Signs of the Times, Vol. 43, No. 37. (9/19/1916)

Signs of the Times

Sep 19, 1916

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Sep 19, 1916

Gems Fit for a King

By Lucas Albert Reed

From Lusterless Masses to Brilliants of Great Purity

Jewel Cutting for the Diadems of Royalty

By LUCAS ALBERT REED

CARBON is one of the blackest, we might say, most defiling things, for color at least, in the world. Its black will endure for ages. For example, in the form of India ink or printer's ink, it will lie on the white page of the book until that carbon, changed in nature, though still carbon, becomes one of the most precious things we know.

This change takes place through the action of two great factors, pressure and heat, applied at the same time. While nature can apply both pressure and heat at the same instant, for man to do this is almost impossible; for when he has the requisite amount of heat to bring about the change in the carbon, that which the scientist employs for pressure relaxes its force through the undermining agency of the temperature. Hence diamonds cannot be made by man except upon a small scale. But nature can build her Kohinoor, and her Regent, and her Florentine, and her Orloff.

When the diamond once has been made, it must receive some of the most skillful work, and lose greatly in its substance, in order to become really valuable, and fit for the diadem of royalty. For example, the Kohinoor diamond, which came from the Golconda district, by unskillful cutting by Hortensio Borgio, lost in weight from 793 carats down to 186. When, in 1851, a decision was made to recut this diamond, its weight was brought down to 106 carats; but even so reduced, its value increased. The recutting improved it from a lusterless mass, scarcely better than rock crystal, to a brilliant of great purity and fire, whose value is estimated at seven hundred thousand dollars. It is now a part of the crown jewels of England.

The Regent or Pitt diamond, when it was found by a miner of Parteal, Golconda, India, in 1702, weighed in the rough 410 carats. Its cutting and polishing cost six hundred thousand francs. This work was done by the most expert workmen in France, and took two years. When finished, it weighed 136¾ carats, losing, as you see, two thirds of its weight; but it is now valued at nine hundred thousand dollars.

Then there is the other instance of the Orloff diamond, which in its rough state weighed 779 carats, and by cutting, in order to bring out its beauty and brilliancy, was reduced to 195 carats; but it is now valued at five hundred thousand dollars. It seems like a great waste of a valuable gem to destroy two thirds or three fourths of its substance in cutting it down to the finished gem; but if the cutting is well planned and wisely and skillfully done, every stroke increases the value of the diamond, because it changes it from a lusterless stone to a crystal that can send forth the most brilliant, solid shafts of light that anything on earth can reflect. While it loses much of its uninteresting self, it gains mightily in receiving the glow of reflected light. The light is not its own, but its ability to reflect that light and to shoot it forth lies within its own nature.

So it is with man. Of himself, he is a dull, uninteresting mass of selfishness; but if the work upon him is wisely planned and skillfully done — if, in fact, he is under the tutelage of the greatest Teacher of the universe — he comes to the place where he reflects the light of heaven. It is not his light; but the ability to reflect that light and send it forth lies within the nature which, through God, he has acquired. He becomes a partaker "of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

A diamond, to become valuable, must lose in size, must lose its roughness, and must take the shape best adapted for it, as determined by its original condition. Much depends, in this, upon the designer and the cutter. In the case of man, however, an unerring God takes him under His direction. With an absolutely accurate eye, He not only sees all that is in man, but all that may be developed or brought out through that which God shall work in; and thus He can make a man more precious than gold or gems.

This ability to see what lies in man, and to produce it in his life, may be illustrated by a block of marble. Perhaps it lies upon a hillside. There it is, ugly and uninteresting. It is blasted out of the quarry; it is brought into the shop of the sculptor.

He looks upon it. No one else can see in it anything more than a great,

rough mass of stone; but as he gazes upon it, and contemplates its form and possibilities, it stirs his imagination. He becomes interested, then filled with wonder. Almost reverently he at last prepares for his great task. He has not touched it yet, or at best only rudely blocked out its outlines; but looking at it with the eye of a master artist, he sees the angel within the stone. Then as that angel begins to take form, even the common bystander becomes interested, loses his disesteem, and begins to realize the possibility of the great block of stone from the hillside.

