The Gospel Trumpet - 24:18

• Main Author: Byrum, E. E.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Gospel Trumpet Company 1904
• Subjects: Newspapers > West Virginia > Moundsville; Newspapers > Church of God (Anderson; Ind.); Canada; Pacific; Indian; Alabama; Moses; Dent; Ner; Sion; Patience; Charity; Dee; Bor; Byers; Luke; Sav’; Josephine; Yoke; The Altar; Shelby; Rowland; Gorman; Pire; Seaton; Judah; Circumcision; Baas; Demas; Alaska; ren
• Online Access: http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/aupublic/id/821

Gospel Trumpet 1881-June 3, 1962, Vital Christianity June 10, 1962-Sept. 1996, One Voice June/July 2004-Apr/May 2007 0E. NE. SS IN C. VIRX5T- r- AND HE SHALL SEND HIS ANGELS WITH A GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET, AND THEY SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR W INDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER, MAT. 24: 31. SO WILL I SEEK OUT MY SHEEP, AND WILL DELIVER THEM OUT OF ALL PLACES WHERE THEY H4Vt BEEN SCATTERED IN THE CLOUDY AND DARK DAY. EZEK. 34: 12 dEn. 32.39. VOLUME XXIV. MOUNDSVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA, U. S. A., THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1904. NUMBER 18 LET CREATION PRAISE OUR CREATOR. BY B. E. WARREN. Each storm in mad fury that rages o'er earth, The fierce forked lightnings that spoil sinful mirth, The dull distant thunders which roll thro' the sky, All point to their Author, we can not deny. The workings of nature in all that we see, In cause and effect, or whatever it be; The earthquake that makes this " ball" totter and reel, That power which stout- hearted (?) fragile men feel, In that ancient monarch this power was shown, Whose proud heart was humbled, deposed from his throne Until he did learn that God rules in his might, Weak man should not dare with his Maker to fight. The heavens and earth, the sea and all space, Are things of his great handiwork, we may trace. The solids and liquids, unseen and in view, The things all around us, which can but be true, The Lord is the source and the maker we know; Let mortal man humbly acknowledge ' tis so. But those who refuse his commands to obey With flood and with fire he hath swept them away, Thus proving his great supernatural control, The One who is keeper of body and soul; The One we should fear, who is able to cast Both body and soul into hell at the last; The One who can save us just now by his glace, And bring us at length to yon heavenly place OUR CHILDREN FOR CHRIST. BY JENNIE M. BYERS. AT the Fresno assembly meeting one of the ministers remarked that the minis-ters were aging, and that white hairs were mingled on all heads, and that soon they would be called away and others would have to fill their places. As he said this my heart was stirred anew for the salva-tion of our children especially the minis-ters' children, that they might follow in their parents' footsteps. We expressed our burden and desire, and the whole church seemed to feel the same; and we entered into the agreement according to Mat. 18: 19, and received a real blessing to our souls, and by faith took the salvation of our chil-dren. Anew, too, we gave them as a sac-rifice for any field to which he may see fit to send them. As we read of the need of helpers at the Office, and among them a stenographer, how we wished our eldest daughter might yield her heart and life to God and go and fill that place, and help send out the written messages of love and salvation to the whole world. Praise God, she is on the altar for his service, and we know God knows it, and so does she. Let all the children of God join us in this agreement. Also, let al• the children of God count their children in the agreement, and pray for the salvation of their and all the saints' children. Be sure your consecra-tion is complete, and that every Isaac is sacrificed on the altar of His service then only, can you pray the prayer of faith and enter into the full agreement. Any one who wants to reserve his children for his own comfort and happiness can not enter into this agreement of faith. Lay them on the altar of sacrifice as completely as did Abraham of old, and take the knife and slay them, and trust Him who watches the sacrifice to show us when it is com-plete. Let the assurance be as perfect as was Abraham's at another time, when he laid the sacrifice on the altar and had to wait even to the going down of the sun. But stand by if necessary and guard the devouring birds from the sacrifice until the answer comes from God and he ap-proves of its completion. Praise God! What though he should send them to India? They will be nowhere so safe as in his order and directions. Yes, what if they should die on the battle- field? Would it not be honorable and precious? Yield them up— yes, these precious babes in your arms. Yes, mother, the wayward child. God can arrest that very child, no difference where he is. You do the giv-ing, and then let God do the preparing and sending. Be like the mother who lost a son in the missionary fields. When the news of his death came, she said she wished that God would call the next one to the work. Soon he was called, and went. The sad news that her second son was dead came to the mother. What was her an-swer? " I wish that I had more sons for the missionary work." When we give, let us take our hands off. Do not dictate where, - when, or how; let that be with the One who knows where he can use the material to the best advan-tage. I gave a book to a mother; she read and enjoyed it. Then spoke of passing it on. A daughter said, " What will Sister B. think if she knows you gave the book away?" The mother replied, " Sister B. gave it to me, and now it is mine to do with as I see fit." That is the idea. Give your child to God and keep your hands off. Let him do as he wishes. I have often had things given me in this way: " Now, Sister B., I give you this for yourself keep it and use it for yourself." Do I enjoy such a gift ? No it is not mine the giver still has a. claim on it. Give as unto the Lord, and let the Lord's servant be his servant; then if the Lord - calls for what you pos-sess, for some more worthy or needy per son, it can go for that very purpose to which He designed. Praise God for the beautiful life of con-secration. Yes, yield gladly and willingly then it pleases God. Let me yet add, that on the same day that we were praying and believing for the salvation of the children, the same burden was on the church here at home, and they had such a blessing and agreement in prayer for the same pur-pose that their meeting was protracted till late in the evening. They also expressed the wish that Bro. and Sister B. were there to enter into the agreement. Praise God for the unity and blending of the same Spirit that works in and through us all. This agreement means much. It just Beans a constant attitude and atmosphere of faith and prayer until all the children are saved. Even then it does not . cease, but continues until our last breath. We pray and believe, and let God do the an-swering. One mother with whom I en-tered into unity of prayer for the salva-tion of her children has gone to glory, and her children, to the best of my knowledge, are still unsaved. What is the attitude for me now? To " continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." The dear mother's prayers are all bottled up and I have prayed through and got the answer, and all I need to do is to re-mind God, whenever they come to my mind, that I am still believing for their salvation. Praise God for the rest to the soul. We can repose on the precious promises of God, and he gives us rest. Parents, get to the resting- place for your own chil-dren; then you can in faith help pray for the salvation of the children of the whole household of faith, and your prayers will then