p. 2 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 46. (11/22/1910)

Signs of the Times

Nov 22, 1910

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Nov 22, 1910

Leading Articles in This Number

By Editor

Give Thanks unto the Lord . . . . . . . 9

Christian Homes, By Mrs. E. G. White . . . . . 3

The Master's Coming Retarded, By Charles L. Taylor . . 4

The Triumphant Son of Man (The Revelation Series) . . 6

Rational Criticism and Missions . . . . . 10

Portugal and Religious Liberty, By C. E. Rentfro . . 14

The Perpetuity of God's Law (Bible Reading) . . . 8

The Law of God (Question Corner) . . . . . 2

(For full Table of Contents see last page)

IF YE WILL INQUIRE, INQUIRE YE

By Editor

This Inquirers' Department is conducted for the purpose of helping those who are studying the Bible. The answers are oftentimes only suggestive. They are never to be considered infallible, only as they agree with the infallible Word. The writer who may answer them does not consider that his opinion is infallible. He will simply give the best that he has, and plead with the inquirer to search the Word. Such questions only will be answered as, to the editors, seem to minister to the good of the readers and to the mission of the paper. We can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question, not for publication, but as an evidence of good faith, and that answer may be made by letter if deemed advisable. No letters are answered which do not contain the name of the writers. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply.

3291.—An Honest Tithe

By Editor

I find a difference of opinion as to what is an honest tithe. For instance: A owns a ranch, keeps a team, a number of hens, hires more or less help, raises part of the feed consumed by the team and hens, and buys some. He also does more or less work with team for neighbors, for which he receives pay; and also sells eggs, etc., shipping them to market by rail. He consumes vegetables, fruit, etc., raised on the place; pays taxes, hired help, insurance, etc. How much, if any, of the expense for feed, help, taxes, etc., should be paid before tithing the proceeds? Should the vegetables, fruits, eggs, etc., consumed by the family be tithed?

God does not ask a tithe upon what is not increase. All that A receives from his ranch, the hire of his team, his hens, his grain, his fruit, his dairy, if he keeps one, is increase, or income. But it has cost him to produce this what he has paid in taxes, interest, hired help, for feed, etc., and this should be deducted from what he has received, and the tithe paid on the balance. His own labor should not be taken into account. One of the best ways of settling the tithing question is to count yourself a partner with God. One tenth of the income belongs to Him, for He so declares; nine tenths belong to us for our stewardship. In the running of our mutual business certain expenses are involved which belong to both parties, and both share these expenses in proportion to their receipts of the products. We almost said, in proportion to their respective investments. And this would be true in a worldly partnership; but with God He furnishes all, we are but His stewards. If we will look upon it in this way, we can the more easily solve the problems which arise. If in doubt, put yourself on the shorter side of the income. Ask honestly what you ought to receive in such case. Use the Golden Rule in dealing with God. In case of difficulty, give God the benefit of the doubt. He does not want the law of tithing to be to us a burden; but He would develop in us a keen sense of justice. He would have tithing to be a glad recognition, on our part, of our obligation to Him, our fellowship with Him, our dependence upon Him.

3293.—If He Had Yielded

Will you please give me your understanding of the state that would have befallen our Saviour, Satan, mankind, and earth, if our Lord had yielded to the temptation of the devil at any time?

First of all, let us thank God that He did not yield. What would have occurred had He failed is too awful to contemplate. How much Heaven has risked in that awful sacrifice it is not for mortals themselves to estimate. It seems from the teaching of the Word that Heaven had risked all in the giving of Christ to die, in His taking upon Himself the nature of man, in becoming the Seed of David according to the flesh, and in meeting in that flesh by faith the sins and temptations to which men are subject. If He had failed, He would have been led captive by the enemy. That Satan would have triumphed temporarily would have been true. That he would have triumphed eternally could not have been true, because "the wages of sin is death," and eventually he would meet the consequence. The curse would still have rested upon the earth, and it would have gone to destruction. But if that yielding had left God without other means of regenerating the world, the work of corruption and disintegration would go on until the universe was blasted, yet righteousness in the end would triumph. Our Lord could not fail so long as He held to righteousness; no soul can fail holding to righteousness; and the great eternal righteousness of God could not fail in eternal purpose regarding this earth, tho to our human sight He seemed to have failed. All this is supposition. In the eternal love manifested by Christ Jesus there could be no character failure. Jesus Christ conquered in His own flesh, and will conquer in the flesh of every other one who trusts Him.

