p. 15 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 6. (2/11/1913)

Homesickness — No. 3

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

“GET thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee.”

It was unmistakably the voice of the Almighty. The man of simple faith must have been well acquainted with that voice before; and he had already learned to obey. But let me tell you, that command caused a tremendous sensation in the camp of Abraham. It meant something to him to leave all his family ties behind, and set out for a strange country — a stranger in a strange land. I suppose it would have been easy to have argued that he was very well fixed as it was — very comfortably located. His relatives were all about him, and he was prospering. But the command was imperative. And as if the Lord anticipated the natural objections which might be raised by the loved ones whom he was to leave, He says, “From thy country and from thy kindred.”

We may be sure that this command implied a tremendous sacrifice. But finally they were ready. The flocks and the herds all on foot; the packing all done; the sad farewells all said.

“Well,” says somebody, “I don't see anything so very sad about all that; probably Abraham knew that he was going to a better place than Haran.”

Ah, he went out, “not knowing whither he went.” It took a good deal of faith to do that. He asked no questions as to whether he could make a good living or not, or whether the new country would be hot or cold, wet or dry. It was enough that he heard the voice of Jehovah.

But the weary caravan hardly had opportunity to settle down, before a dreadful famine consumed the country. Starvation and death on every hand! Skeleton forms and pinched faces and hollow eyes! Do you suppose that Abraham knew no pangs of homesickness all this time? Do you suppose that he drew no mental comparisons between that famine-pinched country and the dear home land he had left behind?

But with Abraham it was not a question of desire or of homesickness; it was not a question of money-making or of property-getting. These things weighed nothing in comparison to his conviction of duty. Obedience was more to him than even life itself.

Passing on a few years in the sacred history, we read the strangely fascinating narrative of Jacob. His mother's best loved son, humored and petted as he was, he must have developed a great love for his home, and perhaps, especially, toward his fond and doting mother. But as the logical outcome of a deed of selfishness and fraud, suggested and urged upon him by that mistaken and misguided mother, we see the tenderly reared and home loving young man, a lonely wanderer in a strange and barren land. We see him lying down at night, weary and homesick, under strange skies, with his staff by his side, and a cold rock for his bolster instead of the soft pillow to which he had always been accustomed. But the eye of the pitying God is upon him, as with aching heart full of thoughts of the dear home land and the fond mother, he lies down to rest.

We remember the beautiful story of the angels that came to him that night in his dream. O, I tell you, that if ever the angels from the glory land are needed, it is when a man is downright homesick, and I believe that if ever they are commissioned to “fly swiftly” on one errand of mercy above another, it is to hasten to the relief and comfort and encouragement of the lonesome stranger in a strange land. And that brings us to a brief consideration of this thought: we ought to be wonderfully kind and tender toward the stranger.

But are we? Have we been?

We meet them everywhere,—in the cars, on the boats, in the streets. We jostle them rudely with our elbows, and stare at their peculiar and foreign dress as persistently as if we had forgotten that we are all brothers, and that from one blood hath He made all the inhabitants of the earth, and expressly declared that He has fashioned their hearts alike.

O, I wonder why we forget this so often. When we realize very well that our own hearts cry out for sympathy and love and good will and appreciation, what is the reason that we are so slow about giving them freely to the strangers who throng our pathway?

Well, of course, it is only natural to forget the stranger, when we can not even remember to be kind and loving and tender toward our very own.

Stand with me on the crowded street, and watch the different forms and faces that pass us for a little while. What a motley throng! Sad faces and glad faces and bright eyes and dim eyes and sad eyes and tired eyes and furrowed brows and faded cheeks; people who go hobbling along as best they can on one leg; wretched cripples and ragged newsboys, jostling, hurrying, pushing, scrambling; touching elbows with the woman of fashion, the pompous millionaire, the drunken reveler, and the shameless prostitute,—all hurrying somewhere. Some hastening on deeds of love and mercy; some on selfish, lustful, cruel errands. Each heart beating with its own anxieties, its own sorrows, its own hopes; each bosom throbbing with its own haunting fear,—and for every one of these, has an infinite price been paid — an infinite Sacrifice been offered.

Ah, there is a lesson here for us all to learn. Believe me, it is high time to learn it,—to learn that the sorrowing world needs sympathy and k i n d n e s s,—friend and stranger alike.

Each heart has its own homesick corner. With some it is a wayward son or daughter; with some it is cruel poverty; with others it is disappointed hopes and ambitions; and alas, with some it is a haunting fear of the discovery of some awful crime committed in the darkness of the past, the awful memory of which robs the soul of peace. Men and women may be brave, and struggle manfully to hide it; but ah, there come times in the lives of all of us when we are hungry for human love and sympathy; for how true it is that “underneath the merriest smile may dwell the saddest heart.”

