In a speech before the Unitarian Club of San Francisco, General MacArthur is reported to have said that “war is the implement placed in the hands of man to further civilization. It will continue indefinitely, as the means by which nations and men will carry forward their higher ideas.” If the introduction of the liquor traffic and kindred evils among aboriginal and semi-civilized peoples is to be reckoned as furthering civilization, the general is right. It will continue for a while, of course, to carry out some men’s “higher ideas.” But the very highest ideal yet presented before men is the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and it is an ideal of peace and good-will. The “soldiers” of Christ, who have a world-wide mission, are sent forth to preach the Gospel to every nation and kindred and tongue and people. These “soldiers of Christ” carry a message that is the greatest civilizing power this world ever has known, yet they are not to use “carnal weapons” in their “warfare.” They are, however, to be equipped with the “whole armor of God.” This includes a girdle of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; all of which are to be used with a spirit of prayer and perseverance. Yes, men use war to “carry forward their higher ideas;” but it is not Christ’s idea of furthering civilization. The civilization that will fit men for the kingdom of God is inculcated through the Word of truth. It is a work of love. “The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” This is the true principle of civilization. The annihilation of the American Indians is an illustration of war as an implement of civilization.
NOT SETTLED THAT WAY.
In an effort to settle the Sabbath question, with the Sabbath entirely left out (which would vitiate the whole law), a contributor to a local contemporary quotes Neh. 9: 13, 14, and then says:—
Now, these verses tell us, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that God first made known unto them His Sabbath at Sinai, by the hand of Moses. If they had already known it, there would have been no need for Him to make it known to them.
We will not assume that the writer of that comment never read Exodus 16; there is no doubt that he was familiar with the record there, and knew that the Sabbath was not first made known to Israel at Sinai. Moreover, the act of making known the Sabbath surely implies its previous existence. It would be just as logical to argue that the true God did not exist until He was made known to a class of people whose apostasy had separated Him from their knowledge, or that there was no Saviour of mankind until Jesus of Nazareth was made known by John the Baptist. Are we to suppose that there is no need to again make known the way of truth to those who have lost the way?
Yes, God caused all the typical sabbaths to cease, but His own memorial Sabbath was not typical. It was established at creation, before the fall, when as yet there was no occasion for types and shadows and ordinances. Gen. 2: 2, 3. The law of ordinances was repealed (Eph. 2: 15), but the law of Ten Commandments, of which not a jot or tittle could be changed (Matt. 5: 17, 18), makes no mention of ordinances. Under the new covenant it is written in the hearts of God's people. Jer. 31: 31-33. The Sabbath of the Lord is never called "their Sabbath," or "your Sabbath," only as they would make it theirs by profaning it. Otherwise God calls it "My Sabbath," or "My holy day," and it will endure, with the name of Israel, even in the new earth. Isa. 66: 22, 23. It will be a sign between God and the children of Israel throughout their generations, and that will be everlasting. Matt. 19: 28. All of God's people are Israel. The Gentiles, or unbelievers, are grafted into the old spiritual root by faith in Jesus Christ. See Rom. 11: 13-27.
The Sabbath question, or any other question, can not be settled by ignoring the law of God.
Creation and the New Birth
Creation is not evolution; it is a direct, arbitrary act. God did not evolve man by a long process; He created the man, by a word, from the dust of the earth. There was no germ in the earth from which such a being ever could have sprung spontaneously. His moral nature, his disposition to obey the moral law of God, did not come from the earth; it was implanted by the Creator. If the earth produced it, there is no reason why it should not inhere in all animal life. For this reason, when man fell from his high estate and became disobedient, there was no power in the earth, or on the earth, by which he could be restored. His former spiritual standing could not be regained by any process of evolution, for there was no earthly germ from which it could spring. Therefore a moral restitution must be by a new creation. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." There must be a cleansing from sin, and a reimplanting of the Spirit of God. There is nothing inherent, upon which to build a spiritual life, no inherent seed from which such a life can evolve. A new spiritual life is possible only by the grace of God, and a new birth of the Spirit by faith in Christ.
CONGRESS LEGISLATES THE THIRD TIME IN BEHALF OF "SABBATH" OBSERVANCE.
By John Bradley
[By John Bradley, editor Sentinel of Liberty.]
