p. 9 | Review and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 31. (8/3/1911)

Helpful Sympathy

SOME men are able to contribute to the life of the world large sums of money, others give great genius, and still others are able to make the world richer by their skill. But all can give helpful sympathy. This contribution is not very attractive, because it is not conspicuous. When a rich man endows a hospital or a university, the whole world knows it. The gift is spectacular, and is published in all the newspapers of the civilized world. But when a humble saint gives a heart full of sympathy to those who are in trouble, the reporters never hear of it, the papers never publish it, the world knows nothing about it. But who shall say that it is not worth more in the eyes of our Lord than the gifts of genius and wealth?

It was thus that Jesus gave. Some men see little in the contribution of Jesus to the life of the world beyond his miracles of healing. They never tire of talking about healing, as if that were the chief thing in Christianity. One who reads the New Testament carefully must see that Jesus disparaged miraculous wonders in comparison with the silent ministries of his love. “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.” “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation.” Not the outward and showy ministry, but the inner and silent energy of the Spirit, is the chief thing about the kingdom. When the fruits of the labors of the followers of Christ are finally summoned up, it will doubtless appear that he who gives genuine sympathy is the largest giver.

Some one may suppose that it is quite easy to give sympathy. Not so. One who blesses his neighbors with his sympathy gives his thought, his brain, his heart.—Selected.

Fruits that Need Washing

THE best fruits to eat are those with inedible rinds, or skins, because in removing these we remove all injurious matter that may have lodged on the outer surface. Fruits with skins that are occasionally eaten, like the apple, are not so good, from this point of view, because we are apt, in consuming the skin, to get with it much that is objectionable; and fruits with no skins, like most berries, are worst of all. These require thorough washing, and they seldom get it. All this and more we learn from a brief editorial in the Lancet (London). The writer especially decries the popular strawberry, not only because it is skinless, but also because it grows close to the ground, and hence is particularly apt to be dirty. We read:—

“Freshly peeled fruits are probably aseptic, and in this category may be included such familiar examples as the apple, pear, peach, apricot, orange, and banana. The peel in these instances has obviously no part in the dietetic quality of the fruit, and few persons, we imagine, are tempted to consume the protective coating; it has no attractive flavor, and it is commonly tough and indigestible.

“The strawberry, however, has no shield in the shape of a peel, and it would be very surprising if the fruit, as it reaches the consumer, was free from external taint, considering that it is peculiarly liable to contamination. It matters little under what conditions the banana or the orange is picked and packed, because before these fruits are consumed, they are skinned, and hence the impurities due to handling or to insanitary packing or environment are, to a great extent, removed, though we say this with reservations.

“The strawberry flourishes in a ‘bed,’; it is within splashing distance of the fertilizers used to encourage its growth and maturity; it is picked by hands not necessarily under sanitary control; and, lastly, in transit it may easily encounter surroundings which need no bacteriological proof to show them hygienically objectionable. The strawberry should certainly be washed; the process is simple, and need not in recognizable degree detract from the highly esteemed characteristics of the fruit, while the small attention which washing involves may likely enough reap a great reward in averting a disaster to health. This injunction is not so absurd nor superfluous as some may think, when it is considered how liable the strawberry is to contamination.

“Most cleanly disposed people, if they visited strawberry-fields in full process of picking, would soon regard the washing of the berry before it came to the table, or before they consumed it, as imperative. Apart from the questionable cleanliness of the picker’s person, it must be remembered that the surface of the fruit is liable to be sticky, and therefore to hold any impurity with which it may come in contact.

“Further, the strawberry’s exterior, in bacteriological parlance, affords an excellent nutritive or culture medium for organisms. ‘Never eat an unwashed strawberry,’ is therefore neither absurd nor unsound counsel; and those who think that to subject the fruit to such treatment spoils its flavor are invited now, while strawberries are cheap and plentiful, to make the experiment.”—Selected.

