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Review and Herald, Vol. 84, No. 39.

Publishers’ Page

Review and Herald

Sep 26, 1907

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 26, 1907

Publishers’ Page

By Editor

Conducted by the Department of Circulation of the Review and Herald Publishing Association

The October Number of Life and Health

THE October number of Life and Health is now ready. It is devoted especially to the physical, mental, and moral interests of children. With the beginning of the school year, it brings many valuable suggestions to parents on vital questions associated with the welfare of children. This number might appropriately be called “the children’s friend.” It contains 48 pages, with a new attractive cover design, and is nicely illustrated. In many respects, it is the best number ever published.
This number gives some of the many reasons why fruit is the best food in both health and sickness. It gives nine conclusive, scientific facts against the medicinal use of alcohol. It cites some of the many reasons why schools are the cause of bad health, and suggests remedies. It contains some hints upon proper recreation for students. It magnifies the importance of a physical education, as well as mental and moral development. It advocates the establishment of a systematic physical training in the youth. It recommends the method of educating by doing. It contains instructive comments upon such current themes as “Suggestions for the Teaching of Cleanliness among School Children,” “The School and Degeneracy,” “The Contracting of Scarlet Fever in Schools,” “The Importance of School Hygiene,” “Hygiene Taught in the Schools,” “Brain Development through Play,” “Education as a Preventive of Crime,” and “The Religious Education of Children.”
This number of Life and Health will bring to the general public some excellent thoughts upon the relationship between the parent and the child. A very practical department of Questions and Answers deals with the following topics: “Cause of Erysipelas,” “Is Gelatin Wholesome?” “Is Slippery Elm Nutritious?” “Diet in Rheumatism,” “Obesity, or Fatness,” “Rheumatism and Neuralgia,” etc.
The editor has given the readers of the October number of Life and Health many times the value of the paper in his editorials upon “The School Hygiene Congress,” “An Epidemic of Crime,” “How to Spoil Children,” “Resolutions of the American School Hygiene Association,” “The Proper Food for Babies,” “Unlawful Pleasures and the Consequent Reaction,” “Prohibition,” and “Medical Advertisements.”

New Prices

BEGINNING with the October number, Life and Health will contain 48 pages instead of 32. Each issue will be more fully illustrated, and other improvements in mechanical make-up and literary matter will be made. These improvements and the increase of cost of manufacturing make necessary a slight change in the prices, as follows: Single copy, 10 cents; 2 to 25 copies, 5 cents; 25 to 500 copies, 4 cents. Write for special prices on larger quantities.

Foreign Publications

THE last census of the United States gave the foreign-born population as over 10,000,000. These persons come from almost every country on the globe, but by far the largest part are from Europe. Many of them can not speak or read English, so we must give them the message in their mother tongue. Below will be found a partial list of such publications, which have hitherto been unobtainable in this country, but which can now be secured of the New York Branch of the Review and Herald Office:—

Russian Publications

Steps to Christ ........................$ .50 Bible Readings ........................ .10 Bible References ...................... .04 Sufferings of Christ .................. .04 Full Assurance of Faith ............... .02 New Testament Sabbath ................ .02 Blessed Hope .......................... .01 Which Day Do You Keep, and Why? ...... .01

Polish Publications

Steps to Christ ........................ .50 Sufferings of Christ .................. .06 Second Coming of Christ ............... .04 Millennium ............................ .02 World Clock (A Sanctuary Tract) ....... .01 Sinner’s Fate .......................... .01 Blessed Hope .......................... .01 Is the End Near? ...................... .01

Servian Publications

Sabbath and Sunday .................... .01 Blessed Hope .......................... .01 Seven Reasons .......................... .02 Full Assurance of Faith ............... .02
In addition to the preceding list, the New York Branch of the Review and Herald can supply books and tracts in the German, Danish, Holland, Swedish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian languages.
Address orders for any of the above publications to Review and Herald Publishing Association, 32 Union Square, East, New York, N. Y.

