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Review and Herald, Vol. 78, No. 35.

REJOICE EVERMORE

Review and Herald

Aug 27, 1901

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 27, 1901

REJOICE EVERMORE.

By Mrs. P. Alderman

MRS. P. ALDERMAN.
The Master left us cheer — good cheer — To be the pilgrim's song. Why dim thy faith with needless fear, Why be disturbed by wrong?
One glimpse of what His love hath wrought, Our guilty souls to save, Should keep from unbelief each thought, Nor let a doubt deprave.
The vale of sin we're passing through Will have its bitter tears; But light from Christ, still shining through, Should radiate the years.
Oh, claim in Him the gift so dear — This life and that to come! And let this blessed promise cheer The roughest pathway home.

MRS. E. G. WHITE

By Ellen G. White

OBEDIENCE THE FRUIT OF UNION WITH CHRIST.—NO. 1.

MRS. E. G. WHITE

LIFT HIM UP, the Man of Calvary. Lift Him up, and cry, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” Keep Christ before the people, and this will be giving to every man his portion of meat in due season. Jesus has said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. . . . Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day: for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. . . . It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
This plain, simple statement may be understood by all. We are to preach Christ to the people. We are to act as if the clouds were rolled back, and we were in full view of seraphim and cherubim. We are to realize that we are under the eye of Jehovah. We are to fight for an immortal crown. “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Every soldier engaged in the spiritual conflict must be brave in God. Those who are fighting the battles for the Prince of life, must point their weapons of warfare outward, and not form a hollow square and aim their missiles of destruction at those who are serving under the banner of Prince Immanuel. We have no time for wounding and tearing down one another. How many there are who need to heed the words that Christ spoke to Nicodemus: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. . . . Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. . . . Ye must be born again.” There are many who claim to be followers of Christ, and whose names are enrolled on the church books, who have not been a strength to the Church. They have not been sanctified through the truth. In the prayer of Christ for His disciples, He says, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” It is not simply receiving the truth, but practicing the truth, that sanctifies the soul. Let those who would be sanctified through the truth search carefully and prayerfully both the Old and the New Testament, that they may know what is truth.
When the grace of Christ enters the heart, the mind at once becomes interested to know what saith the Scriptures. Those who are truly converted to Christ keep constant guard lest they shall accept error in place of truth. Those who think that it matters not what they believe in doctrine, so long as they believe in Jesus Christ, are on dangerous ground. There are some who think that they will be just as acceptable to God by obeying some other law than the law of God, by meeting some other conditions than those which He has specified in the gospel, as if they obeyed His commandments and complied with His requirements; but they are under a fatal delusion, and unless they renounce this heresy and come into harmony with His requirements, they cannot become members of the royal family. Goodness and truth alone will dwell with goodness and truth. Men may claim to be sanctified, but unless their sanctification is witnessed to by the law and the prophets, it is not according to Bible requirements. There are some who refuse to listen to the words of the Scriptures. They declare that they will have nothing to do with the Bible, for the Lord himself speaks directly to their souls. They declare that they are inspired by the Spirit of God; but when reminded that the Bible was written by men who were moved by the Holy Ghost, they reveal the fact that they are following the inspiration of another spirit. True inspiration never rejects true inspiration, but is in harmony with the Bible. Anything that leads away from the word of God is proved to be inspired from beneath. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
Those who claim to be sanctified, and who give no heed to the words of divine authority spoken from Mount Sinai, make it manifest that they will not render to God the obedience that the Lawgiver requires. The very excuse they urge for evading the requirements of God proves their sanctification spurious. They say, “I am sanctified,” and seek to prove this by setting up a standard of self-righteousness, a law of their own imagining. The law of God requires nothing short of spiritual perfection; and through the infinite sacrifice of the Son of God complete provision has been made that man may become a partaker of the divine nature, and through the merits of the blood of Christ be an overcomer. Of himself he has no perfection. “Without me,” Christ says, “ye can do nothing.” Provision for our perfection is found in union with Christ. “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.”
What pleasure could it possibly be to souls who would not be drawn to Jesus in this life, to study His character, and to be with Him in the life that is to come? They would prefer to be anywhere else than in the presence and companionship of Him in whom they had no delight. They did not know Him while in the world, and could not learn to know Him in heaven. But of His disciples Jesus said, “O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

THE TITHING SYSTEM.

