Earlier text: NO NIGHT IN HEAVENLACK OF KNOWLEDGE.
By Oscar Sampson
OSCAR SAMPSON. (Kansas City, Kan.) “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.” These are solemn words. As we trace the history of God’s people, we can realize to some extent their import. When the Saviour beheld Jerusalem, He wept over it, and said: “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” Because they did not have a knowledge of these things, they were destroyed. Christ reproved the Pharisees, saying, “O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” God had given signs whereby they might know the time of their visitation. It was a lack of the knowledge of these signs that brought destruction upon them. We are living in a time when a lack of a knowledge of the signs God has given us will bring destruction to us. Have we a knowledge of the great deception Satan is practicing in the world, and the greater ones he is going to practice, and that soon? Christ, our example, met Satan’s temptations with a “Thus saith the Lord.” If we have a knowledge of these deceptions, we can meet him likewise. Remember that Satan, through his agents, is going to “show great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” God says, in Joshua 1: 8: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayst observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” “Thou shalt meditate therein.” Meditation brings knowledge. Knowledge is power. “The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” A knowledge of the word of God is power against the great deceptions of Satan. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be . . . lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.” Here is a class who, Paul says, deny the power of God, because they love the pleasures of this world so much that they let them absorb their time instead of meditating upon God’s word. Again Paul says, “Thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” We should seek God, and meditate upon His word, that we may be able to escape the deceptions that are multiplying around us. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” “PERILOUS TIMES” FOR YOU.
By A. SMITH.
A. SMITH.
(Grandville, Mich.) Our Saviour has warned us, even us who are recognized as His remnant people, that “as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe 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.” Matt. 24:38, 39. This admonition is written because God’s people, on account of the prevailing wickedness, are in danger of committing the very same sins here specified. The acts of marrying and giving in marriage are honorable and right in themselves, but the spirit of courtship is sometimes carried to such an excess as seriously to endanger morality and to harm the cause of God. Paul testifies that in the last days “perilous times shall come,” and then proceeds to specify certain sins which will be practiced by professors of religion. See 2 Tim. 3:1–5. When we read this scripture, we are too apt to apply it wholly to other churches or other people, and do not feel alarmed lest this very condition of things should exist among ourselves. Some of God’s people seem paralyzed or stupefied by the prevailing evil customs of our times. There is sometimes lack of strict integrity in business transactions, and promises or engagements are not always kept with a sense of honor. Circumstances of more or less importance are regarded as sufficient excuses, while the parties affected by such breach of faith are not informed of the delay, nor asked to accept the conditions. Such disregard of one’s word constitutes truce breaking. A person who would use a ticket on a railroad or other public conveyance the second time, if he has opportunity, is dishonest; and in business transactions a person receiving by mistake excess of what is his due in money or merchandise, is dishonest if he does not, when he discovers the mistake, make restitution. And for obvious reasons such dishonesty, when practiced by a Seventh-day Adventist, is more wicked than when practiced by anybody else. There is no excuse for a child of God to depart in the least from strict integrity in business; for he has the promise of One who loves us as a father, and who has the wealth of the universe at His command, and who will not suffer us to lack anything needful if we walk uprightly. “If we will move in harmony with Heaven, ministering angels will work with us, and crown our efforts with success.”—“Testimony for the Church,” No. 32, page 176. Shall we heed the Saviour’s warning? JUDGE NOT.
