Signs of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 47. (12/16/1880)

Signs of the Times

Dec 16, 1880

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 16, 1880

THE PROSPERITY OF ISRAEL FORETOLD.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

THE king of Moab was disheartened and distressed at the second failure of his efforts to secure a curse upon Israel. In the anguish of his soul he exclaimed, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all." Yet a faint hope still lingered in his heart, and he determined to make another trial. He now conducted Balaam to Mount Peor, where was the temple noted most of all for the disgusting scenes of licentiousness there enacted in honor of their god. Here the same number of altars were erected as before, and the same number of sacrifices were offered; but Balaam went not alone, as at other times, to learn God's will. He made no pretense of sorcery, but, standing by the altars, he looked around upon the widely-spread tents of Israel. Again the Spirit of God rested upon him, and the divine message came from his lips in the same poetic language as before:—

"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee."

The prosperity of God's chosen people is here represented by some of the most beautiful figures to be found in nature. The prophet likens Israel to fertile valleys, covered with abundant harvests; to flourishing gardens, watered by never-failing springs; to the fragrant sandal-tree and the stately cedar. The figure last-mentioned is one of the most striking, beautiful, and appropriate to be found in the inspired word. The cedar of Lebanon has the most honorable position among the trees of the Bible. It was regarded with reverence by all the people of the Holy Land. The class of trees to which it belongs is found wherever man has gone, in all the earth. It flourishes in the heat, yet defies the cold. It grows luxuriantly beside the rivers and fountains of waters, and yet thrives upon the sandy waste. It plants its roots deeper among the rocks of the mountain, and boldly stands in defiance of the tempest. Its leaves are bright and green when all else has perished at the breath of winter. The wind, playing upon its foliage, calls forth a strain of soft, sad music, and a flood of perfume that fills the air with its spicy fragrance. The divine hand has exalted the cedar as king over the forest. It is called the tree of the Lord, and is named among the most precious and beautiful of God's works in the earth. So great was its value that even in ancient times only kings and princes could dwell in houses of cedar.

As the fervid imagination of the prophet kindled at the view which God presented before him, he could picture the prosperity of Israel by nothing more beautiful than groves of cedars stirred by the wind of the morning, and waving their green boughs in the valleys. The righteous in all ages are represented by the cedar of Lebanon. The highest honors belong to those who humbly walk with God. The lowliest disciple of Jesus is in God's sight of higher rank than kings or princes.

Balaam prophesies that Israel's king would be greater and more powerful than Agag. This was the name given to the kings of the Amalekites, who were at this time a very powerful nation, but, if true to God, Israel would subdue all her enemies. The king of Israel was the Son of God—the majesty of Heaven; and his throne was one day to be established on the earth, and his power to be exalted above all earthly kingdoms.

Balaam lifts his voice of warning to all men who should live upon the earth, from Balak to the last enemies of God, to desist from their purpose of destroying God's children; for the curse intended for Israel would recoil upon the guilty heads of those who framed it.

As he listened to the words of the prophet, a tempest of disappointed hope, of fear and rage, swept over Balak's soul, and he broke forth in a flood of angry reproaches. He was indignant that Balaam could have given him the least encouragement of a favorable response, when everything was determined against him. He regarded with scorn the prophet's compromising, deceptive course. In terror and dismay he smote his hands together, feeling that his people must indeed become a prey to Israel. He did not understand how deeply Balaam desired to gratify the hopes of the Moabites, and that he had been compelled by the power of God to bless, where he had hoped to curse. Enraged at the prophet's folly in letting slip the proffered wealth and honor, the king exclaimed fiercely, "Therefore now flee thou to thy place. I thought to promote thee to great honor; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honor." The answer was that the king had been forewarned that Balaam could speak only the words that God should give him.