A Wonderful Help

By F. C. Baker

THIS is the positive aspect of love,—the doing of something good to every one whenever an opportunity presents itself. No one is in such a position but that he can do something to help others, if it is only by being pleasant and cheerful in manner. We may not all be able to help others with our influence and money, but we can help with our sympathy, our good will, and our kind words, if nothing more. Victor Hugo said: “There is in this world no function more important than that of being charming. To shed joy around, to radiate happiness, to cast light upon dark days,—is not this to render a service?” Yes, even in this way we can help others better to bear their burdens, and, in doing so, we are cultivating at the same time a cheerful disposition for ourselves, and are forming what Wordsworth calls—

“That best portion of a good man’s life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love.”

—F. C. Baker.

Editorial

By F. M. W.

A New Heart

A CHANGED heart must precede true Christian deportment. This is the very essence of the new covenant relationship. In every age men have labored to obtain righteousness through forced conformity to outward observances, but the righteousness of God does not come in this way. The Jews of old sought it thus, and they sought it in vain. “Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” Depending upon resolution, upon the exercise of the will, upon the power of their strength, they fell short of God’s standard. Every soul in every age of earth’s history has fallen in the same way who has sought to effect a change of the heart by such means.

Works of righteousness have their place in Christian experience; indeed, they are set forth in the Scriptures of truth as the evidence of the genuineness of saving faith; but good works are not the means by which righteousness may be obtained. Rather, they are the fruit of righteousness. Righteousness is the gift of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The record is that “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” We obtain righteousness in precisely the same way; for “it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”

A changed heart can be obtained only by the miraculous working of God’s mighty power. It is wrought by a divine creative act. For this the psalmist prays: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” To this appeal on the part of every believer the Lord responds: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh.”

The creation of this new heart puts within the soul new motives and new purposes. The heart’s affections become changed; sin is seen in its exceeding sinfulness; Christ is enthroned in the soul temple as the supreme object of its affections. Of the results of this changed heart and of the manner in which the changed condition will be manifested in the life, the Lord declares: “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

Sin in the life can not be overcome until the love of sin is rooted out of the heart. Many at this point make a fatal mistake in their experience. While cherishing the love of sin, while allowing their mental vision to contemplate the pleasing, fanciful pictures which sin has created, they are seeking to prevent these sins from taking concrete form in their outward life. Thus they become the constant sport of Satan and the prey of his evil devices. They repent of iniquity only to repeat it in their experience. These need to strike at the root and mainspring of the heart’s affections. They need to pray, as did the psalmist: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” No surface work is sufficient. Thoroughly, throughly, through and through, must the cleansing process go to be effective. When this experience has been gained, there will come into the soul the joy of His salvation. Then shall we be able to teach transgressors his ways; and sinners shall be converted unto him.”

Let us look well to the secret, underlying motives and purposes of the life. Let us make sure that the soul temple has been cleansed from sin and defilement. Let us not be content to go on loving sin, and regaling ourselves in its contemplation, while seeking outwardly to conform to God’s requirements. O we need, and must have, the experience of a changed heart, the power of the indwelling Christ life! In our flesh, in our poor mortal bodies, the life of Christ is to-day seeking manifestation. Let us invite Jesus in; let us plead with him for deliverance from all the power of sin. Let us not rest content until his power has changed the heart’s affections, has taken away the love of the contemplation of all iniquity, and has taken out of our minds every impure thought, every feeling of envy and jealousy. This experience is possible to gain by his grace; this experience he will give to every soul who, in full surrender and in simple faith, will come to him for cleansing. Shall we not make this experience ours through the mighty working in us of his blessed Spirit?

F. M. W.

Teaching by Our Lives

By C. M. S.

We are all teachers, and our school is larger than many of us have thought. We are teaching more individuals in that school than many of us will be willing to give account for in the day of judgment.

The apt pupil looks through the veneer of our words, and takes us for what we are, rather than for what we say—for what we do, rather than for what we tell him to do.

