Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 19, 1859
INCREASE OUR FAITH!
By J. Clarke
It has been said that every heart knows its own bitterness, and the stranger intermeddleth not with its joy. Indeed, there is a sad satisfaction in patiently bearing up under trials, in commanding one's own heart, in saying to one's self, Hush, all ye contending passions; be still, ye waves of anguish and sorrow; this life is too precious, too short to be wasted in prolonged mourning; trifle not with health and life; sorrow cankers, eats at the heart of life, hinders recovery from debility and sickness, and unfits mind and body for useful labors. Endure, my soul, as seeing Him who is invisible. The blow is heavy, thine affliction is great, thy sorrows are many; but bear up, bear up trusting in God, he will sustain thee. Prepare thy mind for effort, seek to be useful in thy sphere, seek to be led by the Spirit in the paths of duty and of usefulness, trust not in thyself, yet face the storm.
The ship when in danger casts her anchor from her bows, thus she floats with her brow to the gale; for should the surges strike upon her side, she would soon be dashed in pieces: so let the storms of life fall upon a mind anchored and sure. Always face the danger; look calmly in the face of the gale, let the mind be fortified by right principle, tranquil, and at peace. Cast thine anchor of hope into that within the vail, firm and steadfast, and so shalt thou outride the storm, and so soon as the storm abates, again spread thy sails for the happy land.
True, sickness, pain and distress, and loss, often fall to the lot of mortals. Few can say they are wholly free from trouble; and yet how little real sympathy is manifested for others. There is a kind of instinctive sympathy felt by all in case of death, especially if sudden and shocking; but generally the sympathy of friends extends no farther than to see to the civilities of the funeral, and wants of the sick. These being accomplished, the dead being buried, and the mourners escorted to their homes, all is done that can be done, says public opinion, and dumb forgetfulness is supposed to do the rest.
Little sympathy is felt for the torn heart of the disconsolate mourner, who weeps for the loss of nearest companion, or of child or parent, of brother or sister. No attempt is made to heal the sundered ties, or pour the oil of consolation into the heart-wounds. One returns to his farm, or shop, or merchandise, and the sorrows of the grief-stricken mourner are ignored or forgotten amid the hurry and bustle and cares of life.
It was a happy custom of the ancient nations to do much to soften and heal the wounds of bereaved families and individuals in the case of death. No act of friendship and sympathy was left untried! We find the Egyptians mourning 77 days with the Hebrews at the death of good old Jacob, and we find our blessed Saviour weeping at the grave of Lazarus, four days after his death, and the friends of the family in instinctive friendship and sympathy, still with the bereaved sisters. But it is not so now; "without natural affection," is a characteristic of the last generation.
But thank God, we have a kind and sympathizing Father, and a High Priest who can be touched with a feeling for our infirmities. He is the resurrection and the life.
J. CLARKE.
Military Forces of the Old and New Worlds.
THE rumors of war which have reached this country by every mail from Europe, have naturally led to a comparison of the armed strength of the various nations and the material resources which each has to depend upon in the event of a general war upon the continent. As our readers are aware, the difficulty exists between France and Austria, Sardinia playing the part not of a go-between but of a fomenter of the dispute. However, we do not propose here to go into the details of the question which has so occupied the thoughts of men, and which threatened the peace not of two or three nations, but of all Europe.
Up to the present time England, France, Austria and other countries, have been engaged in strengthening themselves and preparing for a contingency that was considered not only possible but highly probable. France and Austria were particularly active in developing to the highest point the efficiency of their armies and navies, and little Sardinia took advantage of the occasion not only to parade her military force before the world, but to recruit her finances by the negotiation of a loan, which, after considerable trouble and misgiving, she at last accomplished. The military genius of the old world, we are told, has produced inventions of the most marvellous character; inventions which, it is predicted, will create a complete revolution in our modern mode of warfare. Canons have been invented of such extraordinary range that they will strike an object at the distance of five or six miles, and other projectiles have been improved to such an extent that no city can possibly sustain a lengthened seige against such terrible engines of destruction. But it is the great display of armed men to which the attention of Christendom is drawn, for there are no less than five millions of disciplined soldiers in Europe ready if need be, to take the field. That is to say, the standing armies of the different countries of Europe amount in the aggregate to that number of men. Of these France alone has about six hundred thousand, Austria seven hundred thousand, Prussia five hundred and fifty thousand, England two hundred and thirty thousand, Russia over a million, Turkey about three hundred thousand, Spain eighty thousand, with a force of militia and reserves numbering half a million; Sardinia sixty thousand, Switzerland one hundred and fifty thousand, and so on in the other countries in proportion to their population and resources.
