Earlier text: A Great EmpireThe Inestimable Gift
By Ellen G. White
“BLESSED be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him, . . . that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, . . . the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Such are the words in which “Paul the aged,” “the prisoner of Jesus Christ,” writing from his prison-house at Rome, endeavored to set before his brethren that which he found language inadequate to express in its fulness,—“the unsearchable riches of Christ,”—the treasure of grace freely offered to the fallen sons of men. The plan of redemption was laid by a sacrifice, a gift. Says the apostle: “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” Christ “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.” And as the crowning blessing of redemption, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Christ, by his sacrifice paying the penalty of sin, would not only redeem man, but recover the dominion which man had forfeited. All that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by the second. The prophet says, “O Tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” And Paul points forward to the “redemption of the purchased possession.” God created the earth to be the abode of holy, happy beings. That purpose will be fulfilled when, renewed by the power of God, and freed from sin and sorrow, it shall become the eternal home of the redeemed. A fear of making the future inheritance seem too material has led many to spiritualize away the very truths which lead us to look upon it as our home. Christ assured his disciples that he went to prepare mansions for them in the Father's house. Those who accept the teachings of God's Word will not be wholly ignorant concerning the heavenly abode. And yet “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can comprehend the glory of the paradise of God. In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. There the heavenly Shepherd leads his flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the widespreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God's people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” What love, what matchless love, that, sinners and aliens as we are, we may be brought back to God, and adopted into his family! We may address him by the endearing name, “Our Father,” which is a sign of our affection for him, and a pledge of his tender regard and relationship to us. And the Son of God, beholding the heirs of grace, “is not ashamed to call them brethren.” They have even a more sacred relationship to God than have the angels who have never fallen. All the paternal love which has come down from generation to generation through the channel of human hearts, all the springs of tenderness which have opened in the souls of men, are but as a tiny rill to the boundless ocean, when compared with the infinite, exhaustless love of God. Tongue can not utter it; pen can not portray it. You may meditate upon it every day of your life; you may search the Scriptures diligently in order to understand it; you may summon every power and capability that God has given you, in the endeavor to comprehend the love and compassion of the Heavenly Father; and yet there is an infinity beyond. You may study that love for ages; yet you can never fully comprehend the length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of the love of God in giving his Son to die for the world. Eternity itself can never fully reveal it. Yet as we study the Bible, and meditate upon the life of Christ and the plan of redemption, these great themes will open to our understanding more and more. And it will be ours to realize the blessing which Paul desired for the Ephesian church, when he prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe.” Christ's redeemed ones are his jewels, his precious and peculiar treasure. “They shall be as the stones of a crown,”—“the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” In them “he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” Christ looks upon his people in their purity and perfection as the reward of all his sufferings, his humiliation, and his love, and the supplement of his glory,—Christ the great center, from whom radiates all glory. Take and Keep
By Mrs. W. M. Hunter.
TAKE my life: I give it, Lord,
Into thy dear hand,
And with humble, childlike trust,
Yield to thy command. Not a mite would I withhold
Master, dear, from thee.
Since each blessing I enjoy
Thou hast given me. Everything I hold is thine;
Nothing is my own;
And my life thou gavest me
As a gracious loan —
Take it, Lord, for I am weak,
To use it in thy name;
But thy hand will never err,
Guide through joy or pain. Keep my life, O Lord divine!
Every passing day;
Cleanse my heart from secret sin,
Purge its guilt away.
Hide me in thy secret place,
’Neath thy wings of love;
Let thy peace and joy be mine,
Rich gifts from above. Take my life: I would be used
In service for my King;
Let my heart its joy proclaim,
My voice thy praises sing.
