WHEN we accept Christ, we become sons and daughters of God; and as soon as we become members of that great family, all the promised blessings are ours. They are to be possessed by all the children.
Christ imparts both spiritual and physical life, and exhorts his children to go forth and impart the gospel truths to dying souls, thus setting at liberty the captives of Satan. The Father uses finite men as channels for his working to manifest to the world his holiness, meekness, and mercy. To all who love the truths of God is given the commission: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. . . . Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. . . . O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” Isaiah 40.
Thus the Lord entreats his children to labor zealously to bring souls weighted down with sorrow, sin, and disease to his rest. “He can not be satisfied until the human race are reclaimed, and re-instated in their holy privileges as his sons and daughters.” Let us heed the entreaty to awake from our lethargy, shake off listlessness and indifference, and join in the work of the hour. Let us join in a united effort to scatter the seed. May every church and every member of every church join in the effort to bring the all-important truths directly to the attention of all those in darkness, thus finishing the work. When the Lord himself gives the plans for labor, and goes before his servants, shall we not heed the command to move forward? “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd.” “I am with you alway.”
Seeing the Day
By E. K. Slade
E. K. SLADE
WHILE it is true that “seeing is believing” in the world’s way of teaching and knowing, it is not the true and sure and safe way. Where eternal life is at stake and eternal interests are involved in how we see and know truth relating thereto, it is important that we see and know aright. The divine way is directly opposite to the human. Believing is seeing with the Christian learner. “Through faith we understand,” and “I will guide thee with mine eye,” are promises that Heaven holds out to him who hungers for truth in such a time as this. Eternal vigilance is the price of life, and true vigilance is seeing by believing.
Every truth that is known as it should be is known by faith, and in such a time of peril and precious privilege the right way is the only way. Faith will be based upon a word that is believable and safe, a true “anchor” in a surging sea. He who has said, “The Lord shall guide thee continually,” knows that “it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Fatal errors will be pressed to the front to take the place of vital, timely truth, in such a way that they will be seen to be error only by seeing and knowing the truth.
The people of whom it may be said, “Here are they that keep [practise] . . . the faith of Jesus,” will not be in darkness in such a time as this. They will see the truth for this time. They will see the great truth for this time to be, “The day of the Lord is at hand.” Concerning that event, one who sees, will not be in darkness. He will “see the day approaching.” He will be of those who, seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, will be “looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God.” In the great events and developments of this time will be seen omens of the nearing end. By believing, it will be seen that Jesus will come in this generation, which has nearly passed away.
The mighty enemies of truth will bring to the front most artful deceptions to prevent the people of God from seeing this; but faith, which will be based upon a knowledge of the truth for this time, will see the day in its nearness in spite of all that is intended to obscure the vision and divert the mind from the great and vital issues for this time.
In all the vastness of eternity and immensity of space, there never has been, and never can be, an issue so great as this issue, nor a time of such importance as the present time, nor a place of such intense interest as this world in this time. The impending doom and the rich reward are about to be realized. Our only safety and salvation in such a time is in seeing and knowing and heeding and heralding the clear-cut message that is due to the world, and nearly past due.
Union With Christ
By Dr. T. L. Cuyler
JOINING the church is one thing, but joining the Lord Jesus is quite another thing; and only those who have done the second have any clear right to do the first. The main cause of inconsistency and failure in the life of too many professors of religion is that they make a formal union with the church without any heart-union to Christ. Almost their solitary act of loyalty was their standing up to respond to a church covenant before the pulpit. From that time onward their divine Master had no more of them than their idle name on the roll of his followers. They enlisted; they entered their names on the record and straightway are heard of no more. They made no tie to anything but an organized body of professed Christians; they did not knit their souls to the Saviour.
