Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Dec 9, 1880
General Articles.
By Mrs. E. G. White
GOD'S PURPOSE TOWARD ISRAEL UNCHANGED.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
BALAK had confidently expected a curse that would fall like a withering blight upon Israel, and the words of the prophet filled him with surprise and horror. He passionately exclaimed, "What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether."
Balaam endeavored to make a virtue of necessity, and professed to have spoken from a conscientious regard for the will of God the words which had been forced from his lips by divine power. His answer was, "Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?"
Balak could not even now relinquish his hope of securing the destruction of Israel. He decided that the imposing spectacle presented by the vast encampment of the Hebrews, arranged in perfect order—each tribe around its own standard, and the tabernacle of God among them—had so intimidated Balaam that he dared not practice his divinations against them. The king hoped that a change of place might effect something in his favor. He would take the prophet to some point where only a small part of the host of Israel might be seen; and if he could there get Balaam to curse them in detached parties, the whole camp might soon be devoted to destruction. In all this, Balak seems still to have had perfect confidence that Balaam's enchantments could paralyze the strength of Israel, and bring confusion and defeat upon their armies.
Balaam was now conducted to the top of an elevation called Pisgah, where another trial was to be made. He had not given up all hope of the reward, and he was willing to do all in his power to carry out the purposes of the king. On this height were erected, as before, seven altars, whereon were placed the same offerings as at the first. The king and his princes were again left by the sacrifices, while Balaam retired to meet with God. Again the prophet was intrusted with a divine message, which he was powerless to alter or withhold.
When he appeared to the anxious, expectant company, the eager question was put to him, "What hath the Lord spoken?" The answer, as before, struck terror to the heart of king and princes:—
"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the Son of man, that he should repent; hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless; and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought? Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain."
In this prophecy Balaam sets forth the unchangeable character of God. Men are fickle, unreliable; especially is this the case when their minds are not under the direction of the Holy Spirit. When men are controlled by the prince of darkness, no dependence can be placed upon their promises or engagements. But God being infinite in wisdom and goodness, his purposes and decrees are immutable.
It is stated in the Scriptures that God repented that he had done so much for man, when only ingratitude and disobedience were the return for all his mercies. Here the Lord speaks after the manner of men, that finite man may understand him. When God has pronounced judgments against a people, as he did against Ninevah, and, like Ninevah, they believe the word of God, humble themselves before him, and turn from their evil ways, he revokes his sentence, and gives the transgressors of his law another trial. But in all the history of God's dealings, it will be found that although he may bear long with the sinner, disobedience will surely meet its punishment. There are limits to the forbearance of God; there is a point at which it becomes necessary to interpose his vengeance, and visibly to rebuke the impiety of men. And it is no less apparent, that those who love and obey God's law will realize that he means what he says, and that all his precious promises to the faithful and obedient will be fulfilled to the letter.
The Lord solemnly announced that it was his purpose to bless Israel, and that he would not sanction oppression or outrage against the posterity of Jacob. While they should comply with the conditions which he had given them, he would be faithful in the fulfillment of all his promises. Balaam was made to understand the confidence and strength of Israel. "The shout of a king is among them." Christ, enshrined in the cloudy pillar, was in their midst, reigning over and protecting them, and leading them forth to battle and to victory. Their recent conquests, while moving forward in the strength of God, had inspired them with hope and courage. At the word of God they were ready to advance or retreat, to put on the armor or to lay it off, with the same confident assurance of final victory.
"God brought them out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn." The rhinoceros is one of the most powerful of animals, and Balaam uses this creature as a figure to show how vain it is for any earthly power to array itself against the Most High. God had accomplished his will in bringing Israel from bondage and idolatry in Egypt, notwithstanding the opposition of Pharaoh and his hosts. It would be safer for lesser animals to attack the powerful unicorn, than for finite man to seek to turn aside the purposes of the Infinite One.
