Review and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 29. (7/16/1901)

Review and Herald

Jul 16, 1901

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 16, 1901

Divine Providence.

By WILLIAM BRICKEY

WILLIAM BRICKEY. (Kimball, Minn.)

Out from the depths of our sorrow, to-day, Whatever it be, Remembering the blessings that fall in our way, Perhaps we may see That God has been graciously leading us in The way we should go; Although we may oft have obscured it by sin And sorrow and woe.

No sorrow can rankle so deep in our soul But heaven can heal. The tempest falls under our Master’s control; The thunder’s loud peal Is silent, and even the earthquake must cease, At sound of His word; Then why not the turbulent soul hear in peace The voice of the Lord?

I’ll trust in His promise, whatever betide, Submit to His will. If when in deep sorrow His face seems to hide, I’ll trust in Him still. The dark clouds might cover the face of the sun, But still it doth shine; And so, though in sorrow my pathway may run, Still, Jesus is mine.

A PRESENT HELP IN EVERY TIME OF TROUBLE.

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

In the world there are false theories which deny the existence of Satan, or make him so hideous as to encourage doubt of his existence. The world has no just conception of Satan. He is not thought of as the prince of the world, the general of a vast rebellion, a being logical and philosophical, possessing a powerful intellect. But thus it is. The adversary of God and leader in the great controversy waged against the world's Redeemer, his deceptive powers have been sharpened by constant practice; and in the final crisis he will deceive to their own ruin those who do not now seek to understand his methods of working.

Satan resolved to bend all his energies to defeat the plan of redemption. When the Redeemer came to this world, His path from the manger to the cross was marked with pain and sorrow. At every step He encountered the enemy, who sought in every way to turn Him from His purpose of love. And Satan works against Christians to-day as he worked against their Leader. He who in Eden used Eve to tempt Adam, uses men in this age to tempt their fellow men.

The great master of evil conceals himself, working behind the scenes. He lays his plans with wonderful ingenuity, so arranging matters that men will not have time to think of the things of eternity. As his instruments do the work assigned them, he directs and controls. He gives all who will serve him plenty to do. He can keep mind and hand employed. He fills those under his guidance with ambitious hopes for worldly greatness.

Thus Satan is playing the game of life for the souls of men, and he is succeeding in a way surprising even to himself. Men are straining every nerve to gain earthly treasure, but when eternal riches are offered them, they turn carelessly away. Very easily the enemy persuades them to renounce their supreme good. Satan hides Christ and heaven from their view, because they choose to have it so. Led by him, they worship the world and the things of the world. Too late they will find that they must stand before God without a fit preparation, to hear the words, “Depart from me,” and to be forever banished from the divine presence.

In his work Satan pretends to be very religious. He finds this the most effective way of carrying on the work he began in heaven. Under his guidance the Christian world has made void the law of God by tearing down the seventh-day Sabbath, and exalting in its stead a common working day. As men depart further and further from God, Satan is permitted to have power over the children of disobedience. He hurls destruction among men. There is calamity by land and sea. Property and life are destroyed by fire and flood. Satan resolves to charge this upon those who refuse to bow to the idol which he has set up. His agents point to Seventh-day Adventists as the cause of the trouble. “These people stand out in defiance of law,” they say. “They desecrate Sunday. Were they compelled to obey the law for Sunday observance, there would be a cessation of these terrible judgments.”

The civil power is called to the aid of the Church in persecuting those who keep holy the seventh day. The Church and the world are united in trampling upon God’s commandments, and those who obey these commandments they threaten with death. John declares, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” The decree goes forth that no man shall be allowed to buy or sell save he that has the mark or the number of the Beast.

As God’s people approach the final crisis, they must with increasing power proclaim the message He has given them. The warning must be given to the churches. God’s requirements must be laid before those who are transgressing His law. They must be made to understand that this is a life and death question. God’s remnant people are to fill the earth with the cry of the third angel.

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” These are they who are repairing the breach in the law of God. In the face of bitter opposition, they take their stand under the banner of Prince Immanuel, proclaiming, bravely and fearlessly, the message He has given them.

God watches over these faithful witnesses, and abundantly rewards their confidence. The way to His throne is always open to them. He sees and supplies their wants. They find their safety in looking to Him. When Jehovah gives them His protection, and says of them, Ye are laborers together with me, they are safe in the midst of the greatest danger. Satan tries to deceive them, but God lifts up for them a standard against the enemy. Those who work righteousness have an ever-present help in time of trouble. In every time of need He is near. When they are tempted, He stands as their defense, saying, “I will guide thee with mine eye.” I will deliver thee from perplexity, and be a covert for thee against the strife of tongues.

