THERE was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil." "Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan also came among them." This was evidently a meeting of the representatives of different parts of God's great universe. The true representative of the earth had proven himself unfaithful to the trust reposed in him, and man was no more a representative of the earth; he had surrendered his rights. Neither was Satan a fit representative of the earth, for tho he was master, it was by usurpation; and the purpose of God in the creation was by no means changed, tho for a time interrupted.
But Satan came, presenting himself at the council. "And Jehovah said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Who, he reasoned, has a better right than I to represent the earth? It is mine, for man has yielded it to me; I walk up and down in it unmolested; none disputes my authority there.
Then Jehovah reminded him of one who was more fit than he to come to the council, "Hast thou considered My servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and turneth away from evil." Satan could not dispute that Job was a righteous man, but with a suspicious sneer he asked, "Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast not Thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath, on every side? . . . But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will renounce Thee to Thy face."
Thus challenged, Jehovah answered the prince of darkness, not to satisfy his charge, but to demonstrate to the universe, the representatives of which even then stood in His presence, that man could and would obey Him: "Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand."
So Satan went forth from the presence of God to afflict Job. Seeing Job's servants plowing, he sent the Sabeans to rob him of his means of support; he brought fire down from heaven to destroy his goods; the Chaldeans carried away his wealth; and last of all a mighty wind demolished the house of his sons and all were killed. All was gone, everything was swept away; and Job "arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped; and he said, . . . Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."
"Again it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan came also among them." Jehovah met him with the question, "Hast thou considered My servant Job? . . . He still holdeth fast his integrity." Again Satan challenged Him to still further grieve Job: "Put forth Thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce Thee to Thy face." Once more the faithful, long-suffering man of God was subjected to the Satanic touch; boils covered his body, and utterly miserable and full of pain and sickness, he sat among the ashes. His own wife and hitherto faithful friends turned against him, declaring that God had also forsaken him. Still he exclaimed, "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?"
Thru all the afflictions that came, tho wife and friends reviled and discouraged him, tho ravages of disease oppressed, tho his own feelings of weakness and sin bore him down, still he trusted God. And in that time of affliction, God taught him wonderful lessons of faith and trust, of the goodness and majesty of God. And tho his flesh cried out for the pain and the trial, "in all this did not Job sin with his lips." "And Jehovah accepted Job." Wonderful love!
Glorious reward for true faith! "So Jehovah blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning," in riches, in children, in length of days.
The last book in the Bible contains the account of a people whose experience is parallel with Job's experience. A remnant people is found, in whose mouth is no guile, whose garments are not stained with sin. These, too, are accused falsely before God and the world. "Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Still he boasts that the earth is his, for still he walks up and down in it.
Hast thou considered My people, "they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus"? The record indicates that there is such a people, and in the working out of the plan of salvation before the anxious universe, God's children are sorely tried. "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them." Yet "here is the patience and the faith of the saints."
Still they are faithful. Fiercely the enemy of righteousness assails the faithful servants of God. "He doeth great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men." He takes away their means of support, "that no man should be able to buy or sell," save only those who are of the world. Then must the faithful, afflicted one lean heavily on the almighty arm of his God; then must he exclaim, as did Job of old, "Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah."
And who are these, these children of God, these who, when the enemy brings accusations against them are designated as those "that keep the commandments of God"? —The bearers and the believers in the three great messages of Rev. 14: 6-12. A reading of the chapter is sufficient to make it clear. That message has been heralded to the world for half a century and more, and still goes in every land with mighty power; an army of faithful messengers bears it onward.
What next?—"And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw One sitting like unto a Son of Man. . . . And He that sat on the cloud cast His sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped." Rev. 14: 14-16. In Jesus' own words (Matt. 13: 39), "the harvest is the end of the world." "Jehovah accepted Job." "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
HE KNOWS.
By Gertrude B. Curtis
I CAN not always trace the onward course
My boat must take;
But looking backward, I behold afar
Its shining wake,
Illumined with God's life of love; and so
I onward go
In perfect trust that He who holds the helm
The course must know.
