Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 29, 1882
General Articles.
By Ellen G. White
Importance of Physical Training.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
THE present age is one of unparalleled interest in education. The wide diffusion of knowledge through the agency of the press, placing the means for self-culture within the reach of all, has awakened a general desire for mental improvement.
While we acknowledge with gratitude our increased facilities, we should not close our eyes to the defects in the present system of education. In the eager effort to secure intellectual culture, physical as well as moral training has been neglected. Many youth come forth from institutions of learning with morals debased, and physical powers enfeebled; with no knowledge of practical life, and little strength to perform its duties.
As I have seen these evils, I have inquired, Must our sons and daughters become moral and physical weaklings, in order to obtain an education in the schools? This should not be; it need not be, if teachers and students will but be true to the laws of nature, which are also the laws of God. All the powers of mind and body should be called into active exercise, that the youth may become strong, well-balanced men and women.
Many students are in so great haste to complete their education that they are not thorough in anything which they undertake. Few have sufficient courage and self-control to act from principle. Most students fail to understand the true object of education, and hence fail to take such a course as to secure this object. They apply themselves to the study of mathematics or the languages, while they neglect a study far more essential to the happiness and success of life. Many who can explore the depths of the earth with the geologist, or traverse the heavens with the astronomer, show not the slightest interest in the wonderful mechanism of their own bodies. Others can tell just how many bones there are in the human frame, and correctly describe every organ of the body, and yet they are as ignorant of the laws of health, and the cure of disease, as though life were controlled by blind fate, instead of definite and unvarying law.
Physical health lies at the very foundation of all the student's ambitions and his hopes. Hence the pre-eminent importance of gaining a knowledge of those laws by which health is secured and preserved. Every youth should learn how to regulate his dietetic habits,—what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat. He should learn how many hours to give to study, and how much time to spend in physical exercise. The human body may be compared to nicely-adjusted machinery, which needs care to keep it in running order. One part should not be subjected to constant wear and pressure, while another part is rusting from inaction. While the mind is tasked, the muscles also should have their proportion of exercise.
The proper regulation of his habits of eating, sleeping, study, and exercise, is a duty which every student owes to himself, to society, and to God. The education which will make the young a blessing to the world, is that which enables them to attain a true and noble manhood or womanhood. That student who is studying hard, sleeping little, exercising little, and eating irregularly of an improper or inferior quality of food, is obtaining mental training at the expense of health and morals, of spirituality, and, it may be, of life.
The young naturally desire activity, and if they find no legitimate scope for their pent-up energies after the confinement of the school-room, they become restless and impatient of control, and thus are led to engage in the rude, unmanly sports that disgrace so many schools and colleges, and even to plunge into scenes of actual dissipation. Many of the youth who left their homes innocent, are corrupted by their associations at school.
Every institution of learning should make provision for the study and practice of agriculture and the mechanic arts. Competent teachers should be employed to instruct the youth in the various industrial pursuits, as well as in the several branches of study. While a part of each day is devoted to mental improvement, let a stated portion be given to physical labor, and a suitable time to devotional exercises and the study of the Scriptures.
This training would encourage habits of self-reliance, firmness, and decision. Graduates of such institutions would be prepared to engage successfully in the practical duties of life. They would have courage and perseverance to surmount obstacles, and firmness of principle that would not yield to evil influences.
If the youth can have but a one-sided education, which is of the greatest importance, the study of the sciences, with all the disadvantages to health and morals, or a thorough training in practical duties, with sound morals and good physical development? We unhesitatingly say, the latter. But with proper effort both may, in most cases, be secured.