TWELVE years ago the Congress of the United States committed itself to an evil and dangerous precedent and principle. It concerned itself with and legislated upon the religious matter of "sabbath" observance. This was done in making an appropriation from the national treasury for the Columbian Exposition, at Chicago. A Sunday-closing proviso was placed in the bill in the interests of the "sabbath" and "sabbath" observance. This action was in response to the wishes, demands, and threats of that portion of the religious element of the nation which would have the religious Sunday enforced by law; and the record shows that the religious motive and purpose of the religious element wielded the controlling influence in the matter. That action was historic, for in taking it the Congress of the United States for the first time in its history legislated in the interests of the "sabbath," and upon the matter of "sabbath" observance, thus committing itself to the evil and thoroughly un-American and un-constitutional principle of religious legislation.
And the precedent established in 1892 is proving itself to have been a precedent indeed for all similar cases. It is now practically certain that no very large exposition appropriation can be made by Congress without a proviso requiring Sunday-closing or "sabbath" observance on the part of the exposition to which the appropriation is made.
The second instance of such legislation was in connection with the appropriation to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, and now the third has come in connection with the appropriation of $2,000,000 for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, to be held at Portland, Ore. On February 8 the bill authorizing this appropriation came up for consideration in the Senate, and among the amendments proposed by the committee having the bill in charge was the following:—
SEC. 27. That no machinery shall be operated on said exposition grounds on a Sunday for the purpose of display, and all places of amusement within the inclosure of the exposition grounds shall be closed on every Sunday during the period that such exposition shall be held. Provision shall be made by those in charge of the exposition grounds for the holding of devotional exercises and sacred concerts on the grounds on Sundays.
Senator Platt, of Connecticut, at once moved that the following be substituted for the amendment proposed by the committee, and announced that he would ask for "the yeas and nays" on his motion:—
That as a condition precedent to the payment of any and all appropriations made in this act, the corporation in charge of the exposition shall contract with the Secretary of the Treasury to keep the gates closed on Sundays during the entire period of the exposition.
The first amendment would, of course, permit the opening of the exposition grounds to visitors on Sunday, while the second, like that adopted with regard to the St. Louis Exposition, would not only require the complete Sunday-closing of the exposition, but would also, as a safeguard to that end, require the management to enter into a contract with the Secretary of the Treasury to do as a condition precedent to obtaining the appropriation, or any part of it. This is a feature which the first Sunday-closing enactment did not possess, and is one which decidedly fortifies the Sunday-closing requirement. A feature of considerable significance, which has not appeared in either of the former enactments, is the requirement in the first amendment that "provision shall be made . . . for the holding of devotional exercises and sacred concerts on the grounds on Sundays."
Altho Congress has twice committed itself to the precedent and principle of such legislation, it is evident that the thoroughly ominous day has not yet come when all the national legislators are ready to acquiesce in that precedent and principle. It is a pleasure to report that, before the final action was taken in this third instance of the enactment of legislation in behalf of "sabbath" observance by the highest legislative body of the nation, a discussion took place during which the very improper and unconstitutional character of the two amendments in question was emphasized. And as this matter of congressional dealing with the matter of Sunday or "sabbath" observance is one of special importance, and one in which every person who has any appreciation of what is involved must have a lively interest, we will present here the pertinent portions of this discussion, quoting, of course, from the Congressional Record. First is a statement by Senator Fulton, who spoke for the committee having charge of the bill:—
Let me explain our position, Mr. President. You will observe that the committee amendment requires all the machinery to be closed down and all places of amusement to be closed. It provides for religious exercises and sacred concerts being held within the inclosure on Sundays. This question has been discussed very widely in the city of Portland and throughout the State of Oregon. Almost unanimously the people favor the amendment proposed by the committee. There are some who are opposed to it, and favor the proposition suggested by the senator from Connecticut—a few of the churches; but the churches and religious organizations are divided on the proposition, quite a number of the leading church societies are strongly in favor of the proposition reported by the committee.
