Review and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 57. (11/18/1915)

Review and Herald

Nov 18, 1915

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 18, 1915

“Left at Athens Alone”

By ELIZA H. MORTON

ELIZA H. MORTON

Proud city, beautiful—Athens of old— Metropolis of heathendom! We see A picture of thy glory and thy pride, Thy architecture and thy paintings fair, The statues of thy heroes deified, Thy marble halls with stately stairways wide, Thy temples, tablets, and thy costly shrines, Appealing to the senses and the soul.

Amid that pomp and splendor stood a man Of God, the Paul of ancient days, the Paul Who saw in holy vision Christ the Lord, And ever ’after followed in his train. Alone in Athens, left alone! Alone To face a city steeped in sin! Alone, And yet ’twas good, he thought, to be alone. And there the brave apostle stood to meet Idolatry in most alluring forms. Intelligence and culture, beauty, art, And all that wealth could purchase met his eye; Yet God was honored not, and all was vain.

A burning message from his lips burst forth, And he declared to all the Unknown God, The One who made the world and all therein, Who dwelleth not in temples made with hands, The One who soon will come to judge the world. Though Paul was left alone, he faltered not, But, calm and self-possessed, preached truth in love. Yea, lifted high the cross to win from sin.

O ye of earth, this lesson learn: Look up! Thy strength will be renewed; be brave, be strong, And ne’er despond. The truth of God will shine Amid the glare, amid the tinselled dross Below, and some will listen to the word, The cities of our day must hear the truth Of God; and honest souls will stand the test, And with the lonely workers praise the Lord.

Portland, Maine.

President Wilson and National Defense

PRESIDENT WILSON opened the administration campaign for its national defense program in a comprehensive and carefully prepared address delivered in New York, the evening of November 4, at the Manhattan Club banquet. The address was printed in full in the Washington Post of November 5, but we shall quote only that part which refers to the so-called “Continental Army:”—

It [the administration plan] calls for the training within the next three years of a force of 400,000 citizen soldiers to be raised in annual contingents of 133,000, who would be asked to enlist for three years with the colors and three years on furlough, but who, during their three years of enlistment with the colors, would not be organized as a standing force, but would be expected merely to undergo intensive training for a very brief period of each year.

Their training would take place in immediate association with the organized units of the regular army. It would have no touch of the amateur about it, neither would it exact of the volunteers more than they could give in any one year from their civilian pursuits.

This plan is to be laid before Congress at its next session.

Note and Comment

Aeroplane Launched From Moving Warship

For the first time an aeroplane has been launched from a ship under way. The New York Times of November 7 brings the news:—

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, announced tonight [November 6] that the aeroplane launching device that had been under test at the aeronautic station at Pensacola for some time had finally been installed on the cruiser “North Carolina,” and that on Friday an aeroplane was successfully launched from this device while the “North Carolina” was under way.

Thus new inventions are being constantly added to the many which human ingenuity has produced in this present century of great achievements.

Opposition to Pan-Protestant Congress at Panama

THE reason for the opposition of some of the High Church members of the Protestant Episcopal Board of Missions to the plan of sending delegates to the Pan-Protestant Congress at Panama is indicated in the following extract from the New York Times of October 28:—

The delegates who are to visit Panama are to pay their own expenses, and are to do nothing but confer with others at the congress; but the opponents of the project feel strongly that even that limited participation endangers church unity, and widens the gulf between Protestants and Catholics.

They still insist that a slight has been put on the see of Rome, whose work for four centuries in South American countries, they think, should be considered in a conciliatory spirit.

It is possible that a serious situation may yet arise in the next General Conference of the Episcopal Church, to which it is expected that the High Church party will make an appeal.

Army Increase to Cost a Billion

A SIGN of our times may be seen in the greater appropriations for the increase of the army of the United States which Congress will be asked to make, according to the plans of Lindley M. Garrison, Secretary of War:—

If no new projects were launched, the army and navy, as they stand today, would cost $1,000,000,000 for maintenance during the next five years. In a nutshell, the plans of the administration for national defense call for approximately an extra billion dollars during that period.

