Review and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 4. (1/21/1915)

Review and Herald

Jan 21, 1915

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 21, 1915

THE WORK AND THE WORKERS

By Editor

TRY a sample copy of the January, or “England, Russia, and the Vatican,” number of the Protestant Magazine on that neighbor of yours. The results will surprise you.

WE have just received a money order for $2.00 to pay for three subscriptions for the Protestant Magazine from the mother of the girl mentioned in the “Convent Tragedy” articles published in the magazine in 1913.

SEND $1.70 for any two, $2.40 for any three, or $3.00 for any four of the following monthly magazines for one year: Life and Health, Protestant Magazine, Signs Magazine, the Watchman. Regular price of each, $1.00 a year. Add 25 cents to any club for Liberty, a quarterly magazine, for one year. Regular price, 35 cents a year.

A PROMINENT lady of Newark, N. J., sends her own renewal for the Protestant Magazine, and twelve other yearly subscriptions besides. She writes: “We pass the magazine to friends to read, and many are amazed at the facts you so honestly bring to them. May thousands more subscribe and learn the truth about these serious matters. With every good wish for your noble work.”

WILL our brethren and sisters in Canada please remember that beginning with the January, 1915, issues, Life and Health, Liberty, Protestant Magazine, Signs Magazine, and the Watchman will be furnished to Canadian agents at the American prices: 5-40 copies, five cents each, 50 or more copies ordered at one time, FOUR CENTS EACH. Who will be the first agent to take advantage of these reduced rates? Send $2.00 to your tract society for 50 copies today.

A PROTESTANT lady in Troy, N. Y., sends in $3.00 with a list of ten half-year subscriptions for the Protestant Magazine, written on one of the regular order blanks inclosed in sample copies sent out. She writes: “Let me know if you receive this order, and mail reply in a plain envelope, as there are reasons why my name must not go through the mail on your business envelope.” Scores are obliged to make the same request. The reason for this is obvious to those who are familiar with the methods employed by the enemies of Protestantism.

SAMPLE copies of Life and Health, Liberty, and the Protestant Magazine have been mailed to over 1,000 heads of the various departments of the United States government in the city of Washington. In this way the leading men in the War Department, State Department, Navy Department, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, etc., are being reached. If you wish to help reach these men of influence, send your contributions through your tract society. The sum of $1.00 will pay for sending one copy to each of 20 addresses. The publishers can furnish the names of all the attorneys in the United States and Canada, and the public-school teachers, judges, legislators, governors and their staffs, etc. Send the $1.00 to your tract society, and we will do the rest.

BROTHER A. E. WOLFGRAM, Isle of Pines, West Indies, writes under date of January 4: “Life and Health is a good magazine to start with in a strange place. I decided to use this magazine first to make some friends, and now I have regular customers for the magazine. Since January, 1913, I have sold also the Signs of the Times, Watchman, Liberty, Protestant Magazine, and some of our larger books. Those that take Life and Health say they should not like to be without it. Your brother in the Lord’s work.” Surely this magazine is a good “entering wedge” to help to prepare the way for others. Send $1.00 for 20 or $2.00 for 50 copies of the February number today.

IN response to a suggestion from Brother A. J. S. Bourdeau, manager of the magazine department, the National Board of the American Waldensian Aid Society is considering the advisability of asking all its branches throughout the United States and Canada to sell, and to secure subscriptions for, the Protestant Magazine, Liberty, and Life and Health, the profits to be devoted to the evangelization of Italy. The president of the Washington (D. C.) Waldensian Society was favorably impressed with Brother H. H. Hall’s article on “The People of the Valleys,” in the weekly Signs of the Times, 50 copies of which were presented to her by Brother Bourdeau about one year ago, to be sold by the members in the interest of the Waldensian work. Let us not be fearful of approaching every class with our literature.