Satan Goes to Church

By Rusticus

HOW do I know it? I read about it in the Bible. You turn to the book of Job, and you will learn that when, on a certain day, the sons of God came to present themselves before Him, Satan came also among them. I take it, that coming to present themselves before the Lord means coming to church, and that what Satan did then, he does still. Indeed, the Saviour says so in His parable of the sower. Look at Mark 4:15: “Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.” The word is sown in the church, and if Satan takes it away immediately, he must be there. If he waited until the hearers got home, it might be too late—the seed might have got rooted. Satan never takes any chances in his business. He is always on hand when there is anything to be done in his line. In this respect, he sets us a good example. I don’t believe he enjoys going to church, tho they don’t talk about him there as much as they used to. But it must annoy him to hear them sing the praises of Jesus. Yet he goes, just as General Grant went to Vicksburg. If he can capture the congregation that worships there, he has taken a stronghold. Satan would be happier in the saloons on the Sabbath. But he is not needed there. He has agents in them who understand their business, and the people who go to them don’t need any evil spirits but those that the barkeeper furnishes. So Satan leaves the saloons to run themselves, and goes to church.

And what does Satan do in church? If the morning is close and sultry, he comes early, and interviews the sexton. He persuades him that it isn’t best to open the windows and ventilate the room, for old Mr. Chilly complained of the draft last Sunday. Satan don’t care how hot it is. If he can make the house uncomfortable, he has half killed the sermon in advance.

Satan turns from the sexton to the ushers. He has been around by Mr. Pompous’ mansion, and knows that he is coming to church that day (he comes about once a month), and that he is going to bring some distinguished visitors. So Satan persuades the ushers to fill up Mr. Pompous’ pew with a lot of paupers, under the impression that he is out of town. Mr. Pompous will come in late, and be as mad as a bull. The sermon won’t have any chance at all with him, or with the paupers in his pew either.

When the minister enters, the invisible gentleman from the lower regions steps lightly into the pulpit and whispers in his ear: “The rich Mr. Jones and the fashionable Mrs. Smith are here. You don’t want them to give up their pews; so don’t say anything to offend them. Keep those sharp things about riches and fashion for the

weekly prayer-meeting. They’ll not be there.”

Having fixed up the sexton, the ushers, and the minister, Satan looks over the congregation with the eye of a general, and sees all the strategic points. There is Mrs. Money-bags in a new bonnet. He hastens to call the attention of a dozen ladies to it. He sets them to studying its ribbons and roses, to calculating its probable cost, and considering how they can raise money enough to get one like it. There is a strange gentleman with Miss Sally Soft. Can it be the beau from the city that she is said to be engaged to? Satan suggests this to a dozen young ladies, who are awfully jealous of Miss Sally, and not one of them will hear a word that the minister says.

Satan has read the morning paper. He knows that Deacon Doane has too, on the sly. He knows that the deacon has been dabbling in stocks, and that there are some startling quotations in the paper. So he buzzes about the good man’s ears like a bee, humming “Ophir,” “Eureka,” “Yellow Jacket,” etc., until he has drowned the minister’s voice, and completely spoiled his sermon.

The invisible visitor knows that Miss Soprano in the congregation thinks herself a better singer than Miss Soprano in the choir. So he keeps close to her during the music, and says: “There, hear that—she flatted, and now she slurred; and see how vain she looks, as if she really had a voice, and knew how to sing.” Miss Soprano in the pew has something else to think about besides the sermon.

Mr. Critic is nudged by Satan when the minister has said “Phara-oh” instead of “Pharo.” And as that Egyptian king hardened his heart against Moses, so Mr. Critic hardens his heart against the truth, on account of the mispronunciation of a word, and the rest of the sermon does him no good.

So all through the services Satan is busy. He knows just where to go, and just what to say. He could spoil the best sermon that was ever preached if there was not a mightier Spirit who counteracts his influence. The Holy Spirit can make the word quick and powerful in spite of the wiles of the devil. We ought then to pray earnestly for His presence in the sanctuary.—Rusticus, in Occident.

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Co-operation Corner

By Editor

Helping Together

THERE are constantly coming to this office requests for this paper for (1) those who are poor and unable to take the paper; (2) for mission work among prisoners and others otherwise confined or secluded; (3) for public reading-rooms; (4) for general missionary work in foreign fields by our missionaries; (5) for general missionary work in various phases. Sometimes there are calls for tracts in foreign languages as well as English. It is not possible for the publishing house to meet all these requests. Publications are sometimes published at a loss to the house. We felt sure that many more of our readers would be glad to help us in this work. Thus may we bring together those who have no time or opportunity to do missionary work, but who are able to help others who have the time and opportunity, but not the means. Who will contribute to our Coöperation Fund?