By J. S. Miller
J. S. MILLER.
(Sanitarium.) “JUDGE not, that ye be not judged” (Matt. 7:1), are the words of our divine Master, spoken unto us. This is a loving command. It is loving because it requires us to refrain from either holding evil sentiments or speaking unkind words to or of any person. If I tell Brother A that Brother B does not live as he should; that he is vain, etc., I am not speaking kind words of Brother B. Love does not prompt me to utter those words; enmity does. I virtually say that if Brother B lived as I live, he would be all right. Hence Christ is not made the standard, but self. Even if Christ were taken as the standard, which He is, I, an imperfect and an unrighteous judge, am not capable of giving a righteous decision. But why not judge others? God has given the reason—“that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.” Then should we not be careful how we judge others? The Spirit of God is a Spirit of mercy. Let us have that Spirit, that we may be merciful, and that we may obtain mercy. Matt. 5:7. How natural for us to find fault with, or criticise, our brethren! It is a spirit that comes from that same heart “which is enmity against God.” The renewed, unselfish heart is too full of love to God and our fellow men to contain envy, hatred, evil speakings, criticisms, and the remainder of the apostle’s category found in 2 Tim. 3:1-5. We are to be loved as we love; to be treated as we treat others. “He that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.” Rev. 13:10. It is, then, an act of love and mercy that God has commanded us to judge not. This command, as all others which He ever gave, is given in love; for He is love, and all His works are righteous. We are living in perilous times, times when Satan is making every effort to deceive. He is working with “all power and signs and lying wonders,” and will deceive, if possible, the very elect of God. At this particular time when God is preparing many missionaries to go out in the broad field to labor for Him, we may rest assured that Satan will employ agents to criticise, judge, and find fault with those who are leading out in the work of preparing missionaries for God. Dear brethren, we know that this is the Lord’s work; so let us not enlist on the side of the devil by doing his work; that is, by becoming “accusers of the brethren.” By casting all at the feet of Jesus, and submitting our wills to His will, we may be led straight over these rough and thorny places without fear of the otherwise overpowering forces of the evil one. May God have mercy on us, and strengthen us for this time! Let us pray always for this work of preparing missionaries, for the leaders whom God has chosen, and for all engaged in His work. The Lord tells us that “the prayers of a righteous man availeth much.” We then may be in such a condition that our prayers will be heard and answered. PUT. ME IN REMEMBRANCE.
By W. B. White
While Nehemiah was a captive in the kingdom of Persia, and cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, the Lord laid a burden upon his heart in connection with the cause of God, a burden which he in nowise sought to lay aside or evade. It was that he should return to Jerusalem and fully accomplish the restoration of the city, which Ezra previously had been hindered from doing. But how could Nehemiah do this? He was a slave, a captive, and from the human standpoint, he belonged to another, even the king, being one of his personal attendants. But in a higher sense, he belonged to God, whose child he was; and as God had laid the burden of this work on the heart of His servant, this was an assurance that no earthly obstacle would, or could, hinder its accomplishment; for when God gives men a work to do, He pledges himself to assist them in making it a success. But while this is so, He desires us to seek Him for wisdom for the work, that no mistakes be made, and that we may move according to His will. How earnestly Nehemiah did this! Feeling that he must have help from the Lord, he “wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.” Chap. 1: 1-4. This was an excellent preparation for the work the Lord had given him to do, and reminds us of an exhortation in “Testimony,” No. 31, that “our work should be accompanied with deep humiliation, fasting, and prayer.” In this first chapter we read of Nehemiah’s prayer to God, how he laid before the Lord the condition of his people, and pleaded that He would pardon and forgive all their sins. But now comes quite an interesting point. About a thousand years before this time, God had told Israel that if they would not obey Him, nor keep His law, they would be scattered among the nations of the earth. They did transgress, and He fulfilled His word. But at the same time He promised (Deut. 30: 1-10) that even then if they would turn to God, confess their sins, and keep His commandments, He would bring them back to their own land, whence they had been392driven out. That promise was still good, though one thousand years old; and Nehemiah knew and believed it. Notice now, in Neh. 1: 8, 9, he puts God in remembrance of that promise, in these words: “Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses, saying,” etc. That promise was as sure that day as when He made it to Moses; and when Nehemiah and his people fulfilled its conditions, God fulfilled the promise to them. Do we not have the same privilege as did this servant of God, to put the Lord in remembrance of His promises? In Isa. 43: 25, 26, the Lord tells us to do this, in these words: “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins. Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.” But has God forgotten His promises, that we should put Him in remembrance of them?—No, He does not forget; but we do many times, and slight His most precious assurances, and He desires that we show our faith in them by coming and putting Him in remembrance of them. May we learn better how to use the promises of God. They are as fresh to-day and as reliable as when first given; for the Lord says: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.” “HE KNOWETH, THE WAY THAT I TAKE.”
By Mrs. A. W. Heald.
MRS. A. W. HEALD.
