THE magnitude and comprehensive character of the advent message is a subject often mentioned among us. In referring to our work, we speak in large terms, but, after all, I sometimes wonder if we think in large terms.
We are a people from the middle class, called of God to do a great work. Few of us have been connected with big businesses or great enterprises. It is really not an easy matter for us to comprehend the immensity of a world-wide work, a message to be carried to "every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." To repeat such phrases is one thing; to comprehend their significance is another.
To illustrate my meaning by referring to a recent development in our work: The message came to us to work the cities of America, and we caught up the slogan, "Work the cities;" and we now talk about our "city work," sometimes in a way which indicates that we think we are well on the road to the accomplishment of this task. And we are rather shocked and somewhat stunned when we read a statement like this: "If a Moody could preach to ten thousand different persons every night in the year, it would take eight years for him to reach with one message of the gospel the population of our American cities, and at the end of that time these cities would have doubled or trebled their population."
Yet we have not only the cities of America, but the 850,000,000 of Asia, the 400,000,000 of Europe, the 150,000,000 of Africa, the 60,000,000 of Latin America, and the 50,000,000 of Oceania to whom we are to carry the blessed message of a soon-coming Saviour. When we stop to think that God has chosen to do this work through human instrumentalities, and that to follow Christ's leadership means to follow him to all parts of the earth and to all races of men, well may we ask, "Who is sufficient for these things?"
As we lift up our eyes on the field, we see that the harvest is white, and that God has marvelously flung open the doors into all the nations. As we look over the church at home, we see that a great change of attitude toward this world problem has taken place in the last decade. This call of the world appeals to our hearts. And the way we have spread out over the face of the earth in response to the call is marvelous to other church leaders, and sometimes almost a source of alarm to ourselves. Doubtless other religious leaders look upon our great missionary activity as the effervescence of a new and dogmatic denomination, which will subside sooner or later, while the great popular denominations, with their ideas of federation and the ushering in of the kingdom of God on earth, will march on to victory.
The church also in the last decade has considered anew and finally settled the question of denominational organization, without which our work could never be accomplished, but through which alone—let it be remembered—we are still powerless.
Need of Leaders
The world is open to the advent message, we have accepted our commission, our outposts are planted, and we have a willing people who will give of their children and their means. What is especially needed now is deeper consecration and greater efficiency in all our work. And one of our great problems of efficiency, as I view it, is the problem of leadership. It is on this problem that I wish to contribute a few thoughts on this occasion.
We are not especially in need today of new missionary motives, and we are not suffering for want of proper plans and methods, but we do need, as never before, a strong missionary leadership. In the days that are now, and in the days to come, the success of our work hinges and will hinge very largely on whether we have strong, hard-working, self-sacrificing leaders, who "know what Israel ought to do," and how to lead others in doing it.
Some one has humorously divided mankind into four classes, the molders, the holders, the folders, and the scolders. That there is a bit of truth in the classification we recognize at once. Perhaps under a reign of righteousness all would be equally qualified to lead, but such is not the case here. If it were the case, organization would still require leadership.
Why is it that with the same facilities, the same people, and the same motives, one enterprise fails and another succeeds? In the difference in leadership we find the answer.
The Directory in France in 1796 proposed to move against Austria. Jordan, with a large and finely equipped army, was sent straight into the enemy's territory; while Napoleon Bonaparte, because of the jealousy felt toward the young Corsican, was sent with a small and poorly equipped army to cross the Alps and harass the Austrian forces in Italy. The world knows the result. Jordan was ignominiously defeated, while Napoleon accomplished his mission, re-crossed the Alps, defeated the Austrians, and wrested from the hated Hapsburg ruler the treaty of Campo-Formio. A leader had arisen in France destined to change the map of Europe.
