And he warned his followers: “In the world ye shall have tribulation.” “They shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake. . . . Ye shall be betrayed both by parents and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.” This prophecy has been fulfilled in a marked manner. Every indignity, reproach, and cruelty that Satan can instigate human hearts to devise, has been visited upon the followers of Jesus. And it will be fulfilled in a yet more marked manner; for the carnal mind is still at enmity with the law of God, and will not be subject to its commands. We have been highly favored in living under a government where we can worship God according to the dictates of our conscience. But human nature is no more in harmony with the principles of Christ to-day than it has been in ages past. The world is still in opposition to Jesus. The same hatred that prompted the cry, “Crucify him, crucify him,” still works in the children of disobedience. The same satanic spirit that in the Dark Ages consigned men and women to prison, to exile, and to the stake, that conceived the exquisite torture of the Inquisition, produced the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and kindled the fires of Smithfield, is still at work with malignant energy in unregenerate hearts. We are required to be Christlike toward those who are our enemies; but we must not, in order to have peace, cover up the faults of those we see in error. The world’s Redeemer never purchased peace by covering iniquity, or by anything like compromise. Though his heart was constantly overflowing with love for the human race, he was never indulgent to their sins. He was the friend of sinners, and he would not remain silent while they were pursuing a course that would ruin their souls,—the souls that he had purchased with his own blood. He was a stern reprover of all vice. He labored that man should be true to himself in being all that God would have him, and true to his higher and eternal interest. Living in a world marred and scarred with the curse brought upon it by disobedience, he could not be at peace with it if he left it unwarned, uninstructed, unrebuked. This would be to purchase peace at the neglect of duty. His peace was the consciousness of having done the will of his Father, rather than a condition of things that existed as the result of not having done his duty. Those who love Jesus and the souls for whom he has died will follow after the things which make for peace. But they must take care lest in their efforts to prevent discord, they surrender truth; lest in warding off division, they sacrifice principle. True brotherhood can never be maintained by compromising principle. As Christians approach the Christlike model, and become pure in spirit and action, they will feel the venom of the serpent. The opposition of the children of disobedience is excited by a Christianity that is spiritual. At this crisis is the time to decide who are God’s faithful servants, who will be true to principle, who will bear in mind that truth is too dearly purchased for its least principle to be surrendered. That peace and harmony which are secured by mutual concessions to avoid all differences of opinion are not worthy of the name. On points of feeling between man and man, concessions should sometimes be made; but never should one iota of principle be sacrificed to obtain harmony. All our words and actions pass in review before God; and if we wish to stand in the Judgment as having done all that we could do to exert a correct influence over our fellow men, we must return kind acts for acts of mischief and malice. Christ is our pattern; we must follow him. The apostle Paul exhorts us, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Care should be taken by Christians to give no offense, that the truth may not be evil spoken of. But the text suggests that no amount of diligence and care will preserve this harmony in all cases. Dissensions will arise even between church-members, because they are not Christlike in character. In the home they are oppressive and a reproach to the cause of Christ. Their practices are inconsistent with truth and religion, and to retain them in church fellowship would be unfaithfulness to the Master. The church as a body is to do all in its power to promote union and prevent schisms. If unsound doctrine is introduced, the safety of the flock of Christ will be endangered; and it is the duty of those in authority, who are jealous for the34truth as it is in Jesus, to make a firm, decided protest. To those who have been injured without cause these words of Scripture apply, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Their failure to live at peace with all men is not due to the course they themselves have pursued, but to the envy, jealousy, and evil surmising of those who have been in the wrong. A division is caused. How shall it be healed? Shall the man that has been sinned against, misjudged, and maligned, be called to give an account? Shall he seek for something in his past course by which he can humiliate himself? Shall he acknowledge himself in the wrong for the sake of making peace?—No. If he has tried to do his duty, and has been patient under abuse, he is not to humble himself to acknowledge that he is guilty. He does the offenders great wrong thus to take the guilt upon his soul, admitting that he has given them occasion for their course of action. This is very pleasing to those who have done the work of the enemy; but heaven’s books record the facts just as they are. Concessions that are not true from the one who has been wrongfully treated gratify the feelings of the carnal heart. The wrongdoers interpret their position as zeal for God, when in truth it is zeal to do the work of the adversary of souls. They do not dig out of their hearts the root of bitterness, but leave the fibers to spring up when Satan shall stir them again to active growth. There is a work for us to do. We must begin here to cultivate the meekness of Christ. There are stern battles for us to fight against our traits of character that lead us to decisions that make it hard and unfavorable for others. We are not commended by God for a zeal that savors of pharisaism; for this is not of Christ. We are not to go to an extreme in false charity, neither are we to follow a course of unbending severity in cases where kindness and mercy and love would have a telling power. The ax must be laid at the root of the tree. True conversion is needed. Heart work is essential. The nature must be renewed after the divine image, until the work of grace is completed in the soul. Oh! He wakes me from my dreaming
To behold him face to face;
And he saves and keeps me ever
With the fullness of his grace.
