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Signs of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 23.

The Living Truths of Today

Signs of the Times

Jun 17, 1889

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 17, 1889

The Living Truths of Today

By Editor

WE are prone to think that because men died for their faith in past ages, the sublime issues which rendered such heroism necessary on their part must always be sublime. While it may be true that the record of these issues, and perhaps some of the questions themselves, will always be sublime in a certain sense, it is not true that they are sublime in the sense of being the living issues of to-day. The ministry of to-day is too ready to dwell in the midst of a dead past, instead of taking up the vital, present truths that so intimately concern our own time. If we are of the impression that God gave all his truth to past generations, we labor under a mistake. There are truths which concern the people of God to-day, living truths, burning questions, which were unnecessary for them to know in past generations, and these are the sublime issues upon which we should dwell, instead of relegating our labors to the domain of the past.

CHRIST’S COMFORTING ASSURANCE.

By Mrs. E. G. White

BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
“Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And 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.”
THIS comforting assurance was given to the disciples when their hearts were weighed down by sorrow because Christ had told them that he was soon to leave them. They were filled with distress at the thought of losing the presence of their beloved teacher. Although the Saviour’s feet were in the path that led to Calvary, his thoughts were not on himself, nor on the suffering that he was to endure. His sympathy was drawn out to his beloved disciples, who were to bear a severe test. He thought of their disappointment and loneliness, and while he was on the way to Gethsemane, he sought to cheer them, saying, “Let not your heart be troubled.” He tells them that his object in leaving them is to prepare homes, mansions, for them, that he will not always remain away, but will come again, and receive them unto himself. He will not leave them alone to battle with the trials and afflictions of this world, but he will come again and take them to himself, that where he is there they may be also.
After his resurrection he spoke words of encouragement and instruction to them. He said: “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto theuttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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.”
This promise of the return of the Saviour did not make the disciples feel unhappy and gloomy. They were filled with joy to think that Jesus was coming again. And if the disciples of Christ were filled with joy then, why should not his followers on earth to-day rejoice that their redemption draweth nigh? Our Lord is coming with clouds and great glory, and all the angels of Heaven will escort him on his way.
When he ascended on high after his resurrection, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Those who had transgressed the law of Jehovah had fallen in death. Although they had confessed and forsaken their sins, Satan had claimed them as his lawful subjects and prisoners. He said they were his victims; but when Christ came out of the grave, he led forth from the prison-houses of the enemy a multitude of captives as a sample of the general resurrection. And when he comes again, it will be to break the fetters of the tomb, to call forth the prisoners of hope from their prison-houses, to clothe them with a glorious immortality.
As Christ ascended from the earth, a cloud of angels escorted him on his way to the city of God. As they neared the gates they sang, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in.” Then the sentinel angels inquired, “Who is this king of glory?” and the ascending host rolled back the response, “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” As the heavenly train pass within the city, the angelic throng come forth to bow in adoration before him. The Saviour waves them back, he cannot yet receive their homage. He has a request to present before the Father. He remembers those that he has left in the world alone. He says, “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 lovest me before the foundation of the world.” Then the Father gives the command to the waiting host, “Let all the angels of God worship him,” and they bow in adoration before him, saying, “Worthy, worthy, is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again, a triumphant conqueror.”
Satan had not triumphed over Christ, although he had inspired wicked men to take his life. He had gained nothing by his rebellion. Even in the very act of crucifying the Prince of life, he himself had been conquered. Christ had gained the victory in every contest.
The sin of Adam and Eve had divorced earth from Heaven, and finite man from the infinite God, but Christ had passed over the very ground where Adam had failed, and at every step he was a conqueror. Every victory he gained elevated humanity in the scale of moral value before Heaven. It was impossible for man to redeem himself, and this was the reason that Jesus took human nature upon himself, that through humanity his divine nature might reach and lift up humanity.
When Christ came to the world, he found that Satan had almost everything under his own control. Christ announced his mission at Nazareth. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to teach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” This was his work. He went about doing good, and healing all those who were oppressed of the devil. There were whole villages where there was not a moan of sickness in any house, for he had passed through them and healed all their sick. His work gave evidence of his divine anointing. He had come to represent his Father to the world; and love, mercy, and compassion were displayed in every act of his life. His heart went out in tender sympathy to the children of men. This was his work in our world, to elevate humanity by combining divinity with humanity. He took man’s nature that he might reach man’s wants. With his human arm he encircled the race, and with his divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite, and united finite man with the infinite God, and earth with Heaven. Here was man, plunged in degradation, sin, and ruin, and Christ was willing to resign all his glory in order to offer to man the cup of salvation. Astonishment filled Heaven to see man’s indifference, to see man so lacking in appreciation of the things that would make for his peace.
When the Son of God received baptism in the river Jordan, “the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him,” and a voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, came from the excellent glory declaring, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Did the voice of God come alone for the sake of Christ?—No; it came in behalf of the humanity that he represented. It came to assure man that he could be accepted in the beloved. Heaven was opened by the prayer of Christ, and it was opened for all who would come unto God by him. Thus divine power is given that it may be combined with human effort.
How often we have read over the description of Christ’s baptism with no thought that there was any particular significance in it for us. But it means everything to us. It means that there can be no excuse for our living in alienation from God. You may claim much leniency because of your human nature, of your temptations and trials, and seek to excuse yourself for sin because of inherited tendencies, but Christ gave himself in behalf of humanity, and there is no reason for failure. Christ bore temptations such as you will never be called upon to bear. He suffered as you will never suffer. He knew all your griefs, he has carried your sorrows. He has made it possible for you to be an overcomer. Do not say it is impossible for you to overcome. Do not say, “It is my nature to do thus and so, and I cannot do otherwise. I have inherited weaknesses that make me powerless before temptation.” We know you cannot overcome in your own strength; but help has been laid upon One who is mighty to save. When God gave his only begotten Son, he provided everything essential to your salvation. And “he that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” The resources of Heaven are open to us. We should believe this precious truth. And when the enemy comes in like a flood to discourage and to dishearten, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him. When sorrows press you, cling closer to the Mighty One. Instead of faltering and losing faith, praise God that Jesus has died for you. A brother came into meeting at one time and related his difficulties, and trials, and sorrows. I said to him, “Brother, haven’t you anything to praise God for? has not Jesus died that you might live? Is there any reason that you should be discouraged?” How does Heaven look upon our doubts and discouragements, when God has given his beloved Son to die on Calvary’s cross, that we might have peace in this life, and everlasting joy in the life to come? How does Heaven regard us when we speak and act as though it were a very difficult path through which God was leading us? How must it seem to the angels when we act as though we doubted whether it would pay to be a Christian? All Heaven was poured out to us in Christ, and he that spared not his own Son will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly.