NOTE that our magazine agents are at liberty to take orders for club No. 13 and for the $2.35-for-$1.90 club. The reduced rates on these combination offers will help you to secure subscriptions. Send to your tract society office for Clubbing Circular and for terms to agents.

“England, Russia, and the Vatican,” “Pan-American Mass,” and “Keeping Faith With Heretics” Number

Read Also Article I of “Protestant Catechism” Series, “Religious Toleration in Maryland,” the Administration’s Reply to Roman Hierarchy Concerning Mexico, and “Is Romanism Christianity?”

THE OTHER SIDE of the story about the “Outrages in Mexico” is ably presented in this number by Sr. Orozco, Constitutionalist Consul at El Paso, Tex. In view of the fact that the United States is now the only great Protestant power without a representative at the Vatican, the article “The Pope as Peacemaker: Great Britain and Russia Send Representatives to the Vatican,” is of unusual interest to every Protestant citizen. THIS is an INTERNATIONAL number of the “Protestant Magazine.” Circulate it EVERYWHERE.

New Zealand Pastor Approves

“The ‘Protestant Magazine’ is a splendid production. I wish with all my heart it might be in the home of every Protestant minister. One cannot speak too strongly against the Roman Catholic Church, and I am glad there is such a magazine in existence.”—Rev. A. A. Murray, Minister St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Auckland, New Zealand.

Editor of “Religious Telescope” Writes:

“We appreciate very much the December number of the ‘Protestant Magazine.’”—J. M. Phillips, Editor “Religious Telescope,” United Brethren Publishing House, Dayton, Ohio.

Author of “Drama of the Reformation” Says:

“I want to say how much I enjoy your ‘Protestant Magazine’ which you so kindly sent me.”—Mrs. H. E. Monroe, Vice President “Gospel Mission” Executive Committee, Washington, D. C.

Albany, N. Y., Merchant Enthusiastic Over Magazine

“I have had several discussions with Roman Catholic friends, and have invariably ‘knocked the bottom’ out of their arguments with facts taken from your excellent ‘Protestant Magazine.’ Have read a number of anti-Catholic magazines, but have never found any that treats the subjects in as dignified a manner as you.—Prominent Wholesale Merchant, Albany, N. Y.

SEND THIS MAGAZINE TO FIVE FRIENDS, PROTESTANTS OR ROMANISTS, FOR SIX MONTHS, FOR ONLY $1.50. Or send in YOUR NAME and FOUR OTHERS, AT THE SAME RATE.

URGE YOUR SOCIETY TO ORDER A CLUB OF 500 FOR $20.00 OR 100 FOR $4.00. ASK YOUR PASTOR OR PRESIDENT TO ANNOUNCE THIS NUMBER FROM THE PULPIT OR PLATFORM.

Send $2.00 for 50 or $1.00 for 20 copies today. Apply for special rates to agents on yearly and half-year subscriptions.

PROTESTANT MAGAZINE :: WASHINGTON, D. C.

Crowning of the Year

By DANIEL NETTLETON

DANIEL NETTLETON

"Thou crownest the year with thy goodness." Ps. 65: 11.

God puts crowns on years as well as on men. The coronation of kings is usually a grand and impressive occasion. Much is said about it for many weeks and months before it takes place. Many travel long distances to see the event. But when God puts his crown of goodness upon the year, how little is said about it by those to whom the new-crowned year brings blessings and joys untold.

Now, lest we forget, let us count our many blessings, and thank the Lord for all his benefits. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." Children of the heavenly King should speak their joys abroad. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." Every gift is a thought of his love, and his thoughts are very precious to usward. How great is the sum of them!

The crowning of the year with God's goodness reminds us of our utter helplessness and dependence upon him. "In him we live, and move, and have our being." "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things." His hands are open to supply all our returning needs, and the most precious and important of our blessings come to us without our asking.

He does not have to be prompted by our importunate prayers, to give us life, food, raiment, and many other blessings which all alike enjoy. The gift of our Saviour, our eternal salvation, comes to us without our asking. John 3: 16 is not an answer to prayer; it is the evidence, the everlasting token, of eternal goodness which will crown all the years of time.

