Signs of the Times, Vol. 8, No. 19. (5/18/1882)

Signs of the Times

May 18, 1882

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · May 18, 1882

General Articles.

By Ellen G. White

Burning of the Magical Books.

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

In the days of the apostles, the city of Ephesus was famed for the worship of the goddess Diana and the practice of magic. The temple of Diana was considered, for its size and splendor, one of the wonders of the world. Its surpassing magnificence made it the pride of both the city and the nation. The idol itself was but an uncouth wooden image, on which were inscribed mystic characters and symbols. These were supposed to possess great power. When pronounced, they were said to accomplish wonders. When written, they were treasured as a potent charm to guard their possessor from robbers, from disease, and even from death. Numerous and costly books were written by the Ephesians to explain the meaning and use of these mysterious symbols.

In this city, the very stronghold of superstition and sorcery, the apostle Paul labored for several years. Here the power of God was mightily displayed through his servant. The sick were healed, and evil spirits were cast out.

The miracles wrought by Paul in the name of Jesus, created great excitement in Ephesus. Among those who practiced magic arts were certain Jewish exorcists, who claimed to possess the same power exercised by Paul. Believing that the name of Jesus acted as a charm, they determined to cast out evil spirits by the same means which the apostle had employed.

An attempt was made by seven brothers, the sons of Sceva, a chief priest of the Jews. Finding a man who was possessed with an evil spirit, they addressed him, "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth." But the evil spirit answered with scorn, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" and the man who was possessed attacked them with such violence that they fled out of the house, naked and wounded.

The discomfiture and humiliation of those who had profaned the name of Jesus soon became known throughout Ephesus, by Jews and Gentiles. It furnished unmistakable proof of the sacredness of that name, and the peril which they incurred who should invoke it, while they had no faith in Christ's divine mission.

Many dared not breathe aloud the name, on which they had hitherto heaped reproach and blasphemy. A large number were convinced that Christ was all that Paul claimed him to be, and they determined to receive the gospel. These openly renounced the practice of sorcery, and acknowledged their secret arts to be deceptive and Satanic. They brought together the manuals of enchantment, the costly books containing the mystic symbols of Diana, and the secrets of their art, and burned them in the presence of all the people. The sacrifice thus made was estimated at fifty thousand pieces of silver, equal to about ten thousand dollars.

The conversion of these Ephesians was attended with the results that always follow genuine conversion. When convinced that their magical books were false and pernicious, they were unwilling to sell them and thus place temptation in the way of others. They promptly burned the records of divination, at a great personal sacrifice. The power of truth triumphed over men's prejudices, favorite pursuits, and love of money.

Those magical books contained rules and forms of communication with evil spirits. They were, in fact, the regulations of the worship of Satan; directions for soliciting his help, and obtaining information from him. The system of magic or sorcery then extant was in reality the same as that which is now known as modern Spiritualism. Many were deceived in Paul's day by this Satanic delusion, and many are deceived to-day by the same power. "Magical books" were not confined to the apostolic age, or to nations that are called heathen. The sorcerers of our time are taking advantage of the freedom of the press to spread abroad their baleful literature. Could all the productions of modern Spiritualism be treated as were the magical books of the Ephesians, one of Satan's most successful avenues to destroy the souls of men would be cut off.

Witchcraft and sorcery are practiced in this Christian age and Christian nation, even more boldly than by the old-time magicians. Satan is finding access to thousands of minds by presenting himself under the guise of departed friends. The Scriptures of truth declare that "the dead know not anything." Their thoughts, their love, their hatred, have perished. The dead do not hold communion with the living. But Satan—true to his early cunning, when in the form of a serpent he deceived the mother of our race,—employs this device to gain control of the minds of men.

Paul warns his Corinthian brethren of the deceptive power of their great adversary. He declares, "I fear that by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtility, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

He writes to his son Timothy, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils."

In his second epistle to the Thessalonians, he warns them that the second advent of our Lord will be preceded by the working of Satan, "with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."

Because the children of men reject the plainest teachings of his word, and trample upon his law, God leaves them to choose that which they desire. They spurn the truth, and he permits them to believe a lie. They refuse to yield to the convictions of the Holy Spirit, and Satan, transforming himself into an angel of light, leads them captive at his will. If men were but conversant with the word of God, and obedient to its teachings, they could not be thus deceived; but they neglect the great detecter of fraud, and the mind becomes confused and corrupted by the deceptive arts of men, and the secret power of the father of lies.