Those who combine useful labor with study have no need of gymnastic exercises. And work performed in the open air is ten-fold more beneficial to health than in-door labor. Both the mechanic and the farmer have physical exercise, yet the farmer is the healthier of the two. Nothing short of nature's invigorating air and sunshine will fully meet the demands of the system. The tiller of the soil finds in his labor all the movements that were ever practiced in the gymnasium. His movement-room is the open fields. The canopy of heaven is its roof, the solid earth its floor. Here he plows and hoes, sows and reaps. Watch him, as in "haying time" he mows and rakes, pitches and tumbles, lifts and loads, throws off, treads down, and stows away. These various movements call into action the bones, joints, muscles, sinews, and nerves of the body. His vigorous exercise causes full, deep, strong inspirations and exhalations, which expand the lungs and purify the blood, sending the warm current of life bounding through arteries and veins. A farmer who is temperate in all his habits, usually enjoys health. His work is pleasant to him. He has a good appetite. He sleeps well, and may be happy.
Contrast the condition of the active farmer with that of the student who neglects physical exercise. He sits in a close room, bending over his desk or table, his chest contracted, his lungs crowded. He cannot take full, deep inspirations. His brain is tasked to the utmost, while his body is as inactive as though he had no particular use for it. His blood moves sluggishly through the system. His feet are cold, his head hot. How can such a person have health?
Let the student take regular exercise that will cause him to breathe deep and full, taking into his lungs the pure, invigorating air of heaven, and he will be a new being. It is not hard study that is destroying the health of students, so much as it is their disregard of nature's laws.
In institutions of learning, experienced teachers should be employed to instruct young ladies in the mysteries of the kitchen. A knowledge of domestic duties is beyond price to every woman. There are families without number whose happiness is wrecked by the inefficiency of the wife and mother. It is not so important that our daughters learn painting, fancy work, music, or even "cube root," or the figures of rhetoric, as that they learn how to cut, make, and mend their own clothing, or to prepare food in a wholesome and palatable manner. When a little girl is nine or ten years old, she should be required to take her regular share in household duties, as she is able, and should be held responsible for the manner in which she does her work. That was a wise father, who, when asked what he intended to do with his daughters, replied, "I intend to apprentice them to their excellent mother, that they may learn the art of improving time, and be fitted to become wives and mothers, heads of families, and useful members of society."
Washing clothes upon the old-fashioned rubbing-board, sweeping, dusting, and a variety of other duties in the kitchen and the garden, will be valuable exercise for young ladies. Such useful labor will supply the place of croquet, archery, dancing, and other amusements which benefit no one.
Many ladies, accounted well-educated, having graduated with honors at some institution of learning, are shamefully ignorant of the practical duties of life. They are destitute of the qualifications necessary for the proper regulation of the family, and hence essential to its happiness. They may talk of woman's elevated sphere, and of her rights, yet they themselves fall far below the true sphere of woman. It is the right of every daughter of Eve to have a thorough knowledge of household duties, to receive training in every department of domestic labor. Every young lady should be so educated that if called to fill the position of wife and mother, she may preside as a queen in her own domain. She should be fully competent to guide and instruct her children and to direct her servants, or, if need be, to minister with her own hands to the wants of her household. It is her right to understand the mechanism of the human body and the principles of hygiene, the matters of diet and dress, labor and recreation, and countless others that intimately concern the well-being of her household. It is her right to obtain such a knowledge of the best methods of treating disease that she can care for her children in sickness, instead of leaving her precious treasures in the hands of stranger nurses and physicians.290
The idea that ignorance of useful employment is an essential characteristic of the true gentleman or lady, is contrary to the design of God in the creation of man. Idleness is a sin, and ignorance of common duties is the result of folly, which after-life will give ample occasion to bitterly regret.
Those who make it their rule of life to serve and honor God will give heed to the apostle's injunction, "Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Such students will preserve their integrity in the face of temptation, and will come from school with well-developed intellects, and with health of body and health of soul.
JUXTA CRUCEM.
By Horatius Bonar
FROM the cross the blood is falling,
And to us a voice is calling
Like a trumpet silver-clear.
'Tis the voice announcing pardon,
"It is finished," is its burden,
Pardon to the far and near.
Peace that precious blood is sealing,
All our wounds forever healing,
And removing every load;
Words of peace that voice has spoken,
Peace that shall no more be broken,
Peace between the soul and God.
Love, its fullness there unfolding,
Stand we here in joy beholding,
To the exiled sons of men;
Love, the gladness past all naming,
Of an open Heaven proclaiming,
Love that bids us enter in.
