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Signs of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 23.

Value of Cheerful Service

Signs of the Times

Jun 12, 1884

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 12, 1884

Value of Cheerful Service.

By Ellen G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end; that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
The Lord looks with approval upon the works of his faithful servants. He says of the church of Ephesus, “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience;” for my name’s sake thou “hast labored, and hast not fainted.” But while he takes account of faithful service, he is no less exact to mark neglect of duty or its unwilling performance. It has always been the duty of God’s chosen people to labor unselfishly; but some neglect the work they ought to do, and others are overburdened to make up for their deficiencies. If all would cheerfully do their part, they would be sustained; but those who complain and murmur at every step will receive neither help nor reward.
God was displeased with the children of Israel because they murmured against him, and against Moses, whom he had sent to be their deliverer. In a marvelous manner he brought them out from their bondage in the land of Egypt, that he might elevate and ennoble them, and make them a praise in the earth. But there were difficulties to be encountered, and weariness and privations to be endured. It was necessary for them to bear these hardships. God was bringing them from a state of degradation, and fitting them to occupy an honorable place among the nations, and to receive important and sacred trusts.
They did not consider that they were receiving everything that was of value. They forgot their bitter service in Egypt. They forgot the goodness and power of God displayed in their behalf in their deliverance from bondage. They forgot how their children were spared when the destroying angel passed over Egypt. They forgot the grand exhibition of divine power at the Red Sea, when Jehovah proclaimed, “Here shall thy proud waves be stayed,” and the waters were rolled together, forming a solid wall. They forgot that while they had crossed safely in the path that had been opened for them, the armies of their enemies, attempting to follow them, were overwhelmed by the waters of the sea. They only saw and felt their present inconveniences and trials; and instead of saying, “God has done great things for us; whereas we were slaves, he is making of us a great nation,” they talked of the hardness of the way, and wondered when their weary pilgrimage would end.
We are exhorted not to murmur as they murmured. But many whom God has permitted to become co-laborers with him, perhaps has even exalted to high positions of trust, forget that he is specially honoring them. They are weary, and they make themselves miserable by letting their minds constantly dwell upon their weariness. They torment themselves with fears, forebodings, morbid fancies, and borrowed troubles; and, forgetting the goodness and mercy of God, they pass many sad hours complaining of the trials they have to bear. They become so gloomy that no circumstances, however favorable, can make them happy, for the spirit of happiness is not in them.
God does not bind upon any one burdens so heavy that at every step he must complain of the load he is obliged to bear. It is the friction, and not the constant motion that wears the machinery. It is the continual worry, and not the work they do, that is killing these persons. They covet some blessing, either real or imaginary, which is just beyond their reach; but if they were to gain this cherished object, it would only excite a desire for something else. The present is clouded because they under-value the good that they enjoy. They look away from the honors they possess that they have not earned, and the love that they have not merited, and want to stand a little higher. They cherish the disagreeable, and by their thoughts and conversation, excite a nervous irritability which lies at the foundation of a diseased imagination and real suffering. God does not propose to work a miracle for this class. He is not pleased or glorified when his sons and daughters, members of the royal family, take this course; for they neither enjoy rest and peace in his love themselves nor permit others to do so.
Let none of us think that our work is greater and more taxing than any others are doing. This same work has been done in the past, and can be done again. God is not dependent on any of us; and as soon as we flatter ourselves that his work will not move forward without us, that our labor is of such consequence that it cannot be dispensed with, then he will show us our mistake and folly. He can work by few or by many. He can take men in humble positions, and educate them to become light-bearers in the world. Let us who are honored of God by having a connection with his work, feel our own littleness, and the great honor the Lord bestows upon us in accepting us as his co-laborers. “When one asked a noted philosopher what the great God was doing, he replied, ‘His whole employment is to lift up the humble, and to cast down the proud.’”
Sometimes the spirit of fretting and complaining invades the domestic circle. The will may be crossed in little things which a person of a cheerful spirit would scarcely notice; but the fretter is annoyed and chafed as though he had suffered an aggravated grievance, and the passionate reproaches he utters against the person, who, he thinks, has committed some blunder, are scarcely less sinful than swearing. He does not consider that he makes more grievous mistakes every day. Men and women who fret and chafe will lose the affections of their friends, for they are forever stinging some one. Whatever their position, however exalted their profession, they can have no decided influence for good until they remedy this defect. They have complained long enough to test the matter, and prove that complaints do not make them any happier or their way any easier.
The complainer dwells in an atmosphere of gloom and doubt. Instead of healing difficulties, he irritates them; instead of repairing evils, he creates them. Those who have tact in governing their families or controlling the minds of men, are generally calm, prompt, resolute. They show no weak selfishness; but they have a strong, uncomplaining spirit, and are always ready to speak a kind, encouraging word.
Wherever in the providence of God we may be placed, whatever the work that is given us to do, God is honored by whole-hearted, cheerful service. He is pleased when we take up our work with gratitude, rejoicing that he has accounted us worthy to be co-laborers with him. None need be idlers; for all around us there is earnest work to be done. The Christian rule of service is, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” God will help those who are “not slothful in business,” but “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;” and through faith and patience they will “inherit the promises.”
There is peace and contentment in the service of Christ. As he was about to leave his disciples, he made them this parting promise,—a promise that has been fulfilled to his faithful ones through all the ages,—“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you.” He invites, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” It is the want of this meekness and lowliness of heart that causes so much unrest and uneasiness, so much perplexity and fear, so many imaginary ills.
Make it a rule to refrain from fretting, and offer praise to God. We are not obliged to carry our burdens in our own strength. If we have Jesus for our helper, we may say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me.” Jesus has promised, “My grace is sufficient for you.” There is a transforming power in love. When the love of God rules in the heart, it brings all our powers into obedience to his will, and enlists them in willing, active service.