4Leaders are needed in the work of God. If in the great moral crisis of the antediluvian world, God needed a leader and preacher of righteousness; if in the days of apostasy after the flood God needed a man of faith and courage to found and fix the ideals of a nation; if Moses and Aaron were needed to lead Israel out of Egyptian bondage, and Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel to re-establish them after the captivity; if John the Baptist was needed as a herald of Christ's first advent; if Paul was needed in the great conflict between Judaism and Christianity, and to lead the church of Christ in its world-wide mission; if Wyclif, Huss, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, and William Miller were needed; if a Colonel Goethals was needed to build the Panama Canal; if a John R. Mott is needed to lead the forces of college Christian manhood,—surely God no less has need of leaders in his work today as we approach the crisis of the ages, when a complete gospel is to be given to the entire world in a single generation, and a spiritual reformation is to take place which will gather from all nations a people who will stand without fault before him at that day.
And let it be said that the thought of having any part or responsibility in such a work at such a time ought to calm the spirit to the most serious reflection, and drive us to the most thorough mental and spiritual preparation possible.
Kind of Leaders Needed
If there ever was a time when strong men were needed, it is now. Well may we cry out, in the words of Holland:—
"God give us men! A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor, men who will not lie;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking.
God give us men!"
The kind of men needed for Christian leadership is determined by the character of the divine Master and his sacred work. "Small employers," says Bishop McDowell, "can take small employees. Little institutions can get along with little men. Empires must have emperors, kingdoms must have kings. Kings are 'men who can.'" But "woe to thee, O land," says the Hebrew prophet, "when thy king is a child!" And woe to thee, O church, when thy leadership is impotent, injusticious, and unsteady!
It is not a question whether the work of God offers big enough tasks for virile young men, as some who see no vision foolishly imagine; it is a question how to find men broad enough and big enough for this Christian leadership. Peter and Andrew, and James and John were catching fish on the Sea of Galilee for a few pence a day, and Jesus called them to catch men on the sea of humanity, with eternal life for their wages.
A missionary in China writes: "The greatest need of the missionary body in China today, next to Christian character, is for great leaders, with the power of grasping the fact that they are facing a large and rapidly changing problem." And the call is the same from every field, whether at home or abroad. President Roosevelt, in writing to John R. Mott regarding the Christian ministry, said:—
"Small, narrow, one-sided men, no matter how earnest, cannot supply leadership for the moral and religious forces which alone can redeem nations. They can do good in their own way; but in addition to them, and especially for this particular work, the strongest men are needed,— men of marked personality who to tenderness add force and grasp, who show capacity for friendship, and who to a fine character unite an intense moral and spiritual enthusiasm.
"Every great city calls with insistent longing for leaders able and willing to suffer and fight, to show fortitude and daring, to grapple with iron will and undaunted front the terrible evils that grow up where men are crowded together, where life is led under a constant and feverish strain, where great wealth and biting poverty jostle one another."
Do you, young man, young woman, aspire to do great things? Nurture that desire. Pray that you may do great things, not for self, but for the glory of God. Pray that through humility and self-sacrifice you may do a work that God counts great, though the world counts it small. There is no small work except that done by a small man. One has truly said that "the greatest man that ever sailed the Mediterranean Sea was not Pericles, nor Alexander, nor Hannibal, nor Cæsar, but Paul. His shadow lies upon Europe as does that of no other man in its history. When Europe began to renew her life in the sixteenth century, it was a Christian preacher who led the way. Our freedom began, not with any scientist, philosopher, man of letters, or man of affairs; it began with Martin Luther."
What are, then, specifically the qualities of a good leader in the work of the advent message?
1. Physically: Good health. "The first requisite of success is to be a good animal," some one has said.
2. Mentally: (a) Thoroughness, and the capacity for hard mental effort. The cause of God has suffered much from superficiality. Some men never get a mental grasp of their field or their work; (b) logic, the ability to reach right conclusions, to reason from the known to the unknown. Professor James has defined the uneducated person as "one who is nonplused by all but the most habitual situations." On the other hand, he who "is able practically to extricate himself by means of the examples with which his memory is stored, and of the abstract conceptions which he has acquired, from circumstances in which he never was placed before," is educated, whether he got that ability in school or not. And one who cannot thus meet a new situation is uneducated, though he may have the most high-sounding titles; (c) decision. The man who continually halts between two opinions, who is uncertain of his own line of activity, cannot lead; (d) courage, the ability to take a hard proposition and carry it through. The leader who is afraid is half beaten; (e) adaptability. A leader must be keen enough to see essentials, and broad enough to adapt himself to different customs, circumstances, and conditions. He must know that there is often more than one good way of doing a thing.