We do but a small part of our teaching with our organs of speech. The tongue is a swift racer, but it is a tardy teacher when pitted against the real life and character of the one who uses it. We can not live one thing and teach another. The ones whom we attempt thus to teach will suffer in their own souls for our useless, thoughtless, harmful vivisection and experimentation. The Saviour’s query, “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” gives an inspired exposition of the same idea; and he further says: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” We can not raise wheat from thistle-down, nor corn from mustard seed. We can not expect a harvest of souls if there is mildew in the heart of the seed we sow. The lamp whose wick is too short to touch the oil will never light the benighted wanderer home. He whose prayers do not take hold of the throne of the Infinite need not expect to guide lost souls through the wilderness of sin.

On the other hand, rain-drops are bound to show the seven primary colors when the sun’s rays fall upon them. That is just as true of the obscure dew-drop on a lowly grass-blade as of the mighty, cloud-fringing rainbow arching the sky. It is true in nature—it is just as true in the life of a human being. We do not have to sit in the clouds in order that God may reveal his glory in us. Even so the true Christian, though living in seeming isolation and obscurity, is bound to teach Christ in his acts as well as in his words. He can not help doing so as long as he remains a Christian.

When we cease to live Christ, then we lose connection with the Teacher of all teachers. Then we begin to look for grapes on the thorn-bush, and for figs among the thistle-down. This is contrary to nature; and all oral profession or teaching that is out of harmony with the life of the teacher is an attempt to do that very thing, and is out of harmony with both nature and the Author of nature.

Why is it that so many who have had supposedly Christian instruction have become worldlings, and the shuttles of their lives are being manipulated by Satan to weave webs of sin?—In too many cases the life of the teacher gave the lie direct to his oral instruction. His

pupils were reading “untrue, untrue,” between the words that fell from his lips.

This teaching-life that we live is a terribly responsible one. But if unreserved consecration and submission are given to God, if the heart is right, God will look after the result. If we would teach the love of God, we must have it in our hearts. If we would teach Christ, we must cherish his indwelling presence. If we would teach what salvation is, we must ourselves know what it is. If we would lead the souls of others to ruin, we have only to attempt to teach with our lips what our lives do not express. Then our pupils will come to look upon the fall of man as a fable, upon Christ as a myth, and upon the plan of redemption as a clever scheme of the superstitious; whereas, if the life itself has showed a personal experience in the things of God, the deeds and the words in harmony, and both testifying for God, that life-teaching will be a power for good, and souls will be the harvest. Such living is the most important business in the world; for it has the very message of God in it and the power of God permeating it, and that can not fail.

C. M. S.

How Prayer Brought a Helper

By W. A. S.

At the German camp-meeting in Olten, Switzerland, last summer, Brother T. Hoerner, who was formerly a medical evangelist in Palestine—having been compelled to return to Europe to regain health—told us of an occasion of peril among robbers when prayer brought quick deliverance.

In March, 1904, he was journeying with others in Palestine. They had traveled from Joppa by carriage to Tiberias, on Galilee. Of the journey toward Jerusalem he said:—

We procured a place with a caravan, drawn by mules, which took fish from Tiberias to Jerusalem. After four days we arrived at Shechem, where, by the blessing of God, we were able to secure accommodations in an English hospital; and there we celebrated the holy Sabbath day. The evening after the Sabbath I wanted to get some necessaries for the journey, and went down into the market. It was getting dark, and the market was not a safe place to go about in. But I felt I ought not to go back; for we needed a supply of drinking-water, this being a difficult thing to get while journeying.

In making my purchase I took out my money, to get a ten-franc gold-piece changed. Now I noticed that I was being surrounded by robbers, with every plan to rob me, or even to kill me. I sent up a prayer to God for help, as I saw that I was in real peril; and the answer came quickly.