Keep my life, O guard it, Lord,
Water it each day;
Fill it with thy Spirit’s power,
Be my guide and stay. An Added Opportunity
By Jasper Wayne
Just sixty years ago, November 18, while bowed before God, asking his blessing upon our pioneer paper, the REVIEW, Sister White saw in vision this paper as a stream of light encircling the world. As a foundation to all our literature, the beginning of this paper was bathed in tears, and blessed through prayer, and it has borne a message of truth through all these intervening years. Sixty years ago it was sent out free to all who would receive it, and in response the money that flowed in was more than sufficient to defray all expenses. How fitting, then, upon the sixtieth anniversary, to again, in faith, send out this pillar of truth free upon a mission of light and love to all who will receive it. Through the Thanksgiving number of the REVIEW an opportunity will be offered for a most blessed experience to all who, in faith and prayer, avail themselves of it. As a consecrated offering to foreign missions this effort will place in the homes of friends, neighbors, and the public at large, several hundred thousand of this truth-filled paper, and bring into the depleted treasury of the Mission Board a large sum of money with which to carry forward the many missionary enterprises now under way in the world's most needy fields. Surprising results are awaiting all those who, in faith, follow the plan outlined by the General Conference Committee for this great missionary campaign. It means far more than many are able to comprehend. It has been demonstrated that nineteen out of twenty among all classes respond to our invitations when soliciting for missions. Men and women everywhere are ready to help us, for the asking, at this time. How consistent, then, upon this Thanksgiving anniversary, to let the dear old REVIEW fulfil the words of the angel to Zechariah: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house; his hands shall also finish it.” Under God the REVIEW has been an important factor in establishing and maintaining the gospel of the third angel’s message. It is, therefore, consistent that it should bear an important part in this closing work. Those who take part in this Thanksgiving missionary effort will reap some of the blessings and the power of God in their lives that have attended the REVIEW since its dedication by tears and prayer sixty years ago. They will also bring a knowledge of the message, and, through this, salvation to some who may never be saved in the kingdom without the work they may do now. Let all plan to have part in it. Lessons From Past Experiences
By GEO. O. STATES
I WAS deeply interested in studying the world-wide report of our work in the REVIEW of September 17. It brought to mind forty years ago, when I was living in Lapeer, Mich., and we saw by the REVIEW that the General Conference had invited Elders J. N. Loughborough and D. T. Bourdeau to go to California to open up the work there. I remember it as if it were yesterday, and we talked of how the message was spreading, and would soon swell into the loud cry; that very soon all the earth would be warned, and we should “see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
We used to watch the REVIEW for their reports of the first tent-meeting, which, if I remember, was at Petaluma. We talked about it in our homes; and when we gathered in our Sabbath meetings, the spread of the message was our theme. Little did any of us think that time could possibly continue more than a few years. It was not long after this when Elder S. N. Haskell began to discuss the plan of organizing tract and missionary societies in our churches. How anxious we were to have him visit our church and tell us all about it. And when he finally came, we dropped our business for a few days, and were enthusiastic in the work, and thankful we could have a part in proclaiming the message. In those days we used to study the Testimonies to see what they said on these things. In No. 7 we found these words: “The signs of Christ’s coming are too plain to be doubted; and in view of these things every one who professes the truth should be a living preacher. God calls upon all, both preachers and people, to awake. All heaven is astir. The scenes of earth’s history are fast closing. Greater perils are before us, and we are not awake. This lack of activity and earnestness in the cause of God is dreadful. This death stupor is from Satan. He controls the minds of unconsecrated Sabbath-keepers, and leads them to be jealous of one another, fault-finding, and censorious. It is his special work to divide hearts, that the influence, strength, and labor of God’s servants may be kept among unconsecrated Sabbath-keepers, and their precious time be occupied in settling little differences when it should be spent in proclaiming the truth to unbelievers.” After reading this, we thought, “The Lord wants us, as well as the ministers, to be awake, and it will not do for us to be jealous and fault-finding of one another, for the coming of the Lord is near.” In those days we used to enjoy having our ministers visit our church, and when they brought out things from the late Testimonies, we drank in the precious truths, and felt that it would not do for us to have our hearts divided so as to take up the time of God’s servants in settling our differences when they should be out preaching the coming of the Lord to the world. I well remember the means the Lord used in first raising up Sabbath-keepers in Switzerland, and of Brother Erzenberger’s coming to one of our camp-meetings near Battle Creek, Mich. I remember our interest as we read in the REVIEW of Elder J. N. Andrews’ going to Europe, and we used to talk of how the truth was fast going to all the world. As I read the report in the REVIEW of September 17, and saw that our membership was nearly one hundred thousand, I thought, “If every Sabbath-keeper was as much in earnest as we were back there, the message would soon swell into the loud cry, and the work be finished.” In our organization we have nearly every country in the world represented. We are increasing in membership wonderfully. Our tithes are over a million dollars a year. Foreign mission offerings and other funds amount to hundreds of thousands. “Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” “In the church to-day brotherly love is greatly lacking. Many of those who profess to love the Saviour neglect to love those who are united with them in Christian fellowship.” That is what is hindering the work. A Message of Warning Before Christ’s Coming