3. Spiritually: (a) Faith in the message,— an unwavering faith in the advent message,— and an undying conviction that it must go to the world without delay; (b) absolute loyalty to principle, the love of right above everything else; (c) the spirit of sacrifice, the lack of concern for oneself as compared with his purpose. "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple;" (d) calmness, the ability to be calm under criticism and unmoved under flattery. To be a leader means to understand the path better than those who follow. It is not strange that those who follow should misjudge the leader at times, because they cannot see all that he sees; (e) intensity, to be touched with the feelings of sorrowing humanity and always to be filled with an intense passion for lost souls; (f) humility — except we become as little children we cannot enter the kingdom of Christian leadership.
How to Secure Good Leaders
5So much for the demand for the qualifications of leaders in the work of the advent message. How shall they be secured? How shall we provide for a constant supply of efficient leaders? Perhaps I am expected to say in answer to this question that we should select our brightest young people and give them the benefit of the most thorough intellectual training possible. The school has, I believe, a very important part to act in this matter, but the solution of the problem begins back of the schools, and demands something of the schools far different from the ordinary intellectual culture.
First of all, I wish to call your attention to a thought expressed by Woodrow Wilson concerning the ministry:—
"When I hear some of the things which young men say to me by way of putting the arguments to themselves for going into the ministry, I think that they are talking of another profession. Their motive is to do something, when it should be to be something. You do not have to be anything in particular to be a lawyer. I have been a lawyer, and I know. You do not have to be anything in particular, except a kind-hearted man, perhaps, to be a physician; you do not have to be anything nor to undergo any strong spiritual change to be a merchant. The only profession which consists in being something is the ministry of our Lord and Saviour — and it does not consist of anything else. It is manifested in other things, but it does not consist of anything else."
It would be well for us always to keep this in mind, that to become workers for God is not merely to do something, nor yet to learn something. It is to be something. It is to be transformed by his power.
1. A deeper consecration of the whole church. My first suggestion as to a plan of securing an efficient leadership is the need of a deeper consecration on the part of the whole church. The home and the local church constitute the solid foundation on which all true progress in the work of God must rest. The vital interest there is the matrix from which genuine Christian leadership is born. We need to repent of our lukewarmness, shake off the lethargy that binds us, and show to our young people by our actions as well as our words that our relation to God and his Son Jesus Christ is the most sacred and vital relationship of our lives; that the coming of Jesus is our fondest hope, and the finishing of his work the greatest burden of our hearts. Such a baptism into the spirit and meaning of our advent hope will give direction and power to the future leadership of the cause.
2. The church a training school. Not only must the members of the church humble themselves in repentance before God, but in the name of Christ the church must express its love and consecration by earnest intercessory prayer and active missionary effort. The church must become a training school for religious service, wherein young and old will catch the spirit of the Master, and go about doing his work. Love of ease, unwillingness to sacrifice, a failure to labor for the lost, will depotentiate any church, lulling to sleep its adult members, and diverting the energies of the youth into worldly channels. On the other hand, earnest Christian work will keep alive the spirit of love and self-sacrifice; and as the church does this work, its members will become more and more efficient, and there will be developed those who can carry responsibilities, those who will become the future leaders of the church in all its departments. From the small bands that meet for prayer and definite work, through all the varied activities of the church, to the church elder, leaders are required, and are being trained in the church which is endeavoring to follow the Master in Christian service.
And if in all our work, from the local church to the General Conference, we should always endeavor to make the work itself a training school for leadership. If every leader would throw aside any petty jealousy that may still lurk in his bosom, and adopt the idea that he has not succeeded until he has trained a successor, that would go a long way toward solving the problem of leadership.
3. Training of leaders in Christian schools. A deeper consecration to Christian service on the part of the church will result in a mighty forward educational movement; for when our young people get a real burden for the Lord's work, they will make earnest efforts to obtain the best possible training for the work. And herein lie the great privileges and responsibilities of our schools. As the service to be rendered determines the character of the leadership desired, so the character of leadership called for should mold the character and policy of our schools.