I can not always see the plan on which
He builds my life;
For oft the sound of hammers, blow on blow,
The noise of strife,
Confuse me till I quite forget He knows
And oversees,
And that in all details in His good plan
My life agrees.
I can not always know and understand
The Master's rule;
I can not always do the tasks He gives
In life's hard school;
But I am learning by His help to solve
Them one by one;
And when I can not understand, to say,
"Thy will be done."
—Gertrude B. Curtis.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES.
By F. D. Starr
Second Peter.
THIS is emphatically a last-day message, culminating in a most vivid and glowing description of the day of the Lord, in which the earth and the works that therein are shall be burned up. This warning is given for the practical benefit it will bring to the believer. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” 2 Peter 3: 11, 12. The marginal reading for the expression “hasting unto the coming,” is “hasting the coming.” That is to be our attitude in reference to the coming of the Lord. We are to do all we can to hasten that glad event, and not be like the wicked servant who says, “My Lord delayeth His coming,” nor like latter-day scoffers mentioned in verse 4, who deridingly inquire, “Where is the promise of His coming?” As this epistle applies so fully to the time in which we are living, what argument need be advanced to convince any one of the necessity of earnestly studying its important contents?
This letter was written by Peter, about six years after his first epistle, just before he, like Paul, became a martyr to the cause of Christ. In chapter one we find what is familiarly termed “Peter’s ladder” of eight rounds; namely, faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity, from the topmost round of which the diligent follower of the Master is to step off “into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Peter himself knew by experience what it meant to commence at the first round and ascend to the summit. That these graces were quite fully developed in him is evident from the closing part of this letter. He there alludes to the writings of “our beloved brother Paul,” and says concerning them that they contain some things “hard to be understood.” So the inspired declaration is made that the Scriptures do present some things that are difficult to understand. But does this excuse us for not trying to understand them? No, for it does not say “impossible to be understood,” but “hard to be understood.” What person has ever made a success of any line of business who did not do some things that were hard to do? Obstacles must be overcome, and very difficult tasks performed in order to win in any enterprise. Just so in Scripture research, earnest, prayerful work must be done. It might be profitable, however, to inquire what in particular in the writings of Paul was hard for Peter to understand. It is interesting to know that Peter has thus alluded to Paul, and it is equally interesting to note that Paul has made mention of Peter. We turn to Gal. 2: 11-14, and find there what Paul had to say about Peter. He states that Peter was to be blamed on account of the example of dissimulation that he set before the disciples at Antioch, in eating with the Gentiles in the absence of Jewish disciples, but declining to do so when they were present. Paul wrote to the Galatians about eight years before Peter wrote his second epistle. Of course Peter was aware of the description of himself given by Paul in the Galatian letter, and any of us can readily determine for our own selves how it would seem to a person to be placed in this light before the church and before the world. If Peter had any disposition to retaliate he might no doubt have done so by referring to some such instances in the life of Paul as when he had Timothy circumcised “because of the Jews which were in those quarters,” or when he consented to purify himself and have an offering offered for him according to the ritual law to avoid exciting prejudice (Acts 16: 1-3; 21: 26), tho he had for years been preaching that circumcision was nothing and that the8ceremonial law had been abolished, that its services were now vain. Peter might have said: I think I am as consistent as Paul in this matter. But no, instead of giving way to any such base sentiment as that, he simply states that in Paul's writings are some things hard to be understood. He will not wrest them, nor take unjust advantage of the circumstances. This for Peter, naturally so impetuous, was certainly an evidence of great victory in overcoming natural tendencies, and great proficiency in the development of those graces that compose the Christian ladder. Known unto God alone are all the circumstances that may have made a difference between Paul's conduct and that of Peter, tho the natural mind might not detect it. And here is a lesson for us. Should the servant of the Lord expose our faults, and we not be able to see the justice of the correction, shall we like many have done, reject the counsel of God against ourselves and thus go to perdition? or acknowledge it to be from the Lord, and reform our lives accordingly? Let us be like Peter in this. By reading 2 Peter 2: 6 in connection with Jude 7 we get a correct understanding of the nature of eternal punishment. Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire, but they were turned into ashes, utterly consumed, and thus they were made an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly. That fire shall leave them neither root nor branch. See Mal. 4: 1.