(Windham, N. H.) IN every hour of trial, temptation, or discouragement, there is truest comfort in the knowledge that our Saviour understands. He has been tempted as we are; He knows the infirmities and the weaknesses of sinful flesh. “Like as a Father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” Ps. 103:13, 14. Is the child, in its eagerness to help father or mother, carrying a load too great for its little strength? How quickly does the loving parent grasp the burden with his strong arm, and carry it all the way, allowing the little one to retain a hold, and to think he is helping. How much more, then, does our Lord hasten to help us bear the burdens of life! He knows every trial and every grief; for has He not trodden the thorny way before us? To every weary, heavy-laden soul the Saviour says: “Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me.” The yoke is generally regarded as a mark of bondage, yet it is a device to lighten the burden by sharing it with another. We all have burdens; to every one comes the merciful invitation to accept the yoke of the loving Saviour in meekness and lowliness of heart. He will then, as a pitying father, carry the load for us. He will bear the heavy end of the yoke, and leave to us only that which is suited to our feeble frame. “And ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” From the cross of agony,
Hanging 'twixt the earth and sky,
Hear the Saviour's dying cry,
“It is finished!” Writ in mockery and shame,
Read the Suff'rer's glorious name;
Hear Judea's King proclaim,
“It is finished.” Now the work of love is done,
Now the kingdom has been won
By the everlasting Son:
It is finished. On his head our sins were laid:
He “an end of sins” has made,
And for man the ransom paid;
It is finished. Soon through earth and vaulted sky
Shall again resound that cry:
God shall speak, in majesty,
“It is finished.” It is finished, it is done:
All the sands of time are run,
And eternity's begun:
It is finished. Lord, protect me in that day
When the heavens shall roll away,
And thy awful voice shall say,
“It is finished.” THOU HAST LACKED NOTHING.
By F. W. Spies
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.) One of the most precious truths in the Holy Scriptures is that stated in Rom. 15:4, that “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning;” and indeed the whole Scripture is designed to teach us God and His wonderful ways. And as we learn to know God, through His dealings with His people of old, we obtain the hope which gives us patience and comfort even in trial and tribulation. So the Lord spoke to His people of old: “The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.” Deut. 2:7. When we study the record of rebellious Israel; when we see their constant unbelief and hardness of heart, their murmurings and complainings, and this, in the face of the wonderful miracles the Lord wrought daily to supply their needs; when we consider that this continued for forty years, how wonderful the long-suffering and patience of the Lord. And yet He says, “The Lord thy God hath blessed thee. . . . Thou hast lacked nothing.” Does it not seem strange that a people who had their every want supplied, should be constantly murmuring, and in dread lest they should come to want? But the Word says their history was “written for our learning.” While the Lord has abundantly blessed His people, so that they have never known want, how many, like ancient Israel, are fearful of trusting the Lord, lest they come to want? Perhaps this fear of trusting the Lord and coming to want leads some even to rob Him, in withholding tithes and offerings. Their fear that they may really see want, causes them to close their ears and hearts to the many and urgent appeals for men and money to enter the fields already white for the harvest, where precious souls must perish if help is delayed. Oh, what littleness of faith we often exhibit, while the precious word of God is so full of evidence of His care for us! We, too, like ancient Israel, are on our way to the land of promise, the heavenly Canaan; we, too, are in the wilderness of temptation, surrounded with wickedness and trials, suffering and sin. But are not we, like Israel of old, daily seeing God’s wonderful provisions for us? Are not we daily beholding His love and care for us? How ungrateful and unthankful is this unbelief! But what was the result of this unbelief of old? In Heb. 3:11 we read, “They shall not enter into my rest.” What a sad result—a sad end! “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you [us] should seem to come short of it.” But on the other hand, while we faithfully journey on, looking only to the Author and Finisher of our faith, even though the road be rough and thorny, even though many trials beset us, and at times the enemy presses us sore, seemingly so hard that we almost despair of overcoming, then let us cheer ourselves with the promise in Deut. 2:7: “He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness,” and trust our Captain, who is going before us; for soon, with all the redeemed, in the earth made new, the heavenly Canaan, we shall enter into that eternal rest of which the rest from sin and the works of evil, given us here through faith in Jesus, is the pledge and surety. SABBATH-KEEPERS IN ENGLAND.
By Thos. W. Richardson
Editor of the Advent Review. DEAR SIR: Believing that you and your readers are glad to learn of any Sabbath work, especially in a distant country, I inclose a report of a Sabbath Conference just held here under the support of Seventh-day Adventists, Seventh-day Baptists, and Church of God, but on undenominational lines. The Conference has proved encouraging, and has set many earnest persons thinking about the Sabbath. “CHRISTIAN SABBATH-KEEPERS’ CONFERENCE AT EXETER HALL, LONDON.”