Love, Sin, and Duty

ALL the humanity of the world, all the divinity of Heaven, and all the evil of hell, is embraced in the three words, love, sin, and duty. The impulses which govern us, the forces which control the universe, the anomalies of our present life, and the mysteries and vast possibilities of the life to come, all are brought within the scope and meaning of these solemn words.

Improve Today’s Opportunities

IMPROVE well the opportunities and fill up the privileges of to-day, for to-day only is thine. Yesterday is dead to thee forever; its records of good and evil are sealed up for eternity. To-morrow, with its hopes and fears, is not yet born to thee; the light of its sunshine may never fall upon thy countenance. But to-day is thine. Thank God for its joys, endure patiently its sorrows, and press nobly forward in the discharge of all its duties. Use its moments well, for they will soon be thine no more forever.

The Extent of Spiritualism

SPIRITUALISM claims 20,000,000 adherents, which is certainly a very moderate estimate, for there are hundreds of thousands in the so-called orthodox church who are Spiritualists in all but name; that is, they believe the fundamental doctrines of Spiritualism. Thousands in all the churches believe that their departed friends are their guardian angels, watching over them and shielding them from a thousand unknown and unseen dangers, and influencing them in some mysterious way for good. Such persons are to all intents and purposes Spiritualists.

Christ’s Injunction to Keep Sabbath

By Editor

As reported in the Los Angeles Tribune of May 23, Dr. Cantine (Methodist), of that city, said in a recent sermon that “Christ laid an injunction upon the disciples to keep the seventh day of the week, but after Christ’s resurrection the disciples met on the first day, and Christ countenanced it, and it became the established day for worship.” Yes, we believe that Christ did enjoin the keeping of the seventh day, for he taught all to keep the commandments of God. But we do not believe that the disciples immediately disobeyed the commands of their Master, and instead of keeping the seventh day kept the first. At all events, we would like a few Scripture references on this point, before receiving Mr. Cantine’s statement as beyond question.