As the robbers pressed nearer, a big, strong Arab came breaking his way through the circle, and stood by my side, defending me from them and leading me out of danger. It seems that he was impressed to go into the market just at this time, with no particular object, and as he came, he at once saw my danger. Strange to say, he recognized me; for he had once been employed in a mill that we had operated in connection with our little institution at Joppa, and I had also treated his brother when sick. This made him glad to come to my help. He had left Joppa and secured employment in Shechem, working in this very market, where he had just come to my rescue like an angel of deliverance.

When I returned to the caravan, and asked if we were to prepare to start, the leaders cried out, “What are you thinking of? traveling in the night in such a place as this, infested with robbers!”

In this experience we could not but recognize the hand of God in delivering me from the perilous situation in which I had unwittingly placed myself.

The old town of Shechem is well known in sacred history. There Abraham came first, as he journeyed from Haran into the land of promise; and there Joshua gathered the tribes as he rehearsed to them God’s wonderful dealings with them and with their fathers. It is good to have this modern witness, from one of our brethren, that the Lord who met with patriarchs at Shechem is still the living God, with angels just as quick to bring deliverance as in the days of old. W. A. S.

The Biennial Council in Friedensau, Germany

By William Ambrose Spicer

Second Report

THIS second report will be lengthy enough if it covers but one day's further proceedings of the council, and the services of the first Sabbath in the camp at Friedensau.

The following actions of the General Conference Committee were taken:—

That we comply with the request of the Australasian Union Conference, and transfer the East Indies (except British New Guinea) to the mission territory of the General Conference, from Jan. 1, 1912.

That the East Indies (except British New Guinea) be a mission field of the Asiatic Division of the General Conference, with the understanding that it be associated with the Malay Peninsula, the whole constituting the Malay Mission, with Singapore as the headquarters.

That the appropriations for the mission fields be made each year at the autumn council rather than in the spring, as heretofore, in order that the fields may know as early as possible what appropriations they have to work upon.

That one thousand dollars be granted as an appropriation to the Loma Linda Medical College, the same to be paid out of the first money that may be available.

That in response to the request of the board of the Loma Linda Medical College and the Pacific Union Conference the General Conference Committee release Dr. D. H. Kress from his position as General Medical Secretary, in order that he and Dr. Lauretta Kress may accept the call from the Pacific Coast to unite with the medical work there, Mrs. Kress to teach in the faculty of the College, of Medical Evangelists, and Dr. D. H. Kress to act as medical secretary of the Pacific Union Conference.

That the winter union conference sessions in America be held as follows:—

Southeastern ............ January 10-18 Southern ............... January 18-28 Southwestern ........... February 1-11 Columbia ............... February 14-22 Atlantic ............... February 28 to March 7 Central ................ January 18-28 Pacific ................ January 25 to February 3 North Pacific .......... February 8-18 West Canadian, February 22 to March 2 Northern ............... March 5-20 Lake ................... May 23 to June 1

That the question of general help to attend these union conferences be left to the officers of the General Conference.

A Blessed Sabbath—July 6

It was a vast congregation that gathered in the large tent for singing and prayer at the beginning of the Sabbath. Elder G. B. Thompson spoke, by interpreter, at the Friday evening preaching service. At the close, the announcements were made concerning the Sabbath-school arrangements for the morrow. A list of nearly three hundred teachers was read, the teachers themselves forming a good congregation.

It was a vast concourse that one looked over when the Sabbath-school gathered, and many languages were represented. The day was bright, and many classes were led out onto grassy plots in the meadow in which the big tent is pitched. The class records showed a membership of 2,423. There were two hundred forty classes formed, twenty-seven of these being conducted in other languages than the German. The children's division numbered two hundred sixty. The contributions were $343.

The class records indicate very closely the number in attendance at this meeting; but naturally in such a gathering several hundred more were in the camp and in the institutions who did not get into the Sabbath-school classes. The congregation was still further enlarged as the morning preaching hour came. Elder Daniells spoke from Rev. 3:11. The invitation at the close to those who had special need of help in making full surrender to God, brought about two hundred fifty souls to the front seats for an after-meeting, and precious victories were gained.