The naval forces of France and England are nearly equal, both in the number of guns and the efficiency of the two services. The two countries cannot, however, be considered as standing upon equal ground in regard to the availability of their forces, for while large draughts are made upon the standing army of England for the maintenance of her dominion in India and her scattered possessions all over the world, France, if necessary, could concentrate the great body of her army at any point within her limits in a few days. In this respect, she possesses a decided advantage over England. This remark is equally applicable to Austria, which despite of the prediction that she was rapidly sinking into the position of a second rate power, has shown herself to be deficient neither in national dignity and self-respect, nor in men and resources with which to support both the one and the other.
Now there are some who are of the opinion that all this great military parade on the part of France and England has another object in view, that they have, in fact, combined for no other purpose than the forced inauguration of their policy on this continent; that they have designs upon Central America, and that they are determined, if necessary to force our government into an abandonment of the Monroe doctrine. In proof of this, they refer to the movements which have been already made in Central America, and particularly to the recent conduct of the Nicaraguan government itself. A new and deeper interest is thus given to the hostile preparations with which the old world has resounded for months past. And it is under such circumstances that the relative military strength of both the old and new worlds will be compared as affording the means by which to judge of the probable issue of such a contest. At the first glance, we certainly have nothing to boast of in such a comparison. We have no standing army worth mentioning, that is, in point of numbers; we have not one national ship to every twenty of France and England; and our steam marine, in particular, is miserably deficient. Thus far, the war account is against it, but there are other things which tell greatly on our side, and which would give a large balance in our favor if we are ever forced into a contest with any or all of the great European powers combined. Our regular army is about eighteen thousand strong, but in the event of a foreign invasion there are at least four millions of men in the country who are acquainted with the use of arms, and who although but a portion belong to the various militia organizations throughout the different States, would in the course of a few months be as thoroughly drilled and as efficient as the regular troops. In fact, it is on our volunteers that we should be compelled to rely in such an emergency, under the skill and energy of our West Point graduates, whose military202education and discipline is considered second to none that is afforded by the best military institutions.
A successful conquest of the United States may well be regarded as an utter impossibility, unless indeed through hostile dissensions among our own people—a calamity which all true citizens should pray to have averted from the land. There never was a nation more secure in its own strength, and while we act justly towards all the world, and are united, we have no reason to be fearful as to the result of a contest with any or with all of the European nations.-Metropolitan Record.
A BROKEN HEART.
Oh! blessed be the heart that breaks!
It is a broken heart that wins
The fellowship of Him who takes
Our sorrows with our sins!
As many a flower has blown and blush'd,
Yet ne'er its hidden sweets distill'd,
Until its bleeding leaves were crush'd
And gather'd dews were spill'd;
So many a heart, that ne'er requites
Its Father's love, perchance may need
That He should pluck its green delights,
Or bruise it so it bleed!
Oft, thus, what we had thought to keep,
He takes—to make it ours the more;
And calls our heavy eyes to weep,
That ne'er knew tears before;
Or warns us first with wounding dart,
Then smites us with his chastening rod;
Till, when we have a broken heart,
We yield it up to God!—Sel.
A Chapter on Thanks.
THANK HIM!
Yes, now, Thank God now, this minute—thank him first of all that you have a heart to thank him. A thankful heart is from God—thank him for a thankful heart—thank him for every thing—all things, great things and little things. Thank him now, delay not. Thank him as mercies come on and as they go off. As new mercies appear, begin to thank him; keep on thanking him. And be sure to embrace the earliest possible opportunity to return God thanks, the very instant you feel the first risings of gratitude. Thank God while the heart is warm lest a moment's delay may cool the ardor of your thanksgiving. Now, now is the time, the accepted time. A single moment's delay may lead to forgetfulness, indifference or coolness in your thanksgivings. God loves a heart full and fresh with thanksgiving, burning from the altar, sincere, earnest, outbursting. Embrace the very instant the blessing is received—any blessings—all blessings, temporal and spiritual; little blessings or great blessings. All good comes from God, the Father of light, food, raiment, houses, homes, lands, fathers, mothers, kind looks, kind thoughts, kind expressions, every grasp of friendship, our senses, hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, our physical, intellectual and moral faculties, all these call for daily and hourly thanks. Then life itself, the land of mercy, the land of Bibles, the gift of God's dear Son, through whose sacrifice and intercessions all blessings flow; the Bible, the Holy Spirit, hope of life everlasting; all these and still more, should fill our hearts with grateful praise, with continued outburstings of thanksgivings. God's providential dealings, the preservation of life, health, strength, our right reason, should call forth grateful thanks. We should thank God, rising up and lying down, going out, coming in, at all times, till our whole being, body, soul and mind, is full of thanks, nothing but thanks, a bundle of thanks.