The official outline of the army plans was made public tonight by Secretary Garrison. It shows that under the Garrison plan, which has been approved by Senator Chamberlain of Oregon and Representative Hay of Virginia, who are, respectively, chairmen of the Senate and House Committees on Military Affairs, Congress will be asked to make the following appropriations:—

Fiscal year 1917.........$182,717,036.08 Fiscal year 1918.........212,815,879.70 Fiscal year 1919.........228,315,879.70 Fiscal year 1920.........228,315,879.70 Fiscal year 1921.........182,234,559.70 Total ............$1,034,399,234.88

Christian Science Treatments Given to a Burned Child

The lengths to which the theory of the Christian Scientists may lead them is shown by the following clipping:—

With the flesh burned from his chest and arms, five-year-old Millard K. Atkinson, Jr., lay for ten days without medical attention, at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Millard Atkinson, at 515 West Sixth Street [Palmyra, N.J.]. Because they are Christian Scientists they refused to summon a physician. Only after the boy's death was a doctor called in, and then only that he might issue a death certificate.

These facts, which have set Palmyra and near-by towns in Burlington County afire with indignation, were established by Coroner James Gallagher, to whom Dr. E. H. Bauer, after his refusal to issue a death certificate, referred the case. The truth of the charges were admitted in every detail tonight by the father and mother of the dead boy at their home in Sixth Street. The father told how the boy had fallen into a bonfire, and with his clothes ablaze had run from door to door of the house, seeking admission and crying for his mother. When he finally got in the house to where his mother was working, the clothes had been burned from the upper part of his body. Instead of sending for a physician, the parents telephoned for a Christian Science practitioner.—New York Times, November 7.

Roman Catholic Church Financed Huerta Plot

IN a confession of Col. Jose Orozco, cousin of Gen. Pascual Orozco, concerning the plot of Gen. Victorious Huerta to invade Mexico from the United States, the Roman Catholic Church is said to have financed the plan. We quote from the New York Times of November 6:—

According to him, the plot originated while Huerta was in New York after his return from Spain. The church is said by Orozco to have been concerned in the financing of this revolution. Gen. Pascual Orozco was selected as the commander in chief; and Gen. Jose Ynez Salizar, now in jail at Santa Fe, N. Mex., was to have been second in command.

Colonel Orozco, according to the report of his confession, was to organize the troops, equip them from among the refugees on this side, and send them against Juarez from the American side. He admits having armed 2,000 of these men with a part of the first shipment of 6,000 rifles which were sent here, together with 10,000,000 rounds of ammunition, 60 machine guns, and unlimited supplies. The arrest of Orozco and Huerta spoiled the plan, and it was never sufficiently revived to make it operative.

Colonel Orozco’s statement seems more than probable when we remember the eulogies of General Huerta which have appeared in the Catholic press, and the open entrance of that church in Mexican politics in the organization of the so-called Catholic party.

As a Burning Fire

By W. A. S.

THE word of God is as a fire, and it must burn in the heart of the believer who is presenting the message to others. The veriest heathen knows whether the message is coming warm and full of the fire kindled by the live coal from heaven’s altar.

Down in Kafirland, Brother P. Smails was preaching through a native interpreter, to the Kafirs. But they were not pleased. Though they did not know the English words, they knew they were losing something in the translation.

“You are hot,” they said, “the interpreter is cold; learn Kafir.” W. A. S.

The Power of Prayer

By F. M. W.

It has been truly said that in every age of the church the men of power have been the men of prayer. It was the communion of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Heavenly Father that gave him the strength to go forth for his mighty conflicts with the powers of darkness. It was through this intercession that he drew strength for his strenuous labors. By it power was given him for the accomplishment of his mighty works. By this means, and this means only, can his disciples today carry forward his work successfully.