By GEORGE I. BUTLER
Every true believer in the Christian religion as taught in the Bible must accept the doctrine of Christ’s second advent. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:3. “And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt. 24:30. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” Rev. 1:7. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. This glorious doctrine is taught all through the Bible, and to disbelieve it is to disbelieve the Bible. The second coming of Christ must, in the very nature of things, be the most wonderful event ever occurring in connection with this world’s history. It will be the climax, the consummation, of all God’s dealings with man. It will be the close of man’s probation. It will end the great rebellion of the human race, which for six thousand years has raged on this globe. It will end in the destruction of Satan and all opposers of God’s government. It will usher in the blessed reign of the loyal hosts of the righteous with Christ their Lord. What could be more important than such issues? Can we suppose that an event of such magnitude and interest to the human family would come without being previously announced? Such a conclusion would be most absurd. It would be contrary to all God’s dealings with mankind in the past. Events of far less importance have been fully proclaimed beforehand, that all those who would believe God might be prepared for them. Ages ago, when the antediluvian race became so very wicked that it seemed probable that God would have no faithful ones left upon the earth to represent his government, he found it necessary to give the world a reminder of his justice and power for all time, and to demonstrate to humanity that God lives and reigns, and that it pays to serve him.9Before doing this, he sent Noah, a “preacher of righteousness,” to proclaim to the rebel antediluvians for one hundred twenty years the coming of the deluge. This event has never yet been wholly forgotten. It stands forth as a great monument of his almighty power; but it was of far less importance to the race than the second advent of our Saviour will be. The Egyptians might have saved themselves from terrible disasters had they listened respectfully to the words of Moses, and let God’s people go. God raised up Moses, and for eighty years was preparing him for the special work of leading, educating, and preparing a people to be a great blessing to the human family. Through the selection and instruction and development of that people the knowledge of the true God was preserved in the earth. This movement was foretold long beforehand (Gen. 15: 13, 14); but it was small in comparison with Christ’s second coming. Even in the threatened destruction of the wicked Gentile city of Nineveh, his agent was selected to warn the people. Before Israel went into captivity, God’s prophets were sent with messages of warning, to depict clearly Israel’s terrible danger, and how they might be saved from it. And in their restoration from captivity God had his agencies all prepared to carry out his predictions. In the grand crisis, when the Messiah was to come to the earth the first time, the event was foretold, and the time clearly predicted when it should take place. Dan. 9: 25-27. Christ’s forerunner was clearly pointed out, and the nature of his work designated. Isa. 40: 3-5. The place of the Messiah’s birth was given. Micah 5: 2. John the Baptist was specially raised up to do this work of preparing the people for Christ’s first advent. He was well acquainted with the work he was to do, and could give the very prophecy which predicted it. John 1: 19-23. Many pious souls, because of their belief in these prophecies, were expecting Christ’s advent, and were all ready to accept him as the coming One. Luke 2: 25-38. Christ’s coming to earth the first time was the grandest epoch in the plan of salvation up to that time, the great turning-point in that plan, when the world should be made acquainted with the fact that a Saviour was provided for their salvation. But his coming the second time, without a sin-offering, unto the glorious salvation of all who have received him as their Saviour, is a still greater event. It is the consummation of all past ages, the final termination of the reign of sin and rebellion in the universe of God. Shall there then be no warning, no message announcing this greatest of all events in this world’s history? Many speak and act as if the coming of this event was to be like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, like the bursting forth of the sun suddenly in the darkness of midnight. Could there be greater blindness than such a supposition would indicate? It would, as we have seen, be contrary to all the analogy of past history; yea, it would be a terrible reflection upon the character of God himself, to bring such awful judgments as the destruction of all the wicked from the earth without giving them an opportunity to know that danger was near, and a chance to escape their doom. The absurdity of such a belief is simply inexpressible. “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2: 1. “Howl ye: for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt. . . . Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” Isa. 13: 6-9. In his discourse to his disciples, in answer to their question, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Jesus gave the special signs that should precede his coming,—the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars. Then he says, “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. . . . Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matt. 24: 3, 29-35. How positively it is declared that believers are to know that Christ’s coming is near before the event takes place: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thess. 5: 4, 5. Surely these scriptures demonstrate that God has a message to go forth before Christ’s coming, to warn the world of that event. In short, the last warning message will be the most extensively preached of any message that God ever gave to men. And God declares it shall “lighten the earth with its glory.” Rev. 18: 1. The “Chain-Letter” System