Men of intelligence are infatuated with Satanic sorcery as verily to-day as in the days of Paul. Thousands accept the opinion of the minister or obey the injunctions of the pope or priest, and neglect God's word and despise his truth. God would have his people learn their duty for themselves. The Bible declares his will to men, and it is as much our privilege and our duty to learn that which is that of ministers and popes and priests to learn it. What they can read from God's word, we can all read.

When the Ephesian converts burned their books on magic, they showed that they hated what they had once loved, and loved what they had once hated. The light of truth, shining into their minds, had convinced them of the unlawfulness of their arts, and had stirred their souls with abhorrence of their unholy deeds. Such a change is the best evidence of true conversion.

A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the chain of circumstances in the process of conversion; yet this does not prove him to be unconverted. Said Christ to Nicodemus, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit." Though the work of grace is silent and almost imperceptible, it may be fully as effective as when its operations are more apparent. But if the heart has been renewed by the Holy Spirit, the life will bear witness to the fact. "By their fruits ye shall know them." Light and darkness are not more distinct than are the state of the converted and the unconverted. A change will be seen in the character, the habits, the pursuits. The contrast will be clear and decided between what they have been and what they are.

The world and the church have a right to expect such proof of true conversion as was given by the Ephesians,—proof that a new moral taste has been created. You may not have practiced sorcery, you may not have tampered with Spiritualism; but remember that "To whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey." If you indulge in any practice forbidden in God's word, you have yielded obedience to Satan; you are his servant.

Every unconverted man is fascinated, bewildered, by the bewitching power of the great deceiver. Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?" Every person who cherishes a known error, in faith or practice, is under the power of sorcery, and is practicing sorcery upon others. Satan employs him to mislead other souls.

If we would indeed become children of God, we must renounce at once and forever, every sinful indulgence. We must close every avenue through which Satan may gain control of our thoughts or our affections. Many persons manifest determined hatred of some sins denounced in the word of God, while they at the same time indulge their favorite sin. Not so did the Ephesian converts. Their particular sin was magic. By this means Satan held them in his power. They might have been earnest and vigilant to correct other evils, but had they spared this one sin, they would erelong have yielded their faith. But they laid the axe to the root of the tree; they renounced the hidden things of darkness, and destroyed that which had led them into sin.

This incident was placed on record as an important lesson for every age. The Ephesians directed their efforts against the very sin of which they were guilty. Have the people of God in this age acted in like manner? There are many who manifest supreme devotion to their money, their business or their houses and lands. The ambitious man worships fame or honor as his idol. The covetous man fosters covetousness. The sensualist is wedded to his lust. These love their cherished objects of pursuit more than they love God. They are idolaters.

Those who venture to cherish the sin which they love best, are tampering with Satan's sorcery. The enchanting power of temptation has paralyzed conscience and blinded reason, so that they do not perceive their danger. The magical books have not been destroyed.

When the truth, presented to the understanding, exerts its sanctifying power upon the heart, the sins which were once cherished will be put away, that Jesus may occupy the soul-temple. If covetousness has been indulged, it will be given up. If the love of the world has captivated the senses, a higher attraction will break its power. Deceit, falsehood, impurity, will be cleansed from the heart. He who maintains his allegiance to Christ, can render no service to Christ's bitterest foe.

Many place themselves on the enchanted ground by frequenting scenes of amusement where fallen spirits congregate. Professing Christian, when you resort to the theater, remember that Satan is there, conducting the play as the master-actor. He is there to excite passion and glorify vice. The very atmosphere is permeated with licentiousness. Satan presides, also, at the masquerade and the dance; he throws around the card-table its bewitching power. Wherever an influence is exerted to cause men to forget their Creator, there Satan is at work, it matters not how innocent the guise under which he conceals his purpose.

Many who cannot be attracted by the allurements of pleasure, are ensnared by the teachings of "science falsely so-called." These are led to extol human reason, above divine revelation; to exalt nature, and forget the God of nature. Is there no magic, no sorcery, going on around us?

The press is now sending out books in great numbers, that teach the ignorant and unsuspecting how they may serve Satan. There are works breathing the poison of skepticism and infidelity. There are treatises on money-making, that fill thousands of minds with fancies and follies, that fire thousands with an insane desire to amass wealth. There are fascinating volumes, that portray with all the power of human eloquence the lives of those who have made fame their god. And outnumbering all other productions of the press, like the swarms of locusts that darkened the whole land, comes the flood of novels and romances, to cultivate in the youth a love-sick sentimentalism, to teach them that courtship and marriage are the great object of their existence, and to unfit them for the practical duties of a useful life.