Sunday Observance and Divine Judgment

By Editor

The Christian Nation, a National Reform organ published in New York City, intimates that Dr. Vincent, recently strangled to death by an apparatus for the treatment of spinal disease, with which he was experimenting, and also Mind-reader Bishop, were the victims of divine displeasure because they both experimented on Sunday. Would it not be well for the Nation to first show that God himself has any special regard for Sunday before jumping to the conclusion that he is sending judgment upon those who fail to observe it according to the National Reform order? And while our contemporary is about it we would like it to account for the fact that not a few ministers have dropped dead while preaching on Sunday, and also that no longer ago than May 26, a minister was struck by lightning in his pulpit on Sunday at the New Liberty Christian Church, in Fountain County, Ind.

Strength Made Perfect in Weakness

It is not until we reach the end of our own strength that we begin to realize the strength of God. As long as we have confidence in ourselves we fail to see our need of outside help, therefore the Lord does not help us; but when we acknowledge the failure of our own efforts and come to God all weak and broken down, distrustful of ourselves, and realizing our need of divine help, then it is that Christ becomes a source of strength to us. It is thus that his “strength is made perfect in [or through our] weakness.” The cry of the poor publican, “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” was what brought salvation to his soul. There is nothing so strong with God as our very weakness, yet nothing so weak in his sight as our own strength. If there is such a thing as death-bed conversion it is because the individual is brought to the point where he recognizes this fact, and is ready to cry out like Peter, “Save, Lord, or I perish.”

THE MORNING BREAKS.

By J. W. Scoles

BY J. W. SCOLES.
OFTTIMES we groan in sorrow, Our hearts with burdens pressed, Forgetful that the morrow Shall bring us endless rest— But lo! the morning breaks!
Death’s cruel reign of sadness Will shortly pass away; Our sighs will change to gladness, Our night to radiant day. Arise! the morning breaks!
Cheer up, then, weary toiler, Faint not beneath thy load; The goal lies just before us,— The kingdom of our God. Look up! the morning breaks.

NOT WORTHY TO BE COMPARED.

THERE are those who complain of the expense of religion, and the demands made of them for the support of the gospel. As a general thing, those who complain the most give the least. A man who properly appreciates the gospel feels that he is an infinite debtor to grace, and can never make suitable returns to God for all his benefits. There can be no just comparison instituted between the temporal cost of religion and the spiritual blessings which it secures. "Whatever a man pays for his Bible," says a recent writer, "there is no kind of proportion between the money given and the thing got. The wealth of the world could not buy one text of the word of God. The money is the equivalent only of paper, printing, binding. So conversion, sanctification, the strength of organized fellowship, godly training of the young, profitable use of the Sabbath, the sacraments, comfort in sickness and death—are things which man cannot buy, because man cannot give them. All the more reasonable, therefore, that the simple and inexpensive channel by which God dispenses them to us and sends them on to coming generations should be maintained." "If we have sown unto you spiritual things," says the apostle, "is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?" Christians should show their appreciation of the gospel by its constant and liberal support.—Selected.

Examples as Scriptural Commentaries

Of all commentaries upon the Scriptures, good examples are the best and the liveliest.

THE REAL TROUBLE ABOUT SABBATH OBSERVANCE.