So also is it with man. God looks down upon His creatures; He sees what we are; but, oh, infinitely above all this, He sees what we may be; and when we have yielded to Him, He begins to bring out these qualities and powers. After feeling for a time the molding hands of God upon us, even we begin to see that there is a great purpose taking shape in our lives. More than ever before, we begin to respect that purpose, and we begin to coöperate and labor, that the great Master hand may be unhindered in shaping His grand and benevolent design.

True enough, He will cut away and rub and polish until every corner is gone, and every feature assumes its beautiful line in the great plan. But what shall we care for that? The "light affliction, which is but for a moment," works for us. Yes, it is our workman, our servant; it works for us "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Cor. 4:17.

The time spent in cutting away the substance of the diamond or the marble is not lost. The material that is gone is really gain. Thus with man. He loses self, that he may receive Christ. He loses his dullness, that he may reflect heaven's brilliancy.

There is no time lost with God. Moses was in the wilderness forty years. The world would have said, perhaps, if it had been asked counsel, that this was a great waste of time; but it was not. It was some of the most valuable time spent by Moses in all his career. He went into the wilderness a failure, a blunderer; but there, amidst the mountains and the plains, he was cut by the Master Workman to reflect the light of God. And when he came forth, he was invincible. His very face shone with the light of heaven; and only once in all that trying, terrible forty years with the rebellious people — only once did he fail. He had become the meekest man that ever lived. Time lost? — No, no more lost than the time spent in making a dull mass of crystal shine with the beauty of a Golconda diamond.

But man is not a dead mass, unyielding, inert. He can, if he will, work against the will of his Maker; but we are admonished to let the mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that works within. Man may be a prince, to rule with Christ, or he may become the most despicable character one can possibly conceive of.

The poet has well expressed the need of man's giving himself to this work, coöperating with God. We would heed the lesson so rhythmically told:

"I hold it the duty of one who is gifted, And royally dowered in all men's sight, To know no rest till his life is lifted Full up to his great gift's height." "He must mold the mass into rare completeness, For gems are set but in gold refined; He must fashion his thoughts into perfect sweetness, Cast folly and pride from out his mind." "For he who drinks from God's gold chalice Of art, music, or rhythmic song, Must sift from his soul the chaff of malice, And weed from his heart the roots of wrong." "I think the wrath of an outraged heaven Should fall on the chosen and dowered soul That allows a lump of selfish leaven, By slow fermenting, to spoil the whole." "Great gifts should be borne like a crown befitting, And not like gems on a beggar's hand; And the toil must be constant and unremitting That lifts up the king to the crown's demand."

The Man Whom God Chooses

By G. W. Caviness

OF all the characters, ancient or modern, there is none that surpasses Moses; and of him the Scriptures say, "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." Num. 12:3.

In all the history of Moses, we see only a modest, unassuming man, so very slow, at times, that others began to think Israel needed a leader that could lead. Time and again, there were those who rose up against him. Korah, Dathan, and Abiram concluded that they should be a part of the government, and presented their claims as being of some importance among the children of Israel; but we all know what happened to them.

Even in Moses' own family, his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam at one time found fault with him, and thought they were qualified to do some things better than he. It is very probable that Aaron said within himself, "I am the oldest, and should be respected most;" and in many respects, he did seem to have to take a leading part. Miriam perhaps thought that as she had cared for Moses when he was a babe, and put him in the little ark of bulrushes, there was no reason why he should not give attention and consideration to her.

A Remarkable Scene

As to the manner of Moses' life, one instance where he arranged for a battle will suffice: "Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." Ex. 17:8-12.

Here we see a remarkable scene. One man is sent with the army to fight the enemy; the other goes up to the top of the hill with two companions, and there looks on the battle. When he holds up his hands, Israel prevails. When his hands are let down because of weariness, then the enemies of Israel prevail. His hands are stayed up by his two companions, and the battle is won.