Before returning to his people, Balaam uttered a most beautiful and sublime prophecy of the world's Redeemer, and the final destruction of the enemies of God: "I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall rise a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and shall destroy the children of Sheth." He was permitted to look down through the ages to the first advent of Christ, and then forward to his second appearing, in power and glory. He would see the King above all kings, but not at present. He would behold his majesty and glory, but at a great distance. He would be among the number of the wicked dead, who should come forth in the second resurrection, to hear the awful doom, "Depart from me, ye cursed." He would behold the redeemed ones in the city of God, while he himself would be shut out with the wicked.

Balaam closed by predicting the complete destruction of Moab and Edom, of Amalek and the Kenites, thus leaving to the Moabite king no ray of hope. The prophecy of Israel's triumph, uttered by this apostate, is similar to the declaration made by Judas, when he brought back the thirty pieces of silver, and declared before the dignitaries of the church the innocence of Christ.

Balaam had been permitted to behold the signal manifestations of divine power. God had communicated through him the most sublime, precious, and sacred messages of truth; yet he did not humble himself to repent of his avarice and presumption. No further light would be granted him. He had rejected the last call of mercy. He could no longer halt between two opinions; he could not serve God and mammon. He had sacrificed the favor of Heaven to obtain the wages of unrighteousness, and he was numbered with the enemies of God.

These lessons the people of God at this time should take to heart. They may have a knowledge of divine things, and ability to fill an important place in the work of God; yet, unless they cherish a simple dependence upon their Redeemer, they will be ensnared and overcome by the enemy.

By nobleness of aim and completeness of execution, they may win for themselves a name and honor higher than that of kings, if they will make God their trust, and suffer no outside influence to withdraw their interest or attention from the work appointed them. Those who would be men of power must determine to make the noblest use of every faculty and every opportunity. They must make the glory of God the first object of life, and ever remember that goodness alone is true greatness.

Balaam had been compelled to bless, when his heart longed to curse; he had been disappointed in his hope of riches and honor; and he was almost as deeply grieved at the result of his efforts as was Balak. A plan was now suggested to his mind—by the Prince of Darkness himself—that seemed to promise the destruction of Israel. It was proposed to the king and immediately adopted.

The Moabites had found that so long as Israel remained true to God, he would be their shield, and no power of earth or hell could do them harm. The plan now was to raise a barrier between them and God, by enticing them to sin. If they could be led to engage in the licentious worship of Baal and Asheroth, their omnipotent Protector would become their enemy, and they would fall an easy prey to the fierce, warlike nations around them. Balaam soon left for his distant home; but his diabolical scheme was immediately carried out.

"NOT AS I WILL."

BLINDFOLDED and alone I stand, With unknown threshholds on each hand; The darkness deepens as I grope, Afraid to fear, afraid to hope. Yet this one thing I learn to know Each day more surely as I go, That doors are opened, ways are made, Burdens are lifted, or are laid By some great law unseen and still, Unfathomed purpose to fulfill, "Not as I will."

Blindfolded and alone I wait; Loss seems too bitter, gain too late; Too heavy burdens in the load, Too few the helpers on the road; And joy is weak, and grief is strong, And years and days so long, so long! Yet this one thing I learn to know Each day more surely as I go, That I am glad the good and ill By changeless laws are ordered still, "Not as I will."

"Not as I will;" the sound grows sweet Each time my lips the words repeat. "Not as I will;" the darkness feels More safe than light when this thought steals Like whispered voice to calm and bless All unrest and all loneliness. "Not as I will;" because the One Who loved us first and best has gone Before us on the road, and still For us must all His love fulfill. Not as we will.

Not a Forgetful God.

By Dr. Cuyler

There are many of you that are very strongly tempted, but if you feel that it is too hard for you to fight with every temptation, God is willing to open a door of escape for you. There are many of you that are hard as quartz which the miner digs out of the earth, but there is a God who can cause to descend upon you the melting dews of his love. There are many of you that are beset by sinful appetites; there is not one whom Christ cannot change into the beauty and dignity of the highest spiritual condition. There is no man so far gone in sin, so wicked, so forgetful of God, that God does not think of him, is not willing to bear with him and strive with him until he shall become restored to peace, dignity, and purity. — Dr. Cuyler.