For the three o'clock service, the congregation was seated by unions, conferences, mission fields, and languages. Elder L. R. Conradi spoke for a few moments, calling attention to Scripture prophecies which predicted the gathering of a Sabbath-observing, commandment-keeping people from all parts of the world in the last days (Isaiah 56; Revelation 14, etc.). The Lord's house was to be called a house of prayer for all people.

Then as living witnesses to the fact that the prophecy is fulfilling, the representatives

of the various fields were called upon one after another to rise. The meeting was a wonderful witness to the swift progress of the message. Elder Conradi called attention to the fact that in Germany we have one sister, still living, who began to keep the Sabbath in 1844, from her own study of the Bible. In the sixties a number in the Rheinland began to keep the Sabbath, from the study of the Bible alone, and here in the meeting a dozen or more stood up as children of those early believers. The same date saw the gathering of a company of Sabbath-keepers in Switzerland, and four or five were here present as the children of those Swiss pioneers. And all through the meetings, active and vigorous, we have had with us Elder J. Erzberger, who came over to America in 1869 to attend a General Conference as a representative from Swiss Sabbath-keepers who appealed to the American believers to send teachers to Europe.

In response to this call, Elder J. N. Andrews crossed to Europe in 1874. And now, under the great tent and around its edges, were gathered living witnesses to the progress of the message in all the four quarters of the earth.

From the Four Winds

Elder Conradi first called for witnesses from the four quarters of the earth. From the farthest South, South Africa, six or eight stood up. From the farthest North, Scandinavia, stretching within the arctic circle, about thirty stood up. Four stood for the far East, China and Russian Manchuria; and several were present representing the farthest West, California and Peru.

As the roll of great cities was called, members stood up for London, Paris, Berlin (about two hundred fifty standing), Vienna, Constantinople, St. Petersburg; and here also was one believer from Jerusalem, also one each from Jaffa, Smyrna, and Luxor, Upper Egypt (the ancient Thebes, or No Amon of the Old Testament. Nahum 3:8, margin).

Levant Union Conference

When the union conferences were called upon, the Levant Union representatives, a little band of about fifteen, bore witness that the message is spreading in these last days in the lands of ancient Bible story. Believers from Turkey sang a Turkish song. Several of those who sang have been imprisoned again and again for the truth of God, but onward the message has gone. Elder A. Buzugherian, of Smyrna, told how once they wanted a Bible institute for the several workers. How to get permission for it was the question. Just then the government shut them all in prison together, with Elder Z. G. Baharian, their leader, and there behind the bars they had the longed-for opportunity to have a Bible institute.

Now an Arabic song was sung, and a brother whose home is in old Mesopotamia said he wanted to make a short speech; that if he told all in his heart, it would take as long as to come from Mesopotamia to Friedensau. Our time was short, and he was cautioned to make his talk brief. He stated that these remarks were only the preface, and that the speech itself would be but two words, needing no translation for any, of whatsoever tongue. Then, as the testimony of his heart, he cried out the words: “Halleluiah! Amen!” And all the great congregation answered with a loud “Amen!”

Other Unions

Now the Latin Union Conference representatives stood, first as a union, and then by fields, including Algeria, in northern Africa.

As Africa was touched, representatives rose from the south, west, east, and north of the Dark Continent. Then a brother (A. C. Enns) stood from the Victoria Nyanza, for the “heart of Africa,” and another (Elder J. Ebel) from Tashkend (Turkestan), for the “heart of Asia.” Then we heard a beautiful hymn in the Spanish (“Wonderful Words of Life”).