“But am I not to join the church?” inquires some one who is indulging a hope of pardon and of the new birth. Yes, friend, join the church, provided that you have already joined Jesus. If you unite yourself to nothing stronger than to a company of frail, fallible fellow creatures, and expect them to tow you along by the power of their fellowship and prayers, then you have but a poor chance of reaching the ‘desired haven.’ But genuine conversion unites your heart in clinging faith to the Friend of sinners. When you take the step of confessing this faith before men, you literally and truly join the Lord. You join your weakness to his strength; you join your ignorance to his wisdom, your unworthiness to his merits, your frailty to his enduring might, and your poverty to his boundless wealth. The fair peasant girl who married an emperor of Russia became a sharer of his palace and his crown. When you wed your heart and hand to Jesus, you become a sharer in his kingdom and crown, a joint heir with Christ! The joint heir has the promise of the Father’s love, of the indwelling of the Spirit, of the peace of God, of pleasures forevermore, and of the society of all the just made perfect throughout eternity! ‘Where I am, there ye may be also.’
What a glorious thought this is! What a different conception it is from that of merely “joining a church” of fellow creatures. You really join Christ. Your heart joins his heart. Your life is knit by hidden links to his; because he lives, you shall live also. Your destiny is bound to his; and you shall be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation. If you have a real faith, however feeble, confess it. If you have renounced sin and self and come to Jesus, then “join yourself to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.”—Dr. T. L. Cuyler.
Send Them to Bed With a Kiss
O MOTHERS, so weary, discouraged,
Worn out with the cares of the day,
You often grow cross and impatient,
Complain of the noise and the play;
For the day brings so many vexations,
So many things going amiss;
But, mothers, whatever may vex you,
Send the children to bed with a kiss!
The dear little feet wander often,
Perhaps, from the pathway of right;
The dear little hands find new mischief
To try you from morning till night;
But think of the desolate mothers,
Who’d give all the world for your bliss,
And, as thanks for your infinite blessings,
Send the children to bed with a kiss!
For some day their noise will not vex you,
The silence will hurt you far more;
You will long for the sweet children’s voices,
For a sweet childish face at the door,
And to press a child’s face to your bosom.
You’d give all the world for just this;
For the comfort ’twill bring you in sorrow,
Send the children to bed with a kiss!
—New Orleans Picayune.
God's Beauty in the Earth
By Edward Herbruck
It is not often that we think of the beauty of the Lord when we are permitted to look upon some scene of surpassing beauty in nature. We do not in any way connect God with it, as though these varying forms of glory could take on their expressive beauty without the touch of his finger. Our minds have gone out in imagination in the beauty of the Lord in the city of our God, and with his servant have a desire to dwell in the house of the Lord, all the days of our life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. Weary with the march of life, and hearts burning with intense desire for the rest above, our spirits have reveled amid the glory of the “sweet fields, beyond the swelling flood,” and we have quieted our souls by gazing upon the beauty of God as seen in the holy city with all its indescribable glory. O my soul, why art thou cast down? Is the heaven above thee dark and gloomy? look up. There is the land which imagination has often pictured to you, but which eye has never seen,—the land of perfect beauty,—beauty such as we have never beheld here. There you shall be satisfied, the imperfections which so annoyed you shall not mar the even serenity of that place. How appropriate the prayer then: “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,”—the beauty of heaven, its perfection and bliss. A soul surrounded by this will need no greater glory to inspire it to adoration and praise.
It is not so much the beauty of the Lord in his holy temple that we wish to speak of now as his beauty in the earth, in this material house, and especially at this season of the year. How lavish God is with his beauty now! A short time ago his face shone out in the brightness of the summer, making the soul glad, but now he has put a tinge of sunset sadness upon the land—and the heart yearns. What multitudinous forms of beauty we see in these autumnal days! The summer gave us more of a monotony in color, but now we can not turn our eyes but we see gray, green, purple, crimson, and gold all blended in most perfect harmony. This is the beauty of God in the earth. It is true it is nothing like the beauty of God above, for that is perfect, but this is a revelation to imperfect creatures.
