Signs of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 37. (9/10/1902)

Signs of the Times

Sep 10, 1902

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Sep 10, 1902

LESSONS FROM THE MOUNTAINS.

ONE great writer, poet, philosopher, and critic has said that mountains are the beginning and ending of natural scenery; but whether his statement is true or not, it voices the sentiment of many hearts. No one who has been brought up among the mountains can ever be wholly content on the prairie. There is beauty in old ocean. There is beauty in the fertile, flower-decked plain or prairie, but the mountains have all this and much more. The majesty, the strength, the grandeur, the glorious splendors of nature, are seen in the mountains as nowhere else.

WE find little in God’s Word about the valleys or the plains, but much about the mountains. The disease-laden atmosphere of Egypt and sin’s pestilential malaria of Sodom and Gomorrah were nourished in the plain and the valley. Their fertility meant neither beauty nor purity. The mighty gloriousness of God’s character is associated with the rocks and mountains. By these mighty structures of granite strength He appeals to us. By their awful vastness would He impress upon our minds the lessons of eternal import. The whole Bible is filled with these lessons.

THE rocks and mountains speak to us of the strength and stability of God. What is so strong and stable to man as the mighty mountains! What seemingly so near to heaven as the mighty peak whose top pierces through the clouds, crowned with everlasting snow, glittering in eternal sunshine, and yet how strong it is! Greece has fallen many times, but Olympus still stands. The Roman Empire fell and broke into pieces, and kingdom and republic of her shattered fragments have reeled and fallen, but the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Appenines still rear their heads heavenward, as strong as when Rome was a little insignificant kingdom by the Tiber, and the world was yet unconquered.

AND yet, what are the mountains in His sight and to His power, who created the heavens and the earth. Before the mountains were settled He was. Prov. 8:25. “He weigheth the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.” He speaks, they “quake” and “tremble” . He sends forth a mighty wind, and the mountains are riven. He toucheth them, and they smoke. He appears, and they are “overturned by the roots,” and melt and run down at His presence.

“He stood, and measured the earth; He beheld, and drove asunder the nations; And the eternal mountains were scattered; The everlasting hills did bow; His ways are everlasting.” Hab. 3:6.

ABASHED tho they are at the word and presence of God, they are the strongest material objects that God can use to illustrate His wonderful and essential attributes.

“Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; And Thy judgments are a great deep.”

So high do the mountains rise that the eye can not see their summits, so deep that their base is below all human excavation—measureless below and above, strong with the strength of God. What a picture to man are they of the righteousness and justice of our Maker and Preserver. A few men in the mountains have been sufficiently strong with the mountain’s strength to withstand a whole army. How strong may he be who makes the Maker of the mountains his rock of defense.

THE mountains were places of communion with God. It was from such communion with his Maker in the Mount of God that Moses was fitted to go forth and lead out from Egypt’s low dark plains the Israel of God, who were brought to the same mountain to learn the same lesson which he had learned, of man’s littleness and God’s strength. When Elijah, weary, disheartened, fled from the hate of Jezebel, he hastened to the Mount of God. When Jesus was upon earth, how many times do we find Him entering and ascending the mountains with His disciples, or generally entirely alone, to pray to His Father, sometimes continuing all night in prayer to God, that He might be strong for next day’s work.

THE mountains and rocks were places of revelation. It was on Mount Moriah that Abraham learned the lesson that God was the great eternal Provider. It was from Mount Sinai of Horeb’s range that God revealed His unchangeable law to the sinner. It was in Mount Zion that God revealed His goodness, His mercy, His faithfulness to His children of old. It was on a mountain that Jesus spoke the wonderful Sermon. It was on a mountain that His transfiguration took place, and He was revealed in the glory of His second coming. It was on a mountain that His sorrow for lost sinners was

revealed. It was on a mountain that His great sacrificial love for the world reached its climax. It was on a mountain that His everlasting victory over sin was demonstrated when He ascended on high, triumphant over all of earth’s attractions and powers. And when He comes again as King of kings and Lord of lords, to reign in His eternal kingdom, His feet will first rest on the mountain where His tears were shed and from which He ascended forever triumphant.

THE mountains are great founts of living water. The dwellers in the extensive prairie have but the impure surface wells or the brackish water from their own cisterns, unless they have struck deep enough into earth’s bosom to tap a living stream from some far away mountains. The dweller in the high mountains, or adjacent thereto, drinks of the pure, cool waters which descend from the eternal and never-failing supply of snow at the top. So God reproves His people for leaving the cool snow waters of Lebanon, symbol of His Gospel, and drinking from the impure waters in the broken cisterns of men, symbols of idolatry. There are brooks forever descending out of the mount of God at which His children may drink and be refreshed.

