Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 7, 1894
The Purpose of the Ages.
This is what the apostle Paul calls God's purpose of saving men through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is called in the common version "the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eph. 3:11. It is, literally, "the purpose of the ages which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." See Revised Version, margin.
The Meaning of the Ages.
The original word aiōn (plural, aiōnios), means "a period of time of significant character; life; an era; an age; hence a state of things marking an age or era; the present order of nature."—Bagster. Liddell and Scott's standard lexicon defines: "A period of existence; one's lifetime, life; an age, generation; a long space of time; a space of time clearly defined and marked out; an era, epoch, age, period of a dispensation; this present world." It came to denote not only the time of the age or dispensation but all things connected with it, as, for instance, "this present evil world" (Gal. 1:1), "having loved this present world" (2 Tim. 4:10), "cares of this world" (Mark 4:19); but the primary idea is time, era, dispensation.
The Extent of the Ages.
They cover the whole purpose of God, but, so far as our consideration of the question is concerned, we will confine it to this earth and God's purpose concerning it, both past and future. In Col. 1:26 we are told that this mystery in its fullness had been hidden from the ages in the past, and the same thought is expressed in Eph. 3:5, where the term "generations" is used in the Greek. Rom. 16:25 states the same thought: "According to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began," literally, "from the times of the ages." "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world [before the ages] unto our glory." 1 Cor. 2:7. See also 2 Tim. 1:9, "before the world began," literally, "before the times of the ages." See Young's translation, Emphatic Diaglott, and Rotherham's Emphatic Translation. So much for the past. The ages appointed reach forward to the perfect future of God, and in glorious revolution of sinless harmony throughout all eternity. So that "in the ages to come" God will "show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Eph. 2:7.
The Plan of the Ages.
The plan of the ages was laid by Jesus Christ. This is stated in Heb. 1:1, 2: "God . . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds," literally, "ordained the ages." See Revised Version, margin. Young translates, "Did make the ages;" the Diaglott, "Constituted the ages." The word translated "made" in Heb. 1:2 is from the Greek word poieō, which is rendered in the common version by thirty-five different English words, among which are "appoint" (Heb. 3:2), "bring" (Luke 3:8, 9), "cause" (John 11:37; Acts 15:3), "ordained" (Mark 3:14). The text therefore declares that God through Jesus Christ "caused," "brought forth," "ordained," or "appointed" the ages; and the texts which we have already examined declare that they were appointed away back in those eternal times when in the wisdom of the Godhead "the purpose of the ages" was formed. In that purpose was God's infinitely wise plan, in which Jesus Christ marked off the various ages, periods, dispensations, and steps in the great scheme of salvation and progressive revelation, and out of which ages he brings all the various developments of the manifestations of his gracious providence.
The Purpose in Brief.
God's purpose, in brief, comprehended the following: The creation of the earth to abide forever, to be inhabited by a definite number of definite character; this character to be formed by obedience to the law of love, the moral law, through faith; the service to be purely voluntary; sin to be forever destroyed; and a holy and happy race of beings exist upon a sinless earth to all eternity. All this is taught in the Scriptures.
Satan's Purpose.
It has been the purpose of the great deceiver and adversary to thwart God's plan in every particular; to turn blessing to blasting, light to darkness, truth to falsehood, righteousness to sin, faith to presumption, happiness to misery, bloom to blight, life to death. He deceives and opposes, and God has suffered him to work out his own counsels in order that his loyal subjects might see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and that those who were rebellious might have their choice of evil, though not unwarned by Infinite Love. Yet in all of Satan's workings, deceivings, seeming triumphs, Jesus Christ has brought good to his people and the certain triumph of the gospel "according to the purpose of the ages."
Faith Not Sight.
