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Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 38.

ABIDE IN ME

Review and Herald

Sep 18, 1900

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 18, 1900

“ABIDE IN ME.”

By Ellen G. White

MRS. E. G. WHITE.
By the parable of the true vine, Christ explained to his followers the relation that must exist between him and his people. “I am the true vine,” he said, “and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. . . . Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
Christ used the figure of the vine that, as we look upon it, we may call to remembrance his precious lessons. Rightly interpreted, nature is the mirror of divinity. Christ pointed to the vine and its branches, saying, I give you this lesson that you may understand my relationship to you, and your relationship to me. There was not the least excuse for his hearers to misunderstand his words. The figure he used was as a mirror held up before them.
His lesson will be repeated to the ends of the earth. All who receive Christ by faith become one with him. The branches are not tied to the vine; they are not joined to it by any mechanical process of artificial fastening. They are united to the vine, so as to become part of it. They are nourished by the roots of the vine. So those who receive Christ by faith become one with him in principle and action. They are united to him, and the life they live is the life of the Son of God. They derive their life from him who is life.
Baptism may be repeated over and over again, but of itself it has no power to change the human heart. The heart must be united with Christ’s heart, the will must be submerged in his will, the mind must become one with his mind, the thoughts must be brought into captivity to him. A man may be baptized, and his name be placed on the church roll, and yet his heart be unchanged. Hereditary and cultivated tendencies may still work evil in his character.
The regenerated man has a vital connection with Christ. As the branch derives its sustenance from the parent stock, and, because of this, bears much fruit, so the true believer, united with Christ, reveals in his life the fruits of the Spirit. The branch becomes one with the vine; storm can not carry it away; frost can not destroy its vital properties. Nothing is able to separate it from the vine. It is a living branch, and it bears the fruit of the vine. So with the believer. By good words and good actions, he reveals the character of Christ.
There are many who get above the simplicity of Christ, supposing that they must do some great thing in order to work the works of God. Things of a temporal nature absorb their attention, and they have little time or thought for eternal realities. Wearied with cares that draw their minds from spiritual things, they constantly ask themselves the question, How can I find time to study and practice the word of God? Christ is acquainted with the difficulties that try every soul, and he says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch can not bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. . . . He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Our first and highest duty is to know that we are abiding in Christ. He must do the work; but we are to seek to know what saith the Lord, yielding our lives to his guidance. When we have the spirit of an abiding Christ, everything will take on a changed aspect. The Saviour alone can give us the rest and peace we need; and every invitation he gives us to seek the Lord, is a call to abide in him. It is an invitation not merely to come to him, but to remain in him.
Christ’s object in presenting before his disciples this parable was to show them how necessary it was for them to have the moral excellence revealed in his character. He longed to create in them a desire for the Holy Spirit. He reproached them for their dullness of comprehension; for many of the truths he sought to teach were lost to them because of their lack of spiritual intuition. After his resurrection he said to them, “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” The Bible now seemed a new book to the disciples, containing definite instruction. They saw that the events which had taken place in the suffering and death of their beloved Master were a fulfillment of prophecy.
“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you,” Christ said. In receiving and obeying his word, the disciples were cleansed and purified. Praying for them to his Father, he said: “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. . . . Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
In no other way can Christ’s disciples be cleansed but by obedience to the truth. The apostle Paul writes: “Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” And Peter writes: “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
As the branch derives its nourishment from the vine, so all who are truly converted draw spiritual vitality from Christ. “Verily, verily,I say unto you,” he declared, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever. . . .”
“Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Thus Christ presents the false union with himself in contrast with the true. Those who have not a living connection with Christ may to outward appearance be in fellowship with him. Their names may be enrolled on the church books, but they are not members of his body. They do not bear fruit to the glory of God. “Ye shall know them by their fruits,” Christ said. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Christ has provided means whereby our whole life may be an unbroken communion with himself; but the sense of Christ’s abiding presence can come only through living faith. There must be a personal consecration to him. Self must be hid with Christ in God; then the grace received will be constantly imparted as a grateful offering to God. In this union Christ identifies himself with man before God and the heavenly universe. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Our sins are reckoned to Christ. His righteousness is imputed to us, and we are made the righteousness of God in him. Because of his atoning sacrifice, our prayers go up to the Father, laden with the fragrance of Christ’s character, and, one with Christ, we are accepted in the Beloved.
Christ’s connection with his believing people is illustrated by this parable as by no other. We should study the lesson, that we may know what the parent stock is to the branch, and in what light the Lord regards those who believe and abide in Christ. Let all contemplate the completeness it is their privilege to have, and ask themselves the question, Is my will submerged in Christ’s will? Is the fullness and richness of the Living Vine—his goodness, his mercy, his compassion and love—seen in my life and character?