And he does not keep me waiting
Till I reach the home above,
But he satisfies me daily
With the sweetness of his love. In the stillness and the darkness,
When no human friend is near,
Oft he comes to soothe and comfort—
Wipes away the falling tear.
And he never disappoints me
When I seek the quiet place;
But he spreads a royal banquet,
And reveals his smiling face. Though my way leads o'er the hilltops
With the sunshine beaming fair,
And the rarest flowers, nodding,
Breathe a welcome everywhere;
Or adown the lonely valley
With the shadows falling drear,
Still he satisfies me fully,
For I feel his presence near. — O. E. Hart, in N. Y. Observer. THE BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT.
By A. Smith
“He [Christ] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Matt. 3:11. This baptism signifies an immersion so complete that the subject is lost to view in the enveloping presence of the Spirit of God. It is not always apparent to human eyes, as was the glow upon the face of Moses when he returned to the people from his audience with the Lord upon Mount Sinai; as was the form of a dove at the baptism of Jesus; as the transfiguration upon the mountain; or as the cloven tongues on the day of Pentecost. But it is manifest in a holy, spiritual influence, which clothes God’s agent with power when he speaks or ministers in Christ’s stead. “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.” 1 Cor. 12:7. We fill our lamps with oil, not to be stored away unused, but to be expended in giving light. But the wick must be lighted, and the lamp kept clean. This is our work. Let Jesus turn on the volume of the flame. The constant flow of the clear light consumes the oil within, but does not destroy it, only changes it into light; and the supply of oil is being constantly replenished. See Zechariah 4. A lamp chimney, if free from flaws, and kept perfectly clean, will not in the least obscure the rays of light. Let us be as the lamp chimney, allowing the glory of God to shine through to a darkened world, so that it can see the light, but not the “lamp chimney.” Let us be as lamps, full of oil, and ever shining—a beacon light to save the wandering and the lost. THE ECONOMY OF NATURE.