By M. T. Cole

MRS. M. T. COLE.
The subject of tithing as presented by Brother Bourdeau, meets a hearty response in my heart. The Lord loves a cheerful giver, and above all, the loving giver of tithes; for obedience is better than sacrifice. A little box in one corner of my bureau has received my tithe for several years, and I am indeed glad to remember it every time I receive money for labor among my neighbors,for the fruits of the field, or for books and papers. I know the Lord has blessed me in basket and store, and in His loving, sweet Spirit, a thousandfold. My orange trees did not shed their fruit, and returns of sales have been greater than usual. I fully believe that this is in direct fulfillment of the promise. All honor to Him who guides by His eye, and gives us wisdom to get what we need. Dear brethren and sisters, let us be faithful in tithes and offerings.

THE SANCTUARY QUESTION.

By S. N. Haskell

Three Ways of Sinning Against the Holy Ghost.

ELDER S. N. HASKELL.
  • (Concluded.)*
The dangers that threatened the Hebrew people just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, are in the pathway of many who now think themselves in a good cause. The apostle states three distinct ways in which the sin against the Holy Ghost may be committed. As the messages borne to that people are also borne to us, it might not be out of place to notice them.
In the sixth chapter of Hebrews we read: “It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” That it may be better understood how it is done, it is illustrated by nature. “The earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God.” The Holy Spirit rests upon individuals, not because they are right, but that they may respond in Christian graces. Those who do this are represented by the earth that bringeth forth herbs meet for man. But those who bear only thorns and briars, notwithstanding the rain may come upon them, are rejected, and are nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned.
It is utterly impossible to remain stationary in Christian experience, especially in this time in which we live. Christ, in behalf of His people, is confessing their sins in the heavenly courts; but if their sins are not confessed on earth, they cannot be confessed in heaven. If the heart is not daily examined and errors and sins confessed, they never will be blotted out in the court of heaven. Those who make no advancement in the divine life, becoming no better and purer in God’s sight, will in the end find themselves bearing only thorns, and will be burned. A crisis of the world is pending. The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. It will come suddenly, and upon the careless and indifferent its coming will be fatal. To lightly esteem God’s mercies hardens the heart and blinds the mind, and those who do this, place themselves where mercy cannot reach them.
The second manner of sinning against the Holy Ghost is described in the tenth chapter. It is sinning willfully after receiving a knowledge of the truth. To deliberately attribute the power of God to Satan is doing what the Jews did on a certain occasion. Mark 3:28-30; Matt. 12: 22-32. To such there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. This was shown by those who despised Moses’ law and died without mercy. But it is far worse deliberately and willfully to transgress the law of God. Such a one counts the blood of the covenant wherewith, he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. To all such the Lord says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” They who trample under foot the blood that is offered for them in the sanctuary above by our High Priest, or even compare that blood in its saving power to any other blood on earth, count themselves unworthy of eternal life, and fall into the hands of the living God.
The third illustration of sinning against the Holy Ghost is spoken of in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews, beginning with the fifteenth verse: “Looking diligently lest any man fall from the grace of God [margin]; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” Bitterness permitted to exist in the heart will result in an entire separation from God. It leads to hasty words, to hasty conclusions, speaking without thought. Such are represented by Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. There were commendable traits of character in Esau, but he was a passionate man. He did not control himself. What he wanted he determined to have, at any cost. He lost all reason, so that he could see only the desire of a passionate heart. “Feed me, I pray thee,” said Esau, “with that same red pottage; for I am faint.” Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.” Esau reasoned, “Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall this birthright do to me?” So the bargain was made, and the birthright was sold for a mess of pottage — for the gratification of appetite. There are those to-day who, like Esau, will sell their birthright for the gratification of their appetite, or some other passionate lust. This determination to have those things that please the fancy, irrespective of what the Lord says, will seal the doom of many.
These three ways of sinning against the Holy Ghost will be committed by many of those who profess to love God at the present day. Some will walk over one of these roads, and some over another. Such dangers, with such terrible results, should arouse the feelings of every candidate for the kingdom of God. All hearts should be aroused to prepare to meet God, to watch with all faithfulness lest when their cases come up in the judgment, they be unprepared.
The sanctuary question reveals the importance of people’s controlling their appetite in the day of atonement. “For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.” Lev. 23:29, 30. Every man was required to afflict his soul while this work of atonement was going forward. All business was laid aside, and the entire congregation of Israel were to spend the day in solemn humiliation before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart.
Important are the truths concerning the sanctuary in this typical service. If it was so important in the type for the Lord’s people to afflict their souls and control their appetite during the entire day, it is a hundredfold more important in the antitypical day that the soul be afflicted and the appetite controlled. Our Saviour said, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” The only safety in the antitypical day of atonement will be in giving heed to our Saviour’s words, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness,” — eating improper food, and being overcharged with the cares of this life, — “and so that day come upon you unawares.” It was never right to sin, but certain things under certain circumstances, such as times of our ignorance, God might have passed by; but now the light has come, and it is important that we should have knowledge upon these points. Two things we as a people need: First, light to know what and how to do; second, a heart to walk in that light. It is in this that our salvation lies.
These are a few of the important truths made prominent in the book of Hebrews.