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.

By Eliza H. Morton

ELIZA H. MORTON.
Murmuring waters gleam and glisten In the golden glow Of the summer sun that’s shining Where they softly flow.
Cloudy hilltops catch the brightness, Sending it afar Up the zenith, o’er the woodlands,— Silvery star and bar,
Symbol solemn of the beauty That will shine within When the hardened heart is lifted From the depth of sin,
When the feet are planted firmly Where the glory gleams; Then the life will shed a radiance Like yon solar beams.
Joyful service, full of gladness Words can ne’er express, Filling, lighting, long-closed cloisters,— Perfect happiness!

A SURE TOKEN.

By K. O. Russell

K. O. RUSSELL.
There seems to be implanted in our very natures a desire to have some unmistakable evidence or token that we can see, by which we may be assured that we are accepted of God, and that we are to have a part in Christ’s everlasting kingdom. While it is true that we know that our sins are forgiven, and that we are accepted of the Lord, by believing in his word, which says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” yet the Lord has, in addition to this infallible evidence of our salvation, given us a remarkable token as a constant assurance that we are to obtain a part in the kingdom of heaven.
Anciently the Lord employed tokens, or gave some tangible evidence, that he would be with his people in what he asked them to do. Perhaps one of the most remarkable tokens that God gave was that to Gideon, which is recorded in Judges 6:36–40. By this unmistakable double token given of God, Gideon was assured that he would be victorious in delivering Israel. What confidence and hope it would inspire in the hearts of many faltering ones could they have a token as tangible as that, to assure them of their acceptance with the Lord now, and that they would obtain a part in the city of God at last. Well, thank the Lord, he has given it.
The sure token that God has given every child of his is described in 2 Thess. 1:4, 5, as follows: “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.” Let it be noted that the apostle was only glorying in the churches of the Thessalonians to the extent that they endured patiently persecutions and tribulations. This was a manifest token that they would be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God. Thus it will be seen that every trial that befalls us, if we endure it patiently, will be a manifest token that we shall be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God.
It will be observed that the Lord can not give us this token unaccompanied with a trial; but praise be to God, the more frequent the trials come, if we endure them, the more constantly we shall have the token. From this it will be easy to understand the value of trials, and how we can count them as “all joy,” as we are admonished to do, in James 1:2.
Do you see this unmistakable token in every trial that comes to your life? or do you become impatient, and fail to endure? As the trials come to us in our home life, in our business, or in the church, may we see in each one a token of our salvation, instead of failure and defeat. It is evident that the apostle Paul had this sure token, or he could not have exclaimed, as he did when approaching the close of his earthly life: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.” Were the closing words of many who profess to be Christians written to fit their uncertain, doubtful experience, I fear that the record would read like this: “I hope I have fought a good fight, I have tried to finish my course, and keep the faith: henceforth I hope that there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which I hope the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.”
May we each so unite with Christ that we may have this token in each day’s experience, and thus be able to speak with the same assurance as did the great apostle to the Gentiles.

POWER FOR VICTORY.