From the general who led the soldiers, we hear no complaint that Moses was old and feeble, was not up-to-date, was not an organizer, and was loose in his management — that Israel needed new blood in order that matters might go on as they should. We hear nothing of this from the young man who fought the battles of Israel. During the life of the elder man, Joshua simply obeyed his word, following out his every suggestion without complaint, never thinking that he himself was the one who was doing everything, and that Moses should be set aside. In thinking of this battle, I have often asked the questions: "Whose battle was it? Who really gained the battle? Who did the work? Who was accepted and chosen of the Lord in the matter?" Of course, we all know that the battle was the Lord's, and that the Lord approved of both men and what they did at that time.

Honoring Our Elders

LATER, when the time came for Moses to give up his work, Joshua was chosen, at the call of the Lord, to take his place. His amiable, quiet, unostentatious fidelity to the queer old man as leader was the surest evidence of ability to take the leadership when it was vacated. In the example of these two men, we see that which God approves; and the same characteristics displayed in these days will bring the approval of the great Leader of Israel.

Such a life, developed under such circumstances, and faithful in all, could not but have a mighty influence. Of the influence of Joshua we read, "And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that He had done for Israel." Joshua 24:31.

Of all the virtues a young man can show, none is of greater value, and not one reflects more glory upon his own character, than the respect he shows to his elders. If there are no really great, overshadowing characters in these days, it is because there is a lack in the development of the virtues illustrated by these two faithful children of God, — Moses and Joshua.

I May Walk with Him

By Worthie Harris Holden

John 16: 7; 14: 18

METHOUGHT, if I could travel many a mile, And see my Jesus for one little while, How that blest vision would abide for aye, To cheer and comfort me through every day! Ah! He is nearer than the closest friend, To succor and protect me to the end; And He abides with you, where'er you be, If you invite His tender sympathy. He left us not forlorn and comfortless, But that each lone disciple He might bless. Oh, solace sweet! He is my guide to-day, And I may walk with Him through all life's way.

WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN.

In His Footsteps

By C. G. Bellah

THERE is one time above all others when men desire to be at home, and that is when death approaches. At such a time, loved ones will tenderly soften the pillow, and lovingly touch the fevered brow, as no others can. At least a little of the sting is removed by the presence of loved ones, when the "golden bowl" is broken, and the "silver cord" loosed. When the heavy weights of the clock hang near the floor, and the cheeks grow paler, and the eyes brighter, then most of all do we crave the presence of those dear to us.

Yet there was One for whom there was no fit place to be born, no place to live in love and sympathy among His brothers; He was often misunderstood by His own mother, driven out by the members of His own little church at Nazareth; and He died at last of a broken heart, on a bleak hilltop outside the chosen city.

O Thou Blessed One, born in poverty between two oxen, and crucified between two thieves; Thou who didst willingly leave heaven's shining front door for us, to enter earth's dark and dismal back door; who didst gladly come out of a mansion in the glory land, to sojourn in a barn on earth; who wast rejected of men, and treacherously wounded in the house of His friends; who didst grow up, live, labor, and die out of His place,—help us to follow in Thy blessed, blessed footsteps! C. G. BELLAH.

The Great Awakening in Princeton

By Tyler E. Bowen

ARTICLE FOUR

The Great Temperance Rally at the Town Hall

This is the fourth installment in Mr. Bowen's interesting story on Princeton's great awakening. Because of the excellence of these articles, we would suggest that our readers keep the entire series to lend to friends and neighbors. If your back numbers are missing, they can be obtained from the publishers.

The sequel of the story will appear in our next issue — a recital of how the little church at Thirty-third and Pine was built.

MR. and Mrs. Lewis found good seats at the town hall about an hour before the time appointed for the temperance man from Washington to speak. Already the people were pouring in; and half an hour before time to begin, even standing room was at a premium.