THE rocks and mountains are symbols of protection.

“As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, So Jehovah is round about His people From this time forth, and forevermore.”

Christ Jesus is the Rock cleft for us in which we may hide from peril and danger,

“A hiding-place from the wind, And a covert from the tempest, As streams of water in a dry place, As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”

“For their rock is not as our Rock, Even our enemies themselves being judges.”

“Trust ye in Jehovah forever; For in Jehovah, even Jehovah, Is an everlasting Rock.”

“Ascribe ye greatness unto our God, The Rock, His work is perfect.”

O THE mountains of God, how full are they of His precious lessons,—His mighty power, His strong, enduring love, His well-spring of joy and peace, the revelation of His glory, the blessedness of His companionship, the surety of His protection, the faithfulness of His promises. But He is stronger than the mountains. Yea, heaven and earth may fail, the sun and moon may wax dim, but He faileth not; His years have no end. And, praise His holy name,

“They that trust in Jehovah Are as Mount Zion, Which can not be moved, But abideth forever.”

THE WORLD VERSUS CHRIST.

THERE is no sympathy between what is spoken of generally as “the world” and the spiritual possibilities and realities that are typified by the life of Jesus Christ. The two forces are alien to each other, and in incessant antagonism. The higher makes greater demands upon the individual, but it yields richer and more permanent rewards. The lower, on the other hand, is subtle, insidious, and persistent in its efforts to draw the individual away from his fealty to the higher; and, alas! too often these efforts are successful. Blessed is the man who keeps his ears closed against the enticements of his soul’s archenemy, and keeps his heart and mind open to the sweet suggestions of the Holy Spirit, for only so can we grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who was Himself the way, the truth, and the life.—Christian Advocate.

WORK FOR CHRISTIANS.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.

Because the world was ruined through sin, God gave His Son to draw men back to Him. He so loved the world that He gave all that heaven could give for the saving of the lost. In every soul that receives this love, it will manifest itself in like manner. God so loved that He gave all. If we love with His love, we too will give all. We shall be co-workers with Him whose mission it is to “preach the Gospel to the poor, . . . to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” All who pray in sincerity, “Be Thou my pattern,” will work in Christ’s lines; they will show that they themselves are striving to follow Christ, and, as the natural result, they will lead others to seek the higher life.

“Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” All about us there are souls who have gone out of the way—souls who have been wounded and bruised by the enemy, and who long for help, for comfort, for sympathy. These souls, when brought in contact with us, should find a strong hand stretched out to clasp their hand—a strong, living faith, that will help them to put their trust in Jesus.

Let none feel that Christ has placed them on the judgment seat, to pass judgment on a brother or a sister who has fallen into error. Many hearts are sorely stricken, to whom words fitly spoken would bring peace and rest. Such ones are a test to their brethren and sisters. All Heaven looks on to see how we deal with those who need our help. The way in which we relate ourselves to them shows whether the fire of divine love is burning in our hearts.

Every one who names the name of Christ is called, so far as lies in his power, to help every other soul in the heavenward way. The Saviour records all such efforts as put forth for Himself; for He has identified Himself with suffering human beings.

The power of speech is a precious gift of God, and when used to utter words of hope and courage to the oppressed, it is a savor of life unto life. But it may be a savor of death unto death. Harsh, or even thoughtless words may be a great hindrance to the struggling, fainting soul. They may sting and bruise until he is driven upon Satan’s battle-ground, never again to listen to the voice of Christ.

What power for good the church would have, if all its members were so imbued with the Spirit of Christ that they would speak only words of comfort and hope; if no one felt at liberty to judge, to oppress, to cast a shadow on the life of another!

Many, blinded by sin, have lost sight of Christ, and are groping in the dark shadow of discouragement. Go to them, with a heart filled with love and tenderness, and tell them of the Saviour. Invite them to receive the righteousness of Christ, to claim justification through faith in the divine Surety. Point them to His atonement for their sins, to His merits, and His changeless love for them.

“That he might sanctify the people with His own blood,” Jesus “suffered without the gate,” bearing the reproach. “Let us go therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. . . . Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ.”

Give Christ the Best.