"God is Love"—we read the writing,
Traced so deeply to the smiting
Of the glorious Surety there.
"God is Light"—we see it beaming,
Like a heavenly dayspring gleaming,
So divinely sweet and fair.
Cross of shame, yet tree of glory,
Round thee winds the one great story
Of this ever-changing earth;
Center of the true and holy,
Grave of human sin and folly,
Womb of nature's second birth.
—Horatius Bonar.
The Promise Made to Abraham.
By John N. Loughborough
BY ELD. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
As proof of a future inheritance of the saints on the earth, we will notice the promise the Lord made to Abraham. St. Paul speaks of this promise as one of the firm assurances of future hope; and, because it was confirmed to Abraham by the oath of God, we may derive strong consolation from it, as it rests on "two immutable things." The two immutables being the word of God, and the oath of God.
Those who say we have nothing to do with the teachings of the Old Testament, and that our instruction in divine things is to be received from the New Testament only, may think it strange that we should go so far back as to Abraham for proof on so important a question as the future inheritance of the saints. Why not go there? St. Paul says that God "preached before the gospel unto Abraham." If the gospel was preached to him, and if we wish to grasp gospel truth in its entirety, it may be profitable for us to peruse those gospel instructions delivered to him.
In making the promise, "the Lord said unto Abraham, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever."
The Lord made also a covenant with Abraham concerning the land of promise, and when about to confirm that covenant he said to him, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age."
That these promises did not relate to anything Abraham was to receive in his lifetime is evident from the words of Stephen. When speaking of the sojourn of Abraham in the land of Canaan, he says that the Lord "gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on."
It could not be simply a temporary possession of the land promised Abraham for the Lord told him he should have it "forever," and "for an everlasting possession." Admitting that the terms forever and everlasting are sometimes used in a limited sense, we cannot so regard them in this case. The everlasting is not limited by Abraham's life-time; it is the possession that is to be everlasting. Had he received it in his life-time we should find him still on the land, for the land still exists. St. Paul says "God called him to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance."
Of the covenant the Lord made with Abraham we read, "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect, and I will make my covenant between me and thee." This charge given to Abraham, as we learn by the marginal reading of the text, was to "be upright, or sincere." Uprightness and sincerity can only be developed by those who, by the grace of God working in them, yield obedience to his perfect law. That being the case the conditions of receiving the inheritance is obedience to the law of God. The blessing of the covenant is stated in verse 8, "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession."
The promise made to Abraham was renewed to Isaac. The Lord said to him, "Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee, . . . . and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
This promise to Abraham and Isaac was confirmed to Jacob, while sleeping at Bethel with a stone for his pillow. He had a dream of a ladder extending from earth to heaven, with angels of God ascending and descending upon it, "And behold the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land wherein thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed."
We now inquire concerning this Abrahamic promise, was it, as some assert, all accomplished when the children of Israel went into the land of Canaan? Was this simply a promise that Abraham should have a temporal possession of the land? If so, the promise failed; for he died "in a good old age," and the Lord "gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on." We shall not admit that he did not receive it in his life-time because God failed, on his part, to fulfill his promise; but, the promise made to him of a possession will yet be accomplished, and fully realized, in a future possession of the earth. St. Paul says that Abraham sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country." It is vain for men to seek for the final accomplishment of these promises in the past, either to Abraham or his posterity. Simply a temporary possession of the land of Canaan does not meet the case; for St. Paul says that the promise to Abraham, was that "he should be heir of the world."
We may gain clearer light on the nature of the Abrahamic promise by a perusal of St. Paul's comment upon it. He says, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." If the seed to whom the promise was made is Christ, then the promise could not be fulfilled prior to the coming of that seed, consequently, not prior to the first advent of Christ. So we see there is no just ground for the claim that the promise to Abraham was all fulfilled when the children of Israel sojourned in the land of Canaan. What God predicted concerning their sojourn was fulfilled to that extent, that "there failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel." But were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with them when they went in to possess the land? No. "They carried up Joseph's bones." Here then were four generations, at least, that did not receive the land while alive, and yet the Lord said to Abraham, "I will give it [the land] to thee." To Isaac, he said, "For unto thee I will give all these countries." To Jacob, he said, "The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it." If we give due weight to these words, we must conclude that when these promises are fulfilled, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be there personally, with the rest of God's people, to possess the land.