German Bibles

THE New York Branch of the Review and Herald Publishing Association has in stock the following list of German Bibles, which will be promptly mailed to any part of the United States for the prices quoted:—
No. 1130—8½ x 5½ x 1½ inches. Cloth, sprinkled edges, brevier type, references, $.60.
No. 1116—6¾ x 4½ x ¾ inches. Limp leather, red edges, references, silk marker, India paper, $1.25.
No. 221—6¾ x 4½ x ¾ inches. Limp morocco, red edges, references, two silk markers, India paper, $1.75.
No. 3190—6¾ x 4½ x ¾ inches. Limp leather, red under gold edges, references, two silk markers, India paper, $2.25.
No. 225—6¾ x 4½ x ¾ inches. Divinity circuit, morocco, references, red edges, two silk markers, India paper. $2.25.
No. 226—6¾ x 4½ x ¾ inches. Divinity circuit, morocco, references, red under gold edges, two silk markers, India paper, $2.50.
No. 243—8¾ x 5½ x 1¼ inches. Divinity circuit, morocco, leather lined, references, gold edges, silk marker, $3.50.
Send orders to Review and Herald Publishing Assn., 32 Union Square, East, New York City.

Home and Health

STILL the questions continue to multiply about “Home and Health,” and we again explain that this book is a new work of 592 pages, thoroughly illustrated, and designed especially for home reference on the many details pertaining to the home and the care of the body.
It embraces “The Home”—how to make it; “General Housekeeping”—all of its details; “The Diet”—what it should be; “The Care of the Body”—revealing the simple things one must do to keep the body healthy; “The Care and Training of Children”—sound common sense for parents; “The Home Treatment of Disease”—a valuable instructor, doctor, and nurse.
After October 1, the retail prices of this book will be changed as follows: cloth, marbled edges, from $2.50 to $3.00; full law sheep, marbled edges, from $3.50 to $4.00; full morocco, marbled edges, from $4.50 to $5.00. This is an opportune time for all to secure the book at the old prices.

The New Edition of Seer of Patmos

THIS excellent work on the book of Revelation has recently been bound in two new styles, half cloth, marbled edges, $1.25; full cloth, marbled edges, $1.50. The new bindings will materially add to the appearance of the book.
“Seer of Patmos” contains an attractive story of the prophecies of the book of Revelation, written in simple narrative form, and presents the important messages recorded in John’s prophecies. It will be found to be interesting, instructive, and helpful to all Bible students. It is nicely illustrated, and being written in story form, it is especially attractive to all classes.

Report of the Mount Vernon Sabbath-School and Young People’s Convention

THE orders for the report of the Young People’s Convention are coming in nicely, and doubtless in the near future the entire edition will be exhausted. Those who intend to secure copies of the report of this convention would better do so at an early date, before the edition is entirely exhausted. The report will be very valuable to all who are interested in the Sabbath-school and young people’s work. It will really be a textbook for this department during the coming year. The report contains the essential parts of the papers presented at the convention, the discussions and the various subjects considered, and the full resolutions passed during the convention. Price, 10 cents a copy.
Orders for any publication mentioned on this page may be sent to any conference tract society, or to Review and Herald Publishing Association, Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C.; 32 Union Square, East, New York; or Battle Creek, Mich. Also Pacific Press Publishing Company, Mountain View, Cal.; Portland, Ore.; Kansas City, Mo.; or Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Worth, Tex.

Editorial

By Editor

There is no grander quality in the Christian than unswerving loyalty. Others may prove false and desert the ranks, but the loyal one will only gird on the armor more securely and be unceasingly vigilant.
Every day brings its trials and its temptations, but there is abundance of grace for each day’s need. “Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need.”
The teaching of the abolition of God’s law must inevitably result in a lessened sense of guilt on the part of those who are doing what that law condemns. There are those who hold, for instance, that the Sabbath command is still in force, but that God is not particular about which day we keep. The result of this kind of teaching is no less disastrous than the other, for it makes the law’s meaning depend upon our whims and wishes. Through such teaching men lose their sense of the enormity of sin.
To love God is to serve God. “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” “This is love, that we should walk after his commandments.” That so-called love which is so free and spiritual that it claims to be above the obligation to serve God in a life in harmony with his commandments, is only another name for rebellion against God, and an excuse for following the inclinations of one’s own heart. “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoso keepeth his word, in him verily hath the love of God been perfected.” There is evident need now of insisting upon that kind of love for God which is manifested in obedience to his commandments. Righteousness by faith does not abolish the law of God. “Do we then make the law of none effect through faith? God forbid: nay, we establish the law.” “Blessed are they that are perfect in the way, who walk in the law of Jehovah.”