The wicked and faithless walk by sight. The seeming appears the real. They judge by the things before them, not by what God has declared and promised. Faith walks by the light of God's word. It judges the future by the "more sure word of prophecy." It rests in Him, as Paul declares, "that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began [from the time of the ages], but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets." Rom. 16:25, 26. It is upon the scriptures that faith rests; for "through [by] faith we understand that the worlds [ages] were framed [adjusted] by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Heb. 11:3. Young renders: "By faith we understand the ages to have been prepared by a saying of God, in regard to the things seen not having come out of things appearing." Rotherham translates: "By faith we understand the ages to have been adjusted by declaration of God; to the end that not out of appearances should that which is seen have come into existence." See also Emphatic Diaglott, Revised Version, margin. It all rests upon the word, declaration, saying, fiat (Syriac) of God, not on appearances. The Greek word (kartatizō), rendered "framed," is defined, "To adjust thoroughly; to knit together, unite completely (1 Cor. 1:10)." It was Jesus Christ who by his word adjusted the ages, who declared this by his prophets; and faith rests upon the declaration, not upon appearances.
Its Working Out in the Past.
When our first parents were placed in Eden, the possibilities of an eternity of happiness lay before them. All that was required of them was simple faith in God—complete submission to his will. This would have resulted in the development of characters of love. But unbelief came in; the prince of the earth surrendered to the prince of darkness, and was expelled from his Eden home. Man could not see just how death could come by disobedience, but God's word had declared it, and misery and death followed, as the Lord had said. God's plan seemed to be defeated, his purpose annulled. But Omniscience could not be surprised. He had foreseen the evil418and all its possibilities, and the potent panacea against all ills lay in his word, open ever to faith. The second Being in the Godhead gave himself; the word declared the offering to the sinful race. It could not be seen; it did not appear to human vision just how this could fulfill God's purpose, and, therefore, Cain, in his wisdom of earth, rejected it; but Abel, in simple faith, accepted it and triumphed in his death. God gave a pledge to his servant in the acceptance of his sacrifice, and to that generation in the translation of Enoch.
But the race went on from bad to worse, the very center of "the purpose," the earth, drinking deeper of the curse, till God declared its destruction because of its iniquity. Here again it appeared to human wisdom that Satan triumphed when but "eight souls were saved." How could the earth be peopled according to God's plan? But faith laid hold of the promise, and the great work went on. Satan's cohorts were destroyed, the faithful were saved, and the earth came forth from the age of seeming defeat to begin another.
When the Israelites were doomed to slavery in Egypt, the proudest and most powerful of earth's dominions, there was another seeming triumph for Satan and for blind unbelief, which could rest only upon what appeared. But out of the things unseen—the mighty power of God's word—deliverance came, the Red Sea was opened, and God's people freed.
Another age begins, fraught with trouble, perplexity, darkness, trial, seeming defeat, unbelief, backsliding, and rebellion. But in one of the darkest times of the chosen people, when the faithful are indeed few, the voice of Inspiration rings out: "But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end [unto the ages of eternity]." For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else." Isa. 45:17, 18. And of Him through whom salvation should come the prophet declares: "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth." Isa. 42:4.
In "the fullness of the time" comes John the Baptist, followed by his Master, with "no form, nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." Yet he works the works of God, and faith greets him as the Saviour of the world. He pursues the blood-stained path to the cross, and dies, confessed by faith, but defamed, maltreated, crucified by unbelief, while all hell rang in triumph. But out of the seeming defeat God's word brought the mightiest victory known in the universe, and the Lord had his enemies in derision. Faith understood, and, amid the agonies of the cross, it triumphed in both Saviour and sinner. Out of the death, Christ came forth a mighty Conqueror, and the salvation of the race and the triumph of truth were assured to all as never before. (See Eph. 3:9-11; Rev. 12:10.)
The Coming Ages.
This age is about to end; the people of the age, even in their mad unbelief and blind optimistic selfishness, feel the throes of coming dissolution, and tremble. Science predicts it. "The perils of the last days are upon us." Evils increase. Preparations for war, anarchy, pillage, and treason are augmented, and the end of the gospel age draws on apace. Will it be triumph? Faith says, "Yes, not in man's way, but in God's way." Christ is coming according to his word. He will save his people according to his word. He is now waiting, pleading with a half-hearted people, with a sinful world, to turn from their evil ways, and not die, to look unto him and live. But his word stands, and faith accepts it. The "more sure word of prophecy" is light to the heart of faith; and out of all the seeming, God will bring his glorious and eternal triumph according to his word. The past is to the Christian a blessed record of God's providence and dealing with man, but his faith sees the present deliverance in the now still present truth of God. The appearances may be what they will now, as they have been in the past; appearances are not our guide. God reigns, and his word is all-potent. By faith we understand the ages to have been adjusted by him, and he shall not out of the things which do appear, but by the power of his own word, bring certain and eternal triumph to his people.