3289.—Trespasses and Sins. Matt. 6: 14, 15.

Does "trespasses" mean sins? If we sin against our brother, and our brother forgives us, are we not forgiven, and is not this what is meant in John 20:23?

"Sin" is the broader term, covering more than mere "trespass;" but in Matt. 6:14, 15 "trespass" seems to be used in the sense of sin.

Yes, we sin against men (1 Cor. 8:12) when we do them injury. All sin is against God, for all sin is the transgression of His law. 1 John 3:4; Rom. 7:7. Whatever sin we commit against man, is also against God, and must be confessed to both as to one. Then whether man forgives or not, God will forgive, and we are forgiven. Sometimes man may forgive when God does not; because man bases his forgiveness upon words, while God weighs motives.

John 20:23 does not relate to the above. It has reference to God's Gospel ministers. They have authority to remit or retain sins in the message which they bear which states the conditions on which sins are remitted or retained. The Gospel herald may say with assurance that the repentant man who confesses his sins is in that forgiven; and if he does not truly confess, his sin is retained. So to Jeremiah was given power over kingdoms and nations (Jer. 1:10), but that power was in the message of God's conditions which he proclaimed (Jer. 18:7-10).

3290.—His Father's Face

Did our Saviour ever see His Father's face, or hold direct communion with Him, at any time between His birth and resurrection?

As to His seeing His Father's face, we have no definite statement. He lived ever as in God's presence, so much so that altho here upon earth, He could be spoken of as "the Son of Man who is in heaven." John 3:13. Yet it may have been true that during all this period when He was humiliated for man He was deprived of the visible glory of the Father's presence.

As to His holding direct communion with His Father there is no question. Faith kept open channel between the Father and Son, just as faith keeps open channel between every faithful soul and its God. The whole of the 17th chapter of John, and His repeated teaching, show His familiarity with the great Father in heaven, and the perfect confidence which lay between Them. We have three different records where the Father spoke concerning His Son, one of these directly to Him, recorded in the New Testament: when He was baptized, on the Mount of Transfiguration, and just before He was delivered into the hands of the Roman power. Matt. 3:17; Mark 9:7; John 12:28. The last was in direct response to the prayer of Jesus.

3292.—The Law of God

Is the law of God, or the Ten Commandments, the law God ruled heaven with before the earth was created? Did they keep the Sabbath, etc., there?

In one record of the giving of that law we read that God "added no more" (Deut. 5:22), showing that it was perfect and complete. In Ps. 19:7 we read, "The law of the Lord is perfect." In Eccl. 12:13 it is said, "Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." That which is perfect, that which expresses the whole duty of man, must be in itself a complete law of character. That is also shown in the fact that it will be the rule of the judgment. Verse 14; James 2:8-12. As God desired that man should have a character like Himself, that law must express God's character. Matt. 5:48; Lev. 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16. Observing this law man would form a character like his Creator. This would be in perfect harmony of course with God's will; but the prayer that Jesus taught, "Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven," would show that God's will is the same in both heaven and earth; and a half dozen other considerations would demonstrate the same thing. We can then come to but one conclusion, and that is that the great principles of the Decalogue were the principles that ruled in heaven before the earth was created. We would not understand that they were given there in the same form as they are given to sinful man; they were spoken to man as negative prohibitions. To the sinless creatures they were not prohibitions, but enabling acts. Every precept furnished the power to the heart of faith to do what the precept demanded.

The Sabbath day was given of God, not as a day of mere physical rest, but as a worship day; and all the considerations which surround it would seem to demand that wherever God had intelligent creatures the worship day was just as truly needed among them as among the inhabitants of this world. Therefore what would be more fitting than that God's Sabbath law should be a universal law?

3294.—Desolate Earth

What proof is there that the earth is not to have a single inhabitant on it during the thousand years, or the so-called millennium? M.