The Word and Way of September 11 cites these notable examples of praying men, and of what God accomplished through the ministry of prayer:—

Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer, and often more than this. He began at four in the morning. One who knew him well says of him, “He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else, and I have seen him come from his closet with a serenity of face next to shining.”

John Fletcher stained the walls of his room with the breath of his prayers. Sometimes he would pray all night.

Luther said: “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day.” His motto was, “He that has prayed well, has studied well.”

Bishop Leighton was so much alone with God that he seemed to be in a perpetual meditation. Substantially the same was said of Dr. A. J. Gordon.

Bishop Asbury said, “I propose to rise at four o’clock as often as I can, and spend two hours in prayer and meditation.”

Samuel Rutherford rose at three o’clock in the morning to meet God in prayer.

Robert Murray McCheyne spent from 6 to 8 A. M. and an hour after tea shut in with God.

The memorable Methodist Band spent from four to five in the morning and from five to six in the afternoon in private prayer.

John Welch, a worthy son-in-law of John Knox, and wonderful preacher, thought the day ill spent if he did not spend eight to ten hours in prayer. His wife would complain when she found him on the ground weeping. He would reply, “O woman, I have the souls of three thousand to answer for, and I know not how it is with many of them!”

It is said of the saintly Payson that he wore the hardwood boards into grooves where his knees pressed so often and so long. His biographer says, “His continuing instant in prayer is the most noticeable fact in his history, and points out the duty of all who would rival his eminency.”

Dr. Adoniram Judson spent several hours a day in prayer. He impressed an empire for Christ, and laid the foundations of imperishable granite in the heart of Burma.

David said: “Early will I seek thee.” “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning.”

Christ went to the place of prayer a great while before day.

Christmas Evans knew the value and power of prayer, which brought to him “the anointing of the Holy One, which worketh mightily in the inward man. This is the mystery of effective preaching. We must be endued with power from on high.” His preaching brought conviction of sin like a deluge over the people.

John Livingstone preached one sermon in Scotland after a night of prayer, and 500 persons professed conversion. Michael Roberts, of Wales, preached and 1,000 decided for Christ. Another mighty Welsh preacher, John Elias, preached one sermon and 2,500 were added to the church.

Let us “give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

The need of the church of God today is a greater spirit of prayer. How little time we spend in this blessed service, compared with our great need! To us there has been committed a great ministry, the ministry of the gospel of saving grace to fallen man, the glorious proclamation of the coming of the Lord. Against that message stands arrayed all the hosts of evil. Our only hope of success is in God. The only means by which we may obtain the divine aid is through Heaven’s appointed way of prayer. Let us pray much, for prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. F. M. W.

At “Old Solusi”

By W. A. S.

We rode into the mission compound just at evening, after a twenty-two-mile drive by mule team from Figtree station. It is a homelike settlement—two cottages, a school, a church, a number of small huts for schoolboys, a kitchen, a dining room, and a girls’ dormitory, all of brick; a store, sheds, and also racks filled high with the ears of husked corn. The ox wagon was just coming in from the mealie fields, with yet another load of corn.

Here it was that our first African mission—in fact, our first mission to the heathen—was planted, near Chief Solusi’s kraal, in 1894. It was in the wilds then, thirty-five miles west of Bulawayo. In the days of the Matabele rebellion, our missionaries fled from the farm to the Bulawayo stockade, while the old chief worked like a brother in their absence to save the mission cattle and protect mission interests.

There is still on the farm the remains of the fort thrown up by the soldiers camped here at that time, and in the boughs of the tree standing in the center of the earth ramparts, may still be seen a few bolts and pieces of timber where a machine gun was mounted to sweep the country round.

All that is now ancient pioneer history. Through the years since, Solusi has carried on its active, life-saving work, the fever being the only real peril to the missionaries. The little cemetery beyond the church tells how real a battle the fight against the malaria has been. Now, with lands cleared and proper precautions taken, Elder W. C. Walston, the superintendent, feels that health conditions are very favorable.