THINK ONE OF ANOTHER.

By Guy Dail

GUY DAIL.
(Hamburg, Germany.)
We rejoice to see sinners converted to Christ. We go to great expense in time and money that the truth may be presented in the most varied and attractive manner. Printing presses are set in motion; self-denying colporteurs carry the silent messengers of God from one end of the country to the other; we scatter our periodicals and tracts everywhere; we support medical missions, and sanitariums, church schools and colleges; we hold cottage meetings, and conduct big tent efforts; we rent large halls, and carry on great camp-meetings; we foster home and foreign missions. We do all this that we may gather into the fold of Christ such as are willing to heed the gospel invitation. Surely, we give evidence that we have an interest in the salvation of men and in the advancement of the Third Angel’s Message.
But have we done all we can for others when we have led them to accept the glad tidings and start with us for the eternal city?—Nay, verily; our responsibility in their behalf is many fold increased; for they are now our brethren in Christ. We owe them every encouragement that we have power to give. But, alas, how often are we careless and forgetful of our fellow pilgrims to the heavenly Canaan! Of many incidents that have come under our notice we will cite one or two that are to the point:—
Not long ago, at the regular quarterly meeting, the roll was called in one of our Western churches. Among those of whose whereabouts the church had evidently taken little pains to keep informed, was a brother who had been dead for several years. The more remarkable was the ignorance of those present, since the brother in question had been a faithful missionary to Africa, and an account of his death had appeared in our papers. Again, it was recently stated in our hearing that in a church with an enrollment of forty, only three or four now attend Sabbath services, while the remaining thirty-six members are scattered, no one knows where.
Such a state of indifference is terrible; it is criminal; and we should not tolerate it in our hearts for one moment. Why be so zealous to raise up a church, and so willing to see it lapse into speedy decay and ruin?
One cause of this deplorable situation is our lack of sociability. We should take an interest in one another, not that disagreeable, busybody, uncalled-for interest of the talebearer and the mischief-maker, but that genuine, kindly interest inspired by a brotherly feeling toward every member of the body of Christ. That we may see kindled among us the real spark of an unaffected sociability and hospitality, in no wise necessitates our descent into the quagmires of a cheap, vulgar,frivolous chit-chat and gossip. Never were such things suitable or convenient in the King’s children; and to-day, even more than at any time in the ages that are past, should Christians meditate upon God’s providences, and speak of His matchless beauty and love. The encouraging spots in our religious experience, the simple tale of His wonderful dealings with us, and the history of the men of the Bible, furnish abundant food for thought. By this intercourse one with another, we may develop that happy Christian courtesy that is so desirable, and that will be of great service in our efforts to bless those with whom we may be brought in contact.
The habit of remembering our brethren and sisters in prayer will do much to endear them to us. Especially should we think of those who are in any distress or suffering. Our earnest and sacrificing missionaries, and those who are carrying heavy responsibilities in the cause of God, should not be forgotten at the family altar. The command to “pray one for another,” is as divine as any of the words of Christ, and we cannot disregard that command any more than we can disregard any other commandment of God. A short season of prayer, even at the close of a Christian social gathering, may be accompanied with excellent results, and it is in perfect keeping with our profession as His watching disciples.
With reference to isolated Sabbath-keepers, and those who have moved away, it is possible to keep in touch with them through correspondence. To be sure, this may require a little time and expense, and there are some more gifted in letter-writing than others. A cheery, whole-hearted letter that has been indited by the spirit of love, will sometimes do a world of good to him who receives it. Many a soul has been saved by a single kind word spoken in time of need, and many another has gone down to the very lowest depths of despair and spiritual bankruptcy for the lack of it. A word fitly spoken—how blessed its mission, and how little its cost! Of our own time it is written: “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”