Although Christ is the seed to whom the promise was made, to the church of God has been granted the privilege of joint heirship with Christ. St. Paul says, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." Christ's children could not be said to be heirs of a promise if that promise were already fulfilled. Jews, after the flesh, are not heirs of the final inheritance in Christ simply because they are descendants of Abraham; but, as expressed by St. Paul, "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
In his epistle to the Hebrews, St. Paul has an interesting testimony concerning Abraham. He says, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned291in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." "By faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
In one of these testimonies we see that God never intended Abraham and his seed being heirs of the land of Canaan as receiving the final fulfillment of it. It is the obvious meaning of the text. But some may say, "Was not the promise made to the Saviour and his literal seed the same as the promise made to Abraham?" No, not to the true seed, which is Christ, who is the heir of the inheritance; with him is associated the church, the land of promise, and the world are for the heirs. The promise to the spiritual seed comes. The promise is made to the seed people, "O Lord, thy dwelling place in all successive generations." "The throne of David is the throne of the world."
In this testimony to the Hebrews, St. Paul mentions the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would fail to inherit the land if it was to be accomplished in their lifetime. He simply says, "These all died in faith." But if we report that they died without receiving it, when God having given them the land, how could they without faith? It is impossible that God fail to fulfill his promise. We must conclude to a future inheritance. The promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is for the future inheritance. The "better country" is the land of promise. If something better is to be given to us in the future, we should receive it. "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off." The "better country" is the land of promise. If something better is to be given to us in the future, we should receive it. "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." The promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is for the future inheritance. The "better country" is the land of promise. If something better is to be given to us in the future, we should receive it.
The apostle, in his speech before Agrippa, mentioning these things, says, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come." Here is a direct reference to the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul says, "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." And so, as expressed by St. Paul, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." Christ's children could not be said to be heirs of a promise if that promise were already fulfilled. Jews, after the flesh, are not heirs of the final inheritance in Christ simply because they are descendants of Abraham; but, as expressed by St. Paul, "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."
The apostle, in his speech before Agrippa, mentions these things, saying, "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead." He is willing to be judged for his hope relative to the promise to the fathers. He saw that the people would inquire how Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could receive this promise if they were dead; so he inquires why they should think the resurrection incredible. It would be strange indeed if St. Paul should submit himself to be judged in a Roman court, liable to be condemned to death, because of a hope inspired by a promise that was all fulfilled. It is evident from this text that the apostle designed to teach that the fulfillment of this promise is beyond the resurrection. The evidence is most conclusive that the Abrahamic promise reaches to the new-earth state.
Revival Work—Causes of its Inefficiency
By G. D. Ballou
BY ELD. G. D. BALLOU.
It is often a source of remark and wonder to many good orthodox church-going people, as well as others, that revival preaching is so powerless to convert sinners, and when once converted to keep them so. It certainly is a lamentable fact, that so few of the many who seem to accept the offers of mercy, and make a public profession of faith in Christ, remain faithful to their profession to the end of a twelvemonth. Probably not more than one in ten of the reported conversions prove permanent, and work out such a reformation of life as to show that the person was genuinely converted. Recently, in a village where I was acquainted, there had been a revival, and forty conversions were reported. The minister who had charge of the effort, boasted publicly of what a glorious revival they had experienced, and what a rich harvest of precious souls had been gathered into the fold. But at the same time he remarked privately that if eight of the forty remained faithful it would be all he could expect. Such an admission under such circumstances was indeed humiliating. Such a state of things can not but make one think of what the prophet says, "They have begotten strange children; now shall a month devour them with their portions." Hosea 5:7.