Seventy-five boys and girls were in the school, taught by Brother and Sister R. P. Robinson. Sister Walston does some teaching, but has her hands full with guiding the girls and boys through the

domestic side of the mission boarding school enterprise. It is a happy, busy family at Old Solusi, as the missionaries call this parent station.

This has been the training ground for many workers. A number of the missionary leaders at other stations got their first experience here, and all about the Rhodesian missions, and north and south of the Zambesi, and even down in Zululand, I found boys and girls from Solusi working as teachers and right-hand helpers. And there are yet more coming along, studying hard, and growing into an experience in the truth. Eleven out-schools are operated from this mission, the farthest about eighty miles away.

“Where do these boys come from?” I asked Brother Robinson.

We sat on the school platform, built of earth, and looked down on row after row of bright-faced boys and girls sitting on the benches, which were also built up of plastered mud, hard-dried.

“They are from this part mostly,” he replied; “but we have a dozen or more from tribes beyond the Zambesi.”

These have been years of earnest mission effort at Solusi, since the pioneer party, led by Brethren A. Druillard, P. J. D. Wessels, and F. Sparrow, rode in from Bulawayo across the Guai River, and pitched camp here among thick bush. Meantime the believers in our home churches have been giving and praying for African missions. As today we see the work spreading, and the leavening process going on among the tribes far and near, we know that the labor of love has not been in vain. It is worth while. The day of God will so declare it; for souls have been won to Christ. If those among our pioneers in Africa who are sleeping—in the cemetery here, and down at Kimberley, and at Cape Town—could speak, we know they, too, would say it is worth while.

Still the calls come from tribes beyond. Our missionaries plead for more men and more means, by which to keep the work following on after the ever-advancing providence of God.

W. A. S.

Notes From the Field — No. 2

By F. M. W.

LEAVING Boulder, Colo., we spent one day in Colorado Springs. Here we were entertained, with the old-time spirit of hospitality, at the pleasant home of Brother and Sister William Eames. It was a great pleasure for us here to meet Brother Frank Mills, who returned some months ago from Korea. Brother Mills has greatly improved in general strength, although he is still far from well. He hopes, however, that after several more months spent in Colorado he will again be able to take part in the work which has come to be the joy of his life. We also found Elder M. A. Altman and his family earnestly at work for the upbuilding of the Lord's cause in this important city. Through his earnest labors and those of the faithful brethren and sisters in this city, a neat house of worship is nearing completion. The work has proceeded slowly, as they are determined that the building shall be erected without incurring debt; and in this purpose the Lord is signally blessing their efforts. It is comparatively easy to erect church buildings on borrowed money, but it is discouraging for the congregation to be placed for years under the grinding load of a church debt. It may require greater faith and more earnest efforts to raise the money before the building is erected, but we believe that the joy will be heightened when the worship is conducted in a building dedicated to the Lord free from encumbrance. We rejoice to see the spirit manifested by Seventh-day Adventists during the last few years, to rid their institutions and organizations of the burden of debt. This spirit should be encouraged, and earnest efforts should be made by our brethren and sisters everywhere to clear off the debts which may be hanging over their meetinghouses or institutions. God desires us to be free men and free women in Christ Jesus. We know of nothing else that will so make a man a prisoner, and hold him with such a ruthless and deadly grasp, as a great debt.

Our academy home at Lodi, Cal., seemed indeed a Bethel of rest as we reached it on Friday evening, at the beginning of the Sabbath. A very pleasant Sabbath day was spent at this important center of our work in California. The school buildings, three in number, are located one and one-half miles south of Lodi, in a highly favored section of the great San Joaquin Valley. Orchards, vineyards, and gardens greet the eye at every turn. The school owns twenty acres of fertile land, and rents ten or fifteen acres. This land affords opportunity for a number of students to earn their way through school from year to year, and very materially contributes to the income and upkeep of the institution.