With the closing admonition of this portion of Inspiration, we terminate these brief comments. "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen." To acquire this growth in knowledge and grace will necessitate a diligent study of the Bible.
F. D. STARR.
CROSS BEARING.
By Geo. E. Pooler
To BEAR Christ's cross,
Is only gain and never loss;
A burden sweet which bears me up,
And sweetens oft the bitter cup;
If burden 'tis—tho just in word,
As wings are to a flying bird,
Or spreading sails to speeding ship,
Tho rising gales may lash and whip,
That wings me to my harbor sure,
Safe and secure.
Christ's cross to bear—
But lifts the load and lightens care;
He only, who with yielding will
Takes up His cross, hears, "Peace, be still;"
To him, who bears the cross from choice,
Is heard in love, the "still, small voice,"
Which guides and speaks while tempters flit,
"This is the way, walk ye in it;"
And thus is gained, tho seen afar,
The harbor bar.
The cross of Christ,
A precious load, hath oft sufficed
To goad me on with increased zeal,
To bear the load which others feel;
Then freed from transitory things,
The soul mounts up on joyful wings,
And soars aloft with sails of light,
And views with joy the harbor bright;
Thus gained the strand with fav'ring gale
Within the veil.
Salt Lake City, Utah. GEO. E. POOLER.
Observance
By Asa Smith
THE SABBATH. No. 3.
Observance.
1. How should the Sabbath be kept?
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Ex. 20:8.
2. Where does it begin?
"From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath." Lev. 23:32.
3. May we do our own work?
"On the seventh day thou shalt rest." Ex. 23:12.
4. What work may be done?
"It is lawful to do well." Matt. 12:12, 13.
5. Should we talk about our worldly affairs?
"Not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words." Isa. 58:13.
6. When should food be prepared?
"To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord; bake that which ye will bake to-day." Ex. 16:23, 29.
7. How should we regard the day?
"Call the Sabbath a delight." Isa. 58:13.
8. What blessing is promised if we do this?
"Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isa. 58:14.
9. Will it be observed in the new earth?
"From one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before Me." Isa. 66:23.
10. As we examine ourselves in the light of these scriptures, does "our heart condemn us"?
"God is greater than our heart." I John 3:20.
By proper Sabbath observance we are perfecting characters that will enable us to be among that grand body of worshipers who shall come before God's throne to worship Him every Sabbath to all eternity.
"I want to be there. Don't you?"
Reiswig, B. C. Asa Smith.
THE KINGDOM WITHIN.
By H. A. St. John
WE talk, sing, and pray about the kingdom of glory yet to come. But we are in danger of forgetting that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of grace, must first be in us, or the coming of the kingdom of glory will be a sad day for us. Our hearts, the citadel or throne of our bodies, must be cleansed from all sin, washed in the blood of the Lamb. When thus cleansed by the washing of regeneration, they become a miniature representation of the great white throne of God and the Lamb in the kingdom of glory. Our hearts, then, made whiter than snow, become a fit throne for an indwelling Christ. And do we not remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that His Father would come, and He would come, and they would both take up their abode in us? John 14:23. Do we not often sing:
“Come, my Redeemer, come, and deign to dwell with me;
Come, and Thy right assume, and bid Thy rivals flee.
Rule Thou in every thought and purpose of my soul,
Till all my powers are brought beneath Thy full control.
Come, my Redeemer, quickly come,
And make my heart Thy lasting home;
Wash me in the blood of the Lamb,
And I shall be whiter than snow.”
Is this a true prayer in song? Do we mean it when we sing it? If so, when it becomes true in our experience it will be a happy day for us, for it will be the setting up of the kingdom in us. And it must become true of us here or we shall never enter the kingdom of glory hereafter.