Whose Fault Is It?
By Editor
Whose Fault Is It?—A correspondent writes us in this strain:—
Religion, good morals, and even good judgment, are set at naught by our nation too much, and the love of money has brought us sin and shame. Our children learn science, but never learn how to live and how to be happy. The first thing is to love God with all the heart; the second is like it, love thy neighbor. On these two hang all the law and the prophets. But legalized saloons and drunkenness, crime and murder, exist all over our nation—disease, short living, and unhappy lives. A pure character is what distinguishes a man from a brute.
Now all the above is true; probably no man would deny it; but our complainer seems to think that the government is responsible for not teaching our children the way to live and the way to be happy. But this is just what the government cannot do, what a government has never been able to do, and what a government has no business to do. The moral and religious training rests with parents and such religious teachers as the parent is disposed to choose. The home and the church are where the character must be formed, not in the public schools. The schools may teach science in its various branches and studies; it is not, and in the very nature of the case cannot be, fitted to teach more. While doing this it may inculcate civility of manners toward all, and repress incivility. The root of right living and happiness lies in loving God, and this we can intelligently do only by faith in Christ Jesus. This is the duty of the parent, to love God, to have God's word in his heart, and to faithfully at all times teach his children. See Deut. 6:5-9; 30:19; Eph. 6:4. If parents would not shun their God-given responsibilities, there would be less demand for religious education in public schools. We verily believe that the government has no business to legalize saloons; that it is in duty bound to prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, for the protection of the mothers, children, taxpayers, community, and as a measure of economy to the government. It would be political economy to pension the saloon keepers, distillers, and brewers, and abolish the whole traffic. But let the church labor for individual souls. If she had more faith in Christ and less in politics, she would accomplish more.
What Is Vital Christianity
At the recent "Congress of Religions" held in San Francisco Prof. W. H. Hudson, of Stanford University, in a paper on "Paganism, Christianity, and the Third Kingdom," said:—
For myself, I hold, then, that the word "Christianity" should be taken to define what is specifically stated, or distinctly implied, in the New Testament, and nothing besides.
And this is what Christianity is in its outward garb, but this takes in the whole word of God. Living faith in the living truth of the Bible is vital Christianity.
The Prison Mirror on Prohibition
By Editor
PRISONERS are often men of experience and observation. The Prison Mirror is the title of a paper edited and published by the convicts in the Minnesota penitentiary at Stillwater, with no mean ability. Here is a specimen editorial paragraph which is worth passing around:—
The Iowa Legislature has passed a bill erasing Iowa from the list of prohibition States. It also passed a bill appropriating a large amount of money for the erection of an additional insane asylum. The scheme is quite appropriate, and shows a considerable amount of foresight on the part of Iowa legislators. When saloons are in full blast, insane asylums and State prisons are a positive necessity.
Hardly as Bad as That.
By Editor
Here is a little unprofessional wisdom from the able Examiner. In speaking of the recent State Sanitary Convention, of San Jose, the editor says:—
"There is no longer a question among physicians that consumption is caught by the passage of the germs of tuberculosis from the sick to the well. Persons who keep up to the times in their reading are equally well acquainted with the fact that the disease is contagious, and would no more think of coming near a consumptive patient without precautions than they would approach a person who was down with the cholera."
The first sentence would imply that the germs were given off by the consumptive's breath, or through the pores of the skin, but Dr. Edson, of New York, and others tell us that there is no danger of living with a consumptive if the consumptive himself or herself takes proper precautions. The greatest danger from consumptives is the detestable habit, of which some Americans are guilty, of ejecting the sputum, or spittle, on the floor, hearth, carpet, sidewalk, or walls. These discharges from the mouth (we refer to pulmonary tuberculosis, or consumption of the lungs) contain countless germs; the matter soon becomes dry, floats as dust in the air, and in this way taken into the lungs, when, if conditions are favorable, the disease is planted. Let the sputum and expectorations be ejected in old cloths and then burned. This is the better way. If handkerchiefs are used, let them and the clothes of the patient be washed separately, and in such a way as not to endanger others. If the sputum is ejected, let it be in a tin cup for that purpose, in which is water to prevent drying, and let it be scalded as often as twice a day. A little carelessness may mean the loss of a life. The case is not as bad as the Examiner puts it, but it is bad enough at best. We will have more to say on this subject in the future.