Give Christ the best! O young men strong and eager, And conscious of your own abounding life, Ready to throw your soul’s fresh, growing powers Into some noble cause or lower strife. Christ Jesus was a young man, strong and brave; Give Him your heart’s allegiance, give to Him The best you have.

And you in whom the same young life is throbbing, But with a steadier pulse and gentler flow, Whose hearts were made for sacrifice and loving, Whose souls’ ideals grow with you as you grow; O, give to Christ your first, most sacred love, And of your heart’s devotion give to Him The best you have.

And is our best too much? O friends let us remember How once our Lord poured out His soul for us, And in the prime of His mysterious manhood Gave up His precious life upon the cross; The Lord of lords, by whom the worlds were made, Through bitter grief and tears gave us The best He had.

—Anon.

FEAR AND FAITH.

By Alexander McLaren

(Alexander McLaren, D.D., in S. S. Times.)

The minority report [of the spies] recognized both the facts of the case, and yet counseled immediate advance,—“Let us go up at once; . . . for we are well able to overcome it.” There was no blinking of difficulties, no foolish under-estimating of the strength of the opposition to be met. With clear eye Caleb saw all the ranked enemies, but saw behind them the fair land, and above them the promise-keeping Jehovah, who would teach His people’s fingers to fight, and plant them victorious in the land. His confidence was not based either on that under-estimate or on the equally foolish over-estimate of Israel’s strength, as he more fully explained next day, when he summed up his advice with the brave, believing words, “Their defense is removed from over them, and Jehovah is with us; fear them not.” That is the ground of all the truest, most reliable courage.

To front the duties or the oppositions and dangers of any life in the rashness that says, “We are well able to overcome them,” and does not say, “Jehovah is with us,” is as foolish as it is sinful, and as sinful as it is foolish. We may well be appalled when we think of all the perils we have each to face, and all the foes we have each to fight; and the only true antidote to fear is faith. A great part of the future success of the highest sort for young men and women depends on their gravely and with open eyes measuring themselves against what will surely meet them in life, and asking themselves the question whether they are able with their own ten thousand to meet the foe that will come on them with twenty thousand. Such calm forecast of certain future trials and conflicts is blessed if it sends us where it sent the two faithful among the unfaithful spies,—to God’s sure promise and abundant help.

The Coming of the Lord

By L. A. Phippeny

BY L. A. PHIPPENY

THE DOMINION RESTORED.

THROUGH the epistle of Peter we are informed that the present heavens (the atmospheric heaven) and earth are reserved unto fire, even as the world in Noah’s time was reserved for destruction by a flood of water. In our last study this fire and its work were under consideration, and we learned that the only object of its visitation is to destroy sin, and everything pertaining to sin. There will be an end of sin. Satan, the angelic being in whom originated the evil thing, his angels, and fallen men will alike perish in the mighty burning that cleanses the universe from its great plague spot. This fire is kindled by the Creator, and will accomplish its work, and the work will be thorough.

The earth and all the elements which form it, will melt—be dissolved—says the Word. The place of planet Earth will be indeed a “lake of fire.” But on the surface of this seething lake there will rest unharmed the New Jerusalem, with its previously purified surroundings. It can not be harmed, for only righteousness is within it. God Himself is the creator of this fire—fire is a part of His being—and He is righteous. The fire which destroys the wicked is at that time an element not dreaded by the righteous.

When the last vestige of sin has been destroyed, a marvelous thing will take place. “And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new.” Then the nations of the redeemed will have the wonderful privilege of viewing the work of re-creation, so far as this is necessary to restore the primeval dominion. From chaos will come cosmos at the command of the Creator; the dry land and the new sea will appear, the rivers and fountains of waters; the mountains of God and the pleasant plains will be covered with grass and plants and fruitful trees, and trees for beauty: the earth will bring forth the animals after their kind, and the sea will be peopled as in the primeval age when sin had not entered the dominion. And then the former inhabitants of earth will go forth to the uttermost parts of their home made new, and build them houses, and plant them vineyards, and enjoy the pleasant labors of their hands with none to molest them throughout eternity.

Accustomed as we are to the scenes of this world, our conceptions of that future age must necessarily be somewhat vague, though the pictures that come before the vision are touched with a divine glory. Above all things it will be real. There will be nothing mystical about it. There will be occupations, but the one occupation, in itself, which will be most widely distributed, will be the pleasant care of the vines and trees of the earth, and the growing grains. But I can not picture the use of even what we now term our modern conveniences in farming implements. To the redeemed will be restored the powers originally placed in Adam and under his control; and a knowledge of far greater powers will be theirs, with the ability to utilize in the freest, simplest, most direct manner, the forces of nature now only partially understood and controlled by the means of complicated machinery. They will become and will be masters of the true science of cultivating the soil under perfect conditions.