be effectual. We can not compel the children to get saved, but our prayers will go a long ways toward their salvation. Then when they are ready to yield it will help to pray them through the more quick-ly and successfully. Now, since we have taken our stand by faith in God, let us keep our eyes on God and not on the children. If we see the salvation of our children by faith, it is only as we keep our eyes on Jesus, and through him that we keep up faith and courage. If we for a moment get our eyes on our unsaved children, their sin, pride and worldliness, we see nothing else and get discouraged. But we count Him faith-ful who has promised. The promise is to US and to our children. Then, with a bold faith, act and believe, and reckon abso-lutely on the faithfulness of God, inde-pendent of sight or feeling; count the work done, and let him bring it to sight in his own time and way. You say you can not do that for some one else. Is not the same promise that is for you for your children ? If you can claim your part of the promise, would you be so selfish as not to claim that part that pertains to your child? We see that the promise was not conditioned on the chil-dren's believing; but on the other hand, it is for their security. We should take this position and assume the responsibil-ity resting on us, and take the place Judah did for his brother Benjamin, when Israel, his father, sent them into Egypt to buy corn for the. family. " Judah said, send the lad with me, . . I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever." This meant much, but so did Judah; for when the lad was taken as bondman, he came and said, " Let thy ser-vant abide instead of the lad as bondman to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren." He had taken the responsibil-ity and meant to do his part. In his heart he had taken the place of bondman before he left home. Dear brethren, if the fear of God is so on our hearts, We will fear to let our chil-dren disobey. We can not compel them to get saved, but we can compel them to obey our commands in the fear of God. And God's protection is on them only as they walk in obedience to our commands. But God can put his fear on the most wicked, and cause them to yield to him, if we have done our part in bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If we were not saved and did not bring them up scripturally, we can pray God to over-rule that, and lay hold on the promise for them now. Read the promises to us and our children, and see if it does not strength-en your faith. Then ask for the salvation of your children, and claim it. By that time your faith will have increased and ex-panded, and you can join some one else. Fi-lially you can join the whole household of faith, and then ask and believe for all that you can. Count me in the agreement for the salvation of your children. Link your faith on the mighty cable of prayer, which is ascending to the throne of God daily. A JOYFUL PEOPLE. BY PEED. R. GRITZMACHER. GOD'S people are to be a joyful people. It is prophesied in Isa. 65: 14, 1S: " Be-hold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create: for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." " These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15 : 11. " Hith-erto have ye asked nothing in my name : ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John 16 24. " And these things write I unto you, that your joy may be full." 1 John 1: 4. Beloved, we can clearly see by the above scriptures that we are not to rejoice only when things are all coming our way, or when attending camp or assembly meetings. We are commanded not to rejoice in iniquity. " Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth" 1 Con 13 : 6. Rejoice in the truth, and in every-thing. " And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hatb given unto thee, and unto thine. house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you." Dent. 26 : 11. Are you rejoicing in all the good things the dear Lord is giving you, or are you rather finding fault with all of God's good-ness to you? I have noticed precious souls going to their sects, or church, as they call it, and yet they are always finding fault with some things and those who are walk-ing in all the light they have, are being rocked to sleep. The majority are actually afraid to rejoice for fear their ministers would not like it. Shame, shame, on the devil ! who will stop precious souls to re-joice and sing real praises unto God. Praise God forever ! if we are truly born of God, we can rejoice. Halleluiah! For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Dear reader, have you any confidence in the flesh ? Are you afraid - to rejoice in Christ Jesus when the enemy stares you in the face, and makes fun of you? This is just the time you should rejoice, for you see right here that the devil will make fun of you. He will get you into something, and then laugh at you. On the other hand, Jesus will com-fort, your longing soul, and cause you to rejoice. Praise his holy name ! He will never leave thee nor forsake thee. God's people are to rejoice because their names are written in heaven. " Notwith-standing in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Luke 10: 20. How often have you thought to rejoice because your names are written in heaven ? Is your name written there? If not, why not? If it is, you will surely rejoice, and no one will need to tell you about it either. God's people are to rejoice in the hope of heaven. " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which accord-ing to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resur-rection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and unde-filed, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the pow-er of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more pre-cious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appear-ing of Jesus Christ : whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy un-speakable and full of glory : receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." 1 Pet. 1 : 3- 9. God's people are to " rejoice evermore." 1 Thes. 5 : 16. When tempted: " My brethren, count it all joy. when ye fall into divers tempta-tions Imowing this, that the trying of our faith worketh patience." Jas. 1: 2, 3. When tried: " Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some stranga thing happened unto you: but rejoice, in- 2 THE GOSPEL TRUMPET May 5, 1904. asmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suf-ferings; that, when his glory shall be re-vealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." 1 Pet. 4: 12, 13. " Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil a-gainst you falsely, for my sake." Here is where the enemy takes advantage of a good many dear souls. Instead of rebuk-ing him in the name of Jesus and getting the real go through in their souls, they will listen to him hence, they can not re-joice. Jesus says to " rejoice, and be ex-ceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Mat. 5 : 12. " Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets." Luke 6: 22, 23. Dear reader, can you say, Amen, from the very depths of your heart to the above scriptures, or is there still a draw back? Oh, may God help you to get the real go through in your soul for Jesus. Remem-ber you can not go to heaven on a mere profession. The devil wants people to pro-fess, and imitate this joy; but, glory to God! Jesus wants his children not only to have a profession, but a real possession of this joy. Are you in possession of this joy, which is unspeakable and full of glory? If not, Jesus wants you to have it for he says, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy- laden, and I will give you rest." May ' God help you to get in real earnest about this, and get in real posses-sion of this