Lightening Another’s Burden
By Charles Dickens
No ONE is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for another.—Dickens.
SELF-DISCIPLINE NECESSARY TO PARENTS.
By Ellen G. White
It is the work of parents to educate and discipline themselves, in order that they may educate and discipline their children. Let parents remember that they have transmitted to their children their own hereditary tendencies. Let them deal sharply with themselves as they see themselves mirrored in the dispositions of their children. Let parents open the door of their own hearts to Jesus, that his love and grace may take possession of the soul, and bring their will and ways into conformity to Christ's will and ways; then they will be able to impart divine instruction to their children.
It is a mistake for parents to notice every little defect in the manners of their children. They should not criticise them continually, but when they see wrong traits of character developing, they should make most strenuous efforts to correct the wrong by strengthening traits of an opposite nature. If you roughly lay hold on these disagreeable developments, and battle with them concerning their objectionable traits, you will be in danger of causing two evils to exist in trying to eradicate one. When children are inclined toward evil, seek to draw their minds away from the things that will mar them, and turn their attention in a different channel.
If you would train a precious pink, or rose, or lily, how would you minister to it? Ask the gardener by what process he makes every branch and leaf to flourish so beautifully, to develop in symmetry and loveliness. He will tell you that it was by no rude touch, no violent effort, for this would only break the boughs, but by little attentions oft repeated. He moistened the soil and protected the plants from the fierce blasts and from the scorching sun, and God, by his miraculous power, caused the plants to flourish and to blossom into loveliness. Parents should follow the method of the gardener in dealing with their children, and if the grace of Christ is in the heart, parents will seek in various ways to educate and train their children, to fashion their characters after the divine model. Parents should not be satisfied until they see the image of the divine in the characters of their children. They may give God all the glory for their success, because it has been the grace of Jesus Christ that has made the fathers and mothers wise to train their children.
That cannot be a happy home where love is not cultivated between husband and wife, between parents and children. If parents have been self-centered, and have trained their children in an atmosphere where love was not manifested in affectionate words and actions, then change the atmosphere of your home as quickly as possible. Let husbands love their wives, and let the wives see that they reverence their husbands. The plan of salvation was devised in order to transform the natural character, and fashion it after the divine image. When the grace of Christ is received in the heart, it will soften whatever is harsh, and subdue that which is coarse and unkind. Courtesy will be expressed in the affairs of home life. Let father and mother remember that they themselves are but grown-up children. Though great light has shone upon their pathway, and they have had long experience, yet how easily are they stirred to envy, jealousy, and evil surmisings! Because of their own mistakes and errors, they should learn to deal gently with their erring children.
Just as you conduct yourself in your home life, you are registered in the books of heaven. He who would become a saint in heaven, must first become a saint in his own family. If fathers and mothers are true Christians in the family, they will be useful members of the church, and will be able to conduct affairs in the church and in society after the same manner in which they conduct their family concerns. Parents, let not your religion be simply a profession, but let it become a reality. When truth is brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul, it has a wonderful and powerful effect upon the life. It will expel the love of self, indulgence of self, hastiness and petulance of temper, sensitiveness, and pride. These are the things that drive Christ from the heart, and when they are manifested in the life, the professors of religion cannot experience that noble joy that makes the servant of Christ free. He who professes to love the truth, and yet does not bring it into practical life, is bearing a heavy yoke. He admits the principles of truth to be right, and yet fails to carry them out in his actions, and thus cuts off his influence. He is subject to various caprices of his own natural character, and robs God of the service for which he was purchased by the precious blood of Christ.