This continual thanking God for mercies is the sure way to obtain mercies, new mercies, greater mercies. Thank God for little mercies, and if faithful to past mercies, in giving thanks for them, very soon God in mercy bestows greater mercies and still greater. God is well pleased to bestow his richest blessings on the thankful and obedient that live to thank him for his goodness. 'Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me.' O friends, how much we lose by not thanking God for his goodness. Some perish, starve outright for not thanking God. God will be thanked now and forever. If we refuse to thank God, others will, and he can raise up the stones in the streets to praise him, cause the hills and the valleys to praise him, fire, hail, snow, stormy winds, mountains, all hills, fruitful trees, all cedars, beasts, cattle, flying fowl, all creeping things, the sun, moon, the starry hosts and heavenly hosts, the seas and all that in them is.
'Thy numerous works exalt the Lord,
Nor will I silent be;
O rather let me cause to breathe,
That cease from praising thee.'
To thank God is not only a privilege but a positive duty, binding on all intelligencies. God commands us to thank him, and to thank him always, for he is good and his mercy endureth forever. God is worthy of all praise and he will have it.
David knew this, understood it perfectly. He knew it was policy, the very best policy to thank God, nor was he unmindful of this duty. Hear him: 'I will bless God at all times, his praise shall be in my mouth continually.' 'It is a good thing,' says he, 'to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.' The Bible is full of these examples of holy men, in giving God thanks. Friends, are you thanking God continually for all his mercies, for all his judgments? Do you make it a special business? the first thing, the last thing, the ever continued thing? Do you prize the privilege of thanking God above all price? What an infinite mercy that he permits creatures so unworthy, to praise him! Blessing unspeakable! Our whole being should burst forth with thanksgivings for this one mercy! this one privilege. Reader, do you thank God? Do you live so that you can thank him? No one can thank God as he ought except he 'walk uprightly, work righteousness and speak the truth in his heart.' The reason why David was enabled to thank God so much, so heartily, so joyfully, was, he walked softly before him, refrained from every evil way. Hear him: 'I will wash my hands in innocency, so will I compass thine altar, O Lord, that I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.' This holy walking was the secret of David's continual thanksgivings. 'With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure.' Ps. 18, 26. Why is it we hear so few thanksgivings in the assemblies of God's people? The heart is not turned to his praise.
Beloved let us so live that we can thank God with a good grace all the time. Sound out his praises from pole to pole, make a joyful noise unto the Lord evermore. Serve him with gladness; come before his presence with singing; enter his gates with thanksgivings and into his courts with praise, for the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting and his truth endureth to all generations.'
"O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever." O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.'
"Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord."
"Hosannah! let the earth and skies
Repeat the joyful sound;
Rocks, hills, and vales reflect the voice,
In one eternal round." D. E. NEWTON.
[Ed. Golden Rule.
Lord Hales and the New Testament.
"I was dining," said Dr. Buchanan, "some time ago, with a literary party at old Mr. Abercrombie's, of Tillibody, (the father of Mr. Ralph Abercrombie who was slain in Egypt,) and we spent the evening together. A gentleman present put a question which puzzled the whole company. It was this: Suppose all the New Testaments in the world had been destroyed at the end of the third century, could their contents have been recovered from the writings of three centuries? The question was novel to all, and no one even hazarded a guess in answer to the inquiry.
About two months after this morning, I received an invitation to breakfast with Lord Hales (Sir David Dalrymple) next morning. He had been one of the party. During breakfast, he asked me if I recollected the curious question about the possibility of recovering the contents of the New Testament from the writings of the first three centuries. 'I remember it well, and have thought of it often, without being able to form an opinion on the subject.'