It would seem that there ought to be some remedy for this state of things, for certainly the gospel of Christ has not lost its power, nor has God ordained that such unsatisfactory and pitiable results should follow the teaching of the plain, simple truths of his word. It certainly was not so in early times. Christ once said, "The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." The truth of his words is well illustrated when we compare the methods used in revival work, with the methods used in the other affairs of life. The shrewd business man works by a well-planned system. Days, weeks, and months of careful thinking are incorporated into his occupation. He builds his success on thought and knowledge; so with the true teacher. His effort is to stimulate thought and advance the pupil in knowledge. He imparts instruction in the most natural way, so that each new thought awakened grows out of, or depends on, those previously developed.
So it ought to be in teaching the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Earnest thought should be aroused, and a thorough knowledge of moral obligation, and of the hope set forth in the promises and prophecies, should be imparted. God has given the intellect to lead and govern our other powers, and he calls upon us to reason with him in regard to obedience and penitence, and his power to pardon. Isa. 1:18. He has planted the affections and emotions in our natures, to encourage and give force to the decisions of the intellect. He has adapted his word to our wants, by filling it chiefly with instruction designed as a basis for faith, with here and there an exhortation intended to stir the affections and emotions, and lead us to activity and zeal in his service. One who has never thought of this matter will be surprised by the very small proportion of exhortatory scripture the Bible contains, as compared with that which is especially intended to teach our relations to God, and make known to us his revealed will. I have often heard church-going people talk something like this: "I have been to church regularly for the last six months, and I do not see as I have learned anything about the Bible. I think if I had staid at home and read the book alone, I would have been better informed than I am." Such expressions coming from persons of integrity are a sad comment on the religious instruction of these days.
The fault with preaching in general is that it does not reach the mind. Especially is it true in revival work, that from first to last the appeal is made entirely to the feelings and emotions. If a man is really converted he must be thoroughly converted. His mind must first be convinced, and then his feelings may be legitimately wrought upon. But the great effort seems to be to move the feelings. When this is accomplished and the poor, trembling candidate has expressed a desire to become a Christian, he is pronounced converted. The work is complete according to the popular notion. Feeling, when it reaches a certain depth and stirs up a certain degree of excitement, is mysteriously transformed into pure and undefiled religion. And so the masses refuse to be converted, until some unaccountable sensation shall sieze and instantaneously transform them, without effort on their part, to lives of purity and holiness. Hence it is that the man who can control the feelings of his audience and sway them at will, is in such demand when a revival is wanted.
An intelligent, well-founded conversion, one which imparts the ability to give a reason of one's hope, costs something of an effort. Prov. 2. Close thought and application of the mind are distasteful to the majority. Most people like to have their feelings stirred to the depths; they love to be excited and thrilled; they love to be carried in imagination to the brink of the precipice, and held out over the yawning abyss, and then be miraculously rescued. This style of preaching, which is largely in demand, partakes too much of the character of novel-reading. When the preacher is gone, the excitement rapidly subsides, and their sentimental religion evaporates like fog before the morning sun. All religious exercises become dull and prosy, and soon the individual is in a worse condition than before. Nothing short of a greater excitement than the first will suffice to arouse him from the stupor into which he has fallen. Is it any wonder that sensible people withhold their sympathies and support from the churches, when they see such inconsistent proceedings?
The best place to exercise common sense is in religious matters, and nothing can show better judgment than trying to instruct people in regard to the plan of salvation, before urging them to accept of its offers. And yet there is a sentiment against teaching doctrines, and trying to show the harmony of the Scriptures. "Away with your doctrines," is the popular cry. We would like to know how men and women can be converted to the gospel, so long as they regard the Bible as mysterious and contradictory. And how can the church expect to convert the world, even a single soul, so long as they teach that much of the word cannot be explained. Has not the time come for thinking people to send up a cry for more instruction, more knowledge, more light, and less of shallow sentimentalism?