And as we read in the blessed word, how that the river of life flows from beneath the great white throne to water all the kingdom of glory eternally, so the blessed Jesus teaches us that if our hearts become the purified throne of Him and His Father, in us will spring up a well of water unto everlasting life; yea, so abundant will be the flow that Jesus said, “from within him shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38. Therefore, if Christ and God dwell in us with all the graces of the Godhead, all our thoughts and the purposes of our souls will become channels for the out-flowing of a living Gospel of life to all around. The Lord will direct the out-flowing to His glory, and it will be unto all people.
Again: it is said of the capital of the kingdom of glory that nothing unholy or unclean can enter it. All evil is forever barred an entrance. So will Christ keep the kingdom of our bodies. All filthiness of flesh and spirit will be put away. No evil thing can find a lodging in the soul-kingdom of Christ, for no sinful motives or evil purposes can abide where Jesus is. All the rivals of Christ reigning within us must depart when He takes the throne of the heart. Ours then will be:
“A heart, resigned, submissive, meek,—
My dear Redeemer's throne,
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone.”
And, further, do we not read that the place of the great white throne in the kingdom of glory had no need of candle or light of the sun or moon to shine in it; “for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof”? Rev. 21:23; 22:5. Now I want to ask if it is not true that the same God and Lamb are the light of these bodily kingdoms. Yea, verily, and truly can all such living and working kingdoms on their pilgrimage here below ever sing:
“There is sunlight on the hilltop,
There is sunlight on the sea,
And the golden beams are sleeping
On the soft and verdant lea;
But a richer light is filling
All the chambers of my heart,
For Thou dwellest there, my Saviour,
And 'tis sunlight where Thou art.”
If this that we love to sing so well is true in our experience, then it is true that the kingdom of God is within us, lighted up by a light independent of, and superior to, the light of the sun, even the light of God and the Lamb. And this light can not be extinguished by inner prisons at midnight, with feet made fast in stocks.
The reader may trace the likeness further; for there is a semblance in many things. When the kingdom of God is within us, all the faculties of our minds will be His subjects; all the members of our bodies will be members of righteousness and holiness. Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost will abide in us. We have crowned Jesus King of grace in our hearts here below, and some day we will crown Him King of glory above. Christ in me now is my hope of glory. H. A. ST. JOHN.
A THOUGHT FROM THE ARBUTUS.
By Augusta W. Heald
IN the hillside garden there is a small plot of trailing arbutus, which, transplanted from its native wildwood, has taken root and is flourishing in its new surroundings.
Last autumn great clusters of thrifty buds could be seen hiding beneath the rough, green leaves. There, warmly covered by deep snows, the closely folded buds slumber, unharmed by chilling, wintry winds. When soon the warm breath of Spring breaks cold Winter's icy reign, the delicate petals will unfold their fragrant beauty. They will not fail to appear, for the buds of promise are already there. Their hiding-place is well known to me, for I have tended them with constant care.
Thoughts of these sleeping flowerets awaiting the call of spring, appeal to me—they whisper of the resurrection morn. The dear ones of our heart and home have one by one passed from earthly sight. In lowly beds9they slumber beneath the wintry snows, on hillside or plain, or in sheltered valley.
Life was not all sunshine for them; many a weary one longed for rest. Yet in the stern conflict, precious characters were developed which mark them as the beloved of God. Jesus and guardian angels know where lies the sacred dust. More sure than the breath of Spring, and dearer than its bloom will be that supreme moment when the dear ones "that are fallen asleep in Jesus," shall hear "the voice of the Archangel," and come forth from their dusty beds of earth. Then will the buds of holiness, planted and nourished in adversity, unfold in the unfading beauty of an endless life in the Paradise of God. "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For . . . the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4:15-18.
"In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul."
DAVID was a thinking man, his literary productions show it, and they are accepted to-day by both believer and unbeliever as classical literature. If therefore his writings meet the ideals of men, so also should his judgment regarding fundamental truth be respected by them.
It was the valiant warrior, the learned poet, the sweet singer, and a great king who found more delight in God's comforts than in all the multitude of thoughts outside. We may not have the richness of thought that David had, but we can have that same comfort.