Mr. Bailey—I can not quite understand why this Congress shall prescribe that anybody anywhere shall conduct religious exercises. I presume there are a number of churches in Portland, and I presume that both the inhabitants of that city and the visitors there can easily attend their churches, and no doubt they will do so. I not only am opposed to the amendment of the senator from Connecticut, which proposes to close the gates of this exposition against people who must work six days in the week, and would like to take their wives and children and go into that exposition on the seventh day, but I am opposed to inserting into a law of Congress any requirement that anybody shall be compelled to hold religious exercises of any kind. . . . I believe as devoutly as anybody in churches; I believe in the propriety of religious exercises; but I do not believe they ought to be held under the requirements of Congress.
Mr. Platt (of Connecticut)—Mr. President, this matter has come up unexpectedly, and so I have not had time to examine the law which provided for the Chicago Exposition, and the law which provided for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition; but I desire to say that in the law which provided for the Chicago Exposition, a clause similar to that which has been proposed by the committee for the partial closing of this exposition on Sundays was enacted. It was provided that the machinery should not be in operation, but when it came to the St. Louis Exposition, substantially the amendment which I have proposed was offered and was enacted and made a part of that bill.
. . . Congress provided in the St. Louis Exposition bill that the gates should not be opened on Sundays; and I think Congress ought not to recede from that proposition. I do not propose to discuss the matter at length. There is something to be said on both sides of the question; but I think that Congress, once having taken that stand, ought not to recede from it, and I desire to have the yeas and nays on my amendment.
Mr. Bailey—I am disposed to sermonize on this question, using the particular phase of it which now presents itself as a text. One senator wants Congress to enact a Sunday-closing law in a State of the Union, and another senator proposes that we shall have sacred concerts under the auspices and command of the Federal Congress. Independently of an exposition, no senator would suggest for a moment that a request or resolution of the Federal Congress, proposing either, would receive the slightest consideration. But our jurisdiction once attaching by this, as I believe wrongful application, or, I will say, this unwise application of the public money, then we proceed to provide for religious ceremonies, the observance of the "sabbath," and a number of other things, wholly foreign to the province of the Federal Government. I myself believe that we could safely leave it to the State of Oregon to say whether the exposition shall be opened or closed on Sundays. If they are entitled to this help from the Federal Congress, then it comes with bad grace that the General Government shall take them by the throat and compel them to comply with our requirements, rather than leave them to comply with the requirements of the State that created the corporation that is to hold the exposition. I do not know just how religiously inclined they are in Oregon, but I take it that the senator from Connecticut and the senator from Texas, if we are fortunate enough to visit the exposition, could manage to get along during our brief stay there under any system which it pleases the people of Oregon to live under all the while. It looks to me as the very history of this provision, as traced by the senator from Connecticut, serves to warn us. We first began at Chicago, providing that there should be no exhibits on Sunday. That matter might have safely been left to the State of Illinois, but Congress in its wisdom took it under its own control. We proceed along this line for ten years. Then comes the St. Louis appropriation, and then the Congress not only says there shall be no government exhibits open to inspection on Sundays, but that the gates shall be closed. Then when we reach Portland, in Oregon, in this good year of our Lord 1904, we are confronted with a proposition to require religious exercises and sacred concerts. Thus the matter grows apace, and these local communities, in order to get federal aid, in the shape of money, are submitting their local affairs to the control of the General Government.
So far as I am concerned, I do not think the religious people of this country are looking to Congress to protect their religion. Their religion has grown and spread its blessed teachings all over this land without the aid of the laws of Congress, and without even the aid of the Legislatures of the several States. The religious sentiment of this country makes no such demand as this upon the American Congress. It does not require, indeed it will not sanction, a law of Congress that assumes that the people of these communities can not be trusted to spend their Sabbath days in the proper observance of their religious duties. . . . It is not generous, to say the least, to contribute something toward the assistance of this enterprise and then to compel it to submit its control in this regard to the laws of Congress.