ARE THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD STILL BINDING UPON ANY?

By William H. Littlejohn

BY ELD. W. H. LITTLEJOHN.

THERE is no fact better understood among men than that a rule of action, whose duration is not limited by its own terms, proceeding from a competent authority, does not require re-enactment, but remains in full force so long as its author fails to express a desire that it should be repealed or amended, and so long as he retains the right to legislate for those to whom it was originally given. As the commandments of God proceed from a source whose authority the most daring impiety will not venture to question, and as they contain no word which intimates that they were limited as to the time for which they should stand, it follows that we should require the most direct and positive testimony before we give our consent to the doctrine that they have been abolished. This will be the more manifest when we remember the circumstances under which they were given. For as its promulgation was attended by the most astounding display of divine power in order that the people might be profoundly impressed with the fact that it emanated from the Deity, it would not be unreasonable that, having witnessed the shaking of the mountain, the flashing of the lightning, and having heard the sound of the thunder, and the roaring of God’s voice, the blessing pronounced upon those who should keep the law, and the denunciations upon those who should break it, they should refuse to disregard it, in whole or in part, until convinced that it was the will of God as expressed in the most unequivocal manner.

That this has never been done is rendered at least probable by the fact that those who claim that it has, differ very widely as to the time when, and the manner in which, it was brought about; one class insisting that it was accomplished during the life-time of Christ, another at the cross, and still another not until after the day of Pentecost; and these being again subdivided into three classes, one claiming that the law has been abolished altogether, the second that it has been amended, and the third, that it has neither been abolished nor amended, but simply relaxed.

Turning, therefore, from these discordant theories, whose respective partisans have, in a war of words which has lasted for centuries, each in turn, shown themselves able to overthrow the tenets of their adversaries, and never capable of establishing their own, we beg leave to offer a few reasons for believing that their failure has been attributable to the fact that they have been engaged in a vain endeavor to prove by argument that which was neither philosophically nor scripturally sound. To this end we submit,

1. That the nature of the commandments is such as to preclude the possibility of their passing away while the world stands.

To this proposition, when applied to nine out of the ten, you will readily give your assent; that is, you will agree with me that the time will never come during the present order of things when we can with impunity have any God but Jehovah—when we can make unto ourselves any graven image of anything that is in Heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, or when we may bow down ourselves to them or serve them—when we may take the name of the Lord our God in vain—when we may dishonor our father and our mother—when we may kill—when we may commit adultery—when we may steal—when we may bear false witness against our neighbor—or when we may covet anything which is our neighbor’s.

Then, since you are willing to accord perpetuity to nine of the commandments with which the remaining one stands associated, we may enter upon the examination of this, impressed with the possibility, if not the probability, that it, too, was designed to endure while time lasted. Nor shall we find anything in its wording which will contradict this hypothesis. On the contrary, we think that a careful examination of its phraseology will bring our minds to regard that which was before considered possible as a fixed fact. In order to do this intelligently, you will allow us to quote the commandment verbatim:—

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger which is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Bear in mind that we are not now endeavoring to determine which day we should keep in order to fulfill the law. We are simply to examine the commandment in order to discover whether it furnishes any reasons for believing that the sabbatic institution was designed to be co-existent with the present order of things. As we enter upon this investigation, we at once perceive that though this commandment is one of the longest of the ten, the duty which it imposes is expressed in the following seven words: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” the balance being devoted to an explanation of what was to be considered as the Sabbath day—the manner in which it was to be kept, and the reason why it was instituted. Now, then, as it is not to be presumed that the Lord would perform a work of supererogation, it follows that there is some-where to be found good and sufficient reasons for the extraordinary care with which this little precept was guarded and explained. The first which naturally presents itself, and from which all others must derive their strength, is the fact that the sabbatic institution was considered a matter of paramount importance to the race. The second was an evident determination to leave the people without excuse should they persist in their early determination to regard the strict observance of the rest-day as a matter of indifference.