South America was represented by a number from that field, who are studying and working in Europe, and by two families soon to sail for Brazil, to bring at last two new ministerial laborers into the slender ranks of workers in that needy land. A Portuguese song was then sung by believers from Portugal and Brazil. The Russian Union Conference was represented by about seventy-five believers, and a Russian song was sung. Each conference and mission field of that vast empire responded—from the Baltic to Manchuria on the Pacific, and from the far North to the Caucasus. One brother (Elder Q. Wildgrube) of the Middle Russian Mission, is here after great difficulty and delay in securing his passport permission to attend this council, having to stand trial, on his return to Moscow, on the charge of perverting members of the Russian church. He faces the possibility of a long imprisonment. Pray that he may be delivered.

The Scandinavian fields followed, with about forty present, representing all divisions, including Finland and Iceland. The representative for the latter field was Brother Olaf J. Olsen (formerly of Union College, Nebraska), who expects to sail this month for that northern island. A Scandinavian hymn of praise was sung.

Then came the East German Union mission fields and conferences, the Hungarian, Transylvanian, Galician, Adriatic (the ten representatives mostly Servians), and Austrian, with the various conferences of eastern Germany.

As Elder Conradi said, it was a moving picture, rapidly passing before our eyes, of the fulfilling prophecies of the gathering time. Songs were sung, as this union reported, in the Hungarian, Rumanian, Servian, and Polish. Then the whole East German Union representation stood up, one thousand strong.

The British Union next bore testimony for each of its field divisions, and a quartet sang, “All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name.” Australia, India, the East Indies, Abyssinia, and Persia were represented. Two representatives from German East Africa, and two missionaries who are going to Africa this year, sang a song in the Suaheli language.

This report may seem monotonous with its record of geographical name after name; but it was a meeting that stirred the hearts of all who witnessed it. These songs were sung by those whose lives are devoted to proclaiming the last message among these peoples and tongues and tribes; and while we saw these few who are here in Europe, some as delegates, others on furlough, or in preparation for stronger service, we thought of our brethren and sisters working away in far places among the nations and languages and tribes, winning souls to God. Prophecy is fulfilling before our eyes, and the Lord has made bare his arm for the finishing of the work.

Then came the West German Union, with very nearly one thousand. About one hundred were in from Austria, where it is still against the law to baptize. Our Holland brethren sang a Dutch song. Over five hundred stood up to signify that they had received the message while in the Catholic Church.

The representatives from North America next stood up—a little band in the great gathering. Elder A. G. Daniells spoke of the joy the believers in America feel as they see the message spreading forth. Many of the American brethren remember the days when the work had never crossed the sea, and now they rejoice to see how rapidly the third angel's message is spreading out toward every land and nation. An English song was then sung, “Hover o'er Me, Holy Spirit,” and the great meeting was brought to a close by the heavy volume of praise from two thousand voices that filled the tent in the good old German song, “We Praise Thee, O God!”

Truly we may say, in the language of the prophecy, “From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous.”

Never did we rejoice more earnestly in the surety of the triumph of the advent movement.

W. A. SPICER, Secretary.

Friedensau.

Rumania and the Third Angel's Message

By H. F. Schuberth

H. F. SCHUBERTH

RUMANIA, which belongs to the Balkan Mission Field, with its seven million inhabitants, seems to be an especially good territory, and ripe for the third angel's message. The enemy has, therefore, been alert, ever since we began working there, to hinder the spread of our truth. This opposition reached its climax in 1910. Just one year ago both the church and the state began systematically to work against us. The two metropolitans sent a notice to their six bishops; these wrote to all the parishes and priests, who, in turn, communicated the matter to all the members of the churches. The following is a copy of one of the notices which a bishop wrote, and had posted in all the public thoroughfares. It was also published in a pamphlet, twenty thousand copies of which were printed, and distributed in the schools:—

The Decree of the Bishop of the Lower Danube Against the Sect of the Adventists

“PIOUS FATHERS AND DEAR CHRISTIANS: Some time ago strange people settled down in our land, faith, and nation, and spread a new religious doctrine among the peasants, factory workers, mechanics, and soldiers, called ‘the doctrine of the converted,’ or ‘of the enlightened.’ These are generally known under the name of ‘Adventists,’ or ‘Sabbatists.’