By H. E. ROGERS
There has recently come to light at the General Conference Office, in correspondence from some of our brethren and sisters, what may at first appear to be a very simple request in the form of a “chain letter.” The request is that the person receiving the letter write other letters asking “five friends to join us in prayer that God will bless all missionaries in their work, and raise up young men and women to go forth with the glad tidings.” This certainly seems to be a simple request, one in harmony with which all who are praying are doubtless complying every day. But there is an objectionable feature to which attention should be called, and that is the matter of expense. There is no request for money to be sent anywhere,—just the simple request to unite in prayer for the object stated, and to write to five other persons asking them to unite in the plan. The whole expense is for postage. At first this seems very small; but the multiplying, compounding, ever-increasing rate of succession makes possible an expenditure doubtless far exceeding anything contemplated by the projectors of the scheme. Such is the deceptive working of the “chain-letter” system. Its use should not be encouraged and furthered; for no worthy end is warranted by this means, and certainly none of our people desire to promote an unworthy end by questionable means. Note briefly the result of the “chain-letter” system: In this particular case, based on each person’s writing five letters to persons who in turn write five letters to persons who in turn write five letters, it requires but a few minutes’ computation to see that when only the twentieth series of letters is reached, with no break at any point, there will have been spent, for postage alone, at two cents for each letter, the immense sum of nearly two trillion dollars! It was the purpose of the one who began this chain letter to have the series run to the one thousand mark; but it is at once evident that long before that number of letters could be written, the entire population of the world, heathen as well as Christian, would be requested hundreds of times to unite in the plan, requiring the expenditure, for postage alone, of more money than is represented by the aggregate wealth of the world multiplied inconceivably! The “chain letter” is a deception, and only a deception, even when used for a seemingly good purpose. Our Supreme Motive
By L. F. STARR
The great apostle to the Gentiles gives us the secret of his wonderful missionary activity when he exclaims, “The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, . . . that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” Here we have the supreme motive of our mission in the world. The apostle realized just what every child of God must realize, in order to be a child of God,—that he has been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and, therefore, belongs to him. A Christian, by the very terms of that expression, is one who does not own himself; he belongs to Christ, and must henceforth live, not for himself, but for Christ, who died for him and rose again. When a man once crosses the “henceforth” of that declaration, he is like the man who has crossed the watershed of a continent. Before he crossed it, the streams all flowed toward himself; after he crossed it, they all flowed the other way—from him. Before a man becomes a servant of God, all his plans and desires flow toward himself, center in himself;10but after he becomes a Christian, they all flow out to Christ and a perishing world. He is dead to all self-seeking; to everything that pertains to his own personal advancement and self-interest. He has been redeemed,—purchased by the precious blood of Christ,—and not only belongs to Christ, but because of his redemption, owes Christ a debt. Therefore Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says, “I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” What did Paul mean? He had received nothing from the Greeks and barbarians, except persecution and abuse, and, therefore, as the world would say to-day, he was under no obligation to them; and yet he says, regardless of the treatment he had received from them, “I am a debtor” to them. He realized that he owed Christ an infinite debt, and that Christ had made his debt payable to the needy and destitute everywhere—to every one who needed the gospel. As with Paul, so with you and me. We owe Christ an infinite debt. This debt we can not pay back to Christ in silver and gold, or merely by attending church occasionally, or by singing praises, or by eulogizing him in prayer; but he has made our debt payable to the lost and needy—all nations upon the earth. Every human being has a claim upon us—we are a debtor to all. The benighted millions of China, Japan, India, Africa, and the isles of the sea have a claim upon us. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” He who is truly converted to the principles of the gospel of Christ, will in turn spend all he has and be spent in the blessed cause of redemption to help others to find the pearl of great price. The child of God is his representative; and “inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” What we do for others is reckoned as being done to Christ, and is credited on our debt. The question is asked, Will not the heathen be saved without the gospel message? A more important question is, Will you and I be saved unless we do all we can to give them the gospel? Unless we love men with a love growing out of love to God, we are not saved; we have no evidence that we have passed from death unto life. “Whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” Here, then, is the motive for our work. When we look upon the world as we find it to-day, after its centuries of boasted progress, depraved, besotted, bewitched, and full of sin, we at