By L. A. Reed
We have said that God in all his dealings is most lavishly generous, and yet most rigidly economical. This is a seeming paradox. How can God be both generous and economical?—In the same way that he is both merciful and just. “Nature is a rigid economist. In her household there is no waste. Everything is utilized to the utmost: the decay of rocks forms the soil of plants; and the decay of plants forms the mold in which future plants will grow. The sunlight and carbonic acid gas of past ages, which seemed to be wasted upon a desert world, have been stored up in the form of coal for the benefit of man. The water that seems to be dissipated in the air descends in dew and rain to refresh and quicken the earth. The matter that has served its purpose in one object goes by death and decomposition to form another object with a different purpose to serve. The materials which the animal kingdom receives from the mineral and vegetable kingdoms must be restored in order that they may be carefully circulated, without diminution or waste, over the whole earth. The gases that disappear in one form reappear in another. Forces are changed into their equivalents. Heat becomes motion, and motion heat. Nowhere is there any waste. In the ashes of every fire, in the decay of every plant, in the death and decomposition of every animal, there is change; but not loss: death; but not waste. Everything is made the most of. The fragments of every product of nature are gathered up carefully, and made to serve a useful purpose in a new form at nature’s feast. Amid all her LAVISHNESS nature is very SAVING.” And yet you see how she saves,—not as the miser saves, by hoarding; her methods are far different. She saves by making the most of everything. And here we have a lesson. He is not the most economical who saves most; he is not the best economist who accumulates the largest pile. Of such Christ says, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” But he is truly economical who makes the very best use of all that comes to him. Economy is the right use of the gifts of God. God gives no allowance to monopoly. If God retained all that he might retain, for his own individual use, neither you nor I could exist. And when you or I hoard for ourselves the things of God, we are not acting as he acts. All things were his; he might have retained them, but he did not. All things are his; we have no possible right to retain them; and shall we? Surely if we follow the example of God, we can not. “Freely ye have received, freely give.” If God has given you the grandest system of truth that mortals ever knew, dare you hoard it? If he has told you that which is of the utmost value to all mankind, will you keep it from them? If he has given you of this world’s goods, will you use them selfishly? If he has given you mental powers, will you spend them upon your own lusts? If so, then we shall be like the man that laid up treasure for himself, and was not rich toward God. Then we shall be like the fig-tree that bore no fruit. Then shall we be like the man with the one talent. And, like them, we shall have our just reward; for from us shall be taken away even that which we have. “Then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that LAYETH UP TREASURE FOR HIMSELF, and is not rich toward God.” God help us to give to others that which he has committed to us. God help us to teach the truths for this time. God help us to use the wealth of this world as becometh faithful Christians. God help us to pay an honest tithe. And God help us to spend and be spent, even as the example of Christ and of all nature teaches us. So shall we be truly generous and genuinely economical. And so, too, shall we be rich toward God, and an abundant entrance shall be ministered unto us into his glorious kingdom. For in that day he shall say to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, . . . enter in.” And our hearts cry out in glad expectancy, “Even so, amen.” What the people of God need to-day, what they always need, more than any other thing, is power, as the message is to go with a loud cry; and this, as every other need, is fully provided for in the plan of redemption: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” Acts 1:8. What we need, then, is the Holy Ghost; and the Lord is more anxious that we should receive it than we can be. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” The first thing, then, is to ask, or pray, for it (Acts 4:31; 8:15), then believe that you receive it, and you shall have it. Mark 11:24. Perhaps the reason we see so little of the power of the Spirit, is that we do not recognize it when we receive it. We are apt to think that when the Spirit comes, we shall have an ecstasy of feeling, and be able to work with power. But this is not the first work of the Spirit; its first work is to convince of sin. John 16:8, margin. Then when we begin to see how sinful we are, and that our righteousness is as filthy rags (Zech. 3:1–3), let us confess our sins, and receive forgiveness. 