joy which is in Christ Jesus alone. Amen. THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET. BY A. D. KHAN. THE position of an ambassador is indeed an honorable position and really to be de-sired, and few among men would refuse such honor if conferred upon them by an imperial court of an earthly potentate. How much more honorable then ought we to count the glorious position of one who is exalted from a fallen and degraded condi-tion of infamy and sin, and promoted to the dignity of an ambassador of the Most High God ( 2 Cor. 5: 20) to entreat his fel-low men to be reconciled to him! To judge, therefore, in truth, a forgiven sinner, saved by the infinite grace of God, can hardly as-pire to a more glorious position or a more exalted office. All acts of charity, espe-cially those that are prompted by benevo-lence and sympathy, are rare privileges that can never fail to bring self- complacence and unmixed pleasure; and these when united with a sense of duty imposed by love ought to make us all the more willing and ready to offer ourselves upon the altar of joyful service of saving our fellow men. And yet, not unfrecpiently does one meet with shrinking and hesitation on this line; and what is more unpleasant and repul-give, one often meets with real drawing back of the ministers of Cod; of course all such conduct incurs great displeasure of God. Heb. 10: 38. The world is full of sin and corruption. The professing Chris-tendom is a shame and disgrace to the name of Christ, and a manifest reproach to the cause of Christianity, and we need hardly add that the mete judgment of a just God is only impending, being suspended by his profound long- suffering. The Lord is calling for his faithful prophets who will go as his ambassadors, beseeching sinners by the mercies of God to turn from the corruption that is in the world, and to flee from the wrath to come. Are there no Isaiahs to- day who will an-swer the loving call of God by saying, " Here are we, send us"? ( Compare Isa. 6: 8.) But unfortunately one meets with many ' Jonahs, who, when called of God to go on a divine errand, begin to make ex-cuses like the stammering Moses ( Ex. 4: 10), and take the opposite direction. But disobedience on this line, as well as on any other, can never go unpunished, and if not repented of in time, brings its just re-ward of disaster, and the swift judgment of God never to be recalled. While sailing along the Syrian coast from Beyrout to Haifa, we passed by the traditional site where the' disobedient prophet was - thrown out upon the seashore by the sea monster that had swallowed him. A white building hearing the name offfhan Nabi Yunus ( meaning the inn of Prophet Jonah) still perpetuates the memory of the past and recalls the important lesson to the passers- by. We did not fail either in learning some of the sad lessons taught the disobedient prophet. True, God often permits determined and persistent sinners to have their own way and let loose the bridle of self- will and lust, leaving them to an uninterrupted course of sin and shame; and yet he often cheeks his erring children and brings them back by distress and privation. The story of Jonah is an example of the latter case. God called him to go to preach repentance to the great city of Nineveh; but he neg-lected the call of God, and in order to si-lence the voice of conscience undertook to run away from the presence of God. Poor attempt! Vain effort! He must have had forgotten the experience of the Psalmist, who exclaimed in wonder when he found out the omnipotence of God: " Wh ither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. E I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." Psa. 139: 742. Circumstance alone is no guidance and can not be trusted without plain scriptural warrant, and how much more ought it to he avoided when contradicted by revela-tion. Oftentimes to allure us from fol-lowing the right way the devil himself so arranges circumstances that it may appear to be a very convenient coincidence and favorable providence. Jonah is thinking of running away, and there he finds a boat bound for Tarshish! Under such or similar circumstances disobedient prophets are apt to read the will of God in the favor-able providence, and fall into the same trouble as Jonah did. When we were embarking at Joppa for Port Said, the incident of the unhappy prophet came to our minds. Let us learn the lesson, dear saints, and take care that we do not disobey ' God, nor neglect his call. If he calls you to preach the gospel, you can never run away from God with impunity, nor can you go un-punished. The inevitable result of such conduct is sad experience, and loss of time. Let us beware and follow God. The time is short, opportunity fleeting; let us do all we can to save sinful men and women from the awful power of sin. " Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Eph. 5 : 17. OBEY GOD. By G. W. CAREY. OUR heavenly Father has given us some plain rules in his Word, that are to gov-ern our actions in life, and a deviation from those rules always brings sorrow, and lean-ness if not death to the soul. If we did not need those instructions and admoni-tions, he would not have given them to us; but we stand in need of those divine truths to better fit and qualify us to do his bid-ding. To the obedient child those command-ments are not grievous or burdensome, but a real delight; for the obedience of them brings rest and quietude to the soul. " Obe-dience is better than sacrifice," and instead of spending precious time in trying to find out how to reasonably evade the duty of obeying them, it is better to joyfully and willingly seek to follow and do just what our blessed Lord has commanded. By cheerful obedience we close the doors against the approach of the devil in the form of accusation and temptation. Some times we hear dear souls sighing and complaining' because they have so many temptations. When they have an avenue open that entices the devil to enter, how could they expect it to be otherwise? They have no one but themselves to blame for those temptations. They have a hard time to live Christian lives. I do not teach that God's people are not to have any tempta-tions at ell; for the apostle James tells us that we are to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations. Jas. 1 : 2. But there are some who have temptations ( as they call them) and difficulties that are caused by their own carelessness and loose living. They do not live - as close to the Lord as they should, resisting the devil on every hand. W hen we get a stern re-buke in- our souls against the - devil and all his works, at the same time trusting God and obeying all his commandments, then it will not he a hard matter to live for God. Not long ago I heard a brother say in his testimony, that he had " an awfully hard time to live a Christian." Now, if he had been ' as obedient to the divine man-dates as he should have been, he could have saved . himself from many trials that the devil imposed upon him, and that made the effort of Christian living a very hard task. We sometimes hear ' the prayer uttered, " Lord, keep me," but the person who prayed it, often seems to forget that he also has something to do in the matter. Jude, the servant of God, gives instructions as follows: " But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, pray-ing in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love a God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jest's Christ unto eternal life." Jude 20: 21. Here we have the secret of the whole matter. God has promised to keep us but if we do not love him enough to keep his words, we can not expect him to keep us. Jesus says that if we love him we will keep his words. If we keep Ins words, then we can keep ourselves in the love of God, and thereby we can pray