“On Thursday, May 23, the second annual Conference ‘of Christians, irrespective of denomination, who observe the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment, commonly called Saturday,’ was held at Exeter Hall. “The Conference began at three o’clock in the afternoon, with the annual general meeting of the Christian Sabbath-keepers’ Union for the election of officers, and general business. “At half-past three the Conference proper was held. This consisted of the reading of papers and letters, with questions and discussion. A little after five the Conference adjourned for tea. As no official arrangements had been made, the members and friends grouped themselves into parties, quite a large party assembling at St. Martin’s Lane vegetarian restaurant. “Returning to the hall at 6:45, the president, treasurer, secretary, and committeemen, to carry out next year’s Conference, were elected, and then after a short pause, which was occupied with instrumental and vocal music, the public meeting began at half-past seven. “Major Richardson, the president of the Conference, was supported by Lady Blount and Messrs. S. M. Brown, W. Mills, and J. Nicholls, by whom the papers and speeches were given. The papers were entitled, ‘How to Spread the Sabbath Truth,’ ‘Gather,’ and ‘Preach the Word.’ After each paper and each speech, time was allowed for questions and discussion, and this added considerably to the interest of the meeting. “A beautiful hymn, entitled ‘The True Lord’s Day,’ the words and music of which were composed by Lady Blount, was sung by Mr. W. Gadd, with organ and stringed instrument accompaniment. This of course was not a Sunday, but a Sabbath, hymn. “The object of the meeting was to inculcate a greater reverence for the Sabbath of the Lord, and to devise the best means to that end. It was contended that Sunday observance can only destroy reverence for God’s law, being an act of disobedience, a substitution for which no divine sanction can be found; that if Christians really desire the fullness of divine grace, they must return to the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) according to the commandment; for it is of this day that Jesus claims to be the Lord. “The Conference was entirely undenominational, all matters of a denominational character being carefully excluded; for the ‘Sabbath of the Lord,’ the seventh-day, or Saturday, was ‘made for man,’ and belongs as much to the members of the Episcopal Church as it does to the Sabbatarians or Seventh-day Baptists; to the Wesleyans and Congregationalists as much as it does to the Seventh-day Adventists or that other body of Christian Sabbath-keepers who style themselves the ‘Church of God.’ ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’” Paul said, “I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake.” Our Light Affliction
By S. O. James
THE apostle Paul endured as much, perhaps, as any man the Lord ever called; and when writing to the Corinthians, he was inspired to say something concerning affliction, a thing which some of us regard as being very heavy. Well, what did he say?—Oh, he just used the right words in the right place to express a grand truth in which you and I may rejoice. He said: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us”—what? Get the dear old Book and see, friend. S. O. JAMES. THE SECRET PLACE OF PRAYER.
By J. M. HOPKINS.
“WHEN thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” “In the secret place of prayer, where no eye but God’s can see, no ear but His can hear, we may pour out our most hidden desires and longings to the Father of infinite pity; and in the hush and silence of the soul, that voice which never fails to answer to the cry of human need, will speak to our hearts.” “It is our privilege to keep our wants, our joys, our sorrows, our cares, and our fears, before God. We cannot burden Him; we cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of our head is not indifferent to the wants of His children.” — “Mount of Blessing,” page 117. In the secret place of prayer
When no one but God is near,
When no ear but His can hear our humble plea,
We may take our every care
To our Father waiting there,
Who will never from His children turn away. We may tell Him all our grief,
We may ask Him for relief;
And His tender heart of pity and of love
Will respond to every woe,
And a healing balm bestow,
And a joy and comfort send us from above. Are there trials hard to meet?
Do the burdens wound your feet?
Are the burdens you must carry hard to bear?
Jesus trod the way before,
Met those conflicts o’er and o’er;
He will strengthen in the secret place of prayer. Have you some besetting sin,
From without or from within,
Which no one but you and God should ever know?
In the secret place of prayer
You may tell your Father there,
Of His grace to overcome He will bestow. Whatsoe’er your lot may be,
Whether bondman, whether free,
Whether joy and comfort, whether pain or care,
Surely God will grace impart
For the need of every heart,
If you seek Him in the secret place of prayer. Let us speak with scorning never
Of the housewife's patient round,
While our dearest memories ever
In the scenes of home are found;
And to-day, where'er we stray,
Peace no otherwhere abides
Than about our own firesides. Word of sweetest derivation
From its normal meaning wrenched;
Yet, in foreign installation,
Holding of its warmth unquenched—
Bearing trace, amid disgrace,
Of a something not uncomely,
Since it still is only homely. Homely though each home-ly duty,
From no others spring so free,
Peace, content, and ease, and beauty,
And such true felicity;
Sleeping, waking, or fast breaking,
Or the noontide board beside,
Nearing home when shadows glide; Of all social joys partaking,
Resting in affection sure,
Festal feasts for friendship making,
Or in household ease secure.