"My, I'm glad we came early," whispered Mrs. Lewis to her husband.

He weakly assented, for somehow he had a premonition that something out of the ordinary was soon to happen. Presently four fine-looking young men stepped forward on the platform, as the deep-toned pipe organ began thundering deep chords from the distance, and the great audience was hushed into stillness as distinctly every ear heard:

"Yonder Rum's camp lights are burning. Hark to the revelry there! Waiting the conflict's returning, Scouts are abroad everywhere. We must be watchful and ready, See every entrance is barred, Keeping our heads cool and steady. All is lost sleeping on guard."

From Fire to Ice Water

THESE were but a few of the words of that impressive song. As the last notes died away, the mayor introduced Mr. Knight, from Washington. He was not so very large. At first, Mrs. Lewis was just a little disappointed. But from the start, his very soul seemed on fire. His eyes sparkled with fervency as he began dealing such blows to the rum traffic as many — very many — in that audience had never before heard. He presented facts and figures, similes, pointed anecdotes, and cold sarcasm, until the audience felt much as a piece of steel must feel after being made first hot, then cold, as it is thrust into the fire, then plunged into cold water.

Mr. Lewis's eyes seemed riveted upon the speaker, and his wife was a bit alarmed at his paleness; but just then the speaker was interrupted apparently by an old drunken man coming in from a side door, covered with rags and mud — a fit specimen of the saloon's output. Mr. Knight introduced him to the audience as "your husband," "your boy." Mrs. Lewis's heart almost stopped. "Yes, that might be almost any time now my Ed," she thought.

Talk about painting the whisky traffic in lifelike colors! It surely was done that night in a manner not soon to be forgotten. Mr. Knight went on past Sunday-closing enactments, past the high license schemes, local option, and all other temporary makeshifts, until he got down to the bedrock principles, and showed why every saloon in the country should be shut up, nailed up, and that, too, for every day in the year.

But what nearly took Mrs. Lewis's breath was one fire-flashed statement that "the wives and mothers are helping on this terrible traffic by the hot foodstuffs, red-peppered, thirst-producing stews, etc., served up from their kitchens as a common, everyday menu."

"The Finest Ever"

IT was shown that any man, to be a man, must get hold of some genuine principles of self-government, and live by them, rather than continue to be a weakling by giving up to every whim and temptation that happens to come along, as well as helping to deliver his fallen brother. The hour and ten minutes occupied by Mr. Knight passed before the large audience realized it, so interested were they; and many were the nods of approval one to another as the people slowly filed out.

At the door, Mr. Wilkinson caught Tom's eye, and on getting up closer, whispered in his ear, "What did you think of that?"

"The finest thing I ever heard in the line of a temperance lecture," came back the reply.

"I'll tell you what, Tom, I'm going to vote dry hereafter as long as I live. You can count on that," said Mr. Wilkinson, just a bit louder.

"Here!" "Here!" came a dozen voices all about, from men who had caught his remark. And as a sequel, the city of Princeton went dry that very autumn, as did the whole state. And one of the happiest women in the place was Mrs. Lewis, who saw, just in time, that her Ed was one of the rescued ones.

Nearly Plowed Under

A FEW weeks had passed. The time for the monthly meeting of allied pastors had come. Mr. Bradley overtook Mr. Clark on his way down to the large Methodist church where they were to meet that night.

"Well, it was a stiff fight the liquor men put up, wasn't it?" remarked Mr. Bradley, for the heavy campaigning was still fresh in mind. "I feared one while we should be plowed under."

"Yes," the other minister replied; "I was just thinking it over, and running back a little mentally to see where the tide really began to turn in favor of a saloon-free city. I was thinking that maybe that large town hall temperance meeting had something to do with it, in turning the tide here in Princeton."

"Perhaps so. I really think some of my men decided that night to vote in favor of uprightness and manliness despite the cry of a depleted treasury for lack of liquor-license revenues."