By Nettie E. Graves

MRS. NETTIE E. GRAVES.
(Springfield, Ohio.)
Waiting for Him in the darkness, Watching for him in the light; Listening to hear his orders Right in the midst of the fight; Seeing his slightest signal, Across the heads of the throng; Hearing his faintest whisper Above earth’s loudest song; Dwelling beneath his shadow In the burden and heat of the day; Looking for his appearing, As the hours wear fast away; Shining to give him glory; Working to praise his name; Bearing with him the suffering, Bearing for him the shame!
Art thou afraid to trust him, Seeming so far away? Wherefore, then, not keep closer,— Close, as he says we may? Why, then, not walk beside him, Holding his blessed hand, Patiently walking onward All through the weary land? Passing safe through the mazes, The tangle of grief and care; And safe through the blossoming garden Where all looks bright and fair; Crossing with him the chasm, Upheld by a single thread; Fording with him the river— So safely, tenderly led!
Then up the heights of glory, Unfollowed by death or sin, Swift through the pearl-white portal The feet may enter in— Into the realm of music, Where not a note will jar; Into the clime of sweetness, Which not a breath will mar. There sighs are all out of hearing, And tears are all out of sight, And the shadows of earth are forgotten In the land that has no night. There loss yields its long-stored int’rest; And bitter, its long-hid sweet; And we’ll sing, “Unto him that loved us!” And lay our crowns at his feet.

HOW WE SHOULD GLORIFY GOD.

By Lenna Iselin

MRS. LENNA ISELIN.
(Spring Bluff, Wis.)
How many of us can truly say of ourselves, as did Paul, “And they glorified God in me”? His life was such that God and his work were glorified. On the other hand, in his letter to the Romans he says: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you.” Their manner of life was a reproach to God’s cause. This is too often the case with many professed Christians; instead of letting their light so shine that others, seeing their good works, would be led to glorify God, only evil works are seen, and God is blasphemed. As Christ said of the Pharisees, they are shutting the kingdom of heaven against men. Many times unbelievers say: “Well, Mr. —— is a member of good standing in the church, and professes to be a Christian. If he ever gets to heaven, there is a chance for me.” In this way they excuse their own wrong doing.
This ought not to be. It is the privilege as well as the duty of every Christian to live so that his works shall cause others to glorify God. “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.”
Let us put away self, and seek only to lift up the Master. Let us glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are God’s; for we are bought with a price.

THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL.