We found an enrollment of one hundred students in the academic grades, a fine class of earnest and sturdy young men and women, who, apparently, have come to the school for the one purpose of securing a preparation for rendering efficient service in this closing work. Between eighty and ninety boys and girls are attending the church school. Thus more than one hundred and eighty students are brought together under one school management. Prof. J. H. Paap is principal of the school. With him are associated the following-named instructors: W. B. Payton, George McCready Price, W. B. Taylor, Fred T. Oakes, L. E. Westermeyer, Miss Beatrice Haines, Mrs. J. H. Paap, Mrs. W. B. Taylor, Miss Hilda Paap, Mrs. F. T. Oakes, George B. Morrison, Miss Stella Voris, and Miss Alma M. Fink.

In addition to the preceptor's work, Brother W. T. Taylor conducts a class in carpentry. He displayed with justifiable pride some excellent specimens of the handiwork of the boys engaged in this industry.

A large constituency have established homes in Lodi, in the neighborhood of the academy; hence the greater part of the students are day students, there being only about forty students in the homes. It was our privilege Saturday night to attend the reception given by the faculty to the students of the school, and to listen to a musical program of unusual merit, reflecting great credit upon the musical instruction afforded by the institution.

This was our first visit to Lodi, and we were surprised to find such a large gathering of our people. The church here numbers between four and five hundred. It was our privilege Sabbath forenoon to listen to an earnest sermon by Elder E. E. Andross, the president of the Pacific Union Conference, and in the afternoon to speak to the brethren and sisters who came together for a special service. Elder D. T. Fero, whom we had known many years ago in the East, is pastor of the Lodi church, and although hastening toward threescore years and ten, is doing faithful and efficient service.

We were glad to learn of the cooperation between the academy and the church, and that the brethren and sisters in this center are heartily sustaining the institution which has been established among them. Our churches that have institutions located near them enjoy great opportunities, and also share great responsibilities. Directly and indirectly, every school is affected by the spirit of the community in which it is located. The spirit of the church will be reflected in the lives of the students. How necessary that our brethren and sisters should recognize this, and that the influence in their homes and in the church should be of a character to build up and to strengthen the things of God, rather than to demoralize or tear them down. Those who have been placed in charge of our institutions are laboring under heavy burdens. They do not need our criticism, but our prayers. We believe that the school in Lodi is doing excellent work, and that, in the hands of God, this institution can be made a powerful factor in preparing laborers for this cause. A goodly number have already gone out from this school into places of responsibility; and we believe that from the earnest young men and women in the

school at the present time, many will be found to go out at the call of the Master, some, perhaps, to earth's remotest bounds, to give the message of the soon-coming kingdom. F. M. W.

The Law of God

By W. A. S.

It is a common saying, “The majesty of the law.” It means that the character and genius of a government are embodied and expressed in its laws. The words of Inspiration declare to us the majesty of the law of the Most High.

The Character of God’s Law

The infinite perfection of the divine character is reflected in it:—

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps. 19: 7.

As God is holiness, and justice, and goodness, so also is his law:—

“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Rom. 7: 12.

Its Office

The law of God gives knowledge of the righteousness of God:—

“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.” Isa. 51: 7.

It marks every departure from righteousness as sin:—

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3: 4.

It is not a code merely for the regulation of outward conduct. It is the moral law—the primal standard of righteousness established by the Creator for his creatures. There is not an impulse of the inmost soul that is not reached by it. It is the word which, living and powerful, is—

“sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4: 12.

Face to face with this holy law, we hear in it the voice of God saying, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Every soul must confess its guilt before the searching power of God’s law. All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. “Guilty!” we confess. Left alone with our guilt, there could be no ray of hope.

“The threatenings of the broken law Impress the soul with dread; If God his sword of vengeance draw, It strikes the spirit dead.”

Thank God, we are not left alone; help is laid upon One mighty to save.