once comprehend the vastness of the work to be done. We must look up to Christ our only hope, and realize our relations to him, and strengthen ourselves anew with these great bed-rock principles of Christian work. It is only as we do so that we can have the necessary inspiration for our work. When we come to deal with the many phases of the work as we find them, how can any man act his part in proclaiming the last message unless he realizes his relation to Christ as a redeemed man? Take, as an illustration, the great apostle to the Gentiles, who led the van of the army of the cross, stormed the strongholds of sin and Satan, and planted the standard of the gospel in the very citadel of idolatry: what was it that kindled the fire of his enthusiasm? It was an intelligent realization of his relations to Christ and humanity as a redeemed man. He looked to the cross of Calvary, and saw the Son of God suspended there, and armed himself with the same mind, and exclaimed, The love of Christ constraineth me. He suffered the loss of all things, and became all things to all men, that if by any means he might save some. The great secret of his power was the constraining love of Christ. It produced an absolute surrender of all he had and was to Christ, a consecration that has been the marvel of the ages. He suffered and toiled for Christ’s sake. In all his heroic devotion and self-consuming zeal, his obligations were no greater than ours. His life, his spirit, his purpose, was an exemplification of what ours should be. An Example
By Ivar T. Witting
THERE is a certain church in a small city in Australia, where the Wednesday-night prayer-meeting is well attended. From that little chamber in a private house where the members meet, earnest and powerful prayers ascend to the throne of God. These meetings are a mighty undercurrent that stimulates the church and makes it a church of power and spirit. The church is a missionary church. One Wednesday night the leader of the meetings produced a map, or plan, of the town, the population of which was about sixty thousand. He also produced a list of all the church-members, both young and old, brethren and sisters. He spread the map on the table, and began to divide up the town map into precisely as many districts as there were members in the church. Across each such district, or block, he wrote the name of one of the members. Then he said: “I have divided up the town into districts, and allotted a district to each one of you. Now you will be held responsible for your district. Every man, woman, and child living within the boundaries of your block must hear the third angel’s message during the year 1908. It is not enough that you throw a tract, periodical, or paper over the fence, or push it under the front door. No, you must get an opportunity to speak face to face with all the people of the house and tell them the message. It may be that the door will be slammed in your face. Never mind; make a note of it, take the name of the people, the number and address of the house, and ask some other church-member to seek an entrance there. If he fares the same way, get some one else. In this way let every member seek to enter the house. Surely there must be some way of presenting the truth to each person. If you can not get in with tracts, periodicals, or books, then try with health reform. It may be that there is some one sick in the house, and in need of help. Volunteer to administer some simple treatment. ‘The right arm of the message’ has opened many a door. Don’t give up. Pray and work.” The map was hung up in the church, that every member might have a continuous reminder of his duty. Each one came into line, and all became active missionaries. There is no doubt but that that town will be warned this very year. And when this is done, there are other towns. Why not let us everywhere try this system? Let us now get right down to business. Let us at once cease to simply talk about home missionary work. Let us do it. Don’t postpone it; begin right now. There is a blessing waiting for each one of us. Why not have it? A TOUCHING incident was related at a noon-day prayer-meeting in Pittsburg some years ago. A stranger said that a young man at Zanesville, Ohio, a telegraph operator, was converted while asking for prayers in a church. The case was one of peculiar clearness and power, and the incident was related in a meeting in Cincinnati by a Christian man. At the Cincinnati meeting a young gentleman, also a telegraph operator, was present, and, though interested in the account, doubted the facts. He went from the meeting feeling somewhat embittered against Christianity and its advocates. The same evening in his office, while thinking the matter over, the business upon the wire being unusually slack, he concluded to inquire by telegraph, of the Zanesville operator, whether such a case as that related in the Cincinnati meeting occurred. He tapped the signal sound, and Zanesville answered the Cincinnati call. Touching the mystic key, he asked for information, giving in a few words the story, and the name of the young man. “Yes,” answered the operator at Zanesville, “it is true, and I am the man myself.” Thereupon a conversation was carried on along the wires between the two operators, and Christ Jesus was presented to the inquirer. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” came in eloquent utterance along the line, like a message from above. “Pray for me now,” said the penitent to his unseen friend, two hundred miles away. The two knelt, one in Zanesville, the other in Cincinnati; a new line of communication was opened from earth to heaven, petitions went up straight to God. An answer came quick as an electric touch, and the two young men rejoiced together, in spirit, at the conscious power of saving grace.—Selected. Happiness
By Helen A. Saxton.
Why should we not make friends with
happiness?
Life hath its grieving moments, it is true,
And daily cares — but O, its rapture, too!
Why should we gather thorns when
flowers press
About our feet, and sweet wild things
confess
Their inner radiance, as if they knew
There shone for us behind the steadfast
blue
A love that asks no guerdon but to bless?
— Helen A. Saxton.