God's comforts are the things with which we are comforted. His encouragements and commendations to us, His promises,—in short, God's thoughts,—are our comforts, for words and deeds are simply the expression of thoughts. His thoughts are as high above our thoughts and ways as the heavens are above the earth. His thoughts toward His children are "thoughts of peace and not of evil," thoughts of kindness, mercy, and love. The heart of God yearns over the prodigal as well as the faithful.
It is not the subjugated or illogical and unreasoning mind which pays to God the highest form of worship; but it is the thinking mind, the mind full of thoughts and willing to reason. In the Scriptures the invitations to sinners are: "Come now, let us reason together;" "Consider your ways;" "Take heed;" "Let no man deceive you;" "Bring forth your strong reasons;" "Counsel;" "Think;" "What doth it profit?" "Inquire;" "Choose;" and the Lord has said His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. He does not command ignorance and slavery upon His subjects; but a full-hearted, willing service based upon consideration, good judgment, and due thought.
Men of God have always thought. Moses thought; he chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." His thinking led him to see that heaven is worth more than Egypt.
Paul thought of his position, wealth, and influence in Israel, but in his own words decided "what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ . . . that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection." David was a careful and cautious thinker, and in the multitude of his thoughts he found delight in the Lord's comforts.
God's comforting thoughts are sufficient to reach every individual; rich or poor, great or small, bond or free, no matter what his condition may be—
To the Sinner comes the sweet invitations of the Gospel story.
To the Heavy Hearted: "I will give you rest."
To the Backsliders: "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely."
To the Defrauded: "The cries of them . . . have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts."
To the Mourners: "They shall be comforted."
To the Oppressed: "In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression."
To Those in Trouble: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
To the Afflicted: "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."
To the Forsaken: "The Lord forsaketh not His saints." "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up."
To the Worker: Reward.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit." "Blessed are they that mourn." "Blessed are the meek." "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness." "Blessed are the merciful." "Blessed are the pure in heart." "Blessed are the peacemakers." "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake."
God's blessings comfort us all. Life is brighter if we accept them, and when on the verge of eternity worldly ambitions sink into the shadow and our powers slip from us, it is a comfort to have trust in God.
R. W. MILLER.
South Pasadena, Cal.
HOPE.
By A. W. Ballinger
HOPE is a mighty factor in every good work, stimulating us to meet and overcome discouragements; push forward, tho we meet with difficulties, until we have completed the work undertaken.
Hope says a dark to-day will bring a bright to-morrow. Hope says the night may be long and dark, but the morning will dawn. Hope says life's day of conflict may be lasting, but it can not be everlasting. Hope holds on until out over the hilltops the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings. Hope sings with the poet:
"Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o'er me,
Where darkest clouds have been.
My hope I can not measure,
My path in life is free,
My Father holds my treasure,
And He will walk with me."
Hope is an abiding friend. Let us entertain her and she will do us good, causing our faces to shine, our hearts to glow, and our steps to hold until hope in full fruition shall be at last in perfect rest.
"Hope puts a song into the heart,
Hope makes a light when the night is dark;
Hope, hope gives strength when the flesh is weak,
Hope is an anchor to those who seek;
Hope chases all our fears away,
Hope brightens up the darkest day;
Hope drys the mourner's flowing tears,
Hope, hope endures thru all the years."
—A. W. Ballinger.
GOD OUR GUIDE.
By Alexander Maclaren
God's people were not led by a road already made and used, and which they could have studied from beginning to end on a map before starting; but they were led day by day, and step by step, by a living Guide, who chose a route never before trodden. In the morning they did not know whether they were to go forward or back, or to stay where they were.
Our passage thru life is similar. It is not a chart we are promised, but a guide. We can not tell where next year or next month may be spent. We are not informed of any part of our future, and have no means of ascertaining the emergencies which may try us, the new ingredients which may suddenly be thrown into our life, and reveal in us what till now has lain hidden and dormant. We can not tell by what kind of path we shall be led onward to our end; and our security from day to day consists not at all in this, that we can penetrate the future, and can see no danger in it, but our security is that we shall always be guided by infallible and loving wisdom.—A. Maclaren, D.D.
The Constitution and Religious Liberty.