Satan is seeking by every means he can devise, to suggest doubts concerning the truth of God's word. Those who are naturally inclined to skepticism should, above all others, avoid everything that would strengthen this dangerous tendency. On the contrary, many read with avidity skeptical writings which exert a deceptive, bewitching power that the reader seeks in vain to free the mind or purify the heart from the unholy spell. Evil angels, having once gained access, suggest doubts that human reasoning is powerless to remove. When God speaks to the soul, those who would be free will cut every tie that holds them under Satan's power. They will destroy that which so nearly proved their ruin, lest it prove the ruin of others.

Many a work is highly prized for its wealth and beauty of language, when these are but a fair garment to conceal principles that in their native deformity would shock the reader. Those principles have led the author step by step away from God, from hope, and Heaven. Will they not exert the same influence upon the reader? The course of the Ephesians was the only safe course for them; it is the only safe course for you. Destroy these agencies of Satan. Put beyond your reach that which has power to seduce you.

The authors of no small share of current literature are men who have lived in the atmosphere of vice, and who are slaves of passion. Poets of brilliant talents have perverted their powers to the service of Satan. Over all that is good, and of pure, and noble, they have cast the darkness of their own base thoughts. They encourage dissipation and sanction vice.

The bewildering brilliancy, the deceptive pathos, of many a gifted author, are Satan's bait to allure and destroy the souls of men. Many who are in no danger from the productions of the gross and sensual, are deceived by writers who virtually clothe Satan in angel's garments and make him a benefactor of the race. Such works are legion.

Have the disciples of Christ burned the magical books? Have they made a decided change in their principles and habits of life? Have they separated themselves from the enchantments of the world? Those who, knowing their danger, will yet venture into places of worldly, demoralizing amusement, or who will poison the mind with the literary productions of the skeptic, or the sensualist, are guilty of presumption. God does not give his angels charge to keep those who choose to walk in forbidden paths.

When in the way of duty we are brought into trial, as was Daniel in the king's court, we may be assured that God will preserve us. But if, through stubbornness, hardihood, or bravado, we place ourselves under the power of temptation, we shall fall, sooner or later.

We are living at a time when Satan's power is great. "As a roaring lion, he walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Anon, he will quell his roar to the faintest whisper, that he may deceive the unsuspecting by his hellish arts. The glories of the world are presented in glowing colors to fascinate the senses, to beguile unstable souls. What have professed Christians done to close every avenue whereby Satan can approach them? Have they given proof of the work wrought in them by the Holy Spirit? Have they erected barriers, firm and strong, between their soul and every earthly idol?

The infidel, when converted, will abhor the books that led him to doubt the word of God. The dissolute man who has purified his soul by obedience to the truth, will not venture into haunts of dissipation, from curiosity or habit. Neither will he permit his mind to dwell upon such scenes, portrayed in the pages of the sensualist. He will be awake to his danger, shunning temptation himself, and earnestly warning others of its bewitching power. Whatever the idol previously cherished, the converted man will not only resist evil, but will, so far as possible, place himself beyond the power of Satan. Again we would ask the followers of Christ, "Have you burned the magical books?"

"THIS SAME JESUS"

By Francis Ridley Havergal

THIS same Jesus! Oh, how sweetly Fall those words upon the ear, Like a swell of far-off music, In the night-watch still and drear.

He who healed the helpless leper; He who dried the widow’s tear; He who changed to health and gladness Helpless suffering, trembling fear;

He who wandered poor and homeless, By the stormy Galilee; He who, on the night-robed mountain, Bent in prayer the wearied knee;

He who gently called the weary, “Come, and I will give you rest!” He who loved the little children, Took them in his arms and blessed;

“This same Jesus!” When the vision Of that last and awful day Bursts upon the prostrate spirit Like a midnight lightning ray;

Then we lift our hearts, adoring “This same Jesus,” loved and known— Him, our own most gracious Saviour— Seated on the great white throne.

For this word, O Lord, we bless thee; Bless our Master’s changeless name; Yesterday, to-day, forever, Jesus Christ is still the same. —Francis Ridley Havergal.

The Law of God.

THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT.