The Scriptures do not state that there will be other cities than the one great central capital, the city of magnificent distances, situated on and about the mountain of God. I do not think there will be other cities. The conditions of the new earth will not necessitate them. There will be no barter and trade as we understand the terms, for there will be no need of them. There will be social conditions of the highest order, and families will dwell together; but residences once built will remain forever, and once furnished, the furnishings will not deteriorate. If you please, the most ordinary dwellings may be palaces as to beauty, built of rare and enduring stones and minerals, and embellished with the choicest gems of earth. Of adornments for the person, the present furnishes no criterion. A garment of simple beauty, bright as the light of which it is formed, will constitute the raiment in future ages. No need there for factories or stores of any description!

On each Sabbath and each month (new moon) the entire world will assemble at the New Jerusalem to worship before the throne of Deity. Isa. 66:23. But you will not hear the rush and roar of the railroad train, nor see the electric cars speeding toward the great center. O no; present means of locomotion would be far too slow! In that new condition the saints will have bodies like the glorified body of the Saviour, and ordinary forces of gravity can not limit them to the surface of the ground. They will be “equal to the angels,” is the testimony of Jesus; and “they shall mount up with wings as eagles” is the word in Isaiah. In imagination I can see them gathering in bright companies in different parts, speeding without confusion along well understood and clearly defined aerial highways of travel to and from the capital. The age of modern inventions will be superseded by the age of knowledge of the use of nature’s forces without inventions, combined with the individual physical conditions accompanying the knowledge, and necessary to the result accomplished.

There will be order and government. Indeed, here is the central beauty and the thought of the earth made new. Christ, the new earth’s King, will be the center of attraction; for it is through His sacrifice, and by means of His labors, that the life eternal and immortality will be the portion of the redeemed. The bitterness of former things will not “come upon the heart” (Isa. 65:17, margin), tears will be wiped away from all eyes, “and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.” God’s eternal justice and boundless love will be appreciated in growing measure as the ages roll by, and there will be joy and rejoicing unending.

This earth, now one of the smallest of the innumerable worlds in God’s dominion, is to become the seat of government for the entire universe. This honor is now heaven’s, but will be earth’s thenceforth forevermore. Not only will there be located in the New Jerusalem the throne of Christ, but God the Father will also remove His throne to that beautiful spot. When, in vision, John saw the New Jerusalem come from Heaven, its present location, to earth, he “heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” And it was from underneath the great double throne of “God and the Lamb,” in the capital city of the earth made new, that the prophet saw flowing the river of life.

If, as is logical, and as many believe, the present throne of Deity is the center of the universe, about which circle the suns and their accompanying worlds on high, the interesting thought is suggested that the transferal of that throne to this world will involve the readjustment of the location of the heavenly bodies with the earth the central point. The nations of the redeemed, in their translated, glorified condition, in which they are possessed of angelic powers, will henceforth, among other offices, act as the messengers of God and of Christ in unfolding the plan of salvation and God’s purposes to other worlds. A special company, designated in the Scriptures as 144,000, will accompany Christ “whithersoever He goeth.”

At the present time, this little earth, the stage upon which is being enacted the drama of sin, is the most intensely interesting point in the dominion of the great King. Here the enemy has endeavored through the ages to establish the kingdom of darkness; here death has reaped its abundant harvest; here lived and died God’s Son; here righteousness is winning its mighty victory; here is being demonstrated the triumph of truth over error; and here was secured forever the eternal safety and well-being of all worlds. Hence the inestimable honor to the spot about which will evermore cling the memories of the story of redemption, and the glorious future to be accorded to those who choose well while salvation is offered to all.

The science of the plan of salvation will be the study of keenest delight throughout eternity for men and angels and the inhabitants of the starry worlds. As God is infinite, so will the study of Him and His ways be of eternal searching. The glories and the mysteries of creation,—of our own world, and of other worlds, the homes of happy intelligences,—will furnish subjects, topics, sciences, for investigation forevermore. This, briefly, is a hint of the dominion of earth restored, a faintly drawn sketch of the fulfilled design of our God when the earth was created. For this, the Lord is coming soon. Will you not be among His followers? To-day is the day of salvation. “To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”

God’s Delight in His Little Ones

In God's house He hath sons of all sizes. The greatest giant hath been in swaddling clouts; the learnedest doctor hath been in His horn-book; and he that now doeth God best service, time was when he did Him little enough. Parents delight as much in their younger children that play about the house as in those bigger that can earn their living. If we can but call Abba, Father, or but name the name of the Lord in prayer, and so depart from evil, He is much taken with it. If broken language come from a broken heart, it avails more than the affectation of rhetoric without affection of prayer. Men are better pleased with the stammering and lisping of their own little ones, than with all the plain speech of all the children in the town besides.—Puritan.

