Schools of the Prophets
541
“What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may
see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”
Psalm
34:12-14
. The words of wisdom “are life unto those that find them,
and health to all their flesh.”
Proverbs 4:22
.
True religion brings man into harmony with the laws of God, phys-
ical, mental, and moral. It teaches self-control, serenity, temperance.
Religion ennobles the mind, refines the taste, and sanctifies the judg-
ment. It makes the soul a partaker of the purity of heaven. Faith in
God’s love and overruling providence lightens the burdens of anxiety
and care. It fills the heart with joy and contentment in the highest or
the lowliest lot. Religion tends directly to promote health, to lengthen
life, and to heighten our enjoyment of all its blessings. It opens to the
soul a never-failing fountain of happiness. Would that all who have not
chosen Christ might realize that He has something vastly better to offer
them that they are seeking for themselves. Man is doing the greatest
injury and injustice to his own soul when he thinks and acts contrary
to the will of God. No real joy can be found in the path forbidden
by Him who knows what is best, and who plans for the good of His
creatures. The path of transgression leads to misery and destruction;
but wisdom’s “ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are
peace.”
Proverbs 3:17
.
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The physical as well as the religious training practiced in the
schools of the Hebrews may be profitably studied. The worth of such
training is not appreciated. There is an intimate relation between the
mind and the body, and in order to reach a high standard of moral and
intellectual attainment the laws that control our physical being must be
heeded. To secure a strong, well-balanced character, both the mental
and the physical powers must be exercised and developed. What study
can be more important for the young than that which treats of this
wonderful organism that God has committed to us, and of the laws by
which it may be preserved in health?
And now, as in the days of Israel, every youth should be instructed
in the duties of practical life. Each should acquire a knowledge of
some branch of manual labor by which, if need be, he may obtain
a livelihood. This is essential, not only as a safeguard against the
vicissitudes of life, but from its bearing upon physical, mental, and
moral development. Even if it were certain that one would never need