Senator Mitchell, of Oregon, who was especially interested in securing the passage of the bill, had already moved to strike from the last sentence of the committee's amendment the words "devotional exercises and," which motion had been agreed to, and at this point he moved to strike out the whole sentence, which was agreed to after Senator Stewart, of Nevada, had made these very appropriate and pertinent remarks:—
Mr. President, I hope the action of the senator from Oregon will prevail, and I presume it will, but I should like to remark here that I think it inappropriate for Congress to enact any legislation in regard to the religious observance of the Sabbath, or any other matters pertaining to religion. It was the most fortunate condition that ever occurred on earth that in the formation of our Constitution religious freedom was ordained. The people of the different colonies came here as believers in the creeds of various denominations. They were very radical in their beliefs, and it was many years before the residents of some of the colonies could even visit the others. When, finally, the conflict came with Great Britain, the colonists united for the purpose of general defense, and after they had succeeded in the Revolution it was found necessary, in order to preserve the government, that they form a Constitution. But so jealous were they of their particular creeds—for there were different creeds in each of the colonies—that they left out any reference to creed in the Constitution and provided that each individual might worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. I believe that idea has done more for liberty, for religion, for progress, and for civilization than any other provision of the Constitution, or any other proposition that was ever made in this or any other country. In traveling through Europe last year and some years before I met the people there alluding to our country and the blessing of the principle that here prevails, that all people may worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience.
I am utterly opposed to assuming any jurisdiction over the consciences of men, or regulating their religious principles by the General Government; because our position on that question has permeated the entire world; it is world-wide; it is going on revolutionizing the bad practices of tyranny everywhere, and the people of the whole world long for that glorious privilege. All interference in the matter of religion having been removed from the province of the General Government, by common consent in forming the Constitution, I agree with the senator from Texas, and am old-fashioned enough to wish to have all allusion to Sunday-closing or religion left out of the bill, and let the States and local communities regulate such matters as they see proper.
When the roll was called, Senator Platt's amendment was adopted by a vote of 29 to 17, there being 44 members of the Senate absent at that time. At this writing the bill has not yet come up for consideration in the House, but of course when it does, the Sunday-closing, or "sabbath observance," amendment will be passed. And then, so far as its being followed in similar cases is concerned, it may be9considered that the Congress of the United States has become thoroughly committed to the evil and dangerous precedent and principle first established and adopted twelve years ago; for it will then have committed itself in the matter for the third time. And let no one suppose that this will go no farther than the Sunday-closing of expositions. It is not the nature of such a precedent and principle to remain confined to the comparatively mild form in which they first gain a footing. The taking up and legislating upon the matter of "sabbath" observance by Congress, even tho it be in the mild and somewhat indirect form in which it has been hitherto, is something that is pregnant with very grave and lamentable consequences.
BEYOND THE TYRANNY OF TRADES-UNION.
[WE are not objecting to trades-union on rational, legitimate lines, but to the tyranny and intolerance of trades-union, and intolerance and tyranny in union or trust. For years we have pointed out the trend in American politics, in American legislation, in American society. More and more is public opinion as expressed in its representatives turning from true principles of liberty, and bending a pliant neck to the demands of social and semi-religious organization. The prophecy of God foretells the ultimate—persecution in religious matters. Read it in Rev. 13:11–16. And then read the following editorial from the Chicago Chronicle of Feb. 14, 1904.]
What Buttonism May Lead to.
One would think that among the membership of labor-unions, which embraces a great many intelligent and patriotic citizens, there would come some such self-questioning as this at times:—
If Americans can be intimidated in industrial matters, why not in matters of religion and conscience?
If Americans can be persecuted for working as their own inclinations and interests dictate, why not for voting in obedience to the same impulses?
If Americans may be beaten or killed for not joining a labor-union and contributing to its treasury, why not for failing to join a church or a secret society?
If Americans and their families can be ostracized, starved, and otherwise injured in person or estate, because they do not wear a button of a certain kind, why not because of their race, their nativity, or their color?
In a word, if some American principles are not recognized in organized labor, which avows a purpose and a hope to control government and society, what reason is there to suppose that any American principle will be respected if organized labor shall succeed in establishing the policies that it contends for?
These are not idle questions. They go to the root of things. They bring to the well-informed mind recollections of the ages of proscription through which humanity passed by toil and suffering to the privileges which even now only a small portion of it enjoys. They suggest most forcibly the barbarities practised at this moment in many quarters of the earth where all labor is oppressed and where organized labor has not yet made bold to assail the rights of others.