Until Christianity is planted in the heart, it cannot control the life, for it is the evil in the heart that must be corrected. It is not enough to have a form of godliness without holiness to the Lord, for it is like cleansing the outside of the cup while impurities remain within. A belief of doctrines, however pure they may be, will not save a soul from death, unless they are brought into contact with the life. The heart must be purified through obedience to the truth.
Parents, you need to study your Bibles in order to know how to bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. You cannot continue to indulge in your fitful manner of managing your children, and yet be accounted as true and faithful before God. You must watch for the souls of your children as those that must give an account. You should consider it your duty before God to educate your children in some useful employment. They cannot be permitted to spend their lives in amusing themselves simply, without being exposed to temptation. You should train your children to orderly habits, teaching them to bear responsibilities according to their years. You should train them also in habits of economy, instructing them to bind about their wants and restrict their desires for indulgence in dress and holiday pleasures.
Parents who profess to believe the truth should earnestly strive for the salvation of their children, teaching them, both by precept and example, that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." It is with God, who looks upon the heart, that we have to do. Have the parents given the whole heart to God? Have parents appreciated the countless blessings he has bestowed? Have they educated themselves in presenting gratitude offerings to God in response for all his blessings until their affections are set on things above, and not on things on the earth? The heart is the citadel of the whole man, and, until the heart is wholly on the Lord's side,4the enemy will find his stronghold there, and no human power can dislodge him. The Lord alone can do this work.
There are many professed Christian parents whose souls are preoccupied with so many other things that there is no room in the soul temple for the presence of Jesus. They have given to their idols the devotion that is due alone to God. The door of the heart is closed against the truth, and Christ is misrepresented in spirit, in character, and in actions. Their children are unconverted, wayward, and pleasure loving, and no recommendation to the truth. Should some of these youth be cut down with disease and have no opportunity to repent, they would be lost, forever lost. They are indulging in worldly follies and pleasures, and this will not give their souls a fitness for the society of heavenly angels. Souls are perishing because they have not an experimental knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Many sit under the sound of the gospel, but they do not take it as the truth, because parents keep practical religion apart from their lives. The glad tidings that should awaken every soul is of none effect to them. They are pointed to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, but they say, There will be time enough to-morrow, and the bewitching power of sin holds them firmly in its grasp. As they cannot serve Christ and the world at the same time, they choose the service of sin and receive its wages.
My brethren and sisters, will you not face heavenward? Will you not open the chambers of the mind to the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness? Will you not open the door of the heart, and welcome Jesus in? There is healing in his wings. He will create the kindness and love in your hearts that should be cherished and exhibited in your family, and this love will not only embrace your own household, but will flow out to those around you in the church and the world. We do not plead for a manifestation of what the world calls courtesy, but for that courtesy which everyone will take with him to the mansions of the blessed. Oh, what rays of softness and beauty shone forth in the daily life of our Saviour, and were revealed in all the associations which he cherished! There never was so perfect an illustration of genuine courtesy as that which was exemplified in the life of Jesus. He bids parents to come unto him and learn of him, for he is meek and lowly of heart. He says to the children, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Send them not to the rabbis, send them not to the Pharisees, but take the little children to Jesus for instruction and discipline.
THE MINISTER'S DAUGHTER.
By John Greenleaf Whittier
In the minister's morning sermon
He told of the primal fall,
And how henceforth the wrath of God
Rested on each and all,
And how of his will and pleasure
All souls, save a chosen few,
Were doomed to eternal torture,
And held in the way thereto.
Yet never, by faith's unreason,
A saintlier soul was tried,
And never the harsh old lesson
A tenderer heart belied.
And after the painful service,
On that pleasant, bright first day,
He walked with his little daughter
Through the apple bloom of May.
Sweet in the fresh, green meadow
Sparrow and blackbird sung;
Above him their tinted petals
The blossoming orchard hung.
Around on the wonderful glory
The minister looked, and smiled;
"How good is the Lord, who gives us
These gifts from his hand, my child!"
"Behold in the bloom of apples,
And the violets in the sward,
A tint of the old, lost beauty
Of the garden of the Lord."
Then up spake the little maiden,
Treading on snow and pink:
"O father! these pretty blossoms
Are very wicked I think.
"Had there been no Garden of Eden
There had never been a fall,
And if never a tree had blossomed,
God would have loved us all."
