Editorial May 30, 1908 Issue

LIGHT

Annie M. Knott

One of the most important statements in Genesis relative to creation, is this, "Let there be light." Among the early writers but little was known, perhaps, of the nature and properties of light, but its vital importance to humanity was not overlooked by them; hence we find constant mention of it in the sacred writings. God is always spoken of as the source of all light, and at times its entire independence of materiality is emphatically declared. Isaiah says, "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light." Thought was rising still higher when St. John wrote, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."

It is difficult for us to realize at this time how much light must have meant to people of an earlier time, when they were, as it seemed, so dependent upon the orb of day, and when they probably never thought of light without being conscious of its possible deprivation. Having almost no access to what is now known as artificial light, they were indeed compelled to work "while it is day," for, as the Master said, though in a larger sense, "the night cometh, when no man can work." The significance of one passage in the Psalms is greatly intensified when we know the custom to which it refers. We read, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." It seems that it was customary to have a small lamp attached to one of the sandals, at night, as this not only shed light upon the path but also helped to drive away the serpents which were so numerous in the East.

This may remind us that at the present time light is being used everywhere as the best preventive of crime. No longer are bolts and bars considered the surest protection, but instead the complete illumination of the place where valuables are stored. The great moral demand felt at the present hour is certainly due to the illumination which Truth brings. Under its search-light error of every sort is being seen in its naked hideousness; it is no longer protected by the cover of mental and moral darkness.

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