The names given to things often confuse and mislead the well disposed. Religious persecutions, whether directed against saints or bandits, have nearly always proceeded on some accusation against the victims calculated to inflame the minds and harden the hearts of the most circumspect. Political proscription is nearly always based upon an indictment of a whole people, which takes no exceptions into account. Men of unfavored races or colors have been hated and hunted, not on specific charges against themselves, but on sweeping generalizations intended to appeal only to passion and prejudice.
We may see the same inclination to-day in the spirit which controls so many of the leaders of organized labor.
Ostensibly our unions are formed for the purpose of advancing the cause of labor. They notoriously embrace only a small minority of the men and women who work for a living, and, in the nature of things, they can not hope to include them all. They set out, in the first place, to give their members an exaggerated idea of their own importance. In the second place, they teach dislike, antipathy, and hatred of all who have not assumed the obligations of membership.
Since no persecution for the sake of religion, race, or politics is entered upon without long preparation by slander and personal altercation, so the intolerance of organized labor does not find full expression until an imaginary class known as "scabs," to which may be attributed all the crimes in the industrial calendar, has been created, and against which the wrath of the organization can be directed.
In spite of the rage which the name itself engenders, the "scab" is no more an outlaw and an outcast than the most arrogant member of a union. He is an average American citizen. Man for man the "scabs" will compare favorably with the gentlemen whose names are carried on the rolls of the unions.
No man who can secure a sure passport to polite industrial society by the simple process of joining a union and paying dues—no man whose uncleanness can be washed away so quickly and so cheaply, can be such a leper inherently, as classification among the scabs is supposed to make him.
American citizens are persecuted as "scabs;" then, falsely and maliciously, just as are the Jews in Russia and the Christians in Armenia, on lies; by hate and by prejudice; as a result of passion; and in consequence of wholesale indictments having no basis of fact and being entirely beside the real issue.
American citizens, who have a right to be "scabs," and the majority of whom in labor-union parlance are "scabs," are oppressed not so much because they do not belong to unions as because they have been identified with an offensive epithet freely applied to all whom the leaders of the persecution would destroy. Calling a man non-union excites nobody. Calling him a "scab" stirs multitudes to riot and tumult.
It is the duty of the authorities, of course, to enforce the laws and to protect all citizens in their undoubted rights, but, whether this is done or not, can the men of good conscience in the labor-unions sanction a movement which may at any time be turned upon themselves?
Persecution begets persecution. One violation of the law leads to others. There is popular retrogression as well as popular progress. Governments become more arbitrary as well as more liberal. Freedom won at a great price is easily and quickly lost. Rights are taken away as often as they are bestowed. Encroachments upon one man's liberties always pave the way for the invasion of another's.
The spirit which is now unpleasantly conspicuous in the labor movement is at war with the elementary privileges of freemen. If it be not checked in industry, we may look for its introduction into matters of religion and politics, into matters of race and nationality.
Men who submit to a tyranny in their bread-winning need not be surprised if they fall victims to an all-embracing absolutism. Neither political nor religious liberty can long survive the loss of industrial liberty.
Let the misguided Americans, who, in silence assent to outrage and murder, think of these things.
THE WAR IN THE ORIENT.
PAGE after page of the daily press has been filled during the week with rumors and unauthenticated reports of what has transpired or is about to transpire in the war between the Russians and Japanese. A report, which came simultaneously from London, Berlin, and St. Petersburg, states that the contending forces met on the Yalu River, and that in the engagement which followed 2,500 Russians were left dead or wounded on the field. The report was credited in St. Petersburg, where it is said to have caused the deepest gloom. A reverse in the vicinity of the Yalu has been expected by the Russian commander-in-chief. This is what is believed to have caused him to withdraw his headquarters farther inland. Russia's greatest living general, Kuropatkin, has been appointed to the command of the land forces in the East. Vice-Admiral Makaroff has been appointed to succeed Admiral Alexeiff in the command of the Russian fleet.
Russia is said to be experiencing great difficulty in transporting her troops to the East, and at the same time transporting sufficient supplies of every kind for them and for those already there. She has undertaken a gigantic task, with her preparations very incomplete. Disease is reported to have broken out among the troops who are on their way across Asia, and the government is making hurried preparations for the despatch of additional doctors and nurses. On the other hand, Japan is reported to be fully prepared, and her forces fully equipped.