THE SUN-BRIGHT CLIME.

HAVE you heard, have you heard, of the sun-bright clime, Undimmed by tears, unhurt by crime, Where age hath no power o'er the fadeless frame; For they live forever and know no pain— Have you heard of that sun-bright clime?
A river of water gushes there, Mid flowers of beauty strangely rare, And rich-plumed songsters flit through the bowers Of the tree of life, on those golden shores, Over there in that sun-bright clime.
Soon the saints will roam those fields of light In garments of beauty, pure and white, And pluck life's fruit in the Eden bowers, Mid a thousand hues of fadeless flowers, Over there in that sun-bright clime.
Not long shall we wait for that sinless clime, For now we are nearing the end of time; Soon the Lord will come with his bride in white, To take us home where there'll be no night; Will you go to that sun-bright clime? —Sel.

Uses of the Law.

By John Wesley

[From a Sermon by John Wesley.]
"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Rom. 7:12.
THE first use of the law, without question, is to convince the world of sin. This is, indeed, the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost, who can work it without any means at all, or by whatever means it pleaseth him, however insufficient in themselves, or even improper to produce such an effect. And, accordingly, some there are whose hearts have been broken in pieces in a moment, either in sickness or in health, without any visible cause, or any outward means whatever; and others (one in an age) have been awakened to a sense of the "wrath of God abiding on them," by hearing that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." But it is the ordinary method of the Spirit of God to convict sinners by the law. It is this which, being set home on the conscience, generally breaketh the rocks in pieces. It is more especially this part of the word of God which is (zon kai energas), quick and powerful, full of life and energy, "and sharper than any two edged sword." This, in the hand of God and of those whom he hath sent, pierces through all the folds of a deceitful heart, and "divides asunder even the soul and the spirit;" yea, as it were, the very "joints and marrow." By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is "wretched, and poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked." The law flashes conviction on every side. He feels himself a mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His "mouth is stopped," and he stands "guilty before God."
To slay the sinner is then the first use of the law; to destroy the life and strength wherein he trusts, and convince him that he is dead while he liveth; not only under the sentence of death, but actually dead unto God, void of all spiritual life, "dead in trespasses and sins." The second use of it is to bring him unto life—unto Christ, that he may live. It is true, in performing both these offices, it acts the part of a severe schoolmaster. It drives us by force, rather than draws by love. And yet love is the spring of all. It is the spirit of love which, by this painful means, tears away our confidence in the flesh, which leaves us no broken reed whereon to trust, and so constrains the sinner, stripped of all, to cry out in the bitterness of his soul, or groan in the depth of his heart,
"I give up every plea beside,— Lord, I am damn'd; but thou hast died."
The third use of the law is to keep us alive. It is the grand means whereby the blessed Spirit prepares the believer for larger communications of the life of God. I am afraid this great and important truth is little understood, not only by the world, but even by many whom God hath taken out of the world, who are real children of God by faith. Many of these lay it down as an unquestioned truth, that when we come to Christ, we have done with the law; and that, in this sense, "Christ is the end of the law to every one that believeth." "The end of the law"—so he is, "for righteousness," for justification, "to every one that believeth." Herein the law is at an end. It justifies none, but only brings them to Christ, who is also, in another respect, the end, or scope of the law,—the point at which it continually aims. But when it has brought us to him, it has yet a farther office, namely, to keep us with him; for it is continually exciting all believers, the more they see of its height, and depth, and length, and breadth, to exhort one another so much the more.
"Closer and closer let us cleave To his beloved embrace; Expect his fulness to receive, And grace to answer grace."
Allowing, then, that every believer has done with the law, as meaning the Jewish ceremonial law, or the entire Mosaic dispensation (for these Christ hath taken out of the way); yea, allowing we have done with the moral law, as a means of procuring our justification; for we are "justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus; yet, in another sense, we have not done with this law; for it is still of unspeakable use, first, in convincing us of the sin that yet remains both in our hearts and lives, and thereby keeping us close to Christ, that his blood may cleanse us every moment; secondly, in deriving strength from our Head into his living members, whereby he empowers them to do what his law commands; and, thirdly, in confirming our hope of whatsoever it commands and we have not yet attained, of receiving grace upon grace, till we are, in actual possession of the fulness of his promises.
