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Review and Herald, Vol. 92, No. 4.

A Pen. Portrait of Jesus

Review and Herald

Jan 20, 1916

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jan 20, 1916

A Pen. Portrait of Jesus

By Arthur H. Gleason

To His lovely spirit we bring our sadness and our frailty. His gentle thought knows no alien races, no outcast men or women. He gathers us all, Jew and Gentile, toil-worn and disinherited, within the healing of His love. We need His homely ways, who had no scorn for unsuccess. We need His simple speech, whose words could touch the heart of grief. . . . Many years ago, with a tender ministration, He took away the hurt from troubled hearts, and still the thought of Him brings comfort for what is bruised with striving, and comradeship for what has never been at home in life. The journey is sweeter with Him in company. His care for us is more understanding than the heart of all other friends, for in the hour of need they are sometimes very far away. His love is so sure that we take it for granted, so forgiving that we are careless of it, trusting it as we trust the sun continuing in the heavens. It sends out its gentle rays into the immense emptiness of life. It would wait, sorrowful and full of remembrance, through a lifetime of years. Inside its golden circumference it includes all the wide areas of the human spirit, rising through the radiance of youth to manhood’s term of power, and falling away to the final dissolution.—Arthur H. Gleason.

When the War Is Ended

By Editor

THERE is only one hope for world peace, in the opinion of Elihu Root, former Secretary of State, and Senator from New York, and that is in the real restraint of nations by powerful international tribunals operating under a definite code of laws. Speaking before a joint session of a subsection of international law from the Pan-American Scientific Congress and the American Society of International Law, of which he is president, he said:—
When this war is ended, the civilized world will have to determine whether what we call international law is to be continued as a mere code of etiquette, or whether it is to be a real body of laws imposing obligations much more definite and inevitable than they have been heretofore. It must be one thing or the other.
Vague and uncertain as the future must be, there is some reason to think that after the terrible experience through which civilization is passing there will be a tendency to strengthen rather than abandon the law of nations. Whatever the result may be, the world will have received a dreadful lesson of the evils of war. The sacrifice of millions of lives, millions homeless and in poverty, industry and commerce destroyed, overwhelming national debts,—all will naturally produce a strong desire to do something that will prevent the same thing from happening again.
While the war has exhibited the inadequacy of international law so far as it has yet developed, to curb those governmental policies which aim to extend power at all costs, it has shown even more clearly that little reliance can be placed upon unrestrained human nature, subject to specific temptations to commit forcible aggression in the pursuit of power and wealth.
How can the restraints of law be made more effective upon nations? It is not difficult to suggest some things which will tend in that direction. Laws to be obeyed must have sanctions behind them; that is to say, violations of them must be followed by punishment. That punishment must be caused by powers superior to the lawbreakers.
Many states have grown so great that there is no power capable of imposing punishment upon them except the power of collective civilization outside of the offending state. Any exercise of that power must be based upon public opinion. Without such an opinion behind it, no punishment of any kind can be imposed for the violation of international law.
The world condition is well expressed by Elihu Root; but we think that his one hope for world peace, resting as it does in restraint of nations by international tribunals, is certain to be disappointed. The concern shown by prominent men when “looking after those things which are coming on the earth,” is another sign that Christ’s coming is near.