“But thine illustrious sacrifice Hath answered these demands, And peace and pardon from the skies Are offered by thy hands.”

God’s Law From the Beginning

The law of God was from the beginning. When Adam sinned, he transgressed this holy law; for “sin is the transgression of the law.” God’s law was not committed to written form until the days of Moses, when the Lord began to give his written revelation to the children of men. But from Adam to Moses the precepts of the law of God were teaching righteousness and convicting of sin:—

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until the law [the giving of it at Sinai] sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses).” Rom. 5: 12–14.

The declaration of this scripture is: Without the law there can be no sin. But sin and death were from Adam to Moses, in whose day the law was spoken on Sinai; therefore the law of God was in force from the beginning. Its precepts were witnessed to by every preacher of righteousness raised up by God in the days before the deluge and in the patriarchal age following. Of Abraham the Lord says:—

“Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Gen. 26: 5.

In Egyptian bondage the children of Abraham must have lost much of the purity of God’s truth; yet the Lord held them responsible to know his law—the Sabbath precept particularly—before they came to Sinai, or ever he had proclaimed the law in their hearing. He tested them in the matter by the giving of the manna, as he said,—

“That I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” Ex. 16: 4.

From the beginning, God’s holy law demanded the loyal obedience of every human being.

Proclaimed Anew at Sinai

The Lord had delivered the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage that they might serve him and make his ways known to the nations. This was according to the promise made to Abraham. To them was committed the written revelation of God, and through them was to come in the fullness of time the promised Messiah.

While the Lord at this time “made known his ways unto Moses,” and there was begun the written revelation which grew into “the volume of the Book,” the Holy Scriptures, one portion of revelation was not left for the prophet of God to speak or for the inspired pen to write. The Lord proclaimed his holy law with his own voice, and gave to men a copy “written with the finger of God.” Moses said of this:—

“And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.” Deut. 4: 12, 13.

This display of majesty and glory indescribable was designed to teach how sacred and holy is the law, and to cause men to fear to transgress its precepts. Ex. 20: 20.

It was not for themselves alone that the law was committed to Israel. They were to teach the truth to others. As the New Testament says, it was greatly to their advantage that “unto them were committed the oracles of God.” Rom. 3: 2. But they “received the lively oracles to give unto us.” Acts 7: 38. Through obedience to the divine law, they were to be a light to the nations:—

“Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them?” Deut. 4: 6, 7.

An interesting comment upon these words is supplied by a speech of Phalerius, librarian to Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt. Urging the king by all means to secure copies of the sacred books of the Jews for his great library in Alexandria, Phalerius said:—

Now it is necessary that thou shouldst have accurate copies of them. And indeed this legislation is full of hidden wisdom, and entirely blameless, as being the legislation of God, for which cause it is, as Hecateus of Abdera says, that the poets and historians make no mention of it, nor of those men who lead their lives according to it, since it is a holy law, and ought not to be published by profane mouths.—Josephus’s “Antiquities,” book 12, chap. 2, sec. 4.

Unfaithful as the Jewish people oftentimes were, yet through their testimony and the dealings of God with them, the fame of the living oracles was spread abroad among the ancient nations.

One God—One Moral Standard

“There is one lawgiver.” James 4: 12. He is ever the same, and his law is the standard of righteousness for all mankind. There is not one moral standard before Christ and another after. Christ’s death upon the cross because man had broken the law, is the divine testimony to all the universe that God’s law can never be set aside nor its force suspended. Jesus opened his public teaching with the declaration:—

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be

called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 5: 17–19.

The moral law of ten commandments is one code, every precept equally sacred and equally binding:—

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2: 10–12.

The law of God still speaks with all the force of that voice from Sinai, and it speaks to every soul on earth:—

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Rom. 3: 19.

Thus the law of God convicts all men of sin, and would drive every one to Christ for pardon and for the divine gift of the grace and power of obedience.