1 John 1:9. If we have wronged our brother, the Lord’s forgiveness requires that we make matters right with him. Matt. 6:14, 15. But we will not be left alone in this work; for “the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. . . The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings, which can not be uttered.” Rom. 8:26.36 tions for the training of our Christian workers and missionaries we seek his help, while we ignore and even ridicule his leadership. We worship Christ, and give the Holy Ghost, his representative and executor, a place in the rear as helper. We cry, “The word, the word of Christ,” and we ignore and insult its Writer, until New Testament promises and teachings become as dead and meaningless, as barren of fruitage in us, as did the law to the Jew of old. We tarry in the accounts of the second dispensation, we expound the miracles and teachings of Christ’s life; and we will not go on to Pentecost, and we will not read on in the Word to Revelation lest there might dawn upon our spiritual vision that picture of the Son of God with his beloved disciple on the lone Isle of Patmos, and we might catch the meaning of Christ’s yearning heart in that conversation, as he, foreseeing the attitude of the church to-day concerning the Holy Ghost, repeatedly said to John, Write, write, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith.” The Holy Ghost is my representative there now. I sent him, tell them to hear him. He will give them my words, he will guide them into all truth, and lead them in a campaign of sure and everlasting victory in preaching the gospel of the Son of God to all the world. God help us if to-day we are no wiser than were those Jews who heard the voice of the Father. They said it thundered. Are we far behind them when we cry fanaticism in the face of the Holy Ghost? Beloved, Christ does desire to live to-day in mighty power in my heart and yours. He does desire to work according to “his mighty power” in my life and yours; but he will never do it save by the Holy Ghost. You may give thousands to the cause. You may spend your days in hardest self-denying work, and your nights in agonizing prayer. You may give yourself, your own life, to the sacrifice; but unless he, the blessed Spirit of the Son, be in you, it will profit you nothing. The fire that shall try every man’s work will soon be kindled, and your years of earnestness and active zeal will pass through. Your giving, your living, your days of preaching, and your nights of prayer must all be tested, tried by fire: and only the Spirit’s work shall abide; for it is “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.” His word is everlasting, his work abides forever. The message which the Son of God brought to earth was the Father’s message. “The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” The message which the Spirit gives to-day is the message of the Father and the Son; for he does not speak from himself, but that which he hears. As he searches all things, even the deep things of God, he speaks into the hearts of those who receive him. He in us is as Christ working both to will and to do of the Father’s good pleasure. TWO PRAYERS.
By Myra Goodwin Plants
One cried in earnest, pleading prayer:
“Lord, take the burdens from my heart;
Lift from my brow its crown of care,
Take from the rose its stinging smart.
Choose not the lonely, rugged way
By dark Gethsemane for me;
But lead me gently, day by day,
In pleasant pathways up to thee!” Another voiced his soul in prayer:
“Lord, take no burdens that are best;
For while my brow is worn with care,
My spirit finds in thee sweet rest.
Some souls but dimly see the light,
Let me their loving helper be;
And give me strength to climb the height
That leads at last to love and thee!” One lost his burdens, and repined
In idleness, unloved, unsought,
And learned the rose with thorn entwined
Is sweeter than to cherish naught. One found in duty highest meed,
While unseen angels near him trod;
An almoner for souls in need,
He passed through human love to God. — Myra Goodwin Plants, in Christian Advocate. BENEFITS TO THE CANVASSER.
By E. W. Snyder
E. W. SNYDER.
(Buenos Ayres, Argentina.) The apostle’s exhortation applies especially at the present time: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Cor. 16:13. Again, in 2 Tim. 2:3, it is said: “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” The term “men,” in the scripture quoted, signifies persons of perfect development, not alone in the passive traits of character, such as gentleness, meekness, patience, and kindness, but in the positive traits,—courage, force, energy, ability to meet and overcome difficulties. I ask, What work will give an experience that is better fitted to develop these traits than does the work of the Christian canvasser? In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, page 390, of the work of “getting our publications before the public,” it is said: “It is a good work, and one which will educate men and women to do pastoral labor.” During an experience of over ten years in the canvassing work, half of which was spent as a State agent, I have seen the truthfulness of this statement verified in a number of cases. But let us see how the canvassing work tends to this end. First, in beginning the work the canvasser realizes his weakness and insufficiency. He calls to mind, however, the promises: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things.” 