There are many scriptures used of the future inheritance on this earth which are wrongly applied to the millennium. People argue sometimes after this fashion,—that the saints are to go to heaven, and yet the Bible promises they will sometime reign on the earth; and the conclusion is that this reigning on the earth must come during the millennium and before the saints enter upon their final reward in heaven. Now the Bible teaching completely reverses this theory. The saints will go to heaven, but they will go there when Christ comes before the millennium. John 14:1-3. The awful wars, plagues, and calamities that will sweep the earth before Christ comes, will destroy a large part of the inhabitants of the world. See Jeremiah 25; Revelation 19. The remainder will perish at the glorious presence of Christ when He shall come. Rev. 19:21. That absolutely sweeps out all the human inhabitants from the earth to destruction. Of this Isa. 24:1-3 speaks. Few will be gathered out from this, but these will be taken to heaven with Christ. See also Jer. 4:23-26. On the other end of the thousand years sin and sinners, including Satan and all his angels, will be punished, and will die the second death. The flames of God will purge the old sin-cursed earth of all its iniquity, and forth from its ashes will come a new heavens and new earth. In that new heavens and new earth the saints will reign forever. See Revelation 21, 22; Dan. 7:27; also "The Great Day of the Lord." This view shows the perfect harmony that exists in the Word of God concerning Christ's coming and the glorious reward which lies before His people. Every other view presents insurmountable difficulties.

3295.—Emperor Domitian

Of what country was Emperor Domitian when he banished John to the Isle of Patmos? Two Students.

He was the emperor of Rome. Practically all the emperors mentioned in history from the time of our Saviour for 500 years were Roman emperors. At the time of John's banishment Rome ruled the world.

Signs of the Times

By Editor

"Even as we have been approved of God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who proveth our hearts."

Christian Homes

By Mrs. E. G. White

OUR time, our strength, and our energies belong to God; and if they are consecrated to His service, our light will shine. It will affect first and most strongly those in our own homes, who are most intimately associated with us; but it will extend beyond the home, even to "the world." To many it will be a savor of life unto life; but there are some who will refuse to see the light, or to walk in it. They are of that class spoken of by our Saviour, when He said: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Such are in a very dangerous position; but their course does not excuse any of us from letting our light shine.

Suppose that because some ship had disregarded his warning beacon, and gone to pieces on the rocks, the lighthouse keeper should put out his lights, and say, "I will pay no more attention to the lighthouse;" what would be the consequence? But that is not the way he does. He keeps his lights burning all night, throwing their beams far out into the darkness, for the benefit of every mariner that comes within the dangerous reach of rocks and shoals. Were some ship to be wrecked because the lights went out, it would be telegraphed over the world that on such a night, at such a point, a ship went to pieces on the rocks because there was no light in the tower. But if some ships are wrecked because they pay no attention to the light, the lighthouse keeper is guiltless; they were warned, but they paid no heed.

The Home a Lighthouse

What if the light in the household should go out? Then every one in that house would be in darkness; and the result would be as disastrous as tho the light were to go out in the lighthouse tower. Souls are looking at you, fellow Christians, to see whether you are drunken with the cares of this life, or are preparing for the future, immortal life. They will watch to see what the influence of your life is, and whether you are true missionaries at home, training your children for heaven.

The Christian's first duty is in the home. Fathers and mothers, yours is a great responsibility. You are preparing your children for life or for death; you are training them for an abiding-place here in the earth, for self-gratification in this life, or for the immortal life, to praise God forever. And which shall it be? It should be the burden of your life to have every child that God has committed to your trust receive the divine mold. Your children should be taught to control their tempers and to cultivate a loving, Christlike spirit. So direct them that they will love the service of God, that they will take more pleasure in going to the house of worship than to places of amusement. Teach them that religion is a living principle. Had I been brought up with the idea that religion is a mere feeling, my life would have been a useless one. But I never let feeling come between Heaven and my soul. Whatever my feelings may be, I will seek God at the commencement of the day, at noon, and at night, that I may draw strength from the living Source of power.

Time for Higher Things

Mothers, you have no right to spend time in ruffling, and tucking, and embroidering your children's dresses for display. Has not your time been given you for a higher and nobler purpose? Has it not been given you to be spent in beautifying the minds of your children, and cultivating loveliness of character? Should it not be spent in laying hold of the Mighty One of heaven, and seeking Him for power and wisdom to train your children for a place in His kingdom, to secure for them a life that will endure as long as the throne of Jehovah?

But how many mothers there are who are so far from God that they devote their time to their own gratification, and leave their children to be cared for by unconsecrated hands. Or perhaps the mother sits at her work night after night, while her children go to bed without a prayer or a good-night kiss. She does not bind their tender hearts to her own by the cords of love; for she is "too busy." And is this as God would have it? No, indeed! Something has taken away the mother's reason; and what is it? Is it not a desire to meet the world's standard and to conform to its customs? As the servants of God, parents, you are

responsible for the children committed to your care. Many of them are growing up without reverence, growing up careless and irreligious, unthankful and unholy.