The Doctrine and the Experience of Justification by Faith

JUSTIFICATION by faith has always been a fundamental principle of Protestantism. It stands opposed to any form of self-salvation or self-righteousness. It exalts Jesus only, and makes prominent his merits, his spotless character, and the sufficiency of his atonement. It presents the greatness and the power of God in contrast with the littleness and the weakness of man, and always says, “Behold, your God!”
There is a wide difference, however, between justification by faith as a doctrine and justification by faith as an experience. It is one thing to teach that we can be made righteous only through faith in Christ, but it is quite another thing to reveal the change of heart and life which bears witness to the actual experience of justification. It is quite possible to hold and advocate the theory, but to know little of the experience, or to lose the experience, while still teaching the doctrine.
All this may become clearer to our minds if we consider the definition of justification by faith as an experience. We have a very simple and forcible definition given to us through the spirit of prophecy. Here it is: “What is justification by faith?—It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself.”—“Special Testimony, No. 9, page 62. Two special features of the experience of justification by faith should be noted,—the glory of man is laid in the dust, and an actual work of divine grace is accomplished which can be wrought by no human power. “Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? Nay; but by a law of faith.” “By grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory.” “Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
It is plain, then, that genuine humility is a necessary accompaniment of the experience of justification by faith. When the grace of humility is lacking, and one breathes the atmosphere of self-justification, even though he may not consciously deny the merits and the justifying work of Christ, yet he stands upon the ground of the man whose creed is justification by works.
The third angel’s message proclaims a warning against the beast and his image. It is a protest against popery and a degenerate Protestantism—a Protestantism which repudiates the very principles which led to the separation from Catholicism. In the very nature of the case the essence of this message must be justification by faith, not merely as a doctrine, but as a personal experience, and those who give the message must be clothed with humility. One may make a specialty of setting forth the evils of the papacy,and may expound those portions of the Scriptures which describe the work of the papacy, and may inveigh against the doctrine of justification by works as virtually taught by the papacy, and in the doing of all this may exhibit such a boastful spirit of self-justification and self-righteousness, as to make it perfectly clear that the vital essence of justification by faith—the truly humble heart—is painfully lacking.
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. . . . Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” This is justification by faith as an experience.

The Undue Emphasis

UNDUE emphasis upon the love of God to the exclusion of the justice of God prepares the way for Universalism. Undue emphasis upon the omnipresence of God to the exclusion of any true idea of his personality prepares the way for pantheism. Undue emphasis upon righteousness by faith and free grace to the exclusion of obedience as an essential condition of eternal life prepares the way for antinomianism. Undue emphasis upon any doctrine of the Scriptures to the exclusion or to the neglect of other doctrines essentially connected with it results in a distorted view of the truth, and prepares the way for error. We can not place too much emphasis upon the teaching of the Bible as a whole, but we may emphasize portions of it at the expense of other equally important portions, and thus change divine revelation into merely human conception — truth into fanaticism.

The Old-New Gospel

“Concerning His Son”