Awed by these revelations of divine power, Balaam exclaimed, "Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel." The great magician had tried his power of enchantment, in accordance with the desire of the Moabites; but concerning this very occasion it should be said of Israel, "What hath God wrought?" The fact would be recorded upon the pages of history, that while Israel was under the divine protection, no people or nation, though aided by all the power of Satan, should be able to prevail against them. All the world should wonder at the marvelous work of God in behalf of his people—that a man determined to pursue a sinful course should be so controlled by divine power as to utter, instead of imprecations, the richest and most precious promises, in the language of sublime and impassioned poetry.
The favor of God at this time manifested toward Israel was to be an assurance of his protecting care for his obedient, faithful children in all ages. When Satan should inspire evil men to annoy, misrepresent, harass, and destroy God's people, this very occurrence would be brought to their remembrance, and would strengthen their courage and faith in God.
The future success of Israel, and the doom of their enemies, is further set forth in the words, "The people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink of the blood of the slain." Surely, this message should have been a sufficient warning to both Balaam and the king of Moab, to make no further attempt to injure the people so signally protected by infinite power.
CHRIST'S DIVINITY IGNORED.
By L. Anderson
MANY there are, even in Christendom, who deny the proper divinity of Jesus Christ, while pretending at the same time to be Christians; as if an intermediate position were possible. It is not. Their very compliments paid to him as a good and pure man, cover a terrible charge against him, even of lying and hypocrisy. Did he not declare his divinity? did he not represent himself as the Son of God, as well as the Son of man? To ask these questions is practically to answer them. To deny his claims to divinity is to proclaim him a liar in the face of truth.546If Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, and therefore divine, the gospel ought to be thrown to the winds, and the Bible torn to pieces as an imposture. He spoke falsely all his life, if he is not divine; yea more, he practiced duplicity towards his disciples, even the last night he spent with them before his crucifixion.
Let the deniers of his divinity speak no more of his moral purity, of his holiness. If he was not divine, then the Jews and Pilate condemned him justly as an impostor. Let those who detract from his divinity think seriously of these logical sequences.
But we inquire, what can be the possible motives that impel men to reject the eternal divinity of Jesus Christ? Is it done under a pretense of honoring God? as if, for divinity to be associated with humanity, in the person of Christ, would be a detraction from the honor of divinity—a condescension below the proper dignity of a God? Does it not rather show a compassion for man who needed a revelation of such compassion? Nothing is more worthy of God than the voluntary humiliation of the Saviour, his Son, in behalf of a sinful race; "God was manifest in the flesh."
To deny the divinity of Christ, moreover, is to stifle, and thus embarrass the doctrine of the atonement (for his divinity is necessary to the atonement); is to take water from the soul's burning thirst, and bread from its consuming hunger; is to mock the cherished aspirations of the soul, that have asked these six thousand years for a manifested God as a Saviour. The world without a divine Saviour would be utterly at a loss whither to turn; for since the promise to Adam, all eyes looked forward to the coming Christ until his advent, and all since he came have had only him to fix their hearts upon.
There is plainly no middle position. Either the church must rightfully acknowledge Christ's perfect divinity, as well as humanity, or it is idolatrous to worship Jesus when he is not a God. If there is any doctrine established by the most undeniable testimonies, it is the doctrine of the divine and human nature of Jesus Christ. With this doctrine, as a foundation, Christianity stands, but without it, the whole system is foundationless.
Hence all deniers of this doctrine, in the pulpit or out of it, are, as far as their influence is felt, the destroyers of Christianity. Wherever and whenever this doctrine has been impaired even, the foundation of religion has been shaken in the confidence of those who have been deceived by such mockers of God. So it is written on the pages of the world's history.
Does not this doctrine alone respond to the promise of God that "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head?" That seed is the incarnate Christ. By his incarnation he allied himself to the race—became the seed of the woman, and yet the Satan-bruising God. The Word of God became man, to enable man to receive God, that he might become a partaker of the divine nature.