Who can move about the fields and forests to-day, and not be impressed with the beauty of the Lord? These autumn woods, these meadows green again after their summer mowing, these hillsides all on fire with the burning sumac, these low-hung clouds, all declare God to be a master artist, every touch of whose brush leaves a mark of beauty. The devout mind will rise from the contemplation of these pictures to the hand of him who gave them form. God is love, and he is beauty. His beauty is impressed upon everything. It is impossible for us to look upon such scenes as we have been permitted to look upon this autumn, and not say that the Being that made these must be a Being of wondrous beauty himself; he must be perfection.—Edward Herbruck.
Rules for Winter Flowering.
No collection of winter flowering plants can nowadays be considered as complete if it does not include such bulbs as Roman and Holland hyacinths, narcissuses, and Bermuda lilies, better known as the “Easter lily,” and catalogued as L. Harrisi. No flowers are easier to grow, if properly treated, and none afford more pleasure. I have not included the tulip in the list, because I find it quite difficult to grow well under amateur treatment. The care expended on it will give much greater returns when bestowed on more tractable plants.
Bulbs in pots demand a light, rich, rather sandy soil. Garden loam answers the purpose very well, if lightened by a liberal admixture of sand and well-rotted manure. Work it over until it is fine and mellow. If you can not obtain cow manure,—the ideal fertilizer for all bulbs,—use bone meal in the proportion of a coffee-cupful to a half bushel of soil.
I would advise putting several bulbs in one pot. A six-inch pot will accommodate at least four hyacinths of ordinary size. Five or six narcissuses can be planted in a seven-inch pot. It doesn’t matter if they touch one another. The soil below them will supply all the nutriment that is needed. Both these bulbs should be pressed down about half their depth into the soil. Do not cover them.
If you can have but one kind of hyacinth, by all means choose the Roman. Its flowers are loosely arranged along the stalk, and are therefore much more graceful than those of the Holland varieties, which crowd one another, so thickly are they set along the one stalk which each bulb produces. The Roman sorts throw up several stalks from each bulb, thereby producing a finer effect, from an artistic standpoint.
My method of growing the Bermuda lily is this: I put three bulbs in each seven or eight-inch pot. I fill the pot about one-third full of compost. On this I place the bulbs, crowding them down to firm the soil somewhat. Then I cover them lightly, after which I water them well. I then set them away in a dark, cool place to make roots. When the top begins to grow, I bring them to the light. As the top elongates, I fill in about it with earth. I continue to do this until the pot is filled to within an inch of its brim. The reason for this treatment is this: lilies have two sets of roots, one from the base of the bulb, the other from the stalk above the bulb. A lily planted on or near the surface of the soil in a pot would be unable to develop its stalk roots, because there would be nothing for them to take hold of. But by low planting, as described, and filling in from time to time, we give these roots a chance to develop properly, and the plant is greatly benefited by the treatment.
After potting hyacinths and narcissuses, water them well, and place in a cool, dark place, as advised for lilies. I would not advise a place where they will freeze. A room or place where the temperature is low, and can be kept so, answers all purposes, as such a condition favors the development of roots, and does not encourage the growth of top. What we aim at is to secure a root development before top growth begins, thus imitating the processes of nature by which roots are formed in fall for the support of the plant in spring, while flowering. If we pot a bulb and place it at once in the light, the growth of top begins before roots have made much development, and the bulbs often fail to produce flowers, or give such inferior ones that they are not enjoyable. Be sure to leave your bulbs in cold storage until roots have formed, if you want fine flowers from them.—Home and Flowers.
Evening Prayer
By S. Trevor Francis
HOLY Saviour, go before us
In life's journey, dark or bright;
Spread thy tabernacle o'er us
Ere we close our eyes to-night.
— S. Trevor Francis.
Drink More Water
By George Thomas Palmer
THE health department of the city of Chicago — in which the water supply was far in excess of the demand — found that when this water was used sparingly, the water-borne diseases increased, and that when the excess of water was allowed to escape into the sewers, the health of the city was greatly improved. The reason for this is that the refuse and disease-producing filth constantly accumulating in the sewers is washed away when the excess of water is allowed to flow therein.
