[Believing it would be of interest to our readers, the editor of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES has asked Sabbath-keeping ministers and evangelical workers to tell in a few words the scripture or scriptures, the truths and principles, which constrained them to accept the unpopular truth of the seventh-day Sabbath. These testimonies must not exceed 500 words. Let us hear from all.]
CXCV.
ABOUT two years ago I became interested in the subject of the coming of the Lord. I began to read the Revelation, but got only a few thoughts that satisfied me. I asked our minister if the beast that received a wound unto death, yet was healed, was not the Roman Church, and he thought I was mistaken in the application. Then by chance the book entitled "The Coming King" fell into my hands. I read it twice, and began to see that some of my thoughts on reading the Revelation were not so far from right after all.
I then approached another minister and spoke of the subject, but he treated me quite coolly, and said that the Revelation was a sealed book, and the time of its opening was yet far in the future. After this a kind lady in our town, learning that I had become interested in this line of thought, gave me the book entitled, "The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan," which I read with much interest. Then she gave me another book, entitled, "The Desire of Ages," from which I received light that I never had enjoyed before.
I then spoke to two other ministers on the subject, but they were in the dark, and objected to the views that I suggested. I have lately read the book, "Thoughts on Daniel and the Revelation," and find that our faith is greatly strengthened by another witness. I never had such faith in the Word before. When I saw the light on the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, I could not talk about it for several days. My cry was, O God, is this true? and I have lived fifty-six years and only learned it now! When I came to see the light on the true Sabbath, and duty made so plain, I could no longer resist the Word of God. I made a complete surrender, and let the world do as it will, I shall endeavor to live up to the light of the Word.
I am nearly blind, and I believe that God has overruled the affliction for my good, as through it I have been brought to the light. P. B. GILBERT.
CXCVI.
I WAS a member of the Christian Church, when two members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, both my friends, visited me at my house. I thought their doctrine the worst kind of foolishness, and undertook to prove to them that they were wrong. I thought to show them that it was right to observe Sunday; but, instead of proving that they were wrong, the Bible showed me that the seventh day is the holy Sabbath of the Lord. Having been convinced on this point, other new light on the subject opened up faster than I could take it in. So my wife accepted the truth a year before I did, because I was afraid people would laugh at me.
Now I can not see why people do not take Christ at His Word. The Bible says that "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4), and that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). It also says that "where no law is, there is no transgression" (chapter 4:15), and that "sin is not imputed when there is no law" (chapter 5:13). Then if the law were done away, we would have no more sin; and if no sin, then no death. But we see death all around, so there must be sin; and as there is sin, the law of God must be in force, for it is only the transgression of God's law that is sin (chapter 7:7). The law of God says "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." But no divine law says anything about the first day being sacred. Every man should read the Bible for himself. THOS. R. COX.
A NICKEL FOR THE LORD IN THE MISSIONARY COLLECTION.
YESTERDAY he wore a rose in the lapel of his coat, but when the plate was passed to-day he gave a nickel to the Lord. He had several bills in his pocket, and sundry change, perhaps a dollar's worth, but he hunted about, and, finding this poor little nickel, he laid it on the plate to aid the church militant in its fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil. His silk hat was beneath the seat, and his gloves and cane were beside it, and the nickel was on the plate—a whole nickel.
On the previous afternoon he met a friend, and, together, they had some refreshments. The cash-register stamped thirty-five cents on the slip the boy presented to him. Peeling off a bill, he handed it to the lad, and gave him a nickel tip when he brought back the change. A nickel for the Lord, and a nickel for the waiter!
And the man had his shoes polished that same afternoon, and handed out a dime without a murmur. He had a shave, and paid fifteen cents with equal alacrity. He took a box of candies home to his wife, and paid forty cents for them, and the box was tied with a dainty bit of ribbon. Yes, and he also gave a nickel to the Lord.
Who is this Lord?
Who is He? Why, the man worships Him as Creator of the universe, the One who put the stars in order, and by whose immutable decree the heavens stand. Yes, he does, and he dropped a nickel in to support the church militant.
The church militant is the church that represents upon earth the triumphant church of the great God.