The cause is the Lord’s. He is on board the ship as commander-in-chief. He will guide us safely into port. He can command the winds and the waves, and they will obey Him. If we follow His directions, we have no need to be anxious or troubled. In Him we may trust. He bestows His richest endowments upon those who love Him and keep His commandments. He will never forsake those who work in His lines.

Satan will strive to retain every soul in his strong power. He will not willingly relinquish his dominion over men. Therefore the work of advancing the gospel will meet with great opposition from his synagogue. His last effort will be a desperate one, but his overthrow will be complete.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” John saw the remnant people of God when they had gained the victory over the Beast, and over his Image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name. Redeemed and glorified, they stood on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And he says, “They sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.” As they surround the throne of God, they see their Saviour bearing upon His glorified body the marks of the crucifixion, and from myriads of voices peals forth the chorus of praise, “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”

THE CHURCH.

By John Norton Loughborough

Numerical Representation and Committees.

ELDER J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.

“For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality.” 2 Cor. 8: 13, 14.

The thought here expressed by the apostle for raising means for the needy, and for the support of the gospel work, contains a grand principle on which the Church could act. That is the principle of equality. That equality is not exact quantity from each individual, rich or poor, or exact number from each company, whether few or many; but in proportion to circumstances, or number. Greenfield, in his Greek Lexicon, defines the Greek word isótēs, rendered equality in this text, “equal proportion,” and he gives 2 Cor. 8: 13, 14, as an illustration of this meaning. The same term occurring in Col. 4: 1, he renders “fairness, equity, what is equitable.”

Seventh-day Adventists, when deciding upon the point of order relating to delegate representation in our General and State Conferences, sought to follow this principle of “equality,” or proportionate representation, so that all the doings should be with fairness to every company, whether great or small.

In the month of September, 1862, the Michigan Conference held its first annual session in Monterey. Here for the first time was presented the idea of churches being received by vote into Conferences, as members are voted into churches. Seventeen churches in the State had already been organized, and these were by vote taken into the Conference; and all members of those churches who were present were accepted, by vote, as delegates.

At the same Conference, the plan was adopted of paying ministers a certain sum per week for services rendered. The ministers, on their part, were required to report the time spent in labor in the Conference, with their receipts and expenses; and the Conference receiving such report was to make proper settlement. An auditing committee was selected, who settled with the Michigan ministers for the year then closed.

May 20, 1863, a General Conference was held in Battle Creek, Mich. It was the first session of that body in which the delegates bore credentials from their respective States. The representation was not, however, on the ground of numerical basis. The States represented on this occasion were Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, and Ohio.

On looking over this delegation to this Conference, it was apparent to all that there was no “equality” in accepting all the delegates that any church should be pleased to send, or for the State where the General Conference might be held to accept as delegates all their members present at the meeting. In this gathering, Michigan had more members present than all the rest of the States, and the Battle Creek church, and two or three adjoining churches, had more members present than all the rest of the churches in the State.

May 21 a General Conference constitution was adopted, and on the same day a State constitution was recommended to the State Conferences, and adopted in a session of the Michigan Conference. These constitutions provided a numerical basis for delegate representation in the Conferences and in the General Conference. There was not a dissenting voice to such a plan for selecting delegates, and the sweet blessing of God, sensibly present, seemed to indorse the movement made.

Thus step by step, the message advanced, and each move in bringing in system and order tended to strengthen and consolidate what had already been undertaken. With a continual increase of membership, there was also a steady and continued growth in the finances. The report of the publishing association, made May 16 of that year, showed that in the two years of its existence the property at the Office had increased from five thousand to twenty thousand dollars, and that one fourth of this was actual earnings of the Review and Herald publishing work; as fifteen thousand dollars was all that had ever been furnished by our people, either as stock or donations.

The plan first adopted in selecting Conference officers was the same as that recommended in organizing a church. The minister organizing, was to select a committee of two or three consecrated brethren of ability and good judgment, and unitedly they were to look over the membership list, seeking wisdom from God as to who were best qualified to fill the offices of the church. The names were then put in nomination before the church, who were to consider them, and elect these, or others, if, in their judgment, there were others better qualified. The same plan was pursued in selecting Conference officers, save that the president named a committee to act aside from himself. As the work enlarged, and numbers increased, the nominating committees were usually five in number, instead of three.