Let us not forget the goodness, but let us forget all the unkind and bitter and unpleasant things of the past year, gather up all the roses, the lilies, and the sweet forget-me-nots, and strew them in the path of the coming year; and that will help make his reign a new and happy season.

But God has another crowning of the years of his goodness, to which we look with intense interest and glad anticipation. It is the crowning of the "King of kings." In heaven a great and glorious event is soon to take place. All the representatives of the principalities, the powers, and the dominions of God's great empire, will be there. The redeemed and the holy angels will unite in singing,—

"All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown him Lord of all."

"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Then he will come to the earth to gather the saints for his kingdom.

O, will not this be the crowning of the years of his goodness? Will not this be a new and happy year? "He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Let us, dear brethren, take up anew the work of telling the glad tidings of the soon-coming King to all this world. This old world is staggering under its load of sin and sadness. The awful wars and fightings of men have drenched our earth in blood. The world cries out for the King of Peace. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Let us do more in 1915 than we did in 1914, to send the joy of his salvation to the nations that sit in darkness, that they may see the King in his beauty; for with long weeping their eyes have grown dim. Their needy conditions appeal to us to send them the glorious gospel which will make a marvelous change in their lives, and they, too, will rejoice with us in the blessed hope. And as we go on to finish the work in this generation, let us toil with the sunlight on our faces, and sing as we toil:—

"Joy to the world, the Lord will come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing."

Port Townsend, Wash.

The Papacy and the War

By W. W. PRESCOTT

The Chastisement of the Nations for Their Disloyalty to the Roman Catholic Church

W. W. PRESCOTT

The great war in Europe has furnished a theme for many writers, some of whom have devoted special attention to the causes of this outbreak. Probably every one of the great nations engaged in this conflict has been made primarily responsible for it by at least one contributor to the press. Of special interest and significance, however, to those who are watching the fulfillment of prophecy, is the discussion of this question by those who interpret more or less authoritatively the Roman Catholic view of the situation. Some Protestants have charged that Rome is directly responsible for the war by making a concordat with Servia which practically made that a Roman Catholic nation. Others have professed to know that the Vatican has been for a long time stirring up Germany against England, and that the Jesuits of England had advance information of the break between that country and Germany. Of course, neither of these views is sanctioned by Rome, and a very different reason is given by her representatives for this conflict, the most terrible that history records, as will be shown by the testimony submitted herewith.

On Sunday morning, Oct. 4, 1914, Cardinal Farley preached a sermon in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City, in which he discussed the war and its causes. Having called attention to what he regarded as a happy coincidence that the President had chosen the day observed in the Roman Catholic Church as the feast of the rosary as the day of prayer for peace in Europe, he declared that the war had come because the Roman Catholic Church had been suppressed and driven out of the councils of the belligerent nations by the political leaders. He affirmed:—

“Had the people of Europe heeded the pleas of the late pontiff, had they heeded the teachings and warnings of the church, they would not now be engaged in a bloody war. But they did not heed. Almost every nation in Europe was persecuting the church, trampling on its rights, driving it into the corners of the land. And now they are paying the penalty. They are suffering for their sins against God.”

According to the report which appeared in the New York Times of October 5, “the cardinal mentioned France in particular as one of the nations that

had trampled on the rights of the church.”