SOME THINGS GOD IS ABLE TO DO.

By Wm. Simpson

WM. SIMPSON.
(Lynden, Ontario.)
HE is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask. Eph. 3: 20.
He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we think. Eph. 3: 20.
He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him. Heb. 7: 25.
He is able to keep you from falling. Jude 24.
He is able to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Jude 24.
He is able to make all grace abound toward you. 2 Cor. 9: 8.
Paul was persuaded that
He is able to keep that which he committed unto Him against that day. 2 Tim. 1: 12.
Abraham was fully persuaded that
what God has promised
He is able to perform. Rom. 4: 21. Are you?

PAUL AN APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES.

By D. E. Lindsey

ELDER D. E. LINDSEY.
(Clyde, Ohio.)
To LEAD the battle against pagan philosophy and Jewish formalism, one was chosen who had himself witnessed the debasing power of heathen worship, and endured the spiritual bondage of pharisaic exaction. Diligently instructed in all the laws and traditions of the Fathers, Saul shared, to the fullest extent, the hopes and aspirations, the lofty pride and unyielding prejudice, of his nation. Cherishing the hope of a Messiah who should reign as a temporal prince, and unacquainted with Christ and His mission, he readily imbibed the scorn and hatred of the rabbis toward one who was so far from fulfilling their ambitious hopes; and after the death of Christ, he eagerly joined with priests and rulers in the persecution of His followers as a proscribed and hated sect. But the persecution availed them nothing. The day of Pentecost soon arrived, and with it the outpouring of the Holy Ghost and the conversion of thousands, from every nation, kindred, and tongue.
After the appointment of deacons, we find Stephen, one of the seven, “full of faith and power,” who “did great wonders and miracles among the people.” For this he was brought before the Sanhedrin for trial. Saul was present at the trial. We find Stephen, undaunted by all that appeared before him, making a masterly defense of the faith of Jesus, as recorded in the seventh of Acts. As he pleaded with the council, he read his fate in their faces, and while others stoned him, Saul cared for their garments at his feet. A deep impression was made, and it could not be effaced.
Because of Saul’s zeal and his promise of future greatness, he was made a member of the Sanhedrin; but God had decreed a different work for him. While under commission to arrest and destroy, and while breathing out hatred toward the followers of Christ, as he journeyed to Damascus, God miraculously converted him, and informed him that he was a chosen vessel to bear His name before kings and to the Gentiles. As a learner at the feet of Jesus, with quickened perceptions and an enlightened vision, instead of regarding Jesus as the destroyer of law, Saul recognized in Him the originator of the entire Jewish system of sacrifices, of which Christ was the antitype.
Immediately after Saul’s baptism by Ananias, he began to preach Jesus to the people in the city of Jerusalem. Under the imperative command, “Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles,” he departed for untried fields. It was an important era to the Church when Paul was ordained by the laying on of hands, and commissioned to organize churches.
Though the middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles had been broken down by the death of Christ, letting the Gentiles into the full privilege of the gospel, still the veil had not yet been torn from the eyes of many of the believing Jews, and they could not clearly discern to the end of that which was abolished by the Son of God. The great sin of the Jews continued to be the supposition that the Gentiles should not enjoy religious privileges on an equality with themselves, and that the blessing of God was reserved exclusively for them.
As the apostle worked from place to place among the Gentiles, he also found Jews scattered abroad; and as at Antioch, so also at other places, the apostle found Jews ready to oppose him and the Jews who received the truth; and as far as lay in their power they influenced the Gentiles against the apostle and those associated with him. Not only so, but the opposing Jews of Antioch, through whose influence the apostles were driven from that district, united with certain Jews of Iconium, and followed upon the track of the apostles.