ALL the objections which are urged against the ten commandments are aimed at the fourth commandment. Were it not for this, few of them would be put forth. And they are not generally intended to have any effect on any other. Thus it is claimed that there is no precept for keeping the Sabbath until the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, nor any record of anybody keeping it previous to that time. If this were true, and if it did furnish evidence against the Sabbath, what shall we say of the third commandment? for there is not a hint concerning it or its violation till after the exode. But two positions can be taken respecting it by opposers of the law:—

(1.) That it was then necessarily of force, though not mentioned, as the name of God was as “holy and reverend” as now; and as much to be honored as now. This we accept; and the conclusion follows that a law is proved to exist where the reason is proved to exist. But we have positive proof that the Sabbath was a sacred, sanctified institution from the creation of the world; and therefore the duty to “keep it holy” also existed. It “was made for man”; Mark 2:27; and as it was made at the time of creation, of course it was sanctified, “or set apart” for man at that time. This is conclusive.

(2.) The absence of any mention of profanity, or of taking the name of God in vain in the book of Genesis, may be offered as evidence that it, with the other parts of the ten commandments, were not binding until the exode, and then only binding on the Jews. But besides the evidence offered on the other commandments, we have proof direct and positive against this objection. In Lev. 18 the Lord gave instructions to Israel to avoid the ways of the Canaanites, among which is the following: “Neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God.” “For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled.” Verses 21, 27. And in Deut. 18, speaking of the sins committed by the nations in Canaan, he said: “Because of these abominations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee.”

Now apply to these declarations the words of Paul to the Romans: “Where no law is there is no transgression, and sin is not imputed when there is no law.” But sin was imputed to them, and among their sins was the violation of the third commandment. They were guilty of profaning the name of God. Therefore they knew of the existence of such a law, though we have no record of its having been given.

4. 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 that 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.

The following remarks from the pen of Elder J. N. Andrews, are worthy of careful consideration:—

“In the absence of direct testimony either way, it is by no means certain that ‘holy men of old’ did not regard the Sabbath. We read of their reckoning time by weeks, and by sevens of days. Gen. 29:27, 28; 8:10, 12. The reckoning of time by weeks is not derived from anything in nature, and can be traced to but one source, to wit: the six days’ work of creation, and the rest of the seventh. It is not very likely that the work of creation should be remembered and commemorated, and the rest and sanctification of the holy Sabbath should be forgotten.

“But were it possible to show a violation of the Sabbatic institution in the patriarchal age, it would no more destroy the sacred character of that institution than a plain violation of the institution of marriage on the part of some of the patriarchs affects the sacredness of the marriage institution.” Mal. 2:14, 15; Gen. 2:21–24; Matt. 19:4–8; Mark. 10:6–8, compared with Gen. 16; 25:6; 29:30.

“Both of these institutions were made for man before the fall. Mark 2:27; Gen. 2:1–3; 1 Cor. 11:12; Gen. 2:18. Their sanctity is not derived from the decalogue; but the fourth commandment guards the sacredness of one, and the seventh the other. Gen. 20:8–11, 14.”

Inasmuch as the sole aim of objectors and opposers is to disprove the obligation of the Sabbath, both in the patriarchal age and in our own, we might reasonably expect to find some reason urged against this institution and its commandment which would not rest against the other commandments. But this is not the case. To the contrary there is more and stronger evidence in its favor than can be found in favor of most of the other precepts of the decalogue. And only one other, the seventh, has equal evidence of having been given to man before his fall from innocence.

Before the law was given on Sinai the Lord expressed his intention to prove the people whether they would walk in his law or no. The proof was furnished by testing them on the Sabbath. On six days the manna fell, and on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it was withheld. When the people gathered a double portion on the sixth day, and the rulers told Moses, he said, “To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” But some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, and the Lord reproved them, saying, “How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days.” Ex. 16:23, 28, 29. This proves beyond all controversy that the law of the Sabbath existed before it was given on Sinai.

It is supposed by some that the Sabbath originated at that time, in the wilderness; that here it was first consecrated and enforced. If this were the case we should reasonably expect to find here some reason for its consecration; some reason why the seventh day was chosen in preference to any other day of the week. But we do not find it. The only reason given in Ex. 16 for resting on

the seventh day is, that God had a law which required it. But why such a law was enacted, and why it embraced the seventh day, Ex. 16 does not inform us. For this information we must appeal to other scriptures. And we are not left at a loss in this respect; Gen. 2:3, and Ex. 20:8–11, are full and explicit on this point.