2 Cor. 12:9; 9:8. Feeling his need of strength, he pleads these promises; and through their fulfillment, they become a part of himself, thus building up a character that fits him to be a co-laborer with Christ, and to stand amid the trying scenes of these last days. In this experience he is also taught humility, realizing that his sufficiency is of Christ. If he were to remain at home, or to enter some routine work where every condition was favorable, necessitating no especial exercise of faith, could he expect to realize this beneficial experience? It is the sturdy oak, that, during the storms and tempests of centuries, becomes the giant of the forest, driving its roots deeper each year into the earth. Thus the canvasser, by a daily experience in overcoming difficulties through the Lord’s strength, builds up a strong character, which enables him to help others over similar difficulties; and this is a most essential qualification in pastoral labor. See 2 Cor. 1:4. On this point we read, in “Testimony for the Church,” No. 32, page 161: “He may be a wellspring to refresh others if he will; but in order to do this, he must himself draw from the fountain of living truth.” Second: “A great essential of the minister is adaptation to the classes of people and their circumstances, and especially can this be said of the foreign missionary.” The work of canvassing gives excellent opportunities for development in this particular. Meeting with people of varied minds,—the dignified and cultured, the ignorant and debased,—well might he shrink from the great responsibility imposed upon him, realizing that his manner of presenting the truth may decide the destiny of souls! In his extremity, however, he turns to him “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge;” and in answer to his plea, made in faith, wisdom is given liberally. James 1:5. And by this means, having learned to adapt himself to varied conditions and classes, will he not be better prepared to engage in any other department of the work? Third: While meeting with the people, the canvasser has many opportunities to converse on points of present truth. These are a stimulus to Bible study. Since the message is not to go so much by weight of argument as in the demonstration of the Spirit and power of God, the canvasser will feel the need of power from above; and according to his need, it will be meted out to him by the gift of the Holy Spirit. But let it be remembered that it is only as the power of God is put to use that it is given to us. Hence only to that degree that the canvasser realizes his need of power in order to use it, will the power be supplied to him, as will appear from Acts 1:8. In summing up the reflexive benefits received by the canvasser, we may mention the following: a deeper sense of humility; faith in the promises of God for strength; how to meet and overcome difficulties; adaptation to circumstances and minds; getting wisdom by faith; stimulation to Bible study; and feeling the need of divine power. Aside from the fact that the canvassing work is God’s means of reaching many who would not otherwise be impressed with the truth, how can we, in view of the foregoing, pass this work lightly by as something secondary? It is asked, How may the old-time enthusiasm in this branch of the work be revived? It is clear that the State agent’s efforts, unseconded, can accomplish little. He needs the co-operation of the president and Conference laborers in enlisting recruits, as well as opportunities for presenting the importance of this work at the general State camp-meetings, together with the help of the District agent and the circulation of Testimonies and literature bearing on the importance of it. In the words of the Spirit of Prophecy, “Well may every one feel an individual responsibility in this work.” Ann Arbor Railway to Test Wireless Telegraphy
THE ANN Arbor (Mich.) railway will put wireless telegraphy to a practical test by making use of it in connection with their car-ferry business across Lake Michigan. The stations will be at Frankfort, and at a point near Menominee, Mich., the space to be covered being about eighty-three miles. Should this method fail, a cable will be laid across the lake. Catholic Demands on Pittsburg Public High Schools
CATHOLIC priests in Pittsburg, Pa., are demanding of the public school authorities that pupils from their parochial schools be admitted to the public high schools without examination, as are pupils from the public schools. This point gained, the next logical step will be for them to ask that the parochial schools be supported from the public school funds. THE TIME IS SHORT.
By HARRY G. LUCAS
In toil for friends, for souls we meet,
Our selfish pride let us subdue:
Speak to each heart the message sweet:
“When Jesus died, he died for you.” The time is short, exceeding short,
Till Jesus with the clouds shall come;
Then all of earth must give report
Of words they spoke, of service done. What have we done? what warnings given?
Whose hearts have touched with love’s appeal
To seek and find the Prince of heaven,
Whose truth is life, whose love is real? Rock Slide Destroys Amalfi Hotels and Vessels
A TERRIBLE disaster occurred at Amalfi, on the Gulf of Salerno, Italy, the 23d of December. An enormous rock slid into the sea, carrying with it hotels, a monastery, and several villas, and crushing four vessels, without a moment’s warning. The loss of life was heavy. A. L. HOLLENBECK
By A. L. Hollenbeck
Those who have a personal faith in Christ, who have experienced the effect of the truth upon their own hearts, will have a faithful, personal testimony, which will be fresh, timely, and effective. They can relate what they have seen and known of the power of Christ. Profession is not the passport to heaven. By depending too much on profession, many will come short of reaching the heavenly Canaan. Only those who have a living faith can show sinners the way of life, and feed the flock of God. These can say, with the apostle, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; . . . that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.” With this testimony, the Lord’s work will soon be cut short in righteousness; and those who bear it will enter the heavenly city. “LET THE WHOLE EARTH BE FILLED WITH HIS GLORY.”