The churches were scarcely organized before certain Jews from Judea raised a general consternation among the believing Gentiles by agitating the question of circumcision. They asserted, with great assurance, that none could be saved without being circumcised and keeping the entire ceremonial law. This was an important question, and one which affected the Church in a very great degree. Paul and Barnabas met it with promptness, and opposed introducing the subject to the Gentiles. They were opposed in this by the believing Jews of Antioch who favored the position of those from Judea. The matter resulted in much discussion and want of harmony in the Church, until finally the church at Antioch, apprehending that a division among them would occur from any further discussion of the question, decided to send Paul and Barnabas, together with some responsible men of Antioch, to Jerusalem, to lay the matter before the apostles and elders. Their decision was then to be universally accepted by the churches throughout the country.
Upon arriving at Jerusalem, the delegates from Antioch related before the assembly of the churches the success that had attended their ministry, and the confusion that had resulted from the fact that certain converted Pharisees declared that the Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. The Jews feared that the many Gentile converts, unless put under subjection to the ceremonies that had served as a middle wall of partition, and that had kept the Jews distinct from all other people, would finally cause their divinely appointed services to disappear entirely. They concluded that as God once specified the Hebrew manner of worship, it was impossible that He should ever authorize a change in any of its specifications. They decided that Christianity must connect itself with the Jewish ceremonies. They were slow to discern the end of that which had been abolished by the death of Christ.
Paul still claimed to be one of the children of Abraham, and kept the Ten Commandments in letter and spirit as faithfully as he had ever done before his conversion to Christianity. But he knew that the ceremonies must soon altogether cease, since that which they had shadowed forth had come to pass, and the light of the gospel was shedding its glory upon the Jewish religion, giving a new significance to its ancient rites.
On account of the idolatrous practices of the Gentiles, such as eating things strangled, drinking blood, and their licentiousness, the Jews held it highly proper that circumcision and the observance of the ceremonial law should be brought to the Gentile converts as a test of their sincerity and devotion. With perplexity the council considered the questions before them, but the Holy Ghost had already settled the problem. God had by a marked experience prepared Peter to declare, “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”
This yoke was not the law of Ten Commandments, as those who oppose the binding claims of the law assert; but Peter referred to the law of ceremonies, which was made null and void by the crucifixion of Christ. James bore a decided testimony showing that God designed the Gentiles to enjoy all the privileges of the Jews, declaring that the Holy Ghost saw good not to impose the ceremonial law on the Gentile converts. The Spirit of God united the council to declare the sentence, “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God.” The discussion ended, the decision of the council was sent by letter to the churches, imposing none otherthing upon them than the Holy Spirit imposed; namely, to abstain from meats offered to idols, from fornication, from things strangled, and from blood, and to keep the commandments of God, leading holy lives.
The Gentiles were assured that the men who had urged circumcision upon them were not authorized to do so by the apostles. Even the disciples were not all prepared willingly to accept the decision of the council. Some were zealous for the ceremonial law, and regarded Paul with jealousy, because they thought his principles were lax in regard to the obligations of the Jewish law. Paul did not bind himself nor his converts to the ceremonies or the customs of the Jews, with their varied forms, types, and sacrifices; for he recognized that the perfect and final offering had been made in the death of the Son of God.
The feeling of hatred with many of the Jews was now intensified. The increased success of Paul in presenting Christ to the people, roused the unbelieving Jews to more determined opposition. The opposition which the apostle had to meet was not alone outside the Church, for he met with trial and conflicts in the Church as well as out of it. Factions arose through the influence of Judaizing teachers who urged that the converts to Christianity should observe the ceremonial law in the matter of circumcision. They sincerely thought that in taking this medium ground between Jew and Christian, they would succeed in removing the odium which attached to Christianity, and would gather in large numbers of the Jews.
(Concluded next week.)