The Catholics and Carranza

For months some in the Catholic Church have waged a very earnest controversy against the recognition of the Carranza government in Mexico, on the ground that Carranza and his followers stand bitterly opposed to the Catholic Church. Much dissatisfaction has been expressed over the recognition of Carranza by the United States government and by some of the Latin American governments.
President Wilson’s private secretary, Mr. Tumulty, himself a Catholic, recently issued a statement, the ostensible object of which was to justify the step taken by the United States in giving to the Carranza faction governmental recognition. In this statement he expresses grave doubts as to the reliability of reports of outrages against nuns which have been attributed to Carranza and his followers. Mr. Tumulty declares that while there has been any number of reports, yet “none of our consuls or special agents who have diligently investigated reported cases has been able to verify them. It was said that at Zacatecas a great many of the nuns had been outraged. Our special agent who was sent there to make inquiries, after a thorough investigation, covering two weeks, reported that he had not been able to confirm the report.” Mr. Tumulty adds: “It is proper to observe here that perhaps some nuns may have been assaulted, as might have occurred in any other country under the conditions of wild disorder which then prevailed in Mexico, and especially when it is considered that the laws of Mexico prohibit a nun from wearing any garb or any other insignia to indicate her calling, so that she would be in no way distinguishable from others of her sex.”
There has appeared to be a revolt on the part of the Mexican revolutionists against the Catholic Church. This was only natural. When the church gets out of her place, as she has repeatedly done in Catholic countries, and seeks to control civil as well as religious affairs, times of stress and revolution, when men are fighting for their liberties, have caused a reaction from this régime. And it is probable that in this reaction which has occurred in Mexico license has often been mistaken for liberty. But we must conclude from the investigation which has been made, according to Mr. Tumulty, that these great abuses which the Catholics allege have been suffered by that church in Mexico have been greatly exaggerated. The Catholic Church should receive precisely the same privileges in Mexico and in every other country as every other church; and if it were content to be satisfied with this, it would be better for all concerned,—better for the church and better for the state.

Note and Comment

We Agree With Dr. Crafts

DR. WILBUR F. CRAFTS, of National Reform fame, has sounded a note of warning against magazines “chiefly devoted to exploiting sex, now multiplying like a plague of frogs, which are none the less dangerous that the nastiest things are said in polite language.” He calls attention to the fact that in some reading rooms, and in Christian homes, are found magazines whose pages are crowded with stories which are unfit to be read by the young people, and which ought not to find a place in any Christian home.
In this day of books, and of good books, there is little excuse for parents' placing before their children books whose teaching and influence lead away from purity and righteousness. We need to give more careful attention, first to what we read ourselves, and secondly to the reading matter which we place before our children. It is painful to see Christian men and women spending time following up divorce suits and murders as reported in the daily newspapers, or reading popular story magazines. God calls us to better things, and to a wiser employment of our time. If we were obliged to choose between the influence exerted on the lives of our children by the reading of pernicious literature and the influence exerted by evil companions on the street, we should choose the latter; but we need to guard our children from both influences.

Kept by the Power of God

THE apostle Peter speaks of a class who are “kept by the power of God through faith.” I Peter 1:5. How greatly we need this keeping power! We are living amid the perils of the last days. Satan has come down “having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Rev. 12:12. Many and varied are his devices and allurements to lead us from the path of integrity. Through “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16) he is endeavoring to lead us to enrol under his banner.
Of ourselves we are unable to meet his specious and subtle temptations. Many times have we been overthrown. We cannot succeed in the fight unless we take hold of a power outside of ourselves, even the mighty power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has vanquished Satan on every field. In every conflict he has come off victorious, and his help he guarantees to every one who will engage on the side of truth and righteousness against the forces of error and iniquity.
The heavenly Father calls us to become sons and daughters of his. With the call to this relationship he promises the power whereby we may enter it. The record is, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name,” John 1:12. But this transformation cannot be wrought by the power of the will, or by the deeds of the flesh, for the apostle declares of the sons of God that they “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Verse 13.
The Lord provides that we shall be not only justified by his blood, but that we shall be kept from sinning by his indwelling life. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Rom. 5:10.
Possessing this indwelling life the apostle Paul was able to declare, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. For this indwelling life of Christ we need to constantly pray and believe. Through confessing and forsaking sin, through surrender of the will to God, through asking and believing, Christ is brought into the heart and held as the motive power of the spiritual life.
As a result we shall become “rooted and grounded in love,” and we shall come “to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge,” and shall experience continually the keeping power of him “that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” See Eph. 3:17-20. Let us make that daily consecration, that will enable us to be kept in these evil days “by the power of God through faith unto salvation.”

Grumbling

By G. B. T.