Within the week, if reports are correct, there have been several attacks on Port Arthur and the Russian fleet at that place by the Japanese fleet without serious results to either side. It seems, however, that the Japanese have lost one gunboat and two or more torpedo boats, in addition to the sinking of the five steamers with which they endeavored to block up the channel to the entrance of Port Arthur. The attempt was discovered by the Russians, and three of the vessels were sunk outside the entrance. Two went down inside, but it is not believed that they effectually block the entrance to the harbor.
While the Russians are planning to carry on a defensive campaign until April, the Japanese seem to be pushing their forces toward the zone occupied by the Russians. A battle is expected soon. A report from Cheefoo, China, states that the Japanese have landed 40,000 more troops at Chemulpo, Korea. A large division is reported to have landed at Possiet Bay, north of the Korean boundary, and it is believed to have been a part of this division which has been wrecking the railroad. If this report be true, it seems to be the intention of the Japanese to cut off both Port Arthur and Vladivostock from communication with headquarters, and invest and reduce these places. Parties of Russian scouts have crossed the Yalu; but no large body of troops has yet advanced into Korea.
The powers are striving hard to maintain "correct" attitudes, so as not to be drawn into the trouble. France feared that she might be involved on account of the new treaty between Japan and Korea, and hurried a message to England to forestall a possible calamity through England's misunderstanding of her attitude. England has declared her intention of not allowing Thibet to be dominated by Russian influence. So she will continue her course in that country in spite of Russia's irritation over the matter. There is much feeling in Russia against the United States, because of America's apparent sympathy with the Japanese. Japan has applied for permission to lay a cable to connect with the American cable at Guam, so that, in case her cable to Shanghai is cut, she will still be in communication with the rest of the world. The Russians intimate this would be considered a breach of neutrality for America to give such permission; but it seems quite possible that the permission will be given.
An Infanticide Syndicate
An infanticide syndicate has been discovered in the city of Philadelphia, and is carrying on its ghastly and cruel work for money, and seemingly unhindered. The bodies of ninety murdered infants, some of them but a few hours old, have been found on the streets of Philadelphia within the last six months. Twenty-seven have been found since January 1. During the month of December 60 bodies of such unfortunates were found in the alleys and culverts of that city. The police have evidence that in addition to these a large number of babies have been cremated, and they are seeking to find the crematory. It is said to be only the bodies of the babies of wealthy persons who are cremated. The others are disposed of in the cheaper way. Truly the sins of this old world are crying loudly to heaven.
The last necessary legal step has been taken in the matter of the Panama Canal treaty, which was ratified at Washington on February 26. It was at once signed by the President, who then issued a proclamation putting the treaty into effect. It is planned to have work begin on the canal at the earliest possible moment. United States marines will at once be assigned to the duty of policing the strip of territory which now comes under the jurisdiction of the United States. There still remain some legal questions to be settled in reference to former proprietorship in the canal property.
Conditions existing among the coke workers of Pittsburg and the Connellsville region are serious. In the grip of winter the men are becoming desperate, and charitable organizations in neighboring cities have been appealed to for aid. Since October fewer than 75 per cent of the ovens have been in blast, affecting more than 35,000 men. The mine workers have started a campaign of organization among the coke operatives.—Labor Leader.
A new treaty has been ratified between Japan and Korea, by the terms of which Japan guarantees the independence of Korea, and is to establish a protectorate over that country. Russia declares that she will not recognize the new treaty, and other powers have not committed themselves. This has introduced a new feature into the complications.
The city of Rochester has suffered a three million-dollar fire.
PRAYER.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of,
Wherefore let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats,
That nourish blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
For so the whole round world is in every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
Tennyson.
THE AFTER RESULTS OF FAMILY PRAYER.
By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle
BY MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE.
"If my children turn out badly, it will be through no fault of mine; so I am not going to worry," said a friend to me to-day.
"That's a good resolution," I answered, "for I don't think the Lord loves to see His people worry; but, my dear friend, I can not but fear that there should be more importance attached to the early training of our children, and to the influence with which we surround them while their characters are forming."
"Yes, that may be, but I believe that if a child has a natural inclination toward good, he will be good; if he naturally inclines toward evil, he will be evil in spite of his parents." I reached and took my Bible from the shelf, and quickly opened it. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old—" I paused a moment and looked earnestly into the clear brown eyes of the little woman beside me. "When he is old," I repeated, "he is quite likely to depart from it!"