The first encyclical of Pope Benedict XV, published in the Catholic Mind, Dec. 22, 1914, deals with the causes of the European war and the basis for permanent peace from the Roman Catholic standpoint. After speaking of the flock intrusted to his care,—“an immense flock, in truth, because under one aspect or another it embraces all men,”—the Pope specifies the causes of the present struggle as follows:—

“From the moment when the rules and practices of Christian wisdom ceased to be observed in states,—rules and practices which alone guarantee the stability and peace of institutions,—these states necessarily began to tremble at their foundations, and there followed such a change in ideas and customs that, if God does not soon intervene, it appears as if the dissolution of human society is at hand. The disorders that have arisen are the want of mutual love amongst men, contempt for authority, injustice in the relations between the different classes of society, and material welfare made the only object of man’s activity (as if there were not other and much more desirable blessings to be gained). These, in our opinion, are the four causes why human society is so greatly disturbed. It is necessary, then, that energy be exercised generally for the purpose of removing such disorders and restoring Christian principles, if the object is to put an end to discord and compose differences.”

After a somewhat extended discussion of these reasons in the body of his encyclical, the Pope makes direct reference to the loss of the temporal power and his desire for its restoration:—

“For a long time now, it is true, the church has not enjoyed the complete liberty of which she has need; that is, since her head, the sovereign pontiff, has been deprived of the protection which by the will of divine Providence he obtained in the course of ages to safeguard that liberty. The result of depriving him of that protection was, as was inevitable, serious anxiety amongst Catholics, for all who profess to be sons of the Roman pontiff—those who are at a distance as well as those who are near—have a perfect and undeniable right to demand that their common Father should be really free in the exercise of his apostolic ministry. Therefore, whilst most wishful that peace should be restored amongst the nations as soon as possible, we also desire that the abnormal condition in which the head of the church finds himself and which in many respects is highly injurious to the peace of peoples, should cease. We accordingly renew on the same grounds the protests on this subject which our predecessors made on several occasions, moved, not by human considerations, but by the sacred sense of duty,—the duty, namely, of defending the rights and dignity of the apostolic see.”

The Roman Catholic press has been effusive in its praise of this encyclical, heartily commending it for its alleged keen analysis of existing conditions, and agreeing with it in the demand for the restoration of the temporal power. One writer in America (January 2) interprets in a very definite way the Pope’s reference to the nonobservance by various states of “the rules and practices of Christian wisdom.” Germany, France, England, Russia, Austria, and even most Catholic Belgium, have in his view either actively hindered and persecuted the Roman Catholic Church, or have failed to be aggressively loyal to her and her teachings. From the Roman Catholic point of view this is the same as being disloyal to God, and this has provoked him to judgment. The nations are, therefore, suffering a just retribution for their neglect of the one true religion, and for their failure to support the one true church, as was done in the good old days before the Reformation of the sixteenth century, when the church and the state were regarded as simply two aspects of the same power.

In order to cure the disorders which now afflict society and which are the direct cause of the present war, the Pope declares that “it is necessary, then, that energy be exercised generally for the purpose of removing such disorders and restoring Christian principles.” This same writer in America interprets this statement to mean that, “briefly, they [men] must come back to God, renew all things in Christ, and bring back Christ to school and home and cabinet.”

As understood by Roman Catholics, this means that the people of Europe must return to the one true church, that they must adopt anew “the rules and practices of Christian wisdom” as taught by that church, and that the influence of the Roman Catholic Church must be restored in the educational system, the home life, and the diplomacy of the nations.

In further explanation of the present world-wide calamity, this writer charges that the nations have not only disregarded one another’s rights, but that they have robbed the Pope of his temporal power. To quote his own words:—

“The nations not only robbed one another, but, by act or connivance, they robbed the vicar of Christ of the civil independence which in Christian days rulers and peoples had given him for the protection of the church’s liberties and their own. They must give it back. They deemed him so negligible that they found him worthy of no seat in their great Peace Tribunal of The Hague. They now see the result; and tribulation is bringing them to see that the vicar of the Prince of Peace, who counts his spiritual subjects in all lands, is the only arbiter who can impartially adjudicate the conflicts and command the confidence of peoples. It is the right and, at this time, the duty of Catholics to insist that the Holy Father shall be again made independent of secular power, and thus free to use efficiently the power God gave him for the peace of the world.”