Helps on the Immortality Question

We would recommend as a brief help in study of the immortality question, “Is Man Immortal?” Apples of Gold Library, No. 86. Single copy, 2 cents, post-paid; $1.00 a hundred. This office.

Those who are making an investigation of the Bible teaching on immortality should secure the tract “Thoughts for the Candid,” Bible Students’ Library, 47. Single copy, post-paid, 2 cents; 50 cents a hundred. This office.

Immortality

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A Belittling of Humanity.—

According to the Cincinnati Post, a pug-dog named “Monkey” was buried a short time ago in that city. We will not give the name of the man who owned the dog. Four veterinary doctors were in attendance, but the dog died of old age, in spite of the doctors. More than $3,000 has been spent for his comfort and health during the last twelve years, and in the last three months it is said that the four doctors were in almost constant attendance. The body was laid in a costly casket, and the hearse carried the casket to Price Hill. Twenty carriages were in the cortege, and the Humane Society delivered addresses.—The dog’s body lay in state until the hour of the funeral, and scores of visitors, we are told, called to see him. During its life the dog slept between blankets, with a pillow for its head; and we do not suppose that he had any greater joy or comfort than the cur in the streets. It is just such things as these that rouse the implacable enmity and hatred of those whose children oftentimes are wanting the very necessities of life.

It is said that there are, between ten and fifteen years of age, 1,752,157 children working, and that this does not include the newsboys and bootblacks who attend school, nor other thousands of children who are employed in tenement house manufacturing. In thousands of these cases there certainly is great need of reform. But as long as the greed of men rules the world, humanity will be reckoned as less than dollars and cents. Think of growing children working from 4:30 A.M. till 11 P.M.! It is inhuman.

There Is a Reason for It.—

The Keswick Magazine of India says: “One of the foremost causes of success of the missionary is his burning zeal for his religion. He believes in his message. He has left parents, his friends, and his native land, to spread his gospel. . . . Our young men can have no idea of the sacrifices these people undergo. They accept exile for the sake of their religion. They work day and night like coolies in a country thousands of miles from their home. . . . They live solely for Christianity.” And he declares, “Give me such workers, and I will Hinduize the world in a decade.” But this Hindu does not understand that he never could have such workers to Hinduize the world. It is the spirit of Jesus Christ, the life from above, that moves missionaries, and Hinduism knows nothing of this.

Rome on the Potomac

By Editor

“Rome on the Potomac.”—We print elsewhere a striking article, with the above title, by Mr. G. Lawson Smith, who has given months of study to his subject, and who declares that the statements in his article may be relied upon. We need not say that we do not anticipate the removal of the papal headquarters from Rome to Washington. Prophecy to us clearly teaches otherwise, but the progress of the Papacy in this country, her hold upon matters in and around the capital of the country, are facts which ought to stir to the depths the lover of liberty. In all her work we freely admit that the Roman Catholic Church is consistent with her creed. Believing as do her followers, they must work as they do. But we believe their theory of church-and-state union to be utterly and absolutely wrong and inimical to religious and civil freedom. The only way to meet this is not by abuse or by the same weapons and means Rome uses, but by the freedom and power of the gospel.

The Balkan Situation

Just as we are going to press, the Balkan peace delegates have broken off negotiations, and say that war will be resumed in four days. After receiving the note announcing the termination of their council, Rechad Pasha said:

“The consequences may be of the gravest nature. The responsibility lies not alone with the allies, but with the powers, who encouraged the Balkan States and have shown no fairness toward Turkey, altho before the war they had proclaimed solemnly the principle of the unchangeability of the status quo.”

In a speech at the Teutonic Club's annual dinner in honor of Emperor William's birthday, the German ambassador to Turkey gave notice to all concerned that Germany's attitude would be, “Hands off all the Turkish possessions in Asia.”

The war-pot continues to boil stronger and stronger, but an unseen hand is holding things so that the seething volcano of strife can not break out. God, in His prophetic Word, has given the definite promise that in this very time when the nations are “angry” and are preparing for “Armageddon,” He will hold the winds of war till all the world has the opportunity of hearing the welcome news that Jesus is about to come to this earth the second time.

An Illustration

Mr. Tufts, author of the Sunday bill now before the California legislature, complained last year when we declared that a Sunday law placed a tax of 16 2-3 per cent upon the observer of another day. After observing religiously his own day, the Sunday law demands that he shall observe another day, and lose one sixth of his time—16 2-3 per cent—solely in deference to the religious views of the Sunday law people. It is therefore unequal and unjust.

But Mr. Tufts declares that the law exempts certain classes. But it exempts no observers of another day who do not belong to some organized society of kindred views. And further, Mr. Tufts' Sunday law coworkers in Washington have succeeded in setting aside the Johnston Sunday bill which granted an exemption, and inducing him to accept a substitute which grants no exemption whatever. Such is the ultimate object of Sunday law promoters. The “mild law” which Mr. Tufts and his coworkers are endeavoring to press upon the people of California, is but an opening wedge to more and more restrictive measures. Let our legislators reject it forever.

