Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 7, 1902
TILL SHILOH COME.
By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle
MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE.
Old winter came, with robe of snow,
Like dreary winding sheet of death;
He touched my beauteous flowers, when, lo,
They faded 'neath his chilling breath.
How long, how long shall winter reign,
And earth be filled with blight and pain?
“Till Shiloh come; ’twill not be long
Till saddened lips burst forth in song.”
Death’s angel came; sad was my heart;
I saw her stretch her icy hand,
Earth’s dearest ties were wrenched apart
Obedient to her stern command.
“How long, how long,” again I said,
“Ere Death’s dark land shall yield her dead?”
“Wait, patient wait; the dismal tomb
Must hold her dust—till Shiloh come.”
I looked o’er earth; Oppression’s hand
Was spreading poverty and woe;
And bloody Crime, with lawless band,
Accounted every man his foe.
“How long?” I pleaded still, with tears.
“Take heart, O soul; the day-spring nears,
When He whose right it is to reign
Shall grasp earth’s scepter once again.
Then leap, ye lame, and shout, ye dumb!
And watch and wait—till Shiloh come.”
OUR FAILURE TO FULFILL THE SAVIOUR'S COMMISSION.
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.”
What has prevented this promise of the gospel from being fulfilled in all who believe in Christ? Why has not the truth of the living God filled the hearts of the church-members with power, that it may be carried to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples? Why has not the plan of divine benevolence, with its saving, restoring qualities, brought a much larger number to the standard of loyalty to God? The reason is the unfaithfulness of those who have a knowledge of the truth. They have not fulfilled the commission given them by Christ. They have not taken the truth to those who are in the darkness of error. Their selfishness has placed the candlestick of truth under a bushel.
The condition of the world to-day is represented by the condition of the world in Noah's day. Then, we read, “the earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. . . . And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. . . . Behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.”
The forms of wickedness existing in Noah's day are current in the world to-day. God's word declares: “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Noah was given a message to give to the antediluvians. But they scorned his warning. So to-day the message that God has sent to be given to the world will be rejected. But this message must be given. The people of God are to make every other interest secondary to its proclamation.
Every provision has been made for the salvation of the fallen race. All power has been given to Him who offered himself as a sacrifice for the redemption of every son and daughter of Adam. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
Christ came to this world and stood before men with the hoarded love of eternity. The whole ocean of divine love was flowing forth from its great center. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were working in behalf of man. Every power in the heavenly universe was put into activity to carry forward the plan of redemption. The cross of Calvary was erected, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The Just suffered for the unjust, that He might become the justifier of all who believe in Him. He took human nature upon himself, that He might be a partaker with us in all our temptations. He clothed His divinity with humanity, that by enduring the agony of the cross, He might make His soul an offering for sin.
Christ died to save a selfish world from the sure consequences of selfishness. He has opened His heart in love and pity and sympathy for the whole world. He invites fallen beings to come to Him and receive full and free forgiveness. His character stands before the heavenly universe free from every taint of selfishness. He has made a complete sacrifice to bring to men and women that benevolence which dwells in His own heart. He has sent His Holy Spirit to impress the mind and heart, to lead men to love their fellow men as Christ has loved them.
Infinite benevolence is pouring out all its treasures for the saving of souls from sin, that man may be made one with God. God calls upon human agencies to co-operate with Him in the carrying out of His great purpose. The Lord has given to His people the privilege of carrying forward in the earth the work which He did while here. He calls upon us to co-operate with Him in restoring and saving our fellow men. Christ desires, by the fullness of His power, so to strengthen His Church that the whole world will be encircled with an atmosphere of grace.
God wants those who have accepted the truth and have identified themselves with His chosen people, elect and precious, to unite with Christ in His work of drawing men, women, and children to the cross of Calvary. Behold the Man who said, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” He arose from the dead, and over the rent sepulcher of Joseph proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life. I was dead, but behold, I am alive for evermore.”
The cross teaches the lesson of self-sacrifice. As by faith men behold the royal Sufferer, the conviction comes to them that the sure result of sin is death. Let the believing soul stand beside the cross of Calvary, and with a heart swelling with grateful love, cry, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” Behold Him! Say it with heart and soul and voice. Induce the sinner to look. When his gaze is arrested, amazed at such wonderful condescension, he steps nearer, and learns of the Saviour the lesson all must learn,—the lesson of meekness and lowliness. The believing soul sees Jesus as He is, and beholding, is changed into His image. The experience of those who are truly converted testifies that God is the author of eternal salvation, and that the grace of Christ is wisdom and power.2
Christ loves the human race; and in every action of His life He has expressed this love. He calls upon men to love one another as He has loved them. His saving power and love are ever to be the theme of those who believe in God. Just before His ascension, He gave to His disciples the commission, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
Thus was given to the disciples a most precious trust. They were to be the executors of the will in which Christ has bequeathed to the world the treasure of eternal life. They realized the responsibility of their work. They knew that they held in their hands the bread of life for a famishing world, and they went everywhere preaching the word. The love of Christ constrained them, and they could not forbear breaking the bread of life to all who were in need. The last words of the Saviour were constantly sounding in their ears.
In the trust given to the first disciples, each believer has a share. Each one is to be an executor of the Saviour's will. Each one has been given sacred truth to give to the earnest seeker. Every believer is to be a laborer together with God.
I appeal to all who claim to believe the truth, to realize the importance of the message God has given us to bear to the world. In city after city self-sacrificing work must be done. Province after province must be enlightened. The truth is to go forth as a lamp that burneth. Those who profess to know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent, must not fall into the cold, selfish practices of the world. Their zeal must not die. They must not allow spiritual declension, with all its baleful influence, to come in. Church-members are in great danger of forgetting the peculiar benefits and blessing which have been given them, and the responsibility which rests upon them,—in danger of turning away from Christ and allowing their thoughts to run in worldly channels for the sake of gain.
The gospel will not sustain a final defeat; it will triumph. But for years it has been evident that selfishness, under the form of godliness, has been entering the Church. The perverse ways of Satan have taken the place of the ways of God. Unholy difference of opinion, under the garb of zeal for religion, has taken the place of Christian charity. By their bigotry, professed Christians have violated the principles which should ever be sacredly cherished. Criticism and denunciation have taken the place of sympathy and forbearance. An inquisition has been set up among those who should be free from all overbearing.
God calls for the extinction of this satanic devising. The love of Christ in the heart forbids all oppression. Remember His words to the disciples when they desired Him to permit them to call down fire from heaven upon those who did not give Him due honor. “He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” Those who work for the Redeemer must cultivate Christian love. But for years, some, even among those who claim to believe present truth, have acted in an oppressive manner, cherishing in the heart that fearful, hateful thing which has led them to exclude their brethren from their fellowship and their councils, because they supposed them wanting in some respects, as though the Lord has made them judges of character. The spirit has been entertained which presumes to limit the Holy One in the judicial working of His grace. In the place of coming close to those for whom the Lord has seen fit to work, men have stood apart, saying, “I am holier than thou. I cannot connect with you in religious service. Your ways and my ways do not agree.”
The Lord Jesus Christ is our judge and our lawgiver. Let those in God's service turn from everything that will mar their usefulness. A hasty temper, a lack of patience, an inclination to speak hastily,—these are things against which the Lord's servants must guard. They must remember that He who has appointed them their work, says to them, “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.”
Be very careful how you attempt to number Israel. Not to you nor to any other man has God given this work. You make a great mistake when you put your human measurement upon any of your brethren. You cannot read the heart. It is probable that the one with whom you find fault is more righteous in the sight of God than you are. “Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” “For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law, . . . in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”
“Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest His will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou God? for the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? and shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
This instruction is for those who are living amid the perils of these last days. Be careful how you measure your brother. Take heed to yourself, and put no occasion of stumbling in your brother's way. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
Let us make diligent efforts to serve God. We need to reach a higher standard. The truth must not be kept in the outer court. Bring its principles into the inner sanctuary of the soul. Make Christ the guide of every action. Separate from the soul all selfishness. Hate it; for it is the destroyer of peace and godliness. “Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” The grace of our Saviour is the grand, healing influence which conforms the life to the life of God.
Forget Your Neighbor's Faults
If you would increase your happiness and prolong your life, forget your neighbor's faults. Forget all the slander you have ever heard. Forget the temptations. Forget the fault-finding, and give little thought to the cause which provoked it. Forget the peculiarities of your friends, and remember only the good points which make you fond of them. Forget all personal quarrels or histories you may have heard by accident, and which, if repeated, would seem a thousand times worse than they are. Obliterate everything disagreeable from yesterday; start out with a clean sheet to-day, and write upon it, for sweet memory's sake, only those things which are lovely and lovable. Thus you will make life better worth living.—Household.
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.
By A. T. Robinson
ELDER A. T. ROBINSON
(Dunedin, New Zealand.)
There is probably no portion of Scripture made to do more valiant service in support of the popular theory of man's conscious state in death than is the parable of our Saviour as recorded in the sixteenth chapter of Luke's gospel, verses 19–31.
This passage of Scripture therefore calls for a close and careful examination.
First of all, let it be noted that it is recognized by all as only a parable. In the parables spoken by our Saviour, as also those recorded in the Old Testament, a wide latitude is taken in the selection of object lessons by which lessons of spiritual truth are enforced. But no reasonable man would select one of these object lessons, making it the basis of an argument in support of an important doctrine. For instance, who would think of using the parable recorded in Judges 9:7–15, to prove a conscious state of existence among the “trees of the wood,” that they were endowed with the power of speech, etc.; or, that the parable recorded in 2 Kings 14:9 is proof that the “thistle that was in Lebanon” and “the cedar that was in Lebanon” were really endowed with the attributes of consciousness and human speech.
Let us notice some of the points stated in the parable under consideration. “The certain rich man” and “the certain beggar” are chosen to represent the two classes who have lived in this world, and who will continue to do so until the end of time—the one class living for self and selfish gratification, thus receiving their good things in this life; the other denying self, living the life of Him who gave himself for us, and thus laying hold on eternal life.
The statement is made concerning both the rich man and the beggar that they died. That is the common lot of mankind, both righteous and wicked. The Bible speaks very clearly and definitely concerning man's state in death. “The dead know not anything.” “In that very day [the day of death] his thoughts perish.” This is declared to be true of “wise men . . . likewise the fool and the brutish person, perish and leave their wealth to others.”
In the parable it is stated “that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.” Probably no one would attempt to make this mean the literal bosom of the good old patriarch mentioned, but rather the place of final reward of the class represented by the beggar. Another scripture states concerning that class, that in the end of this world, “He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matt. 24:31. From other passages we learn that this will be when the dead in Christ shall have heard “the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” John 5:25, 28. And “then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Matt. 13:43.
We are told in the parable that “the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
From the study of many other scriptures which might be cited, we learn that after the reign of3the saints in heaven for one thousand years, following the second coming of Christ, “the holy city, New Jerusalem,” with all the redeemed therein, will come down upon the earth (Rev. 21:2, 10, 16; Zech. 14:4); that the wicked dead, who will all be raised at that time (Rev. 20:5), will be gathered around the holy city, with its fifteen hundred miles of transparent walls, through which they will then be able to look, and “see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and ye yourselves [they themselves] thrust out,” Luke 13:28. There will then come down fire from God out of heaven and consume them. Rev. 20:9. This will be the state of torment in which the class represented by the rich man will lift up their eyes, and, looking through the transparent walls of the New Jerusalem, will see inside the city of the redeemed all who are represented by the beggar in the parable. For a description of the scenes here referred to, please read the following passages: Rev. 20:7–9; Mal. 4:1; Obadiah 16; Ps. 37:34; Luke 13:28.
The Saviour doubtless had before Him those who believed the popular error, so commonly held in our own day, of the consciousness of man in death, and that at death the immortal spirits of the righteous go to heaven, and the immortal spirits of the wicked into a place of eternal torment. How natural, therefore, that the Great Teacher should borrow this object lesson from what will literally take place, in the case of both classes represented, using it as a lesson of warning, as though the whole scene were then taking place.
There are many serious difficulties in the way of making this parable teach the popular error of the righteous going to heaven at death, and the wicked to a place of torment. For example, it is freely admitted by the advocates of this theory that the body, with all its parts—all that is material—goes into the grave, and that it is only the spirit which goes away to its place of reward. But, be it noted, the rich man's “eyes,” his “tongue,” and Lazarus's “finger,” all material parts of their bodies, are represented as being present when the scene here described takes place.
One of the great practical lessons for all, as taught in this parable, is the great importance of heeding the word of God. Those who reject the plain “Thus saith the Lord” as found in the written word, would not hear the testimony of one who should be raised from the dead. The Pharisees of old time became so hardened in their rejection of the truth, that, instead of hearing the testimony of Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead by the Life-giver, who was then in their midst, they sought to murder Lazarus, for the purpose of getting rid of his testimony. Millions of professed Christians would treat a similar witness in the same way in our own day.
THE OLD-NEW COMMANDMENT.
By GEO. W. SPIES.
GEO. W. SPIES.
(Lima, Ohio.)
We read in the first epistle of John: “A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.” 1 John 2:8. The verses immediately following this statement show that this new commandment enjoins upon us the duty of loving the brethren. This new commandment had been given before by Jesus himself, on the night of His betrayal, just prior to His crucifixion. He said: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13:34. From these scriptures it is evident that the new commandments of both Jesus and John are the same; namely, that we “love one another.”
The beloved disciple also wrote concerning another commandment; he says: “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning.” 1 John 2:7. And in the next chapter he defines this old commandment as follows: “For this is the commandment [margin] that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” 1 John 3:11. In his second epistle (verse 5), John confirms this definition by saying, “Not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.” It is evident from the scriptures last quoted that this old commandment is the same as the new, that we “love one another.”
But how can the commandment to “love one another” be both a new commandment and an old one?—It is a new commandment in that it is a new experience to the individual who accepts Christ (2 Cor. 5:17); and it is an old commandment in that it has always been, even from the beginning, man’s duty to love his brother. “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart,” and, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” are not duties which originated with the so-called Christian dispensation. Lev. 19:17, 18. Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother, violated the commandment which we have heard from the beginning, because he did not love his brother. 1 John 3:11, 12.
It is evident, then, that the new commandment given by John is not different by nature from the old one given in the beginning, but identical with it. The new commandment has not superseded the old, but is simply a restating of the same truth. The principle of loving our neighbor as ourselves is one of the divine principles that control the actions of God’s children in every age of the world. May the Lord implant it deep in our hearts.
TRUE BASIS OF EDUCATION.
By John A. Brunson
ELDER JOHN A. BRUNSON.
The purpose of true education is the restoration of the image of God in the soul. This qualifies man for heavenly citizenship, and restores to him the rights and privileges which he originally enjoyed when he bore the image of God. But since the image of God in the soul was marred by sin, and all sin is self, it is clear that self, the “old man,” controlled by the mind of the flesh, must be crucified and put out of the way before the restoration of the divine image can be accomplished. The image of God can never be restored in that soul which is dominated by selfish desires and actuated by selfish motives. Self is sin. Self-serving, though it bear the label of Christian, is a service of sin. A self-centered life, however polished, cultured, refined, and attractive its possessor may be, is a life controlled by sinful principles. A man is a sinner because he is selfish, rather than selfish because he is a sinner. Every solicitation to sin is in some way an appeal to self, and every sin is a yielding for the sake of self.
The image of God, which proper education seeks to restore, is the opposite of self and sin. Its predominant controlling principle is love, unselfish love,—love that suffereth long and is kind, that envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, that beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Then, since the grand fundamental principle of the divine image is unselfish love, and since the restoration of this image in man is the only true purpose of education, it must follow that the only true basis of education is unselfishness. Upon this basis alone can real Christian character be built, and education has to do with character building.
Consider the words of Christ found in John 12:24 and 25: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” Mark well the words, “If it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” What a clear statement, and forceful illustration, of the principle of fruit-bearing through unselfish sacrifice. Note also the following words, and ponder them well,—ponder them upon bended knee till your selfish heart is all subdued, and proud, ease-loving self bows humbly and submissively in recognition of the principle they enforce: “He that loveth his life shall lose it.” Behold, here we have loss, suffering, death, as the result of self-preservation. But observe what follows: “He that hateth his life . . . shall keep it.” Life, joy, happiness, through self-giving! Then truly we can affirm that while self-preservation is the selfishly recognized first law of nature, self-giving is in very deed the first law of grace.
This basic principle of unselfishness must be carefully, prayerfully, and assiduously inculcated in all our educational institutions, from high grade college to modest church school. The teacher must, with deep earnestness and heaven-born tact, insist upon it in precept; he must, with becoming meekness and Christlike gentleness, exemplify it in his daily conduct. A school for Christian education must have Christian educators. The enduring principles of Christian education are most attractive and effective when embodied in Christian character.
But while we insist upon the necessity of establishing and conducting our schools upon the basis of unselfishness in order that true Christian workers may be developed, we must not forget to mention that other school of divine origin, which is more important than all, more enduring in its results upon character formation, farthest reaching in its effects. I speak of the HOME. Mother and father are the child’s first teachers. They, by precept and example, make first impressions upon his growing and expanding soul. Father is the child’s ideal of manhood, mother his ideal of womanhood. If father and mother are selfish and covetous, exhibiting a world-loving, money-seeking spirit, a like disposition will be developed in their offspring. If they are impatient, irritable, fretful, so will be their children. But if they are kind and gentle, firmly discreet and discreetly firm, manifesting in their daily life true, discriminating unselfishness, their children will imbibe from contact this great truth of life. Be unselfish. Act unselfishly. Inculcate unselfishness. Be, do, teach.
Teach your children to serve, not to be served; to give to others, not to expect to receive; to contribute, by self-denial, to others’ needs, not to expect others constantly to contribute to their selfish lusts. Christmas festivities, birthday presents, school prizes, are all wrong, because they encourage selfishness. Teach your children to give at Christmas time to those who are poor and needy. The money that you would spend in beautiful presents to gratify their selfish greed, put into their hands that they themselves may spend it to relieve the suffering of some poor unfortunates, or contribute to missionary work. Teach them to celebrate the anniversary of their birth, not by expecting “to be remembered,” but by remembering with substantial aid the fallen and distressed. Urge them to adopt as the guiding principle of life the Saviour’s words, “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” and be careful to set the example.
The light and privilege of a Christian home should be in the unselfish delight of ministering to others, not in the selfish pleasure of receiving. It cannot be denied that our home training fosters selfishness in our children. It is wrong. We must reform, if we love our children. Selfishness4is the source of all unhappiness.
The yielding spirit of fond, indulgent parents is destroying the courage, hardihood, and happiness of our race. I repeat it: Parents, we must reform. The cardinal principle of true Christian unselfishness which we wisely demand in our schools, can never be established till it is first taught and practiced in our homes. The child is a son before he is a pupil. He is a member of the family before he is a member of the school. He gains impressions from parent before he does from professor. Come, let us humble ourselves. Let us co-operate with our schools by establishing in our homes the principles of unselfishness. Then home, church school, academy, and college will all be parts of a harmonious whole, a system of Christian education.
100 TO 1.
In view of the oft-repeated statement that there should be one hundred workers where there is but one, it might not be out of order to call attention to a statement, by the same author, which sets forth, in no uncertain language, one of the primary causes of this poverty of laborers. “In the common walks of life there is many a man patiently treading the round of daily toil, unconscious that he possesses powers which, if called into action, would raise him to an equality with the world's most honored men. The touch of a skillful hand is needed to arouse those dormant faculties. It was such men that Jesus called to be His co-laborers, . . . “If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.”—“Desire of Ages,” pages 250, 251.
Comment would be superfluous.
Scriptures which Discountenance Life Insurance
IN ANY OTHER COMPANY.
1. “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Col. 3:3, 4.
[The life of the believer is in the hands of the “Preserver of men” (Job 7:20), the best security that mortals can have, and that which is committed unto Him he will preserve unto the great day. 2 Tim. 1:12.]
2. “Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” Jer. 17:5.
[Life Insurance, in a very seductive sense, is a species of trusting in man, and those who do this do “depart from the Lord.”]
3. “Lo, the people shall dwell alone [the people of God] and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” Num. 23:9.
[Let men of the world band together in cliques and human organizations, if they wish; but God’s children should keep separate, and while they are IN the world, be not OF the world.]
4. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; . . . come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, . . . and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:14–18.
[Those who have God for their Father, and are his sons and daughters by the Spirit of adoption, have a far better protection than can be obtained of any Life Insurance company on earth.]
5. “Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in Me.” Jer. 49:11.
[This is the Lord’s specific command to his people; and it is infinitely better than life insurance policies for widows and orphans.]
6. “Casting ALL your care upon Him; for he careth for you.” 1 Pet. 5:7.
[This text is very direct; every syllable is anti-life insurance in its meaning.]
7. “Be content with such things as ye have; for He hath said: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb. 13:5.
[In Greek this text is exceedingly emphatic; it has five negatives, thus: “No, I will not leave thee; no, no, I will not forsake thee.” It is the five-fold guaranty of the Eternal.]
8. “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; YE ARE OF MORE VALUE THAN MANY SPARROWS.”
“Consider the ravens; for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: HOW MUCH MORE ARE YE BETTER THAN THE FOWLS?”
“Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to-day in the field, and to-morrow is cast into the oven; HOW MUCH MORE WILL HE CLOTHE YOU, O ye of little faith?” Luke 12:6, 7, 24, 27, 28.
[Says the psalmist: “I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Psalms 37:25. An active worker of the Young Men’s Christian Association once testified that of the multitude of tramps he had met, not one ever claimed to be a devoted Christian.]
9. WE SHOULD TRUST IN GOD. (Ps. 37:5.) “Trust in him AT ALL TIMES.” (Ps. 62:8.) “Trust in the Lord, . . . and verily thou shalt be fed.” (Ps. 37:3.) “Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust.” (Ps. 40:4.) “Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” (Prov. 29:25.) “He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.” (Prov. 28:25.) “It is BETTER to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in princes.” (Ps. 118:8, 9.) “The word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in him.” (Ps. 18:30.) “They that trust in the Lord shall be as MOUNT ZION, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever.” (Ps. 125:1.) “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5.) “Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is EVERLASTING STRENGTH.” Isa. 26:4.
[In this list of texts we have commands, promises, and results. The Saviour says: “SEEK YE FIRST the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things [all needed temporal things] shall be added unto you.” Matt. 6:33. The true child of God has no use for any earthly life insurance, for he is already the child of a KING, and an heir of all things.]
Those who would like this circular to hand out to others, can have them sent post-paid through the mail for 50 cents a hundred. Liberal discount in large quantities. Address.
BATTLE CREEK MISSIONARY SOCIETY, Battle Creek, Mich.
The Fragrance of a Sweet Life
By Ada D. Wellman
TAKING a garment from a place where it had lain for years, I observed about it a trace of the perfume that had been used with it years before. Thus does the fragrance of a sweet life ever afterward cling to one who has once come in contact with it. MRS. ADA D. WELLMAN.
1. It is the oldest life insurance company in existence, having been in successful operation for about 6,000 years, in spite of the determined opposition of men and demons.
2. The King's Royal has no test by Medical Examiners, for policies are as readily issued to those suffering under deadly maladies, and to the lame and halt, the dumb and blind, the deaf and unsound, as to those in perfect health. A policy was taken out for the thief on the cross, and for Jonah in the whale's belly. Also the age is never taken into the account by the Royal.
3. This is the only company which insures against the fires of the great Judgment Day.
4. It is the only company which insures against shipwreck in the River of Death.
5. This Company permits its policy-holders to travel and do business in any quarter of the earth, from the frozen climes of the North to the plague-infected regions of the South. It will insure a wage-worker on a dangerous machine, or a nurse in a cholera ward, as readily as those who follow any other calling.
6. The King's Royal insures a man for more than he is actually worth.
7. The Present Benefits in this company are a hundred-fold of things needful to the body, in houses, lands, friends, and that “peace which passeth all understanding.”
8. But the climax of expectation will be reached when the ACTUARY shall gather the myriads of policy-holders, and bestow on them a life that will measure with the life of God.