Training Workers for God

If these children had been properly trained and disciplined, if they had been brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, heavenly angels would be in your homes. If you were true home missionaries, in your daily life exemplifying the teachings of the Word of God, you would be preparing yourselves for a wider field of usefulness, and at the same time fitting your children to stand by your side, as efficient workers in the cause of God. What an impression it makes upon society to see a family united in the work and service of the Lord. Such a family is a powerful discourse in favor of the reality of Christianity. Others see that there is an influence at work in the family that affects the children, and that the God of Abraham is with them. And that which has such a powerful influence on the children is felt beyond the home, and affects other lives. If the homes of professed Christians had a right religious mold, they would exert a mighty influence for good. They would indeed be the "light of the world."

A well-ordered Christian household is an argument that the infidel can not resist. He finds no place for his cavils. And the children of such a household are prepared to meet the sophistries of infidelity. They have accepted the Bible as the basis of their faith, and they have a firm foundation that can not be swept away by the incoming tide of skepticism.

Divine Help Needed

We need divine help if we would keep our lights burning. But Jesus died to provide that aid. He extends the invitation, "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me." Cling to the arm of Infinite Power; then you will find Him precious to your soul, and all heaven will be at your command. "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light," we shall have the companionship of holy angels. To "Joshua" it was said, "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge," "I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." They are the angels of God. Joshua must have a living, confiding trust in God every day; and then angels would walk with him, and the power of God would rest upon him in all his labors.

Then, Christian friends, fathers and mothers, let your light grow dim—no, never! Let your heart grow faint, or your hands weary—no, never! And by and by the portals of the celestial city will be opened to you; and you may present yourselves and your children before the throne, saying, "Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given me." And what a reward for faithfulness that will be, to see your children crowned with immortal life in the beautiful city of God!

The Master's Coming

By Charles L. Taylor

IV. Retarded by God's Compassion for Sinners

FROM the days of Adam until now, faithful souls have been praying for the coming of the Deliverer. Almost impatiently have they watched for the dawn of that day which shall forever end the reign of sin, and usher in the glories of the reign of the Christ.

Almost tragic has been the suspense of the long delay. For delay there has been. And many times, under the pressure of life's burdens, the persecutions of the world, and the tauntings of evil spirits, hearts have grown aweary and discouraged, and have even been led to despair, thinking God had forgotten His promise.

Without doubt there are those who will question these thoughts, and will ask, Why has God permitted this long delay? If He had so desired, could He not have closed up all earthly accounts long ago?

God's Eternal Purpose

To understand this important matter, it is absolutely necessary to remember that the coming of our Lord to earth, including both the first and second advents, is but to carry out the provisions of the great earth-plan which was laid in Christ before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1: 4.

In the commission given to Adam, we may readily discover in outline what that plan really comprehended. To man God said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Gen. 1: 28. The Hebrew word for "replenish" signifies, literally, "to fill." Man therefore was to multiply until earth was filled with righteous beings. And by every law of language and logic we must conclude that when earth was filled, then

multiplication would have ceased. In other words, God's plan called for a definite number of inhabitants, which, in His wisdom, would properly "fill" the earth. These inhabitants would be all upright, after the divine "image," their names—character names—being written in the "Book of Life." Rev. 13: 8.

But sin came. Man by choice placed himself outside of and in opposition to the divine purpose. For a little while sin seemed to triumph. Satan usurped Adam's place, and became the ruler of the world.

Hindered but Not Thwarted—Free Choice

It was impossible, however, that God's magnificent design should be thus permanently swept away. Infinite love and mercy called from the very heavens, and asked that man be spared, that another opportunity be given him, and that the original plan once more be set in operation.

Thus it was that our heavenly Father, in order to carry out the first great plan of life, gave His Son to the world. As that plan had been laid in Him, even so now it must be restored in Him and consummated through Him. The foundation promise of "the Seed" was therefore at once given (Gen. 3: 15), and the work of grace begun.