As it is certain, therefore, that the Lord did not look upon the fourth commandment as secondary in its nature to any other when he placed it in the decalogue, let us examine the reasons upon which it rests, in order that we may determine whether the disposition now manifested to move it out of its proper place does not spring from a desire to evade its requirements rather than from any warrant found in the Scriptures. Confining ourselves strictly to the text, we find, First. That the Lord rested on the seventh day, after six days of labor in which he had made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is. Second. That as a consequence of the foregoing, he blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

These two considerations are assigned as reasons why we are to “remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.” To doubt their sufficiency at that time, would be to question the wisdom of God. But inasmuch as there is in him “no variableness neither shadow of turning,” the Sabbath can never cease to be the object of his especial care until the reasons which gave it being have lost their significance. This can never be until the fact of his having made the world in six days, and rested on the seventh becomes to him a matter of no interest.

But this is impossible; “for God is not a man that he should repent.” He knoweth the end from the beginning. When he had perfected the creation and pronounced it “good,” it was done with a full knowledge of all the consequences which should flow from that stupendous act. The apostasy of man, the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ as a necessary result, the purification of the earth by fire, and its final restoration to Edenic beauty, were as real to his mind as though they had actually transpired.

How idle, then, to reason as though some unlooked-for contingency had arisen whereby the Lord had come to regard the creation of the world as a work of doubtful merit. No; nothing will dim the glory of that work in the eyes of the Creator. That the fall did not do this, is proved by the fact that the commandments which were given at Sinai nearly twenty-five hundred years after this occurred, imposed the observance of the Sabbath in order to a suitable commemoration of this event. That the plan of redemption did not, is evident, first, because it was the declared purpose of God long before the tables of the law were delivered to Moses; and second, because it affects this question at all, it would make the great transaction of creation week more memorable than otherwise; for by complying with its conditions, this life ultimately becomes the first link in an endless chain of being.

In fine, look at this subject from whatever stand-point we may, we shall be compelled to admit that there is to be found no good reason for believing that the labor and rest of the Deity at the creation are by him considered as less worthy of celebration to-day, than they ever have been. This being true, and as he is not capricious, but is always affected in the same manner by like considerations, it must be that he is still desirous that they should have a proper memento. And as he has once provided one which was every way calculated to answer this end, it would be strange indeed if he should remove it, so long as the demand for it continued to be imperative.

FATHER CHINIQUY ON PURGATORY.

ABOUT two years ago, when Mr. Chiniquy visited Australia, he delivered a series of lectures in the city of Adelaide. These were reported at length in the Christian Colonist from which we extract the following from his closing address as affording an inside view of some of the Catholic ceremonies:

"The subject of the lecture was 'Purgatory,' and in dealing with it the Rev. Mr. Chiniquy stated that the doctrine of purgatorial punishment taught by the church of Rome is one of the most tremendous impostures that the world has ever known. Purgatory is believed to be a place where the soul suffers the same torment and indescribable anguish as is endured in hell, the only difference between the two places being that in hell the sufferings are eternal, while in purgatory they are to last for thousands or millions of years, but not for ever. To the common people under the dominion of Rome, purgatory is a sea of fire, desolation, and misery; but to the priests, the bishops, and the Pope it was a sea of gold and silver; for when the Church invented purgatory she shrewdly made up her mind to give the priest power to take souls out of it if the friends of the deceased paid them sufficient money. One beauty about the doctrine is that the priests and bishops cannot tell when souls are released from purgatory, so that the people are kept continually paying. He did not hesitate to say that to release souls from purgatory more money is paid every day to the priests of Rome than is paid into all the banks of England and France.