What We Plant and Water

By David Paulson

God will make grow in our lives everything desirable that we will plant and water.—David Paulson.

Pain and Disease, Corrective and Curative

By W. S. Sadler

THE MISSION OF PAIN AND THE LANGUAGE OF DISEASE. NO. 7.

Pain and Disease, Corrective and Curative.

“Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that My fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.” Jer. 2:19.

God has arranged the penalty of every physical or spiritual sin, so that its influence shall tend to correct the transgressor of his wrong-doing. The very results of our wickedness will show us the folly of fighting against God. Our backsliding is in itself a constant reproof of our lukewarm condition.

“Remove thy stroke away from me; I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand. When Thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth; surely every man is vanity.” Ps. 39: 10, 11. When man’s beauty—his flesh—is made to consume away, it should be regarded as a divine correction, as God seeking to point out to the sufferer that at some point his practises are out of harmony with the laws of his being. The stroke of affliction is the correcting hand of God. The blow of the divine hand is administered in love and mercy to arouse the wrong-doer to a sense of the peril of continuing in transgression. God first seeks to correct the sinner by long-suffering and mercy, but when these have failed, His last and only resort is judgment and justice.

“My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His correction; for whom the Lord loveth He correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Prov. 3: 11, 12. Solomon tells us that God corrects us in love, as a father corrects his son. Paul speaks of this correction as chastisement: “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; for whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” Heb. 12: 5, 6. The purpose of all chastisement, affliction, and suffering is corrective; that is, to point out the error of wrong-doing, and admonish the wrong-doer to repent, and turn, and live. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent.” Rev. 3: 19. Chastisement contains a divine rebuke, and its purpose is to lead us to “be zealous,” and “repent.”

It is not God’s object to destroy His creatures when He permits the harvest of their transgression to overtake them. “The Lord hath chastened me sore; but He hath not given me over unto death.” Ps. 118: 18.

Altho we may be sore afflicted, it is not His purpose to give us over to death. On the other hand, it was the divine plan to warn us that the way of our own sin was the way of death, and our affliction was the last call of our Father’s love, saying, “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?”

“Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of Thy law.” Ps. 94: 12. The judgments of God, the consequences of sin, are an effort on the part of God to teach us out of His law. Sickness is, in general, a result of the violation of natural law, and so pain and disease are in reality but an attempt on the part of God to show us wherein we have departed from the way of life and health,—the way of harmony with, and obedience to, His statutes.

If you should place your hand on a hot stove, the pain that you would immediately experience would cause you quickly to remove it. The intense pain you are thus caused to experience is the kindest feeling God could send you under the circumstances. The existence of your hand is jeopardized; and pain is a warning voice, calling you to take immediate action to save the threatened member. So pain is kind in that it warns us of danger. It heralds to us the fact that the laws of health are being ignored, and warns us to cease our hurtful practises. Were it not for pain, thousands of selfish mortals would quickly plunge themselves into all manner of sinful indulgences and soul-and-body-destroying practises, which would speedily end their existence.

Pain and other symptoms which attend disease speak to man in the loudest possible tones of the sure consequences of wrong-doing. It was the pain that led you so quickly to remove your hand from its contact with the hot stove. You were prevented from carrying out a purpose that meant destruction to the hand; and the blister that was immediately raised over the injured surface was in itself a curative process; an instantaneous response of the divine Healer, showing His willingness to grant physical forgiveness and heal the effects of physical transgression the very moment you had been corrected of your purpose to jeopardize the well-being of your hand. Pain corrected you of the evil purpose, and the blister is the evidence that God willingly and instantly began the work of repairing the injury wrought by your rash or ignorant act.