And the man knew that he was but an atom in space, and he knew that the Almighty was without limitations, and, knowing this, he put his hand in his pocket, and picked out the nickel and gave it to the Lord.—Exchange.
THE EMPRESS DOWAGER'S GIFT TO MISSIONS.
WHEN the announcement was made some weeks ago that a gift of 10,000 taels (£1,400) had been made by the Empress Dowager of China to the funds of the new Union Medical College at Peking, the news was received with some incredulity. The fact has now been confirmed by Dr. Cochrane, who gives an interesting account of the circumstances leading up to this munificent gift. It appears that the suggestion of appealing to the empress was first made by the British Minister, Sir Ernest Satow, who has taken a warm interest in the whole scheme, and has himself given 1,000 taels to the fund. With the aid of a friendly Chinese official, a statement of the aims and needs of the medical college was carefully drawn up. This was sent to Prince Ch’ing, with a covering letter from Sir Ernest, asking that the matter might be brought before the notice of the empress, and vouching for the worthiness of the object. The result was a check for 10,000 taels.
Dr. Cochrane ascribes the success of the appeal largely to the fact that the medical mission has for many years rendered occasional service to the officials of the palace. The head eunuch, whose power is very great, is on friendly terms with the mission, and promised to use his influence if an opportunity offered. It need hardly be said that the missionaries are profoundly thankful, not only for the gift itself, but for the indications which it suggests of a changed attitude on the part of the empress toward missionary work and for the influence which such an example will exert in official circles throughout the empire.—London Chronicle.
PRESBYTERIAN SCHISM IN BRAZIL.
A DIVIDED, warring Protestantism is sure to make opportunity for Rome. According to a correspondent of the Missionary Review this fact is being illustrated in Brazil. He states the case as follows:
The schism in the Presbyterian Church, the strongest Protestant church in Brazil, continues. The alleged ground for the schismatical movement, which resulted in the establishment of an independent presbytery, was the Masonic question; the independents holding that Masonry is incompatible with Christianity, and the synod, that whether it is wrong or not, it is not an occasion for excommunication or exclusion from the church. Both sides are holding their own, tho, as always, schism seems likely itself to be rent by schism. These are bad days for dissension among Christians in Brazil. Every energy is needed for real work.13“Conditions have greatly changed here,” writes one of the most
experienced observers. In Brazil, “there is no longer an indifferent, dying church to contend with, but a revived Roman Catholic Church, . . . an awakening of the religious sense of the people. This is the result of a skilfully-organized campaign from Rome, and the influx of thousands of learned priests and members of the religious orders from Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, and even from the United States. Something must be done by the various missions to meet these conditions.
I WONDER WHAT I WOULD DO?
Out on the street a beggar waits
In the driving storm so cold—
A homeless child with a famished look,
And garments thin and old.
I give from my bounty a meager dole,
And pennies I spare her few;
If I knew that my Saviour was standing there,
I wonder what I would do?
In yonder attic cold and bare,
There's a woman that sits and sews
For her children's shelter and scanty fare,
Till the weary midnight goes.
She is stitching her life in those seams for me;
Am I giving her back her due?
If I knew that my Saviour was keeping account,
I wonder what I would do?
I have home and friends, and silver and gold,
Far more than I daily need;
And clothe myself in a costly garb,
While these for a pittance plead.
My house is full of beautiful things
That are only for taste and show;
If I knew that my Lord had need of these,
I wonder what I would do?
There comes a time in the future new,
When this life has passed away,
When these needy ones will stand with me
In the light of a judgment day.
When the angel reads from the Book of Life
My deeds for that great review,
If these should speak and accuse me there,
I wonder what I should do?
Then the Son of Man, with His angels fair,
Will sit on the great white throne,
And out from the millions gathered there
He will know and claim His own.
If He saith to me those words I've read
In that Book so old and true,
“Inasmuch as ye did it not to these”—
I wonder what I should do?
—Selected.
IF!