The first public objection to this plan known to the writer occurred Feb. 15, 16, 1872, in Bloomfield, Cal., at the organization of the California State Conference. There three professed Sabbath-keepers publicly raised objections to the chairman of the meeting—who had been chosen by delegates present—appointing the committee on nominations, credentials, and resolutions. In a stormy manner, and with a bitter spirit, these men claimed that such naming of committees, and in fact, the naming of men for office, should be left open to the whole church, for them to name candidates, as was done in political meetings; then let all have a chance to speak, and ballot to see who would get the highest number of votes, etc.

These men in a turbulent manner pressed their views, hardly giving opportunity for either Brother or Sister White, who were both present, to say anything. In their remarks these men often said they “did not believe in one-man power.” Finally Brother White obtained the floor, and calmly said to the leading one of the three, “I see you do not believe in one-man power, unless you can be that one man.” Brother and Sister White openly condemned the course these men proposed in the matter of nominating and electing officers, and indorsed the plan our people were then pursuing.

To show how the Lord regarded the opposition of these men to the system of church order established among this people, we quote the following from a message sent to the leading one: “You will one day realize what you have lost by placing yourself in a defiant position, warring in spirit against the servants of God. Your bitterness of feeling toward Elder H is astonishing. He has endured, and sacrificed, and toiled on this coast to do the work of God. But in your blindness, while unconsecrated in heart and life, you have ventured, in connection with I and J, to handle the servant of God in a cruel manner. . . .” “Satan has been using you as his agent to insinuate doubts, and to reiterate insinuations and misrepresentations which have originated in an unsanctified heart, which God would have cleansed from its pollution. But you refused to be instructed, refused correction, rejected reproof, and followed your own will and way.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IV, page 229.

This testimony clearly indorses the position of the Lord’s servants in the Conference at Bloomfield, and as clearly condemns the course of the three men who there set themselves in battle array against it.

The point involved in this part of the “system” of order, is in having committees to nominate officers, etc. The mode of selecting such committees has varied from time to time. The plan which has seemed to give the best satisfaction, both in the General Conference and in the State Conferences, has been for the whole Conference committee to select a list of the various committees to be announced by the chairman.

In one or two instances where the “one-man power” was feared, the Conferences have adopted the laborious plan of having all the delegates ballot for a committee who should select and announce the nominating committee. During the past year the writer learned of one church which had been well equipped with good officers; but some of its members were pressing the sentiment of no nominating committees, choosing rather to “let the Lord guide without man’s judgment or reasoning in the matter. To do this, it would not do to even ballot for the officers.” They decided that the name of each and every member of the church must be written on separate cards. After the cards were all placed in a hat, while praying, one brother should take from the hat the first card touched. The Lord left them to learn the folly of “leaving to Him what He had left to them.” Why would He give us the qualifications of officers, if He would choose them independently of our thought? This church wanted five officers, including the officers for the Sabbath-school and the missionary society. Out of five drawings from the hat, four times the name of a little girl was drawn, who had not the ability for filling even one of the offices.

That church learned a lesson, and decided best to have the old plan carried out, and called for a minister to come and set them in order. This was done in the usual way. The last report from that company was, “All harmonious and prospering now.”

“HOW MANY LOAVES HAVE YE?”

By T. E. Bowen

T. E. BOWEN.

Thus Christ questions His disciples at the close of the day, with a large multitude about them, ready to depart to their homes, hungry and tired. We might ask, Why did they not look ahead and provide themselves food? They probably had plenty at home; but for some reason here they are, and this is the situation.

We believe this was permitted to teach both the disciples and us a most important lesson. Notwithstanding Jesus knew that the disciples had not food for this great multitude, yet just before He asked them the question, “How many loaves have ye?” He had astonished them by saying, “Give ye them to eat.” Could they feed so many? How was it possible for them to give this great multitude food sufficient? Really, Christ here commanded them to do what to them was an impossibility. But to whom had they given themselves? Who was it with whom they were associated? and for whom were they laboring?—Oh, it was the living Christ! It was He who had commanded the light to shine out of darkness; it was He who had spread out the heavens, and clothed the earth in living green, causing it to bud and to bring forth. And this same One was by their side, with them as their Lord and Master. This command, then, was simply a call for them to exercise living faith in the power of the mighty One among them to provide the food. But their hearts were hardened. They were striving to see who should be the greatest; and now was the occasion of occasions when they hoped to crown

Jesus temporal king, and so they lost the force of the lesson.

But was not this written for our learning? Is not this same Jesus our Lord and Master? and is there anything too hard for Him now to do? He that multiplied the loaves and fishes they had, to feed the multitude then, cannot He multiply the means in the hands of His people now, to carry His work to completion among the nations of the earth?