By George Bancroft
Vindicating the right of individuality in religion, and in religion above all, the new nation dared to set the example of accepting in its relations to God the principle first divinely ordained of God in Judea. It left the management of temporal things to the temporal power: but the American Constitution, in harmony with the people of the several states, withheld from the federal government the power to invade the home of reason, the citadel of conscience, the sanctuary of the soul; and not from indifference, but that the Infinite Spirit of Eternal Truth might move in its freedom and purity and power.
The Virtues of Work
By Charles Kingsley
THANK God every morning when you get up that you have something to do which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self-control, diligence, strength of will, content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.—Charles Kingsley.
THE MOTHER LOVE.
By Mrs. Charlotte H. Wilder
"I REMEMBER one morning when I was bathing my baby," says a young mother, "my husband read aloud from his Law Review for my benefit. It was a character sketch of some prominent New England gentleman, and among the excellent traits of the man's character was his love for his children. In proof of this was cited the fact that he arose at six o'clock in the morning to write a letter to his son in college."
"During the reading of the article my 'John' lost his patience because our little daughter played with the baby's feet until their laughter bubbled and doubled and trebled like the water of Lodore, almost drowning, with their glee, the voice of their father. He then suggested that the mother was more interested in her children than in the article read for her improvement."
"I took up the next duties of the day, and did not think of the article or anything else except what I was doing or what I had planned to do, until late in the afternoon. The nursery was in order; the library cool and comfortable. The wind that had swayed the limbs of the trees all day long seemed to be going down with the sun. I leaned back in the great 'sleepy hollow' chair with a sigh of perfect rest and contentment. Was ever a woman so happy as I? Good home, many friends, beautiful children, neither poverty nor riches, honorable man for a husband, also kind and thoughtful—and here I smiled as I thought of the article he read and his eagerness to interest me in what interested him."
"But of the article I could remember but one thing—a father once upon a time rose at six o'clock, thereby losing his morning nap, to write a letter to his son in college! Such parental love and sacrifice, such an act of self-abnegation was considered of enough importance to be mentioned in a sketch of his life! I wondered who would think of mentioning the fact that a mother rose every morning at six o'clock, thereby losing her morning nap, for the sake of her children, year after year—indeed, all the years—before they entered college! Who would think of mentioning that the mother lost her sleep in the early part of the night, several times in the dead of the night, before the morning nap?"
After a night of such watching, exhausted and weary, she uncomplainingly goes about her home cares and duties. At breakfast, all are served with food and drink before she tastes of her own. Indeed, the husband's cup is refilled oftentimes, while her own cup, growing cold, stands untasted. The children are made ready for school, and she gives them their good-by kiss with a smile in her eyes and a tender love-note in her voice. At dinner, at lunch, it is the same.
Does the house mother ever tire of her little round of duties? "Shut in by four walls!" The walls stretch as far as the love, knowledge, and interest go—from ocean to ocean, continent to continent, as the plants are transplanted. Aye! even to heaven itself.
The mother does not need to be mentioned in a character sketch. Her name is in large letters on the heart of every boy and girl, every man and woman. Nothing can narrow her outlook or influence, even tho she is never mentioned in a Law Review. She dies, and her friends, after a time, forget her, but her influence, thru her children's children, till time is no more, goes on.
The house mother who has no children to arouse her in the early morning, no baby to disturb her slumber in the middle of the night tries to think her life is the life of blessedness, because it is the life of ease. A soul can be dwarfed, just as a plant is dwarfed, by depriving it of its full environment. It may have no knowledge of its own atrophy. It can not even dream of the bliss it has never known. Ruskin says: "I do not wonder at what men suffer, but I wonder often at what they lose." The four walls without the children to "disturb and annoy," may seem to hold the life of comfort, but it is in the seeming only. There is, to each such an one, denied the Holy Grail, for it is only by the life of loving self-sacrifice and self-abnegation that the Vision Splendid can be discerned.
A WORD TO PARENTS.