“Look at our houses, our lands, our possessions; our entertainments, our amusements, our recreations; our comforts, our luxuries, our extravagances! Surely, as long as we have all these things for ourselves, we can scarcely plead with any honesty, ‘We would help the poor heathen if we could, but really, we have no money!’ No money! Nay, God’s servants have plenty of their Master’s money. But they are not willing to part with it. If we liked to give the money, we should find we had it to give. If we wanted to send our missionaries, we should find some way of doing it. O yes, if it would secure social advantages, or if it were something we cared for, Christians would soon be busy writing their checks, and pouring their silver and gold into the treasury. But as it is—‘we really can not afford it!’ True, we sing about
“ ‘…my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.’ ”
And, perhaps, a mite we do not withhold. But, too often (with heaped-up riches), we withhold all the rest! We think we may lavish as much as we please upon ourselves, while we expect our Master, who gave Himself for us, to be satisfied with any little pittance we may condescend to offer Him!
“We sing, and lustily (for is it not one of our favorite hymns?):
‘Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an off’ring far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.’ ”
And then we give Him, for foreign missions, one per cent. of our income? Nay, but (taking the average) one-sixteenth of one per cent.! O, why do we call ourselves God’s servants, and serve Him so badly?
“My brother, beware how you rob God. Take care, I pray you, lest in seeking to save your life you lose it, lest in seeking to save your money it vanish away, lest in seeking to save your children they are taken from you.”
He who embraces in his prayers the widest circle of his fellow-creatures, is most in sympathy with the mind of God.—Dean Goulburn.
HOW THEY DO IT IN CHINA.
A MISSIONARY, describing a day’s journey in China, and a conversation on the way, said: When you meet a Chinaman he fires off a volley of questions, which, of course, you answer promptly: “How are you?” “Have you had your breakfast?” “What are you doing?” “Where are you going?” “What are you going to do there?” and so on “What country do you come from?”—“England.” “And how far is that?”—“Ten thousand miles.” This puzzles Mr. Chinaman for a time. Then he looks up again with a smile, and says, “Well, you must walk fast.” Then he proceeds: “How old are you?” “Are you married?” “How old is your wife?” “Any children?” “Boys or girls?” He is glad if they are boys, but shakes his head if they are girls. This is the funny side of the conversation, but something else has to be done. At the right moment you will give him a Gospel, and talk to him about Jesus. He will accept the book, and obtain help to read it. He will afterwards be found pouring over some of the parables or miracles of our Lord. Thus he learns the Gospel.—Exchange.
ANOTHER PICTURE.
AN artist was once asked to paint a picture representing a decaying church. To the astonishment of many, instead of putting on canvas an old, tottering ruin, the artist painted a stately edifice of modern grandeur. Through the open portals could be seen the richly-carved pulpit, the magnificent organ, and the beautiful stained-glass windows.
Just within the grand entrance, guarded on either side by a "pillar of the church," in spotless apparel and glittering jewelry, was an offering-plate of goodly workmanship, for the "offerings" of fashionable worshipers. But—and here the artist's conception of a decaying church was made known—right above the offering-plate, suspended from a nail in the wall, there hung a square box, very simply painted, and bearing the legend, "Collection for Foreign Missions;" but right over the slot, through which certain contributions ought to have gone, he had painted a huge cobweb.—Selected.
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PERSONAL NOTICE.
By A. E. Place
I REGRET to say to my friends, and to all who are writing to me for copies of my little booklet, "True Greatness," or asking for price, etc., that the edition is entirely exhausted.
Being an "Author's Edition," they were sent out free to all who asked for them, and to many who did not, till the last one was mailed. I have the names and addresses of those who have ordered copies, and if the calls are sufficient to warrant another edition, I shall be pleased to have it reprinted, and properly announced. The price would probably be about twenty-five cents per copy.
A. E. PLACE, South Lancaster, Mass.
EASY WASHING FREE.
By Alfred Mallett
To ENCOURAGE every lady reader of the SIGNS to give E-Z (Easy) Washing Tablets a trial, I will send sufficient for two washings, free, for two-cent stamp to pay postage. E-Z Washing Tablets is A WOMAN'S INVENTION to take away the hard work. Guaranteed to do your washing in half the time, without injury to the finest fabric. It will pay you well to give it a trial. Address, Alfred Mallett, Elkridge, Baltimore, Md.