Speaking of the Jewish nation, illustrated by the rich man in the parable, we read in “Christ’s Object Lessons,” on page 269, these words: “If they had responded to the divine call, their future would have been wholly different. They would have shown true spiritual discernment. They had means which God would have increased, making it sufficient to bless and enlighten the whole world.” Here is presented the same lesson again. God was willing to take the talents of intellect and means of the Jewish nation, and with these few loaves and fishes continue to bless and break and distribute through them until the whole world would be enlightened and blessed. But they would not.

Has the Lord changed? Is there not sufficient means in the hands of God’s professed people to-day to accomplish the same result? God is not dependent upon the world for money. Not that He will not use, when put into His treasury, that which is now in the hands of worldly people; but He needs only that which His people have, and He can so bless and multiply this, as He did the five loaves and two fishes brought Him by the seaside, that it will be ample and sufficient in warning the world.

Ought not the greatness and vastness of the work to drive us to Jesus, in our helplessness, for His blessing upon the mere pittance, as it were, in our hands, for accomplishing the work? Must He not bless and increase it in order that the work shall be done?

The disciples were sent to sea. That night was a rough one for them; for the winds were contrary. They were discouraged and defeated in their cherished hope of making Jesus king. But Jesus had His eye upon them. In the night He came unto them, walking upon the water. Here is their infinite Lord again. He had multiplied the bread before their eyes. He had commanded them to cross the sea, and was He not able to sustain them? But the record says of them after the storm was all over, and they upon the land: “And they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” Had they considered the miracle of the loaves, they would not have had such a hard night of doubt and unbelief.

Would it not be well for us at this time, also to consider the miracle of the loaves? Our Captain is infinite in resources. He can save by few or by many. Let us not limit the Holy One of Israel, but with humble, childlike faith and confidence come to Him for all our supplies; and with His blessing upon the loaves and fishes in our hands, a mighty work can be done in and for our world.

THE SUPPORT OF GOSPEL MINISTERS ACCORDING TO GOD'S PLAN.

By D. T. Bourdeau

ELDER D. T. BOURDEAU.

(Continued.)

RELATION OF INTERESTING CASES.

The relation of a few cases in fulfillment of these scriptures may not be out of place:—

In one of the Western States of the American Union, a brother had become so worldly minded that he ignored the financial claims the Lord had upon him, and devoted scarcely any time to reading the Bible and attending to private and family devotions. In his extra exertions to perform his work and make money, he became nervous, and did not take time to notice what was happening around him. One day he was riding on a reaper which buzzed in passing through the grain, and the scythe cut off the leg of a young horse worth three hundred dollars. The next Sabbath he confessed in tears, and turned a new leaf.

There was a brother in one of the north-western States who was faithful in paying his dues to God, and lived a consistent Christian life. The grasshopper plague ruined the crops of all his neighbors who were established around him. Their farms were adjoining his, and no natural object intervened between those farms and his to obstruct the passage of grasshoppers, yet these insects went around his farm and crops, causing devastation in every direction. This wonderful circumstance was published far and near.

About one century ago, Pastor Oberlin, of the French National or Presbyterian persuasion, was doing a good work in evangelizing the inhabitants of Le Ban-De-Laroche, Alsace, France (now Germany). He discerned and taught that the tithing system should be regarded, and some of his converts adopted it. Twenty-six years ago I was laboring among the French in Illinois, and two Frenchmen, who descended from converts of Father Oberlin, were among my hearers, and were soundly converted by present truth. Retaining the convictions they had received through the instruction of their parents and others, they began to pay their tithes, returning to the Lord an exact tenth of all their income. At that time both of these brethren were heavily in debt. Four years after their conversion, I visited them at the time of corn-picking. One of them took me to his cornfield, and said, with tears of gratitude: “See those tall corn-stalks, making one think of hemlock trees! See the big ears they bear! My corn brings me seventy-five bushels to the acre. That of my neighbor’s, on the other side of the fence, has grown on as good black soil as mine, has received as good attention as mine has, but it brings only twenty-five bushels to the acre. He has not paid his tithes. I have given every tenth bushel to the Lord. I am out of debt, and have money ahead.” The other brother, who also faithfully paid tithes, had as interesting a narrative to relate. He had been greatly blessed in temporal things, and had freely contributed of his means for the support of the cause in his own Conference, in France, etc. Such cases might be greatly multiplied.