By Christian Worker
NOTWITHSTANDING the general selfishness which may be witnessed around, parents who desire their children’s true happiness, as well as their own, present and future, should strive to train their families in the ways of unselfishness. This is attained by guiding the mind into the habit of exercising thoughtfulness for others, the consideration of their wants, and their needs, in addition to those of our own. One means whereby an unselfishness of spirit may be fostered, is the cultivating a remembrance of the troubles and sufferings of others around.
In most children the selfish spirit manifests itself early in life, and the way to check such is to gradually draw out a sympathy toward others. Do not permit the “I like” or the “I want” to always prevail, but rather a consideration of the wants, etc., of other people. The best remedy of all will be found in a true Christian training, which alone is able to conquer any undue love of self. Parents, delay not, but at once strive to encourage a spirit of unselfishness in your offspring, and you will indeed have your reward in happy lives, both present and in days to come. On the contrary, a selfishly reared child is likely in the end to reap only disappointment and loss.—Christian Worker.
INTELLECTUAL INTEGRITY WITHOUT MORAL INTEGRITY.
If in this case the intellect be strong, its possessor is dangerous to himself and others. Keen, self-possessed, always alert, having accumulated the means of deception or skill in persuasion, he may exert all his powers to enrich himself at the expense of honest men. He may build up a party in politics or religion; he may beguile others who possess moral integrity into fanaticism or enterprises that will wreck them. The most complete illustration is Aaron Burr—intellectual integrity of the highest grade, moral integrity almost nil. But thousands of men11resemble him; many of them pass thru life not rightly estimated except by their victims, having a high reputation; and others ruling in their little or large spheres by the fear they excite of their rigid adherence to their schemes, of the skill with which they promote them, and of their threats of vengeance. —The Christian Advocate.
THE CIRCUS AND THE ARAB STEED.
HOMER DAVENPORT, fresh from the Arabian Desert, where he journeyed in the interests of the Woman's Home Companion, shatters another fond delusion of our circus days. He tells us in an article, "The Arab Horse in Legend and Story," appearing in the April Woman's Home Companion, that the piebald horses utilized in the tented shows are not Arabs at all, but are products of the domestic field. But here is the tragic story in his own words:
"Circuses are perhaps more to blame for the misrepresentation of the Arab horse than any other source. A friend of mine owns a circus, and I saw his posters a few years ago, claiming to exhibit eighteen or twenty of the only Arabian horses brought to America. He said they were captured with great difficulty, and brought to New York by special permit of the Sultan; that they were of the family known in history as the Eagle Feather Horses, so much prized in the Queen of Sheba's days; that they were snow white with big markings in their spots of the tip of eagle feathers. We don't have to believe everything we read on the circus posters. In this case I am mighty certain these 'spotted Arabians' were bought at Albany, Oregon. The most peculiar part of this spotted-horse business is this, and it is not a very strange reason when you know it, that spotted anything is created by a mixture of different races, or different breeds, and that likely accounts for the fact that the Arabian Desert in all its history has never produced a spotted, or piebald, horse; possibly from the fact that there is never any mixture of blood."
THE SIMPLE LIFE.
By Ruth Sterry
To BE tender, to be kind,
To be able to bear our trials bravely,
To decide without prejudice,
And to rise above suspicion;
To look for the beautiful and the good in the
precious common things about us;
To let the song of inward trust and peace rise
to our lips and permeate our lives,—
This is the simple life.
RUTH STERRY.
WHAT A DRUNKARD LEAVES.
An inebriate, dying, left the following will: "I leave to society a ruined character, a wretched example, and a memory that will soon rot. I leave to my parents as much sorrow as they in their feeble state can bear. I leave to my brothers and sisters as much shame and mortification as I could bring upon them. I leave to my wife a broken heart—a life of shame. I leave to each of my children, poverty, ignorance, a low character, and a remembrance that their father filled a drunkard's grave."
There are other people who might make wills resembling this. They have had health, wealth, strength, and opportunity. All these are gone. They might have won position, honor, and respectability. All these they have put away; and for them and their friends there is nothing but sorrow, shame, and regret. Wo to that man who has only this to offer as the outcome of his life; only such things as these to bequeath to his children. And yet thousands of moderate drinkers are going the way this man went, and will be very likely to end their lives under the same dark cloud.