By William N. Glenn

TAKING all the stereotyped Sunday arguments together, they amount to a bold insinuation that the Creator's judgment was at fault when he set apart the seventh day as the Sabbath. The only thing that the Sunday preachers and writers admit was right about instituting the Sabbath was the act of establishing such an institution. They are condescending enough to allow that that part of the transaction was right. But the Lord was all wrong in the object of the Sabbath, as well as in the choice of which day it should be.
These men, who set themselves up to amend the Lord's work, would have the Sabbath based upon the ground that man's physical nature needs a day of rest every week; or that the Saviour rose from the tomb on that day; or that the majority of people prefer that day; or in order to cut loose from the Jewish institutions;—anything but the reason designated by the Creator himself, namely: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it."
Then, as to the specific day, according to these Sunday worshipers, the time doesn't suit all. Well,—it was so faulty that it was done away with altogether; it was such a peculiar day that everybody all around the world couldn't keep it at once. Then a specific day is not wanted anyhow, only the seventh part of time; it doesn't make any difference what particular seventh part, but it must not be the seventh day, that's Jewish, etc., etc. We must have a uniform day, so that all can rest at the same time for convenience. It must be a day that will suit the majority. Furthermore, it ought to be a day on which it is wrong to keep saloons open, and on which it is wrong to have hoodlum picnics, and such like outrages. And all things considered, there is just one day that fills the bill, and that is Sunday. So we must have a Sunday law, and bring everyone down to that specific seventh part of time,—for it has lately been discovered that the Lord made a mistake in numbering, and the first day is really the true seventh day. It is indeed wonderfully surprising how many mistakes he did make in starting that Sabbath institution.
But a few pertinent questions may not be amiss in this connection, just for the sake of getting to the bottom of the real trouble:—
If man's physical nature needs a day of rest every week, why can't he rest on the day the Creator set apart?
If we must keep a Sabbath for any reason, why not keep it for the reason the Lord has given in the commandment?
If it doesn't make any difference which day we keep, why not keep the day the Lord designated?
If it is necessary to have a regular day of worship for all classes, why is not the seventh day as regular as any other day?
If one day is to be designated as the Lord's day, why not the one which he himself calls his day, and sanctified it to that purpose?
In short, why not keep the commandments as the Lord gave them, Sabbath-day and all?
There is just one reply that can truthfully be given, and that is found in Rom. 8:7: "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." That shows just where the trouble lies; and after all the blasphemous insinuations about the law of God, and all the trivial excuses for not keeping his Sabbath, it brings to light the real incentive for setting up a rival institution, and calling for tyrannical laws to sustain it.
W. N. GLENN.

THE LAND OF THE CZARS. NO. 5.