"He stated that every year on the 2d of November a service was held called the 'Festivities of the Dead.' Its purpose was to pray for the souls in purgatory, and extract money from the people. On these occasions the churches were always filled, and some one with a good voice was brought by the priest to sing a plaintive song, representing the wailing of the souls in purgatory. (Here he sang a verse of the song in French.) He said if it were well sung in English, there would not be a dry eye in the audience. After this song was sung, the priests appealed to the people. They made a mother appeal to her children, a father to his boys, a brother to his brothers, and a sister to her sisters. They said, 'Don't you hear the souls saying come to our help? We burn in these flames. Make haste. Make haste! MAKE HASTE!' (Which meant make haste to give your money to the priests.) By this time the people would all be crying and wailing, and then the priests would go through the church to collect the money, and if there was a dollar there they got it.

"The doctrine of purgatory made the priests as cruel as tigers. He had a dreadful experience in connection with this matter which had done him good. His father died when he was very young, and left his property heavily mortgaged, so that everything had to be sold to pay the creditors, and his young mother was reduced to the necessity of working with her needle. They were very poor, and often a few potatoes and a little milk was all the food they had. One day the priest came to see them. He was glad to see the priest, for he thought he would help them. But he said, 'Madame Chiniquy, you owe me ten pounds for the masses which I have said for the soul of your husband.' It was in vain his mother protested that she had nothing. The priest said she could not love her husband if she were not willing to pay for the repose of his soul. At this his mother wept. His first thought was to take a sword which hung on the wall, and kill the priest who made his mother weep, but seeing this to be beyond his strength, he mingled his tears with those of his mother, while the priest stood looking on with dry eyes.

"In a little paddock before the house there fed a cow, which had been given to him when it was a calf, and which he had reared, and whose milk was now almost their only means of sustenance. At length his mother said, pointing to the cow, 'Mr. Cure, take that cow, and let me discharge in that way the debt which I owe you.' The priest was satisfied, and immediately went and drove the cow to his own house. He (Pastor Chiniquy) said to his mother, 'Why have you done this? You have given the priest the cow, and now we must starve.' 'Forgive me this wrong, my child,' said his mother; 'I did not believe the priest would be so cruel as to take the cow. But some day, my son, you may be a priest. Promise me that you will never take the money of the poor.' He promised, and when afterwards he became a priest, he never took money from the people for the prayers which he offered for the souls of their dead. For this reason he was much idolized by his people. The other priests, however, were jealous and did not like his practice, and complained to the bishop who threatened to excommunicate him if he did not promise to take the money from the people. He told the bishop his story, but he still insisted that he should take the money from the people for the souls in purgatory. He at length made the promise, and after that he took the money, but would often contrive to give it back again.

"He himself was honest and believed in purgatory, but he had discovered that not one in twenty of the priests believed either in that doctrine or in any other; they were infidels. It was in this way that his eyes were opened. On one occasion when engaged in revival services, he was returning to the parsonage with the priest of the parish, who was an old man, when they were accosted by a poor man, so emaciated that he was nothing but skin and bones; he was also clothed in rags. He asked the priest to say a high mass for the soul of his wife, recently dead. The priest replied that he would do so, but must have five dollars. The man said he had not a cent in the world, and asked if the priest could not say the mass on credit. But the priest replied, 'No money, no prayers.' He (Pastor Chiniquy) had the impulse to give the man the five dollars, or offer to say the prayers for nothing, but he was a coward and had not the courage; he never thought of that hour without regret and shame. He would gladly, if he could, wash out that hour with his blood.