How clearly does this agree with the experience of every true believer! While he cries out, "Oh what love have I unto thy law! all the day long is my study in it," he sees daily, in that divine mirror, more and more of his own sinfulness. He sees more and more clearly that he is still a sinner in all things,—that neither his heart nor his ways are right before God, and that every moment sends him to Christ. This shows him the meaning of what is written, "Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, Holiness to the Lord. And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead [the love of our great High Priest], that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow, in all their holy gifts [so far are our prayers or holy things from atoning for the rest of our sin]; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord" Ex. 28: 36, 38.
To explain this by a single instance: The law says, "Thou shalt not kill," and hereby (as our Lord teaches), forbids not only outward acts, but every unkind word or thought. Now the more I look into this perfect law, the more I feel how far I come short of it; and the more I feel this, the more I feel my need of his blood to atone for all my sin, and of his Spirit to purify my heart, and make me "perfect and entire, lacking nothing."
Therefore, I cannot spare the law one moment, no more than I can spare Christ, seeing I now want it as much, to keep me to Christ, as I ever wanted it to bring me to him. Otherwise, this "evil heart of unbelief" would immediately "depart from the living God." Indeed, each is continually sending me to the other—the law to Christ, and Christ to the law. On the one hand, the height and depth of the law constrain me to fly to the love of God in Christ; on the other, the love of God in Christ endears the law to me "above gold or precious stones," seeing I know every part of it is a gracious promise, which my Lord will fulfill in its season.
Who art thou, then, oh man, that "judgest the law, and speakest evil of the law?" that rankest it with sin, Satan, and death, and sendest them all to hell together? The apostle James esteemed judging or "speaking evil of the law" so enormous a piece of wickedness that he knew not how to aggravate the guilt of judging our brethren more than by showing it included this. "So now," says he, "thou art not a doer of the law but a judge!" A judge of that which God hath ordained to judge thee! So thou hast set up thyself in the judgment-seat of Christ, and cast down the rule whereby he will judge the world! Oh, take knowledge what advantage Satan hath gained over thee; and, for the time to come, never think or speak lightly of, much less dress up as a scarecrow, this blessed instrument of the grace of God! Yea, love and value it for the sake of him from whom it came, and of him to whom it leads. Let it be thy glory and joy, next to the cross of Christ. Declare its praise, and make it honorable before all men.
And if thou art thoroughly convinced that it is the offspring of God, that it is the copy of all his inimitable perfections, and that it is "holy, and just, and good," but especially to them that believe; then, instead of casting it away as a polluted thing, see that thou cleave to it more and more. Never let the law of mercy and truth, of love to God and man, of lowliness, meekness, and purity, forsake thee. "Bind it about thy neck; write it on the table of thy heart." Keep close to the law, if thou wilt keep close to Christ; hold it fast; let it not go. Let this continually lead thee to the atoning blood, continually confirm thy hope, till all the "righteousness of the law is fulfilled in thee," and thou art "filled with all the fulness of God."
And if thy Lord hath already fulfilled his word, if he hath already "written his law in thy heart," then "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made thee free." Thou art not only made free from Jewish ceremonies, from the guilt of sin, and the fear of hell (these are so far from being the whole, that they are the least and lowest part of Christian liberty); but what is infinitely more, from the power of sin, from serving the devil, from offending God. Oh stand fast in this liberty, in comparison of which, all the rest is not even worthy to be named! Stand fast in loving God with all thy heart, and serving him with all thy strength! This is perfect freedom, thus to keep his law, and to walk in all his commandments blameless. "Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." I do not mean of Jewish bondage, nor yet of bondage to the fear of hell; these, I trust, are far from thee. But beware of being entangled again with the yoke of sin, of any inward or outward transgression of the law. Abhor sin far more than death or hell; abhor sin itself far more than the punishment of it. Beware of the bondage of pride, of desire, of anger; of every evil temper, or word, or work. "Look unto Jesus," and in order thereto, look "more and more into the perfect law, the law of liberty;" and "continue therein;" so shalt thou daily "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Believest Thou the Prophets?"