In beginning his letter to the believers in Rome the apostle Paul thus speaks of the gospel which he preached: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he promised afore through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name’s sake.” Here it is stated in a simple way that the gospel which was proclaimed in Paul’s time was the same gospel as was the theme of the prophets, and that in both cases it was the good news “concerning his Son.” This furnishes a sufficient basis for the fundamental truth, in confirmation of which abundant testimony is borne in the Scriptures, that in the gospel we deal primarily with the Son of God, Christ the personal being, rather than with abstract doctrines. In saying this we do not undervalue the importance of sound doctrines, but give to all doctrines the personality and the power of the I AM. All the words of God are thus revealed as the Word of God, and come to us as spirit and life; and in our study of the gospel we are constantly beholding the face of Jesus, and by beholding we are changed into the same image.
Let us read some of the gospel promises and gospel prophecies which testify of the person and work of the Son of God, “who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh:” “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” In this first promise and prophecy of salvation for the human family the gospel is presented as a controversy between two persons, with the assurance that the seed of the woman would gain the victory, but through suffering. Those who are in vital union with the seed of the woman, in whose hearts Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of man, dwells as the very life of their life, will triumph in him and with him. This union and this indwelling are the fruit of faith which lays hold of the person of Christ, according to that wonderful summary of gospel truth: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Again: the following gospel prophecy was given to Moses, and through him transmitted to us: “I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” This prophet was “Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.” He both preached the gospel and was the gospel.
Again: the Lord said to Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; . . . and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” “All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.” We are not left to conjecture concerning the definite meaning of these promises; it was the preaching of the gospel in the person of Christ: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. . . . Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. . . . And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.” The provision made by means of which we may be Christ’s, and the way in which we are to avail ourselves of this provision, are all set forth in the Scriptures, and constitute the sound doctrines of so much importance, but in the foreground stands the person of Christ in whom all these doctrines find both their center and their circumference.
Again: Nathan the prophet brought this message to David: “Moreover Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house. When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” With this belongs the prophecy spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even forever.” That both of these gospel prophecies find their fulfilment in him, “who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,” is made clear by the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, in foretelling the birth of Jesus: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” This is the Jesus “who gave himself for our sins;” who “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;” who took part of the same flesh and blood as the children had, “that through death he might bring to naught him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” This is he who “is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” This is he who has said: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne.” Personal fellowship with a personal Christ is the very essence of the gospel experience, the aim of all doctrines. “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us: that the world may believe that thou didst send me. And the glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfected into one; that the world may know that thou didst send me, and lovedst them, even as thou lovedst me.” “Christ brought human nature into a personal relation with his own divinity. Thus he has given a centerfor the faith of the universe to fasten upon.” Genuine faith lays hold upon Christ the living Saviour.
The Bible is not a text-book in systematic theology, neither does it contain a creed drawn up for our acceptance, but it presents Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, and teaches us how to accept him as the one who saves from sin. The great commission, “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations,” is further explained in the words of Jesus to the disciples after his resurrection: “Ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” They were to bear testimony concerning Jesus, as Peter did: “He charged us to preach unto the people, and to testify that this is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. To him bear all the prophets witness, that through his name every one that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins.”
We hope no one will see in these statements any reason for attaching less importance to the value of the doctrines of Scripture, but we also hope that all will see good reason for being sure that they both teach and receive all doctrines “even as truth is in Jesus.” “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled, concerning the Word of life . . . declare we unto you also, that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

A Dangerous Message

By C. M. S.

THE idea of universal peace is in the air. Numerous peace conferences have been held during the past year in America and Europe, and the majority of religious papers look upon this as a hopeful sign of the banishment of war and the rule of amity and righteousness.
While the desire for peace is a righteous desire, and the special blessing of God is pronounced upon the peace-makers, it would be the height of folly for us to pin our faith to the inauguration of a reign of universal peace in this world before the advent of our Lord and the destruction of the wicked.
The cry of “No danger” will not save lives in a burning house nor extinguish the hungry flames. It will not save lives on a sinking ship nor stop the inflow of the rushing water. No more will the cry of “Peace and safety” now insure the welfare of those deluded by it, or bring about the conditions so ardently hoped for. The only place of safety in this world is under the shadow of the Almighty, and the only abode of peace in this world is in the heart of the one thus sheltered.
As long as the human heart can hate, the human hand will know how to fashion the instruments of hate and use them. As long as human hearts are carnal hearts, the people of this world will war upon one another. Legislation can not change men, law can not alter desires, international congresses can not turn sabers into scythes or soldiers into tillers of the soil. There is nothing in legal enactments to make men hate the terrible business of the battle-field or look with sorrow upon the pomp and pageantry of military “glory.”
This world is powerless to “enact” peace, because it possesses no method by which to change the hearts and aspirations of men. It can not give men the power or inclination to love their enemies, to return good for evil, to pray for those who despitefully use them and persecute them. Only the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ can affect such a transformation in the souls of men. And that agency is not employed in this “peace and safety” movement.
The gospel is certain, however, to bring about peace and safety; but when that condition obtains in this world, the elements of discord will have been winnowed out. There will be no need for peace congresses then; and still the inhabitants of that purified land will “delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” The soul truly converted to God may enjoy peace and safety now in the very midst of this world’s alarms. While peace congresses are talking of peace, he is experiencing it; while they are longing for it, he has it—a veritable foretaste of heaven. The Christian can have peace and safety even now; but this present world can never have it: it is wrongly constituted.
In spite of this fact, however, there will come a time when the people of this world will think they have at last so arranged matters that peace and safety are assured, and will make the declaration that it has been achieved. But “then sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall not escape.” Giving the “peace and safety” cry will be the most dangerous business in which man can engage. The giver of that message will deceive and ruin his own soul. It is worth while to know what the “peace and safety” cry involves and where the true peace and safety can be found, now and always.
C. M. S.