By the Roman Catholic mind, the European situation is analyzed about like this: The Roman Catholic Church is the only church of God on earth; the Pope is the personal representative of Christ, with all the powers and prerogatives of the Son of God himself; the enemies of the church are the enemies of God; those who interfere in any way with the Pope’s administration of the affairs of the church are working against the interests of the kingdom of God on earth. In olden time the prophets denounced those heathen nations who made war upon God’s own people, and foretold the downfall of the nations which persisted in their rebellious course. In the same way and for the same reason, the defenders of Rome’s claims and interests see in this great war the chastisement of the nations because of their attitude of opposition against the Roman Catholic Church, the pretended kingdom of God on earth. This course of reasoning naturally leads up to the assertions made in the Pope’s encyclical, and to the Roman Catholic interpretation of the troubles in Europe.

As a further help in understanding this matter, we shall refer to utterances made by a representative Roman Catholic before the loss of the temporal power. In a book entitled ‘The Temporal Power of the Vicar of Jesus Christ,’ by Henry Edward Manning, afterward Cardinal Manning, published in 1862, we find the following:—

“If it be true that the temporal power of the popes has been a providential instrument whereby God has created Christian Europe, then certainly the destruction of that providential instrument must bring with it the dissolution of the work, which has not only been created, but supported and sustained by it to this day.”—Page 54.

“They who lend a hand to this work of destruction, they who speak a word for it, they who sympathize with it, are all against God, and will purchase to themselves judgment according to their proportion.”—Page 76.

This reasoning is simple and clear. According to it the temporal power of the popes has been God’s instrument in developing and maintaining Christianity in Europe; and when this agency is suppressed, the whole Christian structure will fall to pieces, and there will be a return to ancient barbarism. All those nations which are either actively or passively concerned in this interference with God’s method of maintaining Christianity in the earth, will bring upon themselves the wrath of God in proportion to their direct responsibility for interfering with his plans.

Looking at the situation today, Roman Catholics see that the nations of Europe have consented to Italy’s act of despoilation in 1870. They see that a war, unparalleled in history, has broken out, involving practically all these nations. From the Roman Catholic standpoint the conclusion seems inevitable. God is punishing these nations for their disloyalty to his church and the vicar of his Son. His wrath will be appeased only

by the repentance of the nations, their return to the one true fold, and their submission to him who is declared to be “another God on earth.” With great unanimity, the Roman Catholic papers of America have adopted these views, and are educating the Roman Catholic laity to look at the matter in the same light.

The significance of this situation should not be overlooked by students of prophecy. When peace comes to Europe, it may mean some changes in the boundaries of the different nations, but its most important effect upon future history will be the increase of power which comes to the Papacy. It is this phase of the great struggle which ought to command the serious attention of a people who are looking for the restoration of the papal power as one of the signs that the last generation is here.

Washington, D. C.

(To be concluded)

Only a Night From the Old to the New

By ELLA KING SANDERS

ELLA KING SANDERS

Who has not felt the inspiration of possessing something new? Think of the beam of gladness on the face of the child with something new, no matter how small the value.

By familiarity things lose their newness. But there are many familiar things which would put on new beauty if we would study them and open our eyes to see. The stately trees about us, the grass beneath our feet, in fact all nature, is robed in wonder and beauty, ever ready to reveal something new to the searching eye.

Then there is the day that comes fresh and new after the night. It is only a night from the old day to the new one. Familiarity has closed our eyes to its freshness, with its new mercies, joys, and responsibilities. The blots on yesterday's page are left behind, and before us is placed a new page, clean and spotless. With the weeping prophet, we should realize that God's mercies are new every morning. See Lam. 3:23.

As we greet the new day with our waking thoughts, should there not ascend to God thanksgiving for his mercies and blessings, and should we not seek his face for grace and strength to keep the new page in life's history free from blots? One writer puts this thought in this way: “Never see the face of man in the morning till you have seen the face of the King of the universe.”