By J. W. Scoles

THE only thing that savors of self-government in the least degree in Russia is the right possessed by each mir, or village commune, to banish from its jurisdiction any of its inhabitants who, by bad conduct or general worthlessness, have rendered themselves subjects of dislike to society. And when we stop to consider upon what very flimsy pretexts an individual may be considered guilty of bad conduct, we see that this right upon the part of the commune is capable of being exercised to such an utter subversion of the rights of the individual that it is, in reality, no self-government at all. In addition to this, the fact that one who has served out his sentence of banishment and comes back to his original commune is liable to be refused, and that this refusal means a probable banishment for life to Siberia by administrative process, enables us to see something of the difficulties which will attend the carrying forward of the last message of warning in this part of the world.
In considering the administrative process of dealing with offenders, it will be well for us to remember that there are no penitentiaries in Russia. The penal code of the country provides that if the penalty for the crime committed is not greater than four years' imprisonment, the criminal shall serve out his sentence in one of the common prisons of European Russia, because it would not justify the expense of sending him to Siberia. If he is condemned for a longer time than this, however, he goes to Siberia at once. So we can see that prisoners sent to Siberia cannot return under any circumstances sooner than five years, and many, in fact the larger number, are transported for life.
Inasmuch as some of the special features of prison life and the exile system are to be taken up in the future, it will not be necessary to dwell longer at present upon this topic, only to remark that there are something near 20,000 persons sent to Siberia each year, and of this number more than one-half on an average are sent there by administrative process.
The "administrative process" is one of the most outrageous violations of the principles of right of which it is possible to conceive. In brief, it is simply an order from the Minister of the Interior through one of his many instruments, to the effect that the obnoxious person shall be banished without the benefit of trial, counsel, accusation, or any of the proceedings which in most civilized countries are considered the legal rights of the accused. It seems the nearest approach to the perpetuation of the principles of the Inquisition of anything we ever heard of aside from that institution itself. The following quotation from George Kennan, in the Century magazine of September, 1888, is specially interesting from the reason that all the particulars in the instances he mentions were gathered directly from parties who were acquainted with the facts in the case, and as this is only a fair sample of the treatment accorded to thousands, we give it in order that all may see the injustice that exists to-day in that country. Mr. Kennan says:—
"The person so banished may not be guilty of any crime, and may not have rendered himself amenable in any way to any law of the State; but if, in the opinion of the local authorities, his presence in a particular place is 'prejudicial to social order,' he may be arrested without a warrant, and, with the concurrence of the Minister of the Interior, may be removed forcibly to any other place within the limits of the empire, and there be put under police surveillance for a period of five years. He may, or may not, be informed of the reasons for this summary proceeding, but in either case he is perfectly helpless. He cannot examine the witnesses upon whose testimony his presence is declared to be 'prejudicial to social order.' He cannot summon friends to prove his loyalty and good character without great risk of bringing upon them the same calamity which has befallen him. He has no right to demand a trial, or even a hearing. He cannot sue out a right of habeas corpus. He cannot appeal to the public through the press. His communications with the world are so suddenly severed that sometimes even his own relatives do not know what has happened to him. He is literally and absolutely without any means whatever of self-protection.
"As an illustration of the sort of evidence upon which the presence of certain persons in the cities and provinces of European Russia is declared to be 'prejudicial to social order,' I will give a few typical cases from the great number in my note-books. Some of the readers of the Century may still remember a young naval officer named Constantine Staniukovitch, who was attached to the staff of the Grand Duke Alexis at the time of the latter's visit to the United States. From the fact that I saw in Mr. Staniukovitch's house in Tomsk a number of visiting cards of people well known in the cities of New York and San Francisco, I infer that he went a good deal into society here, and that he may still be called to mind by persons who met him. . . . In 1882 or 1883 he purchased a well-known Russian magazine in St. Petersburg called the Diello, and became its editor and proprietor. He spent a considerable part of the summer of 1884 abroad, and in the latter part of that year left his wife and children at Baden-Baden and started for St. Petersburg. At the Russian frontier station of Vizhbolof he was suddenly arrested, was taken thence to St. Petersburg under guard, and was there thrown into the fortress of Petropavlovsk. His wife, knowing nothing of this misfortune, continued to write to him at St. Petersburg without getting any answers to her letters, until finally she became alarmed, and telegraphed to the editorial department of the Diello, asking what had happened to her husband and why he did not write to her. The managing editor of the magazine replied that Mr. Staniukovitch was not there, and that they had supposed him to be still in Baden-Baden. Upon the receipt of this telegram, Mrs. Staniukovitch, thoroughly frightened, proceeded at once with her children to St. Petersburg. Nothing whatever could be learned there with regard to her husband's whereabouts. He had not been seen at the editorial rooms of the Diello, and none of his friends had heard anything of or from him in two weeks. He had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. At last, after days of torturing anxiety, Mrs. Staniukovitch was advised to make inquiries of General Orzhefski, the Chief of Gendarmes. She did so, and found that her husband was a prisoner in one of the casemates of the Petropavlovsk fortress.
"The police, as it afterward appeared, had for some time been intercepting and reading his letters, and had ascertained that he was in correspondence with a well-known Russian revolutionist who was then living in Switzerland. The correspondence was perfectly innocent in its character, and related solely to the business of the magazine; but the fact that an editor, and a man of known liberal views, was in communication with a political refugee was regarded as sufficient evidence that his presence in St. Petersburg would be 'prejudicial to social order,' and his arrest followed. In May, 1885, he was exiled for three years by administrative process to the city of Tomsk, in Western Siberia. The publication of the magazine was of course suspended in consequence of the imprisonment and ultimate banishment of its owner, and Mr. Staniukovitch was financially ruined. If the Russian Government deals in this arbitrary way with men of rank, wealth, and high social position in the capital of the empire, it can be imagined what treatment is accorded to physicians, students, and small landed proprietors whose presence is regarded as 'prejudicial to social order' in the provinces.
"Mr. Borodin, a well-known writer for the Russian magazine Annals of the Fatherland, was banished to the province of Yakutsk on account of the 'dangerous' and 'pernicious' character of a manuscript found in his house by the police during a search. This manuscript was a copy of an article upon the economic condition of the province of Viatka, which Mr. Borodin had sent to the above-named magazine, but which up to that time had not been published. Mr. Borodin went to Eastern Siberia in a convict's gray overcoat with a yellow ace of diamonds on his back, and three or four months after his arrival in Yakutsk he had the pleasure of reading in the Annals of the Fatherland the very same article for which he had been exiled. The Minister of the Interior had sent him to Siberia merely for having in his possession a 'dangerous' and 'pernicious' manuscript, and then the St. Petersburg committee of censorship had certified that another copy of that same manuscript was perfectly harmless, and had allowed it to be published, without the change of a line, in one of the most popular and widely circulated magazines in the empire."
Further instances of the injustice suffered by other of the exiles will be given next week. J. W. SCOLES.