EXAMINE your choice fabrics fresh from a PEARLINE wash—see how CLEAN and SWEET SMELLING they are. Pearline SAVES WEAR to the fabric, LABOR to the woman, and through PERFECT RINSING leaves no trace of DIRT, SOAP or unpleasant ODOR. PEARLINE gives a Sense of Perfect Cleanliness
Ferry's Seeds are known by what they have grown. For half a century they have been the standard—haven't failed once to produce bigger, better crops than any others. Sold by all dealers. 1905 Seed Annual free to all applicants. D. M. FERRY & CO., Detroit, Mich.
HANDSOME BISQUE DOLL FREE
Together with a Gold Finished Necklace & Turquoise Pendant
This is a Jointed-Body Doll, nearly half a yard tall, dressed in satin and lace, and looks like the picture shown here; a perfect beauty, with a turning Bisque head, lovely curly hair, pearly teeth, large natural sleeping eyes, trimmed underclothing, real slippers and stockings that can be taken off, completely dressed from head to foot.
Understand that this is not a rag doll or a cheap plaster of Paris doll, but a real
Sleeping Bisque Doll.
We will send this beautiful Doll FREE, together with a Gold Finished Necklace thirteen inches long, and Turquoise Pendant, all express charges paid by us, when you have sold for us twenty-four packages of BLUINE at 10 cents each and have returned our $2.40. We trust you with the BLUINE, the best washing bluing made. Send us your name and address.
FROM March 15 to April 3 a canvassers' institute will be held at the Harvey (N. D.) Industrial School.
IN connection with the medical work of the Grand Rapids, Mich., treatment rooms, Dr. Patience S. Bourdeau reports that four persons have taken their stand for the truth.
AT the recent annual session of West Michigan Conference, fourteen laborers received ministerial credentials; six were granted ministerial licenses, and missionary licenses were given to sixteen others.
SIX churches in Missouri Conference report that every resident family has the Review and Herald, one of them being the large church in Kansas City. We hope that the ball will keep rolling until all the churches will be on the "roll of honor."
FROM Brother H. C. Balsbaugh, of Memphis, Tenn., we have this good word: "The work here is going on steadily. The colored people now worship in a rented hall, among them being ten new Sabbath-keepers. The colored work is indeed progressing well, being very definitely blessed of God. For this we praise Him with grateful hearts."
IN ordering the Signs for three months to four different addresses, Miss Ethel Prouty, of Everson, Wash., adds to her order these encouraging words: "My father and mother and myself are Sabbath-keepers through the help of the Signs and the tracts we have read. We have not joined the church yet, but we intend to do so as soon as we get an opportunity. We will do all we can to help along the good work that is so much needed at the present time. . . . Many thanks for what your paper has done for us."
FROM the Manitoba Worker we learn that Dr. Gamble, of Kansas, has been making a tour of that province in the interest of the Lord's Day Alliance. His method, of course, is the same that he uses in the States, namely, an Egyptian scheme of conjuring with the calendar to make out that Sunday is the seventh day of the week. But he was met in several places with a liberal distribution of tracts on the Sabbath question and articles in the papers, which considerably tempered the effect of his tirade against Adventists. Our brethren everywhere should keep on hand a stock of the tract, "The True Seventh Day," for use when a community becomes afflicted with "Gamble"ism. It is a brief, yet effective, expose of his farcical theories regarding the Sabbath. It is No. 78, Apples of Gold Library; 24 pp.; price, 1½ cents, or $1.00 per 100.
SOME months ago Brother J. B. Stuyvesant and wife, of Missouri Conference, went to Columbia, South America, to labor. Writing to the Workers' Record, from St. Andrews, Sister Stuyvesant says: "We like the place here very much. The island is nine miles long by three wide, and has a population of about 4,000. The people speak English. The island is one big coconut garden, and is a beautiful place. We have a nice little house by the side of the schoolhouse. The sea washes up at our back fence, and a hill covered with coconut palms is in front of us. The climate is warm all the time, but the sea-breeze is blowing all the time, too, so we do not feel the heat like we did in Missouri. We have a nice little company here, representing seven families. There are five young people in our school who will make good workers. We have started a class in Spanish. We find plenty to do. I have the school, and enjoy the work very much. I find the children are bright, quick, and respectful. Mr. Stuyvesant sells books, holds meetings, etc."