We conclude that to deny the divinity of Christ, it must be done in violation of a human consciousness and conviction that has pervaded the human mind in all the ages of its history. Such denial is born of human pride. Man is unwilling to be dependent, and affects to scorn the idea of aid in the regeneration of his character. Such pompousness does not bespeak thorough religious intelligence; but rather shows a want of knowledge of one's self, as well as a want of knowledge of God's ways with men. The pulpit therefore that discards the doctrine of Christ's supreme divinity is not true to its wiser convictions, is not true to truth. And the result of such preaching, is invariably an unsaved congregation, and a spiritually bankrupt minister.—Rev. L. Anderson, in Golden Censer.
THE BURIED FLOWER.
By Mrs. S. H. Bradford
In the course of his wanderings among the Pyramids of Egypt, Lord Lindsay, the celebrated English traveler, accidentally came across a mummy, the inscription upon which proved to be at least two thousand years old. In examining the mummy after it was carefully unwrapped, he found in one of its inclosed hands a small round root. Wondering how long vegetable life could last, he took the little bulb from that closed hand and planted it in a sunny soil, allowed the dew and rains of heaven to descend upon it, and in course of time, a few weeks, to his astonishment and joy, that root burst forth and bloomed into a beautiful flower.
Two thousand years ago a flower
Bloomed lightly, in a far-off land;
Two thousand years ago its seed
Was placed within a dead man's hand.
Before the Saviour came to earth,
That man had lived and loved and died.
And even in that far-off time,
The flower had spread its perfume wide.
Suns rose and set, years came and went,
The dead hand kept its treasure well:
Nations were born and turned to dust,
While life was hidden in that shell.
The shriveled hand is robbed at last,
The seed is buried in the earth:
When, lo! the life long hidden there
Into a glorious flower burst forth.
Just such a plant as that which grew
From such a seed when buried low,
Just such a flower in Egypt bloomed,
And died, two thousand years ago.
And will not He who watched the seed
And kept the life within the shell,
When those he loves are laid to rest,
Watch o'er their buried dust as well?
And will not He from 'neath the sod
Cause something glorious to arise?
Aye! though it sleep two thousand years,
Yet all that buried dust shall rise.
Just such a face as greets you now,
Just such a form as here we bear,
Only more glorious far, will rise
To meet the Saviour in the air.
Then will I lay me down in peace
When called to leave this vale of tears,
For "in my flesh shall I see God,"
Even though I sleep two thousand years.
—Mrs. S. H. Bradford.
GOD'S DAY.
By Geo. S. Mott
THE following from the pen of Rev. Geo. S. Mott appeared some years since in a little book entitled, "The Perfect Law," published by the American Tract Society, New York:—
God's division of time is into periods of seven days. Of these he grants us six for our own use, and retains one for himself. But we must not infer from this, that during six days we need not think of God, and are exempt from his service; that we may live as though there were no God during the week, if we show some respect for him on the Sabbath. Every day we are to remember our Creator and our Preserver; but one day we are required to devote exclusively to him.
This law regarding the Sabbath took its appropriate place in the decalogue at Sinai, yet the day had been observed from the beginning, and was already intrenched in the affections of the godly. All through the generations of the patriarchs, and in subsequent times, the seed of Abraham kept this day. In the sixteenth chapter of Exodus, it is spoken of as a well-understood institution, "This is that which the Lord hath said, to-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." And in the thirteenth verse, "so the people rested on the seventh day." It is to be observed that this was said while the people were journeying towards Sinai and before the moral law had been given. So that when this commandment of the Sabbath was announced, it begins, "Remember the Sabbath day." That is, you already know about the day, see to it, that you continue to observe it sacredly.
This shows that the Sabbath does not rest upon a mere law, but upon the nature of things as constituted by the All-wise. It did not for the first time come up in connection with Israel at Sinai, any more than did the command not to steal. Every precept of the decalogue had been binding from the creation of man, and each had been observed by those who feared God. It was always sinful to murder, and always sinful to break the Sabbath. The decalogue was God's formal utterance of what had been the conscientious convictions of all preceding generations. This fact of the antiquity of the Sabbath should be clearly understood, because thereby we shall the more plainly perceive that its observance is intended to continue until the end of time.