That the church should have its own schools for this training would seem to be self-evident to all who comprehend what the work of God involves. Thinking Christian men everywhere are beginning to realize the inefficiency of secular education. The late Dr. Harper said: "There has been a peculiar and fatal lack of proper religious instruction for the young during the last twenty years, and we are just beginning to feel its terrible effects."
Secretary Bryan said, recently: "I believe that now we need the wholesome training of a Christian college during that most important part of life when the youth are changing into manhood and womanhood. I think that there is scarcely a boy, and I hardly believe there is a girl, who does not have the experience of the 'prodigal son.' That's the time of the real conflict between the heart and the head. The real issue of life is whether the heart or the head shall control life. I must say that I am on the side of the heart."
And the very idea of the gospel involves the belief that the world with its ideals and practices is fundamentally wrong, for which the gospel is the remedy. There may be circumstances when in God's providence the youth shall receive a part of their education (after their ideals have been fixed) in the schools of Babylon, but it is surely God's plan that the leaders in his work shall receive their education in the schools of the prophets.
The same considerations as have led us to establish our own schools should keep us on the alert to see that these schools are qualified to do the distinctive work for which they were established. There is no particular virtue in a school owned and operated by the church which adopts the curriculum and methods of the secular schools. The Lord has not left us to our own wisdom in this matter, but has given us much very definite and positive instruction concerning the separation of our schools from the world and its errors, the elimination from these schools of those things which are not essential to our work, and the rearrangement of the facts of knowledge so that the Word of God becomes the basis of our school work, and the cross of Christ the great center of all teaching and study. In "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. VI, page 130, we read: —
"Let no more time be lost in dwelling on the many things which are not essential, and which have no bearing upon the present necessities of God's people. . . . There is no time now to fill the mind with theories of what is popularly called 'higher education.' . . . This we cannot afford, for every moment is freighted with eternal interests. Now, when the great work of judging the living is about to begin, shall we allow unsanctified ambition to take possession of the heart, and lead us to neglect the education required to meet the needs in this day of peril?"
I believe that one of our greatest needs today is educational leaders who sense the importance of this instruction and who are able to do constructive work. There are, I believe, new depths of meaning in Christian education which we have not fathomed; there are new heights for us to attain. The perfected system of Christian education will stand out in bold contrast to that of the world. It will not be based on precedent, nor will there be anything that is true left out of it because some one else may have discovered the truth of it before us. Through this system of education, and by the excellence and high character of the work done by its institutions, the attention of the world will be directed, not to our great men, but to "the last great effort to save the perishing" (Vol. VI, page 126), to the last mighty struggle between the forces of good and evil.
No one can deny that we have been affected by the law of action and reaction. For instance, several years ago we had our slum missions in scores of cities. Where are they today? That we went to extremes is doubtless true; but I should fear to assert that we are doing our duty now.
Likewise it seems clear to me that we are today on a wave of reaction from our education reform movement. That that reform was called for through the gift that has held us together and guided us as a people all these years cannot be questioned. To allow the mistakes of some in the reformatory effort to drive us back to the place from which we were called would be an indication of weakness on our part. When the tide sets back, it is easy for educational workers who were perhaps never in hearty sympathy with the reform movement, and for others who have perhaps never analyzed the questions involved, to magnify the mistakes of radicals and approve the reaction. But whatever of truth has been revealed to us, dear friends, will yet shine bright and clear in spite of all the opposition of those who are so wedded to the customs wherein they were taught that they cannot accept truth.