The ceremonial law—the precepts and ordinances commanded for the sacrificial system—ceased with the sacrifice of Calvary, as all these ceremonial observances pointed forward to the cross. There can be no confounding of the moral law and the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law of types and shadows showed in itself that a primary or higher law—the moral law—had been violated, making necessary a divine sacrifice if transgressors were to be saved from death and restored to obedience.

The Standard of the Judgment

The law of God’s moral government, which is the rule of life for every creature, must necessarily be the standard in the great judgment day. The Scripture states the sum of all human obligation and responsibility in the words:—

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Eccl. 12: 13, 14.

Every son and daughter of Adam’s lost race is judgment-bound, to answer before the law of God. Divine justice cannot abate a jot or a tittle of the requirements of the holy law, nor by any means clear the guilty. But divine mercy has provided the way by which God can “be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” W. A. S.

Fear No Evil

By Mrs. Luella L. Harmon

MRS. LUELLA L. HARMON

Now, when war and crime are increasing in the earth, we should turn to God's Word for comfort. Here we find precious promises for the weak and fearful:—

“But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Prov. 1: 33.

“Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.” Prov. 3: 23-26.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1: 7.

“I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” Ps. 34: 4. “I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” Ps. 23: 4.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer.” Rev. 2: 10. What shall man fear? “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14: 7.

“O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” Ps. 34: 9.

“Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.” Ps. 115: 11.

“There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.” Prov. 12: 21. In these times of peril, remember, “Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Prov. 1: 33.

The Awful Responsibility

By J. S. WASHBURN

J. S. WASHBURN

SIR JAMES PAGET, late surgeon-extraordinary to Queen Victoria, in one of his addresses to students, uttered the following impressive words:— “We sometimes see the beam of life and death so nearly balanced that it turns this way or that, according to the skill that may be cast into the scale of life. And surely, if we could gather into thought all the issues that are involved in the life or death of any man, the anxiety of ignorance at such a time would be intolerable. All is permitted to depend upon the skill of one. Conceive that one yourself: what would be your remorse if, when in their confusion and distress they look to you, you felt as helpless as themselves; your hand paralyzed by the fear of ignorance, your mind confused in that half knowledge whose glimmerings only show that more skill might save the dying man! Yet this must be the remorse of every one who will neglect the study of his profession, and yet dare to undertake its responsibilities.”

If every physician realized the solemn responsibility laid upon him, surely he would study most earnestly to be successful in his life work, in which are involved the issues of life and death. If the responsibility of this temporal life is so great, what shall we say of the responsibility of the Christian teacher who holds in his hand eternal destinies, who may by a word turn souls toward heaven and eternal life, or may lay a stumblingblock over which souls may stumble into eternal death?

And every Christian, even the most

humble, is indeed a ‘savor of life unto life’ or ‘of death unto death,’ and ‘who is sufficient for these things?’ Not only our own eternal destiny, but the destinies of our friends, and even of our most casual acquaintances, are in our hands. Christ solemnly warns us that for every idle word we shall give account in the day of judgment.

May the solemn, the glorious responsibility be realized and accepted by every one of us, and may we enter into the joy of the Lord in the great day when he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. Oh, in that day when the mists of time and earthly imperfection have vanished, and we see clearly the eternal reality, how worthless, how empty, will appear those vain things which fill the minds of men, while the unseen, everlasting reality is utterly neglected or made only secondary! In him who would speak the word of eternal life, the King of eternity must reign alone, absolutely, even to the uttermost.

“The last reserve of earthly dross, Means countless souls’ eternal loss.”

Philadelphia, Pa.

Worldliness and the Narrow Way

By W. W. Weeks

Few things are more contagious than worldliness. It requires great courage and devotion to keep in the narrow way of consecration when the great throng of professed Christians have turned into Bypath Meadow. . . . Be sure of this, if you are to have a place among those who win the special praise of the King, you must be content to be in the minority. There will be but few spotless garments in the great throng.—W. W. Weeks.

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