By W. N. GLENN

THIS was the pointed question directed to King Agrippa by the Apostle Paul, as he stood in chains pleading with an aristocratic assembly in behalf of the cause of Christ. It was a final appeal concerning the truth of the gospel.
The apostle had no doubt demonstrated that, according to the prophecies, Jesus was the Messiah; and as Festus, who was a pagan, rejected the argument as coming from an over-learned zealot, appeal was made to the king, whom the speaker knew to be a professed believer of the prophets.
It is a little peculiar that unbelief should occupy a reverse position in these days, and that men, while professing faith in Christ, will to a great extent ignore the prophecies, which are the only vouchers for his claim to the Messiahship.
Especial effort is being made to set aside the book of Genesis, which contains the record of facts showing the need of a Saviour, and the first promise of such a provision.
Even the prophecies of Christ himself, regarding his second advent, the signs and manner of the event, and the condition of the world at the time, are entirely overlooked or disregarded by his professed followers.
It would seem that there was more reason in the "orthodox" unbelief of the primitive days of Christianity than in that of the present time. There is more apparent excuse (if there can be excuse either way) for the Jewish disbelief that Jesus of Nazareth was the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies, than for those who believe in him to discard the foundation of their faith.
It is yet a pertinent question, "Believest thou the prophets?" W. N. GLENN.

Remember the Sabbath

REMEMBER the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.

Is Christ Coming Again?

By E. Hilliard

He promised to. Have any of his promises ever failed? Is there one among earth's millions that can point us to a single broken promise? He told his disciples just before his departure from earth that he was going where they could not come. He told them that he was going to prepare a place for them, and then added, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also."
The disciples had been with their Lord through his ministry; they had seen his miracles of love and mercy; they had witnessed his flowing tears as he wept over the wicked city of Jerusalem; they had seen his mangled, bleeding form suspended between the heavens and the earth, and heard from his lips, amid the agonies of death, his noble prayer, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." They had also been with him after his resurrection, and were witnesses that he had risen from the dead.
When this meek and lowly Jesus was about to leave them, he assembled them together on the Mount of Olives. Here he told them to tarry at Jerusalem until they should receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost; and that, after they had received this power, they should be witnesses of him unto the uttermost parts of the earth. After finishing his words of instruction, a cloud received him up out of their sight. While in sadness this little group stood steadfastly gazing after their Lord as he disappeared upon the cloudy vehicle, behold two men appeared clothed in white. They interrogated the disciples with the question, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" As much as to say, Do ye not yet understand, from the Master's teaching while he was yet with you, that he was to leave you? that he was to go to his Father? that he was to go and prepare a place for you?"
It was very difficult for the disciples to rid themselves of the idea that Christ was to establish, at that time, a temporal kingdom; for upon this very occasion they had asked the question, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" As they saw their Lord departing from them, their hope must have greatly weakened. To cheer their sad hearts two angels were sent to emphatically repeat to them the promise of his second advent. It was not proclaimed by mortal lips, but by messengers sent directly from heaven. Acts 1:11.
Heaven has ever manifested the most intense interest in the salvation of men. Those doctrines, a belief of which is so essential to man's salvation, have ever been proclaimed by the highest authority in the most positive manner. Take, for instance, the moral law; God spake those ten moral precepts with his own voice, wrote them on tables of stone, in the most simple and comprehensive language. They embody man's whole duty. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. 12:13. Christ's birth was also proclaimed by angels to the shepherds on the plains. We have not only the promise from the heavenly messengers to the disciples on the ascension mount, of our Lord's return, but we have also the manner in which he will come. The language is clear and positive: "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Acts 1:11. As surely as he was taken up in a cloud in the sight of men, just so surely will he come again in the same way.
While many believe and admit that Christ's coming is near, they do not acknowledge that his coming will be a literal appearance. Some say that it occurs at death; some, that it consists in the conversion of the world, or the temporal millennium; others, that it is manifested in modern Spiritualism. It cannot be at death, for we are told in the Revelation, "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him." Rev. 1:7. If his coming takes place at death, only the expiring one can see him. Neither does it consist in the conversion of the world, nor the spiritual reign of Christ for a thousand years. The Scriptures teach us that the wicked will be on the earth at that time, and that they will be destroyed. The existence of the wicked on the earth would preclude the idea of Christ's universal spiritual reign; nor could their destruction properly be called a conversion. "And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." The gospel is that which will convert the world, if it is ever to be converted. The above scripture plainly teaches us that some will not obey it, and for this reason they will constitute that class upon whom the fiery vengeance of our Lord will fall.
No; his coming will not be to a few Spiritualist mediums, assembled in some dark room to behold a ghostly figure that disappears upon mere approach, or that vanishes at the slightest touch. "For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:27. Matthew exactly agrees with the Revelation. When the dark storm-clouds span the sky, and the vivid lightning flashes forth, it illuminates the whole heavens. Every eye beholds it. Just so will our coming Lord on his cloudy chariot light up the whole heavens from east to west. Every eye will behold him.
Reader, do you long to see the King in his beauty? Is the language of your heart, "Thy kingdom come?" Those who truly love their blessed Lord will love to hear of his return, and will receive the testimony relative to his coming with all gladness.
E. HILLIARD. Medford, Minn.