The great life-plan, however, whether before or after the entrance of sin, could be of benefit to man only by his own free choice. God could send forth His Son, but He could not coerce man to accept His Gift. And seeing that under the new order of things many would refuse to believe, live, and obey, the Creator found it necessary to enlarge the human family in order that He might find that number called for under His first arrangement. Hence He said to Eve, "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception." Gen. 3: 16.

'Not Willing that Any Should Perish'

At the very beginning, therefore, is given us a most wonderful illustration of God's waiting. He was unwilling to see His creatures perish. And from the very day that sin began its deceptive, destructive work, our heavenly Parent has been patiently waiting for men to accept His grace, waiting for this one and that one, waiting from age to age, waiting for that number included in His eternal life-plan, waiting until all who can be saved are saved.

More than once, however, God has indicated His willingness to close up the dreary account of sin, suffering, and death, and to bring His people into speedy possession of the inheritance lost through Adam's fall. When Israel came forth from the land of Egypt, God was able and willing to do for them such marvelous things, in matters of heart-change, character-building, and world-subduing, as would have opened the way for the granting to them of the eternal kingdom and all its glory. In His own good, divine way He would, through them, have evangelized the world, closed up

the earthly account, and the Christ would have come.

Listen, therefore, to the divine lamentation as Jehovah takes a retrospective glance at that people and at that time: "O that My people had harkened unto Me, and Israel had walked in My ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto Him: but their time should have endured forever." Ps. 81: 13-15.

Again in Solomon's time God was ready to accomplish the finalities of the earthly struggle. What remarkable things were those done for Solomon himself! See 1 Kings 3: 5-14; 4: 29-34. With earnest longing the Lord appealed to the people of that time, saying, "To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart." Ps. 95: 7, 8. Speaking of this same time, and evidently quoting from this psalm, the writer to the Hebrews said, "Again, He [Jehovah] limeth [literally, appointeth] a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long a time, . . . harden not your hearts." Heb. 4: 7. It would almost seem that Heaven itself was weary of the long wait.

Delay there was, and delay there had been. What God wanted to do He could not, because man's unbelief and unwillingness stood in the way. Heaven's perfect work was obliged to wait until constantly repeated and multiplied messages of mercy had led men to make choice of that which God had chosen for them.

Heaven's Mightiest Appeal

Finally the Son of God appeared. "He came unto His own." Upon the path of the chosen nation shone full and bright the beams of the "Sun of Righteousness." The very actualities of the kingdom of God were brought close home to the lives of mankind. The "glorious things" spoken of Jerusalem were ready for those who would receive them. Through Israel God would now go forth as of old, and by mighty signs and great wonders would evangelize the nations, and certainly fulfil the promise made to Abraham centuries before. The miracles of Jesus were Heaven's mightiest appeal for Israel's cooperation.

But tho He came first unto His own, "His own received Him not." "Tho He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him." John 12: 37. Even the few that did believe would not confess Him, "for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." Verses 42, 43.

In the face of this, we may understand that bitter lamentation of the Saviour as He wept over Jerusalem: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem," He cried, "how often would I have gathered thy children together, . . . and ye would not!" Matt. 23: 37. "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." Luke 19: 42.

O how different might have been the story of the first advent, had God's people known the time of their visitation, and with open-hearts received the truth and the life

brought to them by the Son of Man. But as it was, they would neither listen, nor look, nor live. The Son of God was by them rejected and crucified, and what might have been was never realized.

The delays and disappointments caused by the unwillingness of God's chosen people, are forcibly set forth in the parable of the marriage of the king's son, Matt. 22: 1-10. "Tell them," said the King, that "all things are ready." But they would not come, and the dinner was obliged to wait until the servants could go out into the highways of the Gentile world and gather in such as would accept the invitation. And this delayed work began when the Jewish nation finally turned against the

Gospel, and the workers were sent to the Gentiles. See Acts 13: 45, 46.

Prosperity—Apostasy—Reform

For a little while the work of God seemed to prosper, and under the inspiration of apostolic days churches sprang up throughout the Roman Empire. The church of Christ "went forth conquering, and to conquer." But ere long carelessness, worldliness, and apostasy were doing their baleful work, and there came that terrible "falling away" of which the apostle had spoken (2 Thess. 2: 3, 4), the development of that great system of iniquity that supplanted the Gospel, and which introduced into the world those many long, dark centuries of superstition and persecution.