'Well,' said Lord Hales, 'that question quite accorded with the taste of my antiquarian mind. On returning home, as I knew I had all the writers of those centuries, I began immediately to collect them, that I might set at work on the arduous task as soon as possible.' Pointing to a table covered with papers, he said, 'There I have been busy these two months, searching for chapters, half chapters, and sentences of the New Testament, and have marked down what I found and where I found it so that any person may examine and see for himself. I have actually discovered the whole New Testament, except seven or eleven verses, (I forgot which) which satisfies me that I could discover them also. God concealed or hid the treasures of his Word, where Julian, the apostate emperor, and the other enemies of Christ, who wished to extirpate the gospel from the world, never would have thought of, and though they had they never could have effected their destruction!'—Haldane's Memoir.
Great Truths in Small Words.
It is said that the word of God is so plain, that a fool need not err therein, and yet the fool hath said in his heart "there is no God." That is, it is the wish of his heart that there should be no God. He would do what seems to be right in his own eyes, and he will not take the Word of God as a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. Such a man is called in the Book of Psalms,—a fool. Hear what is there said of him!
"Lift not up your horn on high, speak not with a proud neck"—"I have said that ye are gods, but all of you shall die like men." Such proud men now live. They look around on this bright world, so full of life and joy, and they say "All these things came by chance. There is no God!" He has spread out the green grass at their feet, strewed the earth with sweet flowers to fill their hearts with joy, yet they do not say "I will praise the name of God with a song." "It is a good thing to give thanks." They do not thank him, for they still say, "There is no God!" The moon and stars shine by night—their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. But the fool does not hear the voice of God. The sun comes forth in his strength, like a strong man to run a race—the proud man feels that the light is sweet, he is cheered with the beams of the sun, but he shuts out the light of truth from his heart, and his mind is so dark, that he still cries, "There is no God!" Dear child, such a man, though he may be rich in the world's goods and wise in his own eyes, is, in the sight of God,—a fool!
The wise man is one who loves and fears the great God who made all things. The sun as it shines by day, and the moon and stars by night, all speak to him of God. So does the great and wide sea—the grass at his feet—the birds as they skim the air, or sing their songs of praise, each have a voice that seems to say, God made us! It is the pure in heart who thus see God in all his works.
Do you not lift up your heart, dear child, and ask that you may be thus pure? Do you say, "As for me, I will call on my God, and the Lord shall save me"—"I will hear what God, the Lord, will speak"—"Oh God, be not far from me"—"Be thou the guide of my youth"? Oh how sweet it is to have God for a friend!—Sel.
The Prodigies at the Crucifixion of Christ
THE wonderful darkness of the sun at our Lord's death, and the earthquake, is recorded by Phlegon, whom Eusebius calls an excellent computer of the Olympiads.203He says: "Then was a great and wonderful eclipse beyond any that ever happened. The day at the sixth hour, was so far turned into dark night, that the stars appeared, and an earthquake in Bithynia did overthrow many houses in the city of Nice." Now, this darkening of the sun recorded by Phlegon, and that in the holy Evangelist, at our Lord's death, are one and the same, for both happened the same year, viz, the 18th of Tiberius, the same hour, viz, the 6th hour of the day; and a great earthquake made both more memorable. Therefore Tertullian, when pleading the cause of Christians against the heathen, appeals to their public tables and records as witnesses to the fact. Lucianus of Antioch, the martyr, appeals to the archives of Nicomedia, before the president of the city: "Consult," says he "the annals, and you'll find that, in the time of Pilate, while Christ suffered in the middle of the day, the sun did disappear, and chase away the day." 'Tis also observable, that it is reported in the history of China, written by Hadrianus Greslonious, that the Chinese remark—"That at the same time we Christians compute Christ suffered in the month of April, an extraordinary eclipse, beyond the laws and observations of the motions of the planets, then happened; at which event, Quamvutius, the emperor, was very much moved."
Paul’s Plainness in Warning Sin
By Guthrie
WITH what plainness of speech did Paul warn, with what truth and tenderness did he plead! He looks on sinners as a trembling mother on her rash boy, when, hanging half-way over some beetling cliff, he stretches down his hand to pluck from the rock its wild and withering flowers. “As my beloved sons,” Paul cries, “I warn you.” He exhorts Timothy to rebuke “in and out of season.” He eschews those general denunciations of sin that are as little felt as general confessions of it are; that, like little things with broad, blunt points, neither pierce the skin nor penetrate the sore. The apostle enters into particulars. One by one, name by name, sin by sin, he writes out on several occasions the long, black catalogue of prevailing vices. And in these, as if, like the poisoned garment that stuck to Hercules, it could not be plucked from the body of humanity, this vice of drunkenness, the sin, the shame, the weakness of our nation. The world knows that. Other nations taunt us with that. Nor do scenes at home allow me to forget the strange, but stinging remark of a foreigner, who said: “It is a blessed thing for the world that you English are a drunken race. Such are your powers, and energy, and talent, that otherwise you would have become masters of the world.”—Guthrie.