Conditions in Society.—

We referred, not long ago, to what Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish, society leader in New York, said regarding the classes in America. She feels that the salvation of the country lies in the fact that we have a great middle class—a sane, sensible, unprejudiced middle class—who can solve our problems for us if they will. But as things are going now, the middle class is fast vanishing, and men are taking sides one way or the other between the two classes. Mrs. Fish also sees another great danger, and that is that the country is almost without standards. They have departed from God’s great standard—His holy law. She also spoke of the low, bestial dances which are coming into society. She was asked if she had noticed that they had changed. “Have I?” she replied, “I should say I have,—these wretched, vulgar dances. This ‘turkey trot’ business which I have seen during the last winter is too disgusting for words. It only shows that our whole country is becoming materialistic and vulgarized.” She said further that she remembered—and “I am not a very old woman—when to be invited to certain great houses in New York was a social privilege and an honor. To-day,” she says, “there isn’t a house in New York which means anything in a great, social way. The same laxity and vulgarity has been brought about through the popularizing of divorce. Young girls marry and trip lightly into the ‘tie that binds’ with a sense of liberty which can be theirs if they choose, and change their minds after marriage.” But what disturbed her most is the bitter class feeling which exists, and which should be bridged over. She feels, and doubtless there is ground for her feeling, that it is not the servant class that must jump at the call of their mistress. She says, “The servant does not seem to appreciate that while they must jump at the ring of the bell, all of us must jump to the rings of our bells.” What a sad thing it is, isn’t it, that there should be such voluntary slavery? How much better, and how much happier were the old-time conditions, when there was more of equality between mistress and maid, and master and man! Sadder still when, as it largely exists in America, the dividing line is mere dollars and cents. To-morrow it may happen that the mistress is the maid, and the maid may be the mistress, not because of real merit or character, but because of the stamp of the dollar. It is a blessed thing, however, to reflect that we all have the privilege of that far better and higher society, to be counted sons and daughters of God, not because of wealth, but because of character, and that not of ourselves, but through the Giver, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Extravagance of the Rich

While Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish, leader in society, feels that conditions are far from normal, especially as between the rich and the poor, she certainly is not helping it by arranging a ball which cost $50,000. It is the elaborate, undue extravagance of the rich which arouses the envy and increases the discontent of the poor. If those who are rich could but recognize their responsibility to God and to their fellow men, there would be no such class feelings as we have nowadays. God gives men power to make money, but that money ought to be used to His glory.

Religious Obligation Cannot Be Legislated

Man owes no duty or obligation in his relationship to God which demands legislation. God's commandment is itself an enabling act, and His grace and man's loyalty are sufficient to enforce the duty. But if loyalty or willingness is wanting on the part of man, no human law can create or enforce it. God wants willing hearts and willing service; naught else is acceptable; and He is abundantly able to care for His own. A law to enforce religious obligation is an insult to High Heaven.

The Papacy Training an Army

The Rome correspondent of the “Western Watchman” declares that “Italy is coming to the front in athletics,” and that “she owes most of it to the Tenth Pius.” In other words, in Italy as in America, the Papacy is training an army.

God Alone Converts Souls

Men may dig Panama canals, and perhaps change the course of the Gulf Stream, but with no means or numbers can they convert a single soul. Only God can do this.

Postage-Stamp Machine. A new rotary postage-
stamp printing-press just perfected by the United
States Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Here-
tofore all postage-stamps have been printed by
hand on flat-bed presses, altho the inventors of
many nations have been working to perfect a ro-
tary press which will print them faster and of as
good quality. Mr. Stickney’s new machine prints
them even better than by the old method, and it
is said that there will be a saving effected in the
work of the bureau of nearly 60 per cent. It has
been approved by the superintendent-general, and the
government will install several machines as soon
as they can be constructed. The inventor is Mr.
Benjamin R. Stickney. The steel plates are placed
on the cylinder, and it will be seen that the
gummed paper is contained on a steel cylinder. — Postage-Stamp Machine. A new rotary postage- stamp printing-press just perfected by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Here- tofore all postage-stamps have been printed by hand on flat-bed presses, altho the inventors of many nations have been working to perfect a ro- tary press which will print them faster and of as good quality. Mr. Stickney’s new machine prints them even better than by the old method, and it is said that there will be a saving effected in the work of the bureau of nearly 60 per cent. It has been approved by the superintendent-general, and the government will install several machines as soon as they can be constructed. The inventor is Mr. Benjamin R. Stickney. The steel plates are placed on the cylinder, and it will be seen that the gummed paper is contained on a steel cylinder.