I have the rather sad feeling tonight that perhaps I am taking my final leave of the schoolroom. But I wish to say that I believe the salvation of our young people and the future leadership of the church hang heavily on the question of our loyalty to the great principles of Christian education which have been given us. Let us guard against the elimination from our courses of study any of our Bible, history, or other essential features, for the purpose of making these courses more acceptable to the schools of the world, remembering that "in our6educational work there is to be no compromise in order to meet the world's standard." President Hanley of Franklin College has expressed some pertinent truths as to the relation of the Christian college and the secular school, in the following:—
"The peculiar responsibility of the Christian college, therefore, is not along the line of introducing technical courses and professional work in realms where, by the very limitation of means, it will never be able to cope with the state, but rather along the line of giving the Bible and Christian history such a place in teaching as shall send men forth equipped to be the religious leaders of their time. There may be no slighting of the work of intellectual training; on that point we are agreed. And, if learning is to meet full needs and capacities of the human spirit, we must at last come to agreement in the other position also, that in our higher education there may be no neglect of the religious nature, and of that moral and spiritual power which underlies our civilization, the religion of Christ."
The Fundamental Principles of Christian Education
What are these fundamental principles which are to guide us in the education of workers from whom shall come the future leadership of the cause of the third angel's message?
1. The Bible the basis. First of all, and we might almost say including all, the Bible is to be not only a prominent study book in the school, but "the foundation of study and of teaching,"—"Ministry of Healing," page 401. This, to my mind, does not mean that we are to make our printed Bible a textbook in every subject, or that we are to bring forth from the Bible some direct statements on every artificial division of knowledge. It does mean, I think, that the Bible is to be incarnate in the life of the teacher, that its great principles will be a very part of his experience and life. Then he cannot help making it the basis.
Again: the Bible is a book of principles, and contains all the foundation principles which it is necessary for men to know. See "Education," page 123. It is adapted to every faculty and want of the human mind as well as to the heart and conscience, and is suited to every age and class of humanity. It is a book for all time. As has been said, "It is not behind the age, but before it, and before all ages, because anticipating and comprehending the wants of all." It does not, to be sure, contain the results, but the first principles, of all science and philosophy. If it gave all the results, it would be the pinnacle as well as the basis of all knowledge. Without these principles the greatest efforts of reason would end in doubt. For in every attempt to trace a subject back to its foundation or source, we come to a limit beyond which we cannot go; to "a great ocean which bounds the whole continent of knowledge, from which all its streams are derived, and into which they empty and lose themselves, in whose infinity the mind itself is lost." That is, there are certain truths at the foundation of all knowledge which must be taken for granted by the mind, which cannot be demonstrated, or even understood. They must be taken by faith, and known only as they are believed. Such are the truths concerning God, the great first cause, creator, and upholder of all; the soul, its freedom and responsibility; right and wrong, and the eternal distinction between them; the origin, nature, and destiny of man. The Bible contains a clear statement of these truths, and faith is the evidence.
In this age of infidelity within the church it is the duty of the advent people, who are to restore the old paths, to stand firmly on the impregnable rock of Holy Scriptures.
2. Study of science in the light of revelation. Seventh-day Adventists believe in the complete harmony of true science and revelation. We are living in a scientific age, and must not be ignorant of scientific truth. But the world is full of scientific theories which undermine faith in the Word of God. There is, therefore, great need today of a thorough study of nature under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and this study is only second to the study of the Bible in leading the student into the very audience chamber of the Most High. So in order to know him through his works, and to be able to lead to God men and women who have been led away by false science, our students need to study science; but they should do this under the guidance of strong, well-educated men who are not bound to current textbooks or scientific theories.
3. Physical training. Another fundamental feature of our Christian schools is that "intellectual, physical, and moral culture should be combined in order to have well-developed and well-balanced men and women."—"Christian Education," page 20. Pages might be quoted on this question, but the kernel of the matter is here. From the standpoint of a sound body as the basis for a good character, physical labor is necessary to the student. Besides, there are distinct intellectual and spiritual benefits from this education of the hands. We have recognized health reform as a part of our message for many years. We have not always recognized this question of the balancing of physical and mental effort as a most important part of health reform. So for the sake of personal health, that our students may be able to teach others, and for the sake of the practical education which industrial training rightly conducted gives, let us uphold this feature of our work.
4. Practical training in Christian work. Our colleges are also our training schools for Christian workers. A fundamental method in education is the laboratory method, and should by all means be applied in the training of ministers, Bible workers, teachers, and other workers. Such was the method of Christ with his chosen pupils. We sometimes follow the error of the Jewish leaders in speaking of those apostles as unlearned and ignorant men. But what shall be said of a three-year course in almost constant association with the greatest Teacher that ever lived, studying by the most pedagogical method known to men? Let us as underteachers, with our eyes on the goal of successful Christian work and leadership, follow the method of the Master.