The human body contains a complete sewerage system in which poisonous and disease-producing refuse is constantly gathering and jeopardizing the health. The same rule that applies to municipal sanitation will also apply to personal sanitation, and the danger of disease may be forestalled by flushing out this sewerage system with an excess of water. Just as truly as the gathering of filth from the city in the “sewerage veins” it is endangers the lives of the inhabitants, so the poisons generated by the bodily metabolism, collected in the excretory organs, will jeopardize the living cells. Every action of muscle or of nerve is accompanied by the destruction of cells, which, if not eliminated, will accumulate like clinkers in a furnace, preventing the proper performance of function. The food is taken in like fuel for the furnace, is burned, and leaves its clinkers and ashes behind, and these products of combustion in the body will choke the fire, just as in the ordinary stove.
Aside from the mere “choking of the flues,” we must bear in mind that the body is constantly generating poisons, which, if eliminated freely, will do no harm; but which, if retained, will be productive of disease. Such a poison is uric acid, which is charged justly with causing rheumatism, gout, constant headache, dizziness, and a train of other symptoms; and it must be seen that if the accumulation of refuse is the cause of such conditions, the logical means of cure is its elimination. Other “products of metabolism” create their own types of disease, and all may be prevented by the free use of water.
While we may prevent these diseases of internal origin by flushing out the products of normal digestion (poisons which in themselves are disease-producing), there is another way, just as important, but less direct, by which internal cleanliness keeps us in health. Each organ of the body, and the body as a whole, has a certain property which we call “natural immunity,” the power of antagonism to disease. This power is not unlimited, but is capable of the destruction of thousands of bacteria which invade our bodies daily from without. In this labor, however, our power of immunity is kept quite busy, and any additional drain upon it prevents its attention to its normal business. These poisons generated within can be destroyed largely by this immunizing power, but in so doing much of the power is exhausted, and we are left largely unprotected from diseases from without. In this we are able to see that the retention of refuse in the body is often the forerunner of any sort of disease; and, conversely, we can understand that the man who “keeps himself clean within” by frequent internal washing will, under ordinary circumstances, avoid the general run of diseases.
So the liberal use of pure water, by washing out the refuse and economizing in the bodily immunity, will prevent disease, and it will also act as a health saver, because in its purity it brings into the body none of those diseases which medical men know as “water borne.”
We must remember, furthermore, that water is a food, making up two thirds of the body weight, and it is far more important than any other form of food, for we may live without eating for weeks, while we can live without drinking only for a few days. In the form of blood it is water which carries the food to every part of the body; in the form of lymph it is water which carries away the poisons for excretion; in the form of blood water carries the heat to all parts of the body, as does the hot-water system in the heating of a house; and in the form of sweat it is water which evaporates from the skin, and reduces the body temperature. It is water which acts as the lubricant that permits the joints to act without friction, the lungs to slide freely in their action, the heart to glide in the pericardium, the food to be swallowed without difficulty and to move through the intestinal tract in the process of digestion; and it is water that holds the digestive ferments in solution, and permits them to come in contact with the food. These vital functions are performed in direct ratio to the amount of water taken. As the water supply is reduced, each and every function is correspondingly crippled, until, when the supply is shut off entirely, the various organs simultaneously continue their decline toward death.
We feel that a clean skin is a necessity to our claims of higher civilization. If it is essential to keep the skin clean, how much more important is it to wash regularly and thoroughly the vastly more important eliminative organs “on the inside.” Their work is far more important, and they are far more essential to health.—George Thomas Palmer, M. D., in Good Housekeeping.
Choosing a Wife
By Dr. J. R. Miller
A WISE marriage leads a man to the noblest, truest, fullest, and best life. Thousands of men owe all their success and prosperity to their choice of a wife. She has been the good angel of destiny. A man wants a wife who will make something of him, whose influence will ever inspire him to do his best. What kind of a woman should she be?
For one thing, a man does not want a mere toy wife, something too fine, too ethereal for real use. She should be a woman who can bear her share of the burdens, who can endure toil and sacrifice, and grow all the lovelier meanwhile.