in the Holy Ghost. By keeping the Word of God with-out questioning we can reasonably expect him to keep us, and assuredly claim his promises of protection. The Psalmist says, " The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them," Psa. 34: 7. Again, the Lord says, " For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about; and will be the glory in the midst of her." Zech. 2: 5. Praise God. What a protection!! Cod, Jehovah, the Great I Am that - I Am, the Divine Being, the Creator, who is our heavenly Father around about his children as a wall of fire. O beloved, what more could you ask ? What more could we wish for? - But to insure that protection, there must be a Yielding to God's demands there must be a humbling under his mighty hand, that he may lift us up. APOSTOLIC FAITH. BY J. D. HATCH. WE fully believe this reformation to be the final reformation, that shall again bring forth the light and truth of the gospel as it was in the morning of the gospel day clothed with power divine, and that. signs and wonders shall he manifested more and more, as God's people walk in the light, in all the truth, as in the primitive church. Now in order to the same power being man-ifested it is evident the- same sacrifice roast be made. The faith once delivered to the saints is what we are contending for, and that faith required the sacrifice of many of the comforts of life. When one came to Jesus and said, " Master, I will follow thee," Jesus said, " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; hut the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." We see the requirement then. We also see what they who followed him did. " And Jesus walking by the Sea of Gal-ilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me. and I will make you fishers of men. And they straight-way left their nets, and followed him." Mat. 4: 18- 20. Others made the same sac-rifice. Immediately the gospel of the kingdom was preached, and healing of all manner of disease and sickness accompa-nied the same. Great sacrifice brings God's people where they have great faith, zeal, courage,- and endurance, and last, but not least, great reward. When Jesus said, " A rich man shall hardly enter into the king-dom of heaven," and again, " It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God," Peter answered and said unto him, " Behold, we have forsaken all. and followed thee what shall we have therefore?" " And - Jesus answered and said, Verily, I. say unto you, There is no man that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, houses, and breth-ren, and sisters, and mothers, and chil-dren, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life." Mat. 12 : 23- 27; Mark 10 : 23- 30. Can we see the apostolic sacrifice? The apostle said, " Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." 2 Tim, 4: 10: How sad it makes our hearts to see that there are Demases to- day, who once were bright and shining lights in this ref-ormation, heralding forth its precious truth in the power of the Holy Ghost, many signs and wonders being done, congrega-tions of saints being raised up in many places,. through the wisdom that comes from above, by the Holy Ghost. But some now have become exalted, others have loved this world, and the things that are in the world. Their sacrifice was not com-plete the power that inspired them leaked away, and the broken cisterns could hold water no longer. They dropped out of the ranks of the faithful, and their voices and pens are silent as far as being factors in this reformation to bring this precious gospel to a sleeping, dying world. How should God's ministers be to prop-erly represent the apostolic faith? " No roan that runneth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who bath chosen him to be a soldier." 9 Tim. 2: 4. We know how a man that enlists in the army of the nations has to leave home, friends, loved ones, and all his affairs behind him, to be ready to an-swer the call of his country. He can not go home just when he pleases, drop out of the ranks for a while, then come back; he must go or be counted as a deserter. Now God will have faithful men that will obey his call. Then more faith is needed. How shall it be obtained ? " Sell that ye have, and give alms provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart he also. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knock-eth, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching. . . Be ye therefore ready also : for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise . steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season ? Blessed is that ser-vant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he bath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My- lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men servants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; the Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint hint his portion with the unbelievers. Luke 12 : 33- 46. " Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God," or obeying God's Word. Rom. 10: 17. Sectarian ministers depend on the people, but when we have obeyed God's Word, we can believe the promises of God to supply our needs. The parable in Luke 12 evidently applies to those God chooses to feed his sheep. We see those to whom God has given great talents, confirming to this world, al. lowing money and what it purchases to engage their time and attention, and thus they bury the talents - God has given them. The signs of the times reveal that the end is near; our lives are swiftly passing, and our Opportunities to rescue souls Will soon be gone. Multitudes in this. land ooafr s have never heard the truth 0, s it is II? Jc" May 5, 1904. THE GOSPEL TRUMPET and multiplied millions in foreign lands never heard of Jesus Christ, the sinner's friend. ' Are we holding forth the apos-tolic faith? The church can not rise above the teachers or ministers, in faith. God's min-isters must lead out before we can expect the people to follow, and if we, the minis-ters of God, set the example in giving all our time to the service, surely those we teach can be able to see that they are re-quired to do the same and instead of be-ing as they were in the days of Lot, when they ate and drank, bought and sold, planted, and builded, we will have our loins girded about, and our lights burning, and be like imto men that wait for their Lord. 8 : 16. " And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he bath given us." 1 John 3: 24. In order to be a child of God we must evidently have the Spirit of God to bear witness with our spirit. " Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." True, the Spirit is a good witness, and we can not be saved without it; but many precious souls are trying to go through 011 his testimony alone, and are exposing their souls to all manner of evil and false spirits, utterly ignoring the command, " Be-loved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4: 1. As there are many false spirits in the world, we should be very careful that we do not depend upon some false spirit, and thereby lose our souls. " But how," says ( ale, " can we try them?" We will let the other witness, which is the Word, answer. " Thereby know ye the Spirit of God:- Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God : and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit if anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 1 John 4: 2, 3. _ To acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh is to acknowl-edge his works, his doctrine, and his words, and also, to keep his commandments, " And he that keepeth his commandments dwell-eth in him, and he in him." 1 John 3: 24. The only safe way we can try the spirits is by the Word. We will now examine the second wit-ness and see if his testimony corroberates the first. " And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his command gents. Be that saith, I know him, and ceepetli not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whose keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him." 1 John 2: 3- 5. This is the most positive witness we have. The fact is there are many spirits, and we should not depend too much on the spirit alone; because we might be mistaken in the spirit which we possess. If the spirit we have does not agree with the - Word, it is evidence that we have the wrong spirit; ' or the Word and the Spirit agree. " For , here are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." 