5. Thoroughness. I cannot leave these principles of Christian training without pausing to say that there will be nothing cheap about it when we catch the idea of the Great Teacher. We shall see to it that no second-class work comes from our hands.
Let me reiterate in conclusion that the whole spirit and purpose of our schools must be different from the schools of the world.
Sad will be the day for us when we exalt the intellect above the spirit. That tendency of the natural heart needs no encouragement from our teachers. Sad will be the day when we drift toward an intellectual aristocracy. Let us continually hold to that simple idea of Elder Uriah Smith that we have no great men, but we have a great truth. Let us do the most thorough work possible in our schools in the study of the great problems of life, remembering that the greatest problem is the problem of sin and righteousness. Let us remember that our message is a spiritual message from God to a lost world. In our teaching let us say little, but think much, of this important question of leadership. Let us study our students, encourage their gifts, and help them in a definite, personal way to find the place that God would have them fill.
To the young people before me, in the words of Kipling, let me say:—
"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting, too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew7To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them, 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings—nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you—but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a man, my son!"
Alien Earth
By H. I. Morse-Farnum
H. I. MORSE-FARNUM
LIKE chaff and grain, like snow and stain,
Now good and evil dwell;
But stars of night, a chorus bright,
In demonstration tell
Of land beyond, where, blessed bond
Of brotherhood and peace!
The sons of Light will reunite,
And controversy cease.
As Jesus bowed to wear a shroud,
And thus he conquered death,
This alien clime is not the time
Of triumph, but by faith.
The conflict grows anear the close
Of dark usurper's sway;
From sin's long night, in rosy light
Peereth the long-lost day.
FRANCIS MONROE BURG
By Francis Monroe Burg
Moses and Christ—No. 4
FRANCIS MONROE BURG
God honored Moses in a special manner, as shown in previous articles. And it will not be without interest in this connection to note the fact that other men have been chosen and given honored places of trust in the working out of God's great plan. David was blessed in this way. See Isa. 55:3, 4. Abraham was "called . . . alone" and blessed. See Isa. 51:1, 2; Gen. 12:1-3. The reasons that enter into the selection and appointment of these men furnish a very interesting field of study, but space will not permit us to enter it here.
As truly as God singled out and appointed the men named above to offices of special honor and trust, so truly has he called many men and set them apart with a divine commission to preach the gospel of salvation to the world. Standing in the very forefront of this class of God's trusted servants is the apostle Paul.
In the third chapter of Second Corinthians he, in very definite terms, affirmed his call and appointment to the sacred work. He claimed nothing for himself, but said that his ability and sufficiency were from God, who had given him his work. Verse 5.
As proof to men that he had this divine appointment, he pointed to the people who were saved through his ministry. He said they were his "epistles of commendation," "known and read of all men." Verses 1, 2.
He said the minister is not called to preach the mere "letter," or form, of the gospel. "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." Verse 6. It is possible for a man to preach the mere form of the gospel without its life and power. So the disciples were told not to begin preaching till they were "endued with power from on high."
The law, written on stones, condemned the sinner to death. This is its office, as before shown, in working out God's plan to save sinners. In this way the sinner is led to come to Christ, where, under the blessed work of the Holy Spirit upon him, he is begotten to a new life,—to a life of freedom, a life of peace and joy, a life of power and victory, a life full of hope.
So while condemnation for sin and a Spirit-born conviction are "glorious" experiences, as the apostle says (verse 9), the experience that follows—of justification, peace, and righteousness, and of "joy in the Holy Ghost"—is far more glorious (verses 9, 10). The former loses its glory for the far exceeding blessedness of the latter. Verse 10. But who has ever found Christ in this, God's own way, who does not recall with thankfulness the time when his heart melted down under the power of conviction, and when he came a trembling sinner to the cross and found the blessed cleansing? It was a "glorious" experience.