But it is only a night from the old year to the new one. Nineteen hundred and fourteen, with its record of toil, sorrow, heartaches, and perplexities, its joys and happiness, is closed and securely locked. We cannot change it. This is the way the poet puts this fact:—

“The past,—shadowed past,—let it rest ’neath its pall; Let it go, its sealed chambers have naught to recall. All its treasures, its joys, are borne far from our reach. By a tide ne’er returning to earth’s storm-shattered beach.

“Let it go, let it go; let it bear far away Its record of sorrow our hands could not stay, Its record of error our faltering feet made, Its record of heartaches ’neath passion’s dark shade.

“Let it go, let it go; there is naught we can do To retrieve its sad work; but in future be true. In future? That time is not sure; nay, nay, The present is all that is ours—just today.

“Just today—O my heart, dost thou value aright The gem that will pass from thy keeping tonight? Just today—’tis a treasure so pure and so fair Thou wilt mar it and soil it despite all thy care.

“Just today we may touch; then care let us take, By help from our God, that these touches we make May send forth sweet echoes of truth, grace, and love, To roll through the future and meet us above.

“So the past, let it go. Thou hast sought the dear Lord For pardon, and now wilt thou doubt his pledged word? The heart that is contrite he ne’er will despise, Though vile and polluted in anguish it lies.

“Then, O, let it go! Thou canst never make straight The tangles so wretched. Then why sadly wait, And let the swift days bear an echo of woe, While you mourn and lament what you ne’er can undo?

“O, when shall we learn it, this lesson so hard, To leave all the past in the hands of our Lord? He only can cleanse it. Then cease all thy care, And living today for tomorrow prepare.”

The year 1915 is opened. We greet one another with “A Happy New Year;” but with hearts of sympathy, how can we embrace much of what the world calls happiness, when the groans of the wounded and dying, the moans of the widows and orphans, and the wails of earth’s downtrodden and suffering, are coming to our ears? As soldiers enlisted under the banner of Prince Immanuel, we are to look up to a higher happiness—to the joy of rescuing souls from the eternal destruction of all things earthly.

Why are we spared to enter this new year? With the brittle thread of life thus lengthened, what new responsibilities come to us? Shall we take this new year as a rose plucked from the garden of time, and seek to diffuse its sweetness of hope, love, and helpful sympathy? There are aching hearts to soothe, there are mourning ones to comfort, there are tearful eyes to dry, there is suffering to allay; but greatest of all, there is a lost world to warn of its coming doom.

What shall we do with this new year as it comes only a night from the old day to the new one? Shall we be driven to service by the thought that this may be our last chance, that probation may close, and we must be found working? Be not forced to service by fear, for forced service is but slavery. It is the willing servant, the one prompted by love, that will hear the “Well done” at last. Supreme love to God and love for your neighbor as for self is the mainspring of obedience. It is this love that leads the true servant to be faithful in the King’s business.

The failures of the year just closed should serve as stepping-stones to a higher life this new year. Speak that kind word, lend that helping hand, write that letter, hand out that tract or paper, visit that suffering one, and follow the example of Job: “The cause which I knew not I searched out.” Job 29:16.

It is only a night from the old day to the new, and so it will be when it comes to the last night of this dark earth’s history and the dawn of the eternal new day. Let us for a moment roll back the curtain of futurity and stand at that eve. Today mortal—only a night, and then immortal; today clothed in earthly garments—only a night, and then clad in garments of light; today weeping eyes—only a night, and then all tears forever wiped away; today all faces pale—only a night, and every form is bathed with youth and immortal beauty; today here—only a night, and then that tireless journey to the eternal city whose gates will swing open and our Commander will say, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Let us spend each new day now as we shall wish we had when that eventful hour arrives.

Indianapolis, Ind.

God's Call to Us

By M. DORMAN

M. DORMAN

God is calling to us today. O that we as a people would rally as one man to the clarion call which comes ringing down from the throne above!