By G. K. Owen

Biloxi, Miss., Sept. 2, 1900.
Editor Review and Herald.
DEAR BROTHER: In this age of antinomianism, it is so refreshing to find something from a minister of another denomination that is really sound in the law, that I feel like sharing with you the reading of a chapter from “Character Sketches, or the Blackboard Mirror,” pages 239–247, an illustrated book of 454 pages. This work was written by George A. Lofton, A. M., D. D., a Baptist minister, of Nashville, Tenn., and was published by the Southwestern Publishing House. It will be useful not only as a study in itself, but in connection with our study of Galatians; and also as a testimony in favor of the downtrodden law. I see more in it upon a second reading than at first.
G. K. OWEN.
Here we discover two mountains standing opposite each other. They are old Sinai of Arabia and Calvary of Judea. A deep valley lies between them, and Jerusalem is in the distance. On Sinai stands Moses with the two tables of stone in front of him. The old mount is shrouded in clouds, which hurtle with thunders and lightnings, pealing and striking with their bolts upon Calvary. On Calvary stands Christ in front of the cross, holding the everlasting gospel in his hands, shedding the softer and more genial light of evangelical truth across the valley between, and illuminating the tables of the law in Moses’s hands. Sinai and Calvary, Moses and Christ, the law and the gospel,—these are the counterparts and complements of each other; and while the former typifies and foreshadows the latter, the latter fulfills and explains the former.
From different standpoints of observation they interpret and blend with each other, and neither the gospel nor the law could be fully understood without the other. Especially is it true that the spiritual import of the law would never have been comprehended without the illumination of the gospel. “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” says Moses; but Christ teaches that to lust in the heart is to be guilty of the act before God. So of murder, theft, lying, covetousness, and every other sin incorporated under the law of God. Hence, while a man by culture and refinement may be externally innocent of every transgression, whether by word or deed, he may be a thousand times guilty of every transgression at heart; and if he is guilty of one only, he is guilty of all. So explains and develops the law under the light of gospel interpretation, and so it is interpreted that unselfish love to man and supreme love to God can alone keep, or fulfill, the law upon our part.
Saul of Tarsus, Cornelius, the rich young ruler, were all “perfect,” as touching the external observance of the law; and yet the gospel discovered to Paul that he was the “chief of sinners;” to Cornelius, that he must be “saved” by the blood of Jesus as the meanest sinner in the world; and to the rich young ruler, that he had never had the faintest conception of the law’s spiritual significance, the end of which is salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The law is not able to save, and Moses was not a savior. The law, or Moses, is simply our schoolmaster to bring us to the Saviour, Christ; but we could never understand our schoolmaster, except in the light of Christ and the gospel. All the law can do to help us is to bring the knowledge and consciousness of sin, and secure conviction and repentance toward God; but the law could not do this, except under the spiritual lamp of Christ. In the absence of gospel light the law ceases to be a schoolmaster, and becomes a tyrant over the blind and dead sinner, driven to an endless bondage of precepts and ceremonies, trying to save himself by self-righteousness, and wearing a galling yoke, which gives him no rest nor peace of body, mind, or heart.
It is only when we enter the schoolmaster’s office that we learn of Christ and exchange yokes, to find the gospel burden light and easy, restful and peaceful, to the enlightened and regenerated spirit. Without the gospel of Christ, whether in type or antitype, the Holy Spirit could never have brought us to learn the spiritual nature and import of the law upon a single human heart dead in sin. The word of Christ is the only pen, the blood of Christ the only ink, by which the Spirit can legibly write God’s law of life upon the fleshly tables of the heart, and thus kill it to sin and make it alive unto God under his divine penmanship.
The word of God, both in the Old and the New Testament, is a dead letter to the dead sinner; but when, through a belief in the gospel and the handwriting of the Holy Spirit, we are cleansed from sin and quickened to life in Christ, then we can comprehend the law in the light of the gospel. We catch its spiritual import and purpose of revelation to us, and the Old Testament kindles bright and luminous as a star, lit up by the splendors of the Sun of righteousness. We see the face of Moses and the summit of the old mount shine again with ineffable and unapproachable splendor for the moment, and then we behold them soften down into the milder and sweeter radiance of Christ, who was “touched,” and of Calvary, which can be “touched,” by the lost and ruined sinner.
The true believer of the Old Testament comprehended, spiritually, though not so fully as we, the import of the law. Abel and Enoch, Noah and Abraham, Moses and David, all saw Christ and his day afar off, by prophecy and by the typical blood of “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The gospel, says Paul, was preached to Abraham, and so to all the rest who truly believed. Through Moses, by whom came the law, they beheld Christ, by whom came grace and truth, the life and the light of the world. And the saved of all dispensations believed on his name, were cleansed by his blood, and were quickened by his Spirit, by the same immutable law of pardon and life, before and since Christ, before and since the day of Pentecost. To the saved the law was always, as now, the schoolmaster that leads to Christ; and the gospel, whether prefigured or consummated, was always, as now, the refulgent and reflective glory that lit up the tables in Moses’s hand with their only true and divine interpretation.
Keeping the symbolism of our picture in mind, how striking are the lessons we learn as we behold, from various standpoints, the law as lit up, or illuminated, by the gospel!
Take the moral law. This is the law of life as Jesus taught the rich young ruler, if a man keep it. But to this end a man would have to be born pure and holy, perfect; and then hewould have to keep the law personally, perfectly, and perpetually, from the cradle to the grave, in order to live by it. In fact, such a man could not die, and such a man has never lived. The very idea of death presupposes sin; for by sin death came into the world, and hence all have sinned, and were born in sin—“by nature the children of wrath,” as Paul taught the Ephesians. However correct his external observance of the law, however trained and kept by the most legal culture, a man can not obey the spirit of the law.
“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them;” and yet in essence, not one single human being born of Adam ever obeyed one single precept written in the law, much less continued in it, to do it; and yet this curse is pronounced upon the dead sinner, incapable of keeping, in spirit, one jot or tittle of God’s least commandment. Hence the necessity of Christ, who perfectly kept the law for us; who died to redeem us from its penalty; who became our Prophet, Priest, and King instead of Moses, Aaron, and David; who became the second, in place of the first, Adam; and who, having substituted grace instead of law, became for us “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,” by the satisfaction of law. How gloriously the gospel lights up this fact when once you can make a sinner see that he can not work out his salvation under the law; and when he can be made to cast himself upon Christ, his substitute for the law!
(To be concluded.)

Fiery Trials.