Resting “According to the Commandment”

THAT the seventh day of the week, now commonly called Saturday, is the only Sabbath which rests upon Scriptural authority is perfectly plain to those who are willing to accept the Bible as it reads. “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and this is the only definition of the Sabbath which has been made known to us. In the absence of any “Thus saith the Lord” for the observance of any other day, those whose practise is out of harmony with the Scriptures, which they profess to follow, often find themselves driven to the extremity of bringing forward objections which they claim make it impossible to obey the plain teaching of the commandment. One of these objections, often made, is to the effect that we are not certain that the day which we now call the seventh day of the week is the original seventh day, and that there is no way by which this question can be decisively settled. It seems to us, however, that there is a very simple and satisfactory solution of this alleged difficulty in the Bible itself, without the necessity of appealing to calendars or calculations.
In the inspired account of the burial of Jesus we find the following: “And the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.” Let us note the conclusions which may properly be drawn from this record: 1. A distinction is clearly drawn between days. 2. They rested on the Sabbath from work which they felt at liberty to perform on the first day of the week. 3. The day on which they thus rested was the one just preceding the first day of the week. 4. In resting on this day they met all the requirements of the commandment, for “they rested according to the commandment.”
It is generally conceded that the present first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, has come down to us in unbroken succession from the time of the resurrection of Christ, and the reason now given for the observance of Sunday is that it is kept in honor of the resurrection. All that is required, then, in order to keep the original Sabbath, “according to the commandment,” is to rest on the day just preceding the day on which Christ rose from the dead, that is, on the present seventh day of the week, commonly called Saturday. This is what the women did at the time of the crucifixion of Christ, and in doing this, we are authoritatively told, they “rested according to the commandment.” In following their example we shall also rest “according to the commandment,” and may therefore feel assured that we are meeting to divinesatisfaction the requirements of the law concerning the day of the Sabbath.
If the objection here considered has really troubled the minds of any of our readers, or has been urged by others when the Sabbath was presented to them, we hope the suggestions here made may be helpful in removing any supposed difficulty. The more the subject is examined, the plainer it will appear that the seventh day is the Sabbath enjoined in the Scriptures, and that in observing the present seventh day of the week we are resting “according to the commandment.”

What We Must See in the South

By William A. Spicer

Now is the time to push into the towns and cities of the South with this advent message. I wish every believer might have had the view we have had set before us at every camp-meeting in the South—the public coming out night after night and filling the tent with interested listeners. Everywhere it was the same.
All through these southern towns the message must go. Somehow more help must be turned in this direction. Think of it. The meeting is just closing in Georgia, in the suburbs of Atlanta. The public interest demands the continuance of the meetings. But the only minister active in the evangelistic field in Georgia is Elder G. W. Wells, the president of the conference. And Georgia is the Empire State of the South, with a population exceeding that of Wisconsin, or Minnesota, or Nebraska, or California. All about in the State are fine cities—unworked and unentered. Where the message has been preached, it has borne fruit. Surely these great and enterprising and fruitful fields must not long continue so undermanned.
The little bands of canvassers are increasing in these States, and the records from month to month show that quite generally the sales in these fields have led the list. Where the literature is distributed in this way, the field is being prepared for the sustained evangelistic effort. It seems that from the larger staff of laborers in other parts must be drawn a large number of experienced workers who shall join our brethren in the South in proclaiming the truth in these cities and towns.
County after county, and now State after State, are prohibiting the liquor traffic. This country has never witnessed such an uprising for temperance reform as that which is now sweeping through the South. A public engaged in such practical and thorough reformatory work is the public among which the principles of this advent message must find many adherents.
Our brethren are doing their utmost to meet the situation, but they are such a little band in every State, while the opportunities are so magnificently large and inviting. Truly, now is the time to press into the cities and towns of the South. Pray for more canvassers to enter with the literature, and for more public laborers to join in preaching the message. We must see this worked out somehow, for no one can read the signals of God's providences without seeing that there must be some way of distributing evangelistic effort to bring larger forces into action in the South. W. A. S.