ONE of the surest ways in which we can make ourselves disagreeable is to be grumblers. A chronic grumbler in the house is a very great misfortune, yet many a home is darkened by this depressing influence. It is impossible to satisfy one who has this complaining spirit. Something is always the matter, and the most trivial things furnish an excuse for a fresh outburst of complaints. Morning, noon, and night they are served up to the family.
There is a story about an old farmer who said that while he always put several barrels of good apples in his cellar in the autumn, yet he never saw a good apple. His wife was a frugal body, and would pick the apples over every few days, bringing up the partly decayed and spotted ones for the table, so that she just kept pace with the rot in the fruit, and the old farmer had to eat partly decayed apples all winter. And some people seem to see only decay in everything. Indeed they live on the “rottenness of pessimism.” They carry about continually the spirit of complaint. Nothing suits them. The weather is too hot or too cold; the church is too large or too small; the preacher is too young or too old; the sermon is too long or too short. Their faces begin to reflect their spirit, and soon remind one of a coffin lid, while their words always depress, and make us wish to shun their company. Oh, those who have contracted this habit of complaining can never know the victory of love!
One can in a measure excuse this unfortunate disposition in those who have no faith in God or hope of a life beyond. But for Christians, who preach an indwelling Christ and a power delivering us from the bondage of evil, it is both unnecessary and inexcusable. It dishonors God, darkens our own souls, and brings no blessing, either to ourselves or to others. G. B. T.

Events of the “Seventy Weeks,” and End of the 2300 Years

By W. A. S.

The Prophecy of Daniel 8 — No. 4

Events of the “Seventy Weeks,” and End of the 2300 Years

THE angel explained to Daniel the events of the seventy weeks allotted to Jerusalem and its people “to finish the transgression.” Seven weeks and three-score and two weeks (69 weeks) of the seventy were to reach to the Messiah. The angel’s words were:—
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression. . . . Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks [69 weeks, or 483 days].” Dan. 9:24, 25.
The sixty-nine weeks, symbolic time, are 483 years; for in the use of time as a symbol a day stands for a year. Eze. 4:6; Num. 14:34. The 483 years were to reach from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince.

The Time of the Messiah’s Coming

The commandment of Artaxerxes to restore and build Jerusalem, as we have seen, went forth in 457 B. C. Reckoning from that date, 483 full years bring us to A. D. 27, when, according to the prophecy, the Messiah should appear.
Messiah means “anointed.” The anointing of Jesus, and his manifestation as the Anointed One, was at his baptism by John:—
“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matt. 3:16, 17.
Thus Jesus was anointed as the Messiah, and John proclaimed: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.
When did this baptism and anointingtake place? The Gospel of Luke supplies the historical facts for fixing the year:—
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea,” etc. Luke 3:1-3.
Tiberius followed Augustus, who died in A. D. 14. But before the latter’s death, Tiberius was associated with him on the throne. Some modern historians date this appointment of Tiberius as Cæsar from A. D. 13; but the “History of Rome,” by Dion Cassius (a Roman senator, born in the second century), shows, under events of A. D. 12, that Augustus recognized Tiberius as holding then the imperial dignity. (Book 56, chap. 26.) Again, Dr. Philip Schaff says:—
There are coins from Antioch, in Syria, of the date A. U. C. 765 [A. D. 12], and with the head of Tiberius, and the inscription, Kaisar, Sebastos (Augustus).—“History of the Christian Church,” Vol. I, p. 120, footnote.
These coins from Syria bear certain witness that the first year of Tiberius should be counted from A. D. 12. Therefore “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar” would be A. D. 27, just 483 years from the going forth of the commandment to restore Jerusalem. The prophecy of the sixty-nine weeks was fulfilled—the Messiah had come.