SELF

By S. O. James

S. O. JAMES.
An immoderate love for self is said to constitute sin. Sin is a lie, and the most deceptive thing in the universe. In fact, it is the only truly deceptive thing.
God’s work and ways may be, for a time at least, obscure and mysterious, but never deceptive. Satan was deceived when he regarded himself as able to improve upon God’s arrangement. He thought himself to be much wiser than he really was, else why should he wish to rule? Also, in attempting to war with God, he must have placed too high an estimate upon his own power.
Satan’s character seems the more unlovely, and his ways detestable, as viewed in contrast with the character of God and His Son. What an example the Eternal Father had set! Though having all power to create the worlds, He was better pleased to confer this honor upon another. Jesus, in turn, has ever honored the Father. Both desired Lucifer’s highest happiness, and were well able to give him all the desires of his heart had those desires been kept in the bounds of right; but by becoming selfish he lost all.
“Oh, flee, my soul, from such a foe! And say with every breath, Let Jesus live within my heart, And self be put to death.”

“AS THOU WILT.”

By Nellie M. Haskell

MRS. NELLIE M. HASKELL, (Hallowell, Me.)
PRAYERS born of our murmurings, or of our natural inclinations and desires, are always dangerous. When, therefore, we are in a discontented mood, or in a state of perplexity and doubt, we should take careful thought as to what we ask of God, lest He give it to us, and thereby punish us. Rachel cried for children, yet she had no joy in them, and called her latest born Ben-oni, “the son of my sorrow.”
Infinite Wisdom often withholds the thing we cry for, and spares us the sorrow its bestowal would surely bring. What lessons of trust we need to learn right here! We should seek to grasp the fact that He who sees the end from the beginning knows how to mold the circumstances of our lives, how to fashion their surroundings for our best interests both for time and for eternity. Let us ever remember God knows best; and when a petition which we offer in simple faith seems denied, let us take even the denial for a favor; for surely He who spared not His own Son, but freely delivered Him up to die for us all, will, in every respect, consult our highest good. Truly has the poet said,—
“What most you wish and long for Might only bring you pain, You cannot see the future God’s purpose to explain. So trust, faint heart, thy Master, He doeth all things well; He loveth more than heart can guess, And more than tongue can tell.”
We should never forget the “As thou wilt,” when we offer our petitions at the throne of heavenly grace. When our will is submerged in the will of God, so that His will is our will, then we can say with John, “And this is the confidence that we have in Him [or concerning Him, as the margin gives it], that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” Oh, the blessedness of asking according to His will, and of knowing that He doeth all things well, bestowing or withholding for the best good of His children! Surely we who have learned to say “Our Father” from the lips of Jesus, may also learn from His example to append to all our petitions, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

ONE SECRET OF A HAPPY HOME.