And whence'er we sadly fare,
Whither is it that we flee
To renew our bravery? If the world no homes were holding,
Kept by women's loving hands,
Unto joy and rest enfolding,
What were life but barren sands?
So we frown the scorner down,
Who defames the housewife's art,
Bringing joy to every heart. But if more of skill and beauty
Be the plea for art so high,
And that e'en the simplest duty
May be done most gracefully,
Welcome to the message new,
Long-time errors boldly sweeping,
That demean this sweet housekeeping. Bring ye here your skill artistic,
Bring ye here invention's stride;
Weave with beauty rare and mystic,
Many a homely task beside.
But beware, no scorning dare,
While, albeit ye rest or roam—
Home is heaven, and heaven is home!
— Good Housekeeping. A WORD TO SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST WOMEN.
By Mrs. M. C. Du Bois
I WONDER how many of our dear sisters miss the Home department from the REVIEW AND HERALD. I know some do, and really desire to see that page restored. Do you realize that we, the women of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, are responsible for the removal of the Home page from our paper? In a conversation with Brother Jones upon this subject, during the recent Conference session, he told me that that page would be restored just as soon as the Seventh-day Adventist women would furnish original matter to fill it. He also said that for a year that department was ably filled from our ranks, and was equal, if not better, than that of any other paper. When contributions decreased, the editors kindly appealed to us, asking for original contributions; but we soon grew weary, and laid down our pens. Now, dear sisters, are you satisfied to see the REVIEW go abroad without an interesting and instructive Home page? I, for one, wish that department restored, and am willing to aid what little I can. Who will do likewise? Every week as I turn the leaves of the REVIEW, I feel that something is missing. Are there not many who feel the same? As I looked over that large body of women at the General Conference, I thought, Is it possible these women are not capable of filling this page with wholesome reading-matter? I cannot believe they are not. What then is the matter? Some will say, “I cannot write for publication.” How do you know until you try? Your experience may be just what some wife or mother needs. I was frequently encouraged and comforted by reading the experiences and thoughts of others, in that department; and I do not believe that I am the only one who was thus helped. Do the best you can. That is all our editors ask. They told us that if there was only one line of real value, that one line would be used, and that one line may be just the help some tempted souls need to lead them to Christ. * Perhaps some may say, “I have not time to read, to say nothing about writing for those who have plenty of time to read and write.” I know there are many busy, hard-working women in our ranks, and this is especially true of those living on the farm, where “woman’s work is never done;” but to such I say, If God would have you write, you can find the time by leaving some unnecessary work undone. I believe there are mothers in our ranks who could write helpful, hopeful, cheering articles for the Home department if they would but use the talent God has lent them. Who will be first to aid in restoring the Home page to the REVIEW AND HERALD? Talk with the Lord about it, dear sisters, and if He wishes you to aid in this work, put it off no longer. True, we may not do much, but let us be willing to do what little we can to encourage others. The Funk and Wagnalls Company give the following instruction, as to how to open a new book: “In order to open a new book so that its back will not be broken, the following instructions will be of value: The book should be held with its back on a smooth table, then the front board cover should be let down, the leaves being held in one hand. Next, the other board cover should be let down. Following this operation, a few leaves should be opened at the back, then a few at the front, and so on, alternately opening back and front, gently pressing open the sections till the center of the volume is reached. The best results will be obtained if this is done two or three times. “If the book is violently or carelessly opened in any place, the back will very likely be broken.” WASHING DISHES.