"O, no, no! of course it doesn't say that."
"Well, does it say that he may possibly depart from it?"
"O, no,—it says he will not depart from it."
Ah, that is the trouble with so many of us! We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, of course, but when it cuts across our track, and we stand condemned in its presence, we wonder if it means exactly what it says. "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand." Ah, what a time to sow the good seed,—in the morning and in the evening!
"But," says one, "the morning is the busiest time of the day, and in the evening we are too weary." Never mind; if the Lord has taken the pains to tell us when is the best time for sowing the good seed of the kingdom, surely He knows best. What would we think of the farmer who would defer the planting of his corn or the sowing of his wheat until midwinter, because he was too hurried to attend to it in season? Would he expect a good crop of corn or a luxuriant harvest of wheat? Ah, if we would reap, we must not be too busy to attend faithfully to the sowing.
The earnest prayers of father and mother around the family altar have many and many a time proven like strong cords to lead the wayward son or tempted daughter back to the paths of virtue and honor, even tho they have wandered far away among the mountains of sin.
One day I was passing the window of a florist. Suspended by a cord from the ceiling, was a strange, ugly-looking root. Dry and dead, without beauty or fragrance, shriveled and withered it seemed, and I wondered that the florist had taken the pains to hang it in his window. A few days afterward, I looked in at the same window. Where was the ugly root? it had disappeared, and in its place grew a lovely plant. The long trailing branches were delicate and graceful, and the fresh, tender leaves were beautifully green. The florist had only placed the root in water—that was all; and I thought: Ah, those prayers morning and evening sent up to the throne of God by a godly father or mother, or a devoted sister, when watered by the tears of love shall never die! they will grow greener and more beautiful as the years go by. And as faithful memory recalls those earnest prayers which, perhaps at the time, seemingly fell upon dull ears, another link is added to the chain which leads the wanderer toward home and heaven.
"Many and many a time in the last half century," mused Grandpa Blake, "I have had cause to thank God that I had praying parents. Many a time have I been kept from the follies of sin by the thought that my name was upon mother's lips at the hour of prayer. 'I shall always think of you at the set of sun, John,' she said, 'and you must remember that I am praying for you. Father and I will never forget you, no matter where you are, at our evening and morning prayers.'"
"One evening, while I was a sailor, in mid-ocean a fearful temptation came to me. I had almost yielded. No one would be apt to find me out, and it would mean great worldly advantage. Almost the words 'I will do it!' fell from my lips,—almost. Suddenly, as tho a voice from heaven had spoken, I heard my name. The setting sun cast a halo of gold and crimson over the sky, which was reflected in the waters, and a single star shone like the eye of an angel in the far-off heavens. It was the hour of evening prayer in my boyhood home. 'John, my son, we are praying for you!'"
"Then there arose in my memory a picture of the old home. Far away over the hills I could hear in fancy the echo of the Sabbath bells, and almost catch the fragrance of the lilacs that grew by the window. Almost I could hear the voices of loved ones as, at the sacred hour of evening worship, they joined in the sweet refrain—
'O'er the hills the sun is setting,' then the gentle, pleading voice of my mother: 'Merciful Father in heaven, keep my boy from temptation. Send the angels from Thy presence and let them be as a wall of fire round about him.'"
The old man continued, "I could not yield to the tempter, with that sweet voice sounding in my ear;—and thus I was kept by the power of my mother's prayer."
O fathers and mothers, let not Satan hinder your faithfulness at the family altar! The seed may be a long time germinating; but it is good seed, and if it be watered with many tears and by the dew of heaven, it will some day yield a blessed harvest; for "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap;" and "as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud; . . . so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth; it SHALL NOT return unto Me void, but it SHALL accomplish that which I please, and it SHALL prosper in the thing whereto I send it."
Ah, sometime, sometime we shall receive an answer to our every prayer of faith, and such an answer as shall cause our hearts to throb with happiness, and our tongues to take up a song of victory.
Then sow thy seed in the fresh heart's soil,
And water it well with tears;
We shall see the harvest of all our toil
In the light of eternal years.