1 John 5 : 7. If we have a spirit that is in the least degree contrary to the Word, or that is inclined to disbelieve any part of the Word, or that, makes us unwilling to obey any command ill the Word, then we have the wrong spirit. - We find many people nowadays who claim that they are led by the Spirit, and utterly ignore the plain teachings of the Word. Some deny that Christ came in the flesh; others admit that he came thus, but teach that he was just like any other good man. May God awaken the dear people to see that all such are anti-christ spirits. I have met with some pee-de who after hearing some of the plain Word read would say, " If the Lord leads me that way, I will obey it." Some after hearing God's Word will go before the Lord and inquire, " Lord, must I do that?" They, instead of taking God's Word and obeying it, want Some other sign, thus opening an avenue for Satan to slip in a false spirit and lead them either to obey or not to obey; as he likes. People who are inclined to question the validity of God's Word, and who insist on the spirit guiding them independent of the Word, are not only exposing their souls to the hosts of Satanic spirits, but are disobeying God's precious Word, which says, " Try the spirits whether they are of God." Instead of trying the spirits by the Word, they are trying the Word by the spirits. True, the Bible says, " Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,, he will guide you into all truth." John 16: 13. What is truth? " Thy Word is truth." John 17 : 17. The Spirit of God win lead us to believe and obey all the Word of God; therefore the spirit that does not lead that way is not of God. May God help th dear people to see these precious truths. Thus, we see how beautifully these two witnesses agree. Then, if you have the Spirit, well ( you can not be a child of :• od without it) . and if you keep his command-mods, you have the second witness. This makes your hope of heaven doubly sure. If you keep his commandments, you will be among the hosts which John saw, and will hear it said: " Here is the patience of the saints : here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14: 12. If you do not, you will be condemned when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed " in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thes. 1: S. KEEP BUSY FOR GOD. BY NORA HUNTER. IF we do not keep busy for God, the devil is sure to have us busy for him. Time is flying swiftly into the great be-yond; souls are perishing by the thousands all around us; we have not a moment to lose. Satan knows that he has but a little time, and he is doubling his diligence to make a wholesale destruction of young and old. How are you occupying yourselves, dear children of God? Are you sitting down in despondency to nurse your griefs and trials? Are you murmuring and com-plaining because your brother, your chil-dren, your neighbors, your companion, or your - God has not treated you right? Are you taking special delight in the sensa-tional news in the daily papers? or is your delight ' in the law of the Lord, and in his law do you meditate day and night'? Is your heart interested in secret prayer, read-ing the Word, praying with the sick, and ministering to the needy? Do you " visit: the fatherless and widows in their afflic-tions," and keep yourself " unspotted from the world"? " Tell me, pilgrim, traveling homeward, Are you holy, free from sin? Are you flashing light around you? Are you witnessing for him? " Have you made a consecration Of yourself and earthly store? Have you died to all but Jesus, And his will forever more? " Do you love to read the Bible? Feel the Spirit's holy fire? Do you measure to its standard? Does each duty you inspire? " Do you gladly tell the story Of the Savior's wondrous love? How he fills the soul with glory, Pure as heaven's light above? " Are you seeking out the needy, Leading sinners to the blood? Thus, 0 pilgrim, should we ever Live and work alone for God." Can you answer from your soul's depths, Yes, yes, yes, it fills my heart with glory f o tell the hungry, thirsting soul Of the redemption story? How blessed to have our minds and hearts engrossed with the delights of serv-ing others and pleasing God! When we live thus, our trials, hardships, and be-reavements seem to take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the earth. At any rate, they are gone, and an eternal weight of glory rests in their place. Halleluiah to God! God wants us to be so hidden in his heart, that his interests are our interests, his concerns; our concerns, and his suffer-ings, our sufferings. How sweet when a beloved child, companion, or friend, is called from our side, to " trust it all with Jesus,'' `` cast all our care upon him," and " be careful for nothing," remembering that he " hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." . Praise God. If we spend days, weeks, and months petting our-selves and bemoaning our losses, where will we find time to " comfort the feeble- mind-ed," care for the lost and perishing, let our light shine, and " give a cup of cold water in his name"? These are the things which if neglected and omitted will bring the awful sentence, " Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." God help us to keep busy and on the move for Jesus. Praise God. He is able to give us untiring zeal, and strength to work for him. God. has much work to do, and he wants men and women to be his agents and true representatives. The devil likewise has much to do, and he seeks men and women to do his . work. The devil can use one grumbling, complaining, fault-finding, hypocritical holiness professor more than he can ten murderers. The a-bove- named are the devil's special agents, and will produce in a remarkably short time in a congregation of true saints, con- - fusion and every evil work; among the non- professors, hardness of heart, ridicule, and infidelity. Let us keep busy publish-ing salvation, witnessing to the truth, and purging out any old leaven that may have worked in through the devil's imposition. The devil tries hard to get - God's chil-dren to say, " It's rather hard," and " look blue," when trials come thick and fast; but Jesus says, " My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." I have sometimes seen a merchant ac-costed with a question when counting a basket of eggs. He would pay no attention to the inquirer, no matter how anxious the expression of his face, until he had counted the eggs. When the devil comes along and wants to' hold a little conversation with you, just pay no attention, keep yourself busy counting it all joy, and he will soon go away. Praise God! Keep busy for Jesus. A SINGLE EYE. THERE are different kinds of eyes liter-ally speaking, and there are different kinds of eye:_ . piritually speaking. Dear reader, what kind of eyes have you? In the spir-itual world there are but two kinds of eyes. These are wholly unlike in their compo-nent parts. One is a single eye, and the other an evil eye. Those who have an evil eye see things altogether unlike those who have a single eye. Since these eyes are constitutionally unlike, of course, the effect produced is