Confirming the Covenant

But “one week” of the seventy remained—seven years. Of the Messiah’s work during this time the angel said:—
“He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Dan. 9:27.
Christ’s death upon the cross made “the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,” so far as their appointed force was concerned. After three years and a half of ministry, “in the midst” of this seven-year period dating from A. D. 27, the Messiah was lifted up on Calvary. For centuries the sure word of prophecy had pointed to this supreme hour in the working out of the plan of salvation. When the time was fulfilled, the promise of God was fulfilled also, and the divine Sacrifice was offered.
Paschal Lamb, by God appointed, All our sins on thee were laid; By Almighty Love anointed, Thou redemption’s price hast paid. All thy people are forgiven Through the virtue of thy blood; Opened is the gate of heaven, Peace is made ’twixt man and God.”
The Messiah was to “confirm the covenant with many for one week,” filling out the seventy weeks allotted in God’s merciful patience especially to the people of the Jews. Three and a half years of Christ’s personal ministry on earth had been devoted to the chosen people. Now, after his ascension, he was still, in the persons of his disciples, to press the gospel of the new covenant especially upon the Jewish people—“to the Jew first,” and “beginning at Jerusalem.”
This last seven-year period, beginning A. D. 27, ended A. D. 34. By that time the opposition of the Jews was becoming exceedingly bitter. As a people they were rejecting again the divine invitation extended by the risen Christ through his witnesses. About A. D. 34 Stephen was martyred. The same council that, against all evidence, had rejected the Messiah, again rejected the appeal of the Holy Ghost shining visibly on Stephen’s countenance. The believers in Jerusalem were driven out by persecution; and “they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” Acts 8:4. The Gentiles gave heed in Samaria, and the Ethiopian received the gospel on the road to Gaza. The gospel message had fairly passed the boundaries of Jerusalem, and was on its way to “the uttermost parts of the earth.” The seventy weeks cut off upon the Jewish people and upon the holy city had ended, though to the world’s end the gospel of Christ’s salvation is for that people as well as for all nations.

The Ending of the 2300 Years

It must not be forgotten that the angel was explaining to Daniel the vision and prophecy of the long prophetic period that was to reach to the cleansing of the sanctuary at the time of the end.
These events of the first seventy weeks of that period were “to seal up the vision and prophecy.” Dan. 9:24. The shedding of the blood of the divine Sacrifice “to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,” set Heaven’s seal to the vision. As surely as the great Offering had been made, so surely the cleansing of the sanctuary would be accomplished by the ministry of our High Priest in heaven.
And the exact fulfilment of the time schedule of this first portion of the prophetic period, set seal to the declaration that when the full 2300 years ran out, the closing ministry of Christ would surely begin in the heavenly sanctuary.
From 457 B. C., when the commandment of Artaxerxes to restore Jerusalem went forth, the measuring line of the 2300 years runs on to the year A. D. 1844. In that year, 1844, the time of the prophecy came. Then the cleansing of the sanctuary was to begin.
The prophet John, in the Revelation, beheld the opening of this last phase of the ministry of Christ in the most holy of the temple of God. “The temple of God was opened in heaven,” he says, “and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11:19. The prophet heard voices saying, “The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged.” Verse 18.
Again we must quote Daniel’s description of the opening of this ministry in the most holy place of the heavenly temple. He saw thrones of judgment placed. He saw the moving throne of the Almighty, with its wheels of flaming glory, take its place for the final work of our High Priest in the most holy above:—
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Dan. 7:9, 10.
This was the scene enacted in the heavenly temple when the year 1844 brought the hour. No man can tell how soon that solemn review must pass the records of the dead and begin upon the living. When that work is finished, the ministry of Christ for sin will be finished, human probation will be closed, and our Lord will quickly come as King of kings and Lord of lords, to gather his redeemed, while all sin will be destroyed “by the brightness of his coming.”
In the vision of Daniel 8, as the great apostasy was seen warring against God’s truth, the question was asked, “How long shall be the vision, . . . to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?” The answer was, in effect, In 1844 the cleansing of the sanctuary will begin in heaven, the hour of God’s judgment, that will give God’s answer to sin and apostasy.
We are living in the great antitypical day of atonement, for which all heaven has been waiting. The end is at hand. And while that work is proceeding in heaven above, the Lord has a special message for men on earth, lifting up again truths long trodden underfoot, and calling men to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
W. A. S.

The Spirit of Criticism

By G. B. T.