Another element which is sapping the foundations of practical Christianity is the perpetual call, "Get ready to die." It seems to be the end of all teaching and exhortation. This is a gross mistake. Our being ready to die depends entirely on how we have lived. Hence we say, get ready to live, and you will thus be prepared to die. It is true we are not fit to live. To live right is the important thing. Dying right will take care of itself. We are not to be judged by our happy or gloomy feelings at death, but by our actions in life. If our lives are such as God can approve, we need not be concerned about our departure. The most pernicious effects are seen as the fruit of this popular exhortation. It blights and withers the noble thoughts that would lead us to a consistent Christian life, by causing us to overlook practical duties, and center our chief thoughts on the death-bed scene, hoping that by some means we may be allowed a happy, triumphant departure.
This subordinating everything to a preparation for death leads sinners to fatal procrastination. If it is the important thing, why may they not run riot as long as possible, and then use the last few minutes in sorrow and contrition, and thus, in accordance with funeral theology make their accounts all right with God? But the weakness of this idea is still more apparent, when we consider that the Bible says not one word in all its pages about any special moral or spiritual preparation for death. On the other hand the whole tenor of its teaching would lead men to carefulness in their daily life. Here are some of its injunctions: "Walk while ye have the light;" "To-day if ye will hear his voice harden not your heart;" "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth;" "Live soberly, righteously, and godly."
We find many rules to live by; not one to die by. Living right is the important thing, and our future will depend on how we have used this life, not on a few forced, spasmodic efforts on the brink of the grave. The Christian whose life has been in accordance with the instruction of God's word, does not look down into death for any consolation; his faith carries him beyond, over into that life eternal, which is promised to the righteous. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." To be a child of God is the great privilege of every one. May we not hope that the truth and light may yet be made to shine so that darkness and error may be swept away from the minds of the honest in heart, and they be made to realize that it is better to be built up in the truth, than to be simply stirred up by it?
Off and On Christians.
By Bene-Berak
WE hear some queer experiences in our prayer-meetings. I shall allude to only one now, and simply to a single expression. One of the brethren commenced his experience with the remark: "I’ve been a Christian, off and on, for nigh thirty years." We hardly think he meant just what he said, but he told the truth for a good many professors of religion. His expression was the exemplified creed of a representative class. There are too many off and on Christians in all our churches. They are not peculiar to California or to our day. As far back as the days of Christ, they existed. They belong to the hot and cold sect. Special means of grace always bring them to the front. They think active religious work for a few weeks fully atones for years of subsequent masterly inactivity. They carry this spasmodic character into all the departments of their church life. They are the most barren disciples who attempt to follow the Saviour. They are the poorest co-workers that the pastor has, and everyone who knows anything about church work, knows how much that means; and after a second and sober thought, we do not propose to take it back or to modify it in any form. What God wants, what the church wants, and what every pastor wants, are reliable, every-day Christians. Comet disciples do no good, but much harm. Their eccentricities bring them and their profession into disrepute. Religion is not an effervescence, it is a reality. Those who profess it should exemplify it by a consistent walk and conversation. A genius may dazzle by his brilliancy, but the crop is not large and is thoroughly unreliable. The steady plodders in church life, like the steady plodders in every other kind of life, are the people who do the most for Christ and his kingdom. They are the salt of the earth.—Bene-Berak, in Herald of Truth.
A Wonderful Clock.
THE most astonishing thing I ever heard of in the way of a time-piece is a clock described by a Hindoo rajah as belonging to a native princess of Upper India, and jealously guarded as the rarest treasure of her luxurious palace.
In front of the clock's disk was a gong, swung upon poles, and near it was a pile of artificial human limbs. The pile was made up of the full number of parts for twelve perfect bodies, but all lay heaped together in seeming confusion.
Whenever the hands of the clock indicated the hour of one, out from the pile crawled just the number of parts needed to form the frame of one man, part joining itself to part with a quick metallic click; and when completed the figure sprang up, siezed a mallet, and walking up to the gong, struck one blow that sent the sound pealing through every room and corridor of that stately castle. This done, he returned to the pile and fell to pieces again. When two o'clock, two men arose and did likewise; and so through all the day, the number of figures being the same as the number of the hour, till at noon and midnight the entire heap sprang up, and marching to the gong, struck one after another, each his blow, making twelve in all, and then fell to pieces again.