NoveMBER 15, 1901 “Thus has it been demonstrated that the discovery is the most powerful medicine known, and at the same time, it might be said, the most expensive. Physicians buy it at $1 a grain, or $7,000 a pound. “The isolation of the blood pressure raising constituent of the suprarenal gland 1s of course the chief virtue of Adrenalin, and its uses and developments along this particular line are unlimited. It has also been ascertained, however, that Adrenalin is a most powerful cardiac stimulant, and it has been hinted by physicians that it may be possible to resuscitate persons who have died of heart failure. “Premature childbirth may also be made obsolete, as it is said Adrenalin can be made to revivify the heart of the dead child. Work along these lines is now being carried forward by Dr. Takamine in his laboratory, and before another year is gone it may be possible to perform amputations without the loss of blood, which is so disastrous to the patient.”— New York Herald. STREAMS IN THE DESERT “Surely the ‘Great American Desert’ of our childhood days will soon be a thing of the past. The only conception of a desert that the neat generation will be able to obtain must come from pictures and descriptions of something that once existed. but is no irore. Indeed, it is quite likely that we shall not have to wait for the next generation to witness the realization of this change. “A special from San Bernardino announces that an artesian gusher, with a flow of nearly 200 inches or waver, has been struck on the Mojave desert, near Victor, at a depth of less than 200 feet, by parties who were drilling for oil. This is not, by any means, the first time that water has been struck in Southern Cahfornia by persons who were seeking for oil, and in some cases the water has proved to be more valuable than a moderate amount of oil would be. “Out on the Colorado desert, below sea level, they have obtained a fine supply of artesian water at a moderate depth, and at the other end of the desert, near Yuma, water is flowing through a canal which is big enough to be navigated by a steam launch “AH this is cnly a slight foretaste of what is to come within the next few years. That favorite quotation of our friend, the country editor, ‘The desert shall blossom as the rose,’ Is destincd to be exemplified to a remarkable degree in Southern California within the next decade. Not only shall the desert blo-som as the rose, but also the less beautiful but more profitable cabbage and potato and cauliflowers and sugar beet and watermelon and fruit tree, and many other ZION’S WATCH TOWER (356-357) things which profit a man’s stomach and swell his bank account.”——Los Angeles Daily Times. The foregoing clippings corroborate the testimony of the Scriptures,—that we are in the dawn of the new epoch, long by God’s prophets foretold—the Millennium, the period of divine favor for the blessing of Adam’s race through him who redeemed it—Christ. They corroborate the assurance that under that kingdom of Messiah the “curse” shall be lifted from the race and as Sin and Death have reigned for 6,000 years, now soon Grace and Truth shali reign unto righteousness and life-——Rom. 5:17-21. Meantime, also let us not forget the teaching of the Lord’s Word that so far as humanity is concerned, it is so full of selfishness that it cannot enter into these blessings now due peaceably; but must needs pass through “a time of trouble {anarchy] such as was not since there was a nation.” We must note the trend of events in this direction therefore, also. It is significant that one Socialist publication claims to have sent out during the forty weeks of this year, over 6,000,000 papers and pamphlets. And below we quote a cable to the Chicago Daily News—also significant. IN PERIL FROM THEIR OWN TROOPS “London, Sept. 30.—Dangerous social fanatics in the ranks of continental armies are causing unrest in a number of the principal capitals of Europe, according to a high officer ot the British army who has just returned from a_ professional tour of the continent. He asserts that some monarchs are in peril when in the presence of their own troops and are now taking drastic measures to correct the evil. To the correspondent of The Daily News he said today: “Phe barracks of Europe have become nurserics ot anarchism. Realizing the opportunity offered to them in the leisure hours of army life, anarchists have gladly submitted to conscription and subsequently have poured the poison of their doctrine into the ears of their comrades. They have appealed especially to young peasants caught in the net of compulsory military service, and have sent many of the latter out of the army convinced of the tyranny of the ruling classes and eager to identify themselves with the radical element of the population. “This has happened on a particularly large seale in Germany, Austria and Italy, and the officials of those countries are greatly disturbed. They have adopted measures for strangling revolution 1n the barracks. The latter are now frequented by government eavesdroppers and spies who make short work of the preachers of assassination and_ insurrection,’ ”” FAITH SEVERELY TESTED* “By faith, Abraham when he was tried, offered up Isaac; ... accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.”—Heb. 11:17, 19. With changes of dispensation come changes of divine methods of dealing with the faithful. The Lord’s command to Abraham to sacrifice his son was totally different from any command he would give to his people now; and yet tests of a similar import, though of different kind, are laid upon the Lord’, people today, and for a very similar purpose, viz. the testing of our heart-loyalty toward the Lord :—testing of faith in him,—in his wisdom, in his power, in his goodness. In Abraham’s day the patriarchal form of government prevailed, and under it the father of a family held an autocratic power which seemingly was rarely questioned by the children. The same extreme view of paternal government prevails, at least outwardly, in China today, we are informed. The patriarch, Abraham, was amenable to no earthly law or ruler, but to God only; and when the Lord proved or tested his faith and obedience by calling for the sacrifice of Isaac upon Mount Moriah, Abraham, full of faith and obedience, promptly responded, and there was no law or power to restrain the obedience. Even Isaac, who by this time was twenty-five years of age, seems to have offered not the slightest resistance to the divinely arranged program as set before him by his father; for in the vigor of youth he certainly need not have been bound to the altar contrary to his own will. A severer test upon Abraham than this one could not be imagined. What could be a more difficult thing for any father to do than to slay his own child, even in response to the divine command? But in Abraham’s case the sacrifice was a doubly keen one, because, not only had he the natural parental love for his offspring, but this was the son of promise, for whose birth he had waited according to divine * This was written as the S. S. Lesson for Aug. 25 but was accidentally omitted. Many requests lead us to present it now promise, and longed and prayed, for twenty-five years—the son whose birth in his old age was admittedly a miracle ot divine power—the son in whom, according to the divine word, centered all the gracious promises which had filled Abraham’s heart for now fifty years; and which, during all this period, had constrained him to be a pilgrim and a stranger in the earth, so that be might in due time inherit these gracious promises which belonged to the future. How strange it must have seemed to him—how utterly inexplicable, that the Lord should ask him to surrender Isaac as a sacrifice! Our respect for Abraham’s faith rises higher and higher, as we behold the various manifestations of his confidence in God, and his obedience to the divine command. We say to ourselves, even as new creatures and partakers of the divine nature. O that we might have in fullest measure this abounding faith, this willing obedience, this trust, resting securely in God, this assurance that he is able to accomplish all that he has promised, even though the accomplishment of it should make necessary a resurrection from the dead! For the Apostle assures us that Abraham philosophized upon this matter—respecting the fact that Isaac was his legitimate heir, and had been so acknowledged of the Lord, saying, “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” He could see no other way that God’s word could be true; yet so strong was his faith that he trusted that the Lord was able to raise his son from the dead in order to fulfil the promise. Heb. 11:19. This is exactly the kind of faith that the Lord desires to find in the spiritual seed of Abraham, the Gospel Church—a faith that will trust him even where it cannot trace him; a faith which recognizes his perfect wisdom, perfect love and perfect power. It is not a faith, however, that is a spontaneous growth, under present fallen conditions. It requires years for its development. Abraham had not this degree of [2907]
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