"The man then asked that five low masses be said for the soul of his wife. For this the priest said he must have five shillings, but the man pleaded that it was difficult for him to pay five shillings as five dollars. The priest said, 'When I last passed your house I saw there a little pig. Give me that and I will say the masses.' 'Mr. Cure,' said the man, 'I am fatting that pig. It is all I and my children have to look forward to for bread in the winter.' That night he (Pastor Chiniquy) could not sleep with the vexation he felt at having failed to play the man. He saw, too, with pain that there was an abomination in his beloved Church. The next morning he preached and spent several hours hearing the confessions of the people, and when the dinner hour came he was hungry. The old priest was rich, and kept a good table, and there were eight or nine other priests present. When the covers were removed, a pig was revealed, done to a beautiful golden brown, and so fragrant that the thought of it still made his mouth water. The old priest was a skillful carver, and cutting off a choice piece he placed it upon his (Pastor Chiniquy's) plate. As he was lifting the first piece to his lips, the scene of the previous day recurred to his memory. He said to the priest, 'Is this the pig of the poor man we saw yesterday?' The priest, with a jolly laugh, replied that it was, and added, 'If we cannot take the poor souls out of purgatory, at least we will have eaten a good pig.' The laugh that went round the table at this remark opened his (Pastor Chiniquy's) eyes—he saw that the priests did not believe in purgatory. His manhood and courage returned, and flinging his plate to the other side of the table, he cried, 'I will never eat the bread of the poor.' The priests felt the rebuke, and the rest of the meal was passed in silence. It was not, however, till he studied the holy fathers, that his eyes were fully opened to the terrible imposture of purgatory."

ATONEMENT FOR SABBATH-BREAKING.

By R. F. Cottrell

BY ELD. R. F. COTTRELL.

SABBATH-BREAKING was once a sin. The Sabbath commandment was written in the midst of the moral law, in the former dispensation, which was placed in the ark of the covenant, and covered by the mercy-seat. No one could come to that mercy-seat but the high priest, and he could only come with the blood of a sin-offering to make atonement for the transgressions of that law which was beneath the mercy-seat in the ark. But all the blood that was there offered could not take away a single sin. The blood could only typify the blood of Christ, the real sin-offering, and the high priest in offering the blood to atone for sin, could only typify Christ as our real high priest, as offering his blood in behalf of all his people, from the beginning to the end of the world.

The Jews were often guilty of the violations of the fourth commandment—the sin of Sabbath-breaking. Blood was offered for their cleansing; but it could avail them nothing, only to point them to the blood of Christ. The priest offered the blood for them; but this could only point them to the fact that Christ would offer his own blood for that sin. Hence, unless Christ shall offer his blood for their sin, not one of those Sabbath-breakers can be saved.

Christ shed his blood for man's violations of the ten commandments; and this act did not blot out or change any one of those commandments except the fourth. He offers his blood for the violations, in these days, of nine out of the ten commandments; and, in behalf of the ancients, for their sin of Sabbath-breaking, besides. Is it not barely possible that such a sin exists at the present day? And that it consists in the same acts; viz., the profanation of that very day which God reserved to his own special honor at the beginning? There will be Sabbath-keeping in the future world. Isa. 66 : 22, 23. Will there be two classes of Sabbath-keepers, and two days in the week kept? "All flesh" shall observe the Sabbath—there will be none that neglect it, none will hold the doctrine of "no Sabbath" there;

May God bless these suggestions to the opening of some eyes. Is it not possible, friendly reader, that that law, for the transgression of which a real atonement was shadowed forth in the former dispensation, is still the moral law of God, without the abatement of "one jot or one tittle"? Matt. 5 : 18. And does it not consequently bind us to the observance of the same day which it required the ancients to keep? Is not sin the same thing in all dispensations? And will not Sabbath-keepers in the world to come all observe the same day?

GOD'S GUIDING HAND.

By Congregationalist

The following interesting story beautifully illustrates one of the most important truths which, as Christians, we have to learn: "We were on shipboard," said a captain's wife, "lying in a southern harbor. We were obliged, first, to make our way ashore. The waves were rolling heavily. I became frightened at the thought of attempting it, when one came to me, saying, 'Do not be afraid: I will take care of you.'"

"He bore a peculiar shaped lantern, only a single ray of light being emitted from a small circular opening. 'Now,' said he, 'take my hand; hold fast, do not fear. Do not look about you, or on either side of you, only on the little spot lighted by my lantern, and place your footsteps firmly right there.'"