By Mary De Grote

MARY DE GROTE.
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4 : 12, 13.
Would it not be well in times like these last days if we should have words of encouragement and comfort for those who are weighed down with the trials and toils of this life, instead of being quick to denounce and to sit in judgment against them?
When Jesus was among men, he looked on mankind in love; he had pity for the weak ones, love for the erring ones, and always, everywhere he went among them to do them good. How often when, from an earthly standpoint, things looked dark, and the arm of flesh failed us, we have longed for an encouraging word from some of God’s people. But we learned to turn to the blessed words of truth, and read that if we suffer with him here, we shall reign with him hereafter; and it was our comfort to know that it is better, if the will of God be so, that we suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing. 1 Peter 3 : 17.
These last days are days of severest trials—days of turning from the truth unto fables—days of bereavement—days when the arm of flesh can not be trusted—and yet they are days when we may rejoice that our redemption draws nigh. Think it not strange that you are to be tried. All denotes the perilous last days spoken of by Paul, when men are lovers of pleasure more than of God.
May we not take courage, since time is so short! Putting on the whole armor of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us go forth to battle with sin everywhere, on all sides of us; and —
“Whatever thy danger, Take heed and beware, And turn not thy back, For no armor is there.”
The Lord says, Rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s suffering. It takes grace to rejoice in times of trouble. We realized this when death entered our home over a year ago, and laid low three of our dear, loved ones, leaving us sad and lonely. But Jesus’ voice will soon call them from the land of the enemy; and if faithful to God’s commands, we shall meet again in the earth made new, where death can not part, where no trials nor persecutions can ever come, where God will wipe all tears from all eyes by removing everything that would cause tears, and where we may bask in the sunshine of God’s smiles through all eternity.
And he calls us his “Beloved.” He loved this sinful world so much that he gave his life for it. He loves the sinner, but not the sin. He loves us now, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, our helplessness. So let us take courage, and remember that trials and sufferings and persecutions will come until Jesus comes, whose right it is to reign. In paradise restored we shall meet loved ones, where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary shall indeed find rest. May God help us to be ready when Jesus comes, that we may hear from his blessed lips the “Well done,” and see him in his kingdom!

LOVE for God makes service a joy.

Sowing for Physical and Spiritual Health

By David Paulson; W. S. Sadler

David Paulson & W. S. Sadler

THE NON-NUTRITIOUS ELEMENTS.

WHAT PURPOSE THEY SERVE.

It is a part of the divine order that our diet shall consist partially of substances that can not be directly used to either build up structure or furnish heat and energy. The most important of these elements is known as cellulose, or woody substance, and is found more or less in the whole vegetable world. Its chemical composition is practically the same as that of starch; and it may be put through such a process in the laboratory that it can be made to yield glucose, a variety of sugar. The lower animals have the power of digesting a large amount of cellulose, and careful observation seems to indicate that, under certain conditions at least, human beings may digest a small amount.
One of the chief advantages of cellulose is that it serves as a mechanical stimulus to produce peristaltic action of the intestines. Herbivorous animals, which have a long intestinal tract, soon die when fed on a diet containing no cellulose; while carnivorous animals, on account of their short alimentary canal, do not, to the same extent, require this substance. The intestine of man is not so long in proportion to the length of his body as is that of herbivorous animals. Yet man requires a certain amount of cellulose to furnish the necessary bulk for his food. The muscular walls of the intestines, like other muscles, waste away if they have no work to do. If an arm is tied up for several weeks, it will become smaller than it was before. It is a universal law that God takes away those functions of the body which we fail to use. Lauder Brunton, an eminent English medical authority, said that there were three things which had killed off the American Indians,—syphilis, whisky, and fine flour. He also said that the reason American dentists are so much better than English dentists is because over in America they have discovered a method by which all the indigestible parts of the flour can be removed, consequently the teeth have nothing to do, and decay quickly. This gives the dentists much more opportunity to secure practice, and by this means they excel the English dentists, who do not have the same opportunity, on account of the more sensible dietetic habits of the people.
The popular tendency to eliminate from all the foodstuffs the woody fibers is undoubtedly one of the principal causes of the habitual constipation from which thousands suffer.
At the same time, the other extreme should be avoided—seeking to live on foods that contain little or no nourishment, and whose bulk is made up largely of indigestible elements.

VARIOUS SOURCES OF WOODY SUBSTANCES.