Then came the Reformation, with its message of enlightenment and life, during which period the very earth seemed to open up, and its millions of martyred ones were made to cry, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood?" And the answer given them was that they must "rest yet for a little season." Rev. 6: 10, 11. Yes, they must wait a little longer, wait until God's sovereign plan was perfectly wrought out. Thank God for His merciful waiting!

In that "little season" of waiting we are now living. The professed churches of Christ have departed largely from Reformation principles and teachings, and are rapidly developing plans and methods that made the Reformation necessary. But right at this time there comes sounding down from the throne of God the word there shall be "delay no longer." Rev. 10: 6, A.R.V. To His waiting servants the Lord declares, "For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Heb. 10: 37. In this last generation Jehovah finds a willing people. Ps. 110: 3. Separating itself from the world, a little company of faithful believers, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Rev. 14: 12), goes forth with a stirring, world-wide message (Rev. 14: 6-11), and actually completes the great Gospel plan. Rev. 14: 14-16. By them the work of world evangelism is really accomplished, making it possible for Him to come. Matt. 24: 14.

Delay No Longer

Dear reader, can you not see the wisdom of God in this long delay? Can you not see His mercy? Ah, He has not been "slack concerning His promise." He has waited, waited, waited, but only because He "is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3: 9.

"But the day of the Lord will come." The long delay is nearly ended. The angel of mercy is about to take her flight. Man's stubbornness and presumption can no longer put off the time. God will now "finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness." Rom. 9: 28. As it was in Noah's day, so now, the limit of mercy is at last reached, and justice follows.

"The day of the Lord will come." Signs everywhere proclaim its near approach. Especially do the mighty works in our mission fields show that the waiting period is now ending. Dear friend, let us see to it that we are lined up on the side of absolute truth and right, having our all upon the altar, that by the contribution of the sum total of all our energies we may help hasten the day. 2 Peter 3: 12, margin.

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. 22: 20.

Thanksgiving

By Margaret E. Sangster

So MANY are Thy gifts, dear Lord, Sent from Thy throne above, That all our days a song of praise We lift to Thee in love.

We bless Thee for the tender light That in the mother's face Fills home with cheer, and makes so dear Each little dwelling-place.

We bless Thee for the father's strength, For love of kith and kin, For days of birth, and days of mirth, Our happy homes within.

We thank Thee for the right to work, And for the time to play, For moments sweet when at Thy feet We lowly kneel and pray.

In sun and rain, in cloud and dew, While safe we wake or sleep, The seeds we sow to harvests grow, And we Thy bounty reap.

We thank Thee that one day in seven From toil and tasks we rest; Our praise we lift! beyond each gift Thou art Thyself the best.

So, marching on through shade and sun, Our joyous song we raise, And all our ways are filled with praise, All days Thanksgiving days. —Margaret E. Sangster.

He's Coming Soon

By Amos E. Flint

WITH robe of flame He's coming soon, In splendor brighter far than noon, And all the earth with fatal sweep He comes with flaming sword to reap.

'Twill be a day of dread and wrath To those not in the narrow path, For Justice' stern, avenging sword Will slay the mocker of God's Word.

Each setting sun brings near the day When heav'n and earth shall pass away; When mountains, seas, and hills retire 'Mid darkness, tempest, smoke, and fire.

He's coming soon! We now descry That our redemption draweth nigh. All ye His people, now rejoice, For soon we'll hear His welcome voice.

When the last trumpet notes shall sound, Unnumbered millions, captive bound, From buried dust of years shall rise To meet their Lord descend the skies.

He's coming soon! Go sound it forth From east to west, from south to north, That all who will may flee sin's snare, And Christ's eternal glory share.

He's coming soon, throned on a cloud, Confounding all the vile and proud; But to the saints who've waited long, He brings salvation, joy, and song.

The sinners then, with guilty fears, Dismayed shall cry with burning tears; For they shall find reserved in store The tares, a hundredfold they bore.

He's coming soon, our glorious Lord — The promise shines within His Word; And earth with her vast flood of wrongs Will then be tuned to joyful songs.

He's coming soon, and no delay, To usher in that joyful day. Then lift your heads, ye saints, on high, For your redemption draweth nigh.

Granger, Washington.

Wealth and Spiritual Materialism

"WEALTH tends to materialize the soul. Every contribution to spiritual objects counteracts the tendency. It is another step up the ladder, whose foot is deep down in materialism, but whose top reaches to the holy heavens of spirit and love."

Continue reading: THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST