Earlier text: This I KnowOPPOSE SUNDAY LAW
By C. M. S.
Adventists Disfavor Forced Observance of the Day
Pamphlet Issued by Seventh-day Believers Sets Forth Protests Against Proposed Legislation by Congress for Sunday Restrictions in District. Means Union of Church and State. The Seventh-day Adventists object to the attempt on the part of the churches of Washington and other organizations to have laws passed by Congress to create a “better observance of Sunday.” In a pamphlet issued by the Seventh-day Adventists it is stated that while there is no objection on the part of the organization to prohibition, and, in fact, it favors such a movement, there is a most decided opposition felt to any measure which shall restrict the free enjoyment of personal liberty on Sunday or any other day. The pamphlet calls upon the Constitution and upon other sources of information for backing in the protests it sets forth. It declares that the enactment of such laws will mean a union of church and state, and further says that all Protestants ought to be opposed to such a measure for this reason, if for no other. “One of the methods,” says the report, “by which it is proposed to accomplish this result (a better observance of Sunday), is by inducing Congress to pass a Sunday law for the District of Columbia. We grant the right of any body of men to seek by all proper means to influence public opinion in favor of their religious views, but when they attempt to use the law-making power to compel others to act in harmony with their religious views, we enter an emphatic protest. “We recognize civil government as of divine origin, but believe in the total6separation of church and state, as enunciated by the author of Christianity in whose words: ‘Render therefore to Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s, and those to God the things that are God’s.’” Twenty-four counts, or “protests,” are used to display the reasons why the Seventh-day Adventists do not believe that such a “better observance of Sunday” may be sought through the law. Reason No. 1 states: “Such legislation is religious legislation, and the passing of such laws is a long step toward the union of church and state.” In protest No. 2 Madison is quoted as saying that “there is not a shadow of right in the general government to intermeddle with religion. Its least interference with it would be the most flagrant usurpation.” Majority Has No Power Here
Reason No. 3 states that Protestantism was the outgrowth of the feeling that “in matters of conscience the majority has no power.” No. 4 says that such laws would mean enforced idleness, and consequently intemperance, and all other sorts of crimes and vices. No. 5 says that such laws would really mean “a compulsory observance of the day;” No. 6, that such laws, while professing to be in the interest of all laboring men, really enslave such men. It goes on: “The assumption of the right to forbid honest labor on one day involves the right to forbid it on any or all days.” The seventh reason says that such laws attempt to enforce religion under the plea for physical rest. Neander is next called upon, in reason 8, to show that Sunday laws, instead of preserving the Roman Empire, contributed largely to its downfall. Other reasons protest against such laws, because they are interfering even with those who wish to regard Sunday as the Lord’s day; because they are “un-American;” because duty can be directed only by “reason and conviction;” because “no man’s right is abridged by the institutions of civil society;” because every man, under the Christian religion, has “the right to believe the gospel or not to believe it.” Again, the pamphlet says that it protests because they (such Sunday laws) commit the law-making bodies to “the settlement of a religious controversy;” because Ringgold said that a church that “connives in the smallest degree at the state’s intrusion upon her domain has abandoned in toto her claim to be a Christian church.” All Protestants Should Protest
“Every true Protestant,” says the pamphlet, “ought to protest, because Sunday laws will necessarily bring matters of religious faith before the courts for adjudication.” President Madison is quoted again in the next protest, in the words, “To God, therefore, not to man, must an account be rendered.” “Moderation and harmony,” it is declared in the next protest, will be destroyed by Sunday laws. The church and state should be kept separate, says the next protest. The next protest says that Sunday laws “degrade the whole idea of Sabbath observance to a mere outward ceremony.” The next protest says that Sunday laws have, as their primary purpose, the protection of “a religious institution.” Finally, the protest says that, in behalf of all men, it speaks against such laws, whose adoption will mean “the melancholy spectacle of the abandonment of those principles which have distinguished this country above the other nations of the earth.” The pamphlet closes by saying that the demand that Congress pass a District Sunday law is not a mere local affair, but is of national significance. The idea, it states, is to get Congress committed to Sunday legislation. It quotes the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Action Would Affect World
“And such,” says the pamphlet, “is her influence, should America, the land of religious liberty, enter upon a course of forcing the conscience, every other country on the globe would be led to follow her example. In the interests of peace, prosperity, pure religion, and good government, therefore, we appeal to every lover of liberty to oppose this movement.” The report is signed by K. C. Russell, chairman, and W. A. Colcord, secretary, “The Religious Liberty Bureau of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.” In the Washington Post, of the same date appeared the following:— Adventist Prohibitionists Want No Aid from Congress
The Religious Liberty Bureau of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has issued a tract favoring prohibition in the District and protesting against the passage of Sunday laws by Congress. In advocating prohibition the Adventists say intemperance is one of the greatest foes to national life and prosperity, and undermines the foundations of civil society. They say that history fails to show where an individual or a nation has been injured by the restriction in the traffic of intoxicating liquors, while hundreds of volumes would be insufficient to record the damage done through intemperance. The Adventists protest against the proposed Sunday laws, because they say such legislation is religious legislation, and is but a step toward the union of state and church. They say that such laws are oppressive and are not in the interests of peace, prosperity, good government, and pure religion. Sunday, January 12, was the day appointed for all the clergymen in the District to preach on the subject of the better observance of Sunday and the necessity for national Sunday laws, and except on the part of the Baptist clergymen there was a unanimity of sentiment in favor of demanding the enforcement of the institution by the power of civil law. In some of the churches there were bitter denunciations of Seventh-day Adventists for their opposition to religious legislation. One clergyman, while holding aloft our protest against religious legislation, declared that “Seventh-day Adventism, that spawn of the devil, has built its nest at Takoma Park, and is doing there its work of perdition.” On the following day the newspapers contained summaries of, or references to, one or more of the sermons preached on the topic of the campaign; and alongside of these appeared references to the counter campaign or extracts from the document our people had prepared, protesting against the enactment of civil laws to enforce the practises of the church. It was stated by one of the speakers that while there was little upon which they could all unite, they could join their forces upon this matter. The pastor of St. Paul’s Catholic church, speaking of this combination for Sunday enforcement, said:— They [the Protestant churches of Washington] are banded together to accomplish this grand object, and prevent as far as possible its [Sunday’s] profanation. Differing from them in many things, in this we can all agree, and must make common cause against the common foe. When Sunday is destroyed, our heritage of Christianity is practically gone.
With both sides bidding for union and working in this “common cause,” we have not far to look for the uniting of Protestantism and Catholicism under the one directing head, the chief of the Vatican at Rome. That such leadership is the sure culmination is evidenced by the fact that the thing upon which they are uniting is the foster-child of the papacy. In these sermons strong appeals were made for the enactment and enforcement of Sunday laws, and that the national government set the example in this matter, that its influence might be felt throughout the States and Territories. Said Dr. Radcliffe:— The nation is made and saved by its sabbaths. The District of Columbia, by its honorable designation as the seat of government, has special influence and responsibility. The national government is much to blame. At the end of every Congress it turns back the hands of the clock, but it can not turn back the hand of God’s judgment. This great government is caught in the act of stealing the sabbaths of its dependents. The District has no Sunday law. We should strike for efficient legislation. The working man needs it, humanity needs it, the republic must have it.
It can readily be seen how such utterances as the above are paving the way for the people to put upon those who keep God’s law the blame for the disasters and calamities that will fall upon the world in the closing hours of the controversy. The question of Sunday laws and the fact of the human origin of the Sunday institution were never before brought so emphatically or so generally before the people of the District of Columbia. The people are stirred, and congressmen are being importuned for legislation in behalf of Sunday enforcement. On January 13 Representative Lamar, of Missouri, introduced a bill “for the observance of Sunday in the District.”7The Washington Herald in its report says:— He said that he was impelled to take such action as the result of the pamphlet issued by Seventh-day Adventists, in which they said any such law was an attempt on the part of the state to adjudicate religious matters. “I did not know at that time,” said Mr. Lamar, “that there is no law in the District governing the closing of stores, and other Sunday observances, and at once began to investigate. I could find no law on that subject, so I asked Major Sylvester about it. The major said there was none. At once I prepared and introduced a bill, and I hope it will become a law. Every State in the Union has laws governing this subject, and the national capital certainly should have.”
The bill introduced by Mr. Lamar is patterned after that of the State of Missouri, under which Governor Folk shut up the city of St. Louis, nailing thereto a “lid” that has stayed in place. Two days later Senator Johnson of Alabama introduced a Sunday-closing bill, designed particularly to close grocery stores and meat markets in the District, and providing severe penalties for failure to obey its provisions. If any evidence were lacking to prove that we are swiftly entering upon the final struggle in the great conflict, it is furnished by the feverish anxiety of the federated forces of this world to unite church and state in this country, and enforce upon all the distinctive mark of obedience to the papal power. Through all the persecutions that have come to our people under State Sunday laws, we have looked to the national government (free from the fault of oppressive religious legislation), and to the Constitution with its provision against church establishment, as strong and influential factors in restraining the spirit of religious tyranny and persecution in this country. Against that bulwark of defense all the guns of the present Sunday-law campaign are leveled and are doing their deadly work. It was a union between a ritualistic church and a religio-political state that nailed our Saviour to the cross. “We have a law,” said the church, “and by that law he ought to die.” The state yielded to the clamor and did the work. And he will be crucified afresh in this age in the person of his followers wherever the decrees and practises of the church are backed by the pains and penalties of civil law. Into that anomalous condition—a union of church and the state—is this “land of liberty” surely drifting to-day. Indications never pointed so strongly as now to the early fulfilment of the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, and in view of that fact, duty never was calling so loudly to this people to spread swiftly and thoroughly God’s last message of warning to this generation. One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollar Fund
By I. H. EVANS
For Special Work at Home and Abroad
Received on the $150,000 Fund up to Jan. 7, 1907
**[ ^]Atlantic Union Conference***
*Central New England ................ $2,772.18
Chesapeake .......................... 592.01
*Eastern Pennsylvania .............. 2,524.80
Greater New York .................... 1,488.51
*New Jersey ......................... 1,239.95
Maine ................................ 744.38
New York ............................. 2,288.50
*Southern New England ............... 1,210.50
*Vermont ............................ 1,331.74
Virginia ............................. 862.14
West Pennsylvania .................... 1,905.67
*Western New York ................... 2,031.09
*West Virginia ...................... 558.11
Total ............................ 19,549.58 Canadian Union Conference
Maritime ............................ 317.43
Quebec ............................... 101.77
Ontario .............................. 778.15
Newfoundland ......................... 16.80
Total ............................ 1,214.15 Colorado ............................ 2,638.65
Kansas ............................... 2,850.73
Missouri ............................. 1,677.48
*Nebraska ........................... 5,730.90
*Wyoming ............................ 780.99
Total ............................ 13,678.75 *Washington churches ................ 1,374.54 East Michigan ........................ 2,753.51
*Indiana ............................ 5,214.52
North Michigan ....................... 1,505.22
*Northern Illinois .................. 2,848.36
*Ohio ............................... 5,748.43
Southern Illinois .................... 1,307.99
*West Michigan ...................... 8,325.70
Wisconsin ............................ 4,377.55
Total ............................ 32,081.28 North Pacific Union Conference
British Columbia .................... 213.00
Montana .............................. 581.99
*Upper Columbia ..................... 2,936.43
Western Washington ................... 2,378.36
Idaho ................................. 976.90
Western Oregon ....................... 2,663.46
Hawaii ................................ 16.05
Alaska ................................ 20.00
Total ............................ 9,786.19 Western Canadian Union Conference
*Alberta ............................ 1,200.80
Manitoba ............................. 305.30
Saskatchewan Mission Field ........... 47.60
Total ............................ 1,553.70 Northern Union Conference
Iowa ................................ 5,724.20
*Minnesota .......................... 5,620.28
*South Dakota ....................... 2,659.47
*North Dakota ........................ 2,085.43
Conference not specified ............. 73.82
Total ............................ 16,163.20 *Arizona ............................ 466.79
*California-Nevada .................. 10,249.03
*Utah ................................ 434.58
Total ............................ 13,143.06 **[ ^]Southern Union Conference***
Conference not specified ............. 49.65
*South Carolina ...................... 248.59
Alabama ............................... 577.14
*Tennessee River ..................... 1,402.51
Florida ............................... 795.24
*North Carolina ...................... 957.25
*Cumberland .......................... 1,347.32
*Louisiana ........................... 572.54
Mississippi ........................... 384.88
*Georgia ............................. 441.47
Total ............................ 6,776.59 Southwestern Union Conference
Not specified ........................ 22.82
Arkansas ............................. 756.61
Oklahoma ............................. 3,282.74
Texas ................................ 1,950.90
Total ............................ 6,013.07 Unknown .............................. 161.70 *Algeria ............................ 13.33
Australia ............................ 108.71
Bermuda .............................. 36.00
China ................................ 155.60
South Africa ........................ 424.47
Jamaica .............................. 13.41
Yukon Territory ...................... 20.00
England .............................. 274.84
*West Africa ......................... 50.00
Mexico ............................... 2.00
Costa Rica ........................... 6.25
India ................................ 187.50
South America ........................ 76.43
Switzerland ........................... 9.69
Panama ............................... 27.11
Nicaragua ............................ 4.00
Central American Mission ............. 26.00
Trinidad ............................. 28.69
Norway ............................... 25.00
Japan ................................ 12.50
Hayti ................................ 5.00
*Egypt ............................... 51.55
Palestine ............................ 3.00
Tobago, W. I. ......................... 1.22
Cuba ................................ 8.00
Hungary .............................. 3.00
Tahiti ............................... 14.88
France ............................... 6.80
Philippine Islands .................... 1.00
Samoa ................................ 8.00
Barbados ............................. 5.00
Portugal ............................. 1.00
Straits Settlements ................... 10.08
Pitcairn Island ........................ 10.00
New Zealand ........................... 1.52
Total ............................ 1,691.58 Grand Total ....................... $123,187.39 Conversion
By E. B. Melendy
HOLY Bible, book divine,
Let thy light upon me shine.
Guide my feet from darkest night
Safely onward into light. Jesus, Saviour, pity me,
Thou who died upon the tree,
Save me from all outward sin,
Make me clean and pure within. Jesus, hear me, ere I die,
Nightly, hourly, would I cry,
Save me, Jesus, by thy blood;
Wash me in the cleansing flood! Jesus, thou alone art mine,
I would be, Lord, only thine;
Cleanse me now, O Lord, I plead,
Cleanse me wholly and indeed! O I thank thee, blessed Lord,
That at last thy grace I’ve heard.
Make me ever true to thee,
I would thine, thine only, be. In the Days of Queen Esther
By Ellen G. White
The Return of the Exiles—No. 11
In the Days of Queen Esther
THE seventy years’ captivity dated from the time when the Babylonian kings began to hold universal sway. God gave Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, much “majesty, and glory, and honor.” “All people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.” This same universal sway was exercised by Nebuchadnezzar’s descendants until, nearly seventy years later, in the days of Belshazzar, because of the wickedness of the nation, the kingdom was “divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” Thus arose the second universal monarchy, Medo-Persia. It was only about two years afterward that Cyrus, king of Medo-Persia, issued the remarkable decree providing for the restoration of all the Israelites, “the children of the captivity,” to their home in the land of Canaan. Nearly fifty thousand, under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua, took advantage of this providential opportunity to return. These were, however, comparatively speaking, only a few, a mere “remnant,” of all the Israelites scattered throughout the provinces of Medo-Persia. Many chose to remain in the land of their captivity, rather than to accompany their brethren, and to assist in restoring the temple services. Nearly twenty years passed by. Many of the remnant who returned to Judea, had fallen into a backslidden condition, and were doing no more to restore the house of God than were their brethren living elsewhere in the Medo-Persian realm. But as the result of the appeals of Haggai and Zechariah, the returned exiles repented before God, and labored diligently to complete the temple. The Lord blessed them, and they were greatly prospered. Their efforts were brought to the notice of Darius Hystaspes, who was the monarch ruling at that time; and he was impressed to issue a second decree, fully as favorable as the one issued by Cyrus over twenty years before. Thus did God, in mercy, provide another wonderful opportunity for the Jews in the Medo-Persian capital, and throughout the provinces, to return to the land whence they had been carried captive. And the Lord not only wrought a change of feeling in the hearts of men in authority, so that they favored the Jews in their realm; but he also inspired Zechariah, his prophetic messenger, to plead with them most earnestly to flee from their Babylonian surroundings, and return to Jerusalem. “Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon!” How amazing is God’s love, how infinite his compassion! He pleads with the wayward to return unto him. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” The Lord desired that those who had once named his name, but who now dwelt in Babylon, should become a praise in the earth, to the glory of his name. Nearly a century had passed by since, because of their sins, he had been compelled to allow them to be taken captive to Babylon. And yet their affliction was to be a means of salvation. Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord revealed his desire to save the transgressor, even by means of calamity. “I will bring him to Babylon,” the Lord declared, “and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.” In tender pity the Lord continued to plead with every suffering captive. Some chose to listen and to learn; these found salvation in the midst of affliction. Those who listened to the pleadings of heavenly agencies, and repented with full purpose of heart, are likened by the prophet Ezekiel to “the highest branch of the high cedar,” which was to be planted “upon an high mountain and eminent: in the mountain of the height of Israel.” A remnant would return; and God gave every captive Israelite in Babylon an opportunity to form a part of this remnant. It was those “whose spirit God had raised,” who returned under the decree of Cyrus. But God ceased not to plead with the ones who voluntarily remained in the land of their exile; and, through manifold agencies, he made it possible for them also to return. But the vast number who failed to respond at the time of the decree of Cyrus, remained unimpressible to later influences working in their behalf. When Zechariah, in unmistakable language, warned them to flee from Babylon without delay, they heeded not the gracious invitation. Conditions in the Medo-Persian realm rapidly changed. Darius Hystaspes, under whose reign the Jews were shown marked favor, was succeeded by Xerxes the Great, the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. It was during his reign that the Jews of Medo-Persia, those who had failed of heeding God’s warning message to flee for their lives, were called to face a terrible crisis. A few years before, God had provided a way of escape; but this had been passed by, and now, all the Jews were brought face to face with death. Haman the Agagite, an unscrupulous man high in authority in the Medo-Persian realm, was the one through whom Satan sought at this time to counterwork the purposes of God. Haman cherished bitter malice against Mordecai the Jew, a godly man who had done Haman no harm, but had simply refused to show him the reverence that belongs to God alone. Scorning “to lay hands on Mordecai alone,” Haman plotted “to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.” Misled by the false statements of Haman, Xerxes the Great was induced to issue an edict providing for the massacre of all the Jews “scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces” of the Medo-Persian kingdom. A certain day was appointed, on which the Jews were to be destroyed and their property confiscated. Little did the king realize the far-reaching results that would have accompanied the complete carrying out of this decree. Satan himself, the hidden instigator of the scheme, was planning to rid the earth of those who preserved the knowledge of the true God. “In every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.” The decrees of the Medes and Persians could not be revoked; apparently there was no hope; all the Israelites were doomed to destruction. But the plots of the enemy were defeated by a Power that reigns among the children of men. In the providence of God, Esther, a Jewess who feared the Most High, had been made queen of the Medo-Persian kingdom. Mordecai was a near relative of hers. In their extremity, they decided to appeal to King Xerxes in behalf of their people. Esther was to venture into his presence as an intercessor. “Who knoweth,” said Mordecai, “whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” The crisis that Esther faced demanded earnest, quick action; but both she9and Mordecai realized that unless God should work mightily in their behalf, all their own feeble efforts would be unavailing. So Esther took time for communion with God, the source of her strength, and the One in whose hand is the heart of every earthly ruler, to turn it whithersoever he will, as he turneth the rivers of water. “Go,” Esther directed Mordecai, “gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.” The events that followed in rapid succession,—the appearance of Esther before the king, the marked favor shown her, the banquets of the king and the queen with Haman as the only guest, the troubled sleep of the king, the public honor shown Mordecai, and the humiliation and fall of Haman upon discovery of his wicked plot against the Jewish people,—all these are parts of a familiar story. In a marvelous manner God wrought in behalf of his penitent people; and a counter-decree issued by the king, allowing them to fight for their lives, was rapidly communicated to every part of the realm by mounted couriers who were “hasted and pressed on by the king’s commandment.” “And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.” On the day appointed for their destruction, “the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.” Angels that excel in strength had been commissioned by God to protect his people while they gathered themselves together, and “stood for their lives.” The trying experiences that came to God’s people in the days of Esther, were not peculiar to that age alone. The Revelator, looking down the ages to the close of time, declared by inspiration, “The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” In the near future we shall see these words fulfilled, as the Protestant churches unite with the world and with the papal power against commandment-keepers. The same spirit that actuated those who persecuted the true church in ages past, will lead Protestants to pursue a similar course toward those who will maintain their loyalty to God. Church and state are now making preparations for the last great conflict. The decree which is to go forth against the people of God will be very similar to that issued by Ahasuerus against the Jews in the time of Esther. The Protestant world to-day see, in the little company keeping the Sabbath, a Mordecai in the gate. His character and conduct, expressing reverence for the law of God, are a constant rebuke to those who have cast off the fear of the Lord, and are trampling upon his Sabbath; the unwelcome intruder must by some means be put out of the way. The same masterful spirit that plotted against the faithful in ages past is still seeking to rid the earth of those who fear God and obey his law. Satan will excite indignation against the humble minority who conscientiously refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church-members will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals, they will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a “thus saith the Scriptures” to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for Sunday laws. Those who fear God can not accept an institution that violates a precept of the decalogue. On this battle-field comes the last great conflict of the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to the issue. Now, as in the days of Esther and Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate his truth and his people. Mordecai was advanced to the position of honor formerly occupied by Haman. He was “next unto King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren;” and he sought to promote the welfare of his people. Thus did God bring his chosen people once more into favor at the Medo-Persian court, making possible the carrying out of his purpose to restore them to their own land. But it was not until several years later, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes I, the successor of Xerxes the Great, that any considerable number returned to Jerusalem to assist their brethren in the restoration, under the leadership and spiritual watch-care of Ezra. Farsightedness
By G. D. BALLOU
At the Friday meeting of the recent week of prayer in one of our Western institutions, the testimonies turned on the question of a preparation for foreign missionary work. Many clear, pointed testimonies were borne, but the illustration used by a young Japanese student of the institution seemed more clear and unique than any of the others. He said in substance:— “Many people are far-sighted and have to get glasses to adjust their eyes for near work. If these should go to a foreign field without this adjustment, they would still be far-sighted. The only way to get ready for foreign work is to have the eyes corrected for near work.” Comment would spoil this. A Personal Experience
By W. H. SAXBY