Dying Testimony of a Philosopher.
"ALL human learning is of no avail. Reason must be put out of the question. I reasoned, and debated, and investigated, but I found no PEACE till I came to the GOSPEL as a little child—till I received it as a babe! Then, such a light was shed abroad in my heart, that I saw the whole scheme at once and I found pleasure the most indescribable. I saw that there was no good deed in myself! Though I had spent hours in examining my conduct, I found nothing I had done would give me real satisfaction. It was always mixed up with something selfish! But when I came to the gospel as a child, the Holy Spirit seemed to fill my heart. I then saw my selfishness in all its vivid deformity, and I found there was no acceptance with God, and no happiness EXCEPT THOUGH THE BLESSED RE-DEEMER. I stripped off my own deeds—threw them aside—and went to him naked! He received me as he promised he would, and presented me to the Father. Then I felt joy unspeakable, And ALL fear of Death AT ONCE VANISHED!"—Memoir of Dr. Gordon, by Newman Hall.
MISSIONARY.
By James White
Still we plead for the West. The brethren in Iowa are awake, and ready to do something. The brethren in Wisconsin and Illinois are more numerous and able, and would raise means for missionary labor, some way, if they felt their duty to sustain the cause as they should. Admitting all that may be said in regard to Hard Times, yet they can sustain their ministers and Tent Operations if they try. Let their efforts and sacrifices be in proportion to the Hard Times, and the work is accomplished. The work must not stop, nor be hindered. Bro. Isaac Sanborn writes:
“Bro. Ingraham and I have visited and talked with the brethren North and South, concerning the Tent enterprise, and we neither receive a dollar nor the promise of one, and yet most all would like to have a Tent-meeting in their vicinity, and they would like to have the cause prosper, and they are sorry, &c., &c.
“This reminds me of a circumstance: a man's barn was burning down, and his neighbors said, one after another, ‘I am sorry,’ ‘I am sorry.’ A Quaker stepped up and said, ‘I am sorry ten dollars, and here it is.’ Bro. Ingraham says he is sorry, and will find two horses and harness, and go himself with the Tent. I also will find one horse, and go myself with him, and preach during the Tent season, and charge nothing.
“Brethren, are you sorry ten dollars? or five? or one dollar? Show how much sorrow you have. But some one says, ‘We have not got it by us.’ Well have you made as much effort to get it as you would if you had three hundred dollars at stake, and five would save it, or redeem it? We have more than that at stake, Eternal life! Brethren, you must be aware that we cannot run the Tent without money. It does seem to me that brethren in Ills. and Wis. can raise the means if they will. Now brethren send on your tens, fives, threes, or ones, to the Office, that every thing may be ready to start the Tent by the first of June. We shall watch the receipts. If the money does not come, we shall make other arrangements. Come, brethren, let us take hold of this matter in earnest!”
What an exposure of blindness, nakedness and poverty, is contained in the above extract! If the testimony to the Laodiceans can ever have a fearful application, it must on such a people. What, believe the Third Message, with its dreadful threatening, applicable to this time?—They profess to believe.—And fail to raise the small sum necessary to sustain the cause! What a stain upon the precious cause! God notices the hypocrisy of those whose high profession is denied by their works.
We would say to Brn. Ingraham and Sanborn, Fit out your team and your Tent, and go right out in the name and strength of the God of Elijah, and proclaim the last message of mercy to dying men, and we will send you money as you want it during the Tent season, any where from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dollars, and we will look to the friends of the cause to forward it to us as soon as they can. We believe the message, and fear not to venture. God will sustain it.
We would suggest as the best course, not to go into places where Sabbath-keepers have made a high profession, and by their works have given unmistakable proof that theirs is a dead faith. Go out into the Lord's big harvest field, and be God's free-men, free from the blighting influence of dead faith, and with your own souls baptized with the Holy Spirit, pour forth the burning truth of God, and raise up an army who shall honor the cause, and sustain it. God loves the cheerful giver. He hates that covetous, stingy soul who talks so much about this message, while his works give the lie to his profession. These words may seem harsh, but they are burning within us like fire, and we must let them out. We have too long kept silent. The testimony to the Laodiceans has been given. All felt its force, and vowed to God. Some have been paying their vows, others have fallen back. God has been long-suffering. He has given his people time to develop character. Solemnly, in the light of heaven, we can see nothing for those who are falling back into stupor and covetousness, but the dreadful threatening, ‘I will spue thee out of my mouth.’