unlike. ` If thine eye be sin-ale, thy whole body is full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.' But what is it to have a single eye ? It is to have no other design in all the acts of life and intentions of the heart but to glo-rify God. It is that purity of affection which loves nothing but that which is holy and godly; that simplicity of intention which devises or originates nothing but what is pure and tends to exalt God's name. If an act, whether it be praying, testify-big, singing, preaching, writing, almsgiv-ing, or laboring, be prompted by a love of self, or a love of the praise of men, the eye is not single, neither is thy body full of light. If there is the least inclination in all, or any of your acts or doings, to set self up, your eye is not altogether - single. A preacher with a single eye sees noth-ing ( has nothing in view) but God's glory. His eye, when it is single, can see nothing else. If along with God's glory he sees a little of self, his eye is double, diseased or vil. But if single, he regards not the face of man, he regards not his life; but looks gaily to what is God's good pleasure, and does his work in the fear of the Lord, re-gardless of the consequences. A man who gives a sum of money, if his eye is single, he sees nothing but God's glory. That is enough for him. But if he has a desire that others may know of his doings, and is pleased to near it spoken of, his eye is evil and his body full of darkness. And now I will tell you another thing right here, which thing is just as true as you have a soul. If your eye is single to the glory of God, you u'i71 glee every ec4 ye- ma eau. If you give merely to keep your standing among the saints, or to ease your con-science, or just as little as you can, your eye is evil, and you are in awful darkness. Those who have single eyes have bodies full of light. They have a knowledge of God; they understand his headings; they are acquainted with his doings. They see holiness as it is, and they see sin as it is; they see all things as God sees them. Again we say, to have a single eye is to design and desire God's glory; to be full of doings for the Lord; to be indeed zeal-ous for God; to labor, to give to preach, to pray, that souls might be saved; that the cause of Christ might prosper and Cod's name be glorified. c. E. O. " He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver the from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisesome pestilence." Psa. 91 : 1- 3. THE TWO WITNESSES. BY W. T. SEATON. " AND I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thou-sand two hundred and three score days, clothed in slack- cloth. These are the two olive- trees, and the two candle- sticks standing before the God of the earth." Rev. 11: 3, 4. By reference to Zech. 4: 2, 3, it will be found that these two olive- trees and candle-sticks are spoken of; and the angel ( verse 6) gave Zechariah to understand that they were the Word and Spirit of the Lord. Throughout the entire volume of inspira-tion we find these two witnesses standing side by side, and going hand in hand. They not only stand by the great Judge of the quick and the dead and bear witness of our conduct in this life, but they bear wit-ness to us also whether or not we are the real children of the great King. It is by these two witnesses that the world stands condemned before God; and the verdict is rendered thus: " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13: 3. It is by them that people are con-victed of sin and led to the fountain that was opened for sin and uncleanness. Zech. 13 : 1. It is through them that we learn how we stand before God; also what we must do to be saved. It is by them that We obtain a knowledge of the existence of God, and that we have an opportunity to ( sane to him and be saved. " How then shall they call on him in whom they have nut believed ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and bow shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them : that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Rom. 10: 14, 15. Again, Jesus says, " And when he [ the Spirit of truth] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." John : 8. So we see that by the testimony of these witnesses the world is condemned before Gad. Christ says, " Ye must be born again." EVell at this period of time these witnesses stand ready to assist us; for Jesus says mrain, " Except a man be born of water I Word of God] and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God." John 3: 5. " Being born again, not of corrupt-ible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." 1 Pet. 1: 23. " For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.'' Cor. 4: 15. - While it is by the Word and Spirit of God that the world is brought to the Sav-ior, yet they ( 10 not forsake us here; but it is through them that we have a contin-ual knowledge of our acceptance with God. To this point we invite special attention, as the devil is very cunning, and will, if possible, impose upon us false witnesses to deceive us. We should not be satisfied with our standing with God, unless we have a positive testimony from each of these wit-nesses, in our favor; for as sure as they give in their evidence against us, just that sure we shall stand condemned before God the Judge. Let us now begin to examine ourselves by them and see how We stand. Let us ex-amine the Spirit as the first witness. " And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, cry-ing, Abba, Father." Gal. 4: 6. " The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spir-it, that we are the children of God." Rom. WEEKLY REPORT OF FINANCE. Amount received from April 22 to May 1. Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Canada Colorado England Florida Georgia. Idaho Illinois Indiana. Indian Ter Iowa Kansas. Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts. Michigan. Minnesota. . Mississippi. . . . 101.90 Nebraska. . . New Jersey New York. North Carolina North Dakota. . Ohio. . 148.00 Oklahoma 17.00 Oregon. . 76.40 Pennsylvania. . 172.98 South Carolina 5.50 Tennessee. . .50 Texas. . 30.06 Utah. . . 2.00 Virginia 5.00 Washington. . 318.25 Wisconsin. . 42.40 West Virginia. 35.00 Total. . . • . .$ 2,180.30 Balance yet due, $ 12,335.49. 151.81 $ 10.50 5.00 6.00 25.00 77.55 96.80 12.25 2.02 11.50 3.00 5.00 36.00 214.68 5.00 169.65 30.55 30.20 2.65 5.00 163.34 9.56 18.25 55.50 57.50 3.00 3.00 14.00 THE GOSPEL TRUMPET May 5, 1904. THE GOSPEL TRUMPET. Moundsville, W. Va., April 28, 1904. A WEEKLY HOLINESS JOURNAL. Entered a the Post- office at Moundsville, W. Va., as Second- class Matter. E. E. BYRUM Editor. A. L. Baas Office Editor. Contributing Editors: H. M. RIGGLE. . . . Cambridge Springs, Pa. CHAS. E. ORR Federalsburg, Md. J. C. BLANEY Lemieux, Ont. J. W. BYERS Lodi, Cal. GEo. L. Cola 7300 Stewart Ave., Chicago. Published by GOSPEL TRUMPET CO. DEFnIrrE, RADICAL, and ANTI- ssurAatax, sent forth in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the publication of full Salvation, Divine Healing of the body, and the Unity of all true Christians in " the faith once delivered to the saints." Subscription price, postage paid, United States, Canada, and Mexico $ 1.00 Foreign Countries $ 1.50 Expressed in English Currency Gs. 2d. ss " German Currency. 