GOD IS WEIGHING YOU.

"Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."
God is weighing you, my brother! And his balances are true; Dare you trifle with him longer, Thoughtless that he's weighing you? Should he find you wanting, brother, When the final test is given, Sad, indeed, will be the sentence: Banished evermore from Heaven.
God is weighing you, my brother! By the standard of his word, By your faith in his own promise, By your love for Christ, the Lord. Does he find you wanting, brother? Do you all his law obey? Is your faith in him unwav'ring? Do you serve him day by day?
God is weighing you, my brother! Weighing every secret thought, Weighing every word and action, Every deed your life hath wrought; Does he find you wanting, brother? Oh, let ev'ry thought be pure; Gentle words and loving actions, These his favor will secure.
—Selected.

"BABYLON IS FALLEN, IS FALLEN."

It is quite common to hear from their own lips the admission that the popular churches are losing their spiritual power. A writer in the Interior (Presbyterian), after avowing loyalty to his church, utters the following complaint, which is but a specimen of what is frequently heard from representatives of all the daughters of Babylon:—
Is it not a fact that about all the old methods, such as visitation, catechising, prayer, and oversight of the baptized, have been dropped? What has taken their place?—Nothing! Nor do we recall that the General Assembly has ever advised giving up these old methods of the fathers. In the matter of discipline, where is the church session that has done its whole duty? Take a sample of sessional proceedings on the subject of discipline. The eldership is gathered together to look after the spiritual interests of the church. They have opened their conference with prayer for God's guidance. After the transaction of some matters of minor importance, they begin a free conversation on the state of religion in their church. Mention is made of one brother who does not properly observe the Sabbath—sometimes driving, sometimes looking after his business, often neglecting the services of the sanctuary—and it is telling on the life of the family. They are all sorry that such is the case, but they hardly think best to do anything with him. He is high-strung, wealthy, and they do not wish to alienate him and lose his support. Probably a sermon by the pastor on Sabbath observance will prove effective. (But if he ever hears it, the pastor must have it cut and dried and laid up for him whenever he catches him in the church!) Mention is made of another who is becoming the victim of drink. He is a "tippler" and has gone to the stage of drunkenness and disgraced himself and family. They are exceedingly sorry for him, but it will hardly do to discipline him, for he is brother to Mr. A., and is related to some of the best families in the church, and it would be very humiliating to their pride, and probably alienate some of them, to have the church take up the matter. Thus it goes, no discipline being exercised. The sessional records are free from scandal, if the church is not. It is not hard to understand how and why the spiritual condition of such a church is continually growing worse.

SUNDAY LAW IN CALIFORNIA.

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Prohibition party, and a small minority of the clergymen of California, have made strenuous efforts to secure the passage of a Sunday law in that State, during the past winter. A mild bill which asked very little, much less than the friends of such legislation desired, was introduced in the Senate, and some hope was entertained by its friends that it might pass and take the place of the law which was repealed in 1882. The bill failed to reach the second reading, by a vote of twenty-two to thirteen.
The work of the Seventh-day Adventists, who have a publishing house at Oakland, Cal., is said by the Christian Statesman to have been effective in opposing this bill, and the ground of their opposition, together with their advocacy of religious liberty, is worthy of commendation, which even the Statesman indirectly grants. It is clear, however, that without any opposition on the part of those who observe the Sabbath, public opinion in California is wholly opposed to the re-enactment of any general Sunday law. Prohibitory legislation against liquor traffic on all days ought to obtain in California, and elsewhere. But any law which is directly or indirectly in the interest of religious observance of any day, has no right to demand a hearing, there or elsewhere. All laws which are based upon the idea that it is wrong to attend to "secular affairs" on Sunday, seek to establish a religious observance of the day. Some men may injure themselves by overwork, by not resting on Sunday, but ten times as many injure themselves by the dissipation, smoking, drinking, etc., when the law compels men to make it a holiday. If Sunday laws are to be supported mainly on hygienic grounds theymust be made to include smoking, drinking, "late suppers," and scores of other unhealthful practices which compulsory idleness induces.—Sabbath Recorder.