By Mrs. S. N. Haskell
Perhaps there is no work that becomes more monotonous than dish washing. Over and over again the same dishes are taken from the shelves, soiled, washed, and returned. Several times a day for three hundred and sixty-five days in a year the work is repeated. The Saviour knows the daily lives of His people; and that the busy housewife in her daily routine of dish washing might not forget Him as she washes her dishes, He has bound that every-day work inseparably with the truths of His written word. He designs that while the hands are engaged in work, the mind shall revert to sublime truth. The dishes of the earthly sanctuary were made after a heavenly design; for after giving the directions to make them, the Lord adds: “Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.” God recognizes them as essential articles. Jael, whom the Lord said was blessed above women, served food to her guest in a “lordly dish.” The dish itself was such as to attract attention, showing that when food is served, the dishes in which it is served, as well as the food, should receive attention. This does not necessitate that they be expensive. The Saviour gives the key to this in His words to the scribes and Pharisees, the last time He visited the temple: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” The washing of dishes is a test of Christian character. If the dishes are poorly washed, with food left adhering to the inside, they represent a hypocritical character; while on the other hand, if the inside of the cups and platters are thoroughly washed, the outside will be clean also. Dishes properly washed represent true Christians. If the heart is pure, the words and actions will correspond; “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” The Saviour noticed even the washing of dishes, and the manner in which they were washed. He is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” He is with us always, and is by our side as we wash our dishes. We to-day can learn lessons from the words He spoke to them of old time. The Lord thus illustrates the thorough and complete destruction that will come upon the wicked: “I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.” 2 Kings 21:13. This represents good dish washing, “wiping it, and turning it upside down,” so that no dust can lodge in it. God is willing to remove the sin and save the sinner; He will cleanse us and place us where we shall not fall under temptation. As the dish is turned upside down to keep it free from dirt, so we shall be kept in time of trial if we give ourselves wholly into the Master’s hands. Instruct your children in the spiritual truths while you are teaching them practical lessons in dish washing. Teach them that untidy work in even as common work as dish washing does not escape the eye of the Saviour, and that He is pleased with work that is done in such a manner as to represent the light of the Christian. Let your light shine in your homes, in your dish washing. Remember that grimy, half-washed dishes represent the hypocrite; while clear glass and bright, shining dishes represent the true-hearted Christian. “I DELIGHT to do thy will, O my God.” Sometime in March, the REVIEW, in commenting upon an article, in the Examiner, had occasion to speak of Christian Sabbath-keepers, or Christians who are observers of the seventh day, and made the assertion that “the Seventh-day Baptists and the Seventh-day Adventists are the only Christian denominations that are keeping the seventh-day Sabbath.” But there is another body of Christians, having an organized existence in the United States, who, as far as we know, are as zealous Sabbath-keepers as ourselves. They take the name “Church of God,” have maintained a separate existence for many years, and publish a paper, the Bible Advocate, which circulates in about thirty-eight States of the Union, and has exerted no little influence in behalf of the seventh day. The center of their present operations is Stanberry, Mo. The one who wrote the item referred to is now absent in a distant part of the country; and we venture to presume that the failure to mention the Church of God as included among Christian Sabbath-keepers was an oversight of hasty manuscript; or it may be that the people named were considered an offshoot of Seventh-day Adventists and so nearly allied to them that a separate mention of them would hardly be necessary. But however that may have been, we can assure our “Church of God” brethren that the REVIEW has no disposition to judge them or to ignore them as Christians, or throw an obstacle in the way of their making known their views as far as they are willing to sacrifice time and money to extend them, or can find those who wish to hear them. True, the Church of God have departed from some views which we hold to be the molding truths for the present day, and which we esteem to be very precious; such as, the three messages of Revelation 14, and the sanctuary question, which is the center and citadel of most important truths for this time. They also reject the Spirit of Prophecy, and entertain some views of the future regarding the return of the Jews and the age to come which seem to us misleading and deceptive. But they have as much right to their views as we have to ours. We shall all be tested at last by a higher standard than our creeds or opinions of one another. “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth.” Rom. 14:4. Why should any feelings exist other than those of the most kind and friendly nature between those who are trying to keep the law of God, or between those who in any place “call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1 Cor. 7:2), with a desire to know Him and walk in His ways? We hold that there should not be. THE NUMBER FORTY IN THE BIBLE.
We understand that the number seven in the Bible denotes fullness, or completion. But what about the number forty, used so often? as Moses's forty years in Egypt and in Midian; Israel's forty years in the wilderness, Moses's forty days on Sinai, Christ's fast of forty days, etc. Is there anything more than an ordinary occurrence about these numerous instances of the use of forty? Ans.—We think not. We know of no rule showing why the number seven should come to be regarded as it is. But by a sort of unquestioned acquiescence it has reached the numerical importance it has attained. But in regard to the number forty, it is perhaps a matter of some curiosity to find times and seasons so often measured by that number, but we know of no significance or importance that attaches thereto.