Ex. 20:8–11 contains the fourth commandment in full. And in it are given both the reason, for the sanctification of the day, and the reason why the sanctity was placed on the seventh day. If the Sabbath was a Jewish institution, if it originated at or after the exode, and if it was founded on anything peculiar to that people in their history or experience, here is the place to look for the proof of it. But we do not find it. We find only a reference to the events of creation week as the reason for the institution of the Sabbath, and the rest of God from all his works of creation as the reason for blessing the seventh day in preference to any other day.

“The seventh day is the Sabbath [rest] of the Lord thy God.” It is the Lord’s rest, and the Lord’s day. The reason is plainly given. “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 [literally, the day of the rest], and hallowed it.”

“Wherefore” signifies “for this reason.” The reason, and the only reason given in the Bible why the Lord blessed the Sabbath and consecrated it is that in it he rested from his work of creation. When he blessed and hallowed the day we learn from Gen. 2:3, “And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Here we have the time and the occasion of the sanctifying of the Sabbath.

And this opens to us some important considerations. The Sabbath was not a Jewish, or national, or local institution, because it dates from creation, was God’s own rest day, and has nothing in it peculiar to any one nation or people. It was not typical, as it was instituted before the fall of man, and therefore before types could have any significance. Its proper place is just where we find it, with moral laws—laws growing out of the action and will of God.

We would call special attention to this idea. All duties growing out of the action of God alone, are primary, and are properly considered moral. There are secondary truths growing out of a perversion of God’s work, out of the rebellion of his creatures. And all institutions arising from these secondary relations are limited in their nature; they are positive or typical. No typical institution or merely positive duty can grow out of original relations, that is, out of relations existing from creation. This cannot be disputed. And it is equally evident that no moral obligation can originate in the action of the creature. All the types and shadows, and everything pertaining to a remedial system, have respect to man’s condition as a sinner, and they would never have existed if man had not sinned. They owe their existence to man’s rebellion against his Maker. Every one can see at a glance that man, by sin, could not give rise to a moral relation or a moral duty. These grow out of the sole will and action of the great Moral Governor.

But the Sabbath was made before man fell; before sin existed. And of course if man had not fallen, if sin never had existed, the Sabbath would have been observed as a sacred institution, a perpetual reminder of the power and benevolence of the Creator. This consideration ought to convince all that the Sabbath is not a local, typical, or national institution, subject to change or abrogation as are all typical institutions.

But the objection is raised that, though the Sabbath originated at creation, there was no commandment to enforce its observance until after the Jews were brought out of Egypt. There are three sufficient arguments against this objection.

1. The objection is erroneous because it assumes that there was no law given because no law is formally written in Genesis. But this assumption is contrary to reason and to established facts. Enoch walked with God, but we are not told that he either had or obeyed any law. Shall we therefore infer that no law was known or obeyed by him? Noah was righteous before God. How, or wherein, we are not told in the history of his life. But the Scriptures inform us that righteousness consists in right doing. 1 John 3:7. Hence a rule of right, or law, was known by Noah. Also there is no mention of the third commandment, either of its obligation or violation, in Genesis, nor until it was spoken on Sinai. But the Canaanites were condemned for violating it; Lev. 18:21, 27; which proves that there was such a law though Genesis does not mention it. Therefore the objection is not valid.

2. We learn by Ex. 16 that God had a law which enjoined the observance of the Sabbath, not only before it was spoken on Sinai, but before the manna was given. For the reason and origin of this law we are referred to the work of creation, and to God’s resting on, and sanctifying the seventh day.

3. In Gen. 2:3, we are informed that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his work. To sanctify means to set apart, or to appoint to a sacred or religious use.

The obligation of the Sabbath was fully established when it was appointed to be sacredly observed; this is all that can be required to establish any institution. As this was done at the close of creation week, it fixes to a certainty the date of the origin of Sabbath obligation. And as “the Sabbath was made for man,” the sanctification—the appointment or setting apart—was for man, for his observance. No other precept of the decalogue has so clear proof in favor of its having been given before the fall of man. The Sabbath institution was given to man while in a sinless state; it was suited to the condition of sinless beings. It existed in Paradise before it was lost, and will be kept according to the original design of its institutor—the Creator of heaven and earth—when paradise is restored.

Dr. Sharp

Dr. Sharp.

“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.”

A Good Man's Wish.