The Unrest of the Nations

FROM an editorial in the Independent of recent date, entitled “The Unrest of the Nations,” we quote:—
Like a political influenza, a general popular unrest and dissatisfaction seems to be passing over the world. It is far more general than the extraordinary uprising of 1848, for that was confined to Europe; the present disturbance seems to cover the whole Eastern continent and to threaten the Western.
Let the reader take his map of the world and pass his eye from one great nation to another and observe how wide is the disaffection. There is Russia, which covers half of Europe and a third of Asia. The people hate their government, and are devising ways to get rid of their czar and create a really free nation. A whole nation is in rebellion. Then go south, and you come to China, just now hastening to reverse its whole theory of civilization, and face the West instead of the East. It is not the mere introduction of railroads and telegraphs and motor-cars; it is far more than that. It is the new education, the new patriotism, the new will to be strong, as Germanyand Japan are strong, and then to submit to no foreign dictation. Perhaps the greatest event of the present half-century is to be the renaissance of China, for that will change the balance of the world.
Then look south again to India. We do not wonder that Great Britain is concerned for her empire. Her chief thought now is of the unrest in India. What does it mean? What will it do? India does not love the nation that has united it, and given it civilization and education and peace and prosperity quite equal to the best it has ever had, and that notwithstanding famines and plagues. The Hindus are waking up to the fact that they do not rule, but are ruled, and they are meeting in congresses, and public speakers are haranguing the people, telling them that India is for the Indians; and they boycott British goods and repeat their cries of liberty and patriotism and hatred of the ruling power. The air is electric, and General Kitchener holds his army in readiness for something that may be more general and more dangerous than the Sepoy Rebellion.
And so we might go over the whole map. Even Persia demands a new constitution. We begin to see the same unrest in Egypt; and South Africa is trying uncertainly to adapt itself to new conditions, not yet knowing whether the Briton or the Boer is to rule, and both looking askance at the black peril. In Europe, France questions whether her government is truly free, and was greatly startled the other day when it appeared that the army was untrustworthy, and that there had been mutiny in various regiments. Not in France alone, but in Germany, in Italy, in Austria, in Belgium, in Holland, in England, the new political doctrine of socialism is undermining the governments, threatening their constitutions, and proving that the common people are dissatisfied with the way they are ruled, and are seeking a new liberty. In Great Britain, Ireland is demanding more than her friends can give her as yet, and the British House of Commons has spoken the ominous threat that it will not longer consent to be ruled by rich men whose titles and right to govern come to them by birth. Even in America we see clear signs of the same coming unrest, in the determination that combinations of wealth shall not rule the land. White workmen in the North and black workmen in the South demand their own.
The author then attributes this unrest to the education of the people as to their rights; but, while observing men may profess to see a reason for existing conditions, such statements as the above are an evidence of the fulfilment of the Saviour’s prediction that after the “signs in sun and moon and stars” there should be “upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity . . . men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world.” Let us not forget that the angels are “holding the four winds of the earth, that no wind should blow on the earth, or on the sea, or upon any tree . . . till we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

Another Opportunity

By R. A. Underwood

SABBATH, October 5, is the day set apart in the United States to take a free-will offering to assist the work among the colored people in the South. I understand that last year our donation to this branch of the work fell several thousand dollars short of that of the previous year. Various conditions, which do not exist at the present time, doubtless led to this decrease. We were making a strong effort then to enter upon the raising of the $150,000 fund. This effort affected the revenues in other directions more or less. Minnesota and North and South Dakota have now practically raised their proportion of this fund, although I hope that all will continue to do something until the entire amount is raised.
But let us at this time give a good, liberal donation to assist the needy work of helping the ten million or more colored people in the South. That field is a needy field. We owe to this people the third angel's message. Many, many years were they oppressed, kept in bondage and in ignorance. The sad condition that exists among them is largely due to the neglect of the Christian people of the United States for many years. It is high time that we redeem the past, and do all in our power quickly to bring the light of the knowledge of the gospel to this people.
I trust that each conference, all the laborers in each conference, and the officers of each church, will feel a personal responsibility to bring before the brethren and sisters on Sabbath, October 5, the needs of the work for the colored people. May God add his blessing to all the faithful efforts put forth to help our needy brethren.
I suggest that in each company of Sabbath-keepers, the leader give notice to the brethren on the first Sabbath after reading this, of the day on which this offering is to be taken, and request those who can not be in attendance to send in their donation to the church treasurer, that this fund may be forwarded without delay. R. A. UNDERWOOD.
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