Again, the wife a man chooses should be a good housekeeper. To some romantic young lovers this will seem a very prosaic feature to put into the picture. But never mind; they will not be many weeks married before they will come down out of the clouds to walk on common earth, and then, alas! if the poor woman does not prove a good housewife!
There are women who live in sentimental dreams, neglecting meanwhile the duties that lie close to their hands. Good breakfasts, dinners, and suppers, good bread, in a word, good housekeeping—far more than any young lovers dream does wedded happiness depend upon just such unromantic things as these.
One of St. Paul's special counsels for young women is that they be “keepers at home,” as our common version renders it, and that is good, too; but in the Revised Version it reads “workers at home;” that is, the place of a young wife's most sacred duty is in her own home. No doubt women have a wide field for Christlike usefulness in ministering to human need and sorrow outside; but in performing such ministry, however beautiful and noble, a wife should never neglect her divinest duties, which lie within her own doors.
Another suggestion is that in choosing a wife a young man should look for a woman of sweet temper. Nothing else can take the place of love in a home, nothing else can supply its lack. There are many women who have so much of the spirit of love and gentleness that they fill their homes as with the fragrance of heaven and the calm and peace of God.
In choosing a wife a wise young man will seek for one who will enter with zest into all his life, who will stand close beside him in the day of struggle and adversity, and who will ever inspire him to noble and brave things.
Once more, it needs no argument to prove that a young man should choose none but a good woman for his wife. A worldly man may imagine that he does not want a pious wife; but, if the truth were confessed, even such a man, down deep in his heart, would rather have for his wife a woman who reads her Bible, prays and lives a godly life, than one who is prayerless, godless, and worldly. Religion adorns and beautifies a woman's character, clothing it with tender grace. Even a prayerless man feels safer in his home if his wife kneels morning and night before God.—Dr. J. R. Miller.
Pray and Wait
“I KNOW not by what methods rare,
But this I KNOW, God answers prayer,
I KNOW not when he sends the word
That tells us fervent prayer is heard.
I KNOW it cometh soon or late;
Therefore, we need to pray and wait.
I KNOW not if the blessing sought
Will come in just the guise I thought.
I leave my prayers with him alone
Whose will is wiser than my own.”
Under a Canopy of Love
By Archbishop Trench
I SAY to thee, do thou repeat To the first man thou mayest meet In lane, highway, or open street — That he and we and all men move Under a canopy of love, As broad as the blue sky above. — Archbishop Trench.
Among the Santals
By W. A. Barlow
W. A. BARLOW
DURING the past four months the Santal work has been under the management of the Indian mission, and I have been spared from going out to collect funds for the work here at Simultala, so I can give more time to the native work.
I improve every opportunity to spread the gospel among the villagers by word and by song; I also talk every evening to those who come here for work. At present we have about twenty who are doing relief work on the roads near us, planting trees, etc., aided by the government. The schoolboys also take part in this work for a few hours daily, and are all the better students for it. Tracts in English, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, and Santali are freely circulated at the railway station and on the highways and byways.
W. A. BARLOW AND FAMILY
Since April I have devoted part of my time to conducting an industrial training school for Santal youth aged from sixteen to twenty-four years, giving them daily Bible lessons, teaching them gospel songs, etc.; a few hours each day are spent in the fruit and vegetable garden, also in the tree-planting work on the roads. Several of the students have, through God's blessing, been enabled to read the Bible and hymns for themselves. When they came to school, they could not read Santali. It is generally printed in the Roman character. After a month or two these students feel quite at home. Our earnest desire is that God will bless the readings day by day to the conversion of their souls, and raise up a number of godly school-teachers to go forth into the district to help the thousands who can not read or write, and to bring them in for Jesus.
The crops have suffered much this year from lack of rain. The poor farmers were in distress some time ago, but God has sent a little timely help, giving the poorest of the poor some relief work, by digging holes for tree planting. About twenty, on an average, are at work daily. The school students also take part in this work of planting fruit and other trees.
Last month I gave about sixty Bible readings. During the past three months my wife and I treated about eighteen sick persons. Several of these had cholera, and four of them were restored to health by God's blessing.