“This sect has its origin and seat in Hamburg, Germany, and is supported in an underhanded way by a foreign Jewish alliance.

“Because it seems too difficult for the Young Jews to spread their religion, with its morals of the Mosaic law, in foreign lands, and because they want to sway the whole world spiritually, which they have already partly economically got possession of, they thought to invent a new ‘modern religion,’ by which they intend to bring about confusion in the world.

“Consequently they had to take on the principles and form of some kind of religion; for the Jews abhor the Orthodox (Greek-Oriental) religion and its worship, like fire. Since we make the sign of the cross, on which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, an obligatory act in the practise of our patriarchal religion, the Jew turns from it. He can bear everything but the holy cross, and every one knows the reason.

“It was easier for the Young Jews to adopt the Protestant confession, because it does not enforce the holy crucifix and the holy pictures in its worship. And, after having taken the fundamentals of the Protestant form of worship, they teach by means of twisted explanations, contrary to the founded teachings of the orthodox Christian church, that Saturday should be sanctified in the place of Sunday. They despise the worship of the holy pictures, and forbid the taking of the oath, which every state officer and soldier must take before the throne, state, and fatherland. By harmful and tyrannical ideas they bewilder the minds of credulous people, whom they gather together in a special house, where a minister plays them some melancholy hymns on an organ. Tracts, which are printed in Hamburg and sent here, are distributed. . . .

“I call your attention, my dear pious fathers, that you watch the flock entrusted to your protection with open eyes, and preserve it, by sermons and good advice, from infection by the false doctrines of this sect. I have also handed petitions to the minister of the interior, to the minister of ecclesiastical affairs, and to the minister of war, concerning this matter, that they may take the necessary steps against those who dare endeavor to divert our meek people from their patriarchal faith. . . .

“Take care, if any one of these propagandists settles in your villages, to expel him at once. Inform your spiritual shepherds, or the mayor of the village, if any such wolf in sheep's clothing endeavors to creep into the flock.”

A league was formed, which should give itself up entirely to studying our work and hindering us in every possible way. The minister of the interior informed all the prefects, and these, in turn, all the mayors, that all Adventist missionaries should be taken to the police station, and if they were foreigners, should be at once expelled. Attention should also be given to the members, and all propaganda hindered.

The minister of war sent a notice to all the officers, captains, and regiments, that if any one should be found reading the Bible or Adventist literature, he should be admonished; if he did not then refrain, he should be court-martialed.

Through this well-organized opposition, every office and official court was soon thoroughly acquainted with our cause. Now that a year has passed, we can only thank the Lord for the good progress our work has made in that field. The free advertisements, which cost them so much money and trouble, have not been without results. The proof has again been furnished that “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” The press has also tried its best, through about twenty different newspapers, to warn the people against us, and has used this publicity for its political purposes. This gave us a good opportunity to give a short reply in one of the best newspapers, which was well thought of by the people. Preparations are also being made to lay the whole matter before the minister of ecclesiastical affairs at the most opportune time, so that he may get a right conception of our message.

In Bukharest, the capital of Rumania, we have an active church of 140 members; in Constanza there is a church of thirty members; also one in Ploesti with the same number. In three other towns we have a good start, and prospects for growth.

Although our meetings are visited frequently by the secret police, and our workers are often called before the police, they are of good courage and happy in their work.

Let us not forget this needy field in our prayers.

God’s Care for the Needy

“God is attracted by our need more than by our beauty. Every shepherd will tell you that it is the weak and weary, the lame and halt sheep that he cares for. Every mother will tell you that there is a fascination to her in the wee child, which is sicklier and more exacting, because less healthy, than the others. So it is with God.”

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