If there were living in a community a man who, secretly yet deliberately, should poison a public drinking well, and through the contamination spread sickness and death in the neighborhood, such a dastardly act would not only subject the offender to the public execration of the people, but the hand of the civil law would be placed upon him to restrain him from further acts of the kind.
Those who constantly criticize others, who handle the reputation of their neighbors, friends, or brethren in such a way as to arouse suspicion against them, suspicion calculated to damage their influence and rob them of that which is of more value than money,—a good name,—are doing a work similar in spirit to theone who poisons the public drinking fountain. One destroys the physical body, the other destroys the reputation and influence of the individual with poisonous words and innuendoes.
When this devilish thing creeps into the church, and is clothed with a sanctimonious robe of righteousness, it becomes all the more abhorrent and wicked. Such people usually attack their victim when he is absent and cannot defend himself. By words and insinuations they sow among friends and acquaintances doubts concerning the honesty and integrity of the individual they criticize. That anything so extremely wicked and ungodly should be in the church, masquerading in the livery of heaven, would be almost beyond belief were it not that its baneful work has actually been seen in the church, discouraging and darkening the souls of old and young, and extinguishing their hope of the life beyond.
From the biting, slanderous tongue of those in the bondage of this demon of darkness, none can be sure of escape. Their own ideas and opinions they consider as an infallible guide, and those who do not measure up to the standard which they have set up, are criticized, and in many cases held up to the scorn and ridicule of others. No matter what may be their standing in the community or in the church, their motives are judged and their apparent failures paraded before the people. A stream of poison is thus poured forth to contaminate the minds of old and young, and to befoul the spiritual atmosphere which they must breathe.
Usually no effort is made to visit the individual, to point out to him wherein he fails, but his delinquencies are paraded before a cold, unfeeling public, who have no knowledge of the situation, or the circumstances with which the individual is surrounded, or the struggles which are perchance straining the moral fiber of his soul. It would seem that a work so repugnant, so utterly contrary to every principle of righteousness, would of itself be sufficiently abhorrent to be shunned by all.
That the work of censuring and judging the acts and motives of others is from Satan himself is quite clear. The Bible declares him to be the “accuser of our brethren.” Those who engage in the work of criticizing others are working hand in hand with Lucifer. If those who do this work are professed followers of Him who once bade only those who themselves had no sin to throw stones, it is all the more deplorable.
The spirit of prophecy has arraigned this sin as among the worst in the church. Let the following be carefully studied:—
An earnest effort should be made in every church to put away evil speaking and a censorious spirit as among the sins that are productive of the greatest evils in the church. Severity and faultfinding must be rebuked as the workings of Satan. Mutual love and confidence must be encouraged and strengthened in the members of the church.—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. V, page 609.
Notice that the sin of faultfinding and criticizing others is among the “greatest evils” in the church and comes directly from Satan himself. Here is another statement:—
Self-righteousness not only leads men to misrepresent God, but makes them cold-hearted and critical toward their brethren. The elder son, in his selfishness and jealousy, stood ready to watch his brother, to criticize every action, and to accuse him for the least deficiency. He would detect every mistake, and make the most of every wrong act. Thus he would seek to justify his own unforgiving spirit. Many today are doing the same thing.—“Christ’s Object Lessons,” page 210.
Notice again that it is self-righteousness which leads one to engage in measuring and judging others. While picking at the supposed faults of others, they boast of being right with God themselves. But one can hardly be farther from God than when engaged in this work.
That the spirit of criticism is often engaged in to cover our own defects of character is clearly set forth in the following extract:—
He who is guilty of wrong is the first to suspect wrong. By condemning another he is trying to conceal or excuse the evil of his own heart. It was through sin that men gained the knowledge of evil; no sooner had the first pair sinned than they began to accuse each other; and this is what human nature will inevitably do, when uncontrolled by the grace of God.—“Mount of Blessing,” pages 182, 183.
How beautiful indeed it would be to see the spirit of censure and judging of others put away from the church of God. It requires no religion, culture, or intellect to be a good faultfinder. It requires simply a mean, self-righteous disposition. Will not God’s people arise and put away this wrong spirit from the church? It ruins and destroys our own souls as well as the souls of others. It makes us unhappy and causes pain to others. The Lord has promised to deliver us from all evil, take hatred and mistrust from the heart, and place therein instead the beautiful plant of love. G. B. T.

The Divorce Evil

By F. M. W.