6mark lSpf. 32- All subscriptions must be paid in advance. In about two weeks after your subscription is received, receipt and credit of same will be shown by the address label attached to your paper or wrapper. The date on the label is your best re-ceipt, and should be watched. In case we fail to extend the date properly, notify us at once. 1 Jan. 5 means that your subscription is paid to Jan. 1, 1905; 23 Dee. 4 means Dee. 23, 1904, etc. Papers without date are free. Business Communications, moneys, etc., must be addressed to GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY. Moundsville, W. Va., to Insure credit otherwise we will not be responsible NOT WISDOM TO PUBLISH. There are some things that come into our hands which it would not be wisdom to publish, as intended. Without further preliminaries we will proceed to mention a few of them. CALLS FOR MONEY TO ERECT MEETING-HOUSES. We are receiving quite a number of short notices of this kind from local con-gregations asking of the saints in general that help be contributed by whoever feels like sending means. Perhaps something which we have unwittingly published on this line has served as an example for others, and will account for the numerous requests of this kind we have received in the last few months. With respect to such notices and calls we are compelled to consider and some-times make distinctions which are not favorable to those sending the request. One is an instance where there were three individuals, the only saints in this light in a certain city, who were laboring men with families, and who had no place to hold meetings. It was proposed to pur-chase a suitable place for meeting, and the Trumpet readers in general were to be appealed to for help. Another instance is where there were seven saints, all renters, who were thinking of buying a piece of land and building a house to worship in, the letter mentioning that any one desiring to help by sending money, can do so, etc. We are compelled to make a distinction between projects of a local nature and those which are more general, in respect to plac-ing them before the saints for their finan-cial assistance. As an example of the latter we would mention the work in Chicago, which, on account of its magnitude and its being centrally located with reference to hundreds or thousands of saints who at some time or other would be more or less benefited, naturally affects the interest of a good many. The same way with the other large cities. The more that people in gen-eral are benefited, the more the interests of the people in general are affected. The pub-lishing work is something in which the saints all naturally have a common interest, and it is perfectly proper that the needs of the work sometimes be put before them. It is not a local affair. But we believe that in the instances referred to above, and all similar ones, the interests are so local that it is the duty of the brethren at those places to proceed as among themselves and not make their wants known to the general body through the Trumpet. Aside from this, it is probably an unwise thing for them to to undertake to erect or purchase a house of worship where the saints are so few and not property owners. Meetings can be held in residences or in a rented house until the saints become numerous enough to require the purchase of a house of worship for convenience' sake. We wish to follow a rule by which, if possible, we can be fair to all. But circum-stances must be considered. We have re-ceived for publication notices of farms for sale. It would not be fair treatment to publish some of these and reject others, unless circumstances should make a proper difference. In cases where a matter is of importance general enough to require the attention of a community or a state or a section of coun-try which can not be reached conveniently by letter or otherwise than by the colmnns of the Trumpet, it is perfectly proper to use the paper for that medium; but such notices or appeals should be properly di-rected and not left open to the saints every-where. The saints scattered all over the earth should not be burdened with the af-fairs of local congregations. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF READINESS TO ENGAGE IN GOSPEL WORK. We have a letter which reads: " I am convinced that God would have me preach his glorious gospel. . . After the first of May I intend, the Lord willing, to begin preaching the full gospel, and any who de-sire to have me hold meetings may address me at ---" We frequently receive such announce-ments to be published, and from parties whom we do not know, and who do not give any references of well- known workers or ministers whom we might know. We be-lieve that such announcements are seldom, if ever, necessary_ If the Lord has called and qualified you for the gospel work, we do not think that you will need to adver-tize, as the field is not thronged with la-borers, and you will not be long in finding something to do. Let the Lord prove you; and if you are in his working order, you will soon have more calls than you can fill. Nowhere is care to keep in God's order more necessary than in the ministry. FIELD REPORTS FROM UNKNOWN PARTIES. Parties whose names appear in the ' Trumpet as workers are generally sup-posed to be recommended by the Trumpet, and care is necessary on this line also: New workers whose reports are sent in for the first time should mention, if possible, some older workers in connection, or at least give something to satisfy our minds as to their fitness or responsibility, else we can not be expected to publish their reports. MEETING NOTICES. Meeting notices are proper where the peo-ple outside of the locality are interested, who might be informed only by seeing the notice in the paper. But how can it be expected that we publish notices from places that are new, and where we have no way of knowing whether the parties are in the light or are in some heresy or sect? We can take the time and trouble to find out sometimes, but would it not be better to send with the notice a letter giving us some information in this respect? CHANGE OF ADDRESS. It is sometimes necessary to make the change of address of workers; but we be-lieve it is best for such notices to be made a part of field reports, so that it will not form a special notice. A change of ad-dress can be arranged in a special notice if thought best, or it can be made the sub-stance of an editorial. CONFESSIONS. These are something we have received an unusual number of during the past winter. Perhaps this also is due to the tendency of people to do as some one else has done. We believe there are few in-stances where it is necessary to send some one's confession out to the saints every-where. It would be a shameful spectacle for the Trumpet to consist largely of con-fessions of wrong done. - Such would be a common thing had we not begun to re-fuse many, for such things tend to multi-ply. Do not be too quick to write a confes-sion. Many times a confession to the lo-cal congregation is all that is necessary. OBITUARIES. The number of saints is getting so large as to make it impossible to serve all in the publication of obituaries. Already we have to refuse, with some exceptions, the obituaries of children. Where deceased parties are not generally known outside of their local community, an obituary notice in some local newspaper would serve much better than one in the Trumpet. Many times compositions of poetry are added to the obituary, and this tends to make them lengthy. We wish to impress the necessity of not using the Trumpet for local affairs when the same result can be accomplished in some other way; for its mission is to carry the gospel everywhere. We trust none will think these instruc-tions are an infringement on their rights. Just remember that the Trumpet is not a local paper, and that it is impossible to serve local interests to any great extent. Let us appreciate any effort to make it serve its purpose in the best possible man-ner, and pray that its usefulness and ex-cellence may constantly increase. OFFICE ITEMS. A brother of Danville, Ala., has shipped us a barrel of molasses. We pray God's blessings upon the dear ones who front time to time remember us with kind dona-tions of provisions and other articles of use. We try to appreciate these things as running from the Lord and also as being