At many different times during the history of the world God has called men. God called to Adam in the garden, “Where art thou?” and Adam, with fear and trembling, responded to that call. God called Abram to leave his kindred and his father's house and go out into a land which he knew not, and Abram obeyed the voice which spoke. God called to Moses from the burning bush, and Moses, hearing, turned aside. Turning over the pages of the world's history, we see many instances where God has called men; but today we wish to consider his call to us. God grant that we may hearken; God help us to respond.

What is the call of God to the Christian man and woman of today? It is a call to action. The sacred pen of inspiration gives that call to us thus: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isa. 60:1. God's servant has brought it forcibly to our attention in the following language: “And still our General, who never makes a mistake, says to us, ‘Advance. Enter new territory. Lift up the standard in every land. ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’ ”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 28. And again: “The word comes to me in the night season to speak to the churches that know the truth: ‘Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’ ”—Id., page 23.

What does it mean, this call to arise and shine? The word arise denotes a languor, a slumber, a repose, on the part of the person addressed. Can it be that that some such condition among us as a people demands this heaven-sent call to action?

Brethren and sisters, at the rate the message is going at the present time it cannot be carried to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people in this generation. But will it be carried?—Yes; God's Word declares it. But first there must come this whole-souled consecration, this arising to shine.

We have been asleep; many of us are now asleep. At this crisis in the great conflict many upon whom rests the most solemn responsibility ever placed upon man, who should be in the very forefront of life's battle, are in a hazy stupor, paying little heed to the conflict raging about them. Meanwhile the enemy is stealing a march upon them.

But today, clear as the note of a silver bell, there rings out over the battle field a call to action:—

Arouse! Awake! Sit not thus idly by! Gird on thy armor, raise the battle cry! Not without struggle are the vict'ries won In life's fierce conflict; then haste thee onward—On!

The great conflict which has so fiercely waged for so many centuries between the forces of good and of evil has reached a climax. Every soldier who has enlisted under the banner of Prince Immanuel must press the battle to the gates. We must lay hold of the power of prayer.

We have been testing the depths of God's love and mercy, it is true, but only along the shore. Let us push out—push out and test the limitless depths of his power. We shall find that they are unfathomable, and that the strength which will then be ours cannot be measured.

We are, figuratively speaking, standing at the foot of a great mountain, waiting for a power to take possession of us to enable us to ascend. The work of carrying the gospel to every creature in this generation looms up before us like a mountain of difficulty, which, humanly speaking, it is impossible to surmount: and we are waiting, patiently waiting, there at the foot of it, for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which will give us the dynamic force to push to the summit.

But the power is here now. It is now ours. We have but to lay hold upon it. I quote: “Angels of heaven have long been waiting for human agents—the members of the church—to cooperate with them in the work to be done. They are waiting for you. When the reproach of indolence and slothfulness shall have been wiped away from the church, the Spirit of the Lord will be graciously manifested.”

We must lay hold upon this power. We must have a vital connection with God. Is the power of God flowing through you? Are you connected as a branch to the true vine, so that the energizing, life-giving strength and grace is flowing through your veins? “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Let us at this time make a connection with heaven. We all want the power of God in our lives; and yet, when this call comes to us, a goodly number will settle back in their seats, seemingly as indifferent as before. They may not be conscious what is holding them back, but God knows that there yet remains in their lives some favorite sin to which they tenaciously cling; and doing so, it is impossible for them to arouse themselves.

That which holds us back from being what, under God, we should be, may be only a little thing. You enter a shop in the city, a shop of whirling wheels and singing motors. Away in one corner of this vast structure is a small ebony handle, seemingly a thing of insignificance, of no importance, and not worthy to be noticed. But only a movement of that small black switch, and the connection is made. Lights all over the city flash out into the night, cars move, factories operate, and all the electrical mechanisms of that vast metropolis are set in motion.

The call which comes to us is to make a living connection with God, to remove the obstruction to the mighty current of his power. Then there will flash out the light of the gospel in sharp, clear, distinct rays. Such a call is necessarily a call to action.