Money sent to the Office for the cause is either receipted in the REVIEW, or credit given on our book. As we appropriate, we charge on our book, so that the whole matter is open to the inspection of the Committee. We have not appropriated a dollar to our own personal wants; but have with much reflection and prayer applied what has been put into our hands as the cause seemed to demand. Within the last year we have received of Bro. B. of Vt., $200; of Bro. P. of N. Y., $200; of Bro. H. of Mass., $39.70; besides the many small sums which have been applied to different objects, as receipted in the REVIEW. Much has been accomplished the last two years, and yet much must be done the coming year to meet the wants of the cause. God bless you, brethren. The safest place to deposit your surplus money is in the bank of heaven.
The Moral Law and Human Nature
By Walker
Unless the human soul be an exception, God governs all things by laws adapted to their proper nature. The laws which govern the material world are sketched in the books on natural science, such as gravity, affinity, mathematical motion. Those laws by which the irrational animal creation is controlled are usually called instincts. Their operation and design are sketched to some extent in treatises upon the instincts of animals. Such is the law that leads the beaver to build his den, and all other animals to pursue some particular habits instead of others. Physical law or necessitating instinct would not be adapted in its nature to the government of a rational and moral being. The application of either to the soul would destroy its free agency. God has made man intelligent, and thereby adapted his nature to a rule which he understands. Man has a will and a conscience; but he must understand the rule in order to will obedience, and he must believe the sanction by which the law is maintained before he can feel the obligation upon his conscience. A law, therefore, adapted to man's nature, must be addressed to his understanding—sanctioned by suitable authority; and enforced by adequate penalties.
In accordance with these deductions, God gave the Israelites a rule of life—the moral law—succinctly comprehended in the ten commandments. And as affectionate obedience is the only proper obedience he coupled the facts which were fitted to produce affection with the command to obey; saying I am Jehovah thy God which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage—therefore LOVE ME AND KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.—Walker.
SYSTEMATIC BENEVOLENCE.
By James White
We are more than ever convinced that this is the very thing needed. It is scriptural, reasonable, testing the sincerity of the rich, developing covetousness, and showing the real friends of the cause. This system casts no burden on the poor, and disarms the rich of all reasonable excuse. If it causes them to start back at the large sums it draws on them, it shows them how to make their weekly donations lighter; that is, by reducing their property. A brother writes the 10th:
"The church came together Feb. 20th, and chose a secretary and treasurer. Thirty-eight gave their names and the sums as follows: One brother pays 8 cts per week; one, 20 cents; one, 4; three, 5; six, 10; one, 3; one, 2. Eleven sisters pay each 2 cts. per week; five, 3; one, 1; one, 4; five, 5; four children, one cent each."
"The church voted to send five dollars for Tent operations. There are about twelve dollars in the treasury."
These sums of this poor church are very small indeed, but in one year they amount to $95,16. What are our western brethren doing on this subject? They seem very still. This simple method would raise all the funds necessary to advance the cause in the West. Come, brethren, East, West, North and South, take hold of this matter, and each church will soon have five, or twenty-five dollars to send for missionary purposes.
Let every church in Michigan send up to conference a good report of what they have done on Systematic Benevolence, and something from the treasury for Tent operations in the State. J. W.
Worthy Example.
By James White
THE Toronto Christian Guardian gives the account of a shoemaker who being asked how he contrived to give so much, replied: "It is easily done by obeying St. Paul's precepts, in 1 Cor. xvi, 2, 'Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him.' I earn, said he, one day with another, about a dollar a day, and I can, without inconvenience to myself or family, lay by five cents of this sum for charitable purposes; the amount is thirty cents a week. My wife takes in sewing and washing, and earns something like two dollars a week, and she lays by ten cents of that. My children each of them earn a shilling or two, and are glad to contribute their penny; so that altogether we lay by us in store forty cents a week. And if we have been unusually prospered, we contribute something more. The weekly amount is deposited every Sunday morning in a box kept for that purpose, and reserved for future use. Thus by these small earnings we have learned that 'it is more blessed to give than to receive.' The yearly amount saved in this way, is twenty-five dollars!' and I distribute among the various benevolent societies, according to the best of my judgment."
Will not the friends of Bible truth do as much to advance the Last Message?
J. W.