"Hush, child!" the father answered.
"By his decree man fell;
His ways are in clouds and darkness,
But he doeth all things well.
"And whether, by his ordaining,
To us cometh good or ill,
Joy or pain, light or shadow,
We must fear and love him still."
"Oh, I fear him!" said the daughter,
"And I try to love him, too;
But I wish he were kind and gentle,
Kind and loving as are you."
The minister groaned in spirit,
As the tremulous lips of pain,
And wide, wet eyes uplifted,
Questioned his own in vain.
Bowing his head he pondered
The words of his little one.
Had he erred in his lifelong teachings?
Had he wrong to his Master done?
To what grim and dreadful idol
Had he lent the holiest name?
Did his own heart, loving and human,
The God of his worship shame?
And lo! from the bloom and greenness,
From the tender skies above,
And the face of his little daughter,
He read a lesson of love.
No more as the cloudy terror
Of Sinai's mount of law,
But as Christ in the Syrian lilies
The vision of God he saw.
Thereafter his hearers noted
In his prayers a tenderer strain,
And never the message of hatred
Burned on his lips again.
And the scoffing tongue was prayerful,
And the blinded eyes found sight,
And hearts as flint aforetime
Grew soft in his warmth and light.
—Whittier.
THOUGHTS ON RIGHTEOUSNESS.
By Eugene Leland
BY ELDER EUGENE LELAND.
RIGHTEOUSNESS is doing, always and everywhere, and when righteousness is fulfilled, something is done.
"The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe," is the right doing, the DOING, mark you, of God, and that doing is expressed in the requirements of his word; but if those requirements are not met in us, can we truly be said to have the righteousness of God?
The law cannot save the sinner, because it already condemns him; and so God sends his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemns sin in the flesh, "that the righteousness [the doing] of the law might be fulfilled in us."
God did something for us that he may do something in us. It is doing that God wants to see in us, but it is his own doing that he wants to see; "for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."
"This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent." But this is not the work of God that we believe simply that Jesus did something for us some time ago; in addition to this it is that we believe that Christ will do in us what God wants done just now.
Millington, Mich.
A SUCCESSFUL LIFE.
By G. C. Tenney
BY ELDER G. C. TENNEY.
THAT is a grand truth which our Saviour enunciated when he said, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." But few mortals rise to its comprehension. The natural and prevailing impression is exactly opposed to the truth as taught by Jesus. We are sure to regard personal acquirement and possessions the goal of success, until we learn that success consists in giving rather than in getting, that it is more blessed to give than to receive or to withhold. At the basis of this truth lies the true object of life, which is the glory of God and good will to men. The very first condition in order to secure this object is the renunciation of self-interests as the principal end of life. Thus our Saviour says, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself."
Volumes have been written on how to achieve success. The examples of Stewarts, Goulds, Vanderbilts, are held up for the emulation of the youth, because the men in their list have been successful in avarice or personal prowess. Their names stand in eminent places, because they have exhibited such a degree of selfishness as has enabled them to triumph over thousands of competitors, and to build themselves up through their downfall. Every monument of human greatness is the price of blood; the shout of triumph is but an echo of the sighs of oppression or the wail of despair; the stepping-stones to human glory are the bodies of those who have fallen in the strife.
Yet the youth are trained to look upon covetousness as a virtue, benevolence as folly, sharp dealing as a valuable faculty. Every enterprise is estimated by the money there is supposed to be in it; even life itself is valued upon the same scale. A very favorite motto, often inscribed upon our clocks, tells us that "time is money." It is an unworthy sentiment, a sordid estimate upon the most precious gift of God. Time is of far greater value than money. Time is probation; it contains the issues of eternity. Eternal interests are attached to each hour; the success of life consists in securing those interests, not only for ourselves, but for others around us.
We are not here simply to absorb and retain all that life or fortune brings within our reach, both of that which pertains to us and that which by right belongs to others. We need not one thing more than we can use to the glory of God and to the good of others. Success in life does not nearly so much depend upon the art of acquiring as upon the wisdom of bestowing; not so much upon the amount we gain, as upon what we do with that which we have. The question does not rest in what the world calls success, but in what God calls faithfulness.