Two institutions were founded in Eden for human welfare, one was the Sabbath the other was marriage. In great mercy to the race of man, our parents were permitted to carry these with them, when they were expelled from Paradise. Heavy as was the curse on the man and the woman, and woeful as that curse has made all generations, no tongue could describe the wretchedness of our condition, had marriage and the Sabbath been lost among other blessings of Eden. By maintaining marriage in its purity, and the due observance of the Sabbath, man approximates the condition in which his Creator placed him. He is the enemy of man, as well as of religion, who would abolish marriage, or set aside the Sabbath.
The observance of the Sabbath does not rest upon vague speculations, the arguments which commend it to us are neither scanty nor weak. Infidelity grapples with a stronger foe than at first sight appears, when it assails the day of the Lord. Only a few of these arguments can be introduced here.
It is God's commandment. An impression has been created in some minds, that the Sabbath is a day appointed by the church; and that its observance is as much optional as is the observance of Christmas or Easter. But the position of the fourth commandment forbids such a supposition. It stands nearly in the center of a list of divine regulations, which are to control man's worship of God, and his duties toward his fellow-beings. By what authority can any mortal erase one of these rules? Who has authorized the blotting out of the fourth, any more than the second or the eighth? If the law of the Sabbath is not binding, how then is the law of murder? This is not exclusively a Jewish law. The social and political regulations delivered to Moses when in secret council with Jehovah on the mount, were for Israel; but these laws spoken in the hearing of the people, and written on tables of stones, were for all men even unto the end of the world.
AN ALTERATION THAT IS NO ALTERATION.
By R. F. Cottrell
BY ELD. R. F. COTTRELL.
The following extracts are taken from the same writer, only two pages apart:—
"The Saviour appears, and reverences, honors, distinguishes, the Sabbath by his doctrine and his miracles. The ten commandments he recognizes without omission or alteration."
"Every change is a fresh blessing. Every new dispensation is a new grace. Every alteration is an advance in the development of redemption on the one hand, and in the uses and importance of the institution on the other."
To prove that the Sabbath has been altered, and has not been altered, is a difficult task. Is the writer insane or intoxicated? or does he presume that his readers are?
The same writer says, "The particular day not being of the essence of the law, it is silently introduced."
Who told him that the particular day was not of the essence of the law? Sabbath day means rest day. Hence the Sabbath day of God can be no other day than the one on which God rested.
It was silently introduced. This is a strange way to introduce a law or institution. But the writer well knew that the Bible was silent in regard to the change. Many other changes have been silently introduced. Is this a good reason for adopting them? If so, let our Baptist friends adopt sprinkling for baptism, which was introduced in the same way.
The writer's object was to persuade all to keep a definite day—the day of the resurrection of Christ. But since the particular day is not of the essence of the law, will it not answer just as well if we choose to keep the day that was not silently introduced?
But he thinks we ought to "catch the intimations" of the Lord's will "with more alacrity," though "he re-enacts not in direct terms his day of rest," but "leaves it to be inferred from his own example and doctrine, and that of his apostles."
There are many doctrines and practices of a corrupt church which the revelation which God has given "leaves to be inferred." Is this a reason that we should adopt them "with more alacrity"?
GIVEN IN LOVE.
A LITTLE girl, seven years old, died in Philadelphia a year or two ago. When the doctor told her she could not live, she bade her mother send for the pastor of the church, and gave him her little savings-bank.
"Open it," she said.
There were four dollars and a few cents.
"Take them," said the child, "and build a church for poor people, those who sit in the back seats of our church. They must not pay for anything. I want all the seats to be free."
The clergyman took the money. "My child," he said, solemnly, "it shall be done with God's help."
When the child was dead, he placed her little bank and the pittance it contained on the pulpit, and told her story. Tears were in every eye.
One wealthy man after another came forward with his offering. Children came, women also, and the poor with their mites.
A week or two ago the completed church ready for its occupants was dedicated to the service of that God who willed that the widow's mite and the poor little child's offering should not fail of their errand.—Sel.
LIVING AND DYING FOR CHRIST.