By William P. Pearce
ELABORATE is the picture for mortal eyes to see: a world beautifully arrayed; flowers of every hue and size emitting their fragrance; orchards of luscious fruit and fields of golden grain; mountains crowned with snow or diademed with icicles; rivers chanting their “Te Deums” as they flow through lands of fertility! — Yet all blighted with the curse pronounced six thousand years ago. It was Luther who said: “Though creation hath not such speech as we have, it hath a tongue which God the Holy Spirit heareth, and understandeth how it groaneth for the wrong it must endure from the ungodly while they use it so.” Ungodly! did he say? That’s the secret why the glory of God is now eclipsed. It was not inanimate matter that Solomon prayed for. No, no! Heaven and earth might look glorious, and yet lack that glory of which the writer speaks. If every reptile and every beast of prey could be exterminated; if the arctic and equatorial regions could give place to the temperate zone, all of this would not make the earth glorious, no more than setting the hands of a clock would give correct time. The creature made in God’s image must first be revolutionized, as he is the cause of the absence of the glory of God. It was man that first caused the earth to be cursed, and it is man who is the cause of the unrest of to-day,—of upheavals in political centers; of commercial distresses; of war; of the muttering thunders of anarchic revolutions; of the mighty tide of vice, infidelity, and abominable wickedness; and man is to be the instrument to renovate darkened lands, and to diffuse this glory in benighted regions, just as soon as he experiences in his own soul the glory of God. My text is called “the prophetic prayer,” for it runs parallel with the Master’s: “Thy kingdom come.” The former was to have its culmination in Christ and his gospel, the latter in his eternal reign. But does not the Word say, “The earth is the Lord’s”? — Yes. But its inhabitants have wandered far; the earth has been subjugated by the “prince of the power of the air,” as Richard the Third usurped the British kingdom. But, as the Duke of Richmond wrung the scepter out of Richard’s hand, and gave peace to the empire, so the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” will end the long and tyrannical reign of Satan, and give peace to all the earth. May that time soon come. “The storm has surely well-nigh reached its height;
Oh! come, thou Prince of Peace, and still the waves.
Amid the fearful fight for earthly thrones, oh! come,
Thou King of kings, and reign supreme.
Amid the desolating darkness here, we look, O Sun of Righteousness,
For thee; we wait, and long to hear thy
Chariot-wheels: their lightning-flash of glory
Shall proclaim to all, from North to South,
The day of joy, the day of vengeance, come.” Such a prayer should we offer. I verily believe if there was a true intimacy existing between us and the dear Lord, we could not help making this prayer spontaneous and continual. But note the boundary of this prayer: “The whole earth.” The earth is the subject of the prayer. Not a little country; not God’s glory in Indiana or in the United States; but God’s glory in Europe, where every man stands with his hand on his sword’s hilt; in Asia, where militarism grinds down the poor; in Africa, India, and China, with their millions in ignorance; on every continent and every isle and every peninsula, yea, let the whole earth be filled with the glory of God. The object of this prayer is worthy of note. There was a time in the earth’s history when this petition was unknown, when it would have been a sacrilege to have uttered it, when earth was the loveliest orb in the universe, when the glory of God was visible everywhere, when it shone in every flower, and every bush burned like Horeb’s bush, and every mountain was crowned like that of Tabor when the glory of God rested upon it. But such glory has faded, so that whenever you see a line of beauty, you can also see, running parallel with it, a line of barrenness or a shadow of suffering. Is it any wonder, then, that we cry,— “O long-expected day begin,