By Dr. Sharp

I FREELY confess to you that I would rather, when I am laid down in my grave, some one in his manhood stand over me and say, "There lies one who was a real friend to me, and privately warned me of the dangers of the young; no one knew it, but he aided me in the time of need. I owe what I am to him." Or would rather have some widow, with choking utterance, telling her children, "There is your friend and mine. He visited me in my affliction, and found you, my son, an employer, and you, my daughter, a happy home in a virtuous family." I say I would rather that such persons would stand at my grave than to have erected over it the most beautiful sculpture monument of Parian or Italian marble. The heart's broken utterance of reflection of past kindness, and the tears of grateful memory shed upon the grave, are more valuable in my estimation than the most costly cenotaph ever reared.

Suggestive to Fault-Finders.

"Now, deacon, I've just one word to say. I can't bear our preaching! I get no good. There's so much in it I don't want, that I grow lean on it. I lose my time and pains."

"Mr. Bunnell, come in here. There's my cow, 'Thankful'—she can teach you theology."

"A cow teach theology! What do you mean?"

"Now, see, I have just thrown her a forkful of hay. Just watch her. There now! She has found a stick—you know sticks will get into the hay—and see how she tosses it to one side and goes on to eat what is good. There again! She has found a burdock, and she throws it one side and goes on eating. And there! She does not relish that bunch of daisies, and leaves them and goes on eating. Before morning she will clear the manger of all save a few sticks and weeds, and she will give milk. There's milk in that hay, and she knows how to get it out, albeit there may be now and then a stick or weed which she leaves. But if she refused to eat, and spent the time in scolding about the fodder, she too would 'grow lean,' and the milk would dry up. Just so with our preaching. Let the old cow teach you. Get all the good you can out of it and leave the rest. You will find a great deal of nourishment in it."

Mr. Bunnell stood quiet for a moment, and then turned away, saying, "Neighbor, that old cow is no fool, at any rate."—Ex.

Thirteen Ways of Being Happy.

By Well-Spring

HAPPY is the man whom God correcteth; for he maketh sore and bindeth up.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help.

Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

Happy is the man that feareth always.

Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

Happy is he that hath mercy on the poor.

Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.

He that keepeth the law, happy is he.

If ye suffer for righteousness' sake happy are ye.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye.

Behold we count them happy which endure.

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.—Well-Spring.

A Simple Explanation.

The late Mr. William Greenfield, was once in company at the house of a friend, with a gentleman of deistical principles, a stranger to him, who put to him the following, among many other questions:—

“Can you give me the reason why Jesus Christ is called ‘the Word?’ What is meant by ‘the Word?’ It is a curious term.”

Mr. Greenfield, unconscious of the motive or the skeptical principles of the inquirer, replied, with the mild simplicity and decision by which his character was marked,—

“I suppose, as words are the medium of communication between us, the term is used in the sacred Scriptures to demonstrate that he is the only medium between God and man; I know no other reason.” The deist’s mouth was shut.

Christians Should Talk Bible

How often it is the case that two or more Christians meet together, perhaps on the Sabbath, and allow the time to pass in an aimless conversation; each of them wanting to hear something that is improving, yet neither of them knowing how to get hold of it. So they talk about the weather, the meeting-house, the singing, the minister, and very likely, before they know it, they are talking gossip and scandal. Suppose that one should say to the other, "I was reading this morning these words of our Lord about so and so; do you suppose they are used literally?" Or some passing event, some scenery, might call up a passage of Scripture. Or a sermon just heard might give the key, and might start a very profitable as well as pleasant conversation, which would leave only elevating recollections, so different from the humiliating reflections that so often beset us after we have spent an hour in profitless and perhaps injurious conversation. Men of the world talk horse, they talk shop, they talk business, they talk stocks, they talk farms, they talk saddle, they talk fishing-tackle, they talk gun; why should not Christians talk Bible?—Sel.

Life's End

By Robertson

"It is finished." We are ever taking leave of something that will not come back again. We let go with a pang, portion after portion of our existence. However dreary we may have felt life to be here, yet when that hour comes—the winding up of all things, the last grand rush of darkness on our spirits, the hour of that awful sudden wrench from all that we have ever known or loved, the long farewell to sun, moon, stars, and light—brother man, I ask you this day, and I ask myself, humbly and fearfully, what will then be finished? When it is finished, what will it be? Will it be the butterfly existence of pleasure, the mere life of science, a life of uninterrupted sin and self-gratification; or will it be, "Father, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do?"

Christian Benevolence

HE is a Christian! Then he is benevolent. He feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, ministers to the sick. Human distresses touch his heart and open his hand. The spiritual maladies of mankind excite his commiseration, and to relieve and remove them his influence and property will be cheerfully contributed. “Freely ye have received; freely give.” “Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

Continue reading: Thoughts on Daniel--Chapter XI