Surrounding every starch granule, is a little membrane of cellulose; and one object of cooking is to split these granules open, so that the digestive juices can gain access to the starch. In fact, cellulose constitutes the cell membrane of all plant cells. It is particularly abundant in such foods as vegetables and fruits, as will be seen by referring to the accompanying table.

PERCENTAGE OF CELLULOSE CONTAINED IN VARIOUS FOODS.

GRAINS. FRUIT.
Wheat 1½ Fresh Apples 1½
Barley 4 Dried Apples 10
Oats 18 Apricots 5
FLOUR. Blackberries 7
Graham 2 Cherries 5
Oatmeal 1 Cranberries 6
BREAD. Prunes 5
Whole-wheat Bread 5 Raspberries 7½
White Zwieback 1½ Dried Raspberries 47
Figs 12
NUTS. VEGETABLES.
Walnuts 4½ Cabbage 1.8
Sweet Almonds 6½ Potatoes .8
Peanuts 14 Asparagus 1
Cocoanuts 3 Dried Asparagus 17
Many vegetables contain so large a percentage of water that the actual amount of cellulose is much smaller than would ordinarily be supposed.

SPIRITUAL LESSONS FROM CELLULOSE.

As cellulose seems to serve no vital purpose in the food, the question may be asked: Why is it there? Yet experiments have demonstrated that a diet containing no cellulose to give it bulk, etc., results disastrously to the animals that are compelled to subsist upon it. While cellulose can not, at least to any great degree, be utilized by the body in the building of tissue or the manufacture of heat and energy, nevertheless, as previously shown, it is an article indispensable to the diet of human beings.
So it is in our spiritual experience; we are called upon to pass through many and varied experiences that are apparently wholly undesirable and unnecessary to the upbuilding of our moral nature, or for our spiritual nourishment. Trials, temptations, disappointments, reverses, and sorrows are all indispensable to our spiritual growth and moral development. Many of these things, while they do not directly enter into our moral make-up, are, nevertheless, necessary to enable us properly to recognize and utilize the valuable lessons and nourishment that accompany them. Many a gem of precious truth and many a bit of glorious experience come to the Christian inwrapped in an envelope of moral cellulose, which, in itself, seems of little use, but incloses something of inestimable value.
We have to crack the shell of the nut to secure the meat within, but we do not eat the shell: nevertheless it has served a most useful purpose in preserving in proper condition its contents for use. Our greatest victories are sometimes preceded by the hours of darkest experience. Many great and grand moral opportunities are surrounded by membranes of spiritual cellulose. Our most useful experiences are sometimes ushered in by what seems to us our most useless experiences. The day of great things is sometimes born of the day of small things.
Copyrighted, 1900, by David Paulson and W. S. Sadler.

HIS WORK.

The King's Messenger.
Sow the seed and wait on the Lord. He will surely bring it to pass. Wait, I say, on the Lord. He has all this business in hand, it is his work. We can not do it, try as we may. We may work and wait, and toil and give, but we can not add an inch to our stature. The battle is the Lord's. We try to make it ours, and take him in when we get in difficulty and fail. Here is our mistake. This is the reason we do not get on. We try to do his work. Let him work—work in us, by us, through us. Receive him! This is the secret. He is no failure, and he will surely accomplish and finish his work. We may be workers together with him; but he is not to assist us: we are to be instruments for him. We may plant the seed, but he brings forth the harvest; we may scatter the truth, but he gives the increase. He is the Lord, the Sent One, the Comforter. The Holy Ghost is his name. He has come to take his place, not only in the heart of man, but in the affairs of life, all over the world. This revolted empire—this globe of ours—is to be brought into subjection to its owner, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The Another Comforter is sent to do this business, and he is doing it.
“It may not be my way, It may not be thy way, But still in his own way”—
his work is going on. He uses human instruments. It is necessary that the human and the divine be united, and to this end we simply receive him, and there will be no end of our getting on. Our church will get on. It doesn't now; it does everything else. My! how the church languishes and retrogrades. The momentum downward is great, and greatly accelerated. What can be done? Millions of money and millions of additions will not stop the great loss tendency. He, and he only, can. What a pity the dear church of Christ does not obey the commands of Jesus, and accede to his request, and receive the Holy Ghost.
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