"I heard the rushing of the waters, and was still conscious of fear; but by looking steadily only where the light fell, and planting my footsteps just there, not turning either to the right or to the left, clasping firmly the strong hand, the danger was overcome, and the shore reached in safety."

"The next day my kind guide said:—"

" 'Would you like to see the way by which you came last night?' Then he showed me where our vessel had been lying, and the very narrow plank by which we had reached the shore. He knew, that, had I turned either to the right or left, I should in all probability have lost my balance and gone over into those dark waters; but by holding fast and treading just where the light fell, all danger would be averted."

How very often does it happen in the course of one's Christian experience that he comes to some dark passage or encounters some severe trial, or passes through some sad affliction, which so overshadows the way that they fear to attempt to go forward lest they fall. Then, too, how often has it proven true that when we have clasped our heavenly Father's hand he has led us gently over the rough and dangerous places and landed us safely in some secure place. We may not be able to distinguish the way, or know just how the Lord will get us out of trouble, yet, if we cling to him we have the blessed assurance that he is able to keep all we commit unto him. Our deliverance lies in keeping the clear eye of faith steadfastly fixed on the Day-star, whose cheering beams fall upon our pathway, affording us safe guidance. The storms may rage, and the angry waves threaten to engulf us, but if we keep our eye on Jesus we shall outride the storms, and have an abundant entrance into the haven of eternal rest.

"Lend kindly light amid the encircling gloom, The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step's enough for me."

If, however, the light should, for a season, be obscured, we can still trust in Him who hath said, "My grace shall be sufficient for thee."

Yes, thank God! his grace is adequate to all needs, and his almighty arm will sustain us in every emergency. Amid our darkest experiences, clinging fast hold of our loving Father's hand we can sing with a voice which shall sound loud and clear:

"He leadeth me, O blessed thought, O words with comfort fraught; Whate'er I do, where'er I be, Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me."

"DON'T CROSS A BRIDGE UNTIL YOU COME TO IT."

There was once a man and a woman who planned to go and spend the day at a friend's house, which was some miles distant from their own.

So one pleasant morning they started out to make the visit, but they had not gone far before the woman remembered a bridge they had to cross which was very old, and was said not to be safe, and she immediately began to worry about it.

"What shall we do about that bridge?" she said to her husband. "I shall never dare to go over it, and we can't get across the river any other way."

"Oh," said the man, "I forgot that bridge; it is a bad place; suppose it should break through, and we should fall into the water and be drowned!"

"Or even," said his wife, "suppose you should step on a rotten plank, and break your leg, what would become of me and of the baby?"

"I don't know," said the man, "what would become of any of us, for I couldn't work, and we should all starve to death."

So they went on, worrying and worrying, till they got to the bridge, when lo and behold! they saw that since they had been there last, a new bridge had been built, and they crossed over it in perfect safety, and found they might have spared themselves all their anxiety.

Now that is just what the proverb means; never waste your worrying on what you think may possibly be going to happen.

Half the time the troubles we look for do not come, and, as I said, it is never worth while to waste worrying.—Youth's Companion.

HIS NATIVE TONGUE.

The other day I was visiting a mission-school where most of the scholars were Germans. A plain man at my side was invited to address them. He rose, and in stammering, broken English, began to talk. No impression was made. The boys shuffled with their feet, and the girls fidgeted, and the unhappy speaker went painfully on with his address. I was so full of sympathy with his embarrassment that I had not the least idea what it was about, nor had the children.

"Talk to them in German," said the superintendent.

What a change! The stammering tongue was loosed. The man's words came quick, terse, magnetic, leaping from his lips, and the school became at once attentive. They answered his questions—their faces responded—there was no more weariness.

He was speaking in his native tongue.

Friends, when we talk of the love of Jesus to sinners, are we speaking in our own or a strange language? Oh! if we love him, we shall know how to speak, and the words will come swift, as the words come when we talk in the tongue in which we were born.—Sunday-School Times.

Continue reading: HISTORY OF TRINE IMMERSION