However, this first experience is temporal, and passes away when Christ is found, even as the glory on Moses' face was temporal. Verse 7. The more glorious experience is permanent; it is one that "remaineth," or abides. Verse 11. So it is in the working out of God's plan to save sinners. His law condemns the guilty, and under the power of the Holy Spirit deep conviction and sorrow possess the soul. This experience does not continue after faith has taken hold upon the assurance offered in Christ for the "remission of sin;" then peace "like a river," and joy everlasting fill the ransomed soul, and his mouth is "filled with laughter," and his "tongue with singing." Ps. 126:1, 2.
Such a hope as this inspires the gospel herald to use "great plainness of speech." 2 Cor. 3:12. He does not "put a veil over his face," as Moses did when he came from the mount, and the people were afraid for the glory upon his countenance. He preaches the gospel plainly, which first brings condemnation and then the everlasting peace and rest.
The apostle continues: Men are blind as they read the writings of Moses and the Old Testament; not, as it is often construed to mean, blinded because they read these blessed scriptures; but rather being blinded, they fail to see the precious revelation of Christ in what Moses wrote, and in what other Old Testament men have written. And so the sad and incongruous aspect presents itself today, of men who claim to preach the gospel of salvation to this dying world, railing against Moses and stigmatizing this wonderful "servant" of God, and the writings that came from his pen. May God pity their blindness, and lead them to know Christ, that the blindness may be taken away.
In conclusion, we recall the words of Jesus concerning Moses, "He wrote of me." And let us take this statement, with all the meaning that is couched in these four words, and hereafter read the writings of Moses from an angle that, as through a telescope, we may see the glory of Christ shining "more and more unto the perfect day."
When the blessed gospel has completed its work, the great, numberless throng who have experienced its transforming power, will sing through all the "ages to come" the "song of Moses and the Lamb."
Walking the Health Road
By Selected
Most sensible folks are more interested nowadays in keeping well than in getting well. But while we may consider ourselves very wise in the matter of preservation of health, as well as in many other matters, wisdom in this particular regard was not born with us. Hear how certain of those who achieved in another generation promoted their own good health, and, as an inevitable result, their success.
In the sixteenth century, says the Chicago Tribune, Cornaro wrote a book entitled "How to Regain Health and Live a Hundred Years." As he wrote the third edition of his book in his ninety-fifth year and lived to be over one hundred, his advice is worth listening to.
He lived abstemiously, and carefully avoided all extremes of heat and cold, extraordinary fatigue, interruptions in his usual hours of rest, and staying long in bad air. He avoided melancholy, hatred, and other evil passions. He laid especial stress upon eating a small quantity of food found to be good for one.
Hippocrates advised good air, baths, friction, and physical exercises.
Frederick Harrison at eighty-one years of age gave golden rules of health:—
1. Abstain from tobacco, spirits, made dishes, and all such terrible things.
2. Rise from a meal with an appetite.
3. Walk every day for two hours.
4. Sleep eight hours.
5. Be content with what you have.
Tolstoi taught that the secret of long life is in fresh air day and night, daily exercise, moderation in eating and drinking, a hot bath each week and a cold one every day.
Von Moltke when ninety years old said he maintained his health by great moderation in all things and by regular outdoor exercise in all weathers.
The Prussian historian, Von Ranke, rose at 8 A. M., took a warm drink, worked until 1 P. M., took a long walk in the park, ate a full afternoon dinner of plain food, worked until 7 P. M., took supper with his family, worked or talked with his family until 11 P. M., and then went to bed.
Sir Herman Eeber when over eighty years of age lectured to the Royal College of Surgeons on the means for the prolongation of life. He took a daily walk in all weathers, once a week walking four hours, and once a year he went on a walking holiday. He recommended mental occupation, gardening, intellectual games, and traveling. He took breathing exercises for five to fifteen minutes each day. He slept six to seven hours, and then took a bath, followed by friction of the skin. He especially advocated regular bowel habits, and simple, plain food. He used no alcohol, stimulants, narcotics, or soothing drugs. He advised the cultivation of mental tranquillity and hopefulness, the avoidance of grief, and the control of the passions.—Selected.