WHEN starting out in this precious work, I used to read over some of the “exceeding great and precious promises” of God’s Word, and they seemed far above and beyond me, or as if they were only for the great and good of Bible times. The question would often present itself to me, “How can I verify these promises in my own individual experience?” My mind finally settled on testing this promise: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Mal. 3: 10. Here the Lord throws out a definite challenge in finance. He says, in other words, Be faithful in paying your tithe and in making offerings, and prove me; put me to the test, and see what I will do for you; watch my prospering hand in all your temporal affairs. I felt confident that I could pay a tithe. I could make offerings and pledges, and I would by his assisting grace. At the General Conference at Battle Creek, Mich., in the fall of 1885, it was decided that Mrs. Saxby and I should go to Washington, D. C., to open the work there. We were in Kentucky at the time. Now was my opportunity to carry out more fully the cherished desire. After talking the matter over with my wife, I then and there made the following vow (no credit to me, it was all the grace of God): that if the Lord would open the way before us, and would bless and prosper us in our work in Washington, at the close of the first year he should have one fifth of every dollar received. If we should remain there the second year, he should receive one fourth, in the same way. If the third year, one third; and if the fourth year, one half. We were there a little over three years and a half. Immediately after we arrived at Washington, Jan. 13, 1886, a new, precious, larger experience opened before us than ever before. I wish to say right here, and to emphasize it, that when we take, by the grace of God, a large, liberal course toward his work, we shall not be alone in it. “The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.” Isa. 32: 8. We are informed in Mal. 3: 10 what God will do for us, and in Luke 6: 38 what man will do. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete10withal it shall be measured to you again.” We found these great promises, and some others, inseparably linked together in our blessed experience. We were very kindly met at the depot by Brother Reuben Wright, and were entertained at a hotel several days until we could find a suitable building for a mission home. Brother Wright soon made the following very liberal proposition to us: “I expect to help in the finances of this enterprise, and am willing to do so in this way: I will pay the publishing house for all our periodicals, books, etc., that you may sell.” The workers would receive not only what profit there was, if any, but the full amount of all their sales. If we needed means, and we certainly did, all we had to do was to get out and work. A prominent Methodist Episcopal minister of another city said, incidentally, in a sermon on finances, when speaking of the tithe and the result of its adoption among Seventh-day Adventists: “They have all the money they want.” This was truly our experience from the very first. The last fall I sent, at one time, to two of our publishing houses seven hundred dollars, over and above our expenses. Brother Wright seemed to have the fullest confidence in us, for he gave us the largest freedom in the use of all money received. When more fully acquainted with him, he related to us minutely one of the brightest experiences in tithing, while a Baptist, that I ever heard. Truly there was a breaking “forth on the right hand and on the left” (Isa. 54: 3), especially in our finances. Liberality begat liberality in many ways. As we met our obligation promptly at the close of the first year, we were conscious of a definite blessing. The pledges made for the second and third years we cheerfully met. The Lord not only worked within us to will, but also to do his good pleasure. We were there a little over one half of the fourth year, and then were invited to attend a five-months’ ministerial institute at the close of a General Conference at Battle Creek. Being short of funds, I was sorely tempted to use a part of the Lord’s half. I reasoned, as many another student has, doubtless,—I was simply preparing to do better work for the Lord, and would, therefore, be justified in using a part of his under the circumstances. The right prevailed, however, and the last forty dollars was paid. Shortly after the institute we went to Ohio, our new field of labor, and in a few days a detective called to see us from Wilmington, Del. He came by the way of Battle Creek. We had moved to Wilmington just a few weeks before going to the General Conference, and while there, a matter came under our observation that made us, in time, important witnesses in a lawsuit. This party promised to pay us liberally if we would go in a few days. The short of the matter is this, we were gone three days, and had left, above all our expenses, a little more than eighty dollars. Thus we see that it is a very easy matter for the Lord to place money in our hands, and in very unexpected ways. We left Washington in August, and the April before, Elder Dan. T. Jones, who was at that time secretary of the General Conference Committee, wrote us as follows: “You have done well in the financial management of your mission at Washington. It has been less expensive than any other city mission operated by the General Conference.” At the time I made the vow, I was over two hundred dollars in debt. Perhaps some will say it was reckless, but how many of us might be considered reckless indeed, in spending means in worldly enterprises. In conclusion, I would say that I have never for a moment entertained a regret for taking the step. The vow naturally led to greater consecration; and praise the Lord, the results are not confined to this short life, but I trust will be far-reaching in the world to come. The testing of this promise has greatly strengthened my faith in other promises in all the intervening years.