The Greatness of the Littles.

By T. L. Cuyler

THE lordly Hudson has its birthplace in the crystal pool among the Adirondacks known as the "Tear of the Clouds." The splendid suspension bridge at Niagara first went over that profound chasm as a tiny kite-string. Let no one despise the day of small things. The noblest Christian lives often have their origin in some faithful word spoken in love, or in the reading of a tract, or in some small occurrence, or in a single resolution to break with some besetting sin. One sentence seems to have brought the ardent Peter and the beloved John to their decision of discipleship. One sentence converted the jailer of Philippi. The outcome of those few words has been felt in the spiritual history of thousands of others since that day; Paul little knew how many souls, in all time, he was addressing when he said to the frightened jailer, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." In fact, nobody ever knows how much good he is doing when he does just one good thing.
A word of praise from his mother made Benjamin West a painter, and president of the Royal Academy. A kind sentence or two of commendation bestowed on a short talk in a prayer-meeting led me to my decision to enter the sacred ministry. From that incident I learned never to underrate the influence of a few words spoken at a critical moment. All the most important events of my own life have hinged on a very small pivot; this is probably true with most people; and how it magnifies the power of the littles!
That noble Boanerges of the Western New York pulpit, Dr. William Wisner, of Ithaca, said that he stopped, on a hot summer day, at a farmhouse for a glass of water. The farmer's daughter handed him the refreshing draught, and he repaid her by a kind, tender word about Jesus as the water of life.
Several years afterwards a middle-aged woman recognized him on the deck of a steam-boat, and thanked him for the few plain, faithful words which led her to Christ. It is a sin and a shame that we Christians let slip so many opportunities to drop a word of truth through an open ear into an open soul. Grant that many a truth thus dropped has not sprouted; neither has every sermon preached been the means of converting a soul. But the awakening power of a discourse has often laid in a single point pressed home. It is the tip of the arrow that penetrates the "joints of the harness."
The great lesson in the saving of souls is never to "despise the day of small things," never to lose an opportunity, and never to underrate the power of a single truth spoken in love. Revivals in a church commonly start in one or two hearts. The first revival in the little church among whom my own ministry was spent, began in the heart of a little girl. Her few words awakened one woman, and that woman came at once to me, and proposed special meetings; out of those meetings flowed fifty conversions; they were worth more to me than any year in a Theological Seminary.
There is another side to the influence of the littles. If the usefulness of a Christian depends on small acts well done, so the mischief wrought by inconsistent Christians arises from the indulgence of what seem to be small sins. We are often great sinners in little things. Little meannesses of conduct, little irritations of temper, little fibs and small spites and small affronts are the "foxes" that will spoil a very promising grapevine. A snow-flake is a tiny thing, but enough of them may be heaped up on a wintry day to blockade a locomotive and its train. So the aggregate amount of inconsistent acts and neglects of duty destroys many a Christian influence; these snow-banks block up revivals, and impede the progress of a church. What mischief a handful of fire once wrought in Chicago! What wide-spread evil has been done in a church by a single scandal or a single quarrel! God emphasizes our personal responsibility by such facts; our Master bids us be careful to keep the least of his commandments. A whole ship is often at the mercy of a single leak, or a single coal of fire.
No sin is a trifle. No sin can be safely allowed to get headway. "Let that worm alone, and it will kill your tree," said a man once to a gardener in his park. Sure enough, the gardener neglected the little borer, and the next year yellow leaves showed that the tree had been assassinated by the worm. Facts prove that most of the spiritual declension and the most lamentable bankruptcies of character began with the indulgence of single sins.
Everything, however minute in appearance, that affects character is great. In God's sight no truth and no sin is a trifle. His crops of grace all grow out of tiny seeds; his retributions of righteous wrath are kindled by sparks. The day of Judgment will apply the microscope. May God help you and me to be "faithful in that which is least," may every moment of our lives be so spent as to yield "compound interest" for Christ in eternity.—T. L. Cuyler.