According to statistics, there is no lessening, but rather a marked increase, of the great divorce evil. The lessening of natural affection and the severing of sacred ties is a significant sign of the days in which we live. The laws of various countries recognize many grounds for divorce. The Scriptures of Truth, however, recognize but one, and that is the violation of the seventh commandment on the part of the husband or the wife. The following clear statement regarding this question is made by the editor of the Western Recorder (Baptist) in the issue of that paper for December 16, 1915:—
It was hoped and expected that ere this the statistics would show a decrease in the number of divorces. On the contrary, sad to say, this dreadful evil is steadily growing, with no promise of abatement. Indeed, the divorce suit has become a matter of such common occurrence that it has well-nigh ceased to be a matter of comment. The press and the pulpit, while deploring the depredations of divorce, seem to have accepted the situation as unavoidable, if not, perhaps, insoluble. As a result, public sentiment no longer exercises a healthy and corrective influence in this connection.
In more than one of the States, there was one divorce for every eight marriages during the year. In one of the States, the ratio of divorces to marriages was one to seven.
The excuses offered for breaking the marriage tie, revealed by the court records, are as many as they are multiplied. Some of these are silly; many serious; and some sinful. And this leads us to say that the Scriptures give one, and only one, ground for divorce. Hence it is, that while the State may make a number of statutory grounds for divorce, the churches can acknowledge but one, and that one is adultery. With the Christian, it is not a question of law and expediency, but of Scripture and conscience.
We are well aware that there are cases where the innocent suffer for the sins of others. This, however, is not unusual, where the man and wife live together. However innocent, the child that burns its hand must carry the scar through life. If a mistake is made, better the party who made the mistake should suffer than the institution of marriage be brought into disrepute, and the teaching of Scripture disregarded. In this, as in all other cases, the Scriptures should be our only rule of faith and practice.
As a matter of fact, a vast majority of divorces come from causes that are insignificant and wholly insufficient, many, indeed, from misunderstandings and little differences that might easily have been adjusted. A little patience would have established the fact that there was real congeniality instead of supposed incompatibility. As long as we live in this world, and people are capable of forming opinions, there will be differences of opinion. Such differences in no way evince a lack of love. Unfortunately, there are husbands who seem to think that the wife is contrary if she holds an opinion contrary to his own.
With this statement we are in entire accord. We sympathize very deeply with many mismated couples that have awakened to the realization after their marriage that by temperament and experience they were naturally unfitted to live together.
Particularly is such a union unfortunate where one is a Christian and the other has no interest in religious things. We believe, however, that it is incumbent upon the children of God who haveformed such relationships, to seek by every means in their power to minimize unhappy differences, and dwell in peace and harmony with those to whom they are united. Of course they must not compromise the duty which they owe to God. They cannot join with their companions in those things which are wrong and unchristianlike. But just as far as lies within their power, consistent with the right; they should seek to enter into the plans and experiences of those with whom they are associated in the family relationship.
The Christian wife should seek to make her home the most pleasant place in all the world for her unconverted husband. To the family board she should welcome his friends. She should take an interest in his business, and she should go with him in his plans and pursuits just as far as she can without sacrificing principle. By manifesting love, forbearance, patience, and wifely devotion, she should exemplify the spirit of the religion which she professes, praying God the while to work through her ministry to the conversion of the one who has no hope in Christ.
The same earnest endeavor should be made on the part of the converted husband for the wife who knows not the Lord. A severing of the marriage bond can never be considered except for the reasons stated in the Scriptures of Truth (Matt. 19: 9); and even in that case the love of Christ in the heart may enable the possessor to triumph over the natural feelings and receive back again the repentant one, even as Christ receives back his church, which oftentimes leaves its lawful spouse and returns again with tears of repentance.
Speaking of the marriage relationship, the apostle Paul bears this testimony:—
“Unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: but and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.” 1 Cor. 7: 10-14.
Some of these unfortunate unions were formed before Christ was recognized by either the husband or the wife. Some were unwisely formed after one had come to know the Lord. While God, by his Spirit, does not lead his children to form such relationships, he by no means forsakes them afterwards. And his great heart of love is moved with compassion for many who have thus brought themselves into a trying and embarrassing relationship which must be borne through life; and his hand is reached out to help all who will turn to him. He will give strength to stand; he will give wisdom to enable the tried ones to bear up under their load of trial; wisdom to meet the perplexing situations which may grow out of their relationship. And if his children are faithful to him, seeking to exemplify his Spirit in their dealings with those who know him not, he will be pleased in many cases to work such transformations even in the wicked and unregenerate, as will lead them to acknowledge him as their Saviour and their godly companions as the instruments through which God worked in effecting the transformation.
F. M. W.
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