By Joseph Parker
We are not called upon to lay down our lives tragically, but we are called upon to spend our lives moment by moment. Whether ye eat, therefore, or whether ye drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God, holy, acceptable, which is your reasonable service. Open thy mouth for the dumb, be eyes for the blind and feet to the lame, and the cause thou knowest not, search it out. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. What doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God?
Oh, ye modest ones, then, who whenever anything else is talked about, lift up your heads and glow with the radiance of sympathy, but when godliness is talked about, drop away and are not seen! know ye that there is a time for retirement and a time for publicity, a time for silence and a time for speech; and those of us who are always in the blaze of public light, let us remember that there is a closet to be entered and a door to be shut, and a fast that is to be made as if it were a feast, and that the string of communications is sometimes to be cut between the right hand and the left as if they were strangers, never introduced, living at the opposite points of a diameter. You find the truth in the two aspects, not in either one of them.
And, as for dying for Christ, if we live for him, we shall certainly die for him. I want to live in the love of Christ, and I feel many a time that I spoil six days out of seven of every week. I know I would like to be called upon to do some great thing for him,—that would suit me. If He would build a platform, and, with his own hand, conduct me to it and lift a finger to indicate the time of commencement, I feel as if I could die for him. Instead of that he, says: "If thine enemy smite thee on one cheek turn to him the other also. If thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink. Avenge not yourself, but rather give place unto wrath. Judge not, that ye be not judged." He wants me to do these things, and I cannot. If he will help me, I will try.—Joseph Parker.
A STRANGE SIGHT.
JOHN BUNYAN, in one of his works, which we can not now recall, uses, in substance, this bold and impressive illustration: To see a prince entreat a beggar to receive bread when he is starving, would be a strange sight. To see a king visit a lonely cell where a traitor is condemned to die, beseeching him to receive a pardon, would be a still stranger sight. But to see the Son of God, standing before a poor, lost, helpless, ruined sinner, with a heart full of pain, with hands full of pardons, and a Heaven full of glory to bestow, is a sight to dazzle the eyes of angels! And yet can this or any other form of illustration bring out the amazing truth in this respect? Realize it, dear reader! The great God says, "Come, now, let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as wool; and though they be red like crimson, they shall be whiter than snow."
The pure, the holy, the offended Jehovah comes down to reason, to expostulate with sinful, depraved, offending man, as a father bereaved of his children, with all the eloquence of a love that is being defeated in its kind designs. "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" The immaculate Son of God, though often repulsed, grieved, and crossed in his gracious overtures, and though his locks, we may say, are wet with the dew of night, still pursues the wayward prodigal with a compassion which no ingratitude can extinguish. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man will open unto me, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me!" And then as if to brighten the wonder, the Holy Spirit comes to "help us against our infirmities," to unstop our ears to hear the voice of inviting mercy, and unlock our hearts to receive the divine guest! Oh, matchless grace! The universe may never again see this strange sight!"—Christian Index.
CHURCH FESTIVALS, FAIRS, ETC.
By Church Spectacles
Church festivals, levees, and fairs,
Whate'er their aim, are only snares.
They're deep-laid schemes to raise the wind,
Just suited to the carnal mind.
They serve as bribes to blind men's eyes,
As though t'indulge were sacrifice.
A festival implies a feast,
Attended with much fun and jest,
Where those who have the scrip to pay,
May eat and drink and joke and play.
At fairs they offer toys to sell,
With tricks to make them relish well,
In view of what they offer there,
'Twould pass for Bunyan's "Vanity Fair."
The same is true of their levees,
Designed the carnal mind to please;
Where rowdy, saint, and priest combine
To give the crowd "a first-rate time."
They all are but religious sprees,
Got up the churches' debts to ease;
Where men may get their quarter's worth
Of fun and frolic, tricks, and mirth.
"Young folks," say they, "their sport will have,
And for the same they'll freely give;
We'd not curtail their liberty,
But save them by monopoly;
In that we'd regulate their fun,
And have it where we all may come,
And keep them from th' excess, you know,
To which young folks are apt to go.
Their money, too, we thus can save,
By offering what they're bent to have;
And using it for church debts too—
It proves a plan both apt and new.