the donations of kind brethren and sisters. We are publishing a new five- cent tract of 32 pages, entitled, " The Sabbath,' by H. M. Riggle. We have just received from the same author the manuscript for a book on the same subject, the title of which is '" Phe Sabbath and the Lord's Day." Bro. Carl Beyer of the German depart-ment went to Newcastle, Pa., last week and then to Wheeling, W. Va., and will remain away until the camp- meeting. Workers arrived since last week- Ray-mond Neff, of Colorado, Mary Doe, Berea, Ky., Flossie Oliver, East Liverpool, 0., and Amelia and Josephine Halseth, two sisters from Shelby, Mich., who have been attend-ing school at Valparaiso, Ind., and who ex-pect to work as stenographers. TENT WANTED. We desire to purchase a tent. Would like to get a second- hand one 30x50. If any of the saints have one or know where we can get one, we shall be glad to corre-spond with them. You may address W. W. Fitzwater, Rowland, Ky. TO THE SAINTS IN NORTHWESTERN KANSAS. Oronoque, Kan., April 22. eau hearts have been burdened for those little congregations that do not have preaching often. We felt led to labor in such of these places as are within our n ach, until camp- meetings begin, in place of trying to open up new fields, as we are not expecting to remain in this state. Lord willing, we shall return again to the Coast. So any one desiring to have us hold meet-ings with you, please write to us at once, so we can arrange to come as soon as the Lord wills. Your brother and sister in the one body, Jas. B. Peterman and Wife. TABERNACLE FOR SOUTH CAROLINA. I wish to call the attention of the saints ill South Carolina to the action taken by the workers at the Columbia assembly viz., it was decided to purchase a tabernacle at once, in order to reach the many places now open for meeting, as many of them ran not be reached well otherwise. Now, as the tent is needed at once, we wish to urge 111) 011 all that possibly can to send at once or as soon as possible, what they can to Bro. IL E. Lindsay, 401 Plain St., Col-umbia, S. C., that the tent may be ready for spring meetings. The tent will be used in the adjoining states also and help from them will be gratefully received. Trustees have been appointed to take charge of the tent and see that it is properly eared for, and that the parties using it shall be re-sponsible for it. J. F. Lundy. THE GENERAL CAMP- MEETING OF TEXAS. Gorman, Texas, April 23. There will be a camp- meeting near this plaee, beginning about July 15th. ( Date will appear in the Trumpet later.) We have consulted the brethren iu this com-munity, and have decided to make this a general eaunp- meeting of Texas. We ur-gently solicit all the saints near to come. The work in Texas is comparatively new, and there are but few saints in the state. There are quite a number of saints near this place, but they are scattered, and so are th. e saints all over Texas. Therefore, we believe it in God's order to have a gen-eral assembling of the saints in. Texas. This will be a means of building up the work in this part, and getting the saints letter assimilated to this reformation. We write this notice in order to give all time to make their arrangements to attend. Gor-man, Eastland Co., is located on the Texas central R. R., about one hundred miles southwest of Ft. Worth. For any further information, address W. A. Woods, Gor-man, Tex., or E. A. Fowler, Ranger, Tex. J. D. Ferrill. SPIRIT OF To the Congregations in California: It becomes our duty as ministers of the gos-pel, fur the protection of the cause of Christ, to expose a man named James Com-er, from Omaha, Neb., who has been in the state representing himself as a minister among the saints in San Diego, Oakland, and San Francisco. He has done much damage to the cause in San Diego, causing division and scattering the flock, which has resulted in drawing away disciples after himself and starting a separate meeting. Some have repented and come back. Both Comer and those gone after him have been admonished, but they have rejected our en-treaties. We take this means to warn the saints against this spirit of division and such as are possessed by it. They have no part nor lot among the saints of God until they repent. Humbly your servants, J. D. Hatch. J. W. Byers. MEETING- HOUSE. To the Saints of God, and Especially on the Pacific Coast : After feeling the Lord wanted us to have a meeting- house here in Portland, we consulted some well estab-lished ministers and got some good advice, and moved accordingly. We have bought a lot for $ 1,500, and it will cost about as much to complete the house; that is, fur - nish the material. We wil do work ourselves. There has been $ 2,600 sub-scribed already-, from the church at Port-land. About one- half of this amount is cash, the rest to be paid inside of two May 5, 1904. THE GOSPEL TRUMPET 5 years' time. One brother and his wife who had means felt God wanted them to give $ 1,500; others depending on their la-bor for their support subscribed well, some as high as $ 250. One young sister who was out of the city for a short time, wrote as follows: " The Lord said for me to give $ 100, and my heart said, Amen." It made us realize we were not in line with God till our heart did say, Amen, to the voice or Word of God. God has some truly consecrated saints here in Portland, that are not forgetful hearers but doers of the Word. It seems the devil can not move them with persecution, afflictions, or discouragements. To God be all the glory. This meeting- house will be in a nice sit-uation between 6th St. and 7th St., on Haw thorn Ave., East Portland; street- car passing the door. The house is to be 32x60 ft.; two stories and a basement. The top floor is to be partitioned off into rooms. They can be rented to any of the saints that want them. Some have to rent any way, and pay car fare to meeting all the time. The next floor is the chapel for meeting purposes. The basement is to be 8 ft. 4 ft. in, and four ft. out of the ground, with ( cement concrete walls and floor. Some have : already agreed to do the concrete work if the material is furnished. One offered to paint the building if the paint is furnished. Others offer to do carpenter work, but we need plenty of work on this line; also consecrated help to plaster and do other work is needed. Any one feeling led to help on this line or with means, please cor-respond with me. Of course the labor is needed at once, as we expect to commence work on it by May 1, and try and build it by June 1, 1904, and if agreeable have a general as-sembly meeting in it this fall, as this is the most central place of the Coast. We do not need this large house for ourselves, but are building for the purpose of having a place for a general assembly meeting. Therefore the saints outside of Portland are interested in it. The basement is for camp-ing purposes in general meeting. Popula-tion of Portland is 130,000. The truth is gaining ground here, and we expect it to gain faster from now on. Yours for the spread of the gospel, G. T. Neal. 286 2d St., Portland, Ore. THE OFFICE INDEBTEDNESS. ANNUAL REPORT. As we look back over the past year's efforts to liquidate the heavy debt which has hung over us for some time, our hearts rejoice to see the success. In this special effort there have been two things accom-plished; first, the greater part of the debt has been paid; and second, the publishing work has been brought nearer to the hearts of God's people. We are satisfied that many of our readers realize, to a degree unknown before, that this work is not the work of a few men but the work of God, in which all his people have a part. The entire amount of the debt on May 1, 1903, was $ 41,437.50. The total amount sent in on the debt during the past year is $ 29,102.01. This leaves a balance of $ 12,335.49 yet to be paid, an