When an electrical connection is made through a motor, something is going to move. As the current of power increases, the dynamic motion becomes greater. Is it not, then, a fact that the influence which you exert, the amount of work which you do for the Saviour, is an indication of the extent of your connection with God?

Friend, what are you doing for Jesus? Nothing? Where is the lack? Remove the obstruction and lay hold of the power of God. God is calling to you today. Will you heed his voice as did Moses, and turn aside? Will you answer as did Samuel, ‘Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth,’ and then with joyful heart go forth to do his bidding?

But you say, perhaps, “What can I do?” “It is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” Yet, rest assured that even as surely as God does not hold us to account for that which we have not, just so surely does he hold us to account for that which we have.

And to each one of us the Master has given a talent. You may feel that you are unworthy, that you are weak, that you can do nothing; but listen! learn a lesson from nature. You look at two little sticks, dull, lifeless, and black. Not much to look at, nothing brilliant about them; of what use are they? Place those little carbon sticks in connection with an electrical current, and what have we?—The bright, white, dazzling electric arc light, one of the most powerful illuminants in the world.

God is going to use just such simple, humble instruments as you feel yourself to be, to flash the searchlight of his gospel from east to west and from pole to pole. The inhabitants of the heavenly universe expect the followers of Christ to shine as lights in the world. Friends, God has graciously shed a flood of light over our pathways. Shall we pass it on to others?

College View, Nebr. (To be concluded)

The Tangle of Life

“LIFE seems a tangle, a puzzle, to us, as we look at its events, its circumstances, its sorrows and joys. But in the end we shall see that not one thread was ever thrown into the wrong place in the web.”

Strengthening Others

“THE best and truest help we can give to others is not mere present gratification, but strength, courage, and cheer, that they may rise into nobler, worthier life and go on continually with new energy and hope.”

Moravian Missionaries Among the Kafirs

THE first Moravian missionaries to the Kafirs of Africa could reach them only by selling themselves into slavery, and so being put beside them in daily life. In this way they were able not only to give them the gospel, but to live the gospel. It was such sacrifice and proof of love that at last won the Kafirs’ hearts.—Sunday School Times.

Happiness

HAPPINESS is the natural flower of duty.—Phillips Brooks.

The road to happiness is the continuous effort to make others happy.—Talmage.

No man can lay in his claim to happiness without a liberal and forgiving spirit.—J. M. Good.

He who is virtuous is wise; and he who is wise is good; and he who is good is happy.—Boethius.

Temperance in everything is requisite for happiness.—B. R. Hayden, in “Table Talk.”

Employment is nature’s physician, and is essential to human happiness.—Galen.

Living in the Shadow

MANY are living in the gloom of some great shadow. It may be the shadow of some sin which has marred the life, the shadow of a great sorrow which has bowed down the heart with grief, the shadow of a misunderstanding with friend or brother. Life has lost its sweetness; its joy has turned to bitterness, and the inspiration of hope has departed. To these sad and sorrowing ones the words of the apostle are directed: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

We must forget the past, with all its sins and sorrows, its griefs and heartaches and misunderstandings. “Go bury thy sorrow; the world hath its share.” We must forgive others the injuries they have wrought; we must apply this principle of forgiveness to ourselves in the mistakes we have made. This sin-sick world today needs words of life and cheer and courage. On every side are the worn and weary, the burdened and heavy-laden. Men and women are groping in the darkness without hope and without Christ. It is for us to act the part of light bearers, of life-givers. To Christ, the light of life, we must direct their gaze. But we cannot do this unless we ourselves know the power and joy of the redeemed life.

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Let us come out of the shadow into the sunshine. Let us learn in the year to come to walk in the light of his countenance, in the consciousness of his presence, in the sweetness of his companion ship. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,” in the consciousness of divine acceptance and approval.

Continue reading: The “Sacrifice of the Mass”