Dawn on this world of woe and sin”? Such a day began when God uttered the solemn gospel truth: The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head. It dawned brighter when Moses prayed, “I beseech thee, show me thy glory;” and the Lord descended in a cloud at Sinai, and passing by before the enraptured Moses, proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” But a richer glory was made manifest when Christ came. But the future is to see a general restitution of things, when the glory shall overflow the earth like an illuminated ocean, making the desert to blossom, and all the world to know that “the Lord he is God.” But in order for the earth to be filled with such glory, two things are necessary: — First, messengers: for “how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” The salvation of the lost can not be effected without ministers and laymen to carry this gospel. Spread out the map before you, and you will find that almost every shore has been touched by God’s ministering servants, and the blessed truth preached. But what is one missionary here and one there, and only one to a million persons? A host of God’s servants are needed if temple spires are to be raised amid Kaffirs’ huts, and the Ganges River converted into a baptismal font. The cry from benighted Africa is “messenger.” The cry from deluded China is “messenger.” The cry from the weeping millions of India and Cuba and Porto Rico is “messenger.” From north and south, east and west, the Macedonian cry is heard as never before: Come, ye Peters of eloquence, ye Dorcases with your needle and thread, ye Tertiuses with your pen and ink, ye Barnabases with your wealth, ye Nicodemuses with your knowledge of law, ye Lukes with your medicine chests, come over and help us. Second, money: the day of great things has not passed by. In many respects it is just beginning. The fields were never riper for the harvest, and offerings were never more indicative of interest. Well may we strike the celestial lyre with a bolder hand, and blend our voices in unison,— “From Greenland’s icy mountains,
From India’s coral strand.” But consideration of a few facts will aid us in contemplating the needs in a more practical manner. Think of six hundred newspapers in India antagonizing Christianity. This must be counteracted by sending more Bibles. Think of that land having twenty-one million wailing widows, and forty million zenana prisoners, and only one woman missionary to every million! Think of four hundred thousand persons in China to one missionary; and fourteen million persons in Brazil, with twelve million unevangelized, and only one missionary to every one hundred and seventy-five thousand souls! Think of Venezuela, nine times as large as England and Wales, and two and a half times larger than Germany, with a population of two million one hundred thousand, and fewer Protestant missionaries than there are fingers on your hands. Think that for every missionary that goes to Africa, seventy thousand gallons of liquor go also! Think of Christendom spending twelve million dollars for the world’s evangelization, and three billion dollars for drink! Think of our favored country spending four hundred million dollars on popular amusements, twenty-five million dollars to provide kid gloves for ladies and “gents,” twenty million dollars to adorn the headdresses of our women, and only five million five hundred thousand to save a lost world! How in God’s name do we expect to evangelize these unless we have more liberal givers — systematic givers — givers of the tithing order? “If you want to save the millions
Who are dying in their sin,
Freely give, as God demandeth;
Then you will the nations win.” I am convinced if Christian people would do their duty, the seal of Christ would be laid on their labors, and the world would soon be “lightened with his glory.” I pray that that day may hasten. Then will his — “Glory fill the heaven,
Earth with its fullness will be stored;
Unto him be glory given,
Holy, holy, holy Lord!” THE Jews of old said, We believe in Moses and the prophets, we worship God the Father, we keep the law, but as for this fellow, Jesus of Nazareth, away with him. Did the Father receive their so-called worship of him? Hear him, as once and again he speaks from his hidden throne and says, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.” And the history of the following centuries of that “scattered and peeled” people has silently and loudly proved that they could not worship the Father acceptably and refuse his representative, his only begotten Son. Sinai lost its voice of awful majesty, the Shekina grew dim and faded out entirely, leaving the holy of holies a place of utter darkness. We make a like mistake to-day. We cry, “Jesus only,” “Christ in you.” We worship the Father and the Son, but we will not give the place of power and authority to their representative, the blessed Holy Ghost. From the pulpits of our most spiritual churches we preach fear for our creed and the truth, if he is made known and received. In our institutions