In former days we would not dare
To have a church levee or fair;
But times have changed, and this you know,
Makes change of men and manners too."
When they conclude to have a spree,
The church assemble and agree
To choose for aids each belle and beau,
Who draw the crowd where'er they go;
And always give a general call
To every sort, both great and small;
They advertise for such a night,—
"Admittance gained at candle-light."
They plead with them,—"Don't fail to come,
"You'll get your money's worth of fun.
Just pay your quarter at the door,—
'Tis worth the money four times o'er;
Ice-cream and oysters kept for sale,
Rich dainties served by charming belles;
Cool soda, too, the best in town,
With toys from twenty guineas down.
We've lotteries and grab-bags too,
An office here, with mail for you:
A gold ring cake—'tis rich and nice,—
We ask but fifty cents a slice.
And then if any wish to raffle,
With such desires we would not trifle,
If we the objects may present
For which your money shall be spent.
We think it proves an easy way
Of getting much with little pay;
And if a Bible be the prize,
We think no scruple should arise.
An able clown will sure be there,
And make you laugh all through the fair;
And music, too, will break the spell
With richest notes at intervals."
Thus rowdy, priest, and saint profane
The house made sacred to God's name.
They make the church a banquet house,
Where all the rabble may carouse,
In pride and lust and tricks and fun,
Till ten at night, perhaps till one.
"Idolaters!" as Paul would say,
"Who eat and drink and rise to play."
They're "evil servants," saith the Lord,
"Who eat and drink with the drunken" horde.
Oh that they would one moment pause,
And see how they disgrace God's cause,
While worldly men may justly say,
"It seems that we're no worse than they."
Where are the saints of former days,
Who honor God in all their ways;
Who 'gainst such works their voices raise,
And spend their lives in prayer and praise;
Who in their closets can but grieve
While others make a den of thieves
Of churches, which were once the place
Where God displayed his saving grace;
Whose hearts are ever pained to see
The church and world get up a spree,
And call the rabble far and near,
To come and join in worldly cheer?
Where those watchmen, faithful, true,
Who sleep not all this dark night through;
Who see the danger from afar,
And promptly all the truth declare,
Unmoved by smiles or frowns of men,
Whoe'er they are, whate'er their clan!
Who love the flock and not the fleece;
Who'd rather work than take their ease;
Who'd rather serve than be a guest;
Who never swerve to please the rest;
Who love their Master and his way,
And never fret about the pay;
But faithful to their trust go on,
That they may hear the word—"well done."
—Church Spectacles.
Truth and Concealment
Truth feareth nothing so much as concealment, and desireth nothing so much as clearly to be laid open to all.
THE DEAD-PRAYER OFFICE.
WHAT becomes of all the unanswered letters? Thousands of them find their way to the dead-letter office. Some never reach the person for whom they are intended because the postage is not paid; some fail because they are directed to the wrong office; some cannot be sent because the address is illegible; and some because the matter inclosed is unmailable. These float through the mails, are examined at different offices, marked "missent," and finally they fall into the dead-letter office. There they are opened and read, and, if valuable, are forwarded; if not, they are given to the flames. Such is the accuracy and skill of the postal officials that very few valuable letters ever fail of reaching their destination.
Some prayers never reach God because they are not addressed to God's office. They are directed to the audience. Here one prays a "sharp cut," to some stubborn brother, or rebukes some error in theology to another, or drives some keen-edged blade of censure into another, directs a severe criticism to some who are running into fashionable follies; and sometimes (shame on us), the very supplication which we offer in tenderest tones, in behalf of the weeping widow and helpless orphans, is intended more for those who kneel in mourning before us than for God who sits in glory above us. God's office is not in our neighbor's care, and if we direct our prayers to that point, they will certainly go to the "dead-prayer office."