BELIEVING A LIE.

IN theory, the teachers of "Christian Science" claim that evil has no real existence, but is wholly imaginary. So of physical evil; so of moral evil. Hence, in point of fact, there is no such thing as physical disease; and hence also, there is no such thing as moral disease. Sickness exists only in the imagination; sin exists only in the imagination; hence there is no sickness, and there is no sin, provided you will believe that there is not. This doctrine naturally leads up to the desperate venture of believing a lie until you imagine a lie to be the truth. An exchange well says: "If you eliminate sin and its consequences from your creed, you eliminate all the vital, spiritual forces which are organized for the destruction of evil and the overthrow of sin. God is not fighting a shadow in the stupendous work of human redemption. If there is no sin, then there is no salvation; if no ruin, no redemption. The next step is easy and logical—if there is no sin there is no Saviour—Christ could not and did not make an atonement for sin; there can be no remedy for an evil which does not exist. Follow the system a little further and you will find that it rejects the church established by Christ, and the ordinances which he committed to it—baptism and the Lord's Supper. What then?—They surrender the God-appointed instrumentalities for the evangelization of the world, and band them together under the leadership of Mrs. Eddy, whom they believe to be inspired, and in whose teachings they believe Christ has come again. Why call a system Christian which denies the existence of those things which make a conception of Christianity impossible, and which eliminates all the divinely-appointed appliances for its triumph? As a system of religion it is false, pernicious, dangerous, and antichristian."—Good Way.

A SATURATED SOLUTION OF HEATHENISM.

IN a ten or fifteen minutes' address I must give a "saturated solution" of heathenism. And I will tell you in just a few words what the churches of America are doing, in the mind of a foreign missionary. I have stood in Benares, with its five thousand shrines; I have seen the masses going in and out of some of the principal temples in Benares, mad upon their idols, in and out of those temples, to make offerings to the gods, just as if it was some great feast-day; yet it was so every day in the year. And I have stood in Madura City, where there is the largest temple, covering the greatest area, in the whole of India, and I have thought, as I have seen the masses of people, that the force that we have in our
Madura mission, and in the whole of India, is like a little child digging with its little wooden spade, as they do in so many of these seaports, a small hole on the beach, and then, with a little cup, trying to empty the water of the Atlantic into that hole. I tell you, you do not begin to realize what heathenism is, or the work which rests upon the churches of America. No church will live whose pastor does not take an interest in foreign missions. There is no other work that can do so much good, that can so build up a church, and lead you to take an interest not only in foreign missions, but in home missions and in the work of your own town.—Rev. Edward Chester, M. D., in Evangelical Messenger.

GATHERING MANNA.

PAUL writes to the Corinthians in regard to the manna in the wilderness: "He that had gathered much had nothing over, and he that had gathered little had no lack." 2 Cor. 8:15. This is a quotation from Ex. 16:18. Every one was to have an omer daily of the miraculous food, no more and no less. But how was this equality secured? By equality in gathering?—No, for it is expressly stated that some gathered much and some little. It is evident that it was every man's privilege and duty to gather all that he could. A strong man might gather ten omers for a family of five, while his feeble neighbor might be able to gather only five omers for a family of ten. How now?—When the strong man brought his manna home he measured out his five omers—that was his. The other five omers were not his. He held them in trust for his feebler neighbor. He was bound to send them to him or give them when called for. If he kept the surplus it would do him no good. It would only breed worms. Here then was not an equality of ability, but an equality of supply. It was the best kind of communism—that of brotherly love.
But it may be suggested that since the strong man with a family of five needed and could have only five omers he would not gather any more. This was evidently not the case, however. The people all seemed animated by a noble ambition to gather as much as they could. And in this they are an example for us. We ought to improve all our faculties and all our opportunities. We ought to get as much as we can, honestly, of worldly good. But when we have got it we have no right to keep more of it than we need. We are to distribute so that there may be equality. As surely as manna selfishly hoarded in the wilderness bred worms, the riches of the miser are corrupted and his garments moth-eaten. God gives abundance to some that they may supply the wants of others. John Howard's rule of giving was, "That our superfluities should give way to other men's conveniences; that our conveniences give way to other men's necessities; and that even our necessities sometimes give way to other men's extremities."—Interior.
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