A number of sick persons are treated month by month, both in the homes of the poor villagers and in the mission compound. About twenty deaths were caused recently by cholera, but several persons, thank God, were spared out of the number we treated. The disease is spread chiefly through eating jack-fruit.
One family near by us lost mother, father, and youngest son. The only child left was a dear boy named Tulsi. He was given to my care by his dying father, so I kept him here until Brother Shaw took him to the Karmatar orphanage a short time ago. I hear from Brother Burgess that he is doing well in school.
I have buried thirteen victims of cholera lately. One of these was a poor Hindu pilgrim whom I found lying by the roadside. He asked me for a drink of water, and I at once got him some cholera cure and some warm rice-water; but he was in the last stage of the dis- ease, and soon after passed away, while I spoke to him of Jesus and his love.
A poor man came in the compound a few days ago, suffering with palsy. He had been traveling about five months on foot from the northern frontier. We did what we could, but he still desired to tramp on toward the south. The same night a poor pilgrim came in for shelter and food, after a long journey through a jungle country.
We do what we can for the sick and suffering. My wife helps very much among the women and children, but a large number of cases we are obliged to send on to the next missionary, sixteen miles away, who is a physician. His wife is also a doctor, and they treat a large number of sick daily. They give Bible readings, and sell Scriptures to the patients.
We need a medical missionary very much indeed, for the sick are more anxious and willing to listen to the gospel message than are others. May God touch some heart to come here to live and work among the poor villagers who come to us daily for medical aid, for Jesus' sake and the salvation of precious souls.
Simultala, Bengal.
A Testimony to the Lord's Faithfulness
By J. Wibbens
J. WIBBENS
The Lord has led one of our brethren in Rotterdam in a most remarkable way from darkness to light, and since his acceptance of the truth, in many wonderful ways the Lord has shown that he is near those who trust him fully. I have asked this brother to write some of his experiences, which I believe will be the means of encouraging God's people to trust him, and take him at his word.
“Many of God's dear people, when they turn the pages of Holy Writ, and read of the Lord's wonderful dealings with his people of old, even though they believe him to be the same to all and over all, secretly entertain the idea that the days of miracles are in the hoary past, or that those of the present are of a very inferior nature.”
“God, however, is just as willing now as ever to interpose and work for his people who trust him, and even to make the world stand in awe because of his visible interference.”
“As we are exhorted to remember and meditate upon all the work of the Lord, and to talk of his doings, I relate the following testimony of God's goodness to me:—”
“At the close of 1895 our little daughter of nearly five years of age was taken ill, and at the end of two months died. The illness and death of this dear child was the means of bringing my wife and myself to God. As the hart pants after the water brooks, so our souls thirsted for the truth. I went to everybody whom I thought to be a Christian. I invited many to come to our home, but, strange as it seemed to me, I found none who could open the Scriptures to me in truth. At last I prayed to God that he would send a Philip to me on my way; and when I came home the following day, I found a circular—an invitation to a Bible reading. I said, ‘This is from God; for I have asked him for this very thing.’”
“To relate all the circumstances connected with this experience, wonderful as they were to me, would make my article too long; but suffice it to say, I feasted evening after evening, often till half-past two in the morning, on the plain truths of God. This continued for some time, till, on account of the illness of Brother Rijsdam, another brother came to visit me. He began to talk on the Sabbath question. I was surprised and confused, as I had just begun to be a strict Sunday15observer. I told him that I would pray God to show me his will, but I was not going to keep the Sabbath simply because he said so. He left a few tracts. That evening I sought the Lord to show me which day was the proper one to observe, and so fell asleep. While asleep, I had a dream. I stood at the brink of a river, and called upon God, ‘Lord, which day?’ Upon this, there appeared a hand in the heavens, which seemed to write in letters of fire, ‘Remember the Sabbath day.’ I answered, ‘Yes, Lord, I know that, and I will; but which—the first or the seventh?’ A second time a hand appeared, and wrote: ‘Six days shalt thou labor, . . . but the seventh day,’ etc., and through the word ‘seventh’ the word ‘first’ was written. Now I knew just as much as before. Had God made this change, or had men? I questioned by myself. I pondered and studied, but could not resolve to read the tracts. It seems as if I had a presentiment that if I read them, I would be convinced that the seventh day was the right day. At last I picked them up and read them; and, sure enough, I knew more than I wished to know. I put the matter off for a few months, when I should have a more convenient time. But the Spirit of God continued to labor with me, and I had just time enough to make a decision at a time rather inconvenient to me.”