"But there is one thing I can't quite see," Mr. Clark went on to say. "Those Seventh-day Adventists have defeated our plans more than once for putting through laws to protect our American sabbath; yet when it comes to the rum business, they seem to think that ought to be voted out of existence."

Fight One, Support the Other

"Say, isn't that Mr. Knight across the street there? It looks to me like the very same man that lectured that night," broke in Mr. Bradley.

"I believe it is, really. Let's go over and make sure."

"Pardon us, but we thought we recognized you as the Mr. Knight who lectured here on temperance a while ago," said Mr. Clark, extending his hand.

"Yes, gentlemen, I was here with you a few weeks ago. I am just passing through to-day, and my connections were such that I had enough time to call on a friend, but I have learned he is out of town."

"Well, this is fortunate. Mr. Knight, my friend here, Dr. Bradley, and I were just talking about that lecture, and that led to another query. I'm going now to ask you straight out how it comes that you seventh-day folks are so down on Sunday laws, and do not oppose laws prohibiting the sale of liquor."

"Briefly," said Mr. Knight, looking at his watch, "as I have only about ten minutes to spare, I'll tell you why it is. Sunday, if it is anything, is a religious institution. Take the religion out, and you have no Sabbath. To uphold, by civil enactment, a religious institution, places the supporters of such a proposition squarely upon the platform occupied by the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Set Up Engine of Tyranny

"You have, gentlemen, only to look back over the centuries of bloody martyrdom of the

not-so-very-ancient past to find out just what that means to people. To enact Sunday laws in America, the Stars and Stripes of which stand for religious freedom, is but to set up once more here an engine of religious tyranny, such as our forefathers fled from Europe to escape, and which would not only be the death knell for religious freedom, yours as well as mine, but would ultimately end in persecution and the extreme penalty for dissenters — 'heretics,' if you please. It takes no prophet, nor son of a prophet, to see this."

"But suppose you seventh-day folks were in the majority, and people did not keep your Sabbath; wouldn't you want some Sabbath laws?" asked Mr. Bradley.

"No, sir. God is able to protect His own Sabbath. He does not need the help of the state to compel men to keep the day He has blessed. That would make hypocrites, but never Christians. Majorities have nothing whatever to do in prescribing religion for minorities. Jesus said, 'Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.' The Sabbath belongs to God, not to Caesar.

Would You License a Cesspool?

"On the other hand," Mr. Knight continued, while holding his watch in his hand, "the liquor business is not a religious institution. It is a menace to civilization. It ruins homes by ruining men and boys — yes, and many of our women as well. It breeds poverty, disease, death. Would you think it a crime to clean out a filthy cesspool in your back yard? But suppose the cesspool was just over your line on the next man's premises, and your neighbor cherished it as a precious revenue-producing treasure of his. Would you sit idly by, with the death-laden fumes from it wafting into your kitchen and your dining room, exposing your loved ones to actual disease and death? — Hardly.

"Thus we view the saloon. It is a hole of vice, a death trap for boys and men; and our duty as men is to help to stamp out the venomous reptile-producing nest that it is. In a nutshell, gentlemen, this is why we fight one set of laws and favor the other. I see I'll have to run to catch my train."

"Thank you, Mr. Knight. We hope you'll make your train," said Dr. Clark, as they hastily shook hands in parting.

Not Novices at the Game

"It looks as though he has the straight of it, doesn't it?" queried Mr. Bradley.

"It certainly looks that way," Dr. Clark replied. "Those are good old American doctrines, anyhow, on which all of us, the Catholics thrown in, have thrived here in the United States. Religion and politics don't mix very well, that's sure.

"And when we get into religio-politics," he continued, "we must reckon with the Roman Catholics, for they are not novices at that game. And I tell you, Brother Bradley, it's beginning to look as though religion were getting into politics to a significant extent here in this country. If it were not for that old Jewish Sabbath of theirs, I think I could work first-rate with Mr. Knight and his folks; but —"

Here we lost them as they went into the ministers' meeting.

Continue reading: A Thousand Years in Prison