Again, there is a prayer upon which the address is illegible—not because it is a rough, scrawling "hand-writing;" these can always be deciphered, but because it has so many extra flourishes. This prayer is uttered in a pompous, grandiloquent style. It is full of long words, scientific terms, and classical quotations. The writing on the envelope is very much in keeping with the style upon the inside. The ink was fancy, and soon faded, the pen was the tongue, and it did not set the color in the prayer. How different when indited by the heart! It is no wonder that this prayer gets lost and finds its way into the "dead-prayer office."
The last prayer we notice is the unavailable prayer. There is a great latitude allowed us in the postal matters of our government, but there are a few things which cannot even get into the mail-bag. Sharp-edged tools and corroding acids, no matter how securely wrapped, will not be transported through the mail; these are put in a separate box and sent to the "dead-letter office," or, they are captured by the first postmaster that handles them. Many of our prayers, if answered, might be blessings to us, but they would fall like a shower of daggers upon our neighbors. Sometimes in our prayers we halfway complain of the strange providence which has befallen us, and argue the case with God; then the prayer is full of sharp-pointed arrows. Is it at all strange that kind answers are not returned? The corroding acid of selfishness or sensuality or pride is sometimes in our prayer. Such a prayer is lost on the way. It is poured out in mid-air. It is never answered, and well for us it is not. No legally "stamped," sincerely directed, and well meaning prayer is ever lost. The answer may be delayed, but the prayer is "on file."—The Advance.
VENTILATION AND LIGHT IN CHURCHES.
By Talmage
WE want more common sense in the building of churches. The idea of adaptiveness is always paramount in any other kind of structure. If bankers meet together and they resolve to put up a building, it is especially adapted to banking purposes; if a manufacturing company put up a building, it is adapted to manufacturing purposes. But adaptiveness is not always the question in the rearing of churches. In many of our churches we want more light, more room, more ventilation, more comfort. Vast sums of money are expended on ecclesiastical structures, and men sit down in them, and you ask a man how he likes the church. He says, "I like it very well, but I can't hear." As though a shawl factory were good for everything but making shawls! The voice of the preacher dashes against the pillars. Men sit down under the shadows of the Gothic arches, and shiver, and they feel they must be getting religion, or something else, they feel so uncomfortable. Oh! my friends, we want more common sense in the rearing of churches. There is no cause for lack of light when the heavens are full of it; no excuse for lack of fresh air when the world swims in it. It ought to be an expression not only of our spiritual happiness, but of our physical comfort, when we say, "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord God of Hosts. A day in thy courts is better than a thousand."
NEWTON AND VOLTAIRE ON RAILWAY TRAVELING.
THE following, by the Rev. J. Craig, will demonstrate the follies of infidel sneers, and should teach us that the future, at least, may reveal what our philosophers never dreamed of:—
"Sir Isaac Newton wrote a work upon the prophet Daniel, and another upon the book of Revelation; in one of which he said that in order to fulfill certain prophecies before a certain date was terminated, namely, one thousand two hundred and sixty years, there would be a mode of traveling of which the men of his time had no conception; nay, that the knowledge of men would be so increased that they would be able to travel at the rate of fifty miles an hour. Voltaire, who did not believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, got hold of this and said: 'Now, look at that mighty mind of Newton, who discovered gravity, and told us such marvels for us all to admire. When he became an old man, and got into his dotage, he began to study that book called the Bible; and it seems that, in order to credit its fabulous nonsense, we must believe that the knowledge of mankind will be so increased that we shall be able to travel at the rate of fifty miles an hour. The poor dotard,' exclaimed the philosophic infidel Voltaire, in the self-complacency of his pity. But who is the dotard now?"
Live for Something
THOUSANDS of men breathe, move and live; pass off the stage of life, and are heard of no more. Why? They did not a particle of good in the world, and none were blessed by them; none could point to them as the instruments of their redemption; not a line they wrote, not a word they spoke, could be recalled, and so they perished—their light went out in the darkness, and they were not remembered more than the insect of yesterday. Will you thus live and die? Live for something. Do good and leave behind you a monument of virtue that the storms of time can never destroy. Write your name by kindness, love and mercy, on the hearts of the thousands you come in contact with year by year, and you will never be forgotten. No, your name, your deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as brightly on the earth as stars in heaven.