WHAT THE TITHING SYSTEM ASKS; ITS ANTIQUITY AND POSSIBILITIES.

The tithing system requires that we give to the Lord a tenth part of our increase—of all that God gives us. Jacob understood this when he said to the Lord, “Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Gen. 28:22. And the amount he was to give was not decided upon accidentally in a haphazard way. No; he had learned God’s plan through his father, Isaac, who had been taught it by his father, Abraham. And Abraham did not invent it. Nor did it originate in his day. In paying his tithes to Melchisedec, the true type and representative of Christ, Abraham did not carry out a new order from the Lord. Nothing of the kind is stated, or even intimated, by the inspired record.

Moses is very explicit in showing that circumcision was instituted at a certain epoch in the days of Abraham. Not so of the tithing system, whose origin antedates the practice of Abraham in paying tithes. The word of God informs us of the fact that the gospel was preached to and received by Abraham; but it does not state that it originated in the days of Abraham. We all know it did not. The same is true of the tithing system, which was needed and existed for the support of gospel ministers before Abraham’s day, as it has been needed and has existed for the same purpose since Abraham was a pilgrim on the earth.

Therefore, the following words, written by an author of several eminently practical religious works, are most truthful:—

“The tithing system did not originate with the Hebrews. From the earliest times the Lord claimed a tithe as His, and this claim was recognized and honored. Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec, the priest of the most high God. Jacob, when at Bethel, an exile and wanderer, promised the Lord, ‘Of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.’ As the Israelites were about to be established as a nation, the law of tithing was reaffirmed, as one of the divinely ordained statutes upon obedience to which their prosperity depended.” See article of Mrs. E. G. White, in REVIEW AND HERALD of Sept. 10, 1889.

God ordained the paying of tithes for the support of the ministry, and for nothing else. Anciently those who had appropriated their tithes for another purpose were required of God to “add thereunto the fifth part thereof,”—twenty per cent,—thus returning to the Lord His own, with interest sufficiently high to serve as a safeguard against robbing God and His ministers. In harmony with the principles couched in this requirement of the Lord, the writer of the words quoted above says: “The Lord has not left the disposal of the tithe to you, to be given or withheld as your inclination may dictate.”—Review and Herald, Dec. 17, 1889. It is not right to use the tithe even for

defraying the incidental expenses of the church. In a “Special Testimony,” written in August, 1896, the same writer, speaking on this point, says:—

“I was shown that it is wrong to use the tithe for defraying the incidental expenses of the church. In this there has been a departure from correct methods. It would be far better to dress less expensively, cut down your indulgences, practice self-denial, and meet these outgoings. By so doing you will have a clear conscience. But you are robbing God every time you put your hand into the treasury for funds to meet the running expenses of the church. Ministers who could do a most precious work are out of the field because there is no money to sustain them. Those who dare to reduce the means to be used for supporting the ministry, may see the sure result in the warnings given by Malachi.”

(To be continued.)

Mothers' Responsibility for All Children

“MOTHERS who have wisely reared their children feel the burden of responsibility, not only for their own children, but for their neighbors’ children. A true mother’s heart of sympathy goes out for all with whom she comes in contact. With a determined effort she seeks to turn wayward souls to Christ. In His strength she is enabled to do much. And those who have no children have responsibilities to bear. In most cases they may receive to their homes children who are orphaned and homeless. These they may train for Christ’s sake to practice those virtues so much needed in our world.”

THE SAINTS' REWARD.

By W. L. Iles

W. L. ILES.

I WILL, said Christ, a place prepare Where all my saints may with me share,— The city wall, of jasper fair; Its twelve foundations, jewels rare. Its gates of pearl swing open wide, And show life’s tree, life’s stream beside. We’ll walk the shining streets of gold, In glory which has ne’er been told; A joyous, happy, ransomed host, We then regain what Adam lost. One thousand years of heaven’s good cheer For the small ills we suffer here! The New Jerusalem, our home, From heaven to earth at last will come. All tears will then be wiped away, ’Twill be a glorious, happy day. No sickness, sorrow, pain, or death— All creatures praise Him that have breath. The saints of God will houses build, And vineyards plant, the land be tilled. Blind eyes shall then wide opened be, The works of God all flesh shall see; And ears long deaf shall hear His word, And dumb tongues praise their blessed Lord, The lame man leap with joyful spring, With “harps of God” the arches ring. From month to month, from week to week, We’ll worship at our Saviour’s feet, And eat the fruit of life’s blest tree, From all our pain and sorrow free. Roll on, O time! speed, speed away, And bring the happy, golden day!

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