WANTED FOR MISSIONARY WORK.
By Editor
(Always prepay postage.)
SIGNS, Review, Watchman, and tracts on the Sabbath and law. Address R. W. Rowell, Luther, Fla.
ANY of our periodicals and tracts suitable for missionary work. Address Mrs. E. A. Goss, Enid, O. T.
THE NORTHWESTERN LINE
RUSSIA-JAPAN ATLAS.
Send ten cents in stamps to R. R. Ritchie, No. 617 Market Street, San Francisco, for Russo-Japanese War Atlas, issued by the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, three fine colored maps each 14x20, bound in convenient form for reference. The Eastern Situation shown in detail with tables showing relative military and naval strength and financial resources of Russia and Japan.
JONES' ALPHABET.
By Jay Benson Hamilton
[Jay Benson Hamilton, in Southwestern Christian Advocate.]
GEORGE WASHINGTON JONES was nineteen years of age before he learned his alphabet. It contained but three letters, and they were all the same. He was an orphan who had managed to live in spite of being a waif, homeless and friendless. He had learned to read by some strange chance, exactly how, he never could explain. The little which he had read had awakened lofty ambitions in his boyish mind. His daydreams would have filled with laughter all who knew him had they but known them. He treasured his purposes as the secrets of his own heart and brain, and patiently and contentedly toiled, living from hand to mouth until he had reached the age of nineteen.
His nineteenth birthday was his emancipation day. He was going to his daily work when he saw a fragment of a newspaper flitting before him, driven by the wind. He stopped and caught it and read:
"Push with energy; plod with patience; endure with pluck; and you can do anything that God approves. With these P's, push, patience, pluck, as your alphabet, you can spell every word but FAIL."
The boy became a man in a flash. He straightened himself to his full height and spoke aloud:
"I have learned my full alphabet; now I will begin to spell."
He looked again at the paper and saw that the words were a brief extract from an address by the president of Walden University. He said to himself: "I do not know where Walden University is, but I will find it."
One week from this birthday, he started on foot for Walden University. He carried in his hand a small bundle containing his scanty wardrobe. In his pocket were a few cents, his total fortune. His journey was filled with adventure, but he triumphed over all obstacles. He asked nothing and would receive nothing in charity. He earned his living by the way, but ever kept moving toward his goal. It took many weeks, but he was ever cheerful and courageous. His smile was a sunbeam; his laugh was rich music; his song was a trumpet blast. He worked and smiled and sung his way, until wearied, footsore, shabby, and gaunt with hunger he entered the city. He found the man whose words had changed the current of his life. He quietly stated his desire to secure an education, and exhibited the soiled fragments of paper containing his alphabet.
He was encouraged and assured that if he would continue to spell as he had begun he could not fail to succeed. Disdaining to accept aid, Jones began to seek work to pay his way. He tried scores of places, only to be refused. He bowed, lifted his fragment of a hat and smiled, when each said, "No!" One man, who had been unusually curt and surly, was so amazed at the smile and bow that he muttered to himself.
"If he can do that when I say 'No,' what would he do if I were to say 'Yes!' I'll try it as an experiment."
When Jones was recalled, the man said, "What kind of work do you want?"
"Anything."
"I have work, but it is hard."
"I am strong."
"It is dirty."
"I have soap in my pocket."
"The pay will be small."
"I do not need much."
"Follow me!"
Jones had a job.
The cellar of a large warehouse was as gloomy as a dungeon. It was filled nearly to the ceiling with boxes and barrels. Refuse of every kind was piled in heaps.
"Clear this up. Break up the barrels and boxes that are useless. Pile neatly those that are good. Put this rubbish in barrels on the sidewalk. I will give you one dollar for the job. When will you begin?"