God’s attitude toward man is changeless. It is man who, by obedience or disobedience, alters his attitude toward God. And thus it sometimes appears to those who are out of harmony with God, traveling the broad road to ruin, that God has left them or is forsaking them, even as to a person on a rapidly-moving train fixed objects on either side appear to be traveling in the opposite direction. So to the wrong-doer—to the one whose feet are swift to do evil—it appears that God is leaving him, when in reality he is leaving God. Within every transgression of the right and every compromise of the truth, there is concealed the consequences of disobedience. God has said, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The reaping is contained in the sowing, and the wisdom of the divine law of sowing and reaping is made manifest when we learn that the sickness and suffering consequent upon transgression are in themselves at first corrective and curative measures.

It does not seem to be a part of God’s plan to afflict His people unless, first, there is some great good to come out of it; and second, that He knows this good can not be secured in any other way, every other resource having been exhausted in His effort to correct man of his wrong-doing. Sickness is not a part of God’s eternal purpose for the human race; but when man refuses to walk in the way that God has chosen, refuses to co-operate with the conditions of His eternal purpose, refuses to walk in the pathway of obedience to physical and spiritual law; and begins to transgress the principles of truth and righteousness,—it is then that he is torn by the enemy as a straying sheep; and yet in all this experience the Spirit of God within pleads with the erring soul, saying, “Return, and I will heal you.”

“I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.” Jer. 30: 14. All the while God is doing the best He can for man, consistent with His own righteous character and man’s waywardness and disobedience. Frequently, however, we find instances where the afflicted ones it would seem have been thoroughly corrected, where all disposition to transgress physical or spiritual law had been removed, and it would seem that the affliction had actually accomplished its purpose of correction; and yet the earnest soul lingers in suffering and pain. Why is this?—God is working out an eternal purpose which is infinite in all its bearings, and we should not be surprised if we come face to face with many problems which we can neither explain nor understand. And again, it may be that the repentance was not sufficiently deep-rooted. It may be that the purpose to do right is not as firm as Heaven knows it must be to assure success; so the correcting penalty is permitted to linger with us a little longer. How many times have frail human beings made grand resolutions, and broken them within a day. But God is not deceived; He is not mocked. He does not remove the hand of correction until He knows that the wise purpose of love and mercy which necessitated its presence has been accomplished.

In several instances disease has been alluded to as both a corrective and a curative process. This is not true of chronic disease. It is only acute disease that is curative in its influence. While disease is in its earlier stages, it is, in general, an effort of nature to cure; but if the habits of life are not corrected, and if unfavorable surroundings are not removed, then in later stages disease becomes a process of destruction. In the acute stage, nature ordinarily cures disease when the cause is removed; while in chronic disease, even after the cause has been removed, health is usually only secured by a process of persistent cultivation, or the disease may even have taken on the form of apparently incurable malady.

W. S. SADLER.

AS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH.

By Arthur Fox

Men lived to a great age when the world was young. Their habits were simpler, and the earth and air did not contain so much that would produce disease as now, after so many centuries have come and gone. Men might have been tempted to say, if life had been short from the first, that they did no better because they did not have a fair opportunity to learn how to live, until they were obliged to die. God let them live nearly a thousand years, and the consequence was that the world became so bad with so many evil doers in it, that it was absolutely unfit for anybody to live in. There were some good people here and there, who are described in the Scriptures as the “sons of God;” but they intermarried with “the daughters of men” (people of a baser sort), and in time there was such widespread corruption that God saw best to send a flood to cleanse the world, and to destroy a race that was unfit to live—all save one family, in which alone any true piety seems to have been kept alive. To Noah God gave directions to build an ark, in which he and his family might be saved. God was very patient and waited one hundred and twenty years, while Noah was building the ark, and warning a wicked world to flee from the coming doom. But the wise men of that day regarded him as a fool, and mocked at him as he was preparing the great boat, thinking there was going to be a flood. But the flood came, and their derision ceased forever. The Lord foretold another flood, not of water, but of fire, that shall some day destroy the earth. The human race that was on the earth before the flood perished; but the heavens and the earth which remain are reserved for the day of judgment, which comes to all. Men now make sport as they did in the days of Noah, and will so continue doubtless until the awful day bursts upon them.

The ark was a type of Christ, and Noah with his family safely shut in the ark furnished a type of the church. At God’s invitation they entered in, and the Lord closed the door.

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matt. 24:37–39.

“Then said He unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” Luke 21:10, 11.

The world has been greatly agitated over the volcanic eruptions on the islands of Martinique and St. Vincent, where numerous lives were lost, and much property damaged. What does it all mean? Some say the Lord delays His coming. What does the Lord say?—“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36. “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Verse 28.

Sanitarium, Cal.　ARTHUR FOX.

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