“Being superintendent in a large business house, it was with great anxiety that I went to the proprietor to inform him of my intention. At first he pronounced me insane; but, after much disputing and consideration, concluded to keep me, and allow me to keep the Sabbath. I was very grateful, and assured my proprietor that God would certainly bless him for this. This expression was scornfully received, but most gloriously fulfilled.”
“The place where we had our store was repeatedly flooded, as often as the northwesterly gales would cause an extraordinary rise of the river. I was the appointed and responsible person to see that the flood boards were set out whenever we had any apprehensions of such a tide, to protect our lowly located store. Nearly a year after I began to keep the Sabbath, on a night between Friday and Sabbath, a storm came up from the northwest, and caused the river to flood the streets. I was aroused toward morning, and thought first of going to the store; but the thought, ‘It is Sabbath, then shalt thou do no work,’ obtained the victory, and I left the matter in the hands of the Lord.”
“Now, I was all the while laboring under a heavy burden on account of the worldly articles there, I was looking out for another position, in case my proprietor should dismiss me. During this Sabbath a feeling of hope and fear came upon me: of hope that on account of apparent intentional indifference as manifested in not paying any attention to the storm, I should be sent away, and of fear of receiving a severe reprimand. I felt, however, quite calm and satisfied, because it was God's day. On the evening after the Sabbath I had to be present. On my way, everywhere I saw the people busy pumping the water out of stores and basements. Coming to the store, I found everything as usual, and everybody at work. Back of the office I met the son of the proprietor, who asked me whether I had heard anything of the water. ‘Yes,’ I answered, ‘but you know it was the Lord's day, and—’ ‘Yes, yes,’ interrupted he, ‘but have you not heard of the great miracle?’ A gleam of hope flashed through my mind, and in stillness I praised God.”
“‘Early in the morning,’ continued the young man, ‘I came to the store, and had to wade up to my knees through the water. [The floor of the store was nearly one foot lower than the street.] I expected everything to be lost; for there was much to be ruined. Opening the door, I came into the hall, and going to the left of the door that led to the store, I was about to open it, when I noticed through the window in the door a chair, which, instead of floating on the water, stood upright. I looked again and again, and saw that the water that I thought stood in the store was only a reflection of the water in the hall.’”
“‘Through constant use, the threshold of this door which led from the hall into the store had been so worn that a pencil of ordinary size could be pushed under the door, and if any water should happen to be in the hall, it would naturally flow also into the store. Surprised and frightened at the sight, he left the door closed, and went to one of the neighbors, and through a back way got into the dry store, ran up to the door, and saw the water standing up about one-half inch high before the opening. With feverish haste they now went to close the hole, and even those who were not accustomed to praise God acknowledged, ‘This, God must have done.’ I repeated the test with a glass of water, which hurriedly ran into the store. Even the same week another flood came upon a working day. I gave orders to put out the flood boards, and helped in the work, and with the best of our ability we were hardly able to stem the tide, and to prevent the water from streaming into the store. I then saw what kind of God I served, and believed that I could rely perfectly upon him. I left my position voluntarily, which had become sin to me. I began business for myself, to the great surprise of my family, who considered me at first somewhat beside myself, as I had had full liberty to keep the Sabbath. But God did not disappoint my faith, but amply verified his word, and blessed me to the marvel of my former proprietor and acquaintances.’”
So much for the narrative of the brother. How true it is that when we keep pace with the advancing light, the Lord can make us a praise in the earth, and through our faithfulness lead others to know him.