"Now!" said Jones. "If you will let me sleep in the room we came through, I will not leave until the job is done. I saw an old blanket on the floor that will do for a bed." Permission being given, Jones had a job and lodgings. A few wisps of hay and a disreputable horse blanket served for a bed. Three nickels, his total wealth, purchased three loaves of bread. A faucet in an old sink furnished water, and Jones had a job, board, and lodging. It took three days to complete the task. When it was finished the employer was asked to pass his approval upon the work.
Every bit of rubbish had been carried out, and filled a row of barrels on the sidewalk. In one corner boxes all ready for use were stored. In another corner a similar pile of barrels was placed. In another corner kindling wood from the broken barrels and boxes was heaped. In a box were two pailfuls of coal, picked from the ashes; in another box were scores of bottles taken from the rubbish, all assorted according to size and carefully washed. The windows that had been obscured with dirt and cobwebs were washed clean and wiped dry and bright. By the aid of an old whitewash brush and a pail of discarded lime that had been discovered in the rubbish, the cellar had been carefully whitened; it was swept, light, clean, and almost fit to live in. The owner looked about him silently for a few moments and said:
"If this is the way you do your work you will never want for a job. I have a pile of wood in my back yard that you can tackle, and it is big enough to keep you busy for a year. I'll pay you the market price for the work."
Jones looked at the silver dollar, smiled, and bowed his thanks, and asked to be shown the way to the woodpile. He worked his way through two years' preparatory training, four years collegiate study at Walden University, and three years of theological training at Gammon School of Theology. He applied his alphabet to his books as he did to his work, and earned honorable recognition in every study.
He became a speaker and writer of more than average ability. He developed into an all-round athlete without a peer in his class. He could sprint faster on an errand, lift harder on a heavy load, knock out more tough obstacles, and surmount greater difficulties than any man in either institution.
The day that he received his diploma from Gammon Theological Seminary he sat down in his room and carefully read the words on the fragment of paper that contained his alphabet and spelled out the words that were to form the motto of his future work in the world.
"TELL HIM SO."
By British Weekly
If you have a word of cheer
That may light the pathway drear
Of a brother pilgrim here,
Let him know.
Show him you appreciate
What he does; and do not wait
Till the heavy hand of Fate
Lays him low.
If your heart contains a thought
That will brighter make his lot,
Then, in mercy, hide it not;
Tell him so.
Wait not till your friend is dead,
Ere your compliments are said;
For the spirit that has fled,
Does not know,
But unto our brother here
That poor praise is ever dear;
If you've any word of cheer,
Tell him so.
—British Weekly.
God’s Time and Way
In God's time, which is the best time, and in God's way, which is the best way, prophecy shall certainly be fulfilled. Every word of Christ is very pure, and, therefore, very sure.—Matthew Henry.
PHILANTHROPY NEEDS COURAGE.
By Sir Thomas Lipton
PHILANTHROPY needs courage. We have thousands of rich men who would be philanthropists were it not that courage is wanting in them. For the philanthropist, when he commences philanthropy, meets with rebuff, with ingratitude, with opprobrium. If he hasn't courage, he soon abandons his charitable deeds.
I shall never forget my first philanthropic effort. It discouraged me. I loathed philanthropy for a month thereafter.
I was poor at the time, very poor. In my little shop I had one employee, a boy of fourteen. In every way I denied myself in order to put by money wherewith to enlarge my business.
Well, one day I heard my boy complaining that his clothes were so shabby he was ashamed to go to chapel. "And there's no chance of a new suit for me this year," he went on, "for dad's out of work, and it takes all my wages to pay the rent."
I thought this matter over carefully. The boy undoubtedly had a shabby look. I took a sovereign out of my bag of savings, and I bought him a warm, stout rig of blue cloth.
He was pleased. He was grateful. But the next day he didn't come to work.
I met his mother on the street, and I said to her, "Where's Jimmy?"
"Why, Mr. Lipton," said the mother, curtseying, "Jimmy looks so respectable—thanks to you, sir—that I thought I'd send him around town to-day to see if he couldn't get a better job."