Christianity Misrepresented by Bad Examples

It is a sad fact that Christianity has been basely misrepresented by many of its professed friends, and thus greatly damaged in the estimation of skeptics. Bad example often causes reproach to the Lord of glory. But if critics would exercise just a little common sense, they would see that the bad conduct of a professing Christian bears no more relation to pure Christianity than counterfeit coins do to the genuine article. Like the counterfeit coins, evil conduct in bogus Christians merely shows, by contrast, the intrinsic value of the pure and true. Skeptics admit the existence of the true by their free application of the term hypocrite to those who act dishonestly.—Sel.

The Perversity of the Heart.

By G. C. Tenney

It may be difficult for us to realize, at first, the force of the words written by the prophet Jeremiah, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." But that fact was demonstrated very early in the history of our race, for it is said that "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination [marg., purposes and desires] of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
That human nature has not changed in its attitude toward God, will be clearly seen when we consider the position which mankind naturally chooses upon any principle of godliness. Man despises the character which God honors. The glory of God appears in the life of Christ in those perfect examples of righteousness, love, patience, meekness, and all the kindred graces; while the pride of man looks upon these with scorn, and glories in pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the froward mouth which God hates.
If the world were asked for some example of glory, it would point to Bismarck, Vanderbilt, or some great man either of the past or present. If we ask the word of God, with universal accord it points to the Lamb of God. And his characteristics were just the opposite to those of the heroes of the world. The glory of God is reflected in the face of his Son, especially in that hour when the fate of the world depended upon his fortitude, when the results of his mission seemed to tremble through the weakness of his humanity. He hung upon the cross and cried out in his agony. Around him his cruel foes exulted in bitter taunts. In conscious innocence he was suffering, the guiltless for the guilty. His heart was rent with agony, and then he remembered his enemies. He prayed for them and offered the excuse of ignorance. He rose from the dead not the only conqueror of death, but he also triumphed over those principles which are the stronghold of human and Satanic pride and wickedness.
This same disposition upon the part of human nature to get as far from God as possible is manifested in the way they naturally obey his requirements and directions. For instance when the Lord instructs us to be "buried by baptism," the majority choose to be sprinkled. Instead of an immersion one drop of water is considered plenty. So, also, when God commands us to keep the seventh day as the Sabbath of the Lord, man goes to the other end of the week and chooses a day, and says, "Verily, this is an improvement on the old way." And when God says of an animal that "he is unclean, of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch," man discovers that pork is the "sweetest meat in the world," indispensable to a laborer. It is so valuable that not a scrap must be lost. Every portion of the carcass is used either as food or in the preparation of food. How must such a feast appear in the sight of God? The word of God warns us, sanitary authorities lift their voice, the nations are trying to shield their people, but appetite clamors, and wins the field. "I must have my pork," is the decision.
It is but a manifestation of the same disposition that controlled Eve in the garden of Eden. God said of the fruit of a certain tree, "Thou shalt not eat of it;" and it became to her the one thing desirable above all others. She ate and entailed upon herself and her posterity the bitter fruits of disobedience. Centuries after, when God provided food for his people, and "man did eat angels' food," they soon loathed it, and their hearts lusted after the leeks, the garlick, and the onions. We wonder at their perverted tastes, which could reject the pleasant, nutritious manna and choose such bitter, pungent food. But these herbs represent sin, which we regard as sweet, but which, in its true nature, is more bitter than garlic.
Let us pray, as did the psalmist, "Create within me a clean heart, O God." "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Our hearts should be subdued and renovated by the grace of God, and then, "Keep [margin, above all, keeping] thy heart with all diligence." G. C. TENNEY.
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