By E. A. Sevy

E. A. SEVY. (Battle Creek, Mich.)
How many of us covet a happy home! and who would not, as I have often heard it expressed, “be willing to give anything for a home where discord, contention, and strife are things unknown”? Were the question put to vote, I believe the hand of every sister who reads this page would go up. Yes, it is the desire of every heart; and, dear sisters, do you know that we ourselves are more, much more than half to blame for so many unhappy homes? Many of us are like the seed which fell among thorns. We let Satan come in and press us with cares until our bodies are racked and worn, and our nerves completely unstrung. Then in our own strength we try to combat an enemy a hundred times stronger than we. How can we expect in this way to be patient when things go wrong? and how can we expect a happy home with an impatient wife and mother? No doubt the Lord might work a miracle and give us the strength, but will He when we willfully weaken ourselves?
We get up in the morning and look over our day’s work. There is the breakfast to get, the dishes to wash, the beds to make, the sweeping and dusting, the kitchen floor to scrub, fruit to can, and the baking to do, all of which an ambitious woman would like to do in the forenoon. Suppose we prepare for breakfast a few simple dishes, taking care, of course, that they are dainty, and tastily served. Then instead of using the scrub brush to clean our floors, let us try an easier way. The floor may not be as white, but I think our souls will be whiter. Instead of dusting every day, try every other day; and when it comes to the baking, just omit the pies, cakes, and cookies, and substitute some fresh or stewed fruit, nuts, and crackers.
Did not Christ’s answer to Martha when she complained to Him that her sister was neglecting her share of the serving, show that there is something far above our daily round of toil? I have heard some good sisters say, “But I cannot slight my work. Are we not commanded to ‘do all to the glory of God’?” I would say to such, Do not slight, but simplify it. With a clear mind, stronger nerves, and stronger bodies, we may glorify God in all we do. The molehills which to our poor tired bodies have seemed as mountains, will be too small to notice; and God’s beautiful sunshine, birds, and flowers, which we have been too busy to enjoy before, will help us to look from nature up to nature’s God. We shall then find it much easier to be patient when things go wrong; and in giving a kind word here and a smile there we may cheer those around us, and thus make our homes much happier. Try it, sisters.

PARENTAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

By M. L. Dickson

M. L. DICKSON.
I am the mother of three children, as active, mischievous, and lovable as any mother ever had; and they keep me constantly on the alert to keep acquainted with their ways and doings. Children in their teens seem to be the most difficult to manage of any age. If we have not implanted the good seed before they get in their teens, it is very hard indeed. The impressionable years are before they are ten, and we cannot begin too early.
I have heard many sermons and much theorizing on the duties of parents to their children, but theories are not of much use, for there are no two children alike. They differ in disposition. Therefore what will answer for one, will not do for another. The mother who wishes to make a success of her training must study each child's nature and disposition, and her accountability to God for each child. The same training for a whole family will not do. There will be failure, for which the mother will be responsible. The home is her mission field, which God has given her to cultivate. It is as if He said, Take this child and train it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. We can never begin too soon to train our children in obedience. It is the foundation on which to build the child's character.
The Scriptures have given us some old-fashioned pointers which cannot be improved upon, and which we would do well to follow literally. If we look to one another for counsel, we shall surely fail. We must not lean on the arm of flesh; rather let us go to the wisdom of God and be taught. Solomon says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Prov. 22:6. Do we all believe that? I believe that God means every word of it, and I have faith to prove Him. I have believed that verse ever since I became a mother.
We also read that “he that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” Prov. 13:24. “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” Prov. 19:18. We read also that“foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” Prov. 22:15. Then we have the example of Abraham, of whom God said, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.” Gen. 18:19. Put that alongside of Prov. 22:6, and you have God’s immutable word for results. God is no respecter of persons; and if He could say that of Abraham, He could say it of any other parent who had Abraham’s faith.
In the account of Eli is portrayed the over-indulgent, easy-going parent who rules his household with a slack hand. Eli, although warned, did not command his children. What a sad picture! What a sad breaking up of a home and a house! God says of Eli, “For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering forever.” 1 Sam. 3:13, 14. These are solemn words, and should awaken us as parents to look well after our children. God will not excuse us if we rule our households with a slack hand.
Let us, dear sisters who are mothers, take this solemn warning, and not thwart God’s will for our children. There is no work anywhere in God’s vineyard that brings such a rich reward. Let us pray and labor for the salvation of those precious souls He has intrusted to our care